Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

This episode centers upon four quick chats with industry folks from NINC (Novelists Inc) 2018 in St Pete, Florida. Mark shares chats (originally posted as Facebook Live videos on Sept 27, 2018) with: Carlyn Robertson from BookBub Damon Courtney from BookFunnel Christine Munroe from Kobo Writing Life Ricardo Fayet from Reedsy Prior to the interview, Mark shares some personal updates, including some activities that happened at the conference (such as a bookstore visit to Haslam's in downtown St. Pete) as well as prior to the conference. He also shares that his book The 7 P's of Publishing Success is now live at all the major eBook retail sites, with the print and audiobook versions coming soon. He also mentions a comment on the previous episode which inspired him to make getting the audio version of the book a priority, and talks a bit about using Findaway Voices (the sponsor for this episode, to get that book distributed and into the market).After the interview, Mark reflects upon the learning that can happen, at all levels, at a conference like NINC. Links of Interest: Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections More Information about Stark Publishing Solutions Stark Reflections Survey NINC (Novelists Inc) Haslam's Book Store Tomes of Terror: Haunted Bookstores & Libraries The 7 P'S OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS   The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  

In this episode, Mark shares an early audio draft of the chapter on Professionalism for his forthcoming book THE 7 P'S OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS which will be released under his "Stark Publishing Solutions" imprint by the end of Sept 2018. Prior to the audiobook excerpt, Mark shares a few personal updates which include: Attending NINC (Novelist's, Inc.) writer conference in St Pete, Florida, where he will be giving a talk entitled 5 CAREER KILLING ERRORS AN AUTHOR SHOULD AVOID as well as co-hosting an open discussion entitled BRAINSTORMING "THE FUTURE" FOR AUTHORS AND VENDORS Also, while at NINC, Mark will be visiting Haslam's Book Store which is allegedly haunted by Jack Kerouac (Mark wrote about it in his book Tomes of Terror) A thank you to the Patrons supporting the podcast via www.patreon.com/starkreflections A shout-out to Rook Winters for an awesome photo of some skull plates he shared on Twitter Thanking new folks who continue to fill-out the Stark Reflections Podcast Survey (with a mention of how the show has been modified in line with a few common comments from some previously rec'd surveys Mark also talks about how the main content for this episode is a test/early draft for the audiobook version of his book THE 7 P's OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS and mentions the way he'll be using Findaway Voices (the sponsor for this episode). In the main content of the episode, Mark talks about the importance of professionalism for authors and breaks it down to three main elements: Paperwork, Contracts and Content In Person Appearances and People Skills Adversity and Rejection After the main section, Mark shares the behind a behind the scenes look at how the book this chapter is taken from came to be. Both it and another book, were originally chapters in the main book he had been working on to capture the many things he has learned in his decades of experience in the bookselling and publishing industry. But these two particular chapters grew a life of their own and became unique products as part of a larger line up of titles in the Stark Publishing Solutions Imprint/Series. These books will be: THE 7 P'S OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS (Sept 2018) KILLING IT ON KOBO (Oct 2018) INDIE PUBLISHING INSIDER SECRETS (Nov 2018) While still finalizing re-writes and edits of the books, Mark talks about the desire to get them all up for pre-order as soon as possible. He shares where people can sign up to be informed about them as well as other related "Stark Publishing / Stark Reflections" updates: www.markleslie.ca/starkpublishingsolutions Links of Interest: Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections More Information about Stark Publishing Solutions Stark Reflections Survey NINC (Novelists Inc) Haslam's Book Store Tomes of Terror: Haunted Bookstores & Libraries The 7 P'S OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS   The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  

In this episode, Mark interviews Nathan Van Coops who claims that he lives on a diet comprised mainly of tacos. He enjoys old planes, motorcycles, and Volkswagens, contends that there is such a thing as “dressy” flip-flops and is the time travel adventure series, In Times Like These, and The Skylighter Adventures. Nathan, of course, isn't just an author, but he is also an aviator and the man behind Book Faces Live and we talk about all three things, and more. Prior to the interview, Mark gives a personal update that includes: His story "Active Reader" appearing in the latest issue of Pulphouse Magazine (#3) and how that had been a long-time goal The royalty check received from McGraw/Nelson for a short story "Almost" that is being used in a British Columbia high school curriculum He considers how both of these "new" items are stories that were previously published and yet can still result in residual income Mark then thanks new Stark Reflections Patron, Amy Teegan and all existing Patrons who support the show via www.patreon.com/starkreflections In the interview, Mark and Nathan talk about: Nathan's latest book, THE WARP CLOCK and its tag-line "To save her future, he can't have one." and the stand-alone nature of this series (THE WARP CLOCK is book 4 in the series) that allows a reader to jump in at any book How time travel isn't just a trope that is being used and, instead, is an integral part of the world and story, in the same way that J.K. Rowling used magic in her Harry Potter universe The first person present tense POV that is used for the majority of these books that are told through Benjamin's perspective The genesis of the SKYLIGHTER adventures, based on the quiet and calm that Nathan experienced while flying a plane. He imagined the concept of what if the sky was actually as busy as the ocean? The advice that Nathan would give to his younger self just starting writing The branding Nathan created for his series, landing on using Damonza covers and then taking a hands-off approach to let them do what they do best The reasoning behind why Nathan started Book Faces Live (to fill a gap in his own weekly podcast listening routine) and how he use his podcast to learn and gather information The fact that, unlike many writers, Nathan is an extrovert; always where and when Nathan likes to write The deliberate placement of Benjamin from the IN TIMES LIKE THESE series in 2009 After the interview, Mark talks about the tech issue that affected the tail end of the chat, and reflects upon how Nathan handled the unexpected issue quite professionally and effectively. He reminds writers that these types of things will happen and that it is important to remember the audience is actually cheering for you and you are in this together. Mark remembers the way Nathan thought of the reader when working on his book covers, and suggests that Nathan did the exact same thing here during the tech issue - he considered the audience and did his best to safely "land" the podcast. The lesson? When things go wrong, take a breath, and consider the audience.   Links of Interest: Nathan's Website Book Faces Live Nathan's Interview with Mark (Episode 37) Pulphouse #3 (featuring Mark's story "Active Reader") Damonza (Book Cover Services) Findaway Voices Stark Reflections on Patreon

Mark chats with Dana Pharant, a business owner, a speaker, an author and the host of the Inner Dominatrix Podcast, about her new book The Inner Dominatrix Guide: Become a Badass in Business. Before the interview, Mark shares a few personal updates: Misadventures of the cat and the headset cord Experience using PublishDrive Getting Sean into indie audiobooks (and a mention that this podcast is sponsored by Findaway Voices) Mark also thanks new Patrons of the show, Joanna Penn and Ellie Ashe as well as all existing patrons who support the podcast via Patreon. In their chat, Mark and Dana discuss: The back-story and where the use of "Dominatrix" comes from (Dana spent 6 years as a Dominatrix) how principles of healing were learned through that experience which Dana has been able to apply to the concept of power, space and authority that are integral to the Inner Dominatrix The intriguing parallels between the role of Dominatrix and the role of Author Where the "Badass" attitude comes from and the energy that it can put people into The way that creative people can really shrink back when it comes to the business, marketing and promoting of their work The last thing that a person who is tied up and blind-folded wants to hear The importance of leaning into being unapologetic in one's approach The energy-based concept of "practical woo" The three main principles that Dana teaches: 1) Getting you out of the "wrongness of you" 2) Connecting with and following your intuition 3) Being willing to lose it all Her forthcoming book launch (October 15th) and the early-preview launch speaking event on Sept 26th After the interview, Mark reflects about the concept that Dana mentions of "stepping into authority" and how he believes this to be important for authors. He also talks about his friend James A. Owen, who regularly reminds authors of not downplaying the importance and value of what they do.   Links of Interest: Dana Pharant: The Dominatrix's Guide to Inner Power in Business Stark Reflections Episode 30 (previous appearance by Dana): Target Markets & Relationships Episode 77 of Dana’s podcast (Dana interviews Mark about the Transition in his life) Findaway Voices PublishDrive CAPS: Canadian Association of Professional Speakers Dana’s CAPS Speaker Profile Mark’s CAPS Speaker Profile Stark Reflections Listener Survey Patreon for Stark Reflections Sean Costello James A Owen Superstars Writing Seminars The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

In this solo episode, Mark talks about two specific examples from his own publishing experience, where having a crappy cover didn't help sales. He walks through the back-story for the eBooks in question, his reasoning behind the initial crappy cover as well as the positive results that came after he recognized his mistake and created a better cover. He explains that he is using personal examples for a few reasons, which include: the fact that it's easier to see fault in someone else's mistakes - perhaps seeing the mistakes Mark made makes it easier for an author to understand for their own purposes to illustrate that, even though he has fourteen years of experience in self-publishing and more than twenty-five years in bookselling, and should know better, he still makes mistakes - which means everyone can and will make these mistakes (so don't beat yourself up over it) Prior to the main content of the podcast, Mark provides a personal update about two items. 1) Recently received audiobook royalties from ListenUp Audiobooks and Findaway Voices. (With a mention that this podcast is sponsored by Findaway Voices - because he's just that cool at slipping it into the conversation) 2) A recent promotion that Mark ran on his book A CANADIAN WEREWOLF IN NEW YORK in order to help support the Kobo/Walmart promo that is taking place. Mark walks through the logistics of how some of the Kobo lists are set up and explains the third-party promo from Written Word Media that he used to help elevate the ranking and status of his book in the Kobo/Walmart list. He shares the numbers and results (so far) for this promo (the details from this are shared with Mark's Patreon supporters)     The two examples of book cover updates that Mark walks through are: Spirits - a 6,000 word short story that Mark originally launched in eBook in June of 2011. Mark walks through the reasoning behind publishing this short story as an eBook in terms of the financial return based on his original goals to sell the story to a pro market. Snowman Shivers - Two snowman-themed tales that Mark launched in 2012 that required BOTH a cover and a sub-title makeover. Mark closes up the podcast by thanking his Patreon supporters as well as explaining a new option that Kobo Writing Life recently announced to authors, the ability to transfer ratings and reviews to new eBooks, and what that can mean from authors interested in updating/changing their distribution to Kobo methods.   Links of Interest: Findaway Voices Episode 33: Two Wrongs That Make a Writer Spite Episode 8: Author Promotions with Ricci Wolman from Written Word Media (BargainBooksy/FreeBooksy) Transfering Your Ratings & Rankings on Kobo Details about Canadian Werewolf Promo Cost, Numbers, Results, for all Patreon Supporters   The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

This episode includes a conversation with three guests: Ara Grigorian, Janis Thomas and Julie Strauss. Ara and Janis are the brains and brawn behind the Novel Intensive Seminar and Workshop and Julie was a writer who has attended and benefited from these sessions. The Novel Intensive Workshop is a hands-on full day collaborative workshop in which writers are able to apply the Novel Intensive Tools and Principles to their current work in progress. Guided by best-selling author Janis Thomas and award-winning author Ara Grigorian, the workshop gives writers an opportunity to share their writing, ask questions, focus on their own and unique challenges, and receive immediate feedback. Hands-on exercises are provided which are designed to help writers hone their storytelling skills. For this episode's personal update, Mark shares the fact that this week he is embarking on a two day personal writing retreat to a location that is about a two hour's drive from home; while there, he will be focusing on finishing the first draft of a non-fiction book for writers that will be released under his Stark Publishing Solutions imprint. The book shares Mark's what he has learned about the business of writing and publishing in the more than 25 years he has been a writer, a bookseller and an industry representative. He also shares that he recently secured the audio rights for his novel I, DEATH back from Edge Publishing and plans on posting the project to Findaway Voices, this episode's sponsor. Mark thanks his Patreon sponsors and then moves to the main interview feature for this episode. In their conversation, Mark, Julie, Ara and Janis discuss: How the Novel Intensive workshop first came together (Janis and Ara's own "meet cute" style reciprocal teaching relationship which led to the eventual collaborative workshop The way that the workshop was born out of the desire to gather all the things Ara and Janis have learned about writing and then package it into an easily digestible info-filled interactive workshop that other writers could benefit from Julie's discovery of the program via a presentation (a significantly abbreviated and truncated version of the full day workshop) that Ara gave at an annual RWA (Romance Writers of America) Conference and how, half-way through that session, she had that "a-ha" moment which helped solve a dilemma she'd been struggling with on a novel in progress Why Julie plans on returning to some of the same workshops she has already attended for insights and inspiration on future projects, and how Ara and Janis always keep one of their own works in progress in the back of their minds while teaching, to draw similar inspiration How Ara and Janis use the Novel Intensive principles in different ways they adapt into their own distinct writing processes The thing that surprised Julie the most about the way that Janis and Ara teach together and the way that each of the 10 students in one particular workshop had their own unique "a-ha" moments at different times throughout the day The underlying messages of the Novel Intesive workshop, such as "formula doesn't have to mean formulaic" and the importance that a writer fights for fully realizing the emotional moments in the story The use of popular or well-known movies from multiple genres in teaching and highlighting examples of story and character moments through a workshop How it's not about plot VS character, but rather how those two elements interact and play off one another Julie's thoughts on what her investment in the Novel Intensive workshop (both money and time), has meant to her writing The reason why this course is an in-person experience and the value that comes from the intimacy of the group (between 10 and 20 people per session) A series of excellent tips for how writers can apply Novel Intensive techniques to being their own story coach A look at the opening scene in Julie's Prosecco Heart and the way that the Novel Intensive workshop helped her with that novel Forthcoming projects that Julie, Ara and Janis are each working on After the interview, Mark shares thoughts on two things. The first is the value of how you can learn something new from re-reading, re-watching, re-listening, re-learning, re-experiencing something. The second is magic and serendipity that can happen during physical encounters with other writers at workshops, conferences, etc which can be far more powerful than the experience of a digital or virtual one.   ARA GRIGORIAN is the international award-winning author of Game of Love (2015), and Ten Year Dance (2017), his critically-acclaimed second novel. Ara is a technology executive in the entertainment industry. True to the Hollywood life, Ara wrote for a children’s television pilot that could have made him rich (but didn’t) and nearly sold a video game to a major publisher (who closed shop days later). Fascinated by the human species, Ara writes about choices, relationships, and second chances. He is a public speaker, a story coach, and a workshop leader for the Southern California Writers’ Conference, Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference, Santa Barbara Writers Conference, and others, including the popular Novel Intensive. Ara is represented by Stacey Donaghy of the Donaghy Literary Group. JANIS THOMAS is the author of best-selling What Remains True and All That’s Left of Me from Lake Union, as well as three critically-acclaimed humorous Women’s Fiction novels, Something New, Sweet Nothings, and Say Never. Award-winning Murder in A-Minor is the first book in her Musical Murder Mystery series featuring songwriting detective Samantha Wedlock. Janis is a popular workshop leader and speaker, and a passionate writing advocate. When she isn’t writing or fulfilling her PTA duties, she loves to spend time with her kids, sing with her sister, play tennis, and throw lavish dinner parties with outrageous menus. She lives in Southern California with her husband, children, and two crazy dogs. JULIE STRAUSS is the author of the three stand-alone "Chefs in Love" novels that include Moonstone Heart, Hungry Heart and Prosecco Heart. She lives in Southern California with her husband and four kids. Julie says that she eats dark chocolate and drinks good wine and reads lots of books and regularly speaks in movie quotes. She used to publish romance novels under the pen name Emma Foster, but says she realized that she was way too lazy to keep up two online profiles in addition to all the other personalities inside her head. So she dumped the pen name, and now you can find her at social media places under the persona "Julie Wrote A Book."

Mark interviews Alberta writer Samantha Davidson a writer he met at the recent When Words Collide conference in Calgary about the author branding of hers that immediately caught his attention immediately and about her next plans while being just at the point of finishing the first novel she plans on publishing. They also talk about the way that she helps to inspire creative people, not just writers but creatives from all pursuits. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, including a few of the talks he presented at WWC. Knowing the Basics and Steering Clear of the Pitfalls of Digital Publishing What 25 Years as a Bookseller and Industry Rep Taught Me About the Business of Writing & Publishing The 2nd presentation is a bit of an early look at the non-fiction book on writing and publishing that Mark plans on releasing later this year. Links to PDFs of both presentations are available to all Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast. Mark also shares some info about a talk he did on the art and business of telling ghost stories, as well as the #FreeFridayFrights performed at WWC in front of a live studio audience and a chat about audiobook options for writers. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about them via www.starkreflections.ca/findaway In their chat, Mark and Samantha talk about How Samantha has always been interested in writing and other creative pursuits, including photography; and the suspense novel that she finished years ago that is still sitting on a shelf The way that NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) re-inspired her to get most of the first draft of a YA novel completed after being previously disheartened about her writing (with that book being the “first act” of something that appears to be a four-act series of books Samantha’s experience at When Words Collide, including details on how much value she took away as well as a negative experience with the “Live Action Slush” editor panel critique sessions (a live critique of anonymous submissions of first page readings of various submitted pieces), and how, this time around, with another year of experience writing under her belt, she has been able to recognize some of those writing rookie mistakes that she hadn’t been able to see the first time through Why Samantha did not give up even after getting her writer ego beat up a little Some of the highlights from Samantha’s experience at When Words Collide, which include recognition of how important that sense of community can be for a writer The author branding that Samantha has already started on, which comes from her experience as a graphic designer and her long-time desire to create a community of followers sharing meaningful things and feeling inspired Samantha’s podcast “The Inspired Author” The mentoring and coaching program where Samantha helps creative people with how to adapt their creative passions into a sustainable career, and the fact that she has a few open spots starting at the end of September The “bookish soap company” that Samantha operates called “A Novel Idea” – soaps and similar products all inspired by classic literature - http://shopanovelidea.com/ The important things Samantha has learned about writing, including getting over the “downward” moment that comes right after that initial “getting-started high” that new writing and creating projects can come with as well as the risks that come with the pursuit of perfection The recognition of the “sometimes it’s not okay” dark moments and struggles that writers regularly deal with (but which usually stay hidden) The next steps that Samantha is taking with her YA series, including the process of working with her editor, the query process and the open-ended approach   After the interview, Mark reflects upon perfection, sharing the darker sides, "the good, the bad and the ugly" of a writer's life and the struggle of introversion that he regularly faces when at conferences.   Links of Interest Samantha Davidson Website Facebook (AuthorSamanthaDavidson) Instagram Twitter Podcast YouTube When Words Collide Jonas Saul Darren Lacroix Stark Reflections Survey Patreon for Stark Reflections Findaway Voices   Samantha Davidson is a world-travelled photographer, who began her career as an editorial journalist for a weekly publication in British Columbia, Canada. After touching many of the arts, her heart brought her back to the written word.  She is currently working on her debut series – a young adult fantasy due to be published in 2019. Samantha offers mentoring and coaching services to “creatives” who are looking to build a career in writing, photography, or any creative business endeavour; truly believing her purpose is to inspire aspiring authors and artists in their dreams of marrying their passions and career.  Samantha lives in Alberta, Canada with her husband. Her work is the result of passion, positivity and perseverance.

This week's episode is a solo one, where Mark reflects on reflect the Two Wrongs That Make a Writer Spite. He takes a look at two negative things that writers often focus on which can be demotivating and make them hateful or spiteful - all things that detract from what writers should be focusing on to move onward and upward in their writer journey. Before the main content, Mark shares a few personal updates, one of which is related to the sell-direct BookFunnel and audiobook sell-direct option recently offered by Findaway Voices via Authors Direct. This week's episode is sponsored by listeners and Patreon supporters to the show. Mark explains that his nickname for listeners have been christened as Reflectives, and the outlines who he believes his ideal listening audience to this podcast is. He also outlines the ways that listeners can help support the show, which are:   a) continuing to listen to the podcast b) sharing the podcast with someone who would likely get value from it c) becoming a Patreon supporter for as little as $1 a month d) leaving a review on the podcasting/podcatcher platform of your choice e) filling out the recent podcast listener survey f) leaving a comment on show episodes where applicable.   Writers have a difficult time. Just the creation aspect of writing is a tremendous feat in and of itself. There's so much to learn, so many mistakes to make along the way. And yet, writers tend to put more on their own shoulders that cause more pain, more angst, more anxiety, more self-doubt. Those two things are COMPARISON and REJECTION. Mark talks about each of them and shares his own reflections on ways that he attempts to overcome them and turn these two negatives into a positive. He looks at some personal fitness running goals recently achieved and the possibility of what might happen if he were to compare his personal achievements and goals with those master runners. He parallels that to the goals and comparisonitis that writers struggle with. Then he uses an analogy that author Kerrie Flanagan writes about in a recent book she wrote for writers, comparing the rejection a writer feels from either submissions not accepted or self-published books that haven't been selling. He looks at how a waiter might react to restaurant patrons NOT choosing the "daily special" and asks writers to consider the reasons for not choosing that special, which likely have NOTHING to do with the quality or value of that special, and thus shouldn't be taken personally. He reminds writers that they already have enough self-doubt and anxiety and needn't put the additional COMPARISON and REJECTION issues on their own shoulders.   Links of Interest: Joanna Penn's Interview (Episode 2) Kerrie Flanagan's Interview (Episode 31) Bookfunnel Findaway Voices - Authors Direct Books2Read.com Mark's US Authors Direct Page for Stark Publishing Mark's home-page for EVASION (with links to ebook and audiobook purchasing)  

The feature interview in this episode is with C.C. Humphreys, an actor, playwright, fight choreographer and novelist. Chris has ten novels that were all traditionally published, several of which have been Globe and Mail Bestsellers and his historic novel "Plague won the Crime Writers of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel in 2015. Prior to the interview Mark shares a few personal updates that include being in the Sudbury area to participate in a multi-author event in support of a book launch for his friend Mathew Del Papa for his latest book, Capreol at Bat. He also talks about how he has been slipping in the uploading of his #FreeFridayFrights weekly videos to YouTube as well as an update on how the free first in series sales for the Nocturnal Screams series are going on Kobo and iBooks. Mark then talks about how this podcast's sponsor, Findaway Voices, has soft-launched a new product called Authors Direct, a platform and app that allows authors the ability to sell their audiobooks directly and keep 70% of the income. Mark's store that includes four of his audiobooks is live at . . . https://stark-publishing.myshopify.com . . . and he shares his excitement for what is likely to prove to be a major and game-changing tool for authors to be successful with audiobooks.   In their conversation, Mark and Chris talk about: Chris's new historical thriller, CHASING THE WIND, about a young woman aviatrix named Roxy Loewen and how Chris fell in love with Roxy as well as historical figures like Amelia Earhart while working on this book Writing historical fiction and incorporating real-world figures into the fiction text and honoring who these people were by "fictionalizing real people and realizing fictional ones" The difference between writing "modern" historical fiction (1930s) and writing earlier historical periods (such as the 1450s of the 1600s) The amount of time and type of research that Chris does when working on a historical novel, including the risk that "research" can be procrastination The cedar octagon hut in a luscious forest where Chris does most of his writing (and the back-chat he gets from other authors about this) which is just the right distance from the house The changes to the publishing industry that have changed for mid-list authors, which is what led to Chris's latest novel being a hybrid published book (traditionally published in Canada by Penguin Random House) but indie or self-published by Chris in the US and the rest of the world The Creative Academy that Chris learned from before starting on his self-publishing journey Chris's decision to publish the book to Kindle exclusive for the first three months before going wide with it in 2019 The debate of the $4.99 USD price point Chris struggled with (which is far cheaper than the Canadian traditionally published price), or the US price of his traditionally published book The countdown deal that Chris is running this week, the third party services he has used, such as Written Word Media, to help boost the sales and ranking for the title and the great service they provided to ensure that Chris would be pleased with the results of this investment The rights Chris still has and has received back for a few of his previously published novels, such as Plague and Fire and the "soft-launch" he is conducting for Plague Advice Chris offers to authors on the "performance" involved in doing author readings as well as a reminder that the people in the audience WANT the author to succeed and are there to be entertained and engaged with A bit about Chris's parents, including that his dad was a fighter pilot and his mom was a spy, and his intrigue in the world and the drama that brought them together How Chris's father met famous English playwriter Noel Coward and the very frank letter and writer advice that he wrote back on a manuscript his father sent to him which began with "Dear Peter, be prepared, I'm going to be rather beastly to you." but ended with amazingly safe advice: "You must read more, you must write much more, and let your characters dictate your plot rather than your plot dictate your characters." How that advice leads to the oscillation between plot and characters that Chris talks about when teaching other writers Chris's favorite advice to share with writers including removing the words "good" and "bad" from the writing of the first draft of a manuscript   Links of Interest C C Humphreys Website Facebook Author Page Twitter Author Central Page Pinterest Chasing The Wind Findaway Voices Free Friday Frights

Mark interviews Kerrie Flanagan, author of the author of Guide to Magazine Article Writing by Writer's Digest. Kerrie is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience. As a writing consultant, she works with writers, giving them the encouragement, support, resources and tools to find success on their writing journey. She is the author of 8 other books published under her label/publishing company Hot Chocolate Press. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a message from this episode's sponsor, the BOOKS GONE BAD BUNDLE from BundleRabbit, which features about 260,000 words from 11 authors in 2 books and 10 stories of "Speculative Visions of a Uniquely Portable Magic." You can learn more about the bundle via BundleRabbit or check it out at your favorite eBook retailer. http://books2read.com/booksgonebad Mark shares a few personal updates, which are: The new FREE email course he launched via Reedsy called Kobo Hacks for Optimizing Sales. It is a series of 10 emails that each take about 5 minutes to read that will be automatically delivered to those who sign up His story "Active Reader" appearing in the latest issue (#3) of Pulphouse Magazine and how that ties back to a goal/dream Mark had several decades ago when he first started writing   In their conversation, Mark and Kerrie discuss: How Kerrie hadn't been someone who had always dreamed about being a writer; and how it was her role as a teacher that ended up leading her down that particular path The submission process she originally went through to get her first book published, and how that led to her self-publishing that book back in 1997 when self-publishing was an almost taboo path for a writer to take The local writer critique group that first exposed Kerrie to the idea of magazine article writing Kerrie's first magazine article query, which was to Better Homes & Gardens magazine The genesis of a Colorado winery article that Kerrie wrote, based on her interest in wine The biggest mistakes that writers make when trying to pitch article ideas to a magazine, which include not doing one's homework or properly researching and understanding the readership/audience of the magazine One of the things that surprised Kerrie about the writing of this book after she had begun the process The many hats that Kerrie has worn as a writer and publisher The thrill of having a hugely respected publisher of books for writers behind her on this new book The importance of building connections with people (as an underlying factor that contributed to this book happening) The work Kerrie did as an event coordinator for Writer's Digest The very meta experience of using an article from Writer's Digest to help Kerrie with negotiating the contract she signed with Writer's Digest for this new book Hot Chocolate Press, the publishing company Kerrie heads up that has 18 books and 8 different authors The challenge of balancing the various hats that Kerrie wears as a writer, a ghost-writer and a publisher The three conferences that Kerrie will be speaking at in the next little while Mendocino Writer's Conference in CA (August), The Writer's Digest Conference in NYC (August), the new Indie Lab Writer's Digest Conference in Cincinnati (Sept) How Kerrie connected with Angela MacKintosh, Editor-in-Chief of WOW! Women on Writing magazine and landed her first assignment with that market The use of magazine article writing for building your author brand and expanding your reach in a way that isn't as likely via standard social media How libraries and the internet have made the process of researching magazines so much easier than it used to be The advice that Kerrie would give to a writer wanting to get started Her avoidance of the use of the term "rejection" when a magazine article isn't accepted by an editor The importance of not giving up, and how it took Kerrie 20 years of hard work to get where she is today After the interview, Mark shares his reflections on what the conversation with Kerrie and reading her new book made him think of, including his own rise through publishing selling short fiction to magazines (comparing that to non-fiction selling to magazines), and a few ideas he is planning on implementing related to niche article writing. He also talks about selling articles to magazines as an additional revenue source for a writer, helping to balance out dependencies and income streams. Mark then thanks listeners and Patreon supporters and closes off the show.   Links of Interest: Kerrie Flanagan's Website Hot Chocolate Press Writer's Digest Guide to Magazine Article Writing Writer's Digest BundleRabbit Findaway Voices