Activated Authors

#031: Tosca Lee – Learning enough to be dangerous, evolutions as a writer, and finding the joy in your work.

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Tosca Lee is the multi-award winning, New York Times, IndieBound, and Amazon bestselling author of eleven novels including The Line Between, The Progeny, Firstborn, The Legend of Sheba, Iscariot, and the Books of Mortals trilogy with New York Times bestseller Ted Dekker. Her work has been translated into seventeen languages and optioned for TV and film. She is best known for her meticulous research, masterful prose, unexpected points of view, and high-octane thrillers.


A notorious night-owl, she loves movies, playing video games with her kids, and sending cheesy texts to her husband. She’s also a big fan of her amazing readers.


In this episode we go deep into:

  • What video games Tosca is currently playing
  • What makes a good soup?
  • How Tosca got involved in writing
  • The naivety that comes with writing your first novel and how to learn the craft
  • The importance of pushing onward despite failures
  • Being tenacious and passionate enough to write until you succeed
  • Key changes along Tosca’s evolution as a writer
  • Controlling word counts and being economical with your words
  • Outlining to maximize efficiency of writing
  • Tosca’s research process for each book
  • Learning enough to be dangerous
  • Surrounding yourself with smart people to inform your work
  • Tracking and taming your research
  • How accolades can impact your sales and writing
  • Writing like no one will read your work
  • Remembering that writing is supposed to be fun
  • Handling criticism like a champ
  • Analyzing and finding your ideal reader
  • The key to making merchandise that sells
  • Understanding the difference between marketing to readers and marketing to writers
  • Tosca’s writing schedule and living as a night owl


    • Tosca answers questions from Patrons:

    • Mark McClure: I liked Tosca's idea of hiding 'easter eggs' in her books. Are you able to measure or track reader engagement with this approach?
  • Also, what are your view on blogging vs an email newsletter (or both) for a writer with a following?


    • This week’s question:

    How do you approach the research and planning for your books?


    Find out more about Tosca:

    https://toscalee.com


    Links from the show:

    Tosca’s merchandise (https://toscalee.com/shop/)

    Tosca’s blog (https://toscalee.com/blog/)

    Book Easter eggs (https://toscalee.com/code/)


    Special thanks to:

    Intro vocals: Persephone Rose

    Show theme: Karl Hughes


    Become a Patron of the show! Get exclusive bonus content, find your tribe, and get early access to all episodes.

    Thank you to my patrons:

    David Hines

    Harley Christensen

    Jon Cronshaw

    Jenn Mitchell

    Innes Richens

    Ian J Middleton

    PT Hylton

    Michael Anderle

    Jerry Evanoff

    Mark McClure

    Katie Forrest


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