Activated Authors

Activated Authors

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Activated Authors episodes

  • #061: Andy Conduit-Turner – Writing comics, navigating publishing contracts, and choosing the best medium for your story.

    Andy Conduit-Turner is a writer, editor, occasional quiz host and serial podcaster from the UK (mostly). Writing across a number of genres and mediums, He is a fan of horror, comedy, picking on the small details and has a spreadsheet for everything!


    Andy is one of the founders of Horde Comics and, in addition to his work there, several of Andy’s short stories have featured on The Other Stories podcast. He recently directed The Halloween Horrors of Old Mill Lane, a week-long audio production which starred Emily Booth in the lead role.


    In this episode we go deep into:

    • The Halloween Horrors of Old Mill Lane
  • Premiering podcast episodes on YouTube
  • Using audio adaptations of your stories in your portfolio
  • Write once, publish many
  • Working with Emily Booth
  • What the future holds for Old Mill Lane
  • The formation of Horde Comics
  • Keeping your story ideas manageable… Start small!
  • Writing for comics
  • Online comics communities
  • How to decide which medium best suits a story
  • Using spreadsheets to collaborate on big writing projects
  • Early storytelling experiences
  • Publishing contracts (Things to look out for)
  • Why Andy writes


    • Find out more about Andy:

    https://twitter.com/AndyCTWrites

    https://www.hordecomics.com/


    Links from the show:

    Selling Your Story – Peaks and Pitfalls of Publishing Contracts – https://superandyt.tumblr.com/post/622286140908666881

    The Awesome Comics Podcast – https://awesomecomics.podbean.com/


    Get more from Great Writers Share!

    https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch/gws

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/greatwritersshare/


    GWS Press books:

    Collaboration for Authors: https://books2read.com/u/3G2jLn


    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 our patrons:

    David Hines

    Harley Christensen

    Jon Cronshaw

    Jenn Mitchell

    Innes Richens

    Ian J Middleton

    Michael Anderle

    Katie Forrest

    Yanni Jade

    Meg Cowley

    H.B. Lyne

    Jo

    Sacha Black

    Laura K


    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

    1 hr 9 min
  • #060: Jessie Shedden – Escaping the cult, healing with writing, and empowering others through personal experience.

    Jessie Shedden is a British-Australian chicken-loving, cult-escaping badass woman, who has become a sought-after speaker, consultant and inspirational author of Those Boots Were Made For Walking. Jessie is an entrepreneur, coach, author, chicken mom, internationally published model and motivational speaker. After 23 years of bullying for her appearance, and with her self-esteem deeply eroded, she decided to create a life where she could be herself, experience freedom and independence, and develop the confidence she'd never known. Jessie now helps other women become the most successful version of themselves in their lives, relationships and businesses, through her mindset course and practical wisdom on releasing confidence blocks. With her rustic Western charm and authentic personality, she shares her personal journey of creating freedom and independence, and finding love on her own terms.


    In this episode we go deep into:

    • The limitations that she grew up with as part of a cult
  • Her writing background
  • The system she used to write her book in 40 days
  • The transformative act of writing a memoir
  • The pushback from her old community over the book
  • The thought processes behind her decision to independently publish
  • Her plans to write a follow up book
  • Her move into motivational speaking and working with women to empower themselves


    • Jessie answers questions from Patrons:

    • Dan: What one piece of advice would you give to someone who's heading into the coach and personal development space to help them embrace the role and grow their business?


    Find out more about Jessie:

    https://www.jessieshedden.com/


    Get more from Great Writers Share!

    https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch/gws

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/greatwritersshare/

    GWS Press books:

    Collaboration for Authors: https://books2read.com/u/3G2jLn


    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

    Michael Anderle

    Mark McClure

    Katie Forrest

    Yanni Jade

    Meg Cowley

    Jo

    Sacha Black

    Laura K




    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

    42 min
  • #059: Great Writers Scare – Exploring horror with Michael David Wilson, Bob Pastorella, Daniel Willcocks, and John Crinan.

    On today’s show, we forego the usual Great Writers Share format, as we turn off the lights, ignite some candles, place our Jack-o-Lanterns in the windows and invite the monsters in for a special Halloween episode of, what our guests have lovingly dubbed, the Great Writers Scare podcast.


    The premise is simple. Four horror writers. Ninety minutes of unfiltered time to discuss all things horror writing. But who are these other three writers, you might be wondering.


    Joining Dan today we have one of our regular co-hosts, sci-fi and horror author, John Crinan, as well as two powerhouses in the horror community. I’m excited to welcome back to the show, the founder and host of the This Is Horror podcast, Michael David Wilson, and to say hello for the first time to his glamorous (but haunting) co-host, Bob Pastorella.


    In this episode we go deep into:

    • Why do we write horror?
  • Our earliest horror experiences
  • Why are we not repulsed by horror?
  • What has 2020 brought to horror, and how has the pandemic shaped writers of the genre?
  • Michael and Bob’s new book, “They’re Watching"
  • Michael and Bob’s collaboration process when writing the book
  • John Crinan’s story as featured on Hawk & Cleaver’s “The Halloween Horrors of Mill Lane” limited series
  • The Other Stories anthology, edited by Daniel Willcocks


    • Find out more about Dan, John, Michael, and Bob:

    www.danielwillcocks.com

    https://www.johncrinan.com/

    https://www.michaeldavidwilson.co.uk/

    https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/about/staff/bob-pastorella/


    Links from the show:

    Michael’s Interview on the show: https://pod.link/1473869415/episode/NmM2NWRjMTctZDA3Yy00Y2VlLWI0N2MtMTA5NDMxODQ2MTlm

    Michael and Bob’s, "They’re Watching": https://books2read.com/u/4A7YGd

    Michael David Wilson’s, "The Girl in the Video": https://books2read.com/u/b5krzR

    Bob Pastorella’s "Mojo Rising": https://books2read.com/u/m2Mvn7

    Chuck Palahniuk’s “Guts”: http://readfulltext.blogspot.com/2013/10/guts-by-chuck-palahniuk.html

    Let’s Scare Jessica to Death: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067341/

    Night of the Living Dead: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063350/

    Texas Chainsaw Massacre: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072271/

    Poltergeist: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084516/

    Stephen King’s “Cujo”: https://books2read.com/u/bQd9Xd

    An American Werewolf in London:

    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

    1 hr 38 min
  • #058: V.S. Holmes – Advocating for queer and disabled representation, winning awards, and collaborative relationships.

    V. S. Holmes is an international bestselling author. They created the REFORGED series and the NEL BENTLY BOOKS. Smoke and Rain, the first book in their fantasy quartet, won New Apple Literary's Excellence in Independent Publishing Award in 2015 and a Literary Titan Gold in 2020. In addition, they have published short fiction in several anthologies.


    When not writing, they work as a contract archaeologist throughout the northeastern U.S. They live in a Tiny House with their spouse, a fellow archaeologist, their not-so-tiny dog, and own too many books for such a small abode. As a disabled and queer human, they work as an advocate and educator for representation in SFF worlds.


    In this episode we go deep into:

    • V’s tiny home and how that came into being
  • What the life of a contract archeologist looks like
  • How V got into writing and what fuels that passion
  • How V won their awards, and what the process looked like in the five years between
  • V’s understanding of complex political structures and how they apply that to their writing
  • What is that bone behind them on camera?
  • V's approach to genre hopping and how that affects their writing
  • What is Amphibian Press and how does that changes their publishing process
  • What’s the secret behind raising the voices of marginalized voices?
  • What are the common mistakes people make when writing queer or disabled characters
  • The importance of at least trying to write the voices of characters outside your comfort zone
  • Working with sensitivity readers as part of your writing process
  • V recommends an example for reading queer voices
  • Working and building a collaborative universe
  • How to market books in a collaborative universe
  • Managing conflict and disagreements when you go your separate ways in a collaborative arrangement
  • Exploring the possibilities of direct selling through your own website
  • Managing pen names across genres
  • Why V writes


    • Find out more about V.S. Holmes:

    https://vsholmes.com/index.html

    https://www.facebook.com/authorvsholmes/

    https://twitter.com/VS_Holmes

    https://www.instagram.com/vs_holmes/


    Links from the show:

    The Other Side anthology: https://www.devilsrockpublishing.com/theotherside

    9 Things Career Authors Don’t Do, Marketing: https://books2read.com/u/bPKVOz

    Dan’s Boot Camp: https://www.danielwillcocks.com/bootcamp

    O. E. Tearmann’s “Aces High, Jokers Wild” series: https://www.amazon.com/Hands-Were-Given-Aces-Jokers/dp/B07TMGQLBL/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=o+e+tearmann&qid=1603124448&sr=8-3


    Get your Great Writers Share merchandise!

    https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch/gws


    GWS Press books:

    Collaboration for Authors:

    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

    1 hr 1 min
  • #057: Julia Scott – Formatting books the right way, tackling the second novel, and diving into audio.

    Julia Scott is a British author, whose goal is to take you out of ‘regular life’ and teleport you to new worlds and alternate futures through her writing. The Mirror Souls is her debut novel, and like many sci-fi and fantasy books, it started off as a dream.


    In her ‘other’ life, Julia lives in Essex, England with her husband and two children. She spends her time mum-ing, writing, prettifying books (via Evenstar Books), graphic designing, singing, and digging or planting stuff up in the garden without really knowing what she’s doing.


    In this episode we go deep into:

    • How Julia got started as a new author
  • The difficulty of writing the second book after such a well-received debut
  • Her history as a graphic designer
  • How she wound up being such an in-demand formatter
  • The common mistakes authors make when formatting their own books
  • Having multiple streams of income - the pros and cons
  • Her formatting course, The Book Formatting Formula
  • And why she writes


    • Find out more about Julia:

    https://www.evenstarbooks.com/

    https://www.juliascottwrites.com/


    Links from the show:

    NaNoWriMo Bootcamp: https://www.danielwillcocks.com/bootcamp

    Holly’s new release: www.bookst2read.com/fate-blue-moon


    Get more from Great Writers Share!

    https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch/gws

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/greatwritersshare/

    GWS Press books:

    Collaboration for Authors: https://books2read.com/u/3G2jLn


    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 patrons:

    David Hines

    Harley Christensen

    Jon Cronshaw

    Jenn Mitchell

    Innes Richens

    Ian J Middleton

    Michael Anderle

    Mark McClure

    Katie Forrest

    Yanni Jade

    Meg Cowley

    Jo

    Sacha Black

    Laura K




    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

    43 min
  • #056: Ben Errington – Starting with just a cover, gaining confidence as a writer, and positivity on social media.

    Ben Errington is a writer from Bristol, UK. With debut novel ‘Ten Tales of the Human Condition’ and novella ‘Dye Pack’ under his belt, Ben’s fast-paced, chaotic, cinematic style has earned him many plaudits. He co-created the post-apocalyptic Luchador comic book El Marvo with Luke Kondor and is the co-host of horror movie discussion podcast Horror Hangout.


    He’s also a member of the storytelling collective Hawk & Cleaver and one of the minds behind the highly successful fiction podcast ‘The Other Stories’, which releases original narrated horror, science-fiction and fantasy shorts every week.


    In this episode we go deep into:

    • Publishing his first short story quickly
  • Public accountability
  • The early days of Hawk and Cleaver
  • Using the momentum from small wins to complete his first novel
  • Imposter syndrome
  • Gaining Confidence as a writer
  • Trusting the process
  • Collaboration
  • Designing his own book covers before starting to write
  • Tips for authors working with their cover designer
  • The importance of positivity on social media
  • Curating your social feeds
  • Writing for an audience of one
  • Repurposing content


    • Find out more about Ben:

    https://linktr.ee/ben_errington

    https://twitter.com/ben_errington

    https://www.instagram.com/ben_errington/


    Links from the show:

    https://play.acast.com/s/thehorrorhangout

    https://www.danielwillcocks.com/bootcamp


    Get more from Great Writers Share!

    https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch/gws

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/greatwritersshare/

    GWS Press books:

    Collaboration for Authors: https://books2read.com/u/3G2jLn


    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

    Michael Anderle

    Mark McClure

    Katie Forrest

    Yanni Jade

    Meg Cowley

    H.B. Lyne

    Jo



    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

    1 hr 13 min
  • #055: Faye Trask – Debut novel writing, finding mentors, and falling in love with learning.

    Faye Trask has had a love for writing and telling stories since she was a little girl. She was immediately drawn into the world of fantasy and science fiction. Throughout her schooling her passion grew. she put her writing on hold to serve in the US military. When not working at her day job or on her debut novel she can be found in the woods of Maine camping, hiking or trail riding with her fiancé and their dog.


    In this episode we go deep into:

    • Where Faye’s love of writing started from
  • Why Faye used to get distracted in English classes, and how that led to her teaching parts of the curriculum
  • The importance of exploring your imagination and holding onto that muscle
  • Dropping out of college and joining the military
  • The existential crisis of leaving the military
  • How Faye rediscovered her creative muscle
  • Discovering writers on YouTube and falling down the rabbit hole of indie
  • Lessons learned from Neil Gaiman and Jenna Moreci
  • How Faye approaches finding the right bits of learning, and how to digest the lessons learnt
  • Approaching your second novel and learning from your process
  • Faye’s writing process and how to squeeze words in during the day job
  • Understanding that your first book is likely not going to be your best book
  • Immersing yourself in craft books and getting into the weeds in the words
  • Approaching the next steps of publishing your book as a first time author
  • Why finding the right author communities helps to keep you accountable
  • Using lessons from the military to keep you accountable
  • Making it through burnout and getting back to the page
  • Why Faye writes


    • Find out more about Faye:

    https://www.instagram.com/writerfayetrask/


    Links from the show:

    Jenna Moreci’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS_fcv9kBpDN4WWrfcbCrgw

    Neil Gaiman’s Masterclass https://www.masterclass.com/classes/neil-gaiman-teaches-the-art-of-storytelling

    Jenna’s Livestream with Meg LaTorre and Sacha Black https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqw89UXrL7o&t=336s&ab_channel=iWriterly

    Jenna’s Interview on Great Writers Share https://pod.link/1473869415/episode/NjQzMjU1ZDgtMDJlMi00MDlhLTgzNTItMGE5YmU2Y2E4M2Jk

    Three Story Method https://books2read.com/u/4jWkwv

    Save the Cat https://books2read.com/u/bzj5a9

    Jenna’s Tips for Writing Fight Scenes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM4lWE3qwBo&t=512s

    Rebel Author Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/rebelauthors

    https://thecareerauthor.com/summit2021/


    Get your Great Writers Share merchandise!

    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

    55 min
  • #054: Jennie Nash – Becoming a book coach, the truth behind the author journey, and the power of integrity.

    Jennie Nash is the founder and chief creative officer of Author Accelerator, a company on a mission to help writers write books worth reading. Since the company’s inception, writers serious about reaching readers have trusted Jennie to coach their projects from inspiration to publication. Her clients have landed top New York agents, national book awards, and deals with houses such as Scribner, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette. Jennie is the author of 9 books in 3 genres. She taught for 13 years in the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program, is an instructor at CreativeLive.com and speaks on podcasts and at writing conferences all over the country.


    In this episode we go deep into:

    • Jennie’s love of Seth Godin and how the start-up world can translate into the craft of writing
  • The importance of asking yourself ‘Why’ to zero in on your writing goals and focus
  • How Jennie found herself in the business of book coaching instead of writing
  • What exactly is book coaching, and why should authors consider it?
  • Why people expect writing to be an innate talent instead of something that you work on
  • Recognizing the true hard work of the writer journey
  • When to recognize that you need to switch business focus and turn from prioritizing writing to offering services
  • Embracing the modern changes in the publishing industry
  • How to confidently ensure that you’re actually helping writers with your services as a teacher and coach
  • The power of systems and processes in order to grow your business
  • Why coaches shouldn’t be tied to outcomes, but to processes
  • The importance of asking the right questions
  • The value of working with a coach who has been in the trenches as a writer
  • Why writers aren’t the best judge of their own work
  • Comparisons between personal trainers and book coaches
  • Changing your mindset on money and understanding your worth as an author
  • The importance of providing value to your clients and being honest with what they can expect
  • Why Jennie coaches


    • Find out more about Jennie:

    https://bookcoaches.com/abc

    https://www.authoraccelerator.com/


    Links from the show:

    Wildviolet Creative

    Https://www.danielwillcocks.com

    Seth Godin's "Alt MBA” https://altmba.com/

    Simon Sinek's "Start With Why" https://simonsinek.com/commit/start-with-why/

    Creativity Inc https://books2read.com/u/3Gdj2a

    Lisa Kron’s Story Genius https://books2read.com/u/4NL299


    Get your Great Writers Share merchandise!

    https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch/gws


    GWS Press books:

    Collaboration for Authors: https://books2read.com/u/3G2jLn


    Special thanks to:

    Intro vocals: Persephone Rose

    Show theme: Karl Hughes


    Become...


    See for privacy and opt-out information.

    1 hr 18 min
  • #053: Ritu Bhathal – “Marriage Unarranged,” setting priorities, and poetry versus prose.

    Ritu Bhathal is a blogger and author of fiction and poetry. She was born in Birmingham in the mid-1970s to migrant parents, hailing from Kenya but with Indian origin. Ritu’s colourful background has been a constant source of inspiration to her. From childhood, the joy of reading spurred her on to become creative in her writing, from fiction to poetry, winning small competitions at school and locally along the way.

    As well as a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and teacher, Ritu also writes on her award-winning blog butismileanyway.com, which was awarded first place in the Best Overall Blog Category at the 2017 Annual Bloggers Bash Awards, and Best Book Blog in 2019. Ritu is happily married and living in Kent, with her Hubby Dearest, and two children, not forgetting the fur baby Sonu Singh.


    In this episode we go deep into:

    • Where Ritu’s journey began
  • How life can prioritize over writing
  • Starting a blog on a whim without a plan
  • Indian family customs
  • How writing groups and accountability can help lift you up and keep you on track
  • Publishing Poetry vs a Novel
  • How having a support system is instrumental in the writing process
  • Stationary and her vast collection of brush pens
  • Being realistic when it comes to balancing everyday life and getting words written
  • What her writing advice is for new writers


    • Ritu answers questions from Patrons:

    • Yanni Jade: What was the most surprising part of your writing/publishing journey? Is there anything that stands out as particularly spectacular?
  • Dan Willcocks: What lessons did the school competitions teach you to prepare for writing longer works?
  • Meg Cowley: How do you take care of yourself and carve out time to create/publish/etc.



    • Find out more about Ritu:

    https://ritubhathal.com


    Links from the show:

    Ritu’s blog:

    https://butismileanyway.com


    Get your Great Writers Share merchandise!

    https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch/gws


    GWS Press books:

    Collaboration for Authors: https://books2read.com/u/3G2jLn


    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

    Mark McClure

    Katie Forrest

    Yanni Jade

    Meg Cowley

    H.B. Lyne

    Jo


    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

    1 hr 3 min
  • #052: V Castro – Boosting marginalized voices, word counts during lockdown, and writing in the horror genre.

    V Castro is a Mexican American writer originally from Texas who now resides in the UK. She is the author of Maria the Wanted, Hairspray and Switchblades, along with the other upcoming horror titles: Goddess of Filth, Queen of the Cicadas and Mestiza Blood (all coming soon).

    Recently, during lockdown, V co-founded Fright Girl Summer: an online book festival to promote women in horror with an emphasis on women from marginalized communities.


    In this episode we go deep into:

    • How lockdown and current events have affected V’s creativity
  • The writing of V’s first book, Maria the Wanted
  • Writing without a plan
  • Hopping between projects
  • Why V writes horror
  • Writing in the erotic horror subgenre
  • On writing what you wants to read
  • Cultivating a diverse reading list
  • Fright Girl Summer
  • Writing short stories for submission calls
  • Playing with genre tropes
  • Writing to music
  • Using dreams as inspiration for stories
  • Editing an anthology and boosting other authors
  • V’s approach to social media


    • Find out more about V:

    https://www.vvcastro.com/

    https://twitter.com/vlatinalondon

    https://www.instagram.com/vlatinalondon/


    Links from the show:

    https://www.frightgirlsummer.com/


    Get more from Great Writers Share!

    https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch/gws

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/greatwritersshare/

    GWS Press books:

    Collaboration for Authors: https://books2read.com/u/3G2jLn


    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

    Mark McClure

    Katie Forrest

    Yanni Jade

    Meg Cowley

    H.B. Lyne

    Jo




    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

    1 hr

About Activated Authors

From the publisher's feed

Activated Authors is an online author community centered around principles of healthy productivity, community, and shared knowledge. Founded by international bestselling author, award-winning…