Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

By Ann KroekerBusiness Education Arts Books Self-Improvement Marketing

Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach episodes

May 21, 2019 Ep 199: Insights into Christian Publishing with NavPress Publisher Don Pape
[Ep 199]
Today I’m chatting with NavPress Publisher Don Pape.
Don has published over a dozen New York Times best-sellers, including Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Don is also the publisher of Julie Cantrell’s Into the Free, which won the 2013 Christy Book of the Year Award. He led a team that won 20 ADDY Awards between 2008 and 2010 for David C Cook titles recognized for best cover or book design.
Born in Brazil, Pape graduated with a bachelor of arts in political science from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. He speaks fluent French and Portuguese and is married with three sons. His multicultural publishing career in sales, marketing and graphic design has led him to a variety of roles, including executive, literary agent and consultant.
Don and I met years ago when my first book came out, and he jokes in the interview that he’s not an expert, but let me tell you, he is. And I’m honored to call him a friend, as well.
His focus has always been in the Christian publishing industry, but even if you’re writing for the general market, you’ll hear about changes in publishing in general and learn from Don how writers can and should practice their craft.
Here's an excerpt:
"The reality for authors is that they are much more engaged in their book than in the past. In the past you could probably give your book over to a publisher and then go back to your Hobbit house and start writing again. Now, you've got to give the book to the publisher and then get fully engaged with the marketing team and the publicity team as to how to reach the consumer—and addressing it in a way that it will reach the right people. And who best knows the content of the book—who better—than the author?"
Click on the podcast player (above) to listen in on my conversation with NavPress Publisher Don Pape.
Resources
Don Pape on Twitter
Don on Instagram
NavPress
Navigators
Waterbrook (a division of Penguin Random House)
Multnomah (also a division of Penguin Random House)
Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group
David C Cook
Tattered Cover Book Store (Denver)
bookbar independent bookstore (Denver)
A Severe Mercy, by Sheldon Vanauken
Travis Thrasher
Words from the Hill, by Stuart Garrard
Crazy Love, by Francis Chan
Bad Girls of the Bible, by Liz Curtis Higgs
Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, by Joanna Weaver
Eugene & Jan Peterson
All podcast interviews
All podcast episodes
46 min
May 15, 2019 Ep 198: Next-Level Writer - Organize, Schedule, and Enact Your Plan to Level Up
[Ep 198] - Some people love to sit down and just start writing with no worries whether or not the work is moving them toward their goals. - Others love to spend time making lists, making plans, setting everything up,
10 min
May 07, 2019 Ep 197: Next-Level Writer: Is This a Season to Slow Down or Surge Ahead?
[Ep 197]
Every week I follow a pattern of sorts. Sometimes it gets thrown off by a day or two, but for my regular routine I write, record, prep, and publish content you may consume via the podcast, at the website, or in the newsletter that arrives in your inbox.
The Routine Drip of Content
Every week I also produce social media updates, some of which are drawn from the primary content, as I pluck themes, quotes, and images and revise them slightly for the micro-form found on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Every week, I drip these out—drip-drip-drip—an ongoing effort to encourage writers in all the places I interact with them. It’s part of my writing routine, and while the output wouldn’t blow away any competitors, I’ve seen that the regularity has proven to be sustainable and fruitful.
Prepare to Surge Ahead and Get Lots Done
Last summer I was out of the country for a month, unable to drip out content on my usual schedule.
I could have just told everyone I was taking a break, but I wanted to keep up. I wanted to continue sending out podcast episodes and articles and newsletters to encourage writers as they move toward their goals.
So throughout spring, in the weeks leading up to the trip, I doubled up. It felt crazy—I could never keep up that pace on a regular basis—but I produced twice the content I normally would each week. By the time I left, I’d published something each week and scheduled six additional episodes to go live while I was gone.
Having a clear goal and an unchangeable deadline kicked me into gear. I got up early; I didn’t let social media distract me. I knew this was a short burst of effort, so with a level of energy I knew was unsustainable over the long haul, I surged forward and pulled it off.
Take Advantage of Times When You Can Surge Ahead
To get beyond your current status quo—to level up—you’ll have to do something.
And most likely, you’ll have to engage with some surges of effort followed by times when content drips out a little at a time.
Manage Those Productive Seasons
To arrive at your one-year goal or your three-month goal will require you to achieve milestones along the way.
To hit those milestones, you have to push hard for awhile, neglecting housework, skipping an outing, scheduling a weekend writing retreat, waking up unnaturally early for a month.
You’d be amazed at what you can get done with a surge of focused energy. As I said, it may not be sustainable over the long run, but it can help you get through the muddy middle and crest the hill so you can arrive fast and strong at that milestone—perhaps even at the next level itself.
If you want to accumulate more Twitter followers or welcome more subscribers to your email list, you’ll need to take action. You’ll probably need to produce more projects, more content, more interaction—and to see results, you may have to do it all at once, in a compressed time frame.
That’s a surge: full-steam ahead to create as much as you can.
Surges require resources like time, energy, inspiration, money, grit, sacrifice, focus.
Keep Dripping Out Content During Times of Slowdown
But to continue reaping a harvest after the results of that busy season, you’ll also have to manage ongoing interaction and output, finding ways to drip it out—daily, weekly—so that readers and followers look forward to your ideas and messages.
Small efforts over time add up, and the steady drip of content in social media, the steady drip of daily word count all contributes toward your bigger project.
Set up daily and weekly routines to support the commitment to follow-through on the multiple smaller tasks that contribute to the cumulative effect. Your routines are the sustainable element of th...
7 min
April 30, 2019 Ep 196: Next-Level Writer - Plan and Persist
[Ep 196] - Last time, I asked: Where do you want to be in a year? - You may have read that and set a big, hairy, audacious goal—a BHAG. Or maybe you called it a “stretch goal.” You want to aim high and not settle for mediocre. - You’re excited!
10 min
April 23, 2019 Ep 195: Next-Level Writer - Develop Your Macro Plan to Level Up
[Ep 195] - I’m not by nature a planner. I am, in fact, more of a tumbleweed. - You know what I mean? If I went with my personality, I’d be blown around with no particular direction—wherever the wind sent me.
9 min
April 16, 2019 Ep 194: Next-Level Writer - Where Are You Now?
[Ep 194] - When a client brought me along to New York City, the airport shuttle bus dropped us off near Times Square and we had to find our way to the hotel. For a couple of Midwesterners who had never set foot in New York, this was magical. -
9 min
April 09, 2019 Ep 193: Next-Level Writer - To Start, You've Got to Get in the Game
[Ep 193] Leveling up, according to my teenage son, who is familiar with several different video games, refers to a character or creature that gains enough experience to unlock new skills or features. - For example,
11 min
April 02, 2019 Ep 192: (Re)Write to Discover How to Improve Your Drafts
[Ep 192] “I have rewritten—often several times—every word I have ever published. My pencils outlast their erasers.” Vladimir Nabokov, Speak, Memory1 - First Drafts Reveal What You Want to Say We’ve already covered the power of writing to discove...
15 min
March 26, 2019 Ep 191: Write to Discover Your Voice
[Ep 191] - You know within a few notes if you're listening to the Beatles or the Bee Gees, James Taylor or Justin Timberlake, Sting or Cher. - Why? - Well, it’s their voice. You recognize their voice. - In literature,
14 min
March 19, 2019 Ep 190: [Interview] Author & Literary Agent Jeff Herman
Today I’m chatting with author and literary agent Jeff Herman. - Jeff’s literary agency has ushered nearly one thousand books into print. He’s the coauthor of the acclaimed Write the Perfect Book Proposal and is often featured as an expert in print a...
53 min

About Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

From the publisher's feed

With Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach, you'll gain clarity and overcome hurdles to become a better writer, pursue publishing, and reach your writing goals. Ann provides practical tips and motivation for…