Author Your Dream

Anthologies are a collection of poetry, short stories, or other writing pieces, all compiled into one book and under one theme. My guest today is Gabriella White. She is currently a co-author of fourteen published anthologies and came in second and third place in two writing competitions. Gabriella is also the Founder of the New Leaf Writing Community and has presented a lecture for the Writers Global Movement (WGM).

Highlights

09:12 Gabriella’s experience with anthologies

16:55 Royalties situation

18:19 Compiling anthologies

22:31 Submission Criteria

24:03 Finding collections to contribute to

25:46 What’s included in your submission

27:19 Recruiting over 100 authors

33:22 Process of compiling

40:38 Author Action point

Visit https://authoryourdream.com/episode/anthologies/

A book coach is similar to a sports coach in that they will invest time in helping you achieve your goals when it comes to writing your book. In this episode,  I dive deep with Sara Gentry and discuss what it is like working with a coach and what you should expect.

Sara is an Author Accelerator certified book coach with a Ph.D. in applied and interdisciplinary mathematics. She is on a mission to help writers avoid illogical pitfalls so that they can keep their readers engaged with cohesive and compelling narratives.

Highlights

02:43 Sara’s Story

05:18 Author Accelerator

08:04 What does a book coach do?

13:17 How a book coach differs from an editor

15:44 Time commitment

17:26 Who should look at working with a book coach?

22:37 Sara’s process

30:00 How much does it cost?

31:49 What to consider when searching for a coach

37:09 Inside Outline

45:11 Author Action Point

Get involved in the Thirty-2-1 Challenge by visiting https://authoryourdream.com/episode/book-coach/

Beta readers are people familiar with your genre who have agreed to read your unpublished book and give you honest feedback. I have seen many authors ask for beta readers but fail t provide them with any criteria or information regarding the feedback the author is looking to receive. In this episode, my guest David Brown from the Darling Axe will give you advice on what you should have prepared for readers, what feedback to expect and what to look for in a beta reader.

Highlights

02:48 David’s story

10:45 Darling Axe

13:37 Beta Reader Defined

16:26 Difference between editors and beta readers

21:13 Key Points Authors Should Provide

24:00 Do you always pay for beta readers?

25:50 What to look for

27:51 How many should one have?

29:28 Protecting your work

34:56 Responding to the negativity surrounding beta readers

36:55 Building rapport

38:36 Feedback to expect

40:52 Author Action Point

Visit https://authoryoudream.com/episode/beta-readers/ for more show notes.

Grammarly is an extremely useful AI writing assistant. It scans your document and makes suggestions to help improve your grammar, punctuation, spelling, and more. I have personally used it since I published my first book in 2018.

Key Features

Set your goals

Provides a performance Review

Allows you to change to English options between American, Australian, British and Canadian

The browser extension

Personal Dictionary

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel is a fantastic book if you are a first-time author. As my guest, Jessica Brody, says, ”Everyone has to add in structure at some point.” Throughout our interview, we go over the fifteen beats of the Save the Cat method and closely examine some of the critical beats. For those of you who are less structure-minded, a major point that came out of this episode was that writing is an art, and this structure method should be seen more as a guideline rather than a legal document that must be followed to the letter.

Highlights

02:09 Jessica’s Author Journey

04:30 The Writing Mastery Academy

07:82 How Jessica connected with Save the Cat

09:29 Struggles authors often have with structure

13:16 Overview of the 15 Beats

16:49 Tips for the Opening Image

18:59 How to avoid rushing the finale with the 5-point finale

32:59 Genres

37:13 Genre first or Beats First

39:24 What to do if you are unsure how to start

41:57 Author Action point

Visit https://authoryourdream.com/episode/save-the-cat/

In this episode, I speak with Janice Hardy about character voice. We discuss the difference between your voice as an author and your character’s voice, which is so important. Janice will also share some ways to develop voices by paying attention to people around you in your daily life, on your travels or even on YouTube. As you listen to the interview, you will see just how deep and complex this topic can become. 

Highlights

02:15 Janice’s Author Journey

11:11 Fiction University

16:47 Defining Voice

22:50 Why character voice is important

29:33 Crafting different voices for different characters

37:58 Ways to develop character voice

42:15 What to look for when getting inspired

49:00 Where authors go wrong when creating character voice.

52:54 Should voice always remain the same

55:14 Is it ok to have a character sound like your author’s voice

Visit https://authoryourdream.com/episode/character-voice/

Clarissa Gosling is an author of fiction and non-fiction books and an admin for the 365 Writing Challenge. In this episode, she discusses the importance of having accountability as an author and how you can build a writing habit.

Highlights

03:00 Clarissa’s Story

12:29 Why accountability is important

14:36 The 365 Writing Challenge

19:56 Building the habit of writing

27:03 Accountability Tips

29:41 What to look for in a partner

33:55 How to discover your process

40:51 Author Action Point

Visit https://authoryourdream.com/episode/accountability/

Asking questions is not just another sales technique. It goes much deeper because when you ask a question and someone answers it, you are building a connection. You can begin a conversation with them and get to know them and allow them to get to know you, which as authors is something we want to do with our audience. As you ask questions and genuinely engage with people you will start to see your audience grow.

Highlights

02:15 Jody’s Story

05:07 The Reluctant Bookmarketer Podcast

06:53 The reason questions work so well

08:33 Implementing this approach

15:04 Engaging with people who respond

17:18 How do questions help us find our niche

20:14 What do you do with the information you get

23:40 What platforms to use with this

29:01 How to know when you’ve asked a great question

33:41 Planning your questions

37:58 Jody’s most engaging questions

44:19 Are there bad ones to ask

45:33 How to avoid making people feel interrogated

46:16 What happens to people when you ask questions

49:42 Author Action Point

Show Notes: https//authoryourdream.com/episode/asking-questions/

Writing historical figures can be a lot of fun. But it also comes with a lot of expectations. Especially if you have access to resources that will tell you about them. If this is the case, it’s essential that you do your best to portray them as accurately as possible. My guest Michale Zucker endeavored to do that in his book The Eisenhower Chronicles and talks about this in the episode.

Highlights

02:31MMichael’s Story

13:40 What is a biographical drama

16:40 Why it’s important to portray historical figures accurately

20:30 Writing historical people when you have little info about them

24:03 Keys to consider

26:32 Where to start with a character outline

34:20 Sources to use when doing research

38:33 What elements should you add to a character profile

43:25 Author Action Point

Visit https://authoryourdream.com/episode/historical-figures/ for more show notes.

My guest today was referred to me by Carla Holt from the Art of the Fight Scenes episode. When I first reached out to this person, I was looking at having him discuss sword fighting. I wanted to help those who have them in your books to write them better. What I got was something so much more. Through my guest’s experience and passion, you will learn how swords and sword fighting can help you not only create conflict but also build your world and reveal your character’s personality. Even if you are not writing this kind of scene, I would encourage you to give this episode a listen. 

Highlights

02:48 Kirk’s journey

8:18 What a sword is made up of

16:20 Terminology authors should know

21:47 How to take care of a sword

25:45 Common types of swords and body type

35:06 The balance of a sword

40:10 Sword fighting during WW2

43:45 Is it easy for a character to wield a type of sword they’ve never used

47:51 What to ask yourself when tackling a fight scene

50:55 Writing realistic vs. fantasy

53:07 Fighting multiple opponents

58:04 Fighting in and out of armor

01:06:21 What do authors get wrong

01:12:24 Should you include quirks in a character’s fighting style

01:18:40 Resources

01:21:59 Author Action Point

01:23:28 Connect with Kirk

Visit https://authoryourdream.com/episode/sword-fighting/ for more resources and show notes.