Become a Writer Today

My guest this week is the author of the Sky Fall series of books, Joseph Bendoski. Joseph's background is in screenwriting which he eventually left behind as he found the conventions of that particular genre too restrictive.

When he switched to writing novels, he found it a more freeing format. He was initially undecided whether to write fiction or non-fiction. He made his decision after looking at the book sales for Malcolm Gladwell and George R. R. Martin of Game of Thrones. George R.R. Martin had sold over 80 million books, whereas Malcolm Gladwell's sales were around 8 or 9 million. 

Joseph's key takeaway from that was that if you want to write a story that readers will read and enjoy, perhaps fiction is the way to go. 

In this episode, we also chat about marketing strategies and insights for getting your writing in front of more people.

In this episode we discuss:

• The restrictions that come with script writing
• How scriptwriting informed Joseph's novel writing
• The decision behind writing a series
• Using online advertising including Facebook Ads
• Joseph's writing routine
• The steps prior to publication

Resources:

• Joseph Bendoski on Amazon
• The Art of Dramatic Writing - Lajos Egri
• 12 Shots: 12 Crimes…12. Authors
• Start Writing

Support the show

If you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollins

Thanks for listening!

Writing can be a lonely business. Sitting alone for several hours, just you and your words.

This is when a writing community or collaboration can be of real benefit.

In this episode, I chat with Niki Hardy from Hope Writers and the author of Breathe Again. How to Live Well When Life Falls Apart.

Niki talks to me about how she found the encouragement that she needed from Hope Writers. She believes that without their support, her book would never have been published.

In this episode we discuss:

• What members get from Hope Writers when they join
• Why Niki wrote her book
• Niki's writing process. 
• How Hope Writers differs from other communities
• Using newsletters to promote your writing

Resources:

• Hope Writers
• Breathe Again
• Niki Hardy

Support the show

If you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollins

Thanks for listening!

Will building your personal brand help you to sell more books and courses or find you more clients as a writer? 

Personal branding is something that content creators should consider. I learned the hard way that building a brand isn't about spending hundreds of dollars on a fancy logo but is more about associating yourself with a specific topic or creating a name for yourself within a niche.

In this episode, I chat with Pamela Wilson, who you may know from Copyblogger and her own business, Big Brand System. Pamela gives some insight into what it means to build a personal brand today. 

I was particularly interested in how personal branding can help you create digital products and services that others will want to buy.

In this episode we discuss: 

• Does guest posting still work 
• The definition of personal branding
• Creating a content strategy
• Setting up a pre-offer
• Building an audience
• The value in creating a good lead magnet
• What to focus on as your online business grows

Resources

• Copyblogger
• Big Brand System

Support the show

If you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollins

Thanks for listening!

Simon King is the author of over 30 books across five different series, including the Sam Rader series, the non-fiction Prison Days series, and the MAX series. 

Before he became an author, Simon worked in a maximum-security prison in Australia, and he only published his first book in 2018.

In this episode, Simon explains how he went from working a demanding day job, working nights and shifts, to publishing up to 12 books a year over three years.

Simon also believes that it’s essential to set a clear target for how much you want to write every day. He set a target to write 3,000 words every day no matter what, and he explains what that did for his writing career.

In this episode we discuss:

• How his job as a prison officer helped with his writing
• Having an ideal reader in mind
• Starting with the end 
• Moving from writing non-fiction to fiction
• Strategies Simon uses to promote his books
• Deciding on the length of a book

Resources:

• Books by Simon King

Support the show

If you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollins

Thanks for listening!

Could you write a memoir?

I used to think that you couldn’t write a memoir until you were old and at the end of your life. Your memoir would be one big book that would describe everything that happened from when you were born until the present moment. 

But, you can write a memoir about a particular theme, topic, or a single event in your life. 

Marion Roach Smith is a memoir coach, and she runs a course in the art of memoir writing. In this episode, we talk about what makes a good memoir and how you can start writing one. 

Marion also discusses how it feels to write something outside of your comfort zone and how you might have to deal with critics who tell you not to write outside your niche.

In this episode we discuss:

• The conventions of a good memoir book
• Are you the protagonist in a memoir?
• How a three-act structure works for a memoir
• Tips for remembering things from the past
• Dealing with reactions from other people
• Deciding what to keep in a memoir and what to take out 

Resources:

• Marion Roach Smith

Support the show

If you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollins

Thanks for listening!

Cary Bergeron is the founder of the book promotion service Crave Books. In this episode, we get into what it takes to sell a book today and how a book promotion service can get you in front of more readers. 

Cary talks about three fantastic insights  if you’re getting ready to publish your first book:

• Does it have a good cover? 
• Does it have reviews? 
• Does it have a good description? 

It would help if you got all three to convince somebody on Amazon, Kobo, or Google, or wherever they’re buying your book to hit the Buy button.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Cary's background and how he's written so many books
• How to get the best use out of a book promotion service
• Getting the best value from your first promotion
• The budget needed to get a campaign off the ground
• Getting your first book reviews

Resources:

• Crave Books
• Facebook Group

Support the show

If you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollins

Thanks for listening!

If you're working as a freelance writer and want to earn a full-time wage, I recommend copywriting. Copywriting is essentially writing words that sell products and services. 

It's a great discipline to help you figure out how to condense your ideas into articles, e-mails, and stories that you will publish online. 

In this episode of the podcast, I chat with Aly Goulet. She specializes in the B2B and SaaS industries. She talks about the importance of side projects and how and why she is building a WordPress app. 

This project might seem like it's got nothing to do with copywriting, but Aly explains how she will use it to help develop her copywriting business.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How to start a career as a freelance writer with no experience
• How to find your first client as a copywriter
• Setting your hourly rate
• Is it ever ok to write for free?
• Tips for copywriters to increase their rates
• What makes good email copy
• Getting started with an email campaign 
• Sending cold pitches to clients

Resources:

• Everybody Writes by Ann Handley.
• David Ogilvy
• Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz
• Problogger
• Upwork
• The Copywriter Club
• Copy on Cue
• Freelancingflow

Support the show

If you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollins

Thanks for listening!

This episode of the podcast has a very special guest. Bernard Huang is the co-founder of the popular content tool Clearscope. 

In our conversation, Bernard explains how Clearscope works and how it can help you grow your website and help you find more readers for your non-fiction articles. 

You'll also find some practical tips on building a niche website, learning about content optimization tools, and increasing traffic to your website.  

Bernard also tells the fascinating story behind how he founded  Clearscope. There are many parallels between Bernard’s experience with Clearscope and how writers find working on their first book or their first creative project.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Bernard started Clearscope
• How Clearscope encourages creatives to think differently about what is on their webpages
• Is Google forcing web pages to be too prescriptive?
• The future of search results is video
• What steps you should take if your traffic has dipped
• How often should you update your website content

Resources:

• Bernard Huang on Twitter
• Clearscope

Support the show

If you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollins

Thanks for listening!

In 2016, Dorit published the award-winning memoir, Accidental Soldier about her time in service with the Israeli Defense Forces.

Here, Dorit talks about how she balances doing something with clear commercial intent with doing something creative, like writing memoirs about her time in active service.

If you find time to do both every day, then you will advance your career, you’ll get paid, and you’ll also improve at your craft. Who doesn’t want those things?

I kicked off the interview by asking Dorit to describe how her time in active service informed her memoir, Accidental Soldier.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why Dorit had to do compulsory service in the  Israeli Defense Force
• How long it took her to write her book
• How to promote a memoir that’s so specific to personal experiences
• Establish who you are writing for
• What is SEO writing?
• Balancing creativity with SEO copywriting
• Writing for a consumer audience.
• How to balance working as a copywriter with writing a personal memoir

Resources:

• Dorit Sasson
• Accidental Soldier

Support the show

If you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollins

Thanks for listening!

Social media is an excellent way of finding readers and finding clients if you’re a freelance writer. And, if you create content for social media platforms like Quora, you can build up a library of content that you can use and refer to over time.

But, how exactly should you spend time on social media, what tools should you use, and how can you do it?

Neal Schaffer has the answer to these questions and more. He is an expert in influencer marketing and has written more than five books, including his latest which focuses on influencer marketing called The Age of Influence. 

Although Neal consults with B2B clients, the book is also relevant for anybody who wants to use social media to become an influencer. 

He explains how creatives can find the right network during our conversation, how to repurpose content and build an audience on social media. He also talks about finding a balance between creating content and being active on these platforms. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• The definition of an influencer
• Deciding on the right platform for you
• Managing your time on social media
• The benefits of using scheduling tools
• Why write a book if everyone is on social media?

Resources:

• The Age of Influence
• Neal Schaffer
• Quora
• SmarterQueue
• Neal's podcast
• Agorapulse
• Buffer

Support the show

If you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollins

Thanks for listening!