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Episode 90—Enhancing Creative Writing through the Magic of Copywriting with Chrissie Rowell

In this episode, Pete and Laura head over to The Writers’ Room to chat with Derbyshire Lecturer and Market Agency Owner Chrissie Rowell.

We are back in the writers’ room and we have a guest in our hot seat this week! Derbyshire marketing expert Chrissie Rowell. 

Chrissie Rowell has been in marketing for 16 years. After graduating with a degree in Creative Writing in 2008, she worked in freelance journalism, later moving into copywriting. After working with two marketing agencies, she set up her own agency, Black Hare Marketing, and also lectures at the University of Derby in various marketing subjects, including branding, advertising and copywriting 

Chrissie and Laura are working together in the local Derbyshire initiative called - Reskill and Recover Tuesday 16th May and Tuesday 23rd May 2023. 

Reskill and Recover is an initiative designed to help participants, from small and medium-sized businesses in the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire areas, improve business skills, efficiency and growth. To find out more, please email [email protected].

Pete and Laura ask Chrissie:

• Please tell us more about yourself and your writing journey.
• We know copywriting is an important skill for authors, but also for so many people in different roles. Let’s start at the beginning. What is copywriting, and how does it differ from other types of writing?
• What are some common mistakes that new copywriters make, and how can they avoid them? 
• What are two of the most effective copywriting techniques that you’ve used, and why do they work?
• How important is storytelling in copywriting, and how can new writers learn to use it effectively?
• What advice do you have for new copywriters who are just starting out and want to improve their skills?

For more information on Chrissie Rowell, check out:

Black Hare Marketing

Reskill and Recover

Email - [email protected]

We would love to hear from you. Please let us know about your self-publishing questions, problems or ideas. We want to hear from you! info@derbyshirewritingschool.com

Send us a voice message.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 89—Unravelling The Layers of Intrigue: A Crime Writers’ Quest for Unconventional Inspiration with Zoë Sharp.

In this episode, Pete and Laura head over to The Writers’ Room to chat with Derbyshire Author Zoë Sharp.

We are back in the writers’ room and we have a guest in our hot seat this week! Derbyshire author Zoë Sharp. We meet recently at the Authors Assemble event in Buxton.

Zoë Sharp spent her childhood living aboard a catamaran on the northwest coast of England. She opted out of mainstream education at twelve and wrote her first novel at fifteen. 

She began writing the Charlie Fox crime thriller series after receiving death-threats in the course of her work as a photojournalist. Nominated for many awards, they used her work in a Danish school text book, inspired an original song and music video, and is being optioned for TV and film. She is currently writing a new mystery thriller series for Bookouture. This began with The Last Time She Died, which is set in Derbyshire.

When not working on her novels or short stories, you can find Zoë improvising weapons out of everyday objects, renovating houses, or international pet-sitting. 

Pete and Laura ask Zoë:

• Tell us a little about your journey from that 15-year-old who wrote a book to the prolific author of today. How did you develop your writing skills and find your unique voice as an author, and what steps did you take to improve your craft over time? 
• How does your experience as a photojournalist influence your approach to writing, and what unique perspectives or skills did you bring to the table because of your background? What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when transitioning from visual storytelling to written storytelling?
• What unique challenges and opportunities do you face as a writer in the crime fiction genre, and how do you approach storytelling in this genre?
• Describe to us Charlie Fox. How did you develop her character over time? What advice would you give to aspiring writers who are interested in exploring the crime fiction genre?
• Can you walk us through your typical writing process, from idea generation to finished manuscript? How do you approach each stage of the process? 
• What can readers expect from your upcoming books, and what new challenges and adventures can they look forward to experiencing?

Interesting more in the crime writing work of Zoë? Check out the following links:

Author website: https://www.zoesharp.com/

Author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ZoeSharpAuthor

Author Twitter page: https://twitter.com/authorzoesharp

Author Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/authorzoesharp/

Author Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/authorzoesharp

We would love to hear from you. Please let us know about your self-publishing questions, problems or ideas. We want to hear from you! info@derbyshirewritingschool.com

Send us a voice message.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 88—Guest Interview Derbyshire Author: S. R. Durham—Writing in Multiple Genres. 

In this episode, Pete and Laura head over to The Writers’ Room to chat with Derbyshire Author S. R. Durham about writing in several genres. 

S. R. Durham is an indie author from the High Peak in Derbyshire. He self-published his first full-length novel, Prey, in 2021, and his second, Surrogate, in 2022. He writes across several genres, from thriller and psychological suspense to horror and speculative crime. 

Ste worked in journalism and PR for a decade, before going freelance as a copywriter in order to focus on his family and his fiction writing.

Pete and Laura ask Ste:

• Tell us about yourself and your journey. How did you get started with writing?
• Can you tell us more about your self-publishing route to publication? How did you find the experience? Is there anything you would do differently now?
• Your book covers look fantastic! Can you tell us more about the creative design process you went through?
• You class your first book as a horror thriller, and the second is folk horror. Please, can you talk through the nuance of these genre categories?
• What three pieces of advice can you give to our listeners to help them write in these genres?
• What’s next for you, and how can our listeners find out more about you and your work?

You can find Prey and Surrogate on Amazon.

You can be among the first to hear about the latest news from Ste by signing up for his newsletter mailing list here.

We would love to hear from you. Please let us know about your self-publishing questions, problems or ideas. We want to hear from you! info@derbyshirewritingschool.com

Send us a voice message.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 87 – Guest Interview – Derbyshire Author Emma-Claire Wilson

In this episode, Pete and Laura head over to The Writers’ Room to chat with Emma-Claire Wilson.

Emma-Claire Wilson is an author of emotional commercial women’s fiction. She writes ‘to make sense of the world’ and loves nothing more than tackling tough subjects and issues that affect her readers daily.

 When she is not writing fiction, she enjoys exercising her brain muscles with freelance copywriting, coaching other writers, and writing articles for The Glass House Online Magazine.  

Her debut, This Child of Mine, although not autobiographical, was based on personal experiences and resulted in a highly emotional piece of fiction that secured her representation with Kate Nash Literary Agency. It is due to be published by Avon Harper Collins in the summer. 

Peter and Laura ask Emma-Claire:

• Tell us about yourself and your journey. How did you get started with writing?
• Congratulations on the upcoming publication of your novel - This Child of Mine. Can you tell us more about the book? 
• How did you manage writing about such an emotive and emotional topic? What three pieces of advice could you share with our listener if they want to write about difficult topics or themes?
•  You’ve shared about the power of writing with a ‘tribe’ and the importance of attending Ponden Hall writing retreat. Can you talk to us more about this? How do you think this helped you with your process? 
• Emma-Claire, you write commercial women’s fiction. We know it’s such a wide-ranging space to work in. Can you tell our listener more about this as a category and genre? And What advice can you give to our listener if they wanted to pitch a novel within this category of fiction?
• What’s next for you, and how can our listener find out more about you and your work?

Quick Fire Questions

• What do you wish you’d known sooner on your writing journey?
• What motivates you to write?
• What advice would you give to our listener?

How Can We Find More About You?

PREORDER EMMA-CLAIRE'S BOOK HERE

Emma-Claire’s Website - https://emmaclairewilson.com/my-books/

https://twitter.com/@ECWilsonWriter

Emma-Claire mentions: The Emotional Craft of Fiction: How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface. Book by Donald Maass.

We want to hear from you! info@derbyshirewritingschool.com

Send us a voice message.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 86 - The Writer's Toolbox—Self Publishing With Style

In this episode, Pete and Laura head over to The Writers’ Room for an episode of The Writer’s Toolbox—Self-Publishing With Style.

What can you find in this episode? Pete and Laura chat about self-publishing, and the five key reasons self-publishing is a good idea. 

The Five Key Reasons Self-publishing a Good Idea.

• You have more control over the process. 
• You have higher royalty rates.
• You can make changes. 
• You can build direct relationships with your audience.
• You can publish your book without gatekeepers.  

How Then Do You Self-publish Your Book With Style?

What if you:

• Don’t want to only publish through Amazon?
• Don’t want to fall for the common mistakes first-time self-publishers stumble upon?
• Want to learn how to get your book out into the world professionally? 
• Want to understand more about the publishing process and take ownership? 
• Want to take the steps needed to turn your word document into a paperback book?

You need to check out Self-publishing with Derbyshire Writing School.

Are you ready to take control of your writing career and share your work with the world? Check out—Self-publishing with Derbyshire Writing School. 

Our Self-publishing with Style course provides you with expert advice and guidance, allowing you to successfully self-publish your work. You’ll leave with confidence and a solid plan to take your writing forward and finally hold that finished book in your hands. 

Our course will talk you through the most common mistakes, secrets, and the top tips you need to know to self-publish a book to be proud of. We’ll show you how you can get your self-published book on Waterstones.com, or even create a hardback version, whilst keeping the costs low. 

We believe in your book. And we can help you turn your dream into a reality.

Please let us know about your self-publishing questions, problems or ideas. We want to hear from you! info@derbyshirewritingschool.com

Send us a voice message.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 85—Guest Interview Charlotte Howes—Derbyshire Writing School Intern

We are back in the writers’ room and we have another guest in our hot seat this week! She's been here before! It's our intern Charlotte!

We worked with the University of Derby to offer another paid internship at the beginning of this year. This is part of the Universities DRIVEN project, working with businesses in Derbyshire to provide practical, paid internships to graduates. 

We are pleased to introduce you to Charlotte, our intern. 

Having just finished a master's degree in creative writing, Charlotte is dedicating her time to reading and writing more of what she loves. Her goal is to see a book she’s written someday on a shelf in Waterstones. What a splendid vision and dream!

Pete and Laura ask Charlotte:

• What do you write, what do you read?
• Why do a second internship with Derbyshire Writing School? 
•  Talk about your internship. What did you learn, enjoy, or find challenging?
• Has anything surprised you through your time working at Derbyshire Writing School?
• If you could give two pieces of advice to someone starting out on their writing career, what would they be?
• What’s next for you?

In the podcast, Charlotte speaks about a treasure map she created of indie bookstores in Derbyshire, and also the blogs she has written for Derbyshire Writing School website.

You can find all the information about what’s happening at Derbyshire Writing School by visiting ‘The Socials!’ 

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

We want to hear from you! info@derbyshirewritingschool.com

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Episode 84 - Hibernation Over! Laura and Pete's Winter Catch-Up!

In this episode, Pete and Laura head over to The Writers’ Room to catch up after a winter hibernation squirrelled away working on writing projects. You can tell Pete hasn’t done a podcast for a time. He gets so enthusiastic about everything in this episode! So much so, he skips section one! 

Section Two: PERSONAL PROJECTS. In this section, we share what we’ve been working on.

Pete’s new author website is live! Have a look at www.peterbillingham.com Pete also updated everyone on the progress of his current work in progress the Eulogy Writing Toolkit. 

Section Three: LESSONS LEARNED. In this section, we share what we are learning about writing and publishing, as it never stops!

The explosion of information on ChatGPT is impacting the world of writing - so Pete and Laura chat about that and what it could mean to them.  

Section Four: BOOK UPDATE. In this section, we share interesting book recommendations, articles, or ideas to help you on your writing journey.

Pete talks about – The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane. You can read a detailed recollection of his thoughts on this book on his blog – Book Review - The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane. 

Laura talks about the Kickstarter campaign for Pilgrimage by Joanna Penn. You can read more about it on the Creative Penn Blog.  

Section Five: WHAT’S HAPPENING AT DERBYSHIRE WRITING SCHOOL THIS WEEK? – How are we building the business this week?

There is also the exciting news we published the first of the Derbyshire Writing School Workbooks - Beating Writer’s Block: Remove Your Blocks.

You can find all the information about what’s happening at Derbyshire Writing School by visiting ‘The Socials!’ 

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

We want to hear from you! info@derbyshirewritingschool.com

Send us a voice message

Episode 83 – Guest Interview – Kerry Fox– Authors Assemble! – Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust.

Kerry Fox is the Event Manager for the Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust. She has been in the post since July 2022 and before working for the Trust she was the Commercial Director for a Nationwide Event Staffing Company. Her role at the Trust is to create and deliver a variety of high-quality and engaging talks, workshops, experiences and events for Buxton residents and for visitors to the area, supporting the work and the charitable aims of the Trust.  In this episode, Kerry tells us about the upcoming ‘Authors Assemble!’ event in Buxton.

On Friday 17th March, between 10 am and 5 pm, in the splendour of the Crescent’s Assembly Rooms for ‘Authors Assemble!’. A literary event, showcasing the work of Authors local to the High Peak or who have supported the work of the Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust.

Authors will showcase their work, giving talks about their writing and taking part in public book signings.

In attendance will be David Nolan – the King of Manc Noir, Celia Harwood – Buxtons’ own Crime Novel writer, David Blackmore – former Royal Armouries Museum Registrar, Ste Durham – local horror and thriller writer, Dr Peter Collinge – Historian, Researcher and Writer.

And - Laura and Pete from Derbyshire Writing School!

For more information - https://buxtoncrescentexperience.com/tour/authors-assemble/

Welcome to the Christmas Writing Prompts podcast episode from Derbyshire Writing School. Where we inspire your festive creativity with a series of holiday-themed writing ideas. Whether you're a seasoned writer or just looking to try something new this holiday season, we have a prompt to spark your imagination and get your words flowing. So grab a pen and paper, and let's get started on some festive writing!

Someone rumoured that 98.7% of all successful writers start the Christmas season with a writing prompt! (We just made that rumour up, but it sounds like a good way to start the Christmas season, right?)

So we are sharing lots of festive writing prompts to act as your writing advent calendar this year.

Our festive prompts are a mixture of life writing, fiction prompts, and questions. These will help you ponder your writing goals and even develop your writing habits. Spend five minutes a day or an hour each evening and start the Christmas countdown with a burst of creativity on us. We’d love to know how you get on. Please share your favourite prompt and your responses with us.

For all 25 Christmas-Themed Writing Prompts, check out our blog post.

We want to hear from you! [email protected]

Thanks for listening!

Episode 81 - Finding Your Writing Voice

In this episode, Pete and Laura head over to The Writers' Room to chat about the question – how do you find your voice as a writer?

Section One: THE WRITERS’ ROOM. In this section, we explore writing problems and struggles by answering your questions.

What is the writer’s ‘voice?’ Voice in writing refers to the unique perspective, tone, and style of a piece of writing. The personality of the writing can help to make a piece of writing more interesting and engaging for the reader.

The one key truth in finding your ‘voice’ as a writer is to start with one truth! Be yourself.

Section Two: PERSONAL PROJECTS. In this section, we share what we’ve been working on.

Pete blasts the trumpets as he finishes and submits for editing his next book. It’s a radical departure from a memoir. This is a ‘How To’ non-fiction book called:

‘I Just Want To Say A Few Words.’ The Ultimate Eulogy Writing Toolkit – A Simple and Easy Step-by-Step Guide How To Write A Eulogy for A Loved One, Friend or Colleague.

Laura explains more about her process of designing the cover for the second in the series of Everyday Storytellers and commits to typing 2022 on the date published! 

Pete gets excited thinking about his next projects and Laura tries to guide his enthusiasm about which to do next. There are five ideas on the table.

• A book about empathy. 
• A short ebook called - How To Live Forever - Digitally that is.
• A book about - How Can You Make Your Life memorable?
• A collection of Short Travel Stories. 
• The Madeira Project. An adventure in the making!

Do you have any thoughts? Email us at [email protected]

Section Three: LESSONS LEARNED. In this section, we share what we are learning about writing and publishing, as it never stops!

Both Pete and Laura muse on the reality that everything takes longer than you think when writing a book.

Section Four: BOOK UPDATE. In this section, we share interesting book recommendations, articles, or ideas to help you on your writing journey.

Pete has been reading – Thom Wheeler – The Way A River Went.
Laura is just beginning – Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away by Annie Duke

Section Five: WHAT’S HAPPENING AT DERBYSHIRE WRITING SCHOOL THIS WEEK? - How are we building the business this week?

Beginning a new time with Derbyshire Writing School, Charlotte has joined the team as an intern. Laura celebrates the success of the recent creative writing retreat in Buxton.

Section Six: PERSONAL UPDATES - In this section, we share what’s new with us!

Pete is exploring the world of AI with new writing tools, and Laura is looking forward to Christmas!