So it's December 1st, and NaNoWriMo is over. And everywhere around you, fellow author friends are posting on social media that they made it, they did it. They wrote 50,000 words in a single month. You're happy for them, of course. But you didn't quite make it to that 50,000 word goal yourself. So what do you do? Do you hang your head in shame and despair? I say: NO. I might be one of those "the page is half full" kind of writers, but if you're in the same boat as me, as an author who didn't complete the 30-day 50K word challenge, let me take over the paddle for a while and share a different spin.   Prior to the main content of this solo episode, Mark shares a brief personal update (explaining why there's another solo episode) and a word from this episode's sponsor.  There are plenty of books and tips on writing faster, learning more marketing tactics and strategies, trying to maximize your ranking, hitting the top of the charts, judging the algorithms, and hacking different ad platforms. But not enough guides to help you take the pressure off your art and enjoy the creative journey. Return to the love that brought you to writing in the first place. Check out The Relaxed Author in audio, print, or eBook format.   Links of Interest:  EP 212 - A Conversation with Joanna Penn on Co-Authoring The Relaxed Author Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author  Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct   Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books  This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City   The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard      The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 335 - So You Failed NaNoWriMo

Perspectives and reflections on the writing and publishing life. Mark Leslie Lefebvre, a writer, bookseller, digital publishing advocate, professional speaker, and publishing consultant explores inclusive and collaborative opportunities for writers and book publishing professionals via interviews, discussions, and reflections about the industry. (Mark's personal website is www.markleslie.ca)

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Mark interviews professor, pastor, speaker, and author Donn King about writing, his podcast, and his books THE WAY OF THE THREE-YEAR-OLD WHY and MEDIUM WELL. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor.  Learn more about this self-publishing/WIDE-publishing focused cruise.   In their interview Mark and Donn talk about:  Donn's gradual evolution into becoming a writer with starting work at a newspaper when he was 14 years old An experience in sixth grade discovering science fiction novels in the library and realizing reading could be fun when you weren't being forced to do it The first sci-fi novel Donn remembers reading: Robert A. Heinlein's HAVE SPACESUIT WILL TRAVEL Donn's first foray into writing short fiction in a 3-ring binder with a pencil Learning about his non-fiction writing from Bob Burg, co-author of THE GO-GIVER a bestselling business parable book How elements from writing good fiction apply when writing a parable Drawing upon autobiographical elements even when fictionalizing a parable The difference between Writer's Block and The Well Going Dry Donn's podcast, The Alignment Show The Great Realignment and pausing to step back and consider what really brings value to you Donn's book MEDIUM WELL: The Journey From Believing to Believing In The beautifully inquisitive nature of 3-Year-Olds in Donn's THE WAY OF THE THREE-YEAR-OLD WHY Principal Five - Without emotion, there is no motion The challenges of booking live speaking events when caring for family members who require that additional compassion and care The reality that none of us have any certainty - we merely live with the illusion of certainty The concept of connection before content And more . . .    After the interview Mark reflects on a few of the topics that came up in their conversation.   Links of Interest:  Donn King's Website Donn King's Books The Confidence Cultivators Podcast  Mark's Guest Spot on Episode 54 YouTube Video of Episode 54    EP 357 - 50 Years of Short Stories with Kevin J. Anderson  Kevin's Short Story Kickstarter   EP 356 - The Midlist Indie Author Mindset with T. Thorn Coyle  Thorn's Patreon Site   Writers of the Future - Blog Post Announcing Mark as a Judge Stark Publishing Support for Authors Via Margins Agency ScribeCount (Mark's Affiliate Link) Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections  How to Access Patreon RSS Feeds   An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author  Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct   Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books  This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City Only Monsters in the Building   The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard    Donn King is "The Confidence Cultivator," a professor, pastor, speaker, and author who lives in the mountains of East Tennessee. He also hosts "The Alignment Show," a podcast to support listeners in living their values so they can value their life. His book, "The Way of the Three-Year-Old Why," the first in the Sparklight Chronicles, came out in 2023, with "Medium Well," the second in the series, came out in early 2024       The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 358 - The Way of the Parable Writer with Donn King

In this episode, Mark interviews Kevin J. Anderson about his writing and the new approach he is taking to incorporate Kickstarter into the launch strategies for some of his indie-published titles. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor.  Learn more about this self-publishing/WIDE-publishing focused cruise.   In their interview Mark and Kevin talk about:  How Kickstarter has completely upended (in a good way), Kevin's book release strategies Kevin's first novel coming out in 1988 and all the various publishers he has worked with over the years The "Perfect Storm" that was brewing in the book industry when indie publishing became a realistic and viable option Starting to publish his own books (mostly backlist titles he got the rights back to) in 2009 after founding WordFire Press with his wife Rebecca Moesta Kevin's belief that this is the best time to be a writer How Kevin does a little bit of everything. He has a New York literary agent, he works with several major publishers, he indie publishes, and he continues to explore new opportunities that digital publishing offer The way that Kickstarter didn't just open a new door, it completely blew it down, along with a few walls too Dean Wesley Smith's perspective that helped to change Kevin's mind about what Kickstarter was all about Kevin's "Adams Family meets The Naked Gun" series of Dan Shamble Zombie PI novels, and the history of how it started off as a series with a major publisher, flopped, then Kevin got the rights back and did something truly stunning with it once he applied Kickstarter Kevin's first Dan Shamble Kickstarter which brought in 23 times the intial amount he was asking for, and that it paid him more than 6 times the advance he'd rec'd from a major publisher for the last Dan Shamble book he'd done with them The Dragon Business (The Princess Bride meets Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) Kickstarter that brought in 20 times what he'd been asking for The Persephone Kickstarter that Kevin did with Writer/Director Jeffrey Morris Kevin's latest Kickstarter which is a 7 Volume Set of over 130 of his published short stories published over 50 years Writing his first short story when he was 8 years old Publishing his very first short story when he was 14 The personal introductions that he wrote for every one of the stories in this 7 book collection The various levels and Kickstarter rewards he is planning for this Kickstarter The remarkable fact that, despite having published 180 novels with 58 of them being international bestsellers, no publisher would ever even consider publishing a 7 volume hardcover set of Kevin's complete short stories. That he can do this via Kickstarter is a significant paradigm shift How Kickstarter can replace the old "advance" model from traditional publishing The special thing Kevin is doing for all the backers of this latest Kickstarter The Kickstarter will be going live on April 30th for 3 weeks and 2 days And more . . .    After the interview Mark reflects on Kevin's use of short, effective and very clear log lines to describe two of his series.   Links of Interest:  Kevin J. Anderson's Website  Kevin's Short Story Kickstarter    EP 130 - Grace Under Pressure with Kevin J. Anderson  Mentions of Kevin in other podcast episodes   EP 356 - The Midlist Indie Author Mindset with T. Thorn Coyle  Thorn's Patreon Site   EP 355 - Scribbling Pen Publishing with Melanie Gilbert and Heather Karn Writers of the Future - Blog Post Announcing Mark as a Judge Stark Publishing Support for Authors Via Margins Agency ScribeCount (Mark's Affiliate Link) Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections  How to Access Patreon RSS Feeds   An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author  Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct   Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books  This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City Only Monsters in the Building   The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard    Kevin J. Anderson has published more than 180 books, 58 of which have been national or international bestsellers. He has written numerous novels in the Star Wars, X-Files, and Dune universes, as well as the unique Clockwork Angels steampunk trilogy with legendary Rush drummer Neil Peart. His original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series, the Wake the Dragon and Terra Incognita fantasy trilogies, and humorous Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series and The Dragon Business series. He has edited numerous anthologies, written comics and games, and the lyrics to two rock CDs. Anderson is the director of the graduate program in Publishing at Western Colorado University, and he and his wife Rebecca Moesta are the publishers or WordFire Press. He worked on the recent films Dune Part One and Part Two from Legendary Entertainment, as well as the forthcoming Dune TV series from MAX, and other films in development, including Persephone and Karousel. He has 24 million copies in print in 34 languages. His most recent novels are Bats in the Belfry, Skeleton in the Closet, Persephone, and Princess of Dune (with Brian Herbert).       The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 357 - 50 Years of Short Stories with Kevin J. Anderson

        Mark interviews T Thorn Coyle about writing, community, and their new book The Midlist Indie Author Mindset. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word from this episode's sponsor.  Cruising Writers - 7 Day Western Caribbean Cruise - Feb 22 to Mar 1, 2025 Featured Guest Speakers: Erin Wright and Mark Leslie Lefebvre More details at: Cruising Writers   In the interview, Mark and Thorn talk about:  Getting into writing when they were 5 years old - and the variety of types of writing they did Thorn jokingly torturing fiction and deciding to write non-fiction until a few characters showed up and knocked on their door Writing mostly fantasy-tinged fiction How most of Thorn's non-fiction guides have been about spiritual practice, but that this latest one is their first non-fiction business of writing book Thorn's author tagline: "Magic is real. And justice is worth fighting for." The way that Portland is such a fascinating city and how Thorn can find magic anywhere An appreciation of Charles de Lint Thorn's forthcoming book: The Midlist Author Mindset The massive mindset shift that comes from being curious about business the way one is curious about writing Value that came with learning what worked for Thorn, as opposed to things that work for other writers The numerous streams of income that Thorn has been developing over the years Looking at long-term sustainability by thinking of it like cultivating a garden instead of seeking out short-term dramatic spikes Some of the roadblocks that Thorn encountered on the way to establishing the Midlist Author Mindset Understanding that for Thorn marketing was about connection with readers How asking "Does social media sell books?" is the wrong question to ask The Kickstarter for the book and related materials and exclusive content that runs April 16, 2024 to May 7, 2024 A little bit about Thorn's fiction series books Thoughts and current approach to audiobooks Thorn's final words of advice that they would want to leave with writers And more . . .     After the interview, Mark reflects on the concepts of sustainable, long-term, and burn-out as well as the important question of what is practical for you and your life and goals.   Links of Interest:  T. Thorn Coyle's Website  Kickstarter for The Midlist Indie Author Mindset Fiction Titles Non-Fiction Titles   Thorn's Patreon Site Writers of the Future - Blog Post Announcing Mark as a Judge Stark Publishing Support for Authors Via Margins Agency ScribeCount (Mark's Affiliate Link) Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections  How to Access Patreon RSS Feeds   An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author  Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct   Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books  This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City Only Monsters in the Building   The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard    T. Thorn Coyle worked in many strange and diverse occupations before settling in to write full time. Buy them a cup of tea and perhaps they’ll tell you about it. Author of The Witches of Portland, the Seashell Cove Paranormal Cozy Mysteries, the Pride Street Paranormal Cozy Mysteries, The Steel Clan Saga, and The Panther Chronicles, Thorn’s multiple non-fiction books include Sigil Magic for Writers, Artists & Other Creatives, Crafting a Daily Practice, Kissing the Limitless, and Evolutionary Witchcraft. Thorn's work also appears in many anthologies, magazines, and collections. An interloper to the Pacific Northwest U.S., they pay proper tribute to all the neighborhood cats, and talk to crows, squirrels, and trees. You can find them at thorncoyle.com.       The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  

EP 356 - The Midlist Indie Author Mindset with T. Thorn Coyle

Mark interviews Melanie Gilbert and Heather Karn about their work writing and publishing together under the Scribbling Pen Publishing brand. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor.  Cruising Writers - 7 Day Western Caribbean Cruise - Feb 22 to Mar 1, 2025 Featured Guest Speakers: Erin Wright and Mark Leslie Lefebvre More details at: Cruising Writers   In the interview, Mark, Melanie, and Heather talk about:  How Heather got started in writing before Melanie, who started a year later Writing independently for a while before they got into mutual support and collaboration The two books they've published by doing round-robin style writing a couple of paragraphs at a time The plotting VS pantsing struggle that they would sometimes find themselves in The thrill of writing a book without knowing who the bad guy was the entire time until the idea of who it was struck both of them at the same time The process they use when writing, editing, and re-writing How the two of them think of the reader experience when the writer (as related to the Disney Customer Experience training) Leveraging the cats that they made to draw people in which is a great ice-breaker getting them to the books Thinking about the "writing companions" for the books Leveraging crafted book bags in the same way to generate interest - ie "Where did you get that cool book bag?" Determing what scented candle or wax melt varieties would go well with the different books Something special they did to celebrate the "12 Days of Christmas" that they could provide to all of their fans - cover reveals, sample chapters, recipes, music, other books, etc The benefit of personal touches in the newsletter including the fun that started with Griffin the furry manager How their cats and dogs are the ones explaining what's going on in their writer newsletters and their website store How their main goal isn't to sell books but to ensure that the people who visit their table are having a good time And more . . .    After the interview, Mark reflects on the way the sisters leverage conversational items to draw people to their in person table, their focus on creating a genuinely memorable and entertaining experience (rather than focusing on selling books), and providing intriguing entertainment in their newsletter leveraging their pets' perspectives.   Links of Interest:  Scribbling Pen Publishing  Scribbling Pen Publishing - Instagram   Cruising Writers Feb/Mar 2025 Cruise - Focus on Self Publishing The Uncollected Anthology Website  Uncollected Anthology Live Author Chat (April 10, 2024 - YouTube) There Ain't No Cure For The Winter Wolf Blues   2024 The Write Stuff StoryBundle (Limited Time Offer) WMG Anthology Workshop August 2024 Stark Publishing Support for Authors Via Margins Agency ScribeCount (Mark's Affiliate Link) Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections  How to Access Patreon RSS Feeds   An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author  Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct   Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books  This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City   The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard    Melanie Gilbert and Heather Karn in their own words: We grew up in the lovely state of Michigan. We lived in a small town in the country, one of those towns where everyone knows everyone. When we graduated from high school, we went to the same college along with our triplet sister. Our younger sister joined us a couple years later. We’re all really close and that has influenced how we write characters who are siblings. Somehow, we both ended up in Wisconsin a few miles from each other (and even our triplet sister). We now live together and it’s a blast! Wisconsin isn’t too different from where we grew up, so it hasn’t been a big change to live here instead of in Michigan. The only down side to being here is the large lake between us and our family (and Melanie’s in-laws). Going around the lake makes traveling longer, but at least we’re not states away from family. Family is really important to us. Scribbling Pen Publishing was originally Melanie’s idea. Like Melanie’s other idea about writing a co-written book, it took Heather some time to warm up to the idea. Heather is more of a “think it over” personality while Melanie is a “sounds good, let’s do it” personality. Together, we balance each other out. Working together has been amazing. We each have strengths where the other has a weakness. Together we accomplish more than we did apart. Our brands are so similar, it only made sense to combine the work to share our love of books with the world.       The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 355 - Scribbling Pen Publishing with Melanie Gilbert and Heather Karn

Mark interviews Lydia and David Sherrer about their company Chenoweth Press and the books and games they produce and publish collaboratively. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.  This episode is sponsored by the awesome supporters of this podcast who provide their supprt via Patreon and Buy Me A Coffee. With special thanks to Nikki Guerlain for the recent huge BUY ME A COFFEE donation. In the interview, Mark talks to Lydia and David about:  How Lydia's role as a writing is part of a biological imperitive Growing up reading everything in sight and also being into Lord of the Rings by the time she was five years old Always telling herself stories and writing some of them down over the years Finding out that what she studied in college wasn't a good career fit and then following her father's example of being an entrepreneur Publishing her first two books around 2012/2013 Lydia and David setting a ten-year plan that by then David would be able to quit his full-time job David enjoying playing Magic The Gathering card game when he was young Getting invited to a gaming store that was in his town and becoming enamored with it Opening up his own gaming store when he graduated from highschool The technical engineering background that David had and how he applied those skills to ads and marketing Getting frustrated with his job at about the time that Lydia was starting to earn good money from her writing Deciding that he wanted to turn his gaming hobby into a career by starting with a spreadsheet How playing cards are one of the easiest and most flexible mediums to make a game in The game Cat Magic taking roughly twenty minutes of calculations and figuring to get the first draft of the game started The catch-phrase for Love, Lies, and Magic Book 8 in that series releasing March 1, 2024 How Cat Magic the novel was the best of Lydia's books that had an existing audience for creating the first game of David's game design career David's role in being an alpha reader and providing Lydia with early feedback on her writing The Kickstarter campaign they ran to get the Cat Magic game off the ground The important Give 90% of the time, ask 10% of the time rule with communities you are engaged in The years of behind the scenes hard work and constantly giving and sharing with the community that built up the success seen in recent Kickstarters 80% of their sales coming from direct sales versus sales from retailers Storing 15,000 copies of Lydia's books in their basement Hiring a college student to help with some of the menial tasks like packaging up books for direct sale orders The various logistics of their shipping operation Hiring a nanny to keep their kids close and at home, but allowing them the freedom to get their work done during the day Their five-year-old discovering capitalism, entrepreneurship, and wanting to become a part of their business Advice that David and Lydia would offer to other couples interested in running a business like this And more . . .    After the interview, Mark reflects on the concept of building the kind of life that you want as well as the community-giving focus as an authentic way to connect and offer something of value.   Links of Interest:  Lydia Sherrer's Website Chenoweth Press Lydia Sherrer's Store EP 312 - The Dialogue Doctor Will See You Now EP 266 - "Let's Talk Dialogue with Jeff Elkins," He Said Reflectively EP 157 - A Conversation with Jeff Elkins The Dialogue Doctor The Uncollected Anthology Website  Uncollected Anthology Live Author Chat (April 10, 2024 - YouTube) There Ain't No Cure For The Winter Wolf Blues   2024 The Write Stuff StoryBundle (Limited Time Offer) WMG Anthology Workshop August 2024 Stark Publishing Support for Authors Via Margins Agency ScribeCount (Mark's Affiliate Link) Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections  How to Access Patreon RSS Feeds   An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries The Relaxed Author  Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct   Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books  This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City   The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard    Lydia Sherrer is an award-winning and USA Today-bestselling author of snark-filled adventures creating stories you love to love, and hate to leave. She is the author of the bestselling urban fantasy Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus universe of books featuring several series, which have sold over half a million copies world-wide. Most recently she has released the TransDimensional Hunter series with NYT bestselling author John Ringo. Lydia subsists on liberal amounts of dark chocolate and tea, and hates sleep because it keeps her from writing (though she needs it because she has kids to wrangle). Due to the tireless efforts of her game-designer husband and her fuzzy overlords—i.e. cats—she remains sane and even occasionally remembers to leave the house. David Sherrer is a born storyteller and has been an obsessive gamer ever since he was seduced by Magic the Gathering at the tender age of fourteen. He has alternately owned a gaming store, street performed for a living, and survived eleven years in the soul crushing world of telecommunications. He lucked out by marrying a force of nature who was determined to making living off writing, and has since escaped his 9-5 to become the Marketing Director and Lead Game Designer of Chenoweth Press. His most fond achievements include being Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006—there’s a story there, just ask him—and that time he made his entire DnD party cry at the end of a campaign. In addition to his work, he wrangles his growing family and a herd of feline supervisors, while secretly plotting how to add to the mountain of board games that he swears to his wife he actually plays.     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

EP 335 - So You Failed NaNoWriMo

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