Clip

Overview

Have you been away from your writing? Missed some time and now not sure how to get started again?

JE and Stephen discuss just this problem in this author focused podcast episode.

YouTube

https://youtu.be/tEDzNSRjAms

Transcript

[00:00:50] Stephen: Okay. So let's talk some author stuff. Move on to that. You've written you're on your third book, you're working on a fourth and other plans. [00:01:00] So what are some things that you've learned that you're doing different now than you did at the beginning?

[00:01:04] JE McDonald: Probably the most the biggest thing would be consistency.

I used to just. When I felt like it, I would write. And I really literally started just like jotting things down in a notebook before bed. I would read write a few paragraphs and put it aside and fall asleep. But now consistency is my number one thing I write most days if I'm not, if I'm between projects, I need a head break or if I.

Just need a brain break. I'll still get up. I gave a five in the morning every day to write even if I need just that brain break, I'll get up at five in the morning and I'll read instead of right. But I try to always stay in the schedule of getting up at five in the morning. I think that's the biggest thing is consistency.

I just do it. I do it no matter what I mean, like everyone has life problems and things get wrenches, get thrown and all that sort of thing. It's important to me personally, to be consistent about it.

[00:01:58] Stephen: Okay.

And when you are [00:02:00] writing, what tools and services are you using?

[00:02:02] JE McDonald: I absolutely love Scribner which is a writing program, a heap.

All my projects are started in Scribner and then when I send them off to my editor that's in a word document. So unfortunately when the creative that makes. The start of the creative process is over. And I send it to my editor. That's where Scribner stays, unfortunately, because word and Scribner do not communicate that well, going back and forth.

Once I'm doing my edits at and back into word, probably the most used tab on my computer is the one look reverse directory, which is a third source. I am often blanking where. When I'm writing. And so I go to that and you can write a phrase in there or whatever, and it will give you like a ton of suggestions.

So I'll be like, What's that word. And I'll think of the word that I'm thinking of and I'll put it in and it's not the right word. It's not even the right definition, but it'll come up with a bunch of other [00:03:00] things that I can click through. And finally, that was the word I was looking for. So that's the most used tab on my computer, for sure, besides my email.

But,

[00:03:10] Stephen: And you mentioned. You've published through a small press. So you're doing a lot of the marketing. So what are you doing for marketing?

[00:03:17] JE McDonald: I'm trying to build my newsletter. And I feel like I was behind you. You had asked you to ask what I would do differently. What would you do differently?

Paid attention more to the marketing aspect of things instead of just going into my writer cave, because now I feel like I'm catching up, I'm on my third book and I'm just starting to feel like I'm getting my teeth into what needs to go into ...