For the first episode of a two-part series about being a hybrid author, I have the wonderful and talented Stephanie Burgis on the podcast to talk about her journey of starting with traditional publishing and adding indie titles to the mix. We talked about:

You can learn more about Stephanie (and her fabulous books!) on her website, Instagram, and Patreon.

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The publishing industry is hard. That's why I created The Confident Author Academy. My 6-month coaching program (+ online course) helps you build the mindset & emotional resilience you need to thrive as an author. To learn more and get on the waitlist for when spots open again, go to http://www.isabelsterling.com/academy

Looking for even more author advice and notifications about upcoming workshops? Sign up for my weekly Real Talk for Writers newsletter by clicking here.

DM me on Instagram & let me know what you thought of this episode!

Today marks the beginning of a 5-part interview series with all sorts of incredible authors and industry pros! I am so thrilled to kick things off with this fabulous interview with my literary agent, and the founder of Mad Woman Literary Agency, Danielle Burby! 

Danielle and I focused our conversation on post-debut and mid-career authors. So instead of the typical questions about how to query, we dive deep into strategic career planning, what to do when a book as a “challenging sales history,” how to make a big pivot to a new age category or genre, and so much more! 

You can learn more about Danielle (and what she’s currently looking for in her query inbox) on the Mad Woman Literary Agency website. And don’t forget to follow the agency on Instagram! 

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The publishing industry is hard. That's why I created The Confident Author Academy. My 6-month coaching program (+ online course) helps you build the mindset & emotional resilience you need to thrive as an author. To learn more and get on the waitlist for when spots open again, go to http://www.isabelsterling.com/academy 

Looking for even more author advice and notifications about upcoming workshops? Sign up for my weekly Real Talk for Writers newsletter by clicking here. 

DM me on Instagram & let me know what you thought of this episode!

Have you set writing goals only to fall short of meeting them? Do you feel terrible when you don't achieve the writing milestones you set? If so, this week's episode is for you. I walk through the goals that I didn't meet from the summer, explore various reasons why I didn't meet those goals, and learn from that experience to set more useful goals going forward.

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The publishing industry is hard. That's why I created The Confident Author Academy. My 6-month coaching program (+ online course) helps you build the mindset & emotional resilience you need to thrive as an author. To learn more and get on the waitlist for when spots open again, go to http://www.isabelsterling.com/academy

Looking for even more author advice and notifications about upcoming workshops? Sign up for my weekly Real Talk for Writers newsletter by clicking here.

DM me on Instagram & let me know what you thought of this episode!

If you’re feeling stuck in your author career, one of the best things you can do is learn to ask yourself better questions.

Most of us get stuck when our brains latch onto stories that lead to dead ends. “Nothing is working” or “I’ve tried everything” or “why the heck can’t I sell another book????” all end with you feeling defeated, frustrated, and maybe even a bit hopeless.

In today’s episode, you’ll learn how to ask better questions so you can get unstuck and start moving forward in your career.

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The publishing industry is hard. That's why I created The Confident Author Academy. My 6-month coaching program (+ online course) helps you build the mindset & emotional resilience you need to thrive as an author. To learn more and get on the waitlist for when spots open again, go to http://www.isabelsterling.com/academy

Looking for even more author advice and notifications about upcoming workshops? Sign up for my weekly Real Talk for Writers newsletter by clicking here.

DM me on Instagram & let me know what you thought of this episode!

Like writing, confidence is a skillset that you can build over time. It’s an emotional muscle, a mindset, that can speed up your writing progress, reduce stress, and make the day-to-day of your author career more enjoyable.

Dive in to this week’s episode to learn how confidence (or a lack thereof) affects your writing, what you can do to increase the confidence you have in your writing process and your overall author career. At the end of the episode, you’ll get instructions for a 30-day challenge that will improve your writing confidence in less than 5 minutes per day.

PS - I’m pressing pause on monthly workshops this quarter. You can access past workshop replays at http://www.isabelsterling.com/resources

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The publishing industry is hard. That's why I created The Confident Author Academy. My 6-month coaching program (+ online course) helps you build the mindset & emotional resilience you need to thrive as an author. To learn more and get on the waitlist for when spots open again, go to http://www.isabelsterling.com/academy

Looking for even more author advice and notifications about upcoming workshops? Sign up for my weekly Real Talk for Writers newsletter by clicking here.

DM me on Instagram & let me know what you thought of this episode!

“I don’t want to let anyone down.”

If you find yourself worried about disappointing people on your publishing team or falling short of their expectations, this podcast is for you. I’m breaking down why meeting expectations can feel so fraught in publishing, including what to do when those expectations are implied rather than explicitly laid out for you.

PS - I’m pressing pause on monthly workshops this quarter. You can access past workshop replays at http://www.isabelsterling.com/resources

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The publishing industry is hard. That's why I created The Confident Author Academy. My 6-month coaching program (+ online course) helps you build the mindset & emotional resilience you need to thrive as an author. To learn more and get on the waitlist for when spots open again, go to http://www.isabelsterling.com/academy

Looking for even more author advice and notifications about upcoming workshops? Sign up for my weekly Real Talk for Writers newsletter by clicking here.

DM me on Instagram & let me know what you thought of this episode!

Some books come out easily. They seem to flow from our brains to the page without much fuss. And some books… Well, some books are finicky and require all sorts of pivots, enduring false starts, and otherwise feeling less story stability while you work.

When you have one of those trickier books, your ability to continue showing up to the page despite a less-than-ideal process (rather than getting frustrated and avoiding the book altogether) makes a big difference in both how quickly the book comes together and how much you enjoy the process.

Today on the podcast, I’m breaking down how I manage to bring a sense of fun and play to stubborn projects and explore some of the less-obvious costs we pay when we avoid our books.

PS - I’m pressing pause on monthly workshops this quarter. You can access past workshop replays at http://www.isabelsterling.com/resources

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The publishing industry is hard. That's why I created The Confident Author Academy. My 6-month coaching program (+ online course) helps you build the mindset & emotional resilience you need to thrive as an author. To learn more and get on the waitlist for when spots open again, go to http://www.isabelsterling.com/academy

Looking for even more author advice and notifications about upcoming workshops? Sign up for my weekly Real Talk for Writers newsletter by clicking here.

DM me on Instagram & let me know what you thought of this episode!

You did it. You achieved the dream of being a full-time author. No more Day Job. No more micromanaging boss. No more putting on real clothes to go to an office outside the house.

Despite achieving this major milestone, many full-time authors find they still struggle with procrastination, skipped writing sessions, and end up burnt out after deadlines.

Today on the podcast, I’m breaking down three important steps to help full-time authors build a sustainable writing schedule… one that doesn’t require you to log 8 hours of writing each day.

Link to the NPR piece about the 40-hour work week mentioned in today’s episode.

PS - I’m pressing pause on monthly workshops this quarter. You can access past workshop replays at http://www.isabelsterling.com/resources

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The publishing industry is hard. That's why I created The Confident Author Academy. My 6-month coaching program (+ online course) helps you build the mindset & emotional resilience you need to thrive as an author. To learn more and get on the waitlist for when spots open again, go to http://www.isabelsterling.com/academy

Looking for even more author advice and notifications about upcoming workshops? Sign up for my weekly Real Talk for Writers newsletter by clicking here.

DM me on Instagram & let me know what you thought of this episode!

Building a sustainable author career when you’re also working a full-time Day Job can be really challenging. For many people, trying to juggle two careers leads to exhaustion, frustration, and even burnout. You start to resent your Day Job, Publishing, or both. You wonder whether you’re cut out for this whole "author thing" or if you should call it quits.

Today on the podcast, I’m breaking down the 3 biggest problems authors face when juggling writing with another job and how to unwind each one to build a truly sustainable author career.

PS - I’m pressing pause on monthly workshops this quarter. You can access past workshop replays at http://www.isabelsterling.com/resources

***

The publishing industry is hard. That's why I created The Confident Author Academy. My 6-month coaching program (+ online course) helps you build the mindset & emotional resilience you need to thrive as an author. To learn more and get on the waitlist for when spots open again, go to http://www.isabelsterling.com/academy

Looking for even more author advice and notifications about upcoming workshops? Sign up for my weekly Real Talk for Writers newsletter by clicking here.

DM me on Instagram & let me know what you thought of this episode!