If you’ve ever felt frustrated about your writing speed, this episode is for you. 

Writing faster isn’t about fancy hacks or overhauling your entire process. Instead, it’s about pinpointing the parts of your process that slow you down, frustrate you, and leave you avoiding your book. Once you find those creative roadblocks, you can come up with targeted solutions that work with your unique creative brain and get you unstuck as quickly as possible. 

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The January 2026 cohort of The Confident Author Academy is enrolling now! Submit your application here: http://www.isabelsterling.com/academy-cohort Applications are open November 11th - 22nd. 

Prefer one-one one support? Limited private coaching spots are available now: 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! 

The January class of The Confident Author Academy is enrolling now through November 22nd. APPLY HERE.

This 6-month group coaching program will help you build a fiction career you love. One where writing brings you as much joy as it did before it was your job. Where deadlines don't stress you out. And where you feel confident about your future in this industry.

Whether you're an agented writer working toward your first sale, a debut novelist, or a mid-career author, this group is for you.

Listen in for all the details and that submit your application: http://www.isabelsterling.com/academy-cohort

This past year, my personal life has been rough. Lots of grief. Lots of once-in-a-lifetime stressful events.

Yet despite all the hardships, I’ve still made a ton of progress in my author career. I revised my 2026 novel. Wrote and revised a YA proposal. And am about 30k into the first draft of my 2027 book. And through it all, I’ve had fun in my writing life.

I’ve thought a lot about how I’ve been able to do this and settled on the top five lessons I learned this year from going through some Really Hard Shit. Today, I’m sharing all five lessons with advice on how you can apply them to your author career.

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The waitlist is now open for the January 2026 cohort of The Confident Author Academy. Join here: http://www.isabelsterling.com/academy-cohort Applications are open November 11th - 22nd.

Prefer one-one one support? Limited private coaching spots are available now: 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!

Curious about the best time to start coaching? This week, Kim DeRose shares how coaching supported her through the entire journey of writing and publishing her newest release, Hear Her Howl.

We talk about the challenges of releasing her debut vs her sophomore novel, setting internal metrics of success, and the differences between private and group coaching.

Follow Kim on Instagram, get a free short story by joining her newsletter, and check out her latest release, Hear Her Howl, available Nov 4th.

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The waitlist is now open for the January 2026 cohort of The Confident Author Academy. Join here: http://www.isabelsterling.com/academy-cohort

Prefer private coaching? Limited spots are available now: 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!

This week, I interviewed Molly Donlan about her transition from skeptic to Reiki Master teacher, co-host of a popular witchy podcast (Demystify Magic), and author of the forthcoming non-fiction title, Mundane Magic.

Molly shares a variety of low-effort magical practices – grounded in the science behind them (we talk loads about the nervous system) – that you can use to add a dash of woo, magic, and practical manifestation to your writing process.

Whether you’re already very witchy or lean more skeptical, this is a fabulous episode for bringing more fun into your writing life.

Check out the different resources Molly offers on her website (I highly recommend her Reiki training!), pre-order a copy of Mundane Magic (out in February!), check out the Demystify Magic podcast (this episode covers how to make your own sigils - which we talked about in the interview), and follow Molly 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!

If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to build a career writing IP, this interview with Tess Sharpe is a must-listen! (And if you have no idea what IP is, I also recommend checking out this episode!)

Tess is a NYT bestselling author and has written all sorts of IP projects, including in the Jurassic World, Marvel, and DC universes. She shares her wealth of wisdom about breaking into the world of writing IP, balancing writing original books with IP work, and what skills are essential to become the kind of reliable writer IP editors hire again and again.

You can follow Tess on Instagram or subscribe to her newsletter here.

Check out Tess’s latest IP release – White Widow: Secret Sisters and her most recent original novel No Body No Crime.

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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!

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!