The Author Wheel Podcast

The care and feeding of editors.

This week Megan and Greta talk with Lynne Pearson, an enthusiastic editor. We discuss how to find and choose the right editor for your project and how to prepare your work for them. 

Whether our books are traditionally published or indie published, we pay for editing. We pay cash or we pay with our time. Lynne gives us great tips on how to get the most out of that process.

Question of the week: Do you have a nightmare editing experience? Tell us about it. Let's chat on the Facebook page @AuthorWheel.

Follow Us!

Lynne Pearson:
Website: https://allthatediting.com/
Amazon Author Page

The Author Wheel:
Website: www.AuthorWheel.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWheel

Greta Boris:
Website: www.GretaBoris.com
Facebook: @GretaBorisAuthor
Instagram: @GretaBoris

Megan Haskell:
Website: www.MeganHaskell.com
Facebook & Instagram: @MeganHaskellAuthor

Support the show

FREE Mini Email Course

Have you ever struggled to explain to others exactly what you write? Or wondered which of the many fiction ideas running through your brain you should tackle? If so, The Author Wheel’s new mini-course might be your solution.

7 Days to Clarity: Uncover Your Author Purpose will help you uncover your core writing motivations, avoid shiny-thing syndrome, and create clear marketing language.

Each daily email will lead you step by step in defining your author brand, crafting a mission statement, and distilling that statement into a pithy tagline. And, best of all, it’s free.

Click here to learn more!

Our Kickstarter campaign is finally over. It was a lot of work, but really successful on a number of levels. Thank you to everyone who supported us and backed the project!

Now, we're taking some time to digest everything we've learned.

The biggest takeaway? Clarity of purpose and messaging is everything.

Today we're discussing how Kickstarter helped us find our core purpose and refine our messaging to bring our project to life. Then, we talk about how we've applied some of those same lessons to our writing life, and how you can too.

It's not just about Kickstarter. We promise.

Question of the Week: What tactics have you found helpful to refine your elevator pitch, whether for a book, project, or your own brand?

Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite player! We have some phenomenal new guests coming up, including Dan Blank of We Grow Media, cover designer extraordinaire Mariah Sinclair, and writing community leader Maddie Margarita. You won't want to miss a thing. Stay tuned!

Follow Us!

The Author Wheel:
Website: www.AuthorWheel.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWheel

Greta Boris:
Website: www.GretaBoris.com
Facebook: @GretaBorisAuthor
Instagram: @GretaBoris

Megan Haskell:
Website: www.MeganHaskell.com
Facebook & Instagram: @MeganHaskellAuthor

Support the show

FREE Mini Email Course

Have you ever struggled to explain to others exactly what you write? Or wondered which of the many fiction ideas running through your brain you should tackle? If so, The Author Wheel’s new mini-course might be your solution.

7 Days to Clarity: Uncover Your Author Purpose will help you uncover your core writing motivations, avoid shiny-thing syndrome, and create clear marketing language.

Each daily email will lead you step by step in defining your author brand, crafting a mission statement, and distilling that statement into a pithy tagline. And, best of all, it’s free.

Click here to learn more!

Surprise! We have a special between-season episode for you!

We asked our past and future guests the following question:

What is the single best insight you’ve had or thing you’ve done to keep yourself motivated to finish the novel you were struggling with?

We got some fantastic answers!

Our contributors, in mention order were:

Karen Sue Walker https://karensuewalker.com/
Russell Nohelty https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/russellnohelty/tinab
Beth Barany https://bethbarany.com/
Ember Casey https://embercasey.com/
Claire Taylor http://www.ffs.media/
Sara Rosett https://www.sararosett.com/
Donovan Scherer https://studiomoonfall.com/
Troy Lambert https://troylambertwrites.com/author-services/
Matty Dalrymple https://www.theindyauthor.com/

And of course, don't forget to check out our Kickstarter campaign, Foundations of Great Storytelling: Preparing to Write.

We'll be back with our regular season in June!

Support the show

FREE Mini Email Course

Have you ever struggled to explain to others exactly what you write? Or wondered which of the many fiction ideas running through your brain you should tackle? If so, The Author Wheel’s new mini-course might be your solution.

7 Days to Clarity: Uncover Your Author Purpose will help you uncover your core writing motivations, avoid shiny-thing syndrome, and create clear marketing language.

Each daily email will lead you step by step in defining your author brand, crafting a mission statement, and distilling that statement into a pithy tagline. And, best of all, it’s free.

Click here to learn more!

Self-Assessment, Clarity, and Finding Balance...

We're wrapping up season two this week and discussing all of our takeaways from the interviews we've had this year. Without realizing it, this season seemed to revolve around the theme of finding clarity. Whether it's in your clarity of purpose, clarity of story, or defining your own success, we believe reflection and self-assessment are key to moving forward.

Which is why we're so confident our free 7 Days to Your Author Brand email mini-course will help almost any author. We walk through the steps we took to develop an author mission statement and tagline. It gave us a vision of what we wanted to write and why, and we think it will help you do that too.

You can sign up for the free mini-course by going to www.authorwheel.com/stuff.

We'll be taking a break for a bit as we launch our pre-writing intensive Foundations of Great Storytelling: Preparing to Write on Kickstarter.  The campaign will open on April 18 with some amazing early bird discounts, so make sure you click the green "Notify Me On Launch" button on the Kickstarter page if you're interested.

And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite player. We'll be back in May with some phenomenal new guests and you won't want to miss a thing. Stay tuned!

Question of the Week: What was your favorite episode this season and why? Let's chat on the Facebook page @AuthorWheel.

Follow Us!

The Author Wheel:
Website: www.AuthorWheel.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWheel

Greta Boris:
Website: www.GretaBoris.com
Facebook: @GretaBorisAuthor
Instagram: @GretaBoris

Megan Haskell:
Website: www.MeganHaskell.com
Facebook & Instagram: @MeganHaskellAuthor

Support the show

FREE Mini Email Course

Have you ever struggled to explain to others exactly what you write? Or wondered which of the many fiction ideas running through your brain you should tackle? If so, The Author Wheel’s new mini-course might be your solution.

7 Days to Clarity: Uncover Your Author Purpose will help you uncover your core writing motivations, avoid shiny-thing syndrome, and create clear marketing language.

Each daily email will lead you step by step in defining your author brand, crafting a mission statement, and distilling that statement into a pithy tagline. And, best of all, it’s free.

Click here to learn more!

What goes into making an audiobook?

This week we had a great conversation with Mary Castillo, a writer and audiobook narrator. Mary got started as a narrator with her own books, loved the process, and decided to dig in and learn the biz.

The conversation is both informative—especially if you're thinking about doing audiobooks one day—and inspirational. Mary stepped out, took a risk, and it paid off.

Mary Castillo is an audiobook narrator and author of romantic comedy and the Dori O. Paranormal Mystery series. Lost in the Light was nominated for the Daphne du Maurier Award in Paranormal Mystery and the winner of the Orange County Chapter of RWA’s Book Cover contest.

Question of the week: Have any of your books been turned into audiobooks? If not, are you planning on moving into audio? Let's chat on the Facebook page @AuthorWheel.

Follow Us!

Mary Castillo:
Website: www.MaryCastillo.com, www.marycastillovo.com

The Author Wheel:
Website: www.AuthorWheel.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWheel

Greta Boris:
Website: www.GretaBoris.com
Facebook: @GretaBorisAuthor
Instagram: @GretaBoris

Megan Haskell:
Website: www.MeganHaskell.com
Facebook & Instagram: @MeganHaskellAuthor

Join the free mini-course, 7 Days to Your Author Brand at www.AuthorWheel.com/stuff.

Support the show

Coming soon - Foundations of Great Storytelling: Preparing to Write will launch on Kickstarter in April.

We're bringing together our three Quick Guides plus a bonus Author Strategy section into a single paperback omnibus, and developing companion courses for each section. Follow our campaign and back us early for extra deep discounts!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/authorwheel/preparingtowrite

Tags: #authorcareer, #audiobooks, #marycastillo, #romance, #mystery

Support the show

FREE Mini Email Course

Have you ever struggled to explain to others exactly what you write? Or wondered which of the many fiction ideas running through your brain you should tackle? If so, The Author Wheel’s new mini-course might be your solution.

7 Days to Clarity: Uncover Your Author Purpose will help you uncover your core writing motivations, avoid shiny-thing syndrome, and create clear marketing language.

Each daily email will lead you step by step in defining your author brand, crafting a mission statement, and distilling that statement into a pithy tagline. And, best of all, it’s free.

Click here to learn more!

ANNOUNCEMENT: Are you ready to define who you are as a writer and create a tagline you can pitch to readers? Join our free 7-Days to Your Author Brand Email Mini-Course at www.authorwheel.com/stuff.

Using the Enneagram to Reclaim Your Author Career...

This week we're continuing our ongoing conversation about the internal journey of building a sustainable author career that fits your life and your personality. This time, we're going deep into the Enneagram with Claire Taylor, author of Reclaim Your Author Career.

Claire is a comedy and mystery writer and a fiction strategist through her company, FFS Media. She helps authors create stories and align their careers using the Enneagram framework. Her mission is to help creatives avoid industry burnout and build sustainable careers.

In this interview, we talk about how to determine your Enneagram type, how to emphasize your natural gifts without turning your life into content, how to connect with your story theme, and much, much more.

Question of the week: What's your Enneagram personality type and how has that shaped your author career? Let's chat on the Facebook page @AuthorWheel.

Follow Us!

Claire Taylor:
Website: www.ffs.media
Services: www.ffs.media/author-services-all
The Book: Reclaim Your Author Career

The Author Wheel:
Website: www.AuthorWheel.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWheel

Greta Boris:
Website: www.GretaBoris.com
Facebook: @GretaBorisAuthor
Instagram: @GretaBoris

Megan Haskell:
Website: www.MeganHaskell.com
Facebook & Instagram: @MeganHaskellAuthor

Support the show

FREE Mini Email Course

Have you ever struggled to explain to others exactly what you write? Or wondered which of the many fiction ideas running through your brain you should tackle? If so, The Author Wheel’s new mini-course might be your solution.

7 Days to Clarity: Uncover Your Author Purpose will help you uncover your core writing motivations, avoid shiny-thing syndrome, and create clear marketing language.

Each daily email will lead you step by step in defining your author brand, crafting a mission statement, and distilling that statement into a pithy tagline. And, best of all, it’s free.

Click here to learn more!

ANNOUNCEMENT: Are you ready to define who you are as a writer and create a tagline you can pitch to readers? Join our free 7-Days to Your Author Brand Email Mini-Course at www.authorwheel.com/stuff.

Knowing Yourself, Finding What Works, and Building a Writing Network...

This week we're talking about the journey. If you want a career as an author, then writing a book and having it published isn't really the goal. It's building a sustainable practice that fits your life and your personality.

To discover that process requires a lot of self-reflection and experimentation, as well as a supportive group of peers around you.

That's why, this week, we're thrilled to have Karen Walker on the show.

Karen Sue Walker writes and publishes the Bridal Shop Cozy Mysteries and Haunted Tearoom Cozy Mysteries. She's also the author of the Arrow Investigations Action-Adventure Mysteries.

In the last few years, she went through the testing process and was diagnosed with autism. For her, this was an awakening. She has been able to better understand herself, and create systems in which she can be the most productive.

She has also taken it on herself to network with other writers and create a community of support. Writing in long, binge sprints, Karen went from writing one book every few years to writing four a year.

And she tells us all just how she did it.

Question of the week: How has your process changed over time? Let's chat on the Facebook page @AuthorWheel.

Follow Us!

Karen Sue Walker:
Website: www.karensuewalker.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bridalshopmysteries
Instagram: @karensuewalker_author
Twitter: @Karensuewalker

The Author Wheel:
Website: www.AuthorWheel.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWheel

Greta Boris:
Website: www.GretaBoris.com
Facebook: @GretaBorisAuthor
Instagram: @GretaBoris

Megan Haskell:
Website: www.MeganHaskell.com
Facebook & Instagram: @MeganHaskellAuthor

Support the show

FREE Mini Email Course

Have you ever struggled to explain to others exactly what you write? Or wondered which of the many fiction ideas running through your brain you should tackle? If so, The Author Wheel’s new mini-course might be your solution.

7 Days to Clarity: Uncover Your Author Purpose will help you uncover your core writing motivations, avoid shiny-thing syndrome, and create clear marketing language.

Each daily email will lead you step by step in defining your author brand, crafting a mission statement, and distilling that statement into a pithy tagline. And, best of all, it’s free.

Click here to learn more!

Are you a plotter, a discovery writer, or something in-between?

In this episode, Megan and Greta interview Troy Lambert about his writing journey from technical writer to fiction author. They also discuss Plottr, a terrific plotting and planning tool for authors that changed Troy's career.

Troy Lambert is a mystery author, book editor, and the Education Lead for Plottr, the #1 visual book outlining and story bible software. The author of over 25 novels and several works of nonfiction, he lives in the mountains of Idaho with his wife and two very talented dogs.

Make sure to download the Author Strategy Template at www.AuthorWheel.com/stuff, available for free when you join our newsletter.

Question of the week: How do you plan your novels? Or do you? Let's chat on the Facebook page @AuthorWheel.

Follow Us!

Troy Lambert:
Website: https://troylambertwrites.com
Plottr: https://plottr.com

The Author Wheel:
Website: www.AuthorWheel.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWheel

Greta Boris:
Website: www.GretaBoris.com
Facebook: @GretaBorisAuthor
Instagram: @GretaBoris

Megan Haskell:
Website: www.MeganHaskell.com
Facebook & Instagram: @MeganHaskellAuthor

Support the show

Support the show

FREE Mini Email Course

Have you ever struggled to explain to others exactly what you write? Or wondered which of the many fiction ideas running through your brain you should tackle? If so, The Author Wheel’s new mini-course might be your solution.

7 Days to Clarity: Uncover Your Author Purpose will help you uncover your core writing motivations, avoid shiny-thing syndrome, and create clear marketing language.

Each daily email will lead you step by step in defining your author brand, crafting a mission statement, and distilling that statement into a pithy tagline. And, best of all, it’s free.

Click here to learn more!

External validation, internal fulfillment, and satisfying your soul . . .

How do you define success? Is it financial? Is it lifestyle? Is it accolades?

This seems to be a hot topic lately, and keeps coming up in our interviews and conversations, so we decided to tackle the issue head on in this duo episode. We've each developed goals and strategies to move our writing careers forward, but what does "success" actually look like?

Success is different for everyone, and right now we're on opposite sides of the spectrum despite having the same Enneagram personality type. Listen in as we get vulnerable on air!

Make sure to download the Author Strategy Template at www.AuthorWheel.com/stuff, available for free when you join our newsletter.

Question of the week: How do you define success, and how do you celebrate it? Let's chat on the Facebook page @AuthorWheel.

Follow Us!

The Author Wheel:
Website: www.AuthorWheel.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWheel

Greta Boris:
Website: www.GretaBoris.com
Facebook: @GretaBorisAuthor
Instagram: @GretaBoris

Megan Haskell:
Website: www.MeganHaskell.com
Facebook & Instagram: @MeganHaskellAuthor

Support the show

FREE Mini Email Course

Have you ever struggled to explain to others exactly what you write? Or wondered which of the many fiction ideas running through your brain you should tackle? If so, The Author Wheel’s new mini-course might be your solution.

7 Days to Clarity: Uncover Your Author Purpose will help you uncover your core writing motivations, avoid shiny-thing syndrome, and create clear marketing language.

Each daily email will lead you step by step in defining your author brand, crafting a mission statement, and distilling that statement into a pithy tagline. And, best of all, it’s free.

Click here to learn more!

Tropes are everywhere, trusting your instincts, and avoiding formulaic writing...

This week we're talking with Jennifer Hilt about finding and trusting her own writing voice over multiple genres. Through her years of writing, she came to realize that tropes are not just clichés or story building blocks, they're actually relationships. Readers want something familiar with a surprising twist, and understanding tropes and how to use them can help you satisfy your fans.

Jennifer Hilt is a USA Today Bestselling author with more than 24 romances published across four pen names. She is the author of The Trope Thesaurus and Horror Trope Thesaurus. Her latest book, The Trope Thesaurus Romance has a Kickstarter campaign until 2/26.

Final Question: What tropes are you using in your current work in progress? Let us know in the comments to this week's post on Facebook @AuthorWheel!

Free Resource: The Top 5 Roadblocks Aspiring Authors Must Overcome, available for free when you join our newsletter at www.AuthorWheel.com/stuff.

Follow Us!

Jennifer Hilt
Website: www.jenniferhilt.com
Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tropethesaurusromanc/tropethesaurusromance

The Author Wheel:
Website: www.AuthorWheel.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWheel

Greta Boris:
Website: www.GretaBoris.com
Facebook: @GretaBorisAuthor
Instagram: @GretaBoris

Megan Haskell:
Website: www.MeganHaskell.com
Facebook & Instagram: @MeganHaskellAuthor

Support the show

FREE Mini Email Course

Have you ever struggled to explain to others exactly what you write? Or wondered which of the many fiction ideas running through your brain you should tackle? If so, The Author Wheel’s new mini-course might be your solution.

7 Days to Clarity: Uncover Your Author Purpose will help you uncover your core writing motivations, avoid shiny-thing syndrome, and create clear marketing language.

Each daily email will lead you step by step in defining your author brand, crafting a mission statement, and distilling that statement into a pithy tagline. And, best of all, it’s free.

Click here to learn more!