The Creative Shift with Dan Blank

When I asked author Jasmin Darznik if she had a sense of permission to create when growing up, she replied: “Not at all. It’s not even that I didn’t feel permission, I felt prohibition.” In today’s interview, we dive deep into her journey, emigrating from Iran, how she gave herself permission to pursue writing, and … Continue reading "“I grew up with a sense that writing was dangerous.” My Interview with Author Jasmin Darznik"

As you consider what it is to create and share your work, I encourage you to focus on the individuals who support what you do. The names, the faces, and connect with them in a manner that develops meaningful experiences, not just social media stats. In today’s episode I share some stories that illustrate this … Continue reading "Marketing is About Connection (Podcast)"

Last year Janae Marks had her first novel published to an incredible reception: 900+ reviews on Amazon, starred reviews, and selected as a must-read book by many organizations. In our interview, Janae shares the road to that book, which included writing three books that didn’t get published, and how she queried 70+ agents before getting … Continue reading "A Successful Debut Novel (After 3 Unpublished Books and 70+ Rejections) My Interview with Janae Marks"

I recently spoke with New York Times bestselling author Jessica Lahey, who shared what is essentially a masterclass on the topic of launching a book. In this episode, I reflect on some key areas that Jess shared in my most recent podcast with her. Themes I discuss on today’s episode: why books that continue to … Continue reading "How to Get People to Buy Your Book (Podcast)"

In today’s episode, New York Times bestselling author Jessica Lahey takes us behind the scenes to how she promotes a book. She gets into the details about the hundreds of letters she sends out; the importance of gift-giving and thank you notes; why she hired a publicist; the surprising answer she gave to a “massive … Continue reading "“How do you get a book to continue to sell? You continue to talk about it.” My Interview with Jessica Lahey"

Would you take this risk? Let’s say you write you very first novel and get a book deal with a major publisher — it’s your dream come true. Then, you come up with an idea to self-publish a free prequel short story to that book, six months before the novel is released. Your publisher is … Continue reading "Would You Take This Creative Risk? (podcast)"

Livia Blackburne studied biochemical sciences at Harvard, and then went on to earn her PhD in cognitive neuroscience from MIT. What did she do next? She gave up that career to become a New York Times Bestselling author pursue writing full-time. In our interview, share shares her journey to becoming a writer, and the unusual … Continue reading "From a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience to NYT Bestselling Author. The Creative Shift of Livia Blackburne"

Writers and creators tend to feel pressure to get followers, subscribers, reviews, make bestseller lists, and win awards. In the process, this can reduce the concept of engaging with readers to a simple number. It’s not uncommon for me to hear someone say: “I only have 100 followers.” But I want to emphasize this: Every … Continue reading "Every Reader Counts (podcast)"

Moments like this are why this podcast exists: “When the book came out, I left my job, and went freelance. That was my last job-job.” Today, author Nicole Blades shares her initial inspiration to become a writer, how she navigated other careers until she found her path into writing, and how she got a book … Continue reading "“When the book came out, I left my job.” The Creative Shift of Author Nicole Blades"

In studying how to effectively share what we create to develop an audience for our work, something I think a lot about is frequency. The act of creating and sharing often. This can be especially effective for a writer or artist who hopes to develop their platform, grow their audience, and ensure their work truly … Continue reading "Podcast: The Power of Clicking “Publish”"