"It's a performance, not a reading", so says audio narration expert Sean Pratt. Sean has 30 years experience as an actor and voice-over artist, and in 22 years as an audiobook narrator, he has worked on close to 1,000 projects. In this episode, he lifts the lid on the audiobook business and gives us writers some expert tips on speaking well at public events, including book readings. He also tells us what an author needs to know if they decide to narrate their own book.

This episode looks at the emotional and psychological cost of marketing and promotion for writers. There are plenty of opportunities but it's hostile territory, so we look at the need to create an excellent product, what to do when you're feeling addicted to the numbers, and how to be sociable on social media.

Tim is an award-winning travel writer, the author of a number of books including The World’s Cheapest Destinations, Travel Writing 2.0, and Make Your Travel Dollars Worth a Fortune: The Contrarian Traveler’s Guide to Getting More for Less. He is also an established blogger, speaker and ghostwriter and in this episode, we talk about Tim’s experiences as a writer of non-fiction, how to get started and thrive as a blogger, and Tim gives us his hints and tips on making your writing time more efficient. I hope you enjoy this conversation, here it is.

In this second part of a two-part series on point of view, we look at the challenge of using omniscient third person point of view. Often seen as old-fashioned, and definitely a challenge to use successfully, this PoV option is making something of a comeback and is the right choice for some work.

Getting Point of View (PoV) right is one of the fundamental challenges for any writer. In the first of a two-part series on the subject, we look at what point of view is, and how to make a success of third person limited point of view in your work.

I recently spoke with fellow podcaster, essayist and award-winning journalist Brendan O'Meara. We talked about the challenges that writers of both fiction and non-fiction face, the issue of finding time to write, the value of having momentum, and the goal of building up a body of work to close the creative gap

Writing the first draft of a novel, like scaling the north face of the Eiger, presents particular difficulties. In this episode, we look at what those challenges are, and how we can overcome them to get the first draft done.

Deus Ex Machina or 'god out of the machine' endings have a rich heritage going back to the Ancient Greek Theatre. But they are a terrible model for endings in creative writing. In this episode, we explore what Deus Ex Machina endings are, why they are so bad for creative writers, and how we can create a much better ending that will give credibility to our work and satisfy our readers.

This episode is a conversation with story grid developmental editor Lori Puma. In our conversation we talk about why stories matter, and what we as writers should do about that. We discuss the way in which Story Grid, and a developmental editor can actually help authors, and we reflect on the way in which personal tragedy can inform both our lives and our stories. You can find out more about the Story Grid process here: www.storygrid.com and about non-violent communication here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX4N0VryiC4

And you can find out more about Lori at her website: www.loripuma.com

Writer's have the most important job in the world. Does that sound like hubris? Well I would suggest that it isn't. Stories are of profound importance, and as storytellers, we are the custodians of these precious artefacts, as such it behoves us to be as authentic as possible, to practice our craft, and to be as brave and persistent as we can be.