The Daily Writer

On this episode, I share details about the brand-new Daily Writer Community, which is now open for application!

You'll learn why I'm launching this group, what's included, and how it's different than other writing groups.

If you're looking for a small, intimate, supportive, generous, action-taking group of writers who are working to achieve their goals, then DW might be for you!

To apply for membership, visit https://dailywriterlife.com/apply. 

For more info on the community, visit https://dailywriterlife.com/community.

WHAT'S INCLUDED?

1. Private FB Group
2. Courses
3. Monthly Mastermind Calls
4. Monthly Expert Calls
5. Weekly Writing Sprints
6. Access to an Exclusive Group of Mentors
7. Book & Storytelling Discussions
8. Exclusive Resources
9. Daily Writing Prompts
10. Content Archive
11. Live & Virtual Events

PRICING: Right now, while we are building the group, the Founding member price is $25/month for the first 25 members. If you pay for a year up front, it's $250, so you get two months for free.

We are rewarding the action-takers and the founding members by giving a very special rate of $25/month -- less than a dollar a day for all of the amazing features of the daily writer community.

To apply for membership, visit https://dailywriterlife.com/apply. Once we receive your application and everything looks good, we will send a link to set up a Zoom call.

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If you enjoyed this episode, we would be grateful if you leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more people discover the show, and the more people listen, the more we can invest into it and improve the show.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

When it comes right down to it, everything about writing success comes down to productivity. We may have great ideas, we may feel inspired, and we may have great connections. We may even have a publishing contract.

But if we don't actually produce the work, nothing else matters.

I'm excited that my good friend Jennifer Harshman is here to give us some tips to become more productive in our writing and business. Jennifer is a successful editor, book development coach, ghostwriter, and business owner. She is the owner of HarshmanServices.com and the editor of the book Find a Real Editor: Avoiding the Posers and Scammers, which is a helpful guide to evaluating editors for your writing.

In this conversation, Jennifer walks us through four obstacles to productivity, which are procrastination, perfectionism, pessimism, and paranoia. She also walks us through several P's that we need to put into practice, which include purpose, planning, persistence, and others.

I encourage you to also sign up for Jennifer's email list at her website listed above. You’re going to get a lot of great writing, productivity, and editing tips in your inbox. You can also connect with Jennifer on LinkedIn and Facebook.

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If you enjoyed this episode, we would be grateful if you leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more people discover the show, and the more people listen, the more we can invest into it and improve the show.

Sign up for the Daily Writer email: DailyWriterLife.com

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

On today's special edition, I review the successes and challenges in my writing and business over the past year. I also share eight major goals I'll be working on in 2021.

2020 Successes:

1. Ghostwrote two client books.
2. Became a Literary Scout for Morgan James Publishing.
3. Re-launched my podcast as The Daily Writer and changed to a daily format.
4. Launched beta version of The Daily Writer Community.
5. Wrote a first draft of my next book, Let It Flow.
6. Focused my client services to book development coaching & ghostwriting.

2020 Challenges:

1. Balancing my day job and side business.
2. Perhaps building too many things at once?
3. Learning to write faster and more efficiently.
4. Managing my energy and getting healthier.
5. Working ON my business instead of IN it.

8 Major Projects for 2021:

1. Get healthier, lose 50 lbs., and run a 5k/10k/Half Marathon.
2. Release Let It Flow and another book I've co-written. (And two other possible books.)
3. Grow the Daily Writer Community to 100 members.
4. Ghostwrite 4 client books.
5. Grow 4 marketing channels: Daily Writer podcast, podcast guesting (100 interviews), writing for large publications, build email list.
6. Be more efficient in my writing and business.
7. Grow affiliate marketing.
8. Continue building relationships daily.

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If you enjoyed this episode, we would be grateful if you leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more people discover the show, and the more people listen, the more we can invest into it and improve the show.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

I’m taking a very short 1-week hiatus from the podcast to work on my next book and do some extra planning for 2021. We have nearly 300 episodes of the daily writer podcast published, so I encourage you to take some time to look back through the archive here and catch up on some episodes you might have missed.

I especially want to encourage you to check out a few episodes from the last few months that have really struck a nerve with people, and I think you will enjoy also:

Interviews:

• Bee Evans: Tear Out the Tags (Nov. 28)
• Bethany Lee: The Journey of Writing a Novel (Nov. 14)
• David Hancock: Morgan James, the Publisher for Entrepreneurs (Sep. 10)

Solo episodes

• 15 Ways to Make Money as a Writer (Nov. 15)
• 20 Podcasting Lessons from 200 Episodes (Sep. 24)
• The Introvert's Guide to Networking (Sep. 8)

I’ll be back on Jan. 1 with the next episode: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Writers.

***

If you enjoyed this episode, we would be grateful if you leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more people discover the show, and the more people listen, the more we can invest into it and improve the show.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

Christmas means many things to many people.

Some people look forward to parties and social events. Some people enjoy the lights and holiday displays in stores and homes. Some people love all the holiday entertainment you can enjoy, such as Hallmark movies and music specials. And of course, everybody loves gifts, especially kids.

But for people of faith, Christmas is the time of year when we remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Even though we may enjoy all the festivities, gifts, and celebration, nothing is more meaningful than remembering the hope we have in Jesus.

It’s fascinating to read the accounts of Jesus’ birth from the Gospels. Those passages have been immortalized not only in church but in pop culture as well. We all remember how Linus quoted from Luke chapter 2 in the popular TV special “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

But have you ever stopped to consider exactly how these passages were written? We think of the Bible as a sacred text, which it is, but it was also written by regular people who chose to be obedient to the Spirit’s leading in researching and writing down these accounts of Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection.

On today's episode, Kent wonders: if God can use the writing talents of an ordinary tax collector like Matthew, then maybe, just maybe, He can use you and me to make a little dent in history.

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If you enjoyed this episode, we would be grateful if you leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more people discover the show, and the more people listen, the more we can invest into it and improve the show.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

If there is one word that describes our modern, hectic lifestyles, it’s “obligation.” 

We are connected 24/7 to our devices, and literally anyone in the world with a smartphone can reach out to us. Our inboxes are filled with an email from marketers, influencers, clients, people who want something from us … and hopefully sometimes, from friends who are checking in. Our social media feeds are crammed full of posts and advertisements that demand our attention right now, this very second. And we feel obligated to respond to all of it.

But how much of this stuff is really necessary to our overall goals? How much of it can help us become better writers or achieve the things that are important to us?

On today's episode, Kent encourages us to question whether all the things that take our time throughout the day are really necessary.

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If you enjoyed this episode, we would be grateful if you leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more people discover the show, and the more people listen, the more we can invest into it and improve the show.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

In the year 532, the emperor Justinian stood gazing at the smoking ruins of Constantinople’s patriarchal church that had just been burned to the ground by riots. As the leader of the Byzantine empire, he wanted to build a cathedral that would surpass the glory of its predecessor, but also be a stunning place of worship and a testament to the beauty and creativity of the Byzantine tradition.

The natural choice to take on such a monumental task would have been a team of architects who had experience with this kind of project. But instead, Justinian chose two mathematicians named Isidore and Anthemius.

They had not been formally trained in architecture, but their skills in math and science would be the key that helped them organize the logistics to finish a construction project the likes of which the Eastern empire had never seen.

On today's episode, Kent reflects on what we can learn from the architects who built the Hagia Sophia.

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If you enjoyed this episode, we would be grateful if you leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more people discover the show, and the more people listen, the more we can invest into it and improve the show.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

If your writing was a cake, what would the ingredients be?

You would certainly include structure. You’d think about the audience. If you were writing research, you would include some data or case studies. If writing fiction, you would make sure to include plot and characters. And if you want to work to be read, you must also think about publishing and marketing.

All those are important, but there is one ingredient of great writing that rarely gets talked about: love.

Love? Seriously? 

What about marketing? What about building a platform? What about monetization, big-time publishers, sales numbers, or downloads?

Those can all be important factors, and we all would like to have a big audience or platform. However, you can’t have any of those things unless you first bake a great cake.

On today's episode, Kent challenges us to put a little love into everything we do.

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If you enjoyed this episode, we would be grateful if you leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more people discover the show, and the more people listen, the more we can invest into it and improve the show.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, the military historian Robert Cowley coordinated a fascinating series of books called What If? The books featured essays by prominent historians, each one looking at a particular “what if” question in history. For example:

• What if the Mayflower had never set sail?
• What if JFK had not been assassinated?
• What if Teddy Roosevelt had won re-election in 1912?
• What if Lincoln had not issued the Emancipation Proclamation?
• What if Martin Luther had burned at the stake?

Those are fascinating questions, and these books gave historians the opportunity to let their imaginations run wild and speculate on what might have happened if history had turned out a little different.

On today's episode, Kent asks: Isn’t it time you started asking “what if” and finally took your shot?

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If you enjoyed this episode, we would be grateful if you leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more people discover the show, and the more people listen, the more we can invest into it and improve the show.

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders 

One of the topics we often discuss on this podcast is doing client work. If you haven't yet considered it as a way to supplement your income, I encourage you to think about it.

When you're starting with freelance writing, how do you get that first client? This is a critical question because getting that first client is very important. Once that happens, you have more confidence and momentum.

I'm excited to have two guests on this roundtable episode who share some expert tips on getting that first client. The first is Lynn Smargis, who is a freelance writer in the area of health and fitness, gluten-free lifestyle, education, science, travel, and educational technology. She is also the host of the Gluten-Free Travel Podcast.

The second Leo York, who is a Leo is a copywriter who specializes in commercial screenplays. He is the copywriter who popularized using evolutionary behavior as a baseline for content. Leo is also the co-host of The 13th Floor Podcast.

In this conversation, we tackle why you should consider freelance writing, how to choose an area of specialization, how to find your first client, how to sell yourself, and much more.

Even if you are already doing client work, you'll benefit from this episode. Plus, these guys are a lot of fun. Here's my conversation with Lynn Smargis and Leo York.

You can connect with Lynn Smargis at WriteForYou.Me and LinkedIn. You can connect with Leo at LeoCopywriting.com or on LinkedIn.

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If you enjoyed this episode, we would be grateful if you leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more people discover the show, and the more people listen, the more we can invest into it and improve the show.

Sign up for the Daily Writer email: DailyWriterLife.com

Follow Kent Sanders:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kent.sanders

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kentsanders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentsanders