Building an author career depends on writing book after book after book, which is something CL Walters knows well. From her home base in Hawai’i, she writes and publishes through Mixed Plate Press, the venture she runs with her husband. CL writes Young Adult and New Adult titles, and pens Romances under the name Maci Aurora.

In this episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner chats with CL Walters about her author journey, making a living as a writer, maintaining a steady flow of stories, and the resilience required when your first book doesn't quite take off. 

In this episode, Lynne and CL discuss: 

• Early writing memories

• Becoming a full-time writer

• The trials of self-publishing 

• Platforms for self-publishing

• Consistency in theme

• Understanding rejections 

• Building audience relationships

• Fighting Imposter Syndrome

• Setting goals for your book

• Choosing a pen name

• How many books to write a year

Links and Resources: 

• Brand Marketing MasterMind

• In the Echo of This Ghost Town

• The Ugly Truth

• Lynne’s Poetry 

• Scotia Road Books

• Swimming Sideways

• The Stories Stars Tell

• KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing)

• Ingram Spark

Find CL Walters:

WebsiteFacebookTikTok InstagramLinkedIn Blog

If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like these other Make Meaning Podcast episodes:

Episode 138 - Sara Bennett Wealer - Connecting with YA Readers

Episode 135 - Camille Pagan - Making Writing Your Career

Episode 128 - Becky Robinson - Building Reach for Books

Episode 101 - Margaret O’Gorman - Why Bicycling Through Countries is the Best Way to Learn Local Culture

Episode 70 - Elena Reads - How to Stoke a Love of Reading in Kids

Danny Hankner is an electrician by trade and a writer at heart as well as the founder of Story Unlikely. This online literary publication showcases incredible stories, focusing on non-fiction memoiristic pieces. As a publisher, Danny is passionate about discovering great authors and beautiful stories, providing a platform and audience to showcase worthy voices.

In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner interviews Danny Hankner about his literary journey. One of Lynne’s favorite of her original nonfiction writings, “The Roads We Travel,” was accepted by Danny not even 24 hours after she submitted it. She says it was the best acceptance she has ever received. Read it here.

In this episode, Lynne and Danny discuss: 

• The process of publishing on Story Unlikely

• Writing with meaning

• Dealing with rejection

• Strategic submissions to the right publications

• How writing can be healing

• This vision for Story Unlikely

• Tips to get published on Story Unlikely - follow the instructions!

• Why writers need a work ethic & tenacity

Links and Resources: 

• Story Unlikely

• What is a memoir?

• Story Unlikely’s Annual Short Story Competition

• Lynne’s Writing Classes

Find Danny Hankner:

Website 

Facebook

Instagram

If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like these other Make Meaning Podcast episodes:

• Episode 137 – Christopher P. Locke – Breathtaking Essays & Stories

• Episode 117 - Steven Wingate - How to Find Your Voice Again & Again

• Episode 116 - Jake Neher - Telling Stories & Planting Seeds

• Episode 102 - Patrick Hicks - How to Write Historical Fiction

• Episode 77 - Jason Kadlitz - Building Community in a Barber Shop

Annie Cathryn transitioned from a career in marketing for a Fortune 500 company to her own consulting agency inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat Pray Love" to pursue her dream of writing fiction. She recently released her debut book, The Friendship Breakup, and is a self-proclaimed book nerd who has expanded her love for literature by becoming a Bookstagrammer and starting the Soulful Series Video podcast.

In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner interviews Annie Cathryn about her debut novel, creative process, publishing journey, and why we should read our book’s reviews. 

In this episode, Lynne and Annie discuss: 

• Early memories of writing & the teachers who encourage us

• Why and when to leave another career to write a book

• Writing two fantasy novels before diving into women’s fiction

• The inspiration for The Friendship Breakup

• The traditional publishing journey

• Benefits of outlining and plotting a book

• Using Instagram for book marketing

• How Annie is marketing The Friendship Breakup

• Advantages to reading your book reviews

Links and Resources: 

• The Friendship Breakup

• The Lightning Thief

• Caraval by Stephanie Garber

• What is a saggy middle?

• Plotting vs. Pantsing

• Lynne’s Classes

• Alcove Press

Find Annie Cathryn:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

TikTok

If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like these other Make Meaning Podcast episodes:

• Episode 135 – Camille Pagan – Making Writing Your Career

• Episode 128 - Becky Robinson - Building Reach for Your Book

• Episode 100 – Bassie Shemtov – How to Combine Career and Family to Really Make a Difference

• Episode 79 - Laura Munson - How to Find Refuge in Writing

Welcome to a special episode of the Make Meaning Podcast! 

As a full-time author, writing coach, and host of this podcast, Lynne Golodner never thought starting another business would be part of her plan. However, her passion for storytelling and a gap in the marketplace led Lynne to create Scotia Road Books, a new publishing imprint dedicated to providing a platform for women over 40 with strong voices that need to be heard. With a focus on contemporary, historical, and literary fiction, as well as narrative memoirs and essay collections, Scotia Road Books seeks to make a meaningful impact in the publishing world.

Joining Lynne on the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast are two repeat guests: Elizabeth Gowing, author and co-founder of Elbow Publishing, and Merle Saferstein, a journaling expert and author. They share their unique publishing journeys and insights on today’s publishing options.

In this episode, Lynne, Elizabeth, and Merle discuss: 

• How and why your publishing journey can change from book to book

• The benefit of print-on-demand

• The power of journaling

• The different publishing options available to writers

• The costs of book publishing & why you might make more money with non-traditional paths

• Hybrid publishing

• The process to be published by Scotia Road Books

• Advice for authors looking for their right publishing path

• How to leave a legacy

• Book marketing & publicity

Links and Resources: 

• Great Mother Press

• The Balkans

• Travels in Blood and Honey

• Buy Elizabeth’s books

• Buy Merle’s books

• Elbow Publishing

• Bradt Travel Guides

• Living and Leaving My Legacy vol. 1

• Scotia Road Books

Find Elizabeth Gowing:

Website 

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

Twitter

Find Merle Saferstein:

Website 

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

Twitter

If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like these other Make Meaning Podcast episodes:

• Episode 136 – Tammy Pasterick – Writing & Publishing Your Way
• Episode 130 – Merle Saferstein – Journaling & Legacy
• Episode 128 – Becky Robinson – Building Reach for Books
• Episode 118 – Elizabeth Gowing – How to Know a Place by Living its Stories
• Episode 61 – Merle Saferstein – How to leave a legacy through journaling

The award-winning author of 11 books, Tom Sleigh is the latest author to be a guest on the Make Meaning Podcast. In this episode, Tom talks with host Lynne Golodner about how his love of language traces back to childhood, when his mother, an English teacher, first read Thoreau aloud. 

That journey continued through decades when he was a war correspondent on the front lines in Lebanon and Syria to his archeologist days in southern Mexico and finally, to the resonance of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which turned us all into isolated individuals yearning for the connection that language brings.

In this episode, Lynne and Tom discuss: 

• The crossroads of journalism and poetry
• The importance of noticing details
• Feral cats on military tanks in southern Lebanon
• King James I’s fascination with witches and also being a germophobe
• Writing articles about refugees
• How to make poetry accessible
• The profound sense of pleasure that comes with sitting with the words

Links and Resources: 

• THE KING’S TOUCH
• Walden by Henry David Thoreau
• Elizabeth Bishop
• French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
• Swiss archeologist and photographer Gertrude Blom
• Na Bolom research center
• Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott
• Charles Bell

Find Tom Sleigh:

Website 

Facebook

If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like these other Make Meaning Podcast episodes:

• Episode 133 – Sara Henning – Poetry about Loss & Redemption
• Episode 120 – Jacqueline Suskin – A Poem Every Day
• Episode 119 – Roots – Israeli-Palestinian – Toward True Peace in the Middle East
• Episode 68 – M.L. Liebler – How to Use Writing & Performance to be an Activist
• Episode 32 – Lynne Golodner – A Poet’s Legacy: Lynne Golodner Remembers Mary Oliver

Minda Zetlin has written columns for Inc. Magazine for more than a decade, and out of that research, reporting and curiosity grew the material and focus for her latest book, CAREER SELF-CARE.

The latest author to share her story on the Make Meaning Podcast, Minda Zetlin talks with host Lynne Golodner about how crucial membership in the American Society of Journalists and Authors has been for her career, how self-doubt and self-belief have been her biggest challenges, and how important it is to not just build a career, but build a life you’re happy to live.

In this episode, Lynne and Minda discuss: 

• Writing a book while still contributing articles
• Using what you have from your journalistic career to build a book directed by trends and reader interest
• Finding the right agent, publisher and contract for each book
• Keeping clients for a long time
• Thinking outside the box when it comes to marketing your book
• Being a solopreneur
• Mentoring & sponsoring
• Thinking about your writing career from a 20,000-foot perspective

Links and Resources: 

• ASJA
• Hungry Minds publishing
• Your People LLC
• American Management Association
• Brad Willis/Bhava Ram
• HARO
• New World Library

Find Minda Zetlin:

Website 

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram 

LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like these other Make Meaning Podcast episodes:

• Episode 121 – Stephanie Steinberg – On Personal Passions & Creating Communities
• Episode 116 – Jake Neher – Telling Stories and Planting Seeds
• Episode 63 – Nikki Little – Purpose at the Core
• Episode 56 – Ken Budd – How to be a voluntourist
• Episode 51 – Lynne Golodner and Christina Weaver – Storytelling Marketing & Strategic Messaging

Desiree Cooper was once a Detroit Free Press columnist, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, a Kresge Artist Fellow, an attorney and now she’s a children’s book author – which explains why she considers herself “genre agnostic.”

The latest author to share her story on the Make Meaning Podcast, Desiree started writing professionally before social media was a thing, and readers regularly sent her letters and pictures in response to her columns. Her children’s book NOTHING SPECIAL was three years in the making – and it might be her best creation yet.

In this episode, host Lynne Golodner interviews Desiree Cooper about how much books ignited her when she was a child, the friendship between her grandson and her father, moving from Detroit to Virginia to care for her parents, and the fabrication artist who helped bring her book to life.

In this episode, Lynne and Desiree discuss: 

• Launching the book in her yard
• The joy of being a featured book at the Miami Book Fair
• The Great Migration away from Jim Crow & the terrorism of the South
• The Great Reverse Migration trend of African-American families to gather for reunions in the South despite segregation and white supremacy
• All the touchpoints in the book – including a USAF hat, a University of Michigan shirt and a UVA pennant
• Author branding
• Themes of motherhood, family and one life making way for another

Links and Resources: 

• Booklist
• Know the Mother
• The Choice film
• Marilyn Nelson
• Flash fiction

Find Desiree Cooper:

Website 

Facebook

Instagram 

TikTok

If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like these other Make Meaning Podcast episodes:

• Episode 127 – Ly Tran – Writing Unapologetically
• Episode 121 – Stephanie Steinberg – On Personal Passions & Creating Communities
• Episode 118 – Elizabeth Gowing – How to Know a Place by Living Its Stories
• Episode 102 – Patrick Hicks – How to Write Historical Fiction
• Episode 97 – Eric Hale – How to Give Every Child a Chance, Even in the Most Poverty-Stricken Communities
• Episode 70 – Elena Reads – How to Stoke a Love of Reading in Kids

When your mother is an English teacher and your favorite TV show is Masterpiece Theater on PBS, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll take to writing creative, compelling, fantastical stories that captivate readers. “Writing was something I knew I could do,” says Sara Bennett Wealer, the latest author to share her story on the Make Meaning Podcast.

In this episode, host Lynne Golodner interviews Sara Bennett Wealer about how to make a living as a writer, how to earn money writing books and how they are not often the same thing. Sara discusses the importance of the author hustle to keep enough books in the pipeline so readers will keep returning to your words, and what to do when your first book goes nowhere.

In this episode, Lynne and Sara discuss: 

• What to do when your first agent is a “hot mess”
• What it’s like when you finally click with an agent (shout-out to Holly Root and Root Literary!)
• Getting over publishing heartbreaks
• What to do when your books don’t sell
• The importance of a tight time frame and compelling conflict
• Book tours
• How to market your books & your author brand
• How publishing is a long game

Links and Resources: 

• Books Forward
• Grave Things Like Love
• Rival
• Now & When
• Plotter or Pantser
• Harper Teen
• Rush
• Bloomsbury Spark

Find Sara Bennett Wealer:

Website 

Facebook

Instagram 

Twitter

If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like these other Make Meaning Podcast episodes:

• Episode 128 – Becky Robinson – Building Reach for Books
• Episode 117 – Steven Wingate – How to Find Your Voice Again & Again
• Episode 103 – Katie Yamasaki – How to Create a Mural That Represents a Community
• Episode 87 – Rasheda Kamaria Williams – How to Emerge Stronger After Being Bullied
• Episode 84 – Andrew Meloche – How to Make Every Student in a High School Feel Special & Noticed

The key to great writing, says Christopher P. Locke, is to be vulnerable. Don’t worry about what people will think. Don’t censor yourself. Just share your realness and that will help others feel less alone.

In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner interviews Christopher P. Locke about his writing journey, their shared memories in the MFA program at Goddard College, the importance of great mentors and taking yourself seriously as a writer.

In this episode, Lynne and Chris discuss: 

• The arrogance of youth
• Straddling genres
• Believing that you and your voice matter
• Why you’ll be the most passionate promoter of your work
• Why you can’t be a good writer if you’re not an avid reader
• How writing allows for exploration of loss, discontent, struggle and suffering
• Why bad choices make good stories

Links and Resources: 

• Michael Klein
• Jane Wohl
• 25 Trumbulls Road
• Music for Ghosts
• Without Saints
• Black Lawrence Press
• NYQ Books
• Black River Chapbook Award
• Denis Johnson

Find Christopher P. Locke:

Website 

Facebook

Instagram 

Twitter

If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like these other Make Meaning Podcast episodes:

• Episode 133 – Sara Henning – Poetry about Loss & Redemption
• Episode 120 – Jacqueline Suskin -  A Poem Every Day
• Episode 79 – Laura Munson – How to Find Refuge in Writing
• Episode 73 – Jim Reese – Why Teaching Writing in Prisons Helps Everyone
• Episode 68 – M.L. Liebler – How to Use Writing & Performance to be an Activist
• Episode 2 – Barbara Jones – Stories Can Change the World

Tammy Pasterick didn’t intend to become a historical fiction novelist. But when a deep dive into her family’s immigrant history unearthed fascinating storylines about Eastern European emigres who settled in Pennsylvania, she knew she had a great story on her hands.

In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner interviews Tammy Pasterick about her journey of writing Beneath the Veil of Smoke and Ash, why she went for hybrid publishing, growing up in a family of steelworkers and coal miners, and her career as an investigator with the National Labor Relations Board, a paralegal and a German teacher.

In this episode, Lynne and Tammy discuss: 

• Mining your family history for ideas & identity
• Self-publishing and managing book marketing
• How Americans perceive immigrants
• What it takes to make a life in America
• Launching a writing career
• Beta readers
• Character development, literary arcs and voice

Links and Resources: 

• San Francisco Writers Conference
• NetGalley
• She Writes Press
• IngramSpark
• Penn State University
• Book Sparks
• Bookstagram
• Blog tour with the Coffee Pot
• Amor Towles
• Kristin Hannah
• Outlander

Find Tammy Pasterick:

Website 

Facebook

Instagram 

If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like these other Make Meaning Podcast episodes:

• Episode 129 – Rosina Lippi – Author of the Wilderness Series
• Episode 131 – Weina Dai Randel – The Last Rose of Shanghai
• Episode 123 – Karen Baum Gordon – On Surviving the Surviving
• Episode 102 – Patrick Hicks – How to Write Historical Fiction
• Episode 80 – Iris Lee Underwood – Author & Descendant of the McCoys of Appalachia