The Merry Writer Podcast

EPISODE SHOW NOTES

In episode 338, we somehow derailed our conversation to discuss something about Kindle Unlimited. We realized we never did an episode about it, so here we are. This week, we discuss things we've learned about the program and whether we think it'd be worth a try.

In this episode, we cover:

Sources:

As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!

WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?

We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!

If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.

If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Ko-fi

You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.

Special Thanks

Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie

Share

If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.

CREDITS

Hosts

Ari Meghlen & Rachel Poli

Music

Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

EPISODE SHOW NOTES

Today is more of a marketing episode as we discuss the pros and cons of using the selling platform, Etsy, to sell as authors. This episode got pretty long, so we decided to split it into 2. This is part 1. :)

In this episode, we cover:

How to set up your shop

What to list

DISCLAIMER: As with all things technical, depending on when you're listening to this, certain things may have changed. Selling platforms will have cycles of making changes.

As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!

WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?

We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!

If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.

If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Ko-fi

You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.

Special Thanks

Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie

Share

If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.

CREDITS

Hosts

Ari Meghlen & Rachel Poli

Music

Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

EPISODE SHOW NOTES

There's only so much we can do when it comes to promotion and marketing our books. Word of mouth is great, but it's also good if people find your book organically. How do they do this? By you tagging your book with the right keywords. This week, we discuss what book keywords are and how you can match good ones to your novel.

In this episode, we cover:

Recommended Tool: Publisher Rocket

As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!

WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?

We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!

If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.

If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Ko-fi

You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.

Special Thanks

Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie

Share

If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.

CREDITS

Hosts

Ari Meghlen & Rachel Poli

Music

Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

EPISODE SHOW NOTES

This week, we’re getting to know Claris Lam, author and poet, who writes in a multitude of genres.

In this episode, we cover:

As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!

ABOUT CLARIS LAM

Claris Lam (she/her) is a Chinese Canadian author & poet writing to inspire readers with hope, perseverance, creativity, and happy endings.

Claris’ short fiction and poetry has been published in several collections and projects. The first two books in her murder mystery series, the Harlow Mystery series, were nominated for several categories in the 2023 Indie Ink Awards and 2024 Queer Indie Awards.

Her debut poetry chapbook, Refilling The Well, was published in February 2025 and her debut young adult (YA) short story collection, Stay Magical, was published in September 2025.

Website | Instagram | Blue Sky | Tumblr | Facebook | YouTube

WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?

We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!

If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.

If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Ko-fi

You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.

Special Thanks

Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie

Share

If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.

CREDITS

Hosts

Ari Meghlen & Rachel Poli

Music

Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

EPISODE SHOW NOTES

Today is National Podcast Day! Since we've hosted a podcast for so long and we're authors ourselves, we thought it'd be fun to discuss the benefits of podcasting for authors.

In this episode, we cover:

Benefits of being a guest

Benefits of hosting your own show

Building relationships & networking

Ari's old interview

We couldn't find Rachel's old interview, unfortunately. But here's a link to Annette's website for good measure.

As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!

WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?

We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!

If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.

If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Ko-fi

You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.

Special Thanks

Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie

Share

If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.

CREDITS

Hosts

Ari Meghlen & Rachel Poli

Music

Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

EPISODE SHOW NOTES

ARCs, also known as Advanced Reader Copies, are super important for any author, but especially indie authors. We've discussed sending ARCs as an author before, but what about being an ARC reader? This week, we discuss how you can help support indie authors by being an ARC reader for them, and how to be a good one.

In this episode, we cover:

Related episodes:

As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!

WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?

We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!

If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.

If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Ko-fi

You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.

Special Thanks

Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie

Share

If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.

CREDITS

Hosts

Ari Meghlen & Rachel Poli

Music

Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

EPISODE SHOW NOTES

We've talked a lot on the show about how being an author is the equivalent of running a business. Depending on your publishing goals, you're running a business as an author. This week, we discuss various business models you can aim for to make a living with your writing.

In this episode, we cover:

Further Reading

As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!

WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?

We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!

If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.

If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Ko-fi

You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.

Special Thanks

Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie

Share

If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.

CREDITS

Hosts

Ari Meghlen & Rachel Poli

Music

Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

EPISODE SHOW NOTES

Being an author isn't all puppies and rainbows or kittens and cakes! There are some great parts, and some hard parts and we have to ride the rollercoaster through it all!

So, today we talk about a few things you can do to prepare or cope with the ups and downs of author life.

As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!

WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?

We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!

If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.

If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Ko-fi

You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.

Special Thanks

Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie

Share

If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.

CREDITS

Hosts

Ari Meghlen & Rachel Poli

Music

Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

EPISODE SHOW NOTES

This week, we’re getting to know Krista Walsh. Krista is a fantasy author who explores writing relatable characters in romantasy, urban fantasy, and epic fantasy quests.

In this episode, we cover:

As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!

ABOUT KRISTA WALSH

Krista is a Canadian indie fantasy author who spends her days creating relatable characters and epic found families wrapped in magic. She lives with her husband (who makes monsters), her daughter (who loves monsters), and her blue heeler (who is a monster).

Website | Instagram | Facebook

WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?

We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!

If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.

If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Ko-fi

You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.

Special Thanks

Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie

Share

If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.

CREDITS

Hosts

Ari Meghlen & Rachel Poli

Music

Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

EPISODE SHOW NOTES

We started this episode in good faith, talking about research... kinda... then we fell down a rabbit hole. Kudos to everyone who actually managed to get to the end! We hope you enjoyed... something :)

As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!

WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?

We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!

If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.

If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Ko-fi

You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.

Special Thanks

Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie

Share

If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.

CREDITS

Hosts

Ari Meghlen & Rachel Poli

Music

Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0