The Novel Writing Podcast

As of June 2026, The Chronicles of Talahm is a complete 4-book series (quartet). It took eight years to write, and almost five to publish, but here are my main lessons learned from the self-publishing process.

What you can expect to learn:

• How it feels to complete the series
• Managing a series arc
• Skill increases across the books
• Lessons from series data (because why wouldn't I have data?)
• Whether I miss the characters
• Plans for future books
• How much it cost to publish books 1-4 👀

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

AI can do far more than simply chat back and forth in a tool like ChatGPT or Grok. 

Book marketing expert Thomas Umstattd Jr, host of The Novel Marketing Podcast, joins me to share how AI can become a gamechanger in your marketing tasks.

Whether you're an AI proponent or not, this conversation is eye-opening to the scope of what tasks authors can delegate to an AI agent as if it were a virtual assistant. 

After all, the only thing authors can truly do themselves is WRITE. What if we let the AI handle the rest?

*disclaimer: don't let AI edit your book*

Connect with Thomas at authormedia.com

Interested in Thomas's upcoming webinar on GrokBot? It's on October 22, 2026:

• https://www.crowdcast.io/c/grok-bot-for-authors-oct

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Creating a believable sci-fi or fantasy world doesn't happen by accident.

Whether a world has lived rent-free in your heads for years or you're trying to create one from the ground up, immersing the reader takes more than an infodump of backstory or lore.

Author Clint Hall shares how he built not one, but five worlds in his Worlds Collide trilogy (book 1 available now), and did so such that each one was unique, immersive, and rich with implied history.

Clint also turned the tables on me a few times (since he's also a podcast host of The Experience: Conversations With Creatives).

Connect with Clint:

• https://clinthall.com/

Listen to my review of Worlds Collide:

• https://thechristianreaderspodcast.buzzsprout.com/2529164/episodes/19500538-book-review-worlds-collide-by-clint-hall

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

White Room Syndrome: when scenes without setting descriptions to ground readers turn into bland, boring white rooms.

This writing problem can happen for a variety of reasons, whether it's that your scenes are dialogue heavy, characters move without reference to or interaction with their surroundings, or the setting changes without warning. 

Thankfully, setting description doesn't have to be elaborate, just present. Listen to find out more about White Room Syndrome and how to fix it.

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

If your author email inbox (or spam folder) is filled with messages supposedly from big name authors (or agents and publishers), emails from randos asking to beta read your book, or out-of-the-blue invitations to feature your book in their book club, cold pitches for book marketing services...

They're scams.

With AI, author scams are through the roof, and they're getting more convincing by the day. 

Rob Bignell, author of the Storytelling 101 Quick Read series, shares the results of his research into book marketing scams after his inbox began exploding with these emails last year. 

Listen in to find out what the most common scams are right now, which scams are fleecing even the most suspicious authors, and how to reduce how many scam emails reach your inbox.

Connect with Rob:

• https://inventingrealityediting.com/
• Protecting Yourself against Book Marketing Scams

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Daphne James Huff, author of sweet kissing-only romance, burned out in 2019 after publishing 6 books in a year WHILE also working full time AND running a podcast.

At the time, the Amazon algorithm rewarded constant publishing, and Daphne bought into that, to the detriment of her mental health.

In this interview, she shares how she identified, dealt with, and overcame the burnout.

As of 2023, she's back in publishing, now at a much more sustainable pace of 2 books a year.

Connect with Daphne:

• Website: https://www.daphnejameshuff.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daphnejameshuff/

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

"Cut adverbs!" is common(ly) misused writing advice. 

It assumes adverbs are the enemy when they're a legitimate and necessary part of speech. 

It also makes newer writers afraid of using adverbs at all, which can lead to instances of unnecessary showing, and lose out on the precision of a correctly used adverb.

This episode makes a case against all the adverb hate, and provides examples for when the adverb really is the right choice.

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Whether it's query rejection letters, alpha readers giving harsh feedback, or negative reviews, rejection is part of every author's life.

Steve Laube, renowned literary agent and head of Enclave Publishing, knows a thing or two about rejection—and how authors can learn to handle it better.

You can find Steve's book, Sacred Margins, at https://www.shoptheword.com/

For more information on the Steve Laube Literary Agency, visit https://stevelaube.com/

For more information on Enclave Publishing, visit https://www.enclavepublishing.com/

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Finding the right comparison (comp) titles can make all the difference in pitching or marketing your novel, but many authors don't know where to start. 

In this episode, you'll learn what comp titles are, where to find them, how to use them, and what mistakes to avoid.

Whether published or not, querying agents or going the indie route, choosing comps will help potential readers understand if your book is for them.

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

If you've ever struggled finding a cover designer or knowing what to put on the cover at all, Matt Stone, CEO of 100 Covers, is here to answer your questions.

100 Covers specializes in affordable yet high quality, market-forward covers for indie authors.

Save 20% off your cover with 100 Covers by using coupon code COLLEEN at checkout! This discount is ONGOING for your cover needs.

100 Covers Evergreen Coupon Code: COLLEEN

Read the article Matt shared during the interview: https://kindlepreneur.com/book-cover-design-lessons/

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts