The WisMissus Podcast: Reading, Writing, & Roaming around Wisconsin, the Midwest, & Beyond

This is a podcast for authors by authors! (And also readers who want the scoop on what authors are REALLY thinking.) Join Valerie Biel and T.K. (Tracey) Sheffield as we share topics to help our fellow writers as well as fun tidbits on what we’re reading and where we’re roaming. 2024 will have 10 episodes on topics like agent searching (episode 1), indie vs traditional publishing (episode 4), book launch basics, helpful writing conferences (episode 2), why we write what we write (episode 3) and more!

ABOUT US—YOUR PODCAST HOSTS:

Valerie Biel is the author of the award-winning Circle of Nine series as well as a publicity professional who aids other authors with their book launches and marketing. You can find her here on Substack at Reading, Writing, & Roaming or at ValerieBiel.com.

Tracey writes stories for readers who want to laugh and escape. She is the author of the award-winning Backyard Model comic culinary cozy mysteries, and other books. She is found at her website, T.K. Sheffield Writes, and her Instagram, The Backyard Model.

ABOUT EPISODE 9:

We each list five things that were important or success for our fall book launches and sprinkle in a few tasks/situations that proved difficult. In publishing, you can be sure that not everything will go as planned and we’re honest about those pieces. But mainly, we’re celebrating the best of our launches and our gratefulness at being part of such a wonderfully supportive writing community.

Links mentioned in this podcast.

Wisconsin Writers Association: https://wiwrite.org/

Green Acres — ha/ha — we discuss this TV show from our childhood and wanted to provide a link for the youngins in the audience. Check out the show’s opening here — it’s really all you need to understand the premise of the show.

This is a podcast for authors by authors! (And also readers who want the scoop on what authors are REALLY thinking.) Join Valerie Biel and T.K. (Tracey) Sheffield as we share topics to help our fellow writers as well as fun tidbits on what we’re reading and where we’re roaming. 2024 will have 10 episodes on topics like agent searching (episode 1), indie vs traditional publishing (episode 4), book launch basics, helpful writing conferences (episode 2), why we write what we write (episode 3) and more!

ABOUT US—YOUR PODCAST HOSTS:

Valerie Biel is the author of the award-winning Circle of Nine series as well as a publicity professional who aids other authors with their book launches and marketing. You can find her here on Substack at Reading, Writing, & Roaming or at ValerieBiel.com.

Tracey writes stories for readers who want to laugh and escape. She is the author of the award-winning Backyard Model comic culinary cozy mysteries, and other books. She is found at her website, T.K. Sheffield Writes, and her Instagram, The Backyard Model.

ABOUT EPISODE 8:

We reflect on how much being AT a conference in-person helps writers after the first day at the WWA Conference. We then shift gears and talk about mystery writing—why we love the genre and what we find tricky or difficult about writing mysteries, too.

Links mentioned in this podcast.

Wisconsin Writers Association:

https://wiwrite.org/

The Jade Ring Contest (sponsored by WWA)

Upcoming Author Events:

November 2 - Combined event - T.K. & Valerie at Literatus Bookstore, Watertown, WI Learn more.

November 8 - Combined Event - T.K. & Valerie at Daydream Believer Books, Lake Mills, WI. Learn more.

This is a podcast for authors by authors! (And also readers who want the scoop on what authors are REALLY thinking.) Join Valerie Biel and TK (Tracey) Sheffield as we share topics to help our fellow writers as well as fun tidbits on what we’re reading and where we’re roaming. 2024 will have 10 episodes on topics like agent searching (episode 1), indie vs traditional publishing (episode 4), book launch basics, helpful writing conferences (episode 2), why we write what we write (episode 3) and more!

ABOUT US—YOUR PODCAST HOSTS:

Valerie Biel is the author of the award-winning Circle of Nine series as well as a publicity professional who aids other authors with their book launches and marketing. You can find her here on Substack at Reading, Writing, & Roaming or at ValerieBiel.com.

Tracey writes stories for readers who want to laugh and escape. She is the author of the award-winning Backyard Model comic culinary cozy mysteries, and other books. She is found at her website, TK Sheffield Writes, and her Instagram, The Backyard Model.

ABOUT EPISODE 7:

Launching a book may be the single most daunting task in an author’s life—and particularly—launching three books in one year like T.K. Sheffield OR launching two books at once like Valerie Biel—make for ‘interesting’ times for these two podcast hosts. These updates will take you to the 14 minute mark, where we then shift to our primary topic about the Wisconsin Writers Association Conference.

Links mentioned in this podcast.

Bouchercon: https://www.bouchercon2025.com/

Wisconsin Writers Association: https://wiwrite.org/

Chicago Writers Association Conference: https://www.chicagowrites.org/conference

New England Crime Bake 2024 (Coming in November if you’re interested!!)

Upcoming Author Events:

October 22 - T.K. Sheffield’s Mystery to Me Bookstore Launch of “Model Ghost.” (Madison, WI) Learn more.

October 31 - Valerie Biel’s special Halloween book launch. Cercis Brewing, Columbus, WI. Learn more.

November 2 - Combined event - T.K. & Valerie at Literatus Bookstore, Watertown, WI Learn more.

November 8 - Combined Event - T.K. & Valerie at Daydream Believer Books, Lake Mills, WI. Learn more.

This is a podcast for authors by authors! (And also readers who want the scoop on what authors are REALLY thinking.) Join Valerie Biel and TK (Tracey) Sheffield as we share topics to help our fellow writers as well as fun tidbits on what we’re reading and where we’re roaming. 2024 will have 10 episodes on topics like agent searching (episode 1), indie vs traditional publishing (episode 4), book launch basics (this episode), helpful writing conferences (episode 2), why we write what we write (episode 3) and more!

ABOUT US—YOUR PODCAST HOSTS:

Valerie Biel is the author of the award-winning Circle of Nine series as well as a publicity professional who aids other authors with their book launches and marketing. You can find her here on Substack at Reading, Writing, & Roaming or at ValerieBiel.com.

Tracey writes stories for readers who want to laugh and escape. She is the author of the award-winning Backyard Model comic culinary cozy mysteries, and other books. She is found at her website, TK Sheffield Writes, and her Instagram, The Backyard Model.

ABOUT EPISODE 6:

Launching a book may be the single most daunting task in an author’s life—harder sometimes than the actual writing of the book. There are many steps to doing this successfully whether you’re traditionally or independently published.

In this episode we mention a few different resources, please find these links below:

Valerie’s Book Launch Basics series (this will be an 8 part series), here are the first three installments.

Part 1: Developing Your Online Author Image and Overall Branding

Part 2: Manuscript Readiness

Part 3: Your Review Strategy

Cassie Mannes Murray article — Building Intimacy: On why we have got to stop equating "influence" and "intimacy" in the book sale model & do you want readers or media hits? (This is the article we talk about which mentions that glitzy exposure doesn’t always sell books.)

Wisconsin Writers Association (We talk about the fall conference where both Tracey and I will be speaking.)

Thanks for reading Reading, Writing, & Roaming with Author Valerie Biel! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a podcast for authors by authors! (And also readers who want the scoop on what authors are REALLY thinking.) Join Valerie Biel and TK (Tracey) Sheffield as we share topics to help our fellow writers as well as fun tidbits on what we’re reading and where we’re roaming. 2024 will have 10 episodes on topics like agent searching (episode 1), indie vs traditional publishing (episode 4), book launch basics, helpful writing conferences (episode 2), why we write what we write (episode 3) and more!

ABOUT US—YOUR PODCAST HOSTS:

Valerie Biel is the author of the award-winning Circle of Nine series as well as a publicity professional who aids other authors with their book launches and marketing. You can find her here on substack at Reading, Writing, & Roaming or at ValerieBiel.com.

Tracey writes stories for readers who want to laugh and escape. She is the author of the award-winning Backyard Model comic culinary cozy mysteries, and other books. She is found at her website, TK Sheffield Writes, and her Instagram, The Backyard Model.

ABOUT EPISODE 5:

NOTE: We talk about some favorite books we’ve been reading for the first part — the main topic starts at 9:39.

There’s been a big kerfuffle about the analysis of the transcript of THE TRIAL (which has been made available in book form.) One such article here on Substack by Elle Griffin entitled “No One Buys Books” ended up gaining so much attention that we thought we ought unpack some of the statistics that mislead readers/authors about the state of the publishing industry. We’re not alone—there were many rebuttal articles. The two we talk about the most in this episode are Lincoln Michel’s “Yes, people do buy books” and Bob Mayer’s article on Medium “Random Brain Cells Firing on ‘no one buys books anymore.”

And here’s another rebuttal article that we didn’t talk about from Brooke Warner, “People Buy Books, Publishing Is Thriving, and Substack Will Never Replace Books.”

Thanks for reading “Reading, Writing, & Roaming” with Author Valerie Biel! Subscribe for free to receive new posts!

This is a podcast for authors by authors! (And also readers who want the scoop on what authors are REALLY thinking.) Join Valerie Biel and TK (Tracey) Sheffield as we share topics to help our fellow writers as well as fun tidbits on what we’re reading and where we’re roaming. We're planning 10 episodes in 2024 with topics like agent searching (episode 1), indie vs traditional publishing (episode 4), book launch basics, helpful writing conferences (episode 2), elements of mystery writing, and more! 

ABOUT US—YOUR PODCAST HOSTS:

Valerie Biel is the author of the award-winning Circle of Nine series as well as a publicity professional who aids other authors with their book launches and marketing. You can find her here on substack at Reading, Writing, & Roaming or at ValerieBiel.com.

Tracey writes stories for readers who want to laugh and escape. She is the author of the award-winning Backyard Model comic culinary cozy mysteries, and other books. She is found at her website, TK Sheffield Writes, and her Instagram, The Backyard Model.

ABOUT EPISODE 4:

We discuss the pros and cons of traditional and independent (self) publishing) along with why (at least for now) we’re both still seeking a traditional publishing contract for some of our manuscripts. Look for the main discussion to start at 8 min 30 seconds. Before that we discuss our latest projects and what’s been most fulfilling of late!

Links to the resources we mention in this episode:

Valerie’s Agent Search Adventure Videos (YouTube Shorts.)

Wisconsin Writers Association

Reedsy

Valerie’s Substack - Writing Advice

Thanks for reading “Reading, Writing, & Roaming” with Author Valerie Biel! Subscribe for free to receive new posts!

This is a podcast for authors by authors! (And also readers who want the scoop on what authors are REALLY thinking.) Join Valerie Biel and T.K. (Tracey) Sheffield as we share topics to help our fellow writers as well as fun tidbits on what we’re reading and where we’re roaming. We're planning ten episodes in 2024 with topics like agent searching (episode 1), indie vs traditional publishing, book launch basics, helpful writing conferences (episode 2), elements of mystery writing, and more! 

ABOUT US—YOUR PODCAST HOSTS:

Valerie Biel is the author of the award-winning Circle of Nine series as well as a publicity professional who aids other authors with their book launches and marketing. You can find her here on substack at Reading, Writing, & Roaming or at ValerieBiel.com.

Tracey writes stories for readers who want to laugh and escape. She is the author of the award-winning Backyard Model comic culinary cozy mysteries, and other books. She is found at her website, TK Sheffield Writes, and her Instagram, The Backyard Model.

ABOUT EPISODE 3:

We chat how we got started with our writing journeys, as well as why we write the content we write—this includes a discussion on our story inspiration and a quick look look at our daily writing habits.

This is a podcast for authors by authors! (And also readers who want the scoop on what authors are REALLY thinking.) Join Valerie Biel and T.K. (Tracey) Sheffield as we share topics to help our fellow writers as well as fun tidbits on what we’re reading and where we’re roaming. We're planning 10 episodes in 2024 with topics like agent searching (episode 1), indie vs traditional publishing, book launch basics, helpful writing conferences (episode 2), elements of mystery writing, and more! 

ABOUT US—YOUR PODCAST HOSTS:

Valerie Biel is the author of the award-winning Circle of Nine series as well as a publicity professional who aids other authors with their book launches and marketing. You can find her here on substack at Reading, Writing, & Roaming or at ValerieBiel.com.

Tracey writes stories for readers who want to laugh and escape. She is the author of the award-winning Backyard Model comic culinary cozy mysteries, and other books. She is found at her website, T.K. Sheffield Writes, and her Instagram, The Backyard Model.

ABOUT EPISODE 2:

We talk briefly about  where we've been roaming lately and then jump in to a discussion about writing conferences and book festivals for 2024 that you may find helpful, fun, and great to attend in the coming months. 

ABOUT THE PODCAST:

Welcome to the WisMissus Podcast: Reading, Writing & Roaming around Wisconsin, the Midwest, & Beyond. 

This is a podcast for authors by authors! (And also readers who want the scoop on what authors are REALLY thinking.) Join Valerie Biel and T.K. (Tracey) Sheffield as we share topics to help our fellow writers as well as fun tidbits on what we’re reading and where we’re roaming. We're planning 10 episodes in 2024 with topics like agent searching (episode 1), indie vs traditional publishing, book launch basics, helpful writing conferences, elements of mystery writing, and more! 

ABOUT US—YOUR PODCAST HOSTS:

Valerie Biel is the author of the award-winning Circle of Nine series as well as a publicity professional who aids other authors with their book launches and marketing. You can find her here on substack at Reading, Writing, & Roaming or at ValerieBiel.com.

Tracey writes stories for readers who want to laugh and escape. She is the author of the award-winning Backyard Model comic culinary cozy mysteries, and other books. She is found at her website, T.K. Sheffield Writes, and her Instagram, The Backyard Model.

ABOUT EPISODE 1:

Episode 1 is a helpful look on searching for an agent and a general discussion about our recent projects.

RESOURCES:

In this podcast, we specifically talk about our agent searches, including my YouTube short videos that bring you along on my Agent Search Adventures. These are 1-minute video updates each week, giving a window into a sometimes hard process that we often don’t talk about much as writers. VIEW THE YOUTUBE SHORT VIDEOS

When we talk about how to find comparable titles for your manuscript, Tracey mentions Literature Map, which is a super cool tool that lets you type in the name of an author (usually fairly well-known), and it shows you all the other authors that are similar. Additionally, here’s an article from Jane Friedman’s blog that walks through the process of finding comps for your book as well.