A new series begins! 💛

Fiona is joined by internationally bestselling author and her very own writing mentor, Hayley Scrivenor, for the first episode in a three-month series all about mentoring.

Fiona and Hayley talk about how their professional relationship began, what Hayley really thought when she first read Fiona’s writing 🫣 and the role a mentor can play in helping you reach THE END.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to have a writing mentor, are thinking about being mentored yourself, or are simply curious about what a mentor actually does, this series is for you ✍️

We’d love to know what you think of the new format and this first episode. And if you have a question you’d like Fiona to ask Hayley, please let us know. 👇

The Word Count is a real-life, real-time writing podcast following Australian writers on the road from blank page to published book — and everything in between.

Join Fiona Taylor, Jo Dixon and Jacq Ellem as they share their writing progress, set goals and keep each other accountable, alongside special episodes where Fiona talks with authors and industry guests about writing, publishing and the road to THE END.

Easy-to-listen-to episodes of around 30 minutes 💛

A new chapter begins for The Word Count. We’re sharing some exciting changes to the podcast and a fresh direction for the months ahead. 

You'll have to listen to this episode to find out what's in store... 😉💛

Plus, with authors Leearna Shaw, Kelly Sgroi and Tanya Scott all visiting Fiona for a Winter Writers Retreat when we recorded, we couldn't resist inviting them onto the podcast to say hello!

The Word Count is a real-life, real-time writing podcast following Australian writers on the road from blank page to published book — and everything in between.

Join Fiona Taylor, Jo Dixon and Jacq Ellem as they share their writing progress, set goals and keep each other accountable, alongside special episodes where Fiona talks with authors and industry guests about writing, publishing and the road to THE END.

Easy-to-listen-to episodes of around 30 minutes 💛

What have we been up to over the past two weeks? Find out in this episode as we talk about what’s holding our manuscripts—and us—together.

As metaphors go, it’s a stretch… but we’re all stretched to the limit at the moment, so it was the best we could do. Please forgive us, dearest listeners! 😂

The Word Count is a real-life, real-time writing podcast following Australian writers on the road from blank page to published book — and everything in between.

Join Fiona Taylor, Jo Dixon and Jacq Ellem as they share their writing progress, set goals and keep each other accountable, alongside special episodes where Fiona talks with authors and industry guests about writing, publishing and the road to THE END.

Easy-to-listen-to episodes of around 30 minutes 💛

Annndddd… we’re back! We hope you missed us! 💛

It’s been five weeks, dearest listeners, since we were last in your ears. So… what have we been up to?

This episode tells all, including our Accountability (what were our goals back in May??? 🤔) and some shiny new goals for the next two weeks.

The Word Count is a real-life, real-time writing podcast following Australian writers on the road from blank page to published book — and everything in between.

Join Fiona Taylor, Jo Dixon and Jacq Ellem as they share their writing progress, set goals and keep each other accountable, alongside special episodes where Fiona talks with authors and industry guests about writing, publishing and the road to THE END.

Easy-to-listen-to episodes of around 30 minutes 💛

It’s the final episode of Season 5, dear listeners… and we’re getting very honest. What happens when writing plans fall apart?

In this episode:
 ✍️ Jo shares the reality of where things are at with Book 4
 ✍️ Fiona talks about finally breaking through a month-long writing block
 ✍️ Jacq attempts to wrangle her 2000+ book collection into some kind of order!

Plus our usual segments — 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 and 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 — with goals set for our month-long mid-year break.

The Word Count is a real-life, real-time writing podcast following Australian writers on the road from blank page to published book — and everything in between.

Join Fiona Taylor, Jo Dixon and Jacq Ellem as they share their writing progress, set goals and keep each other accountable, alongside special episodes where Fiona talks with authors and industry guests about writing, publishing and the road to THE END.

Easy-to-listen-to episodes of around 30 minutes 💛

It’s the news we’vel been bursting to share for months… 

Jo spills all the behind-the-scenes details of her HUGE FOUR-BOOK DEAL with Poisoned Pen Press! 🤯📚

Jo shares:
 💛 How the deal actually came about
 💛 Why having an agent changed everything
 💛 What happened when “the call” finally came
 💛 And whether she’s come down from cloud nine yet!

Plus our usual segments — 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 and 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 — because even life-changing book deals don’t stop the writing chaos 😂

Follow us from 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 — and everything in between 💛

The Word Count is a real-life, real-time writing podcast following Australian writers on the road from blank page to published book — and everything in between.

Join Fiona Taylor, Jo Dixon and Jacq Ellem as they share their writing progress, set goals and keep each other accountable, alongside special episodes where Fiona talks with authors and industry guests about writing, publishing and the road to THE END.

Easy-to-listen-to episodes of around 30 minutes 💛

This one’s for every writer who hasn’t cracked the 3% club — because only 3% of people who start a book actually finish… and right now, Fiona is trying to become one of them. 

In response to her honest and relatable cry for help, Jo and Jacq share their best advice on getting to the end, drawing on their own writing experiences and what’s worked for them.

Plus our usual segments — 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 and 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Follow us from 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 — and everything in between 💛

The Word Count is a real-life, real-time writing podcast following Australian writers on the road from blank page to published book — and everything in between.

Join Fiona Taylor, Jo Dixon and Jacq Ellem as they share their writing progress, set goals and keep each other accountable, alongside special episodes where Fiona talks with authors and industry guests about writing, publishing and the road to THE END.

Easy-to-listen-to episodes of around 30 minutes 💛

After three weeks of R&R, we’re back in your ears, dear listeners!

In this episode:
 💛 Jo returns from her idyllic island interlude
 💛 Jacq shares her publishing date!
 💛 Fiona has recovered from surgery… but how close is she to finishing?

Plus our usual segments — 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 and 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 — as we talk about getting back to the writing after a break.

Follow us from 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 — 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 💛

The Word Count is a real-life, real-time writing podcast following Australian writers on the road from blank page to published book — and everything in between.

Join Fiona Taylor, Jo Dixon and Jacq Ellem as they share their writing progress, set goals and keep each other accountable, alongside special episodes where Fiona talks with authors and industry guests about writing, publishing and the road to THE END.

Easy-to-listen-to episodes of around 30 minutes 💛

It’s been a big few weeks here at The Word Count… we hosted our inaugural Writers Retreat — and it was nothing short of incredible.

In this episode, we’re sharing all the highlights (and yes, we’re still riding the post-retreat glow) — along with our usual segments: 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 and 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.

If we sound a little worn out, it’s because we are… which may explain why this is the shortest episode we’ve ever recorded 😂

Follow us from 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 — 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 💛

The Word Count is a real-life, real-time writing podcast following Australian writers on the road from blank page to published book — and everything in between.

Join Fiona Taylor, Jo Dixon and Jacq Ellem as they share their writing progress, set goals and keep each other accountable, alongside special episodes where Fiona talks with authors and industry guests about writing, publishing and the road to THE END.

Easy-to-listen-to episodes of around 30 minutes 💛

One of us has finished a 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁!
You’ll need to listen to find out who.

This episode, we’re getting ready to host our inaugural writing retreat down in Tassie, sharing book recommendations (many in the case of Jacq!) and talking accountability, goals, and the realities of writing life.

✍️ Are you drafting, editing or stuck right now? Follow us from 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 — 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 💛

The Word Count is a real-life, real-time writing podcast following Australian writers on the road from blank page to published book — and everything in between.

Join Fiona Taylor, Jo Dixon and Jacq Ellem as they share their writing progress, set goals and keep each other accountable, alongside special episodes where Fiona talks with authors and industry guests about writing, publishing and the road to THE END.

Easy-to-listen-to episodes of around 30 minutes 💛