The Wordslinger Podcast

A WORDSLINGER 10-SHOT

Should authors use Substack?

I’ve been using Substack for several years now, and I’ve come to see it as something more useful than just another social media platform. For writers, it can be a blog, newsletter, community, podcast platform, and—most importantly—a way to build an audience you actually own.

In this episode, I break down how I use Substack as an author, how recommendations and Notes can help grow your readership, how often I think writers should post, what kinds of content work, and how Substack can ultimately help you build an email list and sell more books.

You don’t need to master everything on day one. Start publishing, participate in the community, experiment with your content, and figure out what your readers respond to.

And remember: unlike your followers on most social platforms, your email list can go with you.

Visit the Knovelton Bookshop at knoveltonbooks.com
GET 15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER AT CHECKOUT WITH CODE STORYCUTS

TIMECODES:

00:00 Why I’m talking about Substack
00:59 What Substack actually is
02:31 Blogs, newsletters, Notes, video, and podcasts
03:28 How Substack helps grow your mailing list
04:51 Recommendations and sharing audiences with other writers
05:44 How often should authors post?
07:06 What should writers publish on Substack?
08:37 Writing for your readers—and for yourself
09:28 Fiction, paid subscriptions, and monetization
10:27 Podcasts, livestreams, and video
10:54 Why owning your mailing list matters
11:28 The posting schedule I recommend
12:12 My concern about Substack and AI
13:07 Can Substack actually help sell books?

If you’re a writer trying to navigate writing, publishing, book marketing, building an audience, and making a living from your work, subscribe to the Wordslinger channel. This is where we talk about the practical side of becoming a better writer, reaching more readers, and building a sustainable author career.

FIND KEVIN:

Find Kevin and his books:
https://kevintumlinson.com

Join Kevin on Substack:
https://kevintumlinson.substack.com

Wordslinger Podcast home page:
https://wordslingerpodcast.com

SERVICES FOR AUTHORS:

Polish your writing and make it ready for publishing with ProWritingAid:
https://tidd.ly/3NCdlk5

Publish your book to every major retailer online, get your book into print and ebook, and get support the whole way at Draft2Digital:
https://draft2digital.com/wordslinger

Find a virtual assistant to help you market your books (and more!) at AuthorAnchor:
https://authoranchor.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A WORDSLINGER 10-SHOT

Should writers use AI to write their books? My answer is yes—but probably not in the way you think.

I don’t use AI to write the actual prose of my novels. That’s the part I love. But while working on a research-heavy historical novel, I’ve found some incredibly useful ways to make AI part of my writing process without handing over the creative work.

In this episode, I break down how I’m using AI as a research assistant, organizational tool, outlining partner, fact-checking aid, and even a way to immerse myself in the story before I sit down to write. I’ll show you how I’ve used tools like ChatGPT, Google’s NotebookLM, Plaud, and Castmagic to organize years of history, build timelines, process interviews, create story overviews, and keep an entire novel fresh in my head.

The key is simple: Let AI help you do the work. Don’t let it replace the work that makes you a writer.

If you’re a writer trying to figure out where AI fits into your creative process—or whether it belongs there at all—this one’s for you.

Visit the Knovelton Bookshop at knoveltonbooks.com

GET 15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER AT CHECKOUT WITH CODE STORYCUTS

TIMECODES:

00:00 You should use AI to write your book… sort of
00:41 Why I don’t use AI to write my prose
02:17 How I’m using AI on a historical novel
02:59 Managing massive amounts of research
03:48 Using ChatGPT to build and update timelines
04:35 Turning research into a workable novel outline
05:49 Using NotebookLM to turn research into podcasts
06:55 Listening to your own story over and over
07:41 Using AI-generated video overviews
08:30 Learning modalities and why they matter for writers
09:30 Using audio while traveling through story locations
10:18 Plaud, transcription, interviews, and Castmagic
10:59 AI as an assistant—not the author
11:42 My rules for writers using AI
12:28 Using AI for editing, continuity, and research
13:07 Why you still need to verify everything
14:04 Use AI to support the way you learn
14:50 How are YOU using AI as a writer?
15:35 Writers helping writers

If you’re serious about becoming a better writer, building a publishing career, and navigating the constantly changing world of books and creativity, subscribe to the channel. Wordslinger is where writers come for practical, experience-based guidance on writing, publishing, marketing, creativity, and building a sustainable career around their work.

FIND KEVIN:

Find Kevin and his books:
https://kevintumlinson.com

Join Kevin on Substack:
https://kevintumlinson.substack.com

Wordslinger Podcast home page:
https://wordslingerpodcast.com

SERVICES FOR AUTHORS:

Polish your writing and make it ready for publishing with ProWritingAid:
https://tidd.ly/3NCdlk5

Publish your book to every major retailer online, get your book into print and ebook, and get support the whole way at Draft2Digital:
https://draft2digital.com/wordslinger

Find a virtual assistant to help you market your books (and more!) at AuthorAnchor:
https://authoranchor.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A WORDSLINGER 10-SHOT

Every successful writing career is built on mistakes. I’ve made plenty of them.

In this Wordslinger 10-Shot, I share some of my biggest failures as a writer—from falling for a literary agent scam and spending thousands on things that didn’t move my career forward, to signing a publishing contract without proper representation and eventually burning myself out trying to keep up an impossible pace.

The point isn’t to avoid failure entirely. You can’t. The goal is to learn from it, recognize the warning signs earlier, and make better decisions the next time around.

If you’re building a career as a writer, author, creator, or creative entrepreneur, learn from my mistakes—and then go make some new, brilliant failures of your own.

Visit the Knovelton Bookshop at knoveltonbooks.com

GET 15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER AT CHECKOUT WITH CODE STORYCUTS

TIMECODES:

00:00 Why I talk about my accomplishments
00:46 My biggest failures as a writer
01:25 Falling for a literary agent scam
02:28 Paying for expensive book reviews
04:44 How to recognize publishing scams
05:08 My traditional publishing contract mistake
06:50 Why I walked away from the publishing deal
07:34 Making six figures—and burning myself out
09:33 The danger of pushing too hard
10:24 Why writers should have contracts reviewed
11:21 The biggest red flag with literary agents
12:01 Advice about writing contests and competitions
14:18 Why I talk openly about failure
15:03 Experience, confidence, and taking criticism
16:05 Why failure is part of success
16:46 Go fail fabulously

Subscribe to the channel for practical, experience-based guidance on writing, publishing, book marketing, author careers, and the business of being a writer. If you’re trying to build a sustainable writing career, this is the place to learn what works, what doesn’t, and what nobody tells you until you’ve been doing this for years.

And tell me in the comments: What’s one mistake or failure in your writing career that taught you something valuable?

FIND KEVIN:

Find Kevin and his books:
https://kevintumlinson.com

Join Kevin on Substack:
https://kevintumlinson.substack.com

Wordslinger Podcast home page:
https://wordslingerpodcast.com

SERVICES FOR AUTHORS:

Polish your writing and make it ready for publishing with ProWritingAid:
https://tidd.ly/3NCdlk5

Publish your book to every major retailer online, get your book into print and ebook, and get support the whole way at Draft2Digital:
https://draft2digital.com/wordslinger

Find a virtual assistant to help you market your books—and more—at AuthorAnchor:
https://authoranchor.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A WORDSLINGER PODCAST

How do you write a character who is smarter than you, comes from a different background, sees the world differently, or believes things you never would? In this episode of the Wordslinger Podcast, Don King joins me for another Kevin on Craft conversation about creating characters who feel like real human beings instead of extensions of the author.

We talk about writing characters with knowledge and intelligence you don’t possess, avoiding stereotypes, writing across gender and cultural differences, creating villains who believe they’re the hero, and handling character growth without changing the qualities readers love. We also dig into why great characters—and great stories—can ultimately change the reader.

Visit the Knovelton Bookshop at https://knoveltonbooks.com

GET 15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER AT CHECKOUT WITH CODE STORYCUTS

If you’re a writer trying to improve your craft, publish smarter, build an audience, and make a career from your work, subscribe to the channel. Wordslinger is here to give writers practical, experience-driven guidance for every stage of the writing and publishing journey.

TIMECODES

00:00 Welcome to the Wordslinger Podcast
03:00 What’s new with Wordslinger and Kevin on Craft
05:55 Rapid-Fire News Flash with Dale Roberts
08:27 Amazon terminates an author’s KDP and ACX accounts
09:18 Smashwords ebook preorders and Ingram’s AI rollout
10:26 How AI-powered publishing scams build trust
11:06 Kevin on Craft with Don King
17:38 Why good writing should get out of the reader’s way
25:33 How do you write a character smarter than you?
26:32 The writer’s secret weapon: research, rewriting, and hindsight
29:10 Writing characters who are different from you
30:34 Writing across race and cultural differences
35:01 Gender, stereotypes, and believable characters
36:45 Writing strong female characters
40:32 Knowing what your character would actually do
43:17 Every character sees themselves as the hero
47:30 Why believable villains need believable logic
53:43 What makes a complex antagonist work
55:06 How much should a recurring character change?
55:53 A character can be the catalyst for change
58:29 How to grow a series character without changing who they are
01:02:18 Let your supporting characters carry growth arcs
01:05:07 The reader is a character in the story, too
01:08:12 Let theme emerge naturally from the story
01:10:10 What separates a cardboard story from a meaningful one?

RAPID-FIRE NEWS FLASH WITH DALE ROBERTS

08:27 Ruthanne Reid: Amazon just deleted my KDP account. You need to pay attention.
https://youtu.be/0nQx4lR326U?si=R9a00I1vRKH8UHvr

08:27 Dale L. Roberts: KDP Appeal Rejected? You Still Have Options
https://youtu.be/mLSCoiCcOQI?si=BY_BCXF6gxUKJYmq

09:18 Draft2Digital Announces Ebook Preorder Sales Now Available at the Smashwords Store
https://draft2digital.com/blog/press-releasedraft2digital-announces-ebook-preorder-sales-now-available-at-the-smashwords-store/

09:18 Ingram Finds Success in AI Rollout
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/101218-ingram-s-ai-rollout-is-a-success.html

10:26 Writer Beware: How AI-powered publishing scams build trust before asking authors for money

For more publishing news from Dale Roberts:
https://youtube.com/selfpublishingwithdale

FIND KEVIN

Find Kevin and his books:
https://kevintumlinson.com

Join Kevin on Substack:
https://kevintumlinson.substack.com

Wordslinger Podcast home page:
https://wordslingerpodcast.com

SERVICES FOR AUTHORS

Polish your writing and make it ready for publishing with ProWritingAid:
https://tidd.ly/3NCdlk5

Publish your book to every major retailer online, get your book into print and ebook, and get support the whole way at Draft2Digital:
https://draft2digital.com/wordslinger

Find a virtual assistant to help you market your books and more at Author Anchor:
https://authoranchor.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A WORDSLINGER 10-SHOT

Should authors use AI-generated book covers?

AI can produce some astonishingly good artwork, but that doesn’t mean the decision is simple. In this Wordslinger 10-Shot, I break down what authors should consider before using AI for a book cover—from Amazon’s disclosure requirements and copyright questions to reader backlash, professional design, and the alternatives available if you don’t want to go the AI route.

I’ve designed nearly all of my own book covers over more than 20 years, and I’ve watched the tools, costs, and expectations around book design change dramatically. The goal hasn’t changed, though: You need a professional cover that fits your genre and helps do the marketing work for your book.

We’ll also talk about Fiverr, 99designs, premade covers, professional designers, and some of the potential rights issues authors should watch for when hiring someone else to create their artwork.

Visit the Knovelton Bookshop at knoveltonbooks.com

GET 15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER AT CHECKOUT WITH CODE STORYCUTS

CHAPTERS:

00:00 — Why I Know a Thing or Two About Book Covers
01:28 — Should Authors Use AI-Generated Covers?
02:28 — What Amazon KDP Requires You to Disclose
03:11 — The Ethics and Controversy Around AI
04:10 — Why Some Authors Are Turning to AI
05:11 — Reader Backlash and Other Risks
05:49 — Can You Copyright an AI-Generated Cover?
06:59 — How I Use AI in Cover Design
07:51 — Should You Actually Use an AI Cover?
08:29 — The Risks of Cheap Cover Designers
09:31 — Using 99designs
10:06 — Premade Covers from BookCovers.com
10:46 — Draft2Digital and Cover2Book
11:34 — The Most Important Thing Your Cover Has to Do

BOOK COVER RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Fiverr:
https://www.fiverr.com

99designs:
https://99designs.com

BookCovers.com:
https://bookcovers.com

Cover2Book:
https://cover2book.com

Draft2Digital:
https://draft2digital.com/wordslinger

If you’re a writer trying to build a career, publish better books, reach more readers, and navigate the business of being an author, subscribe to Wordslinger. This channel is here to give you practical, experienced guidance for every stage of your writing and publishing journey.

FIND KEVIN:

Find Kevin and his books:
https://kevintumlinson.com

Join Kevin on Substack:
https://kevintumlinson.substack.com

Wordslinger Podcast home page:
https://wordslingerpodcast.com

SERVICES FOR AUTHORS:

Polish your writing and make it ready for publishing with ProWritingAid:
https://tidd.ly/3NCdlk5

Publish your book to every major retailer online, get your book into print and ebook, and get support the whole way at Draft2Digital:
https://draft2digital.com/wordslinger

Find a virtual assistant to help you market your books (and more!) at AuthorAnchor:
https://authoranchor.com

Should authors use AI-generated book covers? Let me know what you think in the comments—and tell me how you’re handling your own cover design.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A WORDSLINGER 10-SHOT

Can you build an author career without putting your face, real name, and personal life all over the internet? Absolutely—but anonymity takes more than choosing a pen name.

In this Wordslinger 10-Shot, I break down practical ways authors can market their books while protecting their identity. We’ll talk about building a brand around your pen name, keeping your author life separate from your personal life, creating ways for readers to connect with you without revealing who you are, and treating anonymity as an ongoing practice rather than a one-time setup.

You can still build an audience. You can still run ads, use social media, appear on podcasts, create videos, grow an email list, and sell books. You just need to be deliberate about how you do it.

Visit the Knovelton Bookshop at knoveltonbooks.com

GET 15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER AT CHECKOUT WITH CODE STORYCUTS

TIMECODES:

00:00 Can an author really stay anonymous?
01:44 Build your brand around your pen name
02:43 Separate your author accounts from your personal accounts
03:45 How anonymous authors can connect with readers
04:42 Avatars, author photos, and faceless branding
05:39 Websites, domains, and anonymous email
06:43 Treat anonymity as an ongoing practice
07:25 How to market books without showing your face
08:03 Ads, interviews, TikTok, and faceless content
09:06 Why separating your personal and professional lives matters
09:54 Final thoughts for anonymous authors

If you're a writer trying to build a career, publish better books, grow an audience, and navigate the business side of being an author, subscribe to the channel. Wordslinger is here to give you practical, experience-based guidance for every stage of your writing and publishing journey.

FIND KEVIN:

Find Kevin and his books:
https://kevintumlinson.com

Join Kevin on Substack:
https://kevintumlinson.substack.com

Wordslinger Podcast home page:
https://wordslingerpodcast.com

SERVICES FOR AUTHORS:

Polish your writing and make it ready for publishing with ProWritingAid:
https://tidd.ly/3NCdlk5

Publish your book to every major retailer online, get your book into print and ebook, and get support the whole way at Draft2Digital:
https://draft2digital.com/wordslinger

Find a virtual assistant to help you market your books (and more!) at Author Anchor:
https://authoranchor.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A WORDSLINGER 10-SHOT

What if the thing keeping you from writing more books isn’t the writing—it’s everything else that comes with being an author?

In this Wordslinger 10-Shot, Kevin talks about working with a virtual assistant, or author assistant, to take some of the business of being a writer off your shoulders. Marketing, social media, video editing, graphic design, administrative work, Kickstarter campaigns, online stores, and more can potentially be delegated—giving you more time and energy for the work only you can do.

But hiring help isn’t just about getting rid of tasks. Kevin breaks down how to decide whether an assistant makes financial sense, what you should expect to pay, how to choose the right person, and how to avoid some of the biggest mistakes authors make when they start outsourcing.

You’ll also learn a simple way to onboard an assistant, test your communication and workflow, document repeatable processes, and gradually build a working relationship that can grow along with your author business.

If the business of being an author is starting to take more time than the writing, this episode will help you figure out what you can hand off—and when.

Visit the Knovelton Bookshop at knoveltonbooks.com

GET 15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER AT CHECKOUT WITH CODE STORYCUTS

TIMECODES

00:00 Writing anywhere—and why authors need help
00:32 What is a virtual assistant or author assistant?
01:13 What does an author assistant cost?
03:20 What can an author assistant do?
04:04 Why Author Anchor was created
04:51 Tasks authors can delegate
06:11 How to know when you’re ready to hire help
07:14 Think in terms of return on investment
08:20 How to start working with an assistant
09:30 Why small test projects matter
10:03 Document your processes
11:08 Don’t overload your assistant
11:53 Match the assistant to the skills you actually need
12:46 One assistant doesn’t have to do everything
14:06 How to prepare for a discovery call
15:31 Interviewing and choosing an assistant
16:32 When outsourcing can help you break through
17:31 Final thoughts and author assistant advice

SUBSCRIBE TO WORDSLINGER

If you’re a writer trying to write better books, publish smarter, build an audience, and create a sustainable career around your work, subscribe to the Wordslinger channel. This is where writers come for practical, experience-driven guidance on the writing and publishing journey.

FIND KEVIN:

Find Kevin and his books:
https://kevintumlinson.com

Join Kevin on Substack:
https://kevintumlinson.substack.com

Wordslinger Podcast home page:
https://wordslingerpodcast.com

SERVICES FOR AUTHORS:

Polish your writing and make it ready for publishing with ProWritingAid:
https://tidd.ly/3NCdlk5

Publish your book to every major retailer online, get your book into print and ebook, and get support the whole way at Draft2Digital:
https://draft2digital.com/wordslinger

Find a virtual assistant to help you market your books (and more!) at Author Anchor:
https://authoranchor.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A WORDSLINGER PODCAST

Most writers start with a character, a premise, a scene, or maybe an ending.

I often start with the title.

In this episode of the Wordslinger Podcast, I talk about the weird way I begin many of my novels, why a good title can sometimes unlock an entire story, and what happens when the title changes halfway through the book.

I also get into what I’m working on right now, including a commissioned historical novel, the Wordslinger book, short fiction, and the challenge of keeping multiple creative projects moving at once.

Along the way, we talk about discovery writing, research, productivity, batching content, building repeatable workflows, marketing your books, growing an audience, and finding ways to make a creative career sustainable.

If you’re a writer, creator, or creative entrepreneur trying to produce more work without letting everything else fall apart, there’s plenty here you can put to work.

Visit the Knovelton Bookshop at knoveltonbooks.com

GET 15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER AT CHECKOUT WITH CODE STORYCUTS

TIMECODES

00:00 Welcome to the Wordslinger Podcast
01:38 Rapid-Fire Newsflash with Dale Roberts
04:01 Franklin, Tennessee and what I’m working toward
06:36 Why environment affects my productivity
07:38 Writing a fictionalized story from real history
09:20 When research needs to end and writing needs to begin
09:59 Why I love “having written”
11:19 The weird way I start writing a novel
11:58 How thriller titles can create the story
13:38 Why titles matter so much
14:37 What happens when a book changes titles
15:26 Writing the Wordslinger book
18:19 Why I’m experimenting with short fiction
21:35 Batching videos, podcasts, and creative work
23:02 Building templates and repeatable workflows
24:16 Why systems make creative work easier
25:20 What marketing really means for writers
26:10 Why marketing is more than advertising
27:20 The value of building a local readership
28:24 Turning readers into your best marketing
29:29 How I balance multiple projects
30:20 What I’m reading right now

RAPID-FIRE NEWSFLASH WITH DALE ROBERTS

Dale Roberts joins the show with a quick roundup of important developments in self-publishing, including changes to KDP title creation limits, identity verification problems, KDP account termination and reinstatement, and free audiobook creation tools available through Spotify for Authors.

KDP Community: Update on KDP Title Creation Limits
https://www.kdpcommunity.com/s/article/KDP-Title-Creation-Limits-Update?language=en_US

KDP Help: Troubleshoot Identity Verification Errors
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GFN5MYGPJ4MV7PSP

Amazon Terminated My KDP Account. Here’s How I Got It Back.
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/amazon-terminated-kdp-account-how-to-get-it-back/

Spotify for Authors: Draft2Digital authors: your audiobook starts here.
https://authors.spotify.com/draft2digital

The Self-Publishing with Dale Podcast
https://youtube.com/@selfpubwithdale

Subscribe to Dale Roberts:
https://www.youtube.com/@selfpubwithdale

SUBSCRIBE TO THE WORDSLINGER SHOW

If you’re serious about becoming a better writer, publishing smarter, reaching more readers, and building a creative career that lasts, subscribe to the channel.

The Wordslinger Show is about practical, experience-tested guidance for writers at every stage of the writing and publishing journey.

FIND KEVIN:

Find Kevin and his books:
https://kevintumlinson.com

Join Kevin on Substack:
https://kevintumlinson.substack.com

Wordslinger Podcast home page:
https://wordslingerpodcast.com

SERVICES FOR AUTHORS:

Polish your writing and make it ready for publishing with ProWritingAid:
https://tidd.ly/3NCdlk5

Publish your book to every major retailer online, get your book into print and ebook, and get support the whole way at Draft2Digital:
https://draft2digital.com/wordslinger

Find a virtual assistant to help you market your books (and more!) at AuthorAnchor:
https://authoranchor.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A WORDSLINGER 10-SHOT

Why do you write?

It sounds like a simple question, but your answer may be the thing that keeps you going when the words aren’t coming, the sales aren’t happening, and nobody seems to notice the work you’re putting in.

In this Wordslinger 10-Shot, I talk about an unexpected encounter with a reader that reminded me of something every writer needs to remember: there’s a real human being on the other side of the book. Someone is reading your words, entering the worlds you create, learning from you, laughing with you, or seeing something differently because you decided to sit down and write.

Your income can be part of your why. Your ambition can be part of it. Your need to tell stories can absolutely be part of it. But when the work gets difficult, it helps to remember who you’re doing it for.

Figure out your why. Remember your reader. Then keep writing.

Visit the Knovelton Bookshop at knoveltonbooks.com

GET 15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER AT CHECKOUT WITH CODE STORYCUTS

TIMECODES:

00:00 An unexpected encounter with one of my readers
01:13 Being recognized as a writer
02:01 Remember the person on the other side of the book
02:58 Stephen King and the idea of the ideal reader
04:47 You may already be reaching readers without realizing it
05:36 Writing is about more than fame or money
06:15 Who are you really writing for?
07:20 Recognition isn’t what makes your writing worthwhile
08:11 Why every writer needs a strong “why”
10:04 The human being on the other side of your work
10:32 What’s your why?

If you’re a writer trying to build a career, publish better books, grow your audience, and navigate the writing and publishing world without all the noise, subscribe to the Wordslinger channel. This is where writers come for practical, experience-driven guidance on writing, publishing, marketing, and building a creative career.

And leave a comment: Why do YOU write? What keeps you going when the work gets hard?

FIND KEVIN:

Find Kevin and his books:
https://kevintumlinson.com

Join Kevin on Substack:
https://kevintumlinson.substack.com

Wordslinger Podcast home page:
https://wordslingerpodcast.com

SERVICES FOR AUTHORS:

Polish your writing and make it ready for publishing with ProWritingAid:
https://tidd.ly/3NCdlk5

Publish your book to every major retailer online, get your book into print and ebook, and get support the whole way at Draft2Digital:
https://draft2digital.com/wordslinger

Find a virtual assistant to help you market your books (and more!) at AuthorAnchor:
https://authoranchor.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A WORDSLINGER 10-SHOT

What do successful writers have in common? They surround themselves with writing.

In this Wordslinger 10-Shot, I talk about one of the most useful habits I’ve developed over the years: reading books by writers about the writing life, learning from other authors, attending conferences, listening to interviews and podcasts, and immersing yourself in the experiences of people who understand what it means to do this work.

I’ve recently been reading Larry McMurtry’s Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen, and I’m moving on to Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing. Books like these aren’t necessarily about teaching you how to construct a plot or write better dialogue. They give you something different: perspective.

And perspective matters.

Every writer struggles. Every writer wonders whether they’re doing it wrong. Every writer hits periods when motivation disappears and the work gets harder. Hearing how other writers think, work, struggle, and keep going can remind you that there are a million different ways to build a writing career—and help you discover your own.

We’ll also talk about why you should read outside your genre, why writers’ conferences can be transformative, why you shouldn’t compare your career to someone else’s, and why you should take every writer’s success story with at least a small grain of salt.

Because writers are storytellers.

And storytellers sometimes polish the story.

If you’re building a life around writing, publishing, creativity, and storytelling, subscribe to the Wordslinger channel. This is the place for practical, experience-driven guidance to help you become a better writer, navigate publishing, build your career, and keep going when the work gets difficult.

Visit the Knovelton Bookshop at http://knoveltonbooks.com

GET 15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER AT CHECKOUT WITH CODE STORYCUTS

TIMECODES:

00:00 Why I’m reading books by writers about writing
00:52 Larry McMurtry and Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen
01:33 Writers should read far and wide
02:14 What different genres can teach you
03:38 Why successful writers are worth studying
04:23 Don’t compare yourself to other writers
04:53 Why writers need other writers
06:00 How writers’ conferences can reignite your creativity
07:02 You’re probably not doing writing wrong
08:11 Surround yourself with writers and writing
08:51 Writers are liars
09:51 Learn from the lesson, not just the success story
11:16 Build an environment that keeps you inspired

FIND KEVIN:

Find Kevin and his books:
https://kevintumlinson.com

Join Kevin on Substack:
https://kevintumlinson.substack.com

Wordslinger Podcast home page:
https://wordslingerpodcast.com

SERVICES FOR AUTHORS:

Polish your writing and make it ready for publishing with ProWriting Aid:
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Publish your book to every major retailer online, get your book into print and ebook, and get support the whole way at Draft2Digital:
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Find a virtual assistant to help you market your books (and more!) at AuthorAnchor:
https://authoranchor.com

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