Debby and Mandra will explore ways three different authors have chosen to start their books.  

Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard, Glennon Doyle Melton's Carry On Warrior and Kathleen Glasgow's Girl in Pieces are three examples of books that have great beginnings.  Whether they chose to use a close-up camera angle, a universal emotion, or stunning analogy's, these three books grab the reader right from the first page and draw the reader into the story.

May you be inspired, feel empowered, and B. Well.

All this and more on this week’s episode of The Writer’s Block Podcast recorded at the Studio 21 Podcast Café and hosted on the United Podcast Network.

Have you ever thought about writing a book with a partner?  What would it be like to co-author a book and share the writing process?   Our guest today, Cathy Waldron aka Catherine Dougherty has done just that and is here to share what it's like to write and edit with a collaborator.

You need a partner whose style is complimentary to yours

Each other can write for their own character

One can start and the other can finish

Editing can be a struggle so final say should be decided prior to beginning the project

Having a writing partner helps you stay on task and motivated

https://www.fanstory.com/ is a great website to help you edit for $9.99 a month

Go to http://catherinedougherty.com/ to find out more about Cathy

           

May you be inspired, feel empowered, and B. Well.

All this and more on this week’s episode of The Writer’s Block Podcast recorded at the Studio 21 Podcast Café and hosted on the United Podcast Network.

Mary Vensel White Special Guest author, editor, and Guest of the Writing on the Beach retreat joins the writer's block.

What are the top 5 Tips she has for writers from and editor’s perspective

Being a good reader

Choosing a consistent voice

Character knowledge – Do they know too much or too little

Over writing – when is it too much

Duplication of description from dialogue to narration

Best tip for a student: “Find out what your skin is in the game as the author writing the story…what is your connection to the character?”

Ins and outs of the Young Adult genre

Making time to write by boking your own personal retreat by booking a hotel room to write

Visit MaryVenselWhite.com if you are looking for an editor or more information about Mary.

May you be inspired, feel empowered, and B. Well.

All this and more on this week’s episode of The Writer’s Block Podcast recorded at the Studio 21 Podcast Café and hosted on the United Podcast Network.

Shelly and Debby finally make it to Harvard. . . after purchasing a ticket to see Elizabeth Gilbert at the Harvard Campus!  Liz Gilbert, Author of Eat, Pray Love and her new book, City of Girls, which explores promiscuous women of the 1940's and their sexual escapades in New York City.

How can you go to Harvard for $40?

How important is the research for your book?

How long does it take to research your book?

Don’t get too caught up because there is a such thing as being too prepared

Research until you are proficient in the topic

Your research can help set the stage for and almost be one of the characters

Consider the consequences of your character’s life choices

Should your book be included in the ticket price of your launch presentation?

 

 

May you be inspired, feel empowered, and B. Well.

All this and more on this week’s episode of The Writer’s Block Podcast recorded at the Studio 21 Podcast Café and hosted on the United Podcast Network.

Podcast host, fitness guru, and soon-to-be-author Katie Boyd will share marketing tips that have helped her build a business, got her on the Dr. Oz show, and strategies she will use to launch the publication of her book, Ambitchious.

There are introverts, extroverts, and ambiverts which one you are can help you understand your strategy for marketing

Don’t get up to sell get up to serve

You don’t have to get good at what you don’t like. Hire the right people to do it!

Worry less about how many followers you have and more about how many conversions you get from the posts

When building an email list always give a freebie!

May you be inspired, feel empowered, and B. Well.

All this and more on this week’s episode of The Writer’s Block Podcast recorded at the Studio 21 Podcast Café and hosted on the United Podcast Network.

More and more, writers are using public speaking to spread the word about their books.  But how do you prepare? What makes a public speaker effective?  Join the Writer's Block as Debby shares her experience giving talk at UMASS Lowell, and find out if she really did picture the audience in their underwear!

May you be inspired, feel empowered, and B. Well.

All this and more on this week’s episode of The Writer’s Block Podcast recorded at the Studio 21 Podcast Café and hosted on the United Podcast Network.

One of the ways to strengthen your writing voice is to pull from your own life experience.  Shelly, Mandra and Debby will share excerpts of their own writing where they used life experiences to enhance the honesty of their writing, develop characters that feel more real than made-up, and how being more specific reveals more of the Universal themes that connect us all.

May you be inspired, feel empowered, and B. Well.

All this and more on this week’s episode of The Writer’s Block Podcast recorded at the Studio 21 Podcast Café and hosted on the United Podcast Network.

Today we welcome Katie Boyd, host of the Ambitchious Podcast, fitness guru, and soon-to-be-author, to the Writer's Block.  Katie has finished the first draft of her self-help book, Ambitchious, and we will support her in her journey of being published.

First draft of here book was lost forever

Re-wrote the second draft in 3 days

Self edited for over a year

Worked with a mastermind group for second round of editing

Sending the final edition to a professional editor

 

May you be inspired, feel empowered, and B. Well.

All this and more on this week’s episode of The Writer’s Block Podcast recorded at the Studio 21 Podcast Café and hosted on the United Podcast Network.

Whether you are using a professional editor or not, you want your book to be in the best shape possible! Join the ladies as they share tips to edit and polish your manuscript.  If you are using an editor, self-editing first will save the editor time and help you get the most out of the editing process as possible.  If a professional editor isn't in your budget, then these tips are a must for a professional looking book!

You can have your editor do it all and pay full price

The more you do prior to turning in your pages the less it will cost you to go to print

Print your work out on paper and read it like its someone else’s work

To use a red pen or is there a better color?

Read your work out loud or you can use a program that reads your work for you

Look for words you use too often (“That” is a big culprit)

Are you using “ly” adverbs when you should be replacing these with stronger verbs?

Don’t try to edit everything at once. Pick one thing you are looking to improve and see it through to the end.

Know what your direction is in your writing.

Cut the clutter…Often less words will equal more understanding for the reader

One metaphor vs multiple metaphor

When you are done you are done!

May you be inspired, feel empowered, and B. Well.

All this and more on this week’s episode of The Writer’s Block Podcast recorded at the Studio 21 Podcast Café and hosted on the United Podcast Network.

Debby will share her experience in Joyce Maynard's private writing class hosted at her apartment at Yale. The author of “At Home in the World,” “Labor Day” which was made into a movie with Kate Winslet, and most recently her memoir “The Best of Us”, gave her full attention and love to the writers accepted into this private affair.

 

• To go you must apply and be accepted

• There are only 8 slots open

• Joyce is truly a gifted teacher

• If you get accepted, you can expect to pay $500

 

May you be inspired, feel empowered, and B. Well.

 

All this and more on this week’s episode of The Writer’s Block Podcast recorded at the Studio 21 Podcast Café and hosted on the United Podcast Network.