In this episode, I discuss:

1:29: Announcements:

Be sure to read my Building a Copyright Database blog series if you’re interested in my database adventures: http://www.authorlevelup.com/copyrightdatabase

If you are Excel-savvy and would like to test my macros, feel free to email me at www.authorlevelup.com/contact. The macros will be free for you to use if you find them helpful. Otherwise, I’ll share them for free soon once they’ve been tweaked.

2:34: Wins for the Week:

I successfully learned basic Excel VBA in about 48 hours. I wrote about 10,000 lines of code that worked flawlessly.

6:06: Lesson Learned This Week:

Business Lesson: Excel is not as evil as I thought it was, but it’s still not intuitive for most writers, myself included.

Copyright Lesson: Ebook.bike copyright infringement case, and how it’s a lesson in how expensive it is to litigate pirates. Read the article at http://file770.com/john-van-stry-wins-suit-against-book-pirate/

10:07: Idea of the Week:

A Marketing Optimization Engine (MEO), or what I affectionately call Moogle. It’s like Google, but for marketers…

15:20: Topic(s) of the Week:

I’m plugging along on my database adventures and should have a working, showable product to display in about 1 week

I conquered the sales problem and found an unexpected solution to the age-old problem of calculating royalties

Shout-out to one of my listeners, Tom Donahue, who helped me out tremendously.

You can listen to past episodes of the show at http://www.michaellaronn.com/podcast

Listen to my other podcast, Writing Tip of the Day: http://www.authorlevelup.com

Learn more about me and my books at www.michaellaronn.com

My YouTube Channel for Writers: http://www.youtube.com/authorlevelup

Also, join my (Fiction) Fan Club to get 3 free novels, early launch pricing, and notifications whenever I release a new book: www.michaellaronn.com/fanclub

If you like the show, don't forget to rate and leave a review!

In this episode, I discuss:

1:34: Announcements: New segment of the show—Idea of the Week. I’m going to give ideas away that others can steal, hopefully for the benefit of the indie writing community.

3:44: Wins for the Week: I knocked out 4 courses by Dean Wesley Smith and took an entire notebook full of notes. Truly a game changer. I also snagged three new apps at a STEEP discount due to the coronavirus pandemic! Yessir!

8:10: Lesson Learned This Week: A little self-awareness thing…I go through periods of expanding and contracting with my learning. I’m currently in a period of expansion, which means that I can absorb a ridiculous amount of material in a very short amount of time, and I have many, many ideas in one day. I’m taking advantage of it by writing everything down so I can rely on it when I enter a period of contraction in a few weeks.

11:04: Idea of the Week: New segment that I may or may not include consistently on each episode! :) This week’s idea for you to steal: a browser plugin that gives you easy access to all of your book marketing materials, so that if you’re filling out a book promotion form, you can select the book in the plugin, and the plugin will auto-populate most of the book’s info for you, as well as automatically take you to any folders on your computer for that specific book so you don’t have to click around to find the right folders. This can’t be too difficult for a smart programmer out there. If you’re interested in developing it and would like me to offer some feedback and additional ideas, contact me at http://www.authorlevelup.com/contact

14:35: Topic(s) of the Week: I’ve been taking this time to get organized and quietly invest in my writing infrastructure so that I can hit the ground running when the economy opens back up again. Namely: This week, I built a copyright database to help me manage my work. It's a gargantuan task but will pay off dividends in the future because it will help me keep track of changes I make to my books, ask important questions and get results instantly, and even track my sales (if I can swing it). This thing will be a BONANZA if I get it right.

Read my Copyright Database Blog series: http://www.authorlevelup.com/copyrightdatabase

You can listen to past episodes of the show at http://www.michaellaronn.com/podcast

Listen to my other podcast, Writing Tip of the Day: http://www.authorlevelup.com

Learn more about me and my books at www.michaellaronn.com

My YouTube Channel for Writers: http://www.youtube.com/authorlevelup

Also, join my (Fiction) Fan Club to get 3 free novels, early launch pricing, and notifications whenever I release a new book: www.michaellaronn.com/fanclub

If you like the show, don't forget to rate and leave a review!

In this episode, I discuss:

1:12 Announcements: About 175 people signed up for the Writing in Hard Times course! Huge thank you to those who enrolled!

2:36 Win for the Week: I picked up a lifetime subscription to the WMG Workshops with Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. It’s normally $3000 but I got it for $1500 due to a flash sale. It hurt my wallet for sure, but it will help take my career to the next level.

4:20 Lesson Learned This Week: How to value a piece of intellectual property (i.e. a copyright for one of my books).

5:57 Topic(s) of the Week: Resilience and how authors can learn it. What does it take to be resilient? I share a personal story about something that happened to me a long, long time ago that set the course of most of my life. And it taught me resilience.

Grab my NEW course for writers, Writing in Hard Times: http://www.authorlevelup.com/hardtimes

Future Workshop by Dean Wesley Smith: https://wmg-publishing-workshops-and-lectures.teachable.com/courses/434005

You can listen to past episodes of the show at http://www.michaellaronn.com/podcast

Listen to my other podcast, Writing Tip of the Day: http://www.authorlevelup.com

Learn more about me and my books at www.michaellaronn.com

My YouTube Channel for Writers: http://www.youtube.com/authorlevelup

Also, join my (Fiction) Fan Club to get 3 free novels, early launch pricing, and notifications whenever I release a new book: www.michaellaronn.com/fanclub

If you like the show, don't forget to rate and leave a review!

In this episode I discuss:

1:16: Announcements: The Contingency Planning course for writers is done! It’ll launch this weekend, Saturday, April 11th. The name is Writing in Hard Times.

5:00: Win for the Week: Finishing the Writing in Hard Times course. I shot 30+ videos over 5 days, which is INSANE compared to what I normally do.

6:29: Lesson Learned: That I can create a practical, premium course in 2 weeks vs. 2 months like last time around.

Topic(s) of the Week:

7:38: How you’re a winner even if you’re NOT productive during these difficult times

17:04: How one writer won BIG during the pandemic crisis

Read About Peter May’s Success: https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/04/us/peter-may-lockdown-coronavirus-book-trnd/index.html

You can listen to past episodes of the show at http://www.michaellaronn.com/podcast

Listen to my other podcast, Writing Tip of the Day: http://www.authorlevelup.com

Learn more about me and my books at www.michaellaronn.com

My YouTube Channel for Writers: http://www.youtube.com/authorlevelup

Also, join my (Fiction) Fan Club to get 3 free novels, early launch pricing, and notifications whenever I release a new book: www.michaellaronn.com/fanclub

If you like the show, don't forget to rate and leave a review!

In this episode, I discuss:

1:30: Announcements: I’m making progress on my Writing in Hard Times Course. It will be free to everyone on my email list when it launches. http://www.authorlevelup.com/fanclub

3:45: Wins for the Week: My new studio is up and running. Because of the coronavirus, my law school automatically passed everyone for the semester. School’s out until July!!!

7:47: Lesson Learned This Week: Home isolation is great practice for what a full-time writing life might look like.

10:12: Topic(s) of the Week: How a crisis like this is a terrible time to waste as a writer. Are you sleepwalking through this crisis or are you turning it into lemonade?

Join my Author Level Up Fan Club to get my Writing in Hard Times course for FREE when it launches in early/mid April: http://www.authorlevelup.com/fanclub

Check out The Hot Sheet by Jane Friedman: https://hotsheetpub.com/

You can listen to past episodes of the show at http://www.michaellaronn.com/podcast

Listen to my other podcast, Writing Tip of the Day: http://www.authorlevelup.com

Learn more about me and my books at www.michaellaronn.com

My YouTube Channel for Writers: http://www.youtube.com/authorlevelup

Also, join my (Fiction) Fan Club to get 3 free novels, early launch pricing, and notifications whenever I release a new book: www.michaellaronn.com/fanclub

If you like the show, don't forget to rate and leave a review!

In this episode, I discuss life in quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic, how I’ve avoided going stir-crazy, and some thoughts on what the new global “normal” may look like for writers.

1:30: Announcements: The basement is done and I’ve moved back in for the first time in 2 months.

3:15: Wins for the Week: I created a BOATLOAD of content in anticipation of the uncertainty that’s to come with the pandemic. I created 7 YouTube videos, 2 WJ episodes, and 12 weeks’ worth of Writing Tip of the Day. I also started production on a new course on contingency planning.

8:05: Lesson Learned This Week: How ill-prepared I was for the isolation, and how ill-prepared society is for these kinds of disasters. Surviving an event like this is all about living day-to-day.

12:00 Topic(s) of the Week: Chasing Normal. I’ve also been thinking about “black swan” events and how they inevitably change the world. The world we are used to probably won’t come back, but that’s not necessarily a gloomy statement. There are ways that this pandemic will make writers’ lives better, too. For me personally, what will the new “normal” look like, and how do I position myself to thrive in that world?

You can listen to past episodes of the show at http://www.michaellaronn.com/podcast

Listen to my other podcast, Writing Tip of the Day: http://www.authorlevelup.com

Learn more about me and my books at www.michaellaronn.com

My YouTube Channel for Writers: http://www.youtube.com/authorlevelup

Also, join my (Fiction) Fan Club to get 3 free novels, early launch pricing, and notifications whenever I release a new book: www.michaellaronn.com/fanclub

If you like the show, don't forget to rate and leave a review!

In this episode, I discuss some thoughts I had after my coronavirus episode last week (one of my most popular episodes ever).

In this era of uncertainty when news cycles change so rapidly and emotions and anxiety are running high, this is a good time to recenter ourselves and return back to basics as writers. Let's go back to the universal truths of writing and not lose sight of those no matter what comes our way.

The advice in this episode is focused on helping you stay true to yourself and make smart decisions. 

TIMESTAMPS:

0:45: New announcement on the format of the show (YAY timestamps!)

3:49: Update on my basement and what furniture I ordered for the studio

4:25: Win for the Week: successfully finished teaching a new insurance class and how I tested some new public speaking techniques.

6:40: Lesson Learned for the Week: Masculine vs. Feminine Ways of Problem Solving, and how you can apply that your life...and your characters in your novels.

Check out The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene: https://amzn.to/2vnZVA1 

10:08: Writing Tips: Spring Cleaning, Renewal and Self-Care over on my Writing Tip of the Day Podcast! http://www.authorlevelup.com/writingtipoftheday 

10:45: Author Level Up: Guest video this week! Check out 5 KILLER Fantasy Worldbuilding Tips with Jason Link. Jason is a bestselling Udemy instructor.

Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtUZXdTr6Zs 

Check out Jason's Udemy Course with over 500 reviews: https://www.udemy.com/course/world-building-workshop-for-fantasy-writing/ 

11:25: Author Level Up Fan Club Members got a long newsletter this week with lots of writing tips. Don't miss out. http://www.authorlevelup.com/fanclub 

12:37: Universal Truths of Writing.

28:00: Advice that has helped me survive these last seven years. I wish I had known this stuff on day 1.

The Hindu swami I mentioned: Swami Vivekananda. Look him up. :)

******

Listen to my sister podcast, Writing Tip of the Day: http://www.authorlevelup.com 

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for writers (Author Level Up): http://www.authorlevelup.com 

Join my Fan Club for Writers and get my FREE Fiction Craft Playbook: http://www.authorlevelup.com/fanclub 

In this week's episode, I talk about some thoughts I had about the coronavirus and how it may (or probably won't) affect writers and their careers.

5:00: Coronavirus Discussion

You can listen to old episodes of the show at http://www.michaellaronn.com/podcast

Listen to my other podcast, Writing Tip of the Day: http://www.authorlevelup.com

Learn more about me and my books at www.michaellaronn.com

My YouTube Channel for Writers: http://www.youtube.com/authorlevelup

Also, join my (Fiction) Fan Club to get 3 free novels, early launch pricing, and notifications whenever I release a new book: www.michaellaronn.com/fanclub

If you like the show, don't forget to rate and leave a review!

In this week's episode I talk about some wisdom I picked up from a few mentors this week. Sometimes lessons come when we least expect them. We just have to be prepared to listen. This especially applies in advice we receive OUTSIDE of the writing life, because we can bring that advice INTO the writing life.

7:08: Why mentors have helped me in all areas of my life, and how I've used "liquid knowledge" to help me go further, faster.

12:15: Lesson #1: Selling a vision. Can you do it to your readers? What's the vision for your life that you want other people to see?

17:55: Lesson #2: Three Kinds of Advice. Do you know what they are? Also, do you understand non-verbal communication? What if you could incorporate that into your writing?

24:30: Lesson #3: Every skill you've ever learned in your life has value and is connected. 27:30: Lesson #4: Books are mentors, and we are apprentices.

Kristine Kathryn Rush's blog post on 2020: https://kriswrites.com/2020/03/04/business-musings-disruption/

Learn more about me and my books at www.michaellaronn.com

My YouTube Channel for Writers: http://www.youtube.com/authorlevelup

Also, join my (Fiction) Fan Club to get 3 free novels, early launch pricing, and notifications whenever I release a new book: www.michaellaronn.com/fanclub

If you like the show, don't forget to rate and leave a review!

In this week's episode, I discuss:

1:25 Amazing story about my daughter in NYC I forgot to tell last week 3:54 Updates on my basement, writing, and other stuff 8:54 How I have been "asleep" these past few weeks, and how I'm "spring cleaning" in my writing business so I can position myself well for the rest of 2020. We all have moments in our writing where we're not productive. But we can always come back from them. That's what I'm doing right now.

Listen to my other podcast for writers (Writing Tip of the Day): http://www.authorlevelup.com/writingtipoftheday

Check out Bryan Cohen's Amazon Ads School: https://selling-for-authors.teachable.com/p/amazon-ads-made-easy

Learn more about me and my books at www.michaellaronn.com

My YouTube Channel for Writers: http://www.youtube.com/authorlevelup

Also, join my (Fiction) Fan Club to get 3 free novels, early launch pricing, and notifications whenever I release a new book: www.michaellaronn.com/fanclub

If you like the show, don't forget to rate and leave a review!