The Writer's Mindset

Part 2 coming next week!

Part one of our interview with Gail if you'd prefer to listen to it in two chunks :)

Gail Carriger has multiple NYT bestsellers and over a million books in print in dozens of different languages. She writes comedies of manners mixed with urban fantasy (and sexy queer joy as G. L. Carriger). She is best known for the Parasol Protectorate and Finishing School series. She was once an archaeologist and is fond of shoes, octopuses, and tea.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why analytics for authors are so important
• What you should be tracking
• Where to get your data from
• How data helps you make better decision

Links

• Gail Carriger's website
• Gail's redirection post

Time stamps

• 0:00 – Intro 
• 4:15 – Why Gail loves data
• 6:17 – What should authors be tracking and why?
• 13:06 – data sources
• 20:17 – Preorder launch tracking
• 21:52 – The minimum things you should be tracking
• 26:19 – Cosmo crashes the podcast
• 27:15 – How data informs career choices
• 30:34 – Tools to track 
• 37:57 – Newsletter sign up tracking
• 46:06 – Social media tracking

Shane Millar is a Fictionary Certified Story Coach and the author of the Write Better Fiction craft guides. He is also the author of the Myth & Magic urban fantasy thriller series (writing as S. W. Millar).

Shane holds a BA in journalism and is a member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). He lives in Buckinghamshire, England.

He has taken too many writing courses to count and enjoys reading as much as possible. Shane is obsessed with five things: the writing craft, mythology, personal development, food, and martial arts movies.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to use the 5 senses when plotting
• Why your plot should be flexible
• How much depth your plot really needs
• Why every book is different

Links

• Author Site: https://swmillar.com
• Podcast: https://www.storytellersfaceoff.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swmillarauthor
• TikTok: https://https://www.tiktok.com/@swmillarauthor

Clare grew up in Somerset but has lived most of her adult life in Nottingham, with brief sojourns in four other UK cities.

She began her career as a journalist with the Nottingham Post group before working as a press officer and communications manager in the Government Communications Network. She began writing her first novel, Blue Tide Rising, while studying for an MA in Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University.

Blue Tide Rising was published in 2019 by independent publisher Inspired Quill. Clare’s second novel The Strawberry Girl is due out in May 2023.

Clare is also a creative writing tutor who runs workshops across Nottinghamshire. For six years She ran Writing for Wellbeing sessions at the Maggie’s Cancer Centre, Nottingham. She currently handles PR and media for Nottinghamshire Hospice.

Links:

• Clare's website 
• Clare's Twitter 

Books mentioned:

• Blue Tide Rising - Clare Stevens *
• Feel the Fear and do it Anyway - Susan Jeffers *
• What Happens in New York - Kristina Adams *

* Affiliate link

J. W. Judge is a lawyer by day and a novelist in the early morning hours before the sun wakes all the other creatures. His writing is fueled by vivid dreams and an overactive imagination. He is the author of the dark fantasy trilogy The Zauberi Chronicles and has most recently written a book for writers, Write Your Novel One Day at a Time: How to Write a Novel While Having a Career, a Family, and a Life.

Becca Syme is a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and holds a Master’s degree in Transformational Leadership. She is the host of the Quitcast for Writers and the teacher of the popular Write Better-Faster class. Becca has coached 5700+ authors using success alignment and predictive reasoning to help authors write and market better-faster. She lives in the mountains of Montana where it is always winter and never Christmas.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What author burnout looks like
• Why so many writers go through burnout more than once
• How to avoid burning out - even if you're on the precipice
• How long it takes to recover from burnout

Matty Dalrymple podcasts, writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage as The Indy Author. She is the host of THE INDY AUTHOR PODCAST and the author of THE INDY AUTHOR’S GUIDE TO PODCASTING FOR AUTHORS. She is also the co-author, along with Mark Leslie Lefebvre, of TAKING THE SHORT TACK: CREATING INCOME AND CONNECTING WITH READERS USING SHORT FICTION.

​Matty is also the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with THE SENSE OF DEATH; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts, including CLOSE THESE EYES. Matty is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime.

​Matty lives with her husband, Wade Walton, and their dogs in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How writing short fiction differs from writing novel length works
• Ways to market short fiction
• The business of short fiction

Links:

Matty's website 

The Indy Author podcast 

Stark Reflections on Publishing

Books discussed:

• Taking the Short Tack - Matty Dalrymple and Mark Leslie Lefebvre *
• Anne Kinnear Suspense Shorts - Matty Dalrymple *
• Anne Kinnear Suspense Novels - Matty Dalrymple *
• Lizzy Ballard Thrillers - Matty Dalrymple *

*Affiliate link

Lauren is a fantasy author of character-driven stories and epic adventure. Her books usually contain dragons, bucket-loads of magic, and are typically fun and hopeful.

She lives in a tiny village in the English countryside, has a degree in Psychology, and was a professional copywriter before going full-time as an author—swapping corporate copy for magic and dragons!

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How in-person events can benefit writers
• The different ways to monetise your books
• How to build a fanbase

Jeff Elkins writes stories about outsiders who fight for outcasts, rejects, and the oppressed. He is the author of more than ten novels, a Certified Three Story Method Editor, and the host of the Dialogue Doctor podcast. During the day, he leads the writing team for a training company that simulates difficult conversations. He lives north of Baltimore, Maryland with his wife of twenty-years and his five kids.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The benefits of writing a dialogue-centric first draft
• How to add more emotion into your writing
• Why character interaction is so important
• How to write a dialogue-centric first draft

In our first episode of season six, we bring back past guests Elizabeth Spann Craig, Alexa Whitewolf, Matty Dalrymple, and Daniel Willcocks to ask them what they wish they'd known before they published their first book.

To tide you over during the summer, we've put together compilations of some of the best bits from previous interviews. This week, we share our guests' top tips on characters and theme.