Do you have a manuscript written that is ready to be published? Do you want to self-publish your book but have no idea where to begin?

In today’s podcast, Kathi and literary agent and self-published fiction author Sherri Wilson Johnson talk about all things self-publishing. From covers to which software programs to use, Sherri answers the questions you have to answer to go from a manuscript to a published book.

• How to be your own publisher and make money on Amazon.
• Which software programs work best for the design and layout of your book.
• How to set a budget and invest a major portion of it in designing a cover.
• How investing in how to become a better writer will help you in the long run.

Sherri and Kathi discuss the practical aspects of self-publishing, including the design process, editing, budgeting, the importance of cover design, and platforms and tools that make self-publishing accessible to authors. They highlight the differences between traditional and self-publishing, the advantages of retaining creative control, and the importance of platform building for indie authors. The conversation touches on real-life experiences, challenges in the publishing journey, and actionable advice for those ready to take publishing into their own hands.

Have you ever wondered how some writers manage to stay in the game for decades while others burn out after one book? If you've been feeling overwhelmed, isolated, or unsure if you can sustain this writing journey, this episode is for you.

What You'll Discover in This Episode

Kathi Lipp sits down with longtime friend and fellow author Susy Flory to explore the secrets behind building a writing career that lasts. With combined decades of publishing experience, these two Gen X writers get real about the challenges of staying creative, motivated, and connected in an industry that can feel isolating.

Four Keys to Writing Longevity

Why Community Matters

Both Kathi and Susy emphasize that writing doesn't have to be a solitary pursuit. Whether it's commiserating over rejection, sharpening each other's ideas, or simply being around creative people who "get it," having a writing community can make the difference between quitting and thriving.

Key Takeaways for Your Writing Journey

Whether you're wrapping up your first book or your fifteenth, this conversation will encourage you to keep going, keep learning, and keep creating alongside others who share your passion for words.

You've set the deadline. You've blocked the time. And yet somehow, the finish line keeps moving further away. Sound familiar?

If you've ever found yourself in a panic-fueled sprint to finish a writing project—only to crash afterward and wonder if you can ever do it again—this episode is for you.

In this conversation, Kathi Lipp sits down with writer, ghostwriter, and writing coach Julie Lyles Carr to unpack why so many writers struggle to meet their deadlines and what sustainable writing really looks like. Julie shares the crucial difference between racing toward a deadline and pacing yourself for a lifelong writing journey.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

Key Takeaways

Understand your pace before you chart the race. Do you know how many words you can comfortably write in a day? If not, that's the first thing to figure out. A 75,000-word novel at 500 words a day means you need 150 writing days—it's simple math that takes the guesswork out of your deadline.

The muse will meet you at your desk. You don't have to chase inspiration or deplete yourself waiting for it to show up. When you commit to showing up consistently, your creativity follows.

Community creates velocity. Just like geese flying in a V or cyclists in the Tour de France peloton, writing alongside others can pull you forward with less effort. Accountability groups, writing sprints, and shared goals make a real difference.

Fall in love with the art again. If you're writing for acclaim or attention, you'll burn out. But if you write because you genuinely love the craft, that's the fuel that gets you across the line—whether anyone ever sees your work or not.

Whether you're working on your first book or your fifteenth, this episode offers practical wisdom for building a writing life that's sustainable, joyful, and productive.

You have a book on your hard drive. Maybe it's been there for months. Maybe years. You're passionate about it, you believe in the story, and yet somehow it just won't get finished. Sound familiar?

In this episode of Writing at the Red House, Kathi sits down with prolific author and ghostwriter Julie Lyles Carr to unpack why finishing feels so impossibly hard—even when we desperately want to cross that finish line. With nearly 30 ghostwriting titles under her belt alongside her own published works, Julie noticed something fascinating about her own writing habits: the projects with external deadlines always got done, while her passion projects languished on the "island of lost stories."

What You'll Learn in This Episode

Key Takeaways

The deadline difference is real: Research from 2002 (Ariely and Wertenbroch) found that students with professor-imposed interim deadlines significantly outperformed those who set their own deadlines or had only one final deadline.

One big deadline = big failure rate: A 2024 study by Heinemann and Bisson confirmed that single final deadlines have the highest failure rate. If you're saying "I want the book done by Christmas" without breaking it into smaller milestones, you're using the least effective model.

External eyes matter: There's something powerful about having someone else see whether you've lived up to your goals. It's not about shame—it's about accountability that moves you forward.

Compare your ideal progress against your actual calendar: Be realistic about what's happening in your life. Front-load your work instead of hoping to catch up at the end.

If you're ready to stop making excuses and start making progress, this episode offers both the science and the encouragement you need to finally get your project across the finish line.

Do you feel like your writing dreams are always stuck on "someday"? You're not alone. Many writers struggle to move from dreaming about their book to actually making progress—especially when life is full of other responsibilities.

In this episode of the Writing at the Red House podcast, Kathi Lipp sits down with Tenneil Register to pull back the curtain on the quarterly planning process used inside the Red House Writers Collective. This isn't about fancy calendars or color-coded spreadsheets. It's about a simple, practical framework that helps writers finally get traction.

The Create, Serve, Build Framework

Kathi introduces the three-part framework that structures each quarter in the Collective:

Why Quarters Work for Writers

Writing is a long game—books take years. But a quarter is the perfect unit of time to make real, measurable progress. Tenneil shares how quarterly thinking transformed her approach: "What I was missing was traction. I wasn't missing topics. I wasn't even missing a platform. I was missing traction."

Making Goals Practical, Not Just Pretty

The episode offers honest advice about avoiding common traps—planning too small or waiting for the perfect cabin-in-the-woods writing retreat. Instead, Kathi encourages listeners to break big goals into daily doable steps. Even 333 words a day adds up to 10,000 words in a month.

Key Takeaways

Whether you're just starting your writing journey or you've been at it for years, this episode offers a fresh perspective on how to move from dreaming to doing. Listen now and start planning your next quarter with purpose.

Every writer or creative entrepreneur has faced it: that gut-punch moment when the numbers take a nosedive. Whether it's email subscribers disappearing, podcast downloads plummeting, or engagement grinding to a halt, the temptation to panic—or quit altogether—is real.

In this episode of the Writing at the Red House podcast, Kathi Lipp and her husband Roger Lipp tackle the uncomfortable topic of what to do when the metrics aren't going your way. Drawing from their own hard-won experiences (including losing two-thirds of their email list overnight and watching podcast numbers crater due to algorithm changes), they offer practical wisdom for writers who feel like the ground is shifting beneath them.

What Listeners Will Discover

This conversation is packed with insights for anyone feeling the pressure of stalled growth or declining numbers:

Key Takeaways

Panic shows up in your work. When you're in crisis mode, you may find yourself copying others, working harder with fewer results, or promoting things that don't align with who you are. Recognizing these signs is the first step to course-correcting.

Faithfulness beats frantic growth. The goal isn't growth at any cost—it's building something sustainable that you can live with. That means holding fast to your message while being light on your feet about how you deliver it.

Feedback informs direction; it doesn't define identity. Not all feedback carries equal weight. Seek out trusted voices, filter the outliers, and remember that you are not the feedback you receive.

Whether you're navigating a platform setback or simply feeling the weight of slow growth, this episode offers the encouragement and practical framework to keep moving forward—anchored, not anxious.

You've been doing the work. Showing up. Posting. Writing. Sending newsletters. And yet... the numbers aren't moving. Maybe they've even dipped. If you've ever wondered whether flat growth means you're failing—or if God is closing a door—this episode is for you.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

Kathi and Roger Lipp tackle one of the most emotionally loaded topics for Christian writers and creatives: what to do when your metrics aren't growing the way you hoped. With warmth, humor, and practical wisdom, they explore the difference between staying faithful and getting stuck—and why ignoring your numbers isn't the same as trusting God.

Key Takeaways

About the Weekly Reality Check

Kathi introduces a practical tool she's using herself: the Weekly Reality Check. This simple practice helps you pay attention to your numbers without being controlled by them. Track your key metrics—social media followers, podcast downloads, newsletter subscribers—on a weekly basis and look for trends over time rather than reacting to daily fluctuations.

Don't miss the free download in the show notes to help you implement this practice in your own writing business.

Coming Up Next Week

Kathi and Roger Lipp will continue this conversation with Part 2: How to Adjust Without Panic. If you've ever felt overwhelmed when your numbers dip, you won't want to miss it.

Have you ever felt like your opinions don't matter? Like you should just keep quiet and not rock the boat? If you grew up in certain church or cultural contexts, you may have learned that being a "good woman" meant making yourself smaller. But what if that's not what Jesus modeled at all?

In this powerful conversation, Kathi sits down with author and friend Susy Flory to explore what it really takes to move from being a writer to becoming a thought leader. This isn't about having millions of followers or starting political movements—it’s about having the courage to share your unique perspective and trusting that your voice matters.

What You'll Discover in This Episode

Writers have a unique gift: the ability to see things others might miss and articulate truths through story. But that gift often gets buried under fear, people-pleasing, and the message that having opinions is somehow wrong—especially for women.

Kathi and Susy dive deep into:

A New Way to Think About Your Voice

Susy shares how her doctoral studies reinforced something crucial: your opinion is valid simply because it's yours. When you can back it up with personal experience, scripture, and reputable sources, even better. But disagreement isn't sin—it’s conversation.

As Kathi points out, if you're just rehashing what everyone else has already said, the world doesn't need your voice. But here's the truth: you don't believe everything you've grown up with. You've learned things. You've questioned things. And those insights? They matter.

Key Takeaways

Whether you're writing about faith, family, decluttering, or anything else, you have a unique perspective the world needs to hear. It's time to stop making yourself smaller and start raising your voice.

Have you ever dreamed of seeing yourself on local TV promoting your book or message—but had no idea where to start? You're not alone. Many writers feel overwhelmed by the idea of pitching media, building relationships with producers, and finding that newsworthy angle that gets them booked.

In this episode of the Writing at the Red House podcast, Kathi Lipp sits down with Tenneil Register, a writer and entrepreneur who has been appearing on local TV for nearly 20 years. Tenneil shares her practical, relationship-centered approach to building community partnerships that have put her in front of new audiences again and again—without ever feeling salesy or pushy.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

Key Takeaways

Lead with service, not self-promotion. The most successful media appearances happen when you focus on solving a problem for the audience rather than promoting yourself. When you serve the producer's goals and their viewers' needs, you become someone they want to book again.

Be supremely askbackable. Show up prepared, don't overstep boundaries, deliver everything a producer needs, and make their job as easy as possible. That's how you get invited back.

Your pitch should read like a news headline. Producers don't have time to read three-page emails. Be clear, succinct, and include the "why now" that connects your topic to their audience's current needs.

Relationships matter more than one-time appearances. Treat producers and hosts like the humans they are. Remember details about their lives, follow up with gratitude, and promote their show on your own platforms.

Whether you're a first-time author or a seasoned speaker looking to expand your reach, this episode will give you the confidence and clarity to start building your own community partnerships.

Do you find yourself hitting a new quarter and realizing you have no idea what you should be working on? You're not alone. Writing is a long game, and without intentional planning, it's easy for your creative dreams to fall to the bottom of your to-do list.

In this episode, Kathi Lipp and Tenneil Register pull back the curtain on the quarterly planning process they use inside the Red House Writers Collective. If you've ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure how to move forward with your writing, this episode offers a simple framework that can change everything.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• Why quarterly planning is the perfect unit of time for making real progress on your writing goals

• The Create, Serve, Build framework that helps writers focus on what matters most each month

• How to set realistic goals that fit your actual life—not some fantasy cabin-in-the-woods scenario

• Practical tips for keeping your goals in front of you (hint: sticky notes work!)

• Why 333 words a day can lead to 10,000 words in just 30 days

The Create, Serve, Build Framework

Create (July): Focus on your bigger projects—your book, a speech, a paid membership. This is the month for the 30-day 10K challenge where you aim to write 10,000 words on your work in progress.

Serve (August): How are you currently nurturing your audience? Whether it's social media, newsletters, or guest posting, this month is about showing up for the people who need your message right now—not just when your book comes out.

Build (September): This is about growing your business and platform. Maybe you're attending a conference, launching coaching services, or pitching to media. Build is how you create sustainability in your writing career.

Key Takeaways

• A quarter is the perfect balance—long enough to make real progress, short enough to stay focused

• You don't need a color-coded spreadsheet; three sentences on Post-it notes can get you started

• Planning too small or too big are both traps—find the realistic middle ground

• Serving your audience now builds the foundation for readers to care about your future book

• It's not too early to start planning for Q3—July, August, and September are closer than you think!