Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

In episode #61 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Audrey Hughey.

Audrey is the founder of The Write Services Social Media Management and creator of the Author Transformation Alliance. Her passion is inspiring and empowering authors to achieve their goals and dreams with effective and authentic marketing.

During our conversation, Audrey describes:

* Why its important for authors to develop book marketing plans

* How she uses a community to educate and empower authors

* What she learned in the world of fitness that she carried over into book marketing

* Her “no excuses” approach to achieving her goals

* Why she created The 2018 Author’s Journal

* And much more

Listen to the episode now:

The Writing Coach #61 Show Notes

Visit Audrey’s website.

Learn more about the Author Transformation Alliance.

Join Audrey’s free writing group.

Grab your copy of The 2018 Author’s Journal:

Get Audrey’s free gift, The Writer’s Weekly Planner.

The Writing Coach podcast is brought to you by:

Click here to learn more about Writer’s Craft Academy

 

Download the podcast here:

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

A client of mine recently asked me what novels I would recommend for the purpose of demonstrating different aspects of writer’s craft.

This episode answers that question by revealing 13 novels every writer should read!

Listen to the podcast now now or read the full transcript below.

Episode Transcript

Hello beloved listeners and welcome back to The Writing Coach podcast. I am your host Kevin T. Johns.

If this is your first time listening to the podcast, welcome. We love new listeners. This is episode … oh boy, I always forget to check before we start recording. It’s probably episode 59 or 60 or something, which means if you enjoy this episode there’s another 58, 59 episodes out there that you can go check out where I chat with all sorts of amazing people. Shawn Coyne, Jenny Blake, Chandler Bolt. Everyone in the world of helping authors. Tons of great interviews in there with people like Jeff Goins. Everyone you want to hear me chat with, I chat with. Go back. Dig into those archives and check out some of those older episodes.

Normally, I interview someone else, but every once in a while, like actually the last few episodes, it’s just me. This is going to be another one of them because of one of my one-on-one coaching clients … I’m a writing coach guys. It’s not just a title of a podcast. It’s something I do professionally. One of my clients asked me a really great question. I gave it a lot of thought. I decided I was going to answer him in podcast format. Reza, you are probably listening to this. Thank you so much for asking such a great question. We are going to get to it in a minute.

Reza is one of my one-on-one clients. I have a couple other one-on-one clients who have come on board as of late. Peter if you are listening to this, and Attila — welcome aboard guys. I can’t wait to work with you to get your books written.

This episode is going to address a very specific question that Reza asked. Reza grew up in Iran and came to Canada, where I live ten, years ago. He’s really been focusing on his English writing for the last ten years. He’s always been very interested in non-fiction. That’s the type of writing he does. He’s writing a nonfiction self-help book. He said, “Kevin, if I did want to start exploring English fiction, what would be some great books  I could read that could help me understand writing better?”

I thought that was such a great question!

That’s what we are going to get into in today’s podcast. We are going to talk about 13 different books that I think every writer should read. Each of these books is going to demonstrate a different aspect of a writer’s craft that I think is really important.

Before we get into that, I do want to say this is not a conversation about overturning the cannon of traditional English literature. This is a podcast episode about writer’s craft. Alright? From the hundreds and hundreds of books I’ve read in my life, these were the books that came to mind as great examples, the best examples in different aspects of the craft of novel writing.

I will warn you, most of the authors I have chosen are white, heterosexual, American men. I’m not going to apologize for my bias. I like what I like, but I will acknowledge my biases. I’m a left-leaning, white, heterosexual, Canadian, male with a masters degree in English literature. All of my book choices are going to be biased by that position of privilege that I’m coming from. I do want to acknowledge that.

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

One year ago, I launched Writer’s Craft Academy, my private membership site and group coaching program. In episode 59 of The Writing Coach, I celebrate the year’s victories, as well as discuss some lessons learned. Listen now!

Episode Transcript

Hello, beloved listeners, and welcome back to The Writing Coach podcast.

Now as you guys know, on this show, normally I interview folks who work with writers to help them succeed, but today, it’s going be just me. I’m going be the person who works with writers to help them succeed on today’s show, because as I record this, it is the first of February, which means it’s been one year since I launched Writer’s Craft Academy.

Writer’s Craft Academy is my private membership site and group coaching program. And as I said, I launched it one year ago. We now have 12 months under our belt, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to look back on how the year’s gone, how everything has worked within the Academy and what hasn’t worked as well.

Let’s dive into it!

Video Training Library

First off, the notion of Writer’s Craft Academy came to me for a couple of different reasons, but one was I noticed there’s a major problem with online courses. I sold two online courses previously, one called The Novel Writer’s Blueprint and one called Smash Fear and Write like a Pro. One of the things I noticed about The Novel Writer’s Blueprint was that people were not finishing the course The more I thought about it, the more this kind of made sense, because the course was walking people through the entire project of writing a book, from initial idea creation all the way through to completed manuscript. And the reality was, most of the people who were taking the course were in the early stages of working on their book, which meant they didn’t need the latter stages of the course yet.

Maybe eventually they were going to come back to it and finish the course, once they were at that latter stage in their manuscript drafting, but probably they wouldn’t because we lose focus. How often do we say we’re going to come back and finish a course, but then not end up doing it?

I mean that happens, right? I started thinking about maybe what writers need isn’t this “module one, module two, module three” style single course that’s going to walk people through what they need to learn, but rather this library of resources that are available when you need them.

You know in the training library there’s a whole mini-course in there on revisions, but you don’t have to feel compelled to watch it if you’re at the idea creation stage of your writing.

And that’s the other thing… as a writing coach, it almost seemed antithetical to be selling courses, because I don’t want people taking courses. I want people working on their writing. As fun as it is to take a course, a lot of the time people use education as an excuse to not do the hard work of just sitting down and actually writing.

I liked this idea of having this training library there, so that when someone has a question, I can say, yes, go watch these three videos from our training library tonight. It’ll specifically address your question and show you some examples, and then you can get back to your writing.

It also allows me to just create shorter videos for things that don’t necessarily have to fit directly within the larger context of a course.

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

In episode #58 of The Writing Coach podcast, I say goodbye to my friend and collaborator, Catherine Brunelle.

The Writing Coach is brought to you by:

Click here to learn more about Writer’s Craft Academy

Download the podcast here:

 

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

In episode #57 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Alexa Bigwarfe.

Alexa is an author, a coach, publisher, and digital publishing strategist. She is currently putting together an online summit for writers and publishers featuring women only.

During our conversation, Alexa describes:

* the role writing can play in dealing with grief and healing;

* the challenges involved in being a mom of three and an author-entrepreneur;

* the importance of identifying priorities (and why she doesn’t believe in balance);

* the Sunday meeting she has with her husband each week;

* why she is putting together the Women in Publishing summit later this year;

* And much more.

Listen to the episode now!

The Writing Coach #57 Show Notes

Visit Alexa’s website: Write Publish Sell.

Register to attend the Women in Publishing Summit here.

The Writing Coach is brought to you by:

Click here to learn more about Writer’s Craft Academy

Download the podcast here:

 

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

In episode #56 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Joanna Penn.

Joanna is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers under the name J.F. Penn. She also writes inspirational non-fiction for authors and is an award-winning creative entrepreneur and international professional speaker. Her site TheCreativePenn.com is regularly voted one of the top 10 sites for writers and self-publishers.

During our conversation Joanna describes:

* Why she writes her books in American English despite being British;

* The self-doubt she felt early in her writing career and how Dan Brown changed everything for her;

* How she goes about scheduling and managing a busy career with multiple brands and products;

* What being prolific means to her and how she consistently produces high-quality content;

* And much more.

Listen to the episode now!

The Writing Coach #56 Show Notes

Check out all the helpful resources available at thecreativepenn.com.

Listen to The Creative Penn podcast.

Have a look at Joanna’s Amazon page.

The Writing Coach is brought to you by:

Click here to learn more about Writer’s Craft Academy

Download the podcast here:

 

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

In ep. #55 of The Writing Coach podcast, writing instructor Joan Dempsey, who previously appeared in episode 38, returns to the show to discuss the launch of her debut novel, This Is How It Begins. The book is political literary fiction exploring the clash between religious freedom and gay rights, and it’s already getting rave reviews.

During our conversation Joan describes:

* what it’s like releasing a political novel in these incredibly turbulent political times;

* if she feels pressured to follow her own writing instructional advice when writing her fiction;

* the arduous querying process she went through for the book;

* the surprising benefits she discovered from going with a hybrid publisher;

* and lots more.

Listen to the episode now!

The Writing Coach #55 Show Notes

Check out the This Is How it Begins website here, or purchase your copy from Amazon now:

The Writing Coach is brought to you by:

Click here to learn more about Writer’s Craft Academy

Download the podcast here:

 

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

In ep. #54 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with author and entrepreneur Jason B. Ladd about his new book for indie authors, Book Review Bonzai: The Unknown Author’s Ultimate Guide to Getting Amazon Reviews. 

Jason is an award-winning author who helps indies learn how to win in the publishing game.  He is the creator of Indielisters, the web’s largest live database of book promotion results created exclusively by authors, and, as an apologist, he provides a cultural apologetic focusing on leadership, parenthood, and worldview development.

During our conversation Jason describes:

His decision to move his family to Alaska

What it’s like being the father of a large family and how he finds the time to write

How his military training helped prepare him for the world of indie publishing

Why getting book reviews is so important (and so difficult)

And lots more.

Listen to the episode now!

The Writing Coach #54 Show Notes

Get on the early notification list for Book Review Bonzai here.

Grab your copy of Kevin’s new book, Novel Advice: Motivation, Inspiration, and Creative Writing Tips for Aspiring Authors:

The Writing Coach is brought to you by:

Click here to learn more about Writer’s Craft Academy

Download the podcast here:

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

In ep. #53 of The Writing Coach podcast, USA Today bestselling author and popular blogger Jeff Goins returns to the show to talk about his new book, Real Artists Don’t Starve: Timeless Strategies for Thriving in the New Creative Age.

When Jeff last appeared on the show, back in episode 13, we discussed his book, The Art of Work, which was about how to turn your work into art. Now, with his excellent new book about to launch, we flip the conversation upside down and discuss how creatives can turn their art into revenue generating work.

Real Artists Don’t Starve dismantles the myth of the starving artist and shows you how you can actually make a living being creative. The book is a guide for how to make a living off your writing and covers stuff like:

How to steal from your influences… in the right way

Why you don’t need to be a loner to be a genius

How to take strategic risks (instead of reckless ones)

What it takes to make money off your art

And lots more.

Listen to the episode now!

The Writing Coach #53 Show Notes

If you pre-order Jeff’s book by 11:59 PST June 6, 2017, you’re eligible to receive three special bonuses worth over $200.

Bonus #1: The Real Artists Don’t Starve Online Course ($100) – In this 12-part video course, Jeff teaches how to make a living off your art, elaborating on the principles in the book and sharing his own knowledge and experience.

Bonus #2: All the Expert Interview Transcripts – Learn from the hundreds of experts and thriving artists Jeff interviewed during the research of this book.

Bonus #3: Exclusive Community Access – Get special access to a private Facebook group where Jeff will answer your questions regularly and you can connect with others reading the book

To claim these bonuses:

* Go to https://fz238.isrefer.com/go/dontstarve/a720

* Follow the instructions on the page

* Enter your email and receipt number

* Collect your bonuses

It’s that easy!

 

The Writing Coach is brought to you by:

Click here to learn more about Writer’s Craft Academy

Download the podcast here:

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

In ep. #52 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Trevor Crane.

Trevor Crane is a 10-time #1 international bestselling author and the founder of Bestseller Big Business and Super Kids Books Publishing. He is the host of the GreatnessQuest.com podcast and the creator of TheGreatnessNetwork.com. Most of all, Trevor is loaded with passion. Whether he’s speaking in front of an audience or consulting business owners and executives, Trevor gives his heart and soul to help people achieve the results they desire. He transforms the “complicated” into simple-to-understand and easy-to-implement steps that anyone can apply.

During our conversation, Trevor describes:

How it took him 20 years to publish his first book before going on to publish 10 bestsellers

The important role belief plays in finding success

How writing and publishing a book should be a collaborative experience similar to building a house

The mistake Al Gore made in the creation of An Inconvenient Truth and why most authors make the same mistake

How everyone has their own area of genius

Why he thinks more creatives actually need to stop creating

And much more

Listen to the episode now!

The Writing Coach #52 Show Notes

Get two of Trevor’s books (How to Write the Right Book Fast and Big Money with Your Book) FREE here!

Visit’s Trevor’s websites: http://www.trevorcrane.com and http://superkidsbooks.com/

The Writing Coach is brought to you by:

Click here to learn more about Writer’s Craft Academy

Download the podcast here: