The Writing Podcast

We want to pivot a bit and discuss how to spot and eliminate clichés as you write your book. Whoops, we need to eliminate "pivot" from this introductory copy! In this episode, we regale each other with the challenge of how to write in fresh language. A cliché is simply a word or phrase that is overused, tired, well worn. If you want your book to be read - and then referred - you'll want to do the hard work of eliminating the worn-out phrases of your industry or community from your writing.

The last thing a writer may want to add to the journey of publishing a book is the job of building a social media following. It's a slog. Tedious. And unless you're a gregarious, larger than life celebrity, building your following takes thought and skill. In this episode, Dave once again interviews Melissa on how she has built her Instagram following. This time, the topic is hashtags. Melissa clears up the confusion on hashtags and gives authors practical help to use the right hashtags to build their social media following.

She calls it her "pop in" writing discipline. Caryn Rivadeneira, who has published 13 books, learned to make writing progress while sitting on the edge of the toilet as her kids splashed in the bathtub. In this wide-ranging interview, Caryn discusses the value of writing a full book proposal, even for those who plan to self publish. She also clarifies the job of a good book agent and why some writers prefer to self publish, given the slow metabolism of traditional publishers. Caryn motivated us to sit back down and write that next paragraph.

If you want to write, you'll need a way to promote your book. One common way is through social media. In this episode, Dave interviews Melissa about a data analytics project that helped her identify five key insights about how to improve her engagement on Instagram. Melissa's son Davis, a stats, econ, and math major at Northwestern University, analyzed the response to Melissa's Instagram posts over the course of a year. The results will help you become more effective at building a social media following.

What is the starting point for writing a book? Do you just sit down one day and start to write? That's not a bad idea. At least you create a bit of momentum. But there are some additional, practical ideas to help you make more progress more quickly. In this episode, Melissa and Dave strip back the book writing process to its very beginning. They identity seven ways to begin the writing process. You'll come away with both inspiration and practical help to start the writing road trip!

No one welcomes the prospect of a rewrite. Especially when the realization that the thesis or main idea of the book has changed. It can be downright discouraging when your thinking evolves significantly, requiring you to rewrite sections or entire chapters. In this episode, we address the emotion of rewriting and the importance of slowing down when your thinking changes. You will come away feeling more hopeful and discover some practical ways to jump back into the writing process.

Agents of stupidity - that's what iconoclast Jim Morris calls advertising agencies that whitewash bad advertising and romanticize the profession. Jim is the author of Badvertising: An Expose´of Insipid, Insufferable, Ineffective Advertising. A 40-year advertising veteran, he knows his industry's foibles firsthand. In this episode, Jim discusses the process of coming up with the angle for his book, the importance of narrowing one's audience, and how he found a book agent.

It's one thing to write a book. And quite another to sell your book. Author Andrew Keyt made a significant investment in the publicity of his book, Myths and Mortals: Family Business Leadership and Succession Planning (Wiley Finance). The first publicity phase was the six weeks after its launch, the second was the long slog since. In this episode, Andrew, who is also a professor in the business school at Loyola University Chicago, discusses the value he placed on book publicity and how it paid off in growing his consulting practice.

Amy Davies, author of "A Spark in the Dark," offers helpful tips to business writers on what a book can do for your business, how to energize your writing by narrowing your audience, and how to make progress one chapter at a time. Amy also discusses how she launched her book on Linkedin and uses her book to build her business.

Youth fantasy fiction and non-fiction writer Jaimie Engle wanted to be an author since she was a child. Three weeks before her first book, “Clifton Chase and the Arrow of Light,” was slated to be published, the publisher bailed. Jaimie had no choice but to figure out how to self publish the book. In this episode, Jaimie talks candidly about the long writing road to where she is today and the purpose she found for writing novels along the way.