What's your role in your reader's lifeRelease Date: December 2, 2025

In this episode, Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach, explores how clarifying your role in a reader’s life transforms your tone, structure, and connection on the page. Using real-world analogies and examples from Anne Bogel, Annie F. Downs, and Lisa TerKeurst, Ann shows how to choose and calibrate a voice readers trust—whether you’re a knowledgeable friend, a teacher, a tower of authority, or a fellow traveler in the field.

In This Episode You’ll Discover:

• Why defining your role makes writing more intuitive and effective
• How to spot a voice/role mismatch that’s holding your manuscript back
• The “knowledgeable friend” approach that helped Anne Bogel find her flow
• How Annie F. Downs’ “coffee with a friend” brand guides tone and content
• Lisa TerKeurst’s 4 voices for authors: Tower, Teacher, In the Field, and In the Pit
• When to avoid the “In the Pit” voice (and what to do instead)
• Practical tone tweaks: contractions, anecdotes, sentence fragments, vulnerability
• A quick exercise to test multiple voices and choose what fits
• How to align structure, examples, and word choice with your chosen role
• Ways to iterate based on reader response

⌚️Timestamped Notes

  0:00 - Introduction and welcome from Ann Kroeker

  0:26 - Episode topic: What’s your role in your reader’s life?

  0:40 - Roles professionals play and their impact

  0:57 - Why writers should understand their role for better connection

  1:10 - Identifying your reader-facing role: friend, expert, or fellow traveler?

  1:17 - The impact of a tone-role mismatch for writers

  1:35 - How tone, structure, and writing style change when role aligns

  1:45 - Aligning roles for authenticity and effective voice

  1:50 - Writers Anne Bogel, Annie F. Downs, and Lisa TerKeurst refine their roles

  2:17 - Anne Bogel’s “friend who knows some things” approach

  2:47 - Using knowledgeable friend tone: relate and inform

  3:04 - Annie F. Downs’ “coffee with a friend” brand

  3:33 - Using anecdotes, humor, and vulnerability as a friendly writer

  3:50 - Lisa TerKeurst’s four author voices explained

  4:23 - The Tower Voice (authoritative expert)

  4:46 - The Teacher Voice (research-backed and vulnerable)

  5:04 - The In-the-Field Voice (guiding as fellow traveler)

  5:26 - The In-the-Pit Voice (venting without solutions)

  5:45 - Finding your role: reflection questions for writers

  6:12 - How readers see you shapes your style

  6:22 - Structuring research-based writing with the Tower Voice

  6:33 - Blending guidance with personal insight as a Teacher

  6:40 - Using shared experience for trust in the Field Voice

  7:04 - The pitfalls of writing from struggle without solutions

  7:12 - Experimenting with different writer voices

  7:38 - Adjusting tone and style to suit your authentic role

  8:12 - Realizing and embodying your role for writing flow

  8:29 - Invitation to Craft Your Book’s Big Idea challenge

  8:50 - Ann Kroeker encourages and supports writers

  9:02 - Closing and ongoing support for writers

Resources & Links:

• Free 3-Day Challenge: Craft Your Book’s Big Idea — annkroeker.com/3day
• Lisa TerKeurst interview (linked in episode show notes at annkroeker.com/writersrole)

To read and check out all info, head to annkroeker.com/writersrole