Writer Mom Life

Writer Mom Life Episode 17: Kara Lockharte and Using your First Book as an Experiment

>> Get your Writer Mom Life workbook and episode show notes at writermomlife.com

Shifter-space-odyssey-paranormal-romance author Kara Lockharte launched her debut novel in the top 2000 while spending less than $100 on promotion. Wow! Daphne finds out how she did it, and also talks to Kara about:

• How she picked her genre
• Her goals for 2018, including a branded series with 11 other authors
• How her husband supports her writing
• Why authors shouldn't watch TV (hint: bad dialogue makes us angry)
• How her short story launch 2 years ago helped her learn the basics
• Other advantages to newsletter swaps beyond the promotional aspect

In the tips, J. R. and Daphne talk about why putting up a short work can be a useful way to experiment with self-publishing.

Writer Mom Life Episode 16: Yesenia Vargas and Twitter for Authors

>>> Get the WML workbook and show notes at writermomlife.com

If you've searched for "writer mom" in Google, you've probably seen Yesenia Vargas's site, writermom.net. With 2 kids, 2 sweet YA series, a blog, and a YouTube channel, her days are pretty full. After not finding that perfect planner to keep her writer mom life organized, she made her own! Daphne gets all the details for you, and also chats with Yesenia about:

• Her decision to leave teaching to focus on writing and her kids
• Her approach to writing as running a business
• How her definition of success has changed – it's no longer the "default" of 6 figures
• Why being debt free is more important than hitting a certain income number
• Her weekly schedule with a baby and a kindergartner
• Why she's trying to get to bed earlier
• Where she found inspiration for her morning ritual (hint: it's a book from another great writer mom we've had on the show!)

In the tips, Daphne and J. R. talk about Twitter and how authors can best use it.

Writer Mom Life Episode 15: Jesikah Sundin and Attending Conferences/Conventions

>> get the full show notes and your free self-publishing guide for indie author moms at writermomlife.com

Jesikah Sundin is a multi-award winning sci-fi/fantasy writer mom of three nerdlets and devoted wife to a gamer geek. She got her start in writing thanks to friends in the traditional publishing world, and followed their lead, publishing slowly and focusing on in-person events. Then she discovered that indies usually do things a little differently! Daphne talks to Jesikah talk about some of the other ways she defines success besides financial (though that's always nice if you can get it!)

>> get the full show notes at writermomlife.com

Writer Mom Life Bonus Episode 1: Abby from the Mom Writes Podcast

>>get full show notes and your free self-publishing workbook at writermomlife.com

When two writer/podcaster moms meet in person for the first time, things get a little chatty! Abby and Daphne talk about how they met, famous people they'd like to interview, their shared interest in showing the "real life" of writer moms, letting things go, why it's okay to ask all the dumb rookie questions, and... underwear?

It was a crazy fun day, and a crazy fun episode to record. Enjoy!

Writer Mom Life Episode 14: Honorée Corder and Top Indie Author Regrets

>> get your Writer Mom Life self-publishing workbook at writermomlife.com

We're kicking off 2018 with a new website and an awesome interview with Honorée Corder, author of dozens of books, including The Successful Single Mom series and the Miracle Morning series with partner Hal Elrod. She coaches business professionals and authors to write and publish their books, and to achieve bestseller status. Daphne and Honorée talk about what her writer mom life looked like as a single mom with a preschooler and how being creative with her childcare allowed her more time to work.

A few other things they talk about:

• Honorée's new non-writing goal
• Using "stolen moments" to reach your goals
• What being a full-time writer means to her (hint: it's not spending 8 hours a day writing!)
• The importance of mindset and how you should think of writing like any other business (=invest for success!)
• Some of the mistakes she made in self-publishing that she wants to save others from doing
• Why waiting to launch can be better...
• ...but why you shouldn't wait to get started until kids are older

In the tips, J. R. goes over the top "regrets" indie authors have (things they wish they'd known before getting started!)

Writer Mom Life Episode 13: 2017 recap and big news for 2018

>> Get full show notes online at writermomlife.com

Daphne goes solo this week to wrap up the year and shares all her random thoughts with you in a more or less organized way.

Along with a quick rundown on her personal goals, she goes over the goals she set out for the podcast in the very first episode and if they were met.

Get a peek into her own weekly schedule, her non-writing job, plans for 2018, and how important community has been on this crazy Writer Mom Life journey.

Writer Mom Life Episode 12: Katharine Grubb and Healthy Habits for Writers

Katharine Grubb is the founder of the Facebook group "10-minute Novelist", which provides support and encouragement to beginning and emerging writers. For writer moms, 10 minutes is about all you have sometimes! Katharine has some amazing tips and wisdom from her years as a hybrid author and homeschooling mother of 5 kids. Now she's pulling back to focus more on her health, the joy of writing, and spending time with her family.

• There's a lot of great information packed into this interview, such as:
• How she started and grew her group to over 10,000 members
• How the group has evolved and how her 20+ volunteer staff helps her
• The importance of organizing your life so that you can make the most of those 10 minutes to write (and maybe find more than 10 minutes!)
• Her experience getting a book deal through her blog
• Her shifting definitions of success that led her to pull back more this year to focus on what really matters
• The typical day in the life of her family of 7
• Why exercise is getting priority over writing time
• The danger of comparing your life to others

Writer Mom Life Episode 11: Stephanie Churchill and Online Author Etiquette

>> Get the full show notes by signing up for WML extras at www.daphnejameshuff.com/podcast

>> As writer, we can have huge impacts on our readers. For Stephanie Churchill, an encouraging word from her favorite author led her down the path of an indie author. Daphne talks to her about her genre ("fantasy that reads like historical fiction"), how she balances everything (two kids, a nonprofit, a real estate side business – phew!), and how she gets enough sleep (yes it is possible!).

A brief summary of what Daphne and Stephanie chatted about:

• Her unusual genre - How she connected with her friend and mentor, historical fiction writer Sharon Kay Penman
• Why she focuses on reviews as her definition of success
• If it's easier now that her kids are a bit older (spoiler – nope, just different!)
• How she organizes her day
• Why sleep is THE most important thing
• The traditional gender roles in her house that still let her do her own thing
• If it's important or not for a spouse/partner to read your work

>> In the tips, J. R. talks about being a non-jerk member of the awesome indie author community that exists.

Writer Mom Life Episode 10: M.F. Lorson and Reaching More Readers

>> Get the full show notes by signing up for WML extras at www.daphnejameshuff.com/podcast

>> M.F. Lorson is a YA librarian, new mom, and author of two YA books. She wrote them before she had her first child earlier this year, and Daphne talks with her about how she's adapting to a writer mom life. After getting into the scheduling details that take over the lives of new moms, M.F. gives all sorts of great advice on getting your book into libraries. In her role, she gets the added thrill of knowing how many people have checked out her book – and they don't even know the author is the one behind the desk!

M.F. and Daphne try to avoid talking only about her adorable baby and get into other topics like:

• What she was able to do during her maternity leave
• When she finds time to write
• Why she prefers getting out of the house to write
• Where you need to get your book so that librarians see it
• The three big reviews you might want to consider paying for
• Why writing and finding motivation to write is easier now
• Where she goes for advice on writing (hint: in-person AND online groups are both important)

>> In the tips section, J. R. talks about all the different types of events you can attend as an author to reach more readers – it's not all about online marketing, people!

Writer Mom Life Episode 9: Joanne Macgregor and Pen names

>> Get the full show notes by signing up for WML extras at www.daphnejameshuff.com/podcast

>>Joanne Macgregor is what's known as a hybrid author – she has books out with traditional publishers as well as self-published books. Her most recent, The Law of Tall Girls, falls into the latter category, and we talk a bit about her inspiration for it, as well as a few of her thoughts on marketing and Facebook for her indie works. Joanne is at a point with her writing that she is down to part-time at her non-writing job as a psychologist and it was interesting to find out how the two jobs can influence each other.

In the first international episode, we talk about:

• Her definition(s) of success - Her writing schedule
• The universal theme of her new book
• The importance of Facebook author groups
• Her feelings on NaNoWriMo
• Psychology and storytelling overlap
• Her choice to not use a pen name
• An important message for moms: you are more!

In the tips, J. R. talks about pen names, who might find one useful, and why most people probably don't need one.