WriterCon

Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing and publishing tips, and interview Micah Leydorf, inspirational writer of The Unseen Battle.

Opening Thoughts
Bill's thriller Dark Eye (2005) has been banned in Florida. He is very excited about it.
Lara is more excited about the forthcoming WriterCon Cruise.

News
1) Lord of the Rings Fan Fiction Author Loses in Court—Twice
2) Steamboat Willie, Tigger, and Other Valuable IPs Go Public Domain

Interview with Micah Leydorf:
During this chat you will learn:
1) what distinguishes spiritual or faith-based fiction;
2) how to break into the market;
3) how she merges politics and faith;
4) her path to publication; and
5) why she calls herself "the wife, mother, and serial entrepreneur who writes out of obedience.”

Parting Words
Join us for the WriterCon Cruise, April 21-29, 2024! Since the last podcast, we’ve added three more faculty members, so we now have eight instructors on our Cruise faculty, four authors (including two major-list bestsellers), two publishers, an audiobook engineer, and a top agent from the Sarah Jane Freymann Agency. This will be the third WriterCon cruise—and four of our previous attendees are now published with excellent houses. On the cruise, you will receive more than 20 hours of on-board instruction, plus a private meeting with the agent (and anyone else you request). You may even be able to squeeze in time for the hot tub. You will learn (but we also have lots of fun). Click here for more information.

Until next time, keep writing, and remember: You cannot fail, if you refuse to quit.

William Bernhardt
www.williambernhardt.com
www.writercon.com
[email protected]

Happy New Year! For our final episode of 2023, we're combining two previous interviews (from two separate episodes) with Erin Heinecke. Erin is with the largest firm in the US specializing in book-to-movie deals, which saw a big upswing in 2023. How can you be a part of this? Listen to Erin.

We'll be back in 2024 with more interviews, more writing tips, more news analysis, and more information about forthcoming programs like the Cruise, the Retreat, the Magazine, and of course, the WriterCon conference itself.

Thanks for listening to this podcast! Tell your writing friends about us!

William Bernhardt
[email protected]
www.writercon.com
www.williambernhardt.com

Bestselling authors William Bernhardt and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Dan Short, co-author of The Santa Claus Chronicles, with Rene Gutteridge.

Note: Due to the circumstances—Dan giving us an interview between Santa gigs—the audio is imperfect. Apologies, but we didn't want you to miss out on Dan's wonderful stories.

Chapter 1: Opening Thoughts
We are ready for the holidays!
During the holiday break, we will release a classic compilation episode featuring Erin Heinecke, the prominent movie/tv literary agent.

Chapter 2: News
1) Big 5 Publishers Use AI to Select Manuscripts
2) Wattpad Launches Premium Subscriptions
3) Wall Street Journal Cancels its Bestseller List

Chapter 3: Interview with Dan Short
During this chat, you'll learn:
1) how Dan started writing;
2) how he started being Santa;
3) how he brings the joy of the season to his work; and
4) the experiences and lessons of his life.

Chapater 4: Parting Words
Lara Bernhardt's Christmas Spirit is marked down for the holidays!
William Bernhardt has a Kenzi Rivera short story int he holiday anthology Christmas Tapestry.
The holiday issue of WriterCon Magazine has been released. Subscribe today!

William Bernhardt
www.williambernhardt.com
www.writercon.com

Bestselling authors William Bernhardt and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Dan Martin, head writer for Star Trek: Resurgence and many other computer/video games. He has also worked as a Hollywood script reader.

Chapter 1: Opening Thoughts
Jesse is elated by the prospect of a guest relating to Star Trek.

Chapter 2: News
1) Book/Movie Deals are on the Upswing
2) Amazon Sues Scam Publishers
The You Tube scam-hunter Lara mentions is Kitboga.

Chapter 3: Interview with Dan Martin
During this chapter, you will learn:
1) what Hollywood script readers are looking for;
2) how to write a game script;
3) handling the infinite branches of a gaming story;
4) creating layered characters in a plot-driven story; and
5) how to break into this billion-dollar industry.

Chapter 4: Parting Words
Lara Bernhardt's novel Shadow of the Taj is now on sale.

William Bernhardt has a Kenzi Rivera story in the anthology Christmas Tapestry.

The holiday issue of WriterCon Magazine is now on sale, featuring articles about writing holiday stories, marketing holiday stories, inspirational pieces, gift lists for writers, and much more. Get it at: writercon.substack.com.

Bestselling authors William Bernhardt and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Rebecca Hanover, New York Times-bestselling author of The Last Applicant.

Opening Remarks
Thanksgiving has passed, but a new and bigger holiday looms on the horizon...

News (4:25)
1) Pirr Ai Program Helps You Write Your Own Smut
2) Americans Reveal How Many Books They Own

Interview with Rebecca Hanover (17:55)
During this chat, you will learn:
1) why every writing process is different;
2) how she won an Emmy;
3) gravitating from television to novels;
4) why she wrote YA; and
5) why she now writes thrillers, chasing a good story, not a genre.

Parting Words (33:08)
Lara's Christmas novel, Christmas Spirit, is deep-discounted for the holidays. Get it now!
Christmas Tapestry is an anthology of Christmas stories from differnt genres. Each author (including William Bernhardt) provides a story featuring their series characters.
WriterCon Magazine releases its holiday issue next week, with tips on writing for Christmas, gift lists for writers, and much more. Did you read the last one? Visit: writerconmag.substack.com

Happy Thanksgiving weekend! We're taking the week off, but just so you don't have to go without, we're sending you this holiday re-release of two 2020 interivews with the brilliant novelist Steve Berry. You'll be amazing at how honest he is—and how helpful his thoughts are—to writers at all stages of their careers. So don't eat too much, take a long walk, and enjoy this blast-from-the-past interview with the incredibly successful NYT-bestselling author of The Last Kingdom, the latest book in his acclaimed Cotton Malone series.

Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Jerry Izenberg, acclaimed sportswriter, memoirist, and author of After the Fire.

Chapter 1: Opening Thoughts (0;49)
Would you go on a Meet Your Favorite Authors Cruise? How do we make this happen? Send me your ideas: [email protected]

Chapter 2: News (6:09)
a) Report from the Frankfurt Book Fair: BookTok Rules
b) Report from the Authors Guild: Romance Rules (and Indie Authors Breakout around 5 Years)

Chapter 3: Interview with Jerry Izenberg (25:17)
During this interview, Jerry discusses:
a) 70 years of outstanding sportswriting;
b) why he shifted to memoir;
c) choosing a publisher;
d) fictionalizing reality; and
e) suviving in the publishing world.

Chapter 4: Parting Words (44.26)
William Bernhardt's new novel, Partners in Crime (Daniel Pike #7; Ben Kincaid #20) is NOW ON SALE! Watch Bernhardt's famous fictional lawyers team up for the courtroom case of their lifetimes!

If you haven’t joined the WriterCon Facebook Group yet, do it now! Do it today and join this wonderful community of writers. https://www.facebook.com/groups/113141678727273

Subscribe to WriterCon Magazine or the free WriterCon e-newsletter on SubStack.

If you’re enjoying this podcast, please subscribe, then rate or review it wherever you get podcasts. It does make it easier for new listeners to discover us.

You can find the video version of these podcasts on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@writerconpodcast1307

Until next time, keep writing, and remember: You cannot fail, if you refuse to quit.

William Bernhardt
www.williambernhardt.com
www.writercon.com

Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview William Martin, NYT-bestselling author of December '41 and many other historical thrillers.

Chapter 1: Opening Thoughts
WriterCon Magazine needs a better name! Send your suggestions to: [email protected]
And the second issue will soon be sent, so subscribe now!

Chapter 2: News
a) A New Look for Barnes & Noble;
b) Amazon posts stellar Q3 profits; and
c) Amazon allows authors to push recommendations to followers

Chapter 3: Interview with William Martin
During this chat, Martin considers:
a) why history is his jam;
b) how he researches his books;
c) Humanoids of the Deep;
d) plotting by obstacles; and
e) why he suggested his writer-son consider law school.

Chapter 4: Parting Words
Lara Bernhardt has an upcoming BookBub promotion for Red Rain in Australia.
William Bernhardt's new legal thriller is Partners in Crime, which teams his two lawyer series characters, Ben Kincaid and Daniel Pike.

Until next time, keep writing, and remember: You cannot fail, if you refuse to quit.

William Bernhardt
www.williambernhardt.com
www.writercon.com

Bestselling authors William Bernhardt and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Susy Smith, author of the new dystopian novel, Ascendant.

Chapter 1: Opening Thoughts
A few times a year we will release interviews from previous episodes—WriterCon Classics.

Chapter 2: News
a) Open AI Sued for Copyright Infringement Based On Data-Scarping
b) Scale AI and Appen are Hiring Poets to Compose Original Work to Train AI

Chapter 3: Interview with Susy Smith
During this chat, you will learn:
a) the importance of perserverance;
b) the appeal of the apocalypse;
c) how writing retreats improved her work;
d) why she outlines; and
e) why authors must be involved in marketing.

Chapter 4: Parting Words
Lara Bernhardt's Wantland Files series is perfect for Halloween. Check them out!

William Bernhardt's new novel is Partners in Crime, a legal thriller teaming his two most famous fictional attorneys, Daniel Pike and Ben Kincaid. On sale now!

William Bernhardt
www.williambernhardt.com
www.writercon.com

Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Gary Braver, author of many intelligent thrillers and a new novel, Rumor of Evil.

Chapter 1: Opening Thoughts
Join the excitement and subscribe to the all-new WriterCon Magazine. Eight times a year you will receive this digital zine filled with articles on writing and the writing world. The first issue features an interview with Lisa Gardner, a terrific article on AI from Tamara Grantham, and much more. To subscribe: https://writerconmag.substack.com/subscribe

Chapter 2: News
a) Scammers Masquerade as BookEnds to Rip-off Writers
b) Amazon Allows Limited AI Content but Ends "Look Inside"

Chapter 3: Interview with Gary Braver
During this chat with the author, you will learn about:
a) the importance of the first sentence;
b) how a physics major became a bestselling writer;
c) teaming with Tess Geritson;
d) teaching as learning; and
e) how to survive in the crazy world of writing.

Chapter 4: Parting Words
William Bernhardt's new book, Partners in Crime, is now on sale everywherel. In 1991, Ben Kincaid hit the literary scene in Primary Justice, which sold more than half a million copies and led to a series of 19 novels. In 2018, Daniel Pike arrived in The Last Chance Lawyer, which was a #1 bestseller before release and led to a series of six novels. Readers have been begging Bernhardt to team up his two male lawyer characters—and now, it's HAPPENING! Partners in Crime: https://www.amazon.com/Partners-Crime-Daniel-Legal-Thriller-ebook/dp/B0CGK8SD5Q/

And stay up-to-date on the writing world info you need with WriterCon Magazine: https://writerconmag.substack.com/subscribe