This week on Writers Behaving Badly: We interview the incredible and hilarious Tess Woods about her publishing journey (and why she almost quit for good…). Seriously she wrote her first novel in three days! The collective writing vibes were buzzing at write-along and we delivered a room full of winners and Tess spills part two of her embarrassing publishing encounters…

This week’s write-along winners 🏆👏

Casey, Sue Ann, Belinda, Tanya, Helen, Erin, Simone, Lucinda, Athena, Kylie

Plus: Brooke’s questionable Googles, ghosts in the podcast and Tess Woods is keeping ACTUAL receipts.

What You'll Learn:

Why rejection doesn’t mean your writing career is over

How to spot feedback worth taking on (and what to ignore)

Why “overnight success” can take a long time

The brutal highs and lows of publishing (and why resilience is everything)

Segments Inside:

✍️ Sins & Wins Lisa has been smited…smit…smut? by the gods for bragging about her manuscript, Annie is only getting words down during write-alongs but still keeping the wheels turning and Brooke typed so fast her keyboard was smoking…also, do Irishmen stomp?

📚 Author Interview - Tess Woods Tess on rejections, burnout, and clawing her way back to bestseller lists. Plus, the truth about publishing competition and why resilience beats talent every time.

🍵 Tea Time Confession Tess Woods spills the tea part two! Another awkward encounter to help you realise you’re not alone mortifying yourself in the publishing industry.

Our next Badly Behaved Write-Along is on Tuesday 9th September @ 7:30pm. Come and join us!

This week on Writers Behaving Badly: Lisa smashes through her word count goal and we all feel confident this book is going to get finished, Brooke unleashes the horniest ghost in literary history, and Annie gets lost in falconry research (spoiler: no actual falcon purchased…yet). We debate whether prologues are brilliant or pointless fluff, dive deeper on publishing pay, and hear how bestselling author Tess Woods once mistook a literary legend for a random dinner guest.

Plus: Sweet pepper perfume, ball sweat chit-chat, and Brooke’s shocking “Footballer’s Baby” edit nearly gives Lisa a heart attack.

What You'll Learn:

* Why months of “failed” drafts can be the secret to writing momentum

* The brutal truth about publishing advances and why most writers don’t earn a living wage

* When to cut your precious prologue (and when to let it stay)

Segments Inside:

✍️ Sins & WinsLisa blitzes thousands of words, Brooke nails her 5k-a-week rewrite goal (horny ghost included), and Annie coins a new term: “swinning” (sinning + winning).

🔥 Roast or ToastThe gang debates whether Annie’s moody prologue is a stroke of genius or just pretty words destined for the bin.

📚 Curly QuestionWe tackle the money talk: advances, earning out, and why most Aussie authors can’t quit their day jobs. Lisa breaks down the numbers and the myths.

🍵 Tea Time ConfessionBestselling author Tess Woods spills the tea on a time she embarrassed herself at a literary event…

Our next Badly Behaved Write-Along is on Tuesday 26th August @ 7:30pm. Come and join us!

Got a sin to confess?

Tell us your worst writing sin of the week in the comments—did you out-bad us?

Catch up on the last episode 👇

Did you miss the last episode where Kylie Orr got real on publishing realities (and royalties)? Check it out...

This week on Writers Behaving Badly: Lisa smashes through her word count goal and we all feel confident this book is going to get finished, Brooke unleashes the horniest ghost in literary history, and Annie gets lost in falconry research (spoiler: no actual falcon purchased…yet). We debate whether prologues are brilliant or pointless fluff, dive deeper on publishing pay, and hear how bestselling author Tess Woods once mistook a literary legend for a random dinner guest.

Plus: Sweet pepper perfume, ball sweat chit-chat, and Brooke’s shocking “Footballer’s Baby” edit nearly gives Lisa a heart attack.

What You'll Learn:

Why months of “failed” drafts can be the secret to writing momentum

The brutal truth about publishing advances and why most writers don’t earn a living wage

When to cut your precious prologue (and when to let it stay)

Segments Inside:

✍️ Sins & WinsLisa blitzes thousands of words, Brooke nails her 5k-a-week rewrite goal (horny ghost included), and Annie coins a new term: “swinning” (sinning + winning).

🔥 Roast or ToastThe gang debates whether Annie’s moody prologue is a stroke of genius or just pretty words destined for the bin.

📚 Curly QuestionWe tackle the money talk: advances, earning out, and why most Aussie authors can’t quit their day jobs. Lisa breaks down the numbers and the myths.

🍵 Tea Time ConfessionBestselling author Tess Woods spills the tea on a time she embarrassed herself at a literary event…

Our next Badly Behaved Write-Along is on Tuesday 26th August @ 7:30pm. Come and join us!

This week on Writers Behaving Badly: We wrap our very first Badly Behaved Write-Along with zero sinners and a podium full of winners. Brooke hypes strangers for cash (yes, really), Lisa steam-trains past 50k words, and Annie survives strict homework and a new fringe. We’re also joined by bestselling author Kylie Orr who spills on the seven-year slog to her debut and why “show, don’t tell” is terrible advice. Finally, Tea Time serves up an AI-authored publishing disaster and one man’s pitch to turn his marriage into a threesome—with a chatbot.

What You'll Learn:

How write-alongs and accountability partners can supercharge your writing progress

Why “hope and grit” often matter more than talent in publishing

The truth about money in the book biz (and managing your expectations)

When to ignore “show, don’t tell

Segments Inside:

✍️ Sins & WinsWrite-Along champs smashing word counts, rediscovering the stories they love, and nailing second drafts.

SHOUTOUT TO: Catherine, Simone, Kylie, Erin, Catherine and all our wonderful paid supporters. Thank you!

📚 Author Interview - Kylie OrrKylie on rejections, two-book deals, and learning to let go of a manuscript. Plus the best and worst writing advice she’s ever had.

🍵 Tea Time RantAI prompts left in the published book and the saga of the man who wanted his chatbot to be the other woman. Also, we send some love to Victoria Aveyard- go follow her for another author standing up for writing rights.

Our next Badly Behaved Write-Along is on Tuesday 26th August @ 7:30pm. Come and join us!

This week on Writers Behaving Badly: Season Two kicks off with triple wins! Brooke discovers the power of horny ghosts, Lisa finds her character voice (and an accountability partner who doesn't mess around), and Annie reclaims her historical heroine's agency. Plus, we debut Brooke's very first novel—complete with mysterious football jerseys and a dubious hall-of-fame.

What You'll Learn:

How to move past "am I saying anything important?" by focusing on what you do well—fun genres matter too!

How accountability partners can transform your writing momentum

Why research matters even in contemporary fiction (looking at you, football scenes)

The truth about first chapter "rules" and why most of them are nonsense

Segments Inside:

✍️ Sins & WinsFor once, we're all winning! Creative breakthroughs, voice discoveries, and 30,000 words in a month.

🔥 Roast or ToastBrooke reads from The Footballer's Baby—her genre-bending debut featuring NRL/soccer/gridiron confusion and generic farms. Lisa delivers the ultimate writing lesson: great storytelling transcends factual accuracy, but research still matters.

📚 Curly QuestionWe tackle the TikTok writing advice rabbit hole and why those endless "must-have" lists might be killing your creativity.

🍵 Tea Time RantThe ethics of true crime publishing—why the rush to capitalise on tragedy raises serious questions about victim-centred storytelling and responsible journalism.

Our first Badly Behaved Write-Along is on Tuesday 12th August @ 7:30pm. Come and join us!

In this week’s bonus episode of Writers Behaving Badly: It’s the full, un-cut interview with Rachael Johns covering the highs and lows of the publishing industry, imposter syndrome and so much more. Whether you’re a reader or a writer, there is so much to take away from this chat with Rach!

Season Two of Writers Behaving Badly returns on 9th August 2025.

This week on Writers Behaving Badly: Annie cries into her keyboard and calls it kink, Brooke rewrites her way out of despair, Lisa almost writes (Word is open!), and we all lose our minds over a listener’s first page. Also: AI in publishing—is it the end of craft as we know it?

What You'll Learn:

How to craft a first page that grips and devastates

The emotional tools to write through chaos

Why great writing doesn’t need connections—just humanity

Whether AI is a shortcut or creative death spiral

Segments Inside:

✍️ Sins & WinsRewrites, rage, and resilience—plus a reminder that “almost writing” still counts.

🔥 Roast or ToastA listener delivers a mangy dog metaphor we won’t shut up about. Submission tip: raw truth + character voice = gold.

🙋‍♀️ Curly QuestionCan you get published without connections? Lisa shares the only “networking” that actually matters.

🍵 Tea Time RantGenerative AI in writing: we talk about it. Lisa would rather chew on a teabag than let a robot write her sentences, and honestly, fair.

Like the pod? Leave us a review so we can keep reminding you that imposter syndrome ain't worth your time!

This week on Writers Behaving Badly: Annie cries into her keyboard and calls it kink, Brooke rewrites her way out of despair, Lisa almost writes (Word is open!), and we all lose our minds over a listener’s first page. Also: AI in publishing—is it the end of craft as we know it?

What You'll Learn:

How to craft a first page that grips and devastates

The emotional tools to write through chaos

Why great writing doesn’t need connections—just humanity

Whether AI is a shortcut or creative death spiral

Segments Inside:

✍️ Sins & WinsRewrites, rage, and resilience—plus a reminder that “almost writing” still counts.

🔥 Roast or ToastA listener delivers a mangy dog metaphor we won’t shut up about. Submission tip: raw truth + character voice = gold.

🙋‍♀️ Curly QuestionCan you get published without connections? Lisa shares the only “networking” that actually matters.

🍵 Tea Time RantGenerative AI in writing: we talk about it. Lisa would rather chew on a teabag than let a robot write her sentences, and honestly, fair.

Like the pod? Leave us a review so we can keep reminding you that imposter syndrome ain't worth your time!

This week, Kelly Rimmer joins the pod to chat imposter syndrome and drops some truth bombs for aspiring writers, Brooke and Annie face off over trigger warnings, Annie reads her words and Lisa recommends a cozy cat game.

Got a sin to confess?

Tell us your worst writing sin of the week in the comments—did you out-bad us?

Leave a comment

What’s inside this episode?

🔥 Sins & Wins – Sinners and winners are all around!

✍️ Roast or Toast – Annie reads the latest from her WIP and Lisa gives her a gold star for improvement

🙋‍♀️ Author Interview – Kelly Rimmer shares her thoughts on imposter syndrome, bad writing advice and the one thing all aspiring novelists must do.

🍵 Tea Time Rant – Brooke and Annie face off over trigger warnings. And Lisa sits on the fence.

🎙️ Want us to roast (or toast) your manuscript? Submit your first page via Substack.

🌟 Leave us a five-star review or tell Lisa she’s a saint for mentoring us. Either one fuels our egos.

Catch up on the last episode 👇

Why is my manuscript being mean to me?

This week, Lisa fesses up to making her debut (pics below), Brooke wants to know why her manuscript hates her then proceeds to read a breathtaking passage, Lisa answers a curly question and Kylie Orr fesses up!

Did we all just…win??? You’ll have to listen to find out. Brooke has a very relatable editing moment but then proceeds to knock it out of the park with her feedback. Lisa explains how to know if you have a story or a situation and Kylie Orr admits to getting busted in a library.

It’s chaotic. It’s unhinged. It’s exactly the kind of writing therapy you didn’t know you needed.

Got a sin to confess?

Tell us your worst writing sin of the week in the comments—did you out-bad us?

Leave a comment

What’s inside this episode?

🔥 Sins & Wins – We win! Kinda! So why does it feel like this?

✍️ Roast or Toast – Brooke reads the latest from her WIP and Annie needs tissues.

🙋‍♀️ Curly Question – Lisa explains (so well!) how to tell if what you have is a situation or a story.

🍵 Tea Time Rant – Kylie Orr spills the tea on the time she was busted being a little naughty in the library. Authors—have you ever committed this sin? We bet you have!

Writers, dreamers, and literary mischief-makers—subscribe for your weekly fix of craft, comedy, and confessions.

🎙️ Want us to roast (or toast) your manuscript? Submit your first page via Substack.

🌟 Leave us a five-star review or tell Lisa she’s a saint for mentoring us. Either one fuels our egos.

Catch up on the last episode 👇

"Just Admit You're Bad in Bed..."

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