Author Zanni L. Arnot has carved out a prolific career as a children's author – publishing more than 40 books in the past decade as ‘Zanni Louise’. In this episode, Zanni discusses how she got into writing children's books and her first YA novel, A Guide to Falling Off the Map. She also shares the differences between different age range stories, juggling multiple projects, plus provides insights and advice for aspiring authors.

00:00 Welcome
00:28 How a setting can become a character
07:53 Writing tip: Learn to love grammar and punctuation
13:42 WIN!: Reacher by Lee Child
17:14 Word of the week: ‘Headwork’
17:48 Writer in Residence: Zanni L. Arnot
18:46 An overview of her new book
21:03 Why a YA novel?
23:43 How Zanni got into writing
26:52 Discovering a passion for writing
27:30 Building a writing community
28:16 On creating 41 books in ten years!
30:47 Crafting stories for different age groups
32:57 Balancing writing with a busy life
34:15 Navigating the multiple projects
35:33 The process of writing the story
39:42 Is adult fiction next?
41:11 Advice for managing your time
43:30 Zanni’s approach to social media
45:44 Keeping track of ideas and choosing the next one
48:19 Promoting books from overseas
50:15 Advice for authors looking to try YA
53:16 Final thoughts

Read the show notes

Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook
Visit WritersCentre.com.au | ValerieKhoo.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.