The Writer's Journey Podcast

Writing can be a lonely endeavor, but it doesn’t have to be one. You can find loads of classes, conferences, conventions, and groups to help you on your writer’s journey. But which ones are worth the time and expense? Scifi author Jon Evans has tried quite a few, and he’s here to share his experience […]

With over 165 novels published and 23 million copies sold, Kevin J. Anderson is no stranger to the publishing industry. Tonight he joins us to talk about his Million Dollar Writing series and unpack the topics of how to build your fictional universe and co-writing with another writer.

Need to find the right editor? A cover designer, blurb writer, formatter? We got you. Editor-turned-bestselling-author Martha Carr joins us to talk about assembling your book production dream team.

So you got your manuscript back from the editor and it’s been cut to shreds. What do you do? First off, don’t panic. You’ve got this. Second, take a listen to this podcast. Veteran editor Ellen Campbell walks us through the steps we should take when working through the revision process. Fantasy author William Tyler […]

Publishing your book can be an uncertain game, but when you don’t know what the rules and who the players are, it can be even more confusing. Author Richard White of Writer Beware joins us to talk about small presses, traditional publishers, literary agents, editors, contracts, and more, to help you navigate past potential scammers […]

Should self-publishing authors set up an LLC? How do authors manage cash flow? What about health insurance? How do we set up direct sales? We tackle these questions and more on this episode of The Writer’s Journey.

Whether you are an author or a freelancer, you know how important (and often confusing) today’s topic is. Chris Morris is a CPA who regularly provides tax services for authors, illustrators, and artists. He knows the self-publishing author’s struggles first-hand as he’s published his own book. Get ready to get your tax questions answered in […]

Wow! You’re finding yourself writing not one manuscript, but two or three or more… How do you do it? Meet Josh Hayes, a man of many hats and writer of many books, and Rhett Bruno, bestselling author and publisher at Aethon Books. They’re going to share all their tips for managing multiple projects at the […]

So you’ve decided you want to write a book, a product that you want to sell to consumers. Does that make you a business? Yes, yes it does. What all does that entail, and how can approaching your writing as a business make you a better author? Michael Anderle, currently #27 on Amazon and the […]

So you’ve gotten your book written, edited, polished up all nice and pretty, and you’re ready to publish. But is your marketing game in place? Debut novelist Brian Mansur joins us on the show to talk about his marketing strategies, and he’s brought along his publisher, Steve Beaulieu of Aethon Books.

In all of his cosmic cosplay glory, Michael Cooper returns to the show to lay out a marketing game plan for new authors and authors who have been in it for a while. Learn all of his tips and strategies, including when and how to launch a book, how to build your list, how to […]

Ever considered using Kickstarter to fund your novel? It’s a strategy that has worked for many authors before and could be right for you. #1 Amazon Bestselling author and “the leading Hispanic voice in science fiction,” Jon Del Arroz, is here to help you consider the pros and cons of Kickstarting your novel, and to […]

With so much of your readership on Facebook these days, Facebook would be the place to sell your book and find new readers, right? Well, maybe. If you’ve tried to run an ad on Facebook, you know it’s not that simple. Here to teach us how to set up Facebook ads and run them effectively […]

One of the most successful book marketing strategies out there is to build a Facebook community of readers. This way you can connect instantly with your fans, share your life and thoughts, get their feedback, and bring them along on your writing journey. But how exactly does one do that? As a bestselling author, host […]

Are book conventions worth my time? How do I pick a good con for me? What should my booth be like? What should I wear? Do I really have to talk to strangers? and What if I hates it, preciouss? We ask the Con Queen these questions and more on this episode of The Writer’s […]

Want to write a book synopsis that catches the reader’s eye and reels them in to click Buy? Yeah, me too. On this episode of The Writer’s Journey, Bryan Cohen teaches us how to write a synopsis that will sell your book. After explaining the basics, we look at some real-life synopsis examples submitted by […]

Now that you’re ready to launch your book, you need a marketing game plan. Which marketing strategies are right for you, and which ones should you get started on first? We asked Chris Fox–Amazon bestselling author of Six Figure Author and Launch to Market–to share with us the most effective book marketing strategies for 2019. […]

You’ve written your book (yay, you!) and you’re ready to launch it into the world, but how do you make sure it finds the right readers? It’s all about identifying your target audience and using all the tools at your disposal to reach them. Marketing expert Jynafer Rose Yanez shares her tips on leveraging social […]

Want to know what draws Buy Now clicks quicker than Grammar Nazis to a misspelled tweet? A bang-up Amazon book description. But how do you write such a description? Funny you should ask, Brian Meeks is here to answer that question, and any other audience question, at the live launch party of his new book, […]

To succeed as an indie author, you need four things: a great book, cover, blub, and to get the book in front of eyeballs. Enter Amazon ads. Successful Amazon ad runs can make your career, but a failed one can make you want to tear your hair out. Keep your hair and bank account intact […]

Whether you’re a hopeful writer like Lauren or a new writer like Kalene, you probably need to build up your newsletter–or get it started in the first place. In this video, we ask Rhett–author, publisher, and founder of the popular science fiction email list, SciFi Bridge–how to build and grow our newsletters. He happily gives […]

Tonight we’re joined by Ellen Campbell, editor to numerous Amazon Top 10 science fiction authors. We discuss some of the biggest writing traps authors fall into and how to revise your way out of them. To make the show extra-useful to you, Ellen spent a month collecting author writing samples in order to show you […]

To wrap up our series on plotting, we’re bringing on a pantser to discuss discovery writing strategies. Steve is the author of the much-loved Buried Goddess Saga, an editor, book designer, and publisher at Aethon Books. In this episode of TWJ, he breaks down discovery writing strategies for individual novels, across series, and with an […]

So you know the basics of story structure, and now you’re ready to apply it to a novel. In this episode of TWJ, we dig deep into novel structure with guest host Clark Chamberlain, editor and writing coach. We cover how to evaluate your plot’s strengths and weakness, create plot twists and seed in clues, […]