The Story Studio is presented by Sterling and Stone, a company made up of Johnny B. Truant, Sean Platt and David Wright. This podcast is a new one to me and in fact only started in February. However when I started listening it became pretty clear early on that although this one was new it had evolved out of a Self-Publishing Podcast that had ended after it’s 299th episode in January.

I have to admit I wasn’t sure at the beginning I was going to stick with it. I felt a little like I’d walked into the middle of a party where everyone knew what was going on apart from me, however, I gave it a few more episodes and I’m glad I did.

These guys talk all about the story – how it develops, arcs, background, structure, characters, you name it and they will discuss it. I’ve listened as I work so have scribbled a few notes on what I’ve found particularly interesting.

Future markets for storytelling was one point. Markets such as gaming I hadn’t even considered, and probably won’t, ever, but it’s interesting information.

Advice such as don’t obsess over the numbers. It’s so easy to do. Spending your time checking figures here there and everywhere instead of getting on with the work.

Maintaining the balance when you’re torn between writing literary work over the more commercial work and it was interesting to hear that their next literary work they also want to make into a commercial success.

The presenters know each other very well. There’s banter as they chat which is friendly and I enjoy hearing about all the achievements and challenges they face in their writing lives. I haven’t checked out their books yet. It sounds like there are hundreds of them so they are way ahead of where I am which makes the podcast all the more useful for learning from their experiences.

They have a terrific website which has details of all their podcasts, books (I was right, there are hundreds of them!) and there is a section just for writers, yeah, you heard it here first.

Sterling and Stone Website

The post Podcast Post #6 ~ The Story Studio Podcast @sterling_stone #amwriting #selfpublishing appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

Image courtesy of Castbox

Grammar Girl is an excellent podcast for me to listen to because it is usually around 15 minutes long, so is easy to fit in each week. But you do need to concentrate. That 15 minutes is packed full of knowledge along with tools to help you remember various grammar tips.

Recent episodes have covered: Are sports team names singular or plural? Do you say your piece or say your peace? Barefaced and Baldfaced lies. Mixed Metaphors. Repetitive phrases. I could go on, and on, as the podcast is up to episode 622!

Even if you think you know all of this stuff I’m sure you would pick up something new or a better way to remember it.

The founder of Grammar Girl is Mignon Fogarty and she is also the author of a series of books on writing including Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. You can find out just how successful and popular the podcast, her books and Mignon herself is in her biography on the website below where you’ll also find much, much more.

Quick and Dirty Tips.com

The post Podcast Post #5 ~ Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips ~ @GrammarGirl #amwriting #selfpublishing appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

Kobo is one of those places that if you go wide with your books you should definitely have them and mine will be back on there as soon as I can get that organised. I’ve always liked Kobo, the company has a nice feel to it, and no, I can’t explain exactly what I mean by that it’s just that I often pick up vibes about things and with Kobo I get all the warm ones.

The last few podcasts have been interviews with, Ariel Bissett – popular You tuber, Maxwell Alexander Drake – award winning author and creative writing instructor and Sarah Wendell – writer, blogger and podcaster. All interesting and successful people doing many different things.

We all travel our own path and I find it interesting and useful to find out how other people got to where they are now, and it is through this type of chatty interview that you find out all this, and more.

You can find out all about Kobo Writing Life via their super website, link below.

Kobo Writing Life

The post Podcast Post #4 ~ Kobo Writing Life Podcast ~ @KoboWritingLife #amwriting #selfpublishing #Kobo #KWL appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

Image courtesy of Stitcher

Your Weekly Dose of Inspiration and Education

Mark Dawson is an award-nominated, multiple USA Today bestseller, with more than 20 books and over 2 million copies downloaded worldwide in multiple languages. James Blatch isn’t – but he’s doing his best to learn how.

And this podcast seems like an excellent place to be doing just that.

This has been a new podcast for me and at well over 100 episodes published already I have listened from where I subscribed rather than going into the back catalogue at all.

Just to give you a flavour of what this podcast offers there has been:

Booklab with David F. Berens – this was the first of this type of episode on this podcast and was incredibly interesting. Author David F. Berens had his author platform scrutinised by experts* and the listener was able to see the before and after detail as there was a pdf that could be downloaded to accompany the episode. The difference made to this authors book cover and blurb was tremendous and it would be interesting to hear from David F. Berens again in the future to see if that has impacted on his book sales.

*I could really do with having this done to my books!

Getting Twitter to Fly for Authors with Ian Sutherland – having become rather fed up of using Twitter this was interesting, as was learning about all the changes that Twitter have made.

And of course there is an episode on GDPR. I haven’t listened to this one yet but by the time this post is published I probably will have done and am eager to hear what guidance is given.

However, there is much, much more to the Self-Publishing Formula than just the podcast, as if that wasn’t already enough! Mark Dawson has produced courses from Advertising for Authors to Self-Publishing 101 which have kick started many authors careers. There is a terrific website (link below) with loads more information on it and you can sign up to receive a SPF starter package of videos and weekly inspirational emails. I have signed up and am carefully collecting everything that comes in into its own folder until such time as I can give it my full attention.

This podcast does exactly what it says. It inspires and educates and I shall definitely be sticking with it and learning all I can. Thank you Mark and James!

Self Publishing Formula

The post Podcast post #3 ~ Mark Dawson’s Self-Publishing Formula Podcast with Mark Dawson and James Blatch @SelfPubForm ~ #amwriting #selfpublishing appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

Image courtesy of thecreativepenn.com

As I stated in the first post in this series (which you can find here if you missed it) I began listening to some writing and publishing podcasts when I first started my writing career. The one I am going to tell you about today was one I listened to back then, but for various reasons discussed before, I stopped. I wish I hadn’t. Joanna Penn is now up to episode 373 and as much as I am a completer of things and would dearly love to go back to the beginning and start from there I know, realistically, I can’t. So, I have subscribed again, picked out a few from the back catalogue that looked interesting and caught up on all those that had downloaded in the meantime.

Joanna Penn is a thriller author and creative entrepreneur. Her podcasts provide interviews, inspiration and information on writing, publishing options and marketing ideas for your books. She is also a founding member of Alli (The Alliance of Independent Authors).

She is also an early-adopter, which is why she is approaching 400 podcasts, and is always bringing to the fore the latest technology and news in the industry which can feel a little overwhelming to me, but I’m taking on board everything that I can.

Joanna has an extremely enthusiastic presenting style, is knowledgeable and relentlessly positive as well as being incredibly helpful by providing a website packed full of information (including links to all the back episodes of the podcast). There is also an Author Blueprint available to download for free. And, she always sounds like she is having a great time!

Listening to Joanna has made me realise how cosy I have become in my tiny little speck of the internet and that there is actually a massive publishing world out there with many opportunities waiting to be explored – it makes me wish I could just pack everything else in and concentrate on my writing career full time actually!

However, the thing that I really like about Joanna Penn, apart from all the above, is that she shares the same ethos as me when it comes to income, and that is, never rely on just one source for all of it. I have been self-employed for over 20 years now and have always worked for around fifteen different companies at any one point during that time. Clients fall off the perch for a variety of reasons but with this business model I have always still had the income from the others.

In my writing career I have my sales, workshops and client work but I need to do more. I have been exclusive with Amazon for a while now, following advice I read from Hugh Howey, and while it is highly unlikely Amazon is going to topple over you should never put all your eggs in one basket. So I need to do something about that.

I have also recently managed to get my books into some libraries and I’m back to sorting out audiobooks as well, after a false start on that front. I shall also be looking into translations, possibly, following a discussion with writing pal, Linda Huber, today. So, there much more to come from this, until recently, rather jaded writer!

You can find The Creative Penn Podcast wherever you usually get your podcasts and there is also plenty to explore on the website.

The Creative Penn Website

The post Podcast post #2 ~ The Creative Penn Podcast with Joanna Penn @thecreativepenn ~ #amwriting #publishing appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

I have listened to podcasts for a long time and when I started writing seriously in 2012 I found a few podcasts to download. However, for reasons that escape me now but I suspect were down to a combination of lack of time, being overwhelmed and a technology update that meant things weren’t set up afterwards in the way they were before, I stopped listening.

However, I have felt out in the wilderness with my writing for a while now and needed something to engage me again, and then I remembered, podcasts.

I popped onto iTunes to see what was available, and found that there were many to choose from. I subscribed to several, and probably far too many judging by the numbers downloading (eek!) and I started listening.

People listen to podcasts in ways to suit them, on long journeys, while walking the dog, while working out, etc. etc. I listen in my office while I work. Now, I should clarify that this does depend on the work I’m doing. If I have to concentrate then no, I can’t listen to anything. But there are times when I am just inputting data and during that having something to listen to is a blessed distraction.

The first one I chose was Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing hosted by Mark Leslie Lefebvre who writes as Mark Leslie.

This podcast started in January 2018 so I chose to listen from the beginning as anyone who follows me will know I am a completer of things. I am now all caught up.

Mark has a friendly and enthusiastic presenting style which I like and his episodes have covered topics such as: The Healthy Writer’s Life, Optimising Your Author Brand and Audiobook Opportunities as well as writing process, promotion opportunities and finding the right professional to work with.

Episodes are between 30 minutes and an hour long which, for me, is ideal.

But what I really, really like is that Mark is very frank about his own writing career, his numbers and his earnings. This is just so refreshing and appreciated. Having a writing career is hard, making money at it is harder and it is great to have honest feedback from another author on what has or hasn’t worked for them.

As we all know writing can be a lonely business and I always find it helpful to have writerly discussions with others who understand because they have the same issues. This isn’t always possible but I’m finding listening to podcasts such as this one can give you a terrific lift in a similar way. So if you don’t subscribe already, why not give it a go?

At the end of each episode Mark does a reflective piece too which is a nice touch and I’d encourage anyone who fancies giving podcasts a go to give Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing a listen.

You will be able to find the podcast wherever you usually get your podcasts and Mark has a slick and informative website which tells you all you need to know.

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Images courtesy of Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

UPDATE:

Imagine my delight when I listened to the latest episode this morning and I got a mention!! Amazing 😀 Thank you, Mark. I appreciate the shoutout.

If you fancy a listen, here it is…

Stark Reflections

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