The Writing Podcast

Polygamist’s Daughter Anna Lebaron on How She Wrote Her Memoir

Anna LeBaron was born into a polygamist cult. She endured the unimaginable: abandonment, horrific living conditions, child labor, and sexual grooming. At 13, she escaped to a new life, though it took decades for her to recover. In our interview, Anna discusses the process of writing her memoir and how she used a professional editor to help her create the scenes for her story. Anna gives practical insights for new writers, such as how she protected both the guilty and the innocent in masking the personalities in her story. If you aspire to write narrative nonfiction, you'll come away motivated to start your project today!

Jennifer Risher on her 14-Year Memoir Writing Journey

There's a ancient saying that money is not so much the problem; it's the love of money that causes the trouble. There's another truth about the topic: It's really hard to write about money - specifically, your money. And yet, that is exactly what Jennifer Risher does in "We Need to Talk: A Memoir about Wealth." She and her husband became what only can be described as an "ultra high net worth" family through their stock options from Microsoft and Amazon. In this interview, Jen inspires all of us as she describes her 14-year writing journey of rejections, rewrites, and, ultimately, publication. In her memoir, she writes beautifully about a tough subject with candor, warmth, and humility.

 

Executive Coach Rose Hollister on Train Time and Writing with a Co-Author

Life is not easily broken down into writing segments. Executive Coach Rose Hollister made time for writing while commuting into Chicago from her home in the western suburbs. Rose runs a coaching and consulting practice and has written for the Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review. She has also written a book for young adults who've just landed their first corporate job called "Nobody Told Me: 129 Unwritten Rules for Career Success." In this interview Rose discusses "train time" and how she works with co-authors on her writing projects. She also explains how she uses her publishing to promote her consulting practice.

Virtual Assistant Kaitlyn Bouchillon on Creating a Book Launch Team

There are at least three distinct phases in launching a book into the world. The second phase is the six-week to three-month window when the book is released. It's when your book is new news. Kaitlyn Bouchillon has built a business as a virtual assistant helping authors launch their books. Her focus is on creating and managing book launch teams. In this interview, Kaitlyn explains the role of a book launch team and how to set one up. She also offers up tips and hacks to make sure your team promotes your book to the largest audience possible.

 

Bookbaby.com President Steven Spatz on the Power of Self Publishing Your Book

Gone are the days when the phrase "self-published" referred to a second-rate book. Today, many authors choose the self-publishing route because it gives them control over their book rights, a faster time to market, and a higher margin per book. Bookbaby.com has ridden the self-publishing trend to become one of the largest book services companies in the world. In this interview with Bookbaby.com president Steven Spatz, he provides an overview of the self-publishing journey while offering some practical tools for book promotion. He also identifies the one area where many authors fall down when self-publishing.

Literary Agent Adria Goetz Thinks You‘re Not Persistent Enough as a Writer

Positive, warm, and encouraging - three qualities not typically associated with literary agents. But literary agent Adria Goetz exemplifies all three. In this practical interview, Adria explains her process for sorting through all the queries she receives by email. She also discusses how to pitch your book to agents via Twitter and how she discovers new writers through the social media platform. She argues for the importance of researching books similar to yours before you pitch an agent and explains how she works with an author. And yes, she thinks you should send your query to more than twenty literary agents.

 

 

HarperCollins Executive Editor Mickey Maudlin on the Elements of a Great Memoir

What, exactly, is a memoir? Is it simply a great story? Or is it a style of writing that addresses a larger theme? Yes. In this practical interview with Mickey Maudlin, Senior VP and Executive Editor at HarperCollins, he distinquishes between memoir as a genre and memoir as a writing style. He also helps aspiring writers ask a basic question, "Why would someone buy my memoir?" A few authors might be able to engage readers by telling a good story, but most will need to have something to say over and above their experience.

How Patrick Gray and Justin Skeesuck Co-Wrote Their Memoir, ”I‘ll Push You”

How do two authors write one memoir? Patrick Gray and Justin Skeesuck co-wrote ”I‘ll Push You,” and their awards for the memoir speak for themselves. The book chronicles not just their unique journey on the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile trek through Spain, but the lifetime friendship of Patrick and Justin, who suffers from a neuromuscular disease that has robbed him of the use of his arms and legs. In this episode, the authors describe their writing process and help aspiring memoir writers on how to create a strong story architecture.

The Ways and Means of a Literary Book Agent

"How do I find a literary book agent?" is one of the most common questions of aspiring writers. In this episode with literary agent Don Gates, founder of The Gates Group, he identifies the three C's that agents seek in a new author: Concept, Crowd, and Content. In other words, the book concept needs to rock, the author must have a following or some means to distribute the book, and he or she also needs to write in a compelling way. Gates also discusses the importance of referrals and how agents often find new authors through the referral of an existing author whom they manage.

How Curiosity Makes Your Writing Memorable

Unless you are writing a textbook, curiosity is what makes your writing memorable. It all starts with the questions that you ask of others. More specifically, the follow-up questions that evoke emotion, stories, and insights. You also want to be curious of your ideas as you write, asking, "Why do I really believe that?" In this episode, we discuss the role of curiosity and how it raises the quality of your writing.