In Conversation with Jo Parfitt Podcast

Jo Parfitt talks to Amanda Graham, a British therapist and expat who also runs a yoga and wellness retreat in Charente, France, about the healing power of journaling.  Discover how and why putting pen to paper can be so helpful when dealing with depression, anxiety and other mental health issues while picking up some tools you can start using right away.

Jo Parfitt talks to Berni Nason, a British writer,  actress and expat now based in Austin, Texas, about her latest memoir, Stealing Baby Jesus.  This is her second memoir, the first being Tea in Tripoli.  During our chat Berni explains how she turns real life into books that are both compelling and amusing and how she then goes on to use her acting and playwriting skills to create take those stories to the stage.

In this masterclass I spoke to journalling expert and author of Black and Abroad, Carolyn Van Es-Vines, about how journalling can be adapted and used for self-reflection, insight and increased self-awareness. In this session we will also put her ideas into practise and did some journalling together.  Find out more about Carolyn's amazing approach to journalling – not to mention the benefits for mental health, self awareness and wellbeing – on her website: writingforselfreflection.com

Kristin Duncombe has already written two terrific memoirs, Trailing and Five Flights Up. Now she is writing her third.   A practising psychotherapist and expatriate, she understands many of the issues her clients battle with. But the difference is that she writes about them too.  Frank and funny, you will love her books.   In this In Conversation Masterclass we talked about the tricks and tools she uses to write about issues that many would find painful to revisit, express and share with the world including divorce, identity, coercion and abuse.

Want to know how to get your book in the press? Or want to know how book marketing even works? Georgina Shaw of Shaw Marketing Services has helped many author clients, especially expat, get media coverage on a range of platforms, press and magazines. We talked about what kind of media platforms are available, and how to choose the most valuable ones. We discussed pitching to publications and how to pitch a winning idea even without an existing writing portfolio.

In this episode, Jo talks to the author of one of Summertime Publishing's most consistent seller in their Expat Bookshop: The Global Nomad's Guide to University Transition. Jo says that 'no other' book in her publishing house has sold so well for so many years, now going on 12 years, as it helps Third-Culture Kids & international students transition to university in their 'home' countries. Tina tells all about how she found a niche market for her book and continued to engage with her audience to generate consistent sales for her book. Tina's three main reasons for success are: The book addressed an unmet, ongoing need Personal experience & passion the subject Analysis of the community – who, what, where

In this episode of the In Conversation With.. Jo Parfitt podcast Jo talks to Signe Myers Hovem, a long-time friend and recent author of The Space Between: An Empath's Field Guide.  Jo and Signe met 30 years ago in Stavanger, where Jo taught writing classes, and their children became friends. Signe has moved 22 times in life from her home of Boulder, Colorado, and talks about the power of community she found in writers groups & the power of language to create connections. She says a writer's group can be great for expats struggling to integrate with locals, and especially those interested in self-expression.  Signe talks about her journey with words through mobility and her journey to becoming a spiritual counsellor.

You may not have heard of the term 'distant families', but the COVID-19 pandemic has made Helen Ellis' book incredibly timely. In this episode, Jo Parfitt talks to new author Helen Ellis and her book Being a Distant Grandparent: A Book for ALL Generations. Helen is an anthropologist and turned her Master's thesis into a book to help families thrive albeit being overseas, after saying there was 'nothing out there' on the subject. She says her research armed her with statistics – such as 23% of grandparents in New Zealand saying their children and grandchildren live overseas – and inspired her to work on an upcoming trilogy to support all three generations of distant families. 

For this In Conversation Masterclass I decided to do something different and invited three memoirists for a group discussion of the craft. I was joined by Margaret Ghielmetti, author of Brave(ish): A memoir of a Recovering Perfectionist (which I reviewed here), Doreen M. Cumberford, author of Life in the Camel Lane, and Jo Weaver, author of 100 Days in Spain: Diary of a Lockdown. Though their books varied wildly in subject and scope, their journeys to publication shared many of the same challenges that any author can learn from. All three of my guests found themselves stumbling into the memoir format. Jo’s book developed out of a blog she wrote to relieve stress during lockdown that soon earned her an unexpected audience of two thousand readers. Margaret, on the other hand, only realised that she was really writing a memoir in the middle of developing a solo show using old trip reports she used to send to her parents. On realising this, she took a course called “Memoir in a Year” at StoryStudio Chicago to sharpen her skills for this new form, after which she hired the writing coach. Doreen’s book was born from a passion for travel after spending a number of years living in the Middle East, and she dubbed it a ‘learnoirr’. If you would like to know more about a particular aspect of writing or publishing, please don't hesitate to contact me on jo@joparfitt.com. Thank you for letting me join you on your book writing journey. Happy listening.

In this episode I talk to Anne Rainbow about story arcs and themes in a memoir or novel. Anne is a writer of poetry, short stories, plays, novels and blogs, and through her website SchrivenerVirgin she helps writers to use the Schrivener word processing programme as well as coaching them through editing and self publishing. Most of Anne's efforts though are directed towards blogging as ScrivenerVirgin and mentoring other writers. To this end, Anne set up RedPen Training/Editing. Her first non-fiction Kindle book, EDITING The RedPen Way, was published in September 2016. If you would like to know more about a particular aspect of writing or publishing, please don't hesitate to contact me on jo@joparfitt.com. Thank you for letting me join you on your book writing journey. Happy listening.

Anthony Anaxagorou is a British-born Cypriot poet, fiction writer, essayist, publisher and poetry educator. His poetry has been published in POETRY, The Poetry Review, Poetry London, New Statesman, Granta, and elsewhere. His work has also appeared on BBC Newsnight, BBC Radio 4, ITV, Vice UK, Channel 4 and Sky Arts. Anthony is my favourite modern poet and also my poetry teacher. He shares his wise words across the world and is a poetry educator, teaching everyone from inner city pupils to Oxbridge students to prison inmates. In this podcast, he talks about how he found his feet as a poet, his perspective on how to write poetry that resonates in the current day and his experiences as a poetry educator. He talks about how everyone has the capacity to write poetry, and that would-be poets should move away from valuing their work based on awards and accolades towards writing the poetry that you want to write. If you would like to know more about a particular aspect of writing or publishing, please don't hesitate to contact me on jo@joparfitt.com. Thank you for letting me join you on your book writing journey. Happy listening.

When a highly productive and talented writer says that there’s value in not doing anything, it’s time to pay attention. Olga Mecking is the creator of the blog The European Mama, translator of her father’s memoir, One Chance in a Thousand, editor of and contributor to the 2014 anthology Dutched Up!, has been published in the Guardian, BBC, The Atlantic and The New York Times, and has recently published Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing. After her NYT article, ‘The Case for Doing Nothing’ went viral in 2019, Mecking had the opportunity to investigate the topic further and produce a complete book on the topic.  In this podcast Olga charts her journey from writing blogs to having an article go viral and the huge book deal that came out of it.  She talks about the importance of hard work, as well as luck, and tips of pitching articles to gain bylines. She also talks about the collaborative process of writing her bestselling book published by Mariner Books. If you would like to know more about a particular aspect of writing or publishing, please don't hesitate to contact me on jo@joparfitt.com. Thank you for letting me join you on your book writing journey. Happy listening.

Jacinta Noonan is an Australian certified life coach based in the Netherlands. She has decades of experience under her belt, is an ADHD specialist and runs a coaching practise called Platform B. I’ve often hired Jacinta to help me work through thorny issues – both business and personal – and am constantly amazed how much I can learn about myself and my motivations in just an hour’s session. Am I ADHD? Maybe, a bit. But then, aren’t we all? Full disclosure here, Jacinta and I have been close friends for over 20 years. She was even with me on my first ever ‘Release the Book Within’ course, after which she completed and published her first book, My Perfect Weight. Believe me when I say that she is a wonderful writer with a lot to say, and has achieved highly despite being a serial procrastinator.  In this episode of the In Conversation with Jo Parfitt podcast, we unpack the subject of procrastination and work out why so many of us lack motivation, focus, and staying power. We discussed the messy middle part of a process when the sparkle of starting a new project has dulled and the finish line seems too far away. We talked about what makes so many of my mentoring clients have a wobble when their book is 95% done and want to throw it all in.  She made us all laugh with anecdotes of how she's even changed her clothing multiple times as a distraction habit. But, as Jacinta explains, everyone is somewhere on the procrastination spectrum. It's just ADHD sufferers, like her, tend to end up on the chronic rather than the mild end. If you would like to know more about a particular aspect of writing or publishing, please don't hesitate to contact me on jo@joparfitt.com. Thank you for letting me join you on your book writing journey. Happy listening.

IN this 6th In Conversation with Jo Parfitt podcast I was lucky to host an hour-long talk with Dr Anisha Abraham about how she went from expert paediatrician – but un-confident writer – to landing CNN interviews and having her book in USA Walmart superstores. All of this during a pandemic, and while raising her own kids. Her book – Raising Global Teens – is an inspiring topic in itself as it teaches parents to raise thriving teenagers in a globalised, cross-cultural world. However, Anisha’s tips on how she found her writer’s voice, disciplined herself to stick to clear deadlines and fine-tuned pitches to end up on national TV networks will inspire both new and published writers. If you would like to know more about a particular aspect of writing or publishing, please don't hesitate to contact me on jo@joparfitt.com. Happy listening.

Want to find out how to really (I mean really) make money from your book(s)?    Then please join me for this In Conversation With...  Joanna Penn (of The Creative Penn) about how she puts her author business plan into practice, and has managed to sell 100s of 1000s of copies of her books.    Joanna's website (www.thecreativepenn.com) is a resource for writers starting out and in need of craft advice, as well as for authors looking for business help. Joanna writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller author as J.F.Penn. She’s an award-winning podcaster and creative entrepreneur and has written 30+ books and sold over 600,000  in 162 countries and 6 languages. She has an independent (indie) press, Curl Up Press.

Sue Richardson has been helping entrepreneurial experts to publish and sell books for many years. Her author-focused brand The Right Book Company provides professional design and editorial services to create books that are beautifully printed and produced. Sue and her team go way beyond the standard self-publishing approach and offer a solution that sits between traditional publishing and self-publishing/ partner-publishing. With strategic publishing and book marketing advice, distribution and foreign rights sales at their core, Sue talked to me about methods would-be authors should definitely consider when choosing a route to market and considering ways to get your book into more readers’ hands.

Do you know your story? Understanding your own story is key to writing great memoir. Without knowing your strengths, your weaknesses, and what makes your story relatable, it will be hard to make your memoir a page turner for a new reader. In this In Conversation writing Masterclass I was so lucky to gain a therapist's perspective on life story writing. Dr Rachel Cason is a therapist over at Life Story Therapies. She works primarily with adult Third Culture Kids, helping them shape their stories and empower them to grow towards self-expression and connection. Join me as I explore how writers can start to 'own their story' – and why it matters.

"Do your family dinners happen in more than one language? Do you celebrate Christmas and Eid? Do you and your family feel at home in more than one country? If so, then you may be a MOLA Family and yes, this multicultural, multilingual, mobile life can get a little ‘messy.’" These are the words that describe Pakistan-born Mariam Ottomofiore's brilliant book This Messy Mobile Life. Mariam is a writer, researcher and expatriate family specialist who grew up and lived in nine countries. Her husband is German/Italian and together they have raised their children in Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. She's also a brilliant friend of mine. Raw, honest, inspiring and uplifting, This Messy Mobile Life comprises personal reflection, expert advice and survey research to help you take your global family from an international mess to her concept of a 'mola'. In this episode of the In Conversation with Jo Parfitt podcast, we talk about how she built an impressive international team of experts to lend her book authority – and thereby turn herself into an expert too. Sign up for upcoming In Conversation masterclasses by visiting the Events page on my website.

Nick Boothman has written six books that have been read by well over 4 million people. He has been invited to speak at over 2000 events and, you know what – he never set out to be a writer. For 25 years he was a fashion photographer. However, when someone suggested he turn one of his speeches about networking into a book he did just that. He taught himself how to do it. Nick realised early on, unlike me, that everything was written to a formula and that writing a book could be easier than he ever dreamed if only he followed a few rules. Those rules, include his theories on the ‘shish kebab’, how to ‘think in colour’ and how you can write a book in under two weeks. His latest title, How to Write a $aleable Book in 10-minute bursts of MADNESS, is crammed with tips that make it all seem possible. On 10th June, Nick was my guest at an In Conversation with Jo Parfitt masterclass, absolutely free to attend. I asked him questions about his secrets and the lively audience had a chance to ask theirs too. Sign up for upcoming In Conversation masterclasses by visiting the Events page on my website.

Hello there!  I'm Jo Parfitt, and I'd like to tell you about my new podcast called In Conversation with Jo Parfitt. My motto is 'sharing what I know to help others to grow' and I know about writing & publishing. How do I know? Well, I've written more than 30 books, and through our imprints, Summertime Publishing & Springtime Books, we've printed hundreds of books for our clients since 1998.  In these podcasts, you'll find me doing what I do best: in conversation with other authors, talking about how they wrote & published their books, and how I wrote & published mine. Together, we share what we know to help others to grow.  Listen along to learn about everything from editing memoir, to plotting novels, to writing a how-to book in 10-minute bursts of madness. Find out about publishing, planning and working with co-authors. You'll find the In Conversation with Jo Parfitt podcasts are crammed with insights & takeaways & are accompanied by show notes to help you locate the gems of insights that interest you most.  You'll find two kinds of conversations on the podcast. Either you'll find me interviewing an expert, or an expert interviewing me. You're welcome to attend any In Conversation with Jo Parfitt masterclasses yourself & get to chat with the experts & ask your own questions.  Just sign up on the Events page on my website.  Subscribe today. You never know who you may meet or what you may learn.  Jo Parfitt (www.joparfitt.com) Sharing what I know to help others to grow.