Claim OwnershipThe Writing Sparrow
Subscribed: 18Played: 267
Subscribe
© 2023 The Writing Sparrow
Description
The Writing Sparrow is all about writing, publishing and marketing your book, so you can go from unfinished draft to published novel no matter where you are on your indie author journey! We're here to motivate and encourage you.
Also find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thewritingsparrowpodcast
105 Episodes
Reverse
We've all doubted whether our novel ideas are enough, but I'm here to tell you that yes, it is, because all it needs to do is exist!This week's action step:Just... start writing. I know it's hard, but you can't polish something you don't have. Get the first draft written and worry about infusing the magic later.________________________________________________________________________________Come join The Writing Sparrow in its very own Facebook group! To find out more about Sarina and her book...
In April 2020, I burned out bad. It took me over two months before I was back to myself again, and I want to help you avoid the same pain. In today's episode, I talk you through some of the symptoms, how burning out for two months affected me, and what you can do to stay far away from it.Common symptoms of burnout include:You're exhausted physically and mentallyWriting is harder than usual, even impossibleYou're emotional irritable,and stressedYou feel like you can't possibly take any time of...
Meet Sarina, indie author of dark epic fantasy, mama to one beautiful cat, and your host for this writing podcast!________________________________________________________________________________Come join The Writing Sparrow in its very own Facebook group! To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Twitter and on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.
This week I had a chat with Becky Wright, indie author and founder of PlatformHouse Publishing, which she runs with her husband and where they create book trailers, covers, formatted interiors, and promo images for authors. I have worked with them on several projects (including the cover for this podcast!) and happily vouch for their quality and affordable prices.You can find out more or book PlatformHouse Publishing for your project on their website.To find out more about Becky, check out he...
This week, I had a chat with urban fantasy author Grace - G.R.Thomas - about her recently wrapped-up debut series, the importance of making connections, and what it's like to get negative reviews. Grace started working on her books in 2014 and has learned a great deal along the way. She shares some of her gained knowledge in this week's episode.You can find out more about Grace on her website, find her on Instagram, or follow her on TikTok._____________________________________________________...
1In today's episode, I explain my favourite season of the year: NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).NaNoWriMo exists in two versions:the big event in November, in which the goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days.the two smaller camps in April and July, for which you can set your own goal and edit or outline a novel instead of writing a novel.All three are annual events, and they are free to join for writers of all backgrounds and experience levels.This week's action step: Join the ...
Do ignore me at the beginning when I say it's the 19th of September. It's definitely October :)This week I had the pleasure of talking to horror author Beverley Lee about writing short stories and getting them published in anthologies. Beverley has published four books so far and has been featured in several anthologies this year alone, and she shares her top tips in this episode.Want to write short stories for anthologies?Do your research - if you have a fantasy story, don't submit it to a p...
This week we're diving deeper into NaNoWriMo preparations without over-preparing.Please note: this is how I prefer to prepare for November. You can prepare more or less if you like :)There are 4 equally important basics I get ready before NaNoWriMo:my main characters - names, ages, looks, wants and needs, fears, strengths and weaknesses, speech habits,...my world - relevant country names, what those countries are known for, culture, how growing up there influenced your characters,...my plot -...
This week, I talk about the basics of working with critique partners and beta readers - how to find them, when to get them involved, and why they're so valuable.You can adjust the following points to whatever works best for you and your process. This is what works best for me and what I recommend based on my experience:Critique partners:can come into the process at any timecan help you with anything from making smaller decisions like character name changes over helping you choose a book cover...
Today, I'm talking to author R.S. Williams about productivity. Rhianne is always working on something, and she's doing it while working full-time, exercising, and being married... and today, she shares how she balances everything.These are your summarised action steps from Rhianne: Track your days to figure out how much time you spent doing what. Rhianne uses the app Toggl ( https://toggl.com/ )for this.Block out time to write. For example, if you have half an hour before you make dinner...
This week, steampunk author Dana Fraedrich joined me on Zoom to talk about attending book fairs as an author. Last year alone, Dana has attended around 20 book fairs and events, which makes her a bit of an expert.Guest-starring Bruin, Dana's dog.Here are some tips from Dana:Research the other attending authors for the event you're interested in to make sure it fits your niche.If possible, attend the event the year before to see how it's set up and whether it's right for you and your books.You...
This week I had the privilege of talking to Kristina Naydonova, who published her debut novel earlier this year aged 12! She's now 13 and showing us all how it's done.Here are Kristina's self-care tips for preventing stress and burnout:get enough sleepdrink enough watereat healthy mealsmeditate (this is the app Kristina recommends (https://appadvice.com/app/meditation-nest/1460053458) and this is the app I mention: ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=yoga.meditation.yogamusi...
For today's episode, Becky Wright is back! Last time we talked about formatting, we got a little carried away. This time, we focussed on 5 quick and easy formatting tips you can apply to your book right now.These are Becky's tips:STYLE - Different genres favour different styles, so have a look at some other books from your genre and see what they've done. For example, fantasy novels often have embellishments and illustrations, whereas horror novels have plainer, stricter styles.FRONT AND BACK...
This week I had the pleasure of talking to Jessica Reis, who has written an anthology with three of her friends. For our chat, we talked about how they did it, how it came together, and how anyone might do the same.Here are some lessons learned from Jessica:It helps to have every participating writer in one group. Jessica and her friends created a Facebook group where they could help one another, give one another feedback, and ask questions.It's a group effort, so pick the name together, choo...
December is a great time to reflect, and because 2020 has been harder than most years, it's ever more important to take a moment and reflect on how you did. Remember to be kind to yourself as you do so; you don't need to have outperformed previous successes or reached your goals to have done well.In this week's episode, I reflect on all the things that didn't go to plan this year, all the things I did that I hadn't planned but that worked out, and all the things I'm grateful for. It's e...
I had the great pleasure of talking to Elisha Belden about how to turn your business into a success! This is a longer episode, but let me assure you that it's worth every second.Elisha talks about Genesis goals, how to divide one big goal into smaller goals you can achieve easily, and why the right mindset is the single most important thing to have if you want to create a successful author career (or any business), and what to consider before you quit your day job to become a full-time author...
For this week's episode, Briana Morgan joined me to talk about social media! Heads up: we focussed on Instagram and Twitter, but TikTok and Facebook also got a few mentions.We're tackling questions like:How much time should we spend on social media, and how often should we post?How can we please the Instagram algorithm?What counts as engagement on Instagram, and how can we boost our engagement?How can you use social media to get beta readers?And many more!Your action step this week comes from...
Once a month, I talk to another writer about their writing routine. We answer questions such as Are you a plotter, pantser, or somewhere in between? , Do you write every day? , Where does your inspiration come from?, What’s your beverage of choice?, and many more! At the end of each episode, the writers recommend their favourite book on writing and share their advice for establishing the right writing routine for you.This month, I talked to Villimey Sigurbjörnsdóttir, a horr...
For this week's episode, I talked to romance author Noelle Riches about plotting your whole series before you start writing it... and writing the whole series before you start publishing.Please note: as with anything in writing, you should do what works for you. You don't need to plot your whole trilogy or write the whole series before you start publishing (or plot at all, if that's not your thing). In this episode, Noelle and I discuss the benefits and challenges as we've found them for ours...
As requested in my reader group on Facebook, I will be sharing quarterly writing updates and goals. If that's not why you're here, don't worry - it'll only happen four times a year. Hopefully, my process, goals, and achieved deadlines (as well as surprise challenges) will be interesting for you whether you're here as a writer or as one of my readers!Listen to find out what I'm working on, what progress I've made on my WIPs, and what I'm planning next.And if you'd like to share your goals with...
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States