Writer In The Making

Writer’s block? I hate it as much as any other author. What do you do to solve it? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Sometimes we think too much and we end up stifling our own creative writing process. Here’s some motivation fellow writers. Just get it written! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Critique partners and beta readers. Do I really need both? Well... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

What’s the best way to find beta readers? While there are multiple sources, I mention CP matchmaking, critiquematch.com, and betareader.io in this episode. Here’s what I’ve discovered on my journey. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Is my book a good idea? Should I go ahead and write it or keep it to myself? Where’s the defining line? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

This episode is a follow on my tutorial on onestopforwriters.com particularly dealing with mapping out your story. How to go from your setup to the aftermath of your manuscript. How do you organize it? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Ever wish you could talk to your former writing self? What advice would you give? What pitfalls would you have avoided? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

How long should my book be? Depending on your genre, the word count can have various ranges. Since I’m in the romance genre, it can range from 50K to 90K. I’ve even seen 100K! You might think, how am I supposed to write 100K? When is my book over? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Here I’m giving an update on my experience so far with booksprout.co. I’ve already received a 4 star review for my upcoming release, Match-Made Christmas! Yes it’s only one review, but it’s better than zero. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

ARCs? These are advanced readers copies of books that an author chooses to give away in exchange for a review. This comes in handy right before your official release date. It builds excitement and publicity for your book! So... how do you get them? Here’s one way! Booksprout.co is mentioned in this episode. Follow @booksproutapp --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Because I’m scoping for beta readers, I’m exploring all possibilities. I’ve recently discovered critiquematch.com and I’ve already found a beta reader! Listen to see how this site works. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Am I really a writer? Should I even be doing this? I’m not the best so why bother? Am I a fraud? Is this journey even worth it? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Head-hopping? What is that? It confuses readers and overall it’s not good. Here I’ll share on how to avoid this in your books and how you can makes the changes if you’re doing this. Head-Hopping Gives Readers Whiplash by Beth Hill, fiction editor and novel editor Ellen Brock are mentioned in this episode. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

I participated in ALLi’s self publishing conference this past weekend. What did I take away? Have a listen and find out. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

What truly makes a great book? Is it the outlining? The plotting? Is it the polished grammar or inciting incident? What about the climax and the denouement? Perhaps it’s the conflict and tension that’s added to keep readers on their toes. Then again, what if it’s none of those things? Could it be that what makes a great book is... the author? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Revising your manuscript. Some of us love it, and the rest of us hate it with a passion. Which one am I? Have a listen. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

I’m seeing a lot of backstory as I work with my critique partners. I’m still dealing with it myself. What am I learning about it and what’s the best way to handle it? How can you tell if you’re using too much backstory? Are you “info dumping” unnecessarily? How can we break up with it? This is a follow up to the previous episode “Backstory.” I refer to Sandra Gerth’s book Show, Don’t Tell, K.M. Weiland, and Ellen Brock in this episode. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

I’m learning a lot as I work with critique partners. In this episode we’ll discuss how to give and receive constructive criticism from your CP. How much is too much critiquing? Do you point out everything you see? How do you establish boundaries? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

March 16th through the 17th, I’ll be participating in the free Self Publishing Conference online. Anybody else attending? Alliance for Independent Authors (ALLi) is mentioned in this episode. www.selfpublishingadviceconference.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support

Recently one of my tweets was liked by BetaReader.io @betareaderapp. I further looked into their website to check them out. Listen to see what they’re all about. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/daria-white/support