Ep: 233: Why Your Writing Goals Don't Matter That Much!
YES, you should have writing goals. But here’s why they don’t (actually) matter that much. And it’s going to blow your mind. Enjoy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

YES, you should have writing goals. But here’s why they don’t (actually) matter that much. And it’s going to blow your mind. Enjoy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonya Lalli is a Canadian writer of Indian heritage. She studied law in her hometown of Saskatoon and at Columbia University in New York, and later completed an MA in creative writing and publishing at City, University of London. Sonya has a black belt in tae kwon do and loves travel, yoga, and cocktail bartending. She lives in Toronto with her husband. How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. Want tips on how to write the book yo...
New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Deanna Raybourn is a 6th-generation native Texan. She graduated with a double major in English and history from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of one, Raybourn makes her home in Virginia. Her novels have been nominated for numerous awards including five RITAs, two RT Reviewers' Choice awards, the Agatha, two Dilys Winns, a Last Laugh, and three du Mauriers. An Unexpected Peril is her most ...
Erika Robuck is the national bestselling author of Hemingway’s Girl , Call Me Zelda, Fallen Beauty, The House of Hawthorne, and Receive Me Falling . She is a contributor to the anthology Grand Central: Postwar Stories of Love and Reunion , and to the Writer’s Digest Essay Collection, Author in Progress . She writes satire ( #Hockeystrong ) as E. Robuck. Her latest novel, The Invisible Woman, is about real-life superwoman of WWII, OSS/SOE agent Virginia Hall. In 2014, Robuck was named Annapolis’ ...
Chang-rae Lee is the author of Native Speaker , winner of the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for first fiction, as well as On Such a Full Sea , A Gesture Life , Aloft , and The Surrendered , winner of the Dayton Peace Prize and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. My Year Abroad is his new novel. How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. Want tips on how to write the book you long to finish? Here you'll gain insight from other writer...
Jasmine Mans is a Black American poet and artist from Newark, New Jersey. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison, with a B.A. in African American Studies. Her debut collection of poetry, Chalk Outlines of Snow Angels , was published in 2012, and BLACK GIRL, CALL HOME , just out, is a love letter to the wandering Black girl, and a vital companion to anyone on a journey to find truth, belonging, and healing. Mans is the resident poet at the Newark Public Library. How Do You Write P...
Elly Griffiths was born in London in 1963. Her first crime novel The Crossing Places is set on the Norfolk coast where she spent holidays as a child and where her aunt still lives. Her interest in archaeology comes from her husband, Andrew, who gave up his city job to retrain as an archaeologist. She lives in Brighton, on the south coast of England, with her husband and two children. The Postscript Murders is her most recent novel. How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working write...
In this episode, Rachael dives deeply into hybrid presses. What’s the difference between them and assisted self-publishing? Or vanity presses? How can you tell the difference, and most importantly, how can you protect yourself from being scammed? How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. Want tips on how to write the book you long to finish? Here you'll gain insight from other writers on how to get in the chair, tricks to stay in i...
In this episode, Rachael Herron answers questions from her Patreon supporters. What does a crappy draft actually look like, for real? Also, we talk about making sure stories move forward in a real way when constrained by historical facts, how to incorporate beta reader feedback if it’s all over the place, and why we flip away from our manuscripts when we’re “thinking” about them. How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. Want tips ...
How do you write dark? Like, REALLY dark? Abigail Dean tells us. Abigail Dean works as a lawyer for Google, and before that was a bookseller. She lives in London, and is working on her second novel. Girl A is her first novel, just out in the United States after a competitive international auction that saw the book sell in 25 territories. It’s been optioned for TV rights for a limited series with Johan Renck, the Emmy winner from HBO’s critical and commercial hit “Chernobyl,” attached to direct. ...
In 2016, Janna Ruth's plans for the new year was one submission to an agent. By the end of the year, she had won a writing competition with German publisher Ueberreuter and was deep in the throes to publish a second novel with a group of self-publishers. That novel, a modern fairy tale retelling with mental health topics, went on to win the SERAPH Phantastikpreis. Since then, Janna has published more than fifteen books in German and English. How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of wor...
Lisa Gardner is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-three suspense novels, including The Neighbor , which won Thriller of the Year from the International Thriller Writers. An avid hiker, traveler, and cribbage player, she lives in the mountains of New Hampshire with her family. Before She Disappeared is her latest stand alone novel. How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. Want tips on how to write the book you long...
In this bonus miniepisode, Rachael talks about how to start writing your book when it’s all you want to do and you’re still not doing it. Also: how to lay groundwork in a first novel in a series for the next book without letting down the reader, how to deal with a revision letter, and how to use a foreign language in context! How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. Want tips on how to write the book you long to finish? Here you'l...
Rachel Lynn Solomon writes, tap dances, and collects red lipstick in Seattle, Washington. She is the author of the YA novels Today Tonight Tomorrow , You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone , Our Year of Maybe , and We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This (June 2021). She will also tell anyone who'll listen that it really doesn't rain that much in Seattle, where she lives with her husband and tiny dog. Her newest novel is The Ex Talk. How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working writers with bestsell...
Ashley Audrain previously worked as the publicity director of Penguin Books Canada. Prior to Penguin, she worked in public relations. She lives in Toronto, where she and her partner are raising their two young children. The Push is her first novel. How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. Want tips on how to write the book you long to finish? Here you'll gain insight from other writers on how to get in the chair, tricks to stay in...
Ricardo Fayet is one of the four founders of Reedsy , a marketplace connecting authors to the world’s top publishing talent—from editors to cover designers, book marketers, author website designers, and literary translators. He’s the author of several Reedsy Learning courses on book marketing and a regular presenter at several prestigious writers’ conferences: NINC, RWA Australia, and The Self Publishing Show Live, among others. He's also currently finishing his very first book on marketing. In ...
Every year, Rachael Herron talks you through what she made over the previous year and how she made it because she firmly believes there’s not enough transparency in publishing. In 2020, she made $186,000, and here’s how she did it. How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. Want tips on how to write the book you long to finish? Here you'll gain insight from other writers on how to get in the chair, tricks to stay in it, and inspirat...
Heid E. Erdrich is the author of seven collections of poetry. Her writing has won fellowships and awards from the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Bush Foundation, the Loft Literary Center, and First People's Fund, and she has twice won a Minnesota Book Award for poetry. She was also the editor of the 2018 anthology New Poets of Native Nations , which was the recipient of an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation a...
Jeff Elkins is the author of twelve novels and leads the writing team for an innovative technology company that simulates difficult conversations for professionals to practice. In the Fall of 2020, Jeff began a new business, DialogueDoctor.com , that helps writers defeat mono-mouth by coaching them to build engaging characters and write realistic dialogue that will pull readers into their work and keep them reading over multiple books. Jeff lives outside of Baltimore in the United States with hi...
Bonnie Tsui i s a journalist and longtime contributor to The New York Times. She is the author of American Chinatown, winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature and a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller. Her new book, Why We Swim , was published by Algonquin Books in April 2020; it was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a Boston Globe bestseller, and an L.A. Times Book Club pick and bestseller. Her first children’s book, Sarah & the Big Wave, about big-wave women sur...
Melissa Storm is a New York Times and multiple USA Today bestselling author of Women’s Fiction, Inspirational Romance, and Cozy Mysteries. Despite an intense, lifelong desire to tell stories for a living, Melissa was “too pragmatic” to choose English as a major in college. Instead, she obtained her master’s degree in Sociology & Survey Methodology—then went straight back to slinging words a year after graduation anyway. She loves books so much, in fact, that she married fellow author Falcon ...
Bryan Washington is a National Book Award 5 Under 35 honoree, and winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, and The New York Times Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award. His new book, Memorial,is the book he wanted to read, the one he didn’t see out in the world. Something that was funny and sexy and yet at times startlingly emotional, featuring people of color, queer people of color, living their lives and dealing with break-ups and falling in love...
In this mini-episode, Rachael Herron answers how to write dialogue for characters who aren’t like you at all, as well as how to breathe life into an old, almost-dead book, and what the heck is the difference between a collection of essays and a non-chronological memoir? How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. Want tips on how to write the book you long to finish? Here you'll gain insight from other writers on how to get in the ch...
Pam Rosenthal has written award-winning sexy historical romance and award-winning brainy BDSM erotica, as well as occasional essays and reviews for Salon.com, the SF Chronicle, Dearauthor.com, and Socialist Review. She stands behind the quality of her product, but confesses that her writing process has been more than a little bit fraught. Currently, she's looking toward making peace with that process, while she continues to work with her husband and longtime creative partner at their copyediting...
Matt Haig is the author of the internationally bestselling memoir Reasons to Stay Alive and Notes on a Nervous Planet, along with six novels, including How To Stop Time, and several award-winning children’s books. His work has been translated into thirty languages, and his brand new book is The Midnight Library. How Do You Write Podcast : Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. Want tips on how to write the book you long to finish? Here you'll gain insigh...
C. J. Cooke is an award-winning poet and novelist published in twenty-three languages. She teaches creative writing at the University of Glasgow, where she also researches the impact of motherhood on women’s writing and creative writing interventions for mental health. The Nesting is her most recent release. How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. Want tips on how to write the book you long to finish? Here you'll gain insight fro...
Donna Baier Stein is the author of The Silver Baron's Wife (PEN/New England Discovery Award, Foreword Reviews Winner), Sympathetic People (Iowa Fiction Award Finalist), Letting Rain Have Its Say, and Scenes from the Heartland: Stories Based on Lithographs by Thomas Hart Benton (Foreword Reviews Finalist). A Founding Editor of Bellevue Literary Review, she founded and publishes Tiferet Journal. She has received a Bread Loaf Scholarship, Johns Hopkins University Fellowship, and other awards. Donna...
Rachael Herron tackles some difficult questions in this mini episode: Do you need a writing mentor? Or a pen name? How DO you write in a year like 2020, anyway? And what’s the best way to hack your way to a productive writing day? How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. Want tips on how to write the book you long to finish? Here you'll gain insight from other writers on how to get in the chair, tricks to stay in it, and inspirati...
Vicki Pettersson is a NYT & USA Today bestseller of ten traditionally published novels - 9 fantasies and 1 really mean cat-and-mouse thriller - and she's a Las Vegas native who worked as a showgirl for a decade in order to pursue her writing goals during the day. She now hosts a new channel on YouTube for aspiring authors, providing tools, tips, and strategies for a successful career while staying sane. How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling autho...
Kati Gardner is a recovering actor, wife, and mom. She is a childhood cancer survivor and amputee who writes books about disability and kissing. Originally from Atlanta, she now lives and writes in Raleigh, North Carolina. She’s the author of Brave Enough and Finding Balance . You can find her on Twitter at @AuthorKati or on Instagram at AuthorKatiGardner. How Do You Write Podcast : Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. Want tips on how to write the boo...