Welcome back! We took a few weeks off while we moved country but excited to be back! Today we're talking about whether it's possible to be too precious about our creative process or if we should be more workman-like when we attempt to make art. Also see a life update and some ramblings on our move to England (a good 5 mins of this)! NOTE: James is very conscious that, in this episode, he said Australia didn't have much history. This is, of course, incorrect. Australia has tens of thousands of ye...
May 25, 2023•26 min
We have another Artificial Intelligence episode. We try to address some of the concerns artists have about AI like Midjourney and Chat GPT. We discuss the dark side but also try to talk about all the cool things that could potentially come from this weird explosion of machines that can seemingly think. Sub topics include: - Why we will probably always want to know the HUMAN story behind art and how that gives humans an edge over algorithms. - Whether or not it's cheating to use AI to support our...
Apr 24, 2023•37 min•Ep. 124
We're talking visibility, being seen, showing your face. The strengths and weaknesses. Why it's okay to get off social media, why great art can happen offline, whether it's possible to make money without socials, why you don't need to post everyday, and more! Based on Amie's viral post (shared by Doja Cat no less!).
Apr 17, 2023•36 min
QandA part 2! Thank you to everyone who listened to last week's episode and who interacted with me over at the Unpublished insta ! I'm doing my best to respond to all Dms so if you want a chat, please come on over! Questions this week are about: Self-publishing, the craft of writing, finding a workflow that works for you, building self-confidence, writing about trauma (incl. worries about triggering your readers), vision boards, returning to creative work after a long break, changing creative di...
Apr 11, 2023•43 min•Ep. 122
We're answering questions from the members of the Inspired Collective (our membership program). We got so many great questions so we decided to make this part one of two! Questions include: What are your predictions for the indie creative scene in the next few years? How do you foresee traditional gatekeeping being further disrupted? You interact and support so many creatives. What are the most common things that creatives seem to want answers/guidance on? And is it the "right" focus or are ther...
Apr 02, 2023•42 min•Ep. 121
Amie and James talk about the way hustle culture has ruined the way we look at accomplishment, painting it as an end in itself and a moral good where it should be a journey of self-discovery and joy. They discuss: their own fears about buying into hustle culture and how a reframe can help us to achieve the things we want to achieve in a more gentle, healthy way; the joy of achievement and doing hard things; the importance of protecting your energy and feeling safe; conversely, not letting safety...
Mar 26, 2023•41 min•Ep. 120
Today Amie had the pleasure of interviewing the author of Already Enough, creator of Human Stuff on substack, and one of our instagram heroes, Lisa Olivera. Topics Discussed by Lisa and Amie: The magic of being introverted and quiet as a creative. How to create when it feels like the world is burning Why creativity and art is revolutionary Creating when it isn't 'of value' to other people How to promote your art when it feels really icky And so much more. You can find Lisa on instagram , substac...
Mar 12, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 119
Join us for a very casual conversation about our work life. We go through our past week and tell you what we did each day, why we might have done something or not done something, how we build rest into our week, why we don't work THAT much, and much more. This is one for those of you who like to just sit back and listen to friends chat. There isn't a huge amount to learn, just casual conversation. Let us know if you like these sorts of casual, chatty episodes and we might do more!
Mar 05, 2023•41 min
In this episode, we prompt Chat GPT, an advanced chatbot, to ask us "What are ten surprising questions to ask a creative in an interview?". In the first half, we answer the bot's (scarily good) questions. Then, we discuss the ethics of AI art, whether or not we're scared of AI, how we as a society might prepare for more advanced forms of AI, and steps our society might take to protect artists from getting their work stolen algorithms. You can sign up for the Art of Making Money course on Amie's ...
Feb 19, 2023•42 min•Ep. 117
We are thrilled to be interviewing Morgan Grace, poet, fantasy author, and recipient of one of Ireland's basic income for the arts grant. The grant guarantees Morgan and 2000 other artists 325 euro per week for three years, no strings attached. We discuss the incredible feeling of being recognised and supported by our society, how a basic income has impacted her creative practice, the basic income for artists program generally, why artists are undervalued despite being incredibly important and w...
Feb 12, 2023•34 min•Ep. 116
We are super excited to have Tiktok sensation Millie Ford on the pod this week! We discuss: how to evolve and mature personally when your life is so public, perfectionism and procrastinating content creation when it's literally your job, having a safe place to make and share shitty art (+ how that can help your brand and creativity), taking advantage of inspiration, organising your day when you are responsible for your own schedule and much more! You can Millie on Instagram and Tiktok She has he...
Feb 05, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 115
Did we get you with the title? We're trying to be catchier! Today we have a rambly episode about how varied everyone's taste in art is, why it's actually a good thing that not everyone will like your (or your favourite creative's) art, why you shouldn't be mean about art that you dislike (and how that will help your own art), James' problem with Goodreads, radical self compassion and much more!
Jan 31, 2023•22 min•Ep. 114
Did you know Amie has a new book out? You can listen to the first chapter here on the podcast feed! A bit about the book: 1535, Oxfordshire. Lady Maude Shaftsberry has it all sorted. She will marry the well-connected lord, ascend the ranks of the Tudor court, and be mother to a small battalion of boys. But Maude has a secret that she carries everywhere: a birthmark that stretches over her stomach and between her legs. Is it a mark of fertility? Did her mother rub her pregnant belly too vigorousl...
Jan 23, 2023•18 min•Ep. 113
Today we have our good friend Leenadria on the pod. We have watched Lee's creative journey for several years now and are amazed by the mountain of amazing work she's produced in the last several months. Lee has one of the most incredible stories of anyone we've had on the podcast. This conversation is wide ranging and so important. We talk about "deservitude" versus gratitude journaling (a great practice for anyone who finds gratitude journaling doesn't work for them), grief and illness, self-pu...
Jan 05, 2023•51 min•Ep. 112
We're playing a game of "would you rather"! Questions include: Would you rather have one extremely successful project in your life OR lots of moderately successful ones; Would you want the ability to write perfect first drafts BUT the word poo will appear once every hundred pages in your final manuscript; Be the strongest person alive BUT you do a huge fart every time you lift something; and much more!
Dec 12, 2022•28 min•Ep. 111
We're honoured to welcome psychologist, anxiety coach and our favourite Tiktoker, Lily Sais, on the pod. Lily runs a successful online business coaching people to better manage anxiety, panic, and OCD. Amie credits Lily with helping her get a handle on her health anxiety. In the podcast we talk about: why you should be on Tikitok, anxiety, running an online business, creating online courses, membership programs, how to help a partner who has health anxiety, and so much more. This is, I think, ou...
Dec 05, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 110
Today we have writer, naturopath, and creative burnout coach, Gauri Yardi, on the podcast. As people prone to exhaustion and burnout, we found this chat invaluable. Where much of the conversation around burnout centres on purely psychological factors, Gauri takes a holistic approach. In our podcast we talk about Gauri's four pillars of nervous system care, how to listen to your body when it's telling you you're doing too much, the importance of bare minimums, proactive approaches to prevent burn...
Nov 27, 2022•47 min•Ep. 109
Amie chats with her mama Kath McNee. They discuss each other’s journaling practice, how to journal with your kids and how to support your parenting journey with journaling. They also discuss what it is was like to be a mama to Amie, and an exciting new book coming out soon.
Nov 21, 2022•40 min•Ep. 108
James has compiled a list of all the products we offer and ranked them by how much money they've made us. In this ep, he reveals the list to Amie in order and they discuss why they think certain products may have done better than others. This is basically a complete inventory of our entire business and the lessons we've learned from it. Apologies if the audio is shit, we recorded the whole thing in the car with one mic! Thank you to Paul for salvaging what was pretty dodgy at times! Also, merch ...
Nov 09, 2022•26 min•Ep. 107
This week we're talking about how simply acting on a project is the best way to learn, research, get better. Every time you post something, write something, paint something, record something, you are producing information that you can use to do it better the next time. For us, business and art have always been about learning by acting. Merch is available on wednesday 2nd of November! It will be for sale on Amie's website....
Oct 31, 2022•25 min•Ep. 106
We have the first ever James solo episode today! I talk about whether I mind taking a "back seat" to Amie in the business, what it might mean to run an ethical business under capitalism, what I'm writing at the moment and what my plans are for my novels, how Amie and I give each other space while working in close proximity and much more! I'm a little nervous about this one as I've never done anything like this before. Would love to know what you think? You can always message us @unpublished.podc...
Oct 23, 2022•38 min•Ep. 105
This is a slightly off topic episode all about LYING. Amie is on a mission not to tell any lies until the end of 2022. Why is she doing this? What does James think about it? What does it have to do with our creative journey? Check it out!
Oct 17, 2022•33 min•Ep. 104
This episode is all about getting negative feedback online. We talk about some heating discussion (and some trolling) we've had to engage with in the past week. We also discuss the stress of trying to ensure everyone in your audience feels seen, rules for dealing with negative comments, how to disagree with people well, and much more! I guess I should link to something otherwise I'm wasting this space... Ummm... you should still buy our lovely guest Seth's Queer Fantasy Romance novel. Also, PRET...
Oct 09, 2022•29 min•Ep. 103
Join us as we chat to Seth Haddon about his debut Queer Fantasy novel, Reforged. We talk about Seth's experience landing his first publishing contract while working full time, letting go of old projects, how Seth successfully built a social media following from scratch to drive interest in his novel and massively exceed his publisher's sales expectations and much more! I might be biased but I LOVED Reforged and highly recommend you pick up a copy yourself if you enjoy either Fantasy or Romance n...
Oct 03, 2022•55 min•Ep. 102
This is more of an "insight into our business" episode. We debrief about our coaching tour of Europe. What were our highlights and low lights? How did we handle the logistics? Was it financially viable? Why we chose ease over higher profits. And maybe a larger than usual amount of random chit-chat! And yeah, this is Season 6 now because... I don't know... it is!
Sep 26, 2022•32 min•Ep. 101
Join us in Denmark in the home of our friend MJ (@mjunleashed_) where we discuss showing up as sexual beings through our art. We talk about: whether putting sex in your art is just a way to "sell". How do show up online as a sexual being. What holds us back from expressing our sexy sides. And, most important, what if our mums see it! MJ has her own podcast, The Journals of MJ Unleashed , where she shares the raw, vulnerable side of her journey as a musician. If you enjoy Unpublished, you'll love...
Aug 23, 2022•44 min•Ep. 100
We're coming to you today from Stockholm! We start with a travel update, talk to you about what we've been up to in Europe, how our in-person one-on-one coaching has been. Then, we move onto a discussion of why breaking routines can be great for our creative projects and how we've found creating outside of our normal routine. At least, I think. We recorded a week ago and I have only a hazy memory of any of this... Hope you enjoy!
Aug 21, 2022•26 min•Ep. 99
We tell stories from when we were writing and trying to be creative around non-creative work. We give some advice and, as one recent reviewer put it, engage in "indulgent chit chat"!
Jul 18, 2022•27 min•Season 5Ep. 98
Today we're playing rate it or hate it! Listeners have written in with various topics and Amie are James say whether they rate (like) or hate it as well as why. There can be no middle ground! It's either rate or hate! Topics include: Game of Thrones, capitalism, working on multiple projects, J.K. Rowling, extroverts, and several more! Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter!
Jul 11, 2022•33 min•Ep. 97
Do you need to take a step back and let yourself be a learner again? OR, have you been stuck in the learning phase and aren't letting yourself put your art out into the world. We talk about the advantages of both and how to tell which you need.
Jul 03, 2022•26 min•Ep. 96
