Embracing the Fiction Author Journey

Both of these ladies didn’t realize that confidence was the key to get them writing.
Angel Trusty, a mom of four, writing coach, and editor, AND her daughter, Rachel Trusty, author of four novels, are on the show today.
In this episode, Angela shares how writing lessons through homeschooling helped her to parent better, how she's tackling imposter syndrome, and what she absolutely loves about the editing process.
Rachel discusses why she initially hated writing and how she turned that dislike into a passion. She also talks about what she finds fascinating about character development and the various genres she experiments with. And Rachel shares what surprised her most about self-publishing and what mindset she adopted that’s helped her to absolutely love the revision process.
And all three of us shared some major discoveries that became game changers for us in terms of the writing process.
Get their books:

• Homeschool Connection Journal:
  https://www.amazon.com/Homeschool-Connection-Journal-Angela-Trusty/dp/B097SPGP7P/
• Rachel's Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Trusty/e/B073Q6W6TM

Connect with Angela:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeschoolparadigm/
• Podcast (coming soon): https://homeschoolparadigm.com/coming-soon/
• Website, Homeschool Paradigm: https://homeschoolparadigm.com
• Website, Editing: https://mywritingcheck.com
• Schedule a coaching call: https://calendly.com/angela-trusty-hw/60min

Connect with Rachel:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ByRachelTrusty/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byracheltrusty/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHLjn84eIPlihPqxva4__2w

Books discussed during the show:

• Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield
• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
• Georgana's Secret by Arlem Hawks
• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
• Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
• The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
• Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

Send us a text

Looking for an editor or book coach?
As an indie author, editor, and book coach, I teach authors how to untangle their jumbled ideas and tackle each writing stage one at a time.
With my 20 years’ experience and my master’s in writing, I have a 4-stage process that takes authors from struggling with overwhelm to finishing their manuscripts with confidence and direction in 6 months.
As such, I love spending time with my clients and watching them grow into strong, knowledgeable authors. Read more here, and schedule a call to see if we're a good fit: https://calendly.com/erinptcanning/30min-meeting.

Have you ever started writing a story, and the words rush onto the page. But then you start worrying that your writing or your ideas aren’t good enough.
You start rewriting chapters over and over again. You can’t shake that voice in the back of your head that says you’re doing this wrong. Something isn’t right, but you can’t pinpoint what that is.
Or worse—you scrap the whole project and give up.
In today’s episode, Erin shares how finding the right editor can help you avoid or blow through all of that confusion and doubt. You’ll also learn the major differences between development editors, inline editors, and proofreaders.
Erin also shares when beta readers fall into the picture and what type of feedback to watch out for. You’ll also get the answers to what these editors do, when’s the right time to use their services, how much they cost, and what you should look for in order to find a quality editor.
So stay tuned to find out which editor you might need right now and how you can find your right editor.
Editing w/ Parents Who Write:
Ready to stop circling around your manuscript? As an experienced professional editor, I can help you finish your book with confidence and direction. Learn more by visiting ParentsWhoWrite.com/editing, and book a free 30-minute call with me to discuss what’s right for you.
Connect with Parents Who Write:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parentswhowrite
• Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/parentswhowrite
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/parentswhowrite
• Book a free 30-minute consultation call to learn about my editing services: https://calendly.com/parentswhowrite/30min-meeting

Resources discussed during the show:

• Reedsy.com

Send us a text

Looking for an editor or book coach?
As an indie author, editor, and book coach, I teach authors how to untangle their jumbled ideas and tackle each writing stage one at a time.
With my 20 years’ experience and my master’s in writing, I have a 4-stage process that takes authors from struggling with overwhelm to finishing their manuscripts with confidence and direction in 6 months.
As such, I love spending time with my clients and watching them grow into strong, knowledgeable authors. Read more here, and schedule a call to see if we're a good fit: https://calendly.com/erinptcanning/30min-meeting.

Who doesn’t enjoy a good love story?
Gina Colgrove, an at-home mom of two girls, former healthcare worker, and author of Until There Was You, is on the show today.
In this episode, we discuss the history and legitimacy of serial romance novel apps and the ways in which these platforms help writers. Gina also shares what she’s learned by looking back at her first book, what her writing habits and daily goals look like, and what experiences she had with self-publishing and what portion of that surprised her.
We also talk about the ways in which our writing has inspired our kids and laughed about our 80s and 90s boy band obsessions.
Get her books:

• Until There Was You:
• https://www.amazon.com/Until-there-was-you-Colgrove-ebook/dp/B09R8Q6R73/
• Love Me Later:
  https://www.amazon.com/Love-Me-Later-G-Colgrove-ebook/dp/B0B468T31W/

Find Gina’s books on the Dreame app:

• Teacher’s Pet
• The Millionaire’s Obsession
• The Millionaire’s Weakness
• The Alpha’s Redemption
• The Hellhound’s Crusade

Connect with Gina:

• Website: https://www.gcolgroveauthor.com/
• Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/watch/GColgroveAuthor/
• Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/653443792428877
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/g_colgrove_author/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@g_colgrove_author
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/gcolgroveauthor
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkTUISVejBHU7AOW2mqgOYA
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60230795-until-there-was-you

Books mentioned during the show:

• Twilight series, by Stephanie Meyer
• Midnight Sun, by Stephanie Meyer
• Jewels of the Sun, by Nora Roberts
• House of Night series, by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
• Fallen series, by Lauren Kate
• Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children series, by Random Riggs
• Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, by Rick Riordan
• Chronicles of Narnia series, by C.S. Lewis
• Shadows by the Lighthouse, by

Send us a text

Looking for an editor or book coach?
As an indie author, editor, and book coach, I teach authors how to untangle their jumbled ideas and tackle each writing stage one at a time.
With my 20 years’ experience and my master’s in writing, I have a 4-stage process that takes authors from struggling with overwhelm to finishing their manuscripts with confidence and direction in 6 months.
As such, I love spending time with my clients and watching them grow into strong, knowledgeable authors. Read more here, and schedule a call to see if we're a good fit: https://calendly.com/erinptcanning/30min-meeting.

Done with waiting, she took herself off the shelf by writing and publishing her mystery book in less than a year.
Melissa Puritis, a single mom, middle school English teacher, and author of Shadows by the Lighthouse, is on the show today.
In this episode, she discusses the large gap between young kids’ books and young adult novels, as well as the lack of time for student creative writing. Melissa also shares how she manages to sit down and write and why writing makes her a better parent.
We also talk about why it's important for parents take themselves off the shelf and pursue their own dreams. Melissa shares what she experienced while pursing the typical publishing route, why she chose to self-publish, and how she made that happen. And we discuss many of our and our kids’ favorite books.

Get Melissa’s books:

• Shadows by the Lighthouse:
  https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Lighthouse-Melissa-Puritis/dp/057834503X
• A Team Betrayed (A Summerset Island Mystery):
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BFGBM7NR/

Connect with Melissa:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Summerset-Mystery-Series-107130935242604
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissa.reads.it.all
• Website: https://melissapuritis.weebly.com/

Books mentioned during the show:

• The Hardy Boys series, by Frank and Joe Hardy
• Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling
• A Court of Thorns and Roses series, by Sarah J. Maas
• The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
• Less Than Zero, by Bret Easton Ellis
• Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak
• Pirate Boy, by Eve Bunting
• I Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch
• The Bad Guys series, by Aaron Blabey
• Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey
• Dog Man, by Dav Pilkey
• I Survived audio books, by Lauren Tarshis
• Paddington audio books, by Michael Bond
• Magic Tree House series, by Mary Pope Osborne
• Dragon Masters series, by Tracey West
• Appleblossom the Possum, by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Send us a text

Looking for an editor or book coach?
As an indie author, editor, and book coach, I teach authors how to untangle their jumbled ideas and tackle each writing stage one at a time.
With my 20 years’ experience and my master’s in writing, I have a 4-stage process that takes authors from struggling with overwhelm to finishing their manuscripts with confidence and direction in 6 months.
As such, I love spending time with my clients and watching them grow into strong, knowledgeable authors. Read more here, and schedule a call to see if we're a good fit: https://calendly.com/erinptcanning/30min-meeting.

Did you know that you don’t have to sit down and write a story from beginning to end? You can start with an idea for a specific storyline or scene, skip the exposition, and get right to the good stuff.
Writing like this will fuel your creativity. But how do you avoid a jumbled mess?
In today’s episode, you’ll learn the advantages of using Google Docs to craft your story whenever you get inspired to write.
With specific examples, Erin highlights the built-in features in Google Docs and Word that will help you organize your ideas and make it easy to jump from chapter to chapter or scene to scene.
You’ll also get easy instructions for formatting Word documents, which will make prepping for submission a painless process. Tune in to get started!
Watch the full video tutorial via YouTube: https://youtu.be/qjbMeZBrrOA

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Discovering the benefits of writing with Google Docs
• Naming your documents for easy filing and version control
• Styling your text to create an automatic outline
• Navigating to specific chapters and scenes
• Using key words to identify the focus of your chapters at glance
• Incorporating unwritten scenes as placeholders
• Changing the default fonts for styles
• Formatting documents in Word

About Erin:

For 15 years, Erin has worked as a magazine and book editor, encouraging each writer’s individual voice and strengthening their writing goals. When she became a parent, she set aside her own writing aspirations to focus on her family. As the years passed, she grew increasingly anxious, depressed, and angry until she realized that she had forgotten who she was beyond being a parent.
Despite fearing her skills had atrophied, Erin started writing again. She first created her blog, Life Beyond Parenting, and then created the Parents Who Write podcast. Erin’s current role as a podcaster and writing coach enables her to help parents pursue their writing dreams.
She earned her MA in Writing from Johns Hopkins University, and she has finished the first draft of a fantasy-romance novel. She lives with her husband and their two young boys in Maryland.
Connect with Erin:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinptcanning
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/erinptcanning
• Facebook group: https://facebook.com/groups/parentswhowrite
• Book a free 30-minute consultation call: https://calendly.com/parentswhowrite/30min-meeting

Send us a text

Looking for an editor or book coach?
As an indie author, editor, and book coach, I teach authors how to untangle their jumbled ideas and tackle each writing stage one at a time.
With my 20 years’ experience and my master’s in writing, I have a 4-stage process that takes authors from struggling with overwhelm to finishing their manuscripts with confidence and direction in 6 months.
As such, I love spending time with my clients and watching them grow into strong, knowledgeable authors. Read more here, and schedule a call to see if we're a good fit: https://calendly.com/erinptcanning/30min-meeting.