I’m often asked what books I would recommend reading about writing, publishing, and marketing books. I love to read and read a lot, although not as much as I’d like. However, I do believe I have some solid recommendations to share. Therefore, for the next three “me only” episodes of The Author Switch, I’m going to share my answer to that question. In this episode, I’m sharing books that have helped me write better books. You might be surprised by my choices.

Audio for Episode 21: What Books I Recommend About Writing Books...Sort Of

Runtime: 8 minutes, 11 seconds

Video for Episode 21: What Books I Recommend About Writing Books...Sort Of Show Notes for Episode 21: What Books I Recommend About Writing Books...Sort Of

• Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You by Ray Bradbury
• Writing for Story by Jon Franklin
• On Writing Well by William Zinsser
• Writing to Learn by William Zinsser
• How to Sell Your Idea to Hollywood by Robert Kosberg

Honorable Mentions:

• On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
• Danse Macabre by Stephen King
• The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall

I will share my recommendations for books about publishing in Episode 25, which will “air” on September 22, 2021. In the interim, I hope you will enjoy my interviews with authors Ben Winter, Kam Knight, and W.T. Hamilton, as The Author Switch transitions to being a weekly podcast!

About The Author Switch

The Author Switch is a podcast dedicated to helping experts, entrepreneurs, and small business owners turn on The Author Switch — and keep it on — so that they can leverage the power of books to take their businesses to a whole new dimension. You can learn more about the show on its page.

The post What Books I Recommend About Writing Books...Sort Of [The Author Switch Classic] appeared first on The Author Switch.

Fiction can be a tricky thing. It can look so easy to do on the outside. But then, when you get into it, it starts to morph and you can get off track. Or, you can use a variety of tools that keep you on track so that you shorten the learning curve. In this episode, Dave Reed shares his unique journey of discovering his author’s voice and how he learned how to develop and structure his stories.

Audio for Episode 20: Author Dave Reed on Story and Structure

Runtime: 47 minutes, 34 seconds

Video for Episode 20: Author Dave Reed on Story and Structure Show Notes for Episode 20: Author Dave Reed on Story and Structure

Dave Reed has had a love affair with high fantasy and horror since he “published” his first novel in the 2nd grade. He’s figured out it’s a lot harder to write commercial fiction than to be the teacher’s pet in elementary school, but he’s happy to share the lessons he’s learned along this journey.

Mentioned and related links for Episode 20: Dave Reed

• Michael Hauge, author of Storytelling Made Easy
• Lisa Cron, author of Wired for Story, Story Genius and Story or Die
• Damon Suede, author of Verbalize: Bring stories to life and life to stories
• Robert McKee, author of Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting
• John Truby, author of The Anatomy of Story
• Shawn Coyne, author of The Story Grid
• The Heroine’s Journey by Gail Garriger (not mentioned in the podcast, but a predecessor to Gail’s book is From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine’s Journey through Myth and Legend by Valeri Estelle Frankel)
• The Better-Faster Academy with Becca Syme
• The War of Art: Break Through the Block and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield
• 2,000 to 10,000: How to write faster, write better, and write more of what you love by Rachel Aaron
• Writer’s Block Assessment
• Episode 19: The Monster Method for Beating Writer’s Block

You can find Dave Reed here:

• Raven Queen Arise
• Author website

About The Author Switch

The Author Switch is a podcast dedicated to helping experts, entrepreneurs, and small business owners turn on The Author Switch — and keep it on — so that they can leverage the power of books to take their businesses to a whole new dimension. You can learn more about the show on its page.

The post Author Dave Reed on Story and Structure [The Author Switch Classic] appeared first on The Author Switch.

Episode 19: The Monster Method for Busting Through Writer’s Block

[The Author Switch Classic]

You’ve been sitting at your desk for hours – possibly days – and just can’t get the words out. Writer’s Block isn’t fun, it isn’t pretty, and it certainly isn’t an excuse so that you can twiddle your thumbs. In this episode of The Author’s Switch, I going to share what writer’s block really is, and a framework that can help you bust through it forever.

Episode 19: The Monster Method for Busting Through Writer’s Block

by Carma Spence | The Author Switch Classic

Notes

Writer’s block is a common phenomenon that can happen to any writer, and it can be frustrating and make one feel like they are unable to come up with ideas or write anything that matters.

In this episode of The Author Switch, the host, Carma Spence, discusses writer’s block, including the different causes of writer’s block, which can be creative issues, mindset problems, emotional issues, environmental factors, health problems, or spiritual disconnection. The Monster Method for Busting Through Writer’s Block is presented as a framework to help writers identify the cause of their writer’s block and find a cure. Carma also provides a free tool called the Writer’s Block Assessment to diagnose writer’s block and offers personalized help for writers who need assistance.

Recap & Takeaways

• There is a lack of useful advice available online to overcome writer’s block, and many articles deny the existence of writer’s block altogether, claiming it is a myth or an excuse.
• Writer’s block is a symptom and not a disease, and it can have multiple unrelated causes, which have been organized into six categories in the Monster Method Framework: Creative Krakens, Mind Goblins, Emotional Hobgoblins, Environmental Ogres, Body Banshees, and Spiritual Specters.
• The Monster Method for Busting Through Writer’s Block involves identifying the cause of the writer’s block before trying to implement a cure. The Writer’s Block Assessment tool is available for free at authorneering.com/blockassessment to diagnose the type of writer’s block and suggest appropriate remedies.

With the knowledge of the Monster Method Framework, writers can have a better understanding of what is causing their writer’s block and choose the right tips and methodologies that have the best chances of helping them overcome it and get back to writing.

Transcript for Episode 19: The Monster Method for Busting Through Writer’s Block

NOTE: Due to some ad libbing, this may not be an exact transcript.

Writer’s block is a frustrating phenomenon that can happen to any writer – even famous writers such as Leo Tolstoy, Stephen King and J.K. Rowling have experienced it. I, myself have experienced it. Writer’s Block makes you feel like there’s nothing in your head, no ideas for stories or articles and it can seem impossible to write anything that matters. It can even make you feel like you’re suddenly stupid.

In this episode, I’m going to talk about the following things:

• What writer’s block is
• The six types of things that cause writer’s block
• And my Monster Method for Busting Through Writer’s Block

If you were to search the internet looking for a remedy for your writer’s block, I’m afraid you won’t find much that is of any use. I’ve done some extensive research and here’s what I’ve found:

Most of the articles are lists with only 1-3 sentences of suggested advice per tip. Light on details, mostly fluff. And not much information on whether the advice is backed by research or not. Some are just lists of quotes from authors sharing what they’ve done.

After noticing this, I decided to do a semi-scientific study of what was available. I pulled the top 14 articles that promised to provide advice on how to beat writer’s block and analyzed them.

• Only 11 provided advice.
• Of those, 52% of the advice addressed creative issues and 26% addressed mindset.
• The remaining 22% were a mix of physical, emotional, or multiple-cause solutions.

What I found most surprising, and, frankly, most disappointing, was that the most common piece of advice was some version of, “suck it up and stop worrying that you’re not good enough.” But not one of the articles gave any indication of how to do that.

In addition to the very poor selection of usable advice for overcoming writer’s block, I found a lot of articles that basically said writer’s block didn’t exist. How...

If you thought I covered a lot about book marketing in the last episode of The Author Switch, wait until you watch me chat with guest Tina Koenig in this episode! She’s been helping clients with their books a bit longer than I have and has lots of stories to share!

Audio for Episode 18: Publishing and Marketing Your Book with Guest Tina Koenig

Runtime: 37 minutes, 52 seconds

Video for Episode 18: Publishing and Marketing Your Book with Guest Tina Koenig Show Notes for Episode 18: Publishing and Marketing Your Book with Guest Tina Koenig

Tina Koenig is a literary publicist and author consultant. She works with new and established writers providing services as diverse as coaching, manuscript development, author platform and business development, book proposal writing, book production, and book marketing and public relations. Tina has worked with a variety of authors, including those who write poetry, children’s books, adult fiction, and nonfiction — including New York Times best-selling authors.

She assists with book submission to reviewers, provides guidance on finding and submitting Op-Eds, helps book library, podcast, and television appearances, and assists in traditional media promotion through press releases and pitching to journalists. Tina is an expert at pre-launch planning and takes authors through the process of building a brand and promoting their books with the goal of making it a fun and stress-free experience. For more information, visit her website at www.tinakoenig.com

Highlights from Episode 18: Publishing and Marketing Your Book with Guest Tina Koenig

• The three options in publishing today
• The pros and cons of selecting each option
• Stories from the trenches — examples from her clients’ experiences

About The Author Switch

The Author Switch is a podcast dedicated to to helping experts, entrepreneurs, and small business owners turn on The Author Switch — and keep it on — so that they can leverage the power of books to take their businesses to a whole new dimension. You can learn more about the show on its page.

The post Publishing and Marketing Your Book with Guest Tina Koenig [The Author Switch Classic] appeared first on The Author Switch.

Are you ready to launch your book? Then this is the episode to watch! And, if you’re not ready to launch, you should watch anyway because it will give you some good ideas so that you’re either ready to launch your forthcoming book or you can re-launch or market your currently in-the-market book. It is never too late to continually market your book!

Audio for Episode 17: Launch Your Book, The Authorneer’s Journey, Part 8

Runtime: 22 minutes, 14 seconds

Video for Episode 17: Launch Your Book, The Authorneer’s Journey, Part 8 Highlights for Episode 17: Launch Your Book, The Authorneer’s Journey, Part 8

In this episode, I share a variety of ideas for how one can launch and continuously market their book, drawing from my own book launches. In particular, I talk about how you can launch your book with

• A live launch party and the different kinds of venues in which you can hold it
• A virtual launch party, and some ideas on how to make it engaging
• A public relations campaign

In addition, I share some strategies for continuously marketing your book and keeping it top of mind, such as:

• observance-based media pitches
• email marketing
• launching an audio version of your book

Resources to Help You Launch Your Book

In this podcast, I referenced a number of resources and ideas to help you launch your book. Here are some links to help you further.

• Doug Crowe: Although he is not book focused per se, he can help you with using a book to grow your business.
• Scott Giauque, audio edition expert for audio book, reach him at admin [at] jukeboxsound [dot] com
• Audio equipment tips: I made three recommendations for mics in this video about Facebook lives
• Guest Podcasting: I interviewed Case Lane about how to get on podcasts on the Public Speaking Super Powers podcast, and you can use Postaga to help you find and pitch to podcasts
• Blog Tours: Here are the blog tours I’ve held:
  • 57 Secrets Video Book Tour
  • 57 Secrets Virtual Book Tour
  • Home Sweet Home Page Blog Tour (1st Edition)
  • Home Sweet Home Page Blog Tour (2nd Edition)
• Here’s some more information about virtual book tours:
  • Reverse Blog Tour Case Study:Speaking Palooza 2019 Lessons Learned
  • Online Marketing for Authors Case Study: Reverse Blog Tour Debriefing
  • Online Book Marketing: The Teleseminar Tour
  • Online Book Marketing: Blog Tours
• This is my favorite resource for annual observances: www.brownielocks.com

About The Author Switch

The Author Switch is a podcast dedicated to helping experts, entrepreneurs, and small business owners turn on The Author Switch — and keep it on — so that they can leverage the power of books to take their businesses to a whole new dimension. You can learn more about the show on its page.

The post Launch Your Book, The Authorneer’s Journey, Part 8 [The Author Switch Classic] appeared first on The Author Switch.