thewritingcoach's podcast

In episode #88 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Barbara Kyle.

Barbara is the author of the acclaimed Thornleigh Saga, a seven-book series of historical novels set in Tudor England (“Riveting Tudor drama” – USA Today) and of contemporary thrillers, three under pen-name Stephen Kyle, including Beyond Recall, a Literary Guild Selection. Her latest novel is The Traitor’s Daughter. Over half a million copies of her books have been sold in seven countries.

Barbara has taught writers at the University of Toronto and is a popular guest presenter at international writers’ conferences. Before becoming an author Barbara enjoyed a 20-year acting career in television, film, and stage productions in Canada and the U.S.

Through her master classes, online programs, and manuscript evaluations, Barbara’s mentoring has launched many writers to published success, including bestselling mystery author Robert Rotenberg, award-winning historical novelists Cryssa Bazos and Bruce Gardner, debut novelist Christine Higdon, urban fantasy writer T.K. Thorne, and Steven T. Wax for his award-winning memoir. 

During our conversation, Barbara describes:

  • Why her career as an actress on stage, television, and film was fantastic training for her career as a novelist
  • The importance of knowing your protagonist’s objective
  • How winning a short story competition from the local library association gave her the confidence to pursue novel writing
  • Why she chose to set her series in Tudor era England
  • The important role mentors have played in her life and what she learned from them
  • To what she attributes her half a millions books sold
  • And much more!

Click below to listen now:

Direct download: WC088.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:37pm EDT

In episode #87 of The Writing Coach Podcast, host Kevin T. Johns revisits the Christmas episode of his old podcast, Write Along Radio.

For full show notes for this episode, visit http://www.kevintjohns.com

Direct download: WC_87.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:05pm EDT

In episode #86 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Sally McGraw

Sally McGraw is a savvy and versatile ghostwriter, editor, and copywriter with more than 15 years of professional experience. She’s written for newspapers, blogs, magazines, newsletters, and websites, slowly building a resume that she hopes will impress the pants off of you. She’s written three non-fiction books under her own name, and ghostwritten a dozen more. Her articles have been featured on the Huffington Post and About.com, her blog has been highlighted by Marie Claire and Glamour, she’s a contributing editor at Adios Barbie, and her marketing and entrepreneurial advice has appeared on the GoDaddy blog. She firmly believes she has the best job in the known universe, and loves helping her clients craft expressive artist statements, laugh-out-loud posts, in-depth articles, and heart-rending books.

During our conversation, Sally describes:

  • How she built a massively successful blog about fashion and body image
  • Why she transitioned from the fashion world into ghostwriting and editing
  • Her candid thoughts on people wearing cargo shorts to the Opera
  • Why she finds ghostwriting memoirs particularly challenging
  • The reason a client once described her as “a personal decoder ring”
  • Why she is passionate about empowering women in business
  • Her experience teaching a CreativeLive course that was viewed by over 7,000 writers
  • And much more!

Click below to listen now!

Direct download: WC__086.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:30pm EDT

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

 

In episode #85 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Rachel Sentes of Gal Friday Publicity.

Rachel is a publicist and literary agent who specializes in working with authors and publishers from across Canada and in the United States. She prides herself on finding the right angle and the right media for projects in an easygoing, fun, but forthright manner, so that her clients get the goods on how the publicity business works, and how to make your next book launch campaign successful.

During our discussion, Rachel describes:

  • How books were the first and most important gifts she received as a child
  • The important role journaling has played in her life for the last 40 years (and why they must be burned upon her death!)
  • How she ended up marrying a literary agent after a terrible first date
  • What exactly a publicist does for a writer
  • Who shouldn’t work with a publicist
  • How her work as a publicist led to her becoming a literary agent
  • And much more!

Listen now!

Direct download: WC_085.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:05am EDT

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