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 #121 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Val Ries, author of the new book Chief Inspiration Officer: How to Lead the Team Everyone Wants to Be On.

Val Ries has spent years turning around struggling teams, uplifting low morale, and making sure that workplace productivity actually works. As the founder of Executive Muse, she has guided over 1,000 leaders in building their own top-performing teams at Fortune 500 companies and small businesses.

When it came time to write her first book, Val chose to work with me as her writing coach. As such, I am absolutely thrilled to have her on the podcast.

During our discussion, Val describes:

• How real-time feedback informed the drafting of the book
• Why both leadership and writing can evoke self-doubt
• The 4 biggest challenges she faced while writing the book
• How you can inspire those around you to be their best selves
• And more!

Listen to the full podcast episode:

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 #120 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with author Mia Romero.

Born in Spain with a far too long and unpronounceable name, Mia Romero’s proudest light-bulb moment is shortening her name so readers wouldn’t have such a hard time asking for her books! Immigrating to the U.K. at the age of four, her love of stories began the moment she picked up a ‘Rupert, the Bear’ book and still shows no sign of waning. Educated in London and New York, she is an avid fan of both British and American cultures.

Mia’s debut novel, Otherkind, with its British characters, landscapes and humour, as well as new and original supernatural beings, was inspired by her love of American books and shows, and her desire to help build the ever-growing British supernatural & paranormal fiction industry.

During our discussion, Mia describes:

• How American and British culture influences her work
• What she learned from writing in Charles Dickens style as a ten-year-old
• How she approaches scene-writing like a film director
• Why she recommends writing even if you don’t feel like you know what you are doing
• How she went from a pantser to a planner
• And more!

Listen to the full podcast episode!

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 #119 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with writer Carmone Harris.

Over the month of November, I ran my new group program, STORY PLAN INTENSIVE. The goal of the program was simple: rather than spend the month throwing together a stressful to create (and possibly disastrous) first draft of a manuscript via NaNoWriMo, the participants would instead spend the month planning their story, developing their macro-level story craft, and ultimately complete a rock-solid outline for their book that will set them up for long term success.

The program was a hit and I look forward to running it again before too long. (If you would like to participate in the next round of STORY PLAN INTENSIVE, reach out to me at kevintjohns@gmail.com.)

One of the participants in the program was Carmone Harriss. Carmone is a mother, embroiderer, and writer. When she’s not writing and being a mom, she loves to watch movies and television shows. She also enjoys reading and has a love for music. She’s a member of the Supernatural fandom and loves vampires and rock and roll. Her favorite book genres are  YA/NA Paranormal romances, fantasy/urban fantasy, horror, and a few other romances. 

Throughout STORY PLAN INTENSIVE, Carmone shared numerous resources with the group via our private forum. What impressed me about Carmone’s sharing was not just the helpful content she was able to find, but also the vast array of channels she was pulling content from. As such, I asked Carmone to be on the show to discuss the various sources she finds inspiration for her writing.

During our discussion, Carmone explains how writers can use:

• Role-Playing Boards
• Music
• Youtube
• TikTok
• Podcasts
• Pinterest
• And more!

Listen to the full podcast episode:

In episode #118 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with author Garry Cox.

With a Masters of Education from Northern Arizona University, Garry has devoted his life to inspiring people to realize their dreams. He’s a teacher, a poet, an actor, a runner, a blogger, father, and friend.  

During our discussion, Michelle describes:

• How he combines common place notebooks with scheduled writing time to create his poetry
• What his “first responder” approach to poetry entails
• How educators can encourage the younger generation to developing their thinking through writing
• Why he loves writing in the mornings
• The importance of brain mites
• And much more
• And much more!

Listen to the full podcast episode now!

In episode #11y of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with author Michelle Cornish.

Michelle Cornish is a recovering CPA with a passion for stories. Writing mostly women’s fiction with strong female heroines, Michelle’s books often include nods to her former life as a CPA. When Michelle’s not writing, she’s hanging out with her two boys and husband in the beautiful Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada.

During our discussion, Michelle describes:

• How she uses preorder to stimulate productivity and accountability
• Why she has decided to try genre-hopping
• How she went about turning all of her novels into audiobooks
• Why an experimental mindset is the best way to approach book marketing
• And much more!

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 #116 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with movement and nutrition coach Tyler Hammett.

Tyler is NASM Certified Nutrition Consultant and NASM Certified Personal Trainer. He is the founder of Nourish, a community focused on uplifting individuals through fitness, nutrition, movement, and overall wellness.

He is also the spouse of a full-time professional writer!

During our discussion, Tyler describes:

• What is it like living with a professional writer
• The role habit formation plays in both health and writing
• Ways writers can work movement and stretching into their daily writing routine
• The importance of hydration, sleep, and time outdoors
• How health and fitness can increase creativity and productivity
• And much more!

 Listen now@

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 #115 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with my client, author Michael E. Ginsberg.

Michael is an attorney in Washington, DC, practicing in the field of national security law. He spent a decade in private practice at Arnold & Porter LLP in Washington, DC, and then worked several years in the U.S. government as a Senior Associate General Counsel in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, where he served as legal counsel for the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity. He currently is Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at a Virginia-based defense contractor.

His debut novel, DEBT BOMB, is a political thriller, tied into real-world events, about an apocalyptic threat to America that is ticking remorselessly in the background while Americans continue their daily routines, oblivious to the danger.

During our discussion, Michael describes:

• His varied and diverse interests in sports, spaceflight, history, politics, and journalism
• What he learned working as a journalist and editor for the Harvard Crimson
• How a genuine fear concerning the American national debt inspire the plot of his novel
• His experiences working in national security and how it influenced his writing
• Why he chose to work with a book coach and what he got out of the experience
• How he maintained focus on his manuscript throughout the pandemic
• Why he chose to work with hybrid publisher BQB Publishing and what the publisher brought to the project
• And much more!

Listen now!

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 #114 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with author and writing coach Susan Crossman.

Susan Crossman is a best-selling author, a speaker, an editor, and a content marketing consultant who wields the power tool of language to benefit people who seek greater success.

Through her content marketing company, Content with Clarity/Crossman Communications, Susan and her team create high-quality online content that helps businesses connect with their target audience. As a book coach and editor, Susan helps entrepreneurs and others create the books that will support their businesses, their hearts, and their careers.

During our discussion, Susan describes:

• Why she returned to school for a MA in English literature after already launching a successful career as a journalist
• What she learned about book marketing from working with her publisher on her first book
• Why she considers the brain magical territory worth studying
• How the loss of a dear loved one inspired her to pursue her publishing career
• Why writing a first book is so difficult
• How the conversations we have with ourselves impact our results
• The surprising circumstances regarding how she accidentally ended up in a coaching certification program
• And much more!

Listen to the full podcast episode!

In episode 113 of The Writing Coach podcast, host Kevin T. Johns speaks with Cassandra Lane, award-winning memoirist and editor-in-chief of LA Parent magazine.

Cassandra is the author of We Are Bridges: A Memoir (Feminist Press, 2021), winner of the Louise Meriwether First Book Prize, and editor-in-chief of L.A. Parent magazine in Los Angeles. She formerly worked as a newspaper reporter, senior communications writer, and community relations manager for the LA. Dodgers. Her stories have appeared in The Times-Picayune, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Everything But the Burden, Writers Resist, the NYT “Conception” series, and elsewhere.

During our discussion, Cassandra describes:

• How her mother’s passion for reading inspired her to become a writer
• What it was like being the first Black and first woman editor-in-chief of her university newspaper
• How being part of NOMO – a group of black poets, novelists, and artists – influenced her non-fiction writing
• What excites her about her role as editor-in-chief of LA Parent magazine and how she approaches collaboration with her team of editors, writers, photographers, and designers
• Why she chose to write a memoir that covers not only her story but also explores the inter-generational trauma resulting from the lynching of her great-grandfather
• And much more!

Listen now!

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 #112 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Deryn Van Der Tang.

Deryn is a writer and exploration geological cartographer who worked in the mining and oil industry before retraining as a housing manager and working with the elderly. Her life has taken her through divorce and widowhood, and around the world to multiple countries and continents.

A descendent of the 1820 settlers in South Africa, she has spent most of her life trying to find her voice and expression of her faith through writing, art, and photography. Her words and photographs have been published in a variety of places, and she has been selected for Senior Travel Writer competitions. Her blog Crossing My Bridges covers her soulful adventures through life and is interspersed with her love of poetry and art.

Through her writing, photography, and fine art, Deryn seeks to transform both positive and negative experiences into something spiritual and beautiful. She is inspired by nature and the natural processes of life, growth, and death — finding meaning in their metaphors and seasons.

During our discussion, Deryn describes:

• Why she volunteers to beta read and review other authors’ work
• The impact both mentorship and self-education played in her development
• What it was like being displaced from her home country of Rhodesia-Zimbabwe
• The importance of resilience for writers
• The relationship between biology, the natural world, and art
• The value of being exposed to diversity in both the natural world and human cultures
• And much more!

Listen now!

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 #111 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Cameron Sutter and Ryan Zee.

Cameron is an independently published YA author and a software engineer — and the lead developer of Plottr. A graduate of BYU, Cameron lives near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with his wife and six (yes, six!) amazing children.

Ryan Zee is the founder of BookSweeps, one of the largest book giveaway and lead generation platforms for authors, as well as the co-founder of Plottr, the popular visual outlining software. An official MailerLite Email Marketing Expert, Ryan has consulted with bestselling authors including Andrew Gross, Mary Jo Putney, and Kendall Ryan. He is also an aspiring author.

During our discussion, Cameron and Ryan describe:

• How authors can use Plottr to support their writing in both the planning and revisions process
• Where the idea for Plottr originally came from
• Whether Plottr is just for planners or if pansters can use it to
• The impact the large number of sales of the software has had on their company
• How writing coaches are using the tool with their clients
• And much more!

Listen now!

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 #110 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Bella Mahaya Carter.

Bella Mahaya Carter is the author of Where Do You Hang Your Hammock?: Finding Peace of Mind While You Write, Publish, and Promote Your Book. She is a creative writing teacher, empowerment coach, and speaker, and author of an award-winning memoir, Raw: My Journey from Anxiety to Joy, and a collection of narrative poems, Secrets of My Sex.

Bella has worked with hundreds of writers since 2008 and has degrees in literature, film, and spiritual psychology. Her poetry, essays, fiction, and interviews have appeared in Mind, Body, Green; The Sun; Lilith; Fearless Soul; Writer’s Bone; Women Writers, Women’s Books; Chic Vegan; Bad Yogi Magazine; Jane Friedman’s Blog; Pick the Brain; Spiritual Media blog; Literary Mama; several anthologies, and elsewhere.

During our discussion, Bella describes:

• How our body, mind, and spiritual health influence our writing
• Why “striving” isn’t necessarily a good thing
• What she learned as a dancer that transferred over into her writing career
• Why she coined the term “universal doubt” and how it applies to writers
• What she hopes readers will take away from her new book
• How hanging a hammock in her back yard lead to a creative breakthrough
• And much more!

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 #109 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with musician, inventor, and entrepreneur Will Henshall.

Will is a Los Angeles based tech entrepreneur, inventor, and music producer. He was the founding member and main writer in the UK pop soul band Londonbeat. Their massive early 90s hit “I’ve Been Thinking About You” reached #1 in the Billboard chart and was the top selling single in all major territories and won him BMI/PRS songwriter of the year. In the mid-90s, he founded San Francisco based audio tech company Rocket Network. The “DigiDelivery” media transfer system, now part of ProTools 12 Cloud collaboration, is a standard tool used every day in pro audio production for TV, movies, and music. He sold the company to Avid in 2003. His most recent start up is www.focusatwill.com, a science driven instrumental music streaming service (2 million users) that helps people at work and study reduce distractions and be more productive. He holds 5 patents, and has a new one in the oven!

During our discussion, Will describes:

• What it is like to write a #1 Billboard Hit and the pressure to follow up hits
• The role the limbic system plays in creativity
• How music and writing are “real time” are forms
• The science of music, focus, concentration, and productivity
• Why achieving a flow state is essential to creative success
• The different brain types and what music they need to excel
• Why lawyers make great writers
• And much more!

Listen now!

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 #108 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with fiction editor Lori Puma.

Lori previously appeared on episode 72 the show. Lori helps authors write novels readers can’t put down. She works with writers who dream of making a living writing novels in popular genres like fantasy, romance, thriller, science fiction, mystery, and young adult. As an editor, she specializes in teaching authors how to plan and revise their plots so readers stay hooked.

During our discussion, Lori describes:

• Why she loves working with genre fiction authors
• Her life-long love of comedy writing
• Why she frequently uses examples in her teaching
• How writers can get free advice on their story ideas via the author support series on her website
• And much more!

For full show notes, video, transcripts, and audio visit http://www.kevintjohns.com

In episode #107 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with author and book cover designer Karen Dimmick.

Karen previously appeared on episode #35 of the podcast, where we discussed mind hacks for writers. These days, Karen a book cover designer creating custom and premade book covers. Her goal is to create covers that capture future readers attention and sells books. Karen specializes in Fantasy and Science Fiction. I cover Urban Fantasy, High/Epic Fantasy, LitRPG/GameLit, Harem/Reverse Harem, Paranormal Romance, Dark Fantasy, Sci-fi and Paranormal Fantasy book covers.

During our discussion, Karen describes:

• What makes a great book cover
• Why genre is so important to cover design
• The importance of font choice on covers
• Who book covers are really for
• Four different types of books covers
• How to get the most out of working with a freelance covers designer
• the benefits of both custom and pre-made covers
• And much more!

Listen now!