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!