S1E9: Taking Chances on Yourself with Jessica Renwick
In this episode, I interview Jessica Renwick, an independently published middle grade fantasy and sweet romance author and copyeditor who has bucked popular indie wisdom and reaped great rewards. We also talk about dealing with Impostor Syndrome, where she finds inspiration, and adventures in advertising. In the introduction, I talk about some new tools in the indie author space.
(Please note that I am an affiliate of Amazon.com, .ca, and .co.uk, so if you click through to one of those stores from the links below and make a purchase, I’ll get a few cents without any additional charge to you.)
Mentioned in this episode:
The Undine's Tear reviewed in Lorehaven last Friday. (Not an "interview" like I said in the episode!)
Rebel Author Podcast with Sacha Black Ep. 126 - Mailing Lists for Indie Authors with Tammi Lebrecque
About Jessica Renwick:
Jessica Renwick is the award-winning author of books about friendship, courage, and being true to yourself. The Book of Chaos was her first novel and the start of Starfell, her fantasy series for middle-grade readers. Since then she has also published the second and third book in the series, a paranormal mystery for middle-grade kids, and a sweet romance series for adults.
She lives in central Alberta, Canada with her loving partner, two pocket monsters (her dogs), and a flock of chickens.
Interviews with Jessica on my blog:
Jessica Renwick: Writing a New Ending (inspirational personal essay)
Author interview with Jessica Renwick when she released The Bow of Anarchy (Starfell Book 2)
Jessica on Instagram:
@jessicarenwickauthor, @jessicaannerenwickbooks
What we chat about:
How the inspiration for Jessica's first book, The Book of Chaos, came from a long-running DnD campaign
How she got her copy editing certification through Writers Digest University
How she's continually worked to improve her craft
A book that helped her with Impostor Syndrome: The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women - Valerie Young
Resource for middle grade indie authors: How to Self-Publish and Market a Children's Book - Karen Inglis
Facebook groups Jessica recommends for middle grade authors: Society of Middle-Grade Writers
The Creative Penn episode: Draft2Digital Acquires Smashwords with Mark Coker and Kevin Tumlinson
Podium Audio: https://podiumaudio.com/
Courses Jessica recommends:
Bryan Cohen's 5-Day Author Ad Profit Challenge - Free Amazon Ads challenge
Mark Dawson's advertising course: comprehensive cross-platform ads course
David Farland's craft and business courses: https://mystorydoctor.com/
Find Jessica’s upcoming books here:
March 15 - The Book of Chaos (Starfell Book 1) releasing on audio. Pre-order on Audible.
March 29 - The Curse of the Warlock (Starfell Book 4) on eBook & print. Audiobook in September.
Mug quote of the week:
"Our own life has to be our message." Thich Nhat Hanh
Question of the week:
What's a risky decision you've made about your indie author business that has paid off in unexpected ways?
Tweet me: https://twitter.com/talenawinters
Original music by Josh Rickard, www.joshrickardmusic.com.
S1E6: The hidden value of our connections
In this episode, I talk about planning for the unexpected, working around copyright issues when referring to other people's Intellectual Property in our novels, the life and times of Pinocchio, Punch and Judy, and Anna Leonowens, and how serendipitous inspiration makes books better. I also discuss the hidden value we should take into consideration when hiring people in our business.
Mentioned in this episode:
Best Book Ever podcast by Julie Strauss: https://bestbookever.libsyn.com/
Stark Reflections Patreon roundtable discussion where I met Julie
Mug Quote of the Week:
Be the kind of person you would like to meet.
Question of the week:
How have you seen the hidden value you and others bring to the table pay off in your career or in your life?
Leave a comment on this episode
Music by Josh Rickard, www.joshrickardmusic.com.
S1E2: Begin as you Mean to Carry On
In this episode, I talk about how I spent my so-called holidays, the current state of my writing projects, what I’ve been trying for marketing lately and what I’ve learned from it, and some of my favourite writing tools. I also discuss some movies I watched over the holidays and my business plans for 2022.
Here are some resources mentioned in this episode:
Tool of the Week:
Scrivener: https://www.talenawinters.com/scrivener (affiliate link)
Podcast mentions:
6-figure Authors: SFA 112: How to Smartly Invest back into Your Book Business
Life Lessons - Episode 57: Intermittent Fasting for LIFE
The Creative Penn - #596: Improve Your Sleep And Creativity With Dr. Anne D. Bartolucci
The Creative Penn - #589: Digital Narration with AI Voices with Taylan Kamis from DeepZen
Interview with Geoff Woods on Afford Anything with Paula Pant: #293: THE ONE QUESTION THAT MAKES EVERYTHING EASIER, WITH GEOFF WOODS (Replay of January 1, 2021 episode)
The One Thing podcast - 332: Why this year's success comes down to One Thing
Other Resources:
Alana Terry’s resources for authors: https://successfulwriter.podia.com/
5 Point Plot Structure Freebie: https://www.talenawinters.com/plot-structure/freebie
Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes (affiliate links for some platforms)
Delay, Don’t Deny and Clean(ish) by Gin Stephens (affiliate links for some platforms)
All I Want for Christmas excerpt:
The postscript on this episode is an excerpt from AI-Narrated audiobook of All I Want for Christmas, using the licensed voice of Edward Herrmann. The company I used to create the audiobook was DeepZen, https://deepzen.io.
Mug quote of the week:
“It’s only cold if you’re standing still.”
Happy writing!
Introduction: My Journey So Far
Hello, and welcome to Coffee & Real Talk for Writers. In this episode, I get real about why I started this podcast, my writing journey so far, and what you can expect going forward.
Here are several resources I mention in this podcast and where you can find them: