Molly Jo Realy is an award-winning writer, editor, social media ninja and author coach. Nicknamed the Bohemian Hurricane, she encourages people to embrace their unique talents and gifts to come alive and celebrate life every day. Recently rooted in South Carolina, she celebrates with her family, her cats, a good cup of coffee, and an addiction to pens. Visit her blog and author website!
What music do writers listen to when they create? Or do they? Listen as the Brew & Ink crew talk about their listening choices while writing and then hear as author MB Mooney shares the exciting conclusion of the MURDER MYSTERY! Who is the killer? Who dunnit? Listen and see if your vote was correct. Then vote in the comments on the title for the first installment of the next round of flash fiction.
Listen here:
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In this episode:
What kind of music do you listen to while we write?
What is the purpose of listening to music while creating?
What would go on our playlists if we had to chose one thing to share?
Author MB Mooney shares Dr. Wolfe’s conclusion to the Midnight Showing Murder Mystery.
Links:
How important is social media to the modern author? Agents and publishers talk about numbers and platform. The Brew & Ink crew discuss the different options and solutions for the writer to engage. Then Katie Nunchucks shares her part of the MIDNIGHT SHOWING murder mystery. What are the new clues? Who should Dr. Wolfe interview next? Listen and vote!
Listen:
In this episode:
What is important about social media?
What is the role it plays in being a writer and author?
What are some options for engaging with readers?
Katie reads her part of the Murder Mystery.
Links:
www.instagram.com/authormbmooney
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Joyce Glass is a writer, speaker, writing coach and lover of most things chocolate! Her desire is to encourage you to write your book and share your expertise with the world. She loves to teach the power of story in nonfiction, and has a passion to see you connect with your clients and customers.
She has self-published two books while helping others create their nonfiction book. Weekly she shares writing tips on her podcast The Write Hour – Nonfiction Tips From The Write Coach.
The best part of being a writing coach is watching her clients create their own masterpiece, and seeing their joy when they share it with the world.
You can connect with Joyce through social media and on her website www.thewritecoach.biz
Show Notes
How did you become a book coach?
It took me four years to write my first book, and that’s what lead me to coaching. I tried this, and tried that, and worked really hard, but I didn’t make a whole lot of progress. Finally, when I got a system down, that’s when it helped me. It also encompasses my love for teaching, because I love to teach people concepts that they aren’t sure about or don’t know, and then watch them grow. It’s so much fun for me. It’s the blend of all of my gifts in the perfect way.
What are lessons you’ve learned as a writing coach?
I, now that I edit so much, am much more conscientious when I’m writing, and I’ve got to turn that editor off sometimes. But, it’s also helped me make my writing stronger.
What does a coaching session look like?
With each client, I always start them with getting their content organized. We have a lot of fun. I get to know them. We work hard, and I take them through the steps. And then after they get their clarity and they get their outline done, then I take them on the journey of actually writing. Essentially, when you’re working with me you’re getting coaching and editing all at the same time.
Explain the coach/client relationship.
You need the mindset that this is like a business. You need to have that kind of seriousness. If you didn’t show up for work every day, you wouldn’t get paid and you’d eventually get fired. Essentially, the relationship is that if you want to get the book done, then you need to make the commitment to do it. I want that kind of client, who is ready to get it done.
How do you know when you’re ready to hire a writing coach?
I’d say even if you’re at the beginning stages you can use a writing coach. But, you’ve got to be ready to be serious about it, because it is a commitment. If you’re not ready to get serious – if you know you want to do this, but you’re not quite there yet – just keep writing. The main thing is get the content out there, and then we can make it beautiful later.
Do you have any advice for writers who are considering becoming a book coach?
Take baby steps. Get one or two clients. Don’t try to get five at one time. Get a process. I learned how to create a system to take them through. Figure out a process that works for you, and a style that works for you. And know the kind of client that you want, the kind of book that you want.
What is your four step process to the “Best Book Ever?”
(This is the process in a general since. A complete course in the process can be found for free at www.thewritecoach.biz)
1. Know your general, overarching topic
2. Break that down into your specific topic
3. Know the desired outcome. What do you want the reader to think, know or do after reading the book.
4. How can they achieve this outcome?
What is one piece of advice you would like to give to a new writer?
Give yourself permission to free-write, to get your ideas out. Then you can go back and get that organized.
Find your voice, live your story…is the foundation of Edie Melson’s message, no matter if she’s reaching readers, parents, military families, or writers. As an author, blogger, and speaker she’s encouraged and challenged audiences across the country and around the world. Her numerous books reflect her passion to help others develop the strength of their God-given gifts and apply them to their lives.
She’s a leading professional within the publishing industry and travels to numerous conferences as a popular keynote, writing instructor and mentor. Her blog for writers, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month and is a Writer’s Digest Best 101 Websites for Writers. She’s a board member of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, the Social Media Director for Southern Writers Magazine, as well as a regular columnist for AriseDaily.com, Just18Summers.com and PuttingOnTheNew.com.
Show Notes
Caleb: Does every writer need to have a blog and be active on social media?
Edie: Unless something bizarre happens, we all need to have a presence online, whatever that looks like. If you’re already a bestselling author, and you’ve hit the New York Times bestseller list, then of course you’re going to have fans and connections that the rest of us don’t have. But for the rest of us, our fans and our readers are found in the digital universe. With a little bit of qualifier, yes, everybody needs to be online somehow.
Caleb: What are the different types of blogs writers should consider?
Edie: You need to do something that people would be interested in. You also want to choose a topic that’s sustainable. The point of a blog is for name recognition and to build a tribe. You’ve got to have that community base, and a good way to build that is through a website or through a blog. I like to warn people that blogging is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Some people hate blogging. It’s important to have a presence online, and if you’re somebody who cannot sustain a once a week schedule for blogging, maybe your best bet is to be on a group blog.
Caleb: How do you go about starting a blog?
Edie: I recommend brainstorming some things that you think you might like to write about, and then writing about 30 posts. And don’t limit yourself in those posts. Just every day write a blog post, and see at the end of those 30 posts what focus you’ve ended up with. Then I recommend starting out with a free site – the WordPress free site or the Blogger free site.
Caleb: What is the general structure of a blog post?
Edie: It depends on the type of blog you’re writing as to how long it should be. If you’re writing a really deep subject – like I have a friend of mine who lost a daughter to teenage suicide, and her blog is all about preventing suicide. So her posts tend to be 1,200 to 1,500 words long, because you kind of need that much to get into that deep of a topic. I have another friend who writes very pithy interesting takes on the world, and her posts are 300 words. So it really depends on your voice.
As the person who owns the blog, you are the host. So it’s up to you to make the posts easy to find in search engines, make it easy for people to comment and reply. So you want to use an open-ended question or a call to action at the end of every post to get the conversation started. Keep in mind that everything you write is for the reader. So we want to try and avoid using words like “you” when we say “you should do this” or “you should do that.” It comes across very preachy and almost condemning. Instead what we want to say is “well, I’ve found in my life it works better when I do this.” You want a very open and safe place for people to come and interact. You want to make them feel valued and engaged.
Caleb: How is writing for a blog different from other kinds of writing?
Edie: People read very differently on the internet or on a digital screen than they do in person. They read about 25% slower and they read for a different reason – they read for information. You need to be able to format your blog in block formatting, which means no indention and extra space between paragraphs. You want to make sure you’re using a sans-serif font. Truthfully, about 65% to 75% of your readers are going to be reading your blog posts on their phones, so it’s got to be easy to read. You want to familiarize with keywords, you want to make sure you know how to do correct titling for blog posts so that it shows up in a search engine. I teach weeks long seminars on how to do blogging. And everything I teach on how to have an effective blog you can find the information for free on my website www.thewriteconversation.com.
Caleb: How do you avoid copyright laws with images?
Edie: You can never Google an image and use that image for blog posts. Copyright infringement is not based on whether or not you earn any money off of what you borrowed. It has to do with whether or not you have used something or stolen something that it not yours. So you want to make sure that you only use reputable sites. I recommend Pixabay.com and Unsplash.com.
Caleb: How should someone’s approach to social media change when moving into marketing and branding?
Edie: The biggest thing is that you want to make sure that whatever you’re putting out there isn’t self-serving. In other words, I shouldn’t always be tweeting “buy my book…read my blog…here’s a new article…come to my book signing.” If somebody goes to my Twitter page and those are the types of updates then my Twitter page is nothing but a running commercial for me. There’s nothing of value for my readers. I try to be a resource for the people who follow me on social media. I don’t want to be asking them to do something for me without having done a whole lot more for them first.
Also, people think that social media is a great way to sell books, and it’s not. Social media is not advertising. It is building relationships. Marketing is advertising, and you do some marketing on social media but you build the relationships first.