I launched my podcast Making It Up nearly three years ago with the goal of interviewing writers not for any particular work of theirs, but to talk to them about their lives. I didn’t want to ask them what famous author they want to have dinner with or what their top five favorite books are…yech. I wanted to know what their childhood was like, what inflection point made them want to write, and to hear about the years of glorious rejection letters. Most readers pick up a book and assume the author has always been an author, and they make gobs of money writing. I wanted the real, raw truth.
After nearly 150 conversations with writers of all backgrounds (from NYT bestselling thriller authors, to hopeful debuts, to historians, science writers, and poets), I’m still amazed how much connective tissue binds us writers together. A few commonalities I’ve evidenced throughout my interviews:
- Most writers can name a specific person or event that happened in their teenage years that made them want to write.
- Writing is less a plan than it is a purpose. Despite all efforts to do anything but write, the act of writing will burrow its way to the surface at some point in a writer’s life.
- No one sets out to write because it’s a solid business decision.
- Nearly every writer has suffered (or continues to suffer) from impostor syndrome. We all feel like frauds, no matter how successful we may get.
- There is no linear progression to a writer’s career. Some become hugely successful with their first book, but struggle to repeat the magic with the next several. Others find their best sales after ten books. You can’t count on anything, but yet the best may always be yet to come.
- Writers can easily name a peer of whom they envy their success.
- Writing is hard. It gets easier as the muscle for it develops, but it’s never easy.
- Writing is meditation. It’s one of the few times in a person’s day they have to be fully focused and, more importantly, completely present.
- Most writers hate social media and eschew the idea of self-promotion, necessary as it may be.
- Writers view the publishing industry with a mixture curiosity and frustration. We all agree the industry is incredibly opaque, and there’s no formula for success within it.
- Writers in the same field or genre don’t view one another as competition, and are often generous with their time supporting and promoting each other’s work. They view the true competition as anything else that vies for a potential reader’s attention, namely smartphones and Netflix.
- Finally, from my experience, most writers are deeply kind, humble, and just happy to share their time and opinions with you.
That last one is a universal truth I’ve seen throughout my podcast career. I’ve never talked to a jerk. Sure, some are shy, awkward, and certainly technologically challenged, but always generous and honest. Moreover, these writers are fountains of wisdom, doling out indispensable truisms from which not only my listeners benefit, but I as well. My favorites include S.A. Cosby talking about the equitability of writing (all quotes slightly edited for clarity):
“I think writing, of all the creative arts–acting, singing, dancing–it’s the one where everybody has the best shot. You can be a 75-year-old first-time author, you can be a 35-year-old author that’s got six or seven books under your belt, or you can be a 21-year-old wunderkind. Everybody has that same shot because nobody knows what’s gonna click, what’s gonna break out. And so for me, writing is that thing where I just feel like it’s the most equitable creative art.” ―S.A. Cosby on the Making It Up podcast
Or listening to Robert Dugoni tell me about taking advice from a friend, which led to him diving into learning the craft of writing:
“He said immerse yourself in the community in which you want be involved. So I started going to conferences, and I’d be sitting at tables with people that I had just met, and they’d be talking about these books that they read on story structure, or on character development, and I’d be like, what? So I took a step back, and I took about three years, and I gave myself an MFA. I have about forty binders, all full of different tabs, things like development, tension, what you’re trying to do. I had to learn, and, lo and behold, three years after I initially started, after I’d spent years and years studying, I started to have some success.” ―Robert Dugoni on the Making It Up podcast
Or these wonderful words from Maureen Johnson, who reminds us writers there are no easy roads to publishing:
“Writing is mostly failure, It’s part of the process, so be very comfortable with it. If things don’t go well, that’s fine, because that’s what should be happening.” ―Maureen Johnson on the Making It Up podcast
I leave every interview energized and just a little bit smarter about the craft and industry I’ve been a part of for over two decades. And as I continue to write my novels, produce my podcast, and educate through my writing retreats and personalized coaching, I take comfort in the advice and wisdom of my peers, knowing everything I’ve learned from them only reinforces my belief that being a writer is the best job in the world. Just wish it paid a little more.
New episodes of Making It Up are out! Over the past month I chatted with:
- Victoria Helen Stone, USA Today bestselling suspense and romance author (Victoria Dahl)
- Novelist Matt Scott
- Mystery author Kimberly Giarratano
- Author and playwright Dean Monti
All episodes are available on my website, my YouTube channel, and wherever you get your favorite podcasts.
As far as I know, these are the places I’m supposed to be where you can meet me and stuff. Check my event calendar for the latest updates.
July 20, 2024
Writing Heights Conference
Instructor
Fort Collins, CO
August 28-September 4, 2024
Attending Author/Panelist
Bouchercon
Nashville, Tennessee
October 17-19, 2024
Unbound Writer Coaching Program & Retreat
Leader
Boulder, CO
Registration now open!
What’s Entertaining Me
On the Screen
Ren Faire (Max, 2024)
Billed as Succession meets Game of Thrones, this three-part Max documentary tracks the jockeying of Machiavellian underlings serving the king of the Texas Renaissance Festival as he contemplates retirement. At 86, King George Coulam is less interested in running the cosplay kingdom he’s ruled for 50 years and is more interested in popping Viagra and finding a woman. And his time is limited: King George has decided to go to Switzerland when he reaches 95 to be euthanized (if he doesn’t otherwise die sooner, likely from complications of a permanent erection). So committed is he to finding the right match he even has a full-time employee (the Royal Scroller) whose job it is to literally scroll the dating sites on which George appears (including sugardaddy.com).
But if George leaves the kingdom, who will succeed him? Thus the tale of the brainwashed sycophants (who literally view George as a deity) who are more than willing to stab each other in the back for a shot at the throne. If this were fiction, it would be ridiculous. But as a documentary, it’s captivating. Max has found the perfect cast of characters to make you question everything you thought you knew about climbing the corporate ladder.
On the Page
How to Solve Your Own Murder, Kristen Perrin (Dutton, 2024)
This book was included as a freebee at Thrillerfest. I rarely take books home from conferences, but I fell in love with the cover. From the publisher: For fans of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club, an enormously fun mystery about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate…. Now it’s up to her great-niece to catch the killer.
I quite enjoyed this mystery (and it’s about as classic as a mystery novel can be). Lots of characters, multiple red herrings, and a wonderful English manor in which the body is found. I will say it got a bit too complex at times, perhaps unnecessarily so, but if you’re in the mood for an Agatha Christie-esque plot and some lovely writing, check this book out.
Photo of the Month
My kids and I call these the “Father’s Day flowers” since that’s the time they fully bloom in front of my house.
Update from my Kids
My daughter is studying for seven weeks in Greece. Well, studying might be a bit strong of a word.
Update from my Pets
My son got me a Scully pillow for Father’s Day. Now it’s Scully’s pillow.
Humor of the Month sent to me by a friend
Brilliant.
Unbound Writer 2024 retreat – registration now open! There’s one in-person coaching program and writing retreat left this year. Come spend 2.5-days in Boulder, Colorado finding community, inspiration, motivation, and confidence in your writing.
October 17-19
All details and testimonials can be found here:
Early-bird discounts and scholarships available. No more excuses, no more idle dreaming. Time to make your writing dreams happen.
In addition to retreats, Unbound Writer also offers one-on-one writing coaching. I can work with you on projects of all sizes, from full-manuscript developmental editing down to weekly check-in and motivation calls. And coming very soon – online courses!
Thriller Thursday
I’m one of eight thriller authors involved in Thriller Thursday, a weekly newsletter on Substack. From book recs to interviews to reflections on writing, this newsletter is an inside look into the writing process, reading habits, and obsessions of your favorite thriller authors. Our team consists of Lauren Nossett, Wendy Walker, Lynne Constantine, Greg Wands, Katy Hays, Tessa Wegert, Danielle Girard, and myself. Get your thriller fix and subscribe here:
https://thrillerthursday.substack.com/subscribe
That’s it for now!
Just a reminder to subscribe to my newsletter for more content and access to contests and giveaways. Oh, and if you follow me on social media you’ll see a lot more pictures of my goddamn pets. Until next month…
