Hopewriters

You CAN make progress as a writer. You can find clarity. You can focus your message and find your reader. And you can make real writing friends who ‘get’ what you’re going through, because they are too.  To take a real step toward being a working writer go to hopewriters.com/join. But only through Friday. (Then we close to serve hope*writer members.)  

Spending money on facebook ads can be scary. You want it to work. You don’t want to waste your money.  Well how do you know if it’s working? How do you know which posts to spend money on? And why would a writer want to run facebook ads? What are they and how do they work? And that pixel thing? Can I do that myself?  Amanda Bond is an expert on facebook and buying ads and she answers all these questions in this episode. BTW, there are a few things to do BEFORE you buy facebook ads - that’s the previous episode, “Episode 47, Facebook for writers, before you run ads.” Once you’re ready, how do you run Facebook ads and make them count and not waste money? Let’s listen!

So how should a writer use facebook? How do you know if you’re doing it right? How do you know what’s working? Do you boost posts? Buy ads? Is it worth it?  Whether you want to build a platform, promote your book, or just get your message to readers, there’s a certain order to doing things.  Amanda Bond is an expert on using facebook and buying ads. In this episode she’ll help you learn a few basic things a writer should do on facebook first, before you buy ads or boost posts. Then the next episode will guide us in how facebook ads work so you get results and don’t waste your money. So what does a writer do first on facebook? Before spending any money? Let’s listen!

Writing for children is a different kind of writing. One of the beautiful things about it is when you successfully keep things simple, you can end up reaching far beyond children.  That’s how it’s worked for Matthew Paul Turner, a long time writer who tried writing for children as an experiment. He’s now written “When God Made Light,” “When God Made You,” and “When I Pray for You” which you can find at Target and Sam’s and Walmart and all over the place. How is writing for children different? How do you think and see in a very simple - but sometimes profound - way? What goes on inside the mind of a children’s author?  Well, if you’re interested in writing for children, or think you might be someday, or if you just want to see how to tap into the parts inside you that can matter to others, this episode is for you.   

You like books and reading. You like to write. But you don’t feel like you’re one of “those” writer people. It’s just something inside you - something a little restless - like there’s somewhere you want to get to, but you’re not sure where or how. But you wonder about it - and you kinda like the idea of being a writer. And maybe you’ve even taken a bunch of steps. But how do you end up there - how do you get there?  Well in this episode, we’ll hear author and podcaster Christie Purifoy’s story of how she moved from a “kinda writer” to “yes a writer” - and we’ll see what starting to be a writer can look like.

To get published by a publisher takes a team. One of those team members we need is a literary agent.  But how do you find an agent? Are there guides, books with names of agents? - yes! In this episode you’ll find out what they are and how to read them. You’ll get ideas for finding agents online and in person. And you’ll learn a couple of great backdoor ways to find an agent that you’d never think of on your own. Plus, how do you know when you’re ready for an agent? And what will the agent be looking for from you? You’ll learn all those things, too. Now If you’re wondering if you actually need an agent, well, that was part one of this conversation with agent Rachelle Gardner - #43 “Do I need an agent?” Something helpful for knowing when you need an agent is to know where you are on the writing path - there’s an order for doing things when you want to be published. To find out which stage of the writer’s journey YOU’RE on, take the quick free quiz at https://www.hopewriters.com/quiz

To get published by a publisher, it takes a team. One of those team members we need is a literary agent.  Well, do you have to have an agent? What difference do they make? How do you know if you need one?  Even if you’re a published author - even if you’ve had an agent - you’re going to love this conversation with top agent Rachelle Gardner.  It’s so good - we had to split it into two episodes : )  This episode is “Do you need an agent?” and the next one is “How to find an agent.” Something helpful for knowing when you need an agent is to know where you are on the writing path - there can be an order for doing things when you want to be published. To find out which stage of the writer’s journey YOU’RE on, take the quick free quiz at https://www.hopewriters.com/quiz

Whether you’re an experienced podcaster, or just starting out, or just thinking about it - this episode’s for you. We’re going to talk about the most basic, most important part - the words, the content. Of course! We're writers, right?  And you’ll hear a content tip in the first 8 seconds of this episode : ) This episode gives you some basic but important advice, and probably a few things you hadn’t considered. How do you trust yourself? How do you know what kind of podcast to do? How do you know what to talk about and how to talk about it? That’s coming up. Even though we’re writers - and love words - sometimes writers love saying the words. So lots of writers also podcast. Kendra Adachi is one of those writers. She writes “The Lazy Genius Collective” blog, which will turn into a book sometime in 2020. And she hosts “The Lazy Genius Podcast.”  You’ll love Kendra!  And, to find out which stage of the writer’s journey YOU’RE on, take the quick free quiz at https://www.hopewriters.com/quiz

It’s kinda funny when we’re afraid to call ourselves a writer - as if we’re scared of ourselves and our full potential.  Do you find it easy to not say you’re a writer - for example when you don’t have many readers? And when you don’t call yourself a writer, isn’t it easy to just not write?  Writer Jeff Goins says whatever we think about we become. Can you relate? Do you own being a writer? Do you struggle believing who you’re supposed to be?  Jeff said that for a long time he called himself a wannabe writer and so he wrote like a wannabe. Then he realized he needed to “own” being a writer and call himself one and act like it, and it changed everything.  But it was a struggle - and for us too, it can be a struggle to own what we really want. Can you relate? Well, let’s work on that together.

Annie Downs shares how to be a writer for the long haul, and how failure has helped her be successful.  She’s definitely in it for the long haul. She’s written multiple books in the last 10-12 years - one of them has sold 100,000 copies - just at Target. Yeah, not counting Amazon.  She’s also a national speaker and host of the “That Sounds Fun” podcast.  And, you know how when you face the challenge of overcoming discouragement and failure, and want to learn from it and still make progress? Well, don’t miss the last 6 minutes and Annie’s story of the Flatiron building.

How do you write for readers who don’t know you or care about your story? What’s in it for them? Marion Roach Smith has written and taught about memoir for over 20 years. She says, “Memoir is not about you and it’s not a diary.” Well, if memoir isn’t about you, then what is it?  Even if you don’t write memoir - your writing probably includes you, and your experiences, and things you’ve learned and how you’ve changed.  If you DO write memoir, your writing includes a LOT of you. So, how DO you include your own story and experiences in anything your write? And how do you ever write anything about yourself, if it’s not about you? By the time this episode is over, you’ll know.

It’s easy to have a million ideas. But what do you do with them? Where do you keep them? How do you organize them? How do you know if your ideas add up to anything valuable? How do you know if it’s a book or - whatever? It’s important to have a system for keeping track of your ideas that works for you as part of your writing lifestyle. To help you come up with your own, this episode will show you three very different systems and how they were used to write real books.

How do you write consistently in the middle of the unpredictability and responsibilities of your everyday life? Managing yourself - knowing how to use your time as a writer, and running your own writing days - is a foundational skill needed to be a writer. NOW is the time to develop that skill. You can decide what a perfect writing day is for you right now, and it can change over time, but whatever it is, you’ll probably have to plan it and prepare for it to happen. This episode will help you do that.

Let’s get to know our writing strengths! “The Road Back to You” author Ian Cron helps us see how the Enneagram personality assessment can help us better take advantage of our strengths, help us understand our built-in weaknesses, and even help us pick an editor. We’ll see how knowing our personality type and being self aware can be invaluable as a writer. You’ll definitely see yourself - and others you know - and you may end up deciding to cut both of you some slack! :)

If writing a book is important to you, sooner or later you’ll find yourself confronting a book launch. You need more than tips you find on google - you need to know how you can launch a book yet remain a human being whose family still knows you and loves you. Here are our stories of what we didn’t realize for some of our launches, and how we now see that it didn’t have to be so awful. You’ll hear the inside reality of how a book launch feels and how to take the pressure off. Tips and ideas on how to enjoy your launch and feel happy and satisfied. When to start thinking and planning your launch. And how to launch in a way you’re happy with, that serves your reader, and maximizes sales.

So you’ve been writing for awhile but you feel like you’re not really growing an audience, like nobody really cares. Should you change what you write about? And what would you change to? How can you get to where you write about something you’re deeply interested in AND that deeply resonates with your reader? Changing and pivoting is human. Learning what works is part of the natural process. So let’s learn to pivot together.

Thinking you need a writing mentor is way easier than actually finding one. And there are questions you may not have considered: Are you even ready to be mentored? Are you already being mentored without realizing it? What if you could make the progress you want, learn what you need to learn, and get the perspective and insight of a person you respect - without ever meeting them? Is that mentoring? In this episode we’ll help you really think through finding the perfect mentor for you. BUT, it might not be what you expect, and when we’re done, you might forever change how you think about mentoring.

You’d never guess it’s controversial but it is. Once a month in the Hope*Writers Facebook group a friendly debate pops up about the best way to let readers know you’ve written a new blog post. What do you do when the guru’s say one thing and your gut says another? What is a guru anyway? Plus, before you decide how to use email, there’s a bigger question to answer. Let’s talk about that question, and about what’s best for you and your readers.

What’s it like to be busy and successful at doing good things that are some people’s dreams, but that come with an unknown cost? Logan was chief steward and curator of the Allume conference for four years. Then she stopped, and the conference ended. Why? Plus, the behind the scenes reality of an event where the one running the event doesn’t always get paid. Also - valuable insight on working with a publisher; find out why a two-book deal might not be a great idea; and sometimes a friend says something so meaningful that it makes you cry - don’t miss the last ten minutes and why Logan is still crying.

Ann Voskamp shares: what practical writing time looks like for her; how she makes writing a low pressure spiritual discipline; writers she loves and how they influence her writing; the disadvantages and overwhelming challenge of a successful first book; why book signings and meeting her readers are so important to her; why she doesn’t read reviews of her work; what she did the day 1000 Gifts released and how it was so different from the day the Broken Way released; and how to gather a safe community of people to help your writing life.