Beautiful Writers Podcast

You know her as the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post—a position that’s garnered Arianna the title of “the 52nd most powerful woman in the world” (Forbes, 2014). But for the girl who once shared a one-bedroom apartment with her sister and single mother in Athens, Greece, it’s the simplest things—like the regenerative powers of a good night's sleep—that have come to matter most. It’s Arianna's crusade, in fact, to share the dangers of not getting enough pillow hours ("sleep deprivation is the new smoking"), and the urgency (fun, too!) of changing our ways. Arianna's new book, The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life One Night at a Time, is truly transforming lives—and energizing creativity worldwide.We can’t wait to share this conversation—perhaps the most important show we’ve ever done or could do. So get ready to get more high-quality, restorative, beautifying, sex-a-licious zzzz’s starting hopefully as early as tonight!To subscribe to future podcasts or learn

If for some reason you can’t place the beautiful face of Leeza Gibbons, you’re going to remember the voice. Leeza is one of the iconic voices of our time. She was a longtime correspondent for Entertainment Tonight and Extra, and had her own syndicated talk show. But it's her voice that has launched more radio hours than Casey Kasem or Dick Clark. Leeza is also an Emmy winner, a New York Times bestelling author, of Take 2: Your Guide to Creating Happy Endings and New Beginnings, and has just released Fierce Optimism: Seven Secrets for Playing Nice and Winning Big.Much to Donald Trump’s dismay, Leeza won his last season of The Celebrity Apprentice (where she raised a quarter of a million dollars for her charity, Leeza’s Care Connection), by being nice. We’re going to talk about that because Nice is the new black as far as we’re concerned.Leeza is on her whirlwind book tour and thankfully made time after guest hosting THE TALK over at CBS here in Los Angeles to race home to be with us. We couldn’t be more g

In Hollywood, Mr. Robert McKee is a living legend, a kind of “God" among storytellers. This creative writing instructor teaches a program to sold out audiences worldwide that he developed as a professor at the University of Southern California. He's the author of Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting. This bible, currently in its 19th printing has become required reading for film and cinema schools at Harvard, Yale, UCLA, USC, etc. McKee has sold many of his own screenplays for film and television, and his students include 63 Academy Award winners and 164 Emmy Award winners. We’re ELATED to bring you the man Russell Brand calls: “… a wanderer… a misanthrope... a whisky-sipping, dusky voiced, Bogart-esque Sinatra but in prose...” Huh? Stay tuned. Like Russell, we were mesmerized to learn from this master and know you will be too! To subscribe to future podcasts or learn more about how we can support you on your writing journey, head over to www.beautifulwriterspod

One of today’s most beloved authors, Dr. Brené Brown shares behind-the-scenes details of her incredible life and career including: What it’s like to have 3 books on the New York Times bestseller’s list at the same time, why she won't read her reviews, funny/moving details of her meeting with Oprah and Maya Angelou, and what trips her up when writing and real life collide. If you’re one of the over 25 million viewers who’ve watched her 2010 TEDx Houston talk on The Power of Vulnerability, you know that this research professor at the University of Houston is heartfelt and hilarious. (Case in point, her “A" to our “Q" on “Sleep or Sex?” just might be our favorite one yet!) It is with very full hearts that we bring you this conversation. To subscribe to future podcasts or learn more about how we can support you on your writing journey, head over to www.beautifulwriterspodcast.com

Seth Godin is one of the world’s most successful authors and bloggers, and has changed the way people think about marketing and work. He's written 18 international bestsellers that have been translated into over 35 languages. For a long time, Unleashing the Ideavirus was the most popular ebook ever published, and Purple Cow is the bestselling marketing book of the last decade. Other bestsellers include Permission Marketing, All Marketers Are Liars, Small is the New Big, The Dip, Tribes, Linchpin, and Poke the Box. Seth has an MBA in marketing from Stanford. He’s been a CEO, a book packager, and sold a business that he started for $20k for $30m. In other words, we have a lot to learn from this man, who lives in NY with his wife and their two sons and has a compassionate heart that’s as large, if not larger, than his masterful brain. For more inspiring interviews with best-selling authors, subscribe to the Beautiful Writers Podcast on iTunes. To get access to our thriving community of writers visit TheBeau

In this lively chat with a legend of contemporary literature (The War of Art, Gates of Fire, The Legend of Bagger Vance … ), Steven Pressfield shares details of his own hero's journey, and his best pro writing tips: the “Foolscap Method” for starting (and ending) a book, working with the “equal and opposite” energies of assistance and resistance, and how to invoke the muse without pissing her off. Steven’s warrior code approach to the creative life has been the saving grace for writers and creatives around the world who endeavor to overcome the inevitable pull of self-sabotage. His classic style is captivating, making this one of our favorite interviews of the year. Join us as Steven illuminates the Odyssey of the creative journey like only he can. For more inspiring interviews with best-selling authors, subscribe to the Beautiful Writers Podcast on iTunes. To get access to our thriving community of writers visit TheBeautifulWritersGroup.com.

Known for her dry humor and unrelenting honesty, bestselling memoirist Mary Karr shares how she threw away the equivalent of four finished books, how she gets through the “scary blankness” of bad writing days (and invokes favorite prayers!), why she ALWAYS writes a proposal for every book, and one of her biggest motivations (hint: a lot of writers will disagree with this one). While Mary’s first love is poetry, her 1995 memoir, The Liar’s Club, reignited the memoir movement, while her most recent book, The Art of Memoir, reveals in detail both her personal process and insights from a decade of teaching the form at Syracuse University. You’ll be ready to do the tough work and tell the tough truth after this jam-packed conversation. For more no-holds-barred conversations with your favorite authors, subscribe to the Beautiful Writers Podcast on iTunes.

In this conversation with Elizabeth Gilbert, our generation's "Mark Twain," we unpack the inherent magic of language, embracing the sacred "No," what it takes to have the things you say you want, and to sex or not to sex on book tour. Ha. Liz has an extraordinary way with words (but you knew that) and a rich perspective on what it means to share your magic with the world. Her eighth bestseller, BIG MAGIC is nothing short of brilliant and we're elated to have her with us. For more inspiring interviews with best-selling authors, subscribe to the Beautiful Writers Podcast on iTunes. To get access to our thriving community of writers visit TheBeautifulWritersGroup.com.

This interview is so full of magic it’s not even funny. Except that it is! Martha Beck's passion for writing (and life!)is infectious, and you'll quickly see why she's so prolific (recently completing her 10th book, in the midst of a very full artist life that includes world-class painting). Listen as Martha shares some of her best “shortcuts" to attaining more magic, including details of her “integrity cleanse,” the best advice she’s ever been given (summed up in two words), the ultimate marketing strategy for any creator, and what the “rocket ride of rapture” means for your productivity. Buckle in. Her ideas are lightning fast. For more inspiring interviews, follow the Beautiful Writers Podcast here on Soundcloud or subscribe on iTunes. And for access to our thriving community of writers, coaching calls and more, visit TheBeautifulWritersGroup.com.

This tapped-in, tattooed 27-year-old Angel communicator hails from Scotland, and brings a laid back approach to spirit. He's authored 4 Hay House books and a deck series including Angel Prayers and Wings of Forgiveness. In this interview, he shares examples of the importance of keeping track of your agent/royalties, how impromptu proposal art helped land him a book deal, and how another advance allowed him to take an 8-month break from clients to make the writing of his book “a pilgrimage.” He also shares how legal issues happen—even with the most spiritual of intentions—and his thoughts (and those of the Angels) on writing about other people. He believes we writers are recruited by the universe to write on our subjects, and that it’s an honor. For more insider publishing knowledge, monthly coaching calls and so much more, go to www.thebeautifulwritersgroup.com and join our thriving community. For more great author interviews, follow the Beautiful Writers Podcast on Soundcloud or subscribe on iTunes!

Gretchen Rubin is the author of 3 blockbuster New York Times bestsellers—The Happiness Project, Happier at Home, and now Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives. Her books have sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, AND, she has a podcast of her own! Check out Happier with Gretchen Rubin on Soundcloud http://bit.ly/1Vr7v2f. For access to more insider publishing knowledge, monthly coaching calls, and so much more, join our thriving community at TheBeautifulWritersGroup.com and for more great author interviews, follow the Beautiful Writers Podcast on Soundcloud!

Laura is a veteran book editor, publisher, literary agent and writer who has published many bestselling authors, including: Maria Shriver, Mary Tyler Moore, and Jodi Picoult. She began her 25-year career at Simon & Schuster, where she worked as an editor at three different imprints before moving to Putnam and then becoming the Editor-at-Large at Regan Books. She’s now a top agent at The Carol Mann Agency (and sold our recent interviewee Janice MacLeod—the NYT bestselling author of Paris Letters) and has gotten deals for many of Linda's clients. (They share the same birthday and almost always fall in love with the same projects!) We know you’re going to love hearing Laura's take on big book auctions; “Dream” vs. “Nightmare” author clients; the lucrative career of ghostwriting, and what it’s like to be a gal peddling other people’s dreams.Get access to more insider publishing knowledge, monthly coaching calls, and so much more, here : thebeautifulwritersgroup.com/ and for more great author intervi

You may know NYT best-selling memoirist Jillian Lauren from her Jersey-girl-ends-up-as-harem-girl story (really)in Brunai (the subject of her first book, SOME GIRLS). Now we celebrate motherhood in her stunning memoir, EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED. Laugh with us as Jillian admits being jealous of other writers (isn't the truth REFRESHING?), and marvel as she shares her practical tips on being so prolific. For access to insider publishing knowledge, monthly coaching calls and so much more, join us in our thriving writing community: www.thebeautifulwritersgroup.com. For more great author interviews, follow the Beautiful Writers Podcast on Soundcloud or iTunes.

Like most of our favorite authors to interview, Sarah Manguso is a writer’s writer. Linda and Danielle were texting each other during the interview as true blue fans: “She's the REAL DEAL!” May her insights on this practice we all love inspire you too! A few bio deets: Sarah is the author, most recently, of Ongoingness: The End of a Diary. Her five other books include The Guardians, named one of the top ten books of the year by Salon, and The Two Kinds of Decay, named an Editors’ Choice by the New York Times Book Review and a Best Book of the Year by the Independent, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Telegraph, and Time Out Chicago. Her essays and poems have been widely published and she's taught writing at several prestigious schools, including Columbia, NYU, and Princeton. For access to insider publishing knowledge, monthly coaching calls, and so much more, join us in our thriving writing community: www.thebeautifulwritersgroup.com. For more great author interviews, follow the Beautiful Writers Pod

Bestselling author Dani Shapiro (of the memoirs DEVOTION and SLOW MOTION, five novels, and her latest: STILL WRITING: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life)talks with Linda Sivertsen & Danielle LaPorte for the Beautiful Writers Podcast. Hear Dani share her love of the craft, her doubts each time a book appears, and how she avoided her agent's call, not knowing Oprah was calling:). Get access to insider publishing knowledge, monthly coaching calls, and so much more, as a member of The Beautiful Writers Group. To join our thriving writing community, go to: thebeautifulwritersgroup.com/ and for more author interviews, follow the Beautiful Writers Podcast on Soundcloud or subscribe on iTunes!