Julie Duffy – Page 18

Engaging With The Publishing Industry

In which Julie has opinions how to engage with the publishing industry…if that’s something you’re interested in doing

Making Your Stories Pop and Connecting with Your Audience

Are you looking to find success in the publishing world?

Join me on The StoryADay Podcast as I discuss the importance of engagement in writing and publishing.

In this episode titled “Lurk Your Way to Success in Publishing”, I share strategies and insights that can help you achieve your goals as a writer.

Here are 3 key takeaways from the episode:

1️⃣ Don’t rush into building an author platform: While it’s tempting to focus on social media presence and building a following, it’s crucial to prioritize the writing itself. Spend time honing your craft and creating compelling content before diving into the world of author branding.

2️⃣ Engage with the publishing world: Stay updated by following authors on social media, reading industry publications, and educating yourself about the realities of being a writer. Become part of the conversation, learn from experienced authors, and stay informed about industry trends.

3️⃣ Define your own success: Don’t let societal expectations or external pressure define your writing journey. Take the time to reflect on what success means to you personally and set realistic goals that align with your values. Remember, writing is a journey of personal growth and creativity, and your definition of success should reflect that.

🎧 Listen now!

TIMESTAMPS

[00:02:03] Engaging With The Publishing World

[00:03:42] Should You Even Pay Attention?

[00:06:54] Have a Strong Definition of Success For Yourself

[00:09:18] If You Want To Publish

[00:10:25] First Steps In Pursuing Publication – Lurk (aka ‘research’)

[00:11:53] Agents

[00:14:44] Queries and Book Proposals

[00:15:45] Why Submission Guidelines Matter

[00:18:33] Ways to Lurk

[00:19:35] Publishing Shorter Pieces

[00:21:56] Get Off My Lawn

[00:23:22] Be Human, Make Friends, Be Successful

[00:25:37] Where To Find Writers and Publishing Folks, Online in 2023

[00:29:04] Wrap Up

Links:

Kameron Hurley Interview

Kate McKean’s Agents & Books Substack Newsletter

The Sh*t No One Tells You About Writing

Want to go deeper? Take the 3-Day Challenge

Want to go for longer? Let me send you a StoryAWeek writing lesson & prompt

Transcript is he re

Subscribe to the podcast and don’t miss an episode

Support the podcast

And finally a remainder that know you can support this podcast, if you would like to, which some people have asked me about and to do that, you go to glow.fm/storyaday, and you can make a one-time or recurring donation to keep the show going. And I really appreciate your support. That’s it from me this week. Happy writing. And I’ll see you again soon.

Engaging Readers

In which Julie has opinions how to make your stories compelling and keep readers hooked.

Making Your Stories Pop and Connecting with Your Audience

Welcome to another episode of The StoryADay Podcast! I’m your host, Julie Duffy, from Storyaday.org, and today we’re diving into a topic that every writer grapples with: engaging the reader.

As we explore the importance of captivating our audience, we’ll also discuss the challenges that come with balancing our own creative process and the desire for validation from readers. \

Join me as we uncover strategies to make our stories irresistible and learn how to effectively engage with our readers. So, grab your pen and notebook, and let’s get started on this storytelling adventure!

00:01:27 Permission to create freely, fear of judgment.
00:03:58 Engaging stories and readers: tips and importance.
00:11:17 Structure, pacing, and character engagement in writing.
00:14:17 Direct contact without social media or ads.
00:19:58 Don’t overthink, write and engage with readers.
00:21:17 Writing challenge: 3 days to complete stories

Listen to Part I – How To Be A Writer

Listen to Part III – Lurk Your Way To Publishing Success

Subscribe to the podcast and don’t miss an episode

Sign up for the StoryADay September Challenge: https://storyaday.org

Want to go deeper? Take the 3-Day Challenge

Want to go for longer? Let me send you a StoryAWeek writing lesson & prompt

Transcript is here

Support the podcast

How to Be A Writer

In which Julie has opinions how creative people should engage with their writing…and their identity as a writer

As we kick off StoryADay September 2023 I talk about how there is more than one way to engage with your writing…and your identity as a writer.

CHAPTERS
00:15 How To Engage with Your Writing Practice
15:16 Strategies for StoryADay

Listen to Part II – What About The Readers?

Listen to Part III – Lurk Your Way To Publishing Success

Subscribe to the podcast and don’t miss an episode

Sign up for the StoryADay September Challenge: https://storyaday.org

Want to go deeper? Take the 3-Day Challenge

Want to go for longer? Let me send you a StoryAWeek writing lesson & prompt

Transcript is here

Video Version

Support the podcast

Are You Trying To Be Good or Get Better

Struggling with procrastination? Maybe you’re trying to ‘be good’ when you should be focused on something else…

PSST! Want to take part in the StoryADay September challenge, and go through all the 2023 prompts again? Sign up here and I’ll send you email reminders each day in September 2023.

I LIKE TO LISTEN to the radio while I eat lunch, which means I stumble across all kinds of random facts and stories. Today’s random story was about slumping British tennis player Cameron Norrie. He did really well earlier this year, but has been losing everything since June.

The reporter’s theory was that, after his early success, Norrie put too much pressure on himself to be perfect–in matches and on the practice court.

That’s the part that made me pay attention.

Sports psychologist Kevin Willis told me he encourages athletes to ask themselves: today, am I trying to “be good” or “get better”?

I didn’t understand the distinction until he explained:

“Be good” is for match days, when you’re performing, showing what you can do, being judged against other people. (For us, the equivalent is when we’re polishing up a piece for publication. We want it to be good, because it’s going to be judged against all the other writing out there, and it’s going to have to compete for readers’ attention with all the other things life throws at them. We need those pieces to be good.)
“Get better” is for practice days…this is where you need to let go of trying to be perfect, and instead allow yourself to experiment: try new things, fail, learn from the failure and try something else. This is where the only person you’re competing against is yourself: can you be better (or worse) than you were yesterday? And what can you learn from that?

For most athletes–and most writers–there are a lot more days when we are striving to ‘get better’ than days when we absolutely must ‘be good’.

In fact, trying to ‘be good’ when you ought to be in practice mode stifles your ability to try new things, to play in the dirt, to have fun and learn new things.

That’s what Cameron Norrie fell victim to, and is probably why his game is off.

The StoryADay Challenge is ALL about trying to get better, by doing lots of writing-that-doesn’t-need-to-be-good.

It’s all about getting comfortable with writing even when it’s not perfect (it can’t be. Not if you’re trying to write a story a day!)

It’s about training ourselves to allow that first draft to be, well, first draft-y and extremely imperfect.

I’m running the StoryADay challenge again this September, with all the prompts from May arriving in your inbox if you sing up here:

I hope you’ll join us.

Keep writing,

Julie

P. S. If you’ve tried the challenge before and failed, good for you! You learned something. If you’re interested in trying the challenge again, but this time “doing it properly” download this guide to failproofing your StoryADay Challenge

Amazon, AI & Author’s Rights

In which Julie has opinions about AI and Amazon, and invites you to get in the habit of celebrating all your triumphs, this month

This week author Jane Friedman noticed that someone had used her name on a bunch of junk, AI-generated books about writing, and they had become attached to her profile on Amazon and Goodreads…and the kicker is that there is no due diligence done by these companies to make sure the books were actually hers. Their response? “Trademark your name, or there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Which is patently nonsense.

But, lest you get discouraged about having to monitor identity theft as yet another writing-adjacent task youhave to ad to your to-do list, I have some thoughts on what authors can do instead.

Also in this episode: the Importance of Celebrations, and some tips for how to do that.

Want to jump straight to the part where you’re celebrating your writing? Buy the workbook now!