A curated collection of the latest and most interesting podcast episodes about the author life.
Learning is an amazing thing. Come find out about UBLs, getting back to writing, how to not info dump, and even a little science with me this week!
Top 3 Must-Listen Episodes
Writing Pursuits // 34: Seven Tips for Using Universal Book Links
Kathrese McKee starts by explaining what universal book links (UBL). These are a single URL that can be used by the writer, a publisher, or a fan that will direct the person using it to find your book at any of the stores they like to buy from. While there are other platforms that one can go through, Kathrese only focus on Draft2Digital as that is the one she uses and can vouch for. Through Draft2Digital she uses Books to Read. Here are the seven ways to use UBLs.
- Create one link to rule them all: This ties all the stores and formats of the book into one place for the reader to find where your book is.
- Add or remove stores without affecting the link: This keeps the UBL the same and you get to update your information while still having a working link that everyone can use.
- Use a custom URL in your newsletters, website, and social posts: You can customize the URL to make sure that people are able to type it out easily and find you.
- Create a book tab for each book: You can have a description and cover to catch the eye of the reader.
- After you added your books create an author page: Make sure to have a list of your Books to Read. This allows you to have a free about the author page for your readers to get to know you.
- Create reading lists: Put your books and books similar to yours in a list and create a URL to send out in your newsletters, social medias, and website. It can give people an inside to you, help with affiliate links, and give your readers something to do while they wait on your next big hit.
- Create multiple UBLs: This is great for creating things for campaigns and letting the data pool in for you.
Write Away Podcast // Episode 96: How to make time to put words on the page
On this week’s episode, JP and Crys continue with the tarot card journey.
The Hermit: Soul searching, introspection, being alone and inner guidance.
The question the two ask with this card is how do you make time to put words on the page?
For Crys, she’s had a difficult time recently trying to get back to the page. To get herself started she uses the trick “just one sentence”. With her kid in school, she has all the time to write, but finds it hard to sit down and do it. Just one sentence or just five minutes of writing or looking at her ID list to see what cool things she can add, help her to get going. While she would love to write first thing in the morning, her brain is wired to get a small human from bed and to school. Getting back into the flow after changing up a routine is difficult. She reminds us that writing is like a muscle. When you stop using it you must build back up to what you were.
For JP, he likes to look at what makes him feel successful. He could write something knew or turn to editing to make him feel productive. His writing times becomes something that is sacred in his mornings or at least before he goes to work. 20 minutes or more is where he aims his timers. JP recommends using the Centered app, Pomodoro, and having a space dedicated to writing. When trying to get back into the flow of things, he reminds us that setting up review times is really important. Writing exercise and looking at what you are capable of doing and setting realistic goals is critical to keep coming back to the page.
Writing Roots // S33E1- Avoiding the Info Dump: Your World’s Politics
In this episode, Leigh Hull and Ley Esses dive into the dreaded info dumping. We’ve all seen it. We know the world and want the reader to know everything because it’s so cool. It’s so much to go through as a reader before they can understand the story and meet the characters. Not everything else, as it will come slowly. Readers don’t remember info dumping and will skip over to get to the good part of the story.
Info dumping is defined in this podcast as: A paragraph or more of telling with little to no showing.
The main points to remember about info dumping:
A. The point to remember is that you need to think about what the reader needs to know at that very moment.
B. There needs to be an emotional connection for the readers to want to pay attention.
Politics can be really boring for many people to read through. A few things to pay attention to and let the reader know are;
- The heart of government is philosophy. Understanding the main reason it’s there for books surrounding politics is important.
- Who is in charge? Just drop a word like president, dictator, king. It lets the reader know the government without even describing it.
- The opinions of the people will vary and give your characters life, conflict, and unity for your characters.
- Make it a conversation between characters in order to give the reader information and let them see the emotional side. People learned politics and are emotional about it at times.
The Latest from The Author Life Podcast
65: WHAT ARE J’S TAKEAWAYS FROM CEX?
This week authors J. Thorn and Crys Cain discuss J’s experience at The Creator Economy Expo and what this emerging tech means for authors.
The Wildcard: Interesting Episode from a Non-Writing Related Show
60-Second Science // Meerkats Are Getting Climate Sick
For some cool conversation starters take a quick listen to some interesting science.
Climate Change affects many things and people. Meerkats in the Kalahari Desert are no acceptation. Tuberculosis, while not uncommon for the little creatures, has been on the rise. In Spain a research center has been looking into the link between the rising temperature extremes in the desert. Maria teamed up Kalahari Meerkat Project and went over 22 years of data of induvial Meerkats. With the information they were able to create models that showed the correlation between temperature and deadly outbreaks with two major points explaining the outbreaks.
First: Heat adds a stress to the population and makes finding food difficult.
Second: The heat also allows male Meerkats to move around from group to group looking for mates and bring the sickness with them.
This outbreak of TB could show signs of future outbreaks that could affect humans as climate change shifts around the world.
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