The Secret Library Podcast

Lucy Bellwood writes seafaring comics. When I saw Lucy speak at XOXO this past September, I was absolutely smitten. Not only has she turned her love of tall ships into two crowdfunded comics, she is also incredibly honest about what it takes to live the life of a creative person. She spoke about finances, dreams, and how having a big year can mean recognition and happiness, but that money still plays into the conversation. It was an incredible speech. I knew I had to have her on the show. Thankfully, Lucy is a great sport and was absolutely game to chat. She shared about what it took to do two Kickstarter campaigns, how she is able to create with the support of Patreon, and she's also an inspiration when it comes to building community around the arts. I could have talked to her all day, but I know episodes over an hour are a little scary to commit to. I know you're not going to want to miss any of this conversation. I give you the delightful Lucy Bellwood... Show Notes for Episode 27 with Lucy Bellwood: Making a dream into a book (2:30) How much the public persona has on the private persona (3:00) The first time on a tall ship (5:00) The resurgence of sail-powered vessels (6:00) Becoming a cartoonist (8:00) The emergence of web comics (12:00) Growing up as an artist (14:30) The camps of people who succeed as artists (16:00) What training you need to be an artist (17:00)  Having a drawing group and meeting your creative needs (19:00)  Talking about the work vs. making the work and Kickstarter (21:15)  Creative work and analytic work don't play well together (23:15) Financial aid, day jobs, & the creator club (23:30) Doing a Kickstarter right before graduation (25:45) Making the Kickstarter video (28:00)  The outcome of the Kickstarter (29:00) Building community and the importance of connection (32:00) Creating knowing people are watching (34:30) Working for non-profits & life expenses as an artist (37:45) Learning to trust support & being vulnerable (40:15) Having a public persona as an artist (42:15) Social media for artists & the addictive process of sharing vs. making (43:00) The business of commercial art (44:30) Creative seasons (45:15) The luxury of uninterrupted time (47:00) The discipline of promotion vs. creation (48:30) The nasty critic and never doing enough (49:45) Creativity through the generations (50:45) Looking forward at a career in the arts (52:00) Full Show Notes with Links | Sponsored by Muse Monthly Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

This week, we have a letter from Dal, who is interested in learning about book proposals... I share how book proposals work, and recommend a guide that will help her get all the way through its creation, should she need one at all. Listen up to learn if you need a proposal and how to make that happen.  Show notes | Sponsored by Pretty by Post Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

Theresa Reed is the Tarot Lady. As a tarot lover, I was delighted to learn that Theresa Reed was coming out with a tarot book- and that it was also a coloring book. So cool! And so many things we could talk about on the show. Coloring book creation, picking the images to use, what it takes to create a coloring book? We go into it all.  Speaking with Theresa was a complete treat. We talk tarot, different learning styles, why mindset is the most important part of reading tarot AND even dive in to how Theresa uses tarot to plan her year and her creative projects. This one is a super fun episode that is both practical and goes into the woo- my favorite combination! Show notes for Episode 26 with Theresa Reed: Why a coloring book? (2:20) Learning hands on (5:00) Choosing the images for the coloring book (7:15) The process of producing the coloring book (12:00)  Working with a team (17:45) The full production timeline (18:30) Having a consistent approachable style (20:00) Talking smart vs. talking to help people (20:45) Learning to become a good tarot reader (23:00) Yoga, meditation and tarot as a team (25:00) Challenges of being a professional tarot reader and support that helps (26:45) Learning to detach and let go (28:15) Boundaries (30:00) Using tarot in the writing process and planning out the year (31:00) t Tarot & astrology for business (35:30) On planning the year in October (38:20) On Theresa's nightstand (40:30) Musical Oracles & song recall (43:30) Full Show Notes with Links | Sponsored by Muse Monthly Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

Getting an agent can be intimidating. It doesn't have to scare you away from meeting the right person. Terra Chalberg of Chalberg & Sussman talks to us this week from inside the literary world. I am so grateful for her generosity and willingness to share her process of connecting with authors and choosing who she'd like to work with as an agent. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone considering going the traditional publishing route. If you've ever wondered how to get an agent and what it takes to get your manuscript into the hands of someone who can help you get your book out there, this episode will give you the guidelines. Learn how to query an agent so they'll read your message rather than deleting it right away. Learn what you might be doing that turns agents off immediately. AND learn something you can be doing right away that will help agents find you. (It's not what you think- I was surprised, and delighted, to learn how Terra finds many of her authors.) Get ready to understand the agents' world a whole lot better. I know it will help you understand next steps so much better. Show Notes for Episode 25 with Terra Chalberg: Themes in looking for stories (2:45) Going from film to publishing (3:30) Film vs. publishing and taking risks on new stories (6:40) Starting Chalberg & Sussman (7:15)  Becoming an agent (8:45) Publishing contracts (11:15) How to get your foot in the door with a query (& how to lose an agent right away) (12:30) Knowing that an author and a book is the right fit (14:45) Tips on connecting with potential agents (17:00) The importance of having a platform (19:00) Where Terra finds a lot of authors (so cool!) (19:30) Why blogging is still worth it (20:15) Questions to ask an agent you're considering working with (22:30) The editorial process with an agent (25:30) Timing on when to get an agent (26:15) Next steps once you're working with an agent (27:15) The inside story on publishing houses (28:30) Books Terra is excited about (29:00) Book trends and rising to the top (32:00)  Becoming a runaway bestseller (33:00)  Upcoming books Terra is excited about (35:40) Making time to read (37:00) Sponsored by Muse Monthly Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

Are you in a media bubble? I knew I wanted to have Meghan Dowell on the show when I met her. We talked about how our access to media and reading changes who we think we are. I was hooked. We talk about everything from print media to bookless libraries to the #syllabus movement that expands study to social media. If you're ready to get your mind blown by all the possibilities for reading out there, you'll be pumped this week.  As someone who could stay in school forever and be perfectly happy, I was more than delighted to learn about how universities collect books and how they address the unique needs we have for learning today. If you are into Google and a good old fashioned book, you'll be pumped. Get ready to take your reading to the next level.  Show notes for episode 24 with Meghan Dowell: The ability to find books and how libraries are organized (1:45) The difference between public and academic libraries (2:30) Collecting for academic libraries and the Hashtag Syllabus movement (3:00)  DIYing a degree and making the ivory tower more available (7:15) Librarians on Jeopardy? (8:45)  The path to being an academic librarian (10:00) The romantic notion of the library vs. tech evolution (14:00) Evolution of the library catalogue and collecting electronically (15:15) Collecting books with space limitations and print vs. digital (16:45) Libraries without books (17:30) Device debates (18:30) Book hoarders anonymous (19:30) The impact of algorithms and information access on personal image (20:30)  How our search choices put us in Filter Bubbles (23:00)  The existential crisis around being an informed reader with all that content (28:30)  Picking books as a librarian aware of all those books (30:30)  Finding books we wouldn't have found otherwise (32:30)  What Megan is reading now (35:40)  The blue book librarian joke (37:15) How many books are Americans actually reading annually? (38:45) Mentioned: Research on the length we want to read On finishing books and letting them go (40:00) On spoilers and knowing the endings (41:30)  Pairing books with drinks (44:20)  Sponsored by Muse Monthly Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

Marissa writes in this week because she's taken the plunge into the spiritual world, but it sounds a little bit like she's drowning in it. I talk about my own experiences with spiritual practice in this episode, and you can find links to my suggested books in the show notes. Sponsored by Pretty by Post Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

Heidi Fiedler has worked on over 300 Children's Books. Can I just say 300 books? 300 titles! As Heidi made clear on the show, she did not write all 300 of these books. She has emphasized that children's books are shorter than adult books. Even so, she's been a developmental or series editor and was involved with significant aspects of all 300. We have a lot to learn from this lady. Whether you are into writing children's books or not, her insights on structure and planning out books for continuity, plot, and to keep things engaging and exciting are essential for any writer. We also explore the ways visual elements and words have to work together in all books, not just those for kids.  Show Notes for Episode 23 with Heidi Fiedler: 300 Books ?!? (1:45) Trends in children's books and the need for narrative (3:30) The visual element (4:15) The incredible number of books out there and how to stand out (5:00) Non-fiction in children's books (5:30)  The evolution of children's books (7:45) The blurring of the genre lines and the end of dry writing (8:45) Reading to learn and the experience of reading for kids (9:30) Heidi on writing her own books (11:40)  Brainstorming and making an idea into a book (13:30) Thinking about the effect a book will have on the reader (15:15) The tension between thinking about the reader and forgetting about them to keep writing (17:00) The editor/writer tension split (18:45) Book Mapping as a planning tool & fix for continuity and plot holes (20:00)  Lists to make while working on a project (27:15) Reflecting on your own work at the beginning & getting feedback (28:00) The importance of reading aloud (29:15) The collaboration between illustration and text for children's books (30:00) Submitting a children's book to a publisher (31:15)  Having control and giving up control as a children's author (34:00) The connection of writing and Instagram (for writers who don't get twitter) (35:30) The visual and its impact on print books and building the writing & reading community (38:00) Covers and the impact on sales(41:00) Writer and editor costumes and modes (43:30) Full show notes with links | Sponsored by Muse Monthly Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

This week's letter comes from Kristy, a self-confessed serial dater who'd like to settle down a bit and get to know herself. Listen up to get my full thoughts, and check out the show notes for the books I recommended to Kristy. Sponsored by Pretty by Post Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

Sometimes we all need a good laugh. Mary Laura Philpott was the perfect person to talk to about humor. Her book, Penguins with People Problems, began as a small personal project that made enough people laugh that it was turned into a book. She's just as funny in this interview and I had a blast talking about everything from her book to the book tv show she does and the biggest list of recommended reads I have ever had anyone share on the show. We also dive into social media for book nerds and her tips for getting the word out about your work. You will want the show notes for this one.  Show Notes for episode 22 with Mary Laura Philpott: On writing humor (1:30) Blog to tumblr to book (1:45)  The cure for vulnerability is a bird (3:45) The beauty of taking a risk (4:15) Book people have a sense of humor - how many f***s can you put in a book? (5:00) The insides of a publishing house (6:30) 365 penguin drawings and sustaining a topic (7:30) The beauty of a smaller following (8:30) It's all Donald Trump's fault (9:30) Inhaling vs exhaling (10:00) Healing through creativity (10:30) Penguins with parenting problems (13:00)  Seeing the physical book & the cover (14:30) Drawing people's problems as penguins (15:20) Working under your own name & personal vs. professional (16:45)  Introversion and anonymity (17:30)  Reality television is not real (20:15) The bookstore world at Parnassus Books (22:45)  Book recommendation extravaganza pairings (23:45)  Reading & watching crime stories (36:45)  Inhaling TV for writing (38:00)  Doing social media for the book world (39:30) The conversational aspects of social media (41:45) Tips for book nerds & introverts (42:30) Show notes with all book links | Sponsored by Muse Monthly Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

Logan writes in this week looking for trivia and weird knowledge. I love this sort of thing- reading for the absolute joy of it. Listen up for some hot tips and check out the show notes for links to the books I suggested. Sponsored by Pretty By Post Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe