The Secret Library Podcast

Editing is one of the more mysterious parts of the book creation process. We all know that editing is necessary, but many of us resist doing it. Sending your manuscript to an editor can be terrifying- it might be the first time someone other than your closest confidants has seen it- if anyone at all has seen your book so far.  Lindsay is both an editor and a writer, so she's able to talk about the process from both sides. Learn about the little errors that can give away a lack of editing, the difference between developmental editing and copyediting, and how to connect with the editor that's right for your work.  Show Notes For Episode 16 with Lindsay Smith: Editing for yourself versus someone else (3:00) The things you miss in your own writing (3:45) Standing out in the indie market (4:45) Developmental vs. copyediting & common errors that writers make (6:00)  The distraction of edits that aren't made (11:00) The author-editor tension (13:45) How to find an editor and pricing (17:00) Lindsay's first experience with an editor (21:00) Finding typos in books (23:00) There's an editor who's a match for every writer (24:30) Draft by draft- Lindsay's novel from first draft to publication (26:00) The writing schedule (27:00) Critique partners vs. beta readers (28:15) Reading the whole book out loud (29:45) Cover design (30:15)  Timeline for indie publishing vs. traditional publishing (31:00)  Finding your rhythm and season as a writer (32:30) Getting somewhere with ideas to finish the book (35:00) Writer's Block (36:00) Shitty first drafts (36:45) Getting to the final draft (39:45) The danger of too many drafts or too many opinions (42:00) The vulnerability of putting your work out there and why it's worth it. (45:30) Full show notes with links here | This episode 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

Time Management. (Don't we all have issues with this?) This week, Mara writes in asking for help with her challenges in this area.  Listen up for 2 book suggestions and a blog that will get you on track with time.    Show notes for this episode | 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

Have you ever wondered about the story you're living? This week, I chat with Jannelle Hardy, who spends a lot of time thinking about the stories we live out in everyday life. This is a topic that fascinates me. We don't just read and write stories and then walk away from them. They stay with us. And I often wonder about where the stories we write come from and why we have favorite books? Have you ever taken a deep dive inside the story you're running in your life? Jannelle and I really look at this topic and examine how story is one of the most impactful forces going. In the vein of talking about where story comes from, this one will help you get inside your own writing head. Can't wait for you to hear it! Show Notes For Episode 15 with Jannelle Hardy:(Full Notes with links at SecretLibraryPodcast.com) Connecting to personal story and myth and cultural messages (2:30) Getting trapped in the story you tell about yourself (3:40)  Starting with the body to get to story (4:30) How to work with stories come from anxiety (6:15) What happens when you get into the creative process (7:45) The itty bitty shitty committee (8:15) Working with sensitivity and past comments (9:00) On skipping the brain and why language is physical (9:30) Oral storytelling tradition (10:15) What happens when you get into the body (10:45) Character armor and how the creative spark gets trapped (11:15) Working with the critic (13:00)  Expanding on what you think is possible (15:00)  The head vs. the body in our culture (15:30) The personal myth process and looking at your own story (17:15) Looping in your personal myth and getting stuck (18:00) What if your myth had something to teach you? (19:00) Being an outsider (21:30) Reading as medicine (22:45) Mentioned: Clarissa Pinkola Estes Women Who Run With the Wolves & Theater of the Imagination Celebrity as the barometer of cultural stories (24:00) Getting out of a creative straightjacket & the Big Rescue (25:00) The lottery as Prince Charming (26:30) The magical gift of talent and questioning the story (27:45) Reading and traveling to open up to new stories (29:00) NaNoWriMo (32:00) Possibility that comes from breaking old stories (33:00)  Fear in starting a new story (34:00) Grief and pain in creativity (36:00) The silent meditation retreat (39:45) Making a choice with the body's guidance (41:00) Tuning into stories for growth (43:30) Tarot as myth (45:30) Working with dark stories (47:00) Looking at "write what you know" (48:30) Getting curious at the key (50:00) What's coming up from Jannelle (51:30) 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

Book Prescriptions are back. When I first launched the Book Dr. site, I responded to people's letters asking for books to help them with their life situations and any conundrums they were facing.  As the site has grown and the podcast has been added to the content, I decided I missed these book letters, so here they are again in audio form! This week's letter comes to us from Arthur, who's had a book idea for a long time and is having a lot of trouble getting started...   Listen up on iTunes | Show Notes Here | This episode 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

Book deals. Who among us hasn't dreamed of getting one, if we're totally honest. April Peveteaux has gotten not one, but THREE books published based on the brilliant brand of her blog, Gluten is My B*tch.  April and I share a profound disappointment in our inability to digest gluten as well as a powerful hunger for the baked goods and fried foods we can no longer eat. We talk about the need for humor around health issues, talk about the danger of bake sales, and how she made that enviable leap from blog to books.  Show Notes For Episode 14 with April Peveteaux: GIMB as an audiobook? (3:00) YouTube name calling (4:15) The Unicorn- Blogger to Book Deal (4:30) Those journalism degrees (5:00) Starting the blog & finding the agent (6:00) Where agents come from (7:15) The book deal or eating gluten? (9:30) The need for humor with food allergies (10:45) The holy grail of the GF croissant (12:15)  Bake it or buy it? (13:20) Organizing a family kitchen with a food allergy (14:00) The irritation of typing fiancé (17:45) Getting your partner on your team (19:00)  Forbidden foods (20:00)  Family food issues (22:15)  Writing about personal experience and food (25:00) Bake Sales Are My Bitch- the new book (27:00) The 8 main food allergens (28:30) Dinner party disaster for the gluten-free (29:45) Recipes that set you up to win (30:45) Creating recipes for a book (31:30) Vegan and Gluten-free can be friends (33:00) World Peace through dessert (33:45) Gluten-Free pizza in LA (35:00) Top 3 cities for GF Eating (actually 5) (36:00) The favorite recipe (37:45) Eating steak medicinally (38:30) Adding the book arsenal to the blog arsenal (40:45) The original book concept (42:00) On April's Nightstand: You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein (44:00) Powell's Bookstore (47:30) #vegantwinkies (48:30) For full show notes with links, please visit secretlibrarypodcast.com   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

Covers. How many of us have picked books just because we loved the cover and couldn't stop staring at it? I know I have been guilty of that more than once. I've even bought a book I already owned because I loved the new cover design so much.  What goes into the magic power that covers have over us? Where does this come from?    This week, I talk to LeAnna Smith about the art and science of covers. She's worked with everything from Big 5 titles to those who really want to set their self-published title apart.  Show Notes From Episode 13 with LeAnna Smith Judging a book by its cover (2:15) The role of the cover in eBook and digital publishing (3:30) Audiobook covers (5:00) Mentioned: Rivers of London Cover Versions Re-interpreting covers for different markets (7:45) Mentioned: Alice in Wonderland with new cover | Sam Potts episode on interior design Touching everyone's books (10:20) The interior-exterior disconnect (11:00) Creative control of the cover & texture options (12:00) Mentioned: Spot Varnish Cookbooks and even more design options (14:10) Trends in covers & the end of the jacket (15:15) Mentioned: Jojo Moyes & Me Before You's font cover Coloring book covers (20:00) Cher Kaufmann Mandala coloring books Re-packaging books for different price points & markets (20:45) Why publishing is a little like outlet shopping (22:00) International covers (25:30) Mentioned: Harry Potter's Cover for Lithuania (actually Finland)  Reading with office supplies (27:30) The cover design process step-by-step (28:30) Big stores throwing their weight around (31:40) Author input on covers (33:45) Working with individual authors (35:20) Publishing gift items and planners (37:30) Print-on-demand design (39:15) Leanna's entry into book design (39:45) Print is not dead (42:00) On LeAnna's nightstand : Fascinate by Sally Hogshead | Living Forward by Michael Hyatt  The hot tip for stock photography (44:00) 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

In the beginning, there is the blank page.  We've talked a lot about the later parts of a book's life: publishing and distribution and design. This week we're going all the way back to the start.  How do you get a book down on the page? What happens when you face the blank page and there is nothing there? What's up with the feeling of having to make a story come out of your head? What do I do with that nasty critical voice that keeps bashing my work as I write? Where does it all come from, anyway? Sarah Selecky has been teaching students since 2001 how to deal with these and many conundrums that the writer faces when getting started on a project. We dive into the process of writing and all the magic that goes along with it.  I won't lie- I felt a little high after wrapping up this recording.  Want to dive into that novel you've been dreaming of writing? This is where you begin. This episode.  We want you to write that novel. It wants to exist. This episode will help you find it.  This episode is sponsored by MuseMonthly.com Shownotes at SecretLibraryPodcast.com 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

Tosh Berman is one of my favorites. We had a podcast together back in 2008, which was big in Japan. During our podcasting reunion, Tosh shares about the process of publishing books in translation, his own writing adventures, why he went to see Sparks every single night of their London performances in 2008, and details about his re-released poetry collection."  The L.A. Times calls Tosh "a Los Angeles original." They are right.  In addition to discussing books and writing, Tosh gives some unusual relationship advice and hints at a new book on this topic.  Definitely our most avant-garde episode so far... you won't want to miss it.  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

It's here! We've hit episode 10 and we are still going strong.  Today I'm so happy to have Julia Callahan of Rare Bird Books on the show. She's Director of Marketing and Publicity and dishes on how to best work with a small press. If you've ever wanted to go this route, this is a must listen.  In addition, we talk roller derby and about the book celebrity that makes us both totally weak in the knees and sweaty-palmed.    sd6zuzwt 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

Such a juicy conversation, and one that defies a quick episode title. I changed it twice while writing this description. Elora and I covered the gamut, from writing novels, coaching writers, inspiring creativity, traditional vs. self-publishing, to how necessary it is to connect with other people while writing your book.  I felt a little high after this conversation, to be honest. It's just that good. Perhaps it's Elora's background in education that helps her make concepts so clear.  If you've needed a boost, are afraid to get started, afraid of writing, overwhelmed, stuck, burned out or feeling isolated as a writer, this is your episode.  If you have ever wanted to write anything in your life, THIS IS YOUR EPISODE. Promise. Just trust me.  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