Writers of the Future Podcast

The Writers of the Future Panel was held at the Salt Lake City FanX Convention in a very packed hall. The panel pictured from l to r: Darci Stone, Eric James Stone, Todd McCaffrey, Brandon Sanderson, John Goodwin, Wulf Moon, Kary English, Z.T. Bright, and Martin Shoemaker. Plus, a 5-minute video from Anne McCaffrey on Writers of the Future and her tips to writers. The first half of the panel was discussions on creating short stories, and the second half was open mic Q&A. We almost got through every question. Enjoy!!

Evan Leikam, perhaps better known by the handle "Book Reviews Kill," is a pioneer TikToker with around 150k followers. In this podcast, we discuss how to create a TikTok brand and the value of BookTok. Find Evan on TikTok and Twitter at @BookReviewsKill; Instagram @Book_Reviews_Kill

In this episode, Crystal Crawford discusses the new Amazon episodic publishing platform - Vella. Crystal has been involved with Vella since its implementation a year ago and answers many questions regarding the platform. Vella is one of the fastest-growing publishing platforms and is very much worth checking out as a reader and author. It provides a new revenue stream for authors who can make a very sizable income monthly. Reach Crystal at www.ccrawfordwriting.com/

Brian D. Meeks is a full-time author—writing mystery, thriller, YA, SF, and humor/satire. But... The reason I invited Brian to this podcast is his understanding of data analytics to bring conversion rate to publishing and... how to master Amazon descriptions. Brian Meeks created three discount codes for my Mastering Amazon Description Course (Full Price = $199.00) 1) Code = 75Hook (First 100 save 75%) 2) Code = 60Hook (Next 500 save 60%) 3) Code = 50Hook (50% off for the rest) https://meeks-master-classes.teachable.com/p/mastering-book-descriptions1 Learn more at SouthBeachDesk.com

Z. T. Bright is a Writers of the Future winner with his story "The Magic Book of Accidental City Destruction: A Book Wizard’s Guide." He was the winner of the inaugural Mike Resnick Memorial Award and was published in Galaxy’s Edge magazine in 2021. He writes anything speculative, ranging from sci-fi short stories to middle-grade fantasy novels. Writers of the Future was his second sale. “The Magic Book of Accidental City Destruction: A Book Wizard’s Guide” was inspired by the power of the internet and social media to both disseminate information and create social divisions like never before in history. It seems to him we all need to examine our relationship with these tools . . . before it’s too late (dun, dun, dun!).

Ken Liu is a multiple Hugo Award-winning American author of science fiction and fantasy. His epic fantasy series, “The Dandelion Dynasty,” is the first work in the “silkpunk” genre, which he created. AMC's "Pantheon" was created around the Singularity-based stories in “The Hidden Girl,” a collection of short stories by Ken. His story, “The Paper Menagerie,” is the first piece of fiction to win three literary genre awards: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the World Fantasy Award. Ken was a published finalist in 2003 with the story “Gossamer.” That was the year we had the event in Beverly Hills, and Chick Corea performed, plus three grandmasters of science fiction: Robert Silverberg, Fred Pohl, Hal Clement attended. He also consults and speaks publicly on various subjects such as cryptocurrency, futurism, implications of new technologies (5G, GPT-3, nanomaterials, etc.), science fiction, virtual reality, and sustainable storytelling.

N. V. Haskell is a winner published in "L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 38" with her story, "The Mystical Farrago." Nicole has been in healthcare for 30 years as an occupational therapist and loves people and has developed an understanding that translates into amazing character development in her award-winning storytelling. Learn more at https://NVHaskell.com

Echo Chernik is one of the most diverse and successful artists you will ever meet. In this interview, she will discuss the business of illustration and art, including how to charge for one's work. She attended Pratt Institute and has been a working artist all of her adult life and has built a very successful career, and wants to share her hard-won advice.

Writers of the Future winner Em Dupre and Illustrators of the Future winner Jim Zacarria discuss working together for "L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 38." We also discuss their journey to winning the Contests and what they plan for their future.

Scott Dickey is the CEO of Podium Audio. Podium is probably the fastest growing audio publisher globally, mainly focusing on Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Romance. The company gained international notice for turning once unknown author Andy Weir’s e-book “The Martian” into one of the most successful audiobooks in the world. In this podcast, we discuss the Podium model and how authors can potentially take advantage of this to get their books made into audiobooks. https://podiumaudio.com/