The Writing Show

Writers are just different. We face a variety of issues unknown to most people. What do we struggle with, and how can we rise to meet those challenges? Jurgen Wolff is a writing coach who writes films, plays, television shows, fiction, and nonfiction. He teaches creativity workshops around the world. Please join Jurgen and host Paula B. as they wrestle with: Which psychological issues are most common among writers How writers sabotage themselves How to keep from falling into bad habits Why we sometimes feel let down when we achieve a goal How to handle friends who are envious or disparaging How to make unpleasant tasks easier to tackle How to decide when to give up.

Since September of 2006, we've been following Jean as she attempts to find an agent to represent her intergenerational novel Karaoke Nights at the Twilight Lounge. So far, Jean has received a number of rejections, but at least she's heard something. She's also started work on some new projects. In episode 7, we hear once again from listener T.A. Evans, learn what Jean is going to do about her stalled search for an agent, and get an update on the other projects she's pursuing in the meantime, including her new podcast.

As a relative newcomer to the self-publishing world, Lulu.com has garnered quite a bit of attention with its unorthodox business model. Nick Popio serves as a communications specialist at Lulu.com. Please join Nick and host Paula B. as they ponder: * What Lulu.com does * How the company makes its revenue * How much it costs to publish through Lulu.com * How many copies of their books Lulu.com authors typically sell * Whether the company rejects manuscripts * How they let authors know what to expect as far as sales and income are concerned * Whether Lulu.com is a vanity press.

If you haven't heard of the heinous phenomenon known as "libel tourism," I urge you to listen to this show. David S. Korzenik, Esq., a partner at Miller Korzenik Sommers LLP, specializes in media and First Amendment law as well as intellectual property. The firm defends book, magazine, and online publishers; broadcasters; news organizations; and human rights groups against claims such as libel, privacy, newsgathering torts, copyright, and so on. Please join us for this important show in which David and host Paula B. discuss: What libel tourism is and how it got started How plaintiffs are able to sue American defendants in foreign courts How laws relating to free speech differ in the U.S. and the UK What some high-profile cases are How libel tourism is affecting publishers, authors, and journalists How the House of Lords is making some changes in authors' and publishers' favor Why bloggers and podcasters need to be aware of the phenomenon.

If you're looking for a writing specialty that will catapult you out of the "starving writer" ghetto, you may want to consider an up-and-coming option: white papers. Michael Stelzner is best known as the author of the bestselling book Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged. He is the editor of the WhitePaperSource Newsletter and founder of the Internet's only portal dedicated to the writing and marketing of white papers, WhitePaperSource. Please join Michael and host Paula B. as they examine: * What a white paper is * What qualifications you need to write white papers * What sorts of personalities are best suited to writing white papers * What you should and shouldn't do when writing white papers * How much money you can make writing white papers * How to find clients.

We can all recognize the importance and appeal of attractive product design. But with books, the right design affects much more than our aesthetic sensibilities. Please join book designer Steve Tiano and host Paula B. as they weigh: * What's the most important thing to consider when designing a book * How book design has changed over the last century, and why * Where new design trends originate * What a knockoff font is, and whether it matters if designers use one * How he would feel if someone offered him the chance to design books for cell phone delivery * Why book design is more important for the reader than you might think.

Entering a fantasy world can be both exhilarating and bewildering. The author who builds such a world may be familiar with it, but how does he introduce his readers to a place known only to him? This week we'll look at how two famous fantasy authors, Lewis Carroll and J.R.R. Tolkien, approach this challenge.

If you want to stretch your writing wings, this week's guest has a suggestion for you: audio plays. They're fun to write, you get great practice crafting dialogue, and audiences love them. Author, actor, teacher, and speaker Jack J. Ward is the dynamic founder of both the Sonic Society and Sonic Cinema Productions, featuring the very best in audio drama. Join Jack and host Paula B. as they explore: * What audio theater is * What types of audio theater there are * Why write for audio theater * Which genres work best * What comprises the dos and don'ts of writing for audio theater * How to make transitions between scenes and acts * How to get produced * How to make money writing audio plays.

A few weeks ago, we heard a contrarian opinion from author Jeff DeRego about the advisability of self-publishing. We got so much response to that show that we've put together a panel to weigh in on the self- vs. traditional publishing issue. Join authors Jeff DeRego, Stacie Penney, Matthew Wayne Selznick, and host Paula B. as they debate the merits and drawbacks of traditional and self-publishing.

Roger Morris is a gutsy guy. He's adopted one of literature's most famous detectives, Porfiry Petrovich, created by one of the greatest writers of all time, Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Is he crazy? The world's most prestigious review publications don't think so. The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, and even The Moscow Times have awarded The Gentle Axe high praise. Meet the man who would be Dostoyevsky's disciple. Join Roger and Writing Show host Paula B. as they explore: * What inspired him to take on such a formidable task * How much of Dostoyevsky's style he tried to bring to his work * How he fleshed out the character of Dostoyevsky's detective * How he researched 19th century St. Petersburg * How writing a whodunit differs from crafting a mystery in which the perpetrator is known * What he would tell readers who feel intimidated by the idea of delving into Dostoyevsky * How he got published by two of the world's most respected publishers * How he feels about the runaway success of the book.

We've had a lot of requests for a show on point of view, so I've been researching the topic, and despite the fact that I majored in literature in college, I've been surprised by almost everything I've discovered! In this solo show, I'll share with you what I've found so far, including: * What point of view is * What the function of the narrator is * What types of narration there are * When to use the various types of narration * How to decide who should be a viewpoint character * What to watch out for when switching between points of view. I'll be illustrating my findings with lots of examples.

In episode 4 of "Getting Published, with Mark Leslie," we learned that Mark was taking a detour from his horror story A Canadian Werewolf in New York to publish a picture book for his niece and work on some other projects. We also dug into a critique of one of Mark's chapters from Writing Show guest host Mick Halpin. In episode 5, we find out whether Mark has indeed returned to writing his horror story. We also go over another entertaining Mick Halpin critique and hear a fabulous reminiscence about clove cigarettes (inspired by one of Mick's critiques) from Writing Show listener Mark Herbst.

The Web has created dazzling new opportunities for writers. Today's guest, a former writer for iTunes and other Apple projects, explains how you can get involved. For the past decade Karen Anderson has been involved in writing, designing and producing user-friendly Web content for consumer audiences. From 2000 to 2006 she worked for Apple as a writer for iReview and the iTunes Music Store and as the managing editor for the one-million-member .Mac Internet services Web site. Karen currently writes content for commercial Web sites as part of a Seattle search engine optimization team. Please join Karen and Paula B. as we surf our way through: * What opportunities there are for writing on the Web * How search engine optimization affects Web writers * What "chunking" is * Why it's so important to get "signup pathways" right * What white papers are and why writers should care * What it was like evaluating sites for the Webby awards * What it was like writing for iTunes and other Apple projects * Why she left Apple to go out on her own * How well Web writers can do financially * What qualifications you should have to write for the Web (and get paid for it). Following Karen's interview we have a quick chat with author Bob Andelman about his new interview podcast and blog, Mr. Media, and get a Jeff's eye view of the perils of narrow-focusing from author Jeff DeRego.

Since last September we've been following Jean as she attempts to find an agent to represent her intergenerational novel Karaoke Nights at the Twilight Lounge. So far, Jean has received a number of rejections. She's also started work on some new projects. In episode 6, we hear more atta girls from a Writing Show listener, find out what happened to two errant agent queries and learn what Jean plans to do about them, and discover that one of Jean's other projects seems to be getting some official interest.

We looked at the workings of online critique groups with author Sean Dent in February. This week, three writers join us to explore the ins and outs of in-person groups. Join Gary Cheski, Sue Nading, David J. Roth, and host Paula B. for this exciting discussion, including: * What a critique group should do for its participants * How in-person critique groups work * What sorts of issues arise * How they've dealt with thorny issues * How to attract new members * How online and in-person groups compare.