WRITER 2.0: Writing, publishing, and the space between

First, I spend a few minutes talking about trends in the audio book industry and outlining the ACX program, the Amazon/Audible platform that allows indie authors to produce audio books. Next, I speak with actor Jeff Hays, who is focusing on audio books and narrated the upcoming audio version on my book, The Anonymous Source.

On episode 99 of the podcast I spoke with my high school buddy, debut novelist Apollo Papafrangou. We discussed: the historic run of the Golden State Warriors; his fist book, published when he was only a teenager; his debut novel, WINGS OF WAX; how he wove his Greek-American background into his novel; how his MFA changed him; treating writing like a career, even when it isn’t; the gentrification of Oakland, California; three books that changed his writing life. About our guest: Apollo Papafrangou is a graduate of the Mills College Creative Writing MFA program, and is the author of WINGS OF WAX. He attributes his passion for storytelling to being raised in a Greek-American household where the epics of his ancestors were combined with contemporary family lore. If he wasn’t an author, Apollo would be a singer-songwriter under the moniker Greek Lightning, wooing audiences with stormy R&B ballads. Apollo lives in Oakland, CA.

On episode 98 of the WRITER 2.0 Podcast I spoke with Kevin O’Brien, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen novels. We discussed: his 17 years as a railroad inspector; transitioning to full-time writing; how Mad Men and Bewitched glamorize the ad business; why he writes 80-100 page outlines of every book; his latest release, NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW; the movie deal that altered his career trajectory, but didn’t lead to a movie being made; three books that changed his writing life. Plus, on Today in Writing, Edward R. Murrow’s takedown of Senator McCarthy. About our guest: For seventeen years, before his thrillers landed him on The New York Times Bestseller list, Kevin O’Brien made his living as a railroad inspector and did all his writing at night. His second novel, ONLY SON (1996), was optioned for film rights, thanks to interest from David Seltzer (THE OMEN)and Tom Hanks. It was also chosen by Readers Digest for its Select Editions–along with John Grisham’s THE PARTNER. “Seeing my photo on the back cover–alongside John Grisham–really made me feel as if I’d ‘arrived’ as an author,” Kevin admits.  Kevin has been writing full time ever since. But he hasn’t forgotten his railroad “ties.” So–if on occassion, you find a scene in a Kevin O’Brien thriller in which a dead body is discovered in a railroad yard, well, now you know why. THE NEXT TO DIE (2001), his first thriller, was a USA Today Bestseller. More bestsellers followed with MAKE THEM CRY, WATCH THEM DIE and LEFT FOR DEAD. His 2005 spellbinder, THE LAST VICTIM won the Spotted Owl Award for Best Pacific Northwest Mystery/Thriller, and became a New York Times Bestseller. Kevin O’Brien continued his New York Times Bestseller streak with KILLING SPREE, ONE LAST SCREAM and FINAL BREATH. His 2010 thriller, VICIOUS, was also a bestselling ebook. His latest thriller, DISTURBED, will be available in April, 2011. Kevin lives in Seattle, where he’s involved with the Seattle 7 Writers, along with Garth Stein, Jennie Shortridge, Erica Baeumeister, Carol Cassella and several other award-winning, bestselling authors (www.seattle7writers.org). Among the S7W projects is THE HOTEL ANGELINE: A NOVEL IN 36 VOICES, a collaborative book with 36 authors–including Erik Larson, Jamie Ford, Elizabeth George, Robert Dugoni, Susan Wiggs and several others. In Kevin’s chapter, someone meets a violent end…naturally. Library Lady, Nancy Pearl, furnishes the Introduction. All sales for this forthcoming ebook will go to promote literacy and writing in schools. Kevin loves Hitchcock movies, and is hard at work on a new thriller. 

On episode 97 of the WRITER 2.0 podcast I spoke with author, podcaster and psychologist Dr. Janean Anderson. We discussed: * what eating disorders are; * the fear that often sabotages our creative efforts; * her upcoming book, Recover Your Perspective; * Ann Lamott’s Bird by Bird; * what it’s like launching a podcast. Plus, on Today in Writing, Happy Birthday to Dr. Seuss. About our guest: Dr. Janean Anderson is a licensed psychologist in private practice who specializes in treating eating disorders. She is an author who writes about eating disorder recovery. Her first book, Recover Your Perspective, will be available in fall 2016. Dr. Anderson keeps a blog about eating disorder recovery at www.eatingdisorderrecoveryblog.com.

On episode 96 of the WRITER 2.0 Podcast I spoke with author and meditation teacher Ann Purcell. We discussed: * how meditation can decrease anxiety and help writers focus; * how athletes, writers, and others can get in “the zone” more frequently; * her latest book: The Transcendental Meditation Technique and The Journey of Enlightenment; * why we don’t always do the things that we know are good for us; * connecting the big themes of a book with the sentence by sentence construction. Plus, on “Today in Writing,” Grimm’s Fairy Tales. About Our Guest: Ann Purcell has been a full-time teacher of Transcendental Meditation since 1973, teaching Transcendental Meditation and advanced courses in many countries around the world. In addition, she has worked on curricula and course development for universities and continuing education programs. She has a B.SCI (Bachelor of the Science of Creative Intelligence) and an M.SCI from Maharishi European Research University, Seelisberg, Switzerland. She received a PhD in Supreme Political Science from Maharishi University of World Peace, Vlodrop, Netherlands. She regularly writes for the Huffington Post.

On episode 95 of the WRITER 2.0 Podcast I spoke with Alex Newton, founder and CEO of K-Lytics, an ebook data company that helps authors categorize their books to increase visibility and sales.  We discussed: the rate of growth in the ebook market; the most popular categories in the Kindle store; how sales ranking on Amazon relates to actual copies sold; how authors can use data for creative purposes before writing their next book; how ebook prices vary widely between genres, and how to price your book. Plus, on “Today in Writing”–The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

On episode 93 of the WRITER 2.0 Podcast I spoke with Kim Powers—screenwriter, novelist, award-winning memoirist, and also the senior writer on ABC’s 20/20. We discussed: his gripping memoir, The History of Swimming; the big changes in book marketing that took place over the last 10 years; what it’s like exposing dark family secrets in a memoir; his new thriller, Dig Two Graves; how self-publishing and ebooks are viewed in the NYC literary scene; three books that changed him as a writer. Plus, on “Today in Writing”: Alexander Pushkin dies in a duel. About Our Guest: Kim Powers is the author of the novel Capote in Kansas: A Ghost Story as well as the critically acclaimed memoir The History of Swimming. He is currently the senior writer for ABC’s 20/20, and has won an Emmy, Peabody, and the Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence during his time at ABC News and Good Morning America. A native Texan, he received an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. His newest book is DIG TWO GRAVES, about which Publishers Weekly wrote: ”A heart-tugging child-in-peril plot drives this thoughtful crime novel…” He lives in New York City and Asbury Park, NJ, and may be reached at www.kimpowersbooks.com.

On episode 92 of the WRITER 2.0 Podcast I spoke with Sommer Nectarhoff, a senior at Tufts who has already published over a million words. In a wide-ranging interview we discussed: how he grew his writing habit from 100 words a day to 15,000 words a day; whether the line between “literary” and “genre” fiction is blurring; the recent Wiz Khalifa and Kanye West Twitter beef; his epic fantasy novels: The Death Of Ydain and The Book of Lokk; how self-publishing and genre writing are viewed in academia; his writing “cross training”; creating different “entry points” for readers; how he uses Scrivener to write more per day; Reddit and cat videos. Plus, on “Today in Writing”: Happy Birthday to Horace Greeley. About our guest: Sommer Nectarhoff is a writer from Chicago. He’s always loved to read and write both fiction and poetry. His shorter pieces have been published in a variety of literary journals, and he is the author of numerous books to date, including the fantasy series The Book of Lokk. Find him on Twitter @nectarhoff

On episode 92 of the WRITER 2.0 Podcast, the tables were turned. I was interviewed by Amar Vyas, author and host of the My Kitaab Podcast. Amar did a wonderful job on the interview and we talked about: my time working with an Internet startup after college; why I go by “A.C.” instead of “Adam”; recent changes in the publishing business; the Booktrope publishing model; Herman Hesse’s, The Glass Bead Game. We also talked a bit about my novel, The Anonymous Source and, for the first time, I talked about the sequel in progress, The Inverted Pyramid.

On episode 90 of the WRITER 2.0 Podcast I spoke with paranormal author Leta Hawk about: * why she published under a pen name, and how she chose it; * her first encounter with a ghost and how it changed her perspective; * the first two novels in the Kyrie Carter ghost hunting series; * the challenges of writing a series; * her struggle with undiagnosed Lyme disease. About our Guest: Leta Hawk has been fascinated with the paranormal since her first encounter with a ghost at four years of age. A writer since high school, she has written in various genres, including poetry, children’s stories, puppet skits, and novels.  She has two novels out: The Newbie and School Spirits, which are books 1 and 2 of the Kyrie Carter Paranormal Mystery series. She currently lives in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania with her husband, two sons, and a dog (but no ghosts). When she isn’t writing, she serves as a Scout leader, Sunday school teacher, and tries to keep up with her sons’ busy schedules.

On episode 89 of the WRITER 2.0 Podcast I spoke with prolific self-help author Michal Stawicki. We discussed: * how he’s using Quora to re-purpose old content and sell more books; * the book that changed his life and launched his writing career; * releasing many short books as opposed to fewer long ones; * being transparent about his life and his book sales; * the relationship between productivity and health and fitness, as discussed in his book Bulletproof Health and Fitness; * the habit and coaching app, Coach.me. About our Guest: Who is Michal Stawicki? I live in Poland, Europe. I’m a father of three—two sons and a daughter. I’ve been married for over 13 years. I work for one of the biggest media groups in Poland as a database administrator. I’ve been a church community member for more than 16 years. I just cannot resist the urge to make this world a better place; first of all through self-improvement, by focusing on my personal growth, and then through the absolute transparency of my progress. It’s tough to say which one is harder. Sometimes it’s tough to wake up an hour earlier to do my morning ritual—a workout, while listening to people who live on the other side of the world—or to force myself to give up socializing on FB and work on my websites. Sometimes it’s even tougher to write a blog post and see that people misunderstand me or worse, totally ignore me. I truly hope my experience will bring some value to your life, that it will help you to realize that you are not really helpless as long as you breathe. No matter what your situation is, however busy you are, you can always start over and change your life.

On episode 88 of the WRITER 2.0 Podcast I spoke once again with author and book marketing expert Rachel Thompson of BadRedHeadMedia. We discussed: * her 30-day book marketing challenge, which is free and starts ‪February 1; * the biggest book marketing mistake she saw repeated over and over in 2015; * a marketing tactic that didn’t work as well in 2015 as it used to; * whether readers care if a book is traditionally published or indie published; * why more readers are reading on their phones. * how to brand yourself as an author BEFORE your book comes out. Plus, on “Today in Writing”—Of Mice and Men. [Powerpress] About our guest: Rachel Thompson is the author of newly released Broken Places (one of IndieReader’s “Best of 2015” top books and 2015 Honorable Mention Winner in the San Francisco Book Festival), and the multi award-winning Broken Pieces, as well as two additional humor books, A Walk In The Snark and Mancode: Exposed. Rachel is published and represented by Booktrope. She owns BadRedhead Media, creating effective social media and book marketing campaigns for authors. Her articles appear regularly in The Huffington Post, The San Francisco Book Review (BadRedhead Says…), 12Most.com, bitrebels.com, BookPromotion.com, and Self-Publishers Monthly. Not just an advocate for sexual abuse survivors, Rachel is the creator and founder of the hashtag phenomenon #MondayBlogs and the live Twitter chat, #SexAbuseChat, co-hosted with certified therapist/survivor, Bobbi Parish. She is also the director of the Gravity Imprint for Booktrope, bringing stories of trauma and recovery (fiction and nonfiction) to life. Read more about the Gravity authors and their books here. She hates walks in the rain, running out of coffee, and coconut. She lives in California with her family.

On episode 86 of the WRITER 2.0 Podcast I spoke with physician Kristin Seaborg about her recent memoir, The Sacred Disease: My Life With Epilepsy.  We discussed: the story of her first seizure, which she reconstructed from family accounts and medical records; the strange history of misunderstandings about epilepsy; how writing her memoir changed her; the basics of the current scientific understanding of epilepsy; the process of weaving narrative and history together for her memoir; the greatest misunderstanding she encounters about epilepsy. Plus, on Today in Writing, Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” breaks a world record. About our guest: Kristin Seaborg is a practicing pediatrician and an advocate for epilepsy awareness. Her memoir, The Sacred Disease: My Life With Epilepsy, was recently released and she hopes that writing about her disease will help decrease the stigma associated with seizures. She’s also donating 100% of author royalties from the sale of the book to CURE, which you can learn more about at www.cureepilepsy.org. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband and three children.

On episode 86 of the WRITER 2.0 Podcast I spoke with Drew Chapman, a long-time TV and movie writer who recently started publishing novels with Simon and Schuster. In a wide-ranging discussion, we touched on: * How a TV show gets from a writer’s mind to the screen; * His first novel, written in 4th grade;  * The Golden Age of TV—which we’re living in—and what’s going on with Amazon and Netflix; * How TV is changing the way we write; * Writing for the screen vs. writing novels; * The process of writing his debut novel, The Ascendant;  * His second novel, The King of Fear, and Simon and Schuster’s plan to release it digitally, in 3 parts;  * Getting your nose bloodied as a writer. Plus, on Today in Writing, Don McLean’s “American Pie.” About Our Guest: Drew Chapman was born and raised in New York City and graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in History. He’s been a staff writer for Disney Animation and has since written on projects for studios including Disney, Fox, Universal, Warner Brothers and Sony. He also wrote and directed the feature film, Stand Off. He works extensively in television, where he has sold pilots to ABC, Fox, Amazon, ABC Family, and Sony. In 2014 he wrote and produced an eight part limited series for ABC called The Assets, and this year wrote on and co-executive produced the second season of the spy show Legends for TNT.  His first novel, The Ascendant, was released by Simon & Schuster in 2014. The sequel, The King of Fear, will be published as an eBook series starting November 3, 2015, and will be released in paperback February 16, 2016.

On episode 85 of the WRITER 2.0 Podcast I was joined by Grammy winner Michael Wansley, AKA The Wanz. We talked about writing and performing the hook on “Thrift Shop,” the now-iconic song by Macklemore, and we also discussed his new book, #TheBookofWanz.  Plus: his earliest memories of singing; the 80s and 90s Seattle music scene; why he quit music and how he kept going through the tough times; the night “Thrift Shop” came about–June 12, 2012. Plus, on “Today in Writing,” happy birthday to John Milton. About our guest: Michael Wansley, AKA The Wanz, is a longtime Seattle musician who caught the tail of a comet in 2012 after being asked to sing the hook on Macklemore’s now iconic song “Thrift Shop.” He held on for dear life, riding it to worldwide success, 800 million views on YouTube, and even a Grammy!  Now, after that magical ride, Wanz has a new book, in which he shares the thoughts and philosophical musings he tweeted while on the road between 2012–2015 in his first literary effort, #TheBookOfWanz.