The Holistic Author Show
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Episode 25: When To Tackle Projects On Your Own?
You're thinking about publishing a book, or perhaps starting a subscription story, or maybe a newsletter, or some new social media. But when do you use existing publishers, software platforms and packages, and when do you decide to do it yourself (self-publishing,...
Thinking About the Creative Nervous System
You've heard me talk about the creative nervous system, but what is it exactly? And how can you figure out your creative nervous system type? In this episode I discuss the three parts to the creative nervous system, where they come from, how they work together, and...
Genre is a Social Construct
Genre seems ubiquitous. You walk into a bookstore and once you get past the tables at the front of the store, the rest of it is shelved neatly by genre. But have you ever thought about why stores do this or why you talk about the genre in which you write? Does genre...
Why Mindset Doesn’t Always Work
Just think positive. That's what's supposed to fix all our ills, and I won't deny that being able to see all the sides of a situation, not just the negative can help. But there's a lot that goes into our mindset, the way we think, and 'just thinking positive' doesn't...
When To Think About Your Author Mindset
Mindset is one of those things that people talk a lot about, but they don't give a lot of specifics on. You have a lot to handle when you're an independent author. When do you actually work on your mindset and is it something you need to focus on all the time? More...
What Authors Need To Know About Open Source Software
Authors have a lot of choices out there for the software they use for their author business. Newsletter providers, website frameworks, even word processing and operating systems. What are the downsides to open source software and how can a non-technical author take...
The Downside of Patreon and Membership Alternatives
In this episode I detail the issues that have affected Patreon since roughly Sept 2022 and how these can cause authors to lose income or depending on what they write, affect their ability to be on the platform at all. Additionally, I mention a few alternatives. Links...
Dealing with Severe Burnout Part 2
In the second part of this two part series, I discuss how to pick up and put the pieces back together after serious burnout. How do you decide which projects to pick up and which to discard? I also talk about the most important consideration for deciding how to move...
Dealing with Severe Burnout Part 1
In the first of this two part series, I talk about burnout as it is commonly discussed and why for neurodivergent authors our burnout can be something more. We often don't realize we're in burnout or understand what burnout is or how it works. I push back against the...
World Building Beyond The Book
When writing fiction one of the things you have to think about is your setting. For fantasy and science fiction, especially, the setting can be a major component of the story. But do you world build just enough for the story you're writing or do you build a bigger...
Why I am submitting stories again
I've been completely self-published, all indie all the time, since probably about 2006-2007. I mean sure, I published through my own publication company (And we published as many as 75 authors over the company's lifespan.), but I still consider that self-publishing...
Thinking About Ergonomics
As writers we often spent a lot of time at our desks. If we spent that time with our body out of alignment (I know I find myself leaning forward and propping up my head on my elbow to read long articles), or typing with bad posture, that's going to reflect itself in...