Port of Call

The Daily Port of Call: December 30, 2014

Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

In today’s Daily Port of Call, you’ll find the thirteen universal constants of creativity, how to launch your book with twenty-five reviews, and how authors have received the Kindle Unlimited buffet.

Learn the thirteen universal constants of creativity.

Find out how your hero sells the plot.

Here’s how you can launch your book with twenty-five Amazon reviews.

Discover twelve things to do after publishing an article.

Kindle Unlimited may be helpful to new authors, but many seasoned ones are leaving KDP Select.

Before the internet there were librarians who answered all sorts of questions. And there still are.

The Daily Port of Call: December 22, 2014

Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

In today’s Daily Port of Call, you’ll find several podcasts that cover everything from the craft of writing to publishing and marketing your book. Listening to podcasts is a great way to keep learning and thinking about writing when you’re not able to sit and do it. Take these great podcasts along with you as you travel this holiday season, commute to your day job, or walk in your neighborhood.

The Self-Publishing Podcast In this podcast, Johnny B. Truant, Sean Platt, and David Wright share nearly every aspect of their self-publishing journey. The shows are about an hour long, contain plenty of tips, real world experiences, and also some writerly shenanigans. Whether you’re just starting out or have been in self-publishing for a while, you’ll find plenty to think about and try here. Generally NSFW.

The Sell More Books Show Jim Kukral and Bryan Cohen host this show with a discussion of three tips of the week and the top five news stories to help indie authors effectively market their books. The show is about thirty minutes long, and is perfect if you want to stay on top of the latest tips but don’t have a lot of time.

The Author Marketing Podcast This is a new podcast from Author Marketing Institute, also hosted by Jim Kukral. Here you will find tasty morsels of tips and suggestions for what to do after you finish your first draft.

The Creative Penn Hosted by thriller author Joanna Penn, this podcast contains interviews with leading authors about a wide range of topics from the writing life to the writing business. Penn is a generous author who asks the questions I want answers to. It’s well worth the listen.

The Rocking Self-Publishing Podcast Hosted by Simon Whistler, professional audiobook narrator and author, this podcast also consists of interviews with successful indie authors on topics that range from getting started to selling and marketing. There are helpful tips woven through interesting discussions and plenty to think about.

Writing Excuses This podcast brings together Mary Robinette Kowal, Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells for conversations on all aspects of the writing craft. You’ll find rich discussions that will help you improve your writing and always a thoughtful writing prompt at the end.

Helping Writers Become Authors This podcast includes recordings of some of the blog posts from author K.M. Weiland on her site of the same name. Her writing tips are concise, spot on, and always helpful. Listen weekly for a dose of writing craft goodness.

These last three aren't directly about writing, but still support my writing journey in different ways.

Stuff You Missed in History Class. Tracy V. Wilson and Holly Frey host this history podcast that is chock full of writing ideas. Always fascinating and full of great details, the archives of this podcast are a great place to start researching a topic if you write historical fiction and entertaining even if you don’t.

Serial This is a new podcast hosted by Sarah Koenig (from This American Life) that tells one nonfiction story over the course of a season (twelve weeks). The first season of the podcast came after a year of researching a murder case that resulted in more questions than answers. The story contains great characters, interesting information about crime investigation for mystery writers, and a lot of food for thought.

Katy Says with Katy Bowman Bowman is a bio-mechanist who encourages plenty of natural movement and ditching habits that don’t support your health. Writing stamina depends on a healthy body, so give this podcast a try.