Ask the Author 2023 Season Wrap Up
Ask the Author Podcast Transcript
Episode 34, 18th December 2023
Ready for the best piece of writing advice ever? Jodi Gibson, author of REINVENTING EMILY BROWN shares a tip that will transform your craft.
Intro
In the intro, Jodi Gibson talks about winding up the year and the episode ahead which will be a reflection on the first year of Ask the Author Podcast–including your top five episodes! Have you missed any listener favourites?
Show Notes
- #5: Question 4: How long should my novel be?
- #4: Question 29: Tips for writing your first draft
- #3: Question 11: Dealing with imposter syndrome
- #2: Question 26: What are beta readers?
- #1: Question 15: Should authors read their reviews?
Episode Transcript
Today, it is the 15th of December 2023 that I'm recording this, so it's almost Christmas time. It's almost that time of the world where we shut down for a little while, where we take a breath, where we spend it with family, friends or doing something that takes us away from our everyday lives, at least for a few days or a week or so. The podcast and YouTube channel is going to be taking a little bit of a break over the holiday season. So I thought what a great time to do a bit of a wrap up episode for 2023. I thought I'd talk about the things that I've achieved this year, the things the podcast has achieved, and what we have talked about on the podcast, what's been the most popular posts.
So 2023 for me personally as an author, was a great year. I had another novel published in September, REINVENTING EMILY BROWN which, if you're on YouTube, you'll be able to see up behind me. That was my third novel, a feel good fiction about Emily, whose life has pretty much crashed down around her. She takes solace at her parents' little hideaway in the sleepy hamlet of Curlew Bay with her 15 year old daughter, who's none too happy about it, and she basically tries to reinvent herself and her life.
And obviously there's lots of trials and tribulations, a bit of romance (a second chance love), second starts, second chances at life. So it was a really fun novel to write and it's been doing quite well. So I'm really pleased with all the feedback that I've been getting from that and the reviews that have been coming in. So that was definitely a highlight for 2023. If you have read it, let me know, leave me a review, shout out all that sort of stuff, because it really does make a difference to hear from readers.
What else did I achieve this year? I also achieved another draft of my first crime novel, so I sent that off for a structural edit and I have that still in my inbox to go through, so I'm looking at tackling that early in the new year. Crime is a new genre for me, very challenging but also very enjoyable, and I've been working on this story for a little while, so I'm really looking forward to stepping back into it and seeing what it can become.
And then I also completed 40,000 words during NaNoWriMo of what I'm hoping will be my fourth published novel, and that's another feel good fiction, and I am totally in love with this story, which is always a good sign, especially when you're 40,000 words in. I didn't reach the 50,000 for NaNoWriMo to win, but I was okay with that and I'm looking forward to dipping back into that very early in the new year to finish off that first draft and hopefully moving forward with it. There's a few challenging little plot holes that I need to work out before I do that, but yeah, so for me, publishing and writing this year has been challenging. It's been fun, it's been rewarding, it's been all of those things that being an author is, and especially as a published author, so it was really a great year.
Looking back, what else have I achieved? So I've started this podcast for a start, and now a YouTube channel, so that was really exciting. The podcast Ask the Author is something that I'd been thinking about for a couple of years and hadn't really taken the leap to do it, I guess. So 2023 was the year that I did that, and here we are. We’re up to episode 34, which, since we started in April which is really exciting. We've got five star reviews on Apple podcasts, and downloads are increasing each week.
I get messages from people all the time saying they're loving it, and what they love about the episodes are that they're quick and they're snappy. They're really easy to listen to on your morning walk or commute or after you put the kids to bed at night, and just really concise information about a particular topic, which is exactly what I wanted it to be. I didn't want to be a long-winded podcast. You need to take an hour out of your day. There are plenty of those around and plenty of those that are fantastic, but I just wanted something short and sharp and snappy, and all of that just to give out some information, because people have asked me questions for a long time on little bits and pieces and although I'm not the fountain of knowledge on everything. I can give back some of the knowledge that I have.
So I'm really pleased that the podcast has taken off and now on YouTube, we're seeing how that goes. Youtube is a brand new platform for me, so I'm getting used to being on camera, getting used to editing and all that sort of stuff, working out visibility and all of that.
So that's the goal for 2024 is to make a podcast and the YouTube channel to the next level, and I'm hoping to keep the same sort of format for 2024 and maybe with a couple of extra things thrown in. So if there's something particular you would like from the podcast, please let me know in the comments below if you're on YouTube or shoot me a message, because I'd really like this podcast to be serving you as a writer, because that's what it's all about, and if you have a question you'd like answered, you know where to find me.
What else have I done this year? I opened myself up for mentoring, so one-on-one sessions, mentoring and I've had I think I've had six or seven clients since I've opened up and that has been so rewarding. One of the things that I find being a writer is I'm not happy just writing and publishing, writing and publishing. I really need something that is more rewarding than that and that is totally rewarding and I love every part of that.
But for me, giving back to the writing community, and particularly writers who are starting out and aspiring, maybe they've published their first novel, maybe they still haven't got a publishing contract. It's really important and rewarding for me to give back to those people. So mentoring was another way that I can do that and I love our mentor sessions. I've had some wonderful clients come through and I've really seen them really power forward and have their own success, which has been fantastic. And to be a very tiny minute, a small part of that is totally amazing.
And I also continued my Write Squad sessions on Instagram. If you don't know what they are, every Thursday at 10 am Australian Eastern time, I jump on Instagram live and we have a little bit of a chat with the writers who pop on and then we do some writing. So I sit there and I'm live on screen. I'm working on my project, people at home are working on their projects and we write for about 40 minutes and then we come back and have a little chat at the end, and have been doing that Thursdays and some Monday nights as well, and it's just been fantastic.
Write Squad is my favourite time of the week. Not only do I get some words down so you know it's for me too, but other people get to join in and get words down as well and it really makes you sit in the chair and focus for that 40 minute period and you know you can write 500 words in that time. You can write. People in the session, you know, write over 1200 words, which is so great, and that's their writing session done for the day.
So, and you're doing it with other people and we've got a great community and made some great friendships and we were also supportive of each other. We talk about the highs and the lows and the challenges, and it's just really great fun to connect with other writers. So that's also been rewarding. That's Write Squad on Instagram. If you're on Instagram, you can check me out there. Jf Gibson, writer. You'll find me and I'll see you soon.
Along with the Write Squad on Instagram, I started a Write Squad Community Newsletter which goes out once a week to writers, now specifically for writers. There is my other newsletter, which is for readers, but this one is specifically for writers and I basically take all the hard work out of finding stuff for you. So I scour the internet to find great articles and links, competitions that may be opening, submissions that are opening.
There's always some great courses that I found and come across that are taking people in these articles just really some interesting stuff. There might be five, six, seven, eight links a week that I send through really really short. You can, you know, scroll through it in 30 seconds, find something that might be interested, interesting for you at your point in your career and If there is great, if not, there might be something in next week.
So it's a really great way for writers to just get some information without having to spend hours looking for it, and that's been fantastic. So I've built a nice little community there who are right squad community newsletter members. So I'm expanding that next year there'll still be the newsletter, but I'm also going to take that community to the next level, so there's plans for next year as well. So 2023 has been great and I've got some wonderful plans for 2024. I'm really excited.
But let's talk about the podcast. So the podcast started back I think it was in April and I did a little teaser episode and then I did. The first episode was just me talking about me, just why I was starting the podcast and who I was and what I was just experiencing and knowledge I had to give back and I was just blown away from the feedback of those first couple of episodes. It was fantastic. And I've just seen the podcast just grow week to week and it's been absolutely brilliant.
It's gone beyond what I thought it would. I thought I might have five listeners a week for the first little 12 months and it's it's way more than that. I mean, we're not hitting the top of the charts. We are and I say we because I feel like it's our podcast, me and you. But the podcast is regularly in the AU Top 100 Charts, which is great. Obviously, some episodes resonate more than others. So my top five, which I found really interesting getting the stats for these, so my top five episodes for the year, then we'll go backwards.
#5: Question 4: How long should my novel be?
So number five is episode number four, which is where I talked about how long should my novel be. So we're talking about word lengths for novels. That was a really great episode because so many people, particularly new writers, want to know how many words do I actually have to write to finish this thing and it obviously varies from genre to genre. So it was easy to talk about that and I had some great feedback.
#4: Question 29: Tips for writing your first draft
The fourth most popular Ask the Author podcast episode for this year was Number 29 - tips for writing your first draft. Now, that was only a fairly recent one and I think I released that around NaNoWriMo, so I can see why that was quite popular around that time. Tips for getting that first draft out quickly, that messy first draft. It's going to be messy because it always is, and there were some great tips in that one.
#3: Question 11: Dealing with imposter syndrome
The third most popular episode and I actually thought this would be number one, was Number 11 - dealing with imposter syndrome. It was all about dealing with self-doubt, fear, imposter syndrome, all of those things that all of us writers, published authors, famous published authors still deal with. It's something that's a constant when you are a writer and I had some amazing feedback from that episode, some personal messages just saying thank you, for I feel seen because and it's just like a roller coaster I'd love another analogy, but it's just like a roller coaster because you go through that ebb and flow, that those ups and downs of feeling those feelings and they're not great, because you really doubt yourself and I know people who have given up. I've been there myself. I wanted to give up writing in those low moments and you just have to push through and you just have to just keep going pretty much. But there are strategies and ways you can deal with that. So if that's something that affects you which I'm sure it does, it affects every writer, I know.
#2: Question 26: What are beta readers?
Episode 26 on beta readers, what are they and what do I use them for? That one surprised me. I was actually quite surprised how popular that episode was. But people obviously want to know all about beta readers. So if you want to know about beta readers, question number 26 and
#1: Question 15: Should authors read their reviews?
The most popular, most downloaded episode of Ask the Author for this year, which if you haven't listened to it, you should get onto it because it's popular. Number 15, should authors read their reviews? Now, I had fun with this episode because it's a topic that can be quite hot between authors, particularly those who say, nope, I'm never reading a review. Then nothing good can ever come from it. Do not read your reviews. To the other side. You should read your reviews. You need that feedback from where what readers are getting from your books. Are you hitting their expectations? Where did you miss their expectations? Are there some reviewers out there who are just nasty? And the answer to that is yes, there are. So, depending on which side of the fence you're sitting on or if you're in the middle somewhere, you might like to have a listen to that episode, because it was the most popular and you can hear all about my opinion on whether to read your reviews or not. That was question number 15, the most popular episode of Ask the Author for 2023.
I've had a ball with the podcast this year. I am so thrilled that others are enjoying it and listening to it on a regular basis. Thank you so much. Please share it. Please send your love my way, because it makes it all worthwhile. But, as I said, the podcast will continue in 2024. We are going to take a short break and then I'll be back with season two.
In Summary
So if you've got some questions you'd like answered or ideas or things you'd love to hear about on the podcast or the YouTube channel. If you're enjoying the YouTube channel, please let me know. That would be great. Just send them my way. You'll find me at my website, www.jfgibson.com.au or on Instagram is my preferred social media platform at JF Gibson Writer.
And yeah, and also, before I forget, I have to have a special thank you to Karen. Karen has bought me a coffee on Kofi and that was just a wonderful way for her to share that she's been enjoying the podcast and giving back it. Those sort of things. Those one-off donations really do help me with the editing and paying for the editing and the hosting and all that sort of stuff, because my time is free and I have to put in for that sort of thing. So to have you guys who have donated in the past and Karen this week, it's just it's. It makes me just feel like this is all worthwhile and that I'm on the right track and I feel so grateful. I really do feel very, so grateful for that, karen. Thank you so much.
Okay, I'm out of here. Thank you so much for listening and watching. I will be back in 2024. Have a wonderful holiday season, whatever it is you do to spend the next few weeks or January holidays, if you're in a nice, sunny place like Australia, and I will be back in 2024, so until then, happy writing.