23:38

S01:E25 Sep 7, 2024

When Do You 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, open source software, etc.)? This is a pretty broad question, but one that’s vital to the publishing world today. You have so many options? Which do you choose? Well, I can’t answer those questions for you, but what I can do is talk you through why you want to think about this and give you some things to consider. And if you still have questions? Reach out! As an author technologist, this is what I love to do.

19:12

S01:E24 Jul 18, 2024

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 why it’s vital for an author to know, and be able to identify, each of them and how they’re impacting their writing life.

25:26

S01:E23 Jul 11, 2024

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 matter? And is it okay to mix and mingle genres like making your own watercolor paints? Can genre actually be a limiting factor in your writing? I ponder these questions on today’s show.

24:58

S01:E23 Jul 11, 2024

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 work for everyone for a very simple reason–our brains aren’t all working the same. In this episode I will talk about mindset, why it can be lying to yourself, and how to understand working with it without resorting to toxic positivity or blocking emotions.

24:45

S01:E22 Jun 14, 2024

When To Think about An 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 importantly, what is your mindset in general terms, not those couched in pop psychology and internet memes. In this episode, I talk about mindset and how it applies to your author business. This is the first of several podcast episodes talking about this topic, so stay tuned.

21:28

S01:E21 May 21, 2024

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 advantage of the benefits? Learn that and more in this episode.

25:53

S01:E20 Feb 20, 2024

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 mentioned in the show: Epona Author Solutions’ Patreon Kit’s Membership Group

19:51

S01:E19 Feb 13, 2024

Dealing with Severe Burnout Part 2

ick 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 forward. Join me for both parts of this series, and if you like what I’m talking about here, please visit Chicken Yogi where I talk specifically to neurodivergent individuals.

27:15

S01:E18 Feb 6, 2024

Dealing with Severe Burnout

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 “cure narrative”, especially for neurodivergent individuals, and talk about how I, as an author, use my annual word count to really tell me when I’m in burnout. Join me for both parts of this series, and if you like what I’m talking about here, please visit Chicken Yogi where I talk specifically to neurodivergent individuals.

24:07

S01:E17 Jan 30, 2024

Thoughts on Marketing

In this episode I finally give in and tell you what I really think about marketing. As a neurodivergent person, marketing can be incredibly difficult, and I’m not alone on this. It’s something I hear from other neurodivergent people too. But marketing isn’t just tough for neurodivergent folk, it’s tough for all of us, and it’s getting more difficult too. I wouldn’t exactly call this a rant, but I also don’t hold back when I talk about marketing. Are you ready? Go listen.

21:49

S01:E16 Jan 23, 2024

World Building Beyond The Book

or 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 world? I talk about my Musimagium world, which for me stretches back into history and forward into the future (and I’ve written some of those stories), but also stretches beyond the confines of the story. While building my world is a bit of a special interest of mine, and I find the more I write the larger this universe becomes. But also, as an author, I think when you create a vast world, it gives you more to work with and the readers can tell, too. Enjoy this episode where I talk about one of my favorite topics–world building.

22:30

S01:E15 Jan 16, 2024

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 since I did all the work. Recently, I’ve thought about submitting stories again and have had several very interesting calls for submission coming across my feed. While (spoiler alert), the story I talked about writing for a class and submitting did eventually get a rejection notice, I’m finding this writing for submission calls an interesting and fascinating exercise that’s helping to spark my muse.

17:05

S01:E14 Jan 11, 2024

Thinking About Ergonomics

As writers we spent a lot of time at our desks and ergonomics matter. Visit the show notes to see the link to your workstation assessment, as well as see how I finished out my desk. Now, if I could just stop leaning forward to read long articles.

17:54

S01:E13 Jan 9, 2024

Numinous Writing

In this episode I’m going to get a little esoteric, and maybe a little spiritual, and talk about “numinous writing”. Otto coined the term numinous to refer to something sacred with otherworldly qualities, and I’m a firm believer that an author’s act of creating stories out of their minds, hearts, and if so you choose to believe, souls, counts as an experience with a numinous quality. So don’t worry, I’m not going to get organized religious on you, but instead, I want to talk about how this sacred quality to our writing, and treating it as something more than a “job” or a way to make money, but instead like a vocation or a calling, can help us to remain balanced and yes, holistic, in our approach to being authors. I hope you enjoy this sidequest to our podcast.

24:25

S01:E12 Jan 2, 2024

Mastodon for Authors

With the spectacular and foreseen implosion of Twitter over the past year or more, and corporate-owned social media making it more difficult for smaller creators to gain traction, not to mention followers, and engagement, where is an author to go in search of readers? I, and many other authors, have found a new home in the Fediverse – on Mastodon. Join me as I discuss what Mastodon (and the Fediverse) is, how it differs from social media, and invite you to find a server to begin, such as Epona Author’s own EponaAuthor.Social. (See a full list of links in the show notes on our MuseCharmer page.)

18:30

S01:E11 Dec 26, 2023

Why I am pivoting from the Wellness Wheel

In this episode, which marks my pivot from the earlier episodes marked, I discuss why I’m moving away from the Wellness Wheel and the Wellness term/industry in general when it comes to doing my coaching and creativity work.

21:31

S01:E10 Dec 24, 2023

The Fight-Flight-Freeze Response

When it comes to writing, or doing activities around them like marketing, are you experiencing a fight, flight, or freeze response? These are normal ways in which our bodies handle stress. But they can impact your writing life. Learn more in this episode.

23:54

S01:E09 Dec 23, 2023

Cultivate A Daily Writing Habit

Note: These early episodes (through episode 8) were recorded quite some time ago. The podcast has changed focus since then, as has Author Yogi. Episode 10 discusses the change in focus. The information is still good, so that is why these episodes are being published. In this episode we’ll talk about how to cultivate a daily writing habit and the best way to do so.

23:07

S01:E08 Dec 22, 2023

Explaining the Emotional Levels of the Wellness Wheel

Note: These early episodes (through episode 8) were recorded quite some time ago. The podcast has changed focus since then, as has Author Yogi. Episode 10 discusses the change in focus. The information is still good, so that is why these episodes are being published. This episode dives deeper into the many layers of the wellness wheel that falls under “emotional”

21:15

S01:E07 Dec 21, 2023

How do you organize a book?

Note: These early episodes (through episode 8) were recorded quite some time ago. The podcast has changed focus since then, as has Author Yogi. Episode 10 discusses the change in focus. The information is still good, so that is why these episodes are being published. This episode gets more into the “nuts and bolts” of writing and talks about how to organize a book. Whether you’re writing linearly or in flashbacks or putting together a memoir or essay collection, organizing the book is one of the most important decisions you can make.

24:08

S01:E06 Dec 20, 2023

Finding the Love In Writing

Note: These early episodes (through episode 8) were recorded quite some time ago. The podcast has changed focus since then, as has Author Yogi. Episode 10 discusses the change in focus. The information is still good, so that is why these episodes are being published. Part of having a long lasting writing career is loving what you’re doing. In this episode, I talk about finding the love of writing, and making sure you are loving what you do when it comes to publishing.

22:32

S01:E05 Dec 20, 2023

The Multi-Genre Author

Note: These early episodes (through episode 8) were recorded quite some time ago. The podcast has changed focus since then, as has Author Yogi. Episode 10 discusses the change in focus. The information is still good, so that is why these episodes are being published. Do you write in more than one genre? If so you’re singing my song (and I’ve love to interview you for this or one of my other podcasts – reach out!) In this episode I talk about my experience as a multi-genre (multi-passionate) author and how I think that helps my experience of being an author.

22:35

S01:E04 Dec 19, 2023

The Word Count Wars

Note: These early episodes (through episode 8) were recorded quite some time ago. The podcast has changed focus since then, as has Author Yogi. Episode 10 discusses the change in focus. The information is still good, so that is why these episodes are being published. One of the biggest ways we, as authors, compare ourselves to others is in daily word counts. It’s tough not to see the big numbers some people put on their social media and feel like you’re missing out or compare yourself to them. But like most things on social media, you only see the highlight reels, and everyone’s life is different. In this episode, I talk about how word counts can be encouraging and discouraging and how to handle it if you’re a writer (like me) who has “life” or “health” interfere with your daily writing habit more often then you’d like.

22:08

S01:E03 Dec 19, 2023

How Creativity and the Wellness Wheel Go Together

Note: These early episodes (through episode 8) were recorded quite some time ago. The podcast has changed focus since then, as has Author Yogi. Episode 10 discusses the change in focus. The information is still good, so that is why these episodes are being published. The wellness wheel is a creation used by many organizations to help create a work-life balance. In this episode, I talk about how it can be defined within the publishing world. While my work as the Author Yogi no longer relies as heavily on the wellness wheel, as I move away from wellness and toward liberation, I think it’s still valuable insight and can be helpful to many.

33:07

S01:E02 Dec 19, 2023

What is the publishing paradigm?

Note: These early episodes (through episode 8) were recorded quite some time ago. The podcast has changed focus since then, as has Author Yogi. Episode 10 discusses the change in focus. The information is still good, so that is why these episodes are being published. In this episode, I talk about the current publishing paradigm and why we need a new one. From rapid release to marketers selling tips and tricks, capitalism has its hooks in publishing. It’s time to be aware of it, so we can change the industry to be healthier for everyone.