All Episodes
Episodes
138. Why It’s Hard to Be Happy
You did the thing! You sold your debut novel, earned out your advance, or finished a draft of a book you love. So… why don’t you feel happy? Why can’t you feel proud or excited about what you’ve done? Why are you...
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137. How to Increase Your Writing Stamina
If you want to write more often (or for longer periods of time), you need to build up your writing stamina.
Trying to go from no writing to daily 2-hour sessions is like a non-runner trying to run a marathon without...
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136. The Anxiety of Waiting
There is a lot of waiting in traditional publishing. Waiting to hear back from agents. Waiting for notes form your editor. Waiting for permission to share your good book news. All of this waiting can lead to...
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135. Building New Beliefs
What you believe about yourself, the types of books you write, and your place in publishing has a huge impact on how you show up to writing sessions. But how do you find out what you belief? And if you find a...
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134. Staying Power in Publishing
Only 5% of authors stay in publishing long enough to release 12 books over the course of their career. And while that’s an admittedly small percentage, it doesn’t have to be cause for alarm. Today on the podcast, I...
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133. Tips for Easier Drafting
Isabel coaches picture book author Katie Venit as she makes the shift to writing novels. While Katie enjoys planning, outlining, and revising, she feels a lot of resistance to writing the first draft. Isabel coaches...
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132. Avoiding Overwhelm w/ Multiple Deadlines
Isabel coaches debut author Erica Eberhart on the overwhelm that comes from juggling multiple deadlines for different books in her series.
Her first novel, Tarnished, comes out January 21, 2025.
To learn more about...
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131. Caring Less about Social Media Metrics
Isabel coaches debut romantasy author, Shalini Abeysekara, on defining success, putting less importance on social media metrics, and connecting to what she loves about her story.
Her debut, The Monster of Mine, is due...
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130. Easing into the Next Project
Isabel coaches debut author Lacey N. Dunham on her Book 2 anxiety, including how to lean into your natural process and when to loop in your agent to get clarity about the pros and cons of different delivery dates for...
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129. When Writing Makes You Freeze
Isabel coaches L.L. Madrid about what to do when you feel yourself freezing up when you sit down to write. This is a common response for many authors who achieve a new level of success in their career (such as finally...
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128. Second Book Insecurities
Isabel coaches Sasa Hawk on the (very normal!) insecurities about her second book, imposter syndrome, and the fear of disappointing her editor. Later in the episode, the pair talk about simplifying marketing and...
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127. Choosing Your Next Project
Isabel coaches Michelle J on how to choose which project to write next and how to make the most of short downtime between edit passes.
Michelle's debut, The Divide that Binds Us, releases May 16, 2025. You can...
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