Panel Discussion with Writers and Pages & Platforms
This year’s summit ends with a candid conversation among four members of the Happily Ever Author Club: Sue Dockstader, Kathryn Brown Ramsperger, Michael Aquino-Dulay, and Dawnielle Jacobson. Host Sue Campbell leads the panel, with developmental editors Anne Holly and Rachelle Ramirez joining in. Listen in as the panelists describe the mindset shifts that kept them writing. The episode closes the summit with a reminder to be patient with yourself and to keep writing anyway.
00:05 Welcome to the final session, plus closing announcements
07:23 Sue: from marketing helper to novelist, and “the story you tell yourself”
12:11 Kathy: why every writer needs support, urgent vs. important, and finishing the first draft
15:36 Michael: breaking out of the perfectionism loop
19:45 Dawnielle: from burnout to a consistent practice and an author platform
26:06 Audience Q&A: turning a draft into a memoir
27:30 How to stop editing while you draft
31:51 Promoting your book when you’re a behind-the-scenes person
36:35 Revising in focused passes, and distilling your story to one through line
41:01 Balancing ambition and deadlines with grace
50:21 How the marketing mindset carries into the rest of life
56:55 Showing two characters’ interiority without head hopping
58:22 Closing thanks and farewell