Podcast Feed
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
Ask the Editors with Rachelle Ramirez and Anne Hawley
In this live Q&A, developmental editors Anne Holly and Rachelle Ramirez of Pages & Platforms answer attendees’ writing and editing questions. You can read Rachelle’s post on “What Type of Editor Do You Need?” here: https://www.pagesandplatforms.com/blog/what-type-of-editor-do-you-need Download the Story Types Guide at: https://pagesandplatforms.b-cdn.net/Write%20Anyway%20Summit/WA26/Story-Types-Guide.pdf
00:14 Welcome and housekeeping
05:34 Grammarly vs. ProWritingAid, and drafting in a second language
08:52 How polished your manuscript needs to be for editors and publishers
12:35 Do editing tools use AI?
14:23 Genre specialties and how to find a trusted editor
21:32 Traditional, hybrid, or self-publishing?
23:39 What to do when “nothing happens” in a scene
28:04 Telling agents and publishers about AI-assisted tools
29:44 Using story types for nonfiction
32:29 First vs. third person, and why switching later is hard
36:42 Copyright and sharing drafts with an editor
41:26 How to work through developmental notes
44:20 Opening with a dramatic event vs. the character’s ordinary world
46:48 World-building without losing momentum
49:22 Developmental editing timelines and pricing
53:54 Beta readers vs. “alpha” readers
56:27 Mixing first- and third-person points of view
58:43 Closing comments
Live Author Mindset Coaching #4 with Sue Campbell
Sue Campbell opens the floor for live mindset coaching with writers from the Write Anyway audience. Nearly every session comes back to one idea: the story you tell yourself creates the emotion that drives what you do next. Watching someone else get coached is one of the fastest ways to learn the tools, so listen for the questions and techniques you can try on your own writing.
00:00 Introduction and how the coaching works
03:47 Participant 1: keeping the writing going after returning to a busy day job
20:09 Participant 2: perfectionism slowing down a first draft
34:15 Participant 3: guilt about taking writing time as a parent
43:06 Participant 4: making room to write when other commitments fill the day
51:52 Participant 5: overwhelm while querying and building a platform
1:04:38 Closing comments
Get Your Memoir Unstuck with Rachelle Ramirez
If your memoir has been stuck for years, the problem may be that you haven’t decided what story you’re telling. In this session, developmental editor Rachelle Ramirez uses examples from bestselling memoirs to illustrate how the seven story types apply to the memoir genre. A Q&R session follows the main presentation. Download the Story Types Guide at: https://pagesandplatforms.b-cdn.net/Write%20Anyway%20Summit/WA26/Story-Types-Guide.pdf
00:03 Welcome
03:12 What a memoir is and isn’t: memoir vs. autobiography
13:33 Zero drafts and the six elements of a professional draft
17:19 The seven story types, with example memoirs for each
37:57 One house renovation, four possible story types
40:23 How knowing your story type helps you finish your draft
46:26 Q&A begins
47:37 When your memoir reads like an autobiography
49:07 Writing about real people in your life
54:04 Can you write a memoir without dramatic hardship?
56:26 When your story seems to fit every story type
58:37 Pairing an external and an internal story type
1:01:52 Publishing memoir pieces on Substack first
1:04:32 Writing as processing, and when it may be too soon
1:12:34 Closing advice: be brave in your first draft
Live Author Mindset Coaching #3 with Sue Campbell
Sue Campbell opens the floor for live mindset coaching with writers from the Write Anyway audience. Nearly every session comes back to one idea: the story you tell yourself creates the emotion that drives what you do next. Watching someone else get coached is one of the fastest ways to learn the tools, so listen for the questions and techniques you can try on your own writing.
00:00 Introduction and how the coaching works
03:59 Participant 1: protecting writing time from interruptions
15:37 Participant 2: building an audience while finishing a memoir
28:37 Participant 3: getting back to the novel after a big life transition
41:08 Participant 4: writing about strongly held views without straining relationships
51:00 Participant 5: staying steady through the agent query process
56:09 Closing comments
ADHD Writers Q&R with Rachelle Ramirez
ADHD can make the usual writing advice feel like fingernails on a chalkboard. In this session, book coach and developmental editor Rachelle Ramirez addresses questions about writing with an ADHD brain. Her main point is that ADHD writers usually don’t lack motivation. What’s hard is getting started. She offers four levers for getting into the work: interest, challenge, novelty, and urgency.
Timestamps
0:00 Welcome
0:55 What ADHD looks like, and whether a diagnosis matters
4:03 It’s not a motivation problem, it’s a starting problem
8:57 The four levers: interest, challenge, novelty, and urgency
15:00 Getting started again after a diagnosis
17:37 Hyperfocus, losing track of time, and “landing rituals”
22:35 Working on more than one project: primary and secondary
28:42 Keeping discovery alive while plotting structure
35:27 When life keeps interrupting: systems that cut down on decisions
44:40 When standard advice doesn’t fit: try it, modify it, or do the opposite
52:44 Stuck on where the story goes, plus the “success log”
58:14 Finding or starting the right writing group
1:02:05 Low time and energy, and learning to say no
1:05:56 Guilt and grief after a late diagnosis
1:18:38 Imposter syndrome
1:22:37 Coming back to writing after burnout
1:25:29 Closing comments
Live Author Mindset Coaching #2 with Sue Campbell
Sue Campbell opens the floor for live mindset coaching with writers from the Write Anyway audience. Nearly every session comes back to one idea: the story you tell yourself creates the emotion that drives what you do next. Watching someone else get coached is one of the fastest ways to learn the tools, so listen for the questions and techniques you can try on your own writing.
00:00 Introduction and how the coaching works
04:03 Participant 1: having plenty of time but still not writing
13:13 Participant 2: finding the story type for a difficult memoir
23:37 Participant 3: untangling an overwhelming unfinished draft
46:25 Participant 4: the pressure of writing your “magnum opus”
53:57 Participant 5: fear that readers aren’t connecting with the work
1:01:38 Closing comments
Pick the Brain of a Bestselling Author with Laura Munson
Bestselling author Laura Munson participates in an open “pick my brain” session where she fields questions on marketing, writing groups, revisions, and more. Her advice comes back to three words: be playful, curious, and kind. Get a free journal writing practice and more from Laura at https://lauramunson.com/resources/
00:33 Welcome and introduction of Laura Munson
05:07 How do you know when a piece is finished?
10:15 Marketing and publicity: what falls on the author now
15:03 Writing groups, and whether publishing gets you into a “club”
19:09 Too drained to write? Keeping the writer and editor apart
24:08 Building a long career: ego, rejection, and money
30:12 Spiritual themes for teen readers without preaching
37:52 When you’re unmotivated: “low tide” and the companion journal
43:10 When each revision becomes a different story
49:54 Revising without a writing group or critique partners
53:14 Show versus tell, and the “wise narrator” in memoir
57:20 Laura’s free resources and closing comments
Capacity Meter: Find Out Exactly What You’ve Got to Give (So You Can Give It to Your Book) with Jessica Abel
Cartoonist, author, and business coach for creatives Jessica Abel introduces her free Capacity Meter, a quick private tool for seeing how much time and energy you have right now. Capacity combines your calendar with your health, sleep, caregiving, money pressure, and emotional load. Plan around it and you can drop the shame when a plan falls apart. Sue Campbell takes the tool for a live walkthrough, then the audience tries it and brings questions. Get the Capacity Meter at https://jessicaabel.com/capacity-meter/
00:05 Welcome and introduction of Jessica Abel
01:40 What capacity is and why it matters for writers
05:14 Capacity Meter demo: gut read, then the questions (with Sue)
14:08 Reading the results: what the number and the gut-check gap tell you
19:10 Your turn: everyone tries the Capacity Meter
23:20 Live Q&A begins
26:28 Q&A: finishing a book while building an audience (capacity vs. criteria)
31:04 Q&A: very low capacity, and how to get help with little money
38:01 Q&A: high capacity but not getting much done
44:48 Q&A: ADHD, burnout, and building flexible habits
51:29 Q&A: lowering the bar and the two-minute writing habit
55:50 Closing comments and where to get the tool
Can You Edit Your Own Manuscript? with Rachelle Ramirez and Anne Hawley
Can you edit your own novel without hiring an editor? Rachelle Ramirez and Anne Hawley say yes, and this webinar shows you how. They walk through common manuscript problems and a practical tool for each. A Q&A session follows the main presentation. Download the Story Types Guide at: https://pagesandplatforms.b-cdn.net/Write%20Anyway%20Summit/WA26/Story-Types-Guide.pdf
0:06 Welcome and introductions
4:27 Cutting a 230,000-word novel: a real editing story
10:17 The levels of editing
13:49 Problem 1: the seven story types
42:25 Problem 2: pacing and the four-act structure
46:18 Problem 3: what makes a scene work
50:17 Tips for editing your own novel (and hiring an editor)
54:03 Q&A begins
1:02:52 Editing software
1:07:56 AI and authenticity
1:11:05 Yes, you can edit without hiring an editor, plus building your own writing group
1:16:58 When readers misinterpret or “don’t connect” with your work
1:21:27 Scenes versus chapters, and how to find your scenes
1:28:08 Worldview versus validation stories
1:30:12 Closing comments
Live Author Mindset Coaching #1 with Sue Campbell
Sue Campbell opens the floor for live mindset coaching with writers from the Write Anyway audience. Nearly every session comes back to one idea: the story you tell yourself creates the emotion that drives what you do next. Watching someone else get coached is one of the fastest ways to learn the tools, so listen for the questions and techniques you can try on your own writing.
00:19 Introduction and how the coaching works
06:01 Participant 1: taming a first draft that keeps ballooning
13:48 Participant 2: restarting a stalled memoir
23:14 Participant 3: telling real fear from the inner saboteur
34:03 Participant 4: starting projects but never finishing them
47:28 Participant 5: dealing with anxiety and rejection
58:15 Closing comments