[TheChamp-Sharing]

SHOW NOTES

Quick overview this week's show:

• Why I started this podcast and what to expect
• Why branding is important for writers
• How this show is one big experiment for me

 

TRANSCRIPT

 

I’m Michael La Ronn and this is the Writer’s Journey Podcast, where you get a window into the life of a working science fiction & fantasy author. I’m on a mission to go from nobody to bestseller, and I’m documenting every step of the way. Tune in every week as I share my progress, and discover what inspires my books and how I write them. You can find the show notes for today’s chapter at michaellaronn.com/Podcast.

 

This week, I’m talking about the writing life.

 

Hello Anchor Nation, and welcome to the inaugural episode of the Writer’s Journey. I have some fun plans for this show.

 

A little about me: I’m the author of over 40 books of science fiction & fantasy. I started publishing in 2014. I am a writer because I had a near-death experience in 2012 that made me realize that this is the path I want to walk.

 

What I want to accomplish with this podcast is to invite people along as I try to figure all of this stuff out. Writing. Marketing. The business of publishing. My ultimate goal is to be a bestseller, but also a full-time author. I want to live life on my own terms, and I want to get my art in the hands of millions of people worldwide, in book format, audiobook, graphic novels, movies, etc.

 

I don’t expect this to happen overnight. Or even next year. But I’m willing to work hard toward it and chip away one day at a time. 

 

And if fail miserably—[CUE SOUND] Then I'm okay with that. I dream big, so I'm willing to fail big, too.

 

I will be doing this show weekly, with every week covering a different aspect of my journey.

 

The first week of the month, I’ll be talking about the writing life. I’ll be musing, ranting, and everything in between. Don’t be afraid to say amen every once in a while, and do me a favor and push that yellow clap button on Anchor if you like what I have to say.

 

The second week of the month, I will do some readings from my sketchbook, which is a notebook where I keep my ideas—I literally have tens of thousands of notes and observations that I've taken over the years from random thoughts and people watching sessions. These will be short and inspirational. I'm looking forward to this segment because I've never shared these before.

 

The third week of the month, I’m going to open a window into my process. You’re going to get a backstage pass into what’s going through my head as I write my novels. I’m also going to share nuts and bolts stuff that both readers and writers will find intriguing. For example, if there's a writing technique that I try in one of my books that seems to work well, I'll share it. I'm always trying new stuff whenever I sit down to write. This may very well be the most interesting week of the show—stay tuned.

 

Finally, for the last week of the month, I’ll be sharing a progress report of my current book project as well as marketing tactics I'm using to build my career, mistakes and all. I'll also be taking listener questions. You can ask me anything and I’ll answer. If I don’t get any questions, I’ll make some up and answer them myself.

 

***

 

I opened the show with a clip from a recent episode of my other podcast at the moment, the AskAlli Member Q&A Podcast. A listener of that show asked how to promote a nonfiction book with limited time and money. My short answer was to work on personal branding, as that sells books both in the short and long term.

That got me thinking about my own personal branding. It's actually why I started this show.

 

I've been neglecting social media lately. I've been kicking this can down the road because I just didn't feel comfortable with all the options out there. I'm not a Facebook or Instagram guy. I am not someone who takes a lot of pictures, and the world doesn’t need any more food pics, so the visual sharing route didn’t make sense for my personality type. I struggled with the idea of doing a podcast, but when I found Anchor, it made me think about podcasting differently.

 

I kept telling myself that my life was not exciting enough to do a podcast. I think a lot of authors say that. But I’m going to try to prove myself wrong.

 

A solo podcast in many respects is the most difficult to do because I have to keep your attention. I’m going to try some different techniques with this show and try to do some things that haven’t been done before. I want this to be engaging and fun, but if you find yourself doing this:

 

[CUE SNORING SOUND]

 

Let me know, will you? I want to find the best mix of content and entertainment.

 

This podcast is a culmination of all the marketing and social media tactics I’ve learned over the last few years.

 

And, to use the iceberg analogy in the opening clip, this show is going to take you beneath the surface of my writing career and show you some things that I think you'll find very interesting. You'll see all the work I'm putting into my career. When I say I want to be a bestseller, I'm not just saying it. I'm living it.

 

Trust me, I’ve failed miserably at marketing over the years, especially social media. I have a track record of picking bad social media networks. I put a lot of effort into Google+ a few years ago…

 

[CUE SOUND “AWW”]

 

Yeah, that didn't work out so well.

 

Anyway, I believe that personal branding is important. It has been my guiding light for the last four years since I published my first book. I’ve worked hard at creating a clear, powerful brand that ties all of my marketing efforts together. Instead of throwing my money at ads and services like a lot of authors are doing, I’ve invested my money in branding. I care less about my books than I do what kind of flavor and color they add to my portfolio as a whole. And I care what kind of statement that portfolio makes to potential readers and rights buyers like film studios.

 

Branding for me is everything I do. It’s my stories. It’s my book covers. It’s the look and usability of my website. It’s how I speak and the quality of my audio and video. I did a lot of things wrong in the beginning, but now I’m starting to do a lot of things right, and it’s paying off.

 

This show is branding, too, by the way. And I’ve worked really hard at making sure that what you hear is the real me. I’m not putting on a show. Believe it or not, that in and of itself takes work and forethought.

 

***

 

[CUE MUSIC] Thanks for joining me this week. If you enjoyed the show, here are a couple of ways to help a brother out: Favorite the show if you’re listening on Anchor. If you’re listening in a podcast app, write me a 5 star review and share this show with your friends. You can of course visit my work and learn about my books at michaellaronn.com. 

 

If you have a question, send me a voice message on Anchor and you may hear it on the show.

 

Next week, I’ll be reading a page out of my writer’s sketchbook. Until then, I leave you with a quote.

 

“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.”

 

—Philip Roth

 

 

CREDITS

Intro/Outro Music: “Kick. Push” by Ryan Little. 

Sound Effects/Miscellaneous Credits:  

“Parking Garage/FX Roomtone” by HazMatt

“Snoring” by Eric Pritzens

“Aww Ouch” by Adam_N

Sound effects courtesy of Freesound.org