Inspired Writer Collective Podcast

Episode 100: Ten Secrets to Finding Your Way as a Writer

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When you listen to this episode and learn about the 10 Secrets to Finding Your Way as a Writer we’ve gleaned from mining through our podcast episodes, you’ll quiet your inner critic and discover you’re exactly where you need to be.

We invite you to explore the following episodes that connect to each of the 10 Secrets we reveal in this episode: 

#10: Episode 68, Episode 86

#9: Episode 97

#8: Episode 13, Episode 64, Episode 87

#7: Episode 10, Episode 77

#6: Episode 8, Episode 85

#5: Episode 78

#4: Episode 94

#3: Episode 4, Episode 56

#2: Episode 80, Episode 89

#1: Episode 42

 Welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. If you've ever felt the pull to write your truth, to shape the chaos of real life into something meaningful and to share your journey with the world, you're in the right place. We're your hosts, Elizabeth and Stephanie, writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who believe in you and know how important it is to find a writing community to guide you on your path to self-publishing.

Stay until the end of the episode to learn about our Virtual Memoir Summit on March 14, 2026. 

Join our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. This is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Get on the waitlist for the Memoir Master Plan cohort here.

Apply to join the Finish Your First Draft in 90 Days program here.

If you prefer to watch our conversations, you can find all of them on our YouTube channel.

You can find us on Instagram and Threads

Elizabeth Wilson:

Welcome back listeners to this 100th episode of The Inspired Writer Collective. We are your co-hosts, Elizabeth and Stephanie, and we have been planning this episode for a little bit of time. We could see it coming up on the calendar. It's such a huge benchmark for us, for the podcast, and for our writing journeys. Basically this signifies that we have been doing this for over two years now, and there have been some things we have learned along the way. As you know, with any writing project, you are going through a process yourself as the writer, as the author. And so today we have 10 secrets to Finding your Way as a writer. So we have gone back through all of these episodes to highlight the top 10 things that we believe will help you find your way, and that have helped us find our way. So we're sharing that insight and that knowledge and wisdom that we've gleaned with you. All condensed in this episode, but we will be pointing you to full length episodes that delve into each one of these topics. You can find all of that detailed information in the show notes, so if we mention something that you wanna dig more into that you think. Could be something that you could incorporate into your writing. We've got specific episodes that will go into way more detail for you, and those will all be in the show notes. So take a look there'cause we have so many resources for you. All right, Stephanie, will you start us off with number 10?

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

Yes. So kicking it off with number 10 is the importance of community. This has been something that has been so integral to our process as writers. We first met in a local writing group that brought us together to create this journey for ourselves and share this with you, and just really found that having other writers. In our space and to connect with has been so helpful. And I know for me it's been incredibly helpful because it allows me to remember to show up and support other writers, and then they're supporting me and. Also to improve my craft as well. There's so much that can be learned from connecting with other writers and having that time to not feel so alone in the process, because sometimes it can feel like you're getting pressure from others who don't fully understand what it means to be a writer, to be on this journey. That it does take time. That when you say to somebody, yeah, I'm writing a book and they're expecting it to be out tomorrow afternoon, that, that's not realistic. But when you're in a community of writers, you can feel like. You can breathe again. That okay, not completely alone. It takes time. There's a process. It doesn't always look pretty. It can be messy, and that's the beauty of having community.

Elizabeth Wilson:

Yeah, it's so true, Stephanie, that our family and friends, while they may wish us the best, they just don't understand some of those struggles that we have as a writer. So. Being in community with fellow writers is so valuable for that. And then for me too, as a memoir writer, it comes with its own challenges that I find are more easy to muddle through, to figure out when I'm in community with other memoir writers even specifically. So I love being able to talk to other people who are also trying to wrestle their messy life into a narrative on the page, and it helps normalize. Some of those difficulties, some of those roadblocks. We recorded an episode not too long ago that was sort of a spur in the moment thing where I called up or messaged another memoir writer, like, I'm feeling this way about all these emotions from my memoir, and she helped validate for me. And then we ended up recording an episode from that. But that's just a pure example of how our community of writers. And also the people who offer their expertise to us. Editors, book cover designers, like it's all so helpful in helping you navigate this path, especially if you're self-publishing.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

Well, and as I mentioned before when I talked about showing up for myself is as I've learned more about how my brain works and that I'm very much an A DHD brain person, that the body doubling of our weekly writing sessions or our virtual writing retreats that we offer all these. that when you put them together, just keep the momentum moving forward. And that body doubling piece of having an accountability partner or having others in your space that you can call together and we went to that conference in Crested Butte and we listened to a group of writers who talked about how they were a group of three and they made sort of a pact together and

Elizabeth Wilson:

Mm-hmm.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

Helped carry all each of them through in their process. So that's the other piece is all the little tidbits that you can learn. Take what you need, leave the rest, kind of mentality of having a community. And again, finding it really helps you find your way.

Elizabeth Wilson:

And that takes us so nicely into lesson number nine, which is start an online presence as soon as you start writing and start sharing your writing because this is a great way in our virtual dominated world. To build that community of fellow writers. I've talked before on this podcast about how wonderful it's been to connect with other writers on the Threads community. There's a very prolific group of writers there that are always willing to offer some advice or support If I have a question or simply just. Need some validation in knowing that other people are going through similar struggles and it's important to break out of your shell early on and at least start sharing your intentions, your goals with writing, maybe what themes you plan to. Write about some of that is some early market research to see if your topic is even something viable that people are interested in, and to start having some awareness of how authors are doing their book launches, how authors are tackling their edits, so that you can get an idea of what those next couple of steps may be for you. There's so many resources and through that you'll begin to connect with your future readers.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

Well, and that's the key point to remember too, and this is where there's a little bit of a tricky balance, especially with the online presence, is that you're wanting to put yourself out there as a writer, but then you also want to be connecting with your readers. So there's sort of two sides to it. And I think it also, when you start early. It just allows you to take your time. You

Elizabeth Wilson:

Mm-hmm.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

rushed with the process of, oh my goodness, I'm about to publish my book. Oh no. Now I need this

Elizabeth Wilson:

Hmm.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

Presence. And there's so many especially if you wanna be traditionally published, publishers that do look at your online presence, whether you like it or not. I know that I've had a very much a love hate relationship with putting myself out there on social media, but I always know that when I do it and I show up that I actually really enjoy it and I do. Find connections and I do find people who resonate with what I'm talking about. And, the beauty of it is that as writers, we're natural storytellers and storytelling is really what's coming into, especially this year, 2026, people are looking to connect more with your story because people are so frustrated with AI and. The sort of robotic nature of the way some things are coming about. And so the fact that you can tell a story about yourself and develop that human to human connection that we all enjoy and especially, I don't know about you, but I've just really noticed. That some of the messy postings are the ones that sometimes resonate the most because it's like, yes, okay, that writer doesn't have the cleanest house or they're letting their kids just make a mess and they're balancing being a mom and writing their book and wanting to share their story. I mean, just so many pieces that you can share with about yourself. And it's really up to you what you share. But again, having that willingness to put yourself out there right from the start is really important.

Elizabeth Wilson:

Yeah, and it just takes time to figure out how you wanna share. It's gonna be messy in the beginning, so don't wait until you're trying to launch your book to show up and figure that out for yourself. It's taken us time to figure out what style of posting works for each of our personalities. What even just builds traction for follows or comments or likes, or. Let alone getting someone to like click on an external link. It takes time and you have that time as you're drafting, as you're editing, to just play. Just explore it, go ahead and start getting comfortable with it, because you're gonna have to find a system that works for you.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

This segues really nicely into number eight, which is decide what works for you with your writing process. So, just like you decide what works for you online. Deciding what your own writing process looks like is so important. There's so much advice out there that designed to, of course, help you, give you a foundation to work from, but not every piece of writing advice that. we've gone through this journey works for either one of us some things work for me, some things work for Elizabeth. And so, we've really learned as we've been. Working on our individual projects that exactly what works for us, whether it's what time of day or whether we need to schedule it into our calendar, or whether we need to meet at a coffee shop or all. There's so many different ways that. You can write and it can really begin to feel like you have to write a certain way because of what's out there and because of the writing advice books that are out there. But at the end of the day, you are the one who is writing your story to be out in the world, and you need to decide the process that works for you to get it out.

Elizabeth Wilson:

Exactly, and just like you highlighted, like you like to have the. Noise of a coffee shop, whereas I do my best writing here in my home office and I need a clean and tidy space in order to do that. Most times there's certain times of day that work for different people, and while you may see the advice, especially as a busy mom, to carve out that time before the kid wakes up or after the kids go to bed. I tried that and it did not work for me. So ultimately, whatever helps you get words on the page is what works for you and you should go for it. Even if other people would think that that is crazy. You know, even if you're doing, audio notes that you then convert to text or. Or whatever tools you may want to use. There's so many different writing tools out there, different programs, whether you're drafting in Word or Google Docs, or if you use Scrivener like Stephanie and I do, in order to organize your thoughts and ideas or maybe use. Switch processes that you draft in one thing, maybe you draft by hand, and then you convert it into an electronic form and edit in that format. Whatever gets the words on the page is what works for you. And do not put pressure on yourself to make it look like someone else's. Even what seems like really. Positive and helpful advice, like being consistent for someone who is neurodivergent. Putting that level of pressure to show up every day at the same time may actually be detrimental. So that's something that we are digging more into in this season of the podcast. So if that's you, if you identify with that, stay tuned for more episodes that help you use your neurodivergent brain for your writing. But yeah, that's an important part. Probably one of the more essential parts of actually getting some drafting done.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

Oh, absolutely. I mean, I know that even when we schedule our weekly writing times, it's great for the accountability, the body doubling piece that is so supportive for somebody with neurodivergence. And sometimes I'm not always ready to show up with what I'm project I'm working on, but I still show up to write something. And that's the beauty of it, because writing something helps you. Continue to show up, especially to the blank page, that can often feel very intimidating. And so it's just really important to think about, well, what really works for me? Is it

Elizabeth Wilson:

Hmm.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

For a walk and talking into a voice memo? Is it having an accountability partner? Maybe it's that you need. A writing coach who is there to help guide you along the way. And, we certainly support that. And, making an investment in yourself, especially if you want to fast track your writing, investing in that way can be a great way to help discover your writing process. So there's so many different ways, as we've talked about here.

Elizabeth Wilson:

All right, guys. Number seven. Now this one may surprise you a little bit because it doesn't directly relate to writing, and that is reading to improve your writing craft. This is something that's. Stephanie and I have believed in from the very beginning. We have our book club episodes where we parse apart some book, whether it's fiction, memoir, even some nonfiction books we've done, and we dig into it to analyze the character development, the way that the plot holds tension, the pacing, all of these different elements of storytelling. And it's really eye-opening to pick up a book and read it. Just, not just as a reader, but as a writer trying to figure out how did this author craft this? Oh, that was a really cool element that they added here. How can I replicate that within my own writing? Or I'm also struggling with this. Let me go to someone who is a master of this genre to see if I can glean some wisdom from the ways that they craft their story and their narrative. I do this all the time for the memoir genre, I love reading memoir. It's the reason I write in the memoir genre. And while I will avoid turning to this reading part in my initial drafting phase where I'm trying to make sure I find my own unique voice for all other portions of the writing process, it's so helpful too. Kind of have these benchmarks or side rails or whatever to help you navigate this process and pick out these tools and tricks of the trade that you can glean from other writers' work

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

I think it can in a way relate to

Elizabeth Wilson:

I.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

just talked about with finding a writing process that works for you, because when you're taking. A format of your favorite genre. And for me, it's contemporary romance and it's what I'm working on writing at the moment. And, I've done some nonfiction writing, but right now digging into the contemporary romance is that it can be so helpful to use a book by your favorite author as your textbook rather than who has a recommendation for the latest craft book? There are craft books everywhere when you just pick the books that you really love to read and also the books that fit into, what is the story that you want to write and what are the books that you wanna write? I know for me the reason I'm writing Contemporary Romance is because I wanna write, Sweeny Sweet Romance books that you can put in the hands of. Teenagers who are looking to read romance, adults can read them and just enjoy a sweet romance not have a curve ball by a cute little cover that throws in some spice. And not that, spice is a bad thing, but it's not for everyone. And it's not the story that. That I'm writing but again, it's looking for those models from authors that you love because you can learn so much when you approach a book the lens of a writer of, well, oh wow. I really love the way they put that at the end of the chapter that way, or how they organize the flow of the scenes or, oh that was unexpected or, I love the dialogue, or whatever it might be, that can help you improve your own writing.

Elizabeth Wilson:

And as self-published writers, we have to teach ourselves the industry norms, right? Because we want our books to blend in on the bookstore shelf with the traditionally published works. And so by reading them, by gleaning those techniques, by even looking at the formatting and things, we are able to see what are industry norms. So that we make sure that our book doesn't stand too far out of that and already just, red flag itself as being self-published, which unfortunately gets its own kick to the curb sometimes. So there is a huge benefit even as you move down the road towards publishing your book of keeping a finger on the pulse of what is going on in your industry. Certainly this is important. If you write fantasy or sci-fi, there are definitely trends. Like there was the vampire hype for a while. I think I heard recently from an agent that now it's like ghosts and like other supernatural things along that realm. Um, but everything kind of sees its heyday and you need to make sure that you're writing. What is kind of the, the it thing right now in your genre?

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

Yeah. And so this leads us into number six in terms of writing is thinking about your messy first draft. the reason the messy first draft is so important is that you need to get the story out on the page. There are so many points I know for myself where. I keep wanting to go back and I keep wanting to refine, and you could refine chapter one for years, and so it's really important to have that time where you just write, just keep writing, just keep moving forward, keep the story moving forward. Even if your story changes, you can always go back and fix the beginning, but you just need to get, your story out the page to begin with, because it's not just gonna be one edit, it's gonna be multiple edits, and need to be prepared for that. the key is just. just getting it out. And that's something that I've definitely, resisted myself because I definitely have very much a perfectionist mindset and I want it to be just right, but it's so much more helpful to get that messy first draft done.

Elizabeth Wilson:

Yeah, and it's a big struggle in the memoir genre too. I see so many writers comment on threads or where else asking about the considerations they're already trying to make. Thinking about the reader, like, oh, I don't know if I'm ready to divulge that information about my past trauma, or. Should I change this character's name? And that's not the time to be assessing that. There will be a round of edits where you'll get to make those decisions as a writer. But so much of our programming and coaching revolves around helping writers get through this messy first draft because it is a struggle. It is as simple as it is to say just. Sit down and write it. It can be really difficult to force yourself to do that when you're relying on just your personal accountability. Having either peer support through like our virtual writers retreats or the times that we just sit down to write together or something more advanced, like a coaching program where you get to work with other writers and a coach. Sometimes that's what you need to get this done because it really is. That simple and that difficult that you just have to get that initial draft done as quickly as possible.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

Well, and that's why I'm really excited. This year I'm offering for the first time a very specific program that's geared towards A DHD writers around getting your first draft done in 90 days. It's a supportive program that's all online. And with guidance and live coaching And so it's gonna be really exciting to put that out there about the value of getting your first draft done, because we've really seen how beneficial that is. And I had so many curve balls thrown my way in 2025 that my first draft is about 75% done, but it's almost there. And so I'm super excited about having it done and ready to work through to get it out to publication because I love the story. I love my characters. And that's the other piece too, is that it makes it more exciting. makes you see the possibilities of what's next when you get that messy first draft done.

Elizabeth Wilson:

And beautifully. When you get that done quickly, you are more likely to make it your story and not succumb to the influence of other people. So our fifth secret to finding your way as a writer is to write your story, not the one you think will be popular. This is incredibly important when it comes to memoir. Especially, and this is something that can be difficult to wrestle with because you will have a lot of outside influence. You will have, you know, we talked even just a few points ago about understanding what's popular in the publishing world at the moment. But at the end of the day, you need to write a story that you are passionate about and you need to write characters that are true to you, true to your experience, true to your vision. And so it's easy to get bogged down in, again, some of the rules around writing, but it's important that you write a story that you believe in because you are going to be the one. Promoting it, marketing it, you're gonna be its biggest advocate, especially as a self-published author. And so it's important that it's something that you're willing to put your time, your money into, because that is the downside of self-publishing is while you get to maintain ultimate control of your work, you have to foot the bill. So it better be something that. You really believe in that has a deeper message to it that resonates for you, that you have a strong desire to share with others.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

Part of the reason why we say. Don't try to go with what's popular is because the industry is always shifting and changing and as we've talked about throughout this episode already, that it takes time that books don't just happen overnight. And despite the fact that there's all the marketing out there saying, oh, write your book in 30 days, you know, that's not realistic, especially when you're writing something so deeply personal as memoir, or if you want to make sure your book meets the expectations of readers, as I know is so true in romance because there are very specific reader expectations in romance and so I think that's why it's really important to write what's true to you. And like Elizabeth said, it makes it easier for you to market it, to show up. I think so often about when I'm on the stage sharing about my book. do wanna be able to talk about something that I've written that I love, that's a story that's true to me, and reflects who I am and reflects the things that I care about. Because you wanna be authentic, you wanna be authentically you, and if you try to fit yourself in a box, it's just gonna make the process so much more frustrating.

Elizabeth Wilson:

I see this too with the women who join my memoir coaching program because we start with just the idea phase, and I hear them sometimes put out ideas that I know they either aren't ready to write or aren't really into. But they know that other people are curious about their lives. That happens to me too. I know that there would be great curiosity around my forensic science career. Forensic science is one of those kind of fun careers that everyone thinks they would wanna do, but in actuality, it looks a bit different than what the mass public believes about it. But it's just not a story I'm interested in writing as much as that curiosity may exist, even if it was something that I. Could sell well and market easily. I'm just not into it. So if your passion is not there for a certain storyline or project, even if it's the one that other people around you are asking you to write, make sure you're writing a story that you're passionate about because it will show through on the page.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

It'll also show through with our secret number four, which is to celebrate the big and the small moments in your writing journey. If you're not having a good time with what you're writing. It's gonna make it really hard to show up to celebrate, and we believe so strongly in the importance of celebrating because it can be so easy in our day-to-day lives to forget about all the things that. We've accomplished or that you've accomplished. You've probably even forgotten maybe something yesterday afternoon that happened. And so, we really believe in taking those moments, even if it's I wrote a page today. You wrote something like the blank page didn't stare back at you. Or, celebrate big moments that you receive a recognition for something you've written or you submitted to a small publication and you got published, or

Elizabeth Wilson:

Mm-hmm.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

Know. Any little bit along the way, or you finally figured out the what your character's true desire was, or you

Elizabeth Wilson:

Oh.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

Figured out one of our favorite things to talk about here is the core message.

Elizabeth Wilson:

Mm-hmm.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

it that you want your reader to really thread throughout the narrative of what you're writing? It's just so important to celebrate.

Elizabeth Wilson:

Yeah, and I do an annual journal review every year, and I'm always taken by surprise at what I actually did that I have created a false narrative around the first year I did it, I had totally forgotten that I had been published by a literary magazine. One of my short stories had been published, and then this last year when I did it, I had. Thought I had told myself that I had stopped working diligently on my book in March once I had done a big sprint of my rewrites. But the truth was I continued editing all the way through June until I handed my manuscript over to my editor. So, sometimes it's really, I mean, not just, sometimes it is just really easy to overlook these wins, but you, it's such a long road to publishing that you should not wait until you hit publish to celebrate. Also, there tends to be a little bit of an anti-climatic moment when you hit publish. It can take a little time for people to find your book for it to gain any sort of hold with readers, for even your friends and family to finally click the link to purchase it. So holding out for that data celebrate. You're really just cutting yourself short. Those celebrations are important to mark those milestones. Celebrate in your communities as you go along.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

Well, and this links back to an earlier secret we shared about starting your online presence, and that is if you can't think of ways to celebrate yourself, do a quick post about something exciting that happened that you

Elizabeth Wilson:

Mm-hmm.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

With your community. Because think that when we share our stories and we share our authenticity, that's what people connect with. They wanna see you getting excited. It gets them excited. Whatever the accomplishment is, big or small, it's definitely important to celebrate.

Elizabeth Wilson:

Oh, that's so good, Stephanie, and it builds anticipation for your readers to know that like, okay, I've just wrapped up this round of edits, or here's the book cover design. It just builds that anticipation and that hype as you lead up to launch day. All right guys. Number three. This is super important. Rest. Yes, I said it rest helps you come back to your work with more focus and clarity. It is so easy to fall into this habit of feeling like you constantly have to be pressing. I mean, we've already talked to you about showing up regularly in community and posting on your social media accounts and getting that messy first draft done, and all of that sounds a lot like go, go, go. There's always something left to do, and there is, and it will wait for you because it is so important. To take breaks. It's what we try to model with this podcast where we take a break in December. It's what we've done in our own writing practices. Again, do what works for you. But I have certain times a year that I have learned are not my greatest times of creativity. Check out that caretaking versus creativity episode, if you're curious about that, because when the school year starts. I am tapped out. I do not have much creative energy. That's not a time for me to be digging in deeply to edits or doing a messy first draft. I need to take some time away to deal with the new school year to deal with my job requirements, all of those other things. But it is a time where I can feel my creativity ratcheting up, even though I don't necessarily have the time or energy to create that next project or idea. That's a lot of times when those ideas are forming just like our upcoming memoir, summit. That idea was birthed like in the summertime when I was running after several four and five year olds not working on my book. Not drafting, but that's when I have a chance to be creative. I'm having creative thoughts because I'm taking a break away from my manuscript and allowing other things to flow.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

It's really important too, if you identify, as we've talked about, with having any kind of neurodivergent. That rest is so critical to your nervous system to bring you back to a grounded space. If you're trying to write when your stress level is elevated or you feel like they're 25 things on your plate and you're juggling parenting and meal planning. Jobs and whatever it is that you're juggling, and then you're like, oh, but I didn't get any writing done. I have to get writing done. it's really important that some of the best ideas, just like Elizabeth shared, from that time of rest. That time where you allow yourself. To settle and just being and letting the writing sit. There's always that belief that you write something, let it sit for a little bit. You come back to it with fresher eyes. A better perspective, maybe a new idea. A new idea for a twist or a hook or maybe something that you're doing in your everyday life where you know you're playing with your kids at the playground or you take a. Road trip with your family and you're like, oh wait, this would be a really great scene that could happen or something happens to you in real life. The beginning of my book has a whole scene where the airplane tray falls apart in. lap of the teenager. And that actually happened to me on a plane where I was sitting there and we hadn't even pushed back from the gate yet. And all of a sudden the person jostled the seat in front of me as they sat down and the whole tray table literally fell off at hinges. And, I've flown on so many flights, that's never happened to me. And so just even those little pieces and those moments when you think, oh, I'm not doing enough. I didn't get enough done. That's not true. If you're allowing yourself to rest, you are getting something done. You're helping your own body settle. You're helping your mind settle so that you can return to your writing with a fresher perspective.

Elizabeth Wilson:

Right, and Russ can look like a season like I described in the fall, and it can also look like taking a walk after you've done a 45 minute writing. Stretch and you just need to get some more ideas flowing and you just go for a short walk in your neighborhood before sitting back down to work again. It can look like a myriad of things. It can look like doing some yoga stretches just to move some difficult writing and emotions that have come up. Through your body. It looks like a lot of different things for a lot of different people, but at the end of the day, continuing to push yourself against those walls where you are not feeling creative, where you don't have the energy, that's not gonna be helpful. That's where you risk leading yourself to burnout, especially if you're neurodivergent. And so we want you to remember to protect this beautiful gift of your creativity and remind yourself that. Rest is something that really fuels that.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

Well, and rest is so important for leading

Elizabeth Wilson:

Okay.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

secret number two, which is finding your core message for memoir and fiction. And I mentioned this briefly a little bit ago, but. In order to find that core message, the thread that's gonna weave throughout your novel, your story, whatever it is you're writing, that oftentimes having time to rest and really integrate your story, what you wanna share into yourself will make it more clear. And the core message doesn't always come right away. It's not necessarily the first thing that you have. To come to, but because you have to think about your ideas and you have to explore different things, it's one of the really cool things that I hadn't thought about as a fiction writer, about its value, but participated in Elizabeth's memoir Master Plan cohort. I've gained so much from the discussions about a core message, and it's led to me really understanding the overarching focus for my contemporary romances of second chances, the second chances at love and all of the pieces that come with it, it's really helped me show up better and stronger to my own story knowing. What I'm weaving throughout with having a core message

Elizabeth Wilson:

And it's okay listener, if you don't really. Understand what we mean when we say a core message. That's the terminology that I use in my coaching to talk about the theme, the deeper underlying story in a memoir, the thing that distinguishes a memoir from an autobiography, the takeaway. That you want your readers to have. It is the misbelief that your character starts out with, that you slowly unravel and challenge throughout the narrative so that you then show the reader by the end how you've evolved and come to. A higher, more truer belief about yourself or your world. And as Stephanie indicated, this is not an easy thing to just, oh, I'll just do this, this theme. It's gotta be something that deeply resonates. We spend a whole week of the eight week process on this. I provide journaling prompts and things to help my writers dig into the handful of possibilities it could be. And then we have conversation, we have our group sessions where we talk about those, and so it can take a process and community's really helpful in this piece as well. So if that's something you struggle with, again, we have episodes that link to full episodes in the show notes, so you can find that full episode about core message for fiction writers and a separate, full episode about the core message for memoir, if you'd like some more information about that. And always, the memoir, master plan cohort is a space for women to come together and work on those core messages and their initial outline of their book, and that takes us to number one. The number one secret to finding your way as a writer, and we've been hinting at this all along, it really shouldn't come as much of a surprise. But that number one is seeking support. It can look so many different ways. It can simply be a fellow writing friend that you change trade pages with, that you have some accountability set up. Maybe it's writing sprints on Zoom, we offer stuff like that, but you can also just create your own. I mean, we own no kind of intellectual property on writing sprints on Zoom. It's having accountability for body doubling, and it may also mean seeking out coaching. As a self-published author, you are going to be essentially project managing your book, and you are going to be hiring those freelance coaches. Book cover designers, interior formatters marketers potentially to help you get that book from the start across the finish line, and into the hands of your reader. This is not meant to be a solo act. It is. Difficult. It is exhausting. There are, there's so much information to know about each and every step, and you don't have to learn it all yourself. If you can find the coaches that you need to fill in those gaps. They've got that pool of knowledge that they have cultivated in their specific area that they are more than happy to share with you. So don't look at this as a. This is what I'm having to pay to write my book, and this is what I expect to make from book sales. That's not how you should be looking at your. Self-publishing authorship process. You have to realize that, especially if you ever plan to write more than one book, that you are growing and developing yourself as an author, as a published author throughout the journey. And that's going to take some investment. That investment is going to be with you forever. Once you know how to find a core message and do a detailed outline. Through a process that works for you, you can repeat that process for all your other books. Once you have figured out the book marketing piece, maybe you've had to hire someone for the first time. Then you can take that same schedule and know that you're hitting all those marks that you're buying your ISPN at the right time. That you've coordinated your beta readers and you've reached out to your ARC readers in a time that allows it to coincide with your launch. All of that is so tedious and difficult the first time through, so do not overlook the fact that you should be seeking out support. There's a number of different options from. The DIY stuff where you can just purchase someone's downloads and easy forms, or have some more coaching one-on-one or in small groups where it's directed specifically to your story, your situation, and your interest, and the ways that you work.

Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.:

Yeah, you covered so much so well, Elizabeth I think it is so important to think about seeking support to not try to do it all alone. are so many resources out there, and when you get started early with looking at the broad spectrum of resources available to you, you can start to find the coaches if you're seeking coaches that you resonate with. Certainly if you have been list a listener for a while and what we talk about resonates with you, we welcome you to check out our coaching opportunities, whether it's. The memoir master plan cohort, or my coaching for A DHD writers, those are opportunities there are plenty of other people out there if somebody else resonates better, because it's so important when you do pick support, whatever that looks like, that it's support that you feel truly works for you. We also have no pressure virtual writing retreats that you can come to that are a free offering. We have this podcast if you found this helpful, we have our weekly writing accountability where we get together and write in a small group, if you're curious about that, reach out. And as we say really find what works for you, but please do not try to do it alone. You need the support. You need the people who are experts in the different areas, especially beyond the boundaries of your writing we're not all book cover design experts, we're not all social media experts. We, we really. really not possible to wear all of the hats more power to you if that, if you are someone who can in fact wear all those hats and do it yourself. But the truth of the matter is, is that across the board, whether you're traditionally publishing or self-publishing, need a community around you. And I heard this from several panels that I went to listen to when I volunteered at the a w. conference last year that so many authors, regardless of how they were published, talked about how you need the support, you need your own sort of personal group of people that you can turn to, to help you along these ways. And is it an investment? Yes. But you're investing in yourself. You're investing in your creativity, and it will come back to you in dividends when you really take that time. And it may not feel like it immediately. It's certainly not like the big royalty check is gonna be coming right through the door right away. But when you put in the work and you really look at this as valuing yourself that. That seeking the support will absolutely help you reach your writing dreams.

Elizabeth Wilson:

And there's a real trade off to it, right? You can do it all yourself. You can learn it on all yourself, and the trade off is time. You are going to be investing more and more of your time. It's gonna take you longer to get your book from your computer screen into the hands of your reader. If that, if time is not is, is something you have plenty of, it's not a concern for you, then by all means you can take that time. What I don't have as a busy mom and a story that I feel so strongly needs to be out in the world is time I can put some money forward so that I don't have to figure out how to use advanced graphic software to build my own book cover and hope that it looks like industry standards and doesn't give away the book as being self-published and overlooked when I've poured so much time, heart, soul, and energy into the prose written inside. And the other thing we wanna highlight before we sign off for today on this hundredth episode is that we have so much beautiful insight, inspiration, tips, and tricks that we share for free every week through our Embodied Writing experience emails. On Monday, you'll get the latest of the podcast episodes. Tuesdays. I'm always writing about memoir, personal narrative. Journaling and then Stephanie hits you with those big ideas on Thursday of how to manage your different brain, how to hack those different writing styles, writer mindset, and other inspiration. Those are free, so if you are the kind of go-getter person who simply needs to see the ideas to understand, just to get a little bit of information and you're able to apply it to your own book, your own work. Great. That is a free resource that will take you miles. So join our email list, and again, if you're someone who can absorb the idea, but then you get a little stuck in figuring out how to apply it, or you need some accountability or discipline around that, then we have our coaching programs that gently guide you through that process. So listener, thank you for being with us for this hundredth episode. It's such a huge milestone for Stephanie and I and here we are to celebrate the conclusion of our hundredth episode of the Inspired Writer Collective podcast.

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Elizabeth Wilson

Host
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Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D.

Host