The Failing Writers Podcast

You know those writers who seem to have managed effortlessly to harness the awesome power of social media to hook increasing numbers of readers into their gravitational pull?Well good for them!No but seriously, wouldn’t it be fascinating to talk to someone who’s become an actual viral sensation themselves and find out what their strategy was?(That’s your cue to stop reading and crack on with listening to this episode btw.)BUT WAIT, THESE CAPITAL LETTERS STOPPED YOU IN YOUR TRACKS DIDN’T THEY?Well that’s good, because now I can tell you all about our sponsor, the indispensable writing app: Scrivener!The writing app that you can get 20% off! by going to https://www.literatureandlatte.com/store/scrivener and using the code: failing(I promise you won’t regret it.)So there you go. How to blow up on TikTok? A chat with a lovely writer? Some great advice about not reading reviews?  A discount of some amazing writing software? What more could you want?Ah you want to know how to get your hands on a copy of Autumn’s excellent romance novel?OK. Fair enough. Should have seen that coming.Just click on this link…https://www.authorautumnwoods.comWhat? You still want more?  Wow… you’re in quite a demanding mood today aren’t you?Well… you’re in luck, m’friend.  Cos this week in our regular Hype-Writer feature we’ve got a darkly disturbing but excellent little extract from last year’s flash fiction competition winner, Katie Holloway!She’s promised to post more of Cups of Tea at the End of the World on her substack – so keep your eyes peeled here:https://substack.com/@loseyourselfbooksRight. Ya happy now?Phew. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aaaaand PART 2:This week we're looking at the extremes of the indie publishing industry.From the fantastic BlueMoose Books...https://bluemoosebooks.comWhere we speak to founder, Kevin Duffy about the highs and... well... mostly highs to be honest... of being a very successful indie publisher.Right over to the very opposite end of the spectrum, where our secondguest, Janeen, tells us about the very ugly experience she had when approachedby a 'so called publisher'.Followed by a discussion about the various publishing scams designed to part well intentioned writers from their cash - and how to avoid them.And now's a good time as any to mention that this series of The Failing Writers Podcast is sponsored very kindly by Scrivener.Fancy trying their world class writing software?Then get yourself over to https://www.literatureandlatte.com for a month's free trial.and if you use the code: failing … then hey presto, bish bash bosh, bob’s yer uncle...you'll get 20% OFF!Also, please consider supporting the writers and publishersmentioned in these 2 episodes!Here are Janeen’s links: Including a link to the book that nearly cost her a lot of money - the very same book featured on Hype-writer this week! Dot Exe.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dot-Exe-Janeen-Leese-Taylor-ebook/dp/B0DV7DZ9YLhttps://x.com/InkAndSmudge?t=QRkcSP-WtYQy3ymoVfpfow&s=09https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B0BLP33ZVYAnd here’s a couple of brilliant online resources mentioned in the ep:A list of known scammers:https://writerbeware.blog/scam-archive/Including the company that tried to scam Janeen:https://writerbeware.blog/2023/12/01/author-complaints-at-l-r-price-publications-ltd/And Jill’s Book Café, with a list of indie publishers:https://jillsbookcafe.blog/independent-publishers/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Bbbrrbuummmbbbb....Lift off...fffwwoooooooooshhhhhhh.This week we launch into a good ole' natter with the brilliant Doug Naylor, co-creator & writer of Red Dwarf.We talk about his excellent new children's book, and its space-ship based iterations.We talk more generally about writing children's stories.We talk about how Doug learned the craft of writing comedy.We talk about how many times he and Rob pitched Red Dwarf unsuccessfully.We talk about they went about developing an episode.We talk about the abortive US version of Red DwarfWe find out if it's likely there'll be another series of Red Dwarfand we talk about persistence and 'actually finishing things' (which simultaneously inspires and upsets us.)All very interesting and useful stuff from an actual real-life legend - we think you'll agree!Buy his excellent book hither:https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/sin-bin-island-the-unmissable-brand-new-adventure-from-red-dwarf-co-creator-and-sunday-times-bestselling-doug-naylor-doug-naylor/7955180?ean=9781788453707Binge Red Dwarf here:https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b008ncn6/red-dwarfaaaand probably don't watch this TOTP version of The Chicken Song, unless you want to spend the entire evening (and an entire sleepless night) with it rolling around and around in your head. (Yes. That happened.)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OiZNGYmvg8Also... you'll be wanting a link to Scrivener, won't you? So that you can get 20% off their popular and amazing writing software?Well you can do that here: by using the code: failinghttps://www.literatureandlatte.com/I know. We're very very good to you.But hey, you deserve it, for being discerning enough to listen to The Failing Writers Podcast.Well that just about wraps it up... other than to say: check out Hype Writer this week and the talented Solomon Atkinson-PadmoreThis is his website... there's all kinds of goodies here so don't forget to check it out:https://artofsolomon.com/Thanks for listening, and being part of our little community!See ya next time.Jon & Tom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For many, the idea of having their book published is an actual dream. A beautiful, glorious, waking dream. But for others, perhaps even most writers, the dream isn't quite as dreamy as people might imagine.So let's draw back the curtain and have a little peek at the actual, unfiltered, no-bull realities of giving birth to a beautiful baby book, with the supremely talented (and honest) journalist and author, Hamilton Nolan.And if you too want to be all professional and authory, you could do a lot worse than getting yourself a copy of Scrivener.It's a brilliant bit of software that honestly and genuinely makes writing easier.Use our cheeky little code FAILING and get yourself 20% off the usual cost! Go to https://www.literatureandlatte.com right now.And you'd assume, wouldn't you, that THAT might be all. Because any more of this aural nourishment could easily result in indigestion.Well no. Sorry, but you should undo your belt a couple o' notches and ready yourself for pudding. Because we've got our brand new feature starting this week.Yep. It's HYPE-WRITER! Where you send us a bit of writing you're real proud of. Could be your novel, could be a piece of flash, could be a short story, could be an article, could be a comedy sketch, could be a play, could be a sitcom episode. OR... it could be a poem, which is what we've got this week from the talented Guy Jones, founder of Hothouse Theatre, Nottingham:https://www.hothousetheatre.com/Insta: @hothouse_theatreIf you'd like to send us a bit of writing you're proud of so we can hype YOU up - send it over to failingwriterspodcast@gmail.com with a bit of blurb about it, and you could see your name in lights**Forgive us a bit of hyperbole. x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

OK, first things first, before you read any more of this, go to https://www.literatureandlatte.com and get yaself 20% off Scrivener right now with the code: FAILINGDone that?Brilliant. First step towards becoming a proper writer - DONE.Perfect.Now... it’s time to settle the score, turn the tables, slip the shoe onto the other foot. Tom sets up a chat with Samia Rida, who’s taking her one woman play to Edinburgh.  A cunning way of encouraging Jon and Katie to crack on with their play.Will it work?Find out in this week’s episode, as we chat to Samia about how you go about taking a show to Edinburgh, the benefits of taking your writing into your own hands and turning it into a show, the trauma and comedy inherent in being kidnapped and taken to Saudi Arabia, the life of artists generally, and lots of other stuff that you’ll have to listen to the show to find out.Samia’s play is called Kidnap, it’s on at the Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh from 30th July to the 10th August, and it sounds excellent!  Get your tix here:https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/samia-rida-kidnapSamia on Instagram:@rida_samia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Poetry, as Percy Bysshe Shelley once said, lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.And so, off we go, to try and defamiliarise the things which stare us in the face every blummin’ day. Relationships. Words. Coffee. Social Media. Prejudice. Siblings. Aging. Home. Industrial Estates. Nature. Sex. Love. Yep. We’re off to a poetry night, aren’t we? To find out what they’re all about. Who goes to them. What the poetry is like, and whether it’s something every writer should have a go at.Poetry Jam in Durham to be precise. Wish us luck! Here’s Kate Fox’s lovely new book:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sycamore-Gap-2024-celebration-those/dp/0008735611 Here’s organiser Steve Urwin:@urwin_steve on X.http://steveurwintalkingpen.blogspot.com/ And here are the guest poets:  Rach Lydon.  Insta & Threads:  @rachwritesreal Gaeron Southern: https://gaeransouthern.wordpress.com Julie Egdell:  https://aliceinwinterland.weebly.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to the Failing Writers Podcast - Sponsored by the brilliant and indispensable writing software: Scrivener.Get 20% off Scrivener right now, by using the code FAILING at https://www.literatureandlatte.com/OK. Now, People…  buckle up.You’re about to enter the Murverse.Cos our guest this week is the lovely Mur Lafferty. A scifi / fantasy writer and podcaster whose refreshingly candid insights into writing and publishing caught our eye a while ago.Being a fan of all things brutally honest, we thought it would be a fascinating exercise to join Mur in drilling down into the dark corners of our psyches by asking those horribly uncomfortable questions about writing. The idea being, that hopefully they might shed some light on the ways we could face down some of our demons.And so… we created… THE WHEEL OF TERROR. A random-spinny-machine designed to pick all the questions we’d rather not answer.There is no escape from the Wheel of Terror.Why not ask yourself the questions?  (See all the questions at the bottom of the show-notes)Find out more and connect with Mur here: as well as finding a list of her books... (‘Six Wakes’ is the book Jon read and enjoyed.)https://murverse.com/And check out Mur’s podcast “I Should Be Writing” here:https://podfollow.com/79085800 1          What is holding you back from being one of the most celebrated writers of our time? (Oh… you have a list…)2          What’s your biggest weakness as a writer?3          What’s your current criteria for ’success’?4          Why do you reaaaally write? I mean… the deep, gnawing, psychological need inside you… what actually IS it?5.         What’s the most common thing that prevents you writing?6.         Is there a project you regret giving up on?   7.         Are you easily distractable by electronic devices? If so what’s the app you go to most?8.         What’s the last thing you used as an excuse to not write?9.         What was your absolute worst moment as a writer?10.      When the doubt demons come at night, what do they whisper?11.      What one thing (in relation to writing) would you like to be known for in the future?12.      What do you usually think when you read back your first draft?13.      Which writer are you most jealous of?14.      What is your most embarrassing success daydream?  15.      Who is responsible for making you think you’d be a good writer?16.      At what point in a project do you tend to get stuck? AND THEN, DON’T FORGET TO ASK THE QUESTION:IF THIS IS A PROBLEM, WHAT’S YOUR STRATEGY TO OVERCOME IT? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.