You want to write a book but aren't sure how to start? Characters, romance, love triangles, mystery, heists--there are so many options! The trick is to choose one that interests you enough to pull you through the ENTIRE first draft. If you're anything like me and Lizette, you get easily distracted and leave your writing project after 2 chapters to start a new story. I hate to break it to you, but you'll never finish your first draft like that, and the first draft is the hardest one to get through. So what do you do? You make sure your story is freaking awesome and full of what you most love so you're obligated to write the whole thing before moving on to something new. In this episode Lizette and I talk about art stuff AND we examine exactly this, the "soul" of the story she wants to tell so we can figure out what her book actually needs to be about. Sign up for Book Bootcamp or schedule a consultation with me so we can get down to the core of what YOUR book should be about. Let's get writing! www.waxquillpodcast.com

Book Bootcamp: get your book idea set on paper, plotted, and drafted by the end of the year! https://waxquillpodcast.com/book-bootcamp/ Lizette is passionate about many things, and filling her coloring books is high on the list. From gel crayons, colored pencils, chalk, and pastels, Liz and I discuss our drawings, our artistic weaknesses, and our obsessions with vibrant hues. If you're an artist or if you're considering doing the illustrations for your own story, this episode will show you some options you may not have considered before. I'm illustrating the picture book that I'm currently querying. There have been several mistakes that I've made with the watercolors, backgrounds, textures, etc. I show a few of them here in this episode.

This is my interview with writer Bud Bellflower, an aspiring writer of sci-fi who is also newly retired from his career in wrestling. Bud and I talk about 6 mistakes we've both made in our writing journey, including how to choose beta readers, what subjects you should and shouldn't write about based on your past and experiences, and even the delecate operation of adding worldbuilding to your book (or drowning your book with it). Personally I had a great time with this interview and I can't wait to interview Bud again as we both advance in our writing careers one page at a time. Follow Bud on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/budbellflower/ And on X: https://x.com/BudBellflower

If you've been wondering how to illustrate your own book or even asking yourself what is the process for finding a book illustrator, this is the episode for you. Here I interview Kyannah Durocher, professional illustrator, hobby writer, and advocate for clean fiction. She's not ashamed of her Christian beliefs and also gives some inspiring advice for how to invoke God's blessing upon the project you're working on. She also knows a thing or two about how to optimize your Instagram marketing efforts, which I found to be particularly helpful. Oh, and you can also check out some of my drawing attempts, so that's fun too. Find Kyannah here: https://www.instagram.com/piecebypiece_artworks/ Mentioned episode with Jalen Tellis here: https://youtu.be/XoBd9EFQzfM?si=e8k7vS76itfwlFSc

If you're on track to self-publish or even traditionally publish your book, you should hire an editor to check it over first. Grammar issues, punctuation errors, plot holes, character inconsistencies, all of these can be fixed and NEED to be fixed if you're going to send your work into the world. But where do you find a trustworthy editor? You don't want to send your work to someone who is going to publish it as their own, and you don't want to send it to someone who will give you useless advice. Jalen Tellis, Indie author, has the beans to spill when it comes to what your budget should be when you are paying someone to edit your book, and when it comes to deciding on what your cover should look like. Check out Jalen's website here: https://www.jalentellisbooks.com/

Writers who want to become authors can get caught up with the nitty gritty things. Sometimes you have to let yourself have fun! The books shown in this episode do just that, magnifying the power of the words through magnificent illustrations. Whether you're planning on illustrating your book or not, these are key insights to keep in mind if your want your picture book to be unforgettable.

Many people want to become authors and they try to do things like writing sprints, writing courses, Nanowrimo, etc, thinking they'll finish their books and get published. This is great, but these 10 things often stop potential authors in their tracks.

If you are making these mistakes, STOP IT! Instead, employ the 4 tips that I include at the end.

Now stop reading this description, watch the video, and go write your book!

Also, here's a free ebook to help you get started :) I wrote it for you: https://waxquillpodcast.com/

Willa Layne, the author of Silver Lies and the upcoming Golden Secrets joins me in this interview where we discuss self-doubt and imposter syndrome, how to know your book is ready to be seen by beta readers, and the difference between studying writing and actually creating stories on paper.

If you want to write a book but feel under-qualified, this episode is for you. Willa has young kids and a job and still finds a way to work on her books.

To start writing your own book, check out my FREE Smart Writing ebook to get you on the right track: https://waxquillpodcast.com/

Purchase Willa's books and sign up for her newsletter here: https://www.willalayne.com/