So You Want To Be A Writer With Valerie Khoo And Allison Tait: Australian Writers' Centre Podcast

Find out which authors took more than five years to write their books, why Judy Blume opened a book shop at age 78, and what really goes on in an author’s day. Plus: learn the meaning of "bucolic", meet Steve Lewis, co-author of "Secret City", and discover how to use Thunderclap for your next book launch. More advice on using unobtrusive speech tags and why being a good literary citizen will help you sell more books. Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The worst ways to begin your novel and other advice for authors. Discover how to turn your “off” writing days into “on” days and how to refill your creative well. Plus how a “mommy blog” ruined the blogger’s life. You’ll learn our word of the week: “avuncular” and how to keep up with multiple social media platforms. Our Writer in Residence is author of “The Paper House”, Anna Spargo-Ryan. Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Breaking up with your novel, what to look for in a writers' group, bogus writing rules you should ignore, and tax tips for writers who hate maths. Plus: discover the meaning of "stultify" and meet author Sue Whiting. Also: how to use other people's Instagrams to build your author platform. Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The benefits of writing longhand and famous writers and their first word processor (can you remember yours?). Discover what “peripatetic” means and meet publishing doyenne Marina Go, author of “Break Through: 20 Success Strategies For Female Leaders”. Check out Litsy, the new social media app for book lovers, find out why you need a decent photo as an author, and more! Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beware where you send your manuscript. Do skinny pretty writers get more book deals? Discover writing tips from bestselling YA authors, how to speed up your writing, and what “feckless” mean. Plus: a blog for teen writers and meet Sonya Voumard, author of “The Media and the Massacre”. Hear tips for juggling parenthood and earning a regular income from writing, and much more. Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How author of "The Girl on the Train", Paula Hawkins, took fourbooks before she really found her voice, how to read a publicationto find out what the editors are looking for, and meet the lawyerwho wrote bestselling books on his daily commute. Plus: get anentire book on a poster, learn about the crazy proposals of theProductivity Commission and how this impacts you. Discover what a "logophile" is and how to get traction on social media. Meet Natasha Lester, author of "A Kiss From Mr Fitzgerald". Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Get into the mind of your character with Method Writing, handwriting has its advantages; and meet journalist turned novelist Kayte Nunn, author of “Rose’s Vintage”. Plus: an app that spots unnecessary words, how nonfiction and fiction author platforms differ, and much more! Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An author discovers her novels were plagiarised by a stranger, common online copywriting errors, apps for writers, and $10,000 up for grabs in the Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. Plus: the meaning of "foment" and getting back into blogging after a break. Our Writer in Residence is Pamela Hart, author of "The War Bride". Also: should you try and find an agent or pitch directly to publishers, and more. Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The “internet” is now officially lowercase. Beware this children’s writing competition scam and find out what disgraced journalist Stephen Glass is up to now. Our Writer in Residence is children’s author Meg McKinlay. Also: an app that blocks distracting websites, tips on how to build an author platform when you have a common name (and your ideal domain is already taken), and much more. Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Online writing tools for writers, writing habits to avoid, how walking can make you a better writer, and things that make editors stop reading your manuscript. Meet Writer in Residence Alexandra Joel, author of "Rosetta: A Scandalous True Story". Plus: can living in a country where English isn’t the main language affect your English writing skills, and more. Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women in their 20s and 30s driving sales in “grip lit”, perfect bedrooms for bookworms, tips on how to pitch in a digital age, and up-level your word-geekiness with synecdoche. Meet Andrew Faulkner, author of “Stone Cold” the story of Australia’s deadliest soldier, find out how to format your manuscript for submission, and much more! Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To plot or not to plot, self-publishing and the difference between mentors and coaches. Advice for blogging authors including how to blog about your book without giving too much away and why blogging is important. Plus, the book "Between You & Me, Confessions of a Comma Queen" by Mary Norris. We chat with Graeme Simsion on his success since writing “The Rosie Project”. Also: the Ulysses writing app for iPhone and more! Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How writing crime has changed in the last ten years and the increasing demand for content writers. We ask if an app can improve your writing plus give you tips on how to survive writing envy. Meet picture book author Emma Allen. Plus, the most dangerous writing app. What are the benefits of editing a printed manuscript over editing on screen? Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An intriguing memoir, how to become an Amazon 'best-seller' for $3 and 40 words for emotions you've felt but couldn't explain. Plus: confessions of a ghost writer and the trouble with using fashionable words. Meet successful children's author Jen Storer. Also: a writing device for nostalgic tech geeks, whether you should put your writing on your website, and more! Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Book 2 of Allison Tait’s The Mapmaker Chronicles is shortlisted for the Aurealis Award, punctuation in famous novels and a poem that shows how tricky English can be. Would you write differently if you were anonymous? Also: what NOT to do when you start a novel, the book “Shady Characters: Ampersands, Interrobangs and other Typographic Curiosities” by Keith Houston and meet thriller author Adrian McKinty. Plus: an interesting storytelling app, and more. Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What was left out of Seven Little Australians, the life of a Hallmark card writer, fewer vs less, and how to write a fab press release. Also check out the the book “Wordburger: How to be a champion puzzler in 20 quick bites” by David Astle and meet author Hazel Edwards. Plus: become a word-nerd like Valerie by browsing the Online Etymology Dictionary. Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The number one problem with backstory and how to fix it, old English insults, and writing tips from the indomitable Chuck Palahniuk. Plus: 10 questions to ask yourself before launching your author website, the 100 best websites for writers, and how to win a copy of The Waiting Room by Leah Kaminsky. Also: meet novelist Tim Baker on his blog tour of his book Fever City, learn how to motivate yourself to edit and rewrite, and more! Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Go inside the world of things that look like books but aren’t, writing in a foreign language, a re-usable notebook, how to avoid distractions from writing, and meet slayer of weasel words Don Watson. Also: an app that distills non-fiction works into short reads, giving you the main concepts of an entire book in 15 minutes, how to equip yourself to be interviewed as an author, win a signed copy of Withering-by-Sea” by Judith Rossell, and more! Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What writers need to know about defamation when writing memoirs, win a writer's residency in a bridge, a writer is arrested after winning illegal narcotics in a writing competition and a tax return is hailed as a masterpiece of contemporary fiction. Plus: advice on how to juggle multiple writing projects, meet thriller author Jaye Ford, who moonlights as a romance author, and more! Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CLEO magazine is closing, Penthouse drops print magazines, copyediting and grammar mistakes to avoid, the book The Thing Explainer by Randall Munroe, and Allison’s top blog posts about blogging. Meet journalist-turned-author Holly Seddon, whose new book is the psychological thriller Try Not to Breathe. Also: the clever note taking app Notability, when to pitch to magazines, and more! Read the show notes.  Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.