Write With Impact With Glenn Leibowitz

Find the notes to this episode at writewithimpact.com/episode44 Dustin McKissen and I met on LinkedIn nearly two years ago, when we were both starting to blog there. Since then, we’ve become friends - virtual friends, at least - since we’ve never actually met in person yet. In fact, this conversation is the very first time we’ve ever spoken to each other beyond email or LinkedIn messaging. I’m a huge fan of Dustin’s writing on LinkedIn. While the word “authenticity” is on the verge of becoming cliche, Dustin epitomizes what this word really means. In his posts, he draws heavily from his personal experiences, sometimes very painful ones, sometimes humorous ones, and in doing so connects with readers in a way few other writers on LinkedIn can. He’s also a prolific writer: he’s published nearly 200 posts that have been viewed over 2 million times, and which have generated tens of thousands of likes, comments, and social shares. Last December, LinkedIn recognized Dustin as one of 90 “Top Voices” from among the 1

Joan Dempsey is a writer and teacher who provides developmental editing advice to writers. She also offers several online courses that focus on teaching you how to revise your work. In this episode we talk about why the process of revising your writing is just as creative as the process of writing your first draft. Joan also shares some of the most common writing mistakes she sees many writers make, and offers insight into how to fix them.  Joan also talks about her writing shed, the place where she does her writing and teaching. It’s actually a renovated chicken coop! It’s a gorgeous writing space she designed herself, and it’s lined with ceiling to floor book shelves that will make any book lover envious.   I’ve included some photos of her writing shed in the show notes to this episode, along with links to Joan’s website, over at writewithimpact.com/episode43 . Before we get started, just a quick announcement: I’ve started to write a column for inc.com. My first article covers some of the most common writin

Read the complete show notes to this episode and pick up a free ebook with writing tips at writewithimpact.com/episode42 Today I’m talking once again to Chris Fox. Chris was on episode 29 of this podcast last year, when we talked about his new book at the time, 5,000 Words Per Hour, which has gone on to be a major bestseller on Amazon. This time, we talk about his latest book, Write to Market: Deliver a Book That Sells.   In our conversation, Chris walks us through the strategies that he shares in his book for conducting the kind of thorough market research you need to do before you even start writing your first draft. He offers very practical advice around identifying profitable but currently underserved genres on Amazon, understanding what your readers are really looking for, and why you need to be reading much more in your target genre if you want to write books that appeal to your target readers. And he shows how he has successfully applied his “Write to Market” methodology to his own fiction and nonficti

Maggie James is a novelist who writes psychological suspense thrillers that are usually set in her hometown of Bristol, England.  In our conversation, Maggie shares her very inspiring story about how she finally published her first novel once she left her job as an accountant, and she offers practical advice for aspiring novelists who are trying to write and publish their first book.  You can find links to Maggie’s gripping novels, as well as a link to the excellent book she published last year about how to write your first novel, over at writewithimpact.com/episode41. Follow Write With Impact on Twitter @impactfulwriter Like Write With Impact on Facebook

In this brief episode, I’ll be talking about a topic that I think all writers can relate to, and one that has fascinated me for some time now.  It’s about the power of books to inspire a person to pick up a pen and start writing.  Since launching my podcast last Spring, I’ve interviewed over 30 authors of fiction and non-fiction. If you’ve been listening to some of the earlier episodes, you’ll know that I like to ask my guests if they can name a book or author that at some point in their life inspired them to become a writer, or otherwise had an outsized influence on their writing career. Some of them reach back to their childhood and recall the literary classics that awakened them to the power of great storytelling and the beauty of finely crafted sentences.  Others point to books that gave them the inspiration, confidence, and practical guidance they needed to break free from their 9-to-5 jobs so they could pursue their lifelong dream of becoming a full-time writer. I’m going to quote what some of my guests

Voice is one of the most important aspects of writing well, whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction. Yet it’s also one of the most elusive things for a writer. What does it mean exactly, when you talk about “voice”? And what can you do to cultivate a voice that will grab readers and not let them go until they’ve hit the end of your story? This is exactly the topic that James Scott Bell tackles in his latest book, Voice: The Secret Power of Great Writing. In his book, James reveals the true source of voice, and what any writer in any genre can do to capture it for their own work. I had the privilege of speaking with James about the methodology he’s developed over the years as a novelist to create a distinctive voice. In our conversation, James breaks down the steps he goes through as he develops his characters, and shares the process and techniques he uses as he writes. He also talks about the writers who had the biggest influence on his career. James is an award-winning author of bestselling thriller no

Joe Pulizzi is the founder of the Content Marketing Institute, the leading content marketing educational resource for large enterprises. CMI was recognized by Inc. magazine as the fastest growing business media company in 2014. CMI produces Content Marketing World, the largest content marketing event in the world, and they publish Chief Content Officer magazine. I invited him to the show because I had the chance to read his latest book, Content Inc., and I thought it might be relevant to those of you writers out there who produce content for a living, and are interested in how to use content marketing more strategically to build an audience and, eventually, to monetize that audience. In our conversation, Joe goes through his six-part framework that he presents in his book, all the way from identifying what he calls your “sweet spot” — the area where your skills intersect with your personal passion — to converting one-time visitors into long-term subscribers —  to eventually charging money for your products or

First of all, I just wanted to wish all of my listeners a happy new year! I also wanted to thank everyone who has read, liked, or shared one of my blog posts on LinkedIn over the past year. In early December, LinkedIn’s editors named me as one of 90 top writers of the year, an honor that took me completely by surprise.  So thanks for reading my work on LinkedIn. You can check out some of my writing by going to writewithimpact.com/linkedin. That’ll take you to my LinkedIn profile where you can read my posts. And while you’re there, send me a request to connect! So today’s episode is all about video. You’re a writer, so why should you care about video?  Isn’t video expensive and difficult to produce? What kind of equipment should you buy? Should you script it out in advance, or just shoot and edit?  These are some of the questions I discuss with my guest today, Caleb Wojcik. Caleb is a video producer who spent several years filming games for major national level sports leagues before setting up his own business

Justin Bariso is the founder of Insight, a consultancy that helps organizations to think differently and communicate with impact. He’s also a columnist for Inc.com where he writes about leadership, communications, technology, and more. Justin also writes a lot on LinkedIn, which is where I connected with him. In our conversation, Justin shares some of the strategies he uses to pick topics, plan and write posts, and engage with readers.  If you’re interested in writing on LinkedIn, or you’ve already published a few posts but you’re looking for practical tips on how to attract more views and engagement, then you’ll get a lot out of this conversation. Read the show notes and download a free ebook with writing tips at writewithimpact.com/episode36 Follow Write With Impact on Twitter Like Write With Impact on Facebook  

Today I’m gonna mix things up a bit and focus on a problem that I think just about every writer encounters at one point or another: how to start writing and keep writing, even when you’re distracted or don’t feel like you’re in the mood to write. It’s a topic that has come up several times during my interviews with the writers I’ve talked to on this podcast.  What I’ve done is collect some of the comments my guests have made and put them together here into a set of 9 lessons or tips that you can use to help you break out of those ruts and blocks or whatever you want to call them, that just prevent you from getting words down on the page. I’ve personally gotten a lot from these tips and have applied most of them to my own writing and I’ve seen some really good results.  Read the full transcript to this episode with links to the episodes that are quoted in here over at writewithimpact.com/episode35.  Be sure to pick up a free ebook with my writing tips while you're there. Follow Write With Impact on Twitter Lik

[Heads up: adult language ahead! If you've got kids listening to this with you, I suggest you press pause and find another time or place to listen to this episode] I’ve got a fun episode today. The topic? Romance fiction. My guest is Sarah Wendell. Sarah is the founder and editor of the popular romance fiction blog, Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. She’s also the author of two books on the topic of romance fiction, including Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels. In our conversation, Sarah talks about: Why the romance genre deserves its rightful place among other popular fiction genres. What romance readers are looking for, and what she likes best in novels that she reads. How she created one of the most widely read blogs on romance fiction, and how she successfully monetizes it through advertising, affiliate marketing, and sponsorships. And she gives us a peek into her own writing process. ...and much, much more Find more info and links to Sarah's popular blog, podcast, and books at

Find the show notes to this episode and pick-up a free ebook with writing tips over at writewithimpact.com/episode33 This episode is all about using the power of storytelling to have more impact with your communications at work. My guest Paul Smith is the author of a bestselling book about this topic, “Lead With a Story”. Before writing his book and launching his career as a speaker and corporate trainer helping people to develop their storytelling skills, Paul headed up the market research group for a $6 billion division of consumer products giant Procter & Gamble. In his book, and on his popular podcast that goes by the same title, Paul shares stories of how people have used the power of storytelling to make break-through changes in their relationships at work, and how they’ve used storytelling to inspire others to rally around a vision or a cause, and substantially improved their ability to have impact. In addition to sharing some fascinating stories, Paul gets very practical in this episode, and shows

Libbie Hawker is a novelist who writes historical fiction. Since launching her career, she’s published over 20 novels and novellas. In this episode, I talk to Libbie about her bestselling non-fiction book, Take Off Your Pants!: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing.  In her book, she shares the approach she uses to outline her novels. It’s an approach that has enabled her to drastically improve her writing productivity. In our conversation, we cover a lot of ground: She dives deep into the outlining approach she discusses in her book, which is essentially a method for planning your novel to ensure that it has all the elements in place for a story that your readers won’t want to put down. Libbie also shares her advice for encouraging readers to leave reviews and for dealing with negative reviews. She talks about advertising on Facebook and other sites and when the best time is to invest in advertising your books. And, Libbie talks about what it’s like to pursue a hybrid publishing strategy: while she

Sean McCabe is a hand lettering artist, writer, podcaster, musician, and successful entrepreneur who has helped thousands of people around the world to discover what they are truly passionate about. Through his popular seanwes podcast, daily Youtube show, hand lettering course, and online community, Sean provides practical advice for creative professionals and digital entrepreneurs seeking to turn their passion into sources of additional income and even stand-alone businesses. In our conversation, Sean explains how writing has completely transformed his business and how today, writing is the source of all forms of content that he produces. Each year, Sean writes about a million words a year, words that become blog posts, podcast outlines and show notes, online course transcripts, Youtube episodes, book chapters, email newsletters, and more. He shares some of the techniques he uses for getting into a daily writing habit and for getting words down on the page quickly that you can then edit later. He also talks

Hey everyone, This is a short "coffeecast" episode of Write With Impact. I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to download and listen to my podcast. I really appreciate all of the positive feedback I've been getting lately about the podcast. Since launching Write With Impact in April, it's been downloaded tens of thousands of times. I'm very grateful for your support and I hope you continue to listen and share episodes you like with your friends. I also have a very special guest today as well... Dig into the growing archive of interviews with great writers and sign-up for my weekly newsletter over at writewithimpact.com Follow Write With Impact on Twitter @impactfulwriter Like Write With Impact on Facebook: facebook.com/WriteWithImpact Keep writing!  

Chris Fox is an indie author who has in just the past few years built a successful career as a novelist. He’s also recently begun to publish books on the craft of writing.  This is impressive enough, but what’s amazing is that he does this all while holding down a full-time job as a mobile app developer in San Francisco. Because of his busy work schedule, Chris has figured out a system for concentrating his writing time into a very short window during his morning commute to work. He only has about an hour and a half to write each day. This means he not only needs to maintain a consistent, daily writing habit, he’s also developed a system for writing really really fast.   He recently codified what he has learned about writing fast in a new book, 5,000 Words Per Hour: A Guide to Writing Faster, Better & Smarter. The book has gone on to sell thousands of copies. Since Chris is a coder, he developed a new iPhone app that accompanies the book. It allows you to track your writing sessions so you can measure you

Robert Gregory Browne is a novelist who heads his own publishing firm, Braun Haus Media.  Rob has been writing fiction for 30 years and has 19 novels under his belt, many of which were published by some of the biggest names in the business: St. Martin’s Press, Penguin/Dutton, and Harlequin.   Before he started writing novels, Rob worked in the movie industry as a screenwriter. His thriller, Kiss Her Goodbye was produced for television by Sony/CBS. Several years ago he won the Nicholl Fellowship for screenwriting from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.  The Nicholl Fellowship is a prestigious international screenwriting competition to identify and encourage talented new screenwriters. In our conversation, Rob explains why he decided to make the leap from traditional publishing to indie publishing several years ago, and the blow-out success he had with his first indie title, Trial Junkies.  We then dive deep into one of the chapters in his new book, his first nonfiction title: Casting the Bones:

Sonia Simone is Co-Founder and Chief Content Officer of Rainmaker Digital, which until recently was known as Copyblogger Media. If you’re not familiar with what they do by now, Rainmaker Digital is a highly successful digital commerce company that offers an enormous range of free and paid content, as well as platforms and solutions for digital marketers. In addition to running Rainmaker Digital with co-founder Brian Clark, and blogging on a range of topics that content marketers care about, Sonia is also the host of a podcast she launched earlier this year as part of the new Rainmaker.FM podcast network: Confessions of a Pink-Haired Marketer. In this conversation we cover a lot of ground. Sonia shares her advice on developing your own blogging voice, how to expand your professional network and build your audience by cultivating relationships with other writers, why you should be paying close attention to your email list to see what people are reading and sharing, and so much more.  You can find the show notes

Today I’m really pleased to have Tim Paige on the show. Tim is the Conversion Educator at LeadPages. As he describes it, his job is to help marketers get better results with their business by building and growing their email lists.  He’s also the host of ConversionCast, an excellent podcast all about email marketing.    You’re a writer, so why should you build an email list?    That’s exactly what we cover in the first part of our conversation.  Tim explains why, as a writer, you need to build an audience that you can communicate with whenever you have something to say, share, or sell.   But we don’t stop at the why of building an email list, of course. Tim shares four strategies you can start using now to build your email list. And if you’ve already started to build a list, his strategies can help you substantially speed up the process.    He also shares a few copywriting tips for writing emails that subscribers will actually want to open and read.    Before we dive into the conversation, let me tell you abo

Back in episode 10, I spoke with Monica Leonelle, the author of Write Better, Faster. In that book she broke down the exact methods she uses to write really fast. That episode has proven to be one of the most popular I’ve published so far. I’ve invited Monica back onto the show because she’s got another book coming out this week which I think you’ll really benefit from, especially if you’re struggling to squeeze your writing into a very busy schedule. If you’re like me and you’re trying to carve out time to get your writing done while holding a full-time job or taking care of a family, it can be really tough. Monica has written a book that speaks directly to writers like us who are struggling to get our writing done while balancing our other commitments at work and at home. She calls it The 8 Minute Writing Habit: Create a Consistent Writing Habit that Works With Your Busy Lifestyle. In this book, Monica helps you tackle the mindsets that are blocking you from starting - and finishing - your writing projects.