We're on a break this week while Valerie moves house and argues with a certain telco provider about promised installation dates… but in the meantime, we thought we'd share your top 10 podcast episodes for 2015 (…so far!)
1. Ep 45 – Lisa Heidke
Our first episode back for the year! We talked about writing 93,000 words in six weeks, the right age for your breakthrough book and chatted to Writer in Residence Lisa Heidke. This is also the episode Valerie famously committed to the “7 minute workout”. We all know how that went.
2. Ep 56 – Annabel Smith
The Sydney Writers' Festival had just kicked off, the one vital skill you need to write well, creating social media plans and we were joined by Writer in Residence and author of Whiskey & Charlie Annabel Smith.
3. Ep 51 – Judith Rossell
Agents and editors are telling you exactly what they want to see, Julia Gillard's publisher was forced to retract an allegation in her book, we discussed weird writer habits and chatted with full-time writer and illustrator of children's books: Judith Rossell.
4. Ep 50 – Peg Fitzpatrick
The gorgeous typeface that drove men mad, crowdsourcing your book cover, the most important skills you need to start a writing career and we were joined by social media and marketing guru Peg Fitzpatrick.
5. Ep 46 – James Phelan
Part three of Ask the HarperCollins Editor, what you need to know about writing an ending, how to teach yourself to write faster (yes, you can do it!), and we met author of 23 novels (at only 36 years old) James Phelan.
6. Ep 47 – Nigel Bartlett
Allison explains why she is not sponsored by her husband, how you can get most out of writing competitions, why writers have such a hard time writing about sex, and we chatted with author of King of the Road (and forevermore known as ‘the writer who lives on a construction site') Nigel Bartlett.
7. Ep 53 – Sylvia Day
Book-inspired jewellery, self-publishing vs traditional publishing, how five writers got started on their first novels, and New York Times bestseller Sylvia Day shares her writing story.
8. Ep 49 – Valerie Khoo Frankie magazine saw its first readership drop, we discussed the future of content mills, and Valerie got a surprise as we put her in the Writer in Residence chair and asked her all your freelance writing questions!
9. Ep 62 – Suzanne O'Sullivan
The Sydney Writers’ Festival comes to an end (for 2015 at least), the most borrowed books from Australian libraries, how much (or little) publications pay freelance writers, the rise and demise of the paragraph, and we chatted with children’s book publisher Suzanne O’Sullivan.
10. Ep 48 – Candice Fox
Harper Lee's Go Set A Watchman is announced, Women of Letters travelled to New York via Molly Ringwald, how top journalists are pivoting their careers (and how you can do the same), Australia’s new creative grants model, and we got caught up in Writer in Residence Candice Fox's passion for crime.
