I’m at my desk most of the working day, writing stuff. If I’m not doing that I might be cleaning (yawn) or doing insane amounts of washing (also yawn) and I usually pause at lunchtime to go for a walk or a run. When doing the non-writing things I like to listen to podcasts. Here are some of my fav’s in no particular order!
Honest Authors’ Podcast
A podcast focussed on ‘honest’ experiences of being an author, warts and all! Hosted by female crime writers Gillian McAllister and Holly Seddon, the series starts with both writers sharing their experiences of being debuts and on-going discussions as their careers progress. Full of lots of interesting insights into the publishing world, thoughts on writing, dealing with anxiety, and author interviews.
I have found this really useful, particularly earlier episodes since I am still in the ‘awaiting publication’ stage (with fair levels of anxiety as well as excitement). It’s also really great to listen to both women discuss the experience of completing an entire publishing cycle and moving on to their next books.
Available online here
Avaliable on iTunes here
The Bestseller Experiment
Could you write, publish & market a Bestseller in a year?
Spoiler alert – it seems that you can!
I started listening to this after the ‘two Marks’ Mark Stay and Mark Desvaux had done just that. I was sceptical about how enjoyable this would be as a show, but once I started I was totally hooked. They have really, really good guests: authors (traditional and indie), publishers, oh and Bryan Cranston. The episodes are funny, heartwarming (you will be cheering them on), and inspirational. There are so many great tips on writing and publishing that they have compiled a lot of the info into the eBook ‘The Vault of Gold’.
Available online here
The Joined Up Writing Podcast
UK writer Wayne Kelly hosts this show. It has has been running since 2014 so I’m yet to listen to all of the episodes, but Wayne has some fantastic guests. Main episodes feature long-form interviews from writers and publishers. The range of writers is really good and, like The Bestseller experiment includes both traditionally and indie-published authors. There are also shorter ‘epilogue’ shows, quick ten-minute episodes focussing on a bonus topic or question.
Available online here
Avaliable on iTunes here
The Creative Writer’s Toolbelt
Hosted by Andrew J Chamberlain a Creative Writing Tutor, this is full of practical and accessible advice on the craft of writing. Not only does this show include lots of useful interviews with writers, it also looks specifically at the ‘craft’ of storytelling so is slightly more academic. Andrew Chamberlain has also compiled all the best advice and insights from the first 100 episodes into ‘The Creative Writer’s Toolbelt Handbook’.
Available online here
Two Crime Writers and a Microphone
Hosted by Luca Veste and Steve Cavanagh this is laugh out loud funny. These two are pretty well connected so they have a host of amazing guests from the industry. Both are experienced writers with a fair few books under their belts so share a lot of insight. There are lots of author interviews (usually crime), and bloggers come on and give reviews and recommendations. The pair also dissect the week’s publishing news – often with hilarious results. All the interviews, tips etc. are fab but the best thing about this podcast is the interplay between its hosts. It also has great theme music.
Available online here
Available on iTunes here
Speaking of Psychology
I listen to quite a few psychology lectures online. I think it’s helpful for writing realistic characters and I’m also nosey about why people do things. There have been quite a few lectures that I’ve liked but this is my favourite podcast series at the moment. Hosted by the American Psychological Association (APA), each episode is quite short (around 15 minutes) and features a topic and an expert on that field. Such as ‘False confessions aren’t always what they seem’. Useful for dropping in-and-out of.
Available online here
Crime + Investigation
I’ve just started getting into true crime podcasts so I’m feeling my way around a fair few at the minute, and I love this one. It discusses crime shows, true life cases, and the public fascination with them. They interview psychologists, law enforcement officers, TV producers and a couple of crime writers too. I’m early into this one but looking forward to some serious binge listening.
Available on iTunes here
Leave a Reply