Tag Archives: continuing education

Episode #77: Pip Is Learning New Things

We’ve been busy lately with wrapping up one project and starting a brand new one. However, we are never too busy to learn new things, and Pip is doing that presently with Nick Stephenson and his course, How to Find Your First 10,000 Readers. This may sound like we’re drinking the marketing guru’s Kool-Aid (mmmmm…fruity) but we are asking hard questions. Nick’s got answers.

00:00 —  Introduction

  • All the SEVENS!
  • Shameless plug for Happy Hour from the Tower
  • Sonic Boom is encouraging bad behavior at home.
  • What are we up to?
    • Podcasting for Dummies, the Third Edition
    • Operation: Endgame
  • Listening to Geo again, and still loving that skeptical goofball!
  • Where is Tee going to be ON HIS BIRTHDAY? Well, he’s launching Podcasting for Dummies in Phoenix, Arizona!
  • Jack Mangan needs to get back into podcasting.

04:50 —  Episode #77: Pip Is Learning New Things

  • You can be marketing books for years (like us) and still miss steps.
  • When marketing goes bad…
  • Pip decided to take a deep dive course in marketing with Nick Stephenson of Your First 10,000 Readers
  • Who is Nick Stephenson?
  • Who is endorsing nick? Well, Joanna is, for one…
  • You can see some of these changes happening here.
  • Pip begins to share her newfound knowledge…and channels a Beatnik instead.
  • Your website should be doing this. (I didn’t know that!)
  • Free really isn’t “free” when you look at it.
  • Tee wants to buy Nick a pint based on his sense of humor.
  • Nick practices what he preaches.
  • A look at how to value your work.
  • Pip is learning a HECK of a lot!
  • When covers go bad, it’s EPIC.
  • Authors can really be cheap.
  • With lessons learned and learning from the lessons of others, it’s time to a To-Do List.
  • Launching a book? Tee’s got that covered.

23:45 —  The Loot Crate Lookie-Loo!

  • Who’s opening THE BOOOOOOXXX?!?!?
  • June’s Theme: Alter-Ego (Something Pip and Tee are familiar with.)
    • Tee-shirt: A Classic Transformers shout-out.
    • A Spider-Man Q-fig
    • An Incredible Hulk bowl, perfect for a raging teenage barbarian!
    • A poster book of DC Comics’ New 52 comic book covers
    • Nice Loot Crate pin nod to Spider-Man’s nemesis, the Green Goblin
  • We made a dent in our Geeky Prize Giveaway Stash at AwesomeCon, but we’re filling it up again…

28:52 — Writers Off the Clock

  • It was a VERY special weekend at the Morris household….
    • Introducing our daughter to ALIENS
    • She handled The Matrix really well, but it wasn’t the R rating that bothered us.
    • Do you have to show someone Alien before you introduce them to Aliens?
    • Pip will not be writing freehand anytime soon.
    • There is only ONE — DEFINITIVE — VERSION — of Aliens
    • What the Director’s Cut adds to the Aliens experience.
  • Aliens have inspired successful games. One of them scared Phil Rossi!
  • After 30 years, the movie is still solid. Masterful storytelling in film.
  • Character development in Aliens
  • Even the music plays a part.
  • The writing question: Why do the sequels and prequels fall so short? Where do you go after Aliens?
  • Tee’s one question for Alien: Covenant

43:51 — The Wrap-Up

  • Well, AwesomeCon lived up to the hype!
  • Where are we going to be?
    • 30 June-July 2, BlerDCon in Washington D.C. (Sunday only! BRIGHT AND EARLY!!!)
    • 14-16 July, Motor City Steam Con in Detroit, MI (Break out your PJ’s!)
    • 19-20 August, Mechanicsburg Mystery Weekend in Mechanicsburg, PA (Lots to do during this Mystery conference…)
    • 1-4 September, Escape Velocity in Washington, D.C. (A weekend of hardcore geekery with Nick Kelly!)
    • If you have an event and want The Shared Desk to appear there, here’s where to find us…
      • 703.791.1701
      • pip@pjballantine.com
      • tee@teemorris.com
      • …and social media, of course.
  • Ah, the glamorous life of writers…

[display_podcast]

Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or questions for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
We’ll talk about it!
And remember, you can find the show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

Comments Off on Episode #77: Pip Is Learning New Things

Filed under Episodes

Episode #29: All About Stonecoast (with Katie Bryski!)

TSD-back2backwKatie

After two days of recording and a plethora of technical glitches, we are back for another episodes with our new intern and return Canuck, ForeWord-nominated author, Katie Bryski! Join us as Katie, fresh from Stonecoast, come in-studio to talk about this amazing experience that she has embarked upon…

00:00 — Introduction

  • We are on a roll!!!
  • G’day, eh? We have a guest in the studio again! Throw on the back bacon — it’s Katie Bryski!
  • Things you shouldn’t do after the Smoky Writers: Have your liver tested.
  • Pip bitches about the drop-in’s. Again. (And remember this…for later on in the show…)
  • Since the Smoky Writers events, what have Tee & Pip been up to?
    • The Silver Pharaoh is submitted to Laurie.
    • Wolf in the Fold is also submitted to Laurie.
    • Audio recording for Ministry Protocol is underway.
    • Tee’s still job hunting, still working on Wolf in the Fold, and also working on something for Valentine’s Day.
  • What Katie has been up to since Stonecoast?
    • She’s our intern for February!
    • Katie is still working on a book that is formally known as formerly known as Styx.
    • In Season Three of Tales from the Archives, things get very Canadian!

 14:48 — All about Stonecoast (with Katie Bryski) 

  • The first challenge of Stonecoast: Get to the right Portland!
  • What exactly is Stonecoast?
    • Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
    • Low-Residency (so you can do this from home…)
    • Residency is in Portland, ME
  • Tee’s mic problems and Pip’s odd need for editing…eh, just go with it!
  • Working with Mentors (who are working authors)
  • This isn’t NaNoWriMo or a writers’ retreat, folks. This is graduate school. For writers.
  • And there is Tee, just being far too ‘Murican.
  • From #MicFAIL to #DropInFAIL
  • Pip asks who would Tee want to have as his Writing Mentor…and Pip makes an uber-#SteampunkFAIL.
  • But Katie is a published author already…so why does Katie need a Masters Degree in Writing?
  • Katie looks at the goals of Stonecoast she’s looking to accomplish through this program.
  • Tee and Pip are a touch green with envy over Katie’s journey with Stonecoast.
  • For someone who hates drop-in’s, Pip’s asking a lot from Tee in this episode.
  • Does Stonecoast have business angles covered?
  • Stonecoast offers another aspect of the writers’ community

33:44 — Seriously?! Seriously.

  • Another #DropInFAIL but we’ll get this…
  • It’s kind of important before you go into a blog tour to know what to do when you’re on a blog tour.
  • Copy-Paste-Here’s-Your-Blogpost….no, that’s not what you do.
  • If you are too busy to go on a blog tour because you are too busy promoting, you’re lost in #EpicFAIL
  • There are bigger problems afoot if you don’t have evergreen blog content to offer a blog tour.
  • Is the problem a lack of ideas? (As we show, nope.)

41:25 — The Wrap-Up

  • So excited that we have Katie for a little more time!
  • Katie is gathering a lot of dirt on it.
  • And she’s a good intern ’cause she’s getting Tee coffee!
  • Pip and Tee struggle to keep the show on target
    • Weather Child now has a cover.
    • Tee & Pip head down to Richmond for The Writers’ Show!
    • Dawn’s Early Light hits the shelves at the end of March!
    • Something special coming up in February….
    • Oh yeah, RavenCon as well!
  • Sweet as! Katie is coming to Balticon!!! And she’s talking about beer!!!
  • We need a better sign-off for Katie…
[display_podcast]
Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

 

4 Comments

Filed under Episodes