For years, Heather Thompson Day‘s author platform hovered around 5,000 followers. Despite numerous book releases with a small denominational press and a steady speaking schedule, she just couldn’t seem to grow her tribe. She felt stuck.

And then all of a sudden, things changed.

Within two years, she hit 150,000 followers.

What changed? What did she do differently?

Listen to our conversation with Heather on the latest episode of Gatecrashers Podcast.

It’s hard to get that first book deal. Really hard.

Yet every year, numerous debut novels get publishing deals—and some for big advance amounts.

So what causes a publisher to say “yes” to one debut novel and “no” to another?

We sat down with former Tor Executive Editor Diana Gill and asked that very question. Listen to the chat here.

If you or someone you love suffers from writer’s block, then this is the podcast episode for you!

Writer’s block can take on many forms. It can be a lack of motivation, a sudden disinterest in your book, an issue with plot or character or scene, and more.

When faced with writer’s block, many writers simply give up. The task of working through it seems so difficult, that it’s easier to begin a new writing project or take a year off. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

Listen to this episode of The Gatecrashers Podcast for our best advice to move through writer’s block and move on with your story!

What’s your idea for a children’s book? Most authors have one. Whether you typically write adult romance or business nonfiction, chances are you have an idea for a picture book, chapter reader, or kids novel. Chances are, you’ve even written some of it down!

But is it worth an author’s time to pursue a career in kids publishing—especially if writing for children isn’t their true “calling”?

On this week’s episode, we talk about children’s literature, how it’s so very hard to break in, and how almost every author tries (or so it seems!).

“Why do you spend so much time writing?”

“You’re never going to get published.”

“You want to spend HOW MUCH on a writer’s conference?!”

If these complaints sound familiar, then you might be facing an unsupportive spouse (or parent, loved one, etc). Last week, we covered the different kinds of unsupportive spouses—some are afraid of change, some don’t have all the info they need to become supportive, and some are controlling.

One of the best things you can do is to have a heart-to-heart conversation with your spouse. This discussion should help to clarify information that is fuzzy (to them) while also alleviating any fears they may have that their day-to-day will drastically change. From this conversation, they should be able to slowly move from unsupportive to supportive.

But how do you prepare for such a conversation? We discuss that and more on this week’s episode of The Gatecrashers Podcast.

“My spouse doesn’t support my writing career!”

This is a common complaint among writers. Parents, family, friends, partners—it can sometimes seem as though the people we love the most are the least supportive of our writing dreams and goals.

In the recent episode of The Gatecrashers Podcast, literary agent Amanda Luedeke and novelist Charis Crowe discuss how to tell if your spouse is truly unsupportive or if they are acting from a place of fear or lack of information.

Listen to the episode here.

I live in Indiana.

I had no previous book publishing experience.

In fact, when I first started working with Chip MacGregor, I wasn’t fully sure what an agent did.

So how did I get to become a book agent? We discuss my journey in this week’s episode of the Gatecrashers Podcast.

Authors are told to write what they’re passionate about, but many times this leaves them confused. “I have so many book ideas!” many of my authors have told me. “How do I determine which one to write?”

I’ve known authors to struggle with questions like should I write mystery or fantasy? Romance or women’s fiction? A book on parenting teenagers or parenting toddlers? Should I do a cookbook or a fitness book? A Bible devotional or a trade book?

Sometimes the answers to these questions can be found in the author’s online analytics.

This week’s podcast episode tells the story of one author who is using social media analytics to inform his writing—and how it allows him to connect with his readers even more. Listen here.

It continues to be an interesting time for book publishing.

In this update we share information that was provided by Penguin Random House, looking at at the book categories that have taken the biggest hits along with the ones that have done well.

We also discuss why the “free ebook” movement at the beginning of the pandemic turned out to be a bad idea, and we offer a bit of good news as bookstores begin to reopen and the Big 5 Publishers put in place initiatives to help keep independent retailers afloat.

Listen to the May 25 update on how COVID-19 is affecting book publishing.

Every writer has doubts about his or her book idea. Is this marketable? Is this unique enough? Is this engaging? Does it hold attention?

These doubts are normal! They’re part of the process.

But sometimes those doubts point to more than a healthy (or not-so-healthy) lack of self confidence. Sometimes they point to real trouble areas with your idea or writing.

So how do you know when the doubts are more than just doubts? How do you know when it might be time to trash your working manuscript or idea and move on to something new?

This week’s episode of The Gatecrashers Podcast offers insight and clarity on when it might be time to walk out on your WIP.