Over on the Sell More Books Show, Jim Kukral announced the launch of a new podcast as part of his new “Author Marketing Institute Podcast Network.” Unlike other author podcasts, this one focuses on craft. Specifically: editing. Anyone who knows me, or who’s followed the Awesome Indie Project, knows I have an appreciation for good editing. I’m always striving to hone my skills, because the better job I do on my drafts, the easier it will be for a paid editor to help me prepare for publication.
Content
I’ve listened to two shows so far, and both were great. The hosts — Leslie Watts and Alyssa Archer — start the show with a quote about editing from someone famous in publishing, and not necessarily from the trad pubs (the first show quoted Chuck Wendig). After that, they choose a published or unpublished novel someone has submitted and read it on the air for about 10 minutes. Then they tear it to pieces! Haha, just kidding. Actually, they’re incredibly respectful of the work. They say what they like about it, and then suggest improvements from a number of different perspectives: story, pacing, sentence structure, etc. In my opinion, they do a bang-up job. I really love this stuff and could listen to it all day.
Style
One of the things I love about the show is the personalities of the hosts: calm, focused, friendly, earnest in their mission. Delivery is something I usually don’t think about when it comes to podcasts, but it’s an important consideration. Simon Whistler of the Rocking Self-Publishing Podcast mixes bubbly enthusiasm with a Tony Blair accent, and it’s always fun to hear Jim Kukral and Bryan Cohen riffing off each other so naturally on the Sell More Books Show. It’s no coincidence that I mention these other two shows side-by-side with Writership. They’re all winners.
John L. Monk 