Episode 32: J.C. Geiger, YA Author & Mixtape Creator
Marketing, Craft, Writing, Character, Novel Draft, Novel Editing, Novel Idea, Novel Outline, Novel Publishing, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Editing, ER/CB Outline, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Submission, ER/CB Publishing, Nonfiction Draft, Nonfiction Editing, Nonfiction Idea, Nonfiction Outline, Nonfiction Publishing, Nonfiction Submission Mary Kole Marketing, Craft, Writing, Character, Novel Draft, Novel Editing, Novel Idea, Novel Outline, Novel Publishing, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Editing, ER/CB Outline, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Submission, ER/CB Publishing, Nonfiction Draft, Nonfiction Editing, Nonfiction Idea, Nonfiction Outline, Nonfiction Publishing, Nonfiction Submission Mary Kole

Episode 32: J.C. Geiger, YA Author & Mixtape Creator

Tune in for a chat with Mary Kole's long-time friend in the children's publishing space, YA Author J.C. Geiger. He tells all about how he made an epic mixtape with music no one's heard before (and met his heroes in the process), and talks about writing young adult characters, the future of post-pandemic fiction, and—of course—the power of music.

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The Writing Journey with Leslie C. Youngblood
Writing, Craft, Character, Freelance Publishing, Novel Publishing, Novel Draft, Novel Idea, Freelance Draft, Freelance Idea, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Publishing, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Outline, Memoir Publishing, Nonfiction Publishing Mary Kole Writing, Craft, Character, Freelance Publishing, Novel Publishing, Novel Draft, Novel Idea, Freelance Draft, Freelance Idea, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Publishing, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Outline, Memoir Publishing, Nonfiction Publishing Mary Kole

The Writing Journey with Leslie C. Youngblood

Author and former assistant professor of creative writing Leslie C. Youngblood joins Mary Kole on the Good Story Podcast. She shares her journey through her MFA program, gives tips on crafting interesting character relationships, and weighs in on one of the hottest questions for authors today: traditional or self-publishing?

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Retelling (3 Reasons to Reimagine)
Writing, Market, Novel Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Outline, Novel Publishing, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Draft, Freelance Draft, Freelance Idea Michal Leah Writing, Market, Novel Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Outline, Novel Publishing, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Draft, Freelance Draft, Freelance Idea Michal Leah

Retelling (3 Reasons to Reimagine)

Is it just me, or does it seem like retellings and reimagined stories are everywhere you look? Whether I’m on the Kindle page or surfing Netflix, it seems like everyone’s telling familiar tales in different ways. Here’s more about this trend and why it matters.

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How to Write Diverse Characters (And, Also, Are You Qualified?)
Craft, Nonfiction Draft, ER/CB Draft, Freelance Draft, Novel Draft, Picture Book Draft, Short Story Draft, Novel Idea, Picture Book Idea, Nonfiction Idea, ER/CB Idea, Freelance Idea Joiya Morrison-Efemini Craft, Nonfiction Draft, ER/CB Draft, Freelance Draft, Novel Draft, Picture Book Draft, Short Story Draft, Novel Idea, Picture Book Idea, Nonfiction Idea, ER/CB Idea, Freelance Idea Joiya Morrison-Efemini

How to Write Diverse Characters (And, Also, Are You Qualified?)

Wondering how to write diverse characters? Many writers aspire to create worlds that look like a true fusion of personalities and cultures, religious beliefs, and ethnicities. How do we create art that imitates the life we are striving for?

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Building Fantasy Worlds with Jonathan Auxier
Novel Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Publishing, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Publishing, ER/CB Editing, ER/CB Outline, ER/CB Submission, Novel Editing, Novel Outline, Novel Revision, Novel Submission Mary Kole Novel Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Publishing, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Publishing, ER/CB Editing, ER/CB Outline, ER/CB Submission, Novel Editing, Novel Outline, Novel Revision, Novel Submission Mary Kole

Building Fantasy Worlds with Jonathan Auxier

NYT Bestselling young adult and middle-grade author Jonathan Auxier joins Mary Kole to discuss visual writing, worldbuilding, and how different media use dialogue to create action.

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Books That Teach Life Lessons
Writing, Craft, Audience, Picture Book Idea, Picture Book Draft, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Draft, Nonfiction Draft, Nonfiction Idea Mary Kole Writing, Craft, Audience, Picture Book Idea, Picture Book Draft, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Draft, Nonfiction Draft, Nonfiction Idea Mary Kole

Books That Teach Life Lessons

Books that teach life lessons are fine...as long as you don't clobber readers over the head with your theme. So how do you weave a message into your story without being too obvious?

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Brighten Even The Foggiest Story Idea
Craft, Critique, Market, Writing, ER/CB Idea, Freelance Idea, Memoir Idea, Nonfiction Idea, Novel Idea, Picture Book Idea, Short Story Idea, ER/CB Outline, Freelance Outline, Memoir Outline, Nonfiction Outline, Novel Outline, Picture Book Outline Joiya Morrison-Efemini Craft, Critique, Market, Writing, ER/CB Idea, Freelance Idea, Memoir Idea, Nonfiction Idea, Novel Idea, Picture Book Idea, Short Story Idea, ER/CB Outline, Freelance Outline, Memoir Outline, Nonfiction Outline, Novel Outline, Picture Book Outline Joiya Morrison-Efemini

Brighten Even The Foggiest Story Idea

Story ideas don’t always come easily, but sometimes we get glimmers that turn into a list of foggy ideas. How do we decide which new idea to run with? And how do we take steps to make it shine?

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Episode 6: Gail Carson Levine, Historical and Fantasy Author
Craft, Novel Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Editing, Novel Outline, Novel Publishing, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Editing, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Outline, ER/CB Publishing, ER/CB Submission, Nonfiction Draft, Nonfiction Editing, Nonfiction Outline, Nonfiction Publishing, Nonfiction Submission, Nonfiction Idea, Memoir Draft, Memoir Idea, Memoir Editing, Memoir Outline, Memoir Publishing, Memoir Submission Mary Kole Craft, Novel Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Editing, Novel Outline, Novel Publishing, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Editing, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Outline, ER/CB Publishing, ER/CB Submission, Nonfiction Draft, Nonfiction Editing, Nonfiction Outline, Nonfiction Publishing, Nonfiction Submission, Nonfiction Idea, Memoir Draft, Memoir Idea, Memoir Editing, Memoir Outline, Memoir Publishing, Memoir Submission Mary Kole

Episode 6: Gail Carson Levine, Historical and Fantasy Author

Historical and fantasy author Gail Carson Levine interviews with Mary Kole. She shares thoughts on the writing process, world-building, and her latest book, A Ceiling Made of Eggshells.

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Episode 17: Anna Staniszewski, Children's Author
Marketing, Market, Audience, Novel Draft, Novel Submission, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Publishing, ER/CB Submission, Picture Book Draft, Picture Book Publishing, Picture Book Submission, Picture Book Idea, Picture Book Editing, Picture Book Outline, ER/CB Editing, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Outline Mary Kole Marketing, Market, Audience, Novel Draft, Novel Submission, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Publishing, ER/CB Submission, Picture Book Draft, Picture Book Publishing, Picture Book Submission, Picture Book Idea, Picture Book Editing, Picture Book Outline, ER/CB Editing, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Outline Mary Kole

Episode 17: Anna Staniszewski, Children's Author

On this month's episode, children's author Anna Staniszewski chats about her path to publication, writing for different age groups, and what it takes to make it as a full-time author.

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Anthropomorphic Animals In Children's Fiction
Market, Audience, Picture Book Draft, Picture Book Idea, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Idea Mary Kole Market, Audience, Picture Book Draft, Picture Book Idea, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Idea Mary Kole

Anthropomorphic Animals In Children's Fiction

Anthropomorphic animals in children’s fiction are common, but are these characters the best approach when you’re writing for young readers? Let’s talk about this popular topic for children’s writers by defining what an anthropomorphic animal is.

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Craft a Killer Fantasy Premise Using Good Versus Evil
Writing, Craft, Novel Draft, Novel Idea, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Idea, Picture Book Idea, Freelance Draft, Freelance Idea, Short Story Draft, Short Story Idea Amy Wilson Writing, Craft, Novel Draft, Novel Idea, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Idea, Picture Book Idea, Freelance Draft, Freelance Idea, Short Story Draft, Short Story Idea Amy Wilson

Craft a Killer Fantasy Premise Using Good Versus Evil

A fantasy premise that doesn’t engage on any themes of good versus evil can feel empty, but when those lines are too stark, it can feel a bit thin. So how do you find the balance?

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Unconventional Writing
Picture Book Idea, Picture Book Draft, Picture Book Publishing, Novel Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Publishing, Memoir Draft, Memoir Idea, Memoir Publishing, Freelance Draft, Freelance Idea, Freelance Publishing, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Publishing, Nonfiction Publishing, Nonfiction Draft, Nonfiction Idea, Short Story Draft, Short Story Idea, Short Story Publishing Mary Kole Picture Book Idea, Picture Book Draft, Picture Book Publishing, Novel Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Publishing, Memoir Draft, Memoir Idea, Memoir Publishing, Freelance Draft, Freelance Idea, Freelance Publishing, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Publishing, Nonfiction Publishing, Nonfiction Draft, Nonfiction Idea, Short Story Draft, Short Story Idea, Short Story Publishing Mary Kole

Unconventional Writing

Publishing loves its buckets. In children's books, there are several buckets that you need to fit into, with word count guidelines and all of that. There are buckets and tropes in adult publishing as well. Books that don't lend themselves easily to categorization can be a really difficult sell.

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Someone is Publishing My Idea!?
ER/CB Idea, Freelance Idea, Nonfiction Idea, Memoir Idea, Novel Idea, Picture Book Idea, Short Story Idea Mary Kole ER/CB Idea, Freelance Idea, Nonfiction Idea, Memoir Idea, Novel Idea, Picture Book Idea, Short Story Idea Mary Kole

Someone is Publishing My Idea!?

We've all heard people who claim that somebody took their idea and is now publishing it, or that somewhere somehow, another writer has come up with basically the same idea, sold it, and now, what does that mean for your idea?

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Permission To Write
ER/CB Idea, Freelance Idea, Memoir Idea, Nonfiction Idea, Novel Idea, Picture Book Idea, Short Story Idea Mary Kole ER/CB Idea, Freelance Idea, Memoir Idea, Nonfiction Idea, Novel Idea, Picture Book Idea, Short Story Idea Mary Kole

Permission To Write

Writing invariably is a passion for a lot of people that I work with. And they just, for whatever reason, have not been able to sort of devote themselves to it until now. And that's usually when they come to me and I plug into their process.

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Presenting the Premise
Craft, Marketing, Writing, ER/CB Idea, Freelance Idea, Nonfiction Idea, Novel Idea, Picture Book Idea, Short Story Idea Kristen Overman Craft, Marketing, Writing, ER/CB Idea, Freelance Idea, Nonfiction Idea, Novel Idea, Picture Book Idea, Short Story Idea Kristen Overman

Presenting the Premise

A series of things happening doesn’t make a story. Without a clear premise, readers have no idea what to expect from the story or why they should keep reading. Here's how to establish your premise from the start.

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The Body and Soul of Story
Craft, Novel Idea, Novel Outline, Picture Book Idea, ER/CB Idea, Freelance Idea, Memoir Idea, Nonfiction Idea, Short Story Idea Kristen Overman Craft, Novel Idea, Novel Outline, Picture Book Idea, ER/CB Idea, Freelance Idea, Memoir Idea, Nonfiction Idea, Short Story Idea Kristen Overman

The Body and Soul of Story

Stories are like people. They have a body, and a soul. The body is the plot, the actions that happen. And the soul is the character, the protagonist, the key person (or persons) bound by the circumstances of the plot and forced into decisions.

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