In this monthly q & a session, the guys answer listener questions. J.K. Rowling was nearly homeless when she wrote the first Harry Potter book. Stephen King penned CARRIE on a small desk wedged between a washer and dryer. James Patterson worked in advertising and famously wrote the Toys “R” Us theme song long before becoming an author. Join New York Times best-seller, J.D. Barker, and indie powerhouses J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon as they pull back the curtain on some of the world's most prolific authors. Where did they start? What is their process? The biggest names in publishing all have origin stories, all have a process, all have tips and secrets... What does it take to consistently top the bestseller lists? Get your notepad out. School's in session. This, is Writers, Ink. Join us on Patreon and ask a question guaranteed to be answered on the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/writersinkpodcast Questions asked: Probably one for JD; Do you think it is easier to sell a completed manuscript or screenplay assuming the same quality and all other things being equal? What are the arguments you check when deciding to pitch to a publisher versus publishing yourself? Curiosity question: Are you writing in silence or do you listen to music or sounds? If you listen to something, is it the same all the time or do you vary? And what are you listening to? How do you choose the right editor? How do you decide your WIP is done and ready to publish? How does a new author determine who their target reader is? If you provide author services and run an author business, as well as author books, what is a good ratio of time spent on either endeavor? For Zach: You've mentioned that the past two or three years have been your most successful. What are you doing to reach readers? How many books do you have out now? What are the best first steps for a FT indie author looking to branch out into the trad-pub world? What are the things that traditional publishers would be looking at in terms of platform and prior sales? Links: J. D. Barker - http://jdbarker.com/ J. Thorn - https://theauthorlife.com/ Zach Bohannon - https://zachbohannon.com/ Proudly sponsored by Kobo Writing Life - https://kobowritinglife.com/ Music by Nicorus - https://cctrax.com/nicorus/dust-to-dust-ep Voice Over by Rick Ganley - http://www.nhpr.com and recorded at Mill Pond Studio - http://www.millpondstudio.com Contact - https://writersinkpodcast.com/contact/ *Full disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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