Write the Damn Book Already

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Write the Damn Book Already

Elizabeth Lyons

152 episodes

6 days ago

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! This episode starts with a question that’s been tapping me on the shoulder all year: What would it look like to choose ease without giving up momentum? I’m reflecting on the past year in book writing and publishing, and sharing what I’m carrying forward into 2026. Less hustle-for-hustle’s-sake. More sustainable progress that feels livable. I talk about why consistency in book sales matters more than viral spikes, and why realistic ...

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Entrepreneurship

All content for Write the Damn Book Already is the property of Elizabeth Lyons and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! This episode starts with a question that’s been tapping me on the shoulder all year: What would it look like to choose ease without giving up momentum? I’m reflecting on the past year in book writing and publishing, and sharing what I’m carrying forward into 2026. Less hustle-for-hustle’s-sake. More sustainable progress that feels livable. I talk about why consistency in book sales matters more than viral spikes, and why realistic ...

Show more...

Entrepreneurship

Episodes (20/152)

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 251: 2026: The Year of Ease, Not Hustle

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! This episode starts with a question that’s been tapping me on the shoulder all year: What would it look like to choose ease without giving up momentum? I’m reflecting on the past year in book writing and publishing, and sharing what I’m carrying forward into 2026. Less hustle-for-hustle’s-sake. More sustainable progress that feels livable. I talk about why consistency in book sales matters more than viral spikes, and why realistic ...

3 weeks ago

24 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 150: Author & Book Marketing in 2026 with Jenn Hanson-dePaula

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Episode 150 provides the reset many authors quietly crave as Jenn Hanson-dePaula returns to help us modify (if not outright rebuild) our expectations, systems, and perspectives when it comes to book sales. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: • How to implement a "2 sales a day" strategy. • Becoming "profitable, not popular." (Hint: Clicks matter. Likes and views don’t.) • The simple link path that outperform complicated funnels every time. • The e...

1 month ago

1 hour 8 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 149: Favorite Reads of 2025

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! In this episode, I share 8 books that reshaped how I parent, relax, and think about storytelling in 2025. Books: Just Do Nothing (for Parents) by Joanna Hardis The Summer We Ran by Audrey Ingram What Happened to Lucy Vale by Lauren Oliver Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Small Victories by Anne Lamott Moms Like Us by Jordan Roter *** 📚 Author Visibility Bundle (200+ customizable email and social med...

1 month ago

26 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 148: 5 Self-Publishing Mistakes First-Time Authors Make

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! In this episode, we walk through 5 mistakes that quietly undermine first-time self-publishers and show how to fix each one with practical, doable steps. We start by tightening your audience with a one-sentence framework that keeps every chapter aligned to a clear promise. From there, we map a real editing workflow: self-edit, gather targeted beta feedback on structure and flow, then bring in a professional editor who can stre...

1 month ago

24 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 147: 5 Editing Rules that Instantly Improve Any Nonfiction Manuscript

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! If you’re writing a nonfiction book or memoir and your draft feels messy, scattered, or “not quite ready,” this episode will help you clean it up fast. I’m sharing 5 editing rules that instantly improve any nonfiction manuscript — the same rules I use to help guide the authors whose manuscripts I edit. These are the patterns I’ve seen again and again after coaching hundreds of authors, editing countless drafts, and publishing...

1 month ago

16 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 146: I Wanted To Be Wonderful with Lihi Lapid

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Wanting life to be wonderful and wanting to be wonderful aren’t the same thing, and that gap is where today’s conversation lives. Israeli journalist and author Lihi Lapid joins me to talk about motherhood’s messy truths, the pressure to be “more” than "good enough," and the writing choices that make a story feel honest. From bestselling novels to a children’s book that calms homes during chaotic times, Lihi's path as an author refr...

2 months ago

31 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 145: Quick Wins For Self-Publishing Authors

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Today I'm sharing 5 quick wins that make self-publishing feel simple, not scary, and show how small moves can build sustainable momentum. By the end of these 5 steps, you will have: • locked in a clear (and easy to pronounce over and over again) working title • chosen a credible publishing company name • and understanding of ISBNs and taken the first step toward purchasing yours • selected a trim size that best fits your word coun...

2 months ago

30 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 144: What I'd Tell You About Book Writing (If I Wasn't Afraid You'd Block Me)

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Ever felt like everyone else has the secret playbook for publishing while you’re just winging it? Same. In this episode, I spill everything I'd tell you as the author of six books (and having published 50+ for others) if I wasn't afraid you'd unfollow or outright block me. I'll get real about the financial side of authorship—the thin margins, the myth of “making it” with one viral post, and the practical ways nonfiction auth...

2 months ago

29 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 143: From Starbucks Barista to Thriller Novelist with Julie Doar

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! A single question on a cold Hudson Valley walk: What if there’s a body in that hunter’s tent? sparked the debut thriller The Gallagher Place by Julie Doar. In this episode, we chat about how she wrote the first draft by instinct, then shifted gears into precision: charting dates, timelines, and cause-and-effect until every twist landed in a way that made sense. When the manuscript worked its way to 100K+ words, cutting ...

3 months ago

36 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 142: Writing, Endings & Publishing Myths with Novelist Turner Gable Kahn

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! What happens when a traditionally published debut novel suddenly appears on Kindle Unlimited while still showing wide? That unexpected twist opens into a bigger conversation about publishing decisions (and what’s actually within an author’s control). In this episode, Turner Gable Kahn, author of The Dirty Version (Harper Perennial), shares how she honored her grandmothers with a pen name, threaded #MeToo-era questions into a contem...

3 months ago

39 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 141: From Fantasy to Memoir with Betsy Cornwell

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Maid meets Under the Tuscan Sun! Betsy Cornwell built her career writing young adult fantasy, but her newest book tells an entirely different story. In this episode, Betsy opens up about her memoir, Ring of Salt, which chronicles her escape from an abusive marriage and her creation of a sanctuary for single-parent artists. At the center is the Old Knitting Factory in western Ireland, a historic building she transformed into a child...

3 months ago

40 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 140: Writing Tips from Bestselling Author Jane Hamilton

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Most authors have as big a stack (if not bigger) of abandoned drafts as they do books that actually make it into the world. Jane Hamilton—bestselling author of The Book of Ruth and A Map of the World and two-time Oprah Book Club pick—is refreshingly open about that reality. Her newest novel, The Phoebe Variations, took nearly a decade to finish. Not because she was “blocked,” but because finding the center of a story often means wr...

3 months ago

43 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 139: How Indie Authors Can Shield Their Book from Copyright Infringement

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Copyright. Piracy. LibGen. AI scraping. If just reading that list makes you want to hide under your desk with a bottle of...something...you’re not alone. Indie authors are being forced to navigate a landscape that feels murkier by the day, and most of us didn’t exactly sign up to become copyright attorneys. Unfortunately, the “poor man’s copyright” trick (mailing yourself a sealed copy of your manuscript) I used to suggest won’t do...

4 months ago

27 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 138: How to Choose Best Kindle Keywords for Your Book (Guide for Indie Authors) (2025)

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! There are more than 42 million books on Amazon right now. So how in the world do you help your book stand out? One word: keywords. Think of keywords as Amazon’s GPS. They tell the algorithm exactly where your book belongs and who should see it. However, Amazon only gives you seven keyword boxes to work with. Seven! Which means every slot has to pull its weight. In this episode, I walk you through how to make those keywords work har...

4 months ago

31 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 137: Amazon Ads for Authors Made Simple - FAQs

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Amazon ads don’t have to be complicated (or eat up your entire marketing budget) to actually sell books. In this episode, I’m sharing my approach to making Amazon ads simple(r) without endless spreadsheets, confusing dashboards, or the kind of budget that makes you wonder if you should’ve stuck with free bookmarks. Common Questions Tackled: Do I really need to spend $50–$100 a day like people recommend for Meta ads? Or can I start ...

4 months ago

36 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 136: Writing a Novel While Raising Kids with Jill Beissel

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Writers dream of the day they’ll hold their finished book, but few warn you about how intense the editing phase can be. In this episode, debut novelist Jill Beissel gets real about the messy, magical process of turning a rough draft into a polished novel readers will love. Jill’s upcoming book, Glitter and Gold (out October 7!), went through what she calls “color-coded chaos”—a DIY system using highlighters, sticky notes, and sheer...

5 months ago

30 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 135: Q&A: Kirkus Reviews, Writing with AI, and Bestseller Status

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Ever feel like everyone has some secret book marketing hack? Most of those “shortcuts” are just expensive detours. In this episode, I’m calling out three distractions that keep indie authors spinning their wheels. First up: Kirkus Reviews. Are they legit? Yes. Are they worth the price for most self-published authors? Maybe. But if you're hoping a $400 review is going to move thousands of copies, well, it probably won't. Then ...

5 months ago

22 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 134: Crafting Complex Narratives with Lauren Oliver

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! If you’re the kind of person who devours psychological thrillers but also wants to be emotionally sucker-punched (in the best way), Lauren Oliver’s What Happened to Lucy Vale needs to be on your radar. In this episode, Lauren takes us behind the scenes of what might be her most structurally daring novel to date. Set in a small Indiana town with a possibly-haunted house at its core, Lucy Vale unspools two eerie mysteries—one s...

5 months ago

31 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 133: Living Proof with Tiffany Graham Charkosky

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! In this episode, I sit down with Tiffany Graham Charkosky to talk about her forthcoming memoir, Living Proof (October 21, Little A), a book written and shaped over years of writing and rewriting. At just 11 years old, Tiffany lost her mother. For decades, she believed it was an unexplainable tragedy, until a DNA test unearthed information that changed everything. That discovery didn’t just reshape her understanding of her mother’s ...

5 months ago

37 minutes

Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 132: What Nobody Tells You About Making Your Book "Take Off"

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! If you’ve been chasing the magical marketing strategy that will finally make your book “take off,” welcome to the club. In this episode, I’m addressing the question nearly every author eventually asks: What does it actually take to make a book successful? Spoiler: there’s no guaranteed formula. Even authors with six-figure advances, NYT bestsellers, or celebrity blurbs still worry their latest book won’t sell. So what are we ...

6 months ago

24 minutes