Latest / The Daily Writer / Build Your Network with WriterFest Nashville | Ami McConnell

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Build Your Network with WriterFest Nashville | Ami McConnell · The Daily Writer

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Hey friends, welcome back to the Profitable Rider Podcast.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new here, my name is Kent Sanders.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an author and ghostwriter.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: And this is a show that helps you grow your impact and income as a writer.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: I've always operated on the assumption that most of my listeners are introverts.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: And if you don't think of yourself as an introvert, that doesn't make you any less of a writer, of course.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: I know plenty of extroverted people in my life, and some of them even happen to be writers.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: However, that being said, I do believe that most writers feel that they get their energy from being alone, and that most of the time being around people drains them, especially if we're talking about large groups of people or large events like conferences or gatherings of any kind.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: And to be honest with you, I can certainly relate to that, which is probably why I'm a full-time writer, as opposed to doing some other job that requires me to spend my time with people all day.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: One of the dilemmas that you have to face as an introverted writer is knowing how to navigate conferences.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: And even though we recognize the immense value of conferences and events for learning our craft and building relationships, we also have to figure out how to be involved in those events without completely draining ourselves.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why I'm really excited to bring you this conversation with Amy McConnell, who runs Riderfest, which is a conference for writers in Nashville each November.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Amy joins me to chat about what makes Riderfest unique, how to get the most out of it, how to navigate events as an introvert, and much more.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Now, even though Riderfest has already happened here in 2025, I want to give you a heads up to make plans to attend Ryderfest in 2026.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure to get on the mailing list for Ryderfest so you're notified about updates, and you can do that by visiting RyderFestNashville.com.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: By the way, I am not speaking about Ryderfest from a theoretical standpoint.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: I have attended Ryderfest before, and it is really an amazing conference.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I have to be honest with you, one of the things that I like about it, actually, there's a lot of things I like about it, but one of the things is that it's not a big, huge, overwhelming type of conference.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh I don't know if I would describe it as small, that's not really the word I'm looking for.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um I would say there are a lot of people there, but it has the feeling and the vibe of a smaller conference.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe that's just because the people like Amy who put together Rider Fest, and as well as the people who attend and speak and run run panels and workshops and are participating in it, maybe it's because all those people are just really cool and chill riders who are there to add value, who are there to talk.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not like some big sort of hypey event where you know how that works.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you go to a conference or an event, and it's like you're just sort of everybody's sort of just like on the whole time and the energy is dialed up to love.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I find those kind of uh events completely exhausting, to be honest with you.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I have the exact opposite experience at RyderFest, which is you go and you I could spend days and days and days there.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: And it just, it kind of just feels like those are my people.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: And perhaps that's the best compliment that I could give Ryderfest is when I go, I just kind of feel like, yeah, you know what?
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: These are my people.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope that you're gonna make plans to attend that as well.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Now, before we get into the conversation, let me tell you a bit about Amy, who, in addition to being the founder and president of RyderFest Nashville, is also the founder and president of Amy McConnell Literary Agency.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Amy is an author, a writer, and editor with over 20 years of experience in-house at major trade book publishers.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Having edited numerous New York Times bestsellers and award winners, she now works with authors of all stripes to create bestselling books.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: Amy is a USA-to-day and Wall Street Journal bestseller who has collaborated with singers, songwriters, psychologists, doctors, therapists, film and TV actors, and artists.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Amy also serves on the board of the Women's National Book Association Nashville chapter and lives in the Nashville area, of course, with her family.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: You can find out more about Amy by visiting her website, amimconnell.com, and that's Amy spelled with an I as an AMI McConnell.com.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: And you can go to the Ryderfest website at RiderfestNashville.com.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: And as I mentioned, please make sure to sign up for updates as well as listen to the Ryderfest podcast.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's really, really good stuff.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Again, you can do all that by visiting RyderfestNashville.com.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: And with that, here's my conversation with Amy McConnell.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Amy, it's great to have you on the Profitable Rider Podcast.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think this is your first appearance on the show.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Is that correct?
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think it is, Kent.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: I can't believe it's taken us this long to have you on the show because I've known you for a few years now.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: And have respected what you do in uh a lot of ways, you know, not just as a ghostwriter, but also as the creative rider fest.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know why it's taken us this long.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: We'll have to make sure it's not quite as long before your next appearance.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I you know, the today is always the right time, right?
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: Whatever where whatever moment we're in is always the right time.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start out with with some of your background.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I know that you have written your own books, but also you're a very accomplished ghostwriter.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: You've written for some very high-profile people, and I think that's really interesting because I always encourage ghostwriters and and also sort of by by default, you know, editors or graphic designers, anybody who is working with people who are writing books behind the scenes, I encourage all those people to write their own books as well because I think it makes you more well-rounded, you have more experience, it grows your platform, there's all kinds of benefits.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: So walk us through your background as a writer and how you how you have navigated figuring out what your career is because it's had a lot of different facets, and I'm always interested in people's journeys uh and their writing careers.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I never intended to be a writer, I'll tell you that.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: I I I love writers, they're just my favorite people.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: I I gravitate towards creatives and always have, but specifically writers, even as a little person, like a short, short, short person, I thought the people who wrote were the most interesting.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I actually didn't know where they lived.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: I think it was more I never really um knew any, but I knew people who um who had gave me access to the books, right?
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: And they also looked up to writers.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I think in my even like a seven-year-old imagination, my dream was to be able to talk with those people who wrote the books.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I certainly even as a little girl tried my hand at writing, but my interest was really in helping stories be told.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: I I'm that for I don't know, that's just the way I'm wired.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so my goal was never to be a writer, it was always to help facilitate great writing.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, so my first job out of college, well, at first I tried being a teacher for a minute, and then my first job out of college was really in publishing.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I knew right then, I was like, I don't care how much they pay me.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: I remember my boss telling me, don't tell anybody that.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: That is not something you tell people that you don't care how much you get paid.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: But I really didn't.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: I just wanted to help great books get made.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: And um, being part of that process has always brought me so much joy.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I spent 23 years in-house.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: I worked for HarperCollins, I worked for Word Publishing, I worked for Thomas Nelson Publishing, I worked for HarperCollins.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: I started a fiction division at HarperCollins, which is now three different fiction divisions at HarperCollins.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: And then I moved on to Simon and Schuster.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I spent a good deal of time in-house as the advocate for the publishing house to the author and for the author to the publishing house, and advocating always for the reader, also.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: So that was sort of the the position that I um that was that was my posture was always to be in service to those three constituencies, the the readers, the authors, and the publishing house.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so that really gave me a, I think, a great point of view, if you will, like to use the author parlance, the writer parlance.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: I've got great point of view in the sense of I can really empathize with the the with a lot of aspects of the whole um intellectual property business.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: I can and I can um identify closely with the buyer at Target.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: I can identify closely with the reader at Kirkus.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: I can identify closely with the the um the CFO of the company.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: I can identify closely with the production editor in-house.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: I can identify with all those people, and that's given me a really interesting posture to step outside of corporate and be an advocate for authors now in all different kinds of ways.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um I can help them see other people's perspectives while advocating always for that creative individual.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, so that ended I ended up ghostwriting kind of on accident because I was those authors, help those authors create good books.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of authors don't have time to have their butt in the chair, and I actually do.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I I loved taking that all the way to fruition.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not doing very much of that at all, to be honest with you, these days.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, just a few clients that I've done repeat books with over the years, I'm still working with, but for the most part, I'm working more closely with authors who are creators themselves these days.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Gosh, I love that.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't realize that you had worked with so many of the top Newark publishing houses.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's been, I mean, it's been a fun ride.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not, and you know, and I'm grateful for that corporate experience where I was in-house and I was advocating for, you know, these publicly traded companies where we were watching what we spent every quarter and making sure that what we returned in revenue was higher than what we had returned the previous year.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I really have that rigorous mentality of profitability for creative product, um, which I think a lot of creatives don't have.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm I'm grateful for that discipline in my brain.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's not my favorite.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but the only reason why I I I'm really I like it and I lean into it is because it does help me measure productivity.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I am very wired for productivity.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I do like to help my creative friends be more productive.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: So those disciplines that were in place those 23 years, literally, that I was watching the pro the profit and loss statements, that I was watching our um quarterly statements, that I was watching my own 401k rise and fall based on the profitability of the companies that I was a part of.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: I was reporting to the C-suite to talk about whether my books were profitable, my divisions were profitable.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that's not super fun to be in that hot seat, but it does develop in you some really um some good criteria for productivity.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: And that has to be a heartbreaking role, I would imagine, sometimes because you probably came across a lot of authors who submitted proposals or you connected with them and you love their pitch, you love their concept or their writing, but maybe they didn't have the author platform or that there was something about them or their platform that made you realize it wasn't gonna be profitable, or at least that it was gonna be really challenging.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it's gotta be hard to turn away those authors who have a great message or their writing is fantastic, but it but it does have to make money for the company at the end of the day.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to balance those two things.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: Certainly it's a balancing act, but I would not say it was heartbreaking.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I just want to be, you know, because we care a lot about language, right?
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: So I would not say it's heartbreaking.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: I always feel like this that that a book not is not necessarily for me at this moment, but it might be for someone else.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: And if I take it and it's not for me, then I'm doing a disservice to that author, right?
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: So as whether that's as an editor, as a ghostwriter, as a as anything.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: Even if I take a referral, like to do a coffee date with somebody, or if I, you know, if some if I if if I let someone entrust their um their gift to me for a time, or if I if I decide to walk alongside somebody, I better be a hundred percent in.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: Because if I'm not a hundred percent in, then it's bad for them.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like that I'm that's an opportunity cost for them.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: So um I don't let it break my heart.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: I just say this is not for me, this is for someone else, and that's that's fine, you know.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: I love that perspective.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's really, really good because you you are, I mean, uh you're a steward, whether you're a ghostwriter or an editor or a designer or whatever your role is in helping a book get out into the world, there is stewardship involved in that.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's not for those of us in this industry, it's it's really not just a job.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: We feel some kind of calling or a creative pull, or you know, this isn't just sort of we're doing this for money.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: We really love this and we really care about books.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so there's this stewardship involved.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: And if you can't be an effective steward of that and help shepherd that book along, then really you are doing them a disservice.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I appreciate you saying that.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: I think for everybody listening, you've you've helped to give us some new language to express that if something isn't right for us, it's it's not because we don't like it, it's because we don't have the we don't have the capability or we don't have the the connection or whatever to really shepherd that book along.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: So that's helpful.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I I think too, you know, I again I'm not I never meant to be a writer.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: I don't I s I am a creative person, that that's for sure, but I really believe in art.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's it's like a faith for me.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like I just believe in art.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: And what I personally believe about art is that it connects, it creates connection between people and sparks connection between people.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not supposed to be connected with everybody.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that that's gross.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: Like I can't literally connect with everybody, it would rob me of energy, it would rob them of energy.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: I'm supposed to be connected with the right people.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes something will come upon come to me that I feel like has strong, strong energy, but it's not for me.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: But I know it's going to connect with someone else, and I'm like, I can't wait to see that take take hold and see what happens when the right person gets a hold of that.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, so it's it's I I have really strong emotional feelings around that.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um but it but they're I think they're beneficent feelings.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: They're they're all beneficent feelings because I know all art will connect with someone and it will connect with the person it should connect with, or persons, or lots of people, or millions of people, you know?
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that passion that you have for art, and I share the same passion by the way.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I love all kinds of art and love reading about artists, and uh I can go down the rabbit hole of all kinds of different things.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: But I imagine that that passion that you have for art is part of why you started Writerfest, which is kind of a it's it's really a different kind of conference that's not just for writers of books or bloggers, you know, it's it's more of a broader kind of thing.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm I would love if you can can share with us your journey of why you started Writerfest, what was involved in that, what it's about for those who aren't familiar with it.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: Ah, well, thank you.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: You just invited me to talk about my favorite child.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we all love that.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: None of my kids are listening to this because none of them are writers, so they don't care.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: But um of my of my seven children, I have five five biological children and two stepsons.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: And but um and actually there some of them are big readers, but nobody so far has been a writer.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: I I started Writer Fest because I actually went to a ton of writer conferences in my years as an acquiring editor and publisher.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um I I'm one of those rare editors who is also an extrovert.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: So I love to hang with people.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: I love to go be around people and teach and talk and network and go to happy hours and such.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: And most editors would much prefer to be at home with a manuscript.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: So I got to do all the traveling basically for our teams.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: And not all the traveling, but I I would always raise my hand when it was time to go to rom com or um or um Comic-Con or um book any kind of book industry event, I would raise my hand and or I would um get asked to come speak and or even travel with authors sometimes when they would be keynoting and things.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: I would travel with them.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: So I've been to a ton of book events and I learned a lot about what I love as a uh participant and as a as a faculty member, as a teacher.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: I learned a lot about hospitality in those venues and what was lacking and where the opportunities were for improvement and things of that nature.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, there were some that I looked forward to every year.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: I would book my travel a year in advance because I was so excited to go.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: And there were some I would really drag my feet on.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: So I really, I think I became kind of a connoisseur of what I loved about those places.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: And what was unique to me about Nashville, which is where I live, is that this is a town built around music, right?
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like you cannot like I'm at the Nashville Public Library as we speak.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: And if I walked in there and I said, Raise your hand if you're a songwriter, I bet you there would be 10.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: Every hand would go up.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: So there are songwriters everywhere you look.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody is very interested in the arts, typically.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: We have a very vibrant literary community.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you know about Parnassus books here, founded by Ann Patchett.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um and it's just a vibrant literary community.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: And then we also have a lot of film here.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a lot of filmmaking that goes on here because of the music industry.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: There are a lot of uh music videos created here.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a lot of film folks here.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: And to me, this community is so open to creative collaboration.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: Not necessarily, I mean, for sure we want to win, but Nashville is very collaborative, meaning like we love doing gigs together.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: You can have a, there's probably like an open mic night every night of the week within a and within a one mile square radius, there's at least one, right?
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a ton of collaborative work going on all the time.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I wanted to bring people to Nashville to experience that unique creative collaboration experience with that unique hospitality that I felt like I could bring, um, knowing as many people as I do in the industry.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: So it really sprung out of that, that idea that there are col there's collaborative community that can help other people elevate their creative endeavor, regardless.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: So maybe you'll meet somebody here in the Nashville Library, the Green Hills Library, who is a songwriter, but they're also working on a novel.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: Or you'll meet somebody there who's a poet, but they're also very interested in the screenplay.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: So I love that idea.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: And that we've found that to be so true.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: People come to Writer Fest with one particular expertise, but they want to expand on into other genres of writing.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: So we we build out the program so that they can do that.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: See, that's really fascinating because I I'm not aware of any other writing conferences or workshops or anything like that that basically recognize that a writer who has the impulse to write a book probably also has the impulse to write music or screenplays or poetry or other kinds of things.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, writers don't typically just do one, they they typically don't just have one outlet for their creative passion.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I love the fact that you have recognized that and you've that's sort of a baked-in feature of Writer Fest.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: Is that an accurate way to say that?
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: That is an accurate thing to say, and I would say also it comes a little bit out of a um I should mention that it is was partly a discovery that I made by accident.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: I was speaking at a a conference for specifically for fiction writers, and I was um younger, quite a bit younger, probably 20 years ago, and I was talking about branding and about how you have to stick a lane and sti pick a lane and stay in it consistently in order to develop a readership over the long haul.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I was using case studies of my from my own um roster of authors that I represent that I um had acquired and edited, and I was saying, no, so here in this case, this person deviated from her genre over here, and then the sales dropped off here.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: And I was trying to give testimony to these people and impart my wisdom, if you will.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: And um, but but out of a obviously hubris, I I was not aware of how ignorant that was.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: One woman who was in the audience who was a very successful writer raised her hand and she said, I just I really take issue with what you're saying here.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: I understand where you're coming from from a marketing perspective, but I don't think you know us very well if you think that we are going to stick a pick a lane and stay in it.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I turned bright red.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, Wow, excuse me, um, that hurts my feelings because I was like, you know, supposed to be the expert, subject matter expert in the room.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: But I was like, well, you know, I appreciate where you're coming from.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I was somewhat gracious in the fate of face of um argument, effectively.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: But I went away from that thinking, she's right.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know what I'm talking about.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: I know what I'm talking about from a publishing perspective, but I am not acknowledging the truth of the fact that the art they're creating is coming from a place of expansiveness, not uh rigor.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so that was a really interesting lesson for me, a a human, a humbling lesson.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and but I began to kind of follow the threads of that and realize, hey, as an editor, I might be thinking too narrowly.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: Perhaps I should be looking at other um venues for uh intellectual property, if you will.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: And as a as a consequence of that, I ended up acquiring the rights to some songs to create novels from, uh, films, screenplays to create novels from.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: So I just it expanded my own thinking as an acquiring editor and really got me thinking about how to work with creatives in a new way.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: Boy, that's interesting.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's really, really interesting.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: We'll get back to the conversation in just a minute, but I want to take a moment to give a big thanks to today's sponsor, Vellum.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: As a writer, you not only want to write great books, but you also want them to look professionally formatted and give your reader a great experience.
• 21:42
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• 21:47
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• 21:54
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• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: And they want to save tons of time in the process.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: Best of all, you can download Vellum and play with your book's formatting to your heart's content, and you only have to purchase when you're ready to publish.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: And when you do, Vellum can create ebooks and print books for every platform.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: To download Vellum for free, visit trivellum.com slash Kent.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's trivellum.com slash Kent.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's get back to the conversation.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: I I just I love how you you thought really differently about creating a gathering for writers and creatives because there's so many niche.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: I know some people say niche, you know, my son, my son who's 20 um, you know, thinks he knows everything, as as every 20-year-old does, and as I'm sure I do did at that age, but he's like, Dad is pronounced niche, not niche.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, Well, I'm from Missouri, and so we we mispronounce everything in the Midwest, and so I'm gonna say niche.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think too can't if as if you're a big reader like you and I are, I mean, and our listeners too, sometimes we come up with this the pronunciation of something in our brains because we read it on the page, but we didn't necessarily hear it spoken.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: So sometimes I'll walk around with the false pronunciation of something in my brain, and I'll realize, oh, I've never actually heard that.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: I've only seen it.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, anyway, at any rate.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, what were you saying about niche?
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: No, I you know, there's so many gatherings out there that are so specific to you know, this and I think it's great, you know, to have a conference for uh I know there's uh is it called Killer Fest?
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Is that the one in Nashville that's like the big Killer Killer Nashville, yeah.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: Killer Nashville, okay.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: Right Killer Fest.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: My friend, my friend runs that, yes.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um okay, and so there's like all these really, really cool gatherings that are genre specific, you know, or that they're very sort of these very targeted things, but I really appreciate the fact that you have something that is feels to me like it's more broad and recognizing that hey, people are going to cross genres, they want to interact with people who are doing different things because that's where a lot of really cool creative collaboration comes from, a lot of cross-pollination of ideas.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'd I love the fact that you have sort of ironically carved out a very specific niche for yourself.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um while but also by being broad.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: An anti-niche niche is what it is, I guess.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of, yes, I guess I think it's awesome.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think I I always say like there, there I always say, I say to my specifically to my business partner, Sarah, a lot, like let's don't make this an elbows out situation.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_01: Meaning, like, let's not try to to push people aside to make room for ourselves as artists.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's what happens sometimes when you go to very niche conferences.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: You'll see that they're elbowing out other people to elevate themselves.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: Instead, I really like to we really like to invite in people at Writerfest who are going to be um aspirational um for the rest of the audience, you know, people like um people like William Paul Young, who have done big things and they're not necessarily hungry anymore to succeed because they have exceeded beyond all expectation.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: So we're looking to them as aspirational for ourselves, but they're not necessarily saying, you must do uh what I have done in order to succeed.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: At that mentality is anathemal to a creative person.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: Sure, we want some help.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: We want, we want to gather in order to grow.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's what we do at Rider Fest, but we really don't want people to be elbowing each other.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: We want them to be open-handed with each other, sharing resources, sharing um their own life experiences, their empowering stories of having succeeded or failed at certain endeavors.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we love it when people come and speak about their experience of having crossed genres.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's really fun for us to bring in people like Alice Randall, who have had number one country hit songs, but also sold 18 screenplays and had books, uh, novels that are taught in Ivy League schools.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: So people who um have done cross genre are really interesting to us.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_01: And we continue to bring those people in as both keynotes and and sessions.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like that's a really important message that that we don't hear enough because you know, sometimes I look at um authors who let's let's just take like kind of the the tiger in the room, like somebody like Stephen King, for example, you know, uh, who is uh kind of like the worst example in the world because he's been around literally for decades writing novels and you know, like one of the world's most successful authors, obviously.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: But you take somebody like Stephen King who basically he has one kind of book that he writes.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I realize, you know, and I've read lots of his books over the years, so I realize there's nuances in what he does, and not every book has been a horror book and all that.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: I totally get all that, but basically, he has made a name for himself for writing a one type of thing, or you have maybe another author who has made a very successful career writing romance novels or young adult or whatever it is.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: And for those of us who I'm curious what you would have to say to those of us who can't imagine that we would be happy only doing one thing or one type of thing for decades on end.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: I think if you're wired that way, that's fantastic.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: Probably it's a lot easier because you're not distracted by these other creative impulses.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: But for those of us who are wired to want to dip our toes in some other waters, um, how do we figure that out career-wise?
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: Because we don't want to confuse people by doing 15 different types of things.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: So, how I I guess what I'm asking is how do you balance the need to make money with what you do and be profitable, while also the need creatively that you have to try some different things.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: How do you walk that line?
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: I tell you what's been super helpful for me was some advice from Alice Randall.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_01: Again, this was interesting.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: Like, she was a keynote at Rider Fest probably three years ago, and what no, maybe four.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_01: And what she said was so impactful to me and so many of us in the audience, and it's really changed my perspective on some things.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: She said, You can write for whatever reason you want.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: And that reason, your why, as people often say, what's your why?
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: Your why is allowed to morph and change.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_01: You need to own it.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: So for me, the reason I was writing at that time was in order to fund my family.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: We I was ghostwriting at that time to pay the bills and to make sure my kids got to go to college, et cetera.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so I was like, I'm gonna get crystal clear on that.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_01: I am writing for that reason to pay the bills.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so let me break it down.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_01: How much do I need to pay?
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: How much am I going to need to earn in order to feel like I'm succeeding at this?
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_01: So I got crystal clear on that and I made that my goal and I succeeded at it.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: And that worked for a time, but I had to keep revisiting that.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: Is this working for me?
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_01: Why am I doing what I'm doing?
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I had to get deep, I have to stay really clear right now.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: Honestly, Kent, I've been my husband and I've done a lot of deep dive thinking about this, but right now I'm back on track of what I do for a living is help authors.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_01: I help creatives thrive.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what makes me happy.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's my why.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's not the actual pen to paper or the key, the fingers on the keyboard.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_01: That part is not as fun and is not as gratifying for me.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_01: I can still make a living, but my focus now is on helping those authors.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I love the lifestyle.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm owning the lifestyle.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_01: I like working with authors on a day-to-day basis in order to help them reach and achieve and succeed, like exceed their goals.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: So that's my why.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_01: And Alice said, you know, let's let's just just like we're weird people, let's just go through it.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_01: There are here's some reasons why you might be writing.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: You want to might want to be famous.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's a fantastic reason to write.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_01: Write to be famous, but own it.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's not about the money for you, it's about the fame.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_01: So what if you're writing for your children?
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_01: You're writing because you want your children to better understand you.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_01: Own it, go after it a thousand percent, right?
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_01: But it's not about the money if it's about your children.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_01: Like you just have to own the reason.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_01: And if you know what your reason is, instead of getting sidetracked, like, oh, the numbers aren't looking right today, it's not about the numbers, it's about the children or it's about the fame, it's about the lifestyle.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's make sure you know what the reason is and be honest with yourself and with whomever else you're accountable about what that reason is, um, and just stay true to it and don't be sidetracked by what it's not.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: And you can have different reasons for different parts of your business too.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: True, that's true, absolutely true.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you can have, you know, for ghostwriting.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I don't I don't really do and ghostwriting is my main thing currently.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: I don't really do that for a lot of creative fulfillment.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: I do it because that's that's where my income comes from, that's how I support my family.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh at the same time, I do learn a lot from clients, and every book that I work on, it it some somehow improves me either business-wise or I learn something new or or whatever, but that's not my main creative outlet.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I work on my own books, and then I run a writing membership community and I have different goals for that.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so the cool thing about all this is we can make whatever the heck we want to make, and we can it can be whatever we want it to be, and that's what I love about this life.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_01: I'm with you.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_01: I'm with you.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_01: And if there's some reason why we're not happy, listen, nobody's gonna be happy a thousand percent, like a hundred percent of the time, right?
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_01: If I say to myself, oh, I'm so frustrated, I was really wanting to be creative with this project, but it's not being creative at all.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_01: All I'm doing is collating.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_01: Well, guess what, Amy?
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_01: You can be creative another way.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: Why don't you go pick up like a an embroidery kit and go create?
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_01: If you need to create, finish your project, but create in another way.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's it's up to me, right?
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like some I it's up to me to scratch my own itches.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's not up to the work to satisfy me necessarily.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_01: I need to do the work that I'm supposed to do, but I can satisfy my scratch my itches in other ways, is what I'm getting at.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know if you're a fan of Saturday Night Live or if you watch the 50th anniversary show.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: So we're recording this on uh February the 18th.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, this will come out uh uh sometime in the next few weeks.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, it was interesting.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: So the Peacock Streaming Network, they put out a four-part series on SNL, sort of behind the scenes, and it was interesting.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: They did an episode on the writers of SNL, and it was really, really fascinating because so many people would think that if you're a writer for a show the caliber of Saturday Night Live, that it would just be all fun all the time.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: But it was so interesting because so much of what they showed from the writers was like angst and stress, and yes, that they know they have a really cool gig that everybody wants, but there's so much pressure and everything.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought, man, I don't think I would survive in that world for about two seconds.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: So there's always things involved in our craft that are maybe not the most fun, or there's stress, or there's pressure, or there's angst, or whatever.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I I think that just kind of goes with being a writer to some degree.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: We had Liz Kakowski as one of our keynote speakers one year.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_01: She was a writer on SNL, and she's gone on to write um such films as um Wine Country and Um gosh, several several films.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_01: She's a f a fantastic comedic writer, but she was at Writer Fest a few years ago, and I love learning from her.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_01: And she talked a lot about how this the stress of the writer in.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_01: But I think I think we just have to, as writers, we have to change that mentality mindset, if you will, of like, I don't have to, I get to.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, right?
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like, yes, I have to do this thing, but also I get to do this thing.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: So not like not let go of the fact that we get to do this fun thing.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I always remind myself, like, I could be in insurance, like I could be selling insurance.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure I would do fine at selling insurance.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure, I'm sure it would be a fine way to earn my income.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_01: But I get to work with creatives, which is such a delight.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: And even when I'm having like the most uncomfortable phone calls with an author, I'm like, I get to do this.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_01: What and this is like such a joy, such a pleasure.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_00: I think the same thing too.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh a few months ago, well, actually, this was last summer, they they just now installed, well, just now eight or ten months ago, they put uh fiber internet in our neighborhood.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I live outside of St.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: Louis, and two different companies came within weeks of each other, dug up our yard, put the cable in, and it was it was kind of weird how they had two different companies doing it.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_00: But I guess that that you know, in case one company goes under, they want another company and they want to give you options as a consumer or whatever.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_00: But it was interesting.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_00: And during that time, I I had a home office, I have a separate office now, but I would look out my window and see these guys digging, you know, installing fiber in our yard and stuff.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought, man, I could be doing that for a living.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so on my worst days as a ghostwriter or as an author coach or as a writer, sometimes I think back to those guys, you know, I could be doing that, or I could be roofing in 110 degree Midwestern heat in July, or I could be doing something that I just absolutely hate every second of every day.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, every every day has its ups and downs, no matter what your job is.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: But man, you're absolutely right.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: We get to work with some really cool people and we get to do cool things in the world, and I'm super grateful for that.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_01: Me too.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there's a lot of gratitude.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: I do want to ask you a couple questions about Ryderfest before we wrap up this conversation.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm curious if you can talk about, so from the perspective of somebody who put who has been putting together Ryderfest for a while now, what are some of the unique challenges of putting together a sizable conference like this?
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: There are probably a million and a half details that go into this.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like when do you actually start planning?
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_00: So we're recording this in February, Rider Fest is in November each year.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, when do you start securing speakers and planning and figuring out details for the venue and all those kinds of things?
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just kind of curious how that works.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's a it's a rolling 12.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we do we're we're a business like any other.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_01: We always it's a rolling 12.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_01: So we're constantly working on the next year.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's just a it's a matter of where we are on the calendar cycle.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_01: So right now we are securing the keynotes and the session speakers.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_01: So that we'll have that done by quarter quarter two.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_01: We'll be done with that.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um and we it's been really nice to have a home at Belmont University.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_01: They are such a great partner, the Mike Kerb College of Entertainment and Music Business.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they're a great partner for us because they actually house the publishing, the one of only six publishing um majors in the US, as far as I'm as I know.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_01: So interestingly publishing, they house music business and they also house film.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a great physical place to us for us to be, and we're there are ongoing partners, so we get to we know we're gonna be there.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_01: So having a great venue is huge.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I I've told Sarah, like, it's fine if we have to go to Embassy Suite someday, but I love being at Belmont because it's a beautiful campus, it is literally steps away from Music Row.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_01: So we get to take advantage of that proximity.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we're like just a few miles from William Morris Entertainment.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like there's just it's a great prop uh proximity to the city.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I love being there and we're constantly planning for that that fall conference.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_01: And then year-round, we have activities going on all the time.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_01: So we have a social media person who's responsible for the social media presence that we have, um, and we have activities every month.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_01: We have professional meetups with happy with um, we do a happy hour every month for people who are in the industries of film music and um film, music, and book uh in the industry.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_01: So we have a a monthly meetup for that.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_01: We have salons where people gather as writers to kind of congregate in writer circles.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then monthly we have some sort of gathering for writer fest that's an event.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_01: So some sort of ticketed event so that they can gather and and um as we say, we gather to grow.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_01: So just a smaller event and a venue every every month.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_01: So we actually have something going on all calendar year at leading up to Writer Fest, which is in November.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and uh yeah, so that it's it's an ongoing thing.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: I had no idea that you had so many things going on connected to Ryder Fest.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's incredible.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's a really I mean, this community has been so good for us.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_01: Nashville is a fantastic community.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_01: We we had a listening party at my house this weekend of just like I just told a few friends, like, hey, let's just get together and listen to some music and um literally like professional musicians and just hanging out in the in the living room at my house with my husband and I, just like playing our our favorite songs for each other in our house just for kicks and giggles.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then as as a as a matter of course, we always end up starting like, oh, we should do a project together, like let's collab on that.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_01: And um, this this in this community is great that way.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_01: One of my friends um who was supposed to come to that party was like, Oh, I'm so sorry, I have a gig.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm I'm gonna be playing at the five spot instead.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, oh, half of our friends are gonna be over there.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_01: Not half of our friends, but your friends are gonna be over there, and that's cool.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: We'll be meeting again next week.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we're we're all the time gathering.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_01: So um, so yeah, it's a great, it's a great, it's a great creative community here in Nashville.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_01: And people come from all over the world to come to Ryderfest because they know repeat like every year, year after year, they're gonna have like the time of their lives.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_01: We always have a benefit for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to kick off Ryderfest, where we raise money to give books to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library gives books to children ages zero to five, so that by the time they get to kindergarten, they'll have received a book, um, a book a month every year until they're five.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_01: So those kids get uh effectively a whole library.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas but whereas if they weren't members of the Imagination Library, they might have received, you know, maybe no books at all.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um but it's not, it has no obligation as far as your income.
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_01: There's no limiting factors.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_01: Any kid in Tennessee and all over the world, honestly, there's lots and lots and lots of dollar partners in Imagination Library um forums around the world, but we raise money so that those kids can get books.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_01: And last year, I think we raised enough money to to give 160 kids books for uh zero to five.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um we raise a lot of money, but we do a big party in downtown Nashville on Broadway at Acme Feed and Seed, um, where we have singing and live um live music and uh silent auction and a wine pull.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's just a big party, effectively, but we were raising money for a cause we all believe in.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the way we kick off Ryderfest every year.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, love that.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_00: Where can people go to learn more about Ryderfest?
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_00: But also where can they go to learn more about your services for authors?
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh well, Riderfest Nashville is our website, Riderfestnashville.com.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_01: And we also have, of course, have Instagram feed, so Riderfest Nashville.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I am Amy McConnell.com, A-M I M C C O N N E L L dot com.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I also obviously have an Instagram as well.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Amy, this has been an absolute blast.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um sorry it's taken so long to get you on the podcast.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_01: Oh no.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_01: Every like I said, this moment is the right time for sure.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_01: I believe it.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_01: I believe it.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_01: So thanks for having me on.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's been a blast.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_00: Totally my pleasure.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_00: I will have those links in the show notes.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_00: And again, thanks so much for your friendship and the excellent work that you're doing and how you're blessing so many writers.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's absolutely incredible.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for your support.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_01: I love what you're doing, and I think your show is great.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate you.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, thanks again for joining me for another episode of the Profitable Rider Podcast.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_00: And many thanks to my guest, Amy McConnell, for sharing her journey as a writer and also lots of info and tips about the excellent RiderFest Nashville conference.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_00: Once again, you can check out her site at amimconnell.com.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_00: And the RyderFest site is riderfestnashville.com.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_00: And again, I encourage you to sign up to be notified about next year's event.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: Looking forward to seeing you on the next episode.