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Jennifer with Coffee - Episode 20 - Q&A: Writer’s Block, Trad vs. Indie, etc. (Solo Episode) · Jennifer with Coffee

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  [music]
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  SPEAKER_00: a mindset podcast for people who are looking for real change.
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm Jennifer Lauer, writer, yogi, and fitness fanatic.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lately, I've been having lots of coffee meetups, long,
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  SPEAKER_00: honest conversations that delve into mindset,
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  SPEAKER_00: identity, choices, and habits that shape our lives.
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  SPEAKER_00: I kept thinking how I wanted to share these conversations.
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  SPEAKER_00: So here we are.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Each episode moves in three beats.
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  SPEAKER_00: An inspirational story and interview with thinkers, builders, athletes, and artists.
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  SPEAKER_00: People who want to share their own transformations.
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  SPEAKER_00: And we'll end with a brief meditation to practice calming the nervous system.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you've been connecting with the stories and conversations here,
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  SPEAKER_00: I've also written some fiction that explore emotional spaces.
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  SPEAKER_00: One is an AI dystopia and the others are part of a paranormal mystery series.
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  SPEAKER_00: So if you're ever curious, you can find them on my website, jenniferlauer.com.
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  SPEAKER_00: Today's inspo is something I read in Maggie Smith's book, Dear Writer.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is her book about craft.
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  SPEAKER_00: Maggie Smith is a beautiful writer and poet.
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  SPEAKER_00: She talked about something in the beginning of her book that
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  SPEAKER_00: She coined this term with her
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  SPEAKER_00: and her family whenever they would see something beautiful or wanted
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  SPEAKER_00: to tell each other about something they saw.
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  SPEAKER_00: They would say, beauty emergency, beauty emergency.
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  SPEAKER_00: I feel like part of the job of a writer is to notice that We're always noticing
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  SPEAKER_00: whether it's mundane things or truly beautiful things.
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  SPEAKER_00: Beauty is important.
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  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's so much chaos and negativity and darkness in the world.
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  SPEAKER_00: I think beauty gives us something to aspire to.
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  SPEAKER_00: It gives us something to delight in.
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  SPEAKER_00: In this human experience,
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  SPEAKER_00: I am definitely going to be shouting beauty emergency all the time,
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  SPEAKER_00: whether it's seeing three cars of the same kind parked in a row or
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  SPEAKER_00: a butterfly landing on a flower or the moon having an eclipse.
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  SPEAKER_00: Constantly,
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  SPEAKER_00: I feel like my family were always saying,
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  SPEAKER_00: come look at the moon, come look at the moon.
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  SPEAKER_00: And so now I'll be yelling beauty emergency.
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  SPEAKER_00: Do you shout something when you see something beautiful?
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  SPEAKER_00: If so, let me know what it is.
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  SPEAKER_00: And Maggie Smith, I just find that completely delightful.
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  SPEAKER_00: So let's get to the first question.
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  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I've just written my first book
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  SPEAKER_00: Should I try my hand at becoming traditionally published or go indie?
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  SPEAKER_00: Great question.
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  SPEAKER_00: But first of all, congratulations.
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  SPEAKER_00: Finishing a book is a huge feat.
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  SPEAKER_00: It can take some people many, many years.
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  SPEAKER_00: I hope you take a moment to celebrate that big milestone of completing your first book.
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  SPEAKER_00: Whether or not you should go traditional or indie, I think it's a deeply personal decision.
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  SPEAKER_00: And they both have their pluses.
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  SPEAKER_00: So I'll just go over a couple of things to consider.
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  SPEAKER_00: No matter what decision you make, it's going to be great.
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  SPEAKER_00: So congratulations.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about a couple of great things for being traditionally published.
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  SPEAKER_00: The number one thing I feel like is that you have a team.
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  SPEAKER_00: You have someone who supports your book, believes in it enough to get you a book deal.
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  SPEAKER_00: You have this team.
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  SPEAKER_00: You have someone else that is with you along the journey.
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  SPEAKER_00: Having that camaraderie really helps when you are doing such a big professional jump.
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  SPEAKER_00: A pro of being indie is is that the timeline is based on you.
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  SPEAKER_00: Traditional publishing has a reputation for being epically slow.
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  SPEAKER_00: You write the book,
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  SPEAKER_00: maybe it takes you six months to a year to hear back from an agent who wants
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  SPEAKER_00: to rep your book, and then maybe it takes three months to a year to get a book deal.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is all if things are moving along quickly.
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  SPEAKER_00: It can take much longer than this.
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  SPEAKER_00: By the time you've edited the book,
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  SPEAKER_00: It's gone through all of the processes of traditional publishing.
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  SPEAKER_00: Your book comes out two to three years after you wrote it.
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  SPEAKER_00: And so that's just like a long time to wait.
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  SPEAKER_00: With indie, your timeline is based on you.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yes, you still have to edit the book.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yes, you still have to make big decisions about it.
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  SPEAKER_00: But there isn't this bureaucracy that you're not in control of.
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  SPEAKER_00: I think control of your timeline is a huge pro for indie.
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  SPEAKER_00: Having a team behind you is a huge pro for traditional.
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  SPEAKER_00: Another pro for traditional, the promotion in mainstream spaces.
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  SPEAKER_00: You are going to get a publicist and yes,
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  SPEAKER_00: they are going to be focused on many books, not just yours.
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  SPEAKER_00: However,
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  SPEAKER_00: having access to a professional promotional team is All of the marketing is going
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  SPEAKER_00: to be through your publisher and just has more street cred,
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  SPEAKER_00: I guess, to get into those big mainstream places.
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  SPEAKER_00: A pro for indie, I have to say this is one of my biggest, is you retain ownership of your IP.
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  SPEAKER_00: Your intellectual property belongs to you.
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  SPEAKER_00: As someone who finds that truly important to an artist,
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  SPEAKER_00: retaining your ownership of your work is a huge bonus to going indie.
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  SPEAKER_00: Another pro for traditional is the prestige, the social proof.
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  SPEAKER_00: You get to tell someone that you are published by Penguin Random House.
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  SPEAKER_00: There is like that cachet.
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  SPEAKER_00: You feel chosen.
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  SPEAKER_00: You've been validated.
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  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to overlook the value in being validated by a prestigious person.
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  SPEAKER_00: For indie, the last pro I'll talk about is you make the big decisions.
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  SPEAKER_00: So the cover, the editor, the marketing campaign, book tour, all of those things.
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  SPEAKER_00: Those things are in your control.
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  SPEAKER_00: Pro or a con, depending on the kind of person that you are.
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  SPEAKER_00: Getting to make those decisions.
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  SPEAKER_00: And it's not that you wouldn't have input at a big publisher.
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  SPEAKER_00: For sure, if you're going indie, you would have control over deciding those big things.
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  SPEAKER_00: Do pertain to the art of your project and what you're making.
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  SPEAKER_00: I would say think hard about what you want and consider why you want it.
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  SPEAKER_00: That was a big deal for me is considering why did I want to go traditional?
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  SPEAKER_00: And the answers to that affected a lot of my decisions when it came to publishing my book.
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  SPEAKER_00: And then my last bit of advice is just to make the decision with your whole heart
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  SPEAKER_00: and enjoy the ride.
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  SPEAKER_00: Because publishing a book is so exciting and beautiful.
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  SPEAKER_00: And I bring up the statistic that I read once that like 90% of people want to write
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  SPEAKER_00: a book in And only 2% ever do.
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  SPEAKER_00: Even less of a percent start a book ever finish one.
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  SPEAKER_00: You are already in the very small minority of finishing a book.
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  SPEAKER_00: So that just says so much about you.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's going to be really fun and it's going to be really hard.
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  SPEAKER_00: I just hope you enjoy the ride.
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  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for that question.
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  SPEAKER_00: Question number two, what do you do to escape writer's block?
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  SPEAKER_00: That is worded appropriately, to escape writer's block.
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  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so there's debate.
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  SPEAKER_00: Does writer's block exist?
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  SPEAKER_00: For the sake of this question, we'll just say that it does exist.
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  SPEAKER_00: I would say the first thing to do is figure out where in the process you are.
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  SPEAKER_00: Are you at the beginning of a project,
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  SPEAKER_00: in the middle of a project, between projects, or near the end?
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  SPEAKER_00: Because that is going to be a huge deal in how you approach it.
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  SPEAKER_00: If it were me, these are the things I would do to jumpstart my writing.
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  SPEAKER_00: The first thing I need to do is to get myself writing again.
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  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's a week, a month, a year, write something very short.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's a poem.
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  SPEAKER_00: An email,
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  SPEAKER_00: text five friends,
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  SPEAKER_00: that's writing, journal, anything to get yourself back into the act of writing.
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  SPEAKER_00: And I know texting and emailing doesn't feel like writing writing,
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  SPEAKER_00: but it is if you compose them with purpose.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you're doing this because you're trying to break your writer's block,
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  SPEAKER_00: maybe text your friend a complete sentence that is,
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  SPEAKER_00: are meeting them for dinner and you want to tell them in
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  SPEAKER_00: the most poetic way you can.
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  SPEAKER_00: Also, I love haiku, so I would probably write a haiku.
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm always telling myself this advice.
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  SPEAKER_00: Start with the most exciting scene.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you have a story idea, get to the most exciting scene.
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  SPEAKER_00: Because if you're bored, the reader's going to be bored.
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  SPEAKER_00: Another thing you can do...
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  SPEAKER_00: Tell someone about the story.
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  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes just talking about the story with someone who is
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  SPEAKER_00: a good engaged listener is more helpful than actually anything you can do on
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  SPEAKER_00: the page.
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  SPEAKER_00: You'll get feedback from that person.
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  SPEAKER_00: And talking to somebody about your story,
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  SPEAKER_00: sometimes when you say it out loud,
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  SPEAKER_00: you realize things and you get excited about it and you...
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  SPEAKER_00: Push it forward.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's why I love collaboration when it comes to writing.
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  SPEAKER_00: I think that that can be really helpful.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you're the kind of person that needs to kind of hard nose yourself
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  SPEAKER_00: to get yourself to do something,
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  SPEAKER_00: tell yourself you're going to write for five minutes.
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  SPEAKER_00: Take the babyest baby step.
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  SPEAKER_00: By the end of the day today, I'm going to write for five minutes.
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  SPEAKER_00: And that's it.
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  SPEAKER_00: Five minutes.
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  SPEAKER_00: And then regarding where in the process you are, just a couple of quick things.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you're at the beginning of the story and you go into writer's block,
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  SPEAKER_00: consider starting the story in a different place.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you are in the middle of a story when you get writer's block,
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  SPEAKER_00: I would use that start with an exciting scene.
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  SPEAKER_00: Whether you need to go to the end and write the ending first,
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  SPEAKER_00: just jump to the most interesting part.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you're between projects and you can't think of an idea for your next thing,
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  SPEAKER_00: my advice would be to go consume art.
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  SPEAKER_00: I get so inspired.
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  SPEAKER_00: Go see a play.
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  SPEAKER_00: Go to a concert.
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  SPEAKER_00: Watch a movie.
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  SPEAKER_00: Watch a TV show.
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  SPEAKER_00: Go to an art museum.
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  SPEAKER_00: Whenever I see other artists making their art, I am so deeply inspired to make my own.
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  SPEAKER_00: And then if you're near the end of a story and you go into writer's block,
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  SPEAKER_00: I would wonder if the ending I had planned is something I really want to write.
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  SPEAKER_00: And maybe I'm just avoiding writing the ending in my mind.
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  SPEAKER_00: To break that kind of writer's block,
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  SPEAKER_00: I would tell myself, okay, I'm going to write three different endings.
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  SPEAKER_00: I'll write whatever I'd planned.
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  SPEAKER_00: I'll write the complete polar opposite of the end and
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  SPEAKER_00: then I'll write something really avant-garde.
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  SPEAKER_00: See how that goes.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's my advice if you are struggling with writer's block.
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  SPEAKER_00: I feel like there's always a way around it.
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  SPEAKER_00: You have to find that little thing that turns you on.
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  SPEAKER_00: Our final question, question number three.
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  SPEAKER_00: I am terrible at meditation.
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  SPEAKER_00: Everyone says it's good for you and that we should all be meditating.
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  SPEAKER_00: What if we can't?
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  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is so relatable.
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  SPEAKER_00: There is such a myriad of things that we are told in today's society that we need
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  SPEAKER_00: to master in order to be happy.
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  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's exercise more,
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  SPEAKER_00: be in a community,
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  SPEAKER_00: eat more protein,
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  SPEAKER_00: in this case meditate, we can only do what we can do and what we want to do.
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  SPEAKER_00: I'd say if meditation is difficult or unappealing to you, then meditation.
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  SPEAKER_00: Maybe don't focus on it so much.
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  SPEAKER_00: We all kind of do tiny acts of meditation without effort.
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  SPEAKER_00: Finding it inside like a deep inhale of your morning coffee.
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  SPEAKER_00: In a long hug with someone you love.
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  SPEAKER_00: Taking a walk in nature.
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  SPEAKER_00: I feel like we're experiencing meditation during those times.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's any time you're observing yourself without judgment.
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  SPEAKER_00: Being present with a person or being present in your work.
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  SPEAKER_00: I like to think of meditation as engaging in the moment.
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  SPEAKER_00: I feel like anyone can benefit from meditation in the simplest form.
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  SPEAKER_00: Bring attention to your breathing.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's it.
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  SPEAKER_00: Simple.
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  SPEAKER_00: Do a simple body scan.
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  SPEAKER_00: Listen to a guided meditation.
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  SPEAKER_00: I also have a handful of meditations on Insight Timer for free.
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  SPEAKER_00: I can link that in the show notes.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think you're doing fine.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you are truly interested in adding meditation to your life,
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  SPEAKER_00: You will.
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  SPEAKER_00: You'll find a way.
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  SPEAKER_00: And maybe it's not for you for now.
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  SPEAKER_00: And that's okay too.
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  SPEAKER_00: Finding moments of solitude where you can.
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  SPEAKER_00: Taking a moment to breathe.
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  SPEAKER_00: Taking a moment to be with yourself.
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  SPEAKER_00: Notice what your senses are feeling.
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  SPEAKER_00: Those things can all be meditation.
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  SPEAKER_00: At the end of this podcast, we do three breaths.
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  SPEAKER_00: So you can start there.
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  SPEAKER_00: Well, those are all of the questions for today.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you have a question,
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  SPEAKER_00: it could be about anything,
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  SPEAKER_00: writing, fitness, meditation, anything you might be wondering about.
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  SPEAKER_00: Follow me and DM me on Instagram at jenniferleelauer.
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  SPEAKER_00: You can email at questions at kingsofcontentwithak.com.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's kingsofcontent, content with a K, questions at kingsofcontent.com.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much and keep them coming.
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  SPEAKER_00: This was fun.
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  SPEAKER_00: Today's breaths are to calm everyday stress.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let's just take these breaths,
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  SPEAKER_00: no matter what is going on in your life,
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  SPEAKER_00: no matter what you are worried about,
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  SPEAKER_00: whatever stress you have,
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  SPEAKER_00: for these next three breaths,
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  SPEAKER_00: all of it disappears, and everything is right in the world.
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  SPEAKER_00: You are safe, you are cared for, everything is good, just for these three breaths.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let's take the first breath.
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  SPEAKER_00: Take a deep breath in and breathe in calm and clarity.
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  SPEAKER_00: And breathe out, letting go of anything you're worrying over.
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  SPEAKER_00: Slow and steady.
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  SPEAKER_00: Take a second breath in, relaxing your shoulders, relaxing your face,
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  SPEAKER_00: And breathe out.
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  SPEAKER_00: All of the breath, push it all out.
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  SPEAKER_00: We're really going to luxuriate in this final breath of calm,
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  SPEAKER_00: allow the whole body to release your troubles and breathe in some solitude.
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  SPEAKER_00: Breathe in, inhale,
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  SPEAKER_00: And exhale.
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  SPEAKER_00: May you carry this moment of calm through your day.
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  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to Jennifer with Coffee.
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  SPEAKER_00: Follow us on Instagram at Jennifer with Coffee and on Substack.
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  SPEAKER_00: This has been a Kings of Content production.
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  SPEAKER_00: Music by Oreo CC.