Writes4Women

Writes4Women host Pamela Cook chats to publishing industry professional Kelly Doust about her new business, Publishing Curious.
Kelly has worked across many facets of the industry including as an author, but also in marketing and as an acquiring editor and publisher. She's started a new business to assist authors in reaching their publishing goals, and to demystify the industry.
In this conversation Pam chats to Kelly about how acquisitions meeting work, what publishers are looking for in a manuscript, the realities of advances, and a whole lot more.
And if you enjoy this chat, join Pam and Kelly for a live zoom chat on Tuesday October 6 ay 7pm, and bring your questions with you.

SHOWNOTES:
JOIN OUR LIVE ZOOM CHAT, 7PM ON TUESDAY OCTOBER 6 here
Writes4Women
www.writes4women.com
Facebook @writes4women
Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast

W4W Substack
Click here

Kelly Doust
Website: click here
Instagram: click here
Substack: click here

Pamela Cook
www.pamelacook.com.au
Facebook @amelacookauthor
Twitter @PamelaCookAU

This episode produced by Pamela Cook for Writes4Women and recorded on unceded Dharawal land.






Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shannon Kelly-White & Lisa Ireland on Mentoring and the Making of Billy King
Host Pamela Cook interviews debut historical fiction author Shannon Kelly-White and author/mentor Lisa Ireland about the mentoring partnership behind Shannon’s debut novel.
Billy King (“Wild girls don’t go quietly”), is a story set in the Australian high country 100 years ago and told through three women’s perspectives: bushranger Dulcie, missing mother Anna, and 12-year-old Billy.
Shannon discusses her path from nursing to an unorthodox food blog and cookbooks, learning through a “drawer” manuscript, and developing a modern-feeling historical voice. Lisa describes recognising Shannon’s talent early, providing confidence and structural guidance, and focusing on story momentum and “killing darlings,” including major deletions and restructuring.
They discuss knowing when to submit, securing an agent, editing, cover reveal, handling reviews, mentoring benefits, and more.
00:00 Welcome to Writes4Women
02:35 Shannon’s Pre-Book Journey
03:19 Inside Billy King
13:37 Starting Mentorship Together
19:28 Building Three POV Characters
23:46 Story Structure and Cutting
35:56 Knowing When Done
40:20 Stop Over Revising
45:39 Handling Reviews
49:13 Mentorship Matters
51:39 Mentoring For All
57:28 Final Writing Advice
59:42 Wrap And Resources

SHOWNOTES:
Writes4Women
www.writes4women.com
Facebook @writes4women
Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast

W4W Substack
Click here

Shannon Kelly-White
Website: click here
Instagram: click here

Lisa Ireland
Website: click here
Instagram: click here

Pamela Cook
www.pamelacook.com.au
Facebook @amelacookauthor
Twitter @PamelaCookAU

This episode produced by Pamela Cook for Writes4Women and recorded on unceded Dharawal land.






Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Courtney Peppernell on Pillow Thoughts, Self-Publishing, and Her Debut Novel The Last Poem
Writes4Women host Pamela Cook chats with internationally bestselling author Courtney Peppernell, about her path from early “lightning writing” and a supportive family to self-publishing novels and then poetry, and now her debut novel.
Courtney describes self-publishing, and creating Pillow Thoughts from blog-style reflections, her poems going viral and landing a deal with a traditional publisher. Her latest release is The Last Poem, a multi-POV small-town Colorado story about grief, friendship and love.
An inspiring episode for writers at all stages of their career.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
02:07 Early Writing Spark
03:54 Family Support and Creativity
05:41 Self Publishing Beginnings
08:05 Pillow Thoughts Goes Viral
13:25 Signing with a US Publisher
15:57 Series Strategy and Branding
21:15 Life Changing Success and Tours
25:26 Setting Up Poem Readings
26:18 Reading From Thinking Of You
26:58 Writing Poetry As Characters
29:17 Modern Versus Traditional Poetry
30:50 Why Online Poetry Boomed
31:58 Algorithm Changes And Reach
33:35 Turning To The Last Poem
35:27 Plot And Grief Group Setup
36:34 Crafting Multiple Viewpoints
40:37 Favorite Characters And Libraries
43:58 Why Wren Is A Poet
45:49 Traditional Publishing And Events
48:57 Upcoming Books And Music

SHOWNOTES:
Writes4Women
www.writes4women.com
Facebook @writes4women
Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast

W4W Substack
Click here

Courtney Peppernell
Website: click here
Instagram: click here

Pamela Cook
www.pamelacook.com.au
Facebook @amelacookauthor
Twitter @PamelaCookAU

This episode produced by Pamela Cook for Writes4Women and recorded on unceded Dharawal land.





Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hannah Richell on Writing Memoir, Grief, and An Ocean and a Day
Join host and author Pamela Cook as she interviews author Hannah Richell about her memoir An Ocean and a Day, which explores the sudden death of her husband Matt in a surfing accident at Tamarama Beach in 2014 and the long journey of grief that followed.
Richell discusses journaling as a survival tool, shaping years of writing into a memoir, and choosing a circular, tidal structure that moves between past and present to show what was lost and reflect how grief is experienced. She shares key influences and also talks about narrating the audiobook herself, deciding what to include about her children, and how touring and reader responses have been unexpectedly uplifting.
00:00 Level Up Writing Courses
01:39 Episode Updates and Memoir Intro
05:15 Memoir Overview and Loss
08:38 Beach Bookends and Ending
13:22 Writing Grief Into Words
17:30 Tidal Timeline Structure
24:02 Journaling to Memoir Draft2
9:38 Visitation Dream Story
32:56 Host Family Grief Reflection
36:42 Kids as Anchors
38:05 Writing Through Nights
38:42 Books That Held Me
42:34 Quoting and Permissions
44:18 Narrating the Audiobook
49:10 Shaping the Memoir
50:51 Privacy and Boundaries
56:20 Swallows and Tattoos
01:00:27 Touring and Reader Connection
01:03:39 Wrap Up and Farewell

SHOWNOTES:
Writes4Women
www.writes4women.com
Facebook @writes4women
Twitter / Instagram @w4wpodcast

W4W Substack
Click here

Hannah Richell
Website: click here
Facebook: click here
Instagram: click here

Pamela Cook
www.pamelacook.com.au
Facebook @amelacookauthor
Twitter @PamelaCookAU

This episode produced by Pamela Cook for Writes4Women and recorded on unceded Dharawal land.



Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Belinda Alexandra on The Italian Correspondent, Research, and Writing Through Rejection
This week on The Convo couch Pam chats to Belinda Alexandra, author of 12 bestselling novels including her latest release The Italian Correspondent. Belinda discusses her storytelling roots in her mother’s White Russian/China wartime experiences and her father’s Australian life, her early writing, travel influences, 10 years of rejections before White Gardenia was published in 2002, and a whole lot more.
Pam also talks new releases and gives an update on the Writes4Women Main Character Deep Dive challenge.

00:30 Podcast Updates and Festivals
02:56 Substack Writing Challenge
05:22 New Books on the Shelf
10:55 Meet Belinda Alexandra
13:35 Family Stories and Writing Roots
21:54 Travel Letters and Inspiration
25:54 First Novel and Rejections
31:33 Imposter Syndrome and Craft
34:07 Pushing Through the Dip
34:55 Inside The Italian Correspondent
39:35 Plotting vs Characters Taking Over
42:30 Writing Better Men on the Page
44:55 Three Loves Romance Twist
51:23 Drafting Perfectionism and Mess
56:07 Longevity in Publishing
57:51 Perseverance Through Industry Change
01:00:28 Quality Over Speed
01:02:01 Wrap Up and Bonus Chat

SHOW NOTES:
Writes4Women
www.writes4women.com
Facebook @writes4women
Instagram @w4wpodcast

Belinda Alexandra
Website: click here
Instagram: click here

Pamela Cook
www.pamelacook.com.au
Facebook: click here
Twitter: click here
Instagram: click here
Fiction Feedback @ Writing NSW: click here

This episode produced by Pamela Cook for Writes4Women on unceded Dharawal country.



Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/writes4women?fan_landing=true
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.