What I’ve Been Reading and Listening to Lately

I’m always reading fiction and non-fiction when not writing or modeling. Reading non-fiction for me is about improving my craft, research and getting new ideas. Show Your Work by Ausitn Kleon is about how to relate to your audience by letting them see you working on the stuff you do. A behind the scenes look at the creation of your art. That’s been easy for me when it comes to modeling. I document my builds with pictures and blog posts on this site and on Google Plus.

But showing my writing has been harder to do. You don’t want to give away plot points, but you do want to let your readers know that you are working, making progress and some of the things you deal with as a writer. I don’t like to preach about craft here, because this site is not about  how to be a fiction writer. There are plenty of sites like that around the web. This site focuses on just how I do things. If that proves useful to you, great. Otherwise, it helps give my readers a glimpse behind the curtain of being a writer.

Kleon’s book helps you think about how to show off the creative work you are doing in order to build social awareness and spread your reach. I highly recommend it to all artists and writers.

I also try and read the books that my personal friends publish whenever possible. Lately I’ve been reading Aurum, The Golden Planet by my writer buddy, Sharon Joss. Sharon recently moved away from our local writer’s group in Boise, Idaho to Oregon. So I don’t get to talk with her much these days. But she’s putting out some awesome work and Aurum is one of them.

I’ve also been sampling other genre books similar to mine that have been indie published. There are a few of them that look promising and are in my stack to be read. I also read traditionally published books but I rarely mention them here. I figure they already have the attentions of fans and don’t need the boost. Unless of course they are my absolute favorite writers. Then I’ll indulge you with their latest.

I’ve also added a few new podcasts to my phone lately, all of them concern writing. Kobo’s Podcast hosted by Mark Lefebvre. If you are a writer and you sell your wares on Kobo, this podcast is well worth the listen.

The second new program I’m listening to is The Creative Penn hosted by Joanna Penn. If you don’t know who Joanna is, you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years. She’s a best selling indie author and all around great champion of writer’s everywhere. I’ve tuned in on occasion, but now her s how is in my phone and ready to listen to.

The final new show I’ve been listening to since it started is Simon Whistler’s Rocking Self Publishing Podcast. Simon’s show is well executed and he brings a wide range of guests who are doing the self publishing thing in some way. A well produced and professional look at the people behind the maker revolution in books.

There are lots more podcasts that I listen too, but these I’ve recently added. Two more I’ll recommend in passing are Writing Excuses and The Self Publishing Podcast. Go and seek those out too.