When was the last time you woke up, bolted out of bed, and ran straight to the computer, fueled by the overwhelming desire to simply write?
In an ideal world, author inspiration would flow so quickly and easily that each day would look like this. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
Any author knows that finding inspiration is often a hard-won battle. With all those pesky little distractions of everyday life getting in the way, it can be hard to consistently muster the desire to write.
Luckily, there are people in the world who recognize this. These people have built up podcasts dedicated to the very art of fueling author’s inspiration. Listening to podcasts that benefit your writing is an additional healthy habit that can recharge your creative battery.
We’ve selected four top writing podcasts that can benefit your author journey, whether you’re just getting started or are a seasoned pro. Check out our must-listens below, followed by the important takeaways of each one:
In the name of saving marketing dollars, some authors serve as their own editors. Heck, some authors are their own editors, publishers, cover designers… and so on. You know how it goes in the world of indie publishing.
The Creative Penn Podcast was founded with this in mind. Joanna Penn – author, marketer, and entrepreneur extraordinaire – brought her talents to the world of podcasting back in 2009 with her first podcast episode. Since then, she’s released 500+ episodes that range from how to edit your book to audiobook narration tips.
Newbies and seasoned authors alike will delight in Penn’s years of publishing knowledge and actionable tips. Not only does she have her expertise to pull into episodes, but she frequently features well-known authors and literary figures on the podcast. Our favorite aspect of The Creative Penn Podcast is that it not only fuels inspiration, but it can help build a foundational knowledge that many new indie authors need to succeed.
Podcast episodes go out each Monday on Penn’s website, and can also be found on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and more platforms.
Bottom line: This podcast will inspire you by providing a holistic picture of the publishing world, building your industry knowledge from the ground up.
Grammar’s hard. We’ll be the first to admit it. From “I before E, except after C” to the ever-controversial Oxford comma, it can be a real challenge to keep all the grammatical ducks in a row. Good thing that Mignon Fogarty, founder of the Quick and Dirty Tips network, created the Grammar Girl podcast.
This podcast is one we would recommend bringing into your weekly, or even daily, rotation. Fogarty’s episodes are brief (typically under 15 minutes) and range from explaining how to punctuate questions to the how to’s of good storytelling. We particularly enjoy Fogarty’s ability to bring historical details into her podcast to show how the English language has developed.
You can find Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. Her latest episodes also appear on the Quick and Dirty Tips website.
Bottom line: Turn to this podcast to develop a greater appreciation of the English language. Bring your inner grammar nerd out!
Inspiration is the name of the game with the I Should Be Writing podcast. Author Mur Lafferty has been producing episodes since 2005, telling her fiction-writing listeners about the highs and lows of a writing career while also interviewing professional writers. Lafferty has a second podcast called Ditch Diggers that discusses the nitty-gritty of the writing business. Think of Ditch Diggers as being less art-focused, more business-centered.
One of our favorite episodes of I Should Be Writing is called “Fire Up the Idea Machine!” Lafferty talks about her personal struggles with avoiding electronic devices, and how going so far as physically locking her tablet up has led to better writing.
In other episodes, she talks about building habits as an author. As you know, we’ve mentioned that developing writing habits is just one step towards author success.
Listen to I Should Be Writing on Google Podcasts, TuneIn, the “ISBW” website, and more.
Bottom line: If there’s a podcast capable of lighting a fire under you, it’s this one. As a fellow author, Lafferty knows what new writers need to hear.
“Fifteen minutes long, because you’re in a hurry, and we’re not that smart.”
Yep, that’s the motto behind the Writing Excuses podcast. If you couldn’t tell, the podcasts hosts have a great sense of humor, don’t take themselves too seriously, and believe in providing bitesize episodes that pack a punch. The entire goal of Writing Excuses is to help writers – any writer – get better at their craft. Select seasons of this podcast are broken down into themes. Season 13 is all about character, for example.
If you come to Writing Excuses for the impressive hosts (ranging from award-winning authors to creative writing professors), you’ll want to stay for the easy-to-navigate website that provides high-level overviews of what each episode is about. Scroll through and quickly decide if episode 15.15 about dialogue or 15.20 about mental wellness is right for you.
Bottom line: Our recommendation? Begin your day with these fun, brief episodes while you brush your teeth or have breakfast to start creating daily habits.
Hosted by Bryan Cohen and H. Claire Taylor, the Sell More Books Show focuses on exactly what you would expect: helping authors sell more books.
Episodes are generally around an hour long, and the hosts cover a number of different topics and headlines each episode. From best practices when launching a new release, to the latest news with Amazon, Cohen and Taylor keep listeners up to date with the latest book marketing trends and best practices.
One reason we like the Sell More Books show is the hosts’ experience and wisdom when it comes to book marketing. They keep an upbeat and positive attitude around book marketing (not always an easy task), and they are quick to offer words of calm when they think a new trend won’t last.
Bottom line: Our recommendation? This podcast is a great addition for any author who does their own marketing. The episodes are easy to listen to and still packed with information.
While there are numerous writing podcasts for author inspiration in the world, these five are some of our favorites because they rely on tried-and-true experience. From Joanna Penn’s industry knowledge to Mur Lafferty’s firsthand accounts as a writer, you can expect to listen and learn from people who have stood where you do today.
If there’s a writing podcast you love, let us know in the comments!
View Comments
Nice list! I have tweeted....We would love you to have a listen to WriteClubThePodcast.com sometime! Or find us on itunes, stitcher or radiopublic. Thanks!
We'll check it out, thanks Nicola!
J Thorn and Zach Bohanon recently launched "The Career Author Podcast." It's very good and informative, and in my weekly rotation of podcasts to listen to.
I would love for you to check out Book Publishing Made Simple! We're still pretty new (16 episodes in at this point) and available on itunes, Stitcher and Spotify!
Self Publishing Journeys, hosted by Paul Teague is full of tips and advice for indie authors, and has excellent interviews with other writers.
Don’t miss K.M. Weiland’s “Helping Writers Become Authors.” It’s an excellent podcast for fiction writers.
Great list - I knew most of these but not all, so thanks for the heads-up! If you're on the look-out for nonfiction podcasts, and specifically business books, for a future list, do consider The Extraordinary Business Book Club: http://extraordinarybusinessbooks.com/podcast-episodes/. I chat to authors of business books (and the occasional publisher, marketeer, futurist or someone with something interesting to say about how books work today!) and get them to lift the lid on how they wrote and how the book works with their business.
It looks like Authority Self Publishing has pod faded. Nothing new posted in well over a year.
Hey Gail, thanks for the heads up!
Hello, WWM! Thanks for this great list. FYI, the Grammar Girl link takes us to a different podcast, one that hasn’t been updated for a few years. Thanks again!
Thanks Jenn, we've got that updated.
Suggest you check out Susan Friedmann's Book Marketing Mentors. Helping authors get noticed -- and smashing! Named one of the best podcasts of 2019 by Smartblogger.
No mention of dissecting dragons?
For shame.