Fully Booked: The Hidden Gems Author Podcast

Fully Booked EP137: What is a Zero Draft and Why Do You Need One?

In this episode of Fully Booked, Craig and Roland are exploring the concept of the "zero draft," a powerful tool for writers at any stage of their manuscript. Guest Cara Stevens, an experienced editor, book coach, and writer, explains how the zero draft differs from other drafts and why it's an essential part of the writing process. Whether you're a plotter or a pantser, the zero draft helps you clarify your story, providing a scaffold that supports the development of your narrative without the pressure of crafting a perfect first draft.
Cara shares practical insights on how to approach a zero draft, emphasizing its role as a private, author-focused draft where you tell yourself the story. This process allows writers to uncover connections, themes, and story elements that might not emerge in a more formal draft. If you've ever felt stuck in the "messy middle" of your manuscript or found yourself endlessly editing without making progress, today's discussion is for you.
 
Cara Stevenshttps://carajstevens.com/
 
Hidden Gems
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Fully Booked EP136: From Blank Page to Pilot: Taking The Initiative to Sell Your Stories

In this week's episode of Fully Booked, Craig and Roland are joined by Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Zack Morrison for a hard look at the challenges of breaking into the television industry and the unconventional path he's taken in trying to sell his own comedy pilot. Despite his impressive credentials, including work on shows like SNL and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Zack reveals that in today’s market, even the most talented writers need more than just a great script to succeed. He discusses the importance of initiative and creativity in transforming an idea from paper to screen, and how essential it is to go beyond traditional methods.
Zack shares his unique journey, illustrating how success often requires creating your own opportunities rather than waiting for the industry to come to you. He’s not just theorizing—Zack put his filmmaking skills to the test by independently shooting the pilot for his script, and he offers a candid behind-the-scenes look at how he made it happen. Through engaging anecdotes and actionable advice, Zack underscores the importance of adaptability and creativity in standing out from the crowd, ultimately encouraging listeners to take control of their creative destinies.
 
Zack Morrisonhttps://www.zackmorrison.com/
 
Hidden Gems
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Fully Booked EP135: Five Things You Need to be a Successful Author

Even though he didn’t start publishing until he was in his sixties, travel writer Emil Rem has always set his own definition of success when it comes to his writing - and in this week’s episode of Fully Booked, he sits down with Craig and Roland to discuss the five essential attributes he believes are critical for writers hoping to share his satisfaction at engaging with readers and sharing his stories with the world.
Using examples drawn from his own globe-trotting history, Emil outlines core concepts like relentless self-belief, unwavering tenacity in your work ethic, finding a way to discriminate between useful and un-useful feedback, methods for finding your own unique voice in your writing, and one of the biggest factors of all - a willingness to take risks. This episode will be a breath of fresh air for authors struggling to get out of their own way and move the needle in their self-publishing career.
 
Emil Remhttps://emilrem.ca/
 
Hidden Gems
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Fully Booked EP134: What Can The Monomyth Teach Us About Structuring Our Stories?

What turns a description into a story? For most writers, the answer is structure - the timeless, immutable formula of storytelling that originated when our ancestors told tales around the campfire, yet continues today in Hollywood blockbusters and best-selling books.
Entertainment journalist and comic book writer Christian Angeles knows all about story structure. In fact, he’s even started a company called Monomythic which aims to help preserve the foundational elements of storytelling even as artists and creators explore telling their tales through new mediums and technologies.
In this week’s episode of Fully Booked, Christian joins Craig and Roland to discuss the fundamental importance of a well-structured story, and how studying the craft of storytelling can’t help but turn you into a better writer. If you’ve been searching for a missing element in your works-in-progress, this might be just the episode to tune into.
 
Christian Angeleshttps://linktr.ee/xn_angeles
 
Hidden Gems
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Fully Booked EP133: The Versatile Author: Crafting Stories for Every Platform

In this week's episode of Fully Booked, Craig and Roland examine the dynamic world of storytelling with author and screenwriter Sheri Langer. Renowned for her versatility across various mediums, Sheri shares her experience in crafting stories not only as novels and screenplays but also as TV pilots, audiobooks, and more. She discusses the unique challenges and considerations of making a story successful across these different formats, highlighting the importance of staying true to the original creative vision while meeting the demands of each medium.
Sheri reflects on how her childhood fascination with TV and movies shaped her narrative style and discusses the challenges and rewards of writing across multiple formats. Through use of examples, she describes various ways of adapting a single story to different mediums, such as adding more dialogue for TV or movies and incorporating more description for novelization. Whether you're an aspiring writer or a seasoned author, Sheri's experiences provide valuable insights into the versatility and art of storytelling.
 
Sheri Langerhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560386807917
 
Hidden Gems
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Fully Booked EP132: When Publishing Meets Activism

In this week's episode of Fully Booked, Craig and Roland explore how publishing can provide an author with more than just readers and royalties. Special guest Ali Horriyat joins them to talk about Compassiviste, a groundbreaking non-profit organization he created that’s dedicated to driving social change by providing a platform for authors, artists, and other creative activists to share their work.
Ali’s own story is pretty remarkable. After a highly successful career in finance, Ali left it all behind to focus on bringing more compassion into the world, combining activism and the arts to inspire meaningful change through Compassiviste. Now, the unique publishing platform he created empowers authors and other creators whose voice has traditionally been suppressed by mainstream publishing platforms. 
Ali believes that books and other forms of art have always had a powerful impact on social movements, and that it’s essential to ensure everyone has an equal chance to tell their story and highlight their cause. So, if you believe the world needs more compassion and should focus less on profits and more on building a better, more sustainable future, be sure to tune in.
 
Ali Horriyathttps://compassiviste.com/
 
Hidden Gems
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Fully Booked EP131: Is Publisher Rocket 2.0 a Game-Changer for Amazon Ads?

In today's episode of Fully Booked, Craig and Roland are joined by returning guest Dave Chesson from Kindlepreneur to discuss the latest update to one of the most powerful tools for self-published authors: Publisher Rocket. The recently released Version 2.0 of this tool is designed to revolutionize your Amazon advertising strategy by optimizing your book's relevancy and helping you properly categorize it.Dave explains how Publisher Rocket's new Amazon ads functionality allows authors to see their book through Amazon's eyes. With this enhanced visibility, the tool provides invaluable insights into the keywords, phrases, and categories that Amazon associates with a book—whether yours or that of your competitors. Along with plenty of practical tips on using Rocket to create more effective ads, lower costs, and increase impressions, Dave also shares details on additional exciting features that will soon be added to the tool.Whether you're a seasoned self-published author or just starting out, Dave's essential advice on maximizing Publisher Rocket to navigate the complexities of Amazon’s book ranking system and supercharge your Amazon ads is not to be missed.Dave's free AMS (Amazon Ads) Coursehttps://hiddengems--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/5da9eae7a2e46/Publisher Rockethttps://hiddengems--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/

Fully Booked EP130: Don't Overthink Your Self-Publishing Journey

On this week's episode of Fully Booked, we're focusing on overcoming the hurdles often faced by aspiring authors. Author and family mediator Rosemary Gattuso shares her journey of writing and self-publishing her self-help book, "It's Not You, It's Me: A Chronic Overthinker's Guide to Self-Reflection." Rosemary's path to self-publishing offers a unique perspective on how overthinking can impede the writing process. However, her background and experience enabled her to develop strategies for pushing past these mental roadblocks.
The challenges Rosemary faced with traditional and assisted self-publishing highlight the importance of connecting with industry professionals and leveraging available resources to make informed decisions about your publishing path. After finding empowerment in self-publishing, Rosemary identified key overthinking tendencies and ways to stay productive, which she shares with us as both a cautionary tale and a source of inspiration for other authors looking to take control of their publishing destiny.
 
Rosemary Gattusohttps://www.rosemarygattuso.com/
 
 
Hidden Gems
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Fully Booked EP129: Building Believable Fantasy Worlds

When writing a fantasy novel, one of the most daunting tasks is creating the world in which your story takes place. Fantasy world-building isn't just about imagining new physical geography; it also involves developing magic and belief systems, culture, general mood and atmosphere, and the power structure of your society. Getting these complex and intricate details right leads to a captivating and credible fantasy world, which is why we've invited author and editor Judy Ellis to guide us through it all.
Judy, who also writes as J.H. Ellis, brings a wealth of experience not only as a YA fantasy author but also as the creator of an online course on world-building. In today's episode, Judy takes us through all the factors mentioned above, along with practical advice on maintaining the integrity of the world’s rules and advice on using tools to track details and avoid common pitfalls.
If you've been holding off on writing that fantasy epic because you feel overwhelmed, the valuable tips and insights from Judy will have you mastering the art of fantasy world-building in no time!
 
Judy Ellis
https://daybreaklit.com/
 
 
Hidden Gems
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Fully Booked EP128: How to Add Authenticity to your Romance Stories

In today's episode of Fully Booked, Craig and Roland are discussing the different ways that authors can infuse genuine romance and emotional realism into their stories. Both hosts are romance novelists themselves, but are lucky enough to be joined by Caroline McIntosh for this episode - who is not just an accomplished romance author, but also a writing coach who excels at helping other authors bring compelling and heartfelt relationships alive on the pages of their stories.
Caroline shares her journey from writing YA and fantasy to discovering her passion for romance novels. She emphasizes the importance of structure and emotional depth in writing about love and relationships, and also goes through a variety of essential key elements for writing a successful book. These include the “meet cute” first meeting, the hero’s grand romantic gestures, the all-important happy ending, and the significance of small, intimate moments that leverage the power of slowing things down to build genuine connections between characters.
Caroline's practical advice offers writers of all genres insight into how they can incorporate believable love stories into their work, making both their characters and the relationships they have authentic and unforgettable.
 
Caroline McIntosh
https://www.carolinemcintoshbooks.com/
 
Hidden Gems
Need our help publishing or marketing your book?
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All episode details and links:
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/podcast