Podcasts 101

I’ll admit, deep in my jaded soul, to not being completely immune to the new year/new start thing. Fresh start, new possibilities, and all, right?

In keeping with my half-baked New Year’s-ish goals, I’m been trying new things and reevaluating those that frustrated me in the past (Hello again, Scrivner). Like many of us, my life is loud—work, kids, pets, Significant Other, extended family, and the non-stop social media/tv/movie/XMradio/texting babble that accompanies modern life. So I take my quiet time where I can get it. Driving to work or appointments is prime creative/plotting time. Music also plays a significant role in my life when I’m at my desk.

Which for the point of this post, translates into my never embracing either audio books or podcasts.

 

Yep, you heard me.

However, another part of that background noise is my writer’s network. And the dozen different writers who kept pushing me to check out this or that podcast. Incessantly. When my newest online group produced one, coinciding with the new writing year, I finally took the cosmic hint.

I started with my group’s production.

And it snowballed from there.

My drive-time is still sacred, but, ok, yeah. There’s a lot to be said for a podcast playing in the background, updating me on industry trends, while I do mindless busy-work.

Since I believe in passing it on, below are a list of podcasts covering craft, industry, inspiration, and various genres, both my favorites and those crowdsourced from my brilliant CPs and dedicated writing groups.

Feel free to drop a link to your favorites in the comments–I’m always up for adding to my list.

Industry:

Smashwords– https://www.smashwords.com/podcast

Print Run–https://www.printrunpodcast.com

Literaticast– http://toppodcast.com/podcast_feeds/literaticast-jennifer-laughran/

The Bestseller Experiment– http://bestsellerexperiment.com/podcasts/

The Manuscript Academy— http://manuscriptacademy.com/ourpodcast/ (I highly recommend this if you’re looking to go the agented route)

Craft:

How Story Works– https://chipperish.com

The Story Grid– https://storygrid.simplecast.fm

Helping Writers Become Authors— https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/podcasts/ (This is another favorite, and covers story structure using popular movies as examples)

Writing Unblocked– https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/britney-mills/writing-unblocked

PubCrawl– http://www.publishingcrawl.com/category/pubcrawl-podcast/

I Should Be Writing– http://murverse.com/subscribe-to-podcasts/podcasts/

Grammar Girl— http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl Save yourself much grief and check this site and podcast. When the Chicago Manual of Style or Strunk & White aren’t getting the job done, this site is gold.

Writing Excuses– http://www.writingexcuses.com

Genre:

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books— http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast/ One of my favorites. Irreverent, savy, and fun.

Hey YA– https://bookriot.com/listen/shows/heyya/

All The Kissing (Come check us out)– https://allthekissing.com/podcastatk/  

First Draft– https://www.firstdraftpod.com

UpVote YA– http://upvoteya.tumblr.com

Inspiration:

88 Cups of Tea– http://88cupsoftea.com

Write Now– https://www.sarahwerner.com/podcasts/

Bless Their Hearts– http://www.mistymassey.com/bless-their-hearts