Writers’ Rough Drafts – Episode #64 With Mandy Wallace

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Mandy Wallace is a writer, content strategist, writing coach, and course creator. She provides the support and tools writers need to continue developing their writing. As a content strategist and freelance writer, Mandy has worked with a bevy of various clients through her brand Hypist, to help them understand the stories in their process and get them published. Devoted to helping writers take action, while still instilling a love for writing and craft, on her own About page she notes, “The muse is a fickle bitch. Don’t rely on her. Writing is its own reward, but I still like to publish.” 

Her recently published book, Landing Your First Publication: The Writing Prompts + Publication Strategy for Writers Who Refuse to Rely on Luck, offers a publication strategy and guidebook for writers who want to see their name in print, but don’t know where to start (or have started, but aren’t getting the results they want). The book is so specific and useful that it is already being taught in college classrooms, to provide real-world advice that transcends the rhetoric and theory of outdated publishing textbooks.

What You’ll Learn About Writing This Week:

• Why you should hang on to tools and resources that intrigue you
• How you can be easier on yourself when you have someone else’s opinion
• When to notice techniques that others are using when you are writing yourself
• How important curiosity, enthusiasm, and fun—yes, fun—are to the writing process
• How you still have to hit “publish” even when you’re waiting on your muse to show up
• Using tools and techniques to capture and compel the reader
• Making the transition from academic writing to online writing
• Finding inspiration in writers who are open and honest about their experiences
• Reading both good and bad writing to learn new techniques
• What it takes to pitch well, and how to get better at it 

Mentioned in This Episode (Links and Resources!):

• Evernote
• Rob Walling – The Stairstep Approach to Bootstrapping
• Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, by Gretchen McCulloch
• Elisa’s “Word Nerds” list on Twitter
• Writers of Kern
• Pinterest
• Mandy Wallace’s blog
• The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, by Julia Cameron
• Meme about telling stories: 

• Blog Your Way to a Writing Career
• Paul Jarvis

You Can Find More of Mandy and Her Writing On: 

• Her blog “Write or Die” on her website, MandyWallace.com
• Her business, Hypist.co
• Amazon in her book, Landing Your First Publication: The Writing Prompts + Publication Strategy for Writers Who Refuse to Rely on Luck

Shareable Quotes From This Episode:

• “It gave me a lot of confidence to try other modes [and techniques] in my writing.” – @MandyWallace on #WritersRoughDrafts
• On the value of editors: “When I don’t have someone to bounce things off of, I tend to be even more of a perfectionist.” – @MandyWallace on #WritersRoughDrafts
• “When you have a creative block like [writer’s block], adding more pressure actually [isn’t] the recipe for getting that tap to open.” – @MandyWallace on #WritersRoughDrafts
• On getting better at pitching yourself: “Having a platform where you have your writing, your blog posts ready to go, shows others what you can do.” – @MandyWallace on #WritersRoughDrafts
• “Just pitch everywhere that makes sense to you … play the numbers, see what comes back as a yes, and tweak the no’s if you want to still use the pitch.” – @MandyWallace on #WritersRoughDrafts
• “Preserve your enthusiasm. If you’re around people that make you feel like you aren’t doing writing right, find a different group. Make sure you’re protecting your confidence and enthusiasm.” – @MandyWallace on #WritersRoughDrafts