Dear Reader,

We have missed you in our absence.

Health concerns and other logistics made a hiatus in our Inklings & Inspiration issues necessary for the first half of 2022. We couldn’t be more delighted to return to providing this service.

In our time away, we have reflected on the importance of service to community. Service to one another and being other-centered form the foundation of any community, whether that service is knocking on a neighbor’s door with a warm greeting, stepping out to get to know someone new, or providing aid in any of its many forms to meet a need.

As writers and creatives, the branding and platform culture of today can tempt us toward self-serving acts: “Look at me!” “Like me!” “Give me a review!” or “Grow my list!” When we approach marketing in this way, we become no better than individualistic narcissists.

But art and thought can also draw people together when it touches a forgotten emotion, heals a wound, or lends understanding where there were only questions. And the marketing of such work can embody that same attitude of being a service to a community when we pay attention to the needs of others.

In this issue, “The Power of Podcasts for Writers” explains how to help podcast hosts provide good dialogue for their listeners and gain an audience eager for more of your work. “Writing Groups for the Future” encourages us to join forces supporting others in their writing journeys while receiving the benefits of community and feedback in return. And a three-part series on good web design for authors explains how to create an audience-centric website.

When we serve the audience’s felt needs, whether that’s the end-reader or the literary agents and publishers we hope to partner with, we create better community. And when we grasp hands as a strong community, we also create strong footing to withstand the competition.

Thank you for joining us in this endeavor.

The Power of Podcasts for Writers

by Callie Johnson

Podcasts continue to grow in popularity, and a recent study from Triton Digital showed that over 40 percent of Americans listen to podcasts at least once a month. Far from being a fad (podcasting is older than Facebook), the steadily expanding world of podcasting reaches millions of listeners every day.

What does this mean for writers? Podcasts are one of the most underutilized avenues for authors to reach new audiences and grow their brand. And if podcasting makes about as much sense to you as Klingon, hang tight! Book marketing and podcasting expert Thomas Umstattd Jr. has plenty of resources to help you make the best use of this platform.

He has over two decades of experience in web design and marketing since designing his first website at the age of fourteen. He founded AuthorTechTips.com to help authors promote their books, worked as Marketing Director for Enclave Publishing and Fahrenheit Marketing. He now hosts the Novel Marketing Podcast, and the Christian Publishing Show and serves as CEO of Author Media’s parent company, so when it comes to podcasting for writers, he knows what he’s talking about. We’ve compiled some of his best resources here to get you started.

Writing Groups of the Future:

How to Start and Maintain an Online Writing Group

by Callie Johnson

Many people—mostly writers—consider writing to be one of the loneliest occupations. Writing tends to require a complex understanding of human nature and a converse ability to hide from all human interaction for extended periods of time, often imagined as in a darkened room with a three-day-old cup of coffee. But while some authors have managed to create great works in isolative, depressive, absinthe-induced states, they hardly set the standard for healthy artistic practice. Most of us need community and collaboration to reach our greatest writing potential.

Writing groups fill this need for connection as they have for centuries, from Socrates’s school to the group of eight or so that meets at my local Starbucks every month. The advent of the internet, however, introduced a new forum for writers to connect and collaborate. Without discrediting the merits of an in-person writing group, online writing groups offer many advantages.