Marty and Kate have a special episode for this season finale: reading ~1500 words of their current projects, and then giving critiques to each other. Warning: Kate says the phrase "lean in" about a hundred times. 

Enjoy this repost! Kate and Marty are feeling the pressure of time and they weren't able to record this week. BUT next week will be the season finale, where they share writing and give criticism. So this episode seemed appropriate. Come on a journey with Kate and Marty, through the ups and downs of giving and receiving criticism.The Orc from the Office is Kate Prior's latest novella. Or check out her website at www.kate-prior.com.Get Marty's latest novel Just Fake Married.Sign up for Marty's newsletter at her website to get "Hazel and Elijah Don't Get Caught" for free!You can find Kate on Twitter @bykateprior, and Instagram @bykateprior, and Tiktok @bykateprior. Marty can be found on TikTok @martyveeauthor and Instagram @martyveeauthor and Twitter @martyveeauthor.Please subscribe and rate our podcast, it helps us reach new listeners.

Kate wrote a prompt for this episode about what it is to dissect the meaning of love over an over again as a romance author, Marty interprets it as a craft question, Kate interprets it as an introspective question. Neither feel like they full answered the prompt. 

Apologies for Sounds of Opening Mail in the first few minutes of the episode.Kate and Marty discuss:Progress by Wordcounts and NanowrimoShelving Projects and Coming Back to themHow was Your Halloween?Not Impressed with Past SelvesIt Takes 200 Hrs for Marty to Write A Whole BookRest Is Productive24 Hr Plays and Being Too Tired to SleepUnderstanding Where Your Genre's Market Is AtMarty Outlines Her 2024 Writing PlansNiche TroublesKate Can't Conceptualize Time Further Out Than A MonthSummary of the Strategy:Continue Building BacklistApologize to the Buisness Majors, It Is Actually Hard StuffDo MathFigure Out How Much Writing You Get Done Every YearDifferent Kinds of Sales

This was an idea for an episode we had a while back. Think of it as a demonstration of soundboarding, something we end up mentioning really late in the show. 

It's all in the title this episode, Marty and Kate talk about the myriad of different ways a character can grow, what growth can look like and how it can serve the plot, as well as a really long (still relevant) discussion about Pride & Prejudice. 

The girls are both a little sick in this episode so the pacing is slower, but this week Kate tells Marty things she realized she did wrong with her most recent book release only after the fact. They both compare things that they're currently doing with their books and strategize how to work around those obstacles for next time. 

This week Marty and Kate dissect the Second Chance Romance trope, since they realized they're both writing books with it at the same time. We cover:Why Are They Werewolves?Giving Second Chances Another TryMarty Verbally Wedgies Kate from 1000 Miles AwayHolding Suspense Throughout Plotting A SCR is Extremely WeirdGetting Rid of the Mindset that All Chapters Need the Same PacingDifferences Between First-Time and Second Chance Romance BeatsThe Right Level of Emotionally WoundedRequired Reading: Gwen Hayes' Romancing the BeatMid-Pod Apology To Marty's MomKate Rails Against the Best Friend CharacterHow Do It Right?Adding a Plot After The Book is WrittenFailing In Exactly the Same DirectionWrite Faster, Think LessThe Orc from the Office is Kate Prior's latest novella. Or check out her website at www.kate-prior.com.Get Marty's latest novel Just Fake Married.Sign up for Marty's newsletter at her website to get "You and Me in Quarantine" for free!You can find Kate on Twitter @bykateprior, and Instagram @bykateprior, and Tiktok @bykateprior. Marty can be found on TikTok @martyveeauthor and Instagram @martyveeauthor and Twitter @martyveeauthor.Please subscribe and rate our podcast, it helps us reach new listeners.

This episode is mainly about building your author business without giving in to hustle culture, but we also go off on a number of tangents, such as:Marty Is Eating Her Library BooksIf You Don't Enjoy Reading A Genre, Why Would You Write In It?There Are No Bears in MichiganThe Lunar Cycle Brain CurseKate Describes Writing Process Very Similar to ADHD SymptomsYour Manuscript's Honeymoon StageBacklists Over MarketingFOMO Never Goes AwayGet Out of My House, Off My To-Do ListKate Wants to See ChatGPT CryAutomating The BanalAds Aren't the Only AnswerCraft Books and The Bubonic PlagueCoercing People Into Doing Your TaxesWhat's The Marketing For OnlyF*ns Look LikeDon't Demonize Yourself for Wanting to Be PaidYou're the Child of Our Divorce, ListenerThe Orc from the Office is Kate Prior's latest novella. Or check out her website at www.kate-prior.com.Get Marty's latest novel Just Fake Married.Sign up for Marty's newsletter at her website to get "You and Me in Quarantine" for free!You can find Kate on Twitter @bykateprior, and Instagram @bykateprior, and Tiktok @bykateprior. Marty can be found on TikTok @martyveeauthor and Instagram @martyveeauthor and Twitter @martyveeauthor.Please subscribe and rate our podcast, it helps us reach new listeners.

This episode, Marty and Kate talk about:The Outside Is Attacking Us (Allergies)Marty Isn't DNFing Out of SpiteMarty F's Around with Prequels and Finds Out She Should Write More Sideboob LogisticsKate and Marty Are Really Having An Easy Time Writing Books for Once and Are Really Confused About ItMarty Sets Some Really Wild Challenges for HerselfSurprising No One, Marty is an Extrovert, Kate is an IntrovertMaking Friends Or Writing BooksReflecting On Ways Our Lives Have Changed Over The Last Couple Years24 Minutes in We Get to the Point of the EpisodeDefining Success Outside of CaptialismNail BreakAlso You Can't Really Remove Capitalism from the Equation, YetIf You Really Knew What Your Dream Entailed, Would You Still Want It?Put Pressure On Yourself Like Everyone's Watching, Even If They Aren'tDon't Love It When Things Happen to MeLeaving in the Ice Noises Specifically For You Film Degrees Are Pretty UselessThe Orc from the Office is Kate Prior's latest novella. Or check out her website at www.kate-prior.com.Get Marty's latest novel Just Fake Married.Sign up for Marty's newsletter at her website to get "You and Me in Quarantine" for free!You can find Kate on Twitter @bykateprior, and Instagram @bykateprior, and Tiktok @bykateprior. Marty can be found on TikTok @martyveeauthor and Instagram @martyveeauthor and Twitter @martyveeauthor.Please subscribe and rate our podcast, it helps us reach new listeners.