Episodios

  • Episode 247: Marketing Dangers For Writers

    Episode 247: Marketing Dangers For Writers
    Apr 14 2025
    In this week's episode, we take a look at marketing for writers, and discuss how it can both benefit and hinder writers. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Fury of the Barbarians, Book #5 in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store: BARBARIAN50 The coupon code is valid through May 2, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we’ve got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 247 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is April 11th, 2025, and today we are looking at marketing challenges for writers. First, let's start with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Fury of the Barbarians, Book Five in the Dragonskull series (as excellent narrated by Brad Wills) at my Payhip store. That code is BARBARIAN50. We will have the coupon code in the show notes along with links to the store. This coupon code is valid through May 2, 2025, so if you need a new audiobook for spring, we've got you covered. Now let's have an update on my current writing and audiobook projects. I am done with the rough draft of Shield of Battle and its accompanying short story, Raven’s Hunt. I am currently editing them and making good progress on that. The book should come out either right before or right after Easter, with right after being the more likely option the way it looks right now. I'm also 14,000 words into Ghost in the Corruption, which will be my main project once Shield of Battle comes out. Audio recording is still underway for Shield of Deception and Ghost in the Assembly. So more updates on that to come. So that's where I'm at with my current writing projects. 00:01:17 Question of the Week And now let's take a look at Question of the Week. Question of the Week is intended to inspire enjoyable discussions of interesting topics. This week's question, what is the best TV show you started watching in 2025 (if any)? No wrong answers, obviously. Justin says: Television shows? The TV in my house is used for video games and movies. It has been 18 years since I watched any TV shows. Surabhi says: Nowadays the only non-Marvel series I watch are animes like Doraemon and Shinchan XD. Perry says: I never watched a lot of TV but I do catch the odd European football or hockey game. That said, I'm enjoying The Wheel of Time. Sam says: Clarkson's Farm. He might be a love him/hate him chap, but he certainly does make for entertaining shows. It also shows just how fickle the farming industry can be and shines a much needed light on the issues they face. I would like to second Sam’s recommendation of Clarkson's Farm. It's definitely well worth watching if you have access to Amazon Prime. Bonnie says: I'm totally out of the loop. Haven't really watched any TV since I binged Avengers and Star War when home with Covid in 2021. I read during downtime. Andrew says: Tracker is okay. Matlock is good, well-written. I want to like Watson, but have given up. Dark Winds is excellent. 1923 got so dark, I quit. Landman started great, got worse when wife character entered the picture. Re-watching Lonesome Dove. Love it. David says: The Blacklist. Michael says: No particular series as I don't really watch much on TV, but a shout out to the Japanese NHK World Channel, which is essentially their international service in English available to watch live on their website, at least in my country or via their app. There's so much good content on there, really interesting documentaries, news features, Japanese shows, and of course the highlights of the Sumo tournaments. Larry says: Starting The Outpost. John says: My brother has recommended Wolf Hall. My most anticipated series is Andor. I think of what I watched this year thus far my guilty pleasure was Reacher, most emotional was 1923, most cerebral has been Severance, and funniest has been The Residence. No favorite standout yet. Juana says: Tracker. William says: Poker Face was enjoyable. For myself, I think it would be Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light about the downfall of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII. I'll have more to say about that later in my Winter/Spring 2025 Movie Roundup post in a few weeks. 00:03:29 Main Topic: Marketing Now let's move on to our main topic, writing adjacent activities: marketing. This is part of my podcast series about what I call writing adjacent activities. What do I mean by this? I'm talking about the tasks that seem like they're part of the writing process but really belong in a different category. These tasks are important, don't get me wrong, but they can also be a pitfall if you spend too much time on them or don't use that time correctly. In this series, we are focusing on a few of these tasks and how they can benefit or hinder your writing process, even though they seem like ...
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    17 m
  • Episode 246: Professional Development For Writers

    Episode 246: Professional Development For Writers
    Apr 7 2025

    In this week's episode, we take a look at professional development for writers, and examine both the benefits and the pitfalls.

    We also take a look at my advertising results for March 2025.

    This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Curse of the Orcs, Book #4 in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store:

    ORCCURSE50

    The coupon code is valid through April 25, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we’ve got you covered!
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    18 m
  • Episode 245: Research Challenges For Writers

    Episode 245: Research Challenges For Writers
    Mar 31 2025
    In this week's episode, we take a look at how research can both help and hinder writers, and offer tips for effective research for fiction. This coupon code will get you 25% off DRAGONTIARNA: OMNIBUS ONE at my Payhip store: DRAGONOMNI25 The coupon code is valid through April 14th, 2025. So if you need a new book to read for spring, we’ve got you covered! 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 245 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is March 28th, 2025, and today we are looking at some of the challenges of research for writers. Before we get into that, we'll do Coupon of the Week, an update my current writing and audiobook projects, and then Question of the Week. First up, Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 25% off the ebook of Dragontiarna: Omnibus One at my Payhip store, and that is DRAGONOMNI25. This coupon code will be valid through April the 14th, 2025. So if you need a new ebook to read for spring, we have got you covered. Let's have an update on my current writing projects. I'm currently 70,000 words into Shield of Battle, which I believe will put me on chapter 16 of 24, so I'm about two thirds of the way through the rough draft. I'm still hoping to have it out towards the end of April, if all goes well. I am 7,000 words into Ghost in the Corruption, which will be the sequel to Ghost in the Assembly, and hopefully that will be out sometime after Shield of Battle. In audiobook news, recording is underway for both Shield of Deception and Ghost in the Assembly. Brad Wills will be recording Shield of Deception and Hollis McCarthy will be recording Ghost in the Assembly. So I am looking forward to both those audiobooks and that's where I'm at with my current writing and audiobook projects. 00:01:25 Question of the Week Now it's time for Question of the Week, which is intended to inspire interesting discussions of enjoyable topics. This week's question, do you read comics books or graphic novels, Marvel, DC, indie manga, whatever? No wrong answers, obviously, including “I don't read comics.” Ryan says: I don't read comic books, they just don't appeal to me. I prefer world building through writing as opposed to images, and I think you don't get the same feel for characters in a comic as you do in a novel. Justin says: Once upon a time, I did read comics. It's been a long time since I knew of the mainstream comics interested me, sadly. I have read some manga in the last year, but any associated light novel wins handily. There are a few web comics to keep up with. I have bought books and merch from the Foglios for Girl Genius and Tayler for Schlock Mercenary, but even then, it's been years since my last purchase. Juana says: I love Batman. End of story. John says: I enjoy graphic novels, mainly for the art. Most recent read was The Wizard of Earthsea graphic novel, which is a true work of art published just this month. Randy says: Marvel/DC stuff, not much anymore. I can sit down and read Peanuts, Pearls Before Swine, etc. collections anytime, probably not the “comics” you meant. Jenny says: Rat Queens! So good! Gary says: I don't read comics. Bob says: Nope. Used to devour DC and Marvel as a kid. Wish I still had some of them. Probably worth big bucks now. Tom says: I used to be a Marvel Zombie. Seriously, I have 20-30 long boxes filled with comics. I had to kick the habit though. Nowadays it's mostly just a few TV show based series. Would love to read some Frostborn graphic novels though! And finally, Tracy says: I don't read comics. For myself, I agree with many of the commenters where my answer is I don't read comics. It's not out of snobbery or disdain for the art form. It just doesn't speak to me or hold my interest. Of course not all art speaks to all people at all times. I was curious about this topic because I see people discussing comic books online all the time, but apparently the industry is in bad shape financially with multiple bankruptcies and closures and so forth. So I was wondering if comics were kind of more of a vintage art form that is less popular with younger generations as the older generations start to die off. But you never know. Things always are on a wheel and come around again. 00:03:36 Main Topic of the Week: Writing Adjacent Activities: Research So now back to our main topic or to start with our main topic, research challenges for writers. As I mentioned two episodes ago, I'm working on a new podcast series about what I call writing adjacent activities. What do I mean by this? I'm talking about tasks that seem like they're part of the writing process but really belong in a different category. These tasks are important, but they can also be a pitfall if you spend too much time on them or don't use that time correctly. In this series, we will focus on a few of these tasks and how they can benefit or hinder your writing ...
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    16 m
  • Episode 244: Inspirations For GHOST IN THE ASSEMBLY

    Episode 244: Inspirations For GHOST IN THE ASSEMBLY
    Mar 24 2025
    In this week's episode, I take a look at some of the historical influences & inspirations that went into my new book GHOST IN THE ASSEMBLY. This coupon code will get you 25% off SILENT ORDER: OMNIBUS ONE at my Payhip store: SILENT25 The coupon code is valid through April 7th, 2025. So if you need a new book to read for spring, we’ve got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 244 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is March 21st, 2025, and today we are looking at some of the historical influences that went into Ghost in the Assembly. Before we get into that, we will do Coupon of the Week and an update my current writing and audiobook projects. And then Question of the Week, which we did have time for this week. This week's coupon code will get you 25% off the ebook of Silent Order: Omnibus One at my Payhip store. That coupon code is SILENT25. I'll have the links and the coupon code in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through April 7, 2025, so if you need a new book to read for these spring months, we have got you covered. Now an update on my current writing projects. I am 44,000 words into Shield of Battle, the fifth book in the Shield War series. I'm hoping to have that out towards the end of April, if all goes well. A reminder that the Shield War series will be six books, so Shield the Battle will be the second to last one. I have also started on the sequel to Ghost in the Assembly, and I am 4,000 words into that, give or take. I had originally planned to call this book Ghost in the Assassins, but I thought that sounded too similar to Ghost in the Assembly. So the fifth book in the Ghost Armor series will be called Ghost in the Corruption. A reminder that Ghost Armor will be six books long and Ghost in the Corruption will be the fifth of six books, so the second to last book in that series as well. In audio news, recording has started for Shield of Deception and Ghost in the Assembly. Shield of Deception will be excellently narrated by Brad Wills and Hollis McCarthy will excellently narrate Ghost in the Assembly. I expect both of them will probably be out sometime towards the end of May if all goes well, given how long it usually takes to record an audiobook. In Stealth and Spells Online news, I am 68,000 words into the third and final book in this trilogy. Once Ghost Armor and Shield War are complete, then I will hopefully release the final book in the Stealth and Spells Online because I've been working on that as a tertiary project for quite a long time now. So that's where I'm at with my current writing and audiobook projects. 00:02:17 Question of the Week Now let's move on to Question of the Week. Question of the Week is of course designed to inspire enjoyable discussions of interesting topics. This week's question, what is your favorite style of fantasy setting (like a more high fantasy, one like Middle Earth or the Forgotten Realms, urban fantasy like the Dresden Files or Kate Daniels or more steampunk like Everon and so on)? No wrong answers, obviously. And as you can imagine this inspired quite a few responses. Perry says: Hyperborea! Lankhmar is up there as well. Setting where magic is rare, and usually dangerous or evil. The first edition of the Forgotten Realms (the grey box from the ‘80s) was great. Enough detail to let you use the setting, lots of room to make it your own. Then all the Forgotten Realms novels started to appear with the release of the second edition in the ‘90s and everybody in the world suddenly had powerful magic at their fingertips. Elminster, the Seven Sisters, Drizz’t, and others took the appeal right out of the setting for me. Joachim says: I like the Spelljammer Campaign setting best. A lot of great modules. It seemed it was not overly successful. A shame. I had a campaign running in this setting with some people who liked it. In addition to the Spelljammer modules, you can easily transfer any normal module centered on a small town onto an asteroid. Evan says: A huge Sanderson Cosmere fan here, especially Stormlight Archive. I like the magical progression tied in to character development, with a bit of mystery of how things work or an unknown that takes time to unwind or tease out. Justin says: My problem here is separating the settings from the authors. Given that near impossibility, I would cast my vote for high fantasy with a bit of techno/steampunk mixed in. Example – Andre Norton’s Witch World. Bonnie says: I seem to gravitate towards the swords and sorcery genre like Frostborn, but I also enjoyed the urban fantasy/Nadia and the other genres. I have to thank you for introducing me to all of these. Michael says: Okay, Jonathan, that's the second time I've noticed you indicating a preference for sword and sorcery saga where a barbarian hero travels between corrupt city states and now I really, really want you to ...
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    14 m
  • Episode 243: Creating Series Bibles

    Episode 243: Creating Series Bibles
    Mar 17 2025
    In this week's episode, we take a look at the pros and cons of creating a series bible, and how it can potentially help when writing a book. This week's coupon code will get you 25% off the ebooks of the GHOST NIGHT series at my Payhip store: GHOSTNIGHT25 The coupon code is valid through March 29th, 2025. So if you need a new book to read for spring, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 243 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is March 14th, 2025, and today we are looking at writing series bibles. Before we get into that, let us start with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 25% off the ebooks of the Ghost Night Series at my Payhip store. That coupon code is GHOSTNIGHT25. The coupon code and the links will be available in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through March 29th, 2025. So if you need a new book to read for spring, we've got you covered. Now let's have some updates on my current writing and audiobook projects. I'm pleased to report that Ghost in the Assembly, the fourth book in the Ghost Armor series, is now out. You can get it at Amazon, Barnes Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Apple Books, Smashwords, and my Payhip store. It has been selling well and been received well, so thank you all for that. Now that Ghost in the Assembly is out, my next project is Shield of Battle, the fifth book in The Shield War series, and I am 17,000 words into that and hope to make good progress on it next week. In audiobook news, Cloak Mage: Omnibus Three (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) is now available, as is Half-Elven Thief: Omnibus One (which is narrated by Leanne Woodward). You can get both of them for the easy price of one credit. So that is where I'm at with my current writing and publishing projects. Usually at this point, we do Question of the Week, but I ran out of time to do Question of the Week this week. 00:01:32: Main Topic of the Week: Writing Adjacent Activities, Part I: Series Bibles So now we'll move right on to our main topic. Today, I'm starting a new series about what I call writing adjacent activities. What do I mean by this? I'm talking about tasks that seem like they're part of the writing process, but in reality, belong in a different category. Now these tasks are important, but they can also be a pitfall if you spend too much time on them, don't use them correctly, or you don't make the best use of your time with them. In this series, we'll focus on a few of these tasks and how they can be beneficial or a hindrance to your writing process, even though they seem like a good use of time and may be advantageous in different scenarios. In this episode, we’ll talk about creating series bibles, an activity that some writers love and others loathe or avoid altogether. We'll explain what series bibles are, how they can help you as a writer, and how to write them effectively without losing time on your actual writing. So to begin with, what is a series bible? This term originates in the world of television production (where they're often called show bibles), where having a document that kept track of characters, details mentioned on the show, and important information was crucial when many people were working on the same show. A series bible was essential for continuity and preventing writers from having to rewatch old episodes to find out, for the example of say, the names of Frasier's mother or Nile's first wife. The goal of a series bible for books is to be a reference to refer back to important facts and details about your story. They can prevent errors, reusing names, and save time by not having to check things in earlier books while writing. It is also more important to have a good series bible when a group of people are working together than an individual writer. Examples of things collected in series bibles are character details, locations, plot developments, and information about fictional worlds in the books. They can be incredibly detailed or very simple, depending on what information is tracked within them. Some books obviously will need series bible-ing less than others. For example, a contemporary romance will have less information to keep track of than a science fiction series in a fictional galaxy with its own technology and species because with the contemporary romance, you just need to keep track of the characters and the settings and the settings can be easily reused from the real world, which is quite a bit harder when you're writing a science fiction series with exotic aliens and strange technology. So why should you make a series bible? Continuity is quite challenging, especially as a series progresses or a writer creates interconnected series like my Frostborn, Sevenfold Sword, Dragontiarna, Dragonskull, and Shield War series. Do I remember whether an orc named in one chapter of the third Frostborn book ...
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    12 m
  • Episode 242: Five Writing Lessons From Barnes & Nobles' Turnaround

    Episode 242: Five Writing Lessons From Barnes & Nobles' Turnaround
    Mar 10 2025
    In this week's episode, we take a look at five lessons for writers from Barnes & Nobles' turnaround. I also discuss indie author advertising results from February 2025. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Blade of the Elves, Book #3 in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store: BLADE50 The coupon code is valid through March 28, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we’ve got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 242 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is March 7, 2025, and today we are looking at writing lessons from the dramatic turnaround of Barnes and Noble. We'll also look at my ad results for February 2025 and we'll also have Coupon of the Week and an update on my current writing projects and Question of the Week. First off, let's start with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Blade of the Elves, Book Number Three in the Dragon Skull Series (as excellent narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store. That coupon code is BLADE50. We'll have the coupon code and the link in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through March 28th, 2025, so if you need a new audiobook for spring, we have got you covered. Now an update on my current writing and audiobook projects. The rough draft of Ghosts in the Assembly is done and I am 16% into the second phase of editing. If all goes well, I am planning to publish the book on March 14th, assuming there are no unanticipated interruptions, which is always risky to rely upon, but things are going well with it and I'm optimistic we can do that. I'm also 13,000 words into Shield of Battle and after Ghost in the Assembly is published, that will be my main project. In audiobook news, Orc-Hoard, the fourth book in the Half-Elven Thief series (as narrated by Leanne Woodward), is now available and you can get it at all the usual audiobook stores. Half-Elven Thief: Omnibus One (which is a combination of Half-Elven Thief, Wizard-Thief, and Half-Orc Paladin, the first three books in the series) is also now available in audio (as excellently narrated by Leanne Woodward), and you can give that omnibus edition at Audible, Amazon, and Apple. So that is where I'm at with my current writing projects. 00:01:49 Question of the Week Question the Week is designed to inspire enjoyable discussions of interesting topics. This week's question, when you have an unpleasant chore that must be done, do you prefer to split it up into smaller parts over a number of days or just to get it all over with at once? No wrong answers, obviously. The inspiration for this question is the fact that it's tax prep time here in the United States, and I have spent a lot of time this week working on that. Justin says: I prefer to get it over with all at once if possible. Extending your example, I have somehow become the tax preparer for other family members, so there are a few days where that is what I do. I also set aside a few hours every month for vehicle maintenance: check fluids, tire pressure, top off everything, look at belts (replace if worn). It's amazing how more reliable cars are when you look after them a bit. That is very true. Good car maintenance advice from Justin. Catriona says: Procrastinate. I love to procrastinate, then the mad dash to the very last second of the deadline. Retired now, so no longer need to be efficiently organized. Jenny says: Oh, split if I can, procrastinate if I can't. Dishes? Do some or put some away, do more later or let my laundry pile up until I have no pants. And Juana says: Let's get this over with. (Transcriptionist’s note: this was posted in the form of a GIF of Liz Lemon from 30 Rock) For myself, I suppose the answer is that I essentially get to do both since I'm technically a small business owner as a publisher, I do some tax stuff every month and then usually have a couple of days in March that are all tax prep. Other than that, it really depends on the size of the task in question. My preferred way would be to split a task up into smaller pieces and do 'em until they're done. But if you have something like snow shoveling, for example, you really do have to kind of bite the bullet and get it over with all at once. 00:03:21 February 2025 Ad Results Now let's see how my ads did in February 2025. February is generally a better month for advertising than November, December, and January. The reason for that is that Valentine's Day and the Super Bowl drives some consumer spending, though not nearly as much as the Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays, and so therefore the cost per click is often lower and you can usually have good results with ads. First up, Facebook ads. In February, I advertised both Cloak Games/Cloak Mage and all the Ghosts on Facebook. For Cloak Games/Cloak Mage, I got...
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    22 m
  • Episode 241: Escaping The Prestige Trap For Writers, Part II - Traditional Publishing & The New York Times Bestseller List

    Episode 241: Escaping The Prestige Trap For Writers, Part II - Traditional Publishing & The New York Times Bestseller List
    Mar 3 2025
    In this week’s episode, we continue our discuss about how seeking prestige can be dangerous for writers, specifically in the form of traditional publishing and the New York Times Bestseller list. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Shield of the Knight, Book #2 in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store: DRAGONSHIELD50 The coupon code is valid through March 21, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we’ve got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 241 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is February 28th, 2025. Today we are continuing our discussion of how to escape the trap of prestige for writers, specifically traditional publishing and The New York Times Bestseller List. Before we get to our main topic, we will do Coupon of the Week, an update on my current writing and audiobook projects, and then Question of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Shield of the Knight, Book Two in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store. That coupon code is DRAGONSHIELD50. As always, I'll include the coupon code and the link to the store in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through March 21st, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook as we start to head into the spring months, we have got you covered. Now an update on my current writing projects. I'm pleased to report I am done with the rough draft of Ghost in the Assembly. I came in at 106,000 words, so it'll definitely be over a hundred thousand words when it's done. I'm about 20% of the way through the first round of edits, so I am confident in saying that if all goes well and nothing unexpected happens, I am on track to have it out in March. I am also 10,000 words into Shield of Battle, which will be the fifth of six books in the Shield War series and I'm hoping to have that out in April, if all goes well. In audiobook news, recording for both Cloak of Dragonfire and Orc-Hoard is done. I'm just waiting for them to get through the processing on the various stores so they're available. There is also an audiobook edition of Half Elven Thief Omnibus One and Cloak Mage Omnibus Three that hopefully should be coming in March. More news with that to come. 00:01:55 Question of the Week Now let's move on to Question of the Week. Question of the Week is intended to inspire interesting discussions of enjoyable topics. This week's question: what is your favorite subgenre of fantasy, high fantasy, epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, historical fantasy, urban fantasy, LitRPG, cultivation, or something else? No wrong answers, obviously. Cindy says: Epic fantasy or those with a good history for that world. The Ghost Series are fantastic at this. Thanks, Cindy. Justin says: I enjoy all those sub-genres, if they are done well. In times past I would've said comic fantasy, but that is because Terry Pratchett at his best was just that good. Mary says: High fantasy. Surabhi says: I'd honestly read anything fantasy that's written well and has characters I'm attached to, given that it's not too gritty. Bonus points if there's humor! Also, I love your books so much and they're the perfect blend of fantasy, adventure, and characters. Your books were what really got me into Sword and Sorcery. Thanks, Surabhi. Matthew says: See, that's difficult. I love my sabers, both light and metal. I would say urban fantasy crosses the boundary the most. If it's a captivating story, it will be read. John F says: I can't choose one- Lord of the Rings or LWW, The Inheritance Cycle, The Dresden Files, Caina, Ridmark, or Nadia. I think what draws me is great characters who grow. The setting/genre is just the device. That's why I keep coming back to your books. You create great characters. Thanks, John F. John K says: I think I'm partial to historical fantasy. I enjoy all genres, but when I think of my favorites, they tend to be derivations of historical settings. Think Guy Gavriel Kay or Miles Cameron. That said, I was weaned on Robert E. Howard, Fritz Lieber, Michael Moorcock, Karl Edward Wagner, Jack Vance, so a strong sword and sorcery second place. Juana says: High fantasy. Belgariad, Tolkien, dragons, et cetera. Jonathan says: Sword and sorcery in space! Prehistoric sword and sorcery, sword and sorcery always. Quint: says Sword and sorcery! Michael says: Sword and sorcery. For myself, I think I would agree with our last couple of commenters and it would be sword and sorcery. My ideal fantasy novel has a barbarian hero wandering from corrupt city state to corrupt city state messing up the business of some evil wizards. I'm also very fond of what's called generic fantasy (if a fighter, a dwarf, an elf, and a wizard are going into a dungeon and fighting some orcs, I'm happy). 00:04:18 Main Topic of the Week: ...
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    22 m
  • Episode 240: Escaping The Prestige Trap For Writers, Part I - MFA Degrees & Literary Agents

    Episode 240: Escaping The Prestige Trap For Writers, Part I - MFA Degrees & Literary Agents
    Feb 24 2025
    In this week's behavior, we discuss how seeking prestige can be dangerous for writers, specifically in the form of MFA degrees and literary agents. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Sword of the Squire, Book #1 in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store: SQUIRE50 The coupon code is valid through March 14, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we’ve got you covered! 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 240 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is February the 20th, 2025, and today we are discussing how to escape the trap of prestige that can sometimes catch writers, specifically in the form of MFA degrees and literary agents. Before we get into greater detail with that, we will start with Coupon of the Week and then an update on my current writing projects and then also a Question of the Week before we get to the main topic. But first, let's start with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Sword of the Squire, Book One of the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store. And that coupon code is SQUIRE50. The coupon code is valid through March 14th, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook as we head into spring, we have got you covered. Now let's have an update on current writing projects. I am 94,000 words into Ghost in the Assembly. I had two 10,000 word days this week, which really moved the needle forward. We'll talk about those a little bit more later. I'm on Chapter 18 of 21, I believe, and if all goes well, I should hopefully finish the rough draft before the end of the month because I would like to get editing on that as soon as possible. For my next book, that will be Shield of Battle and I am 8,000 words into that and I'm hoping that'll come out in April. Ghost in the Assembly will be in March, if all goes well. In audiobook news, recording for Cloak of Dragonfire (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) is finished and also recording on Orc-Hoard, the fourth book of the Half-Elven Thief series (as excellently narrated by Leanne Woodward). Both of those should be coming out sometime in March, if all goes well. So that's where I'm at with my current writing projects. 00:01:45 Question of the Week And now let's move on to Question of the Week. Question of the Week is intended to inspire interesting discussions of enjoyable topics. This week's question, if you have off work or school because of a snow day or extreme cold or other intense weather, what do you do with the day? No wrong answers. We had a number of responses to this. Surabhi says: Ha, jokes on you! It never snows where I live. We do sometimes bunk school on rainy days, though. What I mostly do then is catching up on homework or listening to the rain. Justin says: We're having a snow day here; schools and many businesses are closed. So Lord of the Rings Extended Edition movie marathon! Popcorn popped, hot cocoa and cold soda prepped. I have to admit, that seems like a very good idea. Mary says: Read, write, watch the snow fall, try to exercise inside. Michael says: That hasn't happened to me since about 1985, but I seem to recall it was on my birthday and boy was I happy to miss school on my birthday! I think I read fantasy books, drank tea, and played video games. Juana says: curl up with a book and hot chocolate or tea. John says: Haven't had a snow day since I was a child, but I did either play in the snow or read a book (at that age, Andre Norton, Lester del Rey, or Ben Bova). I'm relocating later this year back to colder climes, but since I now only work remotely and have for the past six years, sadly my days change very little. Jenny says: Usually shovel snow, make a pot of warm food, more snow removal, watch movies or shows. Bob says: I'm retired now, so probably not much different than any other day, but when I was working, I'd probably be out shoveling snow so I can get to work whenever the roads were clear. Of course, that necessitated more shoveling when the snowplow dumped its load across the end of my driveway and that's why I moved south, where I rarely see snow. Yes, if you live in a colder climes and you have a driveway, you know that you'll shovel the driveway and then immediately when you're done, these snowplow will come and block up the end of the driveway. Finally, Dan says: For myself, I enjoy a free day. However, soon the home duties encroach on this free time. For myself, the answer is clearly that I write 10,000 words on the first snow day and then again on the second day because I just had two days in a row where it was too cold to leave the house. So what I did was stay home and wrote 20,000 words of Ghost in the Assembly. 00:03:54 Main Topic: Escaping the Trap of Prestige, Part I Now onto our main topic of ...
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