This is how a $75 “oops” launched a podcast about writing, tech, and disability

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A small “oops” turned into a loud yes. After years of writing through grief, learning by doing, and tapping a purple button that opened a world of audio, we’re launching a show built around one conviction: the craft of writing should be accessible, adaptable, and welcoming to every body. We explore how a tribute to a mother grew into “I, Win,” how strangers used that book to understand cerebral palsy, and why accessibility tools—speech dictation, AAC devices, and iPad-first workflows—aren’t just accommodations; they’re engines for consistent, high-quality creative work.

We dig into the origin story behind “Ask Win,” the mentorship and inspiration we drew from Joanna Penn’s journey into indie publishing, and the gentle shove that came from an accidental $75 podcast hosting purchase. That nudge became a commitment to bring practical, lived guidance to writers navigating disability: how to outline by voice, dictate clean drafts, tame editing without burnout, and design a marketing plan you can sustain. You’ll hear how we plan to release episodes twice a week, invite guests with diverse backgrounds, and keep craft at the center while highlighting real tools and workflows that lower friction and raise output.

If you care about writing but your hands, energy, or time don’t fit traditional routines, this is your space. We’ll share lessons on discoverability, indie publishing strategies, and mindful productivity, plus stories from authors who prove that access unlocks artistry. Come for the tactics, stay for the momentum—and help shape what comes next by telling us what you want to learn. Subscribe, share with a friend who writes, and leave a review so more disabled creators and allies can find this conversation.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:03):
Hi you guys Okay.
Welcome to Ink with a Disabilityby me, Wayne Scholes.
This podcast is going to beabout disability and the process
of writing books.
We're also going to talk aboutthe craft of disability.

(00:27):
I am the author of 12 books.
Soon to be 13 books.
And I am in the process ofwriting, well, editing, getting
edited a book on how I podcast.

(00:49):
And so I was inspired to do thisby a dear friend of mine named
Danielle Coulter.
So her book can also be found onAmazon.
If Dan can thread, you can do itto sledding as in snowboarding.

(01:10):
So sledding down the mountain.
As in snowboarding.
So um and her website isattached to my website, which is
a winningheart.com.
And how I started writing mybooks is um after my mom died in

(01:38):
2010, I decided to write atribute to my mom and
unbeknownst to me, strangersstarted buying it to educate
themselves about stable palsy.
Although when I was writing it,I um it was Apple iTunes at the

(02:06):
time, and I decided to make thatlittle purple button dance on my
iPhone.
And so this was iOS 18 when wereon when Apple started

(02:27):
integrating podcasting into theiPhone natively.
And so now you don't need aseparate app for it.
So um and people have recentlygot into podcasting because of
me, and podcasting is a greatway of doing things.

(02:52):
I mean, I've listened to severalpodcasts.
There's several of us doingpodcasts with disabilities, but
none of us are doing podcasts onwriting with a disabled spin.
And so this podcast will bereleased on um Tuesdays and

(03:19):
Thursdays along with my otherpodcast, Minute for Mindfulness,
and I will have guest interviewson this podcast.
What happened?
I've been dying to do thispodcast for years, and what

(03:40):
happened is I accidentally hitthe go button on$75 worth of um
podcasting space on Buzzfelt.
And so I thought, oops, and thenI didn't take oops as a I took

(04:01):
oops as a sign.
This is something you want todo.
Teach people how to write booksusing speech dictation and using
AAC devices instead of devicessuch as iPads and liberators.
Liberators are huge commuters,they now use AAC devices,

(04:25):
communication devices for thosewho are non-verbal is our iPad.
And so my first interview isgoing to be a surprise.
It's going to be a surprise.
It's not don't be a shock to youguys.
Um I'm going to be interviewingthe person that inspired this

(04:48):
podcast because this issomething I want to do.
And me hitting the go button wasof$75 on podcasting space turned
um this podcast into a dream.
Originally it was Ask When wassupposed to be this podcast.

(05:14):
I just didn't realize I would dothis podcast 15 years later.
And it's going to be launchedtomorrow.
So on October 12th, it's goingto be launched.
And so yeah, I hope you guysenjoy.

(05:34):
I want your feedback.
I want what topics you want meto cover along with interviews,
and I'm happy to do theresearch, and I'm happy just to
do the um discuss what you wantto discuss, and maybe we can

(05:56):
have a round table and yeah.
So welcome to the Major Villageof Inks with a Disability, Inked
as a Pen Ink.
So that is um that is inked asan INK ED.

(06:18):
Inked as in pen ink.
So all this podcast will bedropped as a bonus episode on my
other podcast.
So um I hope you guys enjoy, andthen I'm going to talk about in
the next, well, actually I'll dothat right now.

(06:40):
I wrote I, in the process of mewriting I Win, I have quickly
discovered that um people knowwhat a book is and people know
what a Kindle is.
And so I um first of all didn'tknow how to write a book.

(07:02):
And as I said earlier, I madethe little i well the little
iTunes button dance on my iPhonebecause it was purple and
purple's my favorite color, sowouldn't kind of exist a purple
button with nothing in it.
So when I was listening toJoanna Penn of the Creative

(07:30):
Penn, P-E-N-N, and so Joanna isone of she used to be in
banking, um, lost a job inbanking and became one of the
top independent publishedauthors in um the UK.

(07:51):
So if you look up Joanna Penn onYouTube, you can see me.
I went up doing um I interviewedway back when on her podcast
too.
And so every single time it cameout I listened to it, and when

(08:12):
it talked to the when it came tothe part about marketing, I'm
like, shit, now how am I goingto market this book?
And I'm like, shoot, how am Igonna market this book?
Well, I thought, well, whatabout creating a podcast?

(08:34):
And this is the first um timepodcasting's not as known was
not as known as it is now.
So um I thought, well, I'm goingto create a podcast about
cerebral palsy.

(08:55):
But um the well, to myadvantage, the when I typed it
into iTunes at the time, iTuneswasn't um uh there was no such
thing as cerebal palsy as a keyword.

(09:16):
So I decided ding dong, that'sgoing my neck.
And I decided to startinterviewing other people who
didn't have a disability.
So if you the podcast asked whenwas born, and then I the first

(09:37):
person I interviewed was JoannaPenn.
So it's like I don't have adisability, I have a dream to do
this and let's do it.
And so it kept going and goingand going.
And I didn't realize thatpodcasting and a communications

(10:00):
degree where I would land up.
My ultimate goal is to get acommunications degree, then
become episcopal priest, whichin the next couple of years I
will be.
So after I get thecommunications degree, the
communications degree starts on,hopefully starts on October 23rd

(10:25):
out of Grand Canyon Universityin Phoenix, Arizona, where I'm
based.
So I um will um talk about that.
I will, but basically thispodcast is going to be about

(10:45):
books and writing and craftswriting and interviewing um
authors from all walks of life,disabilities are not primarily
disabilities, but interviewingauthors from all walks of life.

(11:06):
So I hope you enjoy and pleasegive me feedback and please
shoot me messages.
I can be contacted atwinningheart.com and Danielle
could be contacted, DankinSred.com, and she can be

(11:29):
contacted if you just GoogleDaniel Culture, her website will
pop up if you just google win wI N Charles C H A L L A S.
The my podcast will pop up, andthis podcast should be Googled
by tomorrow.

(11:50):
So yeah, I want to hear knowwhat you guys think and know how
I can improve this.
And let's get a third podcastwalking and rolling.
Now I have a three podcast.
My main one, a mental healthone.
That's a minute of mindfulness,talking about mental health from

(12:14):
a disabled point of view and nowwriting and the class writing
and uh interviewing.
This as I said, ask when my uhoriginal podcast was supposed to
be um inks with a disability,but uh$75 on Blood Sprout has

(12:43):
now turned into Inks with aDisability.
So thank you, Bruzz Sprout, forhelping me with that turn a
dream into reality.
And so I will catch you guyslater and leave me a message,
send me a text.

(13:03):
You can send me a text throughBuzzSprout, and it should be air
guys in disabil in Apple iTunesand all the major players as of
tomorrow.
So Inks with a disability, herewe go.
Season one kicks off today witha trailer episode.

(13:25):
Thanks you guys.