February 25, 2025 • 27 mins
Shonda Ramsey hosts Meredith Byrd, a writing coach and writer, discussing the self-publishing process and the benefits of having a book coach. Meredith shares her experience from teaching to coaching, emphasizing the importance of SMART goals and weekly intention setting for writers. She offers a subscription service for accountability and motivation, using strategies like Pomodoro timers and word sprints. Meredith also highlights the value of resources like Lisa Cron's "Story Genius" and Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird." Upcoming projects include an online blueprint workshop starting in May. Meredith advises writers to seek a supportive community and to balance their writing with other commitments.
Connect with Meredith:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/wordswell_coaching
Threads: www.threads.com/wordswell_coaching
Facebook: www.facebook.com/wordswellwriting
Website: www.wordswellwriting.com
Meredith’s Bio:
Meredith Byrd has been fascinated by stories ever since she was a child and tried to start a storytelling business with her siblings as clients.
Since then, she has spent a lifetime learning how to write stories that she and others love. Earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English from George Mason University, she began teaching stories storytelling, grammar and composition to students in Virginia and Texas.
She loves helping authors of diverse experiences and perspectives create a writing life that is empowered and impactful. She is driven by community-minded, collaborative efforts to learn and grow and share stories. She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and son.
Meredith’s Letter to You:
Dear Indie Author,
I know how hard it can feel, to have a dream and to be doing it all on your own. Sometimes it's literally ALL on your own, from writing the book to designing the cover and then figuring out how to market the book you love! It's a passion but also a business and there are so many people telling you different things you need to be successful that sometimes you might want to just put your head down and stop doing it. I've been there too. Wondering if you're writing about the stuff that will actually sell, if you should try to query after all, and if the editor you hired is a good fit. All of it feels like too much.
I'm not going to tell you how to be successful. But I am going to tell you that being persistent in your work, and actively seeking a community by showing up, joining or creating one is going to make this passion project job a whole lot more like what it should be-- fun and fulfilling. I wish you all the best as you pursue your dreams and a community that supports those dreams.
Meredith
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Shonda Ramsey (00:00):
Shonda. Hi, I'm Shonda Ramsey, your host and
(00:06):
fellow indie author. Are youoverwhelmed at the thought of
publishing your book byyourself? Has fear kept you
frozen in place, unable to writeeven the first word of your
book, not knowing the steps youneed to take shouldn't stop you
from writing. That's why I'veasked for help from some amazing
industry professionals,published authors and others who
(00:26):
are in the same situation as youto share their knowledge on the
self publishing process. Welcometo Dear indie author, where we
inspire creative independenceand every writer.
Hey everyone. It's Shonda. And Iam here with my friend Meredith.
Meredith, welcome to the show. Iwould love to start with some
(00:49):
rapid fire icebreaker questions.
Are you ready for those?
Meredith (00:53):
Yes, I am. Bring them on.
Shonda Ramsey (00:54):
All right. What is your favorite movie?
Meredith (00:57):
That's a tough question to start off with. I
think When Harry Met Sally is myall time favorite movie that I
can quote most of.
Shonda Ramsey (01:05):
Yeah, I like, that's a good movie. What is the
last book you read? Oh,
Meredith (01:13):
I was on a big Ginny Cruzi kick for a while, so I
think Tell me lies. Is the lastone that I've read of hers. Was
it good? Oh, yes, it's one ofthose books that I'm going to go
back and dissect, because I wantto know how she wrote that
story. Yeah,
Shonda Ramsey (01:27):
that's awesome. I like that. Do you like winter or
fall better?
Meredith (01:34):
I think fall, although I'm really enjoying we've got a
cold snap right now, and it wasreally lovely to feel that cold
weather once I'm dressed rightfor it. Yeah, I think probably
fall though,
Shonda Ramsey (01:47):
yeah, I like fall better, too. But I love how
magical winter can be with thesnow and everything too. So it
is a tough one. What is yourfavorite writing spot? Um,
Meredith (01:59):
I if it's not at my desk, which I try to be
consistent about, it's in mybed,
Shonda Ramsey (02:06):
that's good. Do you like sweet or savory?
Meredith (02:11):
Sweet?
Shonda Ramsey (02:13):
What is your favorite snack?
Meredith (02:16):
Probably candied pecans. Yeah, I've been sort of
craving them. Yeah,
Shonda Ramsey (02:22):
that sounds really good. Have you ever won a
contest?
Meredith (02:28):
I don't think so. I think the one that came closest
was when I was in third grade,and there was a short story
contest for, like, historicalwriting, and my story came in
second only because at the endof the story, I was running out
of time, so my handwriting gotsloppy, so I was like, Oh, this
is the story of my life. That's
Shonda Ramsey (02:48):
really awesome, though, that you were that young
and won a contest for writing.
That's that's pretty awesome. Ifyou were to write another book,
what would it be about?
Meredith (02:58):
I am currently trying to figure out how to write a
book series that sort of modeleda little bit after Pride and
Prejudice, five sisters havingto get married, but also sort of
inspired a bit by MaryWollstonecraft, the I'm a 18th
century fan, so, yeah,Historical.
Shonda Ramsey (03:20):
I like that.
That's pretty that's hard towrite, very challenging. Love
it, and that's
Meredith (03:26):
one of the reasons why I'm still working out how to do
it. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure.
Shonda Ramsey (03:30):
Do you like cats or dogs?
Meredith (03:35):
Dogs, I'm fine with either. I've had dogs most
recently, and I miss them. Soyeah,
Shonda Ramsey (03:41):
dogs, how many cups of coffee each day? There's
only one right answer.
Meredith (03:49):
I will say this usually one, because I'm
drinking it as I'm leaving thehouse, and so I can't go back
for refills. But if I'm at homeand I'm able to, it's at least
two.
Shonda Ramsey (03:59):
Yeah, that's actually where I'm at too. I'm
usually one, but sometimes I dotoo. I used to say the whole
pot, but not anymore. What isyour favorite part about your
job?
Meredith (04:14):
I love it when the ideas start clicking, and when
you can kind of start to seethat spark of inspiration, or
that moment when a problem getssolved and the whole story
starts to come together. Yeah,
Shonda Ramsey (04:29):
that's pretty magical, too. Describe yourself
in three words. I know a mannamed on a challenging one,
Meredith (04:38):
I would say kind creative and curious. I
Shonda Ramsey (04:45):
like that. That's great. Well, welcome again,
Meredith. I'm so glad thatyou're here. Can you start by
telling us a little bit moreabout yourself?
Meredith (04:53):
Yeah, my name is Meredith bird. I'm a book coach.
I run wordswhile writing. WhereI get to work with all sorts of
different writers, mostly infiction, some historical
fiction, some romance
Shonda Ramsey (05:08):
like that. How did you get into coaching others
to write books?
Meredith (05:13):
My book coach actually said, Hey, you could do this. I
am a fiction writer, and as youcan tell from like third grade,
and I am also a teacher. I teachBritish literature and college
composition. And so the theskills that I had from the
(05:35):
teaching experience and the theknowledge that I had from my own
fiction writing led me to startto seek to help other people do
a similar thing, write fiction,finish the stories they wanted
to be writing, and, you know,solve those plot holes.
Shonda Ramsey (05:53):
Nice. I like that. I know too. You write
under a pen name, correct? I doyou do? Okay? Why do you prefer
to write under a pen name? When
Meredith (06:04):
I started, it was because I was teaching full
time, and I didn't want there tobe crossover. High school
students are amazing, digging upanything that they might find
intriguing about their teachers,and I just didn't want that to
be a thing that I had to dealwith. I think too, it's also
(06:27):
good from a marketingperspective, because you know,
if you are a person who writesin one genre and then you switch
to other genres, it cansometimes be hard to have
readers be prepared for thatswitch. So a lot of writers will
change pin names when they arechanging genres, not everybody,
(06:47):
but some people find it to beuseful, and so I kind of wanted
to do that as well, to have thatavailable to me as an option.
Yeah,
Shonda Ramsey (06:54):
that's a great I think it's a great option. I've
actually thought about thatmyself, if that's something that
I might do in the future too. Soit's always interesting to hear
why people choose to do pennames. I've met so many people
who do write under pen name,some multiple at that too, which
is pretty cool as a book coach.
You compare writers needing acoach to Olympians needing
coaches? Can you elaborate onwhy having a coach is so crucial
(07:16):
for writers? Yeah.
Meredith (07:20):
So kind of like I say with Olympians. You know, the
Olympians know how to do thething that they're doing, but
the coach is there to help themplan their their strategy, plan
their training, and plan the thethe exercises and practices that
will get them to the completionof their goals, or at least as
(07:43):
much as you know a coach anathlete can. And I think that
the same with a book coach,writers typically know how to do
the writing. There's alwaysareas that they can build their
skills in, but having somebodywho's there to cheer them on and
to remind them, this is whatyour goal is. Here's how we
created a plan that leads toyour success. And here's what
(08:06):
I'm going to do, to cheer youon, remind you and advocate for
you and keep you accountabletowards those goals. It's just
somebody else in your corner,accountability
Shonda Ramsey (08:15):
which is always needed, for sure, definitely.
Can you explain the concept ofintention setting and how it can
benefit writers in achievingtheir goals. Yeah,
Meredith (08:26):
so intention setting, I think of as one element of a
larger thing, which is smartgoals. And you know, SMART goal
is the big goal that you'reworking towards. And I don't
know if you want to get intothat more in a second, or if you
want to just talk about all ofthat now, um, but you know, a
(08:47):
SMART goal is a specific,measurable, achievable, relevant
and timely goal. Hence theacronym and an intention is a
smaller, broken down part ofthat. So if I said, you know, my
smart goal is I'm going tofinish this novel, which is
(09:07):
80,000 words by this date,that's my smart goal. And then
I'm going to look at how to dothat week by week. So if I have,
you know, three months to writea novel, and it's 80,000 words
in that first draft. Then howmany weeks of writing is that?
How many words do I need to tryto be hitting and so that is
(09:29):
going to become my weeklyintention. So it might be, my
intention is to write 2000words. It might be something
different. It might be somethinglike my intention is to revise
one chapter a week, so they canbe modified for whatever you're
working towards, but theintention is the small step that
(09:50):
gets you towards the goal.
Shonda Ramsey (09:51):
I like that they work together. You offer a
weekly intention settingsubscription. How does this
work? And what can writersexpect to gain from that?
Meredith (10:00):
Yeah, yeah. This is something that came from when I
was in a writing group in Texas.
We did monthly intentionsettings. So I would say, This
is what I want to work on eachmonth. And I would put in a
little bit of money into a pot,and the next month, at our
meeting, we'd read through it.
And whoever got that goal,whoever met it, would get there,
(10:20):
you know, get to be part of alotto, sort of at the end. And
or drawing, I guess, is theword, and that was really useful
for me, because it did help mestay accountable to myself and
remind me I really want to beable to hit that, that that
drawing. And so when I startedoffering book coaching, I was
thinking about, what are thingsthat I need myself and I need a
(10:44):
weekly kind of accountabilitycheck in. So the intention
setting newsletter is a weeklyway to do that, where every
week, writers get in their inboxa little email from me with a
little bit of inspiration, maybesome writing tips, just some
things to kind of help themreflect on their week, and then
(11:05):
it prompts them to decide whatis their intention for this
week. And then intention comesfrom when they first sign up,
they tell me what their writinggoal is, and so they look back
on that, and they say, Here's myintention for this week, and
they share that with me so I cancheer them on when they meet
that goal, they tell me, andthen they get entered into that
(11:26):
week, that monthly drawing andand then if they don't get it,
you know, they can always do itagain, but just a way to help
them stay accountable to fortheir goals on a weekly basis,
that's
Shonda Ramsey (11:40):
Pretty awesome, because a lot of people are
definitely motivated by reward,and so that's a great system to
have for them, because I couldsee, even like myself, I would
want to make sure that I stayedon, on target with everything
that I was doing, especially ifI knew there could be a reward
at the end. I think that that's,that's actually pretty, pretty
good. Yeah?
Meredith (12:01):
Just telling yourself and somebody else too, like,
here's what I'm going to workon, and breaking it down a week
by week basis, that way you'renot feeling overwhelmed or, you
know, procrastinating until theend of the month.
Shonda Ramsey (12:13):
Yeah, that's awesome. And it's all still
while working towards your SMARTgoals, which is really great,
too. So how do smart goals helpwriters stay on track.
Meredith (12:22):
Well, I think it can be really overwhelming when you
tell yourself, I'm going to dothis big thing, right, like, I'm
going to write a novel, feelsreally hard when you actually
sit down to do it, because it'sso vague. First of all, and you
just don't really know. Most ofus don't know how to do that,
(12:43):
right? We can write a littlebit. I think there's a, what is
there author who says that youcan write a novel just like you
can drive a car through thenight. I'm paraphrasing, but you
know, you go with theheadlights. You can only see as
far as those headlights, but youcan get home the whole way. And
so just saying I'm going towrite a novel doesn't give you
that map. And so creatingsomething specific, like I'm
(13:07):
going to write a 50,000 wordfirst draft feels much more
manageable. First of all, andthen, if you have a timeline, it
kind of helps you stay on trackfor meeting that. So it's a
timely goal. Is it achievable?
Sure I've written 50,000 wordthings before, or at least I
know if I break them up enough,I probably can. And so making it
(13:28):
something that is specificenough that you know what steps
are needed to get there,achievable enough that you know
you can do it. And then themeasurable part, you know, I can
see, am I on track to writingthat 50,000 words? Sometimes
yes, sometimes no, but at leastI can identify that, and then I
(13:49):
can adjust. And so it kind ofhelps you figure out without
beating yourself up. That's thething that I do a lot. It's
like, oh, I can't believe Ididn't write those 1000 words
this week, and so it helps youreally kind of break it down, so
that you can adjust how youapproach the writing,
Shonda Ramsey (14:09):
definitely, which is great too, because I know I
beat myself up as well, sohaving the SMART goals in place,
I think would help eliminatesome of that too, which is
awesome. How do you sorry? Howdo you help writers stay
accountable and motivated,especially when writing feels
like the last thing they want todo?
Meredith (14:30):
I think that is a very good question, because, yeah, it
does feel it's something that Istruggle with myself, and so the
way that I approach it, withmyself and with clients is I use
strategies like Pomodoro timers.
And usually what I do for myselfis I set a 20 minute writer
writing timer, and once that 20minutes is over, I'm usually in
(14:54):
it enough that I can keep going.
If not, I say, Okay, I'm goingto stop and take a break. So
that's probably my go to numberone strategy that I recommend
you know clients use. The otherstrategies are word sprints. And
there's a couple of differentwebsites that allow you to do
(15:16):
word sprints with friends oreven with strangers. So that's
another great way of doing itand and also telling myself that
I can get rid of these words,right? They're just words to get
myself started, remindingclients that it doesn't have to
be perfect. It is something thatyou can edit once you have the
(15:37):
words on the page, and justtaking away a lot of that
pressure that we feel onourselves to make it feel
perfect, I think is part of howto do that, writing something
that's just goofy and fun, thatis not going to advance the
story, but at least reminds youwhy you like it. And then I
think too, one of the thingsthat I have writers do is create
(15:59):
blueprints for their story,which outlines it. And as part
of that blueprinting, I ask themto think about all the things
they're really excited aboutwriting, like, what is the scene
that you're just like, oh, Ican't wait to write that scene.
And so you write those thingsdown in the blueprint, and then
when you feel really overwhelmedwith not getting it done, I
(16:20):
recommend going back to look atthose blueprints, so that you
can see what scene you'reexcited about, and then maybe
start tackling that.
Shonda Ramsey (16:27):
I like that, because then you can bounce
around. That's that's kind oflike you don't have to write
from beginning to end. You canmove into something else to kind
of help free up a little bittoo, which is, yeah,
Meredith (16:40):
yeah. Yeah, I do tend to write chronologically, but
you know, when you get stuck,you just have to try something
different.
Shonda Ramsey (16:45):
Yeah, I like that. I have not been able to
try that yet, but I want to trythat because I get stuck a lot.
So I think that that would be agood thing is to remember what's
the thing that I'm most excitedabout that's yet to come, and
can I maybe jump ahead and writethat and then come back and
figure out, Okay, now, how do weget from this place to that
(17:06):
place? And I think that mighthelp break that a little bit,
which would be good, yeah. Howhas being a writing coach shape
and influence your writing? Ithink it
Meredith (17:16):
keeps me accountable more than before. It really
forces me to remind myself that,you know, my clients are doing
this every day and sitting downand finding time to write and
tell the stories that they'repassionate about, and I get to
hear them and get excited bythose as well. And so it makes
(17:40):
me want to do the same, andmotivates me to use those
strategies that I tell them touse, and so I kind of have no
excuses. I think to you know,getting to see all these
different stories really remindsme that there's space for all
types of stories. So sometimeswhen I'm feeling a little bit
(18:00):
like my my own writing is onlygoing to ever be interesting to
me. I can remind myself abouthow many other people are out
there sharing their stories andthat, you know, it's important,
even if it doesn't end upgetting published, it's still
important for me to be doing thepractice. Yeah,
Shonda Ramsey (18:19):
that's awesome. I like that. What tips do you have
for writers to balance theirwriting life with other
commitments andresponsibilities?
Meredith (18:28):
I am a parent. I have a four and a half year old son.
I also work part time teachingand doing book coaching, so I
try to take all that inconsideration. When I'm
reminding people of what theywant to be doing and how I think
(18:49):
that it's okay to remindyourself that this is maybe you
only get 20 minutes, and you canonly work in these 20 minutes in
that phase of your life,whatever that part of your life
might be it's okay to take thattime for yourself. It's okay to
leave the dishes in the sink.
Right now, I have dishes in thesink that I need to be washing,
and yet I'm making a choice todo something that I think is
(19:13):
more important and fulfilling mycreative well is part of that.
So it's okay to let some ofthose things slip. It's okay to
only do this in short spurtsduring the day, or choose one
day a week that you can writeand have space for. If you are a
person who gets up in themorning and you want to do that,
(19:36):
that's great. You shouldn't feelcompelled to do it just because
other people do. I don't dothat. My son wouldn't allow it,
and I like to be in bed early inthe morning. So, you know, maybe
I only write a few nights a weekin the evening after he's gone
to bed, but I try to create aschedule. Yeah. Yeah,
Shonda Ramsey (20:00):
that's awesome.
What are the first three stepsyou recommend writers take to
begin I
Meredith (20:07):
think one of the first things I recommend is writing
just a paragraph of what you arethinking about and what is the
questions that are in your mindwhen I'm teaching people about
blueprinting. I use Lisa crone'sbook story genius, and she calls
it the what if moment. Sowriting down that what if moment
(20:31):
to begin with, and then writingdown all the sort of small
moments that you're excitedabout or that you're thinking of
and getting excited about acharacter, or what's cool about
that character, just jotting allthose things down. First is my
first recommendation. My secondis to start thinking about the
(20:57):
conflict and the motivations inthose characters, and again,
sort of just brainstorming, notfeeling too bound to anything is
a great way to begin. I alsoreally like to research a little
bit at the beginning. So I mightjust do like a Wikipedia deep
(21:19):
dive if I'm doing somethinghistorical, or I start looking
at maps of places, if it's likea modern era, and then I lost
it. I had one more thing,brainstorm, jot all that stuff
down. Started to research alittle bit. Yep, I forget that's
(21:41):
all right,
Shonda Ramsey (21:43):
that was good.
Can you share some specificresources or tools that you find
invaluable for writers, whetherfor brainstorming, writing,
editing or publishing? Yeah,
Meredith (21:55):
like I said, the Lisa crone book story genius is
really great. I think that worksreally well with a book that's
almost written like as acompanion piece. It's Ginny
Nash's I think it's kind ofblueprint your book. And I use
those two together to create ablueprint workshop that I teach.
(22:16):
But those go very nicelytogether, and I think helped me
really start to figure out howto plot a story, and then so
those are some resources Ireally recommend. I think Bird
by Bird is one that everybodytalks about, and that's with
good reason by Anne Lamont, sheis great at helping writers take
(22:40):
some of the preciousness out oftheir writing and think about
how to to get those things done.
So those are probably my threego to books
Shonda Ramsey (22:52):
as well. Yeah, yeah, sound good. I don't think
I've read any of those, so I'mgoing to look those up. I always
like to read books that helpwith what you do when you write,
and I think that it's neat tohear other people's perspectives
too, because you never know whatyou could find to help your
process become better too. Arethere any upcoming projects or
(23:13):
initiatives you're excited aboutsharing with listeners? Yeah,
Meredith (23:18):
as of May, I know that it's few, few months away still,
but as of May, I'm going to beoffering, I've been mentioning
this blueprint workshop that Ido. I'm offering it online, and
so people will be able toparticipate in it. It's
something that you can purchaseand go back to. So the lessons
(23:38):
will always be there for you.
It's right now, I think it'sgoing to be a few different
workshop sessions, but I'mreally excited about it. It's
kind of taking those two booksand laying it out in a really
actionable way with worksheetsand guides to help you really
blueprint the book before youwrite it. So that is one thing
(23:59):
I'm really excited about.
Shonda Ramsey (24:02):
Yeah, that sounds neat. It sounds like a creative
way to do it, too. That soundspretty awesome. Can you share
with us where we can find you?
Meredith (24:11):
Yes, I am on Instagram and threads at word. Swell. Hold
on. It's different than mywebsite. My website is
wordswellwriting.com, and thenall one word, obviously. And
then Instagram is word swell,underscore coaching. You can
(24:34):
find me on threads the same way.
Facebook, words well writing,and then I'm on sub stack for
that weekly intention settingnewsletter, just weekly
intention setting newsletter,words while writing. I also have
a monthly newsletter that's nota subscription, it's just a free
newsletter.
Shonda Ramsey (24:54):
Nice. I like that so several different ways I can
connect with you, which isgreat. Yeah. Is there anything
else you would like to sharewith our audience, or any final
thoughts you'd like to leavethem with just
Meredith (25:06):
that? You know, book coaching can be a really
wonderful way to have acheerleader in your corner.
There are definitely people whomight take advantage of that,
and so making sure that you arevetting that book coach, they're
not trying to promise youanything that they can't
deliver, like getting you apublishing deal. That's not
(25:27):
something that book coach canbook book coaches can actually
accomplish, but they are thereto be your advocate, to cheer
you on. And there's lots ofdifferent ways they can help.
And so, you know, reaching out,talking to one and finding a
good fit for you is arecommendation I would
definitely pass along. Yeah,
Shonda Ramsey (25:47):
that's a great recommendation. I'd love for you
to share the letter you wrote toour audience.
Meredith (25:52):
Absolutely. Okay, dear indie author, I know how hard it
can feel to have a dream and tobe doing it all on your own.
Sometimes it's literally all onyour own, from writing the book
to designing the color and thenfiguring out how to market the
book you love. It's a passion,but it's also a business, and
there's so many people tellingyou different things you need to
(26:13):
be successful, that sometimesyou might just want to put your
head down and stop doing it.
I've been there too, wonderingif you're writing about the
stuff that will actually sell,if you should try to query after
all, and if the editor you hiredis a good fit, all of it feels
like too much. I'm not going totell you how to be successful,
but I am going to tell you thatbeing persistent in your work
and actively seeking andactively seeking a community by
(26:37):
showing up, joining or creatingone is going to make this
passion project job a whole lotmore like what it should be, fun
and fulfilling. I wish you allthe best as you pursue your
dreams and a community thatsupports those dreams. Meredith,
Shonda Ramsey (26:55):
thanks for listening. I'm your host, Shonda
Ramsey for the show notes andlinks. Head over to
Shondaramsey.com and don'tforget to join in on the
conversation on socials. Be sureto subscribe so you don't miss a
show and write a review whereveryou listen to podcasts until
next time, always remember everywriter deserves to see their
words in print. You.
Shonda. Hi, I'm Shonda Ramsey, your host and
(00:06):
fellow indie author. Are youoverwhelmed at the thought of
publishing your book byyourself? Has fear kept you
frozen in place, unable to writeeven the first word of your
book, not knowing the steps youneed to take shouldn't stop you
from writing. That's why I'veasked for help from some amazing
industry professionals,published authors and others who
(00:26):
are in the same situation as youto share their knowledge on the
self publishing process. Welcometo Dear indie author, where we
inspire creative independenceand every writer.
Hey everyone. It's Shonda. And Iam here with my friend Meredith.
Meredith, welcome to the show. Iwould love to start with some
(00:49):
rapid fire icebreaker questions.
Are you ready for those?
Meredith (00:53):
Yes, I am. Bring them on.
Shonda Ramsey (00:54):
All right. What is your favorite movie?
Meredith (00:57):
That's a tough question to start off with. I
think When Harry Met Sally is myall time favorite movie that I
can quote most of.
Shonda Ramsey (01:05):
Yeah, I like, that's a good movie. What is the
last book you read? Oh,
Meredith (01:13):
I was on a big Ginny Cruzi kick for a while, so I
think Tell me lies. Is the lastone that I've read of hers. Was
it good? Oh, yes, it's one ofthose books that I'm going to go
back and dissect, because I wantto know how she wrote that
story. Yeah,
Shonda Ramsey (01:27):
that's awesome. I like that. Do you like winter or
fall better?
Meredith (01:34):
I think fall, although I'm really enjoying we've got a
cold snap right now, and it wasreally lovely to feel that cold
weather once I'm dressed rightfor it. Yeah, I think probably
fall though,
Shonda Ramsey (01:47):
yeah, I like fall better, too. But I love how
magical winter can be with thesnow and everything too. So it
is a tough one. What is yourfavorite writing spot? Um,
Meredith (01:59):
I if it's not at my desk, which I try to be
consistent about, it's in mybed,
Shonda Ramsey (02:06):
that's good. Do you like sweet or savory?
Meredith (02:11):
Sweet?
Shonda Ramsey (02:13):
What is your favorite snack?
Meredith (02:16):
Probably candied pecans. Yeah, I've been sort of
craving them. Yeah,
Shonda Ramsey (02:22):
that sounds really good. Have you ever won a
contest?
Meredith (02:28):
I don't think so. I think the one that came closest
was when I was in third grade,and there was a short story
contest for, like, historicalwriting, and my story came in
second only because at the endof the story, I was running out
of time, so my handwriting gotsloppy, so I was like, Oh, this
is the story of my life. That's
Shonda Ramsey (02:48):
really awesome, though, that you were that young
and won a contest for writing.
That's that's pretty awesome. Ifyou were to write another book,
what would it be about?
Meredith (02:58):
I am currently trying to figure out how to write a
book series that sort of modeleda little bit after Pride and
Prejudice, five sisters havingto get married, but also sort of
inspired a bit by MaryWollstonecraft, the I'm a 18th
century fan, so, yeah,Historical.
Shonda Ramsey (03:20):
I like that.
That's pretty that's hard towrite, very challenging. Love
it, and that's
Meredith (03:26):
one of the reasons why I'm still working out how to do
it. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure.
Shonda Ramsey (03:30):
Do you like cats or dogs?
Meredith (03:35):
Dogs, I'm fine with either. I've had dogs most
recently, and I miss them. Soyeah,
Shonda Ramsey (03:41):
dogs, how many cups of coffee each day? There's
only one right answer.
Meredith (03:49):
I will say this usually one, because I'm
drinking it as I'm leaving thehouse, and so I can't go back
for refills. But if I'm at homeand I'm able to, it's at least
two.
Shonda Ramsey (03:59):
Yeah, that's actually where I'm at too. I'm
usually one, but sometimes I dotoo. I used to say the whole
pot, but not anymore. What isyour favorite part about your
job?
Meredith (04:14):
I love it when the ideas start clicking, and when
you can kind of start to seethat spark of inspiration, or
that moment when a problem getssolved and the whole story
starts to come together. Yeah,
Shonda Ramsey (04:29):
that's pretty magical, too. Describe yourself
in three words. I know a mannamed on a challenging one,
Meredith (04:38):
I would say kind creative and curious. I
Shonda Ramsey (04:45):
like that. That's great. Well, welcome again,
Meredith. I'm so glad thatyou're here. Can you start by
telling us a little bit moreabout yourself?
Meredith (04:53):
Yeah, my name is Meredith bird. I'm a book coach.
I run wordswhile writing. WhereI get to work with all sorts of
different writers, mostly infiction, some historical
fiction, some romance
Shonda Ramsey (05:08):
like that. How did you get into coaching others
to write books?
Meredith (05:13):
My book coach actually said, Hey, you could do this. I
am a fiction writer, and as youcan tell from like third grade,
and I am also a teacher. I teachBritish literature and college
composition. And so the theskills that I had from the
(05:35):
teaching experience and the theknowledge that I had from my own
fiction writing led me to startto seek to help other people do
a similar thing, write fiction,finish the stories they wanted
to be writing, and, you know,solve those plot holes.
Shonda Ramsey (05:53):
Nice. I like that. I know too. You write
under a pen name, correct? I doyou do? Okay? Why do you prefer
to write under a pen name? When
Meredith (06:04):
I started, it was because I was teaching full
time, and I didn't want there tobe crossover. High school
students are amazing, digging upanything that they might find
intriguing about their teachers,and I just didn't want that to
be a thing that I had to dealwith. I think too, it's also
(06:27):
good from a marketingperspective, because you know,
if you are a person who writesin one genre and then you switch
to other genres, it cansometimes be hard to have
readers be prepared for thatswitch. So a lot of writers will
change pin names when they arechanging genres, not everybody,
(06:47):
but some people find it to beuseful, and so I kind of wanted
to do that as well, to have thatavailable to me as an option.
Yeah,
Shonda Ramsey (06:54):
that's a great I think it's a great option. I've
actually thought about thatmyself, if that's something that
I might do in the future too. Soit's always interesting to hear
why people choose to do pennames. I've met so many people
who do write under pen name,some multiple at that too, which
is pretty cool as a book coach.
You compare writers needing acoach to Olympians needing
coaches? Can you elaborate onwhy having a coach is so crucial
(07:16):
for writers? Yeah.
Meredith (07:20):
So kind of like I say with Olympians. You know, the
Olympians know how to do thething that they're doing, but
the coach is there to help themplan their their strategy, plan
their training, and plan the thethe exercises and practices that
will get them to the completionof their goals, or at least as
(07:43):
much as you know a coach anathlete can. And I think that
the same with a book coach,writers typically know how to do
the writing. There's alwaysareas that they can build their
skills in, but having somebodywho's there to cheer them on and
to remind them, this is whatyour goal is. Here's how we
created a plan that leads toyour success. And here's what
(08:06):
I'm going to do, to cheer youon, remind you and advocate for
you and keep you accountabletowards those goals. It's just
somebody else in your corner,accountability
Shonda Ramsey (08:15):
which is always needed, for sure, definitely.
Can you explain the concept ofintention setting and how it can
benefit writers in achievingtheir goals. Yeah,
Meredith (08:26):
so intention setting, I think of as one element of a
larger thing, which is smartgoals. And you know, SMART goal
is the big goal that you'reworking towards. And I don't
know if you want to get intothat more in a second, or if you
want to just talk about all ofthat now, um, but you know, a
(08:47):
SMART goal is a specific,measurable, achievable, relevant
and timely goal. Hence theacronym and an intention is a
smaller, broken down part ofthat. So if I said, you know, my
smart goal is I'm going tofinish this novel, which is
(09:07):
80,000 words by this date,that's my smart goal. And then
I'm going to look at how to dothat week by week. So if I have,
you know, three months to writea novel, and it's 80,000 words
in that first draft. Then howmany weeks of writing is that?
How many words do I need to tryto be hitting and so that is
(09:29):
going to become my weeklyintention. So it might be, my
intention is to write 2000words. It might be something
different. It might be somethinglike my intention is to revise
one chapter a week, so they canbe modified for whatever you're
working towards, but theintention is the small step that
(09:50):
gets you towards the goal.
Shonda Ramsey (09:51):
I like that they work together. You offer a
weekly intention settingsubscription. How does this
work? And what can writersexpect to gain from that?
Meredith (10:00):
Yeah, yeah. This is something that came from when I
was in a writing group in Texas.
We did monthly intentionsettings. So I would say, This
is what I want to work on eachmonth. And I would put in a
little bit of money into a pot,and the next month, at our
meeting, we'd read through it.
And whoever got that goal,whoever met it, would get there,
(10:20):
you know, get to be part of alotto, sort of at the end. And
or drawing, I guess, is theword, and that was really useful
for me, because it did help mestay accountable to myself and
remind me I really want to beable to hit that, that that
drawing. And so when I startedoffering book coaching, I was
thinking about, what are thingsthat I need myself and I need a
(10:44):
weekly kind of accountabilitycheck in. So the intention
setting newsletter is a weeklyway to do that, where every
week, writers get in their inboxa little email from me with a
little bit of inspiration, maybesome writing tips, just some
things to kind of help themreflect on their week, and then
(11:05):
it prompts them to decide whatis their intention for this
week. And then intention comesfrom when they first sign up,
they tell me what their writinggoal is, and so they look back
on that, and they say, Here's myintention for this week, and
they share that with me so I cancheer them on when they meet
that goal, they tell me, andthen they get entered into that
(11:26):
week, that monthly drawing andand then if they don't get it,
you know, they can always do itagain, but just a way to help
them stay accountable to fortheir goals on a weekly basis,
that's
Shonda Ramsey (11:40):
Pretty awesome, because a lot of people are
definitely motivated by reward,and so that's a great system to
have for them, because I couldsee, even like myself, I would
want to make sure that I stayedon, on target with everything
that I was doing, especially ifI knew there could be a reward
at the end. I think that that's,that's actually pretty, pretty
good. Yeah?
Meredith (12:01):
Just telling yourself and somebody else too, like,
here's what I'm going to workon, and breaking it down a week
by week basis, that way you'renot feeling overwhelmed or, you
know, procrastinating until theend of the month.
Shonda Ramsey (12:13):
Yeah, that's awesome. And it's all still
while working towards your SMARTgoals, which is really great,
too. So how do smart goals helpwriters stay on track.
Meredith (12:22):
Well, I think it can be really overwhelming when you
tell yourself, I'm going to dothis big thing, right, like, I'm
going to write a novel, feelsreally hard when you actually
sit down to do it, because it'sso vague. First of all, and you
just don't really know. Most ofus don't know how to do that,
(12:43):
right? We can write a littlebit. I think there's a, what is
there author who says that youcan write a novel just like you
can drive a car through thenight. I'm paraphrasing, but you
know, you go with theheadlights. You can only see as
far as those headlights, but youcan get home the whole way. And
so just saying I'm going towrite a novel doesn't give you
that map. And so creatingsomething specific, like I'm
(13:07):
going to write a 50,000 wordfirst draft feels much more
manageable. First of all, andthen, if you have a timeline, it
kind of helps you stay on trackfor meeting that. So it's a
timely goal. Is it achievable?
Sure I've written 50,000 wordthings before, or at least I
know if I break them up enough,I probably can. And so making it
(13:28):
something that is specificenough that you know what steps
are needed to get there,achievable enough that you know
you can do it. And then themeasurable part, you know, I can
see, am I on track to writingthat 50,000 words? Sometimes
yes, sometimes no, but at leastI can identify that, and then I
(13:49):
can adjust. And so it kind ofhelps you figure out without
beating yourself up. That's thething that I do a lot. It's
like, oh, I can't believe Ididn't write those 1000 words
this week, and so it helps youreally kind of break it down, so
that you can adjust how youapproach the writing,
Shonda Ramsey (14:09):
definitely, which is great too, because I know I
beat myself up as well, sohaving the SMART goals in place,
I think would help eliminatesome of that too, which is
awesome. How do you sorry? Howdo you help writers stay
accountable and motivated,especially when writing feels
like the last thing they want todo?
Meredith (14:30):
I think that is a very good question, because, yeah, it
does feel it's something that Istruggle with myself, and so the
way that I approach it, withmyself and with clients is I use
strategies like Pomodoro timers.
And usually what I do for myselfis I set a 20 minute writer
writing timer, and once that 20minutes is over, I'm usually in
(14:54):
it enough that I can keep going.
If not, I say, Okay, I'm goingto stop and take a break. So
that's probably my go to numberone strategy that I recommend
you know clients use. The otherstrategies are word sprints. And
there's a couple of differentwebsites that allow you to do
(15:16):
word sprints with friends oreven with strangers. So that's
another great way of doing itand and also telling myself that
I can get rid of these words,right? They're just words to get
myself started, remindingclients that it doesn't have to
be perfect. It is something thatyou can edit once you have the
(15:37):
words on the page, and justtaking away a lot of that
pressure that we feel onourselves to make it feel
perfect, I think is part of howto do that, writing something
that's just goofy and fun, thatis not going to advance the
story, but at least reminds youwhy you like it. And then I
think too, one of the thingsthat I have writers do is create
(15:59):
blueprints for their story,which outlines it. And as part
of that blueprinting, I ask themto think about all the things
they're really excited aboutwriting, like, what is the scene
that you're just like, oh, Ican't wait to write that scene.
And so you write those thingsdown in the blueprint, and then
when you feel really overwhelmedwith not getting it done, I
(16:20):
recommend going back to look atthose blueprints, so that you
can see what scene you'reexcited about, and then maybe
start tackling that.
Shonda Ramsey (16:27):
I like that, because then you can bounce
around. That's that's kind oflike you don't have to write
from beginning to end. You canmove into something else to kind
of help free up a little bittoo, which is, yeah,
Meredith (16:40):
yeah. Yeah, I do tend to write chronologically, but
you know, when you get stuck,you just have to try something
different.
Shonda Ramsey (16:45):
Yeah, I like that. I have not been able to
try that yet, but I want to trythat because I get stuck a lot.
So I think that that would be agood thing is to remember what's
the thing that I'm most excitedabout that's yet to come, and
can I maybe jump ahead and writethat and then come back and
figure out, Okay, now, how do weget from this place to that
(17:06):
place? And I think that mighthelp break that a little bit,
which would be good, yeah. Howhas being a writing coach shape
and influence your writing? Ithink it
Meredith (17:16):
keeps me accountable more than before. It really
forces me to remind myself that,you know, my clients are doing
this every day and sitting downand finding time to write and
tell the stories that they'repassionate about, and I get to
hear them and get excited bythose as well. And so it makes
(17:40):
me want to do the same, andmotivates me to use those
strategies that I tell them touse, and so I kind of have no
excuses. I think to you know,getting to see all these
different stories really remindsme that there's space for all
types of stories. So sometimeswhen I'm feeling a little bit
(18:00):
like my my own writing is onlygoing to ever be interesting to
me. I can remind myself abouthow many other people are out
there sharing their stories andthat, you know, it's important,
even if it doesn't end upgetting published, it's still
important for me to be doing thepractice. Yeah,
Shonda Ramsey (18:19):
that's awesome. I like that. What tips do you have
for writers to balance theirwriting life with other
commitments andresponsibilities?
Meredith (18:28):
I am a parent. I have a four and a half year old son.
I also work part time teachingand doing book coaching, so I
try to take all that inconsideration. When I'm
reminding people of what theywant to be doing and how I think
(18:49):
that it's okay to remindyourself that this is maybe you
only get 20 minutes, and you canonly work in these 20 minutes in
that phase of your life,whatever that part of your life
might be it's okay to take thattime for yourself. It's okay to
leave the dishes in the sink.
Right now, I have dishes in thesink that I need to be washing,
and yet I'm making a choice todo something that I think is
(19:13):
more important and fulfilling mycreative well is part of that.
So it's okay to let some ofthose things slip. It's okay to
only do this in short spurtsduring the day, or choose one
day a week that you can writeand have space for. If you are a
person who gets up in themorning and you want to do that,
(19:36):
that's great. You shouldn't feelcompelled to do it just because
other people do. I don't dothat. My son wouldn't allow it,
and I like to be in bed early inthe morning. So, you know, maybe
I only write a few nights a weekin the evening after he's gone
to bed, but I try to create aschedule. Yeah. Yeah,
Shonda Ramsey (20:00):
that's awesome.
What are the first three stepsyou recommend writers take to
begin I
Meredith (20:07):
think one of the first things I recommend is writing
just a paragraph of what you arethinking about and what is the
questions that are in your mindwhen I'm teaching people about
blueprinting. I use Lisa crone'sbook story genius, and she calls
it the what if moment. Sowriting down that what if moment
(20:31):
to begin with, and then writingdown all the sort of small
moments that you're excitedabout or that you're thinking of
and getting excited about acharacter, or what's cool about
that character, just jotting allthose things down. First is my
first recommendation. My secondis to start thinking about the
(20:57):
conflict and the motivations inthose characters, and again,
sort of just brainstorming, notfeeling too bound to anything is
a great way to begin. I alsoreally like to research a little
bit at the beginning. So I mightjust do like a Wikipedia deep
(21:19):
dive if I'm doing somethinghistorical, or I start looking
at maps of places, if it's likea modern era, and then I lost
it. I had one more thing,brainstorm, jot all that stuff
down. Started to research alittle bit. Yep, I forget that's
(21:41):
all right,
Shonda Ramsey (21:43):
that was good.
Can you share some specificresources or tools that you find
invaluable for writers, whetherfor brainstorming, writing,
editing or publishing? Yeah,
Meredith (21:55):
like I said, the Lisa crone book story genius is
really great. I think that worksreally well with a book that's
almost written like as acompanion piece. It's Ginny
Nash's I think it's kind ofblueprint your book. And I use
those two together to create ablueprint workshop that I teach.
(22:16):
But those go very nicelytogether, and I think helped me
really start to figure out howto plot a story, and then so
those are some resources Ireally recommend. I think Bird
by Bird is one that everybodytalks about, and that's with
good reason by Anne Lamont, sheis great at helping writers take
(22:40):
some of the preciousness out oftheir writing and think about
how to to get those things done.
So those are probably my threego to books
Shonda Ramsey (22:52):
as well. Yeah, yeah, sound good. I don't think
I've read any of those, so I'mgoing to look those up. I always
like to read books that helpwith what you do when you write,
and I think that it's neat tohear other people's perspectives
too, because you never know whatyou could find to help your
process become better too. Arethere any upcoming projects or
(23:13):
initiatives you're excited aboutsharing with listeners? Yeah,
Meredith (23:18):
as of May, I know that it's few, few months away still,
but as of May, I'm going to beoffering, I've been mentioning
this blueprint workshop that Ido. I'm offering it online, and
so people will be able toparticipate in it. It's
something that you can purchaseand go back to. So the lessons
(23:38):
will always be there for you.
It's right now, I think it'sgoing to be a few different
workshop sessions, but I'mreally excited about it. It's
kind of taking those two booksand laying it out in a really
actionable way with worksheetsand guides to help you really
blueprint the book before youwrite it. So that is one thing
(23:59):
I'm really excited about.
Shonda Ramsey (24:02):
Yeah, that sounds neat. It sounds like a creative
way to do it, too. That soundspretty awesome. Can you share
with us where we can find you?
Meredith (24:11):
Yes, I am on Instagram and threads at word. Swell. Hold
on. It's different than mywebsite. My website is
wordswellwriting.com, and thenall one word, obviously. And
then Instagram is word swell,underscore coaching. You can
(24:34):
find me on threads the same way.
Facebook, words well writing,and then I'm on sub stack for
that weekly intention settingnewsletter, just weekly
intention setting newsletter,words while writing. I also have
a monthly newsletter that's nota subscription, it's just a free
newsletter.
Shonda Ramsey (24:54):
Nice. I like that so several different ways I can
connect with you, which isgreat. Yeah. Is there anything
else you would like to sharewith our audience, or any final
thoughts you'd like to leavethem with just
Meredith (25:06):
that? You know, book coaching can be a really
wonderful way to have acheerleader in your corner.
There are definitely people whomight take advantage of that,
and so making sure that you arevetting that book coach, they're
not trying to promise youanything that they can't
deliver, like getting you apublishing deal. That's not
(25:27):
something that book coach canbook book coaches can actually
accomplish, but they are thereto be your advocate, to cheer
you on. And there's lots ofdifferent ways they can help.
And so, you know, reaching out,talking to one and finding a
good fit for you is arecommendation I would
definitely pass along. Yeah,
Shonda Ramsey (25:47):
that's a great recommendation. I'd love for you
to share the letter you wrote toour audience.
Meredith (25:52):
Absolutely. Okay, dear indie author, I know how hard it
can feel to have a dream and tobe doing it all on your own.
Sometimes it's literally all onyour own, from writing the book
to designing the color and thenfiguring out how to market the
book you love. It's a passion,but it's also a business, and
there's so many people tellingyou different things you need to
(26:13):
be successful, that sometimesyou might just want to put your
head down and stop doing it.
I've been there too, wonderingif you're writing about the
stuff that will actually sell,if you should try to query after
all, and if the editor you hiredis a good fit, all of it feels
like too much. I'm not going totell you how to be successful,
but I am going to tell you thatbeing persistent in your work
and actively seeking andactively seeking a community by
(26:37):
showing up, joining or creatingone is going to make this
passion project job a whole lotmore like what it should be, fun
and fulfilling. I wish you allthe best as you pursue your
dreams and a community thatsupports those dreams. Meredith,
Shonda Ramsey (26:55):
thanks for listening. I'm your host, Shonda
Ramsey for the show notes andlinks. Head over to
Shondaramsey.com and don'tforget to join in on the
conversation on socials. Be sureto subscribe so you don't miss a
show and write a review whereveryou listen to podcasts until
next time, always remember everywriter deserves to see their
words in print. You.
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