Author Diary Entries
Author Diary Entries (formerly known as the Indie Author Weekly podcast) features your host, Sagan Morrow, as she shares diary-style personal stories of life as an indie author and her behind-the-scenes journey of writing and publishing books as an authorpreneur. You’ll learn more about the books Sagan writes, her insights and stories of being an author and a multipassionate creative, and a peek behind the curtain of a writer's life. The Author Diary Entries podcast is hosted by Sagan Morrow, a Kamloops-based writer with more than a decade of experience as a small business owner. She is also a hobbyist burlesque dancer and performs on stage as Babe Maverick. Sagan started out as a blogger and freelance writer (and editor) around 2008. In 2016, she began teaching other freelancers how to improve productivity and time management through her online courses. She is an internationally board-certified Success & Life Coach who specializes in personal fulfillment, solopreneurship, and anti-hustle productivity. Sagan writes the Polyamorous Passions romantic comedy series, and has published several business books in addition to her work as a romance novelist. She published her first work of fiction in 2018. RECOMMENDED STARTING POINT: "Ep 179: Author Update (one year later)" AND "Ep 140: Welcome back to the podcast!" AND "Ep 50: What made me start writing the Polyamorous Passions series" AND "Ep 53: Top 5 episodes from the first year of podcasting on Indie Author Weekly (and why I started this podcast)". The first 12 episodes of this podcast were originally published on a “secret” platform only for email subscribers, but you can tune into all of those original episodes right here. Access bonus materials to go along with podcast (including cheatsheets and spreadsheets relevant to the episode topics), plus full episode transcripts, sample chapters of her novels, and additional resources, at https://saganmorrow.com/secretpodcast. This podcast was rebranded from "Indie Author Weekly" to "Author Diary Entries" in April 2025. Learn more about Sagan’s published works and upcoming novels at https://saganmorrow.com/books/. Connect with Sagan on Instagram & Threads: @Saganlives
Episodes
What is the art of creative weirdness? What are some great examples of creative weirdness, and how can YOU tap into your own creative weirdness when you are creating art (of any kind)? What is the ONE situation in which creative weirdness is NOT effective? Does art NEED to be “weird” in order to be powerful and incredible? What social commentary and feminist lenses can we view mainstream blockbuster action movies like Die Hard and ...
In this episode, your host and indie author Sagan Morrow shares her experience with reviewing her current work-in-progress (Book 8 in the Polyamorous Passions series) using a "reader mindset" prior to doing rewrites!
She shares her process and results for reviewing her current WIP as a reader:
Find out a breakdown of the process she’s using, the game-changing book writing method that’s shifted her out of Author mindset an...
What is creative cross training, and how can it help you navigate (and overcome) creative blocks? In this episode, Sagan shares examples of creative cross training and the importance of creative cross training (and how it’s prevented her from having any major creative blocks as a business owner, indie author, and multi-passionate creative)...
...Plus why focusing on one thing can get boring and lead to creative stagnation, and 5 imp...
In this episode, we explore the difference between polyamorous IDENTITY vs the PRACTICE of that identity, and answer these questions: Can you write about polyamory if you aren’t ACTIVELY polyamorous? Do you ever think being polyamorous is a phase, and that you and your spouse might go back to being monogamous?
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Small Town Stilettos and the Polyamorous Passions series: SaganMorrow.com/books
- Con...
Find out why Sagan got outraged at a random person’s Instagram comment when they were dismissive of a 30-something Twilight Instagrammer reading Young Adult novels, the POWER of the YA genre, why you should read what makes you happy, her opinions about referring to romance novels as “fluffy,” and more!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Small Town Stilettos and the Polyamorous Passions series: SaganMorrow.com/books
- Author Diar...
“Do you write queer characters?” → Well… Yes and no! In this episode, I explain why this question is a tricky one, what makes a novel “queer enough” (an even more loaded question!), the nuance behind all of this, and the importance of using the words and labels that feel right for you.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Small Town Stilettos and the Polyamorous Passions series: SaganMorrow.com/books
- Episode 180 on the Author Di...
Is it rude to refer to a romance novel “smut”? Not to me ;) You can call my books whatever you want! …BUT, there’s a lot of nuance to this (and context matters) — so in this episode, we’re exploring important questions we need to ask around the labels we use, our intentions behind our word choices, and the problems with gatekeeping in the romance novel community.
Examples we discuss in this episode include: Smut, enemies to lovers ...
In this episode, your host (and indie author) Sagan Morrow shares an author update about what she's been working on since our previous episode over a year ago, plus why we've rebranded the podcast from "Indie Author Weekly" to "Author Diary Entries!"
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Small Town Stilettos and the Polyamorous Passions series: SaganMorrow.com/books
- Haus of Misfit: https://www.hausof...
In this episode, we explore the dynamic of being a beginner vs being intermediate at your practice... and why being a beginner can, in some ways, be a lot easier! Tune in now to find out about the pressure I put on myself in my 2nd solo burlesque dance performance, what I took from that experience compared to my 1st solo burlesque act, how this connects back to my work as a fiction author, and the top 3 takeaways for how you can ap...
In our previous episode, Episode 176, we talked about what it means to be a creative and an indie author — and how it can be so much more comprehensive than book writing! That's why, in today’s episode, I want to build on that and share with you the idea creation and writing process around my weekly Saturday email newsletter: the Solopreneur Diary Entries.
Tune in now for the inside scoop on what that weekly newslett...
In our most recent couple of episodes here on the Indie Author Weekly podcast, we’ve been exploring the importance of trust in the creative process — including self trust and trusting others. I want to take it a step back today and ask this question: What does it even mean to be a creative, and, since this is the Indie Author Weekly podcast, what does it mean to be an indie author?
Especially given that recently here on the podcast,...
In this episode, we explore the delicate balance of the creative process when you are a solo artist — Because it’s hard to maintain distance and objectivity when you are working on creative pursuits in a silo! Is it good enough? Is it good at all? Are you conveying what you intend to convey? Even if it IS “good enough,” what interesting improvements can be made? And if you don’t have confidence in it being “good enough,” how is tha...
In this episode, I talk about the balance between trusting yourself AND not believing that negative voice in your head which might be filled with self doubt.
As long-time listeners of the podcast will already know, I’m a Personal Fulfillment Coach when I’m not writing novels! And many of my clients first come to me because they’re struggling internally: there’s an internal battle going on, where they have a mean voice in their head ...
Last week, I went through the entirety of my current work in progress — Book 8 in the Polyamorous Passions series. So today I want to share with you what happened when I read through it… It had been a few months since I last worked on it, so it was great to review it with fresh eyes!
There were 5 main things that jumped out at me… TUNE IN to this episode to find out what I realized and discovered as a result of reviewing t...
This episode is a follow-up to the previous episode, and shares recommendations and thoughts about how to improve your relationship with the creative process (what to do BEFORE you even sit down at the computer and start writing, plus a beautiful question to hold onto and guide you through the creative process).
Resources & links mentioned in this episode:
In this episode, find out how my 2024 Word of the Year — ELEVATE — connects back and translates into my work as a writer... elevating my approach to my work! PLUS, tune in to find out what I am NOT doing this year as an indie author (this decision feels so, so good).
Resources & links mentioned in this episode:
How can you prioritize writing (or any creative pursuit, or a solopreneur business, or a passion project, or a hobby, etc) when life “gets in the way”?
In this episode, learn my 3-step strategy for how to DO this — plus a personal example of this in action with my own writing projects.
Want help with unpacking mindset blocks, setting and upholding boundaries, strategizing plans, and keeping accountable to what you want from you life?...
I began a new solo development dance class last month in preparation for my first-ever solo burlesque show... and that's given me a few ideas for incorporating burlesque choreography and culture into my upcoming romcom novel (Book 8 in the Polyamorous Passions series)!
Resources & links mentioned in this episode:
This episode provides Q&A inspired by the Weeknight Writers "Writing Alternative Relationships" panel discussion I spoke at this past summer — it's a follow up to our previous two episodes where I answered the first 5 questions:
- Q6: In romances, people usually expect a level of sexual tension that leads to sexual catharsis; how can you create a relationship arc where people have a similar level of emotional c...
This episode provides Q&A inspired by the Weeknight Writers "Writing Alternative Relationships" panel discussion I spoke at this past summer — it's a follow up to our previous episode where I answered the first 3 questions:
- Q4: What level of awareness is it important to have when thinking about writing alternative relationships? (harmful tropes to avoid, poor representation traps, trusted places against which...
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