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February 20, 2025 • 13 mins

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Episode Transcript

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David Gwyn (00:00):
Hey everyone, David Gwyn here.

(00:01):
I want to talk today aboutsomething that could change your
writing journey forever.
if you're a thriller, mystery,suspense, crime writer who has
goals of writing your best bookever and signing with a literary
agent in 2025, then theStoryteller Society is designed
specifically for you.
If you've ever felt stuck,isolated, or frustrated by the
kind of endless cycle of selfdoubt and rejection, then this

(00:24):
is for you, and I can tell youthat because I've been there.
You know, if you're notinterested in the community,
that's no problem.
I know it's not for everyone,but the industry professionals
that I talk to are alwaystalking about the importance of
community building.
So if you're not ready to jointhe Storyteller Society, you
might get a few ideas of whatyou want in a community okay, so
I wanted to check in todayreally because I keep getting

(00:44):
some of the same questions aboutthe Storyteller Society and I
want to share a bit about whatwe do, why it's unique, and how
it's going to help you achieveyour publishing goals.
If you're serious about makingyour publishing dreams come
true, then You really don't wantto miss this.
The Storyteller Society isn'tjust another writing group, it's
a fully loaded powerhousecommunity specifically designed
for thriller, suspense, mystery,and crime fiction writers.

(01:07):
I say, and I truly believe this,I think this is the best genre
specific community that's outthere.
And so I'll talk a little bitabout that here.
First, some logisticalfrequently asked questions right
off the bat.
To sign up, you have to fill outthe form linked in the
description below in the, in thenotes for this episode.
It's not enough to be subscribedto the Thriller 101 email list.

(01:29):
So if you want in and people arestarting to sign up, so be sure
to get in there right away.
If you want a spot you got toput your name and email address
in on the link that's in the, inthe notes here for this episode.
You don't have to add anypayment information.
Transcribed when you sign upwith just your name and your
email, it tells me that you'reinterested, and so even if
you're not 100 percent sure,that's fine, sign up, I'll reach

(01:50):
out and see if we're the rightfit for your writing goals, and
if you have questions, you know,you want to make sure we're the
right fit, want to know wherethe community is headed, and
what guests we have coming up,Sign up.
When you sign up you don't justget access to future events You
also get the bank of recordingsfor the past events making this
a really valuable investment inyour writing career And there's

(02:10):
a month to month payment optionSo if you're not sure join us
for a month get some freebonuses watch the replays of the
guest presentations from thepast.
Meet our resident book clubauthor for this month Get some
feedback on your work, and ifit's not your thing, you can
cancel your subscription righton the platform.
It seems like a safe bet to me.
I mean, it's easily worth 47 orabout 1.

(02:32):
50 a day to get all of thosebonuses, even if it's just for a
month and you decide it's notthe right fit.
This is a question that keepscoming up around cohort three.
I don't know when or if I'llopen a cohort three.
I knew there was always going tobe a second cohort.
I don't know if there'll be athird.
That's kind of yet to be seen.
Because people are staying inthe community and so I don't

(02:53):
necessarily feel the need to addmore people if we're kind of at
a place where I feel likeeveryone's getting value out of
the community.
And the last thing is we providea lot.
You don't have to feel like youneed to attend everything.
I provide a lot of optionsbecause every writer is
different.
What you need is different fromwhat another writer might need.
This is really a suite ofofferings that you can kind of

(03:14):
pick and choose from.
Attend when you're free, watchthe recordings on your own time,
make time for the things thatyou think you really need and
will benefit your writingcareer.
And if you need a break, take abreak.
We're here for you when you getback.
Okay, let's talk about why mostwriters struggle when working
alone.
Let's face it, writing isreally, really hard.
You're up late at night,scribbling notes on napkins,

(03:35):
sacrificing sleep, making notesin your phone, juggling life's
other demands, like a job,family, friends exercise, and
you're doing all of these thingsjust to try to squeeze in a page
or two, and sometimes no matterhow hard you try, you hit that
wall where your story just won'tcome together, or you're not
sure if you're on the righttrack, or what an agent is
really looking for.

(03:56):
I've been there.
We've all been there.
Now, here's the harsh truth.
Going at it alone really doesn'twork well.
Without accountability,feedback, and genuine community,
your writing's going to getstuck at some point.
If you're not part of a focusedgenre specific group, your
manuscript might never reach thelevel it needs to to get the
attention of agents andpublishers.

(04:18):
It's more competitive than everto land a literary agent, and
your dream agent might beoverlooking you because of a few
small tweaks you need to make inyour opening, or your query
letter, or something else thatjust takes another writer
working in your genre to see.
Don't waste months or even yearsjust trying to figure it out on
your own.
Imagine if you had a space whereevery single day you had access

(04:39):
to writers who share yourstruggles and your dreams and
your genre, where every monthyou get real time feedback,
where you have accountabilitycheck ins if you want them,
where you can get access toindustry experts.
agents, editors, best sellingauthors who are ready to share
their secrets with you.
I want you to hear what literaryagent Lori Galvin has to say
about finding a writingcommunity.

Lori Galvin (05:01):
I do look for that and I do ask about that.
You know, maybe you don't haveto have been published, but do
you have some sort of, you know,writing community?
Do you, are you in a writer'sgroup or do you have beta
readers?

David Gwyn (05:13):
What if you could pitch your book directly to
agents after going through ourPitch Perfect Practice session
that had agents saying that thestorytellers, society, writers
had the best pitches they'd everreceived?
One of those guests was literaryagent Amy Nielsen.
This is what she had to sayabout her time working with the
writers in the Storyteller'sSociety.

amy-nielsen--she-her-_1_0 (05:31):
their pitches were amazing.
Like they did such a good job.
Absolutely excellent.
Some of the best pitches thatI've ever seen.
And I'm in a group of otheragents and that was a common
thread because several of us.
We're taking pitches and we'reall like, these are some of the
best pitches we've ever heard.
So whatever you're doing overthere with your authors, it's
really showing.
And I always say, you know,writing is a solitary art, but

(05:55):
publishing is a communityeffort.
So it really is.
And if anyone's been interestedor thinking about joining a
community, I highly recommendthe Storyteller Society

David Gwyn (06:06):
What if you could get your query letter, your
pitch, your opening pagespolished to absolute perfection,
all for a fraction of what youpay for a private coach?
Because you could piece thistogether on your own.
I did the math.
It's on the Thriller 101 websitepage for the Storyteller
Society.
You can look and it's thousandsand thousands of dollars, or you
could join the StorytellerSociety for about 1.

(06:29):
For all the things you spendmoney on over the course of your
day, isn't your writing careerworth less than 12 a week?
So let me break down the keybenefits for you, just so you
can see how powerful thiscommunity is.
There's daily engagement andaccountability.
Every day you'll have access toa community, discussions, polls,
and resource sharing.
You won't be left alone tobattle your writing demons in

(06:51):
silence.
Some writers find dedicatedaccountability buddies who check
in with each other and can helpyou stick with your goals, even
on those most difficult days.
We have tailored critique andfeedback.
With the advanced platform wehave, you can get matched with
critique partners, beta readers,query feedback partners, and
more who are working on similarstories.
This means you get the feedbackthat you need.

(07:13):
It's not only relevant, but alsodeeply insightful.
No more random comments frompeople who just don't really get
your genre.
Weekly write ins and goal checkins are community write ins are
virtual writing sprints whereyou and other writers focus
together, get words on the pagein a short focus time.
And our goal check ins, they'redesigned to ensure you're
progressing steadily towardsfinishing your book.

(07:34):
Monthly industry expertworkshops.
Imagine getting two livesessions every month where
industry experts break down thesecrets to writing a killer
thriller.
Have questions?
We're not like other conferencesthat charge you hundreds of
dollars and make you sit in avirtual audience of maybe
hundreds of writers of differentgenres.
Our industry experts tailortheir presentations to your

(07:55):
genre.
And if you have questions, youcan ask them, because we're low
residency.
Our pitch events.
I'm really proud of our pitchevents.
Our Storytellers Societyexclusive pitch events are where
you can pitch directly toagents.
They don't get dozens of pitcheslike they do at other events.
We cap our agents at a certainnumber so that they remember

(08:15):
every single writer they talkto.
You're not this blur on thescreen that passes by before
they can even blink.
You are somebody that they getto know over the course of our
pitch events.
And where we really shine is ourpre pitch practice sessions to
ensure you're as prepared aspossible.
One agent said, quote, Theirpitches and level of preparation
stood out from other pitchevents by far.

(08:36):
Next is our networking,mentorship, and lifelong
connections.
This community isn't just aboutwriting.
It's about building realrelationships.
There's a thread going on insidethe Storyteller Society right
now of writers sharing the fullrequests that they're getting.
Writers from the StorytellerSociety are going to land
literary agents.
One writer said that her requestrate has shot up.
Another just shared that thefeedback that she got on her

(08:57):
query helped her get a coldquery full request.
Imagine being friends with thesewriters.
What could it do for you andyour writing career to have the
inside scoop on how they gottheir agent?
On advice they'd give forwriters on the same path?
On what it's like working withan agent.
Storyteller.
Society is about meeting fellowwriters, about getting to know
agents and industryprofessionals.

(09:20):
These are the connections thatcan turn your writing dreams
into a reality.
I want to hear from authorJessica Payne about the
importance of having a writingcommunity.

Jessica Payne (09:29):
It really is community.
It is building a community.
It is being a part of acommunity.
And if you are an unagentedunpublished writer, now is the
time to start that.

David Gwyn (09:39):
Now, here's the thing.
If you tried to piece all ofthese benefits together on your
own, you'd end up spendingthousands of dollars.
I mean, from private workshops,to one on one coaching sessions,
to expensive critique services.
I've done the math for you.
If you go to thriller, one Ohone.
com slash storyteller society,and you check it out, you can
see, I broke down how much itwould cost if you tried to piece

(10:01):
all these things together onyour own.
But here you could join thestoryteller society for just 47
per month.
And you get access to everythingall in one place with one
supportive community that hasyour back.
Okay.
So if you don't have a communityand you choose not to join the
storyteller society.
You're likely to face somechallenges, and I know because
I've been there.

(10:22):
Before I found my writing group,I struggled with, like,
isolation and feeling stuck.
Without a supportive community,my progress stalled, and yours
might too.
You might keep working in avacuum without the
accountability and feedback thatreally drive the improvement
that you need in order to make awriting career a reality.
to the end of a draft and reallynot know where to go, or if it's

(10:44):
even good enough.
out on opportunities like ourexclusive pitch events.
writers sign with agents whileyou're left wondering what could
have been if you'd had thatchance.
There are going to be somehigher costs later if you decide
to get all this support lateron.
You'll likely pay a much higherprice for individual coaching,
workshops, and critiqueservices, costing you thousands

(11:06):
instead of just a few dollars amonth.
And you're likely to feel somefrustration and doubt.
I know that I did.
The path to getting published isreally tough.
Without a community to lift youup, those rejections and
setbacks can feel even morecrushing.
I don't want you to go throughthat.
Is it worth risking another yearof writing alone, potentially
facing more rejection andmissing out on the guidance that

(11:27):
could transform your manuscriptinto something that makes your
publishing dreams come true?
So ask yourself, what is yourliterary legacy worth?
If it's worth more than 1.
50 a day, then maybe it's a goodidea for you to check out the
Storyteller's Society.
And see if we're the right fit.
Remember, signing up doesn'trequire you to make any type of
financial payment at all.

(11:48):
It's just you saying, Hey, Iwant to take my writing career
seriously.
Let's find out if we're theright fit.
So this is your chance to join acommunity that is designed to
make your writing your best workever.
Enrollment for Cohort 2 closeson February 28th.
However, spots are limited, andI closed early for Cohort 1, I
mean days before the actualdeadline, just because we filled

(12:12):
all the spots we were trying tofill.
Don't let another rejectionletter or another frustrating
writing day hold you back.
If you're ready to take yourwriting to the next level, to be
part of a group that's asserious about publishing as you
are, join the StorytellerSociety today.
Click the link in thedescription, add your name and
email address, and I'll reachout with next steps.
Remember, the tools,accountability, and industry

(12:33):
connections that you need.
to invest in your future, andsoon, you'll be able to say
you're a published author.
I truly believe that theStoryteller Society will be the
game changer you've been waitingfor.
The writing journey is hard, butit doesn't have to be lonely or
overwhelming.
With the right community, theright guidance, and the right

(12:53):
network, you can turn yourwriting dreams into reality.
And remember, even if you're notsure Signing up for one month,
figuring it out, could be thedifference in your writing
career.
The clock is ticking, enrollmentcloses soon, and once it's
closed, I really don't know ifthere'll ever be another cohort.
So don't miss out on thisopportunity to transform your
writing and take control of yourpublishing future.

(13:15):
Go down to the description now,and secure your spot before
someone else does, and I'll talkto you next week.
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