The Failing Writers Podcast
Becoming a better writer, writing a novel, being a successful author - whatever your writing goal is, we’re here for you! Join two struggling writers learning everything there is to know about writing. They talk to best-selling authors, screenwriters and poets - people who actually know what they’re talking about. The award-winning Failing Writers Podcast is the best writing podcast around. Why? It’s funny, informative and could help you get over writer’s block, finish that novel, get a literary agent and achieve your writing goals. (Oh, and they do silly little songs too) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Writing competitions. Clearly they’re not all made the same.
Some are free, some are costly, some are actually impossible for mere mortals to enter due to their criteria.
The prizes vary too. From small cash prizes, to publishing deals.
Today, we’re asking the question… on the whole, if you’re serious about being a writer… are they actually worth it? Are they worth the money, the - let’s face it &...
Hang on... before we start... let us just fill you in on a very exciting evening happening on Monday the 6th of July, in Alton, Hampshire.
At 8pm in the lovely Goldfinch Books on Alton High Street, we are doing our first ever proper LIVE podcast.
Our guest will be the fabulous Costa-Novel-Prize-Winning Claire Fuller. We'll be talking about her brilliantly unsettling new book Hunger & Thirst and asking her all the questions you wa...
Come and see us LIVE!
We'll be at Alton Arts Festival on July the 6th, at Goldfinch Books, doing our thing in full colour, 4K, Ultra HD, real life.
There will be laughter. There will be genuine writing tips and insight from Costa Novel Prize Winner Claire Fuller. There will be a ditty or two. There will be give-aways, impromptu poetry and even Tom’s very-very-serious-wordy-writery-quiz-thing!
Little warni...
We're doing a live podcast at Goldfinch Books in Alton on Monday the 6th of July, with the brilliant Claire Fuller.
Come and join us!
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS TO SEE US LIVE AT ALTON ARTS FESTIVAL!!!
So what do we have in today's episode?
An absolute treat, that's what.
Philippa Perry, agony aunt, psychotherapist, artist, self-help-book writer and now cosy crime author.
How the heck does she do it all? She must be either:
A) Som...
OK, so you've written something.
Well done. *light applause*
That's nice.
But the next stage - getting it out into the world... that's a really tricky bit.
However... one sure fire way of doing that, if you can't persuade some other mug to do it for you, is to blummin'-well slap on some grease paint, don some tights and perform it yourself, on what we call...
... the stage.
Well that's what Jon and his wife Katie did with their play ...
Oh, you've listened to this episode already and you'd like to cross our palm with gold?
Well, you're in luck.... Simply click HERE to show your appreciation in a pecuniary fashion
And speaking of fashion - take a look at our merch HERE
and THANK YOU!
Now... onto the less grubby business of writing...
and this week we're lucky enough to be joined by the excellent Gareth Rubin, a writer whose career caught our eye recently from, of al...
Heeeey!
You’re back.
Well, that’s bloody joyful isn’t it?
Nice of you to join us again.
Now, let me ask you an impertinent question.
How seriously are you taking your writing this year?
The reason I ask is we’re looking at writing goals. Last year’s first of all… see how we got on… and then… we’re all making new ones. Yeah. You too.
Come join us in stating your...
Not long until we get this show back on the road!! Join us for season 6 when we interview some amazing writers, get stuck into some proper writing craft bits and bobs, and loads and loads and loads and loads and loads and loads more beside!!
Season 6 of the award-winning Failing Writers Podcast... coming sooooooon!!!!!
(Oh, and while you're here, check out our new merch store right here... https://the-failing-writers-podcast....
How do you give your readers everything they're looking for?
And your agent? You have to feed the beast don't you? (Is calling agents 'The Beast' too offensive?)
It's your job as a writer to offer up precisely what your readership is looking for. Anything else and you risk losing your commercial edge.
And we can't have that can we?
Oh we can?
Oh... OK.
We met up with the wonderful Doug Johnstone, to hear how he refuses to be...
The second stop on our literary whistle stop tour of Edinburgh is The Writers Museum in Makars Court.
Focussing on the three writers generally considered to be the great Titans of Scottish Literature: Robbie Burns, Sir Walter Scott & Robert Louis Stevenson.
We have a wander round, read some poetry and look into why these fellas are so revered.
We also go on a literary pub tour and have a chat with actor Mike Daviot, who just ...
Ahoy there, you weary word-wanderer. You found us. Finally! Thank goodness.
Welcome to the Failing Writers Podcast. Think of us as your writing harbour.
Your safe haven.
Your Lighthouse.
Come and moor here for a while and have your brain de-barnacled by the glorious mind of poet Michael Pederson.
Writer, linguaphile, Edinburgh Makar and all-round inspirational wordsmitherizer.
And once you’ve been inspired… ti...
Hello writers. Just when you thought the competition was all wrapped up… this week we look at the almost-winners of our big annual comp.
Yep, these are the brilliant writers who made the shortlist, but didn’t quite manage to snaffle a place on Sarah’s podium.
And here are those five wondrously wizard-like word weavers:
Kieran Ahern
Jonathon Davies
Steven Stilbech
Stuart James Taylor
Jasmine Sears
Well done to...
Lovers of flash fiction… prepare to have your ears blown into absolute blummin smithereens, because this episode is the big reveal of the winners of our annual writing competition, and there’s FIVE HUNDRED SQUIDS up for grabs. Which, as I’m sure you’ll agree, is a serious amount of squids.
Think of all the ink you could buy.
So, come on in, and hear the traditional ‘YOU’RE ALL WINNERS SONG&rsq...
So, here we are again for the actually now offically award winning Failing Writers Podcast.
You were perhaps hoping this was the competition reveal episode weren’t you?
Well, look, it’s not that one… not yet, however, we’ve got a little treat for you today. ’Specially for long time fans of the podcast.
Someone we’ve had on before and was a delight from start to finish.
Someone who's just self publis...
Maps? What's that got to do with writing?
Men? How are they relevant in 2025? Oh no… wait … Er.
OK... let me explain what’s going on today... by introducing you
to (another) 2 handsome and charismatic young men.
Jay Foreman – comedian, singer songwriter (bloody great songs-look em up!) & Map-enthusiast.
And Mark Cooper-Jones – Ex-geography teacher, producer & comedian. Both… now… pri...
You know those writers who seem to have managed effortlessly to harness the awesome power of social media to hook increasing numbers of readers into their gravitational pull?
Well good for them!
No but seriously, wouldn’t it be fascinating to talk to someone who’s become an actual viral sensation themselves and find out what their strategy was?
(That’s your cue to stop reading and crack on with listening to this epis...
Finally.
I know, I know.
It's that time of year we all look forward to.
The leaves begin to loosen their grip. The sky is pregnant with it's autumnal offerings.
Jon gets poetic.
But aside from all that - it's the bloody Failing Writers Five Hundred Pound Flash Fiction Competition, in association with Scrivener!
That's the bit we're really all excited about.
That's when Tommy and I hunker down, curl up and bask in your beautiful little sto...
Aaaaand PART 2:
This week we're looking at the extremes of the indie publishing industry.
From the fantastic BlueMoose Books...
Where we speak to founder, Kevin Duffy about the highs and... well... mostly highs to be honest... of being a very successful indie publisher.
Right over to the very opposite end of the spectrum, where our second
guest, Janeen, tells us about the very ugly experience she had when a...
PART 1… it’s double-bill time!
It suddenly occurred to us that we didn’t know much about independent publishers. And that doesn’t sit well with us - Not knowing stuff about the world of writing. So we reached out to our lovely online writer friends, and found a few people happy to talk about their experience of being published by a small press.
And what we found out was very eye opening!
About the pros and con...
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Bbbrrbuummmbbbb....Lift off...fffwwoooooooooshhhhhhh.
This week we launch into a good ole' natter with the brilliant Doug Naylor, co-creator & writer of Red Dwarf.
We talk about his excellent new children's book, and its space-ship based iterations.
We talk more generally about writing children's stories.
We talk about how Doug learned the craft of writing comedy.
We talk about how many times he an...
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