thewritingcoach's podcast

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, author Kevin T. Johns speaks with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors that help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

thewritingcoach's podcast is a arts podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 100 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts thewritingcoach's podcast, a arts show with 100 episodes published.

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  Episode #238

  Pre-Made vs. Custom Book Covers, Explained | Usama Munir, Design Dusk - The Writing Coach Ep. 238

  Sep 29, 202642 minS1

  My guest this week on The Writing Coach podcast is Usama Munir, the designer behind Design Dusk , a book cover studio with more than 1,700 pre-made covers ready to go, plus custom covers, book trailers, and full interior typesetting. He designed his first book cover as a teenager, for an author who reached out to him out of nowhere, and he never really stopped. We get into the real difference between a pre-made cover and a custom one, and why pre-made is usually the smarter starting point, not the cheap one. We talk about genre conventions, and why the cover you personally love might be working against you on an Amazon thumbnail. And we get into where AI is already part of cover design, where it still looks obviously like AI, and why Usama thinks being upfront about it builds more trust than pretending it isn't there. If you've ever picked a cover because you loved it, only to wonder why it wasn't selling, here's Usama Munir. Check out the episode now!

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  Episode #237

  Writing Transgressive Fiction: Ron Black on 'Bleu' and the Character No One Has to Like – The Writing Coach Ep. 237

  Sep 13, 202635 minS1

  My guest is Ron Black on this episode of The Writing Coach podcast, and his debut novel Bleu: A Transgressive Tale follows Anthony, a struggling artist in a version of Ottawa most Canadian fiction doesn't go near — squats, addiction, an art world he doesn't feel he belongs in, and a marriage where the violence runs in a direction fiction rarely lets it run. Ron's been my client for years, so this one's personal for me too. We get into why an unlikable protagonist doesn't need to be a likable one — just an understandable one — what it costs a first-time novelist to write a character this broken, and the doubt that follows you even after the book is out in the world. We also talk about the cover design process, why Ron chose not to include trigger warnings, and why he thinks most of our lives are a lot closer to Bleu than they are to Saved by the Bell. Check out the episode now!

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  Episode #236

  Marketing Your Book Without Losing the Time to Write It: Marvin Wey of AuthorScale on AI, TikTok, and Selling More Books – The Writing Coach Ep. 236

  Sep 8, 202639 minS1

  If you've ever felt like promoting your book on social media is a second full-time job you never signed up for, this episode is for you. My guest is Marvin Wey, co-founder of AuthorScale, a tool that helps indie authors turn their own books into the social media posts that actually sell them. Before AuthorScale, Marvin spent years working with six- and seven-figure authors at Inkit and Galatea, watching what happened when BookTok turned overnight virality into a real marketing channel. We get into the two post formats that are actually working right now, why he thinks "creativity in the author world belongs to the books," and how to figure out which scenes in your own manuscript are worth promoting without burning yourself out trying to be clever on TikTok every single day. We also talk honestly about the AI question: what it's for, what it isn't, and why AuthorScale built a zero-AI version for authors who want nothing to do with it. If marketing your book has been eating time you'd rather spend writing it, here's Marvin. Check out the episode now!

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  Episode #235

  The Spiritual Side of Beating Writer's Burnout: Charlotte Donlon on Rituals, Rest, and Writing – The Writing Coach Ep. 235

  Aug 31, 2026—S1

  In this episode of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Charlotte Donlon. Charlotte spent years training as a spiritual director — the kind of one-on-one guidance usually reserved for matters of faith — and somewhere along the way, her clients turned out to be writers. Lots of them. Enough that she started noticing the same conversations kept happening, whether the person across from her believed in God, doubted everything, or hadn't thought about any of it in years. That's the premise behind her book, Spiritual Direction for Writers: Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life — and it's the premise behind this conversation. We get into why she thinks all of life is the writing life, grief and naps included. We talk about a two-minute ritual you can steal today. And we talk about burnout, and the permission so many writers won't give themselves to just be where they are. If you've ever felt like your writing life and the rest of your life are two separate ledgers, this episode is going to mess with that idea. Because it's all the writing life. Check out the episode now.

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  Episode #234

  Murder, Wormholes, and AIs in Your Head: Talking Sci‑Fi with J.E. Sheasby – The Writing Coach Ep. 234

  Aug 29, 202652 minS1

  What happens when an AI doesn't just assist you but lives inside your head? In this episode of The Writing Coach podcast, I sit down with my client, science fiction author J.E. Sheasby, to discuss his debut novel, Shared Sentience , and the first book in an ambitious seven-book series he has spent nearly a decade developing. Jim takes us behind the scenes of a future set thousands of years from now, where humanity has spread across 132 solar systems, AI is embedded directly into the human mind, wormholes make interstellar travel possible, and detectives have some very unusual tools at their disposal. During the conversation, we discuss: Building a believable science fiction universe Combining murder mystery and science fiction Writing from the POV of an artificial intelligence Creating the psychedelic landscape inside a character's mind Writing a seven-book series while making each novel stand on its own Jim's prolific daily writing practice And much more! If you love science fiction, artificial intelligence, ambitious worldbuilding, or conversations about the craft and process of writing novels, this episode is for you. Check it out now.

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