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Episode 1: What Are We Doing Here?
40 Plays3 months ago
Meet Quilling It hosts Paul and Lindsay, discover how we got into this wild business, and learn what we hope you’ll gain from hanging out with us. No matter what stage of the writing journey you’re at, we’re here to help, your long-distance mentors on the mic.
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Transcript
Introduction to Hosts
00:00:13
Paul Regnier
Hello, and welcome to the pilot episode of our podcast. I'm Paul Regner.
00:00:19
Lindsay Franklin
And I'm Lindsay Franklin.
00:00:21
Paul Regnier
And Lindsay, let me tell you a little story. When I first started writing, I knew nothing. I knew that I liked books. I knew that I liked reading. And that's about it. I hadn't read any craft books.
00:00:37
Paul Regnier
I just knew like, boy, I think I really want to do this. I really want to write my own stories. I had i had read enough and and just knew that kind of that's where my heart was. I think the only class I could ever think is in college, I took a creative writing course.
00:00:53
Paul Regnier
And that was about all it was to my formal schooling for writing. So I just launched right into it kind of impulsively.
The Writing Journey
00:01:02
Paul Regnier
And I made a lot of mistakes, but I learned a lot along the way.
00:01:07
Paul Regnier
So my thought was that um I'm sure that most of the people that listen to podcasts like this are probably aspiring writers. they They really want to learn more, but maybe they don't know where to start. Or maybe they have started, but they just...
00:01:21
Paul Regnier
maybe they don't know a lot of other authors, um because that's where I was. And so I slowly met authors and learned, and they would tell me, like, people that were, maybe had published a few novels already, um maybe had worked with editors, and they were really able to help me along the way.
00:01:38
Paul Regnier
So that's kind of where my head is like, I wish I had a podcast, something like this, where there was um a couple of authors that had already published a lot of titles, and that were hopefully able to help me to kind of jumpstart my writing and my writing career.
00:01:54
Paul Regnier
um What do you think? is that Is that kind of where your head's at?
00:01:58
Lindsay Franklin
Yeah, absolutely. i think I have a somewhat parallel story about getting into the industry where i i have always been a writer.
00:02:09
Lindsay Franklin
I was one of those kids who wrote stories and i had always been a storyteller. it never occurred to me to do that for a job because that that's not a real job, you guys. So it just, it didn't occur to me. This could be a career. But at some point in my adulthood, it was like, hey, maybe there are people who do this as a career. Maybe I could be one of those people.
00:02:31
Lindsay Franklin
And I was very much like you where i I didn't have formal training. I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know really anything about the industry. And this was a solid 15, 16 years ago. And so the internet,
00:02:45
Lindsay Franklin
it was not what it is today at that time. So the amount of information out there, there was some, but it was not how it is today where you can find so much online like podcasts and, you know, blogs and all sorts of things.
00:03:00
Paul Regnier
Yeah.
00:03:02
Lindsay Franklin
So um I really felt like I jumped into the deep end with very, very little, you very little life raft ah to, ah to, you know, keep me afloat.
00:03:16
Lindsay Franklin
And so i really, really love that there are so many more resources out there for new
Evolution of Writer Resources
00:03:23
Lindsay Franklin
writers, people who are interested in being storytellers, because it is a job.
00:03:23
Paul Regnier
yeah
00:03:27
Lindsay Franklin
It is a calling. It is all of those wonderful things. It's a hobby. It's all those wonderful things. um It can be. So um yeah, I'm really excited to kind of share our wisdom, maybe.
00:03:35
Paul Regnier
Yeah. Yeah. you know
00:03:39
Lindsay Franklin
Yeah.
00:03:40
Paul Regnier
Yeah, no, totally. And i I was thinking too, you mentioned like the resources and that is like a huge thing that's different now than say like just maybe even 15, 20 years ago.
00:03:51
Paul Regnier
um And I, especially for those that um might be thinking about going the independent route,
00:03:58
Lindsay Franklin
Mm-hmm.
00:03:58
Paul Regnier
Because I know you're more of the traditionally published route of you know publishing. And i've I started that way and now I've gone indie. um But it it is amazing like the resources out there as far as like trying to find editors or or cover artists.
00:04:15
Paul Regnier
um or typesetters or all those things, um or even getting classes on like how to launch a book. And um those are also some of the resources I think that we've probably like bookmarked and favorited. And and you know we're we're excited to share those with you know people that might be listening to the podcast somewhere down you know
Roles in Publishing Industry
00:04:36
Paul Regnier
down the line. but um But yeah, I totally agree.
00:04:39
Paul Regnier
And um so with that in mind, for those that are listening, maybe they don't really know us or they haven't heard of us or they don't know us that well, maybe like a quick, um not like the author bio, but the...
00:04:55
Paul Regnier
the the rambling version of of our story and what kind of authors we are. um Maybe you should start this out. what where What has your publishing journey been maybe from the beginning and what you're doing now and and what kind of books do you write?
00:05:11
Lindsay Franklin
Absolutely. So I am officially Lindsay A. Franklin. That's a whole thing. We could talk about why I'm Lindsay A. Franklin instead of just Lindsay Franklin. But um yes, I'm Lindsay A. Franklin, and I am primarily a fantasy novelist, but I also write nonfiction and ah yet another story. There's so many stories. When you've been in publishing for the number of years that you and I both have been, Paul, it's like the just the volume of stories and ah little tidbits and things to share is sort of overwhelming. So I'm going to
00:05:50
Lindsay Franklin
not dive into each and every one of these things at the moment, but um yes, so I have nonfiction books that I've written, but I primarily consider myself a novelist.
00:06:00
Lindsay Franklin
um I also have a lot of experience on the production side of publishing, um working as a freelance editor initially, and then now I am the managing editor at Enclave Publishing, um who has published some of your novels and my novels.
00:06:18
Paul Regnier
Yeah. Yeah. ye
00:06:19
Lindsay Franklin
um So that is what I consider my day job at this time. um And so I've got a lot of insight into the back end of the publishing process as well um as an editor and a production person and then also as an author.
00:06:35
Paul Regnier
Yes. Yeah, no, that's awesome. And I can't wait to pick your brain a little bit on some of the editing insights. And because I am not an editor myself, I have learned that it is really its own art.
00:06:47
Paul Regnier
Because just because you can write does not mean you can edit. it's It's really its own thing. and i And I've just really come to appreciate and respect that art.
00:06:58
Paul Regnier
Because it's hard. You can't be objective about your own work, right? So...
00:07:02
Lindsay Franklin
Absolutely. And even when you are an editor, editors need editors too. ah So yes, absolutely.
00:07:08
Paul Regnier
Yeah, isn't that interesting, right? Because you can't, you're it's so you're too close to it, right?
00:07:13
Lindsay Franklin
ah hundred percent. So, and, and you're right.
00:07:15
Paul Regnier
Yeah.
00:07:16
Lindsay Franklin
It is a, it's a related but separate skill. So Some people who are authors are also good editors, and a lot of editors are not writers at all.
00:07:20
Paul Regnier
Yeah.
00:07:27
Lindsay Franklin
they Their you know primary or sole skill set is in editing, and they're brilliant
Publishing Routes: Traditional vs Indie
00:07:33
Lindsay Franklin
at it. And so they're related, and there is sometimes overlap, but they are definitely separate skill sets.
00:07:39
Paul Regnier
Yeah, my favorite um ah my favorite thing that I get back from a editor is that first, that what they call like the developmental edit, um where they really kind of do the overview and they talk about like, you know,
00:07:55
Paul Regnier
ah the overall plot and the characters and kind of what works and what doesn't. Because that's what I'm always like so interested in hearing about. Like, you know, obviously, know, before it gets published, I want to correct all the typos and the grammar errors and all that stuff to all the sloppiness that I do and rough drafts.
00:08:08
Lindsay Franklin
Sure. Sure.
00:08:13
Paul Regnier
But I love to hear that insight because some it I'm amazed at what I miss. Because I think like, oh, yeah, I've, you know, I've written, you know 14 books, you know, I know what I'm doing. And then they come back to me and they're like, um, what happened here when you left this giant plot hole? Yeah. Right. And I'm like, Oh yeah. Why?
00:08:32
Paul Regnier
How did I miss that? you know So that kind of stuff is just so priceless when you get in that and that editing.
00:08:34
Lindsay Franklin
yeah
00:08:37
Paul Regnier
But we we we shall talk about editing on another episode. we I don't want to dig too much into that because as an as an as a professional editor, I want to pick your brain a little bit more on ah on a later episode.
00:08:49
Paul Regnier
but um But yeah, so to continue what we're talking about, I'll just kind of briefly say um I started...
00:08:49
Lindsay Franklin
Yes.
00:08:58
Paul Regnier
As I said in the beginning, I started not knowing much, but kind of when I finally started to get my act together a little bit, um I wrote a science fiction book and I was lucky enough to get picked up by a traditional publisher, the publisher you work for, Enclave Publishing, who um was great to work with. i just I had a great time working with them.
00:09:18
Paul Regnier
So I did that science fiction trilogy and then I had this um idea when that was all done for an urban fantasy. And at the time, um Enclave was um it wasn't really what they were looking for, which happens a lot.
00:09:32
Paul Regnier
And it's really anyone that's been like, you can't take that personally, right?
00:09:33
Lindsay Franklin
Yes.
00:09:37
Paul Regnier
Anyone that's been in the industry, it's just might not be exactly what they're looking to publish, or maybe they published a title that's too similar or, you know, so many reasons. um So whatever, so that happened and in that kind of ah made me start thinking, well, i I like this story, you know, and I wanna publish it. Maybe I should try this whole indie route that I've been hearing so much about.
00:09:58
Paul Regnier
So that's when I really started studying and looking into independent publishing. And um so that's what I do with that book and all my books since. And I've really found it to be like, awesome I love it. I love the indie publishing route because it's so flexible And you could be so nimble with it, right?
00:10:16
Paul Regnier
Like, I don't have to wait that long time for publishing.
00:10:17
Lindsay Franklin
Yeah.
00:10:19
Paul Regnier
i can just, as soon as the editing's done, boom, I could throw it up on Amazon and see how it does. Now, of course, there's give and take, right? there's um There's a lot of heavy lifting you have to do if you're independent.
00:10:32
Paul Regnier
You have to do, everything's basically on your shoulders, all the marketing, all the promotion, right? just even the technical like publishing itself and and all that stuff and connecting with the right editor and and cover designer and all that stuff.
00:10:46
Paul Regnier
But again, um it might come down to personality. and And this is maybe like a struggle we'll talk and about in a different different episode, like the indie or traditional indie you know, where do you fit?
00:10:59
Paul Regnier
Because that, I would have liked to hear about that when I was first starting too. Like, cause I didn't even know there were two routes. So just to, to be able to hear that broken down, like, oh, that one sounds like it fits my personality more.
00:11:12
Paul Regnier
Like, I think like just right off the bat traditional is someone that they, they love writing, but they don't even want to deal with all the other stuff.
00:11:12
Lindsay Franklin
Yeah.
00:11:19
Paul Regnier
They just like, okay, when I finish, boom, I want to hand it off and then let someone else take care of it so I can write my next book.
00:11:20
Lindsay Franklin
Mm-hmm.
00:11:26
Paul Regnier
Right?
00:11:27
Lindsay Franklin
Yep.
00:11:27
Paul Regnier
Which is a totally legitimate ah perspective. But, you know, the indie, I don't know. It's just, there's there's just this fun, like, entrepreneurial excitement to it, too.
00:11:39
Paul Regnier
So, um yeah, again, like, it it depends who you are.
00:11:40
Lindsay Franklin
Yeah.
00:11:42
Paul Regnier
it depends your personality. But, yeah. But we can talk about that later. So yes, I've independently published the rest of my stuff and learned a lot about um ah advertising and promotion and that kind of thing.
00:11:54
Paul Regnier
So um I'm excited to share what I've learned and hopefully it can be helpful again to all the writers out there. And um yeah, so i think I think that just about wraps it up. Do you have any closing thoughts on this pilot episode?
00:12:11
Lindsay Franklin
I am just really excited. I'm excited to share what we've learned. I feel like you and I have a lot of um parallel, overlapping experiences and yet and yet different perspectives. We have um expertise in different areas of the industry. And so what I'm hoping that we can bring to um people who are interested in the publishing industry, writers who might be newer, or writers who are maybe in a position like me, where I'm a traditional publishing girl, but I am looking to maybe make a jump to being a hybrid author.
00:12:49
Lindsay Franklin
And so...
00:12:50
Paul Regnier
I'll come to the dark side.
00:12:53
Lindsay Franklin
I'm excited. I'm excited about that. And I'm excited to learn about that. And it's our industry is one that changes all the time, all the time. So before I signed my first contract, I
Conclusion and Future Episodes
00:13:06
Lindsay Franklin
had done a ton of research about indie publishing because I was considering that option as well.
00:13:11
Lindsay Franklin
um But at this point, that research is oh my goodness, 10 years old. And so everything is different.
00:13:16
Paul Regnier
Yeah. yeah
00:13:18
Lindsay Franklin
Everything is different. The technology changes, the marketing changes, what's working, what isn't, you know, it changes so fast. And so you really have to stay up on it. So I feel like we have a lot to share and I'm really excited to, um to bring that to, ah writers who are interested in hearing, hearing what we have to say.
00:13:40
Paul Regnier
Yes, 100%. Totally agree. Awesome. Okay. Well, thank you everyone for listening. i hope this was a good introduction into what we're all about in this podcast. And again, we hope it can be helpful to all you writers out there.
00:13:55
Paul Regnier
And so um we hopefully will see you on our next episode. So for today, signing off. Bye.
00:14:03
Lindsay Franklin
Bye. bye