On this page, you can find links to all of our podcast episodes, on four separate forums. The newest ones will appear on top.

Now only will you laugh (alot!) but you’ll also learn how to make more money with your writing, how to diversify your writing income, how to publish your own book (or how to get traditionally published!), how to spot scammers in the writing and publishing industries, hear funny stories about our dogs and chickens, and so much more! You can even hear a ghost (??) in Episode 2 (at around 14 minutes and 5 seconds).

IMPORTANT! Do you have legal questions concerning anything related to writing and publishing? James M. Walsh, Esq. will be joining us in a future episode. We’d love to know what YOU want us to talk about! If your question is chosen, we will only use your first name. Send your question(s) to us using THIS FORM.

CONTACT ANGELA AND BRIAN directly with questions, comments, or topics you want covered in future episodes of the WritersWeekly Podcast!

EPISODE 5: Memoirs and Lawsuits

In this episode, Angela and Brian share the very real dangers of telling people too much in your memoir, how it might affect the people you write about, and how it can affect you financially down the road if you get sued for libel, defamation, or invasion of privacy. Angela and Brian also discuss some high-profile lawsuits that resulted from famous authors’ books, and two interesting examples from authors they know.

DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT ATTORNEYS AND NOTHING WE SAY IS LEGAL ADVICE. If you have specific questions about your situation, contact an attorney. That said, we have tons of experience vetting manuscripts, and being able to find red flags that might cause authors problems later. We’ve also heard countless horror stories over the years about this topic. 

Links referenced in this episode:

• Don’t Invite a Lawsuit with Your Memoir – by Angela Hoy (this article mentions the father whose daughter threatened to sue him)
• The release we discussed, for people mentioned in your book, is in this article: Don’t Invite Lawsuits by Real People Featured in Your Book! (Hint: You Can Still Be Sued Even If You Don’t Name Them!)
• Why Some Authors Need Lawyers
• Brian’s memoir: Blue Lives Matter: The Heart Behind the Badge
• We forgot to mention Angela’s book, which is part memoir: The Emergency Divorce Handbook for Women. She wrote it under her real name, changed the names of her first husband and his family members, and she did not get sued. Angela gives the ebook away for free to those in need during such a trying time. You only need to Contact Her to request a free copy.
• Attorney Contance Briscoe, the author of UGLY and BEYOND UGLY, was sued by her mother. Incidentally, she was later disbarred for an unrelated matter.
• ‘The Help’ Spawns A Lawsuit And A Question: How Much Borrowing Is Fair?
• ‘Running with Scissors’ Author Settles Suit with Therapist’s Family
• Statutes of Limitations for defamation by state.
• CONFESSION: Um, I’m Kind of Addicted to the Johnny Depp Defamation Trial…
• What did Amber Heard’s Washington Post op-ed actually say?
• Publishing Other People’s Non-fiction Stories Can Get You Sued!
• Want to Get Sued? Write About Your Ex!
• Am I at Risk of Being Sued?
• Did Your Lawyer Say, “You Can’t Be Sued?” BEWARE!
• BookLocker.com has been in business for more than 25 years, has an excellent reputation, and is located in the U.S.
• WritersWeekly.com’s articles, marketing secrets, paying markets for writers, and freelance job listings.

EPISODE 4: Demystifying Query Letters and Book Proposals

In this episode, Angela and Brian teach listeners the rights and definite wrongs that freelance writers and authors do when approaching magazines and websites for writing work, or when approaching traditional publishers in the hopes of landing a publishing contract. Angela also shares how listeners can contact her to get free copies of her books:

• QUERY LETTERS THAT WORKED! Real Queries That Landed $2K+ Writing Assignments – SECOND EDITION
• BOOK PROPOSALS THAT WORKED! Real Book Proposals That Landed $10K – $100K Publishing Contracts – SECOND EDITION

Links referenced in this episode:

• Yocheved Golani in Israel, author of It’s MY Crisis! And I’ll Cry If I Need To: EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.
• WritersWeekly’s Quarterly 24-Hour Short Story Contest
• What Did Our Pastor Hear Angela Say?! – by Brian Whiddon, Managing Editor
• If You Are “Sympathy Pitching” Editors and Publishers, PLEASE STOP! by Brian P. Whiddon, Managing Editor
• Association of American Literary Agents
• BookLocker.com has been in business for more than 25 years, has an excellent reputation, and is located in the U.S.
• WritersWeekly.com’s articles, marketing secrets, paying markets for writers, and freelance job listings.

EPISODE 3: The Collapse of NaNoWriMo: What Went Wrong?

In this episode, Angela and Brian do a deep dive into the non-profit organization known as “NaNoWriMo” (National Novel Writing Month), and their recent announcement that they would be shutting down. Did financial mismanagement bring about their demise? Or was it a failure to address alleged accusations that a child groomer was on their forum? Could it have been their stance on AI being used in writing that caused a rebellion among its faithful disciples, and even two board members?

Links referenced in this episode:

• WritersWeekly’s Quarterly 24-Hour Short Story Contest
• NanoWriMo on Wikipedia
• Epic Indie’s post on Substack
• @Arumi-Kai on X: Photo 1 and Photo 2
• SpeakOut has a page of testimonials from users
• Nanowrimo’s pathetic we’re going belly-up video. See if YOU can make sense of the math!
• BookLocker.com has been in business for more than 25 years, has an excellent reputation, and is located in the U.S.
• WritersWeekly.com’s articles, marketing secrets, paying markets for writers, and freelance job listings.

Additional References:

A statement by one of Nanowrimo’s AI advertisers.