Unpublished
By Amie McNee and James Winestock
Join Amie McNee from @inspiredtowrite and her writer husband James Winestock for a podcast about building a sustainable creative life. A place to take your art seriously where you can go to reflect on your journey and build a thriving creative practice.
UnpublishedOct 25, 2023
Q&A Do we want kids, falling out of love with art, and fan fiction
Q and A episode today people!
We're answering YOUR questions:
Do we want kids?
Is Fan Fiction a good way to practice writing?
What do we do when we fall of out love with our art?
And more!
We will be in an aeroplane in the sky when this goes out so hopefully it works!
You can join our San Francisco workshop digitally via A Writing Room! The session will be recorded so you can watch the replay too!
How To Deal with a Slump
We're in a little bit of slump at the moment. How do we deal with it?
It's normal to not always feel motivated and enthusiastic with your work. We share what we've been struggling with lately, common reasons creatives get into slumps, imposter syndrome/the pain of leveling up and feeling like you aren't fully ready for that next level.
We also give you an update on our MUSCLES!
Did you want to come to come to one of Amie's live workshops but don't live in California? Our hosts, A Writing Room, are offering a livestream of the San Francisco event on June 1st! Replay included.
Are Books Dying Out?
Today we're responding to a series of articles that have gone viral over the last couple of weeks. They're all about the publishing industry, and whether or not it's dying out.
Included: how big is the market for books? Is it growing or shrinking? Are publishers profitable? Is it even worth writing books anymore? What about indie books, self-publishing, e-books, and audio? What do publishers get right and what do they get wrong.
James says the C word twice and apologises to all the Americans for being Australian.
Main sources:
No One Buys Books by Elle Griffin
People Buy Books, Publishing Is Thriving, and Substack Will Never Replace Books, by Brooke Warner which also links to several other great pieces. The one we used most heavily was:
Yes, People Do Buy Books, by Lincolm Michel
Our Biggest Failures and What We've Learned From Them
Failure is non negotiable. So how can learn and grow from our failures?
We share some of our failures, what they taught us, how we dealt with them at the time, and what we think of them now.
Included: dealing with rejection from gatekeepers, why failure should excite us, letting ourselves be upset, and more!
There are still tickets to both of our US workshops!
There's Nothing Wrong with Making Money from Art
Another spice one provoked by some online discourse.
Is it wrong to make money from our art? Does making art with the intention to sell it sully it?
It's a strong no from us. Listen to learn why!
Don't forget we have two workshops in California coming up.
San Francisco on the 1st of June
Both are going to be 5 hours long (including a lunch break), with teaching, QandA, journaling, and a chance to mingle with other artists.
Cheapest tickets start at $50.
Perfectionism is Making You Worse at Art
Back to our favourite punching bag: Perfectionism.
We talk about how perfectionism leads to stagnancy, stunts your growth as a creative, and ultimately leads to worse art.
LA and San Francisco artists (or anyone who wants to travel there!), we are coming to your city!
LA workshop: 25th of March
San Fran workshop: 1st of June
Pricing is on a sliding scale to accomodate different budgets.
Creative Would You Rather
Join us on a walk and talk as we play a little game of Would You Rather, artist edition!
We would love for you to check out Amie's fiction.
Her witchy tudor novel, Regrettably, I Am About to Cause Trouble, and her Sexy medieval romp, The Rules Upheld by No One are available in audio, e-book, and print on most major platforms.
How To Fight For Your Art with Author Emma Couette
This is one of our favourite ever conversations! Emma Couette, six novels in the last five years. All while holding down a full time job.
We talk about how she juggles a 9-5 job with this sort of release schedule, doing her own promo, fighting for her novels, finding good people to give feedback, making difficult choices about how to allocate resources to creative projects, and much more!
We learned so much about the Indie publishing space and came away with heaps of things we want to action.
We reached out to Emma and asked her on the podcast because we are blown away by how she fights for her writing. How diligent she is. How much care she puts into her promotion and her social presence (@emmacouetteauthor).
Here are links to Emma's novels, please support her:
Silent Night purchase link: https://www.books2read.com/guildtrilogybookone
Summer's Revenge purchase link: https://www.books2read.com/summersrevenge
Winter's Wrath purchase link: https://www.books2read.com/winterswrath
Emma's website: https://www.emmacouetteauthor.com
Emma is @emmacouetteauthor on Insta, Tiktok, and Threads.
Amie's sister Kirsty on starting a business at 21, motherhood and, parenting.
Welcome Amie's sister Kirsty to the show! At 29 years old, Kirsty is the founder and director of Made Home, a Sydney based home transition company, with fifteen employees and dozens of customers!
We spend a lot of time trying to get to the bottom of why Amie and Kirsty both became Entrepreneurs and what exactly it was about their childhood that made them bounce off traditional work.
We also discuss the challenges of more traditional businesses versus creative businesseses, how motherhood has changed Kirsty's relationship with work, and much more!
Do We Need to "Normalise the 9-5"?
First off, friends, audio continues to betray us at every turn. We had multiple glitches again this week so, if James suddenly starts talking about the Patriarchy seemingly mid-sentence, we apologise for the non sequitur. I think things mostly make sense though? Let us know.
So, what's the episode about? Amie has an arch nemesis, and that arch nemesis is a man called Hubs who goes by the social media handle @Hubs.life (not normalise the 9-5 as we mistakenly say in the ep). Hubs doe not know Amie. Amie has never met Hubs. But Hubs made the mistake of making a series of reels and tiktoks urging his followers to "normalise the 9-5".
We talk about why we in fact do not need to do this (spoiler, because it is already incredibly normalised).
If you soldier through the "life update" section at the 2/3s mark, we go on to discuss our tips for those of you trying to create around your job (which we also have a full podcast episode on).
Xoxo Amie and James
P.s. Amie's novels are going gangbusters at the moment! Regrettably, I am About to Cause Trouble is flying off the proverbial shelf largely thanks to a massive shoutout from Emmi.Reads. If you've read Regrettably, we'd love if you could review it on goodreads, to get it higher in that sweet book nerd algo, or on the non-Amazon affiliated Story Graph. Remember it is both free on Youtube, and included in a Spotify Premium membership.
Planning and Preparing When You'd Rather Not
REAL PODCAST STARTS AT ABOUT 07:00, everything before that is bullshit chat.
We talk you through how we like to plan out projects (or don't). Sit with us in a sort of ASMR, fly on the wall type way as we plan what we want to work on for the rest of the year.
We try to give our chaotic lives a loose structure. Which doesn't always work.
Expect: pros and cons of planning, what we think of ultra long term planning, how we choose projects to work on, finding our rhythm, and more rambles!
Guess what! We are offering two free, hour long masterclasses for anyone who's ever wanted to check out our live teaching. Sign up here.
Vulnerability over Comfort with Performance Coach Sion Cousins
Today we have Creative, Performance Coach, Mentor and good friend Sion Cousins on the podcast.
An incredibly important episode for Creatives who have big dreams. In this episode we talk about what gets in the way between us and our goals. James gets his own mini coaching session, we talk about when I first started instagram, and lots lots more.
Our Rhode mics did not work (name dropping because I am pissed) so please bare with the audio!
Sions information:
You can work one on one with Sion, just email him and you can set up a free call!
Website: https://www.sondervail.com/home
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sondervail/
Artists need to learn to say NO, with Augustine Charles
It's time to reclaim our creative power, and Augustine leads the way. An incredible conversation around putting up boundaries with gatekeepers and creative institutions, how to embrace your multi-disciplinary magic, and how to bring about all your creative dreams
Website: nfinitethreat.comCreative Mentorship page: nfinitethreat.com/creative-coachingCharlie and the Cloud Kingdom: https://www.amazon.com/Charlies-Adventures-Cloud-Kingdom-Adeventures/dp/B0BQ3WBD5Z/ref=sr_1_1?crid=MY3Q7HW4A9UE&keywords=charlie%27s+adventures+the+cloud+kingdom&qid=1673045241&sprefix=charlies+adventures+the+cloud+kingdom%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-1Social Media: Instagram: @nfinitethreat
Other Link: Leenadria Books: https://cupcakepink.com/shop
How We Got A Publishing Deal With Penguin
Today Amie and James detail the journey of getting a publishing deal! Who approached who? How did it feel? How long did it take? And much more.
Losing followers, cluttered desks, patience, and working together (Q&A)
Thank you for all your questions! Today we have the first Q&A ep in a while.
We talk about Amie's experience losing 30,000 followers, our work spaces, how we balance being business partners and romantic partners, why James hasn't self-published his writing yet, and much more!
Apologies but I accidentally cut out the beginning of a question: "Why did you lose 30,000 followers." We stumbled a little bit over the first 10 seconds and I wanted to fix it up... but as you know, I have next to no experience editing an audio file! So I F'd it. Whoops!
Please excuse the new mics! Let James know if you have any tips for the Rode wireless IIs at support@amiemcnee.com.
The interview with amazing self-pubbed fantasy authors James wanted to share.
Our Live masterclass on January 13th
Are you Australian? We're doing a live masterclass in Sydney on the 27th of January!
Our Favourite Things of 2023
This topic is back after a break in 2022 for some reason...
We talk about all the "things" that brought us delight in 2023. TV shows, tech, books, and free things too!
If you like those rambly episodes where we overshare about our persona life, you'll enjoy this one.
Don't forget, you can get a free copy of Amie's Journaling Compendium when you sign up to our newsletter (where we also share random things we've been enjoying each week).
Artists Don't Have to be in Pain
Today we're talking about the myth that artists need to be unhappy in order to create great art. Amie made a post on Instagram the other day which saw some hot debates in the comments! Join us as we unpack it.
Please check out Amie's latest video on Youtube: Impatient for creative success? Watch this video.
How to be an Artist on Social Media
You can find a sample of Amie's audiobooks on her website along with links to spotify.
Our Top 5 Tips for Creatives
We made lists! Join us as we discus our hastily thrown together lists of top 5 tips we would give to other creatives.
We also have a short section at the beginning where we discuss the state of podcasting and talk about how we see our own podcast, and specifically, what we think about ads on podcasts. If you aren't interested in that, you can skip to about 8 minute mark!
You can email James with you thoughts at support@amiemcnee.com
We have a Black Friday sale on our website! 40% off everything between Wednesday 22nd of November to Monday the 27th! Honestly, we are always super confused about when American based holidays are so apologise if those dates are weird...
Is Success Random?
How much of success is predictable? Are there actions we can take to guarantee it? The answers? Not much and probably no. Creative fields are usually complex and involve too many variables to put any success down to definitive factors. That being said, there are some things we can to do better prepare for the randomness of life and our careers.
Join us as we try to talk through the complicated topic of randomness and what it means for creatives.
Topics discusses: black swans, the survivorship bias, the problems with predicting complex events, why publishing is a fairly low risk business (from a capitalist/business owner's perspective not a writer's), why randomness can be a good thing, embracing and preparing for randomness, and much more!
James was a little unhappy with his performance in this one so please let us know what you think (dm us on unpublished or leave a voice message through spotify)!
We send out a weekly email with what we've been reading, watching, thinking, and doing. It's really short, only a few hundred words. Even better, if you sign up to our newsletter you get a free copy of Amie's Journaling Compendium! Please join us here.
Publishing Industry Deep Dive with Seth Haddon
We have the fantastic Seth Haddon back for the first ever repeat interview of the podcast!
Seth has come a long way since we spoke a year ago. He's been through the trenches of traditional publishing and is ready to share his insiders view with you! This one is interesting even for non-writers who want to understand what it's like to be a working artist who still isn't quite full-time but is on the way!
We discuss: the pressure of following up work that exceeded expectations, what it's like to be out on submission as an agented author, working on personal projects when you already have books under contract, the importance of social media to writers today, how we can push back against AI encroachment in the arts (including putting clauses in your contracts), and much more!
Buy his latest book, Reborn. In the words of his viral Tiktok: Accidental marriage. Between two men. From warring countries. MAGIC. FATE. PAST LIVES!
If you like High-Fantasy with MM romance, Seth is the author for you. Please follow him on Instagram and tiktok where you can see how amazing he is at SELLING HIS ART!
You can also support him on Patreon where he shares behind the scenes content, writing snipets, updates, original art, as well as free writing samples.
Safely Increasing Your Output
Today we're talking about how to get more creative stuff done without feeling really tired! This is something we've both struggled with for a long time but have found some success with lately. We discuss, knowing your own rhythm and needs, why or why not you might want to increase your output, how annoying hustle culture is, and much more! We also give a big life update and talk about what we've been up to for the past month or so!
Please support Matilda on Spotify and Youtube!
Self regulation, stagnation, and shyness.
In another solo episode, Amie takes you through her notes app. What bizarre things has Amie jotted down in the past few months?
We look at what she's working on in therapy, self regulation, stagnation as a creative, notes for her books, feeling shy and much much weirder stuff.
Seth Godin on why Artists help solve the world's biggest problems
Today is an unusual episode! James is on a sabbatical and Amie takes the wheel - will the mic quality be good? Who knows? Amie can't pay attention to those things, especially with one of her great creative idols, Seth Godin, on the pod. Amie came to this conversation with one question: Seth what would you say to creatives who feel like their art is frivolous and unneeded in a world full of pain? Seth, of course, has an answer that rings with so much truth and poignancy.
Progress Isn't Linear
This is one of those episodes where we'll be working through an issue in real time. Join us as we try to understand how artists progress their skills, how long it might take to get better as an artist, plateaus, and why you're often progressing faster than you think.
Credit to James Clear for the concept of non-linear improvement (I can't remember if we actually name dropped him in the episode). We highly recommend his book, Atomic Habits.
Our Write Your F***ing Book course is on sale now! Don't forget, if you sign up before September 9th, you can submit any additional questions you have to us and we'll post our answer to the course page as a video.
Kitty and Al Tait Talk Pivoting, Baking and Ambition
We are so excited to have recorded our first IN PERSON guest recording ever for today's episode. I want to give a little warning too about the sound. Since we only have two mics, we had to share! The audio might be a little choppy in places but I think it holds up.
We were so pleased to have father-daughter bakers, Kitty and Al Tait from the ORANGE BAKERY, around our kitchen table.
Kitty and Al are the authors of the award winning cookbook and memoir, Breadsong, where they not only share their amazing recipes, but also tell the incredibly moving story of how the creative act of baking completely changed their lives. Their story is so moving and I can't wait for you to hear them walk you through some of it in their own words.
We talk about: the life changing magic of baking, going into business with your Dad at 14, pivoting when something that is working on the surface isn't serving you, 20 year plans, and so much more!
I'm also very sorry it's such a short episode when we could have easily chatted to them for hours. They very generously gave us an hour and a half window, but I (James) ate up half of it talking about how good Australian coffee is before we started recording!
You can find Kitty on instagram and the Orange Bakery website here.
Why Do Successful Artists Seem Miserable?
If you've ever wanted to hear Amie and James have an argument in podcast form, we have a treat for you! This podcast was inspired by a few podcasts and interviews with celebrities lately where they just seem to never be able to enjoy their success. We ask whether it's even possible for humans to enjoy their wins, or if we're doomed to always be chasing the next thing.
Our new course, Write Your F*cking Book is out on August 9th! You can check out the sales page now for more info.
The Books That Helped Us Build Our Business
This is the non-fiction partner to our favourite fiction books episode!
We talk about reading to develop lateral thinking; changing your underlying assumptions about things; choosing books that will help you see the world in new ways; why we don't get much out of traditional "business" books; why we've been reading more fiction than non-fiction lately; and more!
Caroline Calloway on Writing in Gremlin Mode, Tasty Treats, and Finishing Novels
We're interviewing writer, Instagram sensation, and famous "scammer" Caroline Calloway today on the pod.
If you don't know who Caroline is, there are barely enough words in a 5000 word article in the Cut to even begin to explain it to you. Amie will give you a little intro to her for the first few minutes of the pod (before the interview begins), so if you're already a Caroline Calloway scholar, feel free to skip to the 4 minute mark.
Regardless of your opinion on Caroline, there is so much to get from this conversation. We talk about running a creative business, the craft of writing, how we motivate ourselves to write (tasty treats!), finding the right level of rage to sustain your creativity, Caroline's incredible and unique approach to self-publishing her first book, and so much more!
This was maybe the most fun we've ever had in an interview. Amie and I both came away with ear-to-ear grins that we couldn't wipe off for days. There is so much value here for creatives. Caroline is often misunderstood and I hope this interview will help you see some of the method to what can seem like madness at times.
We loved Caroline's book, Scammer. It sucks you in and delights you from the first page. You can find the luxury first edition on Caroline's website.
Campbell Walker (aka Struthless) on Fearing Success and Working Through Creative Blocks
We have the joy of interviewing, author, Youtuber, absolute legend, and receptacle of pure creative wisdom, Campbell Walker.
Topics include: how we self-sabotage when we get too close to success; how being a parent has made Cam a better creative; perfectionism; youtube; his experience writing a book and working with publishers (and the pressure of following up a successful book); his writing process; and much more!
Something I loved about this interview was Cam's curiosity about my and Amie's creative practice. We learnt a lot and you might find some of our answers to Cam's questions interesting too!
I highly recommend Cam's youtube channel. We've turned to it a lot for help on our creative journey. If you like Unpublished, you'll love Cam's videos.
You can find Cam's book, Your Head is a Houseboat: a Chaotic Guide to Mental Clarity, here. Check out the world's best reviewed goodreads page for it here.
And Cam's Instagram.
Our Favourite Modern Authors (and Why We Like Them)
Today we're talking about authors we've enjoyed reading lately! This is not a ranked list or even an all time favourite author list. It's just a few people we've been liked recently! We go into why we like these authors, whether it matters if someone is a "good" writer (whatever that means), the joy of a great plot, how much we love a book with a strong "voice" and much more!
Stop Limiting Yourself to One Launch per Creation!
Today we're discussing Amie's decision to relaunch her second novel 6 months after its initial release. Sub-topics include: how the concept of a single launch is driven by legacy institutions and gatekeepers; whether a "launch week" is important; strategies we're using to launch something a second time; the timelessness of your art; the benefits you might get from doing several launches rather than one (or how your ability to sell can improve with each launch of the same product); and more!
I was really late putting this up since we're still feeling a little out of routine with the move. Hopefully you all enjoy it!
We would love if you caused some trouble and bought Amie's book.
Should we Romanticise the Creative Process?
Welcome back! We took a few weeks off while we moved country but excited to be back!
Today we're talking about whether it's possible to be too precious about our creative process or if we should be more workman-like when we attempt to make art.
Also see a life update and some ramblings on our move to England (a good 5 mins of this)!
NOTE: James is very conscious that, in this episode, he said Australia didn't have much history. This is, of course, incorrect. Australia has tens of thousands of years of history, most of which was erased by European settlers. What he meant was that we have very little visible history in our cities (due to colonisation).
Chat GPT: Friend or Foe?
We have another Artificial Intelligence episode. We try to address some of the concerns artists have about AI like Midjourney and Chat GPT. We discuss the dark side but also try to talk about all the cool things that could potentially come from this weird explosion of machines that can seemingly think. Sub topics include:
- Why we will probably always want to know the HUMAN story behind art and how that gives humans an edge over algorithms.
- Whether or not it's cheating to use AI to support our artistic process.
- How artists might be able to use AI.
- The ethics of using AI that has been trained on the work of artists without paying them royalties.
- The importance of speaking openly about this topic and not letting fear rule the discourse.
- Possible regulations we could put on AI to help artists.
- Building the future society we want.
And more.
Disclaimer that Amie and I are not experts on this and this are are just a collection of our random thoughts. No one knows what the future and this is a crazy fast moving new technology. We expect to be wrong about almost everything here.
The wired article mentioned.
An interesting podcast with the CEO of open AI from the Lex Fridman Podcast that you might find interesting.
Creatives Don't Always Have to be Visible
We're talking visibility, being seen, showing your face. The strengths and weaknesses. Why it's okay to get off social media, why great art can happen offline, whether it's possible to make money without socials, why you don't need to post everyday, and more!
Based on Amie's viral post (shared by Doja Cat no less!).
Backing Yourself, Optimism, and Self-Publishing
QandA part 2! Thank you to everyone who listened to last week's episode and who interacted with me over at the Unpublished insta! I'm doing my best to respond to all Dms so if you want a chat, please come on over!
Questions this week are about: Self-publishing, the craft of writing, finding a workflow that works for you, building self-confidence, writing about trauma (incl. worries about triggering your readers), vision boards, returning to creative work after a long break, changing creative disciplines, writing about struggles and pessimism/ pity porn.
Q&A: Indie Revolution, Moving Countries, Our Books, and More
We're answering questions from the members of the Inspired Collective (our membership program). We got so many great questions so we decided to make this part one of two!
Questions include:
What are your predictions for the indie creative scene in the next few years? How do you foresee traditional gatekeeping being further disrupted?
You interact and support so many creatives. What are the most common things that creatives seem to want answers/guidance on? And is it the "right" focus or are there themes you wish your community wanted to explore more?
Do you have any opinions (about creativity, the creative journey, etc.) or viewpoints that have changed in the last few years? What lead to that change and how did it impact your own journey?
You'll have seen a lot of creatives blossom and achieve their goals. Are there common traits or behaviour patterns you see amongst them that you think contribute to their growth? (Across creative disciplines)
For Amie: What's something you're particularly proud of or love about your latest published novel? Something maybe people haven't pointed out or commented on yet.
How do you think your move will effect your creativity/work - not just the positives, but also the potential negatives/challenges you might need to keep an eye on? & how do you hope to face them?
Do you have a recommendation on where to start? Should they be done simultaneously or separately? In a particular order to get the most benefit?
How is James' writing journey going, what is his intent for his finished books and his creative path, how he decided to abandon one novel, etc?
Enjoy!
Don't forget that Amie has FICTION you can buy. Witchy Book. Sexy-nuns Books.
Repairing Your Relationship with Achievement and Hustle
Amie and James talk about the way hustle culture has ruined the way we look at accomplishment, painting it as an end in itself and a moral good where it should be a journey of self-discovery and joy. They discuss: their own fears about buying into hustle culture and how a reframe can help us to achieve the things we want to achieve in a more gentle, healthy way; the joy of achievement and doing hard things; the importance of protecting your energy and feeling safe; conversely, not letting safety hold you back from your goals, and much more!
Amie wanted me to link to the wonderful Amanda Jones' IG!
Lisa Olivera on Why Making Art is Great for the World
Today Amie had the pleasure of interviewing the author of Already Enough, creator of Human Stuff on substack, and one of our instagram heroes, Lisa Olivera.
Topics Discussed by Lisa and Amie:
The magic of being introverted and quiet as a creative.
How to create when it feels like the world is burning
Why creativity and art is revolutionary
Creating when it isn't 'of value' to other people
How to promote your art when it feels really icky
And so much more.
You can find Lisa on instagram, substack, or her website where you can find links to buy her book!
How Much Work Do We Actually Do?
Join us for a very casual conversation about our work life. We go through our past week and tell you what we did each day, why we might have done something or not done something, how we build rest into our week, why we don't work THAT much, and much more. This is one for those of you who like to just sit back and listen to friends chat. There isn't a huge amount to learn, just casual conversation. Let us know if you like these sorts of casual, chatty episodes and we might do more!
Is AI a Threat to Artists?
In this episode, we prompt Chat GPT, an advanced chatbot, to ask us "What are ten surprising questions to ask a creative in an interview?". In the first half, we answer the bot's (scarily good) questions. Then, we discuss the ethics of AI art, whether or not we're scared of AI, how we as a society might prepare for more advanced forms of AI, and steps our society might take to protect artists from getting their work stolen algorithms.
You can sign up for the Art of Making Money course on Amie's website. Enrolments close 23rd Feb at 10pm AEDT.
Should We Pay Artists a Guaranteed Income with Morgan Grace
We are thrilled to be interviewing Morgan Grace, poet, fantasy author, and recipient of one of Ireland's basic income for the arts grant. The grant guarantees Morgan and 2000 other artists 325 euro per week for three years, no strings attached.
We discuss the incredible feeling of being recognised and supported by our society, how a basic income has impacted her creative practice, the basic income for artists program generally, why artists are undervalued despite being incredibly important and whether a guaranteed income could be a solution, and much more! Stay to the end for an amazing poetry reading by Morgan that brought Amie to tears. Seriously, it's incredible!
You can find Morgan on Instagram and tiktok where she shares her amazing poetry and creative journey.
Her website is bymorgangrace.com where you can find a more extensive sample of her work.
How Not to Go Insane as a Full Time Content Creator with Millie Ford
We are super excited to have Tiktok sensation Millie Ford on the pod this week!
We discuss: how to evolve and mature personally when your life is so public, perfectionism and procrastinating content creation when it's literally your job, having a safe place to make and share shitty art (+ how that can help your brand and creativity), taking advantage of inspiration, organising your day when you are responsible for your own schedule and much more!
You can Millie on Instagram and Tiktok
She has her own podcast, Out of Character with Millie Ford.
You Have Bad Taste in Art
Did we get you with the title? We're trying to be catchier! Today we have a rambly episode about how varied everyone's taste in art is, why it's actually a good thing that not everyone will like your (or your favourite creative's) art, why you shouldn't be mean about art that you dislike (and how that will help your own art), James' problem with Goodreads, radical self compassion and much more!
Regrettably, I am About to Cause Trouble, preview
Did you know Amie has a new book out? You can listen to the first chapter here on the podcast feed!
A bit about the book:
1535, Oxfordshire.
Lady Maude Shaftsberry has it all sorted. She will marry the well-connected lord, ascend the ranks of the Tudor court, and be mother to a small battalion of boys. But Maude has a secret that she carries everywhere: a birthmark that stretches over her stomach and between her legs. Is it a mark of fertility? Did her mother rub her pregnant belly too vigorously on the full moon? Or is it the sign of a witch?
Her new husband is certain it's the latter. Maude, faced with annulment and the nunnery, must make her own way.
The witches in town are the only ones who will give her refuge, but staying in the apothecary comes at a price. She must help and assist the witches. Surrounded by potions, star charts, a fairy, who appears to be a very large and handsome man who helps around the house, Maude begins to realise there is a strange and seductive power in being outcast.
Regrettably, I am About to Cause Trouble is a tale about being ostracised, and finding our power and family in unusual places.
You can get the links buy the book here.
Alchemizing grief, disappointment and anxiety into art with Leenadria Barros
Today we have our good friend Leenadria on the pod. We have watched Lee's creative journey for several years now and are amazed by the mountain of amazing work she's produced in the last several months.
Lee has one of the most incredible stories of anyone we've had on the podcast. This conversation is wide ranging and so important. We talk about "deservitude" versus gratitude journaling (a great practice for anyone who finds gratitude journaling doesn't work for them), grief and illness, self-publishing, and much more.
Please check out Lee's amazing creations:
As well as Lee's website
Would You Rather
We're playing a game of "would you rather"!
Questions include: Would you rather have one extremely successful project in your life OR lots of moderately successful ones; Would you want the ability to write perfect first drafts BUT the word poo will appear once every hundred pages in your final manuscript; Be the strongest person alive BUT you do a huge fart every time you lift something; and much more!
Creating Playfully and Taming Anxiety with Lily Sais
We're honoured to welcome psychologist, anxiety coach and our favourite Tiktoker, Lily Sais, on the pod. Lily runs a successful online business coaching people to better manage anxiety, panic, and OCD. Amie credits Lily with helping her get a handle on her health anxiety.
In the podcast we talk about: why you should be on Tikitok, anxiety, running an online business, creating online courses, membership programs, how to help a partner who has health anxiety, and so much more. This is, I think, our longest ever episode of Unpublished so we hope you enjoy the extended run time!
If you're interested in Lily's Course "find your peace within", you can learn more about it here.
Lily also puts out tons of free educational content on her instagram and on her Tiktok.
Tending To Your Nervous System and Avoiding Burnout with Gauri Yardi
Today we have writer, naturopath, and creative burnout coach, Gauri Yardi, on the podcast. As people prone to exhaustion and burnout, we found this chat invaluable. Where much of the conversation around burnout centres on purely psychological factors, Gauri takes a holistic approach. In our podcast we talk about Gauri's four pillars of nervous system care, how to listen to your body when it's telling you you're doing too much, the importance of bare minimums, proactive approaches to prevent burnout before it occurs, signs you might be working too hard or approaching burnout, and so much more.
If you liked this podcast, you will love Gauri's course "Re. Creation" — A self-paced masterclass for tired and burnt out creatives who want more energy to make the art they long to make. I have done the course and could not recommend it more highly. Even as people who write and talks about burnout regularly, we have learnt so much from Gauri. Please support her (and yourself).