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What does it really take to call yourself a writer?

At the beginning of this week’s episode, you’ll hear an original poem read by our guest Shahida Alvarado. It brings to the forefront the invisible gates women face when we dare to pursue a creative dream. From thinking about "why now?" to the behind-the-scenes realities of navigating the publishing world, Elizabeth and Shahida talk about what it truly means to bring a book into existence on your own terms. You’ll hear about creative control, what success actually looks like for a writer, and how self-publishing has transformed them from writers into something far more expansive. Whether you’re hesitant to walk through the gate and call yourself a writer, somewhere in the messy middle, or inching toward a publish date of your own, this episode will meet you exactly where you are.

Meet Shahida Alvarado:

Shahida Alvarado is a writer, educator, and yoga teacher whose work blends personal narrative, mindfulness, and storytelling. She is the author of the reflective poetry collection When I Meet Myself and the children’s book The Gecko Who Learned Yoga, both inspired by her lived experiences, travel, and personal transformation. Through her writing and teaching, she explores how vulnerability, movement, and self-reflection can be translated into meaningful creative work.

Connect with Shahida Alvarado:

https://bloogeckoliteracy.com/
https://www.instagram.com/alwaysinyogaflow
https://www.facebook.com/share/1C6E3wHgFz/

 Welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. If you've ever felt the pull to write your truth, to shape the chaos of real life into something meaningful and to share your journey with the world, you're in the right place. We're your hosts, Elizabeth and Stephanie, writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who believe in you and know how important it is to find a writing community to guide you on your path to self-publishing.

You’re invited to connect with us by joining our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. Whether you’re working on a memoir, a novel, or journaling for yourself, this is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Join our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. This is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Work 1:1 with Memoir Coach Elizabeth Wilson. Book a session here.

Feel Good Marketing with Stephanie. Book a session here.

If you prefer to watch our conversations, you can find all of them on our YouTube channel.

You can find us on Instagram and Threads

Send us Fan Mail

Elizabeth Wilson chats with author, Heather Bryant, about her experience publishing & marketing her book My Transparent during the pandemic. It’ll help you remember all of the creative ways you can use to get your book in the hands of readers.

 Welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. If you've ever felt the pull to write your truth, to shape the chaos of real life into something meaningful and to share your journey with the world, you're in the right place. We're your hosts, Elizabeth and Stephanie, writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who believe in you and know how important it is to find a writing community to guide you on your path to self-publishing.

You’re invited to connect with us by joining our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. Whether you’re working on a memoir, a novel, or journaling for yourself, this is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Join our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. This is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Work 1:1 with Memoir Coach Elizabeth Wilson. Book a session here.

Feel Good Marketing with Stephanie. Book a session here.

If you prefer to watch our conversations, you can find all of them on our YouTube channel.

You can find us on Instagram and Threads

Send us Fan Mail

Does the tech side of showing up online freak you out? There’s a way you can get support. This week’s episode digs into what that can look like for you. I hope you’ll listen because there are some exciting offers coming available to you!

Learn about how working in Canva can be simplified or maybe you're interested in having templates done for you? Learn about the apps recommended for scheduling your posts.

 Welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. If you've ever felt the pull to write your truth, to shape the chaos of real life into something meaningful and to share your journey with the world, you're in the right place. We're your hosts, Elizabeth and Stephanie, writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who believe in you and know how important it is to find a writing community to guide you on your path to self-publishing.

You’re invited to connect with us by joining our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. Whether you’re working on a memoir, a novel, or journaling for yourself, this is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Join our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. This is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Work 1:1 with Memoir Coach Elizabeth Wilson. Book a session here.

Feel Good Marketing with Stephanie. Book a session here.

If you prefer to watch our conversations, you can find all of them on our YouTube channel.

You can find us on Instagram and Threads

Send us Fan Mail

In this week’s episode, Elizabeth Wilson and Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D. talk about reframing your thoughts about marketing. It’s common that hearing the word ‘marketing’ can send you into a tailspin and make you want to hide. You feel it’s a cumbersome task that requires so much extra time and work, but what Stephanie shares in this episode about her upcoming Unbound Story System small group program could be the mindset shift you’re looking for. You’ll have to listen to see if Stephanie’s program is your vibe.

Also, be sure to follow Elizabeth @ewilsonwrites and Stephanie @oswaldphdwriter on IG and Threads to keep up with what they’re doing with their writing projects.

Get on Stephanie Oswald, Ph.D's calendar for a 30-minute chat to learn more about the Unbound Story System here.

 Welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. If you've ever felt the pull to write your truth, to shape the chaos of real life into something meaningful and to share your journey with the world, you're in the right place. We're your hosts, Elizabeth and Stephanie, writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who believe in you and know how important it is to find a writing community to guide you on your path to self-publishing.

You’re invited to connect with us by joining our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. Whether you’re working on a memoir, a novel, or journaling for yourself, this is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Join our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. This is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Work 1:1 with Memoir Coach Elizabeth Wilson. Book a session here.

Feel Good Marketing with Stephanie. Book a session here.

If you prefer to watch our conversations, you can find all of them on our YouTube channel.

You can find us on Instagram and Threads

Send us Fan Mail

This week, in Episode 112 of the Inspired Writer Collective podcast, Elizabeth sits down with returning guest Jared Glenn for a candid conversation about one of the most overlooked parts of the writing journey: learning to detach from your story.

Elizabeth shares a revealing moment from her own beta reader process when one piece of feedback had her so concerned she went straight to her editor. You'll have to listen to find out what her editor told her, and it might surprise you.

If you're writing anything, you pour so much of yourself into every word, and the thought of putting it out into the world is equal parts exciting and terrifying.

Whether you write fiction, memoir, or anything in between, this episode encourages you to look at your work through a new lens and helps you consider what it means to you to share it with readers.

 Welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. If you've ever felt the pull to write your truth, to shape the chaos of real life into something meaningful and to share your journey with the world, you're in the right place. We're your hosts, Elizabeth and Stephanie, writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who believe in you and know how important it is to find a writing community to guide you on your path to self-publishing.

You’re invited to connect with us by joining our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. Whether you’re working on a memoir, a novel, or journaling for yourself, this is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Join our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. This is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Work 1:1 with Memoir Coach Elizabeth Wilson. Book a session here.

Feel Good Marketing with Stephanie. Book a session here.

If you prefer to watch our conversations, you can find all of them on our YouTube channel.

You can find us on Instagram and Threads

Send us Fan Mail

On the podcast this week, we’re chatting about the CEO/Admin tasks that come with your writing life.

You’re a writer. If you haven’t claimed this identity for yourself, I’d love to hop on a call and dig into what’s standing in your way. I offer this invitation because it took me a long time to finally say “I’m a Writer” and I wish I’d gotten there sooner. I’ve been wanting to write my contemporary romance novels since 7th grade when I was hanging out at the barn with my horse. So, if I can help you find your way to owning your Writer identity sooner, I’d love to support you. You can get on my calendar here: https://calendly.com/oswaldphd/thirty-with-stephanie

As a writer, you’re an entrepreneur of books. Has anyone ever said this to you?

I heard it recently and it stuck with me. It’s a powerful thought to have for yourself. Your book is your business. Every book you write is part of your business. You’re the CEO of your Writer life. Even if you traditionally publish your book, you’re still in charge of making sure your book gets in the hands of readers. Sometimes, as a creative thinker, those small organization tasks or the planning of your content calendar are just not top of mind. This week’s episode will help you get into your CEO mindset.

And, if you’re looking for time to jumpstart getting those business tasks done, we have another Virtual Writer’s Retreat coming up April 17-19. You can save your seat here: https://inspired-writer-collective.kit.com/263e86245e

 Welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. If you've ever felt the pull to write your truth, to shape the chaos of real life into something meaningful and to share your journey with the world, you're in the right place. We're your hosts, Elizabeth and Stephanie, writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who believe in you and know how important it is to find a writing community to guide you on your path to self-publishing.

You’re invited to connect with us by joining our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. Whether you’re working on a memoir, a novel, or journaling for yourself, this is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Join our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. This is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Work 1:1 with Memoir Coach Elizabeth Wilson. Book a session here.

Feel Good Marketing with Stephanie. Book a session here.

If you prefer to watch our conversations, you can find all of them on our YouTube channel.

You can find us on Instagram and Threads

Send us Fan Mail

Elizabeth Wilson chats with memoir writer Anna Dao about the rich oral storytelling tradition that shaped not just how she writes, but why.

They talk about what it really takes to find your authentic voice on the page, what happens when fear and people-pleasing get in the way of your truth, and what marketing a memoir actually looks like when you're a first-time author doing it all on your own terms.

About our guest, Anna Dao:

Born in Paris, raised under many skies —

from Bamako to Brussels, from Dakar to New York — Anna Dao carries the songs of her ancestors in her voice.

Her teachers were the elders of Mali,

the storytellers who gathered under the moon to share the wisdom of the Good Path.

Through her journey — across continents and through her own heart —she became a

bridge between the seen and unseen,

the modern and the ancestral.

In her words, “the world is nothing but conversation —the world is nothing but storytelling.”

A storyteller. A spiritual advisor. A daughter of tradition and transformation. Anna Dao invites us to listen —to remember —

to become the story we were always meant to tell.

Website: ​https://thehouseoflalla.com​

Facebook: ​annadao2​

Instagram and Threads: ​@annadao7467

 Welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. If you've ever felt the pull to write your truth, to shape the chaos of real life into something meaningful and to share your journey with the world, you're in the right place. We're your hosts, Elizabeth and Stephanie, writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who believe in you and know how important it is to find a writing community to guide you on your path to self-publishing.

You’re invited to connect with us by joining our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. Whether you’re working on a memoir, a novel, or journaling for yourself, this is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Join our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. This is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Work 1:1 with Memoir Coach Elizabeth Wilson. Book a session here.

Feel Good Marketing with Stephanie. Book a session here.

If you prefer to watch our conversations, you can find all of them on our YouTube channel.

You can find us on Instagram and Threads

Send us Fan Mail

Have you ever tried following someone's writing advice? You've read all the books with guidelines for getting your outline done or advice about setting up your writing schedule, yet you're still feeling like something's not quite right. Like maybe the problem isn't your commitment to the process, but the fact that the method itself was never designed for the way YOU actually think and create? On this week's episode of the Inspired Writer Collective, we welcome editor and writing coach Cynthia Merrill who completely reframed Elizabeth's thinking about the writing process. Cynthia has developed something called the Authentic Writer Archetype Assessment, and in this conversation she walked through Elizabeth's results live. Here's what came up in the conversation:

• Why writing advice that works well for one writer can actually sabotage another
• Insight into why many memoir writers quit before they finish (hint: it's not what you think)
• Figuring out the support systems you actually need before spending money on programs, editors, or writing groups

Give it a listen and let us know what resonates.

About our guest Cynthia Merrill:

Cynthia Merrill is a developmental editor, writing coach, and creator of the Authentic Writer Archetypes—a system dedicated to helping writers understand their creative needs and build a sustainable, authentic, and joyful writing practice. While she holds a BA in Editing and Publishing, her real education has come from years of working side by side with writers in the depths of the creative process. Cynthia hosts The Way You Write podcast and lives in Phoenix, AZ with her two kids and a dog named Jasper.

Connect with Cynthia Merrill:

Website: ​cynthiamerrillediting.com ​

IG: ​https://www.instagram.com/cynthiamerrillediting/​

Free Author Archetype Assessment: ​h

 Welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. If you've ever felt the pull to write your truth, to shape the chaos of real life into something meaningful and to share your journey with the world, you're in the right place. We're your hosts, Elizabeth and Stephanie, writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who believe in you and know how important it is to find a writing community to guide you on your path to self-publishing.

You’re invited to connect with us by joining our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. Whether you’re working on a memoir, a novel, or journaling for yourself, this is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Join our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. This is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Work 1:1 with Memoir Coach Elizabeth Wilson. Book a session here.

Feel Good Marketing with Stephanie. Book a session here.

If you prefer to watch our conversations, you can find all of them on our YouTube channel.

You can find us on Instagram and Threads