Viewing: podcast

SO MUCH AWESOME I DON’T EVEN HAVE TIME TO GREET YOU, FOLKS.

No, seriously, the newest episode of the Ditch Diggers podcast is so jam-packed with amazing things I scarcely know where to begin. It was recorded two weeks ago LIVE at Worldcon, the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention in Spokane, Washington. Mur and I had a packed, absolutely fucking fabulous theater audience who were overwhelmingly into the show. It was widely tweeted about as one of many, many folks’ favorite things they attended at the con. We are debuting our brand new smashingly good official THEME SONG which was written, performed, and recorded by comedy/nerdcore rap sensation Devo Spice (thank you so much, Tom!).

Probably the best and most memorable Ditch Diggers segment thus far in our short history happened during this episode as we welcomed authors Linda NagataAliette de BodardKate Elliott, and Fonda Lee on stage to roll for initiative and take part in an adventure in the dreaded Forest of Publishing. Mur and I co-GM’ed a very special improvised version of a very popular fantasy roleplaying game, but this one was all about adventures and perils in the publishing industry.

Finally, we had the absolute privilege of welcoming Tor.com Publishing senior editor Lee Harris on stage to face the firing squad and answer Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Editors But Were Afraid To Ask.

I absolutely love how this episode and the live event turned out. It was everything I want Ditch Diggers to be; entertaining and damn fun while remaining on-topic and bringing you brutally honest information about writing as a job from the pros who do it.

I hope you folks love this one, too.

Our sincere thanks to all of our special guests and especially the fantastic audience who made it out to Ditch Diggers Live, and to Devo Spice for our kick-ass new theme.

To listen to Ditch Diggers Live! click here.

As always, I sincerely request you folks do three things.

Please do subscribe to the Ditch Diggers podcast on iTunes.

Please do consider supporting our Patreon and helping us do more and better episodes featuring bigger and better guests.

Please do talk about Ditch Diggers on all your social media platforms, or just tell your friends. In person. In real-life.

Thanks, folks.

Hey, folks. I’m a week late posting this here because I was getting ready to leave for Worldcon (which I attended, and which we’ll talk about later), but that’s cool because anyone who might’ve missed this one will get a second chance now.

And you simply can’t miss this one, not if you’re serious about being a freelance writer.

In my humble yet thoroughly informed opinion, there is no better example of a professional freelance writer in this here modern age than Mikki Kendall. She works in multiple mediums and genres ranging from non-fiction markets like e-learning and major newspapers to comic books like her debut in the Swords of Sorrow series which drops next month. She’s a power user on Twitter, and has amassed a huge social media following that she cultivates and maintains extremely well and smartly, especially as a platform for a freelancer.

We’ve been a fan of hers for a while and we asked Mikki to be part of the newest episode of Ditch Diggers which dropped last week, and the result is pure ditch digging nirvana. We talked about how she built her freelance writing portfolio, how/why/when she made the decision to go full-time, the logistics behind it, how she landed her comic book writing debut and how the comics writing process works, and we talked thoroughly about her social media platform and how she built and continues to build and use it as a freelance writer.

This is invaluable inside tradecraft-type shit here. This isn’t about “how do I get a book published,” this is about how to be a full-time freelance writer making real money.

Also, Mikki agrees with me that the philosophy of the Patrick Swayze classic Road House is cross-applicable to all things.

She agrees with me and NOT MUR.

So there.

Click here to go to the new episode.

Also be sure to subscribe to the Ditch Diggers podcast via iTunes by clicking here.

Finally, the absolute best way to support Ditch Diggers is to back our Patreon which can be found here. Mur and I are trying to put more focus in to creating more episodes with a wider range of guest, and this helps us put the time into doing all of that.

The next episode of DD will be the one we recorded live at Worldcon. Like I said, I’ll write more about the con in detail, but what I’ll say now is Ditch Diggers Live was an absolutely freakin’ smash hit. We had a great crowd, amazing guests, and we sent four brave authors into the dread Forest of Publishing to play a Ditch Diggers version of Dungeons & Dragons, complete with dice.

Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss it!