The Writing Coach Podcast with Rebecca L. Weber
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The Writing Coach Podcast with Rebecca L. Weber
Rebecca L. Weber coaches with the sustainable strategies, mindset shifts, and creative skills development she uses to help independent writers around the world. If you’ve got what it takes to make it as a freelance writer, but struggle with confidence, imposter syndrome, overwhelm, procrastinati...
Episodi recenti
292 episodi
WCP247 Coach me
What’s one thing you’d like help with in your writing life today?
I’d like to coach you about it—and share the recording with other listeners of...
WCP246 First Tuesday: Write that pitch
Sometimes you AND your pitch need to get out of your head and out into the world.
On the first Tuesday of the month, I’m hosting co-pitching ca...
WCP245 Archives: 🐶 Monday mornings on the mountain with Mishka
On Monday mornings I used to be cranky and anxious. It’s not a great combo any time, and not a great foundation for the week ahead.
Then I crea...
WCP244 Freelance feast or famine
In one week, you might have a pub that you’ve written for for years fold, receive an email from an editor who said she loved your pitch now asking for...
WCP243 Gift of specificity
They say it’s the thought that counts when it comes to gifts. But if you’ve ever had the experience of receiving a gift that was clearly intended for...
WCP242 Miss that exit
On a road trip, you might see a dozen reminders about an upcoming exit. The frequency doesn’t mean that you should get off the highway for an unwanted...
WCP241 Archives: Internal and external accountability
Some writers always honor their deadlines for clients, yet aren’t accountable to themselves when it comes to marketing or creative work. Maybe you wan...
WCP240 Time distortion
Perception of time varies from person to person, and from task to task. Before, during, or after a particular writing task your estimate of how long i...
WCP239 You set your freelance writing rates
Freelance writers often have a hard time setting rates, or feeling great about them after we’ve signed a contract.
It can feel challenging when:...
WCP238 Accountability hit
Do you (almost) always honor your agreements to others (e.g. you routinely make your deadlines), but have a hard time doing things that nobody else is...
WCP237 ⚡ Archives: Lights out
No electricity. No internet. They’re not one in the same, but when they overlap they make for a powerful Venn diagram.
The extreme weather and i...
WCP236 Judge me
As a species, we’re pretty judgey. As working writers, we’re constantly having our work judged.
Sometimes it can feel like how someone feels ab...
WCP235 Expectations on the road
Freelancing while traveling disrupts the home routine. Get clear about your process and expectations when traveling, and you’ll be better able to redu...
WCP234 Answer the question
One great guiding question is at the heart of a pitch that lands an assignment, or in an article that resonates with readers. Answering this question...
WCP233 Fun with numbers
As a writing coach, I’ve heard countless writers complain about their numbers. Or, more accurately, I’ve lost count.
Often somebody will hook in...
WCP232 Podcast power with Steph Fuccio
Steph Fuccio invited me to her podcast, Content to Connect, to discuss the value and impact of podcasting and newsletters.
This BTS conversation...
WCP231 Archives: Writing through grief
In some important ways, it doesn’t matter what your job is when somebody you care about dies.
In today’s episode, we look at ways you can use w...
WCP230 Co-writing, experiments, and timing
Some thoughts on writing and pitching together, trying new things, and how timing your work sessions gives you useful data.
🔗 You might also li...
WCP229 Do good work with Raul Hernandez Ochoa
One great idea element can be developed into so many different kinds of stories for noncompeting audiences. Listen to my interview on the Do Good Work...
WCP228 Archives: Anti-racist reporting
Black lives matter, today and every day. This is not always reflected in the media.
Today we look at how an anti-racist approach to reporting he...
WCP227 You spelled/spelt it wrong
What is your freelance writer business model? What are the skills you need to get you to the next point? Do you prefer to improve your weaknesses or y...
WCP226 Exhume your lede
It’s common for the lede to get buried in the draft (and sometimes final) article.
In pitches, it can happen twofold: first there’s a tendency...
WCP225 Seasonal eval
Every three months marks a turn of seasons, and a refresh of the financial quarter. It’s the perfect time for an evaluation.
Pausing to review...
WCP224 Archives: Best and worst clients
Freelancers often think of the editors who don’t want to assign them stories, and of readers who don’t want to read their stories and angles, when wri...
WCP223 Cut and paste pitching
We all know we’re supposed to read a publication and tailor a pitch to their needs … but so many freelancers just cut and paste the same one-size-fits...
WCP Bonus Why apply?
If you’ know improving your pitch acceptance rate would uplevel your writing life, or you keep saying you want to work with me in Freelance Writer Boo...
WCP222 🍦 Have a taste
I used to work at a homemade ice cream parlor. When someone came in and was unsure of what to order, I’d offer them a taste.
If they wanted mul...
WCP221 Vulnerability
Ever wonder what “vulnerability” feels like? Try telling people you’re about to shop your book proposal when you’re worried maybe no one will ever buy...
WCP220 Archives: Don’t pay your dues
Some freelancers say they’re writing for low paying, low circulating, low quality, or otherwise low satisfaction publications because they need to pay...
WCP219 You can’t include it all
Whether you’re writing a short pitch or a lengthy feature, the urge to include more, more, more can be seductive. Succumb to this pull, and you’ll see...
WCP Bonus 🩴 Taking the easy peasy route
The past few weeks, I've been adjusting to a new morning routine.
Moving outside in the sunshine helps the body recalibrate to wake up earlier....
WCP218 When it’s hard to let it be easy
If you’ve experienced something as difficult in the past, or know that a task is challenging for others, you may subconsciously make it harder for you...
WCP Bonus Just like that, I had a cover story with Bonnie Raitt
In the movie version of my writing life, there’s a scene where I walk up and down the aisle of an airplane watching strangers open the inflight magazi...
WCP217 Episode TK
Please don’t @ me, the title is correct. ;)
TK (or a similar place holder, eg “XX” or writing a NOTE IN ALL CAPS) is a practical tool to take to...
WCP216 Archives: Enterprise stories with Ray Joseph
What’s the importance and impact of seeking out original stories that nobody else is doing?
In this conversation with freelance journalist Raymo...
WCP215 Live coaching: Are you experienced
Rebecca coaches a writer live who has worked on a number of pitches but keeps getting stuck in the same place.
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WC...
WCP Bonus You CAN get lost in Cape Town
Table Mountain is the old school GPS. But here’s what happened when I got a teeny bit lost in Cape Town, and how I found my way home—and how it applie...
WCP214 Cultivate flow
My word of the year is flow. I began my inquiry asking, where do I already see this in my life? Where can I observe it when I’m writing, and when I’m...
WCP Bonus Selling yourself on your goals
Do you expect somebody (eg an editor, a source) or something (an idea, an interview) to make you feel excited about the story you’re going to pitch?
WCP Bonus My 3-step pitching process
When editors start saying YES YES YES to the ideas you send them, your freelance writing life becomes your own AND it becomes more collaborative.