Yet Podcast Episode 31

This week on the podcast, my guest is lifelong reader and self-proclaimed "nerd from way back," author Don Mewha.

Don began writing several years ago, has published his first novel Bishop's Crossing, with more books on the way!

Bishop's Crossing was rejected 86 times before it was finally picked up and published.

Don's advice to new writers is to "get good at" facing rejection, because in the world of writing it's bound to happen.

After being rejected so many times, he was ready to give up. But with some encouragement from those close to him he persevered, and it has paid off for him in a big way, as he plans to publish two more books - including a sequel to his debut - within the next 6 months.

Listen in as Don and I discuss:

• reading widely as the best practice a writer can use

• the critical role encouragement plays in creative efforts

• the differences in sales timing & longevity between traditional and self-publishing

• managing expectations throughout the writing and publishing journey

Connect with Don

www.donmewha.com

@stories_by_don on Instagram & TikTok

www.facebook.com/StoriesbyDon/

About T.C. Burr

After years of putting it off, I have started writing my debut novel—a story about friendship, and about growing up. It follows the lives of a group of young men as they navigate the world between two mountainous seasons of life, with all the twists, turns and trials that come with growing up.

Through this podcast, I aim to highlight inspiring stories from fellow writers, entrepreneurs, and creatives, offering encouragement and practical advice for those pursuing their own creative and business ventures.

A dream left on the shelf is one of life's greatest regrets.

Today's a great day to get started.

It's not that you haven't done it, it's just that you haven't done it yet.

Review & Subscribe: If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a review to help others discover it. Subscribe today so you never miss an episode!

Connect: I'd love to connect! Send me a note at⁠⁠ ⁠⁠tcburr.com⁠⁠⁠⁠, and follow⁠⁠ ⁠⁠@yetpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram and Threads for updates and inspiration.

Yet Podcast Episode 30

On this week's episode, I'm celebrating a huge milestone with episode 30!

I read recently that 90% of podcasts never make it past 3 episodes, so I am incredibly thankful to find myself among the 10% who have decided to keep going.

Speaking of celebrating milestones...If you are a writer, a creative, an entrepreneur or any type of goal-setter, it is critical to celebrate the achievements you make, even the small ones.

There's a reason why in life we celebrate big moments like anniversaries and birthdays. We mark moments because we want to celebrate the growth and the achievement and the longevity of staying committed and the growth that comes along with that.

Think about all the things that you're doing, all the work that you're putting in, and take the time to recognize what you've accomplished and celebrate those wins.

On this episode I encourage you to:

• mark your milestones (even the small ones)
• track them visually
• give yourself tangible rewards

In doing this, you'll get used to seeing yourself win, recognize how far you've come, and ward off imposter syndrome with objective evidence of your success.

And if you need it, keeping track of your successes will help you feel like you've "earned" your seasons of rest.

How do you celebrate your milestones?

About T.C. Burr

After years of putting it off, I have started writing my debut novel—a story about friendship, and about growing up. It follows the lives of a group of young men as they navigate the world between two mountainous seasons of life, with all the twists, turns and trials that come with growing up.

Through this podcast, I aim to highlight inspiring stories from fellow writers, entrepreneurs, and creatives, offering encouragement and practical advice for those pursuing their own creative and business ventures.

A dream left on the shelf is one of life's greatest regrets.

Today's a great day to get started.

It's not that you haven't done it, it's just that you haven't done it yet.

Review & Subscribe: If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a review to help others discover it. Subscribe today so you never miss an episode!

Connect: I'd love to connect! Send me a note at⁠ ⁠⁠tcburr.com⁠⁠⁠, and follow⁠ ⁠⁠@yetpodcast⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram and Threads for updates and inspiration.

Yet Podcast Episode 29

This week on the podcast, I interviewed a retired 20+ year stay at home mom turned empty nester, turned self-published author Carol Wyllie.

Carol thought she would jump right into writing when she became an empty nester, but things took a detour when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Carol’s been a lifetime writer and has always dreamt of writing and publishing books. After her dream of raising a family had come true, she shifted her focus to writing full time.

When her kids were younger, she wrote a series of children’s books on social graces.

After going through her cancer treatment, with some encouragement from a friend, a seed was planted for her to share her journey in a nonfiction book.

In 2021, Chemo Pissed Me Off went from a blank page to published in five and a half months and “wrote itself.”

As Carol says, “why waste something like this - put it down so that others can have this resource.”

Listen as Carol and I discuss:

• Her decision to leverage her experience of cancer treatments to help others

• Her struggle with imposter syndrome and how she works to combat it

• The futility of comparison

• Beginning with the end in mind

• The importance of "just writing" the 1st draft

• Her children’s fiction book series

Resources Mentioned in this episode ⁠Published⁠ by Chandler Bolt

⁠Save the Cat! Writes a Novel⁠ by Jessica Brody

⁠Dave Chesson / Kindlepreneur⁠

Connect with Carol

⁠wylliegirl.com⁠

⁠@thewylliegirl ⁠on Instagram and Threads

Buy Carol's books

⁠Chemo Pissed Me Off⁠

Mad Dog Books

⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B3Y7VYK4⁠

⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BX4PK6MD⁠

⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CSR2F5QY⁠

About T.C. Burr

After years of putting it off, I have started writing my debut novel—a story about friendship, and about growing up. It follows the lives of a group of young men as they navigate the world between two mountainous seasons of life, with all the twists, turns and trials that come with growing up.

Through this podcast, I aim to highlight inspiring stories from fellow writers, entrepreneurs, and creatives, offering encouragement and practical advice for those pursuing their own creative and business ventures.

A dream left on the shelf is one of life's greatest regrets.

Today's a great day to get started.

It's not that you haven't done it, it's just that you haven't done it yet.

Review & Subscribe: If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a review to help others discover it. Subscribe today so you never miss an episode!

Connect: I'd love to connect! Send me a note at⁠ ⁠⁠tcburr.com⁠⁠⁠, and follow⁠ ⁠⁠@yetpodcast⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram and Threads for updates and inspiration.

***BONUS mini episode***

I want to share a quick word of encouragement in case you're feeling stretched thin, burnt out, or discouraged.

Why do you compare yourself to other people?

Why do you spend so much energy lamenting what you've yet to accomplish, where you've failed, how far behind you think you are?

Have you ever considered that maybe you're right on schedule?

Maybe you're right where you're supposed to be.

This season, this moment that you're in - what if you're just meant to persevere in it, to learn and grow from it?

Dare I say, enjoy it?

Don't let yourself get bogged down with comparison, vanity metrics, or a runway that's longer than you anticipated.

Breathe deeply.

Enjoy the moment.

Give yourself grace, and feel the freedom to create, to write, to work without the weight of expectation - yours or someone else's.

I'm cheering for you.

You've got this!

About T.C. Burr

After years of putting it off, I have started writing my debut novel—a story about friendship, and about growing up. It follows the lives of a group of young men as they navigate the world between two mountainous seasons of life, with all the twists, turns and trials that come with growing up.

Through this podcast, I aim to highlight inspiring stories from fellow writers, entrepreneurs, and creatives, offering encouragement and practical advice for those pursuing their own creative and business ventures.

A dream left on the shelf is one of life's greatest regrets.

Today's a great day to get started.

It's not that you haven't done it, it's just that you haven't done it yet.

Review & Subscribe: If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a review to help others discover it. Subscribe today so you never miss an episode!

Connect: I'd love to connect! Send me a note at⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠tcburr.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and follow⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠@yetpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram and Threads for updates and inspiration.

Over the course of your life, how many great ideas do you think you’ve had, and subsequently lost?

One hundred?

One thousand?

One million?

Capturing your ideas can help you stave off writer’s block by providing you a deep well of ideas from which to draw in the times you need them most.

Sometimes when you sit down to write, you’re full of inspiration and the ideas are free-flowing. In those moments, the book, as they say, “writes itself.”

Sometimes, though, that just isn’t the case.

Sometimes you spend minutes, even hours, staring at a blank page or a flashing cursor.

The ideas just….aren’t…coming.

In those moments, what can you do?

On episode 23 of this podcast, I shared a few thoughts on how to keep writing when you aren’t feeling particularly inspired. I’d encourage you to go check it out.

In this episode, I’d like to double-click on one of those thoughts - capturing your ideas.

Ideas are powerful, and without them, no real creative endeavor can really take off. On this episode we’ll dive into topics like:

• Capture EVERY idea. Even the seemingly obscure, insignificant, or random ones. You never know how you might be able to use them in the future

  
  

• Use multiple collection systems - because there really might not be a one-size-fits-all solution

  
  

• Regularly consolidate your ideas into one (digital) place

  
  

• Tag & categorize so you can easily sort, filter, and search your ideas in the future.

  
  

  
  

This has proven to be incredibly helpful for me in my writing, but it goes way beyond that. If you’re an entrepreneur, artist, or creative of any kind, capturing your ideas can build a reservoir of resources from which you can draw in the future.

Start capturing today!

About T.C. Burr

After years of putting it off, I have started writing my debut novel—a story about friendship, and about growing up. It follows the lives of a group of young men as they navigate the world between two mountainous seasons of life, with all the twists, turns and trials that come with growing up.

Through this podcast, I aim to highlight inspiring stories from fellow writers, entrepreneurs, and creatives, offering encouragement and practical advice for those pursuing their own creative and business ventures.

A dream left on the shelf is one of life's greatest regrets.

Today's a great day to get started.

It's not that you haven't done it, it's just that you haven't done it yet.

Review & Subscribe: If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a review to help others discover it. Subscribe today so you never miss an episode!

Connect: I'd love to connect! Send me a note at ⁠⁠tcburr.com⁠⁠, and follow ⁠⁠@yetpodcast⁠⁠ on Instagram and Threads for updates and inspiration.

On this week's episode, I sat down with author Lori Alspaugh aka Lore Wren.

**Lori's first time EVER saying "I'm an author" happened while recording this episode***

What a cool honor it was to be a part of that moment!

A mom and long-time writer, Lori has spent so much her time and energy helping others. Recently, though, she asked herself, "What do I want to do?"

Humans have long searched the night sky and come away with inspiration and great stories.

Through a series of catalyst moments, Lori came up with the idea for her first novel, Medromeda, a retelling of the myth of Medusa, "the myth before the monster" as Lori describes it.

She wrote the entire book over the course of several months at her son's hockey practice, then figured out on her own how to print, market, and publish it.

Lori's inspiring journey will encourage you to be "authentically yourself," keep working toward your dream, and do the work that you love.

Lori's recommendations:

The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey

Falling Upward by Richard Rohr

Connect with Lori

lorewren.com

@lorewrenauthor on Instagram and Threads

About T.C. Burr

After years of putting it off, I have started writing my debut novel—a story about friendship, and about growing up. It follows the lives of a group of young men as the navigate the world between two mountainous seasons of life, with all the twists, turns and trails that come with growing up.

Through this podcast, I aim to highlight inspiring stories from fellow writers, entrepreneurs, and creatives, offering encouragement and practical advice for those pursuing their own creative and business ventures.

A dream left on the shelf is one of life's greatest regrets.

Today's a great day to get started.

It's not that you haven't done it, it's just that you haven't done it yet.

Review & Subscribe: If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a review to help others discover it. Subscribe today so you never miss an episode!

Connect: I'd love to connect! Send me a note at tcburr.com, and follow @yetpodcast on Instagram and Threads for updates and inspiration.

In today’s fast-paced digital world, the pressure to create high-quality content, market yourself effectively, and maintain a strong online presence can be overwhelming.

As a writer, creative professional, or business owner, it’s easy to experience burnout and feel like your efforts are never enough.

In the premiere episode of Season 2 of the Yet Podcast, host T.C. Burr explores the critical importance of giving yourself grace and integrating restful rhythms into your life.

This episode emphasizes the value of embracing the creative journey and understanding that success might not always align with your initial vision.

Key Takeaways

1. ​Embrace the Long Game: Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Give yourself ample time to achieve your goals and remember that progress is a gradual process.
2. ​Create Small, Achievable Habits: Break your objectives into smaller, manageable goals. Celebrating these small victories can help you stay motivated and visualize your progress.
3. ​Focus on What You Enjoy: Dedicate more time to tasks and activities you enjoy, and minimize time spent on less fulfilling tasks. This can energize your work and enhance your productivity.
4. ​Prioritize Rest and Recharge: Taking breaks is crucial to avoid burnout. Learn to step away when needed to maintain your creative energy and effectiveness.

After years of putting it off, I have started writing my debut novel—a story of friendship and growth during the transitional period between high school and adulthood.

Through this podcast, I aim to highlight inspiring stories from fellow writers, entrepreneurs, and creatives, offering encouragement and practical advice for those pursuing their own creative and business ventures.

A dream left on the shelf is one of life's greatest regrets.

It's not too late to get started.

It's not that you haven't done it, it's just that you haven't done it yet.

Stay Connected

• ​Review & Subscribe: If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a review to help others discover it. Subscribe today so you never miss an episode!

• ​Connect: I'd love to connect! Send me a note at tcburr.com, and follow @yetpodcast on Instagram and Threads for updates and inspiration.

I had so much fun during season 1 that I decided to do it all over again!

If you're a writer, podcaster, entrepreneur - or someone who wants to be one of these things - this podcast is for you!

I can't wait to bring you more stories, encouragements, tips and ideas to help you get started and keep going!

Don't sit on your dream, goal or idea any longer.

The world needs what you have to offer, and today's a great day to get started.

Because it's not that you haven't done it - it's just that you haven't done it yet.

Subscribe today and don't miss season 2 - coming soon!

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What you can do in the meantime

• Get caught up by listening to season 1 for the first time (or, listen to it again!)

• Follow, rate, and review the show

• Share it with a friend!

Connect with me

• Visit my website tcburr.com
• Subscribe to my mail list
• Follow @yetpodcast on Instagram and Threads
• Let me know what you think of the show, and what you want to hear more of!

Talk soon!

-T.C.