Category: podcast

The Creative Shift Podcast

I’m happy to announce the new name for this podcast: The Creative Shift with Dan Blank. Last week I asked for your feedback, and was blown away by all of the response I received. In this episode, I reflect on what I heard from you, and what you can expect in this podcast moving forward. 

You can listen to the podcast by clicking ‘play’ below, or in the following places:

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I Need Your Help With My Podcast

I recently published three incredible interviews on my podcast:

It occurred to me that even though I started my podcast back in 2012, and have published more than 60 episodes, I never properly launched it. If you are unaware that I have a podcast, I’m not surprised. I’ve done a horrible job of marketing it.

My goal with the podcast is to celebrate writers and artists who have taken a risk to double down on their creative vision. My focus is on how people create when it means stepping outside their comfort zone.

When I think back on the podcast, I remember moments with the people I’ve interviewed:

I think of Dani Shapiro describing how writing doesn’t get easier even after success. Or Will Ackerman describing how he kept himself close to his love of music amidst multimillion dollar decisions. Or how Rebecca Green worked through creative burnout. Or how Tina Roth Eisenberg approaches potentially devastating situations.

I think about the inspiration and wisdom that they have shared with me in small moments throughout my days.

Yet the other day I realized something: I don’t remember ever saying to someone “please subscribe to my podcast!” I almost never say the full name of the podcast. It’s just something I started doing, and kept doing.

Which is ironic because so much of the work I do for writers is about marketing and branding and launching. My podcast has no shoes.

I want to correct that now because I think I can do more to celebrate the writers and artists I interview. I want their wisdom to connect with more people.

Not long ago, I moved it from a monthly schedule to weekly. That has been wonderful, because it means I get to have 4 times the amount of conversations with writers and artists who inspire me.

I’m considering changing the name of it. Right now, it’s called “Dabblers Vs. Doers.” This was the original title of a book I’m writing. But, in the process of writing it, I realized that these two things — dabbling and doing — are not always opposed to one another. So I’m considering rebranding the podcast to the working titles of two of the books I’m writing (btw: I’m writing two books):

  • From Dabbler to Doer
  • The Creative Shift

I’m wondering if you can help. Can you please give me feedback on:

  • Should I change the name of my podcast? Which do you prefer: “From Dabbler to Doer” or “The Creative Shift”?
  • Are there any guests you would like for me to interview?
  • Are their topics you want me to address in future episodes.

You can listen to the podcast where I dig into all of this by clicking ‘play’ below, or in the following places:

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Your Book is a Gift: A Book Launch Case Study with Dr. Beth Ricanati

Beth Ricanati, MDIn today’s podcast, I dig into a book launch case study with author Dr. Beth Ricanati. Last year she released her book, Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs, and we dig into the entire process of writing, publishing, and promoting the book. When I asked her to summarize the book launch, she said: “It was so wonderfully overwhelming.”

You can listen to the podcast by clicking ‘play’ below, or in the following places:

Some of what we discuss in the interview:

  • The process of how she wrote her book, and how she switched books midway through the process.
  • The reasons that she had to reframe her identity as an author when those around her knew her primarily as a doctor.
  • How she created her book proposal, got her agent, and found a publisher.
  • How the first deal for her book was killed because the marketing department at the publisher she was speaking to said “She has no social media presence. We are killing the deal.” She didn’t consider publication for another two years after that happened.
  • How she launched an Instagram account and started sharing growing it organically to 6,000 followers. She also got more serious with social media and outreach: developing a website, newsletter, Facebook page, and more.
  • How she sums up the role of social media in the book launch, “I have met some great people through Instagram and Facebook.” She focused on the human connections, not the numbers.
  • How her marketing for the book centered on her existing network and friends and people she met through them. When I asked who she reached out to, she said, “I had a list, I had been keeping a list for a long time.”
  • She totally flipped how many authors view marketing. Instead of worry about being seen as pushy in sharing her book, she mailed copies of it to friends, supporters and those in her network as “gifts.” She said she was at the post office every other day, just constantly mailing out gifted copies.
  • She setup 20 events around the book around launch, and rethought what they can be. She didn’t want to just read from the book, since it is about making challah she used it as an opportunity to show people how to do it. She is now setting up a second series events for this year. She plans events around her personal travel schedule.
  • How did she get these speaking events? By reaching out to friends, or through people who have reached out to her because one of her friends said something to them. “I have’t cold called, it’s been organic.”
  • How she had to push herself outside her comfort zone: “The whole public speaking thing was terrifying. I had to really work on that. I was not comfortable public speaking, but now I’m more comfortable with it.”
  • When I asked her how she thinks about the book promotion four months after publication, she said, “I think it is just getting going. I feel like it’s a snowball going down a hill, and it’s gaining momentum. It’s super exciting. I just got an invitation to speak in September, and right now it’s January. I’m so excited to see what’s around the bend.” She is excited about doubling down on ensuring this book reaches new readers.
  • We explore how this entire process represented a massive creative shift for her. She pivoted from being a full-time doctor to an author. “There is a lot of support and resources and knowledge to help you do that. I feel like I’ve been given a gift, to be able to make this pivot. I hope others are able to as well. There is just so much out there.”

About Beth:
Beth Ricanati, MD has built her career around bringing wellness into women’s everyday lives, especially busy moms juggling life and children. She has practiced internal medicine at the NY-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center and the Cleveland Clinic. In addition, her writings have appeared in peer-reviewed medical journals and many lifestyle blogs. Ricanati lives in the Los Angeles area with her family and one challah-loving dog.

You can find Beth in the following places:
https://housecallsforwellness.com
Her book: Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs
Instagram: @housecallsforwellness
Facebook

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Inside Children’s Book Publishing, My Interview with Emma Dryden

Today I share my interview with Emma Dryden, who in the course of her career has edited more than 1,000 books for children and young readers. She spent more than 25 years working in traditional publishing as an editor and publisher, working within Simon & Schuster and Random House. A decade ago, she founded her own company, drydenbks, where she is a children’s book editorial and publishing consultant. We dig into every aspect of her career, but the part that really touched me is how she describes the massive creative shift in her career. At that moment, she asked herself a simple question that changed everything: “What could that look like?” when dreaming of her next act.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking ‘play’ below, or in the following places:

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“It takes one person to write a book,” My Interview with Author Joseph Finder

In this conversation with New York Times Bestselling Author Joseph Finder, we dig into the value of a writer connecting with their audience, how he got his agent and made writing his full-time career, his experience having his books turned into major motion pictures, and what his creative process looks like today. I loved how he underscored the incredible power that writers have: “It takes one person to write a book. To make a movie it takes 500.” His new thriller, Judgement, hits stores later this month.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking ‘play’ below, or in the following places:

You can find Joseph at https://www.josephfinder.com.

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