Podcast
Nonsense-Free Kristin
Hosted by Kristin McTiernan · EN
Nonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own terms—without begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them
kristinmctiernan.substack.com
kristinmctiernan.substack.com
30episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Riley C. Bolt - Writing Combat That Reads True
1w ago00:35:09Tap to summarizeRiley C. Bolt is a 12-year Army intelligence veteran turned indie author who writes the kind of action thrillers Hollywood used to make before it forgot how. In this episode, he joins to discuss why the special operations community looks nothing like the Hollywood super-soldier myth, how to build a female protagonist men will actually read, and why "three times is enemy action" was all the market research he needed to go indie on day one.In This Episode* “I Don’t Exist. Please Don’t Look for Me.”: Riley’s running joke about his own bio isn’t just a bit. Twelve years inside the intel community — SCIFs, target packages, two tours to Iraq — left him with a body of work the public is never supposed to hear about. The book is what he can talk about.* The Comic Book That Saved Him a Decade: Eastern Blood Price started as a supernatural superhero comic set in New Orleans. Then he had a chance meeting with Chuck Dixon, who warned him off the comics industry entirely. * Hobbit in Third Grade, Dune by Seventh: Riley’s reading path runs through Tolkien, Narnia (which his school wouldn’t let him touch until fifth grade — he tried), and Herbert.* The Elevator Pitch — Extraction Meets The Sixth Sense: Just swap Chris Hemsworth for a much smaller Chinese-American woman. Read it and find the supernatural pieces yourself.* Built a Female Lead for Male Readers on Purpose: Anya is in the Sarah Connor / Ellen Ripley mold — not a girlboss, an ambush predator. Riley set it as a personal hurdle: write a dual-female-protagonist action story that men would actually care about. If he could land that, he’d earn the title “author.”* Senior Chief Shannon Kent — The Rarest Kind of Public Figure: A SIGINT operator who broke into a JSOC tier-one unit and was killed in Manbij, Syria. The intel community almost never produces a name the public knows. Kent did, and Anya is partly built from her.* Why Katya Reads as “Wishy-Washy” — And Why That’s Correct: Some reviewers don’t know what to make of her. Riley’s answer: she spends most of the book in shock. The entire story runs under 24 hours. Ninety-five percent of humans wouldn’t make it out of chapter two.* Pekiti Tirsia Kali Over BJJ — A Battlefield Philosophy: The Filipino military’s combat system isn’t built to look pretty. Riley breaks down why BJJ is fantastic one-on-one in a ring and disastrous the moment a second enemy walks into the room — and the famous practitioner who blew out his own kneecaps trying to take a street fight to the concrete.* Tier-One Operators Aren’t Hollywood Super Soldiers: Hollywood sells SEALs, Delta, and MARSOC as walking weapons. The reality is surprise, speed, and getting back behind cover. The only group built to “lay waste” is the Rangers — by design. Everyone else is an ambush predator, just like Anya.* Reacher’s Quiet Tell: Once someone points out that Jack Reacher goes passive the second a woman walks into the scene, you can’t un-see it.* “Three Times Is Enemy Action.”: Riley went indie before he ever queried. After researching how big publishers treat authors with his profile, he hit the Army’s old saying — once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action — and stopped counting well past three.* The Sequel Is Outlined: Book two is already on the table.Guest Links* Read Eastern Blood Price by Riley C. Bolt: https://amzn.to/4cOX0m9 * Website: rileycbolt.com* Substack: Riley C. Bolt * X: Riley C. Bolt Kristin’s Links* Editing Services: nonsensefreeeditor.com* Newsletter: https://www.fictionalinfluence.com* YouTube: https://youtube.com/@nonsensefreekristinTimestamps00:00 - Meet Riley Bolt.01:07 - From SCIFs to Stories.01:41 - Comics Roots and Chuck Dixon.03:52 - Early Fantasy and Sci Fi Reads.04:57 - Building Eastern Blood Price.06:12 - Why Anime Resonates.09:12 - Shannon Kent Inspiration.11:54 - Writing Strong Female Leads.13:32 - Realism Under Pressure.15:43 - Elevator Pitch and Action Focus.16:24 - Martial Arts Background.17:45 - BJJ vs Battlefield Reality.19:58 - Bootcamp Lessons and Humbling.23:46 - Bad Movie Fight Choreography.26:51 - Writing Efficient Combat.31:12 - Going Indie and Publishing.33:17 - Sequel Plans and Where to Find Him.34:10 - Where to Buy and Closing.About This PodcastNonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own terms—without begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them.New episodes weekly.Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kristinmctiernan.substack.com
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Michael Morton - What Small Press Editors Actually Want in Chapter One
2w ago00:44:50Tap to summarizeMichael Morton is a retired Air Force officer, civilian Space Force employee, military sci-fi and fantasy author, and editor at Canon Publishing. In this episode, he joins to discuss his unconventional path to publishing, the craft principles that actually move the needle, and how a small press operates from the inside — including Canon’s firm stance on AI, scheduling realities, and what separates a manuscript that gets a yes from one that gets a pass. If you write military sci-fi, are weighing indie vs. small press vs. traditional, or just want to understand how a working publishing house thinks about authors, this one’s worth your time.In This Episode* Why Michael Can’t Write Contemporary Fiction: 20 years in space ops means security review would line-edit a contemporary novel into oblivion. The workaround was a far-future fallen empire where the physics still hold but the classification stamps don’t reach.* Microgravity Marines Built Like Gymnasts: The Mist Marines in Silent Violence aren’t your standard tall, jacked Devil Dogs. They’re short, compact, and built for Newton’s laws.* The JF Holmes Moment: A casual Facebook post in 2017 about something he’d been dabbling with. The publisher’s first reply: “Are you published yet?” That’s the line that flipped him from fanfiction hobbyist to working author.* Bullet Points Are Secretly Fiction Training: Years of distilling general-officer briefings into five bullets read in five minutes turned out to be the same skill as writing tight fiction. Cut the words that don’t earn their spot.* The Structure That Actually Works: Forget the outliner-vs-pantser fight. Michael recommends My Story Can Beat Up Your Story by Jeffrey Alan Schechter — 13 structural elements that give your story a frame without locking you into rigid outlining.* The First $1,000 Is Theirs, the Rest Is Yours: A figure he’s heard repeated: your publisher’s marketing covers the first thousand dollars in sales. Everything after is word of mouth. Which is why Canon now writes “maintain a social media presence” into the contract.* Canon’s AI Line in the Sand: Grammarly is fine. AI marketing visuals are fine. ChatGPT plotting your book — or mining other authors for “successful plot points” — is a hard no. The line is whether the creative work is yours.* The AI Cover Loophole: A fully AI-generated cover can’t be copyrighted. Run that image through a human artist who reworks it into an original composition with different assets, and now you own it. The Fiverr artists who can do this fast are quietly winning.* Why Prologues Get Books Auto-Rejected: Some readers will refuse to buy any book with a prologue, because the prologue almost always exists for the wrong reason — backstory dumping that should have been woven in through dialogue and exposition.* What Kills a Submission in Three Chapters: If he doesn’t know who the protagonist and antagonist are by chapter three, it’s a no. If the first three pages are background instead of action, it’s a no. If basic Word grammar checks weren’t run, you started in the hole.* The Rising Tide Argument: Voracious readers go through books faster than any single author can produce. Other authors aren’t competition — they’re the relay team keeping the reader’s habit alive between your releases.* No Exclusive Contracts on Purpose: Canon actively refers authors to other small presses — Three Ravens, Chris Kennedy Publishing, Jump Master Press — for genres outside their lane. The bet is that authors who write across multiple houses come back better.* 200 Words a Day Equals One Book a Year: Don’t compare yourself to the author shipping four books a year. Hold yourself to your own pace. The math adds up faster than people realize, and BICHOK — butt in chair, hands on keyboard — is the only rule that actually matters.Guest Links* Read the Fallen Empire series by Michael Morton: https://amzn.to/4cOW9BX * Facebook: Michael Morton, @michael.mortonauthorKristin’s Links* Editing Services: nonsensefreeeditor.com* Newsletter: https://www.fictionalinfluence.com* YouTube: https://youtube.com/@nonsensefreekristinTimestamps00:00 - Meet Michael Morton.01:09 - From Fanfic to First Publish.03:41 - Space Ops to Space Marines.05:41 - Microgravity Combat Mindset.08:38 - Character Over Hardware.11:12 - Learning the Craft.13:19 - Structure That Works.16:03 - Readers and Market Gaps.18:22 - Inside Canon Publishing.20:19 - Small Press Model Explained.22:12 - Launch Marketing and Social Media.23:33 - Social Media Dialogue.24:03 - Author Training Tools.24:32 - No Exclusive Contracts.25:16 - What Editors Want.27:05 - Common Submission Pitfalls.28:24 - Prologues Debate.30:45 - Small Press Scheduling.33:47 - Indie vs Traditional.35:04 - AI Policy and Art.38:20 - Writing Routine Advice.41:09 - Projects Coming Next.43:06 - Where to Find Michael.44:11 - Book Recommendation Wrap.About This PodcastNonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own terms—without begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them.New episodes weekly.Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kristinmctiernan.substack.com
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J. Manfred Weichsel – The Smut Double Standard No One Will Talk About
3w ago00:42:44Tap to summarizeJ. Manfred Weichsel is an indie author, editor, and New York background actor writing the kind of books the “write to market” gurus would tell you not to write — Menippean satires set in pulp-fantasy worlds, with covers spicy enough to get him banned from Amazon’s direct catalog. In this episode, he joins to discuss why classical satire is the antidote to the AI slop tsunami, why “tropey writing” was already machine-generated long before the LLMs showed up, and how an author with NSFW pulp covers builds an audience without playing the trends game.In This Episode* Two Kinds of Satire (and Why One Is Disappearing): Manfred explains the split between Aristophanic satire (SNL, South Park, parodying real people) and the Menippean tradition he writes in — fantasy-world satire aimed at human institutions, using weird perspectives and structural experiments.* “How Do You Write Satire When Everything Is Satire?”: A Fordham nun asked him this decades ago and he still doesn’t have a clean answer. His current read: nothing is satire anymore, which is its own problem.* The AI Slop Argument Authors Don’t Want to Hear: Trope-chasing romance authors who let tools pick their plots have been outsourcing creativity to algorithms for years. The pitchforks only came out when AI got good enough to do the last 5%.* The Vertical Drama Economy: What he sees on Chinese romance sets — AI writes the script, actors get a “human touch” pass to fix mistakes.* Why Originality Is the Only Way to Survive: When the machine spits out every trope on demand, the authors left standing are the ones doing things it can’t copy.* Amazon’s NSFW Cover Roulette: Two of his Action Girls books got blocked from Amazon direct (still on Ingram Spark). He thinks re-uploading the cover too many times to fix a bleed line might have triggered it. A real look at how random Amazon’s enforcement is for spicy covers.* Kickstarter as the NSFW Lifeline: Kickstarter is one of the most NSFW-friendly platforms left, with a dedicated NSFW newsletter pulling in tens of thousands per campaign. * The Smut Double Standard: Male-targeted smut gets reviewed with “but what about other audiences?” framing. Female-targeted smut never gets that question. Manfred thinks regular readers don’t actually care — only the professional review sphere does.* The Bizarro Scene Is Over (But the Authors Aren’t): What killed bizarro around 2019.* Dropshipping as an Indie Fulfillment Hack: He uses Amazon author copies shipped straight from Amazon US (and Amazon UK for European orders), skipping the $8 middleman cost. That’s the reason his Kickstarter pricing works at all.* Why Cirsova Made His Career: He got into Cirsova at Volume 1, Issue 8 — early enough to ride the wave up. Short fiction in the right venue is one of the highest-leverage moves a new author can make. He also covers the flip side: magazines that fold and bury your stories with them.* The Social Media Dread: Manfred is on every platform and barely posts on any of them. What he sees on commuters’ phones in New York — short-form video, online shopping, chatbots, almost no text-based social — and why old Twitter was his peak before X tanked his reach.* The Guru Trap for New Writers: Two predators to watch for. The course-sellers are obvious. The attention-economy ideologues who want you to convert and promote their worldview disguised as writing advice are much harder to spot.Guest Links* Read Space Escapades by J. Manfred Weichsel: https://amzn.to/4rwGriA * Website: https://j-manfred-weichsel.mailchimpsites.com/* Substack: J. Manfred Weichsel Kristin’s Links* Editing Services: nonsensefreeeditor.com* Newsletter: https://www.fictionalinfluence.com* YouTube: https://youtube.com/@nonsensefreekristinTimestamps00:00 - Meet the Guest.00:37 - Pulp Meets Satire.00:57 - Classical Satire Roots.01:26 - Menippean Satire Explained.04:02 - Writing Outside Trends.05:44 - AI Slop and Originality.10:25 - Breaking Plot Formulas.11:34 - Kickstarter and Indie Sales.13:40 - Amazon NSFW Cover Roulette.15:44 - Illustrated Trilogy Kickstarter.17:02 - Kickstarter and NSFW Policies.18:08 - Smut Double Standards.20:59 - Transgressive Fiction Today.21:45 - Transgressive Genres Fade.22:40 - Bizarro Scene Fallout.24:03 - Finding Readers Today.24:17 - Social Media Dread.26:23 - Short Form Video Shift.29:06 - Kickstarter Versus Preorder.29:49 - Fulfillment And Dropshipping.32:09 - Short Fiction And Sir Sova.35:45 - Advice For New Writers.36:07 - Avoiding Internet Gurus.40:09 - Where To Follow And Support.42:25 - Final Thanks And Links.About This PodcastNonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own terms—without begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them.New episodes weekly.Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kristinmctiernan.substack.com
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Jonathan Shuerger - Target Readers Like an Intel Marine
4w ago00:47:14Tap to summarizeJonathan Shuerger spent five years as a Marine Corps Crypto Logic Linguist studying Arabic and tracking ISIS targets in real time. Now he writes intense military-grade dark fantasy, runs a YouTube news show for authors, and brings the full Intel toolkit to the problem of selling books. In this conversation, he explains why most authors are speaking to an echo of themselves, why Kickstarter is for celebrating a community rather than building one, and why Marines make better protagonists when they're happy psychos instead of gritty brooders.In This Episode* Enlisting at 26 and Landing the Dream Job: How Jonathan walked into a recruiter’s office ready to sign paperwork, got bumped into another kid’s slot, and ended up studying Arabic in Monterey for two years before going to “blow up ISIS for a while.”* The Mission Behind the Books: Why Marines develop “cynical nihilism” in the Intel field, how listening to bad guys laugh about what they were doing produced a helpless darkness in his team, and why Jonathan transitioned from hobby author to professional to show them that good still exists.* Writing Frosty for Deployed Marines: How a Christmas novella blowing up every sacred holiday story became his first published book — and his crash course in the self-publishing system.* Kickstarter Reality Check: Why Kickstarter doesn’t build communities (it celebrates them), how Jonathan sent 120 personalized Facebook messages to land 120 backers, and why your mother-in-law backs the first book but only keeps backing if it’s actually good.* The Four Audiences You Didn’t Know You Had: Marines, Marine moms, guys who wish they’d joined, and women who refuse to be told they can’t handle your book.* Selling in Person Using Intel Training: How Jonathan tracks eye lines at conventions, uses cover banners to read interest before a reader reaches the table, and opens with a yes-or-no question designed to let disinterested browsers walk away.* The Facebook Ads AI Problem: Why Meta’s new AI targeting is starving authors who spend $5 a day, and why “Advantage Audiences” is an expensive learning process you’re paying to train.* Author Update vs. Novel Marketing Podcast: How Jonathan and Thomas split duties — time-focused hard news and zeitgeist commentary on Author Update, evergreen best practices on Novel Marketing.* Using AI Without Sounding Like AI: Why AI is great for exploratory marketing copy and terrible for voice, how the cadence gives it away every time, and the Substack post where Jonathan got publicly called out by an enemy for not editing hard enough.* Authors Treat Success Like Paganism: Why most successful authors can’t tell you how they did it, why the TikTok gold rush is over, and why the conference speaker circuit is full of people coasting on Kindle-era dumb luck.* Behavioral Analysis for Readers: What Jonathan learned tracking religious zealots that applies to tracking book buyers — figure out what your target wants to feel about themselves, not what you want to say.* The Double-Tier Children’s Book Sell: Why the magic word in a children’s book pitch is “quiet,” and how to make the parent feel like a good person without judging them for needing a break.* Positioning Ideological Fiction Against an Enemy: Why clean wholesome Christian romance sells better when it’s framed against alien slut queen 9000, and why Americans will unify around almost any shared enemy.* Happy Psychos Sell Better: Why Generation Kill worked where Jarhead didn’t, why Avatar audiences ended up rooting for the Marines, and why the Fat Electrician gets the Marine Corps story right.* The Emails That Keep Him Writing: The Marine Corps moms who write in to say their sons found hope in his books, and why that’s what makes the brutal material worth writing.Guest Links* Read Semper Die by Jonathan Shuerger: https://amzn.to/46eBFi7 * Website: https://jonathanshuerger.com/* Substack: Jonathan Shuerger Kristin’s Links* Editing Services: nonsensefreeeditor.com* Newsletter: https://www.fictionalinfluence.com* YouTube: https://youtube.com/@nonsensefreekristinTimestamps00:00 - Meet Jonathan Shuerger.02:58 - Becoming a Linguist.03:51 - Leaving the Corps and writing With Purpose.07:38 - Frosty Exorcism Novella.08:47 - Kickstarter Reality Check.11:35 - Community Before Crowdfunding.15:10 - Adjacent Audience Targeting.16:36 - In Person Sales Tactics.19:34 - Ads AI and Long Game.24:16 - Why Author Update Exists.25:28 - Zeitgeist News Segment.26:38 - Indie Paths and Backgrounds.27:46 - Courses That Paid Off.28:33 - Using AI for Marketing Copy.32:03 - AI Panic and Formula Fiction.35:19 - Audience Psychology and Value.38:27 - Finding Your Value Proposition.40:55 - Ideology Marketing and Enemies.42:40 - Marines Stories and Pacing.45:13 - Where to Connect and Closing.About This PodcastNonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own terms—without begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them.New episodes weekly.Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kristinmctiernan.substack.com
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Alec Cizak - The Cancel Mob Wants Weakness. Don't Give It to Them
Apr 1500:46:57Tap to summarizeAlec Cizak has been running Pulp Modern since 2011 and champions a simple but apparently radical idea: writers should be judged on the quality of their work, full stop. That stance, along with a vocal commitment to free speech, made him a target around 2020, when a coordinated smear campaign accused his publication of platforming rapists and pedophiles. Rather than apologize or disappear, he called the bluff, kept publishing, and eventually pivoted Pulp Modern into a film franchise.In this conversation, we dig into why apologizing to a cancel mob is the worst thing you can do, how the “writing community” became one of the most censorious spaces in independent publishing, and what it actually looks like to protect your creative work when people are trying to bury you. We also get into the tribal psychology behind cancel culture, the slow strangulation of crime fiction by social-activist gatekeepers, and why Alec thinks the best indie work tends to come from people who’ve already been told to shut up.In This Episode* The Cancellation, Reconstructed: What actually happened when a small group of writers accused Pulp Modern of publishing rapists and pedophiles, why Alec responded with a $100 challenge instead of an apology, and what the silence of his longtime contributors hurt more than the attack itself.* Never Apologize: Why capitulating to a cancel mob is the single worst move you can make, what the pile-on is actually testing for, and the four-word response Alec recommends over any attempt at reasoned debate.* The Writing Community Problem: How a subset of crime fiction writers decided the genre needed to become a vehicle for social activism, why that gatekeeping broke indie crime fiction, and why Alec isn’t sure the damage has been undone.* No Limits Doesn’t Mean No Standards: What Alec is actually looking for when he says Pulp Modern has no limits — and why it has nothing to do with shock value, profanity, or gratuitous content.* Why Crime Fiction Needs to Be Ugly: What a conversation with an Indianapolis homicide detective confirmed about the gap between fictional criminality and the real thing, and why closing that gap matters more than making readers comfortable.* From Magazine to Film: How the pandemic and the cancellation together accelerated Pulp Modern’s pivot into anthology filmmaking, why procuring short films works the same way procuring stories does, and what the third film is going to do differently.* The Independent Fiction Alliance: Why Alec built a support network for canceled and targeted writers, what its meetings actually feel like, and why one member’s observation — if you haven’t been canceled, you probably aren’t doing anything interesting — is the right attitude to have.* Free Speech Has to Mean All of It: Why Alec thinks the war on free speech was engineered to protect corporations from criticism, what happens when hate speech and free speech get deliberately conflated, and why the people who were cancel-happy in 2020 didn’t learn anything when it happened to them.* AI in the Classroom: Why Alec, as a college literature and composition professor, has stopped trying to catch AI-generated essays and started teaching students how to construct a focused argument instead — and why he thinks the writing professor job has an expiration date.Guest Links* Get Pulp Modern issues as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription: https://amzn.to/4qprkqH* Website: https://independentfictionalliance.com/* X: @AlecCizakKristin’s Links* Editing Services: nonsensefreeeditor.com* Newsletter: https://www.fictionalinfluence.com* YouTube: https://youtube.com/@nonsensefreekristinTimestamps00:00 - Pulp Rebels Intro. 02:05 - Meet Alec Cizak. 02:59 - The 2020 Cancellation.06:37 - Fear And Free Speech.12:05 - Crime Fiction Gatekeeping.16:06 - Why Write The Ugly.20:11 - Tribalism And Community.23:02 - Staying The Course.24:39 - No Limits Publishing.26:31 - Why Horror Now.27:03 - Pivoting Into Film.27:43 - Building Pulp Modern Anthologies.29:06 - Launching the IFA.30:32 - What makes Indie Spirit.32:23 - What the IFA Does.33:23 - Handling Cancellation Attacks.35:54 - Bullies and Boundaries Online.39:10 - AI as the New Battleground.41:01 - Teaching Writing in the AI Era.44:01 - What’s Next Creatively.44:55 - Where to Find and Support.46:37 - Closing Thoughts.About This PodcastNonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own terms—without begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them.New episodes weekly.Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kristinmctiernan.substack.com
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Kaylena Radcliff - Christian Fiction Doesn't Have to be Satanic
Apr 800:36:37Tap to summarizeKaylena Radcliff is a speculative fiction author, managing editor of Christian History Magazine, homeschool mom, and wife of a church planter. She is also quietly doing what the Christian fiction market keeps insisting can’t be done: writing dark, honest, theologically grounded stories that don’t end in despair and don’t require a sanitized world to feel safe.In this episode we get into why the Christian bookstore market has narrowed itself into a corner, what spec fic offers that Amish romance structurally cannot, and why the supernatural elements of the faith are actually best explored through fantasy and horror rather than avoided. We also cover what 12 years of editing academic history for a general audience teaches you about making hard things approachable, why women writing male characters keep defaulting to two broken archetypes, and what Kaylena learned about finding readers by showing up at craft fairs instead of book festivals.In This Episode* The Christian Market vs. Christian Writers: Why the gatekeeping isn’t coming from outside the faith — it’s coming from inside the bookstore — and how the spec fic community is building an audience anyway.* Realm Makers and the Third Option: The community of Christian writers that aren’t shelved in the Christian aisle, but are still explicitly rooted in a theological worldview, and why that distinction matters for marketing.* Positive Masculinity in Fiction: Why Kaylena builds worlds where men are expected to be virtuous, what she thinks is driving young men toward toxic archetypes, and what fiction can offer that YouTube rants can’t.* How Women Get Male Characters Wrong: The Homer Simpson idiot husband, the impossible romanticized ideal, and why both archetypes are doing the same damage from opposite directions.* Naming the Dragon: Why writing about supernatural evil is a specifically Christian act, what Chesterton understood about dragons, and why fiction that can’t be conquered is not just unsatisfying — it’s dishonest.* History as a Spec Fic Engine: How a decade editing academic Christian history for lay readers quietly loaded Kaylena’s fiction with monastic life, warrior monks, and recurring theological themes she didn’t have to invent.* The Craft Fair Discovery: Why Kaylena outperforms at community craft festivals compared to book festivals, and what that tells you about competition, traffic, and finding readers who weren’t already looking for you.* Substack Over X: Why notes and genuine interaction on Substack are working when the Twitter/X algorithm has become actively hostile to organic discovery.* Write Because You Love It: Why indie authors who are racing generative AI output to become millionaires in two years are playing the wrong game, and what the actual long game looks like.Guest Links* Read the Elmnas Chronicles by Kaylena Radcliff: https://a.co/d/06ybrcfG* Website: https://www.kaylenaradcliff.com/* Substack: Kaylena Radcliff Kristin’s Links* Editing Services: nonsensefreeeditor.com* Newsletter: https://www.fictionalinfluence.com* YouTube: https://youtube.com/@nonsensefreekristinTimestamps00:00 - Meet Kaylena Radcliff.00:30 - Inside Christian History Magazine.02:31 - Editing for Clarity.04:06 - From Lit Degree to Editor.05:38 - Day Job vs Fiction.07:41 - Genre Fluid Spec Fiction.09:18 - Realm Makers and Branding.11:25 - Writing Virtuous Men.13:40 - Christian Market Pushback.17:06 - Getting Male Characters Right.18:41 - Why Fiction Matters.20:38 - Why Write the Supernatural.21:33 - Naming Evil to Defeat It.22:23 - When Horror Feels Hopeless.23:25 - Discernment and Speculative Worlds.24:58 - Angels Demons and Theology.25:57 - Indie Publishing Reality Check.29:05 - Finding Readers and Platforms.30:58 - Substack Voice and Notes.32:07 - Selling Books In Person Again.34:27 - Rapid Fire Advice and Wrap Up.About This PodcastNonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own terms—without begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them.New episodes weekly.Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kristinmctiernan.substack.com
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David Badurina - How to Maximize Your Output with AI (Without Letting It Write for You)
Apr 100:48:44Tap to summarizeDavid Badurina is an author, music producer, showrunner, and what he calls a multimodal storyteller — someone building an entire creative universe across fiction, concept albums, visual media, and now anime, without asking anyone’s permission to do it. He ran a brick and mortar martial arts school for 12 years before going fully independent, and that experience shapes everything about how he thinks regarding marketing, product quality, and what it actually costs to build an audience.In this episode we get into his framework for using AI as a creative amplifier without letting it touch the writing, why comedy with heart works when pure gag writing doesn’t, what 12 years of physical overhead teaches you about find an audience and why pity marketing is not a business strategy. We also cover why showing up at conventions changed his career trajectory more than any online platform, how he landed four anthology deals simply by being a recognizable presence in the right rooms, and why the introvert excuse is the most expensive story authors tell themselves.In This Episode* AI as a Creative Amplifier: How David uses large language models to manage a brain running at a hundred miles an hour without letting them anywhere near his characters, dialogue, or narrative arc.* The Two Golden Rules: Never let AI write for you. Never let it edit for you. Where the line is and why it matters.* Comedy With Heart: Why humor works as a storytelling device rather than a genre, what incongruity actually means in practice, and why the Passion of the Christ Netflix and Chill scene lands.* Brick and Mortar vs. Author Marketing: What 12 years of physical overhead, postcard campaigns, and newspaper ads that flopped teaches you about testing, iteration, and knowing your numbers before authors figure out what a funnel is.* Stop Being On 40 Socials: Why spreading yourself across every platform is actively shrinking your reach, and the two platform rule that actually works.* Pity Marketing: Why knocking your book to 99 cents and posting about it on X is not a strategy, and what sustainable audience building actually looks like.* The Introvert Excuse: Why introversion means you recharge alone, not that you’re exempt from showing up, and what David got by showing up anyway.* The Convention Opportunity: How being a recognizable presence in the right rooms directly generated four anthology deals and an anime showrunner credit.* Who Are You: Why authors who can’t answer that question in one sentence are invisible no matter how good their book is.* The True Scotsman Fallacy: Why the writing community’s favorite game of “you’re not a real author unless—” is the single most self-defeating thing creators do to each other.Guest Links* Read It Came from the Trailer Park by David Badurina: https://amzn.to/4qmacBY* Youtube: @QuillfireSound* Website: https://davidbadurina.com/* Substack: @QuillitwithFire* X: @DavidBadurinaKristin’s Links* Editing Services: nonsensefreeeditor.com* Newsletter: https://www.fictionalinfluence.com* YouTube: https://youtube.com/@nonsensefreekristinTimestamps00:00 - Meet David Badurina.01:12 - Multimodal Storytelling.02:09 - AI Tools Not Crutches.06:27 - Creative Boundaries.09:34 - Prompt Fail Stories.11:56 - Anti Gatekeeping Mindset.14:13 - Comedy With Heart.18:37 - Writing Humor Tips.22:16 - Brick And Mortar Marketing.24:50 - Product Market Fit.26:00 - Thick Skin Online.27:14 - Stop Doing Every Social.29:33 - Cohesive Branding DIY.32:03 - Using LLMs Smartly.33:54 - Doing It Yourself.35:40 - Fear Of Speaking Up.37:41 - Multiple Income Streams.39:44 - Networking Beats Introversion.44:22 - IRL Connections Pay Off.46:35 - No More Pity Marketing.47:16 - Where To Find David.47:50 - Projects And Wrap Up.About This PodcastNonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own terms—without begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them.New episodes weekly.Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kristinmctiernan.substack.com
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Nobody Is Coming to Save Conservative Art (And What to Do About It)
Mar 2500:43:16Tap to summarizeEvery year conservatives complain that Hollywood hates them, point to a handful of companies as proof that right wing art is thriving, then wait for a billionaire to fund the revolution. Every year nothing changes. This episode is the reality check that conversation never gets.We go through what the Daily Wire, Angel Studios, and Taylor Sheridan are actually doing — and why none of them are discovering new talent, funding independent creators, or building anything resembling a conservative artistic infrastructure. We also cover the Oliver Anthony moment, what it revealed about how conservatives actually relate to art they claim to love, and why the Heritage Foundation spent decades actively fighting arts funding before noticing the culture had been captured by the other side.The good news is that the three models that actually work have nothing to do with patronage, billionaires, or permission. Matt Dinniman built Dungeon Crawler Carl at cat shows during his lunch breaks. Seth Ring crossed seven figures without a traditional publishing deal. The Philippou brothers started on YouTube and ended up at A24. The tools are available. The question is whether you are going to use them or keep waiting for someone who is never going to show up.In This Episode* The Clifton Duncan Article: Why an actor’s excoriation of conservative culture warriors cut through the noise, and why the predictable response to it proved his point entirely.* The Daily Wire Film Breakdown: A project by project look at what the Daily Wire has actually produced, who made it, and why there is not a single example of them developing new independent talent.* Angel Studios, Same Pattern: Why every success story in the conservative film space traces back to Hollywood castoffs, nepo babies, and finished films they acquired rather than built.* Taylor Sheridan, Accidental Icon: Why the man carrying Paramount Plus on his shoulders never set out to make conservative art, and what that tells you about what actually works.* The Oliver Anthony Moment: What happened when conservatives found their mascot, what happened when he rejected the label, and what the fallout revealed about whether they actually care about the art.* Conservative Publishing, Where Is It: Why right wing imprints exist almost entirely in nonfiction, who they serve, and why epic fantasy with wholesome values is nowhere on their radar.* The Y Combinator Problem: Why the tech incubator model cannot be transplanted into the arts, and why buying 7% of a novelist is not a viable investment strategy.* The Three Models That Work: The Sheridan model, the Dinniman/Ring model, and the Philippou model — all three have one thing in common.* Nobody Is Coming: Why right wing billionaires have never funded independent artists, why they never will, and why waiting for them is the single most self-defeating thing a creator can do.* What You Can Do Today: The tools available right now, the creators who used them to build something real, and the only question that actually matters.Kristin’s Links* Editing Services: nonsensefreeeditor.com* Newsletter: https://www.fictionalinfluence.com* YouTube: https://youtube.com/@nonsensefreekristinTimestamps00:00 - Super Bowl Culture Wars.01:04 - Clifton Duncan Callout.02:37 - Patronage Reality Check.03:34 - Meet the Host Mission.04:37 - Why Creatives Get Blackballed.05:35 - Defeatism in the Comments.07:20 - Stop Waiting for Billionaires.09:30 - Conservative Media Examples.10:38 - Daily Wire Breakdown.13:19 - No New Talent Pipeline.16:45 - Angel Studios Pattern.18:40 - Taylor Sheridan Exception.20:10 - Conservative Publishing Gap.21:57 - Culture Wars Old News.22:49 - Why Conservatives Ignore Art.24:12 - Oliver Anthony Mascot Fight.28:38 - Indie Authors Build Empires.32:11 - YouTubers Turn Filmmakers.34:27 - Why Art Incubators Fail.35:58 - Three Models To Win.40:01 - Stop Complaining Start Building.42:07 - Art Matters Final Push.About This PodcastNonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own terms—without begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them.New episodes weekly.Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kristinmctiernan.substack.com
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Seth Ring - How to Turn Web Serials Into a Seven Figure Indie Business
Mar 1800:46:43Tap to summarizeSeth Ring has written 46 books, built a seven figure indie author business without an agent or a traditional publishing deal, and cracked the code on how to move readers from free content to a loyal paying ecosystem. In this episode he breaks down exactly how he did it, and what most indie authors get wrong before they ever get started.We dig into what LitRPG actually is and why it has captured a voracious male readership that traditional publishing abandoned, the funnel Seth built from Royal Road to Patreon to Amazon that generated his first $50K, and why the actions that get you to each income threshold have to completely change to get you to the next one. Seth walks through each inflection point from $50K to $100K to $250K to seven figures, what he changed at each stage, and why community and relationships became the lever that moved him past the ceiling he kept hitting alone.We also get into hybrid publishing, why Seth sublicenses his audio and physical rights while keeping his ebook rights, how to negotiate with traditional publishers when you already know your own numbers, and why the single most repeated mistake he sees from talented authors is having too much attachment to book one.In This Episode* What LitRPG Actually Is: Why LitRPG isn’t a genre but a stylistic choice, how it differs from progression fantasy, and why the game element changes everything about how stories deliver information.* Why Men Only Read LitRPG Now: The real reason male readers are abandoning every other genre for this one, and what it says about what modern men are actually hungry for in fiction.* The Funnel Nobody Talks About: How Seth moved readers from free web serials to Patreon to Amazon and built a loyal paying ecosystem before most authors know what a funnel is.* The $50K Inflection Point: What gets you there, why it’s achievable part-time, and why the exact same strategy will cap you out and stop working.* Books Sell Books: The single phrase that changed Seth’s business, and why most authors are too attached to book one to let it work for them.* The $250K Ceiling: Why marketing levers and Facebook groups stop working at a certain point and why the only thing that moved Seth past it was walking into rooms with people who made more than him.* Why Traditional Publishers Can’t Touch LitRPG: How the indie community built something trad publishing wanted a piece of and why the LitRPG crowd said no thanks.* The Hybrid Model Explained: How Seth sublicenses audio and physical rights while keeping ebook rights, why that math works, and how knowing your own numbers changes every negotiation.* Seven Figures and What Comes Next: Why distribution is the singular problem indies can’t solve alone, and how hybrid publishing fills that gap without surrendering creative control.* The Most Common Mistake Seth Sees: Why talented authors stall out — and it has nothing to do with their writing.Guest Links* Read Iron Tyrant by Seth Ring: https://amzn.to/4qrJmsq* Website: https://sethring.com/* Youtube: @SethRingWritesKristin’s Links* Editing Services: nonsensefreeeditor.com* Newsletter: https://www.fictionalinfluence.com* YouTube: https://youtube.com/@nonsensefreekristinTimestamps00:00 - Welcome and Guest Intro.01:49 - Seth Ring Origin Story.03:52 - Web Serials to Indie Publishing.05:27 - Building the Reader Funnel.08:09 - What LitRPG Really Is.12:51 - Why LitRPG Hooks Readers.15:33 - Best LitRPG Entry Reads.19:05 - Trad Publishing Meets LitRPG.21:33 - Indie Community and Success Metrics.23:20 - Hybrid Without An Agent.25:15 - Sublicensing Audio Rights.26:36 - Ebooks Versus Print Strategy.27:27 - Scaling Reach With Publishers.29:48 - Income Inflection Points.32:57 - From Ads To Networking.37:08 - Hybrid In A Shifting Market.39:50 - Biggest Author Business Mistake.44:34 - New Series Iron Tyrant.45:50 - Where To Find Seth Ring.46:29 - Final Thanks And Wrap.About This PodcastNonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own terms—without begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them.New episodes weekly.Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kristinmctiernan.substack.com
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Echo Chamberlain - Literary Fiction Lost the Plot (And the Readers)
Mar 1100:49:05Tap to summarizeTraditional publishing isn’t just an American problem anymore. Gatekeepers have gone global, and authors in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand are starting to feel it too.In this episode, I sit down with Nicholas Sheppard, AKA Echo Chamberlain, a traditionally published literary fiction author from New Zealand navigating the painful transition to indie publishing. Nicholas has 80,000 YouTube subscribers, has appeared on The Critical Drinker, and writes the kind of unflinching literary fiction that agents claim to want—but then quietly pass on. We also talk about grief, zeitgeist, male trauma in fiction, and what it actually takes to build an audience that crosses over into book sales.In This Episode* The Liminal Space No One Talks About: What it feels like to be a traditionally published author forced into indie publishing. Not by choice, but by a shifting market.* When Rejection Is Personal: How detailed, thoughtful rejections can actually hurt more than form letters, and what they reveal about the current state of literary agencies.* The “Not My Cup of Tea” Wall: Why male-centered literary fiction keeps hitting the same invisible ceiling, and why it has nothing to do with quality.* Where Is the Zeitgeist?: Why men aren’t reading literary fiction anymore, and why the publishing industry is psychologically incapable of admitting it’s the problem.* Literary Fiction vs. The Algorithm: The unique grief of a “prestige” writer discovering that Amazon doesn’t care about your Booker Prize aspirations.* Audience Mismatch: What happens when you have 80,000 YouTube subscribers and your book video barely moves the needle.* The Review Threshold: Why you should never drive traffic to a new book before you have at least five written reviews, and how to get them without begging.* The Hugh Howey Model: How one indie author kept his ebook rights, signed a print-only deal, and changed the hybrid publishing conversation forever.* Amazon’s 180-Day Assessment Window: Why a slow start doesn’t have to be a death sentence, and how to use that window strategically.* Cream Still Rises: Why good writing still matters in an algorithmic world, and why word of mouth hasn’t actually died.* Variations on a Theme: Nicholas’s Amazon-exclusive novel exploring how cultural attitudes toward abuse shift over a lifetime.Guest Links* Read Variations on a Theme by Nicholas Sheppard: https://amzn.to/4sBE9QO * Youtube: Echo Chamberlain * X: @EchoChamYT* Substack: @echochambaerlainwriterKristin’s Links* Editing Services: nonsensefreeeditor.com* Newsletter: https://www.fictionalinfluence.com* YouTube: https://youtube.com/@nonsensefreekristinTimestamps00:00 - Meet Echo Chamberlain.05:20 - Submission Rejections Explained.07:27 - Grief and Going Indie.09:27 - Ideology and Agent Tastes.12:22 - Male Trauma in Fiction.14:51 - Where Are Young Male Authors.17:24 - Zeitgeist and Men Reading.20:33 - Platform First Marketing.22:11 - Audience Conversion Struggles.24:01 - Open Bar and YouTube Growth.26:30 - Why Media Commentary Not Writing.28:10 - YouTube Pile On Culture.28:45 - Fragmenting Your Audience.29:44 - Star Trek Aesthetics Rant.31:27 - When To Plug Your Book.32:50 - Ads Inside Novels.34:23 - Indie Marketing Reality Check.34:57 - Reviews And Social Proof.36:39 - Getting Early Reviews.37:58 - Amazon Algorithm Fears.40:35 - Hybrid Deals With Publishers.43:19 - What Comes Next Writing.45:44 - Where To Find You.46:22 -Book Pitch And Wrap Up.About This PodcastNonsense-Free Kristin is where independent authors and creators learn to build their platforms, master their craft, and create on their own terms—without begging for permission from gatekeepers who hate them.New episodes weekly.Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kristinmctiernan.substack.com
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