The Authorpreneur Blog
Amelia D. Hay is a virtual writing and business coach for fiction writers and the host of The Authorpeneur Podcast. Every week, on this blog, she will teach you how to develop a story idea, create compelling characters and outline your novel. Learn how to write your first draft, revise your story, self-publish, establish your author platform, and reach readers. In her, Behind the Scenes Podcast Diary (BTS) she shares an honest account of her journey to self-publishing her novels.

TAP037, How I Edit the Outline of a Novel Before Writing the First Draft
So you’ve created an outline for your novel, and now you’re ready to start writing. Diving into the first draft seems like the first logical step. First, however, I recommend you slow down and edit the outline of your novel. I learned this lesson the hard way after publishing my first-in-series novella.

TAP036, From Idea to Outline: How to Outline a Novel (Part 3 of 3)
In this episode, I discuss how I go from a story idea to a fleshed-out outline. I know this is obvious, but this is my process instead of ‘the way to outline a novel.’ As you can see from the title, this is the third and final instalment in a three-part mini-series on outlining a novel.

TAP035, From Idea to Outline: How to Outline a Novel, Part 2 of 3
Welcome to the second instalment of my three-part mini-series on how I outline a novel. For those of you who are unaware, I discuss how I go from fleshing out a story idea to a basic outline in the first episode. In this show, I share the steps in my outlining process that help me create a structurally sound story with scenes that actively move the story forward. If you haven’t listened to episode TAP034, I highly recommend you pause here and go back and listen to that. The steps in this show take my outlining process and push it to the limits of being a zero draft.

TAP034, From Idea to Outline: How to Outline a Novel (Part 1 of 3)
In this episode, I will discuss how I go from a story idea to a fleshed-out outline. I know this is obvious, but this is my process instead of ‘the way to outline a novel.’ This process has evolved since my very first novel. As I wrote the next story, more steps were added to my intricate outlining approach.

The Most Popular Writing and Self-Publishing Podcast Episodes of Season Two of The Authorpreneur Podcast
In celebration of the start of season three and the release of my eighty-second episode, I’m taking a look back at the most popular podcast episodes from season two with help from the Blubrry Statistics dashboard, just like I did when season one came to an end. The episodes in this roundup style post are included purely based on the number of downloads, and complete or partial listens throughout season two which spanned from the 23rd of November 2019 to the 25th of September 2021

TAP033, The Case for Outlining, Outlining Pitfalls, and Overcoming Writing Obstacles
In this episode, I share the things you need to consider before you decide to outline a novel, an important question that you need to ask yourself, a piece of advice that you need to keep in mind, outlining pitfalls, and my recommendations for new writers. On top of this, I talk about the downsides of creating an outline in order to give you a balanced and somewhat unbiased answer to this age-old question.

BTS047, Issues with Apple Books, Cover Redesigns, and The Results of Using Advanced Reader Services like BookSirens and BookSprout | December 2021 Author Diary
In this episode, I discuss a series of frustrating issues with Apple Books. While I was struggling with Apple Books I decided to redesign the cover of the ebook, and I went on to design the paperback based upon this new design. Also, I started paying attention to the results of using advanced reader services like BookSirens and BookSprout.

BTS046, Preparing for My Book Release, Snarky Reviews and Why I No Longer Recommend Etsy to Creative Businesses | November 2021 Author Diary
In this episode, I discuss my newfound distrust of Etsy and no longer recommend them to creative businesses. Also in November, I finish preparing for my book release, and I get some snarky reviews.

BTS045, Working with a Professional Editor and Preparing to Self Publish | October 2021 Author Diary
Coming up in this episode, I discuss the highs and lows of working with a professional editor and preparing to self publish my second novella.

TAP032, How to Write and Outline a Novel with Michaelbrent Collings
In this bonus episode, I chat with Michaelbrent Collings on how he writes his fiction novels, or more specifically how to outline a novel.