Launching New Ventures In A Pandemic
Launching new ventures in a pandemic—or how I found a way to expand my world when everything else was contracting.
2020 has certainly been a year of changes. We all saw our worlds turn inward and shrink down to their merest essence as we have huddled in our homes and stayed away from friends and family for their—and our—protection. We have learned to work differently, to educate children differently, and to interact differently. Zoom has entered everyone’s lives as an essential link to our colleagues and compatriots.
Not all the changes that have come about in 2020 are limiting, however—at least for me. 2020 has been the year in which I launched my book coaching business. It is also the year in which I started my podcast, It’s Just Historical.
A pandemic is an odd time to launch new ventures, I’ll give you that. But both of my endeavors have been about more or less the same thing: connecting with writers virtually.
The book coaching has resulted in some wonderful, in-depth and personal connections with writers in many genres—from mystery to memoir and beyond. It’s been extremely gratifying to use my experience and insight, and my training as an Author Accelerator Advanced Certified Book Coach, to help other writers achieve their writing goals.
The podcast was more of a surprise to me. I discovered the joys of listening to podcasts myself when suddenly my days included long walks rather than rushing around and going to the library and sitting in cafes. I found I craved those conversations about books and writing (some of my favorites: Story Makers Show, Dan Blank’s The Creative Shift, Zibby Owens’s Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, Rachel Herron’s How Do You Write, Abby Mathews’s Moms Write). I loved listening to authors and writing professionals talk about their journeys and craft.
But something was missing for me. There were no podcasts that showcased my genre, historical fiction. I began to mull the idea of starting my own, but was a little hesitant because I thought it would be difficult and I’d have to invest in a lot of equipment.
It turned out, both of those perceptions were wrong. OK, so I’m a technophile, and I can learn just about any program and have done both video and audio editing before, so I wasn’t completely clueless about these things. It was more the recording: the right microphone, the quiet milieu.
But even there, I cut myself some slack. I did invest in a decent microphone, but the fact of the pandemic made it completely acceptable (even on podcasts that normally have really good production values) to interview and record over Zoom. And then, I did a workshop with the wonderful Jenny Blake (http://www.pivotmethod.com), where she took participants through creating a podcast episode from conception to publishing. Part of what made me decide to pull the trigger was the Descript software, which transcribes audio automatically, and you edit it in the transcription. It has other cool features, but suffice it to say, that clinched the deal.
I posted my first episode on July 3rd. Now my 21 episodes have had close to 1,000 downloads since then. It’s not mega numbers, but I know people appreciate my topics and style. I’m interested in digging into craft, not just asking about writers’ childhoods and paths to publication (although I do ask those questions). And I’ve interviewed authors I’ve known for years, new authors who have reached out to me, and a few bestselling authors as well.
Far beyond what listeners gain from my podcast is what I’ve gained. I’ve had meaningful conversations with talented authors. And it’s forced me to read more books—always a good thing!
Anyway, I encourage everyone to explore the wide variety of literary podcasts out there—BBC4, The New York Times Book Review, and many more. And, if you’re so inspired, listen to my podcast too! It’s listed most directories (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, etc.) or you can listen at the podcast Web site, https://itsjusthistorical.com.
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Susanne Dunlap is the author of nine historical novels for adults and teens. Her young adult novel The Musician’s Daughter was a Junior Library Guild selection and a Bank Street Children’s Book of the Year, and it was nominated for the Missouri Gateway Readers Prize and the Utah Book Award. Her latest adult novels, Listen to the Wind and The Spirit of Fire are the first volumes of a medieval trilogy for adults,
The Orphans of Tolosa. Listen to the Wind is a semi-finalist for the Chaucer Awards for Pre-1750 Historical Fiction and a Distinguished Favorite in the NYC Big Book Awards. Susanne also published The Mozart Conspiracy, the second in the YA historical mystery series that began with The Musician’s Daughter, in 2019. The third in the series, The Paris Affair, was published in September 2020. Susanne has a PhD in music history from Yale University.
Find out more about her on her website https://www.susanne.susanne-dunlap.com/
Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/susanne_dunlap
Follow her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SusanneDunlapAuthor/
THE PARIS AFFAIR, Susanne Dunlap
Apparently, false rumors about Marie Antoinette are all the fashion in 1783. Marie Antoinette is facing hostility from the populace, inflamed by rumors circulated in pamphlets throughout Paris. The rumors claim that she has dozens of lovers, drinks the blood of poor people, holds satanic masses at Versailles, and more, when nothing could be further from the truth.
On the advice of the handsome, enigmatic Captain von Bauer, Joseph II—emperor of Austria and Marie Antoinette’s brother—decides that mystery-solving violinist Theresa Schurman is the ideal candidate for a spy to discover the source of these vile slanders.Theresa is only too glad to get away from Vienna for a while, unwilling to commit herself yet to marrying Zoltan—a Hungarian baron she met when she was fifteen—and running out of reasons to postpone her decision.
She is eager, too, to explore a new musical scene and broaden her artistic education. But when the captain confounds her expectations and places her as a bookkeeper in the establishment of Rose Bertin, milliner to the queen, she begins to lose hope that she will ever achieve her musical aims—or the emperor’s goal of exposing the pamphleteers.
A chance encounter with the Chevalier de Saint-George, an extraordinary black violinist and expert swordsman, sets Theresa on the path to unraveling the mystery. But will the chevalier’s patron, the powerful duc de Chartres, confound her efforts and put her—and the captain’s—lives in danger?
Be prepared for music, mystery, love, and murder in this riveting tale of pre-revolutionary Paris.
This sparkling historical mystery conjures up the salons, fashion, and gossip of Marie Antoinette’s Paris, with a winning emphasis on the power of music and the roles that society allowed women.” – The BookLife Prize
BUY HERE
Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips
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