To make a living with your writing, you need to write quality books on a regular schedule. You need to learn to write faster, be more confident about your craft and get over writer's block.

In today's show, Bram Stoker award nominee, Michaelbrent Collings shares his tips.

In the intro, I mention that I am in Austin, Texas for the Smarter Artist Summit so this is recorded in advance and I will be reporting back next week.

I also talk about the free IndieAuthorFringe.com, plus a fantastic book: Anything You Want by Derek Sivers and what I've taken from the book this week. You can listen to Derek on Tim Ferriss' show here and here and also on James Altucher's show. All fantastic. I also mention this interview with Marie Force on the SelfPublishingFormula podcast, which got me thinking about the kind of life I want.

The corporate sponsorship for this show pays for hosting and transcription. This podcast episode is sponsored by 99 Designs, where you can get all kinds of designs for your author business including book covers, merchandising, branding and business cards, illustrations and artwork and much more. You can get a Powerpack upgrade which gives your project more chance of getting noticed by going to: 99Designs.com/joanna

Michaelbrent Collings is an award-winning and internationally bestselling horror novelist, a #1 bestseller in the U.S. and also a screenwriter and martial artist. Michaelbrent was on the show in 2015 and we had such fun and it was so popular, he's back to talk about some different things.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher or watch the video here, read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.

On being nominated for two Bram Stoker awards and what that means to Michaelbrent. [I love Michaelbrent's books and particularly enjoyed The Deep and This Darkness Light.]

The quality indie authors should be aiming for and the type of experience we want readers to have.

On whether there's a continuing bias against indie authors.

Writing faster, writing better and letting oneself write garbage.

How to know when to stop learning about writing and start writing.

And how a certain type of TV watching can help you as an author.

Trusting your curiosity

The misconception and misnomer about writer's block. [I mention this interview with David Morrell, author of First Blood and a ton of other books.]

The dangers of taking writing too seriously.

The benefits of writing prolifically rather than being an out-of-the-gate phenomenon, and how this strategy benefits writers financially.

On screenwriting and whether adapting an existing book or writing a screenplay from scratch is the best bet.

How pitching screenplays works in Hollywood.

You can find Michael at www.MichaelbrentCollings.com and on twitter @mbcollings.

Transcript of interview with Michaelbrent Collings
Joanna: Hi, everyone. I am Joanna Penn from TheCreativePenn.com, and today I'm here with Michaelbrent Collings. Hi, Michaelbrent.

Michaelbrent: Hello, how are you doing?

Joanna: It's great to have you back on the show. Just a little introduction. Michaelbrent is an award winning and internationally bestselling horror novelist, a number one bestseller in the US, and also a screen writer and martial artist. Michaelbrent was on the show last year and we talked about writing horror, about religion and faith, and also about depression, and incredibly we had a lot of fun. It was one of the most popular episodes last year. Michaelbrent is back and we're going to talk about some different things. Let's start with an update.
As a full time creative, what has changed for you in the last year? What creative projects have you been working on?
Michaelbrent: Creative projects?

Joanna: Yes.

Michaelbrent: I thought you were asking about my hairline which is always sort of a steadily receding thing. Creative projects,