The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers

The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers


How To Dictate Your Book With Monica Leonelle

November 02, 2015

One of my big goals for 2016 will be to move to dictation for first draft fiction and non-fiction. In this podcast, Monica Leonelle explains why dictation is so brilliant for writers and some technical tips on making it work for you.

In the introduction, I mention the books I'm working on writing at the moment, plus Deviance is out in audiobook format and Profanación is out in Spanish. I have review copies of either if you listen to audio, read Spanish - or both!

I'm also helping to fund the Story Shop app being developed by Sean, Johnny and Dave from the Self-Publishing Podcast. Click here to check out their Kickstarter.

This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors.

Monica Leonelle is the author of New Adult and fantasy fiction as well as the Growth Hacking for Storytellers series of non-fiction books. These include Write Better, Faster and also Dictate your Book, which we're talking about today.

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

* On why there has been a resurgence in interest in dictation this year.

* The technology and gear one needs to dictate.

* Monica's tips for those who are less than patient setting up dictation.

* Tips for shifting from writing by typing to writing using dictation.

* What beats are and why they might matter more when dictating fiction as opposed to typing it.

* How walking with a recorder and having the file transcribed fits into this idea.

* The length of time it took Monica to train the Dragon and the strategies she used to do that.

* The changes dictation has made to Monica's writing speed and the choices she makes about when to use dictation.

* On what dictation software cannot learn.

* Other ways to speed up writing, including beats, the Pomodoro method, WriteOrDie and setting deadlines.

* The importance of mentors and what Monica sees in the future of publishing.

You can find Monica at ProseOnFire.com and on twitter @monicaleonelle

Transcription of interview with Monica Leonelle
Joanna: Hi, everyone. I'm Joanna Penn from TheCreativePenn.com and today I'm here with Monica Leonelle. Hi, Monica.

Monica: Hi. How's it going?

Joanna: Oh, it's good. It's great to have you on the show. So just a little introduction. Monica is the author of new adult and fantasy fiction, as well as the "Growth Hacking for Storytellers" series of non-fiction books. And these include "Write Better, Faster" and also "Dictate Your Book," which is what we're talking about today.
Monica,