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Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

By: Mark Leslie Lefebvre
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 Perspectives and reflections on the writing and publishing life. Mark Leslie Lefebvre, a writer, bookseller, digital publishing advocate, professional speaker, and publishing consultant explores inclusive and collaborative opportunities for writers and book publishing professionals via interviews, discussions, and reflections about the industry. (Mark's personal website is www.markleslie.ca)Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License Art Literary History & Criticism
Episodes
  • EP 472 - Going All In On Substack with Orna Ross

    EP 472 - Going All In On Substack with Orna Ross
    Apr 30 2026
    Mark interviews Orna Ross, an award-winning novelist, poet, creative catalyst, and founder of the Alliance of Independent Authors about her recent move towards focusing all her social media energy on Substack. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episode, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by Author Nation, being held in Las Vegas Nov 13 through 14, 2026 Learn more about Author Nation and register at AuthorNation.live. In the interview, Mark and Orna talk about: That one time in London at a Kobo device launch event when Mark and Orna were hanging out togetherOrna's background as a writer, a poet, and a freelance journalistHer experience in both self-publishing and traditional publishingThe origin of wanting to create something to help support authors who were self-publishing, and the 2012 launch of ALLI (Alliance of Independent Authors) at London Book FairThe connection one of Orna's multi-book writing projects has to do with Irish poet W.B. YeatsOrna's experience with deciding to go "all in" with SubstackOne of the best things about Substack, which is how "everything" can be there (blog, socials, "patrons," serialization of a novel, poetry, self-development for creativists)How on Substack you can segment what goes out to different peopleOrna's recommendation for authors considering not doing it the way she did it, but instead picking a single lane and staying in itThe main mistake Orna sees a lot of authors making on SubstackHow Substack is completely different than everyplace else on social mediaThe difference between notes and posts on SubstackThe visibility of analytics of what's working, who is interacting with what, etcAdvice Orna would give to writers related to "meaning and purpose" as well as understanding our valueAnd more... After the interview Mark reflects on the idea of simplicity in execution, creating things that are "unmistakeable human" and how Orna describes herself as a "Creative Catalyst." Links of Interest: Orna Ross's WebsiteOrna Ross on SubstackManuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%)Buy Mark a CoffeePatreon for Stark ReflectionsMark's YouTube channelElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and LibrariesThe Relaxed Author Buy eBook DirectBuy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for AuthorsAn Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & BookstoresWide for the WinMark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story)A Canadian Werewolf in New YorkStowe Away (Novella)Fear and Longing in Los AngelesFright Nights, Big CityLover's MoonHex and the CityOnly Monsters in the BuildingOnce Bitten (Novella) The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and AutomobilesYippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die HardMerry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas VacationI Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises Orna Ross is an award-winning novelist, poet, creative catalyst, and founder of the Alliance of Independent Authors The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • EP 471 - Fear in Storytelling with Becca Puglisi

    EP 471 - Fear in Storytelling with Becca Puglisi
    Apr 24 2026
    Mark interviews Becca Puglisi about the new book THE FEAR THESAURUS which she co-authored with Angelea Ackerman. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by the Show, Don't Tell Writing Podcast with Suzy Vadori. In this weekly show, Suzy brings you writing techniques, best practices, motivation, inspirational stories from real live authors out there making it in the world, and actionable advice that can help you turn that book you're writing into the bestseller you know deep down that it can be. In their interview, Mark and Becca talk about: The Descriptive Thesaurus series and how The Fear Thesaurus is book 11 in this seriesHow Becca and Angela are trying something new this year with their latest release - selling it direct before making it available on all the various retail channelsThe fear that came in the process of putting this book togetherHow there's not a lot out there about character fearsThe human needs that become impacted because of past trauma, and what a person fears and tries to avoidThe way so many of these experiences connect directly to a character's fear and ultimately their character development in your writingLooking at healthy/normal responses versus trauma inspired or unhealth/abnormal responsesHow fears can cross over from something normal and unremarkable to another thing that becomes an overblown reactionThe way this book is a great accompanying text to the Emotional Would ThesaurusLooking at how fear plays into storyA bit of a background behind the series and the first book: The Emotion ThesaurusThe common element of "show, don't tell" that runs through all of their booksThe authors' hope is that the entries in the book gives them ideas that they can take, modify and apply to the specifics of their charactersHow their previous book The Emotion Amplifier ties in beautifully to this bookA character's greatest fear versus an everyday fearThe way that fear is a great way to mobilize the reader's connection to the storyThe breakdown of fears and the way the book is laid outSelling this book directly on their Shopify store on April 15, 2026 before launching it to all the other retailers a month laterThe Fear Hub available at their website when they order the book off their direct storeThe overall website of Writers Helping Writers and the great 20+ years of resources that reside there, including free resources and downloads and handoutsCombining one's gifts with the things one is passionate aboutThe origin story of how Becca and Angela first met and decided to collaborate on The Emotion ThesaurusAdvice Becca would share with beginning writers based on her more than twenty years as a writer and almost twenty years of helping other writers After the interview Mark reflects on several different things related to his conversation with Becca. Links of Interest: Writers Helping WritersThe Fear ThesaurusManuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%)Buy Mark a CoffeePatreon for Stark ReflectionsMark's YouTube channelElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and LibrariesThe Relaxed Author Buy eBook DirectBuy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for AuthorsAn Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & BookstoresWide for the WinMark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story)A Canadian Werewolf in New YorkStowe Away (Novella)Fear and Longing in Los AngelesFright Nights, Big CityLover's MoonHex and the CityOnly Monsters in the BuildingOnce Bitten (Novella) The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and AutomobilesYippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die HardMerry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas VacationI Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and best-selling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and other resources for writers. Her books have sold over 1.4 million copies and are available in multiple languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online resource for authors that's home to the Character Builder and Storyteller's Roadmap tools. The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • EP 470 - Building Your Author Brand with Isabelle Knight

    EP 470 - Building Your Author Brand with Isabelle Knight
    Apr 16 2026
    Mark interviews former publicist to the stars Isabelle Knight who is the founder of Build Your Author Brand, an online consultancy helping fiction and non-fiction authors to grow your readership, raise your profile and give your books the best chance of success. Prior to the interview Mark shares that he is on the road at the Writers and Illustrators of the Future annual workshops and gala as one of the writer judges and is using his digital voice clone from ElevenLabs to record the introduction and closing reflection. He also shares a word about this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report. During the interview Mark and Isabelle talk about: Isabelle's background as a publicist for film, TV, and booksRecognizing how there's a real knack of knowledge for creating an effective brand/profileTeaching authors the basics of that branding without using the terms PR or publicityThe idea of creating foundations of how an author can be able to pitch their books to an audienceHow talking about marketing can quickly fill authors with a sense of terrorThe importance of wanting to know, before helping an author, what makes them tickHow the author's story is what tells us who they author is and ultimately "why do we care?" about your book(s)Finding the themes that can tie books together rather than what makes them different when an author has written more than one bookThe challenge of wanting, too much, to share the details from a book, the plot, the tropes, etc versus sharing higher level themes and patternsThe misconception that PR and Publicity is only for celebrities or people who are comfortable being in the spotlightA misperception that authors have about how to provide content for social mediaHow Isabelle doesn't work like a traditional publicistThe course that Isabelle runs with a cohort about three times a yearAnd more... After the interview Mark shares a few reflections about the conversation. Links of Interest: Build Your Author BrandManuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%)Buy Mark a CoffeePatreon for Stark ReflectionsMark's YouTube channelElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and LibrariesThe Relaxed Author Buy eBook DirectBuy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for AuthorsAn Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & BookstoresWide for the WinMark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story)A Canadian Werewolf in New YorkStowe Away (Novella)Fear and Longing in Los AngelesFright Nights, Big CityLover's MoonHex and the CityOnly Monsters in the BuildingOnce Bitten (Novella) The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and AutomobilesYippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die HardMerry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas VacationI Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises Former publicist to the stars, including titans of industry JK Rowling and the BBC, Isabelle Knight is the founder of Build Your Author Brand, an online consultancy helping fiction and non-fiction authors to grow your readership, raise your profile and give your books the best chance of success. The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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    40 mins
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