Information, inspiration and interviews on writing, self-publishing, book marketing and making a living with your writing. If you need help with writing your book, or you want to learn how to navigate the new world of publishing and book marketing, then join Joanna Penn and her guests every Monday. Also covers the business of being a writer and how to make money with your books.
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Writing Dialogue And Character Voice With Jeff Elkins
How can we write authentic and engaging character dialogue? How can we incorporate sub-text that deepens our writing? Jeff Elkins, The Dialogue Doctor explains more in this interview.
In the intro, the new AudibleGate site; scammers using big publisher names [Writer Beware]; Vellum update for Ingram PDF [Vellum software; my tools and tutorials] ; Do BookBub deals on a permafree first in series work multiple times? [BookBub blog]; audio course on financial independence [JD Roth] and my list of money books. Plus, Secrets and Lies Storybundle; and updates on my books, The Wreck of the Unbelievable, and Damien Hirst's ‘green' NFT [FT].
Today's show is sponsored by IngramSpark, who I use to print and distribute my print-on-demand books to 39,000 retailers including independent bookstores, schools and universities, libraries and more. It's your content – do more with it through IngramSpark.com.
Jeff Elkins is the author of 12 thriller and mystery novels, as well as over 100 short stories. He's also a ghostwriter, dialogue editor, and a podcaster at the Dialogue Doctor Podcast.
You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.
Show Notes
* How getting fired started Jeff’s writing career and how he now manages multiple streams of income
* The two biggest mistakes writers make with dialogue
* Ways to research authentic voices
* How to use subtext in dialogue
* How dialogue helps readers connect with characters
* Making choices about swearing in dialogue based on who your readers are
You can find Jeff Elkins at DialogueDoctor.com and on Twitter @Jffelkins
Transcript of Interview with Jeff Elkins
Joanna: Jeff Elkins is the author of 12 thriller and mystery novels, as well as over 100 short stories. He's also a ghostwriter, dialogue editor, and a podcaster at the Dialogue Doctor Podcast. Welcome, Jeff.
Jeff: Hey, Joanna. Thanks for having me on today.
Joanna: I'm very excited.
Before we get into our topic of dialogue, tell us a bit more about you and how you got into writing and publishing.