EP 204 - Overcoming Self-Doubt with Tessa Smith McGovern

<p>Mark interviews Tessa Smith McGovern an award-winning and best-selling author who has taught writing for 22 year.</p> <p>Prior to the interview, Mark says comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor.</p> <p>This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices.</p> <div class="style-scope ytd-video-secondary-info-renderer"> <p><strong><img alt="" height="159" src="https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/show/110600/FindawayVoicesLogo.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="318" /></strong>You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.</p> <p> </p> <p>During their conversation, Mark and Tessa talk about:</p> <ul> <li>How, during the lockdown and covid-19 pandemic isolation, Tessa had to come face to face with herself while stuck at home</li> <li>The recognition of guilt, misery, and self-doubt that led to self-sabotage</li> <li>Tessa having been an author for thirty years and being traditionally published and indie published</li> <li>Finding herself humiliated in a situation with a writer whose work Tessa quite adored</li> <li>Tessa's experience with teaching writers, and how writers often bring a significant amount of material to those lessons</li> <li>How we have to find the belief in ourselves</li> <li>Lighting the candle for someone else when the flame of inspiration goes out</li> <li>Things we can do to avoid self-sabotage</li> <li>Setting a goal that doesn't end up engaging your ego (which can often introduce self-doubt to the equation)</li> <li>The Westport Writes writers program in Westport Connecticut</li> <li>How love and kindness meditation can improve your focus, your memory and your productivity</li> <li>The importance of creative rest, and recognizing when we need that</li> <li>If you understand your creative process and what works, you can be more in control of it</li> <li>The fifty+ short stories Tessa had from her writing career and how she found particular connections between the stories, based on themes, similar characters, and other factors that can be patterned</li> <li>How the process of linking short stories can be a delightful process</li> <li>Tessa's book Cocktails for Book Lovers</li> <li>The value of a good editor, and how sometimes working with an editor from a traditional publishing house can offer perks that are difficult to buy from freelance editors</li> <li>The way that the right editor can help an author turn something that is good into something that is fantastic</li> <li>And more...</li> </ul> <p><img alt="" height="245" src="https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/show/110600/TheMagicRoundabout.jpg" width="437" /></p> <p><strong>Links of Interest:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.tessasmithmcgovern.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Tessa Smith McGovern's Website</a> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.tessasmithmcgovern.com/5634-2" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Newsletter Signup</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.tessasmithmcgovern.com/coaching" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Free Coaching/Zoom Classes</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.tessasmithmcgovern.com/sign-up-page-how-to-link-short-stories-memoirs" rel="noopener" target="_blank">How to Link Stories & Memoirs into a Collection</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="http://www.bookgirl.tv/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">BookGirlTV</a> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/bookgirltv" rel="noopener" target="_blank">BookGirlTV on YouTube</a></li> </ul> </li> <li>Episode 203 - <a href="https://starkreflections.ca/2021/07/30/episode-203-a-rant-on-unprofessional-author-behavior/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">A Rant on Unprofessional Author Behavior</a> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/53872415" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Original Unedited raw Rant </a>(Patron link)</li> </ul> </li> <li>Episode 201 - <a href="https://starkreflections.ca/2021/07/16/episode-201-building-your-marketing-from-day-one-with-julie-broad-of-book-launchers/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Building Your Marketing From Day One with Julie Broad of Book Launchers</a></li> <li>Episode 197 - <a href="https://starkreflections.ca/2021/06/18/episode-197-rambling-reflections-through-the-darkness-within/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Rambling Reflections from the Darkness Within</a></li> <li><a href="https://books2read.com/publishingpitfalls" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Publishing Pitfalls for Authors</a></li> <li><a href="https://books2read.com/relaxedauthor/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The Relaxed Author</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.panoramaproject.org" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Patreon for Stark Reflections</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.panoramaproject.org" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Wide for the Win</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.panoramaproject.org" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books</a> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.panoramaproject.org" rel="noopener" target="_blank">This Time Around (Short Story)</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.panoramaproject.org" rel="noopener" target="_blank">A Canadian Werewolf in New York</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.panoramaproject.org" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Stowe Away (Novella)</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.panoramaproject.org" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Fear and Longing in Los Angeles</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.panoramaproject.org" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Fright Nights, Big City</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Tessa Smith McGovern</strong> has taught writing for 22 years and, for the last ten years, at the Writing Institute, Sarah Lawrence College, NY. She is an award-winning writer whose linked short story collection, LONDON ROAD: LINKED STORIES, received a 'Featured' review from Kirkus, is an Amazon best-seller, and a gold medal winner in the 2012 eLit Awards. Her non-fiction book, COCKTAILS FOR BOOK LOVERS (Sourcebooks), is also an Amazon best-seller. Her many publication credits include the Connecticut Review and Equinox, a UK poetry journal archived by the English Arts Council at the Southbank Centre, London. She's currently writing a contemporary fantasy novel inspired by British mythology and pursuing her MFA in Writing at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.</p> <p>She is founder and editor of eChook Digital Publishing. eChook won a silver medal in the 2012 eLit Awards and its stories have been read by thousands of readers in 100+ countries.</p> <p>Tessa is also host, writer and producer of BookGirlTV (BGTV), an award-winning digital channel that promotes books and reading. BGTV has 6 million+ minutes viewed on YouTube and 10,000+ likes on Facebook.</p> <p> </p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-dark-gray-background-color has-dark-gray-color" /> <p><em>The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of <a href="https://incompetech.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">www.incompetech.com</a></em> <em>and is Licensed under</em> Creative Commons: By <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Attribution 3.0</a></p> </div>