EP 279 - The Writer's Manifesto With Michael La Ronn

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Michael La Ronn, the author of over 80 science fiction & fantasy books and self-help books for writers.

Prior to the main segment, Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

During their conversation, Mark and Michael talk about:

• How long it has been since Mark and Michael saw one another
• Michael getting back on the travel circuit and being one of the guest speakers for Superstars Writing Seminars in Feb 2023
• How Michael got extremely ill in 2012 with an extreme case of food poisoning combined with a hospital infection he acquired, and how that laid him up for a full month
• Taking the time to realize, while he was stuck in the hospital how he'd been working in a dead-end job and not being the writer he wanted to be
• Having a beautiful vision of being a successful published writer, and the feeling of happiness that came from that
• Learning about self-publishing from the Alliance of Independent Authors and The Creative Penn
• The more than 80 books Michael has written while working full-time, raising a family, and going to law school at night
• The "secret weapons" that Michael relies on for his writing goals
• Writing using Scrivener on the MAC and the Scrivener app on his iPhone as well as using dictation
• Getting writing done using dictation while walking the dog
• Being a pantser (or "discovery writer")
• Michael's writer manifesto
• The different pseudonyms Michael uses for fiction VS his books for writers
• Michael's role as ALLI's outreach manager
• The two estate planning books Michael has. One for writers and the other for a writer's heirs
• Loving his day job and not wanting to give it up despite how successful and prolific his writing career has been
• The enjoyment of challenging himself
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the prioritizing of finding every available small moment for getting just a few extra words in and how that all adds up. He also considers Michael's thoughts on "balance."

Links of Interest:

• Michael's Author Website
• Author Level Up
• Findaway Voices
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Best Book Ever Podcast
• Lovers Moon Podcast
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Michael La Ronn is the author of over 80 science fiction & fantasy books and self-help books for writers. He writes from the great plains of Iowa and has managed to write while raising a family, working a full-time job, and even attending law school classes in the evenings. You can find his fiction at www.michaellaronn.com and his videos and books for writers at www.authorlevelup.com.

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