EP 392 - Pillars of Author Success with Emma Dhesi

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Emma Dhesi, a bestselling author and certified book coach who educates and inspires first-time authors to fulfil a calling and write their debut novel.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by the patrons who support this podcast at https://patreon.com/starkreflections and https://buymeacoffee.com/markleslie.

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In the interview, Mark and Emma talk about:

• How Emma got started in writing as a child at school
• The waves of how that "itch" to write kept coming to Emma every 6 months or so
• The feeling of writing that first draft and the effective challenge it was for her
• Emma's first book THE DAY SHE CAME HOME and how it began as an exploration of post-partum depression
• The concept of how engaging in the creative life can provide that balance we need
• How it can look different depending on where on the creative journey we are, but the similarities
• The importance of trying new things, but then recognizing when it's not the right thing for us at that time in our journey
• Emma's decision to become an author coach and to help other writers like her
• The first book being important "evidence" that you can do it
• The value of even a little bit of positive encouragement
• Emma's focus on a VERY SPECIFIC demographic instead of trying to create a service to please everyone
• What Emma is working on now in her writing and in her coaching
• The online summit Emma is hosting in January 2025 (Be A Bestseller 6.0 - Back to Basics)
• And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on the intrinsic satisfaction of completely that first novel, the importance of proving to yourself that you CAN do it, of trying new things (but being able to stop if that new thing is not for you), and the value of focusing in on a target audience.

Links of Interest:

• Emma Dhesi's Website
  • Emma's YouTube Channel
• EP 336 - Coming Out of the Writer Closet With Bradley Charbonneau
• Mark's YouTube channel
• Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
  • How to Access Patreon RSS Feeds
• Apollo Cinema Christmas Vacation Event (Kitchener, ON - Dec 12, 2024)
• Sudbury Indie Cinema / Northern Lights Festival Boreal Christmas Vacation Event (Sudbury, ON - Dec 21, 2024)
• An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
• 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
  • Only Monsters in the Building
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
• Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Emma Dhesi, bestselling author and certified book coach, educates and inspires first-time authors to fulfil a calling and write their debut novel.

Drawing from her own success and training, Emma guides writers to finish their first book through detailed feedback, accountability check-ins, and compassionate support in her year-long 1:1 mentorship.

Emma lives in Edinburgh with her husband, three children, three cats, and is passionate about helping authors achieve their dreams through her individualised mentoring.

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