Topics We Explored:
Ali joins Charlie on the show to talk about the challenges of being a working writer, mother, and entrepreneur — and the “you can have it all” myth
How having two small children made her change the way she views her work and her business, and what she finds the biggest challenge in motherhood (with juggling parenthood and creative work)
Advice for up-and-coming writers, on how Ali was able to make a living writing blog posts for various sites and why she found writing fiction “10x harder” than blogging or writing her Dummies book
How do you know you’ve made it as a writer? (It’s not what you think)
Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Publishing E-Books For Dummies by Ali Luke
Lycopolis by Ali Luke
About Ali Luke:
is an author, blogger, entrepreneur, and mother who blogs about writing on her website Aliventures. She is also the creator of Writers’ Huddle, a teaching community site for writers. She started writing online in 2008 and has since become a regular blogger on popular websites. She is also the author of Publishing E-Books For Dummies and the novel Lycopolis. Thanks for Listening!
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Episode Timestamps
02:06 – How Ali got started in online writing.
04:28 – Knowing that jumping to blog writing was going to work as a long-term career and launching her first e-book.
05:58 – How easy it is to break into blogging.
08:14 – What staff blogging is.
09:18 – Why Ali enjoys waking up and writing every day.
10:45 – Switching from writing blogs to e-books and also her novel.
14:23 – How being pregnant and becoming a mother changed things in Ali’s career and writing.
19:13 – The challenge of balancing being an entrepreneur and being a mother.
25:04 – Some of the hardest aspects of going back to work after having children.
27:05 – The difficulty of making the transition from one thing to another.
34:49 – How the e-book world is growing and why that excites Ali.
38:20 – The fear people have of putting their work out there for people to see.
46:32 – The most unanticipated challenge Ali is currently facing.
51:07 – If Ali can succeed in being a mom, author, blogger, and entrepreneur, anybody can. There should be nothing stopping you.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Publishing E-Books For Dummies
Lycopolis
Aliventures
Writers’ Huddle
Copyblogger
Write to Done
Men with Pens
The Creative Pen
Problogger
Daily Blog Tips
Staff Blogging Course
Brian Clark
Dumb Little Man
Melissa Dinwiddie
NaNoWriMo
Stephen King
Fifty Shades of Grey, E.L. James
The Quotable Coach, Barry Demp
Episode 36 - Write Your Own Future with Ali Luke