The Creating Pros Podcast

Often, we think of gatekeeping being the process by which people are kept away from centers of power and influence to prevent the average person from reaching some goal. Agents and editors are the age old gatekeepers of publishing and entertainment. In my experience, it's more about making sure you and your product are ready to be considered at that next level, and that you're delivering what they're looking for.
Now we see it as just slang for sitting on information or ideas.
Have we lost sight of the job of the gatekeepers, and with the changes in the business, do we still need them? How do we need them to change?

Funding a project can be hard, we look at self funding, crowd funding, but what about one that has fueled the arts for centuries? What are grants, and are they really free money?

What is risk? What does it mean to running a creative business? A creative life? How do you manage and mitigate it?
This week is all about understanding what risk really is, and how to handle it!

Over the weekend, I moderated a panel with John Scalzi and John Hartness, discussing working with professional organizations for writers, such as SWFA, HWA, and the RWA. This week I recap the discussion, diving into the benefits, and sometimes challenges of being a member in these organizations. I also touch on the current writers & actors strikes, and a couple of the key points.

As people, we rely on the opinions and experiences of others. In the digital age, it's no longer friends and family, but online monikers and avatars. How do we deal with fake and toxic reviews? Do they even have any real meaning any more? 

David Ekrut is a PHD scientist, researcher, mathematician, science reporter, and fantasy author. We dive into the winding path of his career, his process, disciplines, and how his scientific background influences his work, and how his creative outlets support his career!Plus some introvert survival tips! 

Hi all, This week's episode is a little late, I was overseas for the last few weeks touring the UK. It's been a number of years since I've been over, and I reflect on how writers and creatives are remembered, and even revered. I toured the neighborhoods where Brahm Stoker stalked and Oscar Wilde lived; the writer's museum with Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson, and  Sir Walter Scott's lives and works are remembered. How JK Rowling was inspired and the Potterverse brought to life. How thousands of years of history shape who we are. And how we can learn from our past to shape our future.

 
Developing your skills is critical in any endeavor, and being a writer is no different. Join Valerie Heller and Katherine Penndorf, the duo behind Much Ado About Writing where we talk about writing groups, writing critique, and the programs they offer!

 
David Taylor II is an award winning author, songwriter, producer, and playwright, having written books, comics, and games, in music he's written rap, gospel, adult contemporary, and musical theater for for Justin Bieber,Usher, Cuba Gooding Sr., Dave Koz and the James Taylor singers. He has done commercial work for McDonald’s and Disney. He is a co-composer for the smash hit theater production, Eye of the Storm:The Bayard Rustin Musical. We talk about all this, plus dive into his writing children's books, novels, comics, and creating his own RPG. There's a lot packed into this one!

This is one we've been trying to get scheduled for almost a year (and been talking about it longer than that). Tom Flemming got his start designing for the World Wrestling Federation (Now the WWE).
Tom has painted covers & trading cards for almost every major publisher in the comic book industry such as Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and has illustrated for some of the most popular gaming companies in the world such as: World of Warcraft, Magic the Gathering, and White-Wolf Publishing.
We talk about art, the business, Tom's landmark IP lawsuit, and some really fun stories!