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This week Elizabeth and Stephanie talk about the importance of investing in yourself as a writer. Find the rooms with people who are writing and moving their dream forward. When you put yourself in the right room you’ll be amazed at what happens. It’s only if you’re doing the work of writing you understand the challenges of what comes with the job. It’s not easy. Which is why you need to find your people and we offer spaces for you to show up and invest in your writing journey. If you’ve been following us for a while, you know how often we talk about the value of community. It’s what keeps us showing up each week for all of you. If you’re here, you’re part of our community and we’re so glad you’re here. We’re here to show you it’s possible. No matter what you’re writing, your work as a writer has value.

 Welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. If you've ever felt the pull to write your truth, to shape the chaos of real life into something meaningful and to share your journey with the world, you're in the right place. We're your hosts, Elizabeth and Stephanie, writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who believe in you and know how important it is to find a writing community to guide you on your path to self-publishing.

Stay until the end of the episode to learn about our Virtual Memoir Summit on March 14, 2026.

Join our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. This is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Get on the waitlist for the Memoir Master Plan cohort here.

Apply to join the Finish Your First Draft in 90 Days program here.

If you prefer to watch our conversations, you can find all of them on our YouTube channel.

You can find us on Instagram and Threads

Send us a text

Elizabeth chats with Allison Lau, a ghostwriter and developmental editor for memoir and mission-driven nonfiction, about the memoir writing process and Allison’s love for helping writers discover their voice and the story that’s meant to be on the page.

It’s a conversation that takes you deep into the memoir process and the value of inviting a developmental editor along with you. It’s a beneficial partnership for all writers to have a trustworthy set of eyes on your work. You can get so close and lost in your own work that you miss the details and pieces that connect with a reader.

There’s no doubt it can feel incredibly scary to open yourself up to sharing your writing. Memoir, especially, is so deeply personal and it can take a lot to find someone you trust. After listening to this week’s episode, it just might be Allison Lau. You’ll find her to be so genuine and deeply passionate about the work she does. It’ll feel like you’re listening to a dear friend as you dive into her conversation with Elizabeth.

If you aren’t familiar with the different types of editors, this is an opportunity to understand the role of a developmental editor in your writing journey. When you hire a developmental editor, you’re looking for someone who will help you mold and shape your story. It’s not the person pulling out the red pen to mark up every inch of your work. That would be your line editor and these days it’s usually not the red pen but comments in the margins on your Word doc.

So, there’s really nothing to stress about when hiring a developmental editor. It’s someone who has your best interest at heart, and if you’re not feeling this then you’re not working with the right person. You want to feel like you’re sitting down with a dear friend. Your writing is important to you and finding someone who can help shape it into the best possible story for readers will be incredibly beneficial.

 Welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. If you've ever felt the pull to write your truth, to shape the chaos of real life into something meaningful and to share your journey with the world, you're in the right place. We're your hosts, Elizabeth and Stephanie, writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who believe in you and know how important it is to find a writing community to guide you on your path to self-publishing.

Stay until the end of the episode to learn about our Virtual Memoir Summit on March 14, 2026.

Join our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. This is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Get on the waitlist for the Memoir Master Plan cohort here.

Apply to join the Finish Your First Draft in 90 Days program here.

If you prefer to watch our conversations, you can find all of them on our YouTube channel.

You can find us on Instagram and Threads

Send us a text

Stephanie here. I’m solo for this week’s episode.

Do you feel like a lot of writing advice doesn’t work for you?

For example, have you tried to read & complete The Artist’s Way and you couldn’t finish. Or, the advice to do your morning pages everyday when you first wake up, before anything else, stresses you out. Then you spiral into thinking you’re not a “good enough” writer because you don’t do morning pages like everyone in your writing group keeps talking about.

If so, I can absolutely relate.

After reading ADHD for Smart Ass Women by Tracey Otsuka, my entire perspective on building a writing life shifted. It was as if I’d stumbled across the fountain of inspiration & affirmation for someone, like me, with a brain that I know works differently, and now I have tools and a plan for what’s next.

I came to the realization I’d been trying to fit my writing into a system that’s meant for someone with a standard brain.

Have you felt this too?

I discovered I’d been so conditioned by the larger system I grew up in to believe that writing is done in one particular way.

Has this stopped you in your tracks with your writing too?

It feels so frustrating to have taken this long in my life, having turned 50 in August, to come to this realization.

But, there’s magic & beauty in it too. Now I’m fired up to do things differently and embrace the strengths of my brain. I want the same for you too, if you identify at all as having an ADHD brain, let’s chat!

I’m offering the Finish Your First Draft in 90 Days program.

It’s about getting you to a messy first draft so you can move on to the next step.

The first draft is the hardest. You probably have so many first drafts in your Google Drive or wherever you store your writing. I can relate. I find it helpful to have multiple drafts going at one time, but it’s getting one of them to the finished stage that is often the most challenging.

Let’s change that. I’m on my way. Are you with me?

Listen to this week’s episode where I dig into writing with an ADHD brain and why coaching is a highly recommended step for getting that dopamine hit for your brain of getting to DONE.

If you’re curious about the details of my coaching program you can find them here.

 Welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. If you've ever felt the pull to write your truth, to shape the chaos of real life into something meaningful and to share your journey with the world, you're in the right place. We're your hosts, Elizabeth and Stephanie, writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who believe in you and know how important it is to find a writing community to guide you on your path to self-publishing.

Stay until the end of the episode to learn about our Virtual Memoir Summit on March 14, 2026.

Join our Embodied Writing Experience where you’ll get a writer’s retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. This is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention.

Get on the waitlist for the Memoir Master Plan cohort here.

Apply to join the Finish Your First Draft in 90 Days program here.

If you prefer to watch our conversations, you can find all of them on our YouTube channel.

You can find us on Instagram and Threads