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Two chatty authors asking all the ’write’ questions. Hosted by Ari Meghlen and Rachel Poli, The Merry Writer Podcast is a fun, friendly show about all things writing and bookish.
Episodes
Wednesday Feb 04, 2026
Wednesday Feb 04, 2026
EPISODE SHOW NOTES
This week, we discuss some of our favorite writing craft books that help us get through our writing. We touch upon mystery, fantasy, and writing in general, plus the career side of it.
In this episode, we cover:
- Why writing craft books are useful
- Rachel's recs
- Ari's recs
Books mentioned:
- Howdunit Book of Poisons: A Guide for Writers by Serita Stevens & Anne Bannon
- Howdunit Forensics by D.P. Lyle
- Police Procedure & Investigation: A Guide for Writers by Lee Lofland
- The Crime Writer's Reference Guide: 1001 Tips for Writing the Perfect Murder by Martin Roth
- How to Write a Successful Series by Helen B. Scheuerer
- How to Launch a Successful Series by Helen B. Scheuerer
- Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer
- Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference: An Indispensible Compendium of Myth and Magic by Writers Digest
- Writing and Editing Checklists by K.M. Allan (plus the Authoring Checklists companion)
As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!
WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?
We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!
If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.
If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Ko-fi
You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.
Special Thanks
Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie
Share
If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.
CREDITS
Hosts
Music
Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
Wednesday Jan 28, 2026
Wednesday Jan 28, 2026
EPISODE SHOW NOTES
You've finished your story, edited it to within an inch of its life, and now it's time to let a professional take a look! So just what do you need to consider when choosing an editor?
In this episode, we cover:
- Qualifications
- Contracts
- AI clause
- Cost
- and lots more
Bonus
- We created a bonus for our Ko-fi Members on where you can find an editor.
As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!
WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?
We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!
If you would like to be considered, please take a moment to review our FAQs Page.
If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are currently accepting submissions.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Ko-fi
You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going, and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.
Special Thanks
Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie
Share
If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.
CREDITS
Hosts
Music
Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
Wednesday Jan 21, 2026
Wednesday Jan 21, 2026
EPISODE SHOW NOTES
An author newsletter, or email list, is important to have for writers to connect with their readers and have a unique platform to promote their books. However, there's many pros and cons to having a list, and is it even still relevant in 2026?
In this episode, we cover:
- What an author newsletter is and its purpose
- Factors and stats to think about before starting an email list
- Conversion rates
References:
As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!
WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?
We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!
If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.
If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Ko-fi
You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.
Special Thanks
Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie
Share
If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.
CREDITS
Hosts
Music
Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
Wednesday Jan 14, 2026
Wednesday Jan 14, 2026
EPISODE SHOW NOTES
Do you ever come away from a doom-scrolling session and feel energised? Probably not. Our tech devices demand a lot of our time and often leave us feeling drained, down in the dumps and struggling to focus.
If that's you, then maybe a digital detox is in order. Check out today's episode as we discuss just that!
In this episode, we cover:
-
What is a digital detox?
-
Why do a digital detox?
-
Benefits of a digital detox
-
How to do a digital detox?
As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!
WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?
We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!
If you would like to be considered, please take a moment to read our FAQs Page.
If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are currently accepting submissions.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Ko-fi
You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going, and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.
Special Thanks
Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie
Share
If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.
CREDITS
Hosts
Music
Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
Wednesday Jan 07, 2026
Wednesday Jan 07, 2026
EPISODE SHOW NOTES
Happy New Year! With a new year comes new goals, of course. This week, we discuss accomplishments and goals for our writing in 2026.
In this episode, we cover:
- Our writing accomplishments in 2025
- Rachel's 2026 writing goals
- Ari's 2026 writing goals
As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!
WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?
We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!
If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.
If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Ko-fi
You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.
Special Thanks
Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie
Share
If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.
CREDITS
Hosts
Music
Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
Wednesday Dec 31, 2025
Wednesday Dec 31, 2025
EPISODE SHOW NOTES
Since this is the last episode of 2025, we thought we'd do another Rapid Fire Question episode (yes, we know it's seldom "rapid" but just go with it) :)
These questions are not just any questions; we are re-answering ones from way back... in 2020!
In this episode, we cover:
- Are you a planner, pantser or plantser?
- What is your typical writing routine?
- Do you prefer hardbacks, paperbacks, ebooks or audiobooks?
- What is the best / worst thing about writing?
- How do you keep up with your writing goals?
- How do you choose which story to write?
- What do you do if you hit a roadblock in your novel?
As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!
WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?
We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!
If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.
If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Ko-fi
You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.
Special Thanks
Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie
Share
If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.
CREDITS
Hosts
Music
Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
Wednesday Dec 24, 2025
Wednesday Dec 24, 2025
EPISODE SHOW NOTES
Happy 300 episodes! This means you've been listening to us talk every week for 300 weeks straight. Crazy, huh? This week, we thought it'd be fun (and horrifying) to listen back to some old episodes and see how far we've come as podcasters and writers. Thanks for listening for so long!
In this episode, we listen to:
- Clips from episode 2
- Clips from episode 6
- Clips from episode 12
As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!
WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?
We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!
If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.
If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Ko-fi
You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.
Special Thanks
Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie
Share
If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.
CREDITS
Hosts
Music
Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
Wednesday Dec 17, 2025
Wednesday Dec 17, 2025
EPISODE SHOW NOTES
Since we are almost at the end of the year AND close to our 300th episode, we thought we do a silly-ish episode taking a look at some of the haters and crappy people you might meet when you become a writer.
As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!
WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?
We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!
If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.
If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Ko-fi
You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.
Special Thanks
Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie
Share
If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.
CREDITS
Hosts
Music
Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
Wednesday Dec 10, 2025
Wednesday Dec 10, 2025
EPISODE SHOW NOTES
We all know the author bio, but have you heard of an author brand story? This week, we discuss what it is and why it could be beneficial to write one for your author career.
In this episode, we cover:
- Brand story vs. bio
- How to write one
- How many should you write
Related Episode:
As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!
WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?
We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!
If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.
If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Ko-fi
You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.
Special Thanks
Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie
Share
If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.
CREDITS
Hosts
Music
Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
EPISODE SHOW NOTES
This week, Ari is sadly absent due to timezones. So, I'm interviewing author KM Allan on my own. Join me as we talk about her routine, books, and more.
In this episode, we cover:
- KM's writing process
- Her new checklist book
- Writing routine (writing and authoring)
- and more!
As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!
ABOUT KM Allan
K.M. Allan is the author of The Blackbirch Series and a blogger powered by chocolate and green tea. She's also an identical twin, but not the evil one.
WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW?
We’re open to Author Interviews and Industry Interviews. This means, if you’re an author or work in the writing field (cover designer, audiobook narrator, editor, etc.) we want to hear from you!
If you would like to be considered, please take the time to read our FAQs Page.
If you feel you’d be a good fit for the show after reading the FAQs, please check for the status of the Google Form on that page to see if we are accepting at that time.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Ko-fi
You can join The Merry Writer community over on our Ko-fi page! It helps keep the show going and you get extra goodies through one-time or monthly tips. (Don’t worry; there’s plenty of free content, too!) We appreciate your support.
Special Thanks
Our Merry Writers via Ko-fi: Jeremy, Kris, & Jackie
Share
If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share our episodes on social media, follow the podcast, and engage in the comments.
CREDITS
Hosts
Music
Intro & Outro – “Inspired” composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of https://incompetech.com/ | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0