#85: Student Spotlight: How She Overcame Her Fear of the Blank Page (and Indie Published Her Novel) with Jennifer Lauer

In today's episode, I’m sitting down with Jennifer Lauer to talk through how she overcame her fear of the blank page and indie published her debut novel. Here’s a preview of what’s included: [03:00] An introduction to Jennifer Lauer and her story, The Girl in the Zoo[09:30] What the beginning of the writing process looked like for Jennifer—and when she finally realized that her fear of the blank page was preventing her from writing[14:45] What happened when Jennifer finished the first draft of her book (and changed her genre from love to action)[26:00] Jennifer’s experience entering a Twitter pitch contest—and how it gave her the courage to submit her pages for a critique on TSNOTYAW podcast[30:35] Why Jennifer ultimately decided to indie publish her novel (even after getting a positive response from a few industry professionals)[43:35] The 3 biggest lessons Jennifer learned from this experience (and the advice she’d give to her past self when embarking on this writing journey)[47:00] Final words of wisdom and advice from JenniferRate + Review + Follow on Apple Podcasts"I love the Fiction Writing Made Easy podcast!" ← If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing this show! Your rating and review will help other writers find this podcast, and they're also super fun for me to go in and read. Just click here, scroll all the way to the bottom, tap five stars to rate the show, and then select "Write a Review." Be sure to let me know what your favorite part of the episode was, too! Links mentioned in this episode:Visit Jennifer’s website or follow her on Instagram @jenniferleelauerJennifer’s debut novel, The Girl in the Zoo on AmazonJennifer’s fiction podcast The Strange Chronicles The Spun Yarn Beta Reader ServiceThe Shit No One Tells You About Writing PodcastDyna Kau (cover designer) and Barbie at Monocle EditingJoanna Penn’s websiteJane Friedman’s websiteWant to learn more about my Notes to Novel course? Click here to sign up for my FREE TRAINING: The 5 Little-Known Mistakes Most Writers Make (& What to Do Instead)Interested in becoming a book coach? Author Accelerator has a free quiz you can take that tells you if you're a good fit for a career in book coaching. Click here to take the quiz and to learn more about Author Accelerator's Book Coach Certification program! Support the Show.Looking for a transcript? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, scroll down below the episode player until you see the transcript.