Learning from Lori B. Duff

What happens when a lawyer, a judge, and a humorist sit down for a podcast? You get my interview with author Lori B. Duff. Lori lives outside Atlanta, Georgia, where she's built a local following through her humorous blogs on family life. Whether it's her husband, her kids, her neighbors or herself, Duff turns a keen observational eye on the often-overlooked humor in everyday life. Her four books, which she self-publishes and sells through Amazon, are compilations of her best columns and showcase her range as a writer. During our interview, Duff shares her journey as a writer--how she began writing as a kid, but didn't really embrace the discipline until 2012, when she submitted her work to Sharon Swanepoel, managing editor of the Loganville, Georgia, Patch--a website that featured community writers. Once Duff's work went live, her readership took off as visitors to the site loved her honest and funny thoughts on life in our current age. Since then, Duff has made it her goal to move from being a lawyer to being a writer--not just as a career, but also as an identity. She dives into that a little deeper during our discussion of her trip to the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop in Dayton, Ohio; Duff credits that workshop for not only helping her find her community, but inspiring her to embrace different aspects of herself--such as stand up comedy. Duff also discusses the benefits of being a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the various ways they've helped her continue her growth as a writer. Duff also shares priceless insights into the process of self-publishing, urging writers to stick to what they're good at and ask for help with the rest. She provides some great suggestions on how--and where--to find the help a writer needs to create a good looking book for readers. Duff blogs at her website, LoriDuffWrites, and you can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. She thinks she's also on LinkedIn, but can't remember her profile information... ***Once again, I apologize for the horrible mic sound on my end. I'm going crazy trying to figure out the best configuration for recording.