PODCAST · business
Notes in the Margin
by Vicky Fraser
This is a podcast about one woman's mission to help entrepreneurs and business owners write and self-publish better business books. Each week, we tackle your writing excuses (because they're our excuses too) – and help you beat the Blank Page Of Doom so you can write a book that makes a real difference. Also contains adulting fails, the adventures of the TinySheeps, and a bundle of fantastic interviews with people far smarter than us. Find us at moxiebooks.co.uk.
Episodes
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Ep344: Because You Want To
Why are you doing what you do? Writing what you write? Creating what you create? Vicky asked herself this recently and realised she wasn't enjoying herself. Tune in this week and listen to Vicky and Joe talk about creativity, different types of intelligence, the reasons we do the things we do…
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Ep343: In the Loupe with Karl Walker-Finch
This week, Vicky interviews dentist extraordinaire, Dr. Karl Walker-Finch, about his new book In the Loupe. Dr. Karl and Vicky worked together in the early stages of writing his book — and he released it into the wild this month! Listen in and find out about Dr. Karl's writing process, how he...
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Ep342: Finding Joy in Writing
Join Vicky and Joe as they talk about — well, frankly, it's a bit of a shambles this week. But they do talk about finding joy in writing, how we get distracted by stuff we think we should be doing, and how to spark a little joy and write something wonderful. This episode contains nuts and also a...
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Ep341: Jon McCulloch's Epic Book Funnel
Join Vicky as she chats to her very very old mentor Jon McCulloch, aka the Evil Bald Genius, about how he's actually a very kind fluffy bunny and not at all evil, and also about his books. We dig into why he wrote his books and, crucially, how's he's using them to grow his business. So if you're...
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Ep340: MicroBook Magic Author Showcase Part 2
We're back for part 2 of the MicroBook Magic Author Showcase! Hurrah! Party! This week, we'll hear from Sarah Milne, Yinka Ewuola, and Sharon Blue as they read from their upcoming MicroBooks. If you'd like to join us for Season 3 of MicroBook Magic and write your own book by May Day, check the…
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Ep339: MicroBook Magic Author Showcase Part 1
This week, join us for a MicroBook special! To celebrate the end of MicroBook Magic Season 2, Vicky hosted an Author Showcase for MicroBook authors to read a snippet from their upcoming books. Join us for part 1 this week, as we hear all about what a MicroBook actually is, then listen to Hillary...
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Ep338: Our Robot Overlords (AI for Writers)
This week, Vicky and Joe welcome our robot overlords with open arms! If you can sit through the first 10 minutes of extremely low-quality discussion about what AI is, from two people who don't really understand it, you'll be rewarded with a useful second half. Your hosts share several ways…
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Ep337: 7 Things I Wish I Knew 11 Years Ago About Writing Nonfiction Books
This week, after waxing lyrical about septic tanks, and reading excerpts from a wonderful little MicroBook, Vicky and Joe dive into life and writing lessons learned over the past 11 years. Basically, some of the most important stuff Vicky could've done with knowing before she started. Here it is...
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Ep336: 5 Weird Things You Can Do To Boost Creativity
Come and get weird with Vicky and Joe! This week, your hosts investigate a few ways you can mix it up and get more creative. This episode contains: knitting, bad haikus, interpretative dance, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, magic magnets, cuttlefish, and cat sneezes. It's better than it sounds, so listen…
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Ep335: RePod: What If?
Around this time last year, Vicky and Joe talked about the power of What If? And also ludicrously expensive oak doors, poo disasters, and why shoes in the house are UNACCEPTABLE. This topic is just as relevant now, so we've put it out again. What if you tried this thing? What if... you wrote your...
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Ep334: Science The Shit Out Of It
This week, Vicky and Joe science the shit out of choosing your book topic! Vicky is doing a really cool programme called Ship 30 for 30, and realised it's a fabulous way of deciding on your book topic. So tune in and find out why we should be publishing lots of stuff all the time, how to bypass...
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Ep333: Existing While Black with Sharon Hurley Hall
Friend of the podcast, Sharon Hurley Hall, is back to talk about her new book I'm Tired of Racism: True Stories of Existing While Black — and we had a blast! Come and join us and hear us go on a safari about how awesome How to Get Away with Murder is, and what it's like living in a bunch of...
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Ep332: Going Through the Motions
This week, Vicky and Joe talk mojo, the struggle to find people who can think, and breaking the rules. Finding yourself feeling a bit flat about your writing, your hobby, or life in general? That's okay, it happens. But how do we yank ourselves out of it? Dunno — but maybe this podcast episode…
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Ep331: RePod: How long will it take?
Join us for a pre-festive Repod in which Vicky and Joe discuss: how long will it take? (To write a book, of course.) The short answer: that depends on you, your time, the type of book you're writing, and a bunch of other stuff. In other words: dunno. The long answer: well, listen in and find out!...
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Ep330: MicroBook Magic Showcase Special
This week you're in for a treat — I invited my MicroBook Magic authors to come and join me live and read from the MicroBooks they've been writing during November. And now you can hear their creations on today's podcast! So grab a cuppa, settle in, and listen — and perhaps you'll be inspired to...
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Ep329: 3 Pieces of Writing Advice I Hate
Join Vicky and Joe for a little rant about bad advice — and some profound deep thoughts about socks from Joe. In this episode, Vicky and Joe share three pieces of writing advice Vicky hates, and Joe shares a piece of general advice he hates, and they talk about how to make things simpler. And…
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Ep328: RePod: The Inklings—Writing in Community
This week, amidst Covid and wedding anniversaries, Vicky runs out of time and reissues an old podcast episode about writing in community. It's a good one, though. Listen in and discover why you don't have to be a lonely odd sock, why writing in a group can be so powerful, and a few ways you might...
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Ep327: Writing Advice from Terry Pratchett
Join the plague house as Vicky and Joe discuss Covid (she has it), retelling the Greek myths from a woman's point of view, and 10 wonderful pieces of writing advice from Vicky's favourite ever author, Terry Pratchett. You'll also get a short side-quest on whirlpools, near-death experiences, and...
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Ep326: Feel Good Where You Write with Hannah de Keijzer
How often do you think about what your body's doing while you write? Do you find yourself twisted up like a shrimp (prawn for brits) by the end of the day? Writing space not inspiring you to greatness? Then listen up because Hannah de Keijzer is an ex professional dancer and she is a magician…
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Ep325: How Long Should It Be?
Join Vicky and Joe as they discuss: does size matter? Joe is zooming in from a glamorous Tesco car park, but that doesn't hamper their efforts at talking about how long books should be. Who decides what size they should be? And does it even matter anyway? Tune in and find out — and discover how…
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Ep324: Should I Imitate My Favourite Writers?
This week, Vicky and Joe about retelling the Greek myths from a female point of view, before moving onto the main event: should you imitate your favourite writers? The short answer: yes. The longer answer: listen to this episode to find out why, and how, and how imitating your favourite writers…
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Ep323: I Hate My Book
This week, Vicky and Joe consider what would happen if Vicky had got eaten by a bear in Canada, then wander onto the subject of how mean Joe is. Eventually, they get to the heart of things and dig into a really useful episode. If you've ever thought "I hate my book!" or "I hate my writing!" this…
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Ep322: RePod—Would you like to play a game?
When's the last time you played? When were you last really silly? This week, Vicky and Joe are back and they're talking about nerding out with their mates: find out what they get up to every Sunday afternoon and why it's keeping them in tip top condition and ready for action. Plus get a bunch of...
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Ep321: Self-Publishing + EPIC Snobbery
Grab a cuppa and settle in while Vicky holds her very own TED Talk on why snobbery about self-publishing can get in the bin. Yep: riffing off an article in which someone wrote "self-publishing is an insult to the written word", Vicky and Joe present their case for why actually self-publishing is…
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Ep320: How to Avoid Looking Like An Amateur!
After approximately 27 seconds of giggling, Vicky and Joe tell you all about their holiday to Barcelona, Harriet's beautiful wedding, and then finally launch into a quick "how to" to help you make your book look just as professional and wonderful as one that's come out of Penguin or another big...
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Ep319: Stop Trying to Find Your Voice
Join Vicky and Joe in the middle of a thunderstorm and find out why you need to stop trying to find your voice—and just use it instead! Tune in for thunder, lightning, Terry Pratchett, plumbing, and a few helpful writing exercises and techniques to get you comfortable and confident in your…
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Ep318: Why Your Table of Contents is a Sexy Elbow
Join Vicky and Joe for possibly the most professional podcast episode they've ever made, and discover why your table of contents is like a sexy elbow. Seriously. You'll also discover why tables of contents are super useful, how to make them more fun, and what you can use them for as a writer....
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Ep317: My Favourite Writing Tools
Join Vicky and Joe as they do a whirlwind trip through Vicky's favourite productivity tools, writing tools, and editing tools! There's a bunch of affiliate links for you, but don't worry—she's not a shill for big apps. This is only stuff she uses and loves. There are some tools in here that may...
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Ep316: Check out these Creatives
Join Vicky and Joe as they not so much announce with fanfare but blurt out the podcast name change—and then pay close attention because Vicky's super-excited about Jarvis Cocker's new memoir. Which leads on a little side-quest about the difference between memoir and biography, but it's worth it....
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Ep315: Dropping the Mic with Mike Ganino
Ever wondered what to do if you're asked to speak about your book in public? Wonder no more—for this week, Vicky is joined by the delightful Mike Ganino, who is a brilliant public speaking coach. He works with a lot of authors and helps them to craft their message—and tell it in a compelling,...
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Ep314: 10 Books I Have Read + Loved
This week Vicky is flying solo because of organisation issues so she decided to share 10 books she's read and loved recently. If you're wondering what to read, and how to read, and whether you should be reading books on writing or just books—tune into this episode and sort out your reading plans...
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Ep313: How I Get Sh*t Done
Vicky officially "comes out" as a person with ADHD, and Joe interviews her about how she gets stuff done as a writer and book coach, how she copes with her ridiculous brain, and they offer suggestions on what to do when "foolproof" tools don't work for you. There's also a Magic Mike moment when…
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Ep312: 10 Tricks to Help You Start Writing
Ever struggle to start something—like you want to get on with writing, but instead you do 4,197 other things? Yep so does Vicky. So dive into this week's podcast in which she and Joe talk about how to get started and do the things you want to do—even if you've tried all the "expert productivity...
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Ep311: RePod: Initiative Takes Work
This is a repod, and we hope you enjoy it. It's eternally relevant. Do you need kicking into action? So do we, friend. So do we. So when I saw Seth Godin's email titled "Initiative takes effort" last summer, I filed it away as the spark of a podcast episode idea. Here is that episode! In it, Joe...
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Ep310: Book Things I Can Help You With
Join Vicky and Joe as they talk about the wonders of short stories, the importance of pronouns (because they ARE important—tune if you're in a frothing rage about how "woke" I am and find out why), and the fantastic hot seat book coaching event Vicky ran last week. They run through the 5…
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Ep309: Be A Client Whisperer with John Holcroft Part 2
Vicky is back with John Holcroft to talk about the book writing process! How did John get started? What challenges did he face, and how did he overcome them? And what does he have on his bedside table? Discover all this and more in this week's action-packed episode. Enjoy! Key Takeaways: [3:15]...
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Ep308: Be A Client Whisperer with John Holcroft Part 1
This week, Vicky is talking to Team Moxie Member John Holcroft about his new book, Be a Client Whisperer. It's been a long time coming and it's worth the wait—join Vicky and John as they dig into why he wrote his book, why everyone needs to read it, and how YOU can become a client whisperer. Part…
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Ep307: The Purple Yeti of Resistance
This week's special guest is the Purple Yeti of Resistance, which sits on Vicky's chest and stops her from writing. Tune in and find out how she defeats her yeti, and listen to Joe's take on getting stuff done. You can also listen to Joe be horrified by the phrase "refilling your creative cup"…
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Ep306: Worst Writing Advice EVER
This week on the podcast Vicky and Joe discuss idling, mowing the lawn (or not as the case may be), never-ending bathrooms, and the worst. writing. advice. EVER. Listen up as Vicky has opinions on the idea that writers have a muse and the muse bestows ideas. Joe weighs in on the topic of...
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Ep305: Copy + Creativity with Kim Krause Schwalm
Join Vicky as she talks to Kim Krause Schwalm about dildo stories! Oh, wait—sorry—CHILDREN'S stories. (Vicky learns not to mumble into the mic...) In this week's episode, Vicky asks Kim all about moving from full-time copywriting into copy mentoring, building a list and brand, and taking a stab…
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Ep304: What Does a Book Coach Actually DO?
Join Vicky and Joe as Vicky freaks out about a horror movie they watched—and get a few brilliant book recommendations. (Not horror.) Then sit back and relax as they ask: so what does a book coach actually DO anyway? Good question. For Vicky, there are 10 main areas of support—tune in and find out...
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Ep303: Traditional Publishing—DO BETTER
This week Vicky goes solo and runs her mouth off about how traditional publishers need to BLOODY DO BETTER. She got a message after the last episode, and that message inspired this little rant about a bunch of problems that traditional publishing needs to fix. Tune in and find out why independent...
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Ep302: The New Vanity Publishing?
This week, Vicky and Joe talk about why we shouldn't burst our own balloons and downplay our achievements. That's after Vicky goes on a 5 minute rant about why The Wheel of Time is not something you should read if you want good epic fantasy. So: if you've ever thought that self-publishing is...
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Ep301: Bestseller Balls
OMG it's the 301st episode! Question: do you dream about getting onto the New York Times bestseller list? Don't bother mate. Bestseller lists are balls—and if we write a book with the aim of getting onto such a list, our book ain't gonna cut it. This week, Vicky and Joe take a peek into the world...
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Ep300: A Hot Take on Hot Takes
Tune in for Vicky and Joe's hot take on hot takes! Yep, this week our hosts have Opinions on other people's opinions. With the internet crammed full of knee-jerk reactions and instant outrage, what's the cost to us as a society? How can we slow down and think things through? What can a noble dude...
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Ep299: Throwing Grammar in the Bin?
We've just been in a hot air balloon and be warned, we rave about it for quite a lot of minutes before we get into this week's episode—an enthusiastic chat about grammar. Does it matter? Is it elitist? Should we throw the whole lot in the bin? And what does it all mean for marginalized writers?...
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Ep298: Closing the Empathy Gap with Sharon Hurley-Hall
Today's episode is brought to you from an idyllic sun-soaked, palm-fringed shore and also a grey drizzly field—join Vicky as she talks to writer, educator, and anti-racism activist Sharon Hurley-Hall about her upcoming book. Vicky and Sharon talk storytelling and how it has the power to change…
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Ep297: The Writer's Most Important Tool
This week Vicky and Joe talk about extremely expensive poo and then move onto the writer's most important tool of all. Tune in to find out what it is—and discover why one of Vicky's habits is eavesdropping on strangers, what Joe's bedtime reading routine is, and why memory is a treacherous beast....
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Ep296: Maybe Your Imposter Syndrome is Right
Imposter syndrome: is it a bug, or a feature? Vicky and Joe talk self-doubt, evolution, and go on a side-quest about what kind of tail they'd have if they could switch those tail genes back on. They also confirm, once again, that Joe is in fact a robot, albeit a very lovely and handsome one. Tune...
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Ep295: On the Joys of Idleness
Ooooh there are OPINIONS in this week's podcast. Opinions on idleness, the Protestant work ethic, capitalism, and the state of the world in general. There are a few facts, too. And possibly we've got some stuff wrong, but that's what having time to think and learn and listen is all about. Which…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
This is a podcast about one woman's mission to help entrepreneurs and business owners write and self-publish better business books. Each week, we tackle your writing excuses (because they're our excuses too) – and help you beat the Blank Page Of Doom so you can write a book that makes a real difference. Also contains adulting fails, the adventures of the TinySheeps, and a bundle of fantastic interviews with people far smarter than us. Find us at moxiebooks.co.uk.
HOSTED BY
Vicky Fraser
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Notes in the Margin have?
Notes in the Margin currently has 345 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Notes in the Margin about?
This is a podcast about one woman's mission to help entrepreneurs and business owners write and self-publish better business books. Each week, we tackle your writing excuses (because they're our excuses too) – and help you beat the Blank Page Of Doom so you can write a book that makes a real...
How often does Notes in the Margin release new episodes?
Notes in the Margin publishes regularly with 345 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Notes in the Margin?
You can listen to Notes in the Margin on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Notes in the Margin?
Notes in the Margin is created and hosted by Vicky Fraser.
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