Welcome to very special episode of DIY MFA Radio. Exactly one year ago, Elisabeth Kauffman (our podcast producer) and I released the very first episode of DIY MFA Radio into the world.

In this episode, she and I celebrate the show’s one-year anniversary with an interview, only now the tables are turned. Usually it’s me asking the questions to an author or industry expert. In this episode it’s me in the hot-seat and Elisabeth is asking me the questions. Listen in to get a behind-the-scenes look at the DIY MFA Radio team, and our process in putting this project together.

This milestone is truly a important one for DIY MFA. Over the past year Elisabeth and I have released 55 episodes like clockwork every Wednesday and haven’t missed a single week.

We’ve had AMAZING guests on the show, including: Jane Yolen, Steve Berry, Guy Kawasaki… with many other incredible authors and industry folks still to come. (Seriously, if I told you our top secret lineup of authors we have scheduled, you would totally flip out.)

Creating this podcast has been a labor of love and it’s become one of my favorite aspects of DIY MFA overall. I still can’t believe it’s part of my job to hang out, sip coffee, and interview some of my author-heroes. I also LOVE that I get to speak directly to my fellow Word Nerds, because  let’s face it, sometimes a blog post or newsletter just isn’t enough.

This project has also been an exercise in pushing myself outside my comfort zone. When I had the idea for DIY MFA Radio, I knew practically nothing about podcasts. I was terrified of anything tech-y beyond blogging and social media. The thought of trying to figure out this podcast thing was so daunting, I almost gave up on the idea.

It took me eight months of listening to other podcasts and learning the tech, before I was ready to record the first episode. Even with all that preparation, I didn’t get everything right the first time. I definitely made mistakes and had to tweak things along the way. Listen to that first episode and you’ll hear the difference one year of practice can make.

This podcast has taught me that you can over come almost any obstacle with hard work and perseverance, no matter how daunting it may seem at first. Now I’m much braver than I used to be, and more open to trying new technology. In fact, when recording this show, I decided to try a crazy experiment so I made a Periscope broadcast of our recording session and invited fellow Word Nerds to join and be part of it. I think it was the most fun recording session I’ve had yet! Definitely plan to use Periscope again soon, maybe even to record more DIY MFA Radio episodes.

In this episode, Elisabeth interviews me about:

• Why I do DIY MFA, why it’s worth getting up for every day.
• My favorite part of running DIY MFA (and it’s not what you might expect).
• Lessons I learned from starting this podcast.
• How to know when you’ve got a good idea.

Plus: I always end every interview with the same question, so this time I’m the one sharing a #1 tip for writers.

Link to Episode 55

(Right-click to download.)

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Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome.

The post Episode 55: DIY MFA Radio One-Year Anniversary Show! appeared first on DIY MFA.