The Writing at the Red House Podcast

Hosted by Kathi Lipp

Arts Books

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510

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Welcome to The Writing at the Red House Podcast where we gather at the table to break bread and tell tales with some of our favorite writers and speakers. Our heart is to equip and encourage men and women to be the communicators God has created them to be.

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August 3, 2026Episode 51425 min

The Long Game: How to Build a Writing Career That Lasts for Decades

Have you ever wondered how some writers manage to stay in the game for decades while others burn out after one book? If you've been feeling overwhelmed, isolated, or unsure if you can sustain this writing journey, this episode is for you. What You'll Discover in This Episode Kathi Lipp sits down with longtime friend and fellow author Susy Flory to explore the secrets behind building a writing career that lasts. With combined decades of publishing experience, these two Gen X writers get real about the challenges of staying creative, motivated, and connected in an industry that can feel isolating. Four Keys to Writing Longevity Get Writing Friends: Discover why having a cohort of fellow writers is essential for surviving rejection, gaining perspective, and staying encouraged when the writing life gets hard. Pursue Deep Teaching: Learn why committing to one significant learning experience each year—whether a book, course, conference, or mentorship—keeps your craft sharp and your ideas fresh. Always Think About Your Next Project: Find out how to keep ideas percolating even while you're 50 feet deep in your current book, and hear Susy Flory's practical system for tracking and developing new concepts. Feed Your Imagination: Explore surprising places where creative ideas strike—including church!—and learn how to create a life culture dedicated to creativity and inspiration. Why Community Matters Both Kathi and Susy emphasize that writing doesn't have to be a solitary pursuit. Whether it's commiserating over rejection, sharpening each other's ideas, or simply being around creative people who "get it," having a writing community can make the difference between quitting and thriving. Key Takeaways for Your Writing Journey Rejection is normal—it's just part of the writing life, and having friends who understand makes it bearable. Being "aspirational" isn't a criticism—it's essential for growth as a writer. Your competitive side can push you forward if you harness it humbly and learn from others. Capture your ideas when lightning strikes—keep tools handy because you won't remember later. Speaking your ideas out loud to safe people gives them air and helps them breathe. Whether you're wrapping up your first book or your fifteenth, this conversation will encourage you to keep going, keep learning, and keep creating alongside others who share your passion for words.

July 23, 2026Episode 51326 min

75 Writing Days to a Finished Book: The Simple Math Most Writers Never Calculate

You've set the deadline. You've blocked the time. And yet somehow, the finish line keeps moving further away. Sound familiar? If you've ever found yourself in a panic-fueled sprint to finish a writing project—only to crash afterward and wonder if you can ever do it again—this episode is for you. In this conversation, Kathi Lipp sits down with writer, ghostwriter, and writing coach Julie Lyles Carr to unpack why so many writers struggle to meet their deadlines and what sustainable writing really looks like. Julie shares the crucial difference between racing toward a deadline and pacing yourself for a lifelong writing journey. What You'll Learn in This Episode Why knowing your daily word count is essential for setting realistic deadlines The difference between "muse" and "manic"—and why waiting for inspiration might be sabotaging you How to get small dopamine bumps along the way instead of relying on panic-induced adrenaline dumps Creative accountability strategies (including one controversial approach involving "anti-charities") Why falling back in love with the art of writing is the real fuel for crossing the finish line Key Takeaways Understand your pace before you chart the race. Do you know how many words you can comfortably write in a day? If not, that's the first thing to figure out. A 75,000-word novel at 500 words a day means you need 150 writing days—it's simple math that takes the guesswork out of your deadline. The muse will meet you at your desk. You don't have to chase inspiration or deplete yourself waiting for it to show up. When you commit to showing up consistently, your creativity follows. Community creates velocity. Just like geese flying in a V or cyclists in the Tour de France peloton, writing alongside others can pull you forward with less effort. Accountability groups, writing sprints, and shared goals make a real difference. Fall in love with the art again. If you're writing for acclaim or attention, you'll burn out. But if you write because you genuinely love the craft, that's the fuel that gets you across the line—whether anyone ever sees your work or not. Whether you're working on your first book or your fifteenth, this episode offers practical wisdom for building a writing life that's sustainable, joyful, and productive.

July 6, 2026Episode 51218 min

Why Your Self-Imposed Deadlines Never Work: The Research-Backed Fix for Finishing Your Book

You have a book on your hard drive. Maybe it's been there for months. Maybe years. You're passionate about it, you believe in the story, and yet somehow it just won't get finished. Sound familiar? In this episode of Writing at the Red House, Kathi sits down with prolific author and ghostwriter Julie Lyles Carr to unpack why finishing feels so impossibly hard—even when we desperately want to cross that finish line. With nearly 30 ghostwriting titles under her belt alongside her own published works, Julie noticed something fascinating about her own writing habits: the projects with external deadlines always got done, while her passion projects languished on the "island of lost stories." What You'll Learn in This Episode Why self-imposed deadlines fail (and what research reveals about the psychology behind it) The three types of deadline structures—and which one sets you up for failure How "time blindness" sabotages your writing goals without you even realizing it Why having a single final deadline is the least effective approach for completing your book The power of external accountability and paced interim deadlines Key Takeaways The deadline difference is real: Research from 2002 (Ariely and Wertenbroch) found that students with professor-imposed interim deadlines significantly outperformed those who set their own deadlines or had only one final deadline. One big deadline = big failure rate: A 2024 study by Heinemann and Bisson confirmed that single final deadlines have the highest failure rate. If you're saying "I want the book done by Christmas" without breaking it into smaller milestones, you're using the least effective model. External eyes matter: There's something powerful about having someone else see whether you've lived up to your goals. It's not about shame—it's about accountability that moves you forward. Compare your ideal progress against your actual calendar: Be realistic about what's happening in your life. Front-load your work instead of hoping to catch up at the end. If you're ready to stop making excuses and start making progress, this episode offers both the science and the encouragement you need to finally get your project across the finish line.

June 23, 2026Episode 51122 min

Stop Planning Too Big or Too Small: How Q3 Goals Can Change Your Writing Trajectory Starting Now

Do you feel like your writing dreams are always stuck on "someday"? You're not alone. Many writers struggle to move from dreaming about their book to actually making progress—especially when life is full of other responsibilities. In this episode of the Writing at the Red House podcast, Kathi Lipp sits down with Tenneil Register to pull back the curtain on the quarterly planning process used inside the Red House Writers Collective. This isn't about fancy calendars or color-coded spreadsheets. It's about a simple, practical framework that helps writers finally get traction. The Create, Serve, Build Framework Kathi introduces the three-part framework that structures each quarter in the Collective: Create: Focus on your bigger projects—your book, a speech, a paid membership. This is where the 30-Day 10K challenge lives, encouraging writers to produce 10,000 words on their work in progress. Serve: How are you nurturing your audience right now? This could be social media, newsletters, or podcasting—anything that builds connection before your book launches. Build: Growing your business and platform. This might mean attending a conference, developing a coaching practice, or pitching to media outlets. Why Quarters Work for Writers Writing is a long game—books take years. But a quarter is the perfect unit of time to make real, measurable progress. Tenneil shares how quarterly thinking transformed her approach: "What I was missing was traction. I wasn't missing topics. I wasn't even missing a platform. I was missing traction." Making Goals Practical, Not Just Pretty The episode offers honest advice about avoiding common traps—planning too small or waiting for the perfect cabin-in-the-woods writing retreat. Instead, Kathi encourages listeners to break big goals into daily doable steps. Even 333 words a day adds up to 10,000 words in a month. Key Takeaways Start with just one goal for each month: Create, Serve, Build Break those goals into smaller, daily steps You don't need fancy systems—Post-it notes work just fine A realistic goal is one you can pitch in 30 seconds or less Progress beats perfection every time Whether you're just starting your writing journey or you've been at it for years, this episode offers a fresh perspective on how to move from dreaming to doing. Listen now and start planning your next quarter with purpose.

June 15, 2026Episode 51026 min

Your Numbers Dropped—Now What? A Real Talk About Staying Anchored When Everything Flatlines

Every writer or creative entrepreneur has faced it: that gut-punch moment when the numbers take a nosedive. Whether it's email subscribers disappearing, podcast downloads plummeting, or engagement grinding to a halt, the temptation to panic—or quit altogether—is real. In this episode of the Writing at the Red House podcast, Kathi Lipp and her husband Roger Lipp tackle the uncomfortable topic of what to do when the metrics aren't going your way. Drawing from their own hard-won experiences (including losing two-thirds of their email list overnight and watching podcast numbers crater due to algorithm changes), they offer practical wisdom for writers who feel like the ground is shifting beneath them. What Listeners Will Discover This conversation is packed with insights for anyone feeling the pressure of stalled growth or declining numbers: How to reframe a crisis as a season of evaluation—not a reason to shut everything down The danger of over-correcting and how panic decisions can erode audience trust What NOT to change: your core message, your audience, and your values What you CAN tweak: delivery methods, content format, and how you engage your community How to gather feedback wisely—without crowdsourcing or letting outlier criticism define you Key Takeaways Panic shows up in your work. When you're in crisis mode, you may find yourself copying others, working harder with fewer results, or promoting things that don't align with who you are. Recognizing these signs is the first step to course-correcting. Faithfulness beats frantic growth. The goal isn't growth at any cost—it's building something sustainable that you can live with. That means holding fast to your message while being light on your feet about how you deliver it. Feedback informs direction; it doesn't define identity. Not all feedback carries equal weight. Seek out trusted voices, filter the outliers, and remember that you are not the feedback you receive. Whether you're navigating a platform setback or simply feeling the weight of slow growth, this episode offers the encouragement and practical framework to keep moving forward—anchored, not anxious.

June 8, 2026Episode 50922 min

The Weekly Reality Check: How to Track Your Numbers Without Letting Them Wreck You

You've been doing the work. Showing up. Posting. Writing. Sending newsletters. And yet... the numbers aren't moving. Maybe they've even dipped. If you've ever wondered whether flat growth means you're failing—or if God is closing a door—this episode is for you. What You'll Learn in This Episode Kathi and Roger Lipp tackle one of the most emotionally loaded topics for Christian writers and creatives: what to do when your metrics aren't growing the way you hoped. With warmth, humor, and practical wisdom, they explore the difference between staying faithful and getting stuck—and why ignoring your numbers isn't the same as trusting God. Key Takeaways Flat doesn't mean finished. A plateau in your numbers doesn't mean your content doesn't matter or that people don't need what you're offering. Avoid spiritual bypassing. Using easy spiritual answers ("God must be closing that door") to avoid doing the hard work of evaluation isn't faith—it's avoidance. Numbers are indicators, not identity. Your follower count doesn't define your worth or the value of your message. Faithfulness still asks questions. Trusting God doesn't mean denying reality. It means bringing experts into the conversation, trying new things, and adjusting as needed. Weekly tracking beats daily panic. Looking at your numbers daily creates noise and anxiety. A weekly reality check gives you trends without the emotional rollercoaster. About the Weekly Reality Check Kathi introduces a practical tool she's using herself: the Weekly Reality Check. This simple practice helps you pay attention to your numbers without being controlled by them. Track your key metrics—social media followers, podcast downloads, newsletter subscribers—on a weekly basis and look for trends over time rather than reacting to daily fluctuations. Don't miss the free download in the show notes to help you implement this practice in your own writing business. Coming Up Next Week Kathi and Roger Lipp will continue this conversation with Part 2: How to Adjust Without Panic. If you've ever felt overwhelmed when your numbers dip, you won't want to miss it.

June 1, 2026Episode 50829 min

Raise Your Voice: A Real Talk About Women, Writing, and Having Something to Say

Have you ever felt like your opinions don't matter? Like you should just keep quiet and not rock the boat? If you grew up in certain church or cultural contexts, you may have learned that being a "good woman" meant making yourself smaller. But what if that's not what Jesus modeled at all? In this powerful conversation, Kathi sits down with author and friend Susy Flory to explore what it really takes to move from being a writer to becoming a thought leader. This isn't about having millions of followers or starting political movements—it’s about having the courage to share your unique perspective and trusting that your voice matters. What You'll Discover in This Episode Writers have a unique gift: the ability to see things others might miss and articulate truths through story. But that gift often gets buried under fear, people-pleasing, and the message that having opinions is somehow wrong—especially for women. Kathi and Susy dive deep into: The difference between having a "take" and having a "position" you actually live out of Why writers are uniquely positioned to build movements (even small ones) How to develop your point of view through reading, writing, and trusted conversations The freedom that comes from looking to Jesus as your model instead of rigid religious rules Practical ways to test your ideas before putting them out into the world How to handle pushback when you share something that challenges the status quo A New Way to Think About Your Voice Susy shares how her doctoral studies reinforced something crucial: your opinion is valid simply because it's yours. When you can back it up with personal experience, scripture, and reputable sources, even better. But disagreement isn't sin—it’s conversation. As Kathi points out, if you're just rehashing what everyone else has already said, the world doesn't need your voice. But here's the truth: you don't believe everything you've grown up with. You've learned things. You've questioned things. And those insights? They matter. Key Takeaways Your opinion is valid. You don't need permission to have thoughts and share them. Writers see things differently. That's not a bug—it’s a feature God gave you. Jesus modeled conversation. He invited questions, dialogue, and even disagreement. Test your ideas with trusted people. Ask "What am I missing?" before going public. The worst that can happen isn't that bad. Someone unfollowing you is not the same as having cancer. Course correction is okay. You don't have to be perfect to share your perspective. Whether you're writing about faith, family, decluttering, or anything else, you have a unique perspective the world needs to hear. It's time to stop making yourself smaller and start raising your voice.

May 25, 2026Episode 50720 min

DIY Publicity That Actually Works: How One Author Built 20 Years of TV Appearances Without a Publicist

Have you ever dreamed of seeing yourself on local TV promoting your book or message—but had no idea where to start? You're not alone. Many writers feel overwhelmed by the idea of pitching media, building relationships with producers, and finding that newsworthy angle that gets them booked. In this episode of the Writing at the Red House podcast, Kathi Lipp sits down with Tenneil Register, a writer and entrepreneur who has been appearing on local TV for nearly 20 years. Tenneil shares her practical, relationship-centered approach to building community partnerships that have put her in front of new audiences again and again—without ever feeling salesy or pushy. What You'll Learn in This Episode How to find the newsworthy angle in what you're promoting The key to crafting a pitch that makes a producer's job easier Why serving the audience (not selling your book) is the secret to getting asked back How to build and maintain a media contact database What "aftercare" looks like to strengthen your media relationships The power of leave-behind gifts and personal touches Key Takeaways Lead with service, not self-promotion. The most successful media appearances happen when you focus on solving a problem for the audience rather than promoting yourself. When you serve the producer's goals and their viewers' needs, you become someone they want to book again. Be supremely askbackable. Show up prepared, don't overstep boundaries, deliver everything a producer needs, and make their job as easy as possible. That's how you get invited back. Your pitch should read like a news headline. Producers don't have time to read three-page emails. Be clear, succinct, and include the "why now" that connects your topic to their audience's current needs. Relationships matter more than one-time appearances. Treat producers and hosts like the humans they are. Remember details about their lives, follow up with gratitude, and promote their show on your own platforms. Whether you're a first-time author or a seasoned speaker looking to expand your reach, this episode will give you the confidence and clarity to start building your own community partnerships.

May 23, 2026Episode 50622 min

Stop Planning Too Big or Too Small: How Quarterly Goals Actually Move Your Writing Forward

Do you find yourself hitting a new quarter and realizing you have no idea what you should be working on? You're not alone. Writing is a long game, and without intentional planning, it's easy for your creative dreams to fall to the bottom of your to-do list.In this episode, Kathi Lipp and Tenneil Register pull back the curtain on the quarterly planning process they use inside the Red House Writers Collective. If you've ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure how to move forward with your writing, this episode offers a simple framework that can change everything.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy quarterly planning is the perfect unit of time for making real progress on your writing goalsThe Create, Serve, Build framework that helps writers focus on what matters most each monthHow to set realistic goals that fit your actual life—not some fantasy cabin-in-the-woods scenarioPractical tips for keeping your goals in front of you (hint: sticky notes work!)Why 333 words a day can lead to 10,000 words in just 30 daysThe Create, Serve, Build FrameworkCreate (July): Focus on your bigger projects—your book, a speech, a paid membership. This is the month for the 30-day 10K challenge where you aim to write 10,000 words on your work in progress.Serve (August): How are you currently nurturing your audience? Whether it's social media, newsletters, or guest posting, this month is about showing up for the people who need your message right now—not just when your book comes out.Build (September): This is about growing your business and platform. Maybe you're attending a conference, launching coaching services, or pitching to media. Build is how you create sustainability in your writing career.Key TakeawaysA quarter is the perfect balance—long enough to make real progress, short enough to stay focusedYou don't need a color-coded spreadsheet; three sentences on Post-it notes can get you startedPlanning too small or too big are both traps—find the realistic middle groundServing your audience now builds the foundation for readers to care about your future bookIt's not too early to start planning for Q3—July, August, and September are closer than you think!

May 17, 2026Episode 50525 min

The Rule of Three: How to Research Your Way to a Book Deal

If you're planning to pitch a book this year, you might be surprised to learn that the strategies that worked just a few years ago may not cut it anymore. The publishing landscape has shifted dramatically, and understanding these changes could make all the difference in whether your book finds its audience. What You'll Learn in This Episode In this episode of the Writing at the Red House podcast, host Kathi Lipp sits down with literary agent Barb Roose from Books and Such Literary Agency to unpack the critical shifts in book pitching for 2026. Whether you're preparing for conference season or crafting your first query letter, this conversation will help you approach publishers and agents with confidence. The AI Factor in Publishing Barb explains why literary agents can often tell when a query has been AI-generated—and why that matters. She shares practical wisdom about using AI as a tool without letting it undermine your unique voice and intellectual property. The key takeaway? Publishers want books that come from the DNA of humans, especially in faith-based publishing where trust is paramount. Understanding Discoverability in 2026 With 85% of books sold on Amazon and millions of titles competing for attention, how do readers find your book? Barb breaks down the concept of "niche felt need"—the specific problem readers are trying to solve or the exact type of story they're searching for. She offers a practical framework for researching your category and understanding what makes bestselling books in your space successful. The Rule of Three Barb shares her "rule of three" strategy for social media research: find three authors slightly ahead of you in your lane, study their social media comments, and identify what their readers are connecting with. This isn't about copying—it's about understanding what resonates and bringing your unique experience to meet that need. Key Takeaways Good books will always find readers, but you must help readers find your book Your story and experience are what set you apart—don't outsource your thinking to AI Do your Amazon research before pitching to understand what's already in your category Niche down: "Moms who are stressed" is too broad; "moms of small children with control issues" is discoverable Study the comments on successful authors' social media to understand what readers connect with If you're serious about getting your book into the hands of readers who need it, this episode will help you refine your approach and pitch with confidence in 2026.

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