Daria White is a writer of sweet romance, christian ficiton and cozy mysteries. With over ten novels she knows what it takes, and doesn’t take, to get that book written. Which is why she started the group NoTimeWriter Mentorship program to give writers the support and encrouagement they need to write and finish their book!
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TRANSCRIPTION STARTS HERE:
Kat
Hi, Daria, how are you doing?
Daria
I am great, Kat. How are you?
Kat
I’m good. You are in Texas, right? And I am on the East Coast. We’re all getting cozy. We’re waiting for weather to impede our interview. But other than Texas, would you let the audience know a little bit about yourself?
Daria
Well, I am a Christian and fictional author, podcaster, course creator. A little more personal, I am definitely a huge fan of classic Hollywood movies. So like 1969 and prior is my era. I will watch modern films, but I love the classics. I indulge in chocolate now and then and I use pilates to keep in shape. But overall, I love writing. It’s something that I started back when I was a teenager, maybe around 2003, but I kept it as a hobby. I kept it to myself for a long time and it wasn’t until 2013 that I self published for the first time. But even then, I wasn’t still too serious about it. But I decided to go all the way for it after some encouragement from my family in 2018. So that’s what I’ve been doing and I absolutely love it.
Kat
Yeah, getting that family encouragement is pretty big. Not everyone gets that because most people think that writing is not a full career, let’s say. I was going to say waste of time, but that’s not fair. It’s a hobby to most of our parents, right?
Daria
Yeah. And I think that’s when things shifted because since I kept it as a hobby, my family didn’t really see it that way, as a business. But then when I started taking it seriously, that’s when things shifted. So I was like, hey, I need this time to write. And I started setting those boundaries in terms of what they expected for me, like, hey, I can’t do that., Like, I’m taking this seriously. So that really shifted things for me. So now they’re like, oh, you’re writing. And they’re my biggest supporters, so.
Kat
So how did you how did you get to that mind shift from 2013 to 2018? Was it gradual or was it something that hit you, one day?
Daria
I think it was gradual because, even though I self published in 2013, I was still like, can I really do this? It was just a lot of back and forth, but writing has always been there. And even though my degree is in something totally different, my degree is in health care management because I love science. I love science, and at one time I consider going into the medical field. So I thought that that was it. But writing, this seems to be what I’m passionate about. So when I came to that conclusion, I was like, you know what? Let’s just go for it. And then the conversation I had with my dad is like, well, that’s what you want to do, then go for it. If you really put everything in, I believe you can do it. It’s like, you know what? Yeah, it’s like, yeah, I got my degree. I worked hard for that, but my heart is here.
Kat
Right. Yeah. I mean, I have a degree that I never used. I don’t know if you use you. Teaches us stuff, something? Responsibility, maybe? I don’t know. I can tell my kids they should go to college. So you went back to writing. What was your first book? What genre was it?
Daria
I started in sweet romance, and it wasn’t even a novel length. I would say more of a novella, but I called it my ‘What If Christmas Wish.’ So it kind of had a fantasy feel to it, where she kind of goes into an alternate reality of what her life could have been. I kind of wrote it from that angle. And I got a book cover designer and I was able to find, I think I updated the cover in 2018, I found another designer, and she really just nailed it with the images. That’s another thing I love is book covers. Like, I know when a story is going to get finished, is when I get a book cover because I love the visual. And it has to be right, so that was my first one. It was probably maybe no more maybe around 30,000, 40,000 words, but that was the first one.
Kat
Okay, all right and did you read Sweet Romance? Is that why you chose that?
Daria
It is one of my favorites. I do like a classic romance. Maybe that’s just me. And I started to think, you know what, if I like them so much, why don’t I write them? So I started to write them myself, and then it branched out into other genres later, but that’s where it started.
Kat
Okay, all right and when you started to write it, you decided that you were going to write a full story. Was that the first time that you had written that big of a story? Like, you write short stories as well, but what was your journey like on writing that big of a story? Because sometimes writers are like, I’m a writer, but a novella is a lot like 40,000 words is a lot more than a 1500-word short story.
Daria
And I’ll let you say that because when I first wrote back in 2003, I wrote in, like, a loose leaf notebook by hand, and that was, like, 70 pages. So I really didn’t have any type of structure with my What If Christmas Wish, I just wrote it. It wasn’t until I started to get better at my skills, like, okay, we need story structure. This needs more of a solid plot. We need more character arcs. And I just learned as I went, but I think I just let it flow at the time. So it came out to that particular word count. But now with more experience, now I plan like, okay, this is the word count that I’m going for. But back then, I was like, I’m just going to write until it’s finished, right?
Kat
Yeah. I had no idea what story structure was like, this is a book, and I’m going to write to this end, we’ll see. I tend to overwrite, so I had an editor tell me to cut 30,000 words.
Daria
And I underwrite, so I sometimes have to add more description here. No, put more here. Like, okay.
Kat
It’s funny how different writers can be, right? So between 2013, the Kindle was around at that point. So how was your launch? I mean, were you timid about putting it out? Did you tell anybody? Did you just sort of sit back and wait, or what was that, once you hit publish?
Daria
I think the only people that knew were my immediate family, so I didn’t even think of a launch. I just put it out there. Let’s just see what happens. Because, again, back then, it was still somewhat of a hobby. It’s like I did it just to see if I could do it. Those fears, like, okay, get my writing out there so other people see it besides me. No launch plan, nothing. I think maybe my sister’s read it. I don’t even know if they did, it’s here. I think that’s how it went. I think I kept it a little bit more quiet. I still wasn’t quite ready to say, okay, this is what I’m doing.
Kat
Yeah, but did you expect anything from it? Were you secretly hoping that you just like, no, I’m working.
Daria
I don’t think I did. I think I had hope, like, okay, let’s see who likes it. And I did get some reviews. I think I did reach out to a couple of bloggers at the time that I knew about to read it and review it. I think I put it on Goodreads as well. But other than that, I was like, let’s just see.
Kat
Yeah, it’s hard to remember, but 2013, there wasn’t that much information out there. The Internet was there, but anybody ten years younger than me doesn’t believe me, and beyond. But 2013, blogs were big. They were a huge deal back then, nobody reads blogs anywhere, like, forums. I think Twitter was a baby. Nobody really knew about Twitter at that point. I remember, in about 2014 being on Twitter, and I could talk directly to Tessa Dare because that’s how small Twitter was. Courtney Milan and I got into it one day, on this argument. I only remember that because I was talking to Courtney Milan about romance books, she doesn’t remember me, but that’s how small Twitter was. And the information I think we had, Writer’s Digest, was giving out information, but no one else. I remember desperately looking for, like, what do you do when your book is done? And there was still kind of a stigma of like, oh, you self published. Okay, you’re not really a writer. I don’t know about you. But I didn’t really tell anyone because I was like, well, nobody’s really going to believe me because I couldn’t sell it to the one of the big guys.
Daria
And that’s the route I went, because I did consider querying at the time, but I went the self published route, just in case this doesn’t do anything. I have to worry about being rejected, in that capacity
Kat
Right, those rejection letters. So once you got that done, did you start right away on something else, or were you kind of like, well, I did it now. Time to go be in the medical field?
Daria
Well, I kept it to myself. I still wrote. I was still writing my journals, and this is how old school I was, you can probably remember this. I had a three floppy disk that had all of my material saved, and I ended up losing that. So I don’t even know what was on there. I was able to remember some things, to write it down. Now I have a better backup plan. But with that, I’m like, man, I think it’s because I use it so much, that little metal clip just malfunctioned on me. But I still kept things saved. I still wrote. And I decided as it got closer to 2017, 2018, I was like, you know what? Let’s go back through my What If Christmas Wish, because I did have a writer that reached out to me from Goodreads that read my book, and she had more experience, and she’s like, you know what? I think the story would be stronger if this went through a series. Yes, I edit the book, but it needed a little bit more work, so I went more into that process of editing. Yes, I was a reader, but I started reading even more to learn story structure and how other boxes plotted.
Kat
Yeah, that’s nice of her. Instead of trashing, like, these days, Goodreads is all about trashing.
Daria
Yes. I was very grateful to her for being willing to even read it and then just to give me that helpful advice because she saw that, you’re a newer author. So let me give you some advice, some tips here, and then from there I begin, okay, let me really study this and really get better at the craft.
Kat
Okay. So that’s kind of when you thought, well, if I want to write more, maybe I can keep going. All right, so what was your next book?
Daria
I think that’s when I started to write Match-Made Christmas, and that was going into 2019, and I started to get more involved with the writing community on Twitter. And I met another author there who was in the same genre as me, and we became critique partners. So I read her book, she read mine, and she helped me again, just because she had more experience, she helped me comb through it, helped that. So Match-Made Christmas was the next release. It’s a little bit longer, maybe a little over 50,000 words, maybe close to 60, somewhere in there. But that was the next one that I wrote, and I did query that book. I did decide to query that. It wasn’t accepted, but I went on ahead and self published it. Like, you know what? Just because no one took it, that doesn’t mean that I can’t still put it out there. So I put it out there. This is before Smashwords and Draft2Digital combined. So I put it out on Smashwords, I did Amazon, and I started to build an author website, started to build a presence on social media. So I started to gain fans. So I would say Match-Made Christmas was kind of like the official breakout book.
Kat
Okay. And that was sweet romance as well.
Daria
Right.
Kat
Okay. So then how did you break into mystery?
Daria
That really started at the height of the pandemic.
Kat
Everything changed.
Daria
Yes. And my sisters and I mean, I’ve always watched the show kind of here and there, but I never really watched Murder, She Wrote like that. But we just went on.
Kat
You were part of the binge.
Daria
Yes, we went on a Murder, She Wrote Binge, all twelve seasons. And I’m like, I think I want to write a cozy mystery. So I used that show as a way of inspiration. And then I did research on how to write a mystery. I started reading mysteries and like, you know what? I think I can come up with something. And so I created my character, Bianca Wallace, and because I’m based in Texas, I put the small town in Texas, and so she is a graphic designer, but she’s also an amateur sleuth. So right now I’m currently on book three, but when I did that, I was like, so the first book in that series is called Photobomb. But yeah, it started with A Murder, She Wrote, and we really have nothing to do at this time but this A Murder, She Wrote.
Kat
Hey, it’s better than whatever would have come out of Tiger King. Got a Tiger, maybe an elephant now, I don’t know how we’re going to get this into Texas. That’s amazing, though. I was talking to somebody else the other day about how writing, like, you have to have a passion for it. But the truth is, I think what holds us back sometimes is thinking that it can’t be learned. For some reason, people think that they just have this magical talent and those who write just wake up one day or maybe they’re born with it or whatever. But the truth is you can learn story structure and you can learn how to write a book. Like, you just have a whole story about how you look into cozy mysteries. How do you put together a mystery? Because it’s going to be different than a romance, right? There’s going to be similarities with differences. So did you enjoy that process of learning a whole different genre? How was that for you? Was it easy or not so easy? Where there are ups and downs to it?
Daria
I think the only thing that I had to really have a mindset shift about was now, as opposed to romance being the main thing in my sweet romance. In cozy mysteries, the mystery is the main thing, romance can be the subplot. So I had to shift from romance a little bit and have the mystery, trying to find out who this murderer is, the focal point. So that took some practice and it took me a while with Photobomb to kind of get into a rhythm of writing in a different way. Okay, yes, there’s a romance subplot in Photobomb and of course throughout the series, but the focal point is, okay, how do we set up the murder? Who are going to be the red herrings? How do I leave clues, not give the killer away? And then the big reveal at the end where my readers like, oh my gosh, I did not see that coming. Keep them on the edge of their seat. So that I definitely had to practice, which is why I am a big advocate for reading in the genre that you want to write in. So that was interesting, but it was fun to me. I’m like, this is very interesting. I kind of like this set up, it’s still the same. I still use the same outline process with Save the Cat. And so I just insert like, okay, I need to insert a red herring here. Okay, this is what’s going to happen here in the subplot. So it all just comes together. So, yeah, it can be learned.
Kat
Yeah. And there’s a lot more thinking to writing than sometimes we want to admit. Trying to figure out, you could have your character, you can have your plot, more or less, but you might take a few days to figure out the red herring, or you might take a few days to figure out, oh, no, that’s too easy. I have to put it this way. I don’t know about you, but when I was first starting out, I really thought that a writer had like, everything in their head or maybe if they did it, it would come and all they did was write. Like, they’re going to sit and I’m going to write. And if I couldn’t sit and write, then what the heck was wrong with me? And now I try to tell people, like, no, sometimes you have to go think about what your character is supposed to do, and that will help you get, like, deeper, whatever genre it is. But I find mysteries really impressive because you’ve got to figure out how to keep the reader on your toes, more than anything, and just because it’s cozy, it can’t be cheesy. You are writing for readers who read mysteries all the time. That’s really challenging. I would say intimidating to me. But you did it.
Daria
It can be. And at first I wasn’t too sure about it, but again, I couldn’t get the thought out of my head. I had like, you know what? Let’s just work on it. Let’s work on the characters. And now I’m like, wow, I’m on book three. People really took to the first one, second one, okay.
Kat
So in two years, you’re on book three. So the third is coming out, or it’s already out?
Daria
I’m in my revision cave. My plan is to have it out early next year, and I’m about halfway through the revision. So once I have, like, okay, halfway, then I can go ahead and announce it to my readers, and they’re loving it. And it was interesting because I told my readers ahead of time, since they were used to be writing speed romance, and, like, I got into other genres. You’re more than welcome to read it, but this is something else that I’m doing, and they really took to it, so they so they love whatever I write.
Kat
Nice. So even changing genres, you didn’t have to switch reader group, really? That’s nice. See, I really believe in readers, and I think that they read more genres than just one. Some people disagree with me, but that’s great. I’m glad that your reader stuck with you, because that makes me right, basically. Just kidding. I’m just kidding. So people have time to read the first two, and this is going on mid January, so if you like cozy mysteries or even if you want to give it a try. I gave cozy mysteries a try this year because I had never read them, and I really enjoyed them. I thought that they were great. So you have time to start reading, before the third one comes out, and we’ll absolutely have links in the show notes or to your web page, and they can find it. So in two years, you wrote two and a half books, more or less, or three books, I guess, and you started a podcast, and you have a whole writing group. So besides writing your own groups, tell us about your podcast, and then we’ll go into No Time Writer as well. You’re a very busy woman, Daria.
Daria
As you were saying, I think is it more than that? I think it’s maybe a total of over ten books, probably, now that I think about it, I thinks. So the podcast started in 2019, and I just found myself giving out tips and advice to new writers who are probably in the same boat as me. And I also shared my writing journey, I shared encouragement. And that really began the following. So I think the last time I checked the analytics, I think I have listeners from everywhere. I don’t think I can even name all the countries.
Kat
What’s the name of your podcast for people?
Daria
Writer in the Making.
Kat
Writer in the Making, okay. We’ll have a link to that as well. So do you mostly talk about writing tips, like the craft?
Daria
It’s a mixture. Writing tips, maybe I saw a post that was writing related that I thought was helpful to me. I share that if I learn something in my own journey, I share that, again, my personal journey. Like, I let them know, hey, this is what I’m working on. I’m in the revision cave. If that’s the process, you’re going through anything. Even when I was querying at the time, before I decided to self publish, that was my decision. I share about the querying process and how I went through how I did that. So it really is a mixture. So it basically is my journey. But I do share tips about writing craft along the way to help writers that may need that.
Kat
Yeah, that’s wonderful, though, because it really breaks down that wall of like, oh, look, here’s a book. And some people can feel like, oh, she’s putting out all these books. It must be easy. And that can have problems both ways of like, well, if it’s not easy for someone, maybe they’ll give up because they think it’s supposed to be easy, or maybe they won’t start because they have no idea how to compete. So I love that you sort of break down that barrier and let people glimpse behind the scenes for you.
Daria
Yeah, I know what it felt like when I first started, and I think it probably sparked too, from the writer that helped me, like I mentioned before on, Goodreads, and I liked how she was just willing to share. You know what, I’m willing to share. If this is something that helped me, maybe it can help this other person. And I didn’t even plan for the podcast to go that far, but I think I have probably over 300, it may be close to 400 episodes. I lost count with that too.
Kat
You just keep going. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my gosh, you are so prolific. Because I think I started this podcast at the same time, and I have half the amount of episode. Do you sleep? Oh, my goodness.
Daria
Yes, I do.
Kat
A little bit, sometimes, maybe. All right, so you have a podcast. You’ve written several books, both in cozy mystery and sweet romance. Do you have another genre?
Daria
I have some Christian fiction titles that I am working on as well, so I’m hoping to have at least one of those out by next year. That’s one of my goals, but so far those are my main three. But I kind of use it as my motto. I write what comes to mind. So if I have an idea and it may be fantasy, then that’s where it’s going. Or if it’s more in sweet romance, then okay. But those right now are my main three speed romance, cozy mysteries and Christian fiction.
Kat
I’m going to give you a high five, like, digitally, because again, I write in three separate genres, and I constantly tell, I fight against all those who tell me to only write in one, because, you know what? The decision is already made. I am not going to go buy new ISBNs. Just say it again. So you have the podcast, you have several books out, and then I know you because of No Time Writer. I think I found you on Instagram, but the Internet is big. Maybe through a summit. Did we do a summit together? I don’t even know. So you have No Time Writer, tell us about this course and this mentorship that you do for writers.
Daria
Well, No Time Writer, I launched it this past summer, and it really stemmed from the fact that, I know that time management is still a challenge. Whether someone is brand new well, let’s say they have some experience, but they haven’t yet found their rhythm. And I just decided, like, you know what? I found my own pace when it comes to writing, and I personally don’t believe in writing every day. Now, if someone is brand new and they kind of want to develop the habits and fine, I kind of compare it to, if you’re looking to lose weight, you may be intense at first, but as you reach your goals, you may not have to be as intense. Now it’s just a point of maintenance. And because it’s part of your lifestyle, now you know what to do, because you know because now you know your body. I think of the same concept with writing. So I personally don’t write every day, roughly four to five days out of the week. And I know my writing average, so I know in 20 to 30 minutes I can roughly write about 500, up to maybe 1300 words, so I know what to expect.
Kat
What, wait a minute. Back up. 1300 words, you can get out in 30 to 40 minutes?
Daria
Roughly.
Kat
Wow, okay.
Daria
That took time and practice.
Kat
That takes time and practice. Is it also a matter of knowing what you’re going to write? Do you have an outline? Do you just sit down and start writing? How did you come into that? Because that’s fast. If people don’t type very much, they don’t know that that’s fast.
Daria
I really don’t even consider myself to be a fast typer. But how I usually start with a story is I start with an idea. So and then I’ll go ahead and I’ll fill out the Save the Cat outline, with my 15 main beats. So I kind of have an idea generally of what the story is going to be. So all of those slots are filled out, but I also leave room for creativity, so I’m not so rigid with the outline. But I personally, and I teach this to my students, how to customize my schedule. So I’m now not thinking, okay, I need to be writing now for okay, I have this time pocket to write here. It may be early in the morning. Okay. I have this time pocket here in the afternoon. Or for some of us, for those of us who may write late at night, I have done that before. So it’s just a point of me customizing my schedule to fit around my life, my responsibilities, and when I see that time pocket, okay, this is my focus, time to write. Everything’s been set up. It’s in my schedule.
Daria
So I’m focused, I have my outline, and then I set the timer. Like I said, my timer is my best friend. When I see that timer go like, okay, I only have 45 minutes, only have 30 minutes, and it just shifts something in my brain. And then there are some days where I may not make that full 1300. So in my opinion, it still adds up. So if I have a slower day and it’s like 200 words, that’s fine, because the following day I may do over 1000. But it’s all adding up. And I have used that system to a point where I can write up to 10,000 words for the week, just by that consistency.
Kat
Okay, all right, so it’s enough to keep you thinking and in the book, but it’s not stressing you out that, oh, I have to write, but today I can’t write. And getting that, I don’t know, making yourself, like, the victim of your own time, right? So I like that. And I think I agree with you. I think 200 words is better than zero words. I mean, a sentence is better than zero words. At least you’re continually in that story, right?
Daria
Right. Absolutely. And it relieves so much pressure. And even with my last draft, with this third book, in my cozy mystery series, there were slow days. Even though I had my outline, like you said, thinking about a scene, I needed a little bit more time with some scenes, but I still made the effort, like, okay, I’m going to just go ahead and do it. Yes, I took time to rest, again, I don’t believe in writing every day, but I still got it done. So just having that determination, having that discipline, I was able to finish that first draft in 60 days. And that was like, maybe a little bit over 50,000 words. So it is possible.
Kat
Yes. So you believe in outlining, too, though? Did you say you do Save the Cat?
Daria
Yes.
Kat
Okay. Do you teach that with No Time Writer, or do you sort of let do you distinguish between discovery writers and plotters? What do we call them? Plotters and pantsers.
Daria
Pantsers.
Kat
None of us are like, James Patterson writes out like 80 pages of outlining. Like, nobody does that, but you have the beats. I guess that sort of helps you really get the full picture of the book. Okay, and for your characters, do you have them fully flushed out? Do you fill out something or do you sort of allow yourself to get to know them? I mean, I guess now that it’s just following Bianca is the name. Is that the same character throughout? So maybe by the third book is that you know her and you’re ready to jump into it.
Daria
Yeah, I think by now I know Bianca pretty well. But to answer the first question, I do include my methods inside No Time Writer. So Save the Cat is mentioned, but I also let writers know, too, that if this is not something that you do, that is completely fine. So I’m never going to tell someone you have to outline. Some of us like, hey, I’m a pantser. I just let it flow. Perfect. But I do have it there just in case if someone wants to have the general idea of their story but still leave room for creativity. So I’m definitely a pantser, in the middle. Because I’m not doing lines for line for line. If that works for some people, awesome. But for me, I’m like I like to leave some room because I may have had someone be a red herring in my book, but then as I write, I’m like, you know what? They would be the least likely person. Let me make them the culprit of the crime. I leave room for that, as well. But yeah, I think it’s just a point of, again, a writer. I think the overall theme of the course is helping writers come into what I call your true author identity, learning your unique pace, learning how you write. And then that in turn is going to translate into your book because you’re being yourself. You’re embracing that, and that’s what’s going to connect with your readers, your authenticity.
Kat
Yeah, I really like that. Yeah, because there’s no point in us stressing out. And I love that you have this beautiful picture. Like, don’t compare yourself to others. I think that’s one of the biggest problems in the indie author world is like, everywhere you turn, every podcast you turn to your advice, it’s always about being more prolific and more and more, like, putting out more and more and more books. And I feel like if you’re a newer writer or if your lifestyle just doesn’t line up with that. It can be frustrating to the point of where you don’t even try, which is sad. I really want people to get their books out. So I love that you talk about not comparing yourself to others, and take 20 minutes, on Instagram the other day, you’re like, just take, like, it’s 20 minutes. Just do it and sit down. And I love that message that you have. So how has the response been from the indie writers out there? Are they able to calm themselves down?
Daria
Well, I tested it out before I officially launched it, and my beta group testers, they’re like, wow, I never thought about it like that. So basically, it had some eye opening moments. And I did a Black Friday deal with the course recently, too. So I’m getting newer students come in, and they’re like, this is just so encouraging. Again, I never saw that like this. And I shared in the reel that I did about one student tell me, I learned to give myself grace, which is why I did that reel. To remind authors is like, okay, yes, be disciplined. Yes, have a game plan. But if you miss it, if you can’t do it on particular day, if a family emergency comes up and you can’t write, that’s okay. Again, this is about you coming into your own, embracing your process. And everybody’s process looks different because we’re all different. So they’ve really taken to that, and they’re like, you know what? This relieves that unnecessary pressure that we may feel sometimes.
Kat
Yes. And I think, like you said before, it allows you, if you’re not under stress, for your voice as an author, to come through your story. Like, we are putting our own pressure on ourselves. We can take as much time as we want. This is to be fair and to be honest. And anyone who listens to my podcast knows, I’ve had to learn this. I am somebody who is always going, I am ready to go. I want to get things out there. And I’ve deliberately taken time this year to wait to launch my books. It’s very difficult. But I think that your message is, like, being yourself and, like, taking that stress off will actually make your books better. And I fully, 100% believe in that. I think that’s a message that more of us should be telling each other. The traditional world does not put out that many books, and it’s okay. If you can put out four books a year and they’re your best work and you’re not killing yourself, that’s awesome. But I would say most people can’t do that, without killing themselves or, like, never talking to their family again, which is not good. We want to live our life right? We want to enjoy life and not be stressed out because we have to go get an oil change, and how dare it and impede our writing.
Daria
Life happens. Life happens. I definitely do appreciate because again, these were things that I learned in my own writing journey. And even recently there was a family emergency and I had to stop what I was doing. But because again, I have developed my system, I know my rhythm, I know my patterns. I dealt with the family emergency, but I was able to pick back up and keep going with the writing. So No Time Writer does teach, like, hey, life happens. You can still pivot, you can still adjust and you can still finish the goals that you have for yourself. And I tell this to my students too, even if the date changes, that’s fine. The goal is still the same. So it may not be the end of this month, but you can go for next month. It’s totally fine.
Kat
Yeah. So is this course in person, is it online? Is it a hybrid? Like what are the details that way?
Daria
It is currently online.
Kat
Okay, but do you talk to them or do they do it like self paced? That’s what I wanted to say. Is it self paced or is it like a meeting?
Daria
It is self paced, but I do have a community that comes with it. I love the host platform that I’m using because they just launched another way to build community. So those that may not be on Facebook or as active, they can still get that community aspect. So I will show up and answer their comments. If they have questions, they can always email me. I go live in my Facebook group to answer questions. I’m going live today as well later on this afternoon just to answer any questions about the new platform that just launched, with that community. So I also have it to where they can write live with me. So group sprints together. And then I also have it on the calendar too, for this Saturday, actually, check ins. So they’ll come again, live with me and they can let me know, hey, how’s your goals coming along? What did you accomplish for this year? So this will be the last one for this particular year, but hey, let’s go ahead and just share what we did, let’s be proud of ourselves and then set new goals for the new year. So it is self paced, but I am still a part of it. So they feel connected. And of course with it being a community, they can connect with one another and support one another.
Kat
Yeah, that sounds wonderful. Yeah. So they can do as much as they want, but they have that like, accountability, I guess, in that community and other people going through it with them. So do you have launches or can people join whenever they find you?
Daria
They can join whenever they find me. I do have an application process just to make sure it’s the right fit. And then I’ll be able to determine like, okay, this is what you’re looking for. And this will fit you because it may not be the right fit for them. And that’s okay. I totally get that. But I will go live, in a sense and do a training. I probably do that every few months. So I’m planning on doing that maybe in the coming new year to where I teach a different concept about the course, and then I’ll be able to share with them. And if they’re interested, great, you can go ahead and apply. And if they’re not ready, there’s even a mini course available that kind of gives them a hint of what the course is about. They can learn more and make the decision from there.
Kat
Okay. All right, so where do they find you for those lives? Is that Facebook?
Daria
I usually post it on my Instagram. If they’re on my author mailing list, they’re definitely going to hear about it because I get to them that way. But also I will put the event on, like Eventbrite. That way, if someone’s not but they’re still looking for a type of event in that capacity, then they can find me that way. But I always announce it via social media, my mailing list, and then I usually use Eventbrite to bring new people.
Kat
All right, so we will send people to your website and they can get on your DariaWhite.com and they can get on your mailing list, which they should. And they should follow you on Instagram because it’s always nice to get some encouraging message on Instagram and not just adds to, like, finding you there. And then your third what is the title of the third mystery coming out?
Daria
Lather, Rinse, Murder.
Kat
Oh, your titles are so good. Oh, my goodness. So those are coming out as well, which all of that they can find DariaWhite.com, right?
Daria
Right.
Kat
Okay, perfect. Thank you so much for coming on and talking to us. We’re going to have to have you back, but I love what you’re doing, and I think that it’s really encouraging for writers and it’s probably just what they need, as the world really opens and goes back to normal, and everyone’s life is no longer watching Murder, She Wrote, unfortunately.
Daria
Thank you, Kat, for having me. I appreciate it. I love being able to share and again, not just about my personal journey in writing craft, but again, just be able to help authors discover their own.
Kat
Yes, absolutely.