Your Write Life Coach | Motivation and Momentum for Heart-Led Authors

About Your Write Life Coach | Motivation and Momentum for Heart-Led Authors

Welcome to Your Write Life Coach! A podcast where heart-led authors of non-fiction, fiction, and memoir go from stuck and overwhelmed to aligned and unstoppable. Each week, I bring you real stories, hard-won lessons, and secrets from bestselling authors, so you can avoid costly mistakes and move forward with clarity and confidence. With my 30 years of experience, I'll help you shift from confusion and burnout to purpose and momentum. Because book publishing success doesn't have to mean selling your soul. I'm Alice Crider, and I'm so glad you're here. Learn more at alicecrider.com.

Publisher

Alice Crider | Book Editor, Author Coach, Certified Life Coach

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

20 May 2026

Latest episode

19 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

24 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   19 Oct 2026

   Writing, Publishing & Serving Readers - Janet McHenry Interview Part 2 | Ep23

   Janet McHenry is back for Part 2 of our conversation, and this time we get practical. After 40 years and 24 books, Janet has learned a few things about keeping a writing life going through hard seasons, busy seasons, and a publishing world that has changed around her. Janet shares about the biggest challenge of her career: a season about 20 years ago that pulled her away from writing for five or six years. She shares how small assignments, work-for-hire projects, and devotional writing helped her find her way back. We also talk about how she juggles deadlines, speaking, teaching, and coaching (and still makes time to go kayaking), and why she doesn’t believe in writer’s block. Then Janet offers bold, loving advice for writers just starting. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by everything an author has to do today, this conversation will help you breathe. In This Episode The season that set Janet’s writing aside for five or six years, and how she found her way back How work-for-hire projects and devotional writing rebuilt her writing credits and her confidence How Janet manages deadlines, speaking, teaching, coaching, and marketing Why rest, like a day of kayaking on a mountain lake, can be part of what drives the work Knowing your mission and vision so you can say no to what doesn’t fit Why Janet doesn’t believe in writer’s block, and her “reservoir” image for how writers stay filled A fresh insight from the story of Hannah and Eli in 1 Samuel about praying together Advice for new writers Why readers have to feel the need before they’ll pick up your book The Walking Club, Janet’s Facebook group 📒 Key Takeaways for Heart-Led Authors 📒 A hard season doesn’t end your writing life. When Janet couldn’t write the way she used to, she took small assignments. They kept her writing, built her credits, and brought her confidence back. Calendar the work, then protect your rest. Janet maps her deadlines, aims to finish early, and lets a planned day off motivate her to get the work done. Know your slice of the pie. When you understand your mission and vision, saying no to everything else gets easier. Fill the reservoir. Janet doesn’t wait for inspiration. She clears distractions, sets aside the time, and fills herself with deep study so she has something to say. Learn the form before you finish the book. Know what a book like yours looks like in the market so you aren’t trying to fit it into a place in publishing that doesn’t exist. Meet the felt need first. Readers pick up books for what they know they need, like help with grief or anxiety. Meet them there before you offer the deeper answer. About Janet McHenry Janet McHenry is a national speaker and the author of 24 books, including the bestselling PrayerWalk, The Complete Guide to the Prayers of Jesus, and Praying Personalities: Finding Your Natural Prayer Style. Through her ministry, Looking Up, she encourages others to look up in prayer. An avid prayer walker, Janet has been featured in magazines including Health and Woman’s Day. A former newspaper reporter and high school English teacher, she and her husband raised four children in California’s Sierra Valley. This year she celebrates 40 years as a published author. 📚 Books Mentioned 📚 PrayerWalk by Janet McHenry The Complete Guide to the Prayers of Jesus by Janet McHenry Praying Personalities: Finding Your Natural Prayer Style by Janet McHenry (includes the Praying Personalities Quiz, also available at https://prayingpersonalities.com/ (https://prayingpersonalities.com/)) The Walking Club on Facebook: “Walking for Our Health, Praying for Our Communities (https://www.facebook.com/groups/2940524352632825/)” Connect with Janet Website: janetmchenry.com (https://www.janetmchenry.com/) Facebook: @JanetMcHenryAuthor (https://www.facebook.com/JanetMcHenryAuthor) Instagram: @janetmchenry (https://www.instagram.com/janetmchenry) Twitter: @LookingUpFirst (https://x.com/LookingUpFirst) Books: Amazon, other online retailers, and your local bookstore 🟧 Go Deeper 🟧 Work with me one-on-one: Inquire about coaching at alicecrider.com (https://www.alicecrider.com/home-page202032083212-1). Resources: Energy Journal (https://www.alicecrider.com/home-page202032083212-1) to help you discover when you have the best energy to do your best writing.

2. 

   12 Oct 2026

   From a Calling to a 40-Year Writing Career - Janet McHenry Interview Part 1 | Ep22

   What happens when you sit on a rock at a women’s retreat, half-rolling your eyes at the assignment, and hear God say, “I want you to write for me”? For Janet McHenry, it became a writing life that has now spanned four decades and 24 books, including the bestselling PrayerWalk and The Complete Guide to the Prayers of Jesus. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Janet and I talk about how that calling unfolded one small step at a time: devotions and magazine articles first, then children’s board books, chapter books, and a girls’ mystery series, and eventually the prayer books that became her life’s message. She also opens up about a season of doubt earlier this year, when she hadn’t had a book contract in a couple of years and wondered whether the calling had run its course. What happened between takeoff and landing on that flight to Alabama will give you chills. We also talk about how much publishing has changed since the late 1980s, why Janet encourages writers to “write what we don’t know yet,” how writing turned a self-described undisciplined woman into a disciplined one, and why her brand grew organically out of simply following the call. In This Episode How Janet juggled newspaper reporting, ten years in her husband’s law office, teaching high school English, and raising four kids while answering a call to write The retreat near Lake Tahoe, the rock, and the moment she heard, “I want you to write for me” Why a string of rejections from women’s magazines didn’t end the story Her starting small The college senior who swore she could never write a couple hundred pages, and the 95,000-word book she has since written Her season of doubt this year, and the email waiting for her when her plane landed How publishing has changed Writing what you don’t know yet as a path to intellectual and spiritual growth Organic branding versus trying to brand yourself Why Praying Personalities is the book that stretched her most 📗 Key Takeaways for Heart-Led Authors 📗 A calling can start small. Janet never set out to write a book. She wrote short pieces she could already write well and let each step lead to the next. Test the call. Janet distinguishes between someone telling you “you should write a book” and a calling you’ve examined prayerfully and seen confirmed. Doubt doesn’t cancel the call. Even after 40 years, Janet wondered if she was done. Her answer was surrender, not striving, and the next door opened. Write what you don’t know yet. Curiosity and inquiry can grow you as a writer and as a person. Your brand can grow out of your message. Janet’s identity as “the prayer lady” came from following what was on her heart, not from choosing colors and fonts first. About Janet McHenry Janet McHenry is a national speaker and the author of 24 books, including the bestselling PrayerWalk, The Complete Guide to the Prayers of Jesus, and Praying Personalities: Finding Your Natural Prayer Style. Through her ministry, Looking Up, she encourages others to look up in prayer. An avid prayer walker, Janet has been featured in magazines including Health and Woman’s Day. A former newspaper reporter and high school English teacher, she and her husband raised four children in California’s Sierra Valley. This year she celebrates 40 years as a published author. 📚 Books Mentioned 📚 PrayerWalk by Janet McHenry The Complete Guide to the Prayers of Jesus by Janet McHenry Praying Personalities: Finding Your Natural Prayer Style by Janet McHenry (includes the Praying Personalities Quiz, also available at https://prayingpersonalities.com/ (https://prayingpersonalities.com/)) Connect with Janet Website: janetmchenry.com (https://www.janetmchenry.com/) Facebook: @JanetMcHenryAuthor (https://www.facebook.com/JanetMcHenryAuthor) Instagram: @janetmchenry (https://www.instagram.com/janetmchenry) Twitter: @LookingUpFirst (https://x.com/LookingUpFirst) 🟧 Go Deeper 🟧 Work with me one-on-one: inquire about coaching at alicecrider.com (https://www.alicecrider.com/home-page202032083212-1). Resources: Energy Journal (https://www.alicecrider.com/home-page202032083212-1) to help you discover when you have the best energy to do your best writing.

3. 

   5 Oct 2026

   The Myth of More Time: Why Energy, Not Time, Is Your Best Writing Resource | Ep21

   I tackle a belief that quietly sabotages a lot of writers: that the real obstacle to getting words on the page is a lack of time. Using a recent, honest example from my own life — sitting down to write this very episode and hitting nothing but brain fog — I make the case that energy, not time, is usually the real bottleneck. I share three practical shifts for working with your natural energy instead of fighting it, no matter how full your schedule already is, and introduce a free tool to help you find your own best writing hours. In This Episode Why my own attempt to write this episode kept stalling out — and what changed when she moved it to her highest-energy hour instead of her last open time slot The idea of the “Round Tuit” — a playful token some motivational speakers have handed out as a nudge against waiting for the “perfect moment” to take action Why willpower is a limited resource, and what happens when you keep writing during your lowest-energy hours out of guilt or obligation Three shifts Alice recommends: finding your personal best writing window, working in short high-energy bursts instead of forcing long low-energy ones, and making honest, intentional trades with your time rather than chasing a mythical energy surplus Why the goal isn't a full schedule overhaul — just noticing where your energy actually is ✍️ This Week's Invitation ✍️ For the next week or two, pause a few times a day — morning, midday, evening — and notice whether your energy feels high, medium, or low. Jot down the time and what you ate or drank around it to start spotting your own patterns. Free Resources My 2-Week Energy Journal — a free tool to help you track your energy across the day and find your natural best writing hours. Available at alicecrider.com (https://www.alicecrider.com/home-page202032083212-1). Live Workshop on Wednesday, October 7: The Missing Link: What Stands Between the Writer You Are and the Author You’re Meant to Be. I'll be doing live coaching and sharing practical tools to help you move forward with real momentum. Join the newsletter at alicecrider.com (https://www.alicecrider.com/home-page202032083212-1) for details and the link to join. Resources & Mentions 📒 The “Round Tuit” token, popularized in motivational speaking circles 📒 My 2-Week Energy Journal (free download at alicecrider.com (https://www.alicecrider.com/home-page202032083212-1)) 📗 Grab your free copy of My 2-Week Energy Journal at alicecrider.com to start noticing your own best writing hours this week. Available at alicecrider.com (https://www.alicecrider.com/home-page202032083212-1).

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

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Guest appearances

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