Episode 486: BEST OF EPISODE: The Four Best Ways to Build Your Writing Career in the New Year With Kathleen Kerr

December 29, 2025

This episode was original published December 20, 2021 (Episode 275).

Have you ever wondered how to become a better writer? Today, Kathi Lipp and Kathleen Kerr, an editor and speaker, tackle this important question by breaking down a frequent lie that writers believe about being a writer and replacing it with applicable strategies for how to strengthen your writing knowledge and practice.

In this episode, Kathi and Kathleen discuss:

How to be a great student of writing.
Their favorite fiction and nonfiction books.
Why you need to learn the rules of writing before you break them.

Listen in and learn how to improve your writing skills before the new year begins.

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About Our Guests

Kathleen Kerr

Literary Agent

Alive Literary

Kathleen believes in writers. With long experience in amplifying authors’ messages, she has the passion and expertise to come alongside writers as they hone their ideas and navigate a changing publishing landscape. She’s always on the lookout for the bold voices that are shaping conversations in today’s culture. Kathleen graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with degrees in French and English. She now lives with her husband, Noah, and their two daughters in Oregon’s Willamette valley. She can usually be found reading, camping, and creating chaos in the kitchen.

Website

Promised Resources

The Collective – Writing at the Red House
Join The Collective community for writers, plus exclusive enroll offers for podcast listeners.

Resources Mentioned

Harvest House Publishers
Publisher where Kathleen Kerr is an acquisitions editor.
Susy Flory
Recommended nonfiction author.
Anne Lamott
Inspirational author recommended in the episode.
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Recommended fiction book discussed in the episode.
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
Recommended nonfiction book discussed in the episode.
The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber
Recommended fiction book discussed in the episode.
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Classic fiction book discussed in the episode.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Classic fiction book discussed in the episode.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Nonfiction/memoir recommended by the hosts.
Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
Memoir/novel recommended by the hosts.
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Memoir recommended by the hosts.

Some links may be affiliate links. Purchasing through them supports our show at no extra cost to you. Thank you!

Full Transcript

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Episode Topics

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