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In this solo episode, Mark shares an article he posted on Substack earlier in March called “Publishing Wide But Shallow.”
Prior to the main content (the article), Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episode’s sponsor.
This episode is sponsored by Toronto Indie Author Conference, taking place in Toronto, ON in April 2026.
In the interview, Mark and Nicole talk about:
- Nicole’s background always being interested in writing, along with a love of mysteries such as Nancy Drew and others
- Taking journalism in high school and also at Mount Royal
- Her first novel being published in 2019 and how it was near the same time she was first diagnosed with ADHD
- Published a few articles that lead to her co-author reaching out and suggesting the idea of collaborating on that book
- The collaboration being done mostly online (Nicole in Alberta, and Kirsten in Vienna) and how they divided the work up while writing into the same Google Doc simultaneously
- The “every Friday” accountability connections they did along the way
- The three year period between coming up with the idea to the book being released (in the fall of 2025)
- The most important message of the book to writers
- How the combination of being a bright kid with undiagnosed ADHD meant it mostly went unnoticed
- The book A NOVEL APPROACH: STRATEGIES FOR ADHD WRITERS by Nicole Bross and Kristen Donaghey
- The manual typewriter collection that Nicole has (which includes about 20 of them)
- Advice Nicole would offer to writers with ADHD
- Where an outline can actually prove to be helpful by offering a goal they’re reaching toward as well as manageable chunks of achievement
- Nicole’s novel PAST PRESENCE which is a supernatural mystery novel
- The different timelines Nicole has experienced with traditional publishing and self-publishing
- And more…
After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of asking and the commitment to move forward however slowly.
Links of Interest:
- Nicole Bross’s Website
- Nicole’s Website for Authors: Manuscript Alchemy
- Manuscript Report (Mark’s affiliate link – use MARK10 to save 10%)
- Buy Mark a Coffee
- Patreon for Stark Reflections
- Mark’s YouTube channel
- ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation – Affiliate link)
- Mark’s Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
- An Author’s Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
- The Relaxed Author
- Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
- An Author’s Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
- Wide for the Win
- Mark’s Canadian Werewolf Books
- The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
- Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
- Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
- I Think It’s A Sign That The Pun Also Rises
Nicole Bross is a certified book coach, editor, and the author of A Novel Approach: Strategies for ADHD Writers, a writing guide for neurodiverse authors whose ADHD is getting in the way of finishing their books. As a neurodiverse writer herself, Nicole is excited to share the strategies and tools she’s developed with others.
The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
