The Smarter Artist Show: Episode 13 - Claude Interviews Us
Release Date: 04/17/2026
The Smarter Artist Show: Episode 16 - Your Back Matter Is Costing You Readers (And You Don't Even Know It)
The Smarter Artist Show
Sean, Dave, and Johnny dig into one of the most neglected pieces of real estate in any author's catalog: back matter. The highest-leverage moment you have with a reader is the thirty seconds after they finish your book, and most creators waste it with a generic thank-you and a mailing list link that goes nowhere. This episode is a post-mortem on real mistakes from the Sterling & Stone catalog, including a back matter page that thanked readers for a book they didn't read! The practical takeaway is simple: every book you publish should know where to send the reader next. Not a list of...
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The Smarter Artist Show: Episode 15 - The Smarter Artist Method
The Smarter Artist Show
Sean Platt built a publishing company that shipped hundreds of titles over 14 years. And somewhere in the middle of all that output, he realized the model was broken. In this episode, Sean, Dave, and Johnny introduce The Smarter Artist Method: the idea that most working creators are stacking inventory when they should be building IP. One produces diminishing returns. The other compounds. They're not the same thing, even if they look identical from the outside. They cover what the shift actually means in practice, why the exhaustion most creators feel is a structural problem rather than a...
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The Smarter Artist Show: Episode 14 - Writing Tomorrow When Tomorrow Is Already Here
The Smarter Artist Show
This week we talk about writing science fiction in an age where sci-fi feels more like science fact. How do you write sci-fi while the world feels like it’s falling apart? How do advances in AI and robots change our stories? We also talk about classic sci-fi, like Twilight Zone, and how it dealt with issues and questions of the day. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction to the Sci-Fi Discussion 11:47 Exploring Modern Dystopia and Its Impact on Fiction 17:55 AI and robots as depicted in sci-fi 22:17 Evolving Sci-Fi Tropes 26:38 The Nature of Truth in Sci-Fi 32:35 Consequences of AI and Technology...
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The Smarter Artist Show: Episode 13 - Claude Interviews Us
The Smarter Artist Show
In this episode Sean and I decided to experiment and let the AI Claude ask us questions. It was a surprisingly fun conversation, touching on writer’s block, and the story we hated most that the other presented or worked on, how we collaborate on writing books, and (fittingly) whether AI will ever be at a point where it writes better than us? So, join us for another fun, expletive-filled episode. TIMESTAMPS SOMETHING COOL Dave — Jim Wilbourne’s YouTube channel. Sean — The Jury Duty show on Amazon Prime Q&A SEGMENT 18:00 — How did you two actually start writing...
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The Smarter Artist Show: Episode 12 - Maturing as Storytellers
The Smarter Artist Show
Note: This isn’t the show we’d planned. Our “useful” episodes will be here in two weeks as we take care of some behind-the-scenes website stuff, and put the finishing touches on something we’ll show you in 2 weeks. For this week, we talk about how growing older has changed our writing, and what we want to write. And the things we won’t write anymore. We also discuss content from our youth vs. today, and the effects of content on kids today. And lastly, we talk about the role of hope in stories in dark times. TIMESTAMPS INTRO 0:00 — The opening song and some nonsensical talk for a...
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The Smarter Artist Show: Episode 11 - Making Habits as a Writer
The Smarter Artist Show
In this episode of The Smarter Artist Show, we talk about making and breaking habits. Specifically making and breaking Dave’s habits. Dave has never kept a habit up for more than 30 days. So Sean challenges him to pick a habit and stick to it for that long. What habit will he choose? Will he succeed a 30 day streak or will he fail miserably by Day 6? Join Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, and David Wright for a discussion on habits, along with lots of ball busting. **note: For the first 10 minutes of the show, Sean’s audio sucks. Sorry! 00:00 — Introduction and...
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The Smarter Artist Show: Episode 10 - Editing a Movie Script
The Smarter Artist Show
In this episode Sean and Dave go over a few pages of Sean’s corrections on the rough draft of a movie script they’re working on. Dave was rusty having been away from scripts for a bit, as he’s been working on other things and the podcast. So tune in and hear some of the things he got wrong and how to fix them. Most of these lessons can be applied to any kind of writing.
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The Smarter Artist Show: Episode 9 - Reclaiming Your 1,000 True Fans
The Smarter Artist Show
In this episode of The Smarter Artist Show we’re talking about reclaiming your 1,000 true fans. Additionally, Sean talks about the best/worst story I’ve written with him! Four words: “____ _____ on Christmas.*” *longtime listeners can fill in the blanks at home! TIMESTAMPS 5:00 — Dave’s Christmas story. SOMETHING COOL 7:50 — Johnny’s writing revelation 13:24 — Dave’s movie watch — Caddo Lake 15:54 — 1,000 True fans 19:00 — How do you start rebuilding your mailing list? 23:29 — Understanding your audience’s needs 26:35 — Cultivating...
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The Smarter Artist Show: Episode 8 - Hypothetically Speaking
The Smarter Artist Show
In this week’s episode of The Smarter Artist Show we’re answering hypothetical questions. Would we write in just one genre if we were guaranteed success? If we had to swap bodies with one of our co-hosts for just one day, who would we choose and what we do? What book or series would you like to be remembered for? So join us for a fun episode with zero useful information but lots of laughs. 0:00 — Cold open, intro 6:00 — Somethings Cool 14:00 — Talking about reality shows 19:00 — “Value is coming” 20:00 — HYPOTHETICALS 21:00 — GUARANTEED SUCCESS You are guaranteed...
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The Smarter Artist Show: Episode 7 - The Creative Mid-Life Crisis
The Smarter Artist Show
SMARTER ARTIST EPISODE 7: The Creative Mid-life Crisis This episode is about hitting your creative mid-life crisis. You’ve been at it, you’ve had success or are still working toward it, but something’s missing. You don’t feel the magic like you used to. What happened? In this episode we’re going to look back to when we started in 2011 and take a look at some of the highs and lows and how we pushed on. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 — Intro 2:00 — talking about sponsorships 3:40 — Lars Von Trier disastrous interview discussion 5:20 — “So there…” 6:00 — Dave’s Something Cool —...
info_outlineIn this episode Sean and I decided to experiment and let the AI Claude ask us questions.
It was a surprisingly fun conversation, touching on writer’s block, and the story we hated most that the other presented or worked on, how we collaborate on writing books, and (fittingly) whether AI will ever be at a point where it writes better than us?
So, join us for another fun, expletive-filled episode.
TIMESTAMPS
SOMETHING COOL
Dave — Jim Wilbourne’s YouTube channel.
Sean — The Jury Duty show on Amazon Prime
Q&A SEGMENT
18:00 — How did you two actually start writing together?
19:00 — How many books have you written total — do you even know?
SIDE TANGENT
21:00 — Dave talks about the fantasy book he’s been working on for several years and Sean asks why he hasn’t shared it with him yet.
Q&A CONTINUED…
23:40 — Do you ever get writer's block, and if so what do you actually do about it?
25:00 — How do you split the work when you co-write?
27:00 — (Sean asks Dave) What is your favorite collaboration and your least favorite?
30:00 — Have you ever hated something the other one wrote and had to say so?
34:46 — What genres have you written and which ones surprised you?
40:25 — Do you write every day or is that advice overrated?
43:00 — Do you think AI will eventually write better books than you? And does that bother you?
47:40 — What do you read, and does it feel like work or escape?
52:30 — What's the one thing about being a writer nobody tells you before you start?
56:00 — Outro music
Next week’s topic: Writing Sci-Fi in the age of Science Non-fiction.
In two weeks: The useful episodes begin, starting with our newest book, The Smarter Artist.
Thank you for watching/listening!