Podcasts have become more popular than ever.
The number of people listening to one has increased year on year, from 8.9 million listeners in 2017 to 16.7 listeners in 2021.
It’s hardly surprising. Podcasts are easy to digest, flexible, and jam-packed with insights for writers.
But with so many to choose from, how do you find which writing podcast is right for you?
This guide shares 10+ of the best writing podcasts to listen to this year. Whether you’re a copywriter, screenwriter, or aspiring freelance writer, you’ll learn something new by adding episodes from the following podcasts to your listening queue.
| Writing podcast | Best for |
|---|---|
| Peak Freelance | Scaling a freelance writing business |
| The Creative Penn | Self-published book writers |
| Freelance Writing Coach | New freelance writers |
| Grammar Girl | Academic writers |
| The Paid Copywriter | New freelance copywriters |
| The Copywriter Club | Established freelance copywriters |
| Write-minded | Writers who struggle with creative blocks |
| The Writer Files | Creative writers |
| Beautiful Writers Podcast | Interviews with bestselling authors |
| Growth Machine | Writers looking to level up their marketing skills |
| Writing Excuses | Building a writing career |
| Helping Writers Become Authors | Publishing your first book |
| The Writing Life | New book writers |
| DIY MFA | Q&A-style interviews with other writers |
1. Peak Freelance
Best for: Freelance writers who want to grow their business.
Peak Freelance is a community for freelance writers who want to scale. An All Access membership lets you listen to the members-only podcast—one of the best podcasts for solopreneurs growing their own writing business.
Pro writers Elise Dopson and Michael Keenan, co-founders of Peak Freelance, host bi-weekly episodes, covering tips and tricks for running a freelance business. Elise and Michael write content for some of the world’s best-known B2B and SaaS websites, such as Shopify, HubSpot, CoSchedule, and more.
The Peak Freelance members’ podcast covers unGoogleable advice for scaling a writing business, including:
- How to onboarding new clients
- Hiring subcontractors—and mistakes to avoid when doing so
- Setting a long-term vision for your freelance business
The length of each episode averages around 15 minutes depending on the topic.
If the writing podcast wasn’t enough, All Access members also get:
- An invite to our Slack community for freelance writers
- Access to pro resources to streamline and scale, like our Advanced Writing Course
- The community resource library with up-to-date statistics and research
2. The Creative Penn
Best for: Self-published book writers.
Joanna Penn is an award-nominated and New York Times bestselling author. She’s also a podcaster, international speaker, and creative entrepreneur that specializes in self-publishing.
The Creative Penn podcast is worth listening to if you’re in the book writing niche. Each episode covers topics such as new book marketing tips, self-publishing advice, and guidance on how to become a nonfiction writer. Episodes feature authors such as John Kremer, Alan Baxter, and Rishi Dastidar.
The length of each podcast averages between 45 minutes and an hour, depending on the episode. And drops every Monday. Listen via:
3. Freelance Writing Coach
Best for: New freelance writers.
Hosted by Kaleigh Moore and Emma Siemasko, Freelance Writing Coach is a good podcast to add to your queue if you’re building a freelance writing business. Both are successful writers in their own right who have been in the freelance business for over six years individually.
Each 20-minute episode is packed with writing tips, stories, and valuable advice from two successful freelancers. Listen in on what they’ve learned and what they’re still learning—all while being frankly honest; they tell it as it is.
Other topics include preventing scope creep, choosing a freelance niche, understanding where meetings fit into your day as a freelance writer, and a whole lot more.
Listen to the Freelance Writing Coach podcast via:
4. Grammar Girl
Best for: Academic writers.
The Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips podcast has won Best Education Podcast several times in the Podcast Awards. Hosted by Mignon Fogarty, founder of the Quick and Dirty Tips, topics include grammar myths, how kids learn to speak like adults, and using the right abbreviations in context.
The Grammar Girl is suited to anyone who writes content. You’ll find friendly tips to improve your writing, grammar, writing style, and more. Each episode is 15-30 minutes long, with new ones released every week.
Listen to Grammar Girl via:
5. The Paid Copywriter
Best for: New freelance copywriters.
Find insights on creating a website, raising rates, setting boundaries with clients, and dealing with bad feedback. Experts interviewed include pro freelance copywriters like Mindi Rosser, Sarah Greesonbach, and Scott Stransky.
Listen to The Grammar Girl podcasts via:
6. The Copywriter Club
Best for: Established freelance copywriters.
The Copywriter Club is another writing podcast to add to your queue if you’re looking for new voices in the space. Each episode is designed for folks starting out in their writing careers, making it an inspirational place for copywriters to learn more about the skills they need to become in-demand writers.
Hosted by Rob Marsh and Kira Hug, each episode is an interview-style conversation with other professional and talented content creators, copywriters, and editors—including Erin Perrins, Kristin Macintyre, Esai Arasi, and more.
You’ll find information on defining your creative process, growing your business, copywriting myths, solving marketing problems, and more.
Each podcast averages around 50 minutes with new episodes released weekly. Listen via:
7. Write-minded
Best for: Writers who struggle with creative blocks.
The Write-minded podcast provides “Weekly Inspiration for Writers”. Full of advice to help writers navigate the ups and downs, each episode is hosted by Grant Faulkner of National Novel Writing Month and Brooke Warner of She Writes.
You’ll find a range of creative writing-related topics, from addressing writer’s block to the effects of taking risks and dealing with fear. Each episode also features professional guests from the writing industry, such as Jean Chen Ho, Alka Joshi, Erica Jong, and more.
Podcasts stream every Tuesday and are usually around 30 to 45 minutes long. Listen via:
8. The Writer Files
Best for: Creative writers.
The Writer Files podcast discusses topics related to writing, productivity, creativity, and neuroscience. Each episode dives into the psyche of a writers’ mind, with honest stories about everything productive and creative—like how authors got their big break and the writing processes shared by successful writers in the publishing industry.
This long-running podcast is hosted by Kelton Reid. It’s a great resource for all writers, bloggers, and authors that want inspiration and motivation from writers with more experience.
Podcasts length vary from around 30 to 45 minutes each, streamed weekly. Listen via:
9. Beautiful Writers Podcast
Best for: Interviews with bestselling authors.
The Beautiful Writers podcast is honest, fun, and amazingly frank. World-renowned writers share their wisdom, designed to motivate and inspire you.
Hosted by author Linda Sivertsen with special guest speakers like Patricia Cornell, Tosca Lee, and Chris Jackson. Each episode is geared towards writers looking for practical advice about enhancing their craft. Topics range from writing the perfect thriller to marketing yourself as a writer.
New episodes are published monthly and typically average an hour in length. Listen via:
10. Growth Machine
Best for: Writers looking to level up their marketing skills.
Hosted by Amanda Natividad and Nat Eliason, the Growth Machine podcast is worth tuning into if you’re looking to build complementary skills for your writing business. Experts cover other content marketing-related topics, like SEO and journalism—both of which can help you earn more money as a freelancer.
Hear interviews with pro marketers like John Bonini, Kameron Jenkins, and Stewart Hillhouse in 30 to 45 minute episodes.
Listen to the Growth Machine podcasts via:
11. Writing Excuses
Best for: Building a writing career.
Hosted by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler, the Writing Excuses educational podcast is another to add to your list. These 15-20 minute episodes are aired each Sunday.
They’re full of topics such as managing your career as a writer, how your brand gets defined, self publishing, how to build good first pages for your own work, and more.
Each episode features special guests including Peter Ahlstrom, Saladin Ahmed, Lou Anders, and Kevin J. Anderson.
Podcasts stream via:
12. Helping Writers Become Authors
Best for: Publishing your first book.
If you want to learn how to write your best story and write novels, this is the podcast for you. The Helping Writers Become Authors podcasts are hosted by K.M. Weiland, an award-winning and internationally published author of writing guides.
Podcast episodes will inspire writers to polish their writing craft. Themes include structuring your story, strategies for recognising and avoiding repetitiveness, and many more. Episodes are streamed weekly, around 15 to mins each.
Podcasts stream via:
13. The Writing Life
Best for: New book writers.
Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna, The Writing Life podcasts are for all folks who write-from early on in their career to self-publishers. Episodes include topics such as the editing process, struggles with writer’s block, developing characters, and much more.
Episodes are broadcasted weekly and average around one hour in length.
The Writing Life podcasts invite special guests to discuss their experiences as a writer. Special guests include Andy Hamilton, Ella Micheler, Jenn Ashworth, and many more who share their expertise and wisdom.
Podcasts stream via:
14. DIY MFA
Best for: Q&A-style interviews with other writers.
Tune in to Gabriela Pereria and special guests on the DIY MFA podcast to appreciate all things literary. Guests include some of best selling authors and publishers such as Steve Berry, Sarah Dessen, Joseph Finder, Robin Cook, and many more.
The DIY MFA podcast episodes have a range of topics that dive into one specific area of writing, looking either at the craft, the business side, or both.
Each episode is about 45 minutes to an hour long and is streamed weekly.’
Stream podcasts via:
What’s your favorite writing podcast?
There are many writing podcasts out there. This list only scratches the surface.
Use this list as a starting point to learn the craft of writing and become a better writer. Whether you’re an author or freelance writer entering the game for the first time, these writing podcasts will help you explore new areas of interest whilst sharpening your attention and focus skills.
We might be biased, but the Peak Freelance members podcast is our favorite. Listen in on unGoogleable writing advice on scaling a freelance business, plus get access to:
- The expert interview vault, dubbed the “Netflix for freelancers”
- A private, supportive Slack community to find friends and new gigs
- Access to pro digital products, including templates and courses to streamline and scale
Want in? Grab your All Access membership today.
