Episode 25: Lessons Learned From Hosting Our Podcast

Cassie Newell (00:18)
Welcome to episode 25. I'm Cassie Newell. I'm here with my co-host Angela Haas. And this month it's all about hot topics. But today we're celebrating a huge milestone because it's episode 25. This is so exciting. And I am like, wow, we're at episode 25, Angela? How? Like really? When? So I thought.

Angela Haas (00:36)
How? I don't know. When? When did it?

Cassie Newell (00:41)
We will,

we thought we talked about this, of course, like maybe we could talk a little bit about some of the things we experienced. So those of you that may think about doing a podcast in the future and all that stuff. Yeah. All that stuff, you know, let us like kind of commiserate and celebrate and some of our lessons learned. So I guess my first question is what's something unexpected you learned from doing?

Angela Haas (00:52)
Hold on, slow your roll. Let us talk to you.

Cassie Newell (01:09)
25 episodes Angela.

Angela Haas (01:10)
I think just the amount of work. And I knew it was gonna be work, but even just getting everything set up, getting the right platform one, I mean, you may have to go through some pain as you try something and realize that's not quite what we need or what we want. And we needed photos for our...

website and you know, there's just like there's so much that goes into the prep that I think we did well, but I thought I knew but I just had no idea you had a podcast before so you knew but I think and even though you told me I had to experience the time everything took to just get everything scheduled and set up. So yeah, the work.

of even launching your first episode is it's a lot. It's good work, but it's a lot. What do you think? was... I mean, you've done this before, so I don't know...

Cassie Newell (02:10)
Well, for

me, it's also finding the right partner to, if you're going to do this in a partnership type format, knowing your, your inter strategy as well as your exit strategy. And we did talk about that upfront because I also don't want it to hurt our friendship because we're friends first and foremost. And I also learned too, that I can get very

Angela Haas (02:14)
Mm-hmm.

Thank

Cassie Newell (02:35)
Well, I'm high achiever, high strategic, high command, very task oriented. And there was a point in time that it put a strain on our relationship. And I had to have somebody say, you're doing this with your friend. What are you doing? And I was like, my God, I'm being a dumbass. Excuse me. You know, I don't want to be an asshole. And I was like, right, this is is fun. This is joy. It is a lot of work. Like you said.

Angela Haas (02:51)
Okay.

Cassie Newell (03:02)
but you also have to make sure you're in the right frame of mind for what

you're doing it and why you're doing it. You know, the reasons for that. I'm very much obviously that mindset, why person, but I think it's really important that you know those things. And if you're going into a partnership with one or more persons on a podcast, really laying that out. I think we did a great job of that. Like we had brainstorm sessions and then more brainstorm sessions.

Angela Haas (03:09)
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yes.

Cassie Newell (03:31)
because we didn't even have a name yet. Like

Angela Haas (03:46)
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yes.

Cassie Newell (03:33)
then one day it came to you and I was like, that is brilliant. I love that. And then it was like, you know, then it starts rolling, right? And you're, you're still trying to like figure it out, but it's almost like writing. Like we talked about in episode 23, like you don't know what you don't know until you start doing it. You know, so.

Angela Haas (03:53)
I agree. And I think to some extent, again, you can do all this work on the front end. It's still not going to be perfect.

our episode one is drastically different from, I don't want to say drastically, that's probably not the right adjective. It's different than this episode just because you're not gonna find your sync and your balance and the way that you ping off each other until you just start doing it. And though we had sort of the script we wanted to follow and things we wanted to say, now it just feels like

Cassie Newell (04:06)
It is different.

Yeah.

It flows. Yeah.

Angela Haas (04:28)
it flows and it's coming easy. The

first few were like, okay, do you talk here? Am I? Even though we had it all together, we had it, we're looking at it. it's just like, but now I'm not as, I think I get too much in the weeds with my perfectionitis. And if I make a mistake or I say something that just doesn't make sense, I'm like, I can edit it out or I can.

Cassie Newell (04:34)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

Angela Haas (04:52)
I'm just talking like I talk to everyone. I'm not going to be so scripted that I feel rehearsed. And sometimes I go off on tangents and sometimes a thought comes to me in the middle of my sentence and then I have to and I would get so caught up in like, you can't say that like that. You've got to be like this. And it's like, you know what? I'm just being myself. This is who I am. It's not perfect, but

Cassie Newell (04:59)
Yeah.

Angela Haas (05:16)
I love talking about all these different things with you and bouncing things off and hearing your strategies and your ideas and then weighing in. for me, that's what I love too, is I love being with you because if I was doing this by myself, I'd probably get bored with myself. And then, you know, I'm just feeling pressure. Like I'd have to have a guest all the time. you know, it just, it's nice because it takes

Cassie Newell (05:36)
No you wouldn't. ⁓

Angela Haas (05:44)
some of the load of hosting everything all yourself. But yeah.

Cassie Newell (05:47)
Yeah, it's a lot of work and we

divided and conquered and then switched and divided and conquered and who knows we could do it again, you know, but it it's helpful to have somebody in your corner, right? To do that. Yeah.

Angela Haas (05:59)
Mm hmm. Oh yeah. Yeah. And

I think we, well, I love, I love our solos, but I also love our guests. And I think I like that we're mixing it up. So it's not one or the other. It's a fusion of both. Yes, I did. But I

Cassie Newell (06:08)
Yeah.

Yeah, you had to talk me into guests. I was like, what,

maybe one a month and you were like, no, we need more than that. I was like, that's because it's a lot of work. People think that the guest podcasts aren't that there are a lot of work because you're scheduling and all of the things. And then you also have the post production of that with the guests, too. And you need to make it worth their while

Angela Haas (06:19)
What?

Yeah.

Cassie Newell (06:39)
It's tough.

Angela Haas (06:40)
Yeah. And for those, if you're listening and you're like, I've been thinking about starting a podcast. what I think guests appreciate too is we send them questions ahead of time so that they're, they have something to think about or plan to talk about. But I always say, although the conversation may go where it goes, because we're the author next door. We're just chatting.

Cassie Newell (07:01)
Yeah.

Angela Haas (07:01)
Authors just like you, you know, and we don't want our guests to feel like it's just so scripted, but I think they've appreciated getting questions ahead of time so that they can think about where we were going to go. But also after they're on, you send a follow-up email thanking them and saying, really enjoyed having you. Thank you so much. And here's a little magic clip you could use for social media. Here's when the episode comes out.

Cassie Newell (07:04)
Exactly.

Yeah.

Angela Haas (07:28)
and what I forgot to mention is I created a guest intake form so we can capture their headshot, their bio, their links, you know, all that stuff takes a little bit of time, you know? But let's talk about guests for a second, because if you're doing a podcast also, not every guest is going to be the same. know, some are more dynamic than others. Some are great at interviews than others and

Cassie Newell (07:36)
Yeah.

Right. Yeah, a lot of time.

Right.

Angela Haas (07:54)
You kind of have to roll with that too, right? mean, who's been your favorite guests? You can't really pick favorites, but they've all been so great. Okay.

Cassie Newell (07:57)
Right, yeah.

Yeah, I can. I'm

kidding. It's hard to choose really, but I think for me it was Jenn DePaula ⁓ And I'm also, I've been in her circle for a while. I've had coaching with Jenn Every time I'm with her, I learned something new and it just sparked something that I've forgotten that I've known and it kind of kicks up some things and

Angela Haas (08:12)
Mm-hmm.

Cassie Newell (08:27)
I've really been working on myself this year around my mindset for marketing, because usually when you talk to indie authors, it's marketing. So I have not done that this year. Yeah. So I've been like, yes, marketing. Sometimes it looks a little phony, but other times I'm really, I'm really trying to make the most of it and manifesting it a little different and being a little bit more strategic and trying to find the joy in it as much as I can. So

Angela Haas (08:33)
Yeah.

Yeah, it makes you do your eyes like this. Yeah.

Cassie Newell (08:56)
I found that really fun, but also Amy Van sants was a lot of fun because it was some new information and again, things I had forgotten about. And I was like, I need to add that in. You know, there's just so much information in this space, in Indie world, that you can only do so many things at a time that sometimes those nice reminders are great. So I really had a great time.

Angela Haas (09:01)
Yeah.

Cassie Newell (09:21)
and those discussions, but I tell you, there's just so many fun, guests that we've had that I knew nothing about until we got here, you know, in some cases. And I don't think you knew Jenn yet. ⁓ but like you don't know them and you're just rolling with it. it's, don't know, some have been really surprising and fun. And I mean, Patrick O'Donnell, I was just like telling my dad, have to watch this one. It's so great. You know,

Angela Haas (09:30)
Right. Mm-mm. I love him. He was so fun.

And

even the audio book narrators who had not met each other until they were on our podcast. That was wild. Yeah. Yeah.

Cassie Newell (09:49)
So yeah, isn't that something? Yeah, I know. That is wild.

Who was your favorite guest? And yes, you have to choose. Yes, you have to.

Angela Haas (10:01)
I cannot choose like a parent with

children. They're all my favorite. did, I loved having Jeff Elkins on just because I learned a lot. I learned a lot every time I listened to him, but he just, even when I think like, I won't learn anymore from Jeff. And then he comes out with some gold nugget and I'm like, Jeff, that is so amazing. You know, I want to knit that on a pillow.

Cassie Newell (10:07)
huh.

Yes!

Me too.

I know.

He is quite masterful around dialogue

Angela Haas (10:26)
I know he is, he just is. ⁓ And I love

Cassie Newell (10:27)
and writing in general. Yeah, he's very good.

Angela Haas (10:32)
talking to Paula Judith Johnson because she's so, she's a treasure. Yeah, and through her, I met some other exciting guests that I think that will be coming on. So Paula Judith Johnson, if you're listening, you're our treasure forever. yeah, and we've been blessed to just have really

Cassie Newell (10:35)
She is a treasure. I say that every time you say her name. She is a treasure. Like, wow.

Yeah.

You are.

Angela Haas (10:54)
Great guests.

Cassie Newell (10:55)
Yeah, and

so exciting. They're so excited to be here and yeah.

Angela Haas (10:59)
Mm-hmm.

Yes, and that was one thing I had to overcome was thinking like if I'm reaching out to guests people gonna come on our podcast who's gonna come on I I mean you're someone I know I'm like who they're gonna be like, who are you but I think because We've done so much networking

Cassie Newell (11:10)
Like, who are we?

Angela and Cassie, what?

Yeah.

Angela Haas (11:26)
You know, we've gone to conferences and we've been in groups and there's some people who know who we are But every guest that I've asked has said, absolutely, I would love to. And every time that happens, I'm like, my gosh, my heart is growing two sizes this day because I just.

Cassie Newell (11:45)
Yeah, and now

we're starting to get pitches to us, which is fabulous. And that gives us choices, right? So, yeah.

Angela Haas (11:48)
Yes. Yes. Right. Yes. And

honestly, there's going to be people that may pitch that just maybe not a fit although I don't think that's happened yet. but, the cool thing is we've got guests scheduled and I'm really looking forward to some of them that I'm hoping are coming on, but yeah.

Cassie Newell (12:11)
Yeah, I am too. am too.

Angela Haas (12:14)
Yeah.

Cassie Newell (12:15)
So how has this podcast changed your approach to your own writing and publishing journey? Like, has anything changed for you?

Angela Haas (12:23)
I mean, I think I just realized that it's just an extra corner of the world I'm in. And it's helpful because it actually has changed my journey in a way that I've learned a lot just being on the podcast and hosting, but just having each guest. I feel like I learned something from each guest that I can use. And those are moments that

Cassie Newell (12:44)
Yeah.

Angela Haas (12:46)
maybe other people wouldn't normally have, you know, so it, feel really blessed. Cause I've learned something from every guest. ⁓ Yeah. What about you?

Cassie Newell (12:50)
Right. Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Well, I think the things I've learned is almost like the self-accusation of, I'm not saying that right, the self-awareness of things I know, the self-actualization of things that I know being reaffirmed.

Angela Haas (13:08)
Actualization? I couldn't say it.

Mm-hmm.

Cassie Newell (13:21)
Like that's

always nice in these discussions. And I like that about the author next door. Like we can just chit chat and kind of, you know, my God, wide-eyed on some of the crazy stuff that happens in social versus like the everyday things or the industry, you know, slight moves and changes. And I think for me, the community of it is really helpful for my own writing and publishing. I think I'm just feeling more more secure and where I'm at.

Angela Haas (13:47)
Mm-hmm.

Cassie Newell (13:49)
and my in my journey and I'm feeling like I have more footing and I think the challenge for me was all the marketing discussions we've had. And yeah, that's really changed for me. think talking to Amy kicked it off. You know, it was like,

it's just you have to do it. And it's this and if you think this way, then you're not going to get very far. And I was like, she is so right, you know.

Angela Haas (14:15)
Right.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Cassie Newell (14:16)
And I think sometimes you just need to hear those things. us having those conversations and getting that firsthand direct direct response when we have questions for a guest has been gold because yeah, it's just been gold for me. And I think it's one upped me a little bit. Yeah.

Angela Haas (14:35)
I feel like we've started this to help other authors who were in our shoes. I we wanted to reach out to people in what I call the awkward sophomore year, even though we're moving. mean, you're graduating, so you're going on to your masters. yeah, no, there's really two sophomore years, but as we're growing,

Cassie Newell (14:50)
it's a long school. Don't put don't think it's four years only. Yeah.

Angela Haas (14:59)
and realizing, okay, that's who we were. But there's still, this is what I would tell my past self, the person that you know, the person who was looking for this resource, I want to be there for them. Because, again, indie authors have it kind of tough. And even though it's a joy, it's still a lot and it can take a lot out of you.

keep going, keep doing. And that's like the message we want every time. Like you're not alone. We've been there. You can do this. And I think that's what all those authors sometimes need to hear that are feeling that way. And then there's also authors who are just killing it and they want to celebrate and know that they're being validated, that they're on the right track. yeah, I mean that, I don't even know where I got off on that topic.

Cassie Newell (15:28)
Yeah.

Right.

Angela Haas (15:47)
But that's the topic.

Cassie Newell (15:50)
I love it. I love it. But

like we veer off on stuff too. And I think that's okay. And I love our one-on-ones. These are like my favorites. Like don't get me wrong. I do enjoy the guests because they're fun and it's different and you don't have to listen to us just gab all the time. But I do love our like little one-on-one time. Cause who knows what's going to come out of her mouth. I know some of the table talks you were like, what did

Angela Haas (15:55)
That's just, yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, I saw a little.

Cassie Newell (16:17)
just start laughing. But yeah, yeah, that too. She's not here right now. Yeah. Anyway. So I do have one fun angle. I wanted to ask this question before we start to talk about what's next. But what would you or what would we tell ourselves back at episode one? What would you tell me? And then I'll tell you what I would tell you. At episode one.

Angela Haas (16:18)
Who knows when the cat butt is gonna make the appearance also? I'm missing the cat butt. Yeah, I've been missing her.

gosh. ⁓

Cassie Newell (16:43)
Now that we have this experience.

Angela Haas (16:45)
it'll work out. It'll be okay. Yeah. Yeah. No, I think we just didn't know what we didn't know. And we're both, managers and driven people and, know,

Cassie Newell (16:52)
I love it, I love it.

Angela Haas (17:02)
And so sometimes you have to settle into the groove of like, okay, this, you're doing this, I'm doing this and we're cool. but because we started on a platform that made some promises and didn't deliver, which you just don't know. You don't know until you try something. That's the thing. Sometimes you're going to be like, okay, I've done research on this and it still wasn't the right thing.

That's okay. It's gonna happen and you just roll with the punches and you'll be and you'll get there and you'll be fine, you know? Yeah.

What would you tell me?

Cassie Newell (17:31)
Very good.

What would I tell you?

Be patient with me.

Cause I am crazy busy and sometimes I get

a little erratic with that. Cause yeah, there's a lot of pressure around me and we're moving and you're moving and selling and I'm selling and the 50 hour work week career I have outside of this, know, and I don't dislike it. So I'm not leaving it. I really like it. So it's like all those things and yeah, and I love

Angela Haas (17:43)
Yeah. ⁓ yeah. ⁓ yeah. yeah.

Right, yeah.

Cassie Newell (18:03)
And I would say flexibility is our friend. Yeah. Because I think we were a little bit like, let's do this, this, and this. And then we had to. Yeah.

Angela Haas (18:06)
yeah, totally. Totally.

Yeah. yeah. No, and I

think sometimes you have a vision and you think it's got to be a certain way and you're like, no, it doesn't. It can be this way. You know what? There's beauty in like, just like taking a deep breath and letting go. And I'm just such a planner. Sometimes I get rigid in my plans and that's, that's the whole episode on my childhood, which we don't have time for, but.

Cassie Newell (18:19)
Yeah.

He cracked me up.

Angela Haas (18:37)
That's just part of my personality. but I think to, you know,

Cassie Newell (18:42)
Which cracks

me up because you love pantsing.

Angela Haas (18:45)
I know, well, I'm changing a little bit. I think because I didn't know what the hell I was doing, I would just sort of write a scene, but now I've been more outlining. But yeah, well, I love having a plan, but sometimes I just have too many ideas coming my way that I don't organize them very well.

Cassie Newell (18:47)
Okay, I'm like, wait a minute. Okay.

Okay, okay. I'm like, wait a minute.

You are an idea

Angela Haas (19:05)
As I look back though, I'm like, look at your spring and my spring. How did we, we did it.

Cassie Newell (19:12)
We did it. We killed it. And we launched books.

Angela Haas (19:13)
And there is so much going on.

Yeah.

Cassie Newell (19:17)
Yeah, that's crazy. Yeah.

Angela Haas (19:19)
So the thing is,

listeners, you just might surprise yourself of what you're capable of, because we had so much going on.

Cassie Newell (19:24)
Yeah, I mean, when you have specific

goals and you're, you know, you have a high desire for them. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Anything.

Angela Haas (19:29)
Yeah.

Totally, anything's possible.

Yeah.

Cassie Newell (19:36)
All right, so here's to the next 25. So Angela, what's coming next on the podcast? What can listeners expect from us?

Angela Haas (19:41)
Yes!

Well,

I believe July, I think we're going to do character study because we love characters and we love coming up with characters. I think we should integrate some pop culture where we just talk about our favorite characters, villains, heroes, side characters, without characters, there is no story. You can have all the plot you want if you don't have it.

Cassie Newell (19:52)
Yeah.

Angela Haas (20:08)
good character, it's nothing. So I'm excited for July and then I'm hoping we're going to get some big guests on, hoping Brian Cohen will come on and talk about Amazon ads, but he is like,

Cassie Newell (20:21)
Now he has

to.

Angela Haas (20:22)
Well, he has to, but also he is so busy. mean, it would be, I don't even know how this man sleeps because he's got so much, know, like, you know, but, um, and I think we're going to talk about, I'm just excited to break down other things as they happen. You know, we've had some friends that have done some incredible things during Kickstarter. So we're going to have a Kickstarter episode, a selling direct episode. We're just going to do some fun things, have another session of.

Cassie Newell (20:29)
Bye.

Yeah.

Angela Haas (20:50)
hot topics maybe in the winter to heat things up and yeah so what's coming?

Cassie Newell (20:54)
Yeah, that's exciting. And then I would

say I'm going to invite the listeners to tell us what their favorite moments were. And definitely let us know what kind of episodes you're looking forward to or types of topics you'd like us to touch base on. We're happy to entertain any and all. So please submit either on our website or in the comments wherever you're listening to the podcast. So with that, let's talk about some personal updates.

Angela Haas (21:05)
Yeah.

Yeah. What? Yeah.

Cassie Newell (21:22)
So here it is June 18th and what's going on with you Miss Angela?

Angela Haas (21:29)
I am. Should get my next audio book check in any day now.

But it's just waiting for the romance audiobook to come out. And I'm just still starting my new newest book, which I think is going to be that holiday one we talked about. Where it connects like two series. So stay tuned. Yeah. Oh, boy. Yeah. Yeah.

Cassie Newell (21:51)
That that's awesome, especially when I'm like, okay Angela hear me out her face was like,

I Love it. I love it. I'm so excited. Okay For me, I'm my audio book is out Hopefully ACX. I'm so excited So book one and then hopefully and just a few more weeks but two and a few more weeks with three So it's gonna be a domino effect

Angela Haas (22:01)
Yes.

Cassie Newell (22:16)
So I'm really excited about all of those. So yeah, I'm really happy about that. Let's hit it, table topic. I'm scared.

Angela Haas (22:20)
Yeah. Yeah. All right. This one's a hot one.

Okay, is public nudity beautiful or inappropriate?

Cassie Newell (22:33)
course she asked the artist, I think it's beautiful.

Angela Haas (22:38)
I think it depends on who's out there. Sorry. Have you seen like the nude?

Cassie Newell (22:40)
I mean, I should have been born in the Renaissance age with my chubbiness

being considered sexy and wealthy. you know, I think, I think there's some anatomy that's more humorous to me than, scary at this point in my life. I just, I don't know. I find, I think it's the science side of me. What our bodies do on a day-to-day basis and how we move and how we

Angela Haas (22:47)
⁓ we're venuses.

Mm-hmm. I know.

Yeah. yeah, totally.

Cassie Newell (23:06)
think and how we operate and our metabolism.

I think it's a miracle and it's very beautiful. And I think that in a lot of living creatures. So to me, yeah.

Angela Haas (23:16)
Right.

I mean, if it's a nude beach of Chris Evans, then I say it's appropriate. I think it's beautiful. If I was out there, it'd be inappropriate. So like, but just depends on who's doing the nudity. yeah, we'll just leave that one. That's a good way to end. Oh boy.

Cassie Newell (23:24)
I'm with you on that!

Yeah, agreed, agreed. All right.

So thank you for joining us today. Don't forget to give us a review rating wherever you listen to the podcast. It really helps us with visibility.

Next week, we're talking with Ava Miles, a hockey romance. So make sure and come and check that out. Till next week, keep writing, keep doing. Bye.

Angela Haas (23:50)
Okay.