Matt meets the Writing Community Chat Show host Chris Aggett

Friday, October 01, 2021

Matt meets the Writing Community Chat Show host Chris Aggett

Writing Community Chat Show host Chris Aggett (@CJAggett) Interview

Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

Writing can be tough - the creative drain on the brain, the constant re-writes and research, then the quest for publishing and marketing too. That's why it's great when resources and networks spring up to help in a very peer-to-peer kind of way.

I'm a big fan of the Writing Community Chat Show so it was awesome to get to ask the creator and host Chris Aggett some questions.

Hey Chris can you introduce yourself and the show?

Welcome, my name is Chris and I am the founder and host of The Writing Community Chat Show! It is a live streaming podcast on YouTube that is now well into season 7. I have had some of the best indie and established authors on the show to tell us their stories and current work projects.

How did it all come about?

I thought: So, what do you do as an indie author when the work you took years to do goes unnoticed? Look for some other way to get yourselves out there... or... give up? When I first thought about starting the Writing Community Chat Show podcast it was for one good reason. The Writing Community on Twitter had helped me more than I could have imagined when I reached out with indie author issues.

However, after successfully publishing my debut novella I noticed how much valuable information was actually getting lost within the writing community hashtag. Not to mention if you wanted to have a book suggestion, you could get hundreds within hours and five-star books were getting lost among the vast sea of quality. So I thought how exactly can that be harnessed. The podcast idea was the most simple and most obvious.

I've really enjoyed coming on show - I know you had one of my very fav authors, Catriona Ward, on but who else?

The likes of Iain Rankin, Sarah Pinborugh, Mark Billingham, Julia Donaldson, Dom Jolly, Adele Parks, and John Kenedy have appeared and loved the show. The prime show is an hour long. It digs into the guests’ past, their life, their books and their plans. There is live engagement during the show.

Live shot of the Halloween panel game

What would you say is the point of the show?

It is a great way to find out about the authors you love and pick up writing tips from the best within the business.
I dedicate the show and social platforms to help & educate Indie authors. Not only that, we, as a community, celebrate all things entertainment, occasionally dipping the show’s toes into the movie world. Guests from different industries appear, such as indie authors, established authors, editors, screenwriters, celebrities and other creatives. Allowing us all to learn while having fun.

The YouTube channel also has other videos worth checking out, like the Harrogate crime writers’ vlog. There will be more random and funny videos like this in the future! We open our arms to welcome any indie author, no matter their style, ability, or genre. This community is open to book, film and game fans too! The show is building a wonderful community within the writing community itself and that is very obvious from the YouTube Live chat during the show. I often smirk at the comments when I should concentrate on the guest! There is no limit to this shows potential & family size.

You're certainly building a great community and I know you work to help raise profile of authors.

I do my best to promote you and your books! There are regular book buy competitions and there is a new, useful, and free promotion tool called The WCCS book launch show. These things are free to The WCCS community and are there for you. If you want to be more involved, then our Twitter page is the place for you. This is where 99% of our media is advertised. You can also make use of The WCCS website, best on desktop! Here are the links you need if you would like to request an interview on The Writing Community Chat Show.

The WCCS prime show currently airs live on Thursday evenings, 8pm UK time. You can watch this LIVE on YouTube or catch up once it has aired. You can then also listen back to the episode as a podcast episode on any major podcast provider, or just ask your smart speaker!