On the Convo Couch ... With Mia Freedman
Welcome to the 2nd part of our new podcast format. On the Convo Couch is where we chat to a woman from some facet of the writing world. Feminist or not they are always interesting, inspiring and full of useful information for women and writers everywhere.
In episode 3 we chat with author, journalist, podcaster and proud feminist, Mia Freedman. Mia is the founder of the largest media network in the world for women today, Mamamia a blog and website that was created out of a need to “make it work” after the bottom fell out of her supposed “dream job” as a TV Executive. Mia's long career in magazines began with a teenage obsession with Dolly, Cleo and 'all things Lisa Wilkinson' and evolved into her becoming the youngest ever editor of Cosmo at only age 24. She decided she wanted to create the conversation AND be a part of it. So in her pyjamas, with a small child, she taught herself HTML and built a blog, in the days when blogs weren’t really a thing. That humble blog is now a multi-faceted website and podcast network boasting 19 podcasts and millions of pageviews per month. Mia is also the author of 5 books, including her recently released tome of cautionary wisdom “Work, Strife, Balance” and a mum to 3 kids. Mia is truly a force for female voices and an advocate for women. She is also my personal inspiration for starting a podcast in the first place.It was through Mamamia’s podcasts like “Outloud”, “This Glorious Mess”, “The Well” and “No Filter” that I got into podcasts. I fell into them via a link from a post Mia had written and was lost down the podcasting hole forever. As Miles Martignoni told us in the podcasting course “Podcasts are the space between a book and a movie or tv show. It’s more sensory than a book but gives more space for imagination than a tv show.” And that is exactly what I fell in love with. 
So obviously when we came up with the Writes4Women Podcast one of the first people we wanted to interview was Mia Freedman...but the question was how to capture the time and attention of one of the busiest, most in demand women in Australia? The answer...A cup of tea.Anyone who has read or listened to Mia Freedman will know one of her life obsessions is tea. So we thought it would be nice to invite her for a cup of “cyber” tea on the “cyber” couch. And here is what we came up with… 
I know, I know, it looks kinda like a primary school craft project but what can I say? It worked! After accosting her at a book launch, Mia graciously agreed and we are very happy to be able to bring you her impassioned, thoughtful and interesting interview. Check out the link on our home page or listen to the ep in iTunes.But the fun didn’t end there. AFTER the interview we were gifted the unique opportunity to watch Mia and the team record an episode of their weekly podcast “Outloud” at the Mamamia offices in Surry Hills. We talk about this experience and how helpful it was in the podcast. Here are some pics of the day. 
Note how peaceful, green and open the office space is. The entire space is designed to breed creativity. We were surprised by how quiet it is. Given the number of people working in such a large open space, there was barely a sound to be heard. Pam’s daughter was tres impressed...good one Georgia! 
Mia talks about the importance of core values in the interview. Mamamia’s are plastered like bursts of inspirations across the office walls. I was fascinated to see what equipment and software they were using. One of the most valuable things about the whole experience was hearing them discuss their prep and scripting. 
Holly was lovely enough to give us a signed copy of her new book The Mummy Bloggers to give away in this month’s competition so keep your eyes peeled to our facebook page. We also have a copy of Mia's latest release, Work Strife Balance to give away.
To be in the draw to win the Mia-Holly Book Package, share any of our Facebook posts and/or write a review of our podcast on our iTunes page . And be sure to let us know - not all the shares automatically comer up on our fb feed,Thanks for reading - and we hope you enjoy our interview with Mia.Kel