SPA Girls Podcast: Recent Episodes
LiveWriters
Join the SPA Girls for a weekly show with information, tips and advice on how to get started with self publishing your books. If you're new to self publishing, we'll help you dip your toes in the water, answer the questions you were too afraid to ask, and generally show you that it's a great place to be!
Should you “be Amazon exclusive, “go direct”, “publish wide” and/or use an aggregator? And what do those terms even mean?
If you've been scratching your head over how to get some more reviews on your newly published book, this is the episode for you! We break down how we have each built up and managed our ARC teams, and how we've gone from no reviews to hundreds of review...
Why is it some books sell well right out of the gate, and others wither on the retailer vine? Do you know why YOUR book isn’t selling? It can be for a number of reasons and this episode we run through the most common (and fixable!
Why should authors do translations? And how do they create, publish and promote them? Today's episode covers all the ins and outs of translations, thanks to our very successful guest, Kindle #1 selling author, Soraya Lane.
Nat Connors of Kindletrends returns to the SPA with a new analysis tool for indie authors - an interactive infographic to help us make sense of the book categories on the Kindle Store. Knowing where your book (or story idea before you’ve written it) fi...
Listen to this SPA Girls Minisode all about how long it will take you to make your first $1,000 dollars in self publishing! Full of great tips, sage advice and some vulnerable moments from our own self publishing careers.
Wondering how long it's gonna be until you'll make enough to quit the day job? Listen to this SPA Girls Minisode all about how long it will take you to make your first $1,000 dollars in self publishing! Full of great tips,
Clare Connelly is the bestselling author of more than 120 angsty, passionate romance novels. Having self-published her first book in 2014, by the end of that year, she was an Amazon All-Star in the US and UK and has since sold millions of copies of her...
Writing great books with emotional impact is key to building your readership. Today we discuss craft tips that will help you attract new readers, build your fanbase and sell more books!
Want to make the leap to full time author? How do you know when it’s the right time to make that leap?
Got your final manuscript all ready to go, and wondering how to format it for publication? This is the SPA Girls episode for you! Welcome back to another 20 min SPA Girls mini-tips session, where we break down the basics of self publishing, just for you!
If you’ve ever wondered how to deal with contracts and other business issues, this is the podcast for you! Maggie Marr the founder of Maggie Marr Legal PC and a USA Today Best Selling author of over 20 books.
USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author Melanie Harlow talks branding, publishing strategy and building a strong readership!
Feeling a bit blah about your writing and / or author career? Welcome back to another 15 min SPA Girls mini-tips session. Today’s topic is 7 easy ways to boost your positivity that you can put into action TODAY!
This week we talk to regency romance and young adult author Maggie Dallen, who tells us how she changed her mindset and her author business model, with huge success! Maggie is a prolific author who was writing up to twenty books a year,
Doubts are the biggest creativity and success blocker. But it takes a strong person not to have them. No one said this was going to be easy, or everyone would be doing it. If you ask those that succeed in this business they will all tell you they’ve h...
How do you build superfans and a sustainable income through patreon*, kickstarter, subscriptions and serial works? Bestselling author Tao Wong joins us this episode to reveal all the secrets of keeping readers begging for more (cliff-hangers anyone ?!
How the heck do you build a reader newsletter list when you're first starting out? We're back with another SPA Girls minisode, to get your author career rocking. Listen up for how we built our own reader newsletters and what tools and services we recom...
Being a resilient author means being able to bounce back after experiencing a knock - and we all know that being a self-published author can knock you around sometimes! This week we talk with Patricia McLinn,
Kate Hall is a paranormal romance and non-fiction author who has taken her marketing expertise and used it to kick butt on TikTok. She started Alyne Digital Solutions in an effort to help authors make a sustainable income from their books,
This week we're covering two burning topics: what are the worst mistakes newbies are making, and how to write chapter endings that keep readers reading!
In this podcast we talk to KimBoo York about her latest book Secrets of Discovery Writing. We dive into how you can successfully use discovery writing when crafting your novel. It's an awesome podcast and one the pantsers among us will really enjoy.
Our guest today, Kiwi author Melissa Pearl, has five pen names across multiple genres and has been learning about self publishing since she published her first book in 2011. Since then she's published more than 80 books,
Fiction strategist and owner of FFS Media, Claire Taylor publishes her fiction through her company, under four pen names. She also helps authors through her Story Alignment and Author Alignment services, as well as her masterclasses and non-fiction for...
Procrastination takes many forms for writers, and it holds us back from writing, publishing and promoting our work. We discuss how to get out of your own way with our guest today, Kathryn Burnett.
Creating and running Facebook ads has gotten a lot easier! Wondering how to delve into facebook advertising or had poor experiences in the past and wondering where you went wrong? This episode is for you!
Ever hesitate over making an important decision because you were trying to figure out what the 'right' thing to do was... and then miss out on an awesome opportunity because you didn't take a leap of faith? Yeah, us too.
Today’s topic was prompted by a commenter on youtube who asked us about reverse engineering bestsellers. What makes a book, be it your second one published or your tenth, sell more than others.
We believe there are many variables to that. Timing, tropes, the first 10% of how a book starts. The cover, blurb, and other popular tv or books that may have similar aspects.
There are many things to consider, and today we take a dive into why a book can launch a career!
The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
This week we talk to fiction and non-fiction author Katlyn Duncan, who wrote the non-fiction books The Successful Hybrid Author (all about being a hybrid author) and Take Back Your Book (all about how to get your rights back after being traditionally published). She shares her path to becoming a hybrid author, but also what you need to know about being hybrid, how it works, the pros and cons of traditional publishing versus indie publishing versus hybrid publishing, and how to get your rights back if you want to take up indie publishing.
Katlyn has also ghostwritten over 40 novels for children and adults, and she talked about how she became a ghostwriter, how it all works, and the benefits to writers who want to get into this area of publishing. Another fabulously informative episode!
Katlyn’s website
Katlyn’s YouTube
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
This week we talk to fiction and non-fiction author Katlyn Duncan, who wrote the non-fiction books The Successful Hybrid Author (all about being a hybrid author) and Take Back Your Book (all about how to get your rights back after being traditionally published). She shares her path to becoming a hybrid author, but also what you need to know about being hybrid, how it works, the pros and cons of traditional publishing versus indie publishing versus hybrid publishing, and how to get your rights back if you want to take up indie publishing.
Katlyn has also ghostwritten over 40 novels for children and adults, and she talked about how she became a ghostwriter, how it all works, and the benefits to writers who want to get into this area of publishing. Another fabulously informative episode!
Check out Katlyn’s website here: https://www.katlynduncan.com/
And her YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/katlynduncanauthor
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
Author Jenna Moreci is a YouTube sensation! With almost 300k subscribers on her YouTube channel “Writing with Jenna Moreci“, ten years of making videos, and over 28 MILLION views, she’s produced an incredible body of work and large community. So how has this impacted her writing and publishing, especially as her audience is both writers AND readers?
We cover Jenna’s YouTube and writing journey, her best practices and tips for authors starting out (and whether it’s right for them) and how her YouTube channel has impacted her as a creative.
About Jenna Moreci:
- International #1 Amazon Bestseller
- YouTube’s Cyborg Queen
- Aquarius, tall person, & southpaw
Jenna Moreci is a bestselling dark fantasy romance and writing craft author, as well as a YouTube sensation with hundreds of thousands of subscribers. Her first installment in The Savior’s Series,The Savior’s Champion, was voted one of the Best Books of All Time by Book Depository.
Born and raised in Silicon Valley, Jenna spends her free time snuggling up with her charming partner and their tiny dog, Buttercup.
You can find Jenna at jennamoreci.com and on Writing With Jenna on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/jennamoreci
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
Marketing but not achieving results? Maybe you need to do a bit of a deep dive into why.
-Steady is good and not doing things at warp speed, but I think consistency is the real key. We tend to think if we try something and don’t get instant results, they don’t work. But that’s not always the case. Often what didn’t work first up may the second time around. We in the SPA have tried soooo many things, and what works for one of us doesn’t necessarily for another.
So why is your marketing not working for you? Before you assume it isn’t and you go back to bed and pull the covers over your head in defeat, maybe you need to have a really good look at those in your genre that are doing well. See where they can be found. Sign up for some promotion site emails. Check out places like the FB ads library
Log in or sign up to view
-Having a solid marketing plan is key. You need to consider a few factors before you build your plan however.
- How many books have your released?
- What marketing budget do you have to spend? (this will form your plan. Do you need to look for more free options? Or have you got the money to spend more?)
- What is your end goal? – Newsletter sign ups? – Pushing a permafree book with an eye to read through for the rest of the series – Target books sales specifically. What do you want to achieve?
- Is your cover, blurb etc tight?
- Do your research on marketing platforms and what you think will suit your genre.
Someone with one book to market, will do so differently from someone with five.
Marketing options
- Promo stacking (ads running one after the other in promo sites)
- Series promo
- FB, Amazon, BB ads
- Book promo sites –👉️ Best Book Promotion Sites in 2023 • David Gaughran
- FB takeovers, nl swaps, etc
USA Today Bestseller, Sadie King has grown her publishing business from zero to six figures in less than four years, writing short instalove romances. Knowing her reader’s journey is vital to her success.
In this episode we discuss Sadie’s:
- short romance publishing strategy
- rapid release strategy
- targeted wordcounts for Amazon Kindle’s 60m, 90m and 2 hour reads categories
- Techniques for writing short fiction
- Gaining visibility especially when you’re just starting out
- Keep readers hooked from one book to the next
- Crafting a funnel for readers.
- Must-have scenes in short romance
- Making paid advertising work for short fiction
Sadie’s “must have” scenes for short romance:
- Quick meet cute
- Thrown together
- Get to the steam fast (1 – 3 steamy scenes)
- Conflict
- Resolution
- Epilogue
She is currently writing 16k – 20k words with 1500 words (approx) per chapter; 2.99 price point
Resources mentioned:
Sadie’s new non-fiction book, Writing Short Romance for Pleasure & Profit
Writing Short Romance for Pleasure and Profit: How I Became a Six Figure Author Writing Short Romance
Tammi Labrecque’s Advanced Automations Course:
Newsletter Ninja
You can listen to Tammi being interviewed by the SPA Girls on Episode #378
SPA Girls Podcast – EP378 – Be A Newsletter Ninja with Tammi Labrecque
Mark Dawson’s Ads For Authors course
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
This week we take an in-depth look at author brands – starting with what branding actually means, what your branding should look like as an author, and then how you can make sure your author brand is the best it can be. We talk about how newbie authors can set up a brand for the first time, and how more experienced authors can reassess your current brand and make any necessary changes.
As always, we talk about decisions we’ve made with our own books, what we’ve done to create the branding for each of our pen names, and how we use our branding to help us make decisions in our author business.
And finally, we talk about the three ‘Cs’ – Consistency, Connection, Cohesiveness – and how to use them in the branding of your author business.
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
A New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Alessandra Torre has written twenty-three novels, including multiple New York Times bestsellers.
She is also the creator of Alessandra Torre Ink – an authors community and online school with over 20,000 members. She is also the founder of INKERS CON, an annual authors conference. A self-publishing advocate, Alessandra speaks frequently to universities, conventions and author groups and we’re delighted to welcome her back to the SPA!
Today Alessandra is going to give us the lowdown not just about Inkers Con that’s just opened it’s doors, but also share how we can MASTER THE TWISTS and Write JAW-DROPPING and Addictive Books. How cool is that?
So what is it EXACTLY that makes a book addictive?
How do twists and turns come into play?
And how do you create these elements with any genre of books?
All About Inkers Con 2023
With the Inkers Con online access, attendees can watch and re-watch professionally-filmed, high quality presentations from any location. All classes are taught by bestselling authors and industry experts and contain up to date and actionable information. This conference access will:
Reveal the latest business strategies that successful authors are using
- Show you how to increase sales, monetize your art and streamline efforts
- Propel you to write better novels, with more ease and confidence
- Help you break through plateaus so you can earn a consistent and dependable income
- Motivate you to confidently take the next steps in your career
- Allow you to connect with fellow authors in 50+ live video discussions
- Provide transcripts, slide decks, audio recordings, and video for maximum retention
What’s Included in your online access ticket: 27 Premium Presentations For Authors… $997 value
12 Q&A’s with Bestselling Authors… $297 value
Interactive Author Networking and Industry Discussions…. $397 value
Private Online Author’s Community… $197 value
Six years of access to this amazing content!
—————————————— Total Value…. $1888
Your investment… $249 – less $50 with our discount code! All you have to do is use our coupon code, and you’ll get $50 off the price of a ticket, plus we’ll throw in a few freebies!
You’ll get:
- Free copy of our book “Kick Author Overwhelm to the Curb”,
- Our productivity cheat sheet for authors (usually only available to our mastermind members!)
- And our Marketing 101 info sheet (packed with great marketing advice!).
Head over towww.inkerscon.comand use the coupon code SPAGIRLS to get the deal!
(To get your bonuses, send us a screenshot of your purchase and make sure you use our coupon code!)
Today we’re joined by two dynamic guests – author Emilia Rose and Michael Evans, who, along with Emilia’s husband Sean Patnode, founded the REAM subscription service for authors. We cover a LOT in this episode – from “what is the Creator Economy” to making subscriptions work for authors, so settle in for a great episode!
We first interview Emilia mid-2022 where she shared how she built a six figure subscription income through her romance writing in a very short time. At that time of recording they were still in the development stages of Ream. Today, 10 months later, REAM is now live and thriving. https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep358-six-figures-through-subscriptions-with-emilia-rose/
Michael has kindly offered listeners a free copy of his book Creator Economy For Authors: A Guide To The Future of Publishing. Download from Bookfunnel here (no signup required): ): https://dl.bookfunnel.com/epnsy74vrn
BIOS: Emilia Rose is an international bestselling author of steamy paranormal romance and has over 2,000 readers subscribing to her monthly.
She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2020 and now writes novels full-time, with over 70 million story views online.
She is the CPO and co-founder of Ream, admin in the SFA Group, and co-host of the Subscriptions for Authors Podcast. She regularly speaks at conferences about subscriptions and building fandom as an author.
Michael Evans is the author of a dozen sci-fi thriller novels, a serial founder of creator economy tech companies, and a Harvard student.
He is the CEO of Ream, co-host of the Subscriptions for Authors Podcast, and an admin in the SFA Group.
He’s also the author of Creator Economy for Authors: A Guide to the Future of Publishing, and is passionate about helping authors diversify their revenue streams and build direct relationships with their readers.
Explore Ream
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
We know there are still 5.5 months to go until the end of the year! But!! We think it’s important to start getting organized for the final push. Ads, blurbs, covers. In the SPA today we talk about the things you need to focus on!
💗The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
This week we go in-depth with New York Times, USA Today, international and #1 Amazon bestselling author of new adult and contemporary romance, Ana Huang. Aside from being very successful (check out her Twisted series!) Ana is a super smart and hardworking author with a tonne of great advice that she generously shared with us in this information-packed episode.
We range in topics from marketing, to TikTok, to branding, to translations, and everything in between. I guarantee there’s something in this episode that you’ll learn that will help you with your Indie author career.Check it out now!
Where to find Ana Huang:
www.anahuang.com
TikTok
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
In this episode, we’re looking at failure and putting a different slant on it. By changing the way you think of failing at a certain thing and thinking of it as simply a part of learning. You are future proofing the way you react to any result.
Fail = First Attempt In Learning.
Don’t measure yourself by how others are doing. They had their own journey and would have failed at something along the way. Successful people use those moments to push through, pivot, or try a new iteration. Learning is a part of the process.
Letting go of a perception is hard, we get that. However, you shouldn’t let that outcome define you. Don’t dwell on it. Instead, find a way to deal with it and to stop the negative talk. A way that moves you forward.
Tips:
Try not to compare your achievements with other authors.
When you don’t succeed, ask yourself if you put everything into the attempt.
Can you write a different genre?
Do you need more eyes on your work?
Look at your process – did you follow it?
Take the word fail out of your vocabulary.
Find the next thing that will work for you.
Do the best you can every time you start something.
💗The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
Back in 1996, author Debra Dixon published Goal, Motivation and Conflict and ever since the letters GMC have been tattooed on our brains.
This simple, yet powerful, concept is the driving force behind writing compelling fiction and building strong plots and character growth. This episode we cover the differing GMC’s found in different genres, including romance. Enjoy!
Further reading: http://blog.janicehardy.com/2019/02/goals-motivations-conflicts-engine-that.html
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on our YouTube Channel @spagirlspodcast
Today we talk to the amazingly talented author Lynn Raye Harris about series. Everything from multiple connected to branding. This is a must listen podcast!
Lynn is a Southern girl, military wife, wannabe cat lady, and horse lover. She’s also the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the HOSTILE OPERATIONS TEAM Ⓡ SERIES of military romances, and 20 books about sexy billionaires for Harlequin.
A former finalist for the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award and the National Readers Choice Award, Lynn lives in Alabama with her handsome former-military husband, one fluffy princess of a cat, and a very spoiled American Saddlebred horse who enjoys bucking at random in order to keep Lynn on her toes.
LINKS:
Website: www.LynnRayeHarris.com
Facebook Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/HOTReadersAndFans/
Talking about multiple connected series, breaking longer series into short series and series branding in general.
💗The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
It’s celebration time! We’ve reached another milestone here in the SPA – FOUR HUNDRED EPISODES!
And that’s 400 weekly episodes with no repeats, no “best of”s, and no stopping during the eight years we’ve been doing this. Phew! wipes brow
This episode we’re looking back on that time, trying to figure out why we’re still here, and what we’ve learned along the way. Go behind the scenes with us as we discuss some of what we’ve learned, advice we wish we’d been given, inspiration we wish we’d had to get you writing and publishing!
Rachael Herron is the internationally bestselling author of more than two dozen books, including thrillers (under R.H. Herron), mainstream fiction, feminist romance, memoir, and nonfiction about writing. She received her MFA in writing from Mills College, Oakland, and she’s taught writing extension workshops at both UC Berkeley and Stanford. She is a proud member of theNaNoWriMo Writer’s Board. A New Zealand citizen as well as an American, she lives in Wellington, New Zealand with her banjo-playing wife and brick-eating dog.
What is diversification?
It could be as simple as putting your book up on all the platforms by taking it from KU and making it wide.
We discussed how one product can be made into so many more by such as: audio, translations, print – hardback and large print.
You could put it in a box set that has three or more books and then put it another for the whole series, or make a first in series box set, or put it in an anthology with other authors
Perhaps you need more money than you are currently earning, so Rachael explains the ways to earn outside of writing such as selling a service like coaching, or taking a part-time job that is far removed from writing to prevent burnout.
It’s a fun podcast and definitely worth a listen.
Links:
rachaelherron.com
QUIT by Annie Duke
SPA Girls Podcast – EP146 – Interview with Becca Syme on Writing Better Faster
SPA Girls Podcast – EP358 – Six Figures through Subscriptions with Emilia Rose
SPA Girls Podcast – EP370 – Running A Successful Kickstarter – with Steffanie Holmes
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
How do you market a book that doesn’t quite fit a genre – or is a mash up of more than one genre?
We talk on the SPA all the time about the importance of knowing what genre/sub genre you’re writing and what reader expectations for that genre are. But what happens if you’ve written a spectacular mashup of genres? Or you wanted to write a romance cross memoir? There’s no doubt it can be harder to market an off-genre book, so where do you start?
Questions to consider:
- Is it one or a series?
- Can you identify which genres it straddles?
- Is it worth editing it?
- Is it affecting your other sales?
- Could it work as bonus content for existing series?
- Is the cover missing the mark?
- Do you need more reviews?
- Is it a mashup because you don’t understand genre expectations?
- Beware the sunk cost fallacy – writing more books isn’t always the answer
- For a lot of writers, getting their first books out of their system is needed
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
Author Rebecca Hefner is passionate about marketing audio books wide. After several years of struggling early on, her audiobook sales now surpass her ebook sales most months. As Rebecca says, “I had an excruciating learning curve with wide audio and want to save other authors from this torture!” She shares her best practices and tips for wide audiobook success in this must-listen episode.
Download Rebecca’s free tips for audiobook marketing here:
Self-Publishing Advice & Resources
And her (currently free!) Promo site, Indie Audiobook Deals at
indieaudiobookdeals | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree
USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Hefner grew up in Western NC and now calls the Hudson River of NYC home. In her youth, she would sneak into her mother’s bedroom and read the romance novels stashed on the bookshelf, cementing her love of HEAs.
Before becoming an author, Rebecca had a successful twelve-year medical device sales career. After launching her own indie publishing company, she is now a full-time author who loves writing strong, complex characters who find their HEAs.
Rebecca is passionate about marketing audiobooks WIDE and runs the Indie Audiobook Deals site to help authors promote their books, as well as the Marketing Audiobooks wide facebook Group for author support.Marketing Audiobooks Wide Facebook group
www.RebeccaHefner.com
💗The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
If you’ve been working on amping up your characters and writing a more compelling novel, this is the episode for you. We talk to Matt Bird – the Amazon bestselling author ofThe Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers andThe Secrets of Character: Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love – about characters and other secrets involved in writing an awesome story your readers will love.
Matt talks to us about what readers expect from characters and how to ensure they connect and fall in love with your characters early in your novel. He also gives practical examples of techniques that will engage your readers by helping you create flawed, vulnerable and compelling characters.
We loved having Matt in the SPA and we know you’ll enjoy this episode too!
Find Matt at the Cockeyed Caravan blog – http://www.secretsofstory.com/
Also on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/@secretsofstory6921
Find Matt’s Book on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Story-Innovative-Perfecting-Captivating-ebook/dp/B01N7HV0CT/
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
Erin Marcus is a business coach who helps authors take charge of their career and get results.
The founder and CEO of Conquer Your Business, an international company helping driven entrepreneurs and small business owners get the financial and emotional freedom they need to build a business and a life they’re proud of.
Having made the successful leap from corporate executive to entrepreneur, Erin uses 20 years of experience, along with her MBA education and street smart upbringing, to help her clients reach heights they never dreamed possible. And have fun doing it!
This podcast is exciting and encouraging. Erin also pokes a few holes in how we look at what we do and how to do it better.
You can find Erin and athttps://conqueryourbusiness.com.
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
This is a really important discussion for writer at all stages of their careers. Brenna has experienced publishing highs and has also dealt with the darker side of the writer’s journey. Her candour and courage discussing some difficult topics in this interview made it a very humbling experience for us, and we truly appreciate Brenna’s openness in wanting to help her fellow authors.
From mindset and productivity, to branding, social media and your writing community – we cover the gamut of how to sustain your author career long term.
About Brenna Aubrey
Brenna Aubrey is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author of contemporary romance featuring geek culture. Her bestselling romance series,Gaming The System, is available in eBook and print format across all vendors.
When she’s not dreaming up people and worlds and writing them down, she’s also a mom, wife, teacher, avid reader, a proud geek-girl, a self-confessed gaming addict, a French-speaking Francophile, lover of nature and beautiful sunsets.
Find her at https://brennaaubrey.net/
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
Today in the SPA we’re covering genre expectations for readers of romance and it’s subgenres and mystery. All are our opinion based on decades of reading and 20+ years writing romance and it’s various subgenres. It can be a bit messy and confusing and it’s subjective. But it’s also important to know the genre expectations for the “wrong” answers more so than the right.
So let us help you define what sub category your book should be virtually “shelved” on!
The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info.
Skye MacKinnon is a USA Today and International Bestselling Author whose books are filled with strong heroines who don’t have to choose. She embraces her Scottishness with fantastical Scottish settings and a dash of mythology, no matter if she’s writing about aliens in kilts, Celtic gods, cat shifters, or the streets of Edinburgh.
She’s also doing great with German translations and this week in the SPA she breaks down everything she’s been doing, including how to get started with a translator, what to watch out for, how and where to load your translated book, and how to market them once they’re up!
According to Skye, the German e-book market is growing rapidly and readers are hungry for more books. Translations are no longer just reserved for big publishers and it can be a lucrative market. It’s a logical step for any successful author: you’ve already written the book, now find new ways to expand your reach. Take the first step into translations by listening to this episode with Skye!
Show notes:
If you want to find out more about german translations from Skye head to her facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/262551475032407/
Head to her website to check out her books here.
If you’d like to purchase her book on translations, head to Amazon to purchase it here.
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
USA today bestselling author of Western Romance, Erin Wright, has worked every job under the sun, including library director, barista, teacher, website designer, and ranch hand, helping brand cattle, before settling into the career she’s always dreamed about: Author.
Despite starting out in KU in 2016, she went wide on all platforms in 2017 when she discovered she couldn’t get her books in libraries if she was exclusive to Amazon. She started the Wide for the Win Facebook group in 2019, to help other authors find information about being wide, and now the group has grown to a community of 14,390.
Erin breaks it down and lists the reasons why she made this decision.
She uses serial apps, website direct sales, multi-author promotions, as well as many platforms that we had never heard of. Erin also does courses on going wide.
If you are keen to diversify and find more ways to reach readers, this is the episode for you. You can find more information from Erin’s Website, and also her group, on the links below.
Wide for The Win Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/wideforthewin
https://erinwright.net
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
This episode is for everyone who struggles with paid advertising!
Today we’re joined by romance author Vanessa Vale. When her facebook ad account was shut down, Vanessa had to learn how to sell books WITHOUT paid ads and she shares how she came up with her solid marketing strategies in the episode.
She not only writes amazing books, but also runs the Thrifty Tips For Authors group on Facebook where she shares ways to brand, market, publish, write, promote and THINK about selling books… without spending a fortune. Vanessa is also launching her very first Thrifty Tips For Authors online course in April 2023.
This is a must listen for writers of all genres!
Learn more about Vanessa’s course Thrifty Tips For Authors here:https://thriftytipsforauthors.com/courses
About Vanessa Vale
Vanessa Vale is the USA Today bestselling author of sexy romance novels, including her popular Bridgewater historical series and hot contemporary romances. With over one million books sold, Vanessa writes about unapologetic bad boys who don’t just fall in love, they fall hard. Her books are available worldwide in multiple languages in e-book, print and audio.
Within five years, Vanessa forged two pen names from scratch to seven figures—each using the strategies and techniques in the Thrifty Tips For Authors class. The beginnings of this program came when she was banned from Facebook ads, forcing her to develop strong branding and marketing steps that are enduring and withstand the changes and whims of the publishing industry.
She is still the go-to author for steamy small town romances, however has retired from her second pen name. The enduring Interstellar Brides Program is left in the capable and amazing hands of her BFF co-author.
Her Thrifty Tips for Authors group has over 2500 members (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thriftytipsforauthors )
Vanessa’s Author website: https://vanessavaleauthor.com/
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch the recording on ourYouTube Channel@spagirlspodcast
In today’s podcast we talk all things small town romance with the wonderful Kait Nolan.
Kait is aUSA Todaybest selling, RITA® Award-winning Mississippi author of smart, sassy, small town Southern romance. She calls everyone sugar, honey, or darlin’, and can wield a ‘Bless your heart’ like a Snuggie or a saber, depending on requirements. She believes in love, laughter, and that tacos are the world’s most perfect food. When she’s not writing, reading, or wrangling family (both the two-legged and the four-), you can find her obsessively watchingThe Great British Bake Off.
https://kaitnolan.com/
The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
Visitwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.comfor our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info.
* we apologize for the technical gremlins that appear occasionally in this recording. Stick with it because the info is gold!
Today we’re joined by Julia Roberts, MSc, writer, creativity coach, and soon-to-be Ted Talker. Julia is going to talk us through procrastination and the tools we can use to manage it. Goodness knows we all need this help!
Her expertise is the creative process – she focuses on writers and writer’s block. She has her Masters of Science in Creativity and uses proven tools and concepts to help writers shift out of block and onward! She helps thousands of writers every year. Her book WRITE WITHOUT THE FIGHT – MASTER YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS TO WRITE WITH EASE AND SATISFACTION will debut in June 2022.
About Julia:
Julia Roberts helps writers predict and prevent writer’s block. She helps writers really see their creativity and talents with precision, so they can know their strengths and struggles and adjust their approach to writing. She helps writers limit their frustration, fears and setbacks so they can write their best work.
Julia is a certified coach, has her Masters in the Science of Creativity and has three books published, including Amazon bestseller: Sex, Lies & Creativity – Gender Differences in Creative Thinking.
She has addressed worldwide audiences live, at teleseminars and webinars, has been a guest on hundreds of radio shows, and a dozen tv talk and news shows, including Chicago Tribune, Redbook, Child Magazine, New York Times and New York Public Radio/NPR.
After 25 years working as a brainstormer and marketing strategist for companies like Warner Bros, HBO, Sesame Workshop, she founded decodingcreativity.com in 2008 – where she serves serious writers in all media.
Find more at DecodingCreativity.com or join the Write Without the Fight FB group.
Julia’s new book:
https://www.amazon.com/Write-Without-Fight-Creative-Satisfaction-ebook/dp/B09Z9VMK6X/
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us Patreon.
If you join us as a $10 Patreon patron, you’ll have access to us (warts and all!) in our private facebook group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing and answer your questions.
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
All SPA Girls Podcast Episodes, Resource Links and free Self-Publishing Info atwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com
Do you want to learn how to design a series that will hook and keep readers, AND set you up for long term success? Helen Scheuerer, YA fantasy author of the bestselling series, The Oremere Chronicles and the Curse of the Cyren Queen quartet, joins us today to discuss how we can write a successful series.
Topics covered include:
The REAL reasons you should write in a seriesHow to find and use your target market to satisfy hungry readersHow to use foreshadowing and cliffhangers to create binge-worthy instalmentsHow to protect your career with series exit and expansion strategies
And lots more!
About Helen
How To Write a Successful Series will be available August 11th, 2022 so go ahead and pre-order now!
https://helenscheuerer.com/
Helen Scheuerer is the YA fantasy author of the bestselling series, The Oremere Chronicles and the Curse of the Cyren Queen quartet. Her work has been highly praised for its strong, flawed female characters and its action-packed plots. Her books have often been likened to Sarah J Maas’ Throne of Glass series, and the epic #girlpower film, Wonderwoman.Helen’s love of writing and books led her to pursue a Bachelor of Creative Writing, majoring at the University of Wollongong and a Masters of Publishing at the University of Sydney. Now a full-time author, Helen lives amidst the mountains in New Zealand and is constantly dreaming up new stories.
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us Patreon.
If you join us as a $10 Patreon patron, you’ll have access to us (warts and all!) in our private facebook group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing and answer your questions.
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
All SPA Girls Podcast Episodes, Resource Links and free Self-Publishing Info atwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com
This week, in answer to a listener question, we talk about how we manage the process of writing a book. How many do we write at one time? Do we work on multiple projects at different stages, or just write and edit one book at a time? What do we do to ensure we stay on track and don’t procrastinate?
Listen to this week’s podcast and find out!
Ignite your career with collaboration.
Bestselling Author Asa Maria Bradley suggests collaboration as a way to get creative again.
Growing up in Sweden surrounded by archaeology and history steeped in Norse Mythology, inspired her sexy and paranormal romance series. She also writes urban fantasy about empowered heroines who kick ass while saving the world.
Her work has received a double nomination for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA contest, a Reviewers Choice Award nomination, a Holt Medallion win, and Bookseller’s Best Award win.
The last couple of years were rough on Asa’s creativity, and almost by chance she joined a bunch of collaboration projects. With different strategies and aims, working with other writers gave her the creative spark needed to enjoy writing again. Besides providing accountability, the projects validated and inspired her work.
Today she shares the challenges and rewards that she experienced from writing for and promoting several collaborations.
Show Notes:
The projects she worked on did extremely well.
The 1001 Dark Nights Short Story Challenge 2020 Anthology which became an instant Amazon #1 bestseller in several categories in several countries and rose to #15 on the overall US Kindle list and #42 in the overall Apple store in the US.
Also, The multi-author (20+) Grifter’s Song series, where she entered a novella out of her comfort zone and genre.
Asa organised a holiday-themed multi-author (8) wolf shifter novella collection, Shifters and Mistletoe in 2021 which instantly became Amazon, B&N, and Apple bestsellers on release day.
The multi-author (20+) paranormal romance and urban fantasy novella collection, Midnight Magic releases in May this year intent on making the USA Today bestsellers list.
You’ll find Asa athttps://www.asamariabradley.com
https://www.facebook.com/AsaMariaBradley.Author/
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us Patreon.
If you join us as a $10 Patreon patron, you’ll have access to us (warts and all!) in our private facebook group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing and answer your questions.
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
All SPA Girls Podcast Episodes, Resource Links and free Self-Publishing Info at www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com
Ten Mistakes Authors Make With Their Editing & How To Fix Them
Today we’re thrilled to welcome editor extraordinaire, Mary-Theresa Hussey, to the SPA.
Prior to becoming a freelance editorial consultant, Mary-Theresa (known as Matrice) worked at Harlequin for more than 25 years, editing nearly a thousand titles. As editor, senior and executive editor, she read, acquired, revised, rejected and critiqued triple that. Many of the books she has edited went on to find places on both the NYT and USA Today bestseller lists.
Matrice shares the top ten mistakes she sees authors making and how to fix them! This is an incredible episode, packed with great info for writers at all stages of their careers. Bonus – it’s a long and juicy episode filled with amazing expert advice to help you polish your writing.
Guest Bio:
Mary-Theresa Hussey—also known as Matrice—knew from the start she loved the stories found in books—and that she didn’t want to be a writer. So she became an editor, putting her love of books to good use by helping authors write better stories.
Prior to becoming a freelance editorial consultant, she worked at Harlequin for more than 25 years, editing nearly a thousand titles. As editor, senior and executive editor, she read, acquired, revised, rejected and critiqued triple that. Many of the books she has edited went on to find places on both the NYT and USA Today bestseller lists.
Matrice is an award-winning editor, including the RWA Vivian Stephens Industry Professional award in 2015, the OCC Helping Hands Industry Award, Editor of the Year Award from the NYC RWA and multiple RITA and National Readers Choice Award nominees and winners among others).
She loves a good story and wants to make sure it’s well told.
Find her at http://www.goodstorieswelltold.com/
Resources mentioned:
Tiktok – follow @iamthatenglishteacher for grammar and punctuation tips
KM Weiland’s Structuring Your Novel (https://www.amazon.com/K-M-Weiland/e/B002RCXQ00/)
Enneagram : https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions
Myers Briggs: https://www.truity.com/test/type-finder-personality-test-new
Purdue Writing resources: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/index.html
Today’s podcast comes from a listener question. Thanks to Rachel, who asks “- I’ve been wondering about all the visual stuff that ISN’T a cover. For instance, how do you get nice, branded, coordinated headers for your website, your emails, your Facebook profile? Is that something an illustrator does, or a cover designer, or someone else? And logos? For instance for a series? Or I’ve noticed some writers have logos for themselves. How do you prefer to use them if you have one? Is a logo something an illustrator does?
We answer (hopefully!) all of the above questions and give tips and pointers about what we think is fine to DIY and what you should outsource, where to start and how not to get overwhelmed by all this!
Resource links:
canva.combookbrush.comcoolors.co (for color palettes)covervault.comcreativelive.compracticaltypography.com
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us Patreon.
If you join us as a $10 Patreon patron, you’ll have access to us (warts and all!) in our private facebook group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing and answer your questions.
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
All SPA Girls Podcast Episodes, Resource Links and free Self-Publishing Info at www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com
Hit the ground running with this episode all about how to successfully finish the first draft of your novel!
We talk about how we stay motivated, what you need to know before you can start, how we keep going when we get to the saggy middle, what we plan beforehand, and what we leave to figure out as we go.
If you’ve been struggling to get started on your first draft, or you’re wallowing somewhere in the middle, this is the episode for you!
Do you want to be a full-time author?
Today we discuss how we transitioned to writing full time, including:
- how we approached the financial and business planning
- balancing the creative and business sides of the job
- mindset tips and corrections along the way
- our expectations versus reality
- courage and resourcefulness
Show Notes:
There are as many reasons to quit your day job, as there are to keep it. From being over your job, to making more than you ever could at it, or being able to do what you love (which are our reasons) and then there are your reasons.
For most of us the decision could hinge on finances, but you’ll also have to understand how to treat this career as a business. A willingness to learn all aspects of the business is perhaps the biggest criteria after finance and it might take some time to get your head around everything so factoring that in will also impact the timing.
Working from home isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and many people will understand y=this than previously, but friends and family will needto appreciate that you aren’t available at a moment’s notice.
Make a plan, understand your process, know how much you need to earn and adopt the right mindset to ensure you’ll be ahead of the game.
Listen atwww.spagirlspodcast.comand if you join us as a $10 Patreon patron, you’ll have access to us (warts and all!) in our private facebook group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing and answer your questions.
www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
Struggling to write compelling characters and compelling but realistic conflict in your stories? Well, have we got a show for you!
Darian Smith is a prize winning fiction writer with a degree in psychology, and is a member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors. He combines these two sides of his background to provide simple, easy to follow tools that make use of established psychological theory to help writers develop fully rounded, interesting, realistic characters and inject conflict into their stories.
We cover plot development AND character development and you’ll come away (hopefully!) with some awesome tips to improve your story telling and create compelling characters that your readers will love – or love to hate!
Along with his fiction, Darian has written The Psychology Workbook for Writers: Tools for Creating Realistic Characters and Conflict in Fiction https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0143K2MNU/
You can find him at http://www.darian-smith.com/
About Darian Smith
I’m a writer and reader of fiction and live in Auckland, New Zealand. While I have dabbled in non-fiction, my true love is crafting exciting stories that interest and move me – and hopefully my readers! I mainly write fantasy. I’m a member of SpecFicNZ, an organisation for writers of speculative fiction here in New Zealand, and also of RWNZ. I’ve won the Koru award and the Sir Julius Vogel award. My literary agent is Word|Link. In my day job, I’m a Fieldworker for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I’m also a counsellor/family therapist. I live with my beautiful partner, who is also a writer, and two naughty black cats named Apollo and Athena. The cats don’t write.
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us Patreon.
Your support allows us to create the weekly show for self-publishers, as well as for us to take time away from our own writing to produce it. Thank you so much! If you’d like to join our supporters community,click hereto be a patron of SPA Girls.
All SPA Girls Podcast Episodes, Resource Links and free Self-Publishing Info atwww.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com
In the Spa this week we talk to Audiobook Narrator Naomi Barton. With more people listening to audiobooks now, there has never been a better time to learn about this side of our industry. Naomi has produced audio books for many authors including our very own Cheryl, under CA Phipps, her cozy mystery pen name. We talk about processes, cost, and the industry. You won’t want to miss this one!
https://www.naomibartonvoice.com/
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