SPA Girls Podcast: Recent Episodes

SPA Girls Podcast

Each week the SPA Girls provide information, tips and honest advice on self publishing for indie authors. Hosted by four experienced self-publishing writers, we provide a mix of interviews, craft shows, and marketing information that will help you start your self-publishing journey. Join us today!

Kel Carpenter is a publishing powerhouse who has been a successful fulltime author since she was just 22 years old. With the goal of publishing 30 books by 30 years, she's achieved that and more! Kel has incredible business-savvy and a "learning" mindset that has helped her achieve multi-six figure pa success, manage burnout, and diversify her income streams. As well as her fiction, Kel is the creator of the Rule Your Author Empire course (and book) at https://www.ruleyourauthorempire.com/

Resources mentioned:

Heather Hildenbrand - SPA Girls EP434 - Manifest Your HEA

Renee Rose -SPA Girls EP365 Write To Riches

You can find Kel at https://kelcarpenter.com/ and https://www.ruleyourauthorempire.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 burning questions.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Cathy Yardley is an award-winning author of romance, chick lit, and urban fantasy, who has sold over 1.2 million copies of books for publishers like St. Martin's, Avon, and Harlequin. She writes fun, geeky, and diverse characters who believe that underdogs can make good and that sometimes being a little wrong is just right.

She likes writing about quirky, crazy adventures, because she's had plenty of her own: she had her own army in the Society of Creative Anachronism; she spent a New Year's on a three-day solitary vision quest in the Mojave Desert; she had VIP access to the Viper Room in Los Angeles.

Now, she spends her time writing in the wilds of East Seattle, trying to prevent her son from learning the truth of any of said adventures, and riding herd on her two dogs (and one husband.)

You can find Cathy at : www.rockyourwriting.com (for writers) and cathyyardley.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 burning questions.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Comparison is the thief of joy

-Theodore Roosevelt

Today we talk about comparisonitis in the SPA. A topic we’re sure is dear to many hearts.

We live in a world where we can see what everyone else is doing online. Successes and failures. We are the ‘instant gratification’ generation, and have a need for success, so we compare ours with others! So sit back with your favorite beverage and let’s dive in, and see if we can work through a few things that may help.

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Get ready to be inspired this week by our guest interviewee, romance author Juliette N. Banks.

“In 2020 I wrote a book, pitched it to a few agents, got rejected three times, and waited another 35 seconds before deciding to self-publish. One of the best decisions of my life.” ~ Juliette N. Banks

Juliette is a bestselling romance author who has taken the genre by storm with her popular series The Moretti Blood Brothers, The Dark Kings of NYC, and The Dufort Dynasty. She has written more than 50 contemporary and paranormal romances (on the same pen name).

Juliette has a vast background in consumer marketing and brings her business savvy to her business planning, release strategies, reader relationships and mindset.

This is an incredibly inspirational episode and we cover everything from approaching self-publishing with a “business” mindset, combining genres on the one pen name, release strategies, getting regular bookbubs, building a a loyal audience, and encouragement for those starting out, as well as experienced authors.

You can find Juliette at:

www.juliettebanks.com

Read her guest post for Bookbub : https://insights.bookbub.com/maximize-first-featured-deal/

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

This episode we discuss Book Signings and Book Fairs - in person events where authors get out of the writing cave and actually (gasp!) interact with readers and fellow authors. These can be great fun - and a little intimidating. Wendy’s just returned from RARE Edinburgh so we grilled her on how she prepped, her table “set up”, how preorders worked, what merchandise she took and how she handled the signing. Cheryl’s done a number of book fairs in New Zealand and there is a definite benefit to starting locally and finding your feet at smaller events.

Links: https://rarettes.wordpress.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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Rebecca Hefner is a USA Today bestselling author who is a passionate advocate for authors to reach more readers through publishing their books across a wide number of retailers, as well as on their own store. This episode she shares how she juggles her writing over three pen names, creating a monthly schedule for easy marketing and social media wrangling, and lots more marketing advice for connecting with readers.

Rebecca's has also created an amazing tools for authors:

The website is BuyDirectFromAuthors.com. Here are the FAQs for authors who want to list their stores: Buy Direct From Authors FAQ

Romance Audiobookworms - Stuff Your Earbuds events. The website is RomanceAudiobookworms.com. Here are the FAQs for authors who want to participate in the event: Romance Audiobookworms FAQs.docx

Indie Audiobook Deals. There are lots of opportunities for authors to promote their wide audiobooks here: For Authors

The 3 apps Rebecca finds most helpful on Shopify are: Selleasy (upsell app), King Linked Options (allows authors to combine separate product pages so they appear as variants on the same page), and Frequently Bought Together.

Rebecca's bio: USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Hefner writes steamy Romantasy and Dystopian Romance with sexy silver-fox heroes and the badass women who bring them to their knees. She also writes steamy Contemporary Romance under Ayla Asher, mostly with main characters over 35, because people of all ages deserve steamy romance too.

Rebecca's other passion is teaching authors how to be successful with wide audio and direct sales. She believes wide and direct selling is the future, and thinks corporate retailers have too much control over authors' catalogs and readers. Join her as she chips away the big retailers' market share one day at a time.😊

Find her at: rebeccahefner.com, buydirectfromauthors.com and her facebook group Marketing Audiobooks Wide

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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Join us as we talk to Lana Love, the USA Today bestselling author of short romances featuring curvy heroines and the strong men who can't live without them.

Lana talks to us about how she has achieved success in short romance in less than two years using a mix of mindset, research and plain old stubbornness (her words, not ours...). We talk about what she did to level up, including the research she did and the tough decisions she made. It's a fascinating interview we know you'll love!

💗 💗 💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Sweet Romance Author, Anne-Marie Meyer is an Amazon and Apple Top 100 best seller and a 3x USA Today Bestselling author.

With absolute intention Anee-Marie challenges herself to improve on how she sells. From Tik Tok to Direct sales she has hit heady heights, paticularly in the last 12 months.

After her Amazon account was shut down for 48 hrs in 2022 for false reasons, she's decided that it would be best to bring her stories directly to her readers hands and it has worked!

Listen up for all her tips. You won't be disapointed.

Your book cover is the "shop window" of your hard work, and it has to do the heavy lifting to attract potential readers to go on and read your blurb. So how do you figure out which cover is the best for you?

This episode we give tips and tricks for choosing your cover and the elements that will connect with YOUR right readers.

Resources mentioned (just put the episode number in your podcast app, or our website search bar)

SPA Girls Podcast #457 Kindletrends

SPA Girls Podcast #464 Alexa Rivers

SPA Girls Podcast #206 Chris Fox

SPA Girls Podcast #224 Rebekah Haskell

SPA Girls Podcast #404 Ana Huang

SPA Girls Podcast #221 Laurelin Paige

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Theodora Taylor is back! And she’s here to tell us how to craft our blurbs with LOTS OF BUTTER that hook readers and skyrocket sales.

Theodora Taylor is the bestselling author of the 50 Loving States Series. Despite writing within a niche genre (interracial romance), she has earned six KDP All-Star bonuses and grown a fanbase of rabid readers through the power of Universal Fantasy.

Her book, 7 FIGURE FICTION: How to Use Universal Fantasy to SELL Your Books to ANYONE was an instant #1 non-fiction bestseller in the Writing Category on Amazon and has since been certified as Great by the world’s largest online bookseller. Most importantly, this book has become a valued and treasured resource for writers around the world.

Theodora has been invited to give presentations on Universal Fantasy by NINC (Novelists Inc.) Conference, RAM (Romance Author Mastermind), and Inker’s Con. She’s also a highly sought-after podcast guest. She’s made appearances on The Creative Penn (hosted by Joanna Penn), Six Figure Authors, #AmWriting, Wish I’d Known Then, and SPA Girls (now twice!).

For writers:

Butter Blurb Master Class

https://universalfantasycourse.thinkific.com/courses/butter-blurb-master-class

https://7figurefiction.com/

For readers: https://theodorataylor.com/

Links mentioned:

Theodora’s Universal Fantasies Episode with the SPA Girls EP#315

BOOKS Mentioned in recording:

Ali Hazelwood: Check & Mate, Love Theoretically

Sally Thorne: The Hating Game

Deborah Harkness: A Discovery Of Witches

Rebecca Yarros: Fourth Wing

Lindsay Devin - Wolf King

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

When she decided to write a palate cleanser novel in a completely different genre - with a brand new pen name - Alexa Rivers had no idea she would have a hit on her hands. In this interview she talks about why she wrote the book, how she picked the new pen name, the marketing she did, and how a book she wasn't expecting to do much at all... kinda did awesome. :) She also talks about the ups and downs of her journey with TikTok, and gives some great advice for everyone to use!

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Attending conferences helps us network with professionals in the author world and gain insights and ideas to make our jobs easier or to upskill.

What can you hope to get out of conference?

Conference helps us find our tribe. The SPAGirls wouldn’t be here without RWNZ and their conferences.

Conferences show us we’re not alone.

Conferences are inspirational in so many ways. eg. Make us write more regularly, show us that we’re doing okay.

Conferences help us see where we can improve on what we already do.

Tips:

Conferences are fun and can be exhausting. Soak up what you can while you're there and let ideas percolate for a while before implementing them. You don't have to try everything and you shouldn't do it all at once. Pick one thing at a time.

Before you go decide on the workshops that excite you the most.

Be present when attending sessions.

Take downtime when needed.

Keep hydrated.

Welcome back to another SPA Girls minisode. This one is a bit of a controversial take on mistakes writers make that make their work B O R I N G. How do we know these? Because we've all made them! So learn from us in ten minutes or less with a quick SPA Girls minisode.

Enjoy!

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

How to decide what retail platform is right for you.

Should you “be Amazon exclusive, “go direct”, “publish wide” and/or use an aggregator? And what do those terms even mean?

Firstly the definitions:

Amazon Exclusive - means publishing your ebooks exclusively on Amazon and in the Kindle Unlimited subscription reading program for at least the initial 90 day period. This exclusivity requirement by Amazon applies to ebooks only; you can publish your print books and audio books on other platforms if you so wish.

Publishing Wide - means publishing your ebooks on as many retailers as you choose, including the “big four” : Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Apple Books.

Going Direct - means setting up your publishing account directly with each retailer and uploading your books yourself.

Aggregators are service providers who you upload your books to, select which retailers you wish to publish on, and they then distribute them widely to your chosen online retailers in return for a percentage on sales made. We use Draft2Digital.

FIRST RULE no matter where you publish: ALWAYS read the terms and conditions for each online retailer so you understand what you’re agreeing to. Each retailer has clear guidelines and comprehensive information for authors. Take the time to understand them.

For our full notes on each platform's pros and cons, visit our shownotes 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

If you've been scratching your head over how to get some 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 reviews. Loads of practical tips in this episode!

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

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!) options that’ll put you back on the right track.

Resources mentioned:

Kindletrends (make sure to listen to our recent episode with Nat Connors, creator of Kindletrends for a discount)

Publisher Rocket

Bklnk.com

Bookbub

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

The decision to self publish her first historical women's fiction novel - after a career writing romance - turned out to be a lucrative one for today's guest, Kindle #1 bestselling historical women's fiction author, Soraya Lane. The same year she self-published the novel - one that her agent told Soraya she couldn't sell - she picked up a publishing deal (for the same book) with Amazon, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Fast forward 10 years and Soraya now writes for two different traditional publishing houses - one of them still Amazon - she's sold more than a million copies of her books and her work has been translated into more than 21 languages around the world. This week we talk about her journey into writing, what she's learned about writing historical fiction and how translations have transformed her 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

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) fits into the market, and how it stacks up against the packaging (cover, pricing, categories etc), for the current top sellers in your specific genre is really important. It allows you to directly target the right readers and sell more books.

‌Forget confusing tech stuff, Nat’s going to break down the UF and Small Town Romance markets in easy -to-understand ways!

We highly recommend you watch the recording of this episode on our YouTube channel where you can see Nat's screen sharing the reports watch here: https://youtu.be/n3ttp8HXy4U

View SMALL TOWN ROMANCE example here: https://kindletrends.com/static/smalltown/

View URBAN FANTASY example here: https://kindletrends.com/static/uf/

‌BONUS OFFER: SPA Girls listeners/viewers …

sign up to kindletrends.com, use the coupon code SPA and save $5/month making your subscription just $10 / month forever!

Nat's Links: https://kindletrends.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Kindletrends https://x.com/kindletrends https://www.youtube.com/@kindletrends

Kindletrends free resources for authors:

Also Boughts Downloader Chrome Extension:

Download Also Boughts And Top 100s Chrome Extension Kindle Power Search:

How to use Kindle Power Search List of categories on the Amazon Store:

List of All Categories in the Kindle Store

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, sage advice and some vulnerable moments from our own self publishing careers.

This is an awesome, must-listen minisode, just for you. :)

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 books. A Hybrid author, Clare also writes her trademark romances for Harlequin and Tule.

After many years of rejections, Clare decided to self-publish and did so in the most basic way possible. By copying a Mills and Boon format in look as well as writing style she hit the ground running by having more books ready to go. A true outlier, by the end of that year she had 4 books published and got the Amazon All-Star tags as well as earning 5 figures year.

Self-belief is certainly top of her list to achieving your goals, but she had done a lot of research on writing blurbs (reading about 100!) and tropes, and knew who her ideal readership was.

The biggest takeaways is that success can be about timing, but doing the hard work before you publish will undoubtedly help success come sooner.

In 2023, alongside three other bestselling romance writers, Clare launched the How to Write Academy, a one-stop shop for aspiring genre writers.

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.! Resources mentioned: Lisa Cron on the SPA Girls Podcast EP249

Sacha Black on crafting great characters EP422

Writing For Emotional Impact by Karl Iglesias

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Want to make the leap to full time author? How do you know when it’s the right time to make that leap? Going from hobbiest to full time writer has been a different journey for all of us. Today we discuss:

how much money you need to make the leap
other considerations
do you have the "right" personality?
what support do you have?
will you automatically double your productivity?
is there a middle ground?
taking a positive risk
self discipline and self care

and lots more!

Resources mentioned:

SPA Girls Podcast EP396 - the Secrets of Story with Matt Bird

SPA Girls Podcast E249 - story coach, Lisa Cron

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

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!

Check out our website for the full show notes and links.

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

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. A former ICM motion picture literary and subsidiary rights (books to film/tv) agent, Maggie is the co-founder and legal advisor to the not-for-profit Women’s Fiction Writers Association and a member of Women In Film. The firm has negotiated deals with Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, Universal, Warner Bros, Disney.

The firm provides services such as entertainment and publishing representation, trademark & copyright, packaging and sales, business legal affairs and corporate, production and distribution legal.

anding, Marketing Books and Going All In with Small Town Romance

USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author Melanie Harlow writes sweet, sexy, feel-good romance. She is a powerhouse of publishing, starting in 2013 with historical romance to today where she focuses on small town contemporary romance.

In this incredible conversation, Melanie details her approach to:

How She Changed Her Approach To Publishing Commercially

Marketing & Branding
Making Intentional Decisions
Writing The Blurb First
How She Built Her Newsletter List
Learning From Reading
Backlist Promo Planning
Evergreen Ad Strategy
Hybrid Publishing

"I think about marketing before I write the book - it's baked in." ~ Melanie Harlow, SPA Girls Podcast EP450

About Melanie:

USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author Melanie Harlow writes sweet, sexy, feel-good romance. She likes her martinis dry, her heels high, and her history with the naughty bits left in. If she's not writing or reading, she's probably at Orangetheory or watching Schitt's Creek again. She lifts her glass to readers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit.

She is represented by Rebecca Friedman of Friedman Literary.

find Melanie at: melanieharlow.com

Resources Mentioned:

Elana Johnson's Writing Killer Cover Copy

Elana Johnson's SPA Girls Podcast Episode #227 and #228

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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

None

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!

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

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, but she was reaching a point where she wanted to slow down and diversify her writing skills by learning script writing.

She realised she needed to find a system that would take advantage of her extensive backlist, and allow her more time for her other writing interests.

Maggie talks us through how she did it, what the major challenges were, and how you can do the same thing!

Maggie was a delight to interview, and gave us so much useful advice - you're going to love this one!

WritingLife How to hone your instincts, trust your gut and back yourself!

We all have that moment of cold dread that we’ve picked a dream we can’t turn into a reality, and it’s those moment we need to remember why we started. Find that self belief that set you on this journey and carry on.

You got into this game because it was something you believed in. Believed that it was something you could do. Then you started listening and reading. Trying to understand about this business you want to succeed at.

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 had knock backs. It’s about perseverance. It’s about holding on to your self belief and forging ahead.

“Don’t give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you.” — John Wooden.

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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

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 ?!), building a thriving community of superfans and, most importantly, diversifying your income streams.

‌(For those who don’t know, Patreon is a subscription service, where people pay a monthly fee for different benefits/exclusive opportunities offered to them. For authors, this is usually books, excerpts, and other pieces of writing.)

About Tao

Tao Wong is a Canadian science fiction and fantasy author writing in LitRPG and Xianxia (a genre based on Chinese mythology and the concept of the chivalrous spirit, that is huge pop culture phenomenon in China) with five different series across a range of worlds. He’s been writing full time since 2019, and has his books in audio, paperback, hardcover and ebook formats as well as translations to German, Spanish, Portuguese and others.

‌When he’s not writing and working, he’s practicing martial arts, reading (even more!) and taking care of his family. Other hobbies include occasional RPGs and board games as well as picking up new, random skillsets.

Find Tao at MyLifeMyTao.com

Links mentioned:

Brandon Sanderson

Royal Road https://www.royalroad.com/home

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

How the heck do you build a reader newsletter list, especially 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 recommend.

‌

7 SIMPLE WAYS TO BUILD YOUR NEWSLETTER LIST:

Join bookfunnel
Provide a tasty sample
Sign ups on social media
Sign ups in books
Join newsletter builder through Booksweeps etc
Work with other authors
Run a facebook ad to your free sample on bookfunnel

‌

SPA Girls EP378 Be Newsletter Ninja with Tammi Labrecque https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/?s=378

SPA Girls EP258 Nail Your Newsletter with Holly Mortimer

https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/?s=258

SPA Girls EP177 & 178 with Larissa Reynolds

https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/?s=177

https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/?s=178

SPA Girls EP424 with Damon Courtney https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep424-bookfunnel-tips-for-authors/

‌

‌

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at

Get more from SPA Girls Podcast on Patreon ✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on You Tube @ spagirlspodcast

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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, an author who's been writing for more than 35 years, and who knows a thing or two about how to keep going when the going gets tough.

Pat gives us her top five pieces of advice so you can stay focused and keep the positivity flowing when it seems like everything is falling apart around you.

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

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, and since starting has scaled two of her businesses and several others’ to six figure incomes.

As well as discussing facts and figures for TikTok, we’re also delving into marketing for authors, and why you’re probably using the wrong hooks in your social media.

‌A wonderful open and informative discussion that could unlock answers to questions we’re all asking right now!

Find Kate at: https://www.alynedigital.com

Welcome to the first SPA Girls double-minisode where we invite you into the SPA for a double mini-tips session. 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!

Let us know what you think of this new sub-30 minute episode!

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

In this podcast we talk to KimBoo 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. KimBoo York is a GenX elder-goth whose main life purpose is to provide a good life for her rescue mutt, Keely-Boo, who is perfect and beyond reproach in every way. She is also a librarian, former project manager, and a professional author who wears too many hats and crosses too many genres including romance, fantasy, and non-fiction. She is a bit grumpy, especially in the morning.

House of York

By the Seat of Your Pants: Secrets of Discovery Writing

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

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 2010. Since then she's published more than 80 books, and shares with us some real and raw insights into the career of an indie author, including all the highs and the lows.

When she launched her latest pen name last year, she made sure she used everything she'd learned over that time to ensure her new pen name was successful right from the start.

Melissa generously tells us exactly what she did to create her latest pen name, and every step she took along the way to make it successful. Don't miss this information packed episode!

Find Melissa at: Foreverlovepublishing.com

Resources mentioned:

Renee Rose

Jen Sincero https://jensincero.com/

Amanda Frances https://amandafrances.com/

Heather Hildenbrand https://spagirls.libsyn.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep434-top-3-mindset-tips-for-authors-with-heather-hildenbrand

Skye Warren https://www.skyewarren.com/authors/

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Let's talk Enneagrams.

Fiction strategist and owner of FFS Media, Claire Taylor publishes her fiction through her company, under four pennames. She also helps authors through her Story Alignment and Author Alignment services, as well as her masterclasses and non-fiction for authors.

An Advanced Certified Instructor through the Enneagram Spectrum Method, as well as an Accredited Practitioner of the Integrative Enneagram (iEQ9), Claire uses the Enneagram framework to help authors create stories that stand out and careers they love.

Today we'll learn just what an Enneagram is and how it can affect us.

www.spagirlspodcast.com

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. Kathryn is an award-winning screenwriter, playwright, author and writing coach who has worked in the television/film/arts industry for over 25 years.

“It's never been easier to put your work into the world and yet many writers don’t write as productively as they'd like to. They have the best intentions in the world but find themselves distracted, anxious about their work and deeply unsatisfied with their progress.” Kathryn Burnett

Kathryn offers practical tips for us all to:

✔️ Identify the red flags of perfectionism

✔️ Uncover how you are procrastinating and then how to deal with this

✔️ Why self-reflection is so important - ask yourself “Why am I not prioritizing my writing at the moment?”

✔️ Time blocking

✔️ Wrestling with doubts and demons

Resources mentioned:

Kathryn’s non-fiction book for writers - Productive Writer Guidebook

Julia Cameron’s morning pages in The Artist’s Way

Reedsy's free newsletter for writers

About Kathryn Burnett

Kathryn Burnett has been a working writer for over 25 years and truly understand the challenges that come with creative work. When she’s not writing, she runs craft workshops and programmes under the Beginner’s Guide Writing Workshops umbrella – and facilitate an awesome subscription-based group called The Writing Room.

Sign up to her newsletter for regular insights, tips and workshop updates at www.kathryn-burnett.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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at

SPA Girls Podcast | Patreon

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on

Self Publishing Info with the SPA Girls @spagirlspodcast

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The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

Creating and running Facebook ads has got 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!

We’re joined by Senior Marketing Manager of Written Word Media, Clayton Noblit, who’s an expert in getting authors books in front of the right readers through advertising and promotion.

Clayton generously shares his top tips for getting your ads working well, and takes us through setting up your first facebook ads, the campaign structure, as well as the best targeting, budget and ad creative tips for beginners.

We then discuss Promo Stacking, which is broadly defined as “a lot of marketing tactics conducted over a short period of time to increase your books' rank and get more sales”.

And finally, Clayton covers off some key insights from WWM’s Author Survey 2023 results: specifically around AI and Direct Sales.

Links mentioned:

Written Word Media blog: https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/learn/

Our previous podcasts with WWM are here and here

David Gaughran’s advice for authors: https://davidgaughran.com/blog/

About Clayton Noblit

Clayton Noblit is a senior marketing manager at Written Word Media. He is passionate about helping authors find their readers and finding ways to sell more books. When he’s not helping authors, he enjoys spending time with his family, playing sports, and making beverages.

www.writtenwordmedia.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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

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. That's why this episode is all about making good decisions in your author career.

In fact, we're not only advocating making decisions and moving forward, we're also suggesting that a FAST decision is even better than an average speed decision. Research has shown that fast decisions are often higher quality, perhaps proving that our subconscious brain can move faster than our conscious brain... or maybe it's just our intuition is more capable than our overthinking brain? Whatever the reason, it's a powerful reminder that we know more than we think we know...

In this episode you'll learn some ideas and techniques on how to assess decisions, learn when to make fast decisions and hear about some of the decisions we did and didn't make in our careers and what we learned from them.

Today we’re interviewing Dan Wood, Chief Operating Officer at Draft2Digital, one of the best known distributors for eBooks, print and audio books.

We last spoke to Dan in 2019 and a lot has happened since then!

D2D has not only merged with Smashwords to make their reach stronger, they build tools and services that let you focus on writing while they take care of layout, publishing, distribution, print-on-demand paperbacks, and more.

If you’re a new author or simply want to level up and expand, Dan has lots of tips to help you, including promotional opportunities and Books2Read, an author promotions powerhouse that includes New Release Notifications, Universal Book Links (UBLs), B2R Author Pages, B2R Book Tabs, and so much more!

Your brain is a liar!

Heather Hildenbrand is a bestselling author and business coach for creatives. This episode she demystifies how our results are determined by our beliefs first, and our efforts, second.

Listen up for amazing (and do-able!) mindset tips for authors and how to overcome our blocks with less woo and more “do”!

About Heather:

Heather Hildenbrand was born and raised in a small town in northern Virginia where she was homeschooled through high school, and says she's only slightly socially awkward as a result.

She’s an award winning author who has written more than 50 paranormal, urban fantasy, science fiction and contemporary romance novels, and in 2016, her Imitation series was purchased by Warner Bros and optioned for TV by Jerry Bruckheimer studios.

Heather also offers business and life coaching to authors and other creatives to create more abundance and attract the life & business they desire. A certified life coach, Reiki master, and public speaker Heather helps authors understand how to better attract their desires AND heal their wounds in the process.

‌Find her at:

HeatherHildenbrand.com

ManifestYourHEA.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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

In this episode we chat to YA Fantasy author Katie Cross. She has so much passion and enthusiasm for what she does, and loves her readers! We talk about direct sales and how to relate to your readers, and these are just two of the topics we covered. Sit down with your favorite beverage and enjoy because it's action packed and full of information!

Find Katie here ➡️ https://katiecrossbooks.com/

We first interviewed Katie back in 2017. Then she talked about a military wife, and learning to be a nap-time authorpreneur, and making every moment count. This was another informative podcast and well worth a listen! Link below ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ SPA Girls Podcast – EP101 – Interview with Katie Cross

💗 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

You are your own publishing house when you self-publish. There’s lots to do, and lots to think about, especially the first few times you publish a book.

That’s why we’ve created this helpful, back-to-basics SPA Girls Podcast episode – to help you go from rough manuscript to published book, with our notes on what you need to plan for and schedule, and how to figure out what you’re going to need to actually do to get your book published on all the platforms.

We haven’t given a specific order for these tasks to be done in – we know too many successful authors who get different aspects of the checklist done at different times. There are also tasks that can be finished quickly and others that will take time. The important thing is to know what you need to do, to work out a schedule that suits you and your life, and then to actually do the tasks!

To help out, we’ve also created a handy checklist for you to download; just click the links to find it, or head to the show notes for the episode on our website!

A4 Size pdf

Letter Size pdf

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

This episode, we’re joined again by the effervescent Kathleen Sweeney from Bookbrush. Book Brush is a platform where authors can easily create their own professional-looking ads and marketing images for social media.

Kathleen is going to update us on best practices, new additions to Book Brush software and added service options that can save authors time and stress producing graphics.

Kathleen’s kindly given us a coupon code for listeners that gives you 15% off a single author plan. Visit bookbrush.com and use SPA15

Bio: Kathleen Sweeney is the Customer Service Manager & Marketing Lead at Book Brush. She loves creating images. She brings over 20 years of client service experience, business assurance, strategy and problem solving to Book Brush.

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Inspired by Dr Michael Moseley’s JUST ONE THING (https://michaelmosley.co.uk/ ) we use his framework to give practical tips for uncomplicating your writing and author business life.

Keep It Simple
Be Realistic
Create A Trigger
Know Your Why
Stick With It For At Least A Month
Try To Replace Bad Habits With Good Ones
Try To Do It Daily
Involve A Friend Or Loved One
Be Kind To Yourself
Keep A Record

Dr Michael Mosley is a No. 1 international bestselling author and journalist. He trained as a doctor at the Royal Free Hospital in London before joining the BBC, where he spent three decades as a science journalist and executive producer.

Resource mentioned: Ohwrite.co

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen!

Business Planning for authors isn’t too often discussed, but the minute you go from hobbyist writer to publishing-for-profit, congratulations! You’re now a business entrepreneur.

So what is a business plan? It’s the foundation of your business, a road map of your business structure, future projects, markets, earnings and expenses.

It sounds more complicated than it needs to be. With that in mind, we’ve put together a simple SPA Girls Business Plan template you can download for free from

https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/businessplan/‌

Completing this as you’re recovering from the holiday season could be just the ticket to kicking off your new year with a clear mind and solid goals.

💗 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!

Want to set yourself up for an awesome 2024? Then this is the SPA Girls podcast episode for you. We go through our top eight tips to help amp up your career and kickstart your new year!

From looking at the data and knowing what you want, to getting your newsletter humming and revamping blurbs, we give you all our best advice for 2024.

SHOWNOTES:

Our Top Eight Tips For The New Year:

Know what you want
Reverse Engineer Everything
Fine Tune Your Processes
Check Your Look Insides
Get Your Newsletter Humming
Revamp Your Blurbs
Reassess Your Keywords and Categories

8 Keep Moving Forward!

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

We’re celebrating you, our wonderful listeners, in the SPA today by sharing our 12 Christmas Wishes for you and your self-publishing journey.

We want you to know how special to us. We’re so proud of this journey we’ve all embarked on and with what everyone has achieved. No matter where you are in the publishing process, it really is time to celebrate!

May your holiday be filled with love, joy, good food, fun, books and time to relax and recharge yourself. x

Wondering how to best launch your next book or series? Listen up, because we’re joined again by the bestselling fantasy author, Helen Scheuerer, who shares all the secrets of a Successful Series Launch, including:

· How You Should Handle Your Book’s Backmatter

· Using Pre-Orders Effectively

· Getting ARC readers

· Running A Successful Street Team Easily

· Best Timing For Book Releases

Helen is a rare “three timer” guest on the SPA Girls Podcast. Previously she was on EP#282 A Full Time Income From One Book A Year and EP#345 How To Write A Successful Series

Her latest non-fiction book for writers, How to Launch A Successful Series, has just been released and can be found on all bookstores in ebook and print.

Introducing the ultimate guide to revolutionising your book series launches: How To Launch A Successful Series! This must-read resource will equip you with the tools and knowledge to conquer the world of book launches. Inside, you'll learn invaluable lessons, including:

‌

Perfecting your backmatter to optimise read-through.
Mastering the art of timing your launches for maximum impact and visibility.
Nailing the management of reviewers and ARC campaigns to generate buzz.
Harnessing the power of a dedicated street team to amplify your reach.
Unleashing the potential of pre-orders as a crucial part of your launch strategy.
Implementing content and outreach marketing tactics that guarantee results.
Conquering the marketing game between releases to keep your momentum soaring.

About Helen:

Helen B. Scheuerer is the bestselling fantasy author of the series, The Oremere Chronicles, Curse of the Cyren Queen and The Legends of Thezmarr.

Her work has been highly praised for its strong, flawed female characters and its action-packed plots. She also publishes advice for authors with her nonfiction series, Books For Career Authors.

Helen’s love of writing and books led her to pursue a creative writing degree and a Masters of Publishing. She has been a full-time author since 2018 and now lives amidst the mountains in New Zealand where she is constantly dreaming up new stories.

www.HelenScheuerer.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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Congratulations! You’ve finished your first book (or series) and are ready to hit the publish button! So what can you do to get your book noticed in the sea of other new books, and how can you find the right readers for you?

This episode, we’re getting down and dirty with practical suggestions for you to create your own successful launch plan, even if you have no existing fans / mailing list / backlist.

Links -

https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep268-how-to-use-bonus-content-to-sell-books/

If you’re releasing rapidly, we recommend listening to our podcast with Elana Johnson (https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep228-interview-with-elana-johnson-part-two/

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.

Most authors know what BookFunnel is these days (just in case: it's a platform that helps you deliver reader magnets, ARC copies, audio files, and so much more to your readers) but do we all know how to use it the best we can?

I'm pretty sure the answer is no!

That's why we spent this episode with Damon Courtney, creator and CEO of BookFunnel, going over all the functions, from the innovative ways that successful authors are using this platform to deliver ebook files, to using features like the one-on-one author swap tool, the group promo tool, certified mail, and the direct email integrations, to name a few. Because Damon is the creator of the platform, he knows every single thing about it, which means this episode is packed full of all the information you'll ever need to make BookFunnel work for you!

Grab your pen and paper, and take notes, because this episode is all gold!

Bumps on the publishing path are unwelcome yet inevitable. So how can we reset ourselves when the wobbles and disappointment set in?

Today we’ve got a SPA Girls 6 - Step Guide to turning those setbacks into success:

Embrace The Rain
Reheat The Pasta
Rapunzel It
Be Like A Dog
Jump Off The Cliff
Be An Antelope, Not A Hyena

(for an explanation of these, you need to listen or watch the episode!)

Side characters - how do you make them memorable, but not over-take the spotlight? And what purpose do they serve in the story?

This episode, the awesome author and educator, Sacha Black, gives us the scoop on developing incredible side characters that will take your story from blah to bleepin' amazing. She takes us through three different types of side character and how to create juxtapositions that SELL BOOKS.

Sacha says: “If your book is a body, then your protagonist is the heart, the theme is the soul and your side characters are the arteries feeding your protagonist-heart.

Side characters are the arteries in a protagonist-heart, they are new perspectives and viewpoints, conflict generators, and subplot fulfillers.”

About Sacha Black:

Sacha Black is a best selling and competition winning author, rebel podcaster, and professional speaker.

She has five obsessions; words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules.

Sacha writes educational nonfiction books for writers and sapphic books for Young Adults. She also writes under a super secret pen name.

When she’s not writing, she can be found laughing inappropriately loud, sniffing musty old books, fangirling film and TV soundtracks, or thinking up new ways to break the rules.

She lives in Cambridgeshire, England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son.

www.sachablack.co.uk

he 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

This week we talk to Carrie Elks about amping up your book marketing. It's a fantastic and informative interview packed with great tips and advice that you won't want to miss!

Carrie writes contemporary romance with a sizzling edge. Her first book, Fix You, has been translated into eight languages and made a surprise appearance on Big Brother in Brazil. Luckily for her, it wasn’t voted out. Carrie lives with her husband, two lovely children and a larger-than-life black pug called Plato. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found baking, drinking an occasional (!) glass of wine, or chatting on social media.

Find her at: carrieelks.com

Resources mentioned in podcast:

Skye Warren’s Ad course: https://www.authoradsintensive.com/

TikTok Sells Books Course: https://tiktoksellsbooks.com/

Theodora Taylor’s Universal Fantasies https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep315-interview-with-theodora-taylor/

Plottr

Becca Syme https://betterfasteracademy.com/

NINC https://ninc.com/

RAM (Romance Author Mastermind) https://romanceauthormastermind.com/

Brighton Walsh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2lueij-iRU

Plottr https://plottr.com/?ref=367

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

This week we talk about the forward planning we all do for our author careers. Because we're all so different here in the SPA, we all plan differently, and have different goals. But that means there will be nuggets of gold for everyone in this episode!

We go through what it means to forward plan in your author business, why it's important, where we start from, what we think about when we do our planning, and how to actually get it down in a format that works for each of us.

No two people plan the same, and it has to be something that works for you and your goals. (It's all very well doing the planning, but it has to be done in such a way that you'll take action on it as well!)

What we are all in agreement on is that if you don't do any forward planning at all, it'll be much harder to achieve your writing dreams. So make sure you give this episode a listen, and then get into the forward planning!

PS - This is also the episode where Wendy finally reveals her Cliffton Strengths. For anyone who has heard Wendy moan about the Clifton Strengths and how much she dislikes them, you'll understand how big a moment this is! (And believe me, her top five totally fits who she is!) This episode is worth a listen, just for that moment alone!

Self-publishing since 2010, Amazon top 100 best-selling Amazon author with 1million books sold, Sarra writes magical contemporary fantasy novels with both teen and college aged characters (and lots of twists you'll never see coming).

Do you feel like a hamster on a wheel?

Sarra talks to us about her solution to planning without all the heartache and leading us to be more joyful. “When we sit down to plan we see the perfect scenario. Then Life gets in the way.”

About Sarra Cannon:

Sarra Cannon writes magical contemporary fantasy novels with both teen and college aged characters (and lots of twists you'll never see coming). Her novels often stem from her own experiences growing up in the small town of Hawkinsville, Georgia, where she learned that being popular always comes at a price and relationships are rarely as simple as they seem.

With over a million books sold, Sarra loves writing witchy books and connecting with fans.

You can connect with her on her author website here at SarraCannon.com

Click to visit Sarra's Heartbreathings YouTube channel for authors, and Heartbreathings website with her courses for writers 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 burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at

SPA Girls Podcast | Patreon ✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube Channel @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe to The SPA Girls Podcast on your fav podcast app or our YouTube Channel, so you don’t miss an episode!

We’re thrilled to welcome UF/PNR author Sarah Piper to the show today. Sarah has seen great success publishing across a number of genres, and we discuss her strategy moving from Amazon-exclusive to publishing wide, selling her audiobooks direct and working with your spouse!

This episode is packed with incredible information and actionable advice from Sarah, so you’ll want to listen more than once - with a pad and pen nearby!

About Sarah Piper

Sarah Piper is a witchy, Tarot-card-slinging paranormal romance and urban fantasy author. Through her signature brew of dark magic, heart-pounding suspense, and steamy romance, Sarah promises a sexy, supernatural escape into a world where the magic is real, the monsters are sinfully hot, and the witches always get their magically-ever-afters.

Readers have dubbed her work “super sexy,” “imaginative and original,” “off-the-walls good,” and “delightfully wicked in the best ways,” a quote Sarah hopes will appear on her tombstone.

Originally from New York, Sarah now makes her home in northern Colorado with her husband (though that changes frequently) (the location, not the husband), where she spends her days sleeping like a vampire and her nights writing books, casting spells, gazing at the moon, playing with her ever-expanding collection of Tarot cards, binge-watching Supernatural (Team Dean!), and obsessing over the best way to brew a cup of tea.

You can find her online at SarahPiperBooks.com and in her Facebook readers group, Sarah Piper's Sassy Witches.

‌

💗 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 burning questions.

⭐ NEW TIER! Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at

SPA Girls Podcast | Patreon ✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube Channel @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe to The SPA Girls Podcast on your fav podcast app or our YouTube Channel, so you don’t miss an episode!

Amazon has moved the furniture again! This episode, Alex Newton, founder of K-Lytics, explains Amazon’s category changes, what they mean for authors, and how best to categorize your books now.

We also discuss other recent Amazon changes dating back to September '22, the impact on authors' rankings and specific romance category changes and general trends.

Alex Newton is the creator of K-lytics (www.k-lytics.com) a website where you can get in-depth reports on various genres and sub-genres on Amazon that will help you find your niche, boost sales in your chosen genre, and give you information to help you stand out in this crowded publishing

Links mentioned:

K-Lytics

Reedsy's article on Category Changes

💗 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

This week we chatted with Angela Ackerman, one of the authors of the writing classic, The Emotion Thesaurus.

If you've never picked up one of the amazing thesauruses by Angela Ackerman and her co-writer, Becca Puglisi, you're missing out! Created especially for writers, the ten different thesauruses will help you add emotion, be more creative, and make your book sing!

In this particular episode (aside from Trudi and the other SPA Girls singing the praises of Angela's books) we talk to Angela about emotional wounds - what that means, why it's important for our characters and how we can add emotional wounds into our writing and give our characters more depth.

💗 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

There are many ways we get stuck as authors.

Some ways you can get stuck is in the writing, editing, time management and making decisions areas.

Getting unstuck is much harder and yet easier than we think. Letting go of perceptions of our writing or our characters helped Trudi a great deal when she put off writing the last book in a series - for years!

Cheryl had to get past the fear of getting edits back and find a way to embrace the process to get them done.

For Shar, it’s being done with the book and accepting it. No one wants to put up sub-standard work and we all do our very best to make sure that happens, but agonizing over a book doesn’t move you forward.

We discuss how to do these things while facing fears and preconceptions, as well as the overwhelm of too many ideas and choices.

We’re thrilled to welcome back Kathryn Le Veque to the SPA! Kathryn is a Publishing Powerhouse, with years of experience as a bestselling author, and CEO of Dragonblade Publishing. After first interviewing her back in 2018, we wanted to discuss what industry changes she’s seen in those five plus years, and what she predicts for the future in the wider publishing landscape.

Kathryn shares her unique publishing insights and forecast, historical romance trends, why she doesn’t have an author newsletter, and behind the scenes insight of running Dragonblade.

KATHRYN LE VEQUE is a critically acclaimed, USA TODAY Bestselling author (having hit the list over 30 times), an Indie Reader bestseller, a charter Amazon All-Star author, and a #1 bestselling, award-winning, multi-published author in Medieval Historical Romance with over 150 published novels.

In addition to her own published works, Kathryn is the President/CEO of Dragonblade Publishing, Amazon's #1 ebook publisher of Historical Romance (K-Lytics reporting July 2020). Dragonblade Publishing has become known for its commitment to quality historical romance fiction and has gained a reputation as a trusted source for engaging and well-researched novels. Through her ownership of the publishing house, Kathryn has continued to contribute to the romance genre by nurturing and supporting other authors who share her passion for historical storytelling.

Find Kathryn at: https://kathrynbouseleveque.com/

Dragonblade Publishing: https://www.dragonbladepublishing.com/

Kathryn’s previous appearance on the SPA Girls : https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep159-interview-with-kathryn-le-veque/

💗 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’s topic was prompted by a commenter on youtube asked us about reverse engineering bestsellers. What makes a book, be it your second one published or your tenth, take off.

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

Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for 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!

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

✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch the recording on our YouTube 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 28MILLION views, she's produced an incredible body of work. 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

✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch the recording on our YouTube 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

-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, round robins, etc

💗 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

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 talks about

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

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

✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch the recording on our YouTube 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

✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch the recording on our YouTube 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?

Links:

All About Inkers Con 2023

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 to www.inkerscon.com and 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

Alessandra's website : https://www.alessandratorre.com/

Alessandra's previous episode on the SPA Girls Podcast "Using Goodreads For Authors"

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.

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): ):

Download your copy of Creator Economy for Authors: A Guide to the Future of Publishing 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.

Link to REAM: Subscriptions for Authors - Subscriptions for Authors

💗 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

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

✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch the recording on our YouTube 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!

💗 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

How NOT to Fail at Self-Publishing

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.

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!

💗 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

✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch the recording on our YouTube 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, and try to give you inspiration that will 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 the NaNoWriMo 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.

💗 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

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

✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch the recording on our YouTube 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 of The Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers and The 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!

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 and also pokes a few holes in how we look at what we do.

You can find Erin and at https://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

✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch the recording on our YouTube 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

✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch the recording on our YouTube 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

Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for 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!

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.

If you are keen to diversify and find more ways to reach readers, this is the episode for you.

In today's podcast we talk all things small town romance with the wonderful Kait Nolan.

Kait is a USA Today best 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 watching The Great British Bake Off.

https://kaitnolan.com/

https://kaitnolan.com/newsletter/

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.

The number one thing you need to produce as an author is WRITTEN words.

So when they’re hard to come by, when you’re avoiding the blank screen or finding yourself doing housework for hours instead of sitting your butt on the office chair (or couch) with your laptop, you need a cheerleader, a human cattle prod, so to speak.

We’re sharing our tips and advice on how to get your words down and beat resistance.

Award-winning USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brighton Walsh spent a decade as a professional photographer before taking her storytelling in a different direction and reconnecting with her first love—writing. She likes her books how she likes her tea—steamy and satisfying—and adores strong-willed heroines and the protective heroes who fall head over heels for them.

After getting a publishing deal, Brighton went on to become a hybrid author and is now mainly indie.

She started on TikTok in January 2022 and used mainly page flips back then. She still uses them occasionally but has developed her own brand which has hit TikTok big time.

Brighton’s Tips:

Don’t let it take over your life.

You don’t have to use your face!

Use a phone app to record so you can reuse it.

Post once a day unless it is launch week and then do 2-3 posts.

Reuse words and hooks often, but the video itself only occasionally.

Uses bookish backgrounds with candles to make the post look attractive. A similar background saves a lot of time and becomes your brand. Her photography background helped.

Encourage comments by making the post unique to you as well as be aesthetically pleasing.

Viral = 100k or more.

Be a consumer first and see what you are comfortable doing.

Do not copy other videos exactly.

Get ideas as you write the book and write them down.

Plus, so much more!

Wanting to speed up your plotting and writing time? Today we’re talking about a writers tool that promises to do just that.

Plottr is visual book planning software for writers that helps us outline faster, organize smarter, and turbocharge our productivity. Today we're joined by Cameron Sutter and Troy Lambert of Plottr. Cameron is an independently published author and software engineer and the inventor and lead developer of Plottr. Troy is a mystery author, editor and Education Lead at Plottr.

Learn more here:

https://plottr.com?ref=367

💗 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

This week Trudi and Shar go rogue ... and discuss courses along with our writing friend and writing tutor Tania Hutley / Talia Hunter.

We discuss the courses we've done over the years on craft, marketing, self-publishing and mindset and what we've learned from them.

How do you know your best learning style? What do you need to be prepared for before you start? How to do due diligence on the course provider What red flags should you look for before you plunk down your $$

Mentioned in podcast: Maggie Stiefvater Margie Lawson - Dialogue course Lisa Cron - SG podcast - creative live Inkers Con - Allesandra Torre - SG Podcast RWA Recordings - Jennifer Lynn Barnes Mark Dawson - SPF courses Becca Syme - write better faster Udemy Holly Darling - newsletter Tammi Labrecque - newsletterninja.net David Gaughran - free Starting From Zero Steff Green - Rage Against the Machine

💗 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

So many times we’ve heard authors say that they don’t like this or that when it comes to promoting themselves.

Like email marketing.

Social media.

Advertising

Book signings

Sure there are many who feel as you do, but not everyone does! So how can we work with our biases and not fight against them?

💗 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

If there's one person in the self publishing world who's considered a bit of an expert at advertising... it's Mark Dawson. This week Mark joins us in the SPA to talk to us about Facebook ads - how to set them up, what to do if they're not working, and some of his best tips and advice to get them working for you. He's a genuine guy, and he still does all his own ads - which means he knows exactly what works and what doesn't! Join us for another awesome episode in the SPA.

Kathleen Sweeney is Bookbrush’s Customer Service Manager & Marketing Lead. She brings over 17 years of client service experience, business assurance, strategy and problem solving to Book Brush. Kathleen loves creating images and is happy to share her knowledge.

We’re talking trailers for Tim Tok instagram and other social media, as well as QR codes and where to use them. And so much more!

6 Typography Tips for Graphics and Book Covers (with 35+ font pairings) - Book Brush Pricing - Book Brush Book Brush 💗 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

Ready to up your author newsletter game?

Tammi Labrecque is an indie author, a mailing list whiz-kid, and the author of the best-selling non-fiction books for authors - Newsletter Ninja, and Newsletter Ninja 2. Tammi lives in Central Maine with three spoiled cats, two neurotic dogs, and dozens of fictional characters that keep her awake nights.

When she’s not penning awesome books on how you can become a Newsletter Ninja too, she writes under a variety of pen names across several genres, including urban fantasy, thriller, and LitRPG.

Our favourite line from the blurb of Newsletter Ninja is this – “Imagine having a large list of happy readers who devoured every email you sent. Or launching a book and activating an army of fans who did the selling for you. You could be that person, with the help of Newsletter Ninja.”

Listen up and learn how you can up your newsletter game!

Tammi has also created THE FIRST-EVER EMAIL CONTENT MEMBERSHIP JUST FOR AUTHORS - LISTEN UP FOR A BONUS DISCOUNT FOR AN EXCLUSIVE SPA GIRLS LISTENERS DISCOUNT www.newsletterninja.net/spagirls

Resources mentioned:

https://newsletterninja.net/

Tammi’s previous appearance on SPA Girls Podcast https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep145-newsletter-ninja-tammi-labrecque/

Bookfunnel https://bookfunnel.com/

Booksweeps https://www.booksweeps.com/

Story Origin https://storyoriginapp.com/

Email Tool Tester https://www.emailtooltester.com/en/

💗 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

Happy New Year from the SPA Girls !!

In this episode we talk about what goals and plans we have for 2023, Rom Com style using Billy Mernit's book, Writing The Romantic Comedy. We work through his story beats.

Set Up. Catalyst. Turning Point. Midpoint. Second Turning Point. Crisis Climax. Resolution.

The SPA Girls open a vein and talk about what we want to implement and change in 2023.

(there will be no fries with this, ignore Trudi)

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

Links -Writing Romantic Comedy with Billy Mernit

Writing the Romantic Comedy

This is an awesome episode just for you! We went through all of our episodes from 2022, and picked out the best pieces of advice, the most actionable tips, and the things we definitely think you should be doing for your writing career in 2023. You're welcome. :)

The Spa Girls wish you a wonderful Christmas and today we’re sharing our celebrations and things we’re grateful for.

From Shar’s first taste of travel in three years and reaching 1000 subscribers on Youtube, all Wendy’s historical books hitting the top in that category and doing German translations, Cheryl achieving her goal of four books for 2022 and opening a store, Trudi finally finished a series and found a course that resonated more than she could have hoped for, there is plenty celebrate.

The grateful list was long and included our guests who keep things real, listeners old and new who make us want to continue, doing what we love, family and author friends who support and get us, and on to entrepreneurs who build products and supply services which make our lives easier – we thank you all.

Take care and make sure to recharge over the season.

If your book is not selling, what can you do? USA Today Bestseller, romance writer Leanna Morgan is here to help us sell more books PLUS offer wise ideas on advertising.

Leanna discusses how to tweak your:

1. Cover

2. Blurb

3. Editing

4. Formatting

5. Universal links.

6. Categories.

to improve your sales and find your readers.

Bio: Leeanna Morgan is a USA Today bestselling author of more than 35 books. She lives in New Zealand and is surrounded by green hills on one side and the ocean on the other. She enjoys going for long walks, especially if she can convince her husband and two children to go with her!

Leeanna writes contemporary romances and women's fiction set in Montana. Her stories contain all of the things that are important to her; good friends, family, a strong sense of community and a happy ending.

Find Leanna at: www.leannamorgan.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

✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

Lightbulb moments about writing and publishing that have turned you from gloomy to galloping along - have you had them? We have and today we're sharing the nitty gritty self publishing and writing tips that positively impacted our craft and careers - plus, of course, the mentors who've given us great advice.

There are a tonne of great resources mentioned in this podcast - make sure to visit https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/ for the full show notes and links.

💗 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

This episode is another deep dive into an intriguing genre that's been doing really well for indie authors in recent years. Honey Phillips joins us in the SPA to talk about Science Fiction Romance - what it is, what are readers looking for, how she got started writing in it, and everything in between. Sci-Fi Romance is a distant cousin to Monster Romance (see episode 368 with Lillian Lark), and there are some similarities between the two genres, but Honey gives us a fascinating breakdown of the main expectations of SciFi Romance readers, and what she does to be so successful in the genre... and it's not always what you'd expect! (Side note: As her name suggests, Honey was a delight to talk to!)

Today we’re talking to Dionne Lister about how she made the leap from part-time to full-time in one year, writing in two genres.

USA Today bestselling author, Dionne Lister is an Australian with a degree in creative writing and two Siamese cats. Daydreaming has always been her passion, so writing was a natural progression from staring out the window in primary school, and being an author was a dream she held since childhood.

Her books have reached #1 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple Books charts worldwide, frequently occupying top 100 lists in fantasy and mystery.

Dionne found that cozy mysteries was where she did the best, so that is where she concentrates her time. Both her series are set in the UK which came about after a visit to Westerham, which is where she has set her main series of 17 books!

The big surprise to us was that she has a small newsletter list. That’s right, a newsletter list was an after-thought, as she was convinced no one wanted to hear from her. She is currently working on growing it and believes that organic is the best way to do so.

The main marketing she uses is a mixture of Facebook, Bookbub and Amazon advertising. She has also done translations which are also doing well, and advertises to her German Amazon page separately.

Listen in for the amounts she spends on each platform, what the turning point was to quit her other job, and for her hilarious take on her schedule and life 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

✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

Today we talk about not relying on luck to build your career.

We believe you can make your own luck, but don’t wait for it to happen!

Ron Weasley (or not, we’re not really sure) says believing in yourself is 100% more powerful than luck!

Overnight success may happen for some, but if you dig deeper often, what appears to be a lucky break is actually from years of hard work to get to that point.

Wendy, Cheryl, and Trudi dig deeper into this subject in the podcast.

❤️ 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

In this fun episode with Lillian Lark, we learn about monster romance - what it is, how it's defined, who's writing it well, and how to write one for yourself! Not only is Lillian doing well in the genre of monster romance, she's also doing amazing things on TikTok, so we were able to quiz her on her tricks and techniques for the social media platform as well.

There are many types of editing and today we're discussing how the SPA Girls approach a second draft. Plus, we've produced a checklist, which is an amalgamation of all our processes.

First, we suggest you start with a break from the project altogether, and how long that is will depend on your timeline, so going forward factor this in.

Here's our checklist:

Does your story make sense?

Is there enough conflict?

Pacing is vital - Does it flow and read well? It is too slow or fast? Does the tension build?

Setting - Does it hit all the feels? Can I visualise it? Buildings, places, etc.

Characterisation - Are your characters consistent? Do they do what they are supposed to? Do the support cast do their job? Do the hero or heroine achieve growth in the book? Or reach the goal you originally set for them?

Description - are you recounting or summarising, or are you world building?

Hooks - Does each of the last lines in chapters make you want to read on?

Action - is it clear what the roles of your protagonists and antagonists are playing in your book?

Black moments - that moment when everything is changed and there is no going back.

Is it compelling, - or do the sentences run on, (overwriting) Does each scene move the book forward? Not all of them will be action-packed, but they must have a purpose.

Would you want to read this book again? Because if you don’t no one else will. Love your book!

There is so much more, so listen in to the podcast.

Even the most experienced writers and self-publishers make mistakes. It's not what you do wrong - it's how you overcome the hiccups and potholes in the road. This episode sees the SPA Girls sharing their own Big Oops and how they recovered / learned from them. Inspiration plus for indies at all stages of their careers :)

💗 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

In this episode we talk to the amazing Renee Rose about her new release Write To Riches!

15-time USA Today bestselling romance author Renee loves a dominant, dirty-talking alpha hero! She's sold over two million copies of steamy romance with varying levels of kink.

She is passionate about helping other authors find and maintain an abundance mindset to catapult their careers and create their best future. She employs energetic tools and techniques to help her clients clear resistance and money blocks, access their inner guidance, and tap into their love and appreciation for their books so they can achieve their dreams.

Write to Riches will teach you the power of abundance mindset, manifesting your desires, and attracting wealth.

You will learn the 7 practical steps to harnessing the power of abundance mindset to manifest exponential success, wealth, fandemonium, joy, and ease in your author career.

write2riches.com
reneeroseromance.com

❤️

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Make sure you’re signed up to our weekly self-publishing tips newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bGkz8L

Come say hi on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

Ever wondered how authors create a reader base full of raving superfans... and how you could do it too?? Well, wonder no more! This week we have bestselling paranormal and contemporary romance author Steffanie Holmes on the show to talk about how to create superfans for your books.

Steff talks about the methods she's used to create stronger connections with her readers, including having a strong author brand, newsletters, interconnected stories, and so much more!

We love having Steff in the SPA, and she's super smart with her marketing, so this is an episode you don't want to miss!

A long-time friend of the SPA Girls Nalini Singh is here to talk about world-building, and if anyone knows how to do this – it’s Nalini!

New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series of paranormal romances, Nalini also writes New Zealand-set thrillers, the most recently released of which is Quiet in Her Bones. Her contemporary romances include the Rock Kiss and Hard Play series, the latter of which revolves around a rugby-loving family in Auckland.

33 of Nalini's solo titles have hit the New York Times Bestseller list (most recently Archangel’s Light, in November 2021). Her books have also hit the USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller lists. She's received the Australian Romance Readers Award several times and won two Sir Julius Vogel awards. The first book in the Psy-Changeling series, Slave to Sensation, was named as one of the New York Public Library’s 125 books from the last 125 years that inspire a lifelong love of reading.

Born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand, Nalini was first published in 2003. Her books are both traditionally and indie published and have sold over eight million copies worldwide with translations in multiple languages.

Phew! Makes your head spin, right?

Every book you write is part of a world and you need to know as much as possible about the world before you start writing—but be prepared to pivot!

To find out how Nalini tackles world-building, listen to this week's awesome podcast.

Find her at www.nalinisingh.com

Looking for tips to make your marketing tasks more organized and less stressful? This is the episode for you! From marketing bibles to free online tools, your book marketing should become a whole lot less overwhelming.

💗 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

✍️ Don't forget, all our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info are available at: www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com

This week we talk to the amazing Mia Brody all about how she makes a fulltime living writing instalove short stories? It's an amazingly informative episode with plenty of wow moments, that you won't want to miss!

Mia writes steamy stories about alpha men who fall in love with big, beautiful women. She loves happy endings and every couple she writes will get one.

When she’s not writing, Mia is searching for the perfect slice of cheesecake and watching way too many K-dramas. You can find her at miabrody.com

Resources mentioned: Bookfunnel, Grit by Angela Duckworth, Writing Instalove Facebook Group Writing Instalove | Facebook

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

Don’t forget, all our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info are at: at www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com

One size doesn't fit all - we've all heard that saying, but how do you know what DOES work for you?

In this episode, we discuss how to identify what best works for you in three areas:

Your Writing Process
Your Publishing Strategy
Your Marketing Strategy

and share tips and resources that we've learned along the way.

Ever wondered what it would be like to have your book optioned for television or film? Join us this week as we talk to Michele Scott, a NYT, Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestselling author of over forty novels, who is currently working on multiple projects involving film and television options and find out more about the process, what it entails and what to expect!

Emilia Rose is an international bestselling author of steamy paranormal romance. With over 18 million story views online, Emilia loves creating the newest and sexiest paranormal romances for her fans.

Emilia shares how she started by releasing her work for free on Wattpad and other serial platforms, and building a ravenous audience there. At that time she didn’t have the resources to invest and ads, covers or professional editing and thus her subscription-publishing concept was born: her fans on Wattpad could access one chapter extra per week through her Patreon and read it before anyone else. That snowballed quickly and Emilia was able to grow over six figures/year very quickly through this model. Then she was able to be able to afford professional covers, editing and advertising for the books she would later publish wide.

We were inspired by Emilia’s success and entrepreneurial approach to self-publishing in a slightly different way to the “usual”, and we’re sure you’ll enjoy this episode!

Find Emilia at:

https://www.emiliarosewriting.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

✍️ Don't forget, all our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info are at: at www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com

USA Today Bestselling author of more than 50 books, Morgana Best writes cozy mysteries featuring witches, psychics, ghosts, mermaids, and anything else that tickles her imagination. Her books have landed on the Top 10 spot on Amazon and are beloved by readers in over 70 countries.

Today she is talking to us about selling direct from your own author store. Something Morgana has been doing for many years successfully. It's an action packed episode you will not want to miss!

morganabest.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

✍️ Don't forget, all our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info are at: at www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com

This week we talk about how to find new ideas, and how to use those ideas in new ways. How to find them in the everyday hustle and bustle of our lives, and how to turn them on their heads to create something intriguing and interesting to our readers.

We go through a series of story starters, of intriguing kernels that you can use to create an awesome story that your readers will love to read...

Samantha Price is a USA Today bestselling author of Amish romance books and cozy mysteries. She was raised Brethren and has a deep affinity for the Amish way of life, which she has explored extensively with over a decade of research.

Focused and organized, Samantha's the results speak for themselves, but it will amaze you how prolific she is and how she built her career in a relatively small niche.

Listen in to the episode for all the details of how understanding that niche inside and out made her such a popular and successful author.

www.spagirlspodcast.com

This week we discuss burnout, protecting our creativity, being productive and not buying in to the hustle culture. You could say we're "anti hustle" but pro making careers out of our writing!

Recommended listening :

SPA Girls Podcast with megastar BELLA ANDRE

SPA Girls Podcast with Helen Scheurer - Six Figures with One Book A Year

💗 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

✍️ Don't forget, all our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info are at: at www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com

Dave Chesson joins us in the SPA for a third time to chat about some of the awesome apps that he's designed for authors on the Kindleprenuer website.

Dave is a smart guy, and he knows his stuff when it comes to self publishing, so the apps are all super useful and on-point. This includes the free apps, such as the Book Description Generator and the Hashtag Generator (if you've ever struggled with finding good hashtags on any of the socials, that's the app for you!) and his two powerful paid apps, Publisher Rocket and newbie Atticus.

Publisher Rocket has been around for years, and we all use it regularly in the SPA. Atticus is the new kid on the block - a program that Dave describes by saying - "If Scrivener, Google Docs, and Vellum got together and had a baby, its name would be Atticus.”

Another information packed episode from the SPA!

When you feel the frantic need to achieve and you don’t, it’s easy to get stuck or suffer burnout. If that’s happened to you, then Corinne has some ideas to get you through.

The Calm Entrepreneur was born out of a series of aha moments over the past several years. After a long time writing-to-market and chasing the algorithms with rapid release, she found herself in deep burnout.

Deciding to write a book about recovery from burnout, Corinne soon realized that it wasn't just about recovery - it was also about the practical things needed to move through the slow process and claw her way out.

This was about getting back to basics on the admin side of her business and writing, and re-assessing and re-securing the foundational practices of her work. Focusing on the fundamental organizing and system principles of day-to-day life, and getting back in touch with all the things that were on auto-pilot (or had been ignored) was the thing that shifted everything. As she started sharing this with friends, other authors, and entrepreneurs, it became clear that almost everyone who ran their own business was feeling stressed and overwhelmed and craved some of what she was experiencing.

“Before this burnout experience, I was not someone who operated from a place of stress. I loved my work and somehow got lost in the mire. Getting back to the place where I work in ease has been transformative for me, and it's something I think I need to share with the world. I believe it’s possible to thrive in your business and live your full life without losing your mind in the process. Fundamental organizing principals are the key, and when you have those in place, you can build anything on top of them.”

Organizing is not a personality trait; it’s a skill that anyone can learn.

www.thecalmentrepreneur.com

www.authorproductivity.com

This week we broadcast our 350th episode and in complete contrast to how laid-back Kiwis generally approach milestones, we’re celebrating the heck out of it! What have we learned, what have we regretted and what's next?

THANK YOU to the thousands of listeners who tune in each week. We appreciate each and every one of you.

💗 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 in our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things marketing, mindset and 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

Building a deep connection between your characters and your readers is what
creates raving fans, books that stick like glue to the sales charts and fuels word-of-mouth recommendations. So how do we do this? Today we're talking about tools and resources we use to build reader connection with our characters.

Full show notes and resource links on our website ...

💗 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

USA Today best-selling author Lee Savino is a bubble of energy, and this week's podcast with her left us all feeling motivated and inspired. We know you're going to love this episode too!

Lee talked to us about how the mindset of an indie author is vitally important, more important than any other aspect of writing and publishing, including all the tactics and systems we hear about all the time. If you can get your mindset right, you can achieve anything.

We talk with Lee about all the mindset changes she had to make, and as well as her tips and tricks around mindset, all of which helped her to become a successful, million-dollars-a-year indie author.

Are you struggling to get your words down each day? Why not give writing sprints a try? You can do them alone, however, you might find they work better with others like we did.

How it works:

Find a friend or a group and set aside a certain amount of time. Now break this into doable time slots. For example, if you had two hours, then the time could be 4 slots of 30 mins, or 2 times 1 hour each, or 8 times 15mins. Or any number that suits the majority. Sometimes it’s better to start small. It’s also a good idea to allocate time for a break at some stage.

The SPA Girls will chat for a while, do a couple of sprints, then have a bathroom break. We have coffee or lunch if we’re together, otherwise it’s straight back into it.

Listen to the podcast for more tips regarding:

training yourself
how to set up a sprint group
the power of structure
what length of sprint?
top of the hour sprints
tracking

Resources mentioned:

Ines Johnson with the SPA Girls - http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep242-interview-with-ines-johnson-part-one-pen-names-productivity/

https://writeordie.com

https://www.mywriteclub.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

* 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 at www.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 series
How to find and use your target market to satisfy hungry readers
How to use foreshadowing and cliffhangers to create binge-worthy instalments
How 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 at www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com

self publishing for beginners.

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.

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 with their editing 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.

Read more show-notes on our website spagirlspodcast.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

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 at www.spagirlspodcast.com and 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 here to be a patron of SPA Girls.

All SPA Girls Podcast Episodes, Resource Links and free Self-Publishing Info at www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com

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In the Spa this week we talked to the talented Naomi Barton. With more people listening to audio books now, there has never been a better time to learn about this side of our industry. Naomi has produced audio books for 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/

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Make sure you’re signed up to our weekly self-publishing tips newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bGkz8L

Come say hi on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

If you would like to support us in continuing to produce informative and exciting content via the podcast come and join us there! Patreon

This week we talk to long-time PR coach and publicist Lilian Sue about how authors can successfully use PR to help with their author business. Her aim is to help authors fulfill their potential and become global industry leaders by focusing on how to build a healthy PR mindset above any strategy.

We talk about authors can develop strong and healthy PR mindsets (by busting down fear and imposter syndrome) and how to use the right tools, knowledge, and resources to fulfill their goals. It's another awesome episode!

Today we welcome back for a record 3rd time, Zoe York, to talk about Romancing Your Goals.

Like so many authors it was hard to read and write during 2020 which was the last time Zoe was with us. Yet, her latest book Romancing Your Goals was written during the pandemic and highlights how to treat your business and is full of wonderful tips to build a marketable genre fiction series.

At the end and beginning of our business plans emotions come in strong. They must be honest to get what we want. Deceiving ourselves or being dishonest is when we don’t achieve.

We need Goals to move forward.

Find a way to build a tool for yourself to help make the decision whether you make safe choices or step out of your comfort zone from time to time. Do you get a tingly feeling or is it the smart choice you must make right now? What is urgent and what is important and what is the difference?

Zoe recommends a five-year goal then to break it down.

In five years, what do you want to have written?

Where does your book sit? Is it a standalone or part of a series? Where would it fit in a series.

Product gets discovered via platform so what do you need to have on your platform to showcase your book.

Focus on the thing you’re good at.

You can find Zoe at https://www.zoeyork.com

And her book Romance Your Goals https://www.amazon.com/Romance-Your-Goals-Publishing-Book-ebook/dp/B0948F1HKS/

Eisenhower matrix https://miro.com/aq/ps/templates/eisenhower-matrix/

Romance Your Goals (Publishing How To Book 3)

We’re thrilled to welcome fellow Kiwi author, Deb Potter, to the SPA today to give us the breakdown on how to create, manage and optimize Amazon ads. Many of us have tried different methods to get AMS Ads to work: from creating hundred of ad variations to wrangling spreadsheets with thousands of keywords to try. And then there’s the whole bid price conundrum – how do we know what to bid? Can we trust auto ads?

As a statistician by trade, and also a self-published author, Deb is fantastic at clearing the confusion and giving you clear guidance on how to get your Amazon ads humming.

About Deb:

Deb Potter is an Amazon ads enthusiast. Deb wrote Amazon Ads for Authors to give new authors easy steps into advertising and more experienced authrs advanced tools and tips that other courses don’t cover.

She updates Amazon Ads for Authors regularly – most recently January 2022. She says that keeps her on her toes

Deb is a statistician by trade, she jokes she’s the most widely read author in New Zealand because she wrote a number of questions that come out every five years in the national Census. In her work with big data sets she’s written the specifications for algorithms many times – and that’s helped her think about how Amazon works.

Deb comes from a theatrical family and started off writing plays. She started off publishing interactive fiction on Amazon, after seeing that a Kindle meant stories could make good use of hyperlinks. Her You Say Which Way brand attracted more writers and before she knew it she was a publisher.

Her advertising insights come from marketing multiple genres herself, and then coaching authors in many more genres.

She admins the Facebook page: Authors Optimizing Amazon and Facebook Ads with four other experts.

Deb is based in New Zealand and has a background in data and analytics, and public policy. She has a Masters in Creative Writing, a BA in Education and Social Policy and Certificates in Children’s Literature and Journalism. She has a quarter acre with four chickens AND a vege garden and keeping them both alive might be the topic for her next non-fiction book.

Resources mentioned:

https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Ads-Authors-Strategies-Books-ebook/dp/B07TVXQBMY/

Authors Optimizing Amazon and Facebook Ads - Support Group

20BooksTo50K®

💗 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 here to be a patron of SPA Girls.

All SPA Girls Podcast Episodes, Resource Links and free Self-Publishing Info at www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com

Amazon Ads for Authors: Tips and Strategies to Sell Your Books

Jay is a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance and her book Off Balance was the 2021 New Zealand Romance Book of the Year.

She is a New Zealand author writing mm romance and romantic suspense, primarily set in New Zealand. She writes character driven romances with lots of humour, a good dose of reality and a splash of angst. She's travelled extensively, lived in many countries, and in a past life she was a critical care nurse, nurse educator and counsellor.

Jay is owned by a huge Maine Coon cat and a gorgeous Cocker Spaniel

Jay's Website

Jay's Narrator

❤️ Learn to Self-publish with the SPA Girls! ➡️ Support us on Patreon/SPAGirlsPodcast

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This week we talk to fantasy author AK Mulford about how she got started on TikTok!

We cover TikTok for authors in depth: how to start, who to follow, how to get your follower count up, best length of videos, what to post, how to create the videos, hashtags, sounds, dealing with comments, batching, duets, stitching, etiquette plus differences from other social media platforms. And most importantly: does it sell books?

If you've ever considered jumping on TikTok, this is the episode for you!

Feeling a bit blah about your writing? Struggling with getting good words down and your word count UP? Today we're taking inspiration from Marie Kondo, and we're sparking back the joy in our writing lives! Our SPA Girls tried-and-true steps are: 1. Re-commit to your Why 2. Re-evaluate your ideal writing life / writing day 3. Let gooooooooo 4. Start with Simple 5. Be Like Marie and ask Does It Spark Joy?

As always, a brutally honest and real-time discussion how we're all struggling a bit for different reasons. Wendy's tired, but she can still invent words - see "unbogging" as an example! SPAGirlsPodcast.com

How do you get a cover that finds readers and converts to sales? Today we’re unpacking exactly how you can do that.

What your cover needs to do
What SHOULDN’T be on your cover
What cover images risk getting your cover banned from advertising
The Anatomy Of A Cover
Why are fonts so important?
How to find a good designer
What to expect to pay for a good cover

💗 Full Show Notes and Resource Links at www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com

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Today we're delighted to welcome Ella Barnard to the SPA. Ella is an author, a podcast host on Author Like A Boss podcast, and an author coach. She's here today to talk about how she found success publishing short romances as Liz Fox, going from zero to $3k per month in just three months. You can find her at: http://authorlikeaboss.com/

Going from zero to $3k per month in just a few months is a dream for many of us and today's guest achieved just that. Ella Barnard is here to talk how she did it, how she meets reader expectations, and most importantly, how we can still enjoy the process!

Full Show Notes and Resource Links at www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com

Sign upfor our free weekly self-publishers newsletter full of SPA Girls tips, resources and author info
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Confused by preorders? Wondering if you should start using them? Wondering if you should stop using them? This is the episode for you! We talk about what preorders are and how they work, how we use preorders, and when we think you shouldn't use preorders. Join us for another intriguing episode in the SPA!

Today we share our SPA Girls patented ;) foolproof steps to create a fictional setting for your book or series. Working through these steps will help solidify that setting in your mind, give your characters a realistic and compelling "stage" and help you build a complete world (whether contemporary, historical or futuristic) that resonates with readers.

Full show notes and resource links at: www.SPAGirlsPodcast.com

What’s the real reason you’re a writer? We’ve talked about finding your why before on the podcast, and today we're delving deeper. Inspired by Simon Sinek's book Start With Why, and Find Your Why, Trudi has us "on the couch" again, which Wendy, in particular, absolutely loves (not)!

Sinek's book is based on the idea that we’re a sum total of the experiences we’ve had growing up, the lessons we’ve learned and the teachers we’ve had and the things we’ve done.

The process is all about looking for stories from your childhood that resonate with you, or seem important (good or bad) and then looking for themes in your stories, and then using those themes to come up with a why that resonates with you and helps you understand exactly why you’re a writer (or whatever you are).

Full show notes and resource links at:

www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com

Make sure to subscribe to the SPA Girls Podcast on your podcast app so you don't miss an episode!
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We’re delighted to welcome back the lovely Tara Cremin, Director of Kobo Writing Life.

In this episode Tara brings us up to speed on Kobo’s new audiobook platform, other updates from Kobo, and top tips for marketing your books and audio.

Enjoy!

About Tara Cremin:

Tara has an MA in American Literature and Film from University College Cork, Ireland and has worked for KWL since inception.

Responsible for the overall author experience on Kobo Writing Life, from optimizing current features to looking for new avenues of growth, Tara's aim is to make KWL the greatest and most user-friendly self-publishing platform available.

Find out more at:

https://kobowritinglife.com/

Kobo Writing Life podcast: https://kobowritinglife.com/category/kwl-podcast/

💗 Learn to Self-publish with the SPA Girls!

Visit SpaGirlsPodcast.com for full show notes and all previous episodes
Subscribe on your fav podcast app - search "SPA Girls Podcast"
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter with tips and resources for self-publishing authors on our website
Subscribe and Watch episode recordings on YouTube @SPAGirlsPodcast
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Happy New Year people! It's a crazy time of year, and this episode is all about why you need to take time out, recharge your batteries and come back in the new year ten times more productive and energised!!!

Despite 2021’s best efforts we’ve managed to do some great work this year and had some good times.

From launching as planned when health or life got in the way, to self-improvement on many levels, we’ve hit the markers. Maybe not on time or in an effortless ballet-like movement, but we’re taking the wins and so should you!

Show Notes:

Cheryl’s proudest moment: Launched 3 books after health issues put a spanner in the works several times.

Favourite moments: Being able to see and hold grandchildren and children.

Wendy’s proudest moment: Topped her pre-orders with a 1600 total on 1 book as well as a number 1 in her category and 3 best seller tags!

Favourite moment: Retiring her husband and employing her daughter and daughter-in-law as well as moving to the beach.

Trudi’s proudest moment: Doing some in depth analysis of her work with an expert and implementing changes to make it better.

Favourite moment: Learning to declutter.

Shar’s proudest moment: Changed from a Laptop to a large screen – no working in front of TV. Life-changer!

Favourite moment: Conference. Being together at last!

SPAGirls’ favourite moment: We spent 8 hours together on a train trip to conference where we ran a workshop, plus Wendy and I hosted a panel. Being with friends and other fellow writers was a tonic that needs to be bottled!

Listen in for:

Our favourite moments of the year.

Apologies as Wendy tells us dad jokes!

Christmas recipes we love!

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls Podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

We’ve all heard the conventional wisdom for fiction writers – but is it actually appropriate for self-publishing today? We break down five pieces of uncommon advice that have stood us in good stead and why we think they’ll work for you too:

💗 Learn to Self-publish with the SPA Girls!

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www.spagirlspodcast.com

In the SPA today, we talk about the evolution of our writing process. We delve into the changes that have taken place in our writing journeys over the last few years.

Wendy discusses her collaboration with her son, and how merging two styles makes life interesting!

Are you someone who has storyboards? Do you write linear, or do you start at chapter one and then skip to chapter five?

Some authors need to see the cover of their book before they write it, others, pictures of the main characters. Everyone is different and trying to fit into a mould that doesn’t suit you can often stifle creativity.

The point is, there is no right or wrong way to do things! This is your journey.

Podcasts:

https://www.patriciamclinn.com/blogpodcast/

https://www.thecreativepenn.com/podcasts/

❤️ Learn to Self-publish with the SPA Girls!

➡️ Visit SpaGirlsPodcast.com for full show notes and all previous episodes

🔍 Subscribe on your fav podcast app – search “SPA Girls Podcast”

📧 Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter with tips and resources for self-publishing authors Get your FREE Cheat Sheet!

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: Podcast Episodes

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If you're considering changing genres, starting a new series, trying new tropes, or are even just so confused about this writing malarky that you're not even sure you'll write anything next... this is the episode for you.

It's a difficult decision to move to a new genre, or to move on from a series that's not doing as well as you'd like, or even from a series that you love, but just can't write any more - but it's a decision we've all made here in the SPA. We talk about what we do when trying to decide what to write next, how we've made the decisions to switch something up or change course, and how you can successfully do the same thing.

We also talk about what it took to make the decision, the things we took into account, and why we decided to make the changes. If you're at the point where you're asking yourself that dreaded writer question - What Do I Write Next? - then we hope this episode will help give you the answers you need.

It’s no secret that we use Written Word Media for ads and while we don’t have affiliate links or say you should use them, we can’t think of a reason not to try Freebooksy and Bargain booksy. But,

What would you say to them running Facebook ads for you?

Today we have Clayton Noblit, senior marketing manager, along with Grant Shepherd, Ad Fulfillment Manager at Written Word Media and they’re here to talk about Reader Reach

Reader Reach is a data-driven all-in-one ad solution that allows authors to reach thousands of readers on Facebook as efficiently as possible.

Learning how to build ad images, audience research, or writing ad copy, the setting up and running ads can be time-consuming, costly, and stressful. Reader Reach does all the heavy lifting for you. The Reader Reach team handles everything, from ad creative and copy to audience targeting and bidding. Their goal is to help you find the right audience for your book, and let you focus on what matters most: writing your next book!

You'll find all the show notes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

~ Theodore Roosevelt

Today we’re inspired by this quote from Franklin Roosevelt’s triumphant 1910 speech, dubbed “the man in the arena”. In particular, it’s use in Brene Brown’s work (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-JXOnFOXQk) on facing your critics and dealing with self doubt.

Courage Over Comfort

How can we, as authors and self-publishers, deal with the internal (and external!) voices of criticism, meet our expectations and forge ahead with our publishing plans when we don’t feel at all confident we’re on the right path? How do you know when it’s time to move on from your book or books you loved writing, but no one else seems interested in buying?

We hope you find this relatable – and uplifting!

Resources mentioned:

Brene Brown: https://brenebrown.com/

Sunk Cost Fallacy further reading: https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/the-sunk-cost-fallacy/

💗 Learn to Self-publish with the SPA Girls!

Visit SpaGirlsPodcast.com for full show notes and all previous episodes
Subscribe on your fav podcast app - search "SPA Girls Podcast"
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Evan is the indie developer of StoryOrigin, a marketing tool and community of authors that work together to find reviewers, build mailing lists, increase sales, and stay on top of deadlines.

Today Evan is teaching everything we need to know about this amazing one stop shop for authors!

https://storyoriginapp.com/

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Make sure you’re signed up to our weekly self-publishing tips newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bGkz8L

Come say hi on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

Wondering how to get started with Facebook Ads, but not sure where to start? Join us for today's podcast with Facebook ads guru, Nicholas Erik!

Nicholas is a science fiction author with more than 20 books to his name. He's also written books for authors including The Ultimate Guide to Book Marketing and The Ultimate Guide to Productivity, as well as running courses about Facebook Ads, Amazon Ads and BookBub Ads for authors.

He was awesome to talk to about ads, and gave a huge amount of useful information for authors - this is one of those episodes you really don't want to miss!

Today we have Theodora Taylor in the SPA to talk about universal fantasies – what they are, and how you can use them to get your books on the bestseller lists!

After logging time as a music journalist, playwright, and radio writer, Theodora fell in love with penning hot books with heart. Since deciding to become an author, she’s published 54 books in a range of genres—but with one thing in common—universal fantasies.

When not thinking of ways to write and sell even more hot books with heart, she enjoys spending time with her amazing family, going on date nights with her wonderful husband, learning German, watching ALL the Shonda Rhimes shows ever, and attending parties thrown by others.

Theodora's Book:

7 FIGURE FICTION: How to Use Universal Fantasy to SELL Your Books to ANYONE by T Taylor

https://theodorataylor.com/

You'll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at www.spagirlspodcast.com - self publishing for beginners.

7 FIGURE FICTION: How to Use Universal Fantasy to SELL Your Books to ANYONE (Universal Fantasy™: Butter Up Your Writing)

The Key To Success Is Between Your Ears!

Linda Pucci, Ph.D is a retired psychologist who has turned into a romance novelist (under a separate penname). After working with people in therapy for 35 years and coaching for 20, she's realized the key to building lasting relationships and being happy involves letting go of emotional baggage - something her fiction demonstrates through character arcs. Today Linda is here to talk about how we as creatives can overcome our limiting beliefs, fears of success, failure, being an imposter et al and how we can STOP being our own worst enemy!

“I believe that all people carry within themselves the resources to solve their life’s challenges. They just don’t know how to access them. I help them find those inner resources and stand back as they change their lives.” - Linda Pucci, Ph.D.

You’ll find this episode incredibly insightful and encouraging – one you’ll listen to again and again especially for the guided meditation!

Don’t forget to let Linda and ourselves know what shift you will have experienced in 2021!

You can reach Linda via email at linda @ innerresourcecenter.com

Linda’s romance penname: Cassidy Wells http://www.cassidywells.com/

💗 Learn to Self-publish with the SPA Girls!

Visit SpaGirlsPodcast.com for full show notes and all previous episodes
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Feeling a bit bombarded by conflicting advice re writing and self-publishing? Got FOMO about courses and conferences others are experiencing, but you can't afford or attend?

And how do you figure out what advice works best for YOU? Friends, you're not alone - we've been there too.

This episode we discuss The Best (and Worst!) Advice and ...
WHERE is it coming from
WHO is giving it
HOW it can derail you
HOW it can also put you on the right path
WHAT filters to apply so you're listening to the right advice
WHAT are the credentials of the advice giver?
WHAT should you do when you're overwhelmed by advice

💗 Learn to Self-publish with the SPA Girls!

Visit SpaGirlsPodcast.com for full show notes and all previous episodes
Subscribe on your fav podcast app - search "SPA Girls Podcast"
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter with tips and resources for self-publishing authors on our website
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Author and host of Become A Writer Today Podcast, Bryan Collins, joins the SPA today from Ireland. We love our Irish guests and are super stoked to welcome him here today to talk all things Creativity and how to pull yourself out of a creative rut.

Topics covered include finding the time to write, author expectations, free writing, conquering writers block, simple ways to improve productivity and the power of crafting a personal mission statement for your own writing.

Full show-notes and resource links at: www.SPAGirlsPodcast.com

This episode we're sharing the key things that have moved our writing careers, and creativity, forward so far in 2021. It's a typical "SPA Girls on the couch" episode with some raw honesty and bad humor thrown into the mix.

We cover a lot of ground, including:

How to celebrate (and remember) your achievements. And why you should!

Working less for more $$

How asking for help has worked

The difference between writing speed and creativity

Levelling up editing and the surprising result

Recovering from being a control freak

A checklist let down

Gifts for your future self

Loving what you do.

We hope you enjoy the episode as much as we did.

Learn to Self-publish with the SPA Girls!

Visit www.spagirlspodcast.com for full show notes and all previous episodes
Subscribe on your fav podcast app – search “SPA Girls Podcast”
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter with tips and resources for self-publishing authors on our website
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Jacob McMillen is a professional copywriter, content strategist & freelancing coach and he's here to share how we can use the power of clever copywriting to connect with our readers and build sales. We often struggle with what to write in our newsletters and social media posts in a way that's authentic and reaches the right readers. And then there's the copywriting skill needed for our book blurbs and advertising. So we're thrilled to have an expert in the SPA today!

This is a Copywriting Tip-packed episode that'll empower you to up your copy skills tenfold!

Lots of great nuggets of wisdom, including:

The Two Fundamental Rules of Copywriting: Understand Your Audience and Be Clear

The Light Bulb moment for blurb writing we uncovered talking with Jacob (hint: what got you excited to write the story in the first place?)

Facebook ad text - why it's different to book description and other copywriting

Why the goal of your blurb writing is to reduce uncertainty in readers

You can learn more about Jacob McMillen at: https://jacobmcmillen.com/

Learn to Self-publish with the SPA Girls!

Visit SpaGirlsPodcast.com for full show notes and all previous episodes
Subscribe on your fav podcast app - search "SPA Girls Podcast"
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter with tips and resources for self-publishing authors on our website
Subscribe and Watch episode recordings on YouTube @SPAGirlsPodcast
Join us on Facebook and Twitter @SPAGirlsPodcast

Award-winning author Jayne Castel writes epic Historical and Fantasy Romance. Her vibrant characters, richly researched historical settings and action-packed adventure romance transport readers to forgotten times and imaginary worlds.

Jayne is the author of a number of best-selling series. In love with all things Scottish, she writes romances set in both Dark Ages and Medieval Scotland.

When she's not writing, Jayne is reading (and re-reading) her favorite authors, cooking Italian feasts, and going on long walks with her husband. She lives in New Zealand's beautiful South Island.

www.jaynecastel.com

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If you've been considering taking the plunge into Amazon's new serials platform, Kindle Vella (and yes, Wendy asked if they'd named it after her), then this is the episode for you!

We talked to Virginia Milner, the principal product manager for Kindle Direct Publishing, and leader of the Kindle Vella project, all about the new platform. She explained how Kindle Vella - which launched in July 2021 to readers - works, how authors are already using it to their advantage, and the possible ways that Kindle Vella could be used by authors in the future to broaden their readership, and sell more books overall.

It was an awesome episode, and we really enjoyed having Virginia on the show to explain it all first hand!

We're delighted to welcome back Roseanne Cheng of Evergreen Authors to the SPA for this special two-part interview. In this episode we follow on from Roseanne's approach outlined in EP306 (go listen if you haven't already!)

This is another power-packed show with tips that blew our minds!

We cover:

Pinterest marketing secrets for authors
Why doing Less is better
How to create your own marketing plan around what brings you joy
The "bumper sticker test"
Tough truths: Every bestselling author is marketing their books and why
Making conscious decisions about social media and what you can let go

and lots more!

Check out our website at SPAGirlsPodcast.com for full show notes and previous episodes.

About Roseanne: Roseanne Cheng is the author of five books including The Evergreen Author: Master the Art of Book Marketing. She worked in publishing as a marketing director in Minneapolis for four years before founding Evergreen Authors, the first of its kind school teaching authors how to create a career as writers. Find her at: www.evergreenauthors.com

Today we welcome Roseanne Cheng of Evergreen Authors to the SPA and we're going to talk about all about Book Marketing with Joy - especially for the reluctant or overwhelmed author.

How do you decide what to do when people tell you to "Do All The Things"?! When the hustle is just too much, Roseanne has guidance for what works and what doesn't.

Roseanne, and her business partner Josie, run Evergreen Authors and offer courses and coaching to hundreds of authors. The Evergreen Author philosophy is that any book marketing you choose to do should bring you joy.

We promise that this episode will generate a sigh of relief for many of you listening. If you're ready to scream in frustration over learning facebook ads, tik tok dances and what on earth social media platform you should be on, listen up!

About Roseanne:
Roseanne Cheng is the author of five books including The Evergreen Author: Master the Art of Book Marketing. She worked in publishing as a marketing director in Minneapolis for four years before founding Evergreen Authors, the first of its kind school teaching authors how to create a career as writers.

You can find her at : www.evergreenauthors.com / her personal website is https://roseannecheng.com/

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This is our second podcast with Veteran Police Detective Adam Richardson, who spent seventeen years of his almost 25-year law enforcement career as a detective.

Today we talk to Adam about the police duty belt (gun belt), and what they carry on it. Adam goes into detail about each item and explains their use and when it would be needed. So strap in (see what I did there) for an amazingly informative podcast.

Adam hosts The Writer’s Detective Bureau podcast where he answers questions about criminal investigation and police work posed by crime-fiction authors and screenwriters writing crime-related stories.
Adam has also developed a crime fiction Guns Course for everything crime fiction authors need to know about firearms and ammunition.

LINKS MENTIONED:
Adam's course: crimefictionguns.com COUPON CODE "SPA" for 10% off

Book "THE TALENT CODE by Daniel Coyle https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Code-Greatness-Born-Grown/dp/055380684X

Learn more from Adam at:

Writer's Detective Bureau

where you can sign up to his All-Points Bulletin for writers.
To submit a question for Adam, visit

SUBMIT A QUESTION

Don’t miss his facebook group:

Facebook Groups

Adam’s podcast Writer’s Detective Bureau:

‎Writer's Detective Bureau on Apple Podcasts

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The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How.

Rachael Herron joins us in the SPA today from MIQ headquarters in New Zealand, where we helped her pass the time while she was confined to her room in quarantine... She talks to us about her writing journey, how she has created a career with multiple genres, how she deals with procrastination and blocks in her writing, and the main differences she sees between having books traditionally published and being an indie. It's an awesome interview, and we loved having Rachael in the SPA!

Are you bored, or disheartened, with your writing? Many of us hit the wall of blahhsss or burnout. When persevering and grinding through it just doesn’t work, sometimes you really need to shake things up. From writing in a completely different genre, to rekindling your creative spark, we discuss how to cleanse your writing palate. Soon you’ll move from the wahs to the wahoos!

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Cozy Mysteries are hugely popular with readers and authors alike, and Nancy J. Cohen is with us today to share her fantastic advice for writing the successful cozy.

If you’ve wondered whether writing a cozy is for you, then this episode will answer that question!

Alongside her fiction, Nancy has also written the acclaimed “how to” for cozies “Writing The Cozy Mystery”, so we’re thrilled she agreed to give us the scoop on all things cozy.

ABOUT NANCY:

Nancy J. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring South Florida hairstylist Marla Vail. These books have won numerous awards along with her nonfiction titles, Writing the Cozy Mystery and A Bad Hair Day Cookbook. Active in the writing community, Nancy is a past president of Florida Romance Writers and Mystery Writers of America, Florida Chapter. When not busy writing, she enjoys cooking, fine dining, cruising and visiting Disney World. Visit her at NancyJCohen.com

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We discuss:

Nancy’s writing journey. How she transitioned from traditionally published to self-published
Shifting from writing romance to cozies
Elements of a great cozy – what to include and what readers don’t want to see
Her marketing and publishing strategies

Conventional wisdom says "bigger is better" for books, but is that really true? In this episode, we discuss what different word counts and book sizes mean for successful publishers today, how you can use different sizes to your advantage, and how to find your sweet spot. The Right Size isn't a black and white thing - in fact, there are 50 shades of writing (size) to embrace! There is NO ONE RULE for word counts: Example: The Romance Writers of America defines a novella as 20,000 to 40,000 words and a novel as a work of fiction of 40,000 words or more as determined by computer word count. The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America organisation defines: Short Story: less than 7,500 words; Novelette: at least 7,500 words but less than 17,500 words; Novella: at least 17,500 words but less than 40,000 words Novel: 40,000 words or more. Bookbub current rule for word count needed for a featured deal: "A full-length book. Novels and collections of short stories or novellas should be at least 150 pages in length, works of nonfiction at least 100 pages, cookbooks at least 70 pages, middle-grade books at least 100 pages, and children’s picture books at least 20 pages. We currently do not feature stand-alone novellas or short stories." Uses of shorter fiction: Short stories can be published on their own, or used to create anthologies They can be used as newsletter subscription lures READER EXPECTATION is the key to what wordcount you should aim for Romance readers (generally) expect full novel to be 50,000 to 80,000 words; however there are some popular niches such as sexy shifter romance telling the story in a shorter word count eg 35,000. Thrillers and suspense normally are 60,000 - 90,000 Epic fantasy can have 120,000 words + Cozy mysteries tend to 40,000 to 60,000 Serialized fiction tends to be around 700 - 2000 words per episode The new Kindle Vella program states "between 600-5,000 words" IT"S NOT SET IN STONE and TRENDS DO CHANGE Advantage if you're publishing exclusively with Amazon and in the Kindle Unlimited program is to have a longer word count. More pages = more $ Want more of the SPA Girls?

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Join Shar, Wendy, Cher and Trudi for the 300th EPISODE of the SPA Girls Podcast! We talk about having pride in your work and being proud of everything you've achieved, and then how to persevere in the face of all the odds! This is a fun episode where we open up about some of the things we've been through over the last six years, and give our best advice for anyone looking to self publish!

Marketing doesn't have to be Big Bucks spent on advertising, in fact some of the best marketing you can do is free or low cost.

If you're just starting out there probably isn't much left in the budget for paid marketing. We've been there!

In this episode, we've dug deep to find all the tools we used instead of heavy investments—and some we still do.

One thing to note, you’ll need to invest something in your marketing—if it’s not money, it’s your time.

This episode we'll cover:

Revising keywords
Tweaking your blurbs
Reach out to other authors for Facebook group intro / newsletter swaps / social media interviews
Writing another series "lead in" as a giveaway on bookfunnel
Revise your Goodreads strategy (see our interview with Alessandra Torres for ideas - https://spagirls.libsyn.com/spa-girls-ep235-interview-with-alessandra-torre)
Run some social media giveaways using an ebook / bookfunnel
Review your author bio
Refresh your website and social media graphics with canva or bookbrush
Create quotes from your books and book review quotes for social media on canva or bookbrush (for example)
Join another social media platform and have fun - try Tik Tok - front facing videos "raw" are very popular and effective when done well. Free advertising!
Set up a free store on a merchandise site like Cafe Press, create some "reader focussed" designs yourself in canva (eg quotes if you're not artistic) and use them as giveaways and for sale
Run a newsletter subscriber - specific poll or competition to encourage sharing of your social media posts

And that's not all!

You'll find all the show notes and SPA Girls episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

We've got a very special treat for you this episode - the incredibly talented and savvy, Ms Lucy Lennox, is in the house!

Lucy saw extraordinary success straight out the gate, from when she first published her MM romance, Borrowing Blue, in November 2016. In fact, by her second month of publishing, Lucy was earning five figures per month! Since then, Lucy's books have soared the bestseller charts consistently and she's built an incredible career, publishing prolifically (despite a serious health challenge) and building a rabid audience for her sweet and steamy male/male gay romances. From release strategies, co-writing tips, MM romance tropes to Writing For Your Id and the power of romance beats, Lucy's honest, no-holds-barred advice will boost your mindset and your business. In fact, we know you'll come away just as inspired and motivated to get butt-in-chair-hands-on-keyboard we were from talking with Lucy! No matter what genre you write, this podcast is a must-listen, with something for everyone. About Lucy Lennox: After enjoying creative writing as a child, Lucy didn't write her first novel until she was over 40 years old. Her debut novel, Borrowing Blue, was published in the autumn of 2016. Lucy has an English Literature degree from Vanderbilt University, but that doesn't hold a candle to the years and years of staying up all night reading tantalizing novels on her own. She has one husband, three children, plays tennis, and hates folding laundry. Lucy writes male/male gay romance with heart, humor, and heat. To date she's published 24 novels herself, 12 co-written novels across three series and numerous short stories in her series' worlds. Find her at http://www.lucylennox.com/ There were lots of useful resources mentioned in this episode - find all the links at: SPA Girls Podcast.com

Dive into this amazing episode with six-figure author Fallyn Briggs, where she discusses the hot top of writing to trend v writing to market!

She has spent most of her life within the pages of a book and now she is thrilled to have the opportunity to invite people into the worlds she creates.

When Fallyn is not writing sweet romances, she is traveling, eating too much cheesecake, and thinking about writing sweet romances.

Fallyn says, "writing to market may have hungry readers, but writing to trend is hitting on a hot button trope, idea, theme, niche, or genre that has VERY voracious readers gobbling up that particular kind of book on a likely more limited time frame. Like Veruca Salt, they want it and they want it NOW."

You can find Fallyn at:

https://fallynbriggs.com/

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In this episode of the SPA Girls Podcast we talk about emotional wounds, and why they're so important in developing your characters, and creating an awesome story!

From possible wounds that you could give your characters, to how those wounds will develop the story, and how you can use them to amp up the tension, and create a story that your readers will love - we talk about it all!

Celeste Barclay joins us to discuss finding your village and what doing so did for her.

Celeste has published an incredible 27 books since 2017 primarily in historical romance. Her popular series includes the medieval The Clan Sinclair novels and The Highland Ladies series which has an impressive 15 individual books and counting.

Before becoming a full-time author, Celeste was a Social Studies and English teacher. She holds degrees in International Affairs (BA), Teaching Secondary Social Science (MAT), and Political Management (MPS). She channels that knowledge into creating rich historical romances that bring the steam.

It was the third book in her first series which really took off and she's been incredibly successful ever since. Celest says her Author Village "made her career" and today she talks to us about what that means to her, how to find and build your own village, and why it's so important.

Celeste defines her Author Village as her own network of fellow author peers who lend friendship, support, feedback, writing and business advice. They’re like-minded people who she trusts and respects.

You’ll find all the show notes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Keen to join the SPA Girls in a live workshop? Join our mailing list here and we’ll let you know the minute we have workshop bookings open. https://selfpublishingworkshop.co.nz/index.html

Come say hi on Facebook and twitter @spagirlspodcast

This episode we're back "on the couch" with the SPA Girls to discuss tools and resources we've used to cope with the ever changing climate of self-publishing, AND those big life events that we all face at times.

As always, we share our own experiences and hard-won tips for rolling with the punches and utilizing change as a tool for growth and learning.

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Today we have a special guest who delves into abundance mindset for authors...

USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR RENEE ROSE loves a dominant, dirty-talking alpha hero! She's sold over a million copies of steamy romance with varying levels of kink. Her books have been featured in USA Today's Happily Ever After and Popsugar. Named Eroticon USA's Next Top Erotic Author in 2013, she has also won Spunky and Sassy's Favorite Sci-Fi and Anthology author, The Romance Reviews Best Historical Romance, and has hit the USA Today list seven times with her Wolf Ranch books and various anthologies.

Where to find Renee-

FB group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/abundancemindsetforauthors

ebook: subscribepage.com/alphastemp

Visit her blog at www.reneeroseromance.com

Follow Renee at www.Facebook.com/ReneeRoseRomance - She loves to chat with readers!

Follow her on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/ReneeRoseAuthor

**Follow her on Instagram at www.instagram.com/reneeroseromance

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It's a heated debate that occurs regularly in the bars and cafes of self-publishing-land - should you go exclusive to Amazon and get the benefits of Kindle Unlimited, or should you go wide, and get the benefits of being able to upload your books on retailers like Kobo, Apple Books and Nook?

There are arguments both ways, and in this episode of the SPA Girls Podcast, we take you through all the pros and cons of both, and try to give you some information that will help you make the decision when the time comes...

We absolutely have more than 9 tools we could recommend becasue we don’t all use the same ones. Listen to find out the ones we can’t do without and who uses the others and why. Cheryl has a few homemade spreadsheets and tables – no surprises there – which she may be inclined to share. 😉

Resources mentioned:

Plottr - https://plottr.com
PromoRepublic - deal via AppSumo https://appsumo.com/
Cher's Plot Timeline spreadsheet
Trello - www.trello.com
Readerlinks - https://readerlinks.com
Bookfunnel - https://bookfunnel.com
Grammarly - https://www.grammarly.com
Cher's Income Tracker
Kindletrends https://kindletrends.com/

podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy89Sy_c1vM

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Getting edits and critiques is part of every author's career, but sometimes it can feel worse than getting stung by a wasp on your eyeball. (Like directly in the middle of your eyeball. By a really big wasp. Where it would really, really hurt.)

So that's what we're talking about this week in the SPA - how our thoughts on critiques have changed over the years, how we deal with the pangs when someone says something mean about our book babies, and why we think you can't afford to go without critiques and edits.

Writing bestselling romance with incredible character chemistry is something that NYT Bestseller Annika Martin excels in, and today she joins us in the SPA to give ALL THE TIPS!

Annika, who also publishes romantic suspense as Carolyn Crane, has seen incredible success writing two books a year (on average) and publishing wide.

This episode, she reveals her plotting and writing process, getting the most "comedy" in her writing, editing tips for deepening characterization, what point of view to choose for best results, cover trends and how she approaches her newsletter and advertising.

This is a wonderful discussion, deserving of a long episode, where Annika reveals some absolute nuggets of GOLD that we hadn't heard before. You'll love this one, even if you're not a "funny" writer - trust us!

About Annika:

Annika Martin is a NYT bestselling author who loves reading and writing fun, sexy books, taking pictures of her cats, rocking out, saving animals, taking long baths, and consuming boatloads of chocolate suckers. She can be found hanging out in Minneapolis coffee shops with her awesome writer husband and tending her very wild, bee-friendly garden.
Find her at www.annikamartinbooks.com

Full show notes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

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We have a terrible confession to make. We have no idea what we're doing when it comes to Instagram (well, Shar does, but the rest of us have no idea) and TikTok.

So we got in an expert. Someone who could tell us everything we ever wanted to know about how to post on social media to engage with readers and develop a deeper connection. (Because that's what it's about!)

Anne Malcom is an awesome Kiwi author, kicking butt and taking names in the Dark Romance genre. She's also genuine, savvy, and smart and knows all about connecting with readers in an authentic way. Which is why you need to listen to this episode!

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While Trudi is an outright plotter, Cheryl considers herself a hybrid and Wendy is a confirmed pantser. Shar isn’t with us today but we know she’s tried it all!

But is this a hard and fast thing?

You’ll find out when and how we plot and the struggles involved with pantsing. The differences intrigue us and we think you’ll agree there is a wide scope to fit in either camp or somewhere in between.

If you’re starting out plotting is a great way to begin your journey. In the time it takes you to write 1 book you might get another couple out if you plot.

That said, if you’re like Wendy no amount of plotting is going to work as you’ll end up somewhere else anyway making the plotting a waste of time.

What about research? Is that part of plotting?

As we often say, writing is a journey, and your experience will never be exactly the same as anothers. Don’t let anyone tell you there is only one way or that theirs is the best way.

Whatever type of writer you are, remember that no one writes like you and how you write affects your voice and your process. Before you decide what that is is, try all the ways we’ve suggested – you may be surprised!

Mentioned in the podcast:

Story Grid - https://storygrid.com

Michael Hauge - https://www.storymastery.com

Lisa Cron - http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep-249-interview-with-story-coach-lisa-cron/

Romancing the Beat - http://gwenhayes.com/free-stuff/

Snowflake Method - https://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/snowflake-method/

Resistance. Fear. Procrastination. Avoidance. You name it, most of us writers struggle with these at some point in their career (or day!). This episode we cover everything from the struggle to finish a manuscript through to fear of publishing, and everything in between.

Check out the the full show notes at:

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Get ready to be inspired! Our guest today, USA Bestseller, Janie Crouch, writes passionate romantic suspense (both traditionally published and self-published) and she's recently launched her indie Linear Tactical series to six-figure success.

Janie is a winner and/or finalist of multiple romance literary awards including the Golden Quill Award for Best Romantic Suspense, the National Reader’s Choice Award, and the coveted RITA Award by the Romance Writers of America.

When she's not listening to the voices in her head—and even when she is—she enjoys engaging in all sorts of crazy adventures (200-mile relay races; Ironman Triathlons, treks to Mt. Everest Base Camp) traveling, and movies of all kinds.

Her doctoral dissertation focused on how people formed and maintained relationships with sci-fi/fantasy characters. In her academic writing she was often told she needed to "dial down the drama". She's glad to finally be writing something where no tells her that anymore.

Full show notes at:

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If you've ever considered starting up a Facebook reader group, then you need to listen to this episode. Lucy Score's group is an example of a well-run group that is positive, supportive and fun - everything you want as an author.

She talks to us about how she set it up, and what makes it so great, as well as why she loves her readers so much.

Lucy also gives us insight into her most recent launch, how she connects to readers and why relationships are such an important part of her very successful Indie career.

The best thing about Lucy? She's awesome, genuine, and super smart. We love having her on the show, and we know you'll get a whole bucket load of useful information for your author career in this podcast. Enjoy!

Today we’re talking with Kaye Kennedy who had the successful experience we all hope for when we start out.

Using her business experience and spending years studying how to do it right, Kaye managed a million page reads in 6 months and she’s going to tell you how she did it.

A CEO by day and a contemporary romance author by night, in her novels, you can always expect a happily ever after that kisses and tells. She's had a love affair with reading and writing for as far back as she can remember, which led her to earning her degrees in English Literature. Kaye taught college composition & literature classes before switching gears entirely and becoming an entrepreneur, starting multiple businesses.

Originally from New York, Kaye now lives on the Florida coast with her husband, who often inspires her characters (she's a sucker for an alpha with a soft side). When she isn't busy writing or running one of her companies, Kaye spends as much time as she can cuddling with her rescue mutt, Zeus, paddling on the water, or relaxing on the beach with a good book.

Kaye’s Timeline:

August 5, 2020: Published Book 1
August 18, 2020: Published Book 2
September 30, 2020: Published Book 3
November 11, 2020: Published Book 4
December 6, 2020: Published Christmas Novel (priced at $2.99)
December 19, 2020: Published Box Set of books 1-4, plus exclusive short story (priced at $9.99)
January 19, 2021: Published Book 5
February 18, 2021: Publishing Book 5.5, which is a short novella (I haven't officially announced this yet)
March 18, 2021: Publishing Book 6

Kaye's website: kayekennedy.com

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls Podcast episodes at:

www.spagirlspodcast.com

Making six figures a year while publishing one book a year, isn't the usual career path for most indies, but for our guest today, it absolutely is! We are thrilled to welcome Aus-Kiwi, Helen Scheuerer, to the SPA today.

Helen is a talented YA Fantasy author who's taken her traditional publishing education and transferred that to a highly successful indie career over the past four years.

This is a great episode full of tips and inspiration from Helen, especially for listeners who cannot release multiple books in a year. Enjoy!

✔️ Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter with tips and resources for self-publishing authors http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/join/ ✔️ You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/ ✔️ Watch episode recordings on YouTube @ http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast ✔️ Join us on Facebook and Twitter @SPAGirlsPodcast

This episode we're thrilled to welcome Nat Connors, founder of Kindletrends (and fellow New Zealander #gokiwis) to the SPA!

Nat has been a self-published fiction author since 2016, and is also a research academic and data scientist. Kindletrends is a weekly data newsletter that tells you all about what's happening across 12 different genres in the Kindle Store.

Nat started using the information in Kindletrends to help outline, write and launch books, and then started sharing it with friends. Now just recently (launched November 2020), Kindletrends is available to the self-publishing community as a whole.

We'll go over contact info at the end of the podcast, but if you can't wait, check out kindletrends.com. Subscribe for USD15/month (the first month is free) and every week you'll get a data-rich newsletter on major categories in the Kindle Store, helping you plan every aspect of your publishing with confidence.

* BONUS FOR SPA GIRLS PODCAST LISTENERS - listen up for a fantastic discount code that'll save you $5/month on your subscription - ends April 2021, so don't delay!

Nat goes into fascinating detail about:

The inspiration behind Kindletrends
How it works for beginners and authors with a large catalogue
Benefits to your book planning process
Marketing tips and tricks
How to research your genre
Trend spotting
Bestselling blurb advice
and more!

We're really excited about Kindletrends (and not just because it's another case of Kiwi ingenuity ;) This is going to be super helpful to all of us in different ways.

Make sure you check out our full show notes for visuals and video explanations that will help you use Kindletrends to help you write and market your books better!

Trying to figure out how to finish your book? Keep getting distracted or discombobulated? This is the episode for you!

We break down the processes we use to plan and schedule a book, from start to finish, including everything from booking a cover designer to working with your editor. We show how easy it is to get your writing done, when you know exactly how much you have to write and by when. Join us for another information packed episode...

✔️ Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter with tips and resources for self-publishing authors http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/join/

✔️ You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/

✔️ Watch episode recordings on YouTube @ http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast

✔️ Join us on Facebook and Twitter @SPAGirlsPodcast

For many of us, the thought of overcoming the technology barriers to self-publishing can be overwhelming and cause us to delay (or not try) publishing. Many authors who've come from the traditional world have likely heard publishers talking about the all-important "meta data" and "algorithms" like they're the bogeymen. Something to be avoided - and best done by someone else!

WE GET IT. WE'VE BEEN THERE TOO! But if we can do this, trust us, YOU can too!

How we overcame our own barriers
- mindset
- you tube
- courses
- reading
- group support
- screwing up
- unpublishing and republishing
- out sourcing
- pacing ourselves
- facebook groups

Useful links:
David Gaughran talks with the SPA Girls
http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep225-amazon-decoded/

Identify Your Learning Style: https://www.uow.edu.au/student/learning-co-op/effective-studying/identify-your-learning-style/

You heard right – the SPA Girls will be launching an online Get Started Self-Publishing Course in the next few months. Make sure to sign up for our newsletter and you’ll be the first to know when it launches http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/join/

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter with tips and resources for self-publishing authors http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/join/

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/

Watch episode recordings on YouTube @ http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast

Join us on Facebook and Twitter @SPAGirlsPodcast

It's super easy to be overwhelmed by all the steps required to self-publish. Whether you're a traditionally published author looking to self-publish now, or a new author straight out of the blocks, we break down the seven simple steps to self-publishing.

Step 1: Write the Book
Step 2: Get It Edited
Step 3: Get a Cover
Step 4: Write A Blurb
Step 5: Format It
Step 6: Upload to retailers
Step 7: Market and repeat

Breaking news: If you'd like the SPA Girls to hold your hand through this process, make sure you've signed up to our newsletter here because we're currently putting together a detailed online course that will take you through from manuscript to finished ebook and print book and impart our collective wisdom to launch your authoring career.

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter with tips and resources for self-publishing authors http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/join/

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/

Watch episode recordings on YouTube @ http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast

Join us on Facebook and Twitter @SPAGirlsPodcast

Today we’re responding to questions from listeners who are just starting their self-publishing journey. From earning expectations to how to learning “All The Things” and being overwhelmed, we’ve got you covered!

Some of questions answered:

What type of writing SHOULD I focus on? Is genre important for good earnings?
Are my expectations realistic? How am I going to support myself during this process? How much can I expect to earn?
What do I have to know about self-publishing, there’s so much to learn! Can I just write and pay someone else to do the rest?
How do I build a platform? What even IS a platform?
What’s the one piece of advice you’d give someone starting out today?

Remember, every single step of self-publishing is covered here on the podcast in detail – make sure to search on our website www.SPAGirlsPodcast.com for the topic, and the episodes will come right up.

Facebook group mentioned is Author Support Network by Marie Force: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1020661671348562

David Gaughran’s excellent post about vanity publishers is here: https://davidgaughran.com/vanity-press-media-author-solutions/

YES! It’s true – the SPA Girls will be launching an online Get Started Self-Publishing Course in the next few months. Make sure to sign up for our newsletter and you’ll be the first to know when it launches: http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/join/

✔️ Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter with tips and resources for self-publishing authors http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/join/

✔️ You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/

✔️ Watch episode recordings on YouTube @ http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast

✔️ Join us on Facebook and Twitter @SPAGirlsPodcast

Today we're joined by fellow Kiwi romance author - and one of the SPA Girls' star pupils from their self-publishing workshops - ALEXA RIVERS. Alexa has written and published nine small town romance to date and has really nailed her plotting process, starting with a character. If you've been struggling to find a way to plot and love the idea of starting with those characters who are burning a hole inside your head, this is the episode for you!

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter with tips and resources for self-publishing authors http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/join/

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/

Watch episode recordings on YouTube @ http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast

Join us on Facebook and Twitter @SPAGirlsPodcast

This week's podcast is all about Read-through - ie what percentage of readers read from the first book in your series to the next, and onwards.

We cover:

how to calculate read-through and why its important that you do!
What is the ideal percentage you should be aiming for
Red flags to look for if you DON'T get great read-through
How it affects advertising
How to deal with a "weak" book in the series
The difference between calculating wide read-through vs kindle unlimited
Tools for calculating read through including Readerlinks (https://readerlinks.com/)

Great resource on Kindlepreneur from Malorie Cooper: https://kindlepreneur.com/calculate-series-read-through/

Malorie says :

Your series sell-through is pretty easy to calculate. Take the sales of the last book in your series and divide that number by the sales of Book 1.

Let’s say you sold 428 copies of Book 1, and 247 copies of Book 2. That gives us:

247 ÷ 428 = 57.7%

That’s your total series read-through.

“Many authors see something in the neighborhood of 50-60% from books 1 to 2. Unless you’re writing a more loosely connected series, the read-through from the first to the second book is very important."

Knowing if a series is doing well or where it’s falling down can help to make it easier to fix going forward.

Book 1 should be your best book but sometimes it’s not. What should you do if that’s the case?

Listen to the episode for some great tips!

✔️ Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter with tips and resources for self-publishing authors http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/join/

✔️ You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/

✔️ Watch episode recordings on YouTube @ http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast

✔️ Join us on Facebook and Twitter @SPAGirlsPodcast

Inspired by a post from The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, today we're guiding you through five golden questions or guidelines to ask yourself when you're setting your 2021 writing / author business goals.

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_new_years_resolutions_matter_more_in_a_pandemic?fbclid=IwAR2V2sBJwXJchQ8i6eU2Xbq9TioEoz-fGhtZCIp1tmHRBN-9m-vDdGaRDKw

Be warned - this is a different approach to the usual SMART goal systems, but it really resonated with us, especially after 2020. We've come into the New Year probably like a lot of people - more intentional and aware of how we want to spend our time and what's REALLY important to us. For us, it looks quite different to how we felt this time a year ago and we've adapted this especially to suit the writing life whether full time or part-time. So lets dive in...

"Even if it feels like all you’re doing is trying to survive, these questions may help you gain a sense of control amid the uncertainty."

GOLDEN QUESTION 1: What do you want to take with you when this is all over? Reflect on what HAS / IS working for you.

GOLDEN QUESTION 2: What are some aspirational goals that you could set for yourself? "Identify where can you do better despite the pandemic (and everything else). The goal is not to add more pressure to an already difficult time, but to identify goals that could help you feel better and have more energy at the end of the day."

GOLDEN QUESTION 3: What new habit have you wanted to get into for a while now?

GOLDEN QUESTION 4: How can you invest in yourself? This is a GREAT one especially for women who are often handling the lion's share of the emotional labour and the child / homeschooling / working / caregiving roles.

"Remember, the best resource that you have for making a contribution to the world is YOU. When that resource is depleted, your most valuable asset is damaged. In other words: When we underinvest in our bodies, minds, or spirits, we destroy our most essential tools for leading our best lives."

GOLDEN QUESTION 5: What do you want to feel more of in 2021? For many of us, we want to feel less overwhelmed and MORE at peace or in control. This question is asking us to identify what behaviours or habits have in the past elicited the EMOTION that you are looking for?
Maintenance habits (like doing daily writing sprint, emptying your inbox each week, removing social media apps from your phone, leaving your phone out of the bedroom at night etc) may make you feel less overwhelmed.

NEXT STEPS:

Have you already listed your goals or resolutions for the upcoming year?
Before you start whipping yourself into action, consider your ANSWERS TO THE GOLDEN QUESTIONS FIRST. Look at your initial goals and then DELETE the ideas you have for your writing goals, habits or new years resolutions that simply AREN'T realistic or that your heart isn't in.

Basically: ELIMINATE THE "SHOULDS!"

Setting goals and habits should make you feel happier, more at peace, healthier and more connected to those around you - they should not, especially in the time we're currently in, be a tool of self-flagellation.

So be kind to yourselves, maybe journal or discuss these 5 questions with your family, friends or writing peeps and really take the answers to what makes YOU happy and at peace into account when you're refining your goals for 2021. Good luck!

Isn't that what we're all after? The ONE RIGHT answer to everything - the BEST newsletter strategy, the RIGHT way to sell books, the ONE secret to making ads work? Well, listen up folks because in this episode we've got the Magic Wand!

Resources mentioned:

Bella Andre with the SPA Girls
http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep148-interview-with-indie-superstar-bella-andre/

Becca Syme's Strengths For Writers Course
https://betterfasteracademy.com/

Larissa Reynolds talks Newsletters with the SPA Girls
http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep177-successful-newsletter-strategies-with-larissa-reynolds/

http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep178-newsletter-strategies-with-larissa-reynolds-part-2/

Tammi Labrecque the Newsletter Ninja
http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep145-newsletter-ninja-tammi-labrecque/

visit: www.spagirlspodcast.com for all previous episodes, show notes and self-publishing information

Ever wondered why on earth you're spending all this time writing? Ever think to yourself that maybe your writing isn't that great? Ever think this self publishing lark is just too hard? Yeah, so have we. But this episode is all about how to throw away those dumb old negative thoughts, and learn to believe in yourself and your writing! We talk through some of the most common misbeliefs that authors have, and give you some awesome ways to change your thinking, and learn to believe in yourself and most of all, keep going!

Celebrating the season with a quick recap of our Words For 2020. Hahahahahaha
And then onto Important Burning Questions about our Christmas favorites. Sometimes controversial, always tongue-in-cheek, our "unplugged" conversation will hopefully add some Christmas cheer to your day.

Thank you to all our listeners for your support. We are sending all our love and thoughts to you this festive season xx

Watch recording (complete with reindeer horns) on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast

Join us on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/SPAGirlsPodcast

You've had a great idea for a story - now how do you turn it into a workable outline?

This is a "live action" recording where the SPA Girls take a "great" idea - an Elf who hates Christmas - into a workable outline! Probably NSFW, you'll hopefully find this episode informative and a lighthearted break from holiday stress! And don't forget to visit us on facebook and let us know which story you think we should write!

full show notes and resource links at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

What do you do when you're running out of steam and you're only in the middle of the book? Or you're just running out of steam in general, especially in your author career?

This episode we share our suggestions for getting yourself re-energized and moving again.

Some topics we cover include:

writing sprints
writing with others either in person or on zoom/skype
sexy times
add more conflict
change up environment - add music, go to a cafe or outside (depending on local quarantine measures)
try dictation
Trudi found shifting from 3 act structure to 4 act structure helpful
set a deadline
mindset affirmations
try background music - rock or classical / brain fm
take a break and be understanding of yourself!

Visit: www.SPAGirlsPodcast for full show notes and resource links

Bonus content is an awesome marketing tool that can be used in a variety of ways - from encouraging people to sign up to newsletters, to convincing them to buy the next book in the series, or thanking superfans for their ongoing support.

This week we talk about the ways we've used the bonus content that we've created for our readers - from extra scenes and epilogues, to short stories, prequel novellas and everything in between - and give suggestions for other options you could create.

We talk about what's worked for us, what hasn't, and what we think is the best option, no matter where you are in your writing career...

Want to make sure you give your first book the best possible chance of success? And then have readers auto-buying the next in your series? Then this is the podcast for you! This week we give you a checklist of elements for a successful first book in a series, before you even start writing a single word!

We talk about everything - including the tropes that sell, what backmatter to use, what kind of characters readers love and much more in this overview of how to make sure the first book in your series is awesome and automatically sells the next book in your series to your readers!

Why does Amazon choose someone else's book over yours to show in a search? And how can we make sure to use the best keywords for sales? Well wonder no more! We've got the answers for you in this info-packed episode!

We're joined again by the awesome and knowledgeable, Dave Chesson, Founder and CEO of Publisher Rocket and Kindlepreneur. Dave breaks down all the best practices for getting the right keywords to deliver your book to the right readers, every time.

About Dave Chesson

A former Navy engineer and super-passionate online marketing and SEO geek, Dave Chesson is the creator of Kindlepreneur.com, a blog and website which specializes in demystifying the Kindle ebook marketing for authors. And because he couldn’t just stop there, he’s also the creator of the even more helpful Publisher Rocket, a program that helps authors do market research as well as figure out their keywords and categories.

Over his career he has created multiple consistently bestselling books that generate income from all sorts of sources and not just Amazon. He uses those books to test his tactics, and then share them with his community on the Kindlepreneur blog.

Even Amazon KDP acknowledges Kindlepreneur as one of the best by telling users to “Gain insight from Kindlepreneur on how you can optimize marketing for your books.” Having worked with such authors as Orson Scott Card, Ted Dekker and more, his tactics help both Fiction and Nonfiction authors of all levels get their books discovered by the right readers.

Bottom line – his tactics will help you with or without a name!

Visit the SPA Girls Podcast website for full shownotes and previous episodes. Make sure to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter full of tips on writing and self-publishing.

Today’s podcast is all about reader groups. Are they worthwhile? How they work and why you would want one? Wendy has recently started one, and we discuss how that is working for her, and also talk about some more established reader groups the SPA Girls belong to like, Lucy Score, C N Crawford, and Marie Force.

Once again an episode chock full of information!

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Make sure you’re signed up to our weekly self-publishing tips newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bGkz8L

Come say hi on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

A good old fashioned craft episode from the SPA Girls this week. Shar, Wendy and Cheryl discuss insider writing secrets from James Scott Bell's book Fiction Attack! They pull out five important secrets that have most impacted them, and discuss what they mean and how they've used them in their writing. From using conflict and suspense, to description, fuzzy POV, cliches and info dumps, they go deep on some of those writing secrets that will take you from average to amazing!

In this episode we’re answering listener questions - a couple around the change of life many are experiencing right now.

We have a few suggestions that helped us through switching to full time writing and the fickle motivation issue. Then we discuss how to tackle being visible in your local market.

If you’ve had to deal with these things or are going through them now, please tell us about it on our Facebook page or comment on this post.

Keen to join the SPA Girls in a live workshop? Join our mailing list here and we’ll let you know the minute we have workshop bookings open. https://selfpublishingworkshop.co.nz/index.html

Come say hi on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SPAGirlsPodcast/ and Twitter @spagirlspodcast.

SPA Girls Podcast

BONUS - enter before Friday 16 October to win one of three FREE tickets to the Unstoppable Woman virtual summit in November 2020
Here's how to enter: Post on facebook before end of day Friday 16 October (make it public - you may need to change settings for the post) and tell us ONE reason why you'd like to attend the summit, then hashtag #unstoppablesummit #spagirlspodcast SIMPLE!

Today we're delighted to welcome back mindset coach, Amira Alvarez. We had such a wonderful response to our previous episode #253 on maximizing your mindset. So we've got her back to do a deeper dive into a syndrome that affects a lot of us - Imposter Syndrome.

Just to refresh you, Amira Alvarez is the founder and CEO of The Unstoppable Woman, a global coaching company helping entrepreneurs, empire builders, athletes, creatives, and rising stars in all fields achieve their dreams and goals in record time.

Show bonus: Amira is hosting an online summit in November for unstoppable women and we've got THREE free tickets to give away to listeners today. Stay tuned until the end when we'll tell you how to enter. Amira's Income Breakthough Summit is being held online, Nov 6 - 8. Amira will be teaching you personally how to become unstoppable in every way including your writing career.
Check it out here: https://theunstoppablewoman.com/SPAGirls

This week we have an intriguing chat with author Danielle Annett (aka Daniela Romero) , who has recently switched genres from Urban Fantasy to Contemporary Romance, with some amazing results.

She talks us through the decision to change genres, and what she did to make it a success, including some of the big decisions she had to make, such as whether to create a new pen name, how to market it, and what kind of social media/website and newsletter presence she wanted to have with the new genre/name. Danielle is a savvy businesswoman, and you'll definitely pick up some excellent tips from this discussion...

Danielle is also an organisational superstar, and we talk a little bit about how she organises all the various segments in her life so successfully! We loved chatting to her, and we're sure you're going to enjoy listening to this episode. :)

Danielle’s Bio:

Danielle Romero is a Snarky AF Latinx Author, Mom of 3, and proclaims that she writes HOT books. She’s loud, proud, and a classic ENTJ. She uses the word ‘hella’ a lot when she talks and blames it on her NorCal roots. Born and raised in the San Francisco bay area she now lives in Spokane, WA with her little fam, an asshole parrot, and her dog who decided (even though she picked him) to prefer her husband’s attention.

Danielle Annett is a USA Today Bestselling Author of Urban Fantasy and most recently Contemporary Romance under the pen name Daniela Romero.

(She started out as a book blogger, and then decided to write her own books.)

She likes to write about kick butt heroines in volatile settings and apologizes in advance for all of the cliffhangers in your future. She can’t help herself. But she promises that they’ll all be worth it in the end.

LINKS:

Danielle Arnett author website

Danielle’s Coffee & Characters: http://www.coffeeandcharacters.com/

Becca Syme’s courses: https://betterfasteracademy.com/
Sara Cannon’s Heartbreathings: https://heartbreathings.com/

For all SPA Girls Podcast episodes visit : http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/

What email promotion sites are working for us - plus, how to prepare your holiday season advertising!

Christmas is coming whether we like it or not and starting now, as far as advertising is concerned, you need to get your ducks in a row. Spaces will already be dwindling as authors lock in their ads and if you want to have any decent ones, take our advice and get to it today.

This week we look at the major sites we use, as well as some of the smaller, and talk about our success, or lack of it, with each. The most important thing, which we will always stress, is that what works for one person might not be as successful for another, and often it’s hard to appreciate why.

Listen to the podcast for the rest of the discussion and other suggestions at http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com

David Gaughran and Nikolas Erik have a more in depth look at all the sites and their costs.

Come say hi on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SPAGirlsPodcast/ and Twitter @spagirlspodcast.

This episode is a DOOZY! We're thrilled to interview author and marketing expert, Holly Mortimer. Holly is the owner of the consulting firm, The Socialvert, and runs a successful membership base and mastermind for romance writers, The Socialvert Society. Her mission is to teach romance writers how to use digital marketing and email list building to increase their sales and cultivate a loyal fan base.

We talk all things email marketing with Holly, and get you some 'next level' tips that'll have your author newsletter nailed!

Full show notes at : SPAGirlsPodcast.com

Watch the live recording of this episode on our SPA Girls YouTube channel

For Holly's books:
https://hollymortimer.com/
For Holly's author services and courses:
https://thesocialvert.com/

Today we're going to talk with author Connie Dowell about juggling family responsibilities, pandemic postponements, and upheaval, with the responsibilities of being a working writer.

Connie B. Dowell is an author of historical and cozy mysteries and nonfiction for writers. She is the host of the Book Echoes podcast for authors. After having two kids in less than two years, Connie developed a passion for time management and loves to chat author productivity and work-life balance. A former university writing center coordinator, she loves teaching other writers and guiding them toward success.

Connie's author website: http://conniebdowell.com/
Connie's coaching website: http://bookechoes.com/

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Make sure you’re signed up to our weekly self-publishing tips newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bGkz8L

Come say hi on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

In response to a listener question, this week we attempt to answer the question: Knowing what you know now, if you were starting out in publishing today, would you go straight to self publishing, or would you try out traditional publishing first?

It's a hard question, because we're not starting out now, we do know an awful lot more than we did when we first started and when we started (7-8 years ago) everything was different.

And also, we all clearly believe in self publishing over traditional...!

But... in the interests of helping our listeners make these kinds of decisions, we decided to give you the pros and cons of traditional vs self publishing. It's a little skewed, we admit that. But we did our best... :)

This episode we discuss our (very!) different newsletter strategies: what provider we use and why, how we build our lists, our content, how frequently we email subscribers and what tips have worked for us.

We also cover where to start for newbies - ie, keep it simple and doable!

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Today we're talking with Alaskan author, Tamsin Ley, who is seeing great success writing SciFi Romance! We talk about Tamsin's writing journey, marketing strategies, paranormal romance quirks and her fantastic advice for all self-publishers.

You can find Tamsin at: http://tamsinley.com/

About Tamsin

Tamsin Ley builds worlds full of sexy heroes who don't know they need a mate - that is, until they meet the woman they can't resist. The romance is sizzling hot, a surprise twist waits around every corner, and the stories will never leave you hanging (although you may still crave more!)

Wine-lover, beer-brewer, foodie, serious gardener, and secret zombie prepper, Tamsin lives in Alaska with her husband of twenty something years. In the long days of summer you can find her in the great outdoors, but when the long winter nights set in, she'll be at the keyboard creating imaginary worlds.

Check out resource links and shownotes at SPAGirlsPodcast.com

Amira Alvarez is the founder and CEO of The Unstoppable Woman, a global coaching company helping entrepreneurs, empire builders, athletes, creatives, and rising stars in all fields achieve their dreams and goals in record time. As someone who has made a quantum leap (going from barely making 6-figures to making $700k in one year, then onto 7-figures) and has lived to tell about it, she knows exactly what tactical strategies and mindset shifts are required to get out of your own way, live life on your own terms, and master the art of achieving any goal you set your mind to.

Today we're going to talk to Amira specifically on how we can find focus in this chaotic time, and be productive without burning ourselves out.

Learn more at: https://www.TheUnstoppableWoman.com
Free Resources: https://theunstoppablewoman.com/freestuff
The Unstoppable Woman Podcast: https://theunstoppablewoman.com/listen/
website: TheUnstoppableWoman.com

There's so much noise on the internet, and so many different things that we're told that we "have" to do to be successful as self publishers, it can get confusing and overwhelming. So this week we decided to talk about ways to keep things simple in your publishing career. How to un-complicate your publishing career, if you will. :)

One thing we really believe in here at the SPA is that simple is better.

With this in mind, we talk about our own experiences of attempting to keep things simple, and how it worked out for us... We also give tips on ways that you can simplify what you're doing - whilst also amplifying your career.

Alana Terry is a 6-figure, USA Today bestseller with more than forty published Christian suspense novels. She hosts the Successful Writer Podcast which is a fabulous marketing-focused podcast for indie authors of any genre. Alana has also created several highly regarded courses to help authors reach their dreams of achieving creative and commercial success.

Today we're going to talk with Alana about how she uses advertising to grow her readership and how authors can navigate the sometimes confusing waters of Amazon ads and Facebook ads!

Alana tells us how she got into writing and then we dive into demystifying Facebook Ads in particular.

We discuss how you begin including which graphics and text work best.

Also how much you’ll need to budget for.

Then we move on to what to look for when checking your ads and how to know when and ad is working.

Sometimes what you see is not what you get and that’s the case when you factor in advertising one book from a series. Readthrough is so important when calculating return on investment. (ROI)!

Naturally we’re interested in any tricks we might use plus we weed out a few myths.

You can find Alana's website at www.AlanaTerry.com and her courses at: https://alanaterry.com

Her course Smart Business for Authors, can be found here: https://your-author-engine.teachable.com/

You can find all the show notes and SPAGirls Podcasts at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

It's Our 250th Episode!
No, we can't quite believe we've been around this long either! Five years of publishing a new episode every week, countless amazing guests, industry experts and inspiring authors, lots of banter and (hopefully!) actionable self-publishing advice for our listeners.

We go right back to our first episode (don't worry, we won't replay it), discuss the ONE piece of advice we'd give to new self-publishers and what we've learned / what's changed, over the years.

Thank you to everyone who's been on this journey with us, and to those who are new, WELCOME .... we're looking forward to the next five years!

Full show notes and resource links here: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Watch the episode recording on You Tube here

Having trouble getting to 'the end' of your work in progress? then this podcast is for you. It's packed with so much information you'll have to replay it several times!

Lisa Cron is a story coach and the author of Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers From the Very First Sentence and Story Genius: How To Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages that Go Nowhere) both published by Ten Speed Press.

Lisa works with writers, nonprofits, educators and organizations, helping them master the unparalleled power of story, so they can move people to action – whether that action is turning the pages of a compelling novel, or taking to the streets to change the world for the better. Or both!

Her 7 hour video class Wired for Story can be found at CreativeLive.com.

Her video tutorial Writing Fundamentals: The Craft of Story can be found at Lynda.com.

Lisa's Website: http://wiredforstory.com/

Lisa's Creative Live online course: https://www.creativelive.com/class/wired-for-story-lisa-cron

We're on the couch again this week! We're talking about our limiting beliefs and how we're tackling them.

If you're not sure if you've got a limiting belief... we're pretty sure you do. Probably more than one. It's a belief that's holding you back, and it's the kind of thought pattern that you definitely want to bring out into the open, so you know it's there, and can work on ways to change or amend it.

Limiting beliefs are something you probably think is just a fact, or just true, about yourself or the way things work. Sometimes it's about the way you react to things, or how you feel about yourself when something happens a certain way. They're not always obvious, and they're not always easy to recognise and understand, let alone get rid of!

That's why we decided to talk about how we've recognised our own limiting beliefs and what we're doing to change them, so that you can look at your own beliefs and decide if any of them are holding you back from your dream publishing career!

This week we discuss what advertising is actually working for our romance, urban fantasy and cozy mystery books. From facebook to series promotions, we've picked up some helpfully tips and strategies for getting the most bang of your advertising buck!

Visit our full shownotes at: SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast for each of the SPA Girls tips, examples of Wendy's series rebranding befores and afters and recommended reading and resources.

The delightful Carlyn Robertson from Bookbub returns to the SPA today to talk all things Chirp and audiobook promotion!

What is Chirp? Chirp is an audiobook retailer powered by BookBub that highlights unbeatable discounts on audiobooks. Chirp offers listeners access to a full catalog of audiobooks that they can purchase á la carte with no subscription fees, but focuses especially on surfacing amazing, limited-time audiobook deals in members’ favorite genres. Their team works with publishers and authors to curate new deals every day, helping you drive significant increases in sales, reach new readers, and boost visibility for your audio titles.

Cheryl and Shar quiz Carlyn on:
* the key things an audiobook needs for success

pricing best practices
promotion strategies
other tips for audiobook promotion success
how to use bookbub ads to target audiobook listeners
when Chirp will open up to other regions (currently it's just for US and Canadian residents)

Guest Bio: Carlyn Robertson works in product marketing on BookBub's Partners Team, where she ensures all authors & publishers know how to use BookBub’s tools to achieve their marketing goals. She writes content for the partners blog & website, speaks at conferences, & conducts market research.
Find Carlyn at twitter: @CarlynAtBookBub and at Bookbub Partners blog for authors: https://insights.bookbub.com/

Resources: Chirpbooks.com

Submit an audiobook for a Chirp deal

Findaway Voices

Promoting audiobooks with BookBub Ads

Previous SPA Girls episodes with Findaway: https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep139-kelly-lytle-from-findaway-voices/

Full shownotes and previous SPA Girls Podcast episodes at www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com

In this podcast we speak to the wonderfully talented and successful Urban Fantasy author Keri Arthur. She talks to us about transitioning from traditional publishing to self-publishing, and shares tips and processes from her writing journey.

Keri Arthur is the New York Times bestselling author of fantasy, horror, and romance novels. She began writing at the age of twelve and has more than 70 novels to date. Her books have received many nominations and prizes, including nods from the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Awards and PNR's PEARL Awards, and has won RT's Career Achievement Award for urban fantasy. She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her daughter.

Keri is perhaps best known for a series of books revolving around the character Riley Jenson, who is a rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf and has a twin brother named Rhoan. Jensen works for an organization in Melbourne called the Directorate of Other Races, which was created to police supernatural races.

www.keriarthur.com

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Make sure you’re signed up to our weekly self-publishing tips newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bGkz8L

Come say hi on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

Knowing as much as you can about your category, genre or sub-genre is vitally important if you're going to succeed as a self publisher, and Alex Newton is keen to help you with that.

He's the creator of K-lytics (www.k-lytics.com) a website where you can get in-depth reports on various genres and sub-genres on Amazon that will help you find your niche, boost sales in your chosen genre, and basically give you the information you need to stand out in this crowded publishing space.

In this episode Alex explains the reports and how to use them, talks about the Amazon environment and how it works, and also dishes the dirt on the romance genre, giving us some helpful tips along the way! This is a must listen episode!

Ines is back to give us great advice for incorporating screenwriting techniques to make our writing stronger and improve read through!

Aside from being a writer and professional reader, Ines Johnson is a seasoned educator. She's taught screenwriting, story development, and media history for an art college in Washington, DC. A lifelong learner (read: academic addict), she holds a Master’s in Instructional Design, and a Doctorate in Educational Technology.

Seasons: try thinking in 3s (3 book series, 6 book series, 9 book series) - long series FTW!
Series / Serial
A Series - can be read out of order - in romance, different couples but common element across series such as setting, community, event etc
A Serial - needs to be read in order
Scene / Beat : a category of action that needs to happen and can be encapsulated by time and space - eg. in romance the "meet cute", "black moment" etc
For beat advice see Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes, Save the Cat, Heros Journey

Ines writes in Scrivener and her chapters are usually a beat. There needs to be a purpose for each chapter / beat - needs to move the story forward, not just pretty words.

Teaser - in fiction, another name for prologue. Ines recommends downloading TV Scripts to see how they use a teaser at the beginning of an episode to give a jumping point into the story. At the END of Ines' books, she uses a teaser of the next book to enhance reader clickthrough/buy through
Leads / Launches Same meaning for what starts the beginning of each chapter - can be action, character pov, narrative, setting description. Mix them up. So don't have everyone chapter starting with the same lead (eg someone waking up).
Hooks & Twists
Every scene needs five things: Scene purpose, goal, motivation, conflict, twist / hook The twist or hook at the end of the chapter or scene is what gets the reader turning the page. It's asking an "end question" and leaves the reader on a ... rather than a period.
Open Doors - this is the story question / conflict teaser for the next book. It leaves the door open for the reader to go into the next story. Not a cliffhanger - those don't resolve the main story. Know your tropes! Ines' open doors are short - no more than 500 words from the pov of the upcoming MC in next book.

Links:

Ines Johnson You Tube Channel where she details advice for authors: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClivO7XAP2GCRRz-7Bm3Nhw

Ines' website: https://ineswrites.com/

Script sites: https://www.dailyscript.com/

TV scripts at Scriptorama:
http://www.script-o-rama.com/tvscript.shtml

You’ll find all the show notes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Keen to join the SPA Girls in a live workshop? Join our mailing list here and we’ll let you know the minute we have workshop bookings open. https://selfpublishingworkshop.co.nz/index.html

Come say hi on Facebook and twitter @spagirlspodcast

This is a special two-part series with the awesome Ines Johnson, a highly successful indie author who has an extensive background in television writing, media production and college education.

In this episode, we cover Pen Names and Productivity. Ines has three pen names (that cover different genres) and she is the epitome of an organised, savvy and productive author that has so much to share with us!

Topics we discuss include:

Her fast-draft process and why Ines doesn't write by wordcount
How she thinks in scenes and seasons per her television writing roots
Her advice for managing social media with more than one pen name
Why focussing on backlist is a smart strategy
Plotting and world building

This is a must-listen episode that you will find incredibly motivating. Ines is a powerful educator and this is such a treat to have her in the Spa! (which is also why we're convincing her to come back next week too ;) )

Ines Johnson Bio:

Lover of fairytales, folklore, and mythology, Ines Johnson spends her days reimagining the stories of old in a modern world. She writes books where damsels cause the distress, princesses wield swords, and moms save the world.

Aside from being a writer and professional reader, Ines Johnson is a seasoned educator. She's taught screenwriting, story development, and media history for an art college in Washington, DC. A lifelong learner (read: academic addict), she holds a Master’s in Instructional Design, and a Doctorate in Educational Technology.

Ines' website: https://ineswrites.com/

Links mentioned:
Klytics: https://k-lytics.com/
Ines' you tube channel for her plotting method and how she sets up her world building doc in scrivener: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClivO7XAP2GCRRz-7Bm3Nhw

For all shownotes and previous episodes, visit www.SpaGirlsPodcast.com

To watch the video recording of this episode go to the SPA Girls You Tube channel (and please subscribe!): http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast

In this episode we talk about power words. Those take action words that entice someone to click the link on your ad. Click buy now on Amazon. Keep reading the next chapter of your book even though it's well past bedtime.

There are different types of power words that you could use in your copy to trigger a response in your readers, to take them from merely browsing to actually buying.

Greed words - we want more!

Bargain, bonus, cheap, discount, 99c, ultimate, expires, limited, new, now, before, ultimate, value, running out. (don't miss out!)

Curiosity words - what's going on?

hush-hush, banned, be the first, behind the scenes, class full, little known, login required, sneak peek, strange, top secret, unauthorized, insider. (not everyone knows about this...)

Sloth words - how can I make this easier?

All-inclusive, cheat sheet, downloadable, easy, effortless, kickstart, how-to, in less than, piece of cake, roadmap, freebie, gift, guide, no problem. (I want to do it but only if it's easy)

Lust words - I really, really want this!

Captivating, compelling, crave, dirty, mind-blowing, steamy, sex, urge, forbidden, exposed, mouthwatering, naughty. (How can I not want this?)

Vanity words - I don't want to look bad...

At the top, amazing, awe-inspiring, boost, booming, fearless, sassy, saucy, spectacular, jaw-dropping, kick-ass, legendary, conquer, courage, hero, dazzling. (How can I be like this?)

Trust words - They know what they're talking about.

Approved, accredited, authority, official, results, secure, refund, proven, well respected, world wide, USA Today bestseller, NYT bestseller. (I can trust this to be good)

Anger words - This makes me angry!

Abuse, agitate, arrogant, backstabbing, foul, greedy, hostile, lies, loser, ruthless, smug, sneaky, brutal, morally bankrupt, diminish, evil, victim, violent, payback. (I hate those nasty peeps, I love it when they get theirs)

Fear words - I don't want to miss out! (most powerful motivator of all)

Hack, danger, dangerous, fail, looming, mistake, pitfall, catastrophe, agony, annihilate, backlash, beware, bloodbath, corpse, destroy, poor, prison. (I don't want to make this mistake, so I'll do what you ask)

As a writer there are many areas we can amp up with power words:

Your manuscript - think about word choice: Eat vs devour or nibble, walk vs stride or stalk, smile vs smirk or grin.

Your blurb - this is sales copy. You need to use a strong hook, and even stronger words to evoke emotion.

Your tag line - Short, sharp, evoking emotion.

Your FB Ads - use power words to trigger emotional or psychological responses in readers.

Your AMS Ads - limited words, make sure you use powerful ones.

Your FB Posts/ Your Instagram Posts / Your Twitter Posts - appeal to your readers by knowing the emotion you're trying to elicit, and the action you'd like them to take.

Your Newsletter - again, know the emotion you want to elicit. Know how you want them to feel about your book.

Further Reading:

(Highly recommend reading his book if you’re interested in this https://www.amazon.com/Ogilvy-Advertising-David/dp/039472903X)

Blog post: Magic Power Words for Conversion
https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/magic-power-words-for-conversion/

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Make sure you’re signed up to our weekly self-publishing tips newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bGkz8L

Come say hi on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

Ogilvy on Advertising

Have you been told you need more reviews, but you don't know how to get them? Are you wanting to find some BETA readers, but can't figure out where they lurk? Ever wondered who you send an ARC to, and what you get in return?

This is the episode for you!

We go through each topic, explaining the terms, telling you how to find more of them, and why they're all so important to us as writers.

Sometimes the muse has left the building.

Or you’re tired.

Or something happens that you weren’t expecting. Yeah, like a pandemic. That’ll do it!

There are probably very few people who haven’t felt the panic or sense of doom and gloom in some small way, and others far worse than the SPAGirls.

It’s fair to say that we all took a moment (read a week or three) to get our heads back in the game, and even if you didn’t, that’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up about anything you didn’t do or won’t do if that is the case because it won’t change anything or make you feel better.

However, if you’re like us, you’ll be ready to get back in the game. Writing is our livelihood, and we’re doing okay, so we thought we’d give you a few things that helped us.

Firstly, let's talk about how you feel. You don’t need a professional to listen, but if that’s how it plays at for you, then go for it. We have each other, but sometimes you need somebody else, right? Someone not to pass judgment but also someone who might offer advice. Someone who understands. Who could that be for you?

We’ve talked about plans and how they may have changed. Perhaps it’s now an excellent time to look them over. Can you tweak them to make a new plan? One that suits your life better at this moment and makes more sense.

Eg. If a book usually takes you four months from start to finish, working Monday to Friday, you would know precisely how many words that is a day, week, or month. (This is not an exact science, yet it could be the tool to get at least some work done.) Let’s look at the same book again, but with the understanding that the word count simply isn’t going to happen. Now the book could conceivably take six months or even a year. (Maybe way longer if you’re a slow writer or this isn’t your day job.)

It’s a ball-park figure only. Or you could reverse engineer it and say I know I can do 500 words a day x 5 days=2500 words per week. Now that’s not too shabby, is it? Then 2500 words per week x 1 month is approx 10k.

Maybe this book could be shorter?

So, hey, what do you know? In 5 months you have a 50k book. Hurrah!

Here are some more tips:

try something new
set a timer – when it’s done, you move on to something else.
go back to when you first started writing and look for your why, or how your schedule used to look
tiny chunks can take the pressure off
we all move around our houses to create a different environment
Different environment, different sounds, different tools
Recommended reading: Deep Work by Cal Newport, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Gamify - keep it fun! - https://4thewords.com/home
podcasts! https://unmistakablecreative.com/
research – still work but more fun!
get outside – go for a walk, garden, or simply smell the roses.

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast at: www.spagirls.com

Keen to join the SPA Girls in a live workshop? Join our mailing list, and we’ll let you know the minute we have workshop bookings open. Info here: https://selfpublishingworkshop.co.nz/index.html

Come say hi on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

This week the SPA Girls cover free and cheap (and simple!) marketing activities you can do right now! Many of those we talk about require nothing but a short time block and some brain-juice. We hope this inspires you - but please don't feel like you have to do them All At Once. Chip away, one activity at a time as you have the time and energy, and you'll be on the road to better marketing.

Shownotes on our website SPAGirlsPodcast.com

C'mon over to our facebook page and let us know how you've applied these free and cheap marketing tips.

Want to watch this recording in video? It's posted on our youtube channel - don't forget to subscribe and you'll get a reminder each time we have a new episode up!

In this episode, we talk with the wonderfully talented author Louisa George. She takes us through the editing process for those starting out in their publishing journey, or those of us who need a refresher on what should be done before we publish our books.

This episode is packed full of wonderful tips and advice, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Award-winning author Louisa George has been a book addict her whole life. In between chapters she gained a degree in Communication Studies, trained as a nurse, married her doctor hero and had two sons.

Now, she spends her days writing chapters of her own in the medical romance, contemporary romance and women’s fiction genres.

Louisa’s books have variously been nominated for the RITA®Award and the NZ Koru Award (which she won in 2014 and 2016). Her romcom Something Borrowed won the HOLT Medallion in 2017. She currently lives in Auckland, New Zealand and, when not writing or reading, likes to travel, drink mojitos and do Zumba®- preferably all at the same time.

https://www.louisageorge.com/

Books mentioned during the episode:
-Goal, Motivation, Conflict by Deb Dixon: https://amzn.to/2xedNO9
-Elements of Fiction Writing - Conflict and Suspense by James -Scott Bell: https://amzn.to/2RmWcKK
-Story Genius by Lisa Cron https://amzn.to/2JPDzLd

-Margie Lawson https://www.margielawson.com/

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at www.spagirlspodcast.com

Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere)

GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict

Elements of Fiction Writing: Conflict and Suspense

If you're anything like us, you're sitting around even more than usual at the moment... But never fear, the SPA Girls have you covered! We talk with osteopath Freya Scollay about how to keep active in difficult times, as well as what we can do as writers to keep ourselves in the best health possible.

If you want to find out how to keep yourself healthy and fit in strange and unusual times (or even every day times) this is the episode for you!

Some authors are wary of Goodreads due to harsh reviews, but there are good reasons to use this platform and Allessandra explains why.

Founded by Otis Chandler and launched in January 2007, Goodreads is the largest collection of readers and reviewers - with over 55 million members. It's important that you establish a presence on this social media site - and use all of the free promotional tools it offers!

Goodreads is the world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations.

It is a great social media option for someone who doesn't want to be on social media. You can pop in, make a post and leave.

Everything is 100% book related and there is a layer of separation between the readers and authors that gives you a nice amount of privacy.

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at www.spagirlspodcast.com

Disruption – the entire world is feeling it at the moment, so how can we, as writers, keep our creativity bubbling and stay focussed? It’s hard – we’re not going to deny that – but looking at your schedule and productivity in a different way can help you stay a bit calmer, get some work done and prepare for when you’re on a more even keel.

For the Spa Girls, we’ve pivoted a wee bit to bring you Lockdown Sessions – a daily video of around 10 minutes where we just hang out, sometimes discuss self-publishing, but mostly just lift each other up with our usual cheek and bad jokes. Please join us – either on our facebook page or our new You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCckftViKM301hH_MYlFUxXA

This was a scary move for us all. We’re used to talking on our podcast now, but didn’t have the some confidence about “putting ourselves out there” on camera. Every day we do it though, we’re a little bit more relaxed, so it’s been a good thing that’s come from this disrupted New Normal, I believe (Shar). The best thing for us has been hearing from our community members and we so appreciate your comments (and Subscribes to our channel!). As an experiment, we also recorded the video of this podcast episode, so if you’d like to check that out too, please head over to our channel.

Ways to help deal with a disrupted schedule:

-Ease pressure on yourself by pushing your own deadlines (communicate them early to service providers if you can't meet them).

-Acknowledging and accepting something has changed, and that it's ok to be off-balance.

-Create a new schedule by looking at your circumstances and adjusting.

-Don't beat yourself up because you are not doing the amount of work you were before things changed.

-Find a space to work among the chaos and away from other members of your household

-Life gets disrupted regularly and the tools / skills you figure out now will help in the future when the “usual” disruptions happen – eg holidays, school breaks, illness, travelling etc.

-Don't overthink things. Change is happening, and roll with it, make the best of it. People will be reading more than ever, so remember that positive!

-If your allotted work/writing time is small, then hit the ground running and be productive while you can. Ten minutes a day can still be productive.

-If the words don’t come, then accept that for now and pivot to doing something else for your author career – e.g. watching a craft tutorial, learning a new skill or tool like canva, reading business / writing books

-As much as possible, focus on positive news and people. Set boundaries on news intake / social media scrolling. Try hard to stay in touch with people that lift you up and in turn be of service to others.

-Romance writers (and other writers) are fulfilling a very real need as a way for people to escape via books – be proud of what you’re doing!

Visit our website for all our podcast episodes and show notes at:

www.spagirlspodcast.com

You tube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCckftViKM301hH_MYlFUxXA

Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/SPAGirlsPodcast

This episode we are delighted to welcome Ricci Wolman to the SPA! Ricci is founder and CEO of Written Word Media, the company that created author promo providers Freebooksy, BargainBooksy, Red Feather Romance, NewInBooks, and Reading Stacks.

Ricci holds an MBA from Harvard and has over 10 years of experience building online audiences using data-driven customer acquisition techniques. (Which means she’s really good at building newsletters and connecting with customers!)

She says that the philosophy of Written Word Media has remained unchanged from the day they launched their first site – to provide authors and publishers an affordable, effective marketing product with which to reach readers, and to help readers of varying preferences and budgets find their next great read.

We discuss how Written Word Media began, how it’s developed and serves authors today and how authors can best use promotions companies/mailing lists to boost their brand and their sales.

So many additional marketing tips in this podcast – it’s a must listen!

Links:

Written Word Media

https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/

Spa Girls Podcast :

http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/

Checkout the Spa Girls’ new daily videos The Lockdown Sessions on youtube (please subscribe so Shar will stop begging!) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCckftViKM301hH_MYlFUxXA

If you've been wondering about how to make the most of being in Amazon's Kindle Unlimited (KU) programme... this is the episode for you!

Lucy Score is the bestselling author of romantic comedy and contemporary romance novels and she's been doing super well in KU. We asked her to be on the show to tell you how to make the most of being exclusive to Amazon as well!

Lucy is smart and savvy, and gave us some fantastic tips on how to be a successful self published author, so be sure to have a pen and notepad with you as you listen to this one! She also has one of the best author taglines we've seen to date: "Writing romance so steamy, her family can't look her in the eye!"

https://www.lucyscore.net/

IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND WHY YOU'RE POSTING ON SM:

Have a specific goal, and know why you want to achieve it. Just doing it because everyone else is doing it is a terrible reason. You won't be motivated to continue and you won't know what kind of content to put up, and you won't achieve anything.

Listen to this podcast, www.spagirlspodcast.com, where we give you some ideas and explain what platforms are available and what their focus is.

This week, we are absolutely delighted to talk with superstar romance author, Cora Seton , about writing organisation, branding, mindset and publishing strategy.

With over one million books sold, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Seton has created a world readers love in Chance Creek, Montana. She currently has thirty five novels and novellas set in her fictional town, with many more in the works.

We had the privilege of hearing Cora speak at last year’s Romance Author Mastermind, and we knew immediately she was someone we desperately wanted on our podcast and to share her wisdom with you, our listeners.

This episode will get you thinking (deeply) about your approach to your writing career and business. Buckle up, it’s going to be a fabulous ride!

Find Cora at : www.coraseton.com

Download all the Spa Girls Podcast shownotes at www.spagirlspodcast.com

How can we write more descriptively?

Characters? Setting? What gives "visual" to readers?

What is the point of description? - To enrich the readers understanding of a story, to move the story forward, and to help readers see a character. (Description by Monica Wood)

So how can we write great description without it sounding cliched, over-written or just plain boring? Listen up and we’ll share all our best description writing tips from ourselves and from some great writing teachers.

We’ve compiled a few notes to give you ideas on how to use description effectively in your writing, without overwhelming or underwhelming your readers…

Describing Characters

Often descriptions of characters tends to be like "she had red hair, blue eyes and was of medium build."

Consider instead, "She tucked a tendril of red hair behind her ear, and gave me a cheeky smile. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she took off on the trail ahead of me, her pack bouncing on her back."

Which one gives you more of a sense of who the character is?

Describing Setting

Put characters in uncomfortable situations

Setting can be an amazing way to put our characters into uncomfortable positions. Consider the fish out of water kind of scenario, that will amp up a boring scene. A billionaire walks into a dirty dive and, all suited up in an expensive outfit, his Rolex on show, orders a tap beer. Or a whiskey. Or a house wine.

Consider your infallible narrator

Describe the scene through your character's eyes (which you should be doing anyway, most of the time), but with an awareness of how they'd see it. Someone who was a neat freak would see a messy caravan set up on a ranch differently so someone who was used to dirt and disorder.

Only give a hint as to the setting

Readers like to spend time imagining the world for themselves. Beginner writers either describe nothing, and leave readers wondering where the action is taking place, or they describe everything, right down to the red pencil that's balanced precariously on the edge of the desk. If the red pencil is really important to the story, sure, mention it, but if it's not, don't.

Give a comparison

Using comparisons is a great tip when writing descriptive scenes. (Walking into that room was like walking into battle wearing a suit of armor.) Well you get the idea!

Use all your five senses

Taste, touch, smell, sound, sight. Use them all. Here's how...

For the rest of our show notes and more writing tips, visit SpaGirlsPodcast

In this second episode with bestselling author Elana Johnson, she gives us all the juicy details of how she has created her bestselling career...

From the new release strategies that she uses, to the kind of advertising she does, and even the right mindset for being successful - Elana talks about it all.

She talks openly about her career, tells us about the mistakes as well as the successes, and gives us all the details on how she managed to have her first 100K month in January 2020.

This is another amazing episode with a talented and hardworking indie author!

Ever wondered how you could get more writing time in your day?

Today in the SPA, we talk to uber-productive, USA Today bestselling author Elana Johnson, about what she does to get her writing goals done. She writes adult contemporary beach romance and Christian Cowboy Romance under two different pen names and is currently publishing at least one book a month. And just so you know that her work ethic is paying off... in January 2020 Elana hit a 6 figure month for the first time.

Join us for another excellent interview with a top indie author!

We are delighted to welcome back NYT and USA Today bestselling author, Zoe York, to the SPA! Zoe is a busy mom of two young boys and the creator of modern, sexy, small town contemporary romances, a sci-fi romance series and now non-fiction for authors. Since 2013, Zoe has published 56 books, lead numerous workshops both in person and online, and is a fellow podcaster - The SisterCast is where Zoe and her sister Amanda talk about media, marketing, and how awesome it is to be a perfectly average mom.

Today we talk to Zoe about building a marketable genre fiction series as detailed in her first non-fiction book for authors! For the first time ever in print, Zoe York breaks down how she plans a series--something she has done ten times over. Romance Your Brand is an adaptation of an intensive four-week course, now available to authors everywhere. This book covers:

high-concept pitches
taglines and blurbs
world building and casts of characters
writing the first book in a series
finding comparable series and covers
how to write towards future marketing
and why ALL OF THE ABOVE should be considered before you write a single word

This episode has fabulous marketing advice from Zoe, so get out your notebook and be ready!

"The truth is, success is found in trial and error. There's no magic button, and maybe everything I've taught you so far might not be quite right for you. I still think it's worth trying." ~ Zoe York.

Visit our website www.spagirlspodcast.com for all the episodes and show notes. Don't forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter with free tips and resources for self-publishers!

Is Amazon just one big mystery that you're struggling to unravel? Then this is the podcast for you! David Gaughran gives us some tips and advice from his soon to be released non-fiction book, AMAZON DECODED.

David Gaughran lives in Dublin, where the rain comes up from the ground and everyone has pints for hands. He is the author of the historical adventures Liberty Boy, Mercenary & A Storm Hits Valparaiso, and has helped thousands of authors to self-publish their work via his workshops, blog, and books such as Let's Get Digital, Let's Get Visible, Amazon Decoded, and Strangers to Superfans. He has been featured in the Telegraph, the Irish Times, the Guardian, the Irish Examiner, the Sunday Times, Huffington Post, Business Insider, Forbes, Mashable, New York Observer, Newsweek Polska, il Giornale, The Star Malaysia, and a smattering of Wanted posters.

https://davidgaughran.com/

Are you about to get your cover organised? Or is there something wrong with the cover you currently have?

This is a must listen episode for all authors, but especially for anyone who's struggling with their covers.

Rebekah Haskell is an illustrator and cover designer who has been doing graphic design since she was a kid. She was on the covers panel at 20Books Vegas 2019, and definitely knows what she's talking about.

She's got some amazing insights into covers, and definitely knows how to make sure your covers are the best they can possibly be. Learn how to figure out the best cover for your genre, how to work with designers and what your cover needs to be doing for you.

I took copious notes, and we all learned something new about covers!

My favourite quote from the interview:

"Covers are a language, and every genre has its own dialect. You have to learn that dialect. You have to learn what language bestselling covers in your genre are using to communicate with the readers, and then you have to use that language to communicate with your readers as well."

We love the idea of visualising a word to describe how you’ll be in 2020.

What difference could a word make?

The answer is, it won’t make any difference unless you put it into play every day.

If it’s a word that speaks to you, then make the most of it. Use it. Journal about it. Post it somewhere you can see it. Put it in your phone and calendar.

You can find out our words and what we intend to do with them in this week’s episode of the SPAGirls Podcast.

Are you ready to make 2020 YOUR year? This week we talk about the importance of physically writing down your goals to make them happen.

Wendy is a perfect example of the power of writing them down: In 2006, superstar author Debbie Macomber, attended our Romance Writers of NZ conference where she gave each attendee an index card to write their wildest writing dreams down. Wendy kept her goalcard over the years and as she achieved each goal, she marked it off. Now her entire card has been checked off!

This episode we are honored to chat with NYT Bestseller, Laurelin Paige, specifically about how we can REVIVE OUR BACKLIST (she defines backlist as a book that’s more than 12 months old).

About Laurelin Paige

With millions of books sold worldwide, Laurelin Paige is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author. She is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however. When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Killing Eve, or dreaming of Michael Fassbender. She’s also a proud member of Mensa International though she doesn’t do anything with the organization except use it as material for her bio.

https://laurelinpaige.com/

Say Hi to the Spa Girls at:

Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Happy New Year!

This episode is a round-up of the goals and visions that we, the SPA Girls, have for 2020. It's gonna be a big year! It's the year of opening ourselves up to all the opportunities out there, being efficient, and focusing on the daily wins.

We talk about having the right mindset for achieving your goals, how we're going to make everything happen for us, and how you can make it happen for you too.

It's going to be a great year. Bring on 2020!

Let’s clear the air!

All our lovely guests are special and they resonate in different ways with each of us. But, if we had to choose . . .

Here they are, the ones who made us really think about what we do. The ones who push us to do better. And the ones who inspire us.

We thank them all. And thank you for being here and giving us an added encouragement to do this thing we love.

Merry Christmas!

This week's episode is a Spa Girls retrospective of how our 2019 went - what our two big Hits were, and what we found challenging. As usual, we get deep and personal. And cheeky!

We've also got a wee teaser about our teaching plans for next year - stay tuned for those!

Thank you to all our listeners who've been so amazingly supportive this year. Your downloads, your comments, your social media shares and your reviews are very VERY appreciated!

Check out our website at SpaGirlsPodcast.com for all our shownotes and previous episodes.

Today we interview Kathleen Sweeney, Customer Services Manager and Marketing Lead at BrookBrush, an online platform designed to help authors with all their image creation needs.

Kathleen helps us delve into what we as writers can get out of BookBrush, and all the features that we can use to create amazing social media and advertising images. She explains the platform, how it works, what options are available and some of her favourite tips to create the right images for your needs. Kathleen also tells us they’re always evolving and working on new and exciting things to help us create those wonderful graphics.

“As someone who can be at times technologically challenged, I find BookBrush easy to navigate and am always pleasantly surprised at the quality of the graphics I’m able to produce in a short space of time.” – Wendy xx

It's that time of year when we start looking back on the year, wondering how it all flew by so fast, and thinking about what we can do for the coming year.

This week we're talking about another lesson we learned at the Romance Author Mastermind (RAM) - making sure that you've crossed the t's and dotted the i's on all your backlist books, and even in your author career. It's about making sure everything is as tight and sharp as you can make it.

If you want to learn how to sharpen up your author career, this is a must listen episode!

If you're anything like the rest of us in the SPA, you're quite happy in your writing cave. You don't really want to leave the comfort of your keyboard.

But this episode is all about why you really should take risks, be brave, and learn how to say yes to some of the really scary things in the self publishing industry.

We're just recently back from the wonderful Romance Author Mastermind conference put on by Skye Warren, so we use examples from information we learned at this amazing event to help us illustrate our points for this podcast as well. :)

This week's episode comes to you from 20BooksVegas, where Trudi Jaye caught up with fantasy author and fellow podcaster Lindsay Buroker and interviewed her about her successful self publishing career.

Lindsay talks about how she makes writing in multiple genres work so well for her career, how and why she switches between fantasy to sci-fi and, of course, how she's so productive.

Even if you're not a total fan-girl like Trudi Jaye, this is a must-listen episode from a super-smart self-publishing author.

This episode we talk with author, podcaster and coach Bryan Cohen about how we can make small changes that can have big results for authors. It's all about how we can make small, incremental changes that increase revenue and other results by smaller amounts, but add up in the long run.

We talk about why authors often overlook making small changes, and what we can do to improve one tiny step at a time.

We also discuss some of the most common tweaks that Bryan sees authors making that have made a difference to their success.

We all love it when we're reading and we fall in love with a character.

Not just in the book boyfriend way - although that's cool too - but in a isn't-she-so-great-I-wish-I-could-be-just-like-her-or-maybe-just-her-best-friend way.

As an author, how do you make that happen for your readers?

That's what we're talking about this week in the SPA. What makes a great character? How do we make them so memorable that our readers keep coming back for more? What do you need to know about them before you start? And how do you bring them to life on the page?

Join us as we dissect everything you might ever need to know about writing great characters!

If you don’t take care of yourself, odds are no one else will.

So what does it take to make ensure you’re firing on all cylinders?

This week we’ll give you tips on doing exactly that.

Why do we sabotage ourselves? How can we make life easier? What can we do to be more focused and achieve the results we desire?

We’ve all got our own take on self-care and yet there are plenty of similarities.

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Keen to join the SPA Girls in a live workshop? Join our mailing list here and we’ll let you know the minute we have workshop bookings open. Info here: https://selfpublishingworkshop.co.nz/index.html

Come say hi on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

Serenity Woods is a New Zealand self-publishing superstar with more than 70 books published (both traditionally and indie). She's a USA Today bestselling author of sexy contemporary romances, most of which are set in the sub-tropical Northland of New Zealand, where she lives.

Serenity joins the SPA Girls again this week to discuss her publishing strategy and the road to six figures - hint, it's a marathon, not a sprint!
Her episode from when she last appeared with us at the beginning of 2019 (https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep171-interview-with-serenity-woods/) is one of our most downloaded episodes ever. This latest one is sure to be just as popular, with Serenity's frank honesty, encouragement and keen insight into how you too can be a six-figure author.

Find Serenity at: https://www.serenitywoodsromance.com/

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Keen to join the SPA Girls in a live workshop? Join our mailing list here and we’ll let you know the minute we have workshop bookings open. Info here: https://selfpublishingworkshop.co.nz/index.html

Come say hi on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

Confused about the editing process? Today we talk with talented editor Anne Victory, founder of Victory Editing.

Anne has always been a stickler for grammar, and at every job she was “volunteered” (or volun-told) to either write or proofread everything from menus to game manuals to advertising copy. That business writing and editing experience came in handy when she started to work in fiction.

She enjoys reading and polishing the written word. Common wisdom says do what you love and you’ll live a long and happy life. With her background in English literature, grammar, and library science, it was a fairly easy decision to work with authors.

We discuss what it takes to work with an editor. What you need to think about when you are editing your manuscript and much more.

Anne has written a wonderfully informative book that is a must-read!
How to Polish your manuscript in 10 days: https://www.amazon.com/How-Polish-Your-Manuscript-Days/dp/1793364052

Check out Anne at her website: http://victoryediting.com/

What does 'writing to trend' mean?

Isn't it just the same as 'writing to market'?

In the SPA, we say NO, they're not the same...and here's why: basically, Shar told us so. :)

In this episode we explore the two terms, look at the differences between them, what they both mean for you as an author, and how you can use writing to market and writing to trend to help your writing career.

If you've ever wondered if writing to market was for you, or thought you'd spotted a trend early, this is the episode for you!

Ah, readers...

They're elusive. Magical. Confusing.

But we all want them.

This episode, we break down the topic of reader expectations, discussing what they are, what it means for you the author, and how to make sure you are fulfilling your readers' expectations.

Why do readers love certain books? What makes them pick one book over another? And more importantly, how do you make sure your book is the one that readers gravitate towards...?

It's all covered in this week's episode of the SPA Girls Podcast!

This week we have the pleasure of talking with Chris Fox, author of 20+ SFF novels and very popular non-fiction books for writers including his latest, Ads For Authors Who Hate Math.

Chris once worked in Silicon Valley developing iPhone apps but he's now come over to the dark side and very successfully writes books about dragons tearing apart starships, and gods blowing up planets. He published his first book in October 2014, and, in his own words, has sold a shit-ton of books.

In this episode we talk about how to run your ads in 30 minutes a day; how to run profitable advertising campaigns using a simple aggregate sales model; and how not to stress out over figuring out your read-through and cost per click numbers.

Chris also discusses how to create an audience for your ads, images, symbolic recognition and his key tips for ad copy and pruning ads.

If you're intimidated by advertising (and spreadsheets!) this episode will make you feel a WHOLE LOT better!

Resource links:

Find Chris at: www.chrisfoxwrites.com

Everyone Starts At Zero: https://www.chrisfoxwrites.com/2016/04/13/motivation-everybody-starts-at-zero/

You’ll find all the show notes and previous SPA Girls podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Keen to join the SPA Girls in a live workshop? Join our mailing list here and we’ll let you know the minute we have workshop bookings open. Info here: https://selfpublishingworkshop.co.nz/index.html

Come say hi on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

Are your sales getting you down?

Do you wish your series was selling better?

This episode we talk through some of the possible reasons that your book or series might not be selling.

From cover, editing and blurb writing, to content, tropes, meeting reader expectations, and much, much more.

We attempt to help you troubleshoot what might be wrong, and what you can do to amp it up, make it work, and sell more books!

Ever been in a bookstore and opened a book and read the first couple of pages?

Ever put the book back, deciding that it wasn't that interesting?

Yep, we have too.

And that's exactly what we talk to Australian romantic comedy author Amy Andrews about this week. She takes us through the concept of first pages, and how to make sure readers not only pick up your book, but find they can't put it down again (until they've reached the end!).

Should you start with dialogue? What words should you cull? Exactly what are readers looking for? Find out the answers to these questions and many more in this episode of the SPA Girls Podcast!

Do you feel like your writing career is filled with mistakes? Failures? Problems?

Good!

That means you're putting yourself out there, trying new things, and moving in a positive direction in your writing career.

If you're not doing any of the above...start right now!

Why, you ask, in horror?

Because having a pile of failures next to your name means that you're getting out there and doing things in your author business.

If you talk to the most successful entrepreneurs in the world, they'll all tell you stories of the times they failed, the businesses that didn't quite go as expected, and the problems they had to overcome.

And that's okay, because learning how to fail is integral to succeeding.

We learn resilience, determination, and persistence. It teaches us that we're human, that it's okay to make mistakes, as long as we keep going.

On the flip side, if you aren't doing anything, you won't fail.

Guaranteed.

Which would you prefer?

If you've been thinking about trying out Bookbub ads, then this is the episode for you!

Melissa Storm was at the RWNZ conference in Christchurch with us, and we stole her away and made her tell us all about Bookbub ads just for you, our lovely listeners...

From what Bookbub ads actually are, to what you'll need to set one up, and all the tips and tricks in between, Melissa gives us all the information you'll need to be successful.

Don't miss this episode, it's a doozy!

We've all had experience with saggy middles... (And no, we're not talking about our stomachs...)

Have you ever gotten to the middle of your manuscript and wondered what on earth you're doing? Do you end up cleaning the whole house instead of getting back to your daily word count? Does it feel like you're typing through concrete, and you couldn't concentrate on getting more words down for the life of you?

This is the episode for you!

We talk about the middle of our books, what they should have in them, and how you can get over that terrible saggy story that sometimes emerges. We also discuss getting over your blocks, fixing what might be wrong, and how to set yourself up for success!

This episode is all about how to survive when you've moved past the exciting beginning, and are still miles from that thrilling ending...

It's a big week for the SPA Girls. We've made it to 200 episodes of the podcast! Woohoo!

This week is a celebration episode, where we look back over 200 episodes of the SPA Girls Podcast, and talk about the common traits of all the successful self publishers that we've spoken to.

From the humbleness of Bella Andre and the flexible nature of Serena Woods, to the smart work ethic of Skye Warren and the focus of Kathryn Le Veque, we cover it all.

This is the episode where you get the ultimate list of self publishing traits that will help you rise to the top of the Indie pile! Don't miss it!

Want to hear how a world-wide bestselling author got to where he is today?

Join us as we talk to UK crime novelist Adam Croft about his writing career, including how he generates his ideas, how he writes, and how he creates those amazing hooks that he's so well known for. (No, really, would you murder your wife to save your daughter? And what would happen if you were married to a serial killer?)

He also discusses the mindset shift he had to have before he could become a bestselling author and why he believes the best way to be successful as an Indie is by having a long term, organic, business-minded view of publishing.

We loved talking to him for his sensible, rational view of publishing, and also for his smooth British accent...and you will too!

Has your sparkle gone soggy?

Are you wondering why you're not happier?

Have you lost your creativity?

Then this is the episode for you!

We talk to fellow Kiwi author, Julie Schooler, about how to find your sparkle, and wake up happier!

Many of us have lost the ability to dream big. We're dealing with problems at every turn. It's actually harder to be happy than it is to be sad. So in this episode, Julie gives us a whole bunch of really cool ways to actively be happy and turn our lives around.

In fact, she gave us so many great ideas on how to tap into our creativity and imagination by becoming happier, that our minds were blown!

Find Julie at: https://julieschooler.com/

Are you struggling to write?

Wondering why you can't just sit down and do it, when it's your passion?

This week we talk to Kelly McClymer about "Hacking Your Muse", or how to convince yourself to sit down and write when you don't seem to be able to do it...

We all give ourselves excuses for why we can't write, and Kelly breaks down the kind of thoughts we have around writing, and how to change them so we can more easily get into the chair and write.

She talks through why she used to sabotage herself, and how she learned to change that around, and get more words written.

If you're someone who struggles to write, despite loving it when you do, this is the episode for you!

https://kellymcclymerbooks.com/

Brooke Castillo - The model - https://thelifecoachschool.com/

Terrified of public speaking?

Don't know what to say on Facebook Live?

This is the episode for you!

Public speaking for authors is about more than just talking in front of fans at your local bookstore. These days we're also expected to do online speaking such as Facebook Live events, podcast interviews, and YouTube discussions.

Our guest today has ALL THE TIPS for any kind of public speaking you may have to do as an author! Alena Van Arendonk is an actor, speaker, writer, costumer, and expert cosplayer who was a guest at Geysercon this year. She's been public speaking since she was a teenager doing debates in school, and has a whole range of advice for authors who are thinking of doing public speaking, but are terrified of doing it!

Turns out it's more than just learning not to be scared. It's about posture, preparation, and practice!

Listen in to get the full story...!

This week's guest, fantasy author Laura Van Arendonk-Baugh, talks about our expectations as authors, and how, like with anything else, it's impossible to steer a parked "writing" car.

And she should know. She's a behavioural scientist who works with animals and she loves to break down and assess the how and why of our behaviour.

She talks about why we expect so much of ourselves, and gives some amazing tips on how to trick your brain into doing exactly what you want, i.e. get the writing done!

Ever wondered how the SPA Girls spend their days?

Imagining champagne and caviar at fancy hotels?

This is the episode where you find out for sure...

We talk through how we spend our days; from when we get up, how many hours we work, how many words we write, and how much marketing we do. We talk about our distractions, how we structure our days and the challenges of working from home.

Before you ask, this was a reader question, so we're not just doing it because we like to talk about ourselves... :)

There's so much advice out there in Self-Publishing-Land.

We're told you have to do this, and you have to do that, and you have to do the next thing to be a success in self publishing.

There's so much conflicting advice that it can actually do your head in...

This week, we go through some of the things that you can do to keep your self publishing career on track. How to keep it simple and not get caught up in ALL THE THINGS...

Keeping it simple is about not sweating the little things, keeping yourself focused on the writing, and getting the book finished!

This is the second episode in the interview series with bestselling author and Facebook guru, Skye Warren.

Skye has had a fascinating author journey, and in this second episode she talks to us about the changes she had to make with regards to her mindset before she could become successful as an author.

If you've ever said that you can't do something that you know you need to do for your career, then you have to listen to this episode (and you probably need to have a look at your mindset, and what you're subconsciously telling yourself).

Skye also breaks down the fears that blocked her in her early career, and how she got over them so she could move forward.

And finally, she talks about Facebook Ads, and gives us some tips on how to make our own ads successful.

Don't miss this episode with the delightful Skye Warren!

Ever thought that if only you had more time in your day, you'd be successful? Rich? How you'd get all your writing done?

Well, this is the podcast for you!

When romance author Skye Warren went from being able to work all hours of the day to only being able to manage two hours every day, she had to figure out how to keep money from her writing coming in. And fast. She had a mortgage and other bills to pay.

What she learned was that by focusing her efforts, she was able to concentrate on the small percentage of actions that made her the most money - writing and facebook ads.

This is the story of how Skye went from struggling to earn five figures while working all day, to earning over a million dollars a year working only four hours a day.

This is part one of two parts you don't want to miss!

Are your wrists giving you problems?

Thinking you need to get out and walk more?

But still have to write all those books??

Then this episode is for you...

We talk to dictation expert Scott Baker about all aspects of dictation, from the right software to get, the products and technical knowledge you need to get started, and how to train that dragon to within an inch of its life!!

Scott talks to us about everything from how to set up the dictation equipment correctly, the different ways you can dictate and how to make it as accurate as possible.

He's hugely knowledgeable, and is very generous with his information, so if you've ever been wondering about dictation, or are considering getting it set up (or even tried and couldn't get it to work properly!) then make sure you listen to this episode!

If you're a writer who hates to outline, you'll love this week's podcast!

We talk to Patricia McLinn, a mystery and romance author who is also a pantser who writes out of sequence. She's here to tell you that it doesn't matter how you write it, as long as it comes together in the end!

Patricia worked at the Washington Post for more than 20 years, is also a past president of NINC, and has published more than 50 novels so she's an experienced writer and editor who knows what she's talking about.

In this episode she talks about how she writes first and subsequent drafts, her techniques for ensuring she has the right structure, and how her characters talk to her until she writes their stories...

Have you ever been worried that you can't outline, and that you're not following the latest advice on how to write faster, better or smarter?

Join us to hear Patricia's take on how to write as someone who writes by the seat of their pants and still manages to write many, many books...

Morgana Best is the best-selling author of over 40 Cozy Mysteries, and she joins us in the SPA to tell us everything she knows about writing Cozies.

From word counts to reader expectations, and even her writing process - which involves using Dragon Dictate, and is totally fascinating - Morgana gives us insider information on how to put together a bestselling Cozy Mystery!

If you love Cozy Mysteries, or you've ever thought you'd like to write a Cozy Mystery, this is the episode for you!

Want to figure out how to create the perfect crime for your cozy mystery character to solve?

Or find out how your investigator protagonist would investigate a murder?

Perhaps you just want to find out what investigators look for at a crime scene so you can figure out what to plant at your fictitious scene?

Well, your questions will all be answered during this in-depth chat with Federal Law Enforcement Special Agent, Geoff Symon.

A forensics expert with 20 years of experience, Geoff was able to give us his expert guidance on crime scenes for authors, giving us the correct language (it's spatter not splatter, people) as well as explaining jargon like 'crime scene integrity' and 'crime scene cross-contamination', and even what an investigator might get wrong when you need them to make mistakes for your story.

He was also able to debunk popular stereotypes, and give us a behind the scenes glimpse into forensics investigations in the US, all in his charming, personable style...

Another fantastic guest for Mystery May, giving you valuable insight into crimes and the people who solve them.

Have you ever wondered whether your character would survive holding highly enriched uranium metal in their hand?

What about if they'd handled that green goo from the barrel marked with a radiation symbol?

That's the kind of knowledge that you'll get from listening to this episode of the SPA Girls Podcast. We talk to Natasha Bajema, an expert in national security issues, especially weapons of mass destruction (WMD), nuclear proliferation and emerging technologies.

She's worked at cool places like the Pentagon and the National Defence University during her career (and yes, you can find out what she says to security every time they insist on searching her at the Pentagon).

Using examples from television shows like Madam Secretary, House of Cards and Jack Ryan, Natasha talks about how WMD like radiation, biological weapons, and chemical bombs really work, and how authors can avoid making terrible WMD faux pas...

It's the start of Mystery May, and we have a doozy to start you off with!

The SPA Girls spent time with Adam Richardson, an American cop who helps authors and screenwriters with their crime-fiction questions through his website and podcast called the Writer's Detective Bureau.

He knows his stuff - Adam spent seventeen years of his 20+ year law enforcement career as a detective - and he was able to answer all our silly/strange/just-plain-dumb questions about being a cop in the US.

The conversation included everything from what writers need to know about law enforcement in the US, how the police and sheriff departments' work, how detectives approach a crime scene and deal with witnesses and suspects, and a myriad of other interesting details.

Whether you write romance with a mystery subplot, or are a fully fledged suspense or mystery writer, this episode is for you.

Do you have family and friends telling you not to write?

Do they tell you that you've got your head in the clouds, and you need to get a real job? Perhaps people ask you how your little hobby is going, like it's not a real career?

Don't let them get you down!

Based on a listener question, this week the SPA Girls talk about how to deal with negativity from the people around you (especially in the beginning when you're starting out) and how to turn it around and stay motivated.

In the beginning, we end up spending large amounts of time essentially working for free, on the hope and dream of making our writing into a career. It takes grit, perseverance, and determination.

The last thing you need is someone telling you to give up!

We've all had those conversations; the ones where people who are important to us question our choices when it comes to writing. This episode is all about how we've dealt with those conversations, and how we've managed to turn it around and stay positive, and how you can too.

Are your Facebook ads as successful as you want them to be?

Do you wish you could make the kind of ads you've heard other authors boasting about?

This is the episode for you!

This week we delve back into Facebook Ads with Amazon Bestselling Author and all-around-lovely-lady Maria Luis... She takes what she talked about last week, and adds to it, giving us the lowdown on how to make an ad convert into sales.

Maria is super knowledgeable and informative, and gives us some amazing tips and insider advice on how to create and run successful Facebook Ads.

If you've been wondering about Facebook ads, or trying to figure out how to make ads that convert, this is the episode for you!

Not sure about how Facebook Ads work? Need to learn the basics?

Join the SPA Girls as bestselling author Maria Luis breaks down Facebook Ads for us, from the beginning steps, to how to choose the best images; plus what to do, and what not to do, and everything in between!

This is the first part of a two part series on Facebook Ads from an author who has been successfully running her own ads for the last two years. It features loads of tips and advice for running ads, how to tell if they're a good ad, and how to scale up once you've got an ad that's working for you.

If you've been thinking about trying out Facebook ads, or have previously tried them only to be disappointed, then this is the episode for you!

www.spagirlspodcast.com

If you've ever thought you'd like to try dictation, this is the episode for you. We talk to award winning indie author Kilby Blades about how she amped up her writing rates by learning dictation.

It's the ultimate skill - being able to use that time in the car, on walks, or even as you're doing the dishes to keep writing.

The SPA Girls were all enthralled as we pumped Kilby for information, and she didn't disappoint! Learn about her methods, her tips and tricks and just what you need to do to become a dictation expert.

www.spagirlspodcast.com

Ever wondered if your book description could be better?

Ever thought it should sell more books?

Then this is the episode for you.

This week, Brian Meeks, description-writer extraordinaire talks with us about how to write a kick-ass description that will sell more books, and help amp up your advertising sales to the next level.

Turns out, it's all about copywriting.

And writing the best hooks you possibly can.

Lucky for us, Brian takes us through every aspect of writing hooks to help you write your next description.

In fact, we get him to do it on the fly, by giving him a description to fix, on air, as we listen.

Here's the original description for you to read as he re-writes it:

Maddie’s best friend is in danger!

A killer on the loose makes hairdresser, Angel, lose her appetite and because we’re talking a batch of her favourite jelly doughnuts this means the gloves are off for Maddie and her friends.

Wanting to make amends in theory sounds like a positive thing, but when someone who is part of Angel’s past arrives in town, that’s why things begin a slippery slope into disaster.

An ugly murder has Maddie, the Sheriff, Big Red – her faithful Maine Coon cat – and the Girlz back in action as they try to protect Angel from a mystery stranger.

Or is it someone she knows?

There are clues a-plenty and maybe a few red herrings in the fourth book in the Maple Lane Mysteries.

For the new version completed by Brian on the show, go to the SPA Girls website, www.spagirlspodcast.com and check out the notes for episode 180.

This week we talk to Tara Cremin, Author Experience Manager from the self publishing platform Kobo Writing Life. As always it's great to chat to someone from the platform for the real insider information and Tara didn't disappoint!

For those of you who've never loaded a book to the platform, Tara talked us through the process and why you should load direct instead of through one of the other aggregators. She also gave us the down-low on boxed sets, pricing, and promotions through Kobo, and how to make sure you get the best results. Then she talked about some of the exciting new opportunities, including their brand new audiobook service, which is super exciting!

What we really like about Kobo is that they're innovators and experimenters, just like us. We're all ready to take up jobs in the New Zealand office of Kobo when it opens wink, wink, just from chatting to Tara...

"We're just a bunch of book-nerds," was our favourite quote from the interview, and sums up Kobo quite nicely, we think. :)

What's the one objection you have to overcome to get readers to buy your book? That question is the cliffhanger that Larissa Reynolds left us on in part 1. And now, here it is! The episode where you get to find out the answer...

In this second episode about newsletters, Larissa Reynolds talks to us about how to sell your books consistently via your list.

She's been writing newsletters for more than 20 years, and says it's about more than just sending regular emails. It's about knowing your readers, and making sure you're approaching them in the right way.

She talks to us about how to get the right mindset with regards to your newsletter, how to focus the newsletter in the right direction, and how to ensure you're connecting with your readers so they want to go out and buy your books.

Another must-listen episode from the SPA Girls!

If you've been wondering and worrying about whether your author newsletter is working as it should (or if you should even start one) then this is the episode for you!

Today we're talking to Larissa Reynolds, a marketing guru with years of experience working with authors on their newsletters, about what you need to have in your author newsletter.

It can be overwhelming when you first start out, and a newsletter can sometimes seem like a step too far. And while some people swear by them, others say they're a waste of time.

So who do you believe?

Personally, I believe Larissa. In her calm and measured way, Larissa breaks it down into five simple steps that will ensure your newsletter is going out to the right people, with the right content, at the right time.

Perfecto!

This is the first episode in a two part series on newsletters, so be sure to listen again next week as well!

Ever listened to someone talking about self publishing and been mystified about what they're actually saying? Maybe understood about one in every three words?

It's a common problem, and one we sometimes come across ourselves, as things change in the industry and new jargon hits the streets.

Added to that, even if you decide to look it up online, it's sometimes not easy to understand.

That's where the SPA Girls come in. This episode we go through all the self publishing jargon we could think of, and explain what it is, and talk a little about why you might need to know each term and how it's useful for you in your Indie career.

This episode is packed with great tips around each word, and will hopefully give you an idea of what on earth is going on!

We often get asked what authors should post on Facebook, and whether it's worthwhile even being on the platform at all.

The answer is a firm yes, we in the SPA believe Facebook is a really useful tool for authors, especially in romance. There are many positives to having a presence on the social platform, not least of which is the ability to do Facebook Ads, but also the ability to connect with readers and other authors.

So this week we break down the platform and talk about the different areas that are useful to know about as an author, plus give you ideas to use for ongoing content, some etiquette to bear in mind for using Facebook as an author, and ways you can use Facebook to amp up your book sales.

This episode we talk to our very own Wendy Vella about writing Regency romance. Since 2013, Wendy has forged a very successful indie career writing historical and contemporary romance. Her Regencies have been on the Amazon's top seller lists many times and collectively she's sold over one million books to date.

Like many romance writers, Wendy cut her historical reading teeth on Georgette Heyer, and then discovered the wonderful worlds of Eloisa James, Stephanie Laurens, Julia Quinn and Lisa Kleypas (and many more!). Regency romance is a subgenre of varying heat levels and sensibilities - from sweet, comedy of manners novels, to the succulent, sensual Regencies that Wendy writes, through to Regency-set erotica, there are eager readers wanting these books.

So how to start? Wendy covers how she goes about researching her novels, the advantages of writing in a series and the elements that every aspiring historical romance writer needs to be aware of.

Wendy says:
-You must love the era you chose to write about. You cannot write about it if you do not, and why would you want to?
-First of all there is nothing like reading this genre to understand it. This I did extensively before writing it. Authors I love: Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Stephanie Laurens, Tessa Dare, Anne Gracie and so many more. Then of course I read the more traditionally accurate books by Georgette Heyer.
-I also had good research books that I found hugely helpful.
One was - What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist-the Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England
-I write fast, so I don't like to stop for research, so what I do is put in RESEARCH (capital letters) if I need research done about something, then continue writing. Second draft, I fill these gaps in.
-You can write about a fictitious character as long as the facts relating to people, and places of that era, are accurate. Believe me, readers will let you know if you get this wrong.
-Choose an exact time period, this will determine clothing food, setting etc, and will shape your characters as they will face different challenges to those characters in modern settings
-Don't fill the book with historical facts, you are writing to entertain not bore your readers, unless you're writing an encyclopaedia or research book
-Remember to show and don't tell. You may have done a lot of research but your readers don't need to read all about it
-try to understand the religion and attitudes of the time period. What the children's role is etc?
-What did they talk about in those times, what were the big current events. War? Who were the important people, or discoveries being made: medical, botanical, industrial revolution. Were there diseases? What about jobs?
-What were the modes of transportation?
-Language, check to make sure certain words are in use, and weren't discovered later.

Show Notes & Links

full notes at www.spagirlspodcast.com

Wendy Vella's Books: https://wendyvella.com/books.html

https://www.amazon.com/Austen-Charles-Dickens-Whist-Nineteenth-Century-ebook/dp/B008O58KKK

INTRO: Today's episode was inspired by a comment on our podcast website www.SpaGirlsPodcast.com by listener Carron, who asked "...when you're starting out (writing) how do you know what weaknesses to focus on? You don't know what you don’t know. Love to hear an episode on things to work on, or things you ladies have struggled with and how you’ve gone about correcting them."

Carron makes a really good point and we're kinda kicking ourselves that we haven't discussed this before. We've all been in "the writing game" for many, many years, and it's good to be reminded of the questions we had right back at the beginning.

Learning writing craft is something that best comes from practice and lots of reading. Later on, when you're ready to prepare your manuscript for publication, get some "eyes" on it - whether from a critique group, beta readers, fellow writers, genre-savvy friend - and do a preliminary self-edit. Then save up and get it professionally edited. We cover the various types of editing, but briefly:

If your "other eyes" don't understand quite what's happening in the story or that it has giant plot holes, then look to get a development editor. Someone who looks at the story from the "high level"
If they don't understand why characters do the things they do, then go back and re-read your manuscript (after taking a break) and make sure you explain your character's motivations clearly to the reader. Highly recommend the book Goal, Motivation and Conflict by Debra Dixon*

Shar comments: For me, I was aware of my lack of grammar and punctuation formal knowledge (child of the 70s!) purely from listening to others talk about "participles" and "oxford commas" and realising I had no idea what they were talking about. So I bought myself Strunk & White's book, signed up for ProWriting Aid and check in to Purdue University's online writing lab that offers free exercises to help train you. This was super helpful. It's something I still worry about, but I'm getting there slowly feeling more grammatically confident.

Wendy's comment: Entering contests gave me validation, as until I had achieved some success here, I didn't believe my books were either good enough, or ready to be published.

Helpful Links:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/index.html

Wendy's site with favorite writing resources: https://wendyvella.com/for-writers.html

Book: Goal, Motivation & Conflict by Debra Dixon https://amzn.to/2Bk1RJG

GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

The delightful Dan Wood joined us in the SPA today to talk about the Indie distribution channel Draft2Digital. It's an informative hour-long interview with Dan, who attends 20 plus author conferences a year, and has his finger on the pulse of Indie publishing. He not only explains everything that Draft2Digital offers indie authors - from free formatting for your ebooks and Universal book links to audiobooks and print books - he also talks knowledgeably about the industry, gives advice on how to be successful, and offers his thoughts on the future of self publishing.

If you've been wondering about putting your books on Draft2Digital and want to know more about the platform, or just want to hear about the industry from someone who knows all the right people, this is the episode for you.

We are delighted to welcome romance author, Serenity Woods, to the SPA today. Serenity lives in the sub-tropical Northland of New Zealand. She is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and has been published since 2011 and self-published since 2013.

Serenity is incredibly business savvy and prolific. To date, she's published 65 books across many different romance series, and she is a USA Today bestselling author, reaching #53 on the USA Today bestseller list with her Three Wise Men Box Set. Also, writing as Freya Robertson, she won the NZ Sir Julius Vogel Sci-Fi/Fantasy Award for Best Novel for her debut, Heartwood.

Serenity shares her self-publishing journey with us - the highs and the lows - from her modest start with a publishing a novella, to her success selling wide. She also very honestly talks about her decision making behind moving to Amazon exclusively and the strategies for maximizing KU sales.

We were so inspired by Serenity's persistence, smarts and courage and promise this is an episode you'll want to listen to more than once. Because it's PACKED with so much information for you, we kept recording for an hour (and could have continued, but we'll have Serenity back on the podcast again for sure ;) )

Links:

Serenity Woods' website: https://www.serenitywoodsromance.com/

KDP Rocket /Kindlepreneur: (see Dave Chesson's free videos for AMS ads) https://kindlepreneur.com/book-marketing-101/

SPA Girls Podcast website: http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/

Are you motivated or disillusioned by all the "end of year earnings" screenshots some authors post? For some of us, it's incredibly inspiring; others find it a distraction or even a bit depressing! There is no "right" answer - the trick is understanding yourself and this week we talk about the things you CAN control and why you should feel super positive about that!

We also discuss Melissa Storm's Litring Reader Survey which shows some very encouraging reader buying behavior that can help your sales without you having to spend a fortune on advertising.

We put our thinking caps on and came up with our Top Ten Things that a self publisher needs to be (in the SPA Girls' opinion ;) )

Thick skinned.
Be willing to take risks.
Be willing to learn new skills.
Don’t buy into the drama, and someone else’s bullshit.
Find your tribe.
Be professional.
Stay focused.
Celebrate your successes.
Don’t lose the passion. Make sure to read!
Remember you’re a star.

Links:

https://www.litring.com/

You’ll find all the detailed show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Keen to join the SPA Girls in a live workshop? Join our mailing list here and we’ll let you know the minute we have workshop bookings open. Info here: https://selfpublishingworkshop.co.nz/index.html

Come say hi on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

Goals! We're all so excited about them at the beginning of January, and then we feel them like chains around our necks by the end of the month. (Well, here in the SPA we do. Maybe you're able to make it into February without feeling like you're never going to make them work...hehe)

What we've decided is that instead of overwhelming yourself with ALL THE GOALS, if you set one goal in these five areas, for a shorter period of time (we're suggesting 12 weeks) then you're more likely to make them happen.

We go through each of the five areas, and talk about the goals that each of us are setting in each, and give suggestions of goals that you could set as well.

This is another information packed episode that will help you set some relevant goals that are going to help you move forward in 2019.

Check us out at www.spagirlspodcast.com for more information.

This year we decided to begin with something a little different.

Instead of the usual "motivational and uplifting" or "beginning of the year goal setting" type show, we thought we'd give you 31 quick and easy author marketing ideas that you can do each day to give you a solid start to 2019. It's a great way to show you how little jobs done daily can add up quickly to make something pretty great. You'll be amazed at the results you can achieve from what seems like a tiny daily effort!

You can do each and every one of the 31 ideas that we give you and do one daily in January, or you could pick one of them and do it each day instead.

The important thing is to be doing something each day that will advance your author career. Little steps can help you achieve so much more than you expect!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

Scheduling some of the more repetitive tasks that you engage in each week can free up time for writing. This week the SPA Girls talk about the ways we use scheduling for different tasks, and suggest ways you can use it too!

Thinking of self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we look back on 2018, and try to figure out what went well, what went wrong, and what tips and secrets we can give you, our listeners, to help you with making 2019 the best year yet!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we decided to dissect dialogue. Done well, dialogue can be very powerful. We know and understand the subtext of dialogue without having to be told, and writers can use this to create amazing scenes and tense moments.

Done badly, dialogue can kick your readers out of the scene, make them frustrated and ultimately stop reading.

So how do you make sure your dialogue sings instead of stinks?

Today in the SPA we work through some of the do's and don't's, just for you.

We've talked about Reverse Harem a little bit on the show, but this week we decided to get someone on who knows all about it, so we could pick their brains... Mwahahaha...

So we convinced USA Today Bestselling paranormal romance author Steffanie Holmes to come on the show and chat about exactly what reverse harem is, how she came to write reverse harem novels, what you need to know about it, and how she so successfully launched her recent series.

Steff is a very smart author, and she's steeped in the reverse harem world, so not only was she was able to give us heaps of useful information for how to write and launch a reverse harem series, but also insights into her writing style, her processes and ideas for marketing your books.

The delightful USA Today bestselling author Kelly St Clare talks to the SPA Girls this week about how she moved from being a physiotherapist in a busy clinic to being an Amazon bestselling author of young adult fantasy novels.

Kelly was fascinating because as well as all her fantastic tips on writing, time management and marketing, she was also able to give us some great advice on how to stay healthy as an author.

We all had some epiphany moments in this episode, from Kelly's tips on how she improves her craft with every book, how she makes sure that she is proactive and motivated with her writing, and how she monitors the fine line between passion and health to ensure she stays at her best at all times.

Another great interview with a talented, hardworking and super-smart author doing very well on the international stage!

Check out Kelly at www.kellystclare.com

Find the SPA Girls at www.spagirlspodcast.com

In response to a few recent questions we've been asked on this topic, we decided to talk through the basics of launch strategies for first-time or early career authors, or for authors starting off a new series or pen name.

It's sometimes difficult to know what you should do when you're launching a new book. We all want to make sure our book babies do as well as they possibly can when we launch, but there's also a whole lot of often contradictory advice out there on the best way to do it.

This episode is about distilling the best of the best launch advice out there for authors, so that you can make the right decisions about your launch strategy.

With the holiday season fast approaching, the SPA Girls gathered to talk about their list of 12 Ideas For Christmas Promotion. Between the shopping, the relative wrangling, the wallet-aches and the end-of-year energy slump, it can be hard to manage your author promotion on top of that!

Listen up and we'll (hopefully) ease your stress and you can go into the New Year refreshed and ready to rock your goals!

1.Do your own 12 days of Christmas promo

2.Plan out your FB posts, run holiday themed ads

3.Make your email newsletter festive:
-Recipes
-Links to Christmas carols
-How to decorate your Christmas tree and other tips

4.Consider a Festive cover change up

5.Build a holiday boxed set? (release for a month)

6.Reduce the price of your ebook after Christmas so all those people who got ereaders/giftcards will buy it

7.Share your Christmas Shopping/reading list.

8.Check retailer closing dates if you are loading a book in December (they may be closed) D2D suggest submitting your books before Dec 11th for all retail sites.

9.People love Christmas themed novellas, maybe plan one of these for next year.

Do a free giveaway, short story, novella or part one of a series as a giveaway.

11.Get a Christmas hashtag going

Get writing so you have a new release ready in the new year.

Helpful link:

https://www.draft2digital.com/blog/winter-holiday-is-coming/

You can find full show notes and all podcast episodes at www.spagirlspodcast.com

Join us on twitter @spagirlspodcast and Facebook

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 (ish) minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

It's one of the big questions in the Indie author space, and hotly debated by many on either side. This week we talk about the pros and cons of going wide versus going exclusive to Amazon.

No one seems to have a definitive answer to whether it's better to do one or the other, and it can seem confusing and overwhelming. So the SPA Girls sat down and worked through what it means to go wide on all the publishing platforms, what you'll get from it that you won't get if you're exclusive, and what you'll be missing out on if you're wide - and then we do the same for the decision to go exclusive with Amazon. This episode will give you a clearer understanding of the options, and help you make the decision when you publish your books! (Plus the usual mental banter that we just can't seem to stop...)

This week it is our honor to interview superstar author Kathryn Le Veque. Kathryn is a critically acclaimed USA TODAY Bestselling author, a charter Amazon All-Star author, and a #1 bestselling, award-winning, multi-published author in Medieval Historical Romance and Contemporary Romance.

She is considered one of the top Indie authors in the world with over a million copies in circulation. Her novels have been translated into several languages.

Kathryn is also the President/CEO of Dragonblade Publishing, a boutique publishing house specializing in Historical Romance, and the President/CEO of DragonMedia Publishing, a publishing house that publishes the Pirates of Britannia Connected World series. She is a strong advocate for Independent Authors everywhere and gives frequent workshops on the subject to new and veteran authors alike.

Kathryn is a force of nature whose incredible work ethic has seen her publish her 93rd book this week ( Bay of Fear (Battle Lords of de Velt Book 3) ). She has been self-publishing since 2012 and talks about how she initially launched her career with an incredible number of already-written manuscripts after being rejected by traditional publishers.

Kathryn writes 3,000 to 5,000 words every day in two writing sessions and she tells us how she is able to write that much consistently, how she schedules her writing and business life, and how she has a 5 year plus plan. She also discusses how she's found success with facebook advertising and her recommended social media platforms.

Against the conventional "self-pubbing wisdom" Kathryn does not have an email newsletter - instead she connects with her readers through social media, her books and her blog.

"Don't Listen To Rejections" ~ Kathryn Le Veque

Kathryn is a perfect example of throwing off writer doubt and "traditional rejections" and succeeding handsomely through talent, determination and sheer hard work.

Her advice to newbies?
* hone your craft - create a quality product
* understand your genre and your genre's reader expectations
* network
* launch with three books written - first one up at free or 99c (use that as your business card), subsequent books 2.99 / 3.99 depending on subgenre

Kathryn's website:
http://kathrynleveque.com/

Find the SPA Girls online at:

www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com

Join the SPA Girls on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

This week we put on our flame retardant suits and discuss how to define the heat level of your story – and why it’s important to know.

There is no standard or uniform code to heat levels, so writers and readers can face a few challenges: what one reader may consider “hot,” another might consider “mild” or vice versa. With books there’s no certified ratings system a la the movies. And to further complicate things, if you’re looking at the hybrid route, publishers and agents also have different ideas about what constitutes a certain level of heat. Terms – especially sweet / clean can be used interchangeably by some folk, so take note of that when discussing cross promotions and newsletter swaps. We discuss (and agree with) Sylvia Day’s widely referenced article on sexy romance heat levels – see the link below.

Defining your heat level is all about meeting reader expectations and in the podcast we also talk about conveying the heat level by your cover, title, subtitle and blurb.

Important note: Happy Ever After Ending is still a requirement for your standard romance regardless of heat level

Talking of definitions, here’s our SPA Girls Spice Index as we define the different heat levels in romance:

Clean = minimal sexual tension, no illicit thoughts, no kissing, no intimate touching, no violence, language, contentious subject material (note, lines between inspirational and clean are blurring
Sweet = no sex on page – can be fade to black, sexual tension described and kissing allowed. Can still involve serious topics (eg addiction, abuse etc) as part of the story and focus is on developing the emotional conflicts between the characters.
Sexy = romance story about the development of a romantic relationship with more explicit sex on the page. The sex is not an inherent part of the story and could easily be removed or “toned down” without damaging the storyline.
Erotic Romance = stories written about the development of a romantic relationship through sexual interaction. The sex is an integral part of the story and relationship development, and couldn’t be removed without damaging the storyline.
Erotica = stories written about the sexual journey of the characters and how this impacts them as individuals. Happily Ever Afters aren’t an intrinsic part of erotica, though they can be included. The focus remains on the individual characters’ journeys, not the progression of the romance.

Find the SPA Girls online at:

www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com

Join the SPA Girls on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

Our fabulous guest this week is award-winning romance author Louisa George. We talk with Louisa about how she balances the demands of being a “hybrid” author, publishing traditionally (Medical Romance and Women’s Fiction with Harlequin Mills & Boon) and self-publishing her romantic comedies.

As Louisa says, self-publishing offers a creative freedom that we love, but that freedom can need some “structure” to ensure deadlines are met and, most importantly, reader expectations are met. Louisa’s successfully figured out what works best for her, and she shares her tips, launch plan and advertising course recommendations for beginning self-publishers and those looking to hybrid publish.

Louisa’s website: https://www.louisageorge.com/

Connect with Louisa on facebook

Read Louisa’s Something Borrowed series starter for free here

Find the SPA Girls online at:

www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com

Join the SPA Girls on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast

This week Wendy, Cheryl and Shar talk about “the Kindness Factor” – how we can achieve more but put less pressure on ourselves. Impossible you say? As we push ourselves to write more, to learn more and to get up to grips with this self-publishing world, there's often an unwanted side effect: a lot of us are really hard on ourselves and we're not enjoying our writer's life. Research shows that the happier you are, the more productive you are, so with that in mind we have our SPA Girls Top Five Kindness Factor Tips:

1.Break it down

Do what works for video games: break your big projects/tasks down into small, manageable steps that give you path to reach milestones, goals and rewards. This will help you reach the “flow state” when you’re so engrossed in your work or learning that time seems immaterial!

Write it down

We’re all pretty good at creating To Do Lists, but it’s really important that you note your “Ta Da’s” too! According to Shawn Anchor in The Happiness Advantage, when you write (or talk) about a positive experience you had at the end of your day, “your brain stamps it as meaningful”. If you’re not a daily journaller, try writing down your writing and self-pubbing accomplishments (no matter how small) at the end of each week. That way you help train your brain to think happier! It’s so easy to focus on the stuff we need to do or haven’t yet mastered – give yourself a written “pat on the back” at least weekly. You’ll be amazed at what you’ve accomplished when you look back at this in future months / years.

Listen To Your Gut

Trust yourself! Yes, there are a lot of experts out there telling you what to do and how to do it, but really listen to your inner intuition. You know yourself best and if all the advice is pointing you in one direction, but you really, really don’t jibe with it, then follow your instincts. If you’re stuck on a problem, or especially when you find yourself procrastinating, go to yourself for advice! It sounds a little whacky, but it works! (It’s okay to talk to yourself too, just saying) . According to the experts, this fires up your prefrontal cortex and who doesn’t want a red-hot cortex?

Don’t Limit Yourself

Banish that negative self-talk about how you’re “not a tech minded person” and all this self-publishing stuff is too hard to learn. We all can be challenged by learning new skills, but don’t make it worse by seeing it as a roadblock, rather than as obstacles to success. According to Carol Dweck, the author of Mindset, the main thing that separates successful people from those who are unsuccessful, is whether or not they feel their abilities and intelligence are fixed. Embrace a growth mindset and remember you never stop growing or learning.

Reward Yourself

Rewarding yourself is so important to solidify good habits and make your author journey fun. Life’s short, so treat yourself kindly and remember to reward yourself. Side note – looking at cute animals can boost your cognitive and motor performance, so all watching all those cute kitten videos on facebook are good for you!

Do come chat to us on social media: Twitter @SpaGirlsPodcast | Facebook

Further Resources:

The Productivity Project, Chris Bailey

The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Anchor

Mindset: The New Psychology Of Success, Carol Dweck

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy

The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about self editing, and how to get your manuscript to the highest possible standard before sending it to your professional editor.

Everyone will have a different style, focus and ideas on the best way to do self editing, and it's the kind of thing that's different for different people. No one does it the same, and that's okay.

But as always, we give a load of tips and advice on how we do it, what works and what doesn't, and why we do things the way we do it.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about the power of four, or how working and interacting with other authors can amp up your author career.

Using our experiences in the SPA Girls we talk about how having other writers to talk to, offer support, give advice and ideas, and walk the same path gives you a huge boost in your writing career.

We've all said that none of us would be as far along in our careers as we are if we didn't have the other SPA Girls. And we don't think we're unique. There are thousands of other groups of writers who are helping and supporting each other.

How do you do this? Our best advice is to find events and conferences for writers near where you are, and meet other authors in person. With this in mind, we also give our Top Ten Networking Tips for Introverted Writers.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for honest advice, tips and resources to help get you going.

This week we talk about how to create characters that your readers will love. We delve into what characteristics are important, how to create tension between the hero and heroine using their personalities and flaws, and how you can use your character's traits to move the story forward and follow the arc of the plot.

We also talk about how to help your readers to get to know your characters, how to pull them into the story by making them feel like they know your characters really well, and how to make readers cry.

Thinking about self publishing but don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we have the fabulous Tina Dietz, an expert in the area of audio, podcasting and audiobooks, who talks to us about the ways we can be using audio in our writing careers.

She gives us the low down on audiobooks, how to get them recorded, how they fit into the marketing of your books, and how to promote/market them to your audience.

She also talks about the expanding audiobook industry and why we should all be considering adding audiobooks to our inventory of books.

Tina gave us some amazing ideas for how to promote audiobooks, or even just using audio to promote your print or ebook versions of your book. She's a very smart marketer, with a strong grasp of the audio market, and this is a must-listen episode for anyone who's thinking of getting into audiobooks, or who already has audiobooks on sale.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we have the delightful Grace Burrowes on the show, chatting to Cheryl and Wendy about her career, why she started writing, how she stays authentic, and why she uses blogging to connect to readers.

A New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Grace says she's a recovering child welfare attorney, who for years turned to the reliable HEA of romance novels to balance out the stress in her life as a litigator.

This is a delightful interview with a smart, savvy author who is very open about her writing, her world view, and her career.

Thinking about self publishing but don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about mailing list health, what it actually means, and how to make sure your mailing list is the best it can be.

This includes everything from when to cull people from your list, how to try to re-engage with people who don't seem to be engaging, how to ensure you have the best quality list you can have, and how to increase your email deliverability.

If you're worried about your list, or thinking you might need to cut some people, hopefully this episode will give you something to help you make the decision you need to make. :)

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for advice, tips and resources.

Wendy and Cher sat down in a fairly noisy cafe with Indie author Damon Suede and his partner, Geoff Symon. The f-bomb went off fairly early in the piece, so if you're offended by swear words... you should still listen, because all the rest of the words out of their mouths were pure gold... :)

Damon published his first novel, Hot Head, in 2011, which has since been named one of 'Top 100 Romance Novels of All Time' on Goodreads. He's currently on the board of directors for Romance Writers of America, and is well known for the way he unbundles characters when writing his books.

His partner Geoff Symon is a federal agent, and has now written three non-fiction books all about how to write forensics for fiction authors. He's full of fantastic information about crime scenes, and because he's lived with a writer all these years, he can translate it in a way that makes sense for authors.

Between the two of them, they kept Wendy and Cher on their toes, talking at double speed, and giving off gems of information like they were sand at the beach. From characterisation, to stepping up in the author community, to the best way to write crime scenes - this interview has it all.

Another must-listen episode from the 2018 RWNZ conference...

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30(ish) minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

Today's interview is a must-listen interview with... Indie Superstar Bella Andre! We were super excited to be able to chat to Bella, who it turns out is the most lovely, down-to-earth person we've interviewed so far. She was in New Zealand for the Romance Writers of New Zealand conference, and we were able to kidnap and interview her about self-publishing, how she made it as an Indie, and her advice for people aiming to follow in her footsteps...

We had such a great time chatting to her, that we tried to adopt her and convince her to move to New Zealand, but she was a little resistant to the idea... :)

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for honest advice, tips and resources to help advance your self publishing career.

This week we talk about the top ten traits we believe you need to have to be a successful self-published author.

These include, among other things, having a thick skin, being willing to take risks and staying focused. They're not always easy, and some involve practice and mindfulness, but if you manage to get everything on this list right, we believe you'll be on the road to success. We give some tips on how to develop and attain some of these skills and traits, and why it's important that you do.

We also talk about our upcoming in-person workshop, giving a little bit of info about what to expect and whether you might benefit from coming along to meet us, the delightful SPA Girls, and learning more about self publishing...

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for an episode filled with honest advice, tips and resources.

We had a fantastic guest this week in the form of Becca Syme, Cosy Mystery author, writing coach, teacher of the Write Better Faster course, and podcaster at the Smarty Pants Marketing podcast.

Becca talks to us about how we can all Write Better Faster in our writing careers. It's not about tips and techniques for getting more words per hour - it's more about understanding who you are as a writer, your natural talents and skills within that, and using those natural talents in the best way to ensure you are successful.

The most important takeaway we had from our conversation with Becca is that you don't have to do everything exactly the same way as other people are doing it to be successful. In fact if it's the wrong methodology for you, then you're more likely to fail and feel bad about it. Rather it's about knowing who you are as a person, how you think things through and understand the world, and then how to take that understanding to create a system that works for you.

She was a fabulous guest and gave us heaps to think about in terms of our own systems and thought processes, and we hope you'll feel the same way.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we're joined by the Newsletter Ninja, Tammi Labrecque, who talks to us all about creating an amazing author newsletter that will help amp up your writing career.

She talks about why every author needs a newsletter, and how to take the people who sign up for your list and turn them into super-fans who will buy every book you write.

Tammi also gives us a whole heap of tips on what kind of content to put into your newsletter, how to find the perfect subscribers for your books, and when to cut people from your list.

It's another tip-packed episode that you'll want to listen carefully to. I know Shar took heaps of notes (She broke out the shorthand too!) and you will too!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30(ish) minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about our own creative health, where we are at, and how we are attempting to ensure our creativity wells don't try up.

We use examples from our own writing lives, and give a whole bunch of suggestions for how you, too, can plan and execute your own creative health plans to ensure that you can keep writing, despite the other stresses in your lives.

As Shar says, it's about keeping your muse massaged and your creative health tank topped up, and of course, the writing flowing...

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we were lucky enough to talk to the delightful Carlyn Robertson from BookBub about the email advertising platform, and how it can help you as an author.

Carlyn explains how BookBub works, how to apply, what to expect when you apply, and some of the ways to make sure your application is more likely to succeed. She's also got some great tips for authors who've already been turned down, for next time they submit an application.

She was also able to give us some fantastic insights into how the expert editors at BookBub write their blurbs, and how they decide what content to provide to their millions of readers. (Hint: it's all about data and testing).

It's an information packed episode, so make sure you have your notebooks out!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we were privileged to have personal branding expert Lauren Clement with us to discuss how to create your personal author brand, and why it's so important.

If the thought of branding gives you hives, this is the episode for you! She takes us through the basics, explains how to create a brand that represents you and your books, and talks about the ways to make it work for your author business. With heaps of suggestions on how to make your branding work for you, this episode is a keeper!

This is also another tip-packed episode, so make sure you have your notebook handy!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 mins of honest advice, tips and resources.

Are you looking for some new tools to help you in your publishing journey? This week we give you ten FREE tools and websites that you can use to help, upskill, inform and educate you in your self publishing journey. Every single tool we give you is something that we've used ourselves, and that we can personally recommend to you.

We were also slightly nutty this week, so be prepared for some craziness!!

Thinking of self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for honest advice, tips and resources.

Join us for an explanation of what a hook really is and why it's important for you and your novel. Then we talk about how to craft a hook that will be so intriguing and memorable for your readers, that they will go straight out and buy your book! (Or just click on the Amazon button.)

Then we take the hook that you've created and using our sneaky five step process, explain how to turn it into a tagline that you can use in your advertising and promotions, as well as in your blurbs on the retailers.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk to Kelly Lytle from Findaway Voices about creating audio books for Indie authors.

It's a fascinating subject, and Kelly not only takes us through the process of creating and distributing an audio book with Findaway Voices, but also what you as an author can do after that with regards to marketing and promotion.

He gives us some fantastic advice for getting the best out of the whole audio book creation process (and demystifies it for us), as well as some really interesting ideas that you could use to create other audio content that will help you sell your books.

It's a great episode - especially if you're thinking of doing audio books at any time in the future (which you should be!).

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30ish minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about how to get yourself motivated again after life gets in the way. It could be illness, personal issues, a holiday, an injury or even just your own negative self talk. Whatever it is that has stopped you from doing the amount of writing you want to do. We all experience it at some point in our lives, and it can be a huge hurdle to climb when we're ready to get back to writing. So today we talk through some of the ways we've motivated ourselves again after a pause in writing, and offer some options for the different types of working styles out there.

The beginning of this conversation was a series of tweets from author Courtney Milan, who talked about how she got herself back into the writing groove after her writing mojo took a dive, by being more aware of how she was 'training' herself to write, and making writing fun again.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30(ish) minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk to Toni Kenyon, a New Zealand indie author of Pacific rockstar romances. She gives us the inside scoop on some of the new techniques she's using to attract readers. About two months ago, she decided to try two new ideas to attract readers: firstly to do a weekly Facebook LIVE session, and secondly to write a weekly serial, where she gets reader input to decide what happens next.

She talks about what she's doing, why she decided to do it, and how it's all working out for her after more than two months of putting this type of content out to her readers. (HINT: It's going well!)

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls for 30+ minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about how to handle changes in the Indie Publishing environment without freaking out, including where to find the information you might need about any changes, and how to figure out if the information you're reading on Twitter is the real deal.

Whenever a new change is made at Amazon, or a new law is passed somewhere or someone figures out a new way to do something, a certain percentage of people will freak out about it. Sometimes they even have a point. But what we in the SPA are saying is that it's important to actually calmly research the changes, via blogs, FB groups, or your author network, before you start to make changes to your business, or before you start posting online, or taking certain actions.

This is an episode about critical thinking for authors, and how to keep your head when nobody else seems to be... :)

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30(ish) minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

We chat to Maria Luis this week about her writing story, her launches, how she's changed what she's done as she's learned more about the industry, and what she's learned since she published her first book in 2017.

She's a very savvy marketer, and we had a great time listening to what she's learned about doing successful Amazon ads and Facebook ads, as well as the ways that she engages with her audiences in ways that encourages super fans.

You'll want to break out the notebooks this week, I know we sure did!!

NB technical note: we apologize for the audio pause in the first minute of the podcast, the gremlins (hobbits?) hit momentarily!

Today we’re delighted to welcome Kevin Tumlinson, bestselling thriller author, and Director of Marketing for Draft2Digital into the SPA!

Kevin talks us through using Draft2Digital to format and publish your books on line, the best practices for keywords and a host of other tips for indie authors. For many of us living outside the US, Draft2Digital is the way to access online retailers who don’t allow us to upload directly, and all the SPA Girls are D2D fans. As a company D2D are continually innovating and bringing out new tools for authors (listen out for Cher’s suggestion mid-podcast!). Another great benefit is that authors can access D2D’s formatting tools free, without needing to use them for any other services.

We also discuss audio books produced through Findaway Voices and their partner Draft2Digital. Wendy’s first audio book A Promise Of Home was made (painlessly) through Findaway.

Kevin is also a podcaster, with his popular writer’s podcast Wordslinger. Do check it out!

Thanks for listening, and happy writing!

About Kevin Kevin Tumlinson is an award-winning and bestselling thriller author, with books available in hundreds of countries worldwide. With a long-standing career in film, television, radio, and podcasting, Kevin is a seasoned world traveler, and has produced documentary programming and films ranging from historic aviation to military history. His debut thriller novel, The Coelho Medallion, was a 2016 Shelf Notable Indie award winner.

Kevin's popular show, the Wordslinger Podcast, is downloaded each week by thousands of listeners, eager to learn from guests that include New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling authors, Fortune 500 professionals, and industry leaders and entrepreneurs of all types. He is known as the Voice of Indie Publishing—a title he's proud to hold—and he has helped thousands of will-be and new authors build and grow their self-publishing careers.

Kevin's love for history, archeology, and science has been a tremendous source a material for his writing, feeding his fiction and giving him just the excuse he needs to read the next article, biography, or research paper. He lives in Texas, but works in random coffee shops, cafés, and hotel lobbies around the world.

www.kevintumlinson.com

www.draft2digital.com

www.findawayvoices.com

This episode we are thrilled to talk with USA Today bestseller, Sara Rosett, about the wonderful, (sometimes) wacky and hugely popular sub-genre of Cozy Mysteries. Cozies have a rabid audience, but writers need to be sure that they’re meeting reader expectations and delivering a great puzzle, compelling characters and an intriguing setting.

Sara has not only been writing a number of successful cozy-mystery series since 2006, but she also teaches an online How To Outline A Cozy Mystery course - so she’s the perfect person to talk through crafting cozies.

Enjoy the episode!

About Sara

A native Texan, USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett grew up reading and dreaming of writing books. Her stories and essays have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Military Wife’s Soul, Georgia Magazine, The Writer, and Romantic Times Book Review.

She is the author of the Murder on Location series, the On the Run series, and the Ellie Avery series. Sara also teaches an online course, How to Outline A Cozy Mystery.

Publishers Weekly called Sara’s books, “satisfying,” “well-executed,” and “sparkling.” Sara is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and NINC. You can find her at www.SaraRosett.com

How do you wrangle your research as a writer? Is keeping track of all your characters, setting details and story events driving you to reach for the chocolate (or vino)? In this episode we share our processes and tips for getting organized, and tools for staying on top of those myriad of details you need to remember. Side note: this is your free pass to hit the stationery store people, so bring on the colored flags, groovy folders and sparkly stickers.

As with all things writing, there’s no one “right” way to approach this: Wendy, Cher and Trudi love using Scrivener while Shar prefers the visual analogue approach with pinboard of pictures. Creating a story bible is especially important for those writing in a series – so listen up and we’ll share how we approach this.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk to Ricardo Fayet, one of the founders of Reedsy, a curated site for matching authors and publishers to industry professionals like editors, designers, marketing professionals, and website designers.

He explains to us how the site works, what kind of services indie authors can find on Reedsy, and how to find the best person to work with you. Reedsy is highly curated - they only accept around 3% of the industry professionals who apply to be listed on their site - so they're confident in the quality of the people on the site.

It's a fascinating interview - as well as demystifying Reedsy for us, Ricardo also gives some tips for authors that he's learned from the many conferences he's attended in recent years, and talks about some of the changes he's seen since Reedsy first started in 2014.

Thinking about self-publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for tips, resources and honest advice.

This week we discuss how we each deal with criticism and leverage its powers for good, not evil!

Thinking of self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we're talking about author branding, using the example of four different authors who we think are doing a fabulous job of the branding for themselves and their series.

From Penny Reid's romantic comedy tag line and aptly named Facebook group to Michael Anderle's extensive author's notes and Melissa Storm's sharing in her newsletters, we give a range of ideas and tips that are being used by these authors that you can use to improve your branding and find the right readers for your books.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week Trudi Jaye talks to prominent Indie publishing personalities Johnny B. Truant and Sean Platt from the Story Studio Podcast (previously the Self Publishing Podcast) about their experiences in self publishing.

They talk about why we should call ourselves simply publishers instead of self publishers, how to find people to help you achieve your publishing dreams, and why readers are the most important part of an author's career.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week Damon Courtney, the guy who created and runs Book Funnel, and Chrissy Munroe from Kobo sit down with Trudi Jaye to discuss the Indie publishing market, what's hot, what's coming soon, and what they both see in their crystal balls for the future.

It's a great opportunity to hear some really useful tips and insider knowledge from two people who know the market and what's working for other indies.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we have a special guest, Jami Albright on to talk about the 2018 Smarter Artist Summit, which she attended along with SPA Girl host Trudi Jaye.

Trudi and Jami talk about their highlights of the summit including listening to presentations from Michael Anderle, Michelle Spiva, Honoree Corder, as well as getting to meet the huge array of smart and savvy self publishing people who all gathered to network, connect and learn.

They also talk about the presentation by BookBub representatives Carlyn and Julianne, getting to interview Michael Anderle, chatting to other self publishers, and basically just getting to immerse themselves in self publishing for a couple of days.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for interviews that will inform, educate and delight.

This week we have another special episode from the 2018 Smarter Artist Summit, where Trudi Jaye sat down with the first male Deputy SPA Girl Michael Anderle, and marketing guru and storyteller Michelle Spiva.

Michelle talks about how to amp up your connection with your readers via your characters, so that you're writing stories they can't put down. She covers everything from using narrative arc, pacing, and other storytelling techniques, to understanding how to choose the right emotional tone for your characters and the story.

Michelle is a very smart author who manages to balance an analytical and creative mindset, and this is a fascinating interview that gives some unusual insights into creating stories with characters who deliver depth and emotional impact.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we have a fascinating interview with Michael Anderle, direct from the Smarter Artist Summit in Austin, Texas. Trudi was lucky enough to attend the summit and meet Michael in person, where he took the time to chat to her about his journey in self publishing.

He's accessible, sincere and passionate about his topic, and you'll love listening to him explaining how he writes his bestselling books, how he connects so well with his readers, and what he thinks are the most important ingredients for self publishing success.

This week we talk with elite sportsman, Nathan Vella, about using tools from sports psychology to help writers. Nate has been a professional rugby player for the last 7 years. In that time he has played in both NZ and Europe, and has amassed over 100 first class games, winning several championships. His strength besides his physical ability is his mental toughness.

Nate talks with Wendy, Cheryl and Shar about applying what he has learned in the competitive high-performance environment he thrives and works in, specifically:

Importance of preparation
The top two inches
Visualization
Why is Process the key?
Dealing positively with negativity when you hit a challenge (or get a bad review!)
Physical fitness goes alongside mental fitness
Techniques for getting out of “the red zone” and into the (productive) blue zone
Standing strong (literally)
The importance of a great team culture – and how you can build that as a solo indie author

What’s the difference between Rugby Union and American Football? (no, it’s not just that we don’t wear protective gear!) : http://www.americanfootballinternational.com/9-differences-between-rugby-and-the-nfl/

Further reading about this episode / Sports Psychology and business at www.spagirlspodcast.com

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we decided to talk about a craft topic that's been bugging Trudi - sub plots. How do you use them effectively, why should you have a sub plot, and what the hell is the sub plot???

We talk about what they are, why you should be using them in your novels, and the different kinds of sub-plots that you could consider using in your novel.

We think that adding a sub-plot to your current novel could be the difference between having a boring one dimensional novel, and creating a layered book that everyone is gagging to read!!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we had the pleasure of chatting to Scott King, author of such non-fiction writing books as The 5 Day Novel, Finish the Script! and his latest, Outline Your Novel.

Scott has a background in teaching writing, film and scriptwriting at a college level, and has published multiple books in a variety of genres, so he's perfectly placed to write and talk about writing to other authors. He's brilliant at breaking down information and making it understandable, and there were several 'a-ha!' moments during this interview where Scott explained something we might have intuitively known, but couldn't have put into words. We talked to him about outlining, sub-plots, writing a book in five days, and where to start if you're a newbie. He's a smart, articulate guest who we know will inspire you to get out there and write!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week our topic is whether or not to use a pen name. Choosing the name to represent your writing career might seem like a simple decision, but there's actually a whole host of things to think about when you consider what name to use - from marketing, to reader expectations and even cover dimensions - and it's not just which name sounds the nicest.

Authors have always had pen names and in the Indie environment, it's not uncommon for an author to be managing several. We discuss our own decisions regarding pen names, why we chose the names we did, and the things we had to think about before we made the final decision. From websites to domain names, choosing the right gender for your genre, and even a couple of rants from Shar thrown in for free, this is another thought-provoking episode.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we were lucky enough to convince the lovely Nalini Singh to come on the show. A fellow Kiwi, Nalini is also a very smart, savvy author who's been on the NYT Bestseller list an incredible 27 times, and has hordes of ravenous fans the world over.

Nalini is the kind of pioneering author who started a popular blog when she first set out to conquer the writing world, and then created a massive organically grown newsletter when the time was right, and then conquered Facebook, where her current page has over 70,000 readers regularly interacting with her.

She gives us the low down on how she's created such a strong reader connection, the kind of content she thinks is vital for authors to give their readers and her secret sauce for interacting with all kinds of people.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

Small town settings are a common backdrop in romance. Writers love them because they give us a landscape that we can go back to again and again, with familiar secondary characters that our readers will recognise and become attached to. Readers love them because once they've found a town with a cool cafe, a watering hole where all the locals hang out, and characters they can fall in love with - well, why would they want to leave?

This week Wendy and Cher tell us how they put together the small towns in their contemporary series', telling us why they did it a certain way, some best practices on how to create a town your readers will love, and a few tips and tricks on the best way to research and write your brand new imaginary small town.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

Do you have one of those people in your life? Someone who thinks the glass is always half empty and wants to bring you down the whole time? Negative Nellys and Doubtful Dougs are around us all the time, and this week we talk a little about ways to deal with the negativity in our lives.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we have three questions to help you get into the right mindset to be a successful self publishing author for 2018. It might seem simple, but the questions actually made us think quite a bit about what we really want to achieve this year, and what we need to let go of to succeed.

Come prepared to put your thinking caps on, to delve deep into your subconscious and to be honest about what you really want as an author in 2018...

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week Wendy and Cheryl talk dirty with Kiwi historical romance/erotica author Nicola Davidson, who gives them the real story of the sex lives of the aristocracy in Recency London.

Nicola has delved deep into the research, and she tells a captivated Wendy and Cher exactly what it was like in the sex clubs and private parties of the regency. It's fascinating stuff, especially if you're planning to write historical romance. :)

A quick warning - don't listen to this one in the car with the kids! The topic is a little more graphic than usual...

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we dive into the world of tropes, to explain exactly what they are, why they're important and how you should be using them in your writing career.

Knowing and understand the tropes in romance is important for everything from choosing your plot line, to writing the blurb and finding your readers. It's an important topic, and this is another must listen episode!

Thinking of self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we look back over the last year and find the 12 top tips that have been successful for us in 2017. Join us to find some insights into our year, and steal our ideas to help you make 2018 your best year yet!! (And be prepared to laugh at us, cause we were a little Christmas Crazy...)

Enjoy!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week Shar and Trudi were lucky enough to interview Honoree Corder and Ben Hale, who've recently released a new book for Indie authors: Write Like a Boss, all about how to have the right mindset for being a successful author.

They talk to us about creating winning writing habits, how to train yourself to think and be successful, and how to write when you have distractions - like six kids who are constantly demanding attention (ie Ben).

It's a fun interview, and we learned a lot from these two highly successful and hugely motivated individuals. We know you will too!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls (Self Publishing Authors = SPA) each week for honest tips, resources and advice.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we were lucky enough to have a repeat guest - Kathryn Burnett, a well-known New Zealand playwright and screenwriter. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, Kathryn is chocka full of useful knowledge on the craft of writing as well as the mental game of staying focused and being productive. Today she talked us through doing an end of year Writing Audit, as a prequel to doing your goals in the new year. We found it hugely helpful to answer the questions she posed, and to look back on our year in order to critically assess what went right, and what went wrong, and why. If you're wondering why on earth you'd want to look back in this way, just listen in... Kathryn also tells us how to use this kind of analysis to set us up for an awesome 2018!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we had as our guest the lovely Melissa Storm, who runs several author businesses, and is also a very successful indie author in her own right. Along with her training courses through the Author Engine, and editing, marketing and formatting services through Novel Publicity, Melissa also runs LitRing, an author promotions company that helps authors connect with readers. This year, through LitRing, she created a survey that asked readers about the books they were reading, what they wanted to see from authors, and whether they read mostly free or paid books, among other questions. With an extensive background in research and in particular survey creation, Melissa was well served to design, implement and analyse the data from over 10,000 readers, making it quite possibly the largest survey conducted by an independent author. She talks to us about the insights we can take away from this amazing survey!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

For prolific author, Zoe Dawson, it's all about the happily ever afters. Zoe writes across several genres including romantic suspense, small town romance, new adult, urban fantasy and romantic comedy. We talk with Zoe about the challenges and rewards of writing across so many genres, how to juggle writing projects, reader expectations and the key that unlocked her being able to dramatically write faster (a book in three weeks!).

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk to bestselling self-published author Dave Chesson. He's the genius behind the Kindlepreneur.com blog, which provides loads of step-by-step information for self published authors, and he's also the creator of the fabulous app KDP Rocket, a tool you can use to do research into your next book topic, find keywords and categories for your current book, and to create a massive list of keywords for Amazon Ads.

Among his many talents (which include being a nuclear engineer!!) Dave is a total self-confessed data guy, which means he loves diving into the analytics surrounding Amazon and selling books. Which was great for us, because he was happy to chat about keywords, categories and selling more books on Amazon. Yay!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about Kindle Unlimited, or KU, as it's commonly known. KU is the exclusive readers' programme for Kindle customers on Amazon, which authors can join as long as they give exclusivity to Amazon. We discuss the pros and cons of going into the KU programme versus going wide on all the different platforms available to self published authors, talk about some of the different marketing tactics you might employ, and some ways to effectively use the KU platform as an author.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. Every year in November, writers around the world challenge themselves to write 50,000 words in a month. We talk about the challenge, why it's been so successful, the aspects of it that we love, and why we think you should be doing it this year.

This week we’re dealing out the “truthslaps” – in a loving way, of course. Wendy, Cher and Shar discuss ten truths for self-publishers that will help you navigate the choppy waters of a new indie author career. We want to be positive, but also realistic, so we are holding nothing back here. This is a rewarding (but tough) business and it requires patience and persistence. When you’re starting out you’re more than just a writer - you’re launching a small business with a pretty steep learning curve. Fortunately there’s a ton of help out there and here in the SPA is the best place to start!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about the multitude of ways that we've managed to get more writing time in our days.

We're all busy, we have other jobs, kids, husbands, wives, partners and other commitments in our days that mean there's not a lot of spare time for writing. So this week we give a whole bunch of tips for ways to squeeze another 30 minutes of writing in every day of the week.

We've tried everything, believe us, so there will be something in our giant pile of suggestions that will work for you...!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls for 30ish minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we tackle Christmas. Not literally. I mean we're not going after Santa or anything. No knocking him to the ground, and sitting on him til he gives us presents. That would be weird, right?

No, this week we're talking about what self-published authors should be doing over the Christmas period to promote their books to the hoards of eager Yuletide gift buyers.

It's a prime book buying time of year, and no one wants to miss out, right?

In order to do the best research for our eager listeners, we talked to several other authors (in forums and people we know) for their advice on this topic, as well as using our own experiences. We even discovered a few tips that we didn't know about and are planning to use this year for ourselves!

If you've been wondering what you should do to promote your books this Christmas, you need to listen to this episode!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk to fantasy and young adult author Katie Cross about being a military wife, learning to be a nap-time authorpreneur, and making every moment count. She also gives us some amazing productivity tips for authors who are trying to squeeze their writing career into already busy lives.

It's a great interview, Katie is hilarious, and we loved chatting to her. (And we're totally impressed by everything she's able to achieve in her day!)

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This is a very special episode of the SPA Girls Podcast - our 100th episode! Who'd have thought when we nervously started our first episode that we'd make it this far??

We talk through everything we've learned about self publishing and writing over the last couple of years, give some of the top self publishing tips that we've gleaned, the advice we've been given by our guests, and what's in store for the future of the SPA Girls...

Listen in for some laugh out loud moments as we celebrate the last 100 episodes of the SPA Girls Podcast. :)

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we have authorpreneur and automation expert Arianna Golden. She's great at helping authors set up systems in their business, to amp up their productivity, and enhance their ability to write.

Automation doesn't have to be a scary word. As Arianna says, think of it as a tool, like a cheese grater. Used correctly, a grater can get you yummy grated cheese to go on top of a baked potato. It's only if you don't use it correctly that you might get into trouble...

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week Shar and Trudi interview Wendy and Cheryl about their trip to Orlando for the Romance Writers of America 2017 conference.

They give tips on surviving a conference with 2,000 other people, plus talk about what they learned from meeting self publishing gurus like Mark Dawson, Roxanne St Claire, and Kristen Painter. They also give up the best writing tips, the most-secret self-publishing tricks, and how to network like a ninja just for you.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we interviewed best selling urban fantasy author Shayne Silvers, who gives us the inside scoop on his writing processes, his beta reading team, and how he markets his popular Nate Temple series. Spoiler warning: Shayne works really hard, set everything up to work as it should and has amazing blurbs. (ie it's no wonder he's doing so well!)

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we're live from the RWNZ conference here in New Zealand, and we're talking with New York Times bestselling author Christie Craig. Christie writes humorous romantic suspense under her real name, and young adult paranormal under the pen name CC Hunter. She talks honestly about her writing process, the challenges she's had to overcome in her writing career, and gives some amazing craft advice for everyone. The one big take away from this interview? Never give up!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we have a fantastic interview with the delightful Brian Meeks, who talked to us about creating and making money on Amazon Ads. Brian recently published a book on how to master Amazon ads, and runs a very successful Facebook group on the same topic. He was kind enough to break it all down to the simple version for us, and run through the basics of creating and running a successful Amazon ad.

We learned so much from talking to Brian, and we know you will too!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we chat to Monica Leonelle about marketing for indie authors, and the lessons she's learned after a career in marketing and copywriting.

Specifically, Monica took us through some of the psychological triggers that you can use to amp up your efforts to promote your books.

These triggers can be 'sprinkled' over your content and, if used in the right way, have the potential to increase the virality of your content, and to increase your connection to your readers.

It was a fascinating session, and we think you'll pick up some great tips for content that you can use in your efforts to connect with readers and promote your books.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

Cheryl and Wendy are still in Orlando at the RWA conference, and this time they're interviewing the wonderful Roxanne St. Claire, a multi-award-winning indie author who opens up about her career, what she does to get her books published, and what she's done to be so successful.

It's a great interview from a very successful Indie author with loads to teach all of us!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week Wendy and Cheryl were lucky enough to interview Mark Dawson at the Romance Writers of America conference in Orlando, Florida. (Trudi and Shar jealous? Nah, of course not....)

He was a lovely guest, and was very gracious about giving some great advice for beginner audiences on advertising for authors, what's the most important thing to do when you're starting out and how he got started as a writer.

It's another fabulous interview, and we hope you enjoy it.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about the best ways to find and keep focused. We're talking about the mental stuff around focus, and how to avoid self sabotage in your writing career.

We talk about self awareness, the overstimulation and desensitisation that exists in the technological world we live in, and the deathbed test.

This week we're launching our brand new book: Kick Author Overwhelm in the B*tt! and we invited three self published authors to talk to us about their careers, and how they've faced and overcome Author Overwhelm in their own lives.

Louisa George, Toni Kenyon and Karina Bliss are three very talented authors who kindly agreed to join us for this very special episode of the SPA Girls Podcast to help us launch our brand new non-fiction book!

They talk honestly about their writing, their partners, their challenges and the tricks and tips they have for helping to keep their focus on the writing and away from the overwhelm...!

Go to https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073V78NCZ/ to find out more about our new book. :)

Thinking of self publishing but don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we decided to go a little bit behind the scenes of the SPA Girls side of things. Instead of talking about our fiction books, we talk about how the SPA Girls came about, what we were trying to achieve when we decided to start the podcast, why we're doing what we're doing and what we were hoping to achieve. We also talk about our branding, our mission statement, and why we decided to publish the Author Overwhelm book, having been podcasting now for 89 episodes! :)

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we try to nut out our own personal author values, and try to distill down a mission statement for each of us as authors. We believe that defining your core values as an author will help you make decisions in your author career, keep your focus longer, and keep you sitting down in your chair, writing those books!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we take a look at our fears, the mental stuff that's stopping us from getting ahead. We look at the fears that stopped us, how we got over them and how you can too. We talk about some of the fears we've had through our careers, the ones we still have, and the ones we wish we had!

It's another great episode of the SPA Girls Podcast!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we decided to talk about the writing program that nobody else is mentioning... Word.

We go through the program, talk about how we use it, and give some tips and advice on how to use it better.

Thinking of self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about the various ways we as authors can speed up the writing process, from getting your head in the right space, to planning, scheduling and just plain old writing faster.

We give some practical tips and ideas that have worked for us, so that you can increase your writing speed too!

It's a great episode because it yet again demonstrates how we're all different and things that will work for one, won't necessarily work for another.

Thinking of self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we go through the book page on Amazon, deciphering some of the sections, explaining how each works and how the information gleaned can help you in your Indie career.

Thinking about self publishing, and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30ish minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about the author courses we've done between us, and the ones that we like and would recommend to you, our dear listeners... :)

Thinking about self-publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls - Wendy Vella, Trudi Jaye, Cheryl Phipps and Shar Barratt - each week for honest tips, resources and (sometimes hilarious) tales from four indie romance authors.

Australian author and writing tutor, Rachel Bailey, joins us this week to discuss the Black Moment: that point in your story when all hope is lost, when crisis peaks, when things seem bleakest and we start to think the characters won’t be able to find their HEA. We discuss the different types of Black Moment, how to identify which one works best for your story and how to make this crucial element of Story both powerful and believable.

Join us for this fantastic tutorial and take your writing to the next level!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we interview the delightful Jami Albright, who just launched her first book, a romantic comedy called Running from a Rock Star. She did such a fantastic job of launching her book, we decided to have her on to talk about what she did, and her philosophy on writing. It doesn't hurt that Jami is also one of our early fans, who's followed us through the episodes of the SPA Girls podcast...

It's a fun interview, and I'm sure you'll get something out of it.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of advice, tips and resources.

We’re out to lunch today, recording in a café (so enjoy the ambience of the coffee machine in the background!) where we discuss all those myths about writing and publishing. Some we’ve fallen prey to; others we’ve debunked through experience.

You need to know everything about your story and characters before you can start writing. There’s a lot more you need to be doing as a self publisher. You’ll never “make it” without a big platform or great contacts. Sound familiar? Yeah, we’ve all heard them. And a lot more besides! But there is more than one path to writing success, and there’s no such thing as a magic bullet or “secret sauce” – so join us in the café and hopefully we can do some mythbusting!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we wanted to talk about talking. Well, book talking, ie dialogue. It can make or break your book - nobody wants to read stilted or awkward dialogue!

Find out the tricks and tips that we use to make our dialogue better, so that you can too! :)

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for thirty minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about endings in your books. Not just the main ending at the very back, but the endings on each of the chapters.

Many authors rush through the ending of their book, because by the time they get there, they're sick of the whole concept... But your ending is what will lead readers onto your next book, so you need to spend as much time on your ending as your beginning!

If you write a fizzer that ends too quickly or doesn't deliver on your promises throughout the story, you're not going to get lifetime readers who follow your every move.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about the beginnings of our books, and why it's vital to get it right, especially in the world of ebooks. It's really easy to put down a book, and find something else when you don't like the first few pages of a book on your kindle.

We go through some tips and tricks for how to set your book up with a fantastic beginning that will keep readers coming back for more.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we sit down and talk through our goals for the first quarter, and how we've been going. It's a bit of a mixed bag, with some of us having achieved our goals and others not so much. But there's always something to learn from our highs and lows, especially how to recalibrate your goals when things happen outside of your control.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for thirty minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we have a very special guest - Glenna Mageau, book blurb coach and writer who takes us through how to write a blurb that sells more books. We all picked up loads of tips and we're sure you will too!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk through the options for formatting your ebook, from getting it done by outsourcing to a service provider, to doing it yourself through programs like Vellum, Calibre or Legend Maker.

Uploading to Amazon is the first step - then the second step is setting up your Author Central Account and optimizing your Amazon Author Page. Too many new self publishers don't do the second step and it's costing them sales! It's easy and it's free so listen up and we'll share how to ZHUSH up your Amazon Author Page to make it sparkle!

SPA Girls Wendy Vella, Cheryl Phipps and Shar Barratt share their tips and tricks (and laughs)

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about a subject dear to our hearts - author overwhelm. It's so easy to become overwhelmed in this digital age, with everything that we are bombarded with and told we "have to" do to succeed as a self published author.

This episode we talk you through the tips and tricks we use to help us work through the overwhelm and keep writing. It's another fun episode, the SPA Girls were together in person this week, so we had a laugh as usual...

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk through the basic marketing principles that you need to make sure you've got in place on your books. Think of it as a 101 class in marketing your book.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we give some writer productivity hacks - ie a big ole list of tips to increase your productivity, based on things that we do each week to help us write more!

From exercise tips and the best writing apps to use, to setting routines and ways to stay in the flow, we give you the best tips that we could come up with to help keep you writing!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we fought it out and battled to the death over our favourite romance novels of all time. Listen and see if you agree with our choices and the reasons that we chose them...

Another hilarious episode from the SPA Girls...

Thinking of self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about etiquette for authors - how to treat other authors, your fans and the service providers you deal with on a daily basis.

Wendy, Cheryl and Trudi talk through some common writing mistakes and give suggestions for how to avoid making them yourself.

Based around Jack Bickham's book, The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes, we talk on topics from not making excuses, lecturing your readers, dropping alligators through the transom (don't worry, we figure that one out), stopping too soon, giving up and not just sitting there.

Filled with some great advice this is another fabulous episode of the SPA Girls Podcast.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talked about writing the book of your heart versus writing a book to market. What do these terms mean, and why should it matter to you? Listen to this episode to find out!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we were lucky enough to talk to Zoe York, USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance, and all around lovely lady. She gave us some fantastic tips on writing in series, including craft considerations, marketing ideas, and some best practice tips for making it work. Zoe really knows her stuff, so it's yet another don't-miss episode!

This week we get the show number wrong, yet again, and the sound quality is a little bit bad, but we still manage to get out an episode talking about our goals for 2017 and how we're going to achieve them. It's a fun, motivational episode that will get you started thinking about your goals, and how you're going to make them happen in 2017!

This week we interview celebrated screenwriter Kathryn Burnett who talks to us about setting and keeping goals for 2017. It's a value-packed episode filled with useful information for writers. Plus Kathryn is super lovely, and great to listen to!

Join the SPA Girls for an extra-special Christmas episode where we talk about the highs and lows of 2016 - our Hit, Miss and Maybe list for self publishing.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we had the ultimate interview with... Joanna Penn of the Creative Penn Podcast!!

She talks about how she started in self publishing, gives some amazing advice on how to get started as an Indie author, how to decide what success means to you, and debunks a few myths about self publishing (sorry, indie authors...).

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls Podcast each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we interviewed the delightful Olivia Ventura, an editor at Hot Tree Edits, an editing service for self-published authors. They have several editors, and a streamlined service that we have personally used, and are happy to recommend to our listeners!

We talked about the different types of editing, some of the more common grammar mistakes, and some of the main problems that authors come up against with their editing, and how to fix them. Enjoy!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week Shar, Wendy and Cheryl answer a few reader questions, from how to choose your editor, to finding time to write when you have a family and what to do if you hate social media.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week Shar, Cheryl and Trudi talk about writing for a Kindle World. Cheryl has just released the second book in the Laguna Beach Kindle World.

We grilled her about what it was like to be a part of the Kindle World programme, how she got involved, what she had to do to be part of it. We also talk about the benefits of being part of a kindle world and why you might choose to do it in your career.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week Wendy, Cher and Trudi talk about dealing with unavoidable distractions, and how to maintain a writing schedule even when things get busy.

With Christmas coming up we thought we'd talk about how we personally keep going when it seems that everything in the world is out to stop you writing the next book.

It's a great reminder that we're all different and we all deal with distractions and problems in our lives differently, and however you deal with them, as long as you're still progressing forward, it's okay.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we open up and talk about the mistakes that we've made in our self publishing journeys and how you can avoid making the same ones.

From not editing enough, to rushing through the process, and not getting the best cover or knowing your genre, we've done it all! We're happy to help you learn from our mistakes so join us this week for a info packed episode.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about the proposed launch of a project dear to our hearts - our new book about author overwhelm.

We've been working on this project for a while, and we're really excited about bringing it to you. We talk about the book, what it involves, and what we're going to do over the next three months before the launch to try and make it a success.

One of the big aspects to this launch process is the expansion of our mailing list. We made a goal of getting 1,000 people onto our mailing list by end of February 2017.

Join us on the journey, and go sign up to our mailing list!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for thirty minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we sit down with three talented authors, Talia Hunter, Toni Kenyon, and Yvonne Lindsay and discuss writing topics from advice for newbies, favourite writing tools, and why it's important to gather your writing buddies around you.

It's another fun, informative episode with three really interesting authors. Don't miss out!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talk about how we launch our own self published books into the marketplace, and offer some suggestions for how you might launch your own book as well.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for thirty minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

Indie author Kelly McClymer talks to us about her writing career, how she got started as an indie author, why she writes in multiple genres, and what she's doing this week in an attempt to get her historical romance book onto the USA Today Bestseller list.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we're still without Cher (she arrives back from her dream vacation very soon) but we managed to get up from our respective sick beds to talk about creating awesome characters.

This is a big one in our books, because you can't have an amazing romance book without amazing characters. We're not talking about creating the perfect person, more how to create realistic, loveable characters that your readers are going to want more of.

Don't miss episode!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week is a milestone episode - we've recorded 50 episodes of the SPA Girls podcast! We talked about the changes we've seen in self publishing in the last year, in our own careers, but also in the self publishing industry. Join us for a discussion of the highs and lows, the good and the bad and the ugly! :)

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we're again without the lovely Cheryl Phipps, so we decided to do another interview. We talked to best-selling contemporary romance author Tracey Alvarez about how she got started in self publishing, the results she's had from her two series, and the advice she has for authors just starting out.

Don't miss out!

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week Trudi Jaye interviews Steff Green, who writes as Steffanie Holmes in the paranormal romance genre.

They talk about Steff's journey into self publishing, the books she's written, how she's become so successful, and her advice for younger authors.

Thinking about self publishing and don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talked about advertising - what kind of advertising we do, our experiences with it, and whether it's worked. We cover off advertising with the email lists like Book Bub, Ereader News Today, Freebooksy and Robin Reads, as well as a mention for Facebook ads and Amazon ads.

This is a bonus episode from the RWNZ16 conference. Three different short interviews with author Heather Graham, agent Courtney Miller-Callihan, and Hollywood story consultant Michael Hauge. Don't miss this episode!

Thinking about self publishing but don't know where to start? Join the SPA Girls each week for 30 minutes of honest advice, tips and resources.

This week we talked about series, what they are, what they involve and what you should write in one.

In this episode of the SPA Girls Podcast we talk about the recent RWNZ conference, what we learned, who we met, and how much fun we had...! With international guests like Hollywood Script Consultant Michael Hauge, multi-award winning author Heather Graham, Australian superstar Rachel Bailey, New Zealand scriptwriting extraordinaire Kathryn Burnett, and many more, it was impossible to choose who to listen to! We hope you enjoy this episode.