Podcast appearances and mentions of jami albright

A conversation about grief, family, forgiveness, faith, and finding joy again. Jami Albright shares the true story behind The Summer That Changed Us—and why her family thought they'd drown in grief, but were ultimately swamped by love. ????

Sarah Andre and Lark Brennan, two romance authors, interview today's most exciting Romance and Women's Fiction authors. Nothing's off-limits on the Hotseat!

Sarah Andre and Lark Brennan, two romance authors, interview today's most exciting Romance and Women's Fiction authors. Nothing's off-limits on the Hotseat!

How do you write when your heart is broken? How do you go back into the publishing business after years away, knowing it's a very different industry to the one you left? With Jami Albright. In the intro, InAudio is now distributing audiobooks to BookShop.org; The Feedback Loop that Makes Better Writers [Author Nation Podcast]; Bones of the Deep on Goodreads. This episode is sponsored by Publisher Rocket, which will help you get your book in front of more Amazon readers so you can spend less time marketing and more time writing. I use Publisher Rocket for researching book titles, categories, and keywords — for new books and for updating my backlist. Check it out at www.PublisherRocket.com This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Jami Albright is the bestselling author of the Brides on the Run romances and the co-host of the Wish I'd Known Then Podcast. Today we're talking about her new novel, The Summer That Changed Us. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes How Jami started writing fiction at 47 and waited a year before publishing her first book Why she fictionalised her sister's terminal cancer story rather than writing a memoir The difference between writing as therapy and writing for the reader Reactivating an email newsletter after almost two years of silence Going wide with a standalone women's fiction novel after years in KU and rom-com Letting go of the frantic hustle of indie publishing and redefining what success looks like You can find Jami at JamiAlbright.com. Transcript of the interview with Jami Albright Jo: Jami Albright is the bestselling author of the Brides on the Run romances and the co-host of the Wish I'd Known Then Podcast. Today we're talking about her new novel, The Summer That Changed Us. So, welcome to the show, Jami. Jami: Thank you, Joanna. I've made it. This is my first time on The Creative Penn, so I can retire tomorrow. Jo: And we were saying before the show, I really thought you had been on the show before, because over the years we've connected a lot. We met over a decade ago, didn't we? At the Smarter Artist Summit. I was like, “I'm sure you've been on the show,” and you haven't. So, yes, welcome. Jami: Thank you. You've been on our show, though. We did an interview with you a few years ago. Jo: Yes. Well, anyway, for anyone who doesn't follow your show— Tell us a bit more about you and how you got into writing and publishing. Jami: Okay. So I am the co-host of the Wish I'd Known Then Podcast for Writers. Sara Rosett and I have been doing that podcast since January 2020. Little did we know what was coming, and it really saved me, just mentally, being able to talk to people every week. I never wrote a word of fiction until I was 47. I'd never really written anything. I have really bad grammar. I tell a lot of stories, and I would make up stories, but I'd never write them down because of the grammar thing. But my reading buddy had her birthday coming up in about three months, and I thought, “You know what? I'm going to write Jennifer a book for her birthday. She doesn't care if I have bad grammar.” I just thought it would be on brand. It was so hard. I wrote myself into a corner very fast. When I told her, she said, “Well, now you have to.” So I got Writing a Romance Novel for Dummies, I read that, and I started writing what is now Running from a Rock Star. But then my computer crashed and I lost it, and I was like, “Well, I'm not a writer.” So that was fine. Then I turned 50, and I told my family, “I think the only thing I regret is not finishing that book.” Of course they were like, “Well, you need to just do it again.” I was like, “No, I had 30,000 words.” A few weeks later my daughter came in and said, “Mom, I found this flash drive in my car. I think it has your book on it.” And it was 20,000 of the 30,000 words. So I was like, “Well, it's now or never.” So I joined Romance Writers of America and got involved in a critique group, and they absolutely kicked my butt for a good six months. I think every week they were surprised I came back, because it was so brutal. I knew I didn't know anything, and they taught me to write. Six months after I joined that first critique group, I won my first contest with the first 10 pages of that book. Then I just continued on. Three years later, I published Rock Star. I was going to publish it two years later, but I went to the Smarter Artist Summit, where I met you. I was advised by Julia Cant and Sean Platt and some other people to wait—preferably to have more books written. I had the second book written when the first one came out, but it still needed to be edited. So I waited a year, learned this business, and sold plasma to pay for my edits because I was poor. It was the best decision I ever made. Going to that conference, first of all, was the best $500 I've ever spent, and waiting that year really helped me learn this business. When I published the book, I had an email list of 1,200 people before the book ever came out. None of those things would have been set up had I published right after the Smarter Artist Summit, which is what I'd thought I would do, in the summer. So waiting gave me time to get everything set up so that when I published that book, it really took off from day one. I had 1,200 people on that newsletter list who wanted that book, because I had done a preview promo. Instead of putting out the whole book, I think I put out four chapters, and then people signed up. I don't know that that works anymore. Jo: I was going to say that. We should say to people, what was that, around 2016? Jami: 2017. Things have changed. Jo: Yes, things have changed, and I think this is so important. I had a question about this, and what they were implying was things that, like you said, we learned a decade ago. Things have changed. We'll come back to how you're doing it now, but just in terms of finishing off how you got started—those books did really well, didn't they? You had a couple of years there. How many books did you do? How did that go? Because you did have real success. Jami: Yes. From 2017 until really the beginning of 2021, if you look at my sales graph and my income, it just increased, increased, increased. 2019 was my very best year, but 2020 was only slightly lower as far as book sales and income. I only put out a book a year after the second book. The second book came out about six months after the first one, and after that it was about every nine months to a year that I put a book out. Everyone said you can't make money doing that, but I did. I think those books are very tropey. They're very hooky. That helped. I also think the timing of those books was really good. Rom-com was really coming up, and my rom-com is pretty wacky, but it's also really emotional too. If I get any critiques about them it's usually that “this book was way more emotional than I expected, and I was looking for something a little lighter.” They're just really wacky. They're rom-coms. Wacky circumstances. Small town, so there's all these small-town people. I just think it was a good time to release those. Those were good years. I miss those years. Jo: It's a good lesson, because it's not always up and to the right, is it? We're going to come back and revisit that. So then the pandemic hit, and on a more personal level, over the last few years, you've had a deeply difficult time that has led to The Summer That Changed Us, your latest book. So talk a bit about what's happened, why this book, and also why fictionalise it rather than write a memoir? I had that question. Jami: Okay. So 2021, my income was dropping, but it was still okay. I was still making more than enough that—thank God I don't have to make all the money in our household—but there was a level that I wanted to. At the end of 2021, my sister, who was the fourth of five sisters, had lived with cancer—non-smoker's lung cancer—for 10 years. She had the kind that, if you had a certain mutation, there were medications that worked amazingly well. Until they didn't, and then they put you on another class of that medication. So for 10 years, that's what she did. She missed work maybe three times in 10 years. People who met her never knew she had cancer unless they knew us. She just never acted like she had cancer. We would have to say, “Remember, you have cancer.” At the end of 2021, they ran out of that class of drugs. There were some being tested, but none had been approved. When she was diagnosed, she was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. You don't survive very long having stage four lung cancer with no medication. So I saw the writing on the wall pretty much at the end of 2021, but of course I was very hopeful that they could do something. By May of 2022, it was clear things were not going well. In July of 2022, she got a six-to-twelve-week diagnosis. She just went in one day thinking she was about to get radiation, not knowing anything, and they were like, “No, we can't do radiation, and you should get your affairs in order because you have six to twelve weeks to live.” Jo: Oh. Jami: People who've been through it know this feeling. It's like being hit by a wrecking ball. It just knocks everything off your axis. Your whole world implodes into this one moment, this person that you love. I live four hours away from my family. They all still live in the same small town. I was in Dallas at my daughter's at the time, and they live about 30 miles outside of Dallas. So I went to my mom's, and I stayed there. I was there for almost six months, if you count the time I was back and forth, because she was not doing great but she was still okay. She had always rallied and come back. But once she got the diagnosis, I stayed. She would go home, but she would come back to my mom's during the day, because her husband worked. She was a teacher, so she was off during the summer. I was just there, and we all just took care of her. When she decided to go on hospice, she wanted to be at my mom's. She didn't want to be at home—they lived out in the country. She wanted to be at my mom's, so we set her up in the living room. We're redneck country people. We bring our crazy people in, our sick people, just out for everybody to see. She was just in the middle of the living room in her hospital bed, and the world just revolved around that hospital bed. Once that happened, once I knew at the end of 2021 that things were not going to go well—I really did not believe she would die. But she died a month after she went on hospice in October of 2022. That whole year, I was useless. I could not write. I couldn't think of anything to write. I write funny. How do you write funny when your heart's broken? I couldn't do it. After she died, I knew it would take a while. I knew it would maybe even be a year. But as the weeks turned into months and the months turned into years, I haven't written—except for her obituary—I've not written a word since she died until I started writing this book a year ago. I started it on April 19th. Jo: I mean, the stories of grief—there seems to be no way of escaping whatever it ends up being. You didn't choose your response. Your deep grief was just there, and you couldn't write. I feel like sometimes people just try and force it. It sounds like that's what you needed, and you have done that. So what then gave you the impetus to finally write—and to choose fiction? Jami: I didn't write memoir. I did think about doing a memoir, but I don't read memoir, and I don't know how to write it. I was already behind the eight ball, trying to write a book at all because it had been forever. I don't need to learn how to write something completely different. Plus, it just felt too close to write the memoir. I had been in Mexico City with my daughter, who has an event planning company, and we were there scouting locations for one of her events. Janet Margot lives in Mexico City, so I reached out, and we had dinner. We were talking, and she had had two big losses about the same time that my sister passed away. So we were talking about how difficult it is afterwards, just getting your head back into a space of being creative at all. She said, “You really should write this book. You should tell this story. It hits everything: middle-aged women dealing with middle-age things. You've got your parents that you were dealing with, and then your sister. You should write this story.” I said, “No, thank you. I lived it. I don't want to write it.” But it just wouldn't go away. I couldn't figure out how I would tell it. Whose point of view? I couldn't do it from the dying sister's point of view because I didn't think I could be authentic. I was afraid to tell it from multiple POVs because the book has a lot of characters in it. My family is gigantic—my immediate family, my sisters, husbands, nieces and nephews, my kids, my mom and dad—there are 35 of us. Almost all of those are in and out of my mom's house all the time. So I knew I couldn't do multiple point of view. One day, I was driving home to my mom's house, and it just hit me. The whole story laid out in front of me, and that's what I did. The first draft was pretty much just a retelling of what happened to us. I added some fictional elements, but I just wanted to get the story out. It was hard. I started Adderall on April 19th of 2025—I know that, because that's the day I started this book. I do call this the book that Adderall wrote, because I could sit and focus for three or four hours, which I'd never really been able to do. I would come to Starbucks and I would sit and write this book, and I would cry sitting in Starbucks, like a crazy person. People would walk by and slide a napkin onto the table and just keep walking, because I'm sitting there crying like crazy. I was so superstitious, and things were working so well, that I was afraid not to come and write at Starbucks. Staying at home, I think, would have been really hard. I would maybe have sunk into a depression had I done this at home. So I just wrote the whole book at Starbucks. After I wrote the first draft, I went back in and made it more fictional. But a lot of the book—especially her stuff—is a lot of what happened. She was just crazy. I tell a story in the book that, this is the absolute truth, this happened. She was in college, and she had convinced my younger sister to go to a honky-tonk club because they were having a Miss Honky-Tonk contest. Before she could get up on stage to compete as Miss Honky-Tonk, she got in a fight with some girl, and the girl hit her in the head with a bottle and split her head open. She was bleeding. My youngest sister was like, “We've got to go to the ER.” And she just refused, because there was a $300 cash prize for winning, and she needed it to make rent. So she borrowed a towel from the bartender, wrapped it around her head, competed with that bloody towel on her head, and won that stupid contest. That story in and of itself was my sister. Everything about her is in that story. So a lot of the stories in there happened to her in one way or another. What happens to June in the book happened to my sister. Jo: This is interesting, because the same thing memoir writers face is something perhaps you face: how much of the writing is therapy and how much is for the reader? You said you sat there crying. Absolutely, writing for therapy is very important—but when you come to edit, there might be things that your therapy side of you is like, “That's so important to me.” How do you kill your darlings when you're editing your sister's life? Jami: That was hard. I had to take out a lot of what was in the first draft, mostly the stories. Once she came home on hospice, it was just a steady stream of people coming in, and everybody had a story about her. What I found in editing was that Hope, the main character, was mostly a spectator in those scenes instead of being actively part of them. So I had to take those out, because they didn't serve the purpose of the book. I committed early on to: while I wanted to tell the story, I did not want it to be self-indulgent. I did not want it to be a therapy session that I sold to people as a story. Because of that, I think that really helped. I really did think about that as I was revising. I sent it to a developmental editor, and I don't know how great she was, but she gave me some really good advice about a couple of things. One was, “There's just not enough conflict in this book. You say that Hope and the father have this really contentious relationship, yet we don't see it. There's a little bit of it here and there, but you're not really digging into that.” It's hard, because while the rest of the world doesn't know, my family knows that this is a lot of our story. I just had to let that go and not worry about what my family thought. They had all given me permission. I'd sort of said, “I want to do this. Are you guys okay with that?” I talked to her husband, and everybody was okay with me doing it. But I couldn't worry about what they were going to think. I would repeat to myself: if they want to tell this story, they can write their own book. I'm writing what I saw and telling a fictionalised story that will hopefully honour her, but also help other people feel like they're being seen, and also be entertaining. If you're going to write a book, it needs to be somewhat entertaining. Jo: I don't think you can help yourself. You're funny. Jami: Yes. The book is really funny. I tell people that and they're like, “Hmm, really?” And I'm like, “It is really funny.” But it's also really sad. Jo: Well, I think that's the truth—to defend myself. There is a lot of humour in grief. There is death and dying, and it's a human condition. Jami: It is a human condition, yep. Jo: There's comedy in all of the human condition. That's just the way it is, right? I heard you mention on an interview, I can't remember where it was, that you feel very connected to this book, and you're worried that people judging it or giving it a bad review might feel like an insult to your sister. How are you dealing with these kinds of fears about how to separate ourselves from our books? Jami: I've been in therapy—like, literal therapy—for that, because I felt like that would be hard. So far, I've only gotten a few reviews back. They've all been good reviews. I haven't had anyone say they hate it. I just have had to separate myself. It's not personal. Reviews are never personal. People not liking your book is never personal. That's just a mindset. I've had to change my mind about that. Knowing that's a pitfall I could fall into, I really keep it top of mind. My family knows that's an issue, so they know they have to pull me out of that hole if I drop in. So that's really how I've handled it so far. We'll see. Jo: Maybe it's time as well. You're almost back to the “book is your baby” situation. As the years pass, the book almost becomes separate, doesn't it? How you feel about your first bride book is probably like, “It's not even me anymore.” Jami: Right. I learned early that your book isn't really your baby. Once you publish it, it's your product. So that has never been very hard for me. I still hate bad reviews, and I take them personally like everybody else does, if I let myself. But ultimately, this is a book that I'm putting out for entertainment. Yes, it's very personal. Yes, it means a lot to me. But if people don't like it, it isn't because they don't like my dead sister. They just don't like my writing. Jo: It's tough, but it's good to talk about, because this is something many people feel. My memoir Pilgrimage—it's not the same at all—but I was just so scared of judgment. The fear of judgment. What people would think of me. That's kind of different, but— It's this question of how it'll land. The reality is, not many people read these books anyway. Jami: Well, I have worried about how it would land, but mostly I worry about how it would land with the people I love. My mom read it last week. I was there while she was reading it. That was no fun. She laughed, but it was devastating to her. She's like, “It's great, and I hate it.” Because it is so raw and real to her still—well, to all of us. That's where I worry, how it's going to land with them. But again, I've had to let that go. I had to let it go during the writing, because if I worried about that, then I would not have told an honest story. That was another thing—I didn't want it to be self-indulgent, and I wanted it to be honest. As honest as I could make it, even to the point of making people uncomfortable. There's a line. Once you cross it, there's no getting you back after that. So I walked that line really carefully, because I did want it to be honest about how I felt, how other people I know who've been through something like this feel. Also, just relationships. Because when you're in a big family like my sisters and I—we adore each other, but we can also go toe-to-toe real fast. It can get ugly, because we know each other really well. We're also a little bit redneck, so we don't pull any punches. Your sisters are always the most honest people in your life. I wanted that to be true in this book too—both sides of that story. Jo: Let's circle back to the business stuff and some of the things we talked about, because obviously this has been a really difficult time. There was no way to deal with it in any other way, but your business has changed. You had these great few years, good sales, and then you had other priorities. So how are you rebooting the business? Lots of people end up taking a few years out for whatever reason. How are you rebooting the business to try and sell some books? Jami: To be honest, I have the remnants of a business. I have tried over the last four years to run some ads to get the Bride's books going, but here's something that's very interesting, and if somebody can tell me why this happened, I would love to hear it. These books that have sold so many books—I mean, so many books—I could not give them away. It didn't matter what I did. I changed covers, I changed blurbs, I put them on sale, I took them off sale, I ran ads. Ads wouldn't really move the needle. I know that at a certain point, when you haven't published and your books get pushed down in the algorithm, that is an uphill battle. But it was almost like, one day they just fell off, and once they started falling, I could not get them back. I just couldn't. So that I didn't make myself crazy—because also during this time, I was just trying to keep my head above water—when I would deal with my books or go into my dashboard, I would feel horrible. I was already feeling horrible, so I didn't need to feel more horrible. So I just sort of let them go after a certain point. I've now started running some Facebook ads. I have one Facebook ad that's working really well, knock on wood, right now for my first Bride's book. The problem is, this book and my Bride's books are different. The voice and the tone are the same, but they're really different in a lot of ways. They're the same in a lot of ways. This book doesn't have any sex; the other books don't have anybody dying. But some of the things are really similar. So I may have some crossover. For whatever reason, this ad is working. My book one is ranked better than it's been ranked in forever—really good. I'm not spending a ton of money to do it. So I don't know what changed. I don't know if I'll ever know. I've revised my newsletter, and that's worked well. I still have around a 35 to 40% open rate on a newsletter that I didn't send out for almost two years. I was sending it out, but then I kind of stopped, and then I started again. Jo: I was going to ask you about that, because I often get people emailing me. They're like, “I have a really old newsletter from several years ago. I haven't emailed them for years.” So what did you say in that first email? Like, “Hey, I'm back”? Jami: I mean, I'm just like, “Remember me?” It really was kind of like that. Just, “I'm back. You guys know life has happened. I'm sure you understand. If you're still here, thank you so much. I have been writing. I have this book that I think some of you will really love.” That's really how it was. From the first email, even that first email had a higher open rate. I think it was close to 45%. I had not sent out a newsletter in two years literally. Jo: People were like, “What happened?” Jami: They're like, “Oh, she didn't die. That was her sister, not her.” But I've just been really fortunate. They've been really encouraging. Every time I send one out, I get really encouraging emails back. So I've sent out about the book. The majority of my readers are KU readers because my books are in KU. But this book is going wide. One of the things I'm doing because I have been a little concerned about… Janet Margot does a lot of Amazon ads stuff and she knows a lot about Amazon. We've talked a lot about whether I should use my real name, my pen name, or come up with another name. Should I worry about my readers buying the book and messing up my Also Boughts? All of those things, because my readers are romance readers. Some of them read women's fiction, but for the most part, they're romance readers. I've decided to stick with Jami Albright and not worry about it. There are just things you can't control, so I've had to hold everything with a really open hand with this book. I am offering the book on my website. I'm selling it at $7.99—I chose a high price point, because I just feel like, to sit with the other books that I want it to sit with, I need that price point. So I'm offering it on my website, starting at the end of this week, for $5. If they're KU readers and they don't buy books, but they want the book, they can get it for $5 on my website, which I think is reasonable. Jo: Mm. Absolutely. Jami: If that's too much for them, I understand and I get it. Time, things are hard right now, and if they can't do that, it's going to be in libraries, so they can request it at their library. But right now that's the plan. Hopefully that helps with the Also Boughts a little bit too. Even though, again, I just can't worry about those things. As a gift to my readers, I want to do this for them as well—give them a discount. Jo: And obviously this is a standalone, right? This is not— Jami: Yes, it is. Jo: Again, a bit like memoir, all the book marketing we talk about in fiction is “write a series.” It's much easier. So it is difficult to market a standalone in general. And this is something that happened, so it is a standalone situation. So do you feel like you're back in terms of writing? Have you got plans for more books, or is this a business for you going forward? Do you feel like you want to re-enter this whole world? Jami: I do. I have an idea for a book similar to this one—not in the same kind of genre, I mean, of women's fiction, kind of midlife fiction stuff. I have an idea. I had nothing for months and months and months, and a couple of months ago, this idea kind of came to me. I was like, “Oh, that's not bad.” So I'm mulling it over—I do a lot of mulling—and that's the next book I think I will write. I don't know that I'll write rom-coms again. Not because I don't love them. I do, and I love my rom-coms. But I'm just different. You do not go through something like this and come out on the other side the same. I don't know that I could carry an entire rom-com through without it being even more emotional than mine are now. So for right now, I'm going to write another one of these kinds of books where it's got a lot of emotion, family dynamic, tension and dynamics. Jo: That's great. I do feel like once you've written the book that was waiting—your sister's book—then more things arrive, and it's great to hear that that is arriving for you. And of course, we change. One of the nice things about writing for the long term and building more of a name brand is that you change, and your readers either follow you or they don't, but it's your life. So I think that's a good reason to have one pen name. I obviously have two, but my fiction pen name I've written all kinds of genres under. Why else would we keep doing this? I don't want to write the same book over and over again. Jami: Right. Believe me, I've had to eat a lot of crow over the last four years, and it's tasty with ketchup. I have decided that a lot of the stuff I said is true: about you write in one genre, you give the people exactly what they want, and you give it to them over and over again. I believe all of that. I still believe those things. It's just that I don't know that I'm capable of doing that right now. Also, I'm older. I am about doing the things that bring me joy and are not a drudgery. I want to say this, because I miss the success. I miss who I thought I was during that time. I miss the recognition. I'll freely admit it. I miss being the person doing the thing that everybody said couldn't be done. “You can't make money with one book a year.” Well, watch me. And I did. I miss that. What I don't miss, and I've had to be really, really honest with myself, which has been difficult—I don't miss the anxiety that came with that. There was a lot of franticness. I think that if you are in a lot of groups, you see that franticness. I've had to step back, like I've had to step back, and then go back into these groups, you hear authors and see authors, and there's just this frantic sense that we're losing everything, and we have to hold on so tight to everything. I was like that. I checked my ads constantly. I checked my dashboard constantly. My mom used to say, “This should be fun.” I'm like, “Mom, it's a business. It's not fun.” But I recognise that I loved that so much that I held onto it so tight. I don't want to go back to that. I don't have the energy for that. Since this all happened, I've gained four more grandchildren than I had. I have six grandchildren now. I want to spend time with them. I want to spend time with my adult children. I want to spend time with my mom and dad. So I can't be frantic about my sales—are they going up, are they dropping?—and give emotionally to the people I love in my life. If the last four years have taught me anything, it is that the one thing you can never get back is time. You can never get it back, and that is so important to me right now. With this book—and one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you when we were talking about when I would do it—I wanted to do it before it came out, because I've already won. Writing this book, writing a book that honours the bravest person I've ever known and doing the second-hardest thing that I've ever had to do, is the win. That's the win. Whatever happens with this book afterwards is just what happens with this book afterwards. It doesn't change who I am, and you told me that when we were in Vegas two years ago. That conversation really changed a lot for me, because you said, “You are a successful author.” I was still trying to come up with a plan to be a successful author again, and you were like, “You are a successful author. You've had success. That makes you a successful author. You don't have to chase that.” That changed so much of my thinking. If I could leave listeners with anything, it is that we need to recognise the things we can't control and just deal with the things we can control. That's kind of how my sister lived. She could not control her cancer, but she could control how she responded to it and how she went forward. I think a lot of times, when bad things happen, we want to make sense of them. We want a reason for them. And a lot of times there's just no reason. There's no reason my sister died. There's no reason she left two kids and a husband devastated and a family that just has a giant hole in it. There's no reason for that. What defines us is not figuring out why that happened. It's what we do with that going forward. I think that's important for me to remember when I start getting caught up in all the franticness of this business. Jo: Yes. Or not, as the case may be. You can just let the book be what it is. And I do feel like these deeper books, they're more slow burn. You wrote books that ran, ran like the bride. Now we're not running like the bride. Jami: I'm tired. I don't run unless a wild animal's chasing me. Jo: Exactly. Look, we're out of time, but just tell people, if they haven't listened, a bit about your podcast, Wish I'd Known Then with Sara Rosett. Tell people what they can find over on that podcast and why you're still doing it. You've been doing it throughout the whole time. While not writing, you've still been podcasting. Jami: It absolutely saved my life. It's kept me in this business. While I haven't been publishing, I still know what's going on. I know about direct sales, I know about what's happening behind the scenes, with Facebook ads. I've kept in touch with those things because of our podcast. It's an interview podcast like yours, but we talk to people about what they wish they'd known about indie publishing. Most people have some certain thing that they've been working on or doing, and we talk to them a little bit about that too. We ask the same questions every week to every guest, and it's so interesting how different the answers are, and yet how similar they are. I think that helps when you're going through it and you're like, “God, I must be the only one feeling this way.” But you tune into a podcast, and you hear week after week, “Oh, no, there are other people feeling the same way I'm feeling, or struggling with the same things I'm struggling with.” Hopefully we give people things to shoot for and to aspire to. We have some amazing guests. They've all been really gracious and really honest. I don't know if it's the questions, or just because Sara and I are our style, but they're really honest with us when they answer the questions. Jo: It's a great show. I recommend it a lot. Jami: Thank you. Jo: Where can people find you and your books online? Jami: You can find me at JamiAlbright.com—that's J-A-M-I-Albright.com. I'm on all the socials as Jami Albright Author. My books are on Amazon right now, but this book is actually now on all the retailers. So that's where you can find me. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Jami. That was great. Jami: It was an honour. Thank you so much.The post Writing Through Grief And Rebooting an Indie Author Business With Jami Albright first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Kickstarter has become a key part of the author business for those who want to make more money per book, connect directly with readers, and produce beautiful editions they're proud of. In this episode, I share excerpts from interviews with Oriana Leckert, Head of Publishing at Kickstarter, Russell Nohelty, and Sacha Black, alongside my own hard-won lessons from six campaigns that have now made over $140K combined. Whether you're considering your first campaign or looking to refine your process, we cover everything from overcoming your fears to rewards, fulfilment, shipping, marketing, and why I keep coming back for more. In the intro, Writing StoryBundle; Spotify Expands Audiobook Features and Printed Books; Draft2Digital Activation and Maintenance Fees; comment by Kevin McLaughlin; and Barnes & Noble Press change to Minimum Retail Price for Printed Books; AI-Assisted Artisan Author webinars. This show is supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn  Joanna Penn is an award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers, dark fantasy, short stories and travel memoir under J.F. Penn and also writes non-fiction for authors and hosts The Creative Penn Podcast. What Kickstarter is and why it works differently from a normal book launch The fears that held me back for almost a decade — and whether they were justified Starting small: Why you don't need sprayed edges and special hardbacks to run a successful campaign. Creative reward ideas beyond merch: digital rewards, experiential rewards, naming rights, and bundling your backlist Common mistakes that sink campaigns: overestimating your reach, getting shipping costs wrong, and not allowing enough time Fulfilment realities, printing timelines, and reinvesting profit into future stock Marketing your campaign: pre-launch signups, content marketing, email lists, social media scheduling, and Facebook/Meta ads My update for campaign #7, Bones of the Deep: what's changed, what I'm doing differently, and how AI tools are part of my process now Why I now love Kickstarter campaigns and how the spike income model fits a sustainable creative career You can find my Kickstarter campaign for Bones of the Deep here (until 5 May, 2026) and all my previous campaigns here. Introduction Jo: In this episode, I've included excerpts from my own previous solo show about Kickstarter, as well as excerpts from interviews with Oriana Leckert, the Head of Publishing at Kickstarter; Russell Nohelty, who has done lots of successful Kickstarter campaigns and teaches direct sales; and Sacha Black, who did a six-figure campaign last year. I've also added my updates to the end of the episode filling in any last thoughts. You can listen to the full episodes here: Kickstarter for Authors with Oriana Leckert The Mindset and Business of Selling Direct with Russell Nohelty Lessons Learned and Tips from Pilgrimage, My First Kickstarter Campaign Two Different Approaches to Selling Direct with Sacha Black and Joanna Penn What is Kickstarter, and why use it instead of a normal book launch? Here's Oriana Leckert, Head of Publishing at Kickstarter — and the numbers she shares will be higher now, as the episode is from February 2025. Oriana: Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform. We are unique in the crowdfunding landscape for a few reasons. We are only for creative projects, so you can't use Kickstarter for medical bills, investment funding, or charitable donations. Every project has to create something new to share with the world. Jo: Have you got any numbers on how big the Kickstarter industry is now with publishing, or anything you can share around that? Oriana: Yeah, I would love to. First I'll tell you Kickstarter overall by the numbers. Since our inception, there have been 273,000 projects funded, eight and a half billion — with a “b” — billion dollars pledged, from more than 24 million backers. In publishing specifically, we've had 69,000 projects launched, 3.2 million unique backers, and over $380 million pledged to campaigns. I have lots of other stats, but a few things I'll share. The publishing category keeps growing The publishing category has grown year over year, every year since 2017, in terms of number of projects launched, number of projects successful, and the overall success rate. There has never been a dip since 2017. Another stat I really love about the publishing category: if you look at campaigns that have at least 25 backers, the overall success rate is 84%. I think that's really telling, because 25 backers is a little bit more than your mum, your best friend, the folks who are essentially obligated to support anything you do. So if you can get a little bit beyond that inner circle, your chances of succeeding on the platform are tremendously high. Backers are paying more — and waiting longer Another thing I wanted to call out — I just got some new numbers around this. The average backing amount per backer across the whole category has nearly doubled since 2020. We used to see an average backing around $40, and it's currently at $72 per backer. I think this is clearly around the trend of special and deluxe editions, but it's a great indication that backer behaviour on Kickstarter is just very different from your general book-buying public. People don't come here looking for 99-cent ebooks — the lowest bargain-basement prices. Folks are really willing to pay more because they understand this is a different kind of thing. It's not exactly a purchase. It really is supporting, bringing a strange and wonderful new thing into the world that wouldn't exist before. People are also much more forgiving about timelines. If you buy something from most online booksellers, you're expecting to have it in your hands within a couple of days. People wait months and sometimes years to get their Kickstarter rewards, and they don't mind if the creator is clear and transparent. You're also doing the work of demystifying the publishing process. Why does it take so long? Where are books printed? How long does it take them to ship via freight over the ocean? What do all these things really look like? So it's really interesting just figuring out what your backers want and will bear versus the general book-buying public out in the world. Kickstarter is not just for “desperate” authors anymore Oriana: People used to think Kickstarter was just for desperate folks who couldn't get a book deal through the traditional systems. The change has been so dramatic — people now understand that Kickstarter can be transformative for an author's career, and that it can work for traditional publishing, indie publishing, hybrid publishing, all kinds of authors. Kickstarter is really about collapsing the boundaries between a writer and their readers, a publisher and their fan base, any creative person and their audience. And there are so many benefits to doing that. You get to really thrill your backers with new and exciting rewards. You get to turn what can be a standard book release into a moment. You get to build your brand, your profile, get press, test out ambitious projects. You get to understand so much more about your audience and what they want and how you can give it to them. It's been really marvellous seeing the great success that people can have on our platform and outside of it. Why do a Kickstarter campaign? Jo: Why Kickstarter and not a usual book launch? Benefits for backers If you back a Kickstarter, you get special editions, bonus content, interesting merchandise, bundles, digital specials, print specials, early access. All of them pretty much are really cool books from creators you either already love or those you've never heard of, because you just want to see their cool stuff. I've started buying books from people I have never heard of because I think their books are really cool. Once you start supporting campaigns on Kickstarter, the algorithm will recommend campaigns for you. It's essentially a different way of shopping for great books and other products, and it's just another part of my ecosystem for how I shop. It's a form of direct sales, so you also have a closer connection with the creator. You can message them, for example, and they get it — rather than buying through an online retailer or bookstore. Benefits for creators In terms of benefits for creators, you get to know people in a more personal way through the campaign, messaging with people and connecting more than you would when selling through a retailer, when you don't know who is buying your books. As an author, you can make more money more quickly and retain a higher percentage of the royalties, rather than wait months or years to get paid and have a large percentage taken out by everyone down the chain — publishers, platforms, distributors, and retailers. Brandon Sanderson's $41 million Kickstarter was clearly the pinnacle of what can be achieved, but many authors are happy making a few thousand for their book project upfront and use campaigns multiple times during the year. Kickstarter takes 5% for their fee, although of course you have to factor in the cost of production and marketing. But even then, I make more profit on my book sales through selling ebooks and audiobooks direct, and also printing with BookVault, than I do with KDP Print or IngramSpark print on demand. Higher average order and faster payment Another way you make more money is that the average order per customer is higher with Kickstarter than sales on the usual stores. The average order on my campaign was £37.24 — that's around $45 US — which is at least four times higher than I might have made selling Pilgrimage in the usual way on the major retailers. You get paid two weeks after the campaign finishes, so the money is in your bank account much faster than if you sell on retailers. In terms of cash flow, make sure you time your campaign so you get the money before you have to pay for printing, shipping, and other significant bills. Spike income vs monthly income There are many creators who now make Kickstarter the core of their business. It's a spike income model rather than a monthly income, which most indie authors are used to. The monthly income model is fantastic — I love getting money every month — but it also has the effect of making indie authors behave as if this is a normal job: work every month, get paid every month, put out another book so you get paid in another few months' time. With the Kickstarter model, you can get a bigger chunk of money in one go, so you could potentially move to a big launch and then take more time off before ramping up to the next launch months later. And amusingly, this sounds a bit more like traditional publishing. It's just that as an indie author, when you get that amount of money, it's much bigger. So that kind of launch tempo is an attractive prospect if you think about it: if I just get this big spike of money even once a year, that's really cool. And then of course you can sell it later. What are some of the fears that might stop you? Jo: I held back from doing a Kickstarter for years — almost a decade, in fact — where I backed campaigns and resisted doing a campaign for my own books. Here are some of my fears. Prepare to face your fears Jo: This entire experience thrust me out of my comfort zone and into a new way of creating, launching, and connecting with readers. Pilgrimage is my first memoir, my first special hardback with colour photos, and my first Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. So I had a lot to learn. The book is very personal and I bare my soul about some dark times, so that was terrifying in itself, let alone trying a new product edition and publishing platform. On the evening I clicked the launch button — and yes, you have to actually click an actual launch button — my heart was hammering out of my chest. I have not felt that nervous since probably the first time publishing on Amazon. I was afraid of failure. I was afraid of being embarrassed if my campaign didn't fund. I wrote a book on marketing — how to market a book — so I would be mortified if I had not funded. In fact, I even changed my target from £5,000 to £1,000 the night before, as I was so terrified it wouldn't fund. I was afraid of getting something terribly wrong and ending up out of pocket through issues with printing and shipping. I was afraid of letting backers down by promising something I might not be able to deliver. I was afraid I had overcommitted myself to a whole load of work I might even resent doing. I am a one-person business, and although I work with freelancers, I still do pretty much everything myself. I am a control freak — you might have noticed. So yes, there was a lot of apprehension and fear. You don't have to go huge Another fear might be the fear of failure — that you'll put up a campaign and no one will buy from you. But one answer is just to do a modest campaign. You don't have to do special hardbacks or merchandise. As Russell says: Russell: Somehow all of the teaching that we have given over the last two years has been executed in a way that makes it seem like you have to do this enormous campaign with sprayed edges and big, beautiful hardcovers and interior illustrations and vellum and all of that stuff. And I want to say first: that is absolutely not true. You don't have to do any of those things. If you look at two of the last three campaigns I've done, all I was offering was paperback books and ebooks, and then audio commentary for one of the campaigns. You can do a Kickstarter — and I often will tell people, especially if they're not an already successful author — do a campaign that is small and easy to get data on before you do something big. The direct connection is actually the point Jo: One of my resistances to this was a sort of, “Oh, I'm actually going to have to do a more higher-touch thing.” But as you say, the reframe is: oh my goodness, this is amazing, because I actually do get to connect with people. Just yesterday I sent a signed book — Pilgrimage, which I did my last Kickstarter on — and this guy was like, “I bought it for myself. Can you sign it to me, because I'm going to do the Camino in a wheelchair?” And I was just so touched. Emailing him back, I just felt, oh my goodness, I'm having a connection with this person that if they'd just bought a book on Amazon, I would not have had. So now it's almost like — it's this totally different view of my business, which is that direct-first means a much more personal way. It really is like we're in that thousand true fans moment that we first talked about 20 years ago. Were my fears realised? Jo: Just to recap, I was afraid of failure and embarrassment if I failed to fund, of getting something wrong and being out of pocket, of letting backers down, and of overcommitting myself and resenting the workload. Really, the only thing that happened was overcommitment and a lot more work than I expected. But the time I put in was also likely the reason for the campaign's success and the reason that the other things didn't happen. I had to learn a new platform and a new approach to publishing and book marketing, so it was kind of a mini degree at the same time. So yes, I will do another Kickstarter — but only for special projects that are suited to this kind of intensive campaign. Tips for campaigns In this section, Oriana shares her thoughts on rewards, and then I'll go into some more of my tips. Thinking beyond merch Oriana: The rewards are really at the heart of the Kickstarter proposition and what makes this kind of fundraising so interesting and thrilling. Basically, your process is you're inviting people on a creative journey. You're saying, “I'm going to make this cool thing. I want your support, and in exchange, you're going to get stuff, you're going to get to be part of my process.” Obviously your main reward is going to be your book, or your series, or if you're a publishing company, your season — whatever it is. That's your main tier. Then you're going to build everything else out above and below that. A lot of people think rewards means swag and merch. Which is fine, but merch can add a lot to your production costs. It's causing you to learn how to produce all kinds of things that maybe you've never done before. So that's not the only way to do it. If you're going to do some merch, I think it's nice to come up with some custom items that feel really related to the work that you're doing. If you've got a romance novel with a pivotal scene on the beach, maybe you'd make some candles that smell like the ocean. Maybe you do some kind of handkerchief that's printed with the pattern of the dress your heroine is wearing. Digital and experiential rewards Oriana: But you can really think beyond merch into digital rewards and experiential rewards. There are a lot of parts of the writing process that can be pulled out and packaged as rewards — things like notes from the field, outtakes, deleted scenes. I've had people write bloopers, as if it were a comedy movie, added new scenes or novellas, other pieces from different works that you've done. Certainly your backlist and other books you've written can all be included. We've seen people do tours of the writer's studio, things like that. Also think about what skills you have in addition to your writing. Perhaps you're excellent at marketing or social media or poetry — you can offer webinars on those sorts of things. Other kinds of ways that people can experience your creative practice. High-end and naming rewards Oriana: Then you can get into high-end, one-off, crazy rewards. One whole section of rewards I love is naming rights. We've seen all kinds — “We'll name the dragon after your dog, or after your mother-in-law. We'll name the hero after your son.” There's a LitRPG novelist named Matt Dinniman who does this really well. He writes these big-cast novels — there are dungeons, and you're in an intergalactic reality TV show with hundreds of characters. In his last campaign, for $666 he would kill you off in his next book, and for $777 he'd let you live and write a whole scene around you personally. You can also do book release parties. You can do book clubs. If you're writing children's books, you can do colouring pages or supplemental material for teachers or other educators. The sky is really the limit, and it is based on your creativity and the things that both you can make and that your audience wants. This is another opportunity — talk to them. Ask them: if I'm going to do a piece of swag, would you rather have an enamel pin or a makeup bag? If I'm going to do alternate covers, would you like the blue cover or the red cover? See what your people are interested in, and then figure out whether it's possible for you to deliver it to them. Learn about the platform from experts Jo: I've been publishing and selling books through online retailers, as well as my own store, since 2008. I know what I'm doing, but I still had a lot to learn. With Kickstarter, it's essentially a completely different ecosystem, with different rules and a different audience, so you have to learn the ropes. Even if you're super successful in other places, you might crash and burn on Kickstarter unless you understand how it works and change your approach accordingly. Start backing campaigns Jo: See how it feels to back Kickstarter campaigns and discover what draws you in as a reader and a fan of specific things. You might find projects you love outside of books — there's plenty of other projects outside of books. You can browse the publishing category to find new books, and also use the search to find things you might like. In this way, you can support fellow creators and learn how the Kickstarter site works for discoverability and marketing. Make sure you go through the Kickstarter.com resources — they have a creator pack which will give you direction on the campaign. Also, their terms of use are really important to read, as there are some assumptions you'll have because you've published on another platform that are incorrect. So do not assume you know what you're doing if this is your first campaign. Ask for feedback before launch Jo: Once you have a draft of your campaign, ask specific people to review it before it launches. You can share a preview prior to launch and get feedback on your page. This helps you refine your story and the rewards, answer any questions before the campaign goes live, and it can also help pique the interest of your audience. I asked specific people who had done Kickstarter campaigns for help at different stages of the process, and this was really useful too. Review common mistakes from other campaigns Jo: If you examine how others made mistakes, you can learn from them. The most common seem to be: Not finishing the book before the campaign Getting the financials wrong for production, shipping, and any other rewards. I know some authors who have ended up breaking even, or sometimes even out of pocket from campaigns. Don't do that. Not making the most of the story sales page and not including everything necessary, so backers don't understand and don't want to support the campaign — essentially, not being clear enough Setting unrealistic goals, like expecting to make six figures on a first campaign Not allowing enough time for everything Not seeking feedback from people who have done it before Not marketing the campaign enough Overpromising and under-delivering Poor communication with backers about the status of rewards Set aside more time than you think you need Jo: The campaign ended up being far more significant than I expected in terms of workload and time to complete. Everyone told me that beforehand, but it was still a surprise. It took time to prepare the multiple editions for the rewards. I usually produce an ebook, paperback, and a large print edition, and I narrate my own nonfiction audiobooks. But for this Kickstarter, I also wanted to do this special hardback with colour photos, a flyleaf cover and silver foil. I wanted to create a special print product I could be proud of. I'm proud of all my books in terms of the content, but the usual paperback print-on-demand books are more about the content than the true beauty of the product. For Pilgrimage: A Book of My Heart, I wanted a special edition, so I worked with Jane on the design, going through my photos from the various pilgrimages to find those that resonated with the content — for example, the cadaver tomb at Canterbury, and my Compostela from the Camino de Santiago. Once we finished, I had that proof copy rushed so we could turn around everything. And I love, love, love the hardback. It has a silken-finish cover and it feels lovely and weighty. The pictures came out well, as the paper is of a higher quality and weight to allow for colour printing. Overall, I am incredibly proud of the finished product. I even sent a copy to my mother-in-law, which I have never done before. And yes, she thinks it's good. I definitely should have allowed more time, as I spent most of the Christmas and New Year period working on the book, recording and editing the audiobook, and preparing for the campaign. I also didn't have time to prepare, record, edit, and produce the Writing Setting and Sense of Place course until after the campaign, and it was really hard to find the energy to do this afterwards. Building the campaign page Jo: It took time to build the Kickstarter campaign page, create the video, and incorporate feedback. Most authors don't write sales pages anymore. Sure, we write a sales description for the book page on the retailers, but we don't often do a whole page for multiple editions. On Kickstarter, you are basically writing a sales page for your campaign, which they call a “story.” Some of your existing audience might just click through and back the campaign without reading it, but most backers will check out the details to find answers to any questions they have. It is a very long page, and you also need a video — or you don't need one, but it's highly recommended. It's best to record the video at the last stage when everything else is done. You can still see my Kickstarter video on my campaign page, so I won't go through everything in detail. But the key aspects are: Who the campaign is aimed at Why the campaign is important to me and the book What products are available Pictures of everything — the page should be really visual — and I included the images in the video as well Sample chapters and sample audio Specifications, with weight, pages, listening time, table of contents About me, the author Stretch goals Add-ons Any questions, risks, and challenges So it's pretty long. Then the reward levels have to be set up carefully for each pledge level with shipping costs, and specific details about what's included. Eventually, I felt like my page had way too much information, but since I didn't really get many backer questions, I guess it did what it was supposed to do. I rewrote and edited that page so many times — adding and changing the order of things, responding to feedback, switching things around. But hopefully I can use that as a template for other campaigns. Marketing takes time too Jo: It took time to prepare the marketing for the campaign. I'm pretty low-key for most launches these days — I publish a book, send a few emails to my lists, announce it on the podcast, do a little social media, update my websites, and move on to the next book. So this was probably my biggest effort in terms of a launch since my first novel back in 2011. I only had a two-week campaign, so I needed to make the most of that window. I'm going to detail the marketing in a separate section, but it took a lot of time to prepare the various things and execute them, as well as keep the energy up for promotion during the campaign. Two weeks was definitely the longest I would want to do — I was really over it by the end. Delivering stretch rewards Jo: It took more time to create and deliver the extra stretch rewards I promised. Since I had pretty low expectations of funding, I set my first stretch goal at £10,000 for “Lessons Learned from Writing a Travel Memoir.” When I promised it, I thought it might be a few pages of tips, and I didn't even think we would get there. But I'm incapable of delivering something that is half done. So when we did hit £10,000, I wrote essentially a short book on the topic, which I then formatted as an ebook and recorded as an audiobook. I'm actually going to turn that into a proper book at some point, so the content will get reused. But that definitely took more time than I expected, because I hadn't prepared it in advance. The backer spreadsheet and fulfilment Jo: It took time to figure out the backer spreadsheet and check all the fulfilment details. Once you finish your campaign, you send out surveys for mailing addresses and to fulfil rewards. I also needed to turn the backer report into a printing order for BookVault, and that was nerve-wracking. The spreadsheets were different formats, and then we spot-checked the orders to make sure people got the right books based on their orders. I was petrified that some people might get the wrong book, and I checked and checked and checked — both on the spreadsheet, and then once the orders were loaded, I checked BookVault as well. I was worried I'd have to resend the right book, which would end up with me out of pocket because they'd have to do double printing and shipping. But thankfully, all the checking made everything good, and I haven't heard from anyone who got the wrong book. Following up with backers Jo: It took time to follow up on failed payments and address issues. Most backers were easy to deal with — they received the updates and Kickstarter emails, they filled in the surveys, and I didn't have any problems. But there were problems with about 5% of backers, most of which were not their fault. There were failed payments when banks thought Kickstarter might be fraud. There were missed emails because of issues with deliverability, so backers didn't receive the rewards, or they didn't fill in the survey and return their address, which meant I couldn't do the order with BookVault — I had to do it later or manually. I had to follow up with every single one of these, some of them multiple times, and I slowly reduced my list of outstanding backers. A tip: If you back a Kickstarter campaign, please log on to Kickstarter a few weeks after the campaign has finished and check for updates. It's possible that you're not receiving the emails from Kickstarter, and the creator may need details from you in order to fulfil your pledge. Tax implications Jo: It took time to figure out the tax implications. This is not legal or financial advice, and your taxes will vary by jurisdiction. Please ask your accountant how you need to treat Kickstarter or any other book-related income. Wherever you are in the world, you will need to pay tax on the income, because we all have income tax, but the complicating factor is whether you also need to consider sales tax. And this definitely differs by jurisdiction. I went to my accountant, who said we should handle it as per any other book sales. I followed my accountant's advice, which treats backers the same way as my customers who buy on Shopify. Ask a professional in your jurisdiction about taxes and finances, even if you are in the UK. I cannot answer any questions. I'm not an accountant. Closing the loop Jo: I haven't had much time to do anything else, as I felt like I couldn't start anything new until everything in the campaign was finished. As soon as the campaign window closed, I felt like I had an open loop in my brain. I desperately wanted to close it in order to say the project was done. I have now delivered all the book and course rewards, and these lessons learned are really the last part of it. I've talked before about the different kinds of energy you need as an author — starting energy, pushing-through energy, and finishing energy. Once the campaign was funded, my finishing energy kicked in and I was driven to get everything finished as soon as possible. I sent the digital rewards out within a few days of the campaign closing, and also shipped the unsigned books, ordered the print books, then went and signed them, and then recorded the course. It has been my primary focus for the last few months, and I haven't been able to do much else except the podcast, which is my weekly commitment to you. Once again, I should have blocked out the time. Bonus tip: Don't plan an international speaking and book research trip during the campaign. International shipping and fulfilment Jo: Be careful with international shipping and fulfilment of signed books or products. Shipping costs can sink your campaign if you get them wrong, so be very careful with this area. I have sold books in 175 countries, and this podcast has a listenership in 228 countries, so I really wanted to have a completely international campaign. I wanted to ship Pilgrimage in any format to any country. Originally I thought I would just charge a bit extra for the book and include shipping. But once I set the book editions up at BookVault and I had the weight and dimensions sorted, I started checking the shipping costs to different countries. For example, we lived in New Zealand for seven years — my husband is a New Zealander, so we go back — so I definitely had to sell in New Zealand. And of course the shipping to New Zealand is very, very different to the US, for example. It is crazy how much shipping costs vary. I discovered I couldn't just assume it would all wash out and I'd end up making a profit somehow. I had to be a lot more careful with the calculations. So I focused on my biggest markets, which in terms of my book sales are the US, UK, European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. I added a note on the campaign to say I would add any other country for print shipping if people contacted me. As it turned out, no one asked for any other countries, so that was the best way to go in the end. If you're in a country where the shipping is outrageous — if you're willing to pay for the shipping, then that's absolutely fine. It's just that for the campaign, I had to focus. When the unexpected happens Jo: Of course, you can try to prepare for everything and then something unexpected and out of your control happens. A big spanner in the works for my campaign was the Russian hack, which took down the UK Royal Mail just before my launch. If you're not in the UK, you wouldn't have heard about this, because in some ways it's a very small issue — but it basically took down Royal Mail and a lot of shipping went into flux. It specifically hit the international side, and other shipping firms ramped up to take the slack. But it made planning for the launch difficult, as the prices were shifting and I didn't know how delivery was going to work. Even for posting in the UK it was hard, because the mail offices were getting backed up. Once again, I'm grateful for BookVault's adaptability, because I could check different addresses and shipping prices even as things changed, and they added new providers for shipping. About 95% of my shipping ended up being within an acceptable range of what I charged. So do your research, weigh and measure your items so you can get exact quotes for each. Check what kind of packaging you need. If you're doing your own shipping, you have to actually type in the shipping costs per reward and per country — it's a lot of manual setup to get it right. But this is critical, so check and double-check — and in fact, I triple- and quadruple-checked, then went to sleep, and then the next day checked again. Having spent 13 years as an IT consultant prior to this career as an author, I will always remember and have learned from the fact that something just might not be working, and then literally if you just go away, go to bed, come back the next day, it'll probably just be working. Sometimes it actually works. So yes, I did that, and every time I checked, pretty much I found something I'd typed in that didn't quite match, because you also have to retype — if you include all the books in the add-ons, you have to type it again. I didn't stop checking until the day before the launch, and then it was right. I was happy, and everything seemed to be fine. Shipping is always a moving target Jo: Revisiting this section made me laugh, because as I record this, in the week before I launch Bones of the Deep, international shipping is disrupted again — by the war in Iran, and the Strait of Hormuz being closed, which is affecting fuel prices. This underscores yet again how important it is to check your shipping. Of course, you can add shipping on later — Kickstarter allows this, as does BackerKit and other services. But as a backer, a customer of people on the platform, I hate being asked to pay shipping later. And since I hate that myself, I don't want other people to feel the same way. So just add a little buffer in, as asking people to pay an extra dollar in their pledge is not that big a deal, but you being out of pocket for every book shipped may well be. Sacha Black on pre-launch and fulfilment In an interview I did with Sacha Black, who writes as Ruby Roe, in December 2025, we talked about her issues with fulfilment. Sacha does a lot of complex printing, shipping, and custom book boxes and more. Her last campaign made over six figures, but of course it had its challenges. Here's Sacha with some of her tips, and then Oriana to close out this section with some other mistakes. Sacha: The first thing is — even before you start your Kickstarter — the pre-launch followers are critical. A lot of people think, “Well…” I guess there's a lot of loud noise about all these big numbers about how much people can make on Kickstarter, but actually a lot of it is driven by you, the author, pushing your audience to Kickstarter. You need more pre-launch followers than you think you do. Lots of people don't put enough impetus on the marketing beforehand. Almost all of our Kickstarter marketing is beforehand, because we drive so many people to that follow button. The other thing we do is early-bird pricing. We get the majority of our income on a campaign on day one. I think it was something wild, like 80% this time was on day one, so that's really important. Fulfilment takes longer than you think Sacha: The second thing is, it takes so, so very much longer than you think it does to fulfil a campaign, and you must factor in that cost. Because if it's not you fulfilling, you're paying somebody else to fulfil it. And if it is you fulfilling it, you must account for your own time in the pricing of your campaign. The other thing is that the amount of time it takes to fulfil is directly proportionate to the size of the campaign. So you do have to think about that. The other lesson we have learned is that overseas printing will drag your timelines out far longer than you think. So whatever you think it's going to take you to fulfil — add several months more onto that, and put that information in your campaign. Reinvesting profit and exclusive rewards Sacha: The last thing — if you have some profit in the Kickstarter, because not all Kickstarters are actually massively profitable. They either don't account enough for shipping, or they don't account enough in the pricing. Thankfully, ours have been profitable, but we've actually reinvested that profit back into buying more stock and more merchandise, which not everybody would want to do if they don't have a warehouse. However, we do have one. We are stockpiling merchandise and books so that we can do mystery boxes later on down the line. It's probably a year away, but we are buying extra of everything so that we have that in the warehouse. So it depends on what you want to do with your profit. For us, it was all about buying more books, basically. The other thing to think about is: what is it that you're doing that's exclusive to Kickstarter? Because you will get backers on Kickstarter who want that quirky, unique thing that they're not going to be able to get anywhere else. But what about you? You've done more Kickstarters than me — what do you think is the biggest lesson you've learned? Tiers, bundles, and AI for planning rewards Jo: Well, I think all of mine together add up to the one you just did. Although I will comment — you said something like £75 per pre-launch backer. That is obviously dependent on your tiers for the rewards, so most authors won't have that amount. My average order value, which I know is slightly different, but I don't offer things like book boxes as you have — so a lot of it will depend on the tiers. Some people will do a Kickstarter just with an ebook — just with one ebook and maybe a bundle of ebooks — so you're never going to make it up to that kind of value. So this is important too: have a look at what people offer on their different levels of Kickstarter. In fact, here's my AI tip for the day. What you can do — what I did with my Buried and the Drowned campaign recently — is, you know, I'm happy uploading my book. I uploaded it to ChatGPT and said, “Tell me, what are some ideas for the different reward tiers that I can do on Kickstarter?” And it will give you some ideas for what you can do, what kind of bundles you might want to do. So bundling your backlist is another thing you can do — as upsells, or you can just do it like I did for Blood Vintage, where I did a horror bundle of four standalone horror books in one of the upper tiers. Bundling is a good way to do it, and also upselling your backlist is a really good way to up things. And also, if you do it digitally — for ebooks and audiobooks — there's a lot less time in fulfilment. Oriana on the biggest mistakes Jo: What are some of the top mistakes you see that mean the campaign doesn't fund, or there are other issues? Oriana: Totally. I mean, the biggest mistake I think authors make — or any creator — is overestimating their ability to reach their crowd. Making sure that your ambition matches your reach is the number one most important thing to come close to guaranteeing that you will be successful. If you're an emerging writer and you're still building your audience and you don't have that many followers or subscribers out in the world, you should not try to fund a multi-volume leather-bound omnibus. Do a real honest assessment of who's in your crowd, how to find them, what percentage of them are likely to support what you're doing, and then find a project that feels realistic based on those numbers. That's really the biggest thing, conceptually. Building a strong project page Oriana: As far as tips for a project page — again, back campaigns and look at what other people are doing. A project page can be either as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. You definitely want to talk about the book: what is in it, what you're writing. Do a trope card if you want — we're seeing those all over the site. Say what kind of book it is, and the specs: page count, trim size, cover design. Obviously if you're doing a special edition, exactly what sorts of bells and whistles, with a prototype if you can. But you can be really expansive from there. What are your inspirations? Who are your collaborators? What brought you to this work? What are some of the things that make you excited about your writing practice, your timeline, your budget? What made you choose these rewards and how you're going to produce them? All those sorts of things will make backers feel both more trusting that you will do the things you're promising, and just more excited to be part of your journey. Marketing your Kickstarter campaign Let's talk about marketing. First, a snippet from Oriana, and then I'll share specifics around marketing tips — many of which are useful if you're launching in any other way. Kickstarter's algorithm rewards attention Oriana: Being on Kickstarter will help you grow your audience, but it's definitely not everything. You really do need to bring your people first. Our algorithm works on attention, so any project that's getting clicks, getting backings, getting comments — our algorithm says, “Oh, people want to look at this. We will expose it to more and more people.” That means raising it up in search results, slotting it into various of the macros and carousels around the site. Our recommendation engine powers recommended projects on the top of campaigns and at the bottom of emails. We are doing a lot to make sure that projects are being surfaced to folks who want to see them. Talk about the book while you're writing it Jo: Talk and share about the book while you're writing it, even though you might not know what it will turn into. I always share my book research and projects in progress, so this was nothing new. But Pilgrimage was years in the making, so I had years of sharing aspects of it. I've shared pictures from every pilgrimage walk on Instagram at @jfpennauthor and Facebook at J.F. Penn Author, and sometimes Facebook The Creative Penn. I've talked on this podcast about each walk, and I've done solo episodes and blog posts about each on my Books and Travel podcast and blog. I also did a poll and shared my book cover design process, and then I did an article on why I ignored target-reader feedback in the end. All this meant that many in my community — including you listening — became aware of my solo walking and also my ecclesiastical interest, my architecture interest, and you enjoyed my photos along the way if you follow me on social media. So when I announced the launch, it was the culmination of years of build-up. Use the pre-launch page early Jo: Set up the Kickstarter pre-launch page as early as possible, and keep promoting it. You can launch a pre-launch page once Kickstarter has approved your project, and you don't have to have finished everything to make it available — just complete the personal and business setup, and fill in enough detail so they can verify your identity and judge the campaign to be real and within the guidelines, and not a scam or spam campaign. I started to promote my pre-launch page, and by the time we went live, I had people signed up on launch. Those people get an email from Kickstarter. Those people were responsible for my campaign funding within the first few minutes, and then taking it to 5x the target within the first 24 hours. Then I started to email my lists, and all of this type of thing. But it was those pre-launch signups that really kick-started — see what I did there? — the whole thing. The benefit of using Kickstarter for multiple projects is that previous backers are notified of your new project. This compounds the effect over time, and is why those who use Kickstarter successfully do multiple campaigns. Kickstarter SEO and on-platform marketing Jo: Kickstarter has its own ecosystem. There's a discovery algorithm that can help you find projects you might like as a backer, and there are different ways to search, but only certain aspects appear in the search. So your title, subtitle, and your header image need to be optimised so people can find you. Your story sales page needs to be clear, with a compelling pitch. People also have to want your rewards, so marketing has to be baked into the products you're offering and who you're trying to attract. Your video doesn't need to be a professional-level product, but it does need to connect with potential backers, so take the time to make a good one. If you've never made a video before, you will need time to upskill. Kickstarter also has social media. Use #KickstarterReads and tag @KickstarterReads. If your project funds quickly and has a good trajectory, you might get picked for the “Projects We Love” badge, which also gives you better discoverability. I got that pretty fast. You can also tag Kickstarter on social media and inform them of your campaign. Content marketing Jo: Content marketing is offering something useful or interesting or inspiring or funny or entertaining for free, in order to attract your target market so they buy your book. This might be an article or blog post, video, audio, podcast, social media, whatever. For fiction, it's usually a free book or a short story or other free examples of your writing that draw people in. Content marketing is my favourite form of marketing, as it is about attraction, not interruption. It also involves creating something in the world that lasts over time, as opposed to an ephemeral spike ad or a social media post that quickly disappears. Each has its place, of course, and I use them all. This podcast is content marketing, although it now also provides direct revenue in the form of corporate advertising and Patreon support. Thank you, patrons and advertisers — and I consider this to be part of my creative body of work. My Books and Travel podcast is also content marketing. Guest appearances for the launch Jo: For this launch, I did content marketing on my own sites and shows, as well as other people's, which I arranged and recorded in advance. I've also mentioned the campaign in the introduction to every one of these shows leading up to the launch and during the launch. I was on some podcasts: Sacred Steps with Kevin Donahue, Wish I'd Known Then… For Writers with Sara Rosett and Jami Albright, Travel Writing World with Jeremy Bassetti, and Into the Woods with Holly Worton. I also did several of my own. I did one on this feed. I did another on the Books and Travel feed. I also included two chapters from the audiobook on the Books and Travel podcast. All of these took time to prepare and produce, but each is a chance for another person to hear about the book. Plus, they're evergreen, and Pilgrimage is available for everyone to buy now, so I can point people at Pilgrimage on other stores. Use a redirection URL Jo: For all my marketing, I used JFPenn.com/pilgrimage, which I can redirect using the Pretty Links plugin on WordPress and point to wherever I want it to go. Before the launch, it went to the pre-launch page; then the campaign itself; and now it goes to the book page. Once I build a special landing page, it will go there. Depending on where you're listening will depend on where it goes, but that's JFPenn.com/pilgrimage. The URL needs to be easy to say out loud for use in podcast interviews and audio-first media. Email your list multiple times Jo: Some things change in book marketing — like the emergence of new platforms like TikTok — but one thing has stayed the same for decades: if you have an email list, you can always sell books. Your email list consists of people who have opted in to hear from you, so you can email them about normal launches as well as your Kickstarter campaign. I have two email lists: one for The Creative Penn around writing, and the other around J.F. Penn for my fiction. I emailed both lists multiple times at different times in the campaign. I use ConvertKit for my email, but there are other options for authors. Use referral links for tracking Jo: Use specific referral links for different aspects of the campaign for tracking returns. Kickstarter allows you to create different tracking links so you can link revenue to specific marketing events. For example, I used one link for my Creative Penn email list, another for my J.F. Penn email list, and yet another for my Facebook advertising. You can also add the Meta pixel and Google Analytics code to the campaign, which can also help with figuring out advertising. And if you don't know what those are, don't worry — you don't have to use them. Book images and social media Jo: I initially mocked up the book using cover images on MockupShots.com, and then resized them in Canva in order to create social media images. I later did a book photo shoot with the hardback in different places to give me more marketing assets to play with — all of which I will use over time as part of ongoing marketing. I prepared and scheduled social media posts to go out every day, and I did that in advance, primarily for Twitter at @thecreativepenn, my Instagram and Facebook at J.F. Penn Author, and also Facebook at The Creative Penn. It was a lot of work, but I really enjoyed it — weirdly — and I need to do more of this for my other books, especially as with Shopify, Facebook, and Instagram link directly into my store, so I can tag books. These days social commerce is a lot smoother through mobile, so someone can see an image on social, click through, and buy immediately. I also did some quotes from the book — so I did pictures, I also did quotes — and I blatantly used our cute British Shorthair cats, Cashew and Ramen, for marketing reasons. I use Buffer to schedule my social media, but there are other tools. I also asked some friends who are travel influencers to share the book, and I sent them the hardback in advance so they could review if they liked. Thanks to Sarah Baxter and Alastair Humphreys for sharing the book, and especially a big thank you to Anna McNuff, who gave birth to twins that week and still managed to share about Pilgrimage. Backer engagement and stretch goals Jo: Let's be clear — it was not natural for me to push a book every day for two weeks. I also felt awkward about engaging with backers multiple times, let alone the wider community who I was sure was sick of my book, but I did it anyway, as it was only a short campaign of two weeks. I sent four updates during the campaign to backers, some of which are visible to the public on my Kickstarter, and then I sent updates afterwards with delivery of the rewards. Although I did resist the stretch goals, as I mentioned earlier, I went with “Notes on Writing a Travel Memoir” and the backer live Q&A. I did scramble to decide on and deliver those, as I really didn't think I would need them — which is crazy. I had such low expectations of what I might achieve. But next time I would definitely plan stretch goals in advance and in more detail. Facebook advertising Jo: I did some Facebook ads for the campaign — although I should call them Meta ads, because they're also on Instagram. I primarily aimed them at my email lists and people who follow my pages, but also some wider reach using lookalike lists and walking interests. I used a tracking link, so I know that the revenue that came in through people backing it more than paid for the ads. So I would do more of this next time. Marketing things I didn't do Jo: I didn't try to get any press or traditional media attention, mainly because I would have had to approach outlets much earlier in the process. I didn't have the hardback finished until a few weeks before the campaign, rather than a few months before, which is when pitching for press is a better idea. I also didn't collaborate with other creators on Kickstarter, even though I knew other authors doing campaigns at the same time. A couple of people asked me about cross-promotion, but their campaigns were not at all related to Pilgrimage. As with all book marketing, there is only a point to cross-promotion if you target the same readers. I had intended to do some Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube Live videos, but I struggle with live videos in general — and especially when I'm tired — so I didn't go ahead with those. I might consider more of those next time. Do a survey for everyone Jo: My tip is — do a survey for everyone. As part of a campaign I previously backed, I noticed that I didn't actually need to do a survey for the digital backers, because they could just get the rewards if I emailed through Kickstarter. And sure enough, you can just email the BookFunnel links, the course discount code, etc., through the campaign. But this was a mistake. I should have done a survey for everyone. If you do a survey, you can get the real email, as some people use a cloaked email. You can also include a checkbox asking people if they want to sign up for your email list. Respecting backer data Jo: So while you do get the email addresses of everyone who backs your campaign in your backer report, you cannot just upload them to your email provider and start emailing them about your other books. Kickstarter's terms of use include the following: When you use Kickstarter, and especially if you create a successful project, you may receive information about other users, including things like their names, email addresses, and postal addresses. This information is provided for the purpose of participating in a Kickstarter project. Don't use it for other purposes and don't abuse it. This is about data protection and privacy laws. Basically, Kickstarter is the platform in this instance, and people have signed up to receive emails from Kickstarter, but not from you. All emails about the campaign go through Kickstarter, and you don't have permission to just upload that list to your own email system and start sending more emails. They have not specifically said they want that, unless they have in a survey with opt-in — which I didn't do. Of course, there are indirect ways to attract people to sign up for your list. My book Pilgrimage includes ways to hear from me further, so some backers will go on and sign up for my free thriller ebook at JFPenn.com/free, or my Author Blueprint at TheCreativePenn.com/blueprint. You can also do updates later, for example when you have a new campaign, and in this way Kickstarter acts as a different ecosystem for email. Should you consider a Kickstarter campaign for your book? Jo: To be honest — only if you consider this to be a career you want to invest in, and a platform you want to do more than one campaign with. If you just have one book or a couple of books, or you're just starting out, or you don't want to do marketing and connect with readers, then definitely don't do a Kickstarter. It is not some magic button that will make you money — like uploading to Amazon is not a magic button that will make you money. It takes time and effort to have a successful campaign. But if you do want to build a long-term author business, then selling direct should have some part to play, and Kickstarter is a great way to make more money per book and connect with readers. It's really only the beginning of the trend of authors selling direct, so don't worry — you can learn how to do this over time. Update for Bones of the Deep, my 7th campaign in April 2026 Jo: It was interesting to revisit my lessons learned and other people's tips, and really, there are only a few things that have changed. I love doing Kickstarter campaigns now Firstly, I absolutely love doing Kickstarter campaigns. I am not nervous at all anymore, and I am just so thrilled to produce gorgeous hardback editions of my books this way. I love delivering beautiful books and new stories or nonfiction to my readers. I love doing the discovery writing webinars and the coaching, and just in general, I appreciate the opportunity to publish this way. I feel like a “real author” — with beautiful hardbacks, doing a signing, getting photos and emails from readers who receive the books. Custom printing keeps expanding In terms of other changes, over the last few years since Pilgrimage, BookVault has expanded their custom printing, so now I have custom endpapers, sprayed edges, different kinds of foil, as well as the silken paper and the ribbon and photos inside. These gorgeous editions are my personal creative reason to keep doing campaigns. I love saying “I made this!” And over time, I would love to get all my backlist into special editions. A repeatable process I'm still doing similar kinds of rewards — the book in all editions — and it's all finished so it's lower stress. Even the audiobook narration is done, so I can fulfil immediately. There's just the live discovery writing webinar to do, and stretch goal Q&A and consulting sessions. I'm also doing bundles, and all my backlist gets bundled in the add-ons, so I have a repeatable process, which makes things easier. Using AI in production I'm using more AI, specifically in the images and video. I love making book images with ChatGPT and Gemini's Nano Banana, and story images with Midjourney, and I use ElevenLabs with my voice clone for audiobooks. I fill in all the details in the AI section of the Kickstarter page, so you can go have a look at that and model it as you like. Spike income, realistic expectations I still like the spike income — but to be clear, my campaigns have varied in terms of financial success, as would be expected given they are all so different. My highest was Writing the Shadow at over £36,000 ($48,000), and my lowest was The Buried and the Drowned, a short story collection, at just under £8,000 ($10,700) — not a surprise at how different they are, given the audiences. Together my campaigns have now made £105,868 (just over $140,000), which I am very happy with. And of course, that's just the beginning, as then I put the books on my stores — JFPennBooks.com and CreativePennBooks.com — and on the usual platforms. A sustainable launch rhythm I still like the project approach — the short-term campaign focus — as I am good at sustaining marketing energy for a short period, and then I can drop off again. As I discussed with Sara Rosett last week as well, it feels sustainable for my career, unlike constant social media or ads. Lower-key marketing this time around I'm putting a lot less energy into marketing in general, relying on pre-launch signups over months of build-up as I talk about my writing process on the podcast, then emailing my lists, announcing it here, and scheduling some social media. It's pretty low-key these days, and that is a happy thing. However, for this campaign, I am planning to run some Meta ads direct to the campaign page, since I have Claude Code/Cowork to help me set them up and run them and crunch the data — and that takes the strain off considerably. More campaigns to come I will definitely be doing more Kickstarter campaigns, most likely a nonfiction one next. I am so glad I was able to get over my fears and do that first one, and I hope that encourages you to consider what might be possible for you and your book. So, if you'd like to check out my campaign for Bones of the Deep — even if you don't want the book, you can always model the sales page, or check out the book trailer — it's at JFPenn.com/bones. That link will go to the Kickstarter campaign from 20 April until early May 2026, and will then redirect. The post Kickstarter Tips for Authors: Rewards, Shipping, Marketing, and Lessons Learned first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Matty Dalrymple talks with Sara Rosett about TROPES AS TOOLS IN MYSTERIES & THRILLERS, including the differences among tropes, genre conventions, and clichés, how scars and secrets function as plotting engines, how to scale the same trope for different genres, using tropes to inject new energy into a series, and what international mysteries can teach you about inventive plotting.   Interview video at https://www.youtube.com/@TheIndyAuthorPodcast/podcasts Show notes, including extensive summary and transcript, at https://www.theindyauthor.com/episodes-all   If you find the information in this video useful, please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple   Sara Rosett is the USA Today bestselling author of over 30 mysteries for readers who enjoy atmospheric settings and puzzling whodunits. She also writes nonfiction for authors including, How to Write a Series, How to Outline a Cozy Mystery, and Trope Thesaurus: Mystery and Thriller. Sara hosts two podcasts: Mystery Books Podcast for readers and the Wish I'd Known Then for Writers Podcast with Jami Albright.   Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with THE SENSE OF DEATH; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. More at mattydalrymple.com. Matty also writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage, and shares what she's learned on THE INDY AUTHOR PODCAST. She writes nonfiction books for authors; her articles have appeared in Writer's Digest magazine; and she is a Partner Member of the Alliance of Independent Authors. More at theindyauthor.com. She also guides professionals in building their presence through a sideline or second act through her platform From Expertise to Authority. More at theindyauthor.com/authority.

297 / How are authors adapting in 2025's changing publishing world? Sara Rosett, Jami Albright, Nicholas Harvey, and Douglas Pratt share lessons learned, trends they're seeing, and practical strategies from their own writing careers.Sales trends and challenges in 2025Experimenting with book marketingSpecial editions and direct salesUsing Patreon and subscriptionsImpact of AI on publishingSocial media strategies for authorsFacebook ads and Amazon changesReader engagement and superfans

Jami Albright and Sara Rosett had me on the Wish I’d Known Then podcast. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the rapid changes in the publishing world especially regarding Artificial Intelligence you are not alone. In a recent episode of the Wish I'd Known Then podcast, we talked about everything from the importance of physical health to the specific AI tools that can save you hours of work. Here is an episode summary generated by Gemini 3 Pro: The Novel Marketing Conference: A Different Kind of Gathering Thomas kicked things off by discussing his upcoming Novel Marketing Conference, which stands out in a sea of writer events for one specific reason: no recordings. Unlike many conferences where sessions are recorded for later viewing, Thomas designed this event to be fully immersive and interactive. He describes it as “almost more of a workshop than a conference,” where attendees work in small “writer’s groups” and leave with a physical, actionable plan for selling more books in the coming year. The goal is to create a space for honest, unrecorded conversation and deep work, rather than just passive listening. The Foundation of Creativity: Your Health One of the more surprising but vital topics discussed was the role of physical health in an author’s career. Thomas shared his personal journey of prioritizing health, noting that “your body is the machine that your brain lives in”. He pointed out that many authors try to optimize their time but neglect their energy levels. You might carve out an hour to write, but if you are exhausted or brain-fogged, that hour won’t be productive. By treating health as a business asset, authors can improve not just their longevity but the quality of their creative output. Navigating the AI Revolution The centerpiece of the conversation was AI. Thomas offered a refreshing, balanced perspective that avoids both the “doom and gloom” and the “blind hype” often seen online. He noted that people tend to oscillate between thinking AI is “the end of humanity” or that it “creates nothing but slop”. His philosophy is simple: Don’t give AI the work you enjoy; give it the drudgery. A Practical Dictation Workflow For authors looking to speed up their drafting or note-taking, Thomas shared a specific workflow he uses to capture ideas while on the go: Hardware: He uses AirPods, which isolate his voice from background noise. App: He records using an app called “Just Press Record” on his Apple Watch or phone. Processing: He uses a tool called “Chapterize” to transcribe the audio. AI Cleanup: He then feeds that transcript into an AI tool (like ChatGPT or Claude) with a prompt to clean up the grammar and remove “umms” and “ahhs.” This stack allows him to dictate high-quality content while walking or driving, turning “dead time” into productive writing time. The Author Toolbox Thomas has developed a suite of tools specifically for writers, available at AuthorMedia.com. Some of the standout tools mentioned include: Book Cover Analyzer: Helps determine if your cover fits your genre conventions. Design Brief Generator: Creates a professional brief to send to cover designers. Character Namer: Tools that generate culturally and historically accurate names for characters (e.g., Victorian era names). Fact Checkers: Specialized tools for checking historical facts or checking medical facts without getting lost in a Google research rabbit hole. These tools are designed to work within “guardrails,” using pre-written prompts to ensure the AI gives you exactly what you need without requiring you to become a “prompt engineering” expert. Optimizing for the Future of Search A crucial insight Thomas shared is the shift from optimizing for search engines (SEO) to optimizing for AI. In the past, authors focused on getting their websites to rank on Google. Today, readers are increasingly asking tools like ChatGPT for book recommendations. Thomas explained that these AI models “read” the internet, including sites like Goodreads and Amazon. To ensure your book is recommended, you need to provide content that helps the AI understand who your book is for. He suggested adding “Director’s Commentary” or “Behind the Scenes” content to your book pages on your own website. This unique content differentiates your site from Amazon and gives the AI more context to recommend your book to the right readers. The Art of Pruning: Easiness, Joy, and Revenue Finally, the group discussed the challenge of having too much to do. Thomas introduced a framework he used in a mastermind group to decide what tasks to cut. He lists all his activities in a spreadsheet with three columns: Easiness: How easy is this task to do? Joy: How much joy does it bring me? Revenue: How much money does it make? By scoring activities on these metrics, it becomes clear which ones should be “sunsetted” or pruned. Just as the Texas legislature creates agencies with an expiration date (“sunsetting”), authors should regularly review their commitments and kill off the ones that are difficult, joyless, and unprofitable. Conclusion This episode was a reminder that while technology changes, the core needs of an author—health, focus, and connection with readers—remain the same. Whether you are using AI to write blurbs or auditing your schedule to find more joy, the goal is to build a sustainable and fulfilling writing career. For more from Thomas, you can check out the Novel Marketing Podcast or visit AuthorMedia.com to access the tools mentioned in this post.

Discover what makes romance and cozy mysteries two of the most successful and reader-loved genres in publishing. In this episode of The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed, host Richie Billing sits down with bestselling authors Jami Albright and Sara Rosett to uncover what all writers can learn from these powerfully engaging genres.Jami Albright is an acclaimed romance author known for her laugh-out-loud romantic comedies and bestselling indie success stories. Sara Rosett is a prolific cozy mystery writer whose books are filled with charm, suspense, and unforgettable characters. Together, they share a wealth of knowledge on writing craft, book marketing, and building a long-term career as an independent author.We explore:How to write a book series that keeps readers coming back — from character arcs to emotional payoffs.The secrets of romance and cozy mystery writing, including reader expectations, tone, pacing, and genre tropes that build loyal audiences.Worldbuilding techniques that keep continuity consistent across multiple novels.How to plan a successful book launch and make your release stand out in a crowded market.Developing an author brand that feels authentic and memorable.Book marketing strategies that actually work — from mailing lists and newsletters to podcast appearances, social media engagement, and creative promotions.Writing productivity and mindset tips to help authors finish series and sustain momentum.This conversation goes beyond genre to deliver universal lessons for storytellers. Whether you write fantasy, science fiction, romance, or thrillers, you'll gain actionable advice on how to design stories that hook readers, market your books effectively, and build a lasting author career.Key takeaways:Learn how romance and cozy mystery writers use structure, reader satisfaction, and emotional beats to keep fans invested.Understand why character-driven plots and series planning can transform your writing into a sustainable career.Discover how to create a strong author identity that readers instantly recognise.Find out how Jami and Sara approach marketing, launches, and branding from a professional and personal perspective.If you've ever wondered how to write a romance novel, how to start a cozy mystery series, or simply how to build a loyal readership, this episode is packed with real-world experience and practical strategies.FANTASY WRITING BOOKS, CLASSES AND TOOLS⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed ⁠⁠⁠JOIN OUR DISCORD COMMUNITY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writers⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ABOUT JAMI ALBRIGHThttps://wishidknownforwriters.com/https://www.jamialbright.com/ABOUT SARA ROSETThttps://www.sararosett.com/GET IN TOUCHthefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.richiebilling.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ RESOURCESDiscover more ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠writing tips⁠ and guides⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ hereAnd learn more about⁠⁠⁠ writing fantasy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ here

282 / Are you curious how in-person events and writing retreats can transform your writing journey, expand your community, and inspire new connections? Jami Albright and Sara Rosett dive into the benefits of stepping out of the writing cave, share insights from podcasting conferences, and reveal what really happens at writing retreats.Sara's takeaways from Podcast Movement conference that can be applied to writing and publishingStrategies for podcast merch and building communityHow to organize and get the most out of writing retreatsThe difference between conferences and small-group retreats

Get ready for a super-sized dose of fun! In this special episode of Buzzing About Romance, we're joined by four powerhouse rom-com authors—Erin Nicholas, Lainey Davis, Krista Sandor, and Jami Albright.

On this episode of Buzzing About Romance, Becky, Jenni, and Leah review Running with a Sweet Talker by Jami Albright. 

If you get value from this resource, please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Matty Dalrymple talks with Jami Albright about YOUR PERSONA IS YOUR BRAND, including the power of surrounding yourself with reminders of your brand; the role of genre conventions in branding; the importance of repelling the right readers; how to find out what your reader's "butter" is; positioning a rebranding effort and whether it requires a new pen name; whether rebranding cover design is the first or last option (and an inexpensive option to pursue); the importance of tweaking the dials delicately; the fact that authenticity doesn't require over-sharing; and how (like it or not) every public-facing action, including the community you build, is part of your brand. Links, summary, and transcript at https://bit.ly/TIAP214 Jami Albright is a born-and-raised Texas girl and is the Amazon top 100 author of the sexy, swoony, and pee-your-pants funny Brides on the Run and the Small-Town Royalty series. She is also the co-host, along with Sara Rosett, of the WISH I'D KNOWN THEN podcast. Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with THE SENSE OF DEATH; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. Matty also writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage, and shares what she's learned on THE INDY AUTHOR PODCAST. She has written books on the business of short fiction and podcasting for authors; her articles have appeared in "Writer's Digest" magazine. She is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Matty Dalrymple talks with Sara Rosett about Constructing a Compelling Series, includingthe three types of series; how to extend your series beyond your original plan; preparing your readers for changes in your series; what happens when the flat arc protagonist is overshadowed by the antagonist; using a spin-off to extend a series; supplementing a series with short stories, or using a short story to experiment with a series concept; dealing with the challenges of being locked into your story world; and bringing a series to an end. Show notes and transcript at https://bit.ly/TIAP210  Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Sara Rosett is the USA Today bestselling author of 30 mysteries for readers who enjoy atmospheric settings and puzzling whodunits. She hosts two podcasts: MYSTERY BOOKS PODCAST for readers and, for writers, the WISH I'D KNOWN THEN PODCAST with Jami Albright. Sara also writes nonfiction for authors, including HOW TO OUTLINE A COZY MYSTERY and HOW TO WRITE A SERIES. Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with THE SENSE OF DEATH; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. Matty also writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage, and shares what she's learned on THE INDY AUTHOR PODCAST. She has written books on the business of short fiction and podcasting for authors; her articles have appeared in "Writer's Digest" magazine. She is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Episode 187 / Do you need help with your branding, ad copy, or writing career strategy? Do you have questions or ideas that you'd like to brainstorm with another author about?  Jami has helped many authors with everything from overwhelm to sales pages to branding. Jami shares the questions and topics that come up most often, the common mistakes she sees, and tips on when it's time to ask for help. We talk about making money as an author, series creation, pen names, newsletter building, launching and much more.Author website: JamiAlbright.com/authorservices

Episode 168 / Jami Albright and Sara Rosett discuss how to create compelling characters. We look at the pilot episode of Ted Lasso and delve into why the characters of Rebecca and Ted are fascinating and how the writers made them well-rounded characters. Special supporter event: chat with H. Claire Taylor on May 28th. Watch for info in your private RSS feed. 

Humility, Resilience, and Finding Joy . . . In this interview, Megan and Greta chat with romance author Jami Albright about her earliest roadblocks while learning the craft of writing, and how she's overcome them by being open to constructive criticism. Now, as an Amazon top 100 author, she's helping other writers evaluate their sales pages to improve their author branding and reach their target audience.Jami Albright is a born and raised Texas girl and is an Amazon top 100 author of the Brides on the Run and the Small-Town Royalty series—they're sexy, swoony, and pee your pants funny. If you don't snort with laughter, then she hasn't done her job.Final Question: How have you incorporated constructive criticism into your author life? Let us know in the comments to this week's post on Facebook @AuthorWheel!Free Resource: The Top 5 Roadblocks Aspiring Authors Must Overcome, available for free when you join our newsletter at www.AuthorWheel.com/stuff.Follow Us! Jami AlbrightWebsite: https://www.jamialbright.com/Instagram & TikTok: @JamiAlbrightAuthorThe Author Wheel:Website: www.AuthorWheel.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWheelGreta Boris:Website: www.GretaBoris.comFacebook: @GretaBorisAuthorInstagram: @GretaBorisMegan Haskell:Website: www.MeganHaskell.comFacebook & Instagram: @MeganHaskellAuthor Support the showFREE Mini Email CourseHave you ever struggled to explain to others exactly what you write? Or wondered which of the many fiction ideas running through your brain you should tackle? If so, The Author Wheel's new mini-course might be your solution. 7 Days to Clarity: Uncover Your Author Purpose will help you uncover your core writing motivations, avoid shiny-thing syndrome, and create clear marketing language. Each daily email will lead you step by step in defining your author brand, crafting a mission statement, and distilling that statement into a pithy tagline. And, best of all, it's free. Click here to learn more!

Flat arcs, dynamic arcs, writing in trilogies, extending a series . . .These are just some of the topics we tackled with the inspirational Sara Rosett. Sara Rosett is the USA Today bestselling author of over 30 cozy and historical mysteries as well as books and courses for writers, including How to Write a Series and How to Outline a Cozy Mystery. She hosts two podcasts: Mystery Books Podcast for readers and the Wish I'd Known Then For Writers Podcast with Jami Albright.In this episode, Megan and Greta pick Sara Rosett's brain about series writing. If you want to hear Greta gush all over the place, listen in. She's a super fan of the Wish I'd Known Then for Writers Podcast. You can find all of Sara's books and lots more about her at https://www.sararosett.comQuestion of the week: Are you writing a series? If so, what kind? Let's chat on the Facebook page @AuthorWheelFeatured Book: How to Write A Series: A Guide to Series Types and Structure plus Troubleshooting Tips and Marketing Tactics  by Sara RosettFree Resource: The Top 5 Roadblocks Aspiring Authors Must Overcome, available for free when you join our newsletter at www.AuthorWheel.com/stuff.Follow Us! Sara Rosett:Website: https://www.sararosett.comFacebook: @AuthorSaraRosettTwitter & Instagram: @sararosettThe Author Wheel:Website: www.AuthorWheel.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWheelGreta Boris:Website: www.GretaBoris.comFacebook: @GretaBorisAuthorInstagram: @GretaBorisMegan Haskell:Website: www.MeganHaskell.comFacebook & Instagram: @MeganHaskellAuthor Support the showFREE Mini Email CourseHave you ever struggled to explain to others exactly what you write? Or wondered which of the many fiction ideas running through your brain you should tackle? If so, The Author Wheel's new mini-course might be your solution. 7 Days to Clarity: Uncover Your Author Purpose will help you uncover your core writing motivations, avoid shiny-thing syndrome, and create clear marketing language. Each daily email will lead you step by step in defining your author brand, crafting a mission statement, and distilling that statement into a pithy tagline. And, best of all, it's free. Click here to learn more!

Episode Show Notes In this episode we cover:  The fundamentals of romance How to build tension and attraction How to write humour Tropes, HEAs and grabbing the reader Grand gestures Business models This week's question is: how are you advocating for your creative self? Recommendation of the week is: Get Rich, Lucky Bitch: Release Your Money Blocks and Live a First-Class Life by Denise Duffield-Thomas Apple  Kobo  Amazon UK  Amazon USA  ***this show uses affiliate links Links I mentioned: Recommended listen: Rachel Herron's money episode Find out more about Jami on: Website Instagram Facebook Amazon TikTok   Rebel of the Week is: April Jones If you'd like to be a Rebel of the week please do send in your story, it can be any kind of rebellion. You can email your rebel story to rebelauthorpodcast@gmail.com or instagram me @sachablackauthor No new patrons this week, but a big thank you to my existing patrons. If you'd like to support the show, and get early access to all the episodes as well as bonus content you can from as little as $2 a month by visiting: www.patreon.com/sachablack   THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY KOBO WRITING LIFE Visit Kobo Writing Life here, read the Kobo Writing Life blog here, and listen to their podcast here.

EP165: My podcast guest this week is a wife, mother, podcaster, and an actress/comedian. Jami Albright is a born and raised Texas girl and is the multiple award-winning, Amazon top 100 author of the Brides on the Run and the Small-Town Royalty series—they're both sexy, swoony, and pee your pants funny. Jamie says that if you don't snort with laughter, then she hasn't done her job! Jamie began her writing career at 50 and self-published her very first book three years later. She now has 7 books and makes a living with her writing. In this episode, Jamie and I talked about: The interesting story of writing her very first book, including losing her first copy of the book.  Her experience moving to a new town, feeling sad and depressed, and finding her way through visits to the bookstore and her love of reading. The many challenges she overcame to publish her first book. The personal growth journey that began from this midlife pivot and continues by constantly challenging herself and facing her fears. With her unexpected and surprising midlife career transformation, she hopes to inspire the listeners  that you're never too old to learn something new or do something scary. She believes that as with anything in life, if you're willing to put in the work and you're willing to be vulnerable, make sacrifices, and learn, then you can do just about anything.   Click on any of the links below to learn more about Jami and connect with her: Website: https://www.jamialbright.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jami-Albright-Author  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamialbrightauthor/    If you'd like to connect or reach out to ME, you can find me at: Website: www.notyouraveragegrandma.com       Facebook: www.facebook.com/LaurieColvinWright      Instagram: www.instagram.com/not_your_average_grandma       Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/NotYourAverageGrandma          Note: Not Your Average Grandma is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

My, my, my, how the turn tables. Jaimie Morimoto is now a Romance reader, and I, for one, couldn't be happier. We start by discussing what it means when we dismiss an entire genre/hobby/aesthetic because it is largely by and for women. Then we cover the strange experience of cringing at our old favorite books, movies, and TV shows. And we wrap it up with the fascinating history of Monopoly. I absolutely love talking with Jaimie!   Support the Best Book Ever Podcast on Patreon In this week's Patreon clip, Jaimie and I admit the truth about the authors we tell other people we have read, but have not actually read. We also talk about how easy it is to get into a habit of reading books by people who look just like us. According to Jaimie, “I was reading my own story back to myself over and over.” This clip is available exclusively to my Patreon supporters.   Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram     Guest: Jaimie Morimoto Instagram   Do you have a book you want to tell me about? Go HERE to apply to be a guest on the Best Book Ever Podcast.   Discussed in this episode: Best Book Ever Episode 024 – Jaimie Morimoto on Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Beach Read by Emily Henry Best Book Ever Episode 014 – Jeff Adams on The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen Best Book Ever Episode 057 – Ellene Glenn Moore on “Bitterblue” by Kristen Cashore Book of the Month Club Best Book Ever Episode 043 Jami Albright on The Hating Game by Sally Thorne The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren Having and Being Had by Eula Biss On Immunity: An Inoculation by Eula Biss   Discussed in our Patreon Segment Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson Tolstoy Together: 85 Days of War and Peace by Yiyun Li War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Beloved by Toni Morrison Homie: Poems by Danez Smith (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links, meaning I get a few bucks off your purchase at no extra expense to you. Anytime you shop for books, you can use my affiliate link on Bookshop, which also supports Indie Bookstores around the country. If you're shopping for everything else – clothes, office supplies, gluten-free pasta, couches – you can use my affiliate link for Amazon. Thank you for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

My, my, my, how the turn tables. Jaimie Morimoto is now a Romance reader, and I, for one, couldn't be happier. We start by discussing what it means when we dismiss an entire genre/hobby/aesthetic because it is largely by and for women. Then we cover the strange experience of cringing at our old favorite books, movies, and TV shows. And we wrap it up with the fascinating history of Monopoly. I absolutely love talking with Jaimie!   Support the Best Book Ever Podcast on Patreon In this week's Patreon clip, Jaimie and I admit the truth about the authors we tell other people we have read, but have not actually read. We also talk about how easy it is to get into a habit of reading books by people who look just like us. According to Jaimie, “I was reading my own story back to myself over and over.” This clip is available exclusively to my Patreon supporters.   Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram     Guest: Jaimie Morimoto Instagram   Do you have a book you want to tell me about? Go HERE to apply to be a guest on the Best Book Ever Podcast.   Discussed in this episode: Best Book Ever Episode 024 – Jaimie Morimoto on Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Beach Read by Emily Henry Best Book Ever Episode 014 – Jeff Adams on The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen Best Book Ever Episode 057 – Ellene Glenn Moore on “Bitterblue” by Kristen Cashore Book of the Month Club Best Book Ever Episode 043 Jami Albright on The Hating Game by Sally Thorne The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren Having and Being Had by Eula Biss On Immunity: An Inoculation by Eula Biss   Discussed in our Patreon Segment Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson Tolstoy Together: 85 Days of War and Peace by Yiyun Li War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Beloved by Toni Morrison Homie: Poems by Danez Smith (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links, meaning I get a few bucks off your purchase at no extra expense to you. Anytime you shop for books, you can use my affiliate link on Bookshop, which also supports Indie Bookstores around the country. If you're shopping for everything else – clothes, office supplies, gluten-free pasta, couches – you can use my affiliate link for Amazon. Thank you for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

This week Claire is joined by Jami Albright and we have a great show in store for you! Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. The winner this week is Kamuela Kaneshiro. Top Tips of the week include how to promote your audiobook on Instagram, when to bail on a project..or not, and how to make a fantasy world map for your book or readers. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include Why you need to have a print book not just an ebook, why your cover matters so much, what new social media platform is coming just for readers and writers, what indie author event is less than two weeks away. Question of the Week: Will you be checking out the Copper social media site, and if so, how do you see yourself using it?

Episode 089 / Science fiction, fantasy, and horror author Angeline Trevena joins us today to talk about worldbuilding and being a discovery writer. Intro links: Jami Albright free book Historical Mystery Day Show notes: The value of a university degree in writing versus the value of experience when it comes to novel writing The pros and cons of not writing specific tropes How Angeline came to run a sci fi/fantasy convention for her local library Why Angeline doesn't have a reader Facebook group Angeline's three rules of worldbuilding Myths about discovery writers Question of the Week: Are you a discovery writer or an outliner? Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. Genres discussed include science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, and dystopian Links: Angeline's website: https://www.angelinetrevena.co.uk Twitter: @angelinetrevena Instagram: @angelinetrevena Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/angelinetrevena/ The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes Jami's Launch Plan Sara's Book Release Timeline Checklist

The ladies had fun chatting with award-winning romance author Jami Albright. She talked about the one regret she had on her milestone birthday, her consulting work with new authors, and her podcast, Wish I'd Known Then....For Writers. The writing books Jami mentioned were:Write Naked by Jennifer Probst -   https://amzn.to/3tzpWpCWriting a Romance Novel for Dummies - https://amzn.to/3z8zpoWJami can be found:https://www.jamialbright.com/https://www.facebook.com/Jami-Albright-Author-576095932592545Her podcast: https://wishidknownforwriters.com/Come over and say hi to Karen & Tess on the BTB Facebook page: https://bit.ly/3k5J8bC

In episode 084 of the Wish I'd Known Then . . . For Writers Podcast I talk with Sara Rosett and Jami Albright about mistakes authors make with social media and how to avoid them. We delve into the world of ubiquity and scarcity and discuss how to use scarcity to sell your books. He's […]

Would you sell your Christmas presents and plasma so you could afford to attend a writer's conference and an editor for a book you haven't published yet? My guest today, Jami Albright, did exactly that. Jamie took a leap of faith and it paid dividends. She is now a successful indie author of Brides on the Run and The Small-Town Royalty series--fun, sexy, snarky, laugh-out-loud romantic comedies. If you don't snort with laughter, then she hasn't done her job.Jami also shares with us how she continues her successful author career by publishing one book a year! So successful, she was able to leave her day job and become a full-time author. How bad do you want to succeed as an author?Listen to Jami's podcast Wish I'd Known Then...For WritersCheck out Jami's websiteVisit Jami's Facebook pageVisit Jami on InstagramJami is also on Tik TokAnd of course, Jamie is on Goodreads and BookBub20 Books Vegas video of JamiEnjoy the Cops and Writers book series.Please visit the Cops and Writers website.If you have a question for the sarge, hit him up at his email.Come join the fun at the Cops and Writers Facebook groupSupport the show (https://patreon.com/copsandwriters)

Welcome back to another episode! This week we dive into social media. Be sure to check out Jami Albright's launch plan that will be linked in the show notes. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. The winner this week is Blaine Moore. Top Tips of the week include how to maximize your international sales, what TikTok can do for you as an author, and how to find the best title for your book. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what the newest publishing trends of 2021 are, why audiobook sales are increasing, how you can get started on Instagram, why you need a book plan, and how to find a reader magnet that works for you. Question of the Week: What is your favorite social media platform right now and do you think you'll use one of these new-fangled platforms to promote your books at some point in the future?

Jami Albright is a born and raised Texas girl and is the multiple award-winning author of the “Brides on the Run” series and the “Small Town Royalty” series, which are fun, sexy, snarky, laugh-out-loud rom-coms. She is also a wife, mother, an actress, comedian, and a devout fan of something called the Houston Texans. I'm not sure what that is, but I always love hanging out with Jami anyway. She makes me laugh and she absolutely blew up my TBR list with her “Best Of” Trope recommendations.   Support the Best Book Ever Podcast on Patreon   Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram/Facebook   Guest: Jami Albright Website/Instagram/Facebook/TikTok   Episode Sponsor: Books2Read Pocket Garden Books2Read has curated a selection of feel-good springtime reads from across the publishing spectrum. From humorous fiction to romantic comedies, heart-warming literature, to feel-good nonfiction. There's even a selection of "happy pocket garden covers" because just looking at those beautiful covers will make you feel the spring sunshine on your face.   Discussed in this episode: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (Jami recommends this one in audio) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs Junkyard Cats by Faith Hunter Faith Hunter Patricia Briggs Ilona Andrews Locked in Love: A Quarantine Novella by Jami Albright   Lightning Round: Jami's Favorite Romances by Trope   Enemies to Lovers: The Worst Best Man by Lucy Score It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas   Wounded Heroes Look the Part by Jewel E. Ann   Secret Baby Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips   Opposites Attract Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas   Time Travel Parallel by Elizabeth O'Roarke Intersect by Elizabeth O'Roarke   Over 40 Aftercare by L.B. Dunbar   Male-Male Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen   Paranormal Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward   Billionaire Tangled by Emma Chase   Rock Star Romance Running From a Rockstar by Jami Albright Lick by Kylie Scott   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

Jami Albright is a born and raised Texas girl and is the multiple award-winning author of the “Brides on the Run” series and the “Small Town Royalty” series, which are fun, sexy, snarky, laugh-out-loud rom-coms. She is also a wife, mother, an actress, comedian, and a devout fan of something called the Houston Texans. I’m not sure what that is, but I always love hanging out with Jami anyway. She makes me laugh and she absolutely blew up my TBR list with her “Best Of” Trope recommendations.   Support the Best Book Ever Podcast on Patreon   Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram/Facebook   Guest: Jami Albright Website/Instagram/Facebook/TikTok   Episode Sponsor: Books2Read Pocket Garden Books2Read has curated a selection of feel-good springtime reads from across the publishing spectrum. From humorous fiction to romantic comedies, heart-warming literature, to feel-good nonfiction. There's even a selection of "happy pocket garden covers" because just looking at those beautiful covers will make you feel the spring sunshine on your face.   Discussed in this episode: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (Jami recommends this one in audio) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs Junkyard Cats by Faith Hunter Faith Hunter Patricia Briggs Ilona Andrews Locked in Love: A Quarantine Novella by Jami Albright   Lightning Round: Jami’s Favorite Romances by Trope   Enemies to Lovers: The Worst Best Man by Lucy Score It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas   Wounded Heroes Look the Part by Jewel E. Ann   Secret Baby Nobody’s Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips   Opposites Attract Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas   Time Travel Parallel by Elizabeth O’Roarke Intersect by Elizabeth O’Roarke   Over 40 Aftercare by L.B. Dunbar   Male-Male Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen   Paranormal Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward   Billionaire Tangled by Emma Chase   Rock Star Romance Running From a Rockstar by Jami Albright Lick by Kylie Scott   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

Today I am chatting with Emilie from Rate the Romance instagram account. She is new to the genre but I love what she has discovered. We chatted about books where main characters have an illness and of course enemies to lovers book recommendations.    BOOKS RECOMMENDED: Always Only You by Chloe Liese - https://amzn.to/3ou5FOx Only When It’s Us by Chloe Liese - https://amzn.to/3qBmkRW Attachments by Rainbow Rowell - https://amzn.to/3lVuSQo When We Fall by JH Croix- https://amzn.to/2Iirnp9 Plane Love by Avery Kingston - https://amzn.to/33NFWZB Lisa Becker - https://amzn.to/3lJ5ahK Subway Girl by Lisa Becker - https://amzn.to/2VLMEe8 Starfish series by Lisa Becker - https://amzn.to/3lXgyH7 Jami Albright- https://amzn.to/39OVCzA Homecoming King by Jami Albright - https://amzn.to/3qsgYbI Single Dad Seeks Juliet by Max Monroe - https://amzn.to/3lJ5qxe In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren - https://amzn.to/37Hj27i Perfect Distraction by Allison Ashley - https://amzn.to/3mSShD2 Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez - https://amzn.to/36KC7WS The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez - https://amzn.to/36LPV3q   CONNECT WITH EMILIE  Instagram Goodreads        PODCAST HIATUS Please note, the podcast will be going on a short two months break this January and February, 2021. We will return with brand new episodes on March 1, 2020. I will  be releasing new episodes on the Patreon feed while the show is on hiatus.     SUPPORT THE WHAT TO READ NEXT PODCAST! If you’re enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends   JOIN PATREON COMMUNITY  Get weekly romance recommendations, early access to author interviews, monthly meetups and exclusive Patreon audio series by joining the Patreon community. Want to join the fun? Sign up today; http://www.whattoreadnextblog.com/patreon   ETSY SHOP ALERT- QUEEN BEE READS   Romance lovers: check out Queen Bee Reads Etsy Shop for cute & comfortable bookish apparel! The shop also features social justice apparel and fun items from some of your favorite TV shows like Schitt’s Creek & The Office. Items are designed and made by Megan of @queenbee_reads. Use code: WHATTOREAD10 to save! http://www.whattoreadnextblog.com/queenbeereads FROLIC PODCAST NETWORK  What to Read Next Podcast is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts!    AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE If you purchase a book through my Amazon or Bookshop link, I will receive a commission at no cost to you that will help cover the cost of the podcast    CONNECT WITH LAURA YAMIN  WhattoReadNextBlog.com Instagram  Goodreads  

In this episode Mark chats with Jeff Elkins, The Dialogue Doctor, about the importance of solid dialogue for characterization, moving a plot along, and creating a bestselling novel. Prior to the interview, Mark shares shares comments from recent episodes, welcomes new Patron, Macy Dixon, offers a personal update, and says a word about this episode's sponsor... You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation, Mark and Jeff talk about: What good dialogue is going to do for your book The fundamental way that two people connect with one another, which is usually through conversation The reader engagement that comes for characters because of solid dialogue How Jeff filled a gap in the writing craft realm by focusing on dialogue Jeff's background writing conversation simulations and how that lead to his expertise in dialogue The way a person changes the way they speak when in different moods, anxious situations, circumstances Being intention with our dialogue when writing Peter Parker's dialogue as a shy nerd and behind the mask of Spider-man The concept of "putting the character in your mouth" The term "mono-mouth" used to describe multiple characters speaking in the exact same voice (the writer) Jeff's research on bestsellers and how many of them usually have less than four paragraphs between passages of dialogue How both John Grisham novels and Pride and Prejudice both have about 70% dialogue in them If your plot and the twists and turns are the bones, then dialogue is the muscle The value of taking out the "summaries" in your fiction rather than SHOWING that scene An example of a brilliant character reveal through dialogue in Toni Morrison's novel BELOVED The free download authors can get at Jeff's website on the five biggest mistakes authors often make in dialogue What you can get for signing up for Jeff's newsletter The services that Jeff offers for authors A new program/offering that Jeff is launching Jeff's new podcast where he shares ongoing dialogue sessions, advice, and tips   After the interview, Mark shares an offer from Jeff (the ability to get a 1 hour $99 booking for $75 by mentioning the Stark Reflections Podcast), and Mark shares a few reflections about things Jeff made him think about.   Links of Interest: Jeff's Author Website Jeff's Dialogue Doctor Website The 20-week experience Jeff is launching Jeff's Dialogue Doctor YouTube Channel Jeff Elkins on Facebook Jeff Elkins on Twitter Episode 156 - The Stark Reality Facing Authors Episode 118 - Wish I'd Known Then with Jami Albright and Sara Rosett Mark Leslie Lefebvre on Thinking Outside the eBook (guest on the Wish I'd Known Then for Writers Podcast) Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series This Time Around (Book 0) A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1) Stowe Away (Book 1.5) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2) Findaway Voices Books2Read Draft2Digital Wide for the Win Submission Form Patreon for Stark Reflections   Jeff Elkins writes stories with engaging and diverse characters that help people escape the stress of the real world. He has published eleven novels and hundreds of short stories and lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife and five kids. A graduate of Baylor University and Truett Seminary, Jeff has been writing dialogue simulation for several years and has recently adapted this knowledge, and his writing experience, into a fantastic, and much-needed service for authors called The Dialogue Doctor.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Pamela Fagan Hutchins hosts Jami Albright Author as the two talk about her hilarious and romantic HOMECOMING KING, moms who talk about s-e-x, kids who think their moms are funny, and more. For more about Jami and her books, visit http://JamiAlbright.com For more about Pamela, her books, and her show, visit http://PamelaFaganHutchins.com Wine Women & Writing Radio is a solely owned and copyrighted production of Authors on the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wine-women-writing/support

Pamela Fagan Hutchins hosts Jami Albright Author as the two talk about her hilarious and romantic HOMECOMING KING, moms who talk about s-e-x, kids who think their moms are funny, and more. For more about Jami and her books, visit http://JamiAlbright.com For more about Pamela, her books, and her show, visit http://PamelaFaganHutchins.com Wine Women & Writing Radio is a solely owned and copyrighted production of Authors on the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network

Episode 033 / Fantasy and science fiction author Jamie Davis joins Jami Albright and Sara Rosett this week to talk about those critical times in your author career when you face hurdles and how to get over them. The conversation also touches on tips for new podcasters, the importance of connecting with authors outside your genre, and surveying your readers to understand them better. Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. Intro recap In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: How Jamie wrote his first book during NaNoWriMo and why he participates every year How Jamie’s background as a journalist was a benefit when it came to writing quickly, but he had to discover his own narrative voice What Jamie would do differently if he were publishing his first book now Jamie’s advice for new podcasters and why recording your first podcast is like writing your first draft Facing hurdles in your writing career The importance of connecting with authors outside of your genre How to survey your readers to help you understand your readers and what novels they like Genres discussed include fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance. Links: Jamie Davis Jamie Davis Twitter Books and Authors Fantasy Podcast National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) Booksweeps Bookfunnel

Podcaster and author Jami Albright shares her experiences and insights from her work and her show, Wish I'd Known Then... For Writers.//Draft2Digital is where you start your Indie Author Career//Looking for your path to self-publishing success? Draft2Digital is the leading ebook publisher and distributor. We’ll convert your manuscript, distribute it online, and support you the whole way, and we won’t charge you a dime. We take a cut of royalties on each sale you make through us, so we only make money when you make money!• Get started:  https://Draft2Digital.com Get insider info on indie author success from our blog.• Visit: https://Draft2Digital.com/blogTune in to our monthly livestreams and ask us anything!• D2D Live: https://D2DLive.comPromote your books with our Universal Book Links!• Books2Read: https://books2read.com//Get ahead of the Self-Publishing game with our Amazing Partners//Findaway Voices || Find a narrator, produce your audiobook, and distribute it to retailers worldwide, including Audible.com and Apple Books.• http://findawayvoices.com/d2dReedsy || Assemble your team of publishing professionals! Find editors, cover designers, marketing experts, ghostwriters and more.• https://reedsy.comBookBrush || Build graphics and video that help you market and promote your books.• https://bookbrush.com/d2d-mockups///Join the D2D Community Online//Facebook || https://facebook.com/draft2digitalTwitter || https://twitter.com/draft2digital

Born and raised in Texas, Jami Albright is a multiple award-winning author of the Brides on the Run series – fun, sexy, snarky, laugh-out-loud love stories. Her newest novel, the small-town sports romantic comedy Homecoming King, was just released, and she switches from football to tennis for Duke-ing It Out, another enemies-to-lovers rom-com due out in spring 2021. Jami also is a wife, mother, and an actress/comedian. She used to think she could sing until someone paid her to stop. She took their money and kept on singing. Jami loves her family, all things Outlander, puppies and the Houston Texans pro football team. Jami talks with host Patricia McLinn about the difference between her high concept ideas and building a story from those ideas. In Jami’s words: “You only fail if you give up. And so, I'm just not gonna give up" [30:33] You can follow Jami at: Amazon  Goodreads  And BookBub   Thank you so much for listening. We hope you enjoyed the podcast enough to want to support us for future episodes. You can do that with as little as $1 a month by pledging at Patreon. It’s vital to Authors Love Readers to have your support. Thank you! Please also consider rating/reviewing the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks to DialogMusik for the instrumentals that accompany this podcast.

Romantic comedy writer Jami Albright is back to compare and contrast strategies for success while shunning the hampster wheel of constant production.

Our audiobook this week is THERE GOES THE BRIDE by Jami Albright!  Narrated by Pippa Jayne She’s a woman with a past. He’s a man on a mission. Can he get her to the altar before she bolts and runs? Paige has a new life and is marrying the man of her dreams. But that dream turns into a nightmare when her grifter family crashes her rehearsal dinner. A big problem, since her District Attorney fiancé, Will doesn’t know about her criminal past. The only way for Paige to save the man she loves from the family she hates is to run and never look back. Will’s found the perfect woman to build a future with, but when an accidental surprise causes Paige to run from the life they planned together. He knows he’ll do anything to get her back, even if he has to arrest her whole family and have the town’s sheriff deliver his bride to the altar, cuffs, and all. RUNNING FROM THE ROCK STAR (Kindle Unlimited): https://amzn.to/3cDYgWS YOUR DAD WILL DO by Katee Robert: https://amzn.to/354dQJ2 JAMI ALBRIGHT GIVEAWAY: http://readmeromance.com Follow Read Me Romance on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/readmeromance/?hl=en Join Read Me Romance Headquarters on FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1681258945313004/ Find Alexa Riley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoralexariley/ Find Tessa Bailey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tessabaileyisanauthor/ Podcast Credits Read Me Romance Theme Song by L.B. Ballard Podcast Production by Lola

Our audiobook this week is THERE GOES THE BRIDE by Jami Albright!  Narrated by Pippa Jayne She’s a woman with a past. He’s a man on a mission. Can he get her to the altar before she bolts and runs? Paige has a new life and is marrying the man of her dreams. But that dream turns into a nightmare when her grifter family crashes her rehearsal dinner. A big problem, since her District Attorney fiancé, Will doesn’t know about her criminal past. The only way for Paige to save the man she loves from the family she hates is to run and never look back. Will’s found the perfect woman to build a future with, but when an accidental surprise causes Paige to run from the life they planned together. He knows he’ll do anything to get her back, even if he has to arrest her whole family and have the town’s sheriff deliver his bride to the altar, cuffs, and all. RUNNING FROM THE ROCK STAR (Kindle Unlimited): https://amzn.to/3cDYgWS YOUR DAD WILL DO by Katee Robert: https://amzn.to/354dQJ2 JAMI ALBRIGHT GIVEAWAY: http://readmeromance.com Follow Read Me Romance on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/readmeromance/?hl=en Join Read Me Romance Headquarters on FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1681258945313004/ Find Alexa Riley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoralexariley/ Find Tessa Bailey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tessabaileyisanauthor/ Podcast Credits Read Me Romance Theme Song by L.B. Ballard Podcast Production by Lola

How does the painfully long wait time on ACX approvals affect your publishing plans and what could you do to mitigate or even capitalize on this new reality?Bryan's Amazon Ad School Course is now live. You can get 30 days of direct email support and lifetime access to the Amazon Ad Profit Challenge at SellingForAuthors.com/April20 This week H. Claire Taylor is joined by author Jami Albright who is also an Indie publishing coach so make sure to check out her website. Claire is still running a promo on her story alignments with he code SMBS. All link will be provided for you. This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is S.A. Schneider. Thank you to our featured Patrons - Black Shadow Moon: Stoker's Dark, Twisting Fate, and A Christmas Gift. The Top Tips of the week include what could be better for you than an author website, what can help you build stronger reader connections, and what playing a metadata game can teach you. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include why library supporters are calling authors and publishers greedy, how Ingram’s LightningSource could become the new normal, what drastic changes are happening to people in the Amazon Associates affiliate program, could Amazon be struggling during this pandemic, and who’s two week standard processing time has turned into seven weeks. Question of the Week: How does the painfully long wait time on ACX approvals affect your publishing plans and what could you do to mitigate or even capitalize on this new reality?

Episode 11 / With so many tips, ideas, and tactics in the author-sphere, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. In this episode that was recorded several weeks ago, Jami Albright and Sara Rosett tackle the subject of how to filter advice and give tips on ways to figure out which shiny new ideas will work for you and which ones you should consider skipping. You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. In the intro, they discuss how Jami’s plotted the rest of her book with sticky notes. Then they chat about Sara’s nonfiction book How to Write a Series, which has tips on how to structure a series, what to do when you’re bored with a series, and when to end a series. In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: Why Jami and Sara consider who is giving the advice as well as what point that person is in their author career Why genre and personality are important aspects to consider when making decisions How changes in the publishing industry can be a good thing Mindset issues with recovering books and how those mindset issues can hold us back The bias we have for new things: the new book, the new series, etc Why trying to replicate the success of an outliner might not be possible How being afraid of making mistakes can hold us back Genres discussed include romance and mystery. Links: Supercharge Your Story How to Write a Series Genres discussed include romance and mystery.

Episode 009 / Kirsten Oliphant writes clean romance--and lots of other sub-genres. She joins Jami Albright and Sara Rosett to talk about the genre of clean romance as well as sustainability and “pantsing” books. They also tackle the pros and cons of author success stories. You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. In the intro, Jami shared that she’s closing in on her deadline and her book is going to the developmental editor in a few days. Sara’s back from London, where things didn’t go as planned. London Book Fair was cancelled, and she had to return to the US early, which meant she missed the SPF-Live event. The upside was that Sara had plenty of time to see London, had several afternoon teas, and met up with other mystery writers. In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: How Kirsten fell in love with the subgenre of billionaire romance while writing a parody of it What audience expectations are in sweet/clean romance The mistake of reading only traditionally published books in for genre research How Kirsten is able to “pants” a book and write instinctively without an outline What Kirsten wishes she’d known about how successful marketing tactics vary between genres Finding balance--or tension--in your writing life The two questions Kirsten uses to decide if something is a good use of her time How to listen to success stories--the benefits and drawbacks of sharing Collaboration Rebranding a book What changes Kirsten has seen in the clean romance genre Things that have helped Kirsten be successful, including her focus on email and continuing to read in her genre Genres discussed include sweet/clean romance, cozy mystery, steamy romance, reverse harem, and bully romance. Links: Kirsten’s website: https://createifwriting.com Kirsten’s podcast for writers: https://createifwriting.com/podcast-and-show-notes/ Podcast on sustainability: https://createifwriting.com/sustaining-your-book-sales-and-yourself/ Podcast on how to listen to success stories - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XJdjrt8Xnc SPF-Live event digital ticket: https://selfpublishingformula.com/digital

Episode 008 / Renaissance man of the author world David Gaughran decodes Amazon and breaks down Bookbub ads for authors in addition to writing historical fiction and science fiction. He joins Jami Albright and Sara Rosett to discuss how his mistakes have shaped his decision to reboot his fiction and nonfiction books. You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. Jami and Sara are in the podcast timewarp because they recorded the episode intro early since Sara will be in London (hopefully) when it airs. Jami’s making progress on her work-in-progress, and Sara was interviewed on Nathan van Coops’ podcast, Book Faces Live. They also talk about how the coronavirus is impacting travel and how it has brought fist bumps and elbow bumps into vogue. Jami mentions The Daily podcast’s recent episode on the topic. In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: David’s Irish storytelling heritage and how conversation in the pub is a combat sport in Ireland His first mistake of writing “all over the map” in different genres while using the same author name The one thing that he wishes he could change David’s first big success and how he became an accidental nonfiction author Unlearning assumptions related to writing pretty sentences and the value of a good story that resonates with readers How Kindle Highlights can give you an insight to what readers value most What you can learn from books that are selling well--even if you don’t think they’re well-written Assumptions David made about ads and how important it is to question our assumptions Number chasing vs. knowing your readers David’s biggest gamble when he rebooted both his fiction and nonfiction career The value of long-term thinking and creating evergreen systems for your writing and marketing How the pressure of going full-time can impact you psychologically Why emailing too infrequently is a mistake and how David’s mindset about email has changed How David is using what he’s learned from his mistakes to reboot his writing career with pen names and book relaunches How to David has become more efficient with his time and finds multiple uses for content Writing a series vs. stand-alone books and how the challenges of writing a series surprised him The difference between historical fiction in US and UK charts and how David is shifting his writing to meet reader expectations How to meet the market halfway in both writing and marketing Trends in historical fiction, including orphan/holocost novels and WWII novels The importance of having a circle of friends Genres discussed include nonfiction, historical fiction, science fiction, action/adventure, and literary fiction. Links: David Gaughran’s website: https://www.DavidGaughran.com The Daily podcast: The Coronavirus Goes Global Book Faces Live podcast: Nathan van Coops' interview with Sara about writing a series and mystery books and plotting How to Write a Series by Sara Rosett Newsletter Ninja by Tammi Lebreque Take Off Your Pants by Libbie Hawker Murder Bot series by Martha Wells

Episode 007 / Romantic comedy author Pippa Grant joins Jami Albright and Sara Rosett to chat about starting over with a new pen name as well as collaboration with other authors on a series. You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. The alternate title for this episode is “Fun Places and Unusual Places to Record Your Podcast” because Jami had to record the episode from her car in the Starbuck's parking lot. (We're creating a new hashtag for just these sorts of things: #JamiStory.) Sara’s prepping for a trip to London for SPF-Live, a writer’s conference, and the London Book Fair. She plans to visit as many stately homes/country estates/tea rooms as possible. #research #authorlife Jami’s feeling rejuvenated. She’s back from a writing retreat where she accomplished a lot and got to hang out with 20 writers. In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: When it’s smart to use a pen names and how starting over with a new pen name gives you freedom Pippa’s favorite mistake and what she learned about worldbuilding, including why--even in romance--the villain has to have a comeuppance The importance of emphasizing the parts of a book that will appeal to readers when running ads How Pippa pivoted and created a new pen name after studying the bestseller charts and analyzing what tropes readers wanted Writing fearlessly and how Pippa shuts off the critical voice The mistake of chasing the wrong goal Psychology of fandom Pippa’s collaboration with three authors to create the Bluewater Billionaire series, including the nitty gritty details of plotting and planning the series How the group marketed through hashtags to encourage readers to share their stories before the series released Pippa’s big gamble of starting a new pen name and the risk of investing money in an unknown quantity Pippa’s potential side hustle as a “pun” title whisperer How Pippa’s husband helps her in her writing business Genres discussed include contemporary romance, romantic comedy and cozy mystery. Links: Pippa Grant https://pippagrant.com Jennifer Barnes https://jenniferlynnbarnes.tumblr.com/post/136121504974/fiction-fandom-and-using-the-term-mary-sue-as Bluewater Billionaires series https://pippagrant.com/bluewater-billionaires/ NINC https://www.NINC.com

Episode 006 / Dani Sanchez, owner of Wildfire Marketing Solutions, joins Jami Albright and Sara Rosett this week to talk about common mistakes authors make in publicity and marketing as well as publishing trends. You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. Jami and Sara chat about Sara’s WIP. She’s fixing tiny details that make up the clues and red herrings. It’s slow-going, but has to be done in mystery fiction. Jami talks about giving herself some grace and working on ads. A big thank you for all the positive feedback, nice comments, and reviews on the podcast. It’s much appreciated! In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: How Dani focuses on individual goals for each author and helps authors create strategies that will grow their businesses What she wishes authors knew about marketing and public relations The difference between a promotion company and a PR/marketing company What Dani wishes she’d known about working in the publishing industry What she sees authors doing that isn’t getting them results Common mistakes she sees authors make in their marketing Dani’s advice to help authors protect their brand Commonalities she’s seen in successful authors over the long-haul Best practices for working with book bloggers and bookstgramers Possible upcoming romance trends, including mafia, small town, and sports romance How pop culture trends influence book trends How combinations of different genres (such as romance and psychological thriller in the case of The Wives) and “shock factor” can generate excitement and buzz Genres discussed include romantic comedy, contemporary romance, cozy mystery, psychological thriller. Links: Wildfire Marketing Solutions http://www.wildfiremarketingsolutions.com 365 Days https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10886166/ Tarryn Fisher’s The Wives https://books2read.com/u/b55Zn6

Historical romance author Cecelia Mecca joins Jami Albright and Sara Rosett. Cecelia shares what she learned when she changed genres and how she now reverse engineers her books before she writes them. Jami, Sara, and Cecelia discuss: How Cecelia transitioned from being an English teacher and a teacher of teachers to writing fiction full-time Her mistake involving releasing her prequel novella on Super Bowl Sunday The challenge of replicating success Ceclia’s love of plotting books and how she wishes she’d read more craft books before writing her first novel How important packaging is for your book (cover, title, blurb, trope) and reverse engineering your novel, including considering how to marry what her muse wants her to write with considerations about cover and marketing Tips for using free marketing strategies including Facebook Live and Facebook groups (types and timing of posts) How to get to know your readers An incredibly simple, yet effective tip on how to to be successful on social media Assumptions involving transferring from one genre to another How Cecelia wishes she’d taken a closer look at the market for vampire books, but then discusses how much she learned from not doing that and how she now reverse engineers her books The benefits of focusing narrowly on social media How not using a pen name can be a mistake and lead to confused also-boughts on the ebook stores Learning not to be so hard on yourself when things don’t as you expect Strategies to reach new readers including being a hybrid author and using print, including hardbacks and large print Importance of friendships in a writing career and how attending conferences can help you connect with other authors in your genre Links/Mentioned: Cecelia’s website http://ceceliamecca.com Launching Indie Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/263060221047105/ Romancing the Beat https://books2read.com/u/mBgGGD Rock Your Plot https://books2read.com/u/mYp77P Book Faces Live podcast https://nathanvancoops.podbean.com/e/cecelia-and-nathan-compare-favorite-plotting-methods-and-their-strategies-for-structure/ Podcast deliberate actions for success in Facebook group https://www.amyporterfield.com/2019/10/284/ Colleen Hoover - collaboration with American Idol https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/6553539 Smarty Pants podcast on outpost social media channels http://smartypantsbookmarketing.libsyn.com/episode-50-how-to-set-up-pinterest-as-an-outpost-channel Genres discussed include historical romance, paranormal romance, vampire, Regency, and mystery.

In this episode Mark shares a few tidbits from the 2020 Superstars Writing Seminars conference held in early February in Colorado Springs. Prior to the main episode content, he shares a personal update about his writing (or lack thereof) as well as a few comments from listeners from previous episodes. Just before the main topic, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices... You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In this episode, Mark discusses things that were mentioned by the following instructors/attendees of the conference during various presentations and panels. Nick Thacker Michael Anderle Brian Meeks Tara Cremin Kevin Ikenberry Rebecca Moesta James A. Owen Kevin J. Anderson Mark mentions that this is just the tip of the iceberg of the amazing content that was packed into several days for this conference. He closes by reflecting upon the Rush lyrics that opened out the episode, explaining the way Kevin Anderson had been using them to inspire writers, and what the lyrics meant to mark in the writer context. Mark closes by offering an ambassador code that people can use to get $100 off registration of Superstars Writing Seminars 2021. (MARK9776).   Links of Interest: Episode 118 - Wish I'd Known Then with Jami Albright and Sara Rosett Wish I'd Known for Writers (Podcast Website) Episode 116 - Taking the Short Tack with Matty Dalrymple Adam Croft's Online Mini Courses (Affiliate Link) (Be sure to use "STARK" coupon code to save 50%) Superstars Writing Seminars Special link to get $100 off registration for 2021 Amazing Monster Tales: Monster Road Trip A Canadian Werewolf in New York This Time Around (Free Short Story) Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections   The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Romance author Jami Albright explains how to make a comfortable living as an indie author without being prolific.

This episode features a conversation with Jami Albright and Sara Rosett. Jami is the multiple award-winning author of the Brides on the Run series–a fun, sexy, snarky, laugh-out-loud good time. USA Today and Audible bestselling author Sara Rosett writes lighthearted mysteries with atmospheric settings, fun characters, and puzzling whodunit. The two are the best of friends, and Mark talks with them about their writing, their friendship, and their new podcast Wish I'd Known Then for Writers. Prior to the interview, Mark shares an audiobook marketing tip from this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices... You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. Mark then shares a personal update, which includes: Flying to Colorado Springs for the 2020 Superstars Writing Seminars where he is a returning guest instructor The release (on Feb 4th) of TAKING THE SHORT TACK (a book on how writers can leverage short fiction for marketing and revenue), which he co-authored with Matty Dalrymple He then announces the winners of two different prizes that were randomly drawn from listeners who left comments on two previous episodes as well as patrons of the show who support the podcast over at http://patreon.com/starkreflections. During their conversation, Jami, Sara, and Mark discuss: How they first got into writing, and their unique entrances and pathways into the writing world, as well as the unique genres they write in The runaway bride trope/theme in romantic comedy and the potential double standard of runaway groom not being as popular The cozy mystery genre and the way certain readers have specific preferences for how a series is structured What it would take for either of them to say "yes" to a traditional publishing contract Why a traditional publisher wouldn't be able to afford an advance for what Jami makes in a money off of her indie eBook sales How Sara ended up with POD print titles in a bookstore and how she managed returns with a returnable status for the US and Canada only and non-returnable for the rest of world How Sara and Jami first met at the Smarter Artist Conference in Austin, TX and learned that they both lived in Austin about ten minutes away from one another The ongoing "ladies that lunch" they participate in, often with other local writers The importance of having other writer friends Why they both enjoy attending writer gatherings and writer conferences The origin of the new podcast that Jami and Sara started called Wish I'd Known Then for Writers What they each wish they'd know then, before they got into writing   After the interview, Mark reflects on something Sara mentioned about changes in the industry. Be warned, attentive listener, because Mark uses that as an excuse to quote Rush lyrics.  ;)   Links of Interest: Jami Albright's Website Sarah Rosett's Website Wish I'd Known for Writers (Podcast Website) Episode 115 - Embracing the Indie Author Mindset with Adam Croft Adam Croft's Online Mini Courses (Affiliate Link) (Be sure to use "STARK" coupon code to save 50%) Superstars Writing Seminars Findaway Voices Chirp Deals Tips Article NPR Podast: How I Built This with Guy Raz NINC Conference 20BooksVegas Patreon for Stark Reflections   Jami Albright is a born and raised Texas girl and is the multiple award-winning author of The Brides on the Run series--a fun, sexy, snarky, laugh-out-loud good time. If you don't snort with laughter, then she hasn't done her job. USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett writes lighthearted mysteries for readers who enjoy atmospheric settings, fun characters, and puzzling whodunits. Sara loves all things bookish, considers dark chocolate a daily requirement   The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Amy Boyles, author of paranormal cozy mysteries with a southern flare, joins Jami Albright and Sara Rosett to talk about her successes and missteps. Jami and Sara chat about how they’ve been blown away about the response to the podcast and say thanks for all the positive comments, shares, and reviews. Jami has a boxed set out and Sara just released a new nonfiction book, How to Write a Series. In the interview with Amy they discuss: -The definition of paranormal cozy -Humor in writing -The line between tropes and stereotypes -How Amy transitioning from being a full-time pharmacist to a full-time writer -The inspiration and influence of books, including Little Women and Twilight -Writing fast -Writing with kids: consistency and writing around the edges of your life -Figuring out what you’re good at writing -Knowing when to stop writing a series--when to cut your losses and move on -Branding--making your name and covers distinctive and interacting with your readers -The importance of connecting with other authors Comment on this episode at WishIdKnownForWriter.com to be eligible to win an hour of free coaching with Jami and Sara’s new nonfiction book, How to Write a Series. Tell us who you’d like us to invite on the podcast and what topics you’d like to learn more about. Links: https://amyboylesauthor.com Genres discussed include paranormal cozy mystery and romance.

Becca Syme, a Gallup-Certified Strengths coach and founder of the Write Better-Faster Academy, joins Jami and Sara to discuss how to discover your strengths as a writer and how to lean into those qualities. In this episode, Becca Syme, Jami Albright, and Sara Rosett discuss: -Self-awareness in writing -Pivoting to write in new genre(s) and finding your perfect genre -Learning to trust yourself -Dealing with fear when you’re starting a new project -Benefits of hearing opposing perspectives -Using your strengths in your writing life -Taking the long view when it comes to our books and writing -How to treat your mistakes as a learning opportunity -The misstep of writing in a super-niche genre (there might be eunuch werewolves involved in this answer) -The platform of Radish and what’s currently selling there -The importance of connecting with other writers Genres discussed include paranormal romance, romantic comedy, mystery, cozy mystery, and non-fiction. Links: Youtube Quitcast Podcast https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqcMMgtLuogKNSbxlwyJ5ug https://www.rlsyme.com/about/

This week, we’re joined by romantic comedy author Jami Albright. She is a born and raised Texas girl, former actress and comedian, and writes the multiple award-winning Brides on the Run series. She published the…Continue ReadingSFA 021 – Making a Full-Time Income on One Novel a Year with Romantic Comedy Author Jami Albright

Welcome to the Wish I’d Known Then podcast for writers. In this episode, indie authors Jami Albright and Sara Rosett introduce themselves and chat about: - the concept of the show, which is interviewing awesome indie authors to get their take on what’s worked for them as well as what mistakes they’ve made - their love of podcasts - who their first guests will be Subscribe to get the first episodes!

Move too fast and, instead of working around your obstacles, you might just crash into them – in romance, in writing, and in writing romance.

Welcome to Romance Happy Hour! Co-hostesses Dawn Luedecke and Dylann Crush chat with romance authors Jami Albright, Ja'Nese Dixon & Rebecca Hunter. This episode originally aired as a Facebook LIVE broadcast in January 2019. Jami reads from Running From A Rock Star, Ja'Nese shares a scene from Rockstar Secrets, and Rebecca treats us to a sneak peek of Stockholm Diaries: Caroline. To view previous episodes of Romance Happy Hour, visit our website. You can find out more about co-hostesses Dawn & Dylann on our websites: Dawn Luedecke & Dylann Crush To find out more about our guests, visit them here: Jami Albright Ja'Nese Dixon Rebecca Hunter We'd love to connect with you on our social media... Instagram Facebook YouTube Thanks for listening and we hope you'll come back next time!

Do you think Amazon imprints are in a position to attract more big name authors? Bryan will be off next week and Jim has a special surprise guest host booked! Bryan has over 300 people signed up to his ARC team and is setting the goal of 100 reviews in the first 48 hours. Jim’s book Unskippable will be at 99 cents for a few more days - grab a copy if you haven’t had the chance. This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Lars Hedbor. Thank you to our featured Patrons - The Reluctant Detective, Get it Done, and Sanyare: The Last Descendant. The Top Tips of the week include what you can do to streamline your BookBub “follow” call to action, how a simple card can give people the information they need to remember you—and your book, and what you can do to declutter your work-in-progress. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include why the French Army is turning to sci-fi writers for advanced warning, how Kym Thurlow used a pen name to test the waters and learn from her mistakes, how Wattpad’s monetization features are benefitting authors, why Jami Albright turned to free options to support her latest book launch, and why Dean Koontz has taken the plunge with an Amazon imprint. Question of the Week: What do you think Amazon promised in its marketing plan to author Dean Koontz to get him to sign a big deal with an Amazon imprint?

Special thanks to Kat Brown who submitted the question for this episode. Exactly how do you determine what to write, and how? J. asks Rachael.Jami Albright's new book - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TT87VXB/Rachael's Query Letter Service - http://rachaelherron.com/query/ J.'s Author Services - https://theauthorlife.com/editing/ What's your answer to our question? Leave one in the comments…Rate & subscribe on iTunes and then share with other writers.Support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/thewriterswell More information here - http://thewriterswell.org See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Good Adventures, This week, I'm chatting with best selling romance author Jami Albright. You'll be impressed and awed by what she did multiple times, to make her writing dream come true. I get nauseous just thinking about it. Comment over on our YouTube channel. Links: https://www.jamialbright.comhttps://www.amazon.com/Jami-Albright/e/B06Y2NC2HN~~~What do I write? Thanks for asking. Get the free prequel to my June Nash Misadventure series and find out why a monkey was wearing June’s bra.  Or dive right in and get the full length novel How to Sex Your Snake.  I’ll see you next time! Go read a good book, Melissa

The beauty of the internet is all the knowledge you can find at the touch a button. My husband replaced the starter in our minivan last week after watching a video on YouTube. EPIC! But the downside of the internet is the same--all the "knowledge" you can find at the touch of a button.  I want to break down some really popular advice and why you might want to ignore it OR why you need more information to make it make sense.  POPULAR ADVICE YOU SHOULD IGNORE The money’s in the list If you know me, you know I'm into email. Research also shows that more conversions and sales happen through email than social media platforms. Yes, email has the best conversion rate for sales. But it takes work to get the right kind of email list and to sell the right kind of product in the right kind of way. Not automatic. Lots of work, but pays off. Focus on getting the right subscribers, offering something that meets those subscribers' needs, and then honing in on your sales copy.  If you need more help with email, start with my Free Email Course! Do what works for you People sometimes think of this as do what you want. They ignore best practices and research and just do what they feel like doing. That MIGHT work, but it would likely be an exception to the rule OR you're just more stellar than everyone else at what you're doing.  Doing what works means that it works multiple times and over time. It isn't a fluke or happy accident. There are many ways to do things, but you should really know the best practices first and not write those off. Show, don’t tell This is one of the most common pieces of advice for writers and I think it SHOULD be. However...there are some big mistakes people make in light of this advice. Tim Storm has a great post on this, where he talks about how often there is so much description that the unnecessary showing it slows the story down. Sometimes you have to TELL. And other times, using gesture or a symbol or something else can really show something. In a book I recently read, the author SHOWED that a character was stressed by the way he counted the grains of wood in the table during a heated conversation. She didn't write, "He was stressed." She showed him counting as the discussion moved on around him. I LOVE that kind of showing. But super long descriptive paragraphs feel like they maybe belong in classic lit. Forever.  Do one thing really well This has variants, like when people talk about rocking out one particular social media platform. While focus is so important (I talked about that in episode 136), it’s also a good idea to diversify. When Facebook changed algorithms back in 2012 or even more recently, some businesses literally closed up their doors because all their eggs were in that basket. It’s good to be diversified in our income streams and in our social platforms. (Email is also still the most SURE bet for longterm connection.) Doing one thing well is a great start, but as you start to master something and maybe get some systems or schedules in place, you can extend outward and master some other social platforms or find other revenue streams. You have to write every day Yes, I get it. Writing is a craft and a commitment. Setting a schedule can be a good idea. Being disciplined is important. Writing is an art, but it is also a work. But this phrase can really lead to guilt, which can short-circuit the brain and make you less productive. Write as often as you can. Write as discipline. Write for love. Some days it might be more discipline. Some days it might not happen. Some days you will love it. And some days you love it, but you can’t DO it. It does not mean you are not a writer if you don’t write every day. More on why this can be bad advice Kill your darlings Why there is no small debate about who said this first, this is still popular (and very solid) advice! But... some people misunderstand this and think that it means you have to kill off what you love. Nope! No, you kill off what you love that doesn’t work. I have a tendency to use the word “So” when writing, often to start dialogue. While this may be something I often SAY a lot or people say when they are speaking, it doesn’t work on the page. If you can identify those natural tendencies that you have in your writing, you can see when they are overused and have become a crutch for you, rather than a support for great writing.  You Have to Spend Money to Make Money Yes, sort of. The problem here lies in the extremes. Some people say they have NO money and aren’t willing to invest. My friend Jami Albright sold bone marrow to buy good covers for her romance novels. She wrote two novels and the sales were so good, she is now full-time. But her original budget took some creative straining to pay for the necessary things for success. (Also, her covers were great, but still on a budget.)  On the other extreme, I hear people saying they paid $1k for a blogging course or some kind of author marketing thing and they haven’t made the money back. You likely need to invest, but at the beginning stages, that doesn't HAVE to be a bazillion dollars. Start and scale. But don't scimp on the really key things.  Hit up episode 137 if you need to know Six Questions to Ask before You Invest! What did I miss? Share any other pieces of advice you've heard in the comments OR what I may have not covered all the way in these common pieces of advice!

In today's episode, we take close look at the process romance author, Jami Albright uses to keep her books tickling the Amazon algorithms, staying near the top of the sales charts, and generating around $5,000 in royalties each month. Jami manages all of this despite the fact that she's published only two books, both in the last year. The post TAB134: Two Books to 43k (2BOOKSto43k) with Romance Author Jami Albright appeared first on .

Jami Albright returns to talk about how after launching her second solo novel she was able to quit her day job and become a full-time author! To learn more about Jami you can visit her site at: https://www.jamialbright.com/

This week we have extra-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 gather every year 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.  Join us as Jami Albright and Trudi Jaye break down their experiences at the 2018 Smarter Artist Summit and find out the big epiphany moments they had from the many presentations over the two days of the summit. 

This week we have an amazing interview with self publishing guru Michael Anderle, direct from the Smarter Artist Summit in Austin, Texas. Trudi Jaye 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, from writing his very first Kurtherian Gambit book, to creating an exciting new self-publishing model where he collaborates with multiple authors writing in his well-loved universe. Author and former SPA Girls Podcast guest Jami Albright helps Trudi out with the interview - in which Michael also talks about about writing books that people will love, how he connects with his readers, and breaking the rules to get emotional impact. He's accessible, sincere and passionate about his topic, and you'll love listening to him explaining what he thinks are the most important ingredients for self publishing success. This is an interview you won't want to miss!!

This week Scott talks with breakout romance author Jami Albright. Jami launched her first solo book and a month later she has over 170 reviews and is still at the top of the Amazon charts! To learn more about Jami visit her site at: https://www.jamialbright.com/

This week we interview the delightful Jami Albright, a new author who has just successfully launched her first book. She's done such a fantastic job of it, we wanted to get her on the show to talk about how she got into writing, how she learned to do such a great job of launching a book, and where she goes for inspiration. She's such a fantastic person, we could have chatted to her all day! Hope you enjoy the show, we sure did. :)