Podcasts about kdp

¡Regalo GRATIS en nuestra LISTA DE CORREO! ➡️https://www.letraminuscula.com/suscribirse-lista-de-correo/ Visita nuestra WEB https://www.letraminuscula.com/ SI deseas PUBLICAR escríbenos : contacto@letraminuscula.com Llámanos☎ o escríbenos por WhatsApp:+34640667855 ¡SUSCRÍBETE al canal! CLIC AQUÍ: https://bit.ly/2Wv1fdX RESUMEN: ¿No sabes cómo contactar con Amazon KDP para resolver problemas con tu libro? En este vídeo aprenderás paso a paso cómo acceder al soporte de KDP, ya sea que tu cuenta esté activa o bloqueada. Descubre cómo enviar tu consulta correctamente y obtener ayuda rápida. 1. Escribe un correo al equipo de KDP Trust & Safety Envía un email a la siguiente dirección: Correo: kdp-support@amazon.com Asunto sugerido: "Apelación por cierre de cuenta KDP – [Tu nombre o ID de cuenta]" Contenido sugerido: Estimado equipo de KDP, Me dirijo a ustedes en relación con el cierre de mi cuenta de KDP asociado al correo [tu correo registrado]. No he recibido detalles suficientes sobre la causa de la suspensión y me gustaría solicitar una revisión de mi caso. Estoy dispuesto a colaborar plenamente para resolver cualquier malentendido. Agradezco de antemano su atención y quedo a la espera de su respuesta. Atentamente, [Tu nombre completo] [Correo asociado a tu cuenta de KDP] ________________________________________ 2. Otras direcciones útiles Algunas cuentas han logrado contacto a través de: • content-review@amazon.com (si te notificaron por tema de contenido) • account-appeals@amazon.com (en casos generales de apelación de cuenta) • kdp-support@amazon.es (si tu cuenta estaba en español) ⏲MARCAS DE TIEMPO: ▶️00:00 Problemas comunes al usar Amazon KDP ▶️00:28 Cómo acceder al centro de ayuda KDP ▶️01:41 Consejos para contactar con soporte ▶️02:48 Qué hacer si te cierran la cuenta

Mastering Book Cover Design for Amazon & Kindle: A Practical Guide. In the crowded world of self-publishing, your book cover is more than just a pretty picture—it's your first impression, your marketing powerhouse, and the visual hook that can make or break a sale. Whether you're publishing a paperback on Amazon or a Kindle eBook, designing an effective cover is essential. Here's how to make sure yours stands out in the crowded Amazon marketplace. Why Your Book Cover Matters You've heard the saying, “Don't judge a book by its cover,” but let's be honest: readers absolutely do. On Amazon and Kindle, your cover shows up as a thumbnail alongside hundreds of others. A compelling design can make readers stop scrolling and click—while a dull or unprofessional one may get overlooked entirely. Key Differences: Kindle eBook vs. Paperback Cover Before you begin designing, understand the format you're creating for:Kindle eBooks: Require only a front cover. It should be optimized for digital screens and look good at small sizes (thumbnail view).Paperback Books (KDP Print): Require a full cover including front, back, and spine. You'll need to factor in the trim size, page count, and bleed areas.Amazon provides a Cover Calculator & Template Generator for paperbacks:https://kdp.amazon.com/cover-calculator Design Specs for Amazon & Kindle Covers Kindle eBook Cover Requirements:Dimensions: Ideal ratio is 1.6:1 (e.g., 1600 x 2560 pixels).Minimum size: 1000 pixels on the shortest side.Maximum file size: 50MB.File type: JPEG or TIFF.Color: RGB only.Paperback Cover Requirements (KDP Print):File type: PDF for print.Resolution: 300 DPI.Color: CMYK.Bleed: Typically 0.125" on all sides.Spine width: Depends on page count and paper type.Design Principles That Sell 1. Know Your Genre Each genre has visual cues. Romance uses soft, emotional imagery. Thrillers often use dark tones and bold fonts. Non-fiction covers tend to be cleaner and typography-driven. Look at the top 10 books in your category for inspiration. 2. Typography is CrucialUse no more than two fonts.Title should be readable at thumbnail size.Avoid script or decorative fonts unless genre-appropriate.Author name can be smaller but still legible.3. High-Quality Images Avoid using pixelated or stocky-looking images. Invest in high-resolution assets or create custom illustrations/photos. Sites like Unsplash (free) or Shutterstock (premium) are great sources. 4. Balance and Hierarchy Design with clear visual hierarchy:Title firstSubtitle second (if applicable)Author name thirdLeave breathing space. Don't overcrowd. 5. Thumbnail Test Shrink your design to 100 x 160 px. Can you still read the title? Is it still eye-catching? This is how it will appear in Amazon search results. Tools for Designing Book Covers For DIY Authors:Canva (Free & Pro): User-friendly with KDP templates.BookBrush: Designed for authors, with genre templates.Adobe Express: Quick designs with good typography options.For Professional Designers:Adobe Photoshop or InDesign: Full control for advanced design and print-ready files.Affinity Publisher: A powerful InDesign alternative.Using Amazon KDP Cover Creator (Optional) If you're not comfortable with design tools, Amazon's built-in Cover Creator is simple and free. It has templates, font controls, and lets you preview in 3D. However, it's limited in customization, so it's best for basic layouts. Avoid These Common MistakesUsing low-res images or blurry graphicsCentering everything by defaultOveruse of effects like drop shadows or bevelsInconsistent visual tone with the genreMisaligned spine elements on paperbacksIgnoring bleed and trim linesPro Tip: Hire a Designer If You Can A professionally designed cover can significantly boost your credibility and sales. If you're serious about publishing, consider hiring a freelance designer from platforms like Reedsy, 99designs, or Upwork. Always provide your book's genre, blurb, tone, and any visual references you like. Final Thoughts Your book cover is a visual handshake with your reader. On Amazon and Kindle, it's your billboard, brand, and storefront rolled into one. Invest time and care into it. With the right tools, creative direction, and an understanding of what sells, you can design a cover that attracts, engages, and converts browsers into buyers.

"No Kings" rallies were held across Kentucky on Saturday, Kentuckians react to news of apparent politically-motivated violence in Minnesota, the head of the DNC visits Kentucky, and a Democratic state lawmaker facing allegations of harassing women has his latest motion denied.

Ready to sell more books and look like a pro on Amazon? In this tactical, game-changing episode of Thought Leader Launch, Sara Connell is joined by publishing strategist Susie Schaefer, who walks us through the most overlooked (and powerful) tools authors can use to elevate their Amazon presence: Author Central and A+ Content. You'll learn: How to actually set up and optimize your Amazon Author Central page The secrets of A+ Content—and how it turns browsers into buyers Why your book may be missing critical sales page elements (and how to fix it fast) How to position yourself as a thought leader, not just an author Simple changes that make your Amazon page look polished, professional, and searchable If you're publishing on KDP, IngramSpark, or both—this is the masterclass you didn't know you needed. Join Sara's community: https://www.saraconnell.com/thought-leader-academy Women STARTING MOVEMENTS: A 3 day curated event for experts, coaches, visionaries, & entrepreneurs- https://www.saraconnell.com/women-starting-movements

Welcome to today's episode of the Cookbook Love Podcast! I'm thrilled to bring you a conversation with Kasey Lobb—a self-professed food nerd, registered dietitian nutritionist, and plant-based chef. Kasey is the author of The Gluten-Free Sourdough Cookbook, a flavorful new release that brings together her personal passion and professional expertise. Her new book marks a stirring new chapter for Kasey's personal and professional journey. Most days, you'll find her experimenting in the kitchen or tending to “Mother”—her well-loved gluten-free sourdough starter. For over 20 years, Kasey has helped clients transform their health through food, with a focus on food sensitivities and autoimmune conditions. With this cookbook, she's on a mission to help home bakers ditch dry, dense gluten-free breads and bake with confidence using accessible, nourishing ingredients the whole family will love. Kasey and her book designer Rae are both students inside my cookbook coaching programs—Cookbooks on KDP and Get Paid to Get Published—and it's been a joy to watch this cookbook come to life. Things We Mention In This Episode: Appetite to Travel The Gluten-free Sourdough Cookbook by Kasey Lobb Join the waitlist for the next cohort of Cookbooks on KDP  

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Big changes are coming fast for indie authors. KDP is slashing royalties for print books under $9.99 starting next week. Meanwhile, Publisher Rocket is ending its lifetime license—soon, it'll be monthly only. Plus, Spotify for Authors is moving features over from Findaway Voices and confirming promo code honors. Here's what you need to know. Book Award Pro - https://DaleLinks.com/BookAwardPro (affiliate link) Subscribe to The Self-Publishing Hub - https://TheSelfPublishingHub.com Subscribe to my email newsletter - https://DaleLinks.com/SignUp Join Channel Memberships - https://DaleLinks.com/Memberships Join Me on Discord - https://DaleLinks.com/Discord Check out my main YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@DaleLRoberts My Books - https://DaleLinks.com/MyBooks Wanna tip me? Visit https://dalelroberts.gumroad.com/coffee. Sources: How to Get Amazon Book Reviews Without Breaking the Rules - https://bookawardpro.com/blog/how-to-get-amazon-book-reviews-without-breaking-the-rules/ Publisher Rocket SALE - https://rocket.thrivecart.com/special-publisher-rocket/?affiliate=selfpubwithdale (affiliate link) KDP: Print Royalty Rate and Paperback Printing Cost Changes FAQ - https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GXFPA52P6ZJD2U3N?ref_=pe_93986420_1235824880 Spotify for Authors - https://authors.spotify.com/ Apple Books accepts accessibility metadata tags - https://itunespartner.apple.com/books/support/12-metadata Written Word Media presents: The YouTube Author Blueprint: From Zero to Growing Reader Community - https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/speaker-series/ ARC: YouTube for Authors - https://DaleLinks.com/ARCTeam  Where noted, some outbound links financially benefit the channel through affiliate programs. I only endorse programs, products, or services I use and can stand confidently behind. These links do not affect your purchase price and greatly helps to building and growing this channel. Thanks in advance for understanding! - Dale L. Roberts

In this week's episode, we take a look at the major self-publishing platforms that I use, and examine the pros and cons of each. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Doom of the Sorceress, Book #8 in the Dragonskull series, (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills) at my Payhip store: DOOM50 The coupon code is valid through June 24, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook this summer, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates   Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 253 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is May 30th, 2025, and today we are looking at the current major self-publishing platforms and what they offer indie authors. Before we get to our main topic, we'll have Coupon of the Week and an update on my current writing projects.   So let's start with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Doom of the Sorceress (book number eight in the Dragonskull series, as excellently narrated by Brad Wills) at my Payhip store. That code is DOOM50. And as always, we will have the coupon code and the links to the store in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through June 24th, 2025. So if you are setting out on summer travels this summer and you need an audiobook to listen to while you're in the car or plane, we have got you covered. So now for an update on my current writing and audiobook projects. Ghost in the Corruption (as I mentioned last week) is now out and available at all the ebook stores: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Apple Books, Smashwords, and Payhip. It is selling well. So thank you all for that. Now that Ghost in the Corruption is finished, what am I working on next? Well, back in 2023, I finished the Dragonskull and The Silent Order series back to back, so I declared Summer 2023 to be my Summer of Finishing Things. Well, it looks like Summer 2025 is going to be the Super Summer of Finishing Things because I intend to finish three series back to back.   First up is Shield of Power, the sixth and final book of The Shield War series. As of this publishing, I am 26,000 words into it, which puts me on Chapter 6 of 29. So I think it's going to end up being around 100,000-110,000 words long, and I am hoping it will be out in June, though it might slip to July depending on how things go. Once that is done, the next one up will be Stealth and Spells Online: Final Quest, which will be the third and very definitely final book of the Stealth and Spells Online trilogy. Believe it or not, I have been working on Final Quest on the side for so long that I passed the 100,000 word mark in that book this week. In fact, it's been a side project for so long that I don't remember how long I've been working on it, and I had to look up the metadata to check that I indeed started chipping away on it on October 18th, 2024. So I am very pleased that I'm nearly done with the rough draft and because of that reason, if all goes well, it'll come out very quickly after Shield of Power, since I think the rough draft will end up at about 125,000 to 130,000 words or in that neighborhood. Once Stealth and Spells Online: Final Quest is finished, I will then write Ghost in the Siege, which will be the sixth and final book of the Ghost Armor series. I am 1,500 words into that and hoping for that to come out in August or September, if all goes well. Once The Shield War, Stealth and Spells Online, and Ghost Armor are finished, I will finally be free to return to the Rivah and Nadia series. I realized that through all of 2024 and the first half of 2025, I had five unfinished series at the same time, and that was just too much for me to keep track of as a writer, and I think it may have been too much for the readers because it was too much of a wait between the different series as I worked my way through them. So five series at the same time is too much, so hence the Super Summer of Finishing Things. Going forward, I've decided that three unfinished series at the same time will be my maximum, which after the Super Summer of Finishing Things will be Cloak Mage, Half-Elven Thief, and a new epic fantasy series that I will set in the realm of Owyllain.   In audiobook news, Brad Wills started working on Shield of Battle this week and Hollis McCarthy started working on Ghost in the Corruption, so hopefully before probably about July or thereabouts, we will have those audiobooks available for you to listen to. So that is where I'm at with my current writing projects.   00:03:49 Main Topic of the Week: Self-Publishing Platforms for Ebooks [Note: Information in this Episode is Very Likely to Change]   So now let's move on to our main topic for the week, which is the main self-publishing platforms for ebooks. Today we will do a brief overview of the self-publishing platforms I currently use: Amazon/KDP, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, and Draft2Digital/Smashwords. The reason I wanted to do this is because there are many scammy platforms for self-publishing out there, but fortunately there are also many legitimate ones. Today we'll compare several of the most popular ones for ebooks. Just to make things easier for comparison, we'll be using the term platform to discuss both retailers and aggregators and we're not going to talk about options for self-publishing print or audio formats today. We're going to focus solely on ebooks.   First of all, what should you look for in a publishing platform? The first thing is to make sure you retain complete ownership of your content in all formats. Some of these scammer ones try to claim all rights to anything you try to post or sell through them, so that is definitely a red flag to watch out for. Make sure that you understand any exclusivity requirements of any programs that you sign up for such as KDP Select, such as if other formats like audio are also included in their requirements, how long exclusivity lasts, et cetera. If the platform requires exclusivity, that is definitely something to pay attention to. Make sure you do your research carefully to understand how pricing, royalties, and payments work on each individual platform. Sometimes some of them will pay quarterly, some of them pay monthly, and some of them pay you last month's royalties at the end of the month. Some of them like Amazon run like two months behind.   Finally, and this is a big one, you should not have to pay any money in order to upload your work. If they are asking for money upfront, it is probably a scam. Now, there are some aggregators that don't take a percentage and instead charge you a yearly fee. I'm not talking about them in this podcast episode because I don't use them, but they are out there. One example would be Book Funnel, which does charge a yearly fee for you to use but provides a valuable service in being a backend for running your own store on like Payhip or Shopify, and there's a couple of other useful services in that way, but they're not a storefront and they don't take a percentage of any royalties. They just charge a yearly fee. So they're not the topic with this episode.   All the platforms I've talked about today do not have any fees in order to upload. Reputable sites like Amazon or Kobo will instead take a percentage of each book's sale. It's also good to have a few realistic expectations before you start using self-publishing platforms, and one of them is that the platform is not a marketer. For example, many people complain that KDP doesn't showcase their books and they get lost in the millions of books available. However, none of these services are promising that you'll make the front page of their site just by publishing there. It's a common delusion among new indie authors that when you publish your first book, that's all you have to do and people will flock to it. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.   In fact, since Amazon makes a small fortune off book ads, it's not in their interest to give away screen space for free, and this isn't to knock on Amazon, that's just the way the retail industry works. For example, if you go into a Target or a Walmart or another big box retailer, note the products that are prominently displayed on the aisle displays or the endcaps of the aisles. They didn't just get there randomly. The manufacturers of those products paid big money to Amazon and Target and Walmart and the other big box retailers to have their products featured there. In many cases, online commerce is no different.   Getting your book uploaded onto a platform is just the first step. Promoting and marketing the book is up to you and strategies for those will vary based on which ones you choose to use. For example, if you choose to make your work exclusive to just one platform, it's not a good idea to run Facebook ads in countries where that platform either doesn't exist or where it's not terribly popular. Today we're going to be just focusing on comparing the platforms, not how to best to market from them. So what are the options?   #1: First up is the most common platform people use and it's the 800 pound gorilla in the self-publishing space, and that is Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing. And what are the pros and cons of KDP?   Pro: They are the biggest force in ebook publishing in many countries, including the United States. Some authors find that as much as 80 to 95% of their ebook sales come from Amazon, even if they are not exclusive with Amazon. For myself, it's usually about 50 to 60% of my sales on any given month are from Amazon and the rest come from the other retailers.   Heavy readers are generally very familiar with the Kindle Store interface and Library setup, and many readers are kind of locked into Amazon because they own Kindle devices, subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, and have large Kindle Libraries. So those are all the pros of publishing with KDP.   Cons: If you're expecting a large portion of your sales to come from the print version of your book or if print sales are very important to you, be aware that many bookstores and libraries either can't or won't buy print books from Amazon, so you should find an additional platform for the print version such as Ingram Spark or maybe Barnes & Noble's print division. One big concern about going exclusive with Amazon is that you're losing readers who don't have Kindle books in their countries, people who are boycotting Amazon for a variety of reasons, people who are locked into another platform such as Apple or Kobo, or people who want to self-archive their ebooks since Amazon doesn't allow that anymore. If you're already wide, you'll have to look carefully at what percentage of your sales are non-Amazon and if this percentage is an amount you'd be comfortable risking losing in order to be exclusive. Occasionally authors do complain about the customer service available to KDP, especially if it's urgent. For myself, I've not personally had any huge problems with KDP customer service. That said, I think you should expect a lead time of about one to two business days on anything you ask because I usually go through the email form.   Does KDP offer a subscription service? Yes. Kindle Unlimited (KU) readers pay a set amount and can read an unlimited number of books each month, although they're limited as to how many they can have in their library at any one time. Promotions happen regularly, usually based around big sales like Prime Day, and it can make a subscription as cheap as $0.99 for a three month period. Some also receive free subscriptions by buying certain Amazon products such as a new Kindle or Kindle Fire.   The downside of being in Kindle Unlimited is the exclusivity. You can't be in KU without being exclusive with Amazon, or at least the specific book in question has to be exclusive. Not all of your books have to be exclusive, and many authors such as myself will usually put one series in KU and then make sure everything else is wide. You must agree to be exclusive with them for ninety days and that time period is renewable.   What does KDP pay in terms of royalty? For $2.99 to $9.99, they give you 70% of the sale price. Under $2.99 and above $9.99, it's 35%. So that is sort of an encouragement from Amazon to price your ebooks in the $2.99 to $9.99 range. Currently I price new novels at $4.99 and do short stories at $0.99 cents.   What do I do? I have all of my titles available through KDP. I have a smaller portion of my collection exclusive through KDP Select/KU, and I have only recently increased that amount of Select titles due to the economic downturn. I suspect that KU users are likely to hold onto their subscriptions while cutting other expenses because honestly, KU is a pretty good deal for readers and the monthly subscription costs is about the same as one tradpub frontlist ebook, but with a KU subscription, they could read thousands of books for the same price. The value of KU is really very strong for frequent romance, LitRPG, science fiction, and fantasy readers. There's a strong population in the KU subscriber base often referred to as binge readers. They care more about variety, discovering new books, and the ability to read a lot over the ability to read specific authors or stories.   So overall, I think if you are self-publishing and even if you don't like Amazon very much or don't plan to go exclusive, it's still in your best interest to publish your ebook with them, even if you are wide and intend to do all the other retailers just because Amazon really is the biggest ebook platform out there at the moment. #2: Now, the next self-publishing platform we're going to look at is Barnes & Noble Press, which as the name implies, belongs to Barnes & Noble. The Pros: some people are never, ever going to let go of their Nooks or they already have a large personal ebook library through the Nook so they feel locked into that platform. These readers are the majority of people buying ebooks through Barnes & Noble, but fortunately that group tends to read a lot. There's also a lot of trust in Barnes & Noble as a brand, and that inspires people to continue buying from them.   In fact, for a while in the indie author space at the end of the 2010s and the start of the 2020s, it was a regular prediction that Barnes & Noble was going to go out of business soon, but then the company was bought by a private equity firm, and while private equity firms often have a deserved bad reputation for stripping a company of assets and then selling it off at a bargain basement price (such as the fate of Red Lobster), that does not seem to be the case of what happened with Barnes & Noble and the company really has been strengthening in recent years. So they may be here to stay for a while.   The downsides of publishing with Barnes & Noble Press is that Barnes & Noble is relatively a minor player in the ebook market, though usually in the top four of most indie author ebook sales if they're wide. They have shifted their focus to selling print books instead of Nook devices, especially in the retail space.   Do they offer a subscription service? They do not. However, nothing about Barnes & Noble requires exclusivity, which is nice, and the royalty structure is pretty good. It's 70% over all titles over $0.99. So if you want, you could price your ebook at $0.99 or $19.99 and still make 70%, which you couldn't do with those prices on Amazon.     #3: The next self-publishing platform we'll look at is Kobo Writing Life, which is the ebook platform to publish on Kobo, which is owned by Rakuten. Pros: Kobo is strong in the international market and will help you to reach readers in many countries. Based on my sales data, in Canada and Australia, Kobo is significantly bigger than Amazon for ebook sales. Kobo has also had a surge of recent media attention in the US as people seek out alternatives to Amazon and Kindle devices.   The Con of Kobo, and this is a fairly small one, is that their US market share is still fairly small compared to Amazon or Barnes & Noble or some of the others. But as I mentioned, they're a lot stronger in Canada and Australia, and they do reach a lot of different countries, more than Amazon does.   Does Kobo have a subscription service? Yes, Kobo Plus. Kobo Plus is significantly less expensive than Kindle Unlimited, and there's an additional tier that allows you to add audiobook content to the plan. The library isn't quite as extensive as KU though, though. I should note that in the years since Kobo has been introduced, I'd say about half of my revenue from Kobo (sometimes 60% of my revenue from Kobo) comes from Kobo Plus and not from direct ebook sales. So it's getting to the point where the majority of their ebook revenue I suspect, is coming from Kobo Plus and not direct Kobo sales.   Do they require exclusivity? No, which is another strong selling point for Kobo Plus. For their royalty structure, ebooks over $2.99, you get 70% and any books over below $2.99, you get 45%, which is a more generous term than Amazon in terms of the royalty rate for below $2.99 and above $9.99.   So what do I do? I currently use it as one of the platforms for my ebooks. It's been a pretty strong seller for me consistently over the years, and every Kobo book that I have is also available in Kobo Plus, which probably explains the revenue split I was talking about earlier. #4: The next platform we'll look at is Draft2Digital/Smashwords, which we'll do as one because Draft2Digital and Smashwords are in the process of merging. Draft2Digital is technically what's called an aggregator, where you upload your book and then they can publish on a variety of different platforms for you, and in exchange, they take a small cut of the sales. Draft2Digital is, in my opinion, probably the most effective way to get your ebooks through Apple and Smashwords. Apple does have its own direct uploading service, but I've never used it because there are a bit too many hoops to jump through.   Draft2Digital does, as I mentioned, have a way to publish on multiple storefronts at once while managing uploads and sales reporting through just one interface. They're not a storefront in and of themselves, although since Draft2Digital does own Smashwords, Smashwords essentially acts as their storefront for them. Although Draft2Digital lists Amazon, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble as an option, most authors will upload to these sites separately, and in fact, that's what I do for myself.   The Pros of Draft2Digital is that it's a definite time savings using Draft2Digital to publish across multiple platforms, especially with platforms like Apple that are more difficult or time consuming to learn. This is also a convenient way to make your work accessible to library platforms like Overdrive/Libby, Hoopla, and Bibliotheca, if that is important to you. Library sales have never been a huge priority of mine, but I've never been opposed to them either, so I usually just flip those switches on and then don't think about it again.   The Cons for Draft2Digital are that there was a period after the Smashwords migration where they received complaints about customer service and difficulty in setting up tax information, though I think that is mostly ironed out now.   One potential hazard for Draft2Digital with a very specific subset of writers is that if you are a writer of, shall we say, very hard erotica, the sort that ends up in very restricted categories on most stores, you will probably have trouble publishing through Draft2Digital. This is not, however, a problem that's unique to Draft2Digital. Amazon has what is called the “erotica dungeon”, where if you publish certain kinds of, like we said, very harsh erotica, your book isn't searchable on the Amazon store. You can link to it directly, but it will never show up on any search results. Kobo in particular has had problems with erotica.   Back in the 2010s, Kobo was also distributing ebooks to some British retailers, and these British retailers suddenly got upset when they noticed that these kinds of hard erotica were showing up on their store pages, which was not a good look for the company. And so there was a kerfuffle until that was all sorted out. My frank opinion with that is if you are writing these kinds of erotica, the big stores and Draft2Digital will never be on your side, and so you are better off pursuing a sort of a Patreon/running your own store on Shopify or Payhip strategy, but that is a bit of a digression.   So in terms of royalties, Draft2Digital takes 10% of the book's retail price per copy sold, which is in addition to whatever amount is taken by the specific storefront. So you are paying a bit of money in exchange for convenience for just uploading your book to Draft2Digital and having it push out the book to all the different stores for you.   What I do is I use Draft2Digital for Apple mainly because for a while I was using Smashwords, but Smashwords in the 2010s was a bit more persnickety than is now, and you needed to prepare a specially formatted doc file to publish on Smashwords and sometimes getting it through the Smashwords processing onto Apple was a bit of a pain. Draft2Digital took epub files, which are much easier to work with, and after a while I switched over all my Apple publishing to Draft2Digital entirely. So that's why I use Draft2Digital for Apple and for various library services that tend to be a minor amount of sales. Because of the difficulties on publishing direct to Apple, I do find that that 10% is good trade off in terms of selling books on Apple for me.   #5: Now onto Google Play's ebook self-publishing platform, which is, I think its full name is the Google Books Partner Center, which lets you publish books to the Google Play Store for sale on Android devices.   The Pros are that for writers interested in the international market, Google Play is another strong choice for a platform since the international mobile device market is very Android heavy. The iPhone (Apple) tends to be concentrated mainly in the US and a few of the wealthier countries like the UK and Canada, but Android has a much more international reach in general than the iPhone. Google Play also has some interesting promotional options for ebooks, such as offering the buyer a chance to subscribe to a specific series.   The cons are that some authors report that their sales reporting doesn't always consistently generate reports, and others are annoyed that it only generates a CSV file, (which isn't that much of a hardship for people who are familiar with Excel).   For myself, I found that there is a bit of a reporting lag on Google Play where it will sometimes take as long as five or six days for sales to show up on the dashboard, though usually it's only a delay of two days, though sometimes during the month you'll get these bigger lags and sometimes processing new material on the Google Play Store can be slow, and it can sometimes take two to three days for things to appear, though it usually gets worked out in the end. Does Google Play have a subscription service? It does not, nor does it require exclusivity, which is another point in its favor. And the royalties, the data is quite nice here. It is 70% for all price points in the countries listed on their support page, which only excludes a handful of countries like India, South Korea, and Japan (because of currency conversion regions or other local laws).   So those are the ebook publishing platforms that I currently use, and because I use them myself, I would recommend them. Hopefully that is helpful to you as you are looking for places to self-publish your book as you set out to become an indie author.   So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the backup episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.  

Question Authority - A Hardcore Punk Comp pt 1 - by KDP by Kurlee Daddee Productions

After trying the Bloom Sparkling Energy drinks before its official launch last year (and getting a better sense of the overall go-to-market strategy), I provided a very rare public statement on a beverage within the pre-launch phase of the commercialization cycle. And for those that might think I'm capping…you can ask AI to analyze thousands of my short- and long-form content pieces over the last decade. Yet, it would only find one other occasion where I declared pre-launch that massive success was guaranteed for an energy drink. But just like GHOST Energy a handful of years earlier…something felt special about Bloom Sparkling Energy, even as most beverage industry pundits questioned the extension strategy by the “greens supplement company.” And within our conversation…Bloom Nutrition Co-Founder (and CEO), Greg LaVecchia, explained just how insanely successful the initial year has been surrounding those Bloom Sparkling Energy drinks. Also, we discuss how…with help from the Nutrabolt (and KDP) strategic partnerships, the brand is building on those breakout wins in the beverage category by launching Bloom Pop, its answer to what fans feel the modern soda category is missing. Subscribe - Pour Decisions PodcastAlso, an extra special thanks to Cognizin, for not only being the Title Sponsor of The Beverage Forum 2025...but supporting this awesome piece of content!

Servicio publicar un libro en Amazon ➡️https://www.letraminuscula.com/publicar-en-amazon/ SI deseas PUBLICAR escríbenos : contacto@letraminuscula.com Llámanos☎ o escríbenos por WhatsApp:+34640667855 RESUMEN: Aprende paso a paso cómo publicar tu libro en Amazon KDP en formato ebook, tapa blanda y tapa dura con este tutorial completo y actualizado en español. Sin necesidad de conocimientos previos, Roberto Augusto de Editorial Letra Minúscula te guía en todo el proceso, desde los archivos necesarios hasta la publicación final. ¡Publica como un profesional con este detallado vídeo! ⏲MARCAS DE TIEMPO: ▶️00:00 Bienvenida y objetivos del tutorial ▶️01:12 Archivos necesarios para publicar ▶️02:59 Contenido A+ e interiores del libro ▶️04:17 Crear libro de tapa blanda en KDP ▶️05:32 Título, subtítulo y metadatos ▶️06:49 Crear o no una serie de libros ▶️08:09 Número de edición y autor ▶️09:33 Añadir colaboradores y descripción ▶️10:52 Derechos de autor y contenido explícito ▶️12:06 Tienda principal y su elección ▶️13:22 Elegir categorías para el libro ▶️14:44 Categorías concretas y visibilidad ▶️16:04 Ejemplos de categorías efectivas ▶️17:26 Clasificación del contenido del libro ▶️17:50 Palabras clave efectivas y consejos ▶️20:29 Uso del autocompletado de Amazon ▶️22:00 Fecha de publicación y preventa ▶️23:38 ISBN gratuito o propio en Amazon ▶️25:00 Tipo de impresión y calidad del papel ▶️26:17 Tamaños recomendados de impresión ▶️27:27 Tamaño según número de páginas ▶️28:42 Acabado de cubierta: brillo o mate ▶️30:25 Subida de manuscrito y portada ▶️31:45 Código de barras en la portada ▶️33:05 Declarar contenido generado por IA ▶️34:27 Validación con vista previa en KDP ▶️35:53 Costes de impresión y guardar cambios ▶️37:15 Derechos de venta y territorios ▶️38:49 Precio del libro y regalías ▶️40:08 Pedir ejemplar de prueba ▶️41:21 Tiendas donde se publicará el libro ▶️42:45 Crear un ebook en Amazon Kindle ▶️44:10 Datos heredados de la tapa blanda ▶️45:27 Categorías específicas para ebook ▶️47:04 Explorar categorías Kindle relevantes ▶️48:43 Evitar la preventa en ebook ▶️50:12 Protección DRM y sus efectos ▶️51:53 Subida del archivo en formato EPUB ▶️53:32 Portada e información de IA ▶️55:01 Enlaces internos y navegación en ebook ▶️56:27 Inscribir o no en KDP Select ▶️57:56 Plan de regalías y precio ideal ▶️59:26 Tiendas donde se vende el ebook ▶️01:00:38 Crear versión en tapa dura ▶️01:02:00 Cambios de tamaño y portada en tapa dura ▶️01:03:19 Diferencias en portadas entre versiones ▶️01:04:50 Costes y regalías de la tapa dura ▶️01:06:17 Cierre y llamada a la acción final ♨️Si te ha gustado el episodio dale a ME GUSTA

¡Regalo GRATIS en nuestra LISTA DE CORREO! ➡️https://www.letraminuscula.com/suscribirse-lista-de-correo/ Visita nuestra WEB https://www.letraminuscula.com/ SI deseas PUBLICAR escríbenos : contacto@letraminuscula.com Llámanos☎ o escríbenos por WhatsApp:+34640667855 ¡SUSCRÍBETE al canal! CLIC AQUÍ: https://bit.ly/2Wv1fdX RESUMEN: ¿Te cerraron tu cuenta de Amazon KDP? En este vídeo descubrirás qué alternativas tienes para seguir publicando libros: usar la cuenta de otra persona, crear una cuenta empresarial, plataformas como Draft2Digital o servicios de distribución en librerías. Además, conocerás las causas más comunes del cierre de cuentas y cómo evitarlas para proteger tu carrera como autor independiente. ⏲MARCAS DE TIEMPO: ▶️00:13 Cuenta cerrada por Amazon KDP ▶️01:47 Publicar en cuenta de otra persona ▶️03:21 Distribuir en librerías sin KDP ▶️04:44 Causa: tener dos cuentas KDP ▶️06:06 Causa: manipular comentarios ▶️07:31 Causa: infringir derechos de autor

He Makes $7,000/Day with Faceless YouTube Channels (Here's How)On episode 94 of The Side Hustle Experiment Podcast  John (https://www.instagram.com/sidehustleexperiment/) and Drew  (https://www.instagram.com/realdrewd/)  we talk with Jake Rader (https://x.com/jakeradercpa).Jake is a CPA, entrepreneur, and digital media expert who's making $2K–$7K+ per day with faceless YouTube channels.Jake breaks down exactly how faceless YouTube works, how he built a portfolio of 14+ channels, and why it beats Amazon, dropshipping, and even KDP in terms of margins and risk.Whether you're brand new or an Amazon seller looking to pivot, this episode covers:✅ How to start a faceless YouTube channel from scratch✅ What niches are working right now✅ The team structure behind a 6-figure faceless YouTube business✅ Why YouTube is better than Amazon for long-term income✅ How much Jake pays for scripts, thumbnails, editing, and VO✅ Buying vs. building YouTube channels✅ How he made $400K investments into YouTube cash cows✅ CPM vs RPM explained✅ Red flags to avoid when buying a YouTube channel✅ His long-term goal to sell to private equityChapters00:00 Introduction to Faceless YouTube Channels03:02 The Process of Creating Faceless YouTube Channels06:07 Monetization Strategies and Revenue Insights08:59 Comparing YouTube to Other Business Models11:57 The Learning Curve and Key Success Factors15:04 Productivity and Mindset in Business17:53 Navigating Risks in Online Business Models20:47 The Role of Coaching and Community in Success38:11 Valuing YouTube Channels40:01 Monetization and Cash Flow Management41:59 Team Dynamics in Channel Acquisition42:34 Navigating Risks and Scams in Channel Purchases44:14 Financial Transactions in Channel Deals46:33 Successes and Challenges in Channel Performance48:08 Skills and Ideation in Content Creation50:01 Exploring Niche Markets on YouTube52:51 The Evolution of Content Consumption55:40 The Future of YouTube vs Traditional Media57:39 Personal Branding and Networking01:01:06 YouTube Growth Strategies and Analytics01:07:59 Content Relevance and Audience Engagement01:10:46 Comparing KDP and YouTube as Business Models#amazonfba #amazonfbatips #sidehustleexperimentpodcast Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sidehustleexperimentpodcast/ Listen on your favorite podcast platformYoutube: https://bit.ly/3HHklFOSpotify: https://spoti.fi/48RRKcPApple: https://apple.co/4bmaFOk Check out Drew's StuffInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/realdrewdTwitter: https://twitter.com/DrewFBACheck out John's StuffInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/sidehustleexperiment/Twitter: https://twitter.com/SideHustleExp FREE Resources✅ AVOID Price Tanking with The Tank Test Check List https://bit.ly/44FMt6M✅ 10 Questions to Ask A Prep Center Before Hiring Them: https://bit.ly/3K3HQK4 ✅ How to Make your first $500 Reselling: https://bit.ly/3UJS47g✅ Get the Discount Calculator: https://bit.ly/4dEhaNN  ✅ The OA Tracking Spreadsheet: https://bit.ly/4bfqupO (the spreadsheet I use to run my Amazon Business)

¡Regalo GRATIS en nuestra LISTA DE CORREO! ➡️https://www.letraminuscula.com/suscribirse-lista-de-correo/ Visita nuestra WEB https://www.letraminuscula.com/ SI deseas PUBLICAR escríbenos : contacto@letraminuscula.com Llámanos☎ o escríbenos por WhatsApp:+34640667855 ¡SUSCRÍBETE al canal! CLIC AQUÍ: https://bit.ly/2Wv1fdX RESUMEN: Amazon KDP cambia las regalías de libros en papel del 60 % al 50 % para precios menores a 99,99 USD a partir del 10 de junio de 2025. Este vídeo explica cómo ajustar los precios para no perder ingresos, muestra ejemplos prácticos y detalla beneficios adicionales como la reducción en costos de impresión en color en algunas tiendas. ¡No te lo pierdas si autopublicas en Amazon! ⏲MARCAS DE TIEMPO: ▶️00:13 Cambios importantes en regalías KDP ▶️01:26 Ajustar precios para no perder ingresos ▶️02:38 El cambio solo afecta a precios bajos ▶️04:15 Todos deberán subir precios ▶️05:38 Subida mínima que clientes no notan ▶️06:53 Libros en color serán más baratos ▶️08:11 Regalías se pierden si no subes precios ▶️09:36 Pequeños cambios garantizan regalías ▶️11:14 Reducción en costes de impresión color ▶️12:47 El cambio de regalías afecta a todos ▶️14:12 Cómo ver libros afectados en archivo CSV ▶️15:42 Ejemplo práctico de ajuste de precio ▶️17:19 Cómo calcular el nuevo precio exacto ▶️18:47 Comparación con regalías editoriales ▶️20:31 50% sigue siendo mejor que editorial ▶️21:58 El 60% real es menor por coste impresión ▶️23:23 Recomendación final: ajustar precios ya ▶️24:39 Contacto y despedida del canal

Esta semana he recibido correos con cambios en la monetización que pagan Podimo y KDP.En Podimo, ahora con mi enlace de afiliado, estos es lo que gano:“5 € cuando un nuevo oyente se registre para una prueba gratuita7 € cuando ese oyente se convierta en suscriptor de pago*Ejemplo:*Si 50 personas se registran para una prueba y 20 de ellas se convierten en suscriptores de pago, ganarás: (50 x 5 €) + (20 x 7 €) = **390 €”**Te dejo mi enlace de referido en Podimo por si te animas a probarlo

Recently, BookVault—a company familiar to many of our U.S. and U.K. listeners—expanded its print-on-demand services to Australia. In this episode, ALLi's nonfiction advisor Anna Featherstone speaks with Alex Smith, BookVault's brand manager, to learn what the company offers, how it operates globally, and whether it might be a good fit for authors looking to diversify how they produce and distribute their books. In this episode, you'll learn: What BookVault is, which countries it currently serves, and how it compares to KDP, IngramSpark, and traditional book printers How special editions work—costs, timelines, trends, and possibilities The most common mistakes authors make with POD, and how to avoid them Why BookVault charges a setup fee—and how ALLi members can have it waived A crash course on bookbinding types: perfect bound, case bound, and saddle stitch Trends and innovations in indie publishing that have Alex excited about the future Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our Self-Publishing Author Advice Center, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. Sponsors This podcast is proudly sponsored by Bookvault. Sell high-quality, print-on-demand books directly to readers worldwide and earn maximum royalties selling directly. Automate fulfillment and create stunning special editions with BookvaultBespoke. Visit Bookvault.app today for an instant quote. This podcast is also sponsored by Gatekeeper Press, the all-inclusive Gold Standard in Publishing, offering authors 100% rights, royalties, satisfaction and worldwide distribution. Gatekeeper Press, Where Authors are Family. About the Host Anna Featherstone is ALLi's nonfiction adviser and an author advocate and mentor. A judge of The Australian Business Book Awards and Australian Society of Travel Writers awards, she's also the founder of Bold Authors and presents author marketing and self-publishing workshops for organizations, including Byron Writers Festival. Anna has authored books including how-to and memoirs and her book Look-It's Your Book! about writing, publishing, marketing, and leveraging nonfiction is on the Australian Society of Authors recommended reading list. When she's not being bookish, Anna's into bees, beings, and the big issues of our time. About the Guest Alex Smith has been with Printondemand Worldwide, the parent company of BookVault, for more than seven years. During that time, he has gained extensive knowledge of the publishing industry. His experience positioned him to take a leading role in redeveloping the BookVault platform. Alex works closely with leading indie publishing entrepreneurs to ensure BookVault continues to deliver the innovative features authors and publishers need.

¡Regalo GRATIS en nuestra LISTA DE CORREO! ➡️https://www.letraminuscula.com/suscribirse-lista-de-correo/ Visita nuestra WEB https://www.letraminuscula.com/ SI deseas PUBLICAR escríbenos : contacto@letraminuscula.com Llámanos☎ o escríbenos por WhatsApp:+34640667855 ¡SUSCRÍBETE al canal! CLIC AQUÍ: https://bit.ly/2Wv1fdX RESUMEN: ¿Crees que Amazon KDP está acabado? En este vídeo, Roberto Augusto desmonta ese mito y demuestra por qué KDP sigue siendo una excelente oportunidad para escritores. Habla de calidad, herramientas, ventajas del sistema y cómo evitar errores comunes para triunfar en la plataforma de autopublicación más grande del mundo. ⏲MARCAS DE TIEMPO: ▶️00:00 Amazon KDP no está acabado ▶️01:37 Faltan libros de calidad en KDP ▶️02:52 La IA no destruye, mejora KDP ▶️04:08 Ventajas de publicar gratis en KDP ▶️05:22 KDP no exige exclusividad editorial ▶️06:31 Críticas como aprendizaje del autor ▶️07:40 Pagos rápidos y regalías claras ▶️08:49 Enfocarse en un nicho específico ▶️10:03 Mejorar y seguir con Amazon KDP

Masterclass GRATIS de Amazon Ads → https://www.letraminuscula.com/masterclass-gratis-amazon-ads-para-escritores/ Visita nuestra web → www.letraminuscula.com ¿Quieres publicar tu libro? Escríbenos a: contacto@letraminuscula.com WhatsApp / Llamadas → +34 640 667 855 Suscríbete al canal → Haz clic aquí ¿Estás pensando en dejar Amazon KDP? Antes de hacerlo, mira este vídeo. Te doy 19 razones por las que seguir en KDP sigue siendo la mejor opción para autores independientes Descubre cómo aprovechar su alcance global, herramientas exclusivas, ingresos por páginas leídas y mucho más. ⏲ ÍNDICE: 00:00 – Intro 00:12 – Presentación 00:32 – ❓ ¿Por qué no deberías abandonar Amazon KDP? 00:38 – KDP sigue siendo la principal plataforma de autopublicación 01:11 – El potencial de ventas internacional 01:48 – Herramientas de promoción exclusivas 02:11 – KDP Select: acceso a lectores frecuentes 02:38 – Posicionamiento SEO dentro de Amazon 03:17 – Sin costes de impresión ni distribución 04:04 – Facilidad para publicar en tapa blanda, ebook y tapa dura 04:29 – Actualizaciones constantes en la plataforma 04:40 – Informes de ventas detallados y en tiempo real 04:53 – Acceso a publicidad con Amazon Ads 05:31 – Apoyo de una comunidad enorme 05:55 – Profesionalización creciente 06:25 – Aumento de los lectores digitales 06:41 – Control total de tus ganancias 06:52 – Posibilidad de hacer cambios instantáneos 07:21 – Diversificación sin abandonar KDP 07:31 – Autoridad y credibilidad 07:35 – Creación de una biblioteca propia 07:47 – Abandonar KDP es perder una oportunidad de crecimiento 07:57 – ✉️ Contacto Síguenos en redes sociales: Facebook → facebook.com/editorialletraminuscula Instagram → instagram.com/edletraminus Twitter (X) → twitter.com/edletraminus LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/letra-minuscula Pinterest → pinterest.es/editorialletraminuscula ✍️ Grupo de escritores Amazon → facebook.com/letraminuscula ️ Si te ha gustado el vídeo, dale a Me gusta y compártelo en tus redes sociales. Suscríbete al canal y haz clic en la campanita para recibir notificaciones cada vez que publiquemos un nuevo vídeo. ¡Gracias! #AmazonKDP #Autopublicación #EscritoresIndependientes

S4E18From Print to Digital: How to Turn Your Low-Content Books into Interactive PDFs for Tablets!SUMMARY:Today's readers aren't just using paper, they're taking their journals, planners, and activity books on the go with devices like the Kindle Scribe, reMarkable tablet, and iPad. In this episode, Cindy and Tammie walk you through how to turn your low-content books into interactive digital PDFs that customers can write in on their favorite devices. You'll learn how to design these products using A Book Creator, how to format them correctly, and where to sell them, like Etsy, Teachers Pay Teachers, and your own website. If you're ready to tap into the growing market of digital planners and fillable activity books, this episode is for you.Show Notes/Links:Links to Mentioned Tools:A Book Creator – Create interactive planners, journals, and puzzle books with built-in links for tablets

S4E17Quarter 2 Trends: What's Selling Now and How to Capitalize on It!SUMMARY:Self-publishers will find many new opportunities in Quarter 2; understanding current trends is crucial for increasing sales this spring and early summer. In this episode, Cindy and Tammie dive into what's selling right now across Amazon, Etsy, and Teachers Pay Teachers, and how you can use AI and Publisher Rocket to uncover profitable niches. You'll also learn how to use A Book Creator to build products like planners, activity books, and printables quickly to meet seasonal demand. This episode offers actionable insights to help you profit this quarter, whether you're refreshing your catalog or launching a new product.Show Notes/Links:Links to Mentioned Tools:A Book Creator: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/ChatGPT (OpenAI): https://chat.openai.comEtsy: https://www.etsy.comTeachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.comPublisher Rocket + Free eBook: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/Other resources:Tammie's A Book Creator 3-Day Trial Affiliate Link: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/Get 40 free listings when you open a shop on Etsy: https://etsy.me/3XhW8xdPuzzle Book Courses Bundle:https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/ai-sp-seven-puzzle-book-coures-bundle-plus-activity-puzzle-bonus-course-p1Creating Children's Picture Books with AI course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spchildrenspicturebooksaicourseColoring Book Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spcoloringbooksaiFree AI for Self-Publishers Webinar Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/6de7cd75Get "12 Months of Book Ideas - 365 Ideas for Low Content Books" eBook as a bonus when you use Cindy's Affiliate Link to purchase Publisher Rocket: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/Cindy's Metricool Link: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUFCindy's MailerLite Link: https://www.mailerlite.com/a/82bb987c5379Cindy's Publisher Rocket Link:  https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/

Today we present a poem by Aetherwolf76, who is a writer, crafter, mechanic and author of Beneath A Silver Moon on KDP, and you can find more of his poems on Deviantart.Read by Ta'kom Ironhoof, the Equine Charmer.thevoice.dog | Apple podcasts | Spotify | Google PodcastsIf you have a story you think would be a good fit, you can check out the requirements, fill out the submission template and get in touch with us.https://thevoice.dog/episode/ink-by-aetherwolf76

S4E15Creating Profitable Mother's Day and Father's Day Books: Ideas & Marketing Strategies!SUMMARY:Mother's Day and Father's Day are huge opportunities for self-publishers to create books that make meaningful gifts! In this episode, Cindy and Tammie share high-demand book ideas for these holidays, from guided journals and keepsake books to activity books and memory scrapbooks. Learn how to create and format your books with A Book Creator, research profitable niches with Publisher Rocket, and market your books effectively to maximize sales. Whether you're publishing on KDP, Etsy, or Teachers Pay Teachers, this episode is packed with actionable strategies to help you capitalize on these seasonal trends!Show Notes/Links:Links to Mentioned Tools:Publisher Rocket (+ Cindy's Bonus eBook!): https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/Canva: https://www.canva.comChatGPT (OpenAI): https://chat.openai.comOther resources:Tammie's A Book Creator 3-Day Trial Affiliate Link: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/Get 40 free listings when you open a shop on Etsy: https://etsy.me/3XhW8xdPuzzle Book Courses Bundle:https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/ai-sp-seven-puzzle-book-coures-bundle-plus-activity-puzzle-bonus-course-p1Creating Children's Picture Books with AI course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spchildrenspicturebooksaicourseColoring Book Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spcoloringbooksaiFree AI for Self-Publishers Webinar Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/6de7cd75Get "12 Months of Book Ideas - 365 Ideas for Low Content Books" eBook as a bonus when you use Cindy's Affiliate Link to purchase Publisher Rocket: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/Cindy's Metricool Link: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUFCindy's MailerLite Link: https://www.mailerlite.com/a/82bb987c5379Cindy's Publisher Rocket Link:  https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/

S4E16How to Repurpose Your Book Content into Courses, Workbooks, and Printables!SUMMARY:Your published book is just the beginning! In this episode, Cindy and Tammie show you how to maximize your content by transforming your existing books into courses, workbooks, and printables—creating multiple income streams from one product. Whether you're publishing nonfiction, children's books, or even activity books, we'll walk you through how to use AI tools like ChatGPT to generate new assets quickly and how to design materials with A Book Creator. You'll also learn where to sell these new products—from your own website to platforms like Etsy and Teachers Pay Teachers. If you want to expand your reach and increase your earnings, this episode is packed with actionable strategies!Show Notes/Links:Links to Mentioned Tools:A Book Creator: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/ChatGPT (OpenAI): https://chat.openai.comDALL·E (AI Art Generator): https://openai.com/dall-eCanva: https://www.canva.comTeachable: https://teachable.comEtsy: https://www.etsy.comTeachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.comOther resources:Tammie's A Book Creator 3-Day Trial Affiliate Link: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/Get 40 free listings when you open a shop on Etsy: https://etsy.me/3XhW8xdPuzzle Book Courses Bundle:https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/ai-sp-seven-puzzle-book-coures-bundle-plus-activity-puzzle-bonus-course-p1Creating Children's Picture Books with AI course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spchildrenspicturebooksaicourseColoring Book Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spcoloringbooksaiFree AI for Self-Publishers Webinar Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/6de7cd75Get "12 Months of Book Ideas - 365 Ideas for Low Content Books" eBook as a bonus when you use Cindy's Affiliate Link to purchase Publisher Rocket: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/Cindy's Metricool Link: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUFCindy's MailerLite Link: https://www.mailerlite.com/a/82bb987c5379Cindy's Publisher Rocket Link:  https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/

In this week's episode, we take a look at professional development for writers, and examine both the benefits and the pitfalls. We also take a look at my advertising results for March 2025. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Curse of the Orcs, Book #4 in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store: ORCCURSE50 The coupon code is valid through April 25, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates   Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 246 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is April 4, 2025, and today we are looking at professional development for writers. Before we get to our main topic, we'll have Coupon of the Week, an update on my current writing and audiobook projects, Question of the Week, and then a look back at how my various ads performed for March 2025.   So let's start off with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Curse of the Orcs, Book Four in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills) at my Payhip store. That coupon code is ORCCURSE50. As always, you can find the coupon code and the links to my store in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through April 25th, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we have got you covered.   Now for an update on my current writing projects. I'm very pleased to report that the rough draft of Shield of Battle is done, 102,800 words written in 22 days. That will be the second to last book in the Shield War series. If all goes well, I'm still hoping to have that out and edited and published before the end of the month. I'm now working on a currently untitled short story that newsletter subscribers will get for free in ebook form when Shield of Battle comes out. So this might be a great time to sign up for my new release newsletter. I am also 10,000 words into Ghost in the Corruption and that will be my main project after Shield of Battle is out.   Recording is still underway for Shield of Deception and Ghost in the Assembly. That is Brad Wills and Hollis McCarthy narrating, respectively. So I am looking forward to having those audiobooks out for you to listen to and then Shield the Battle and Ghost in the Corruption available for you to read, but I just have to get back to work on them.   00:01:48 Question of the Week   Now it's time for Question of the Week. Question of the Week is intended to inspire enjoyable discussions of interesting topics. This week's question, what games (if any) are you currently playing? No wrong answers, including “I don't play video games”. The inspiration for this question was that the fact that Nintendo was having this big Switch 2 announcement on April 2, which is amusing to me personally on a meta level because people have been speculating wildly about a Switch successor for years. Baseless Switch 2 rumors have been a clickfarm industry for years. Probably Nintendo had to have it on April 2 so no one would think it was a really elaborate April Fool's Day joke. Justin says: Online it would be World of Warcraft Classic. Otherwise, it is Conquest of the New World. Like me, my games are old and dated.   I can relate to Justin because I'm currently playing a game that was first made in 1994, but more on that later.   Sam says: Currently dancing between two games, my long-term love game, Final Fantasy 14 and Dragon Age: the Veilguard. The Veilguard was a massive disappointment for me, unfortunately, but it still has its reasonably okay points, but man, the developers dropped the ball in the worst way since Cyberpunk's disastrous release.   That's interesting because I've actually encountered a couple different people who have played Dragon Age: Veilguard and they either love it or hate it. There is just no in-between. So that does seem to be the kind of game where you either love the thing or you just hate it. Todd says: Enjoying No Man's Sky, waiting for Light No Fire. Continuing to grind World of Warcraft retail. Recently played the re-release of Half Life. Today, I also installed Lands of Lore, gotta love Patrick Stewart as King Richard!   I had forgotten that Patrick Stewart voiced King Richard back in the ‘90s in the Lands of Lore game. His most famous video game part (I think) is playing Emperor Uriel Septim in the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.   JKM says: Monster Hunter Wilds and Star Citizen.   Jesse says: Been doing an on and off run on Enshrouded. The story hasn't hugely gripped me as yet, but the mechanics are fun if you like Breath of the Wilds-esque world exploration.   Michael says: I'm currently playing Star Traders: Frontiers, which is a 2D indie space trading/exploration/crew management game in a vaguely Dune-like setting. It has turn based squad combat in Darkest Dungeon style too. Originally a mobile game but mechanics are surprisingly deep. It's good fun.   Randy says: Wizardry Remaster. Ironic because I didn't play the original.   For myself, I am kind of alternating between three current games. I am playing the Master of Magic remake on the PC and I'm determined to finally beat a campaign at that. I am still playing Iratus: Lord of the Dead and drawing closer to the final level. And when I'm really tired and don't want to do anything else that requires a lot of brain power, I still fire up some Starfield and go really mess up the day of some procedurally generated space pirates.   So watch my website and Facebook for Question of the Week if you want to have your comment read on the show as well.   00:04:39 Ad Results for March 2025   Now let's look at how my ads for my books did in March 2025, which is interesting because I changed things up a fair bit for ads in March. The reason I did this is because the economy isn't great and not likely to improve for several years. I saw someone arguing that all the policy decisions in the Covid era will have a 15 year economic hangover into which we're only five years, and I think that argument might have some merit to it. So because of that, I thought it might be prudent to move some older series into Kindle Unlimited. So I did that with the Demonsouled books and with Cloak Games, though not with Cloak Mage, which will remain wide as new books come out. I might do it with Silent Order as well, but I haven't decided. My thinking is that as people are looking to economize, subscription services will probably offer better value than direct book sales.   So let's see how we did. For Facebook ads, I did Cloak Games/Cloak Mage and The Ghosts. For Games/Cloak Mage, I got $4.14 back for every $1 spent, with 10% of the profit coming from the audiobooks. For The Ghosts, I got back $8.73 for every dollar spent, with 6% of the profit coming from the audiobooks. Obviously the total for The Ghosts might be inflated because of Ghosts in the Assembly, which did well. Thanks, everyone! Without Ghosts in the Assembly, The Ghosts still would've done $3.68 for every dollar spent, with 15% for the profit coming from the audiobooks. So still pretty good.   For Amazon ads, I mostly focused on Half-Elven Thief. Remember that for an Amazon ad to be successful, it needs to get a sale or a complete Kindle Unlimited read for every six to eight clicks. So for Half-Elven Thief, I got back $3.41 for every $1 spent, with a sale or a complete KU read for every 0.84 clicks, which is a really good result. However, it was not all roses in Amazon ads because I gave up on advertising Stealth and Spells Online: Creation. I've realized I fundamentally misunderstood what readers in the LitRPG actually want. I'm still going to finish the series this summer with the final book. I am 75,000 words into it as of this recording, but I don't think I'm going to advertise the series anymore.   For Demonsouled, I did a combined Facebook/Amazon ads campaign and for a combined campaign like that, it's easiest just to track the return. So for Demonsouled, I got back $2.53 for every dollar spent on Facebook and Amazon ads. So that was pretty close to how it did in February.   I also did some BookBub ad campaigns for The Ghosts and Sevenfold Sword on Apple. For The Ghosts, we got back $9.24 for every dollar I spent and for Sevenfold Sword, I got back $6.76 back for every dollar spent. So those are some very good results.   Finally, I've begun experimenting with BookBub ads for Google Play. I tried out Sevenfold Sword first and for Sevenfold Sword on Google Play with BookBub ads, we got back $3.86 for every dollar. So that is a promising beginning and I might try more experiments with BookBub ads and Google Play in May. So a good month all in all. Thanks for reading, everyone. Hopefully I'll have more new books for you soon.   00:07:46 Main Topic: Professional Development   So our main topic this week will be part three of our series on writing adjacent activities, and that is professional development. As I mentioned on past episodes, I'm working on a new podcast series on what I call writing adjacent activities. What do I mean by this? I'm talking about the tasks that seem like they're a part of the writing process but really belong in a different category. These tasks are important, but they can also be a pitfall if you spend too much time on them or don't use that time correctly. In this series, we'll focus on a few of these tasks and how they can benefit or hinder your writing process, even though they seem like good uses of time and may in fact be beneficial in proper amounts.   In this episode, we'll talk about professional development for writers. Those working in education, healthcare, or the corporate world will be very familiar with this concept. For those who aren't familiar with professional development, let's explain what it is. What is professional development and what is it for writers specifically? Professional development generally means gaining skills or knowledge that can help someone stay current in their field and grow in their work. In some fields like teaching or healthcare, professional development is required and must be done regularly. Some examples of typical professional development tasks include learning a new programming language, attending conferences, and reading professional journals. Writers have many of these same opportunities. Ther are a slew of conferences, workshops, webinars, videos, courses, and books available for writers to hone their craft, pick up marketing skills, and learn the ever evolving technical skills needed to self-publish and have an online presence. Some of these options, especially conferences and retreats, can be very expensive and time consuming while others are free and quick to consume, such as blog posts or podcast episodes.   How can you benefit from professional development? There are five ways.   #1: You can learn information and techniques that can help you improve your writing. An example would be a workshop session presenting data on when readers typically give up when starting a new book, which can help you think about how your book is structured.   #2: You can learn about technology and software that can make your work more efficient or look more professional. An example of this would be tutorials on how to use formatting software to turn Word documents into a formatted ebook.   #3: In-person professional development can help you network with others in your field. For example, if one of your priorities is being added to group promotion, meeting other authors at a workshop or a conference could lead to more promising leads than just emailing people.   #4: You can keep up with the constant changes in the field and adjust your strategies and plans accordingly. For example, Amazon's policies for KDP change constantly, sometimes monthly, it feels like. Writing blogs and podcasts can often explain these changes in a practical way that's more efficient than trying to parse long legal documents yourself.   #5: Finally, and fifthly, some people find professional development motivational or it helps them to feel more excited about their work. An example is a phenomenon called the post conference high, when someone returns from a conference with a high level of excitement and a list of plans a mile long. It's easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day tasks of work and sometimes professional development can shake things up in a positive way.   So professional development can be a good thing, but there are ways it can hinder your writing process. So we'll look at four ways that professional development can get in the way of you actually sitting down and getting some writing done.   #1: One of the downsides of being a writer is that professional development must be self-funded or you must pursue your own scholarships or grants for it, which are pretty limited compared to professional development in other fields. It is quite easy to spend tens of thousands of dollars on it each year, so each opportunity must be carefully considered. It's important not to spend money without a clear plan for how to turn it into action and without researching less expensive (but still effective) options that might serve your purposes. It's also important to look carefully to see if you can find lower cost options before registering for something. For example, instead of going to a weeklong residential bootcamp to learn WordPress, you could find a community education class or a LinkedIn Learning class (which many libraries provide to their patrons). Do you need a full course offered by another author or are you only interested in one portion of it and can learn that information from a YouTube channel? There is a lot of nonsense on the Internet of course, but one of the advantages of living in the modern era is that there is an abundance of good free information. You just have to find it.   My podcast transcriptionist has something that she likes to call the Two Buck Chuck Principle. It is named after the store brand of wine from Trader Joe's. That's way back when it was $2 a bottle, hence the popular nickname for it. Many people refuse to stray from this cheapest available option at the store because they find it meets their alcohol related needs and refuse to buy more expensive bottles.   The point of this principle is that like those Trader Joe's shoppers, my podcast transcriptionist will search for the free and low cost option for something first and then see what is missing from them that a more expensive option offers before buying the more expensive option. For example, if you're just starting out as a writer, you may be tempted to pay $3,000 or $4,000 for consulting sessions about advertising strategies because you read a convincing testimonial. Realistically, if you only have one or two books with only a handful of reviews and you're not willing to throw thousands of additional dollars on a professional style ad campaign, this would be severe overkill.   Applying the Two Buck Chuck Principle to this person's ad spending, it would make more sense to learn the basics first through webinars and blog posts on the topic. Something like Brian Cohen's Five Day Amazon Ad Challenge would teach the basics of using the interface and some strategies that keep a rookie from overspending or straying from their target audience. Once a writer has a few years of sales and several books in the same series, then perhaps it might be wise to progress to something more advanced and expensive, like hiring a consultant.   For most professional development, if you're paying money, you're either paying for being in a physical location or you're paying for the time someone else took to assemble and present the knowledge for you (in the case of a conference or workshop, both). For the latter, you can usually apply this Two Buck Chuck Principle by taking the time to assemble the knowledge yourself or find others who have through blogs, podcasts, and lower cost books. Someone like Joanna Penn or David Gaughran provides a wealth of sensible advice through these types of much lower cost options.   #2: Professional development, like many other writing adjacent activities, can give you the illusion of progress. Knowing about something and actually doing it are very different things. You have to have a specific plan for how you will implement your professional development. The sooner you start after completing your professional development activity, the more likely you are to benefit from it. Even five minutes a day working on it helps keep the knowledge fresh and gives you the confidence to continue.   #3: The number of available options for professional development can be paralyzing and it can be easy to feel like you have to do it all. The fear of missing out is a very real phenomenon, but it's necessary to combat it by being intentional with your time. Start by making your goals for the next year and then seeing what professional development you need to further those goals. For example, if creating video content is not part of your goals for the year, then it doesn't make sense to watch webinars on creating Instagram Reels or TikTok videos, even if you feel like it might be useful or you have a fear of missing out on the information. Your professional development, your goals, and your output all need to be in harmony in order to progress as a writer.   I have talked before about how a certain degree of tunnel vision is necessary to write at the pace that I do. Because I want to publish frequently, I often ignore conference and workshop opportunities because travel actively hinders my main goal of getting down as many words as possible each day.   #4: Professional development can take up so much time that it keeps you from the priority of writers, which is actually writing. Like the other writing adjacent activities out there, they expand to the size you'll allow. Planning your professional development goals for the year when you've created your writing goals can help you be disciplined in choosing the activities that will serve you best and fit with the time you can give them.   For example, if your goal is to set up an author website in May, you can allocate a little block of time each day for that month to watching tutorials, reading instructions, checking out other author sites for inspiration, and testing out the software. You wouldn't want to attend a three week intensive writing retreat in May because that would likely derail your progress on your other goal.   So finally, what do I personally do for professional development? What has helped me? I think the biggest help I had in terms of writing advice was a book called Billion Dollar Outlines by David Farland. It's well worth reading and a good look at story structure and understanding story structure that I think would be very helpful if you're struggling to finish an outline and write a book. Most of my professional development since then has been aimed towards the goal of trying to sell as many books as possible. So I took the Self-Publishing Formula course on advertising for Facebook, which was very helpful. I read a couple of different books on Facebook advertising, which was helpful. What was really helpful was a course on Photoshop I took in 2020 and 2021 that really increased my Photoshop skills and gave me the ability to do my own covers, which is very helpful because you often have to book a cover designer out well in advance. So that was very useful. And beyond that, I keep an eye on the various writing podcasts and Facebook groups. I don't really participate in the Facebook groups because that can be a huge time sink. Arguing with random people over the internet is not a productive use of time, but it is a good way to keep an eye on news within the indie author space and what people are doing and what trends you can expect to see. So that's what I do.   In short, professional development, like so many other writing adjacent activities, is a good thing that can hinder your progress if it's not done with intentionality and clear goals. As I said earlier in the podcast, your professional development, your goals, and your output all need to be harmonized in order to progress as a writer.   So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to the Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. And a quick note of thanks to my podcast transcriptionist for helping me to pull together the research for this episode. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes on https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave your review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.

S4E15Creating Profitable Mother's Day and Father's Day Books: Ideas & Marketing Strategies!SUMMARY:Mother's Day and Father's Day are huge opportunities for self-publishers to create books that make meaningful gifts! In this episode, Cindy and Tammie share high-demand book ideas for these holidays, from guided journals and keepsake books to activity books and memory scrapbooks. Learn how to create and format your books with A Book Creator, research profitable niches with Publisher Rocket, and market your books effectively to maximize sales. Whether you're publishing on KDP, Etsy, or Teachers Pay Teachers, this episode is packed with actionable strategies to help you capitalize on these seasonal trends!Show Notes/Links:Links to Mentioned Tools:Publisher Rocket (+ Cindy's Bonus eBook!): https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/Canva: https://www.canva.comChatGPT (OpenAI): https://chat.openai.comOther resources:Tammie's A Book Creator 3-Day Trial Affiliate Link: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/Get 40 free listings when you open a shop on Etsy: https://etsy.me/3XhW8xdPuzzle Book Courses Bundle:https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/ai-sp-seven-puzzle-book-coures-bundle-plus-activity-puzzle-bonus-course-p1Creating Children's Picture Books with AI course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spchildrenspicturebooksaicourseColoring Book Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spcoloringbooksaiFree AI for Self-Publishers Webinar Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/6de7cd75Get "12 Months of Book Ideas - 365 Ideas for Low Content Books" eBook as a bonus when you use Cindy's Affiliate Link to purchase Publisher Rocket: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/Cindy's Metricool Link: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUFCindy's MailerLite Link: https://www.mailerlite.com/a/82bb987c5379Cindy's Publisher Rocket Link:  https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/

S4E13Unlock the Power of AI: Create and Market Unique Coloring Books!SUMMARY:Coloring books are a highly profitable niche in self-publishing, and with AI, creating them has never been easier! In this episode, Cindy and Tammie break down how to use AI tools like DALL·E, MidJourney, and Canva to design stunning, unique coloring books—even if you're not an artist. Learn how to find the right niche, optimize your book for Amazon, and market it effectively. Plus, we'll share insights on the Coloring Book Course, where you can get a step-by-step guide to launching your first AI-powered coloring book. If you're ready to turn your creativity into a thriving book business, this episode is for you!Show Notes/Links:Links to Mentioned Tools:Coloring Book Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spcoloringbooksaiPublisher Rocket (+ Cindy's Bonus eBook!): https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/DALL·E (OpenAI): https://openai.com/dall-eMidJourney: https://www.midjourney.comCanva: https://www.canva.comOther resources:Tammie's A Book Creator 3-Day Trial Affiliate Link: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/Get 40 free listings when you open a shop on Etsy: https://etsy.me/3XhW8xdPuzzle Book Courses Bundle:https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/ai-sp-seven-puzzle-book-coures-bundle-plus-activity-puzzle-bonus-course-p1Creating Children's Picture Books with AI course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spchildrenspicturebooksaicourseColoring Book Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spcoloringbooksaiFree AI for Self-Publishers Webinar Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/6de7cd75Get "12 Months of Book Ideas - 365 Ideas for Low Content Books" eBook as a bonus when you use Cindy's Affiliate Link to purchase Publisher Rocket: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/Cindy's Metricool Link: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUFCindy's MailerLite Link: https://www.mailerlite.com/a/82bb987c5379Cindy's Publisher Rocket Link:  https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/

Demystifying Kindle Unlimited might be one of the most requested topics from our podcast audience—and for good reason. The confusion between Amazon's KDP platform and the Kindle Unlimited subscription service continues to trip up both new and experienced authors alike.After five years hosting this podcast, we've noticed certain questions appear in our inbox repeatedly: "Should my book be in Kindle Unlimited?" "What's the difference between KDP and KU?" "Will I make more money in KU or by going wide?" Today's episode tackles these questions head-on, cutting through the noise to help you make strategic decisions about your book's distribution.What many authors don't realize is that Kindle Unlimited enrollment can dramatically improve Amazon advertising performance. We've consistently observed that ads convert significantly better for KU books, particularly in genres where subscription readers are abundant. This alone might justify exclusivity for some authors.As with all marketing decisions, there's no one-size-fits-all answer. Kindle Unlimited is simply another tool in your publishing arsenal—not a magic solution for books that aren't selling elsewhere. Think strategically about your genre, audience, and overall publishing goals before making your decision.Send us your feedback!Check out our new mentorship program that will definitely change your life:https://amarketingexpert.com/author-mentorship/Help promote the podcast and earn free swag: If you're willing to put our podcast player widget on your website we'd love to send you free book swag, and you can earn a free coaching session! Email us at info@amarketingexpert.com for more information.Buy Penny's new book, The Amazon Author FormulaFREE BONUSLeave a review and we'll give you our Book Launch Checklist! Just include your reviewer name or a screenshot of your review in the email. Can't leave one on your podcast platform? Just email us your review and we'll put it on our website: info@amarketingexpert.com.Check out our podcast page and learn more about the team: www.amarketingexpert.com/author-podcast

S4E12Maximize Q2: Seasonal Trends and Niche Ideas for Spring and Summer!SUMMARY:Q2 is packed with opportunities for self-publishers, from spring cleaning and Mother's Day to summer vacations and graduation gifts. In this episode, Cindy and Tammie break down seasonal trends and profitable niche ideas to help you maximize sales in April, May, and June. Learn how to research high-demand book topics using Publisher Rocket (and get Cindy's 12 Months of Book Ideas eBook when purchasing through her affiliate link!), and discover how A Book Creator can help you quickly design printables, planners, and activity books for this season. Tune in and get ahead of Q2 trends today!Show Notes/Links:Links to Mentioned Tools:ChatGPT (OpenAI): https://chat.openai.comPublisher Rocket (+ Cindy's Bonus eBook!): https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/A Book Creator 3-Day Trial: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/Metricool: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUFOther resources:Tammie's A Book Creator 3-Day Trial Affiliate Link: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/Get 40 free listings when you open a shop on Etsy: https://etsy.me/3XhW8xdPuzzle Book Courses Bundle:https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/ai-sp-seven-puzzle-book-coures-bundle-plus-activity-puzzle-bonus-course-p1Creating Children's Picture Books with AI course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spchildrenspicturebooksaicourseColoring Book Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spcoloringbooksaiFree AI for Self-Publishers Webinar Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/6de7cd75Get "12 Months of Book Ideas - 365 Ideas for Low Content Books" eBook as a bonus when you use Cindy's Affiliate Link to purchase Publisher Rocket: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/Cindy's Metricool Link: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUFCindy's MailerLite Link: https://www.mailerlite.com/a/82bb987c5379Cindy's Publisher Rocket Link:  https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/

On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, host Anna Featherstone talks with USA Today bestselling author Phillipa Nefri Clark about the practical side of book production and distribution. Phillipa shares her experiences with different publishing methods, from KDP and Kobo to direct sales and working with a digital-first publisher. She discusses hiring a well-known TV actor for her audiobook, handling production challenges, navigating translations, and managing finances with the help of a specialist accountant. Show Notes List of Australian Writers Festivals for 2025 Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our Self-Publishing Author Advice Center, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. Sponsors This podcast is proudly sponsored by Bookvault. Sell high-quality, print-on-demand books directly to readers worldwide and earn maximum royalties selling directly. Automate fulfillment and create stunning special editions with BookvaultBespoke. Visit Bookvault.app today for an instant quote. This podcast is also sponsored by Gatekeeper Press, the all-inclusive Gold Standard in Publishing, offering authors 100% rights, royalties, satisfaction and worldwide distribution. Gatekeeper Press, Where Authors are Family. About the Host Anna Featherstone is ALLi's nonfiction adviser and an author advocate and mentor. A judge of The Australian Business Book Awards and Australian Society of Travel Writers awards, she's also the founder of Bold Authors and presents author marketing and self-publishing workshops for organizations, including Byron Writers Festival. Anna has authored books including how-to and memoirs and her book Look-It's Your Book! about writing, publishing, marketing, and leveraging nonfiction is on the Australian Society of Authors recommended reading list. When she's not being bookish, Anna's into bees, beings, and the big issues of our time. About the Guest A USA Today bestselling author, Phillipa Nefri Clark lives just outside a beautiful town in country Victoria, Australia. She also inhabits the many worlds of her imagination, stockpiling stories beside her laptop. Phillipa writes from the heart about love, dreams, secrets, discovery, the sea, and the world as she knows it—or wishes it could be. She loves happy endings, heart-pounding suspense, and characters who stay with readers long after the final page. With a passion for music, the ocean, nature, reading, and writing, she is often found in the vegetable garden pondering a new story. Phillipa is both an indie author and is traditionally published by Storm Publishing. You can find her on her website or Facebook.

S4E11AI-Driven Success: Create Stunning Children's Picture Books with Ease!SUMMARY:Creating children's picture books has never been easier, thanks to AI! In this episode, Cindy and Tammie walk you through the step-by-step process of using AI tools to plan, write, and illustrate a professional-quality picture book—even if you're not an artist. Learn how to use ChatGPT for storytelling, DALL·E for illustrations, and Canva for seamless formatting. Plus, we'll discuss the Creating Children's Picture Books with AI Course, which gives you everything you need to publish a stunning children's book. If you've ever dreamed of publishing a picture book, this is the episode for you!Show Notes/Links:Links to Mentioned Tools:Creating Children's Picture Books with AI Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spchildrenspicturebooksaicourseMidjourney: https://midjourney.comChatGPT (OpenAI): https://chat.openai.comDALL·E (OpenAI): https://openai.com/dall-eCanva: https://www.canva.comPublisher Rocket (+ Cindy's Bonus eBook!): https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/Other resources:Tammie's A Book Creator 3-Day Trial Affiliate Link: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/Get 40 free listings when you open a shop on Etsy: https://etsy.me/3XhW8xdPuzzle Book Courses Bundle:https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/ai-sp-seven-puzzle-book-coures-bundle-plus-activity-puzzle-bonus-course-p1Creating Children's Picture Books with AI course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spchildrenspicturebooksaicourseColoring Book Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spcoloringbooksaiFree AI for Self-Publishers Webinar Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/6de7cd75Get "12 Months of Book Ideas - 365 Ideas for Low Content Books" eBook as a bonus when you use Cindy's Affiliate Link to purchase Publisher Rocket: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/Cindy's Metricool Link: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUFCindy's MailerLite Link: https://www.mailerlite.com/a/82bb987c5379Cindy's Publisher Rocket Link:  https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/

Want to publish low-content books like journals, planners, or activity books? Researching trends is key! Start with Amazon Best Sellers to find high-ranking books. Use keyword searches to see what's trending. Tools like Publisher Rocket and BookBolt provide insights on demand. Read reviews to spot customer preferences. Check Google Trends for seasonal spikes. Analyze top KDP competitors and track Amazon's Movers & Shakers for hot niches. Research smart, publish smarter!#SelfPublishing #KDP #LowContentBooks #PassiveIncome #AmazonSelling #BookMarketing #PublishingTips

S4E10Spring into Creativity: How to Create Seasonal Puzzle Books That Sell!Spring is a season of renewal, and it's the perfect time to create seasonal puzzle books that attract buyers looking for fresh, engaging content. In this episode, Cindy and Tammie dive into how to create, design, and market puzzle books with a spring theme using A Book Creator and other AI tools. Plus, learn how Publisher Rocket can help you find profitable niches and how you can get Cindy's exclusive 12 Months of Book Ideas eBook when purchasing through her affiliate link. If you're ready to boost your sales with puzzle books this season, this episode is for you!Show Notes/Links:Links to Mentioned Tools:A Book Creator: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/Publisher Rocket (+ Cindy's Bonus eBook): https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/Puzzle Book Courses Bundle: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/ai-sp-seven-puzzle-book-coures-bundle-plus-activity-puzzle-bonuS-course-p1Canva: https://www.canva.comMetricool: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUFOther resources:Tammie's A Book Creator 3-Day Trial Affiliate Link: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/Get 40 free listings when you open a shop on Etsy: https://etsy.me/3XhW8xdPuzzle Book Courses Bundle:https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/ai-sp-seven-puzzle-book-coures-bundle-plus-activity-puzzle-bonus-course-p1Creating Children's Picture Books with AI course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spchildrenspicturebooksaicourseColoring Book Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spcoloringbooksaiFree AI for Self-Publishers Webinar Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/6de7cd75Get "12 Months of Book Ideas - 365 Ideas for Low Content Books" eBook as a bonus when you use Cindy's Affiliate Link to purchase Publisher Rocket: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/Cindy's Metricool Link: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUFCindy's MailerLite Link: https://www.mailerlite.com/a/82bb987c5379Cindy's Publisher Rocket Link:  https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/

Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ: KDP) basically went from getting its categorical ass whipped to being the most interesting energy drinks portfolio in just two short years by acquiring a large stake in Nutrabolt (owner of C4 Energy), strategically partnering with Black Rifle Coffee Company to distribute its new energy drink, acquiring GHOST Lifestyle, and adding Bloom Energy to its national DSD system. But what if KDP was making all these strategic moves to simply hedge against a growing risk on its multibillion-dollar U.S. coffee segment? KDP was recently charged by the SEC over making inaccurate statements within past earnings reports about the recyclability of K-Cups. And while the civil penalty levied was laughable, it highlights sustainability questions at a time when conscious consumerism is becoming more popular. If anything, maybe it's telling when the K-Cup inventor has publicly stated for years his regret over the negative environmental impact of those tiny plastic pods.

In this week's episode, we continue our discuss about how seeking prestige can be dangerous for writers, specifically in the form of traditional publishing and the New York Times Bestseller list. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Shield of the Knight, Book #2 in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store: DRAGONSHIELD50 The coupon code is valid through March 21, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00   Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 241 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is February 28th, 2025. Today we are continuing our discussion of how to escape the trap of prestige for writers, specifically traditional publishing and The New York Times Bestseller List. Before we get to our main topic, we will do Coupon of the Week, an update on my current writing and audiobook projects, and then Question of the Week.   This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Shield of the Knight, Book Two in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store. That coupon code is DRAGONSHIELD50. As always, I'll include the coupon code and the link to the store in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through March 21st, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook as we start to head into the spring months, we have got you covered. Now an update on my current writing projects. I'm pleased to report I am done with the rough draft of Ghost in the Assembly. I came in at 106,000 words, so it'll definitely be over a hundred thousand words when it's done. I'm about 20% of the way through the first round of edits, so I am confident in saying that if all goes well and nothing unexpected happens, I am on track to have it out in March. I am also 10,000 words into Shield of Battle, which will be the fifth of six books in the Shield War series and I'm hoping to have that out in April, if all goes well.   In audiobook news, recording for both Cloak of Dragonfire and Orc-Hoard is done. I'm just waiting for them to get through the processing on the various stores so they're available. There is also an audiobook edition of Half Elven Thief Omnibus One and Cloak Mage Omnibus Three that hopefully should be coming in March. More news with that to come.   00:01:55 Question of the Week   Now let's move on to Question of the Week. Question of the Week is intended to inspire interesting discussions of enjoyable topics. This week's question: what is your favorite subgenre of fantasy, high fantasy, epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, historical fantasy, urban fantasy, LitRPG, cultivation, or something else? No wrong answers, obviously.   Cindy says: Epic fantasy or those with a good history for that world. The Ghost Series are fantastic at this.   Thanks, Cindy.   Justin says: I enjoy all those sub-genres, if they are done well. In times past I would've said comic fantasy, but that is because Terry Pratchett at his best was just that good.   Mary says: High fantasy.   Surabhi says: I'd honestly read anything fantasy that's written well and has characters I'm attached to, given that it's not too gritty. Bonus points if there's humor! Also, I love your books so much and they're the perfect blend of fantasy, adventure, and characters. Your books were what really got me into Sword and Sorcery.   Thanks, Surabhi.     Matthew says: See, that's difficult. I love my sabers, both light and metal. I would say urban fantasy crosses the boundary the most. If it's a captivating story, it will be read.   John F says: I can't choose one- Lord of the Rings or LWW, The Inheritance Cycle, The Dresden Files, Caina, Ridmark, or Nadia. I think what draws me is great characters who grow. The setting/genre is just the device. That's why I keep coming back to your books. You create great characters.   Thanks, John F.   John K says: I think I'm partial to historical fantasy. I enjoy all genres, but when I think of my favorites, they tend to be derivations of historical settings. Think Guy Gavriel Kay or Miles Cameron. That said, I was weaned on Robert E. Howard, Fritz Lieber, Michael Moorcock, Karl Edward Wagner, Jack Vance, so a strong sword and sorcery second place.   Juana says: High fantasy. Belgariad, Tolkien, dragons, et cetera.   Jonathan says: Sword and sorcery in space! Prehistoric sword and sorcery, sword and sorcery always.   Quint: says Sword and sorcery!   Michael says: Sword and sorcery.   For myself, I think I would agree with our last couple of commenters and it would be sword and sorcery. My ideal fantasy novel has a barbarian hero wandering from corrupt city state to corrupt city state messing up the business of some evil wizards. I'm also very fond of what's called generic fantasy (if a fighter, a dwarf, an elf, and a wizard are going into a dungeon and fighting some orcs, I'm happy).   00:04:18 Main Topic of the Week: Escaping the Prestige Trap, Part 2   Now onto our main topic for the week, Escaping the Prestige Trap, Part 2, and we'll focus on traditional publishing and the New York Times Bestseller List this week. As we talked about last week, much of the idea of success, especially in the United States, is based on hitting certain milestones in a specific order. In the writing world, these measures of success have until fairly recently been getting an MFA, finding an agent, getting traditionally published, and hitting The New York Times Bestseller List. Last week we talked about the risks of an MFA and an agent. This week, we are going to talk about two more of those writing markers of prestige, getting traditionally published and having a book land on The New York Times Bestseller List. Why are they no longer as important? What should you devote your energy and focus to instead?   So let's start with looking at getting traditionally published. Most writers have dreamed of seeing their book for sale and traditional publishing for a long time has been the only route to this path. Until about 15 years ago, traditional publishing was the way that a majority of authors made their living. Now that big name authors like Hugh Howie, Andy Weir, and Colleen Hoover have had success starting as self-published authors (or in the case of authors Sarah J. Maas and Ali Hazelwood, fan fiction authors) and then are getting traditional publishing deals made for them for their self-published works. It's proof that self-publishing is no longer a sign that the author isn't good enough to be published traditionally. Previous to the rise of the Kindle, that was a common belief that if you were self-published, it was because you were not good enough to get traditionally published. That was sort of this pernicious belief that traditional publishing was a meritocracy, when in fact it tended to be based on who you knew. But that was all 15 years ago and now we are well into the age of self-publishing. Why do authors still want to be traditionally published when in my frank opinion, self-publishing is the better path? Well, I think there are three main reasons for that.   One of the main reasons is that the authors say they want to be traditionally published is to have someone else handle the marketing and the advertising. They don't realize how meager marketing budgets and staffing support are, especially for unknown authors. Many traditionally published authors are handling large portions of their own marketing and hiring publicists out of their own pocket because publishers are spending much less on marketing. The new reality is that traditional publishers aren't going to do much for you as a debut author unless you are already a public figure.   Even traditionally published authors are not exempt from having to do their own marketing now. James Patterson set up an entire company himself to handle his marketing. Though, to be fair to James Patterson, his background was in advertising before he came into publishing, so he wasn't exactly a neophyte in the field, but you see more and more traditionally published authors who you think would be successful just discontented with the system and starting to dabble in self-publishing or looking at alternative publishers like Aethon Books and different arrangements of publishing because the traditional system is just so bad for writers. The second main reason authors want to be traditionally published is that they want to avoid the financial burden of publishing. This is an outdated way of thinking. The barrier to publishing these days is not so much financial as it is knowledge. In fact, I published a book entirely using free open source software in 2017 just to prove that it could be done. It was Silent Order: Eclipse Hand, the fourth book in my science fiction series. I wrote it on Ubuntu using Libre Office and I edited it in Libre Office and I did the formatting on Ubuntu and I did the cover in the GIMP, which is a free and open source image editing program. This was all using free software and I didn't have to pay for the program. Obviously I had to pay for the computer I was using and the Internet connection, but in the modern era, having an internet connection is in many ways almost a requirement, so that's the cost you would be paying anyway.   The idea that you must spend tens of thousands of dollars in formatting, editing, cover, and marketing comes from scammy self-publishing services. Self-publishing, much like traditional publishing, has more than its fair share of scams or from people who aren't willing to take the time to learn these skills and just want to cut someone a check to solve the problem. There are many low cost and effective ways to learn these skills and resources designed specifically for authors. People like Joanna Penn have free videos online explaining how to do this, and as I've said, a lot of the software you can use to self-publish is either free or low cost, and you can get some very good programs like Atticus or Vellum or Jutoh for formatting eBooks for very low cost.   The third reason that writers want to be traditionally published is that many believe they will get paid more this way, which is, unless you are in the top 1% of traditionally published authors, very wrong. Every so often, there's a study bemoaning the fact that most publishers will only sell about $600 worth of any individual book, and that is true of a large percentage of traditionally published books. Traditional publishers typically pay a lump sum called advance, and then royalties based on sales. An average advance is about the same as two or three months of salary from an office job and so not a reflection of the amount of time it typically takes most authors to finish a book. Most books do not earn out their advance, which means the advance is likely to be the only money the author receives for the book. Even well-known traditionally published authors are not earning enough to support themselves as full-time authors. So as you can see, all three of these reasons are putting a lot of faith in traditional publishers, faith that seems increasingly unnecessary or downright misplaced. I think it is very healthy to get rid of the idea that good writing comes from traditional publishers and that the prestige of being traditionally published is the only way you'll be accepted as a writer or be able to earn a living as a full-time writer. I strongly recommend that people stop thinking that marketing is beneath you as an author or too difficult to learn. Whether you are indie or tradpub, you are producing a product that you want to sell, thus you are a businessperson. The idea that only indie authors have to sell their work is outdated. The sooner you accept this reality, the more options you will have. Self-publishing and indie publishing are admittedly more work. However, the benefits are significant. Here are five benefits of self-publishing versus traditional publishing.   The first advantage of self-publishing is you have complete creative control. You decide what the content of your book will be; you decide what the cover will be. If you don't want to make the covers yourself or you don't want to learn how to do that, you can very affordably hire someone to do it for you and they will make the cover exactly to your specifications. You also have more freedom to experiment with cross-genre books. As I've mentioned before, publishers really aren't a fan of cross genre books until they make a ton of money, like the new romantasy trend.   Traditional publishing is very trend driven and cautious. Back in the 2000s before I gave up on traditional publishing and discovered self-publishing, I would submit to agents a lot. Agents all had these guidelines for fantasy saying that they didn't want to see stories with elves and orcs and dwarves and other traditional fantasy creatures because they thought that was passe. Well, when I started self-publishing, I thought I'm going to write a traditional fantasy series with elves and orcs and dwarves and other traditional fantasy creatures just because I can and Frostborn has been my bestselling series of all time in the time I've been self-publishing, so you can see the advantages of having creative control.   The second advantage is you can control the marketing. Tradpub authors often sign a contract that they'll get their social media and website content approved by the publisher before posting. They may even be given boilerplate or pre-written things to post. In self-publishing, you have real time data to help you make decisions and adjust ads and overall strategy on the fly to maximize revenue. For example, if one of your books is selling strangely well on Google Play, it's time to adjust BookBub ads to focus on that platform instead of Amazon.   You can also easily change your cover, your blurb, and so forth after release. I've changed covers of some of my books many times trying to optimize them for increased sales and that is nearly impossible to do with traditional publishing. And in fact, Brandon Sanderson gave a recent interview where he talked about how the original cover of his Mistborn book was so unrelated to the content of the book that it almost sunk the book and hence his career.   You also have the ability to run ad campaigns as you see fit, not just an initial launch like tradpub does. For example, in February 2025, I've been heavily advertising my Demonsouled series even though I finished writing that series back in 2013, but I've been able to increase sales and derive a significant profit from those ads.   A third big advantage is that you get a far greater share of the profits. Most of the stores, if you price an ebook between $2.99 (prices are USD) and $9.99, you will get 70% of the sale price, which means if you sell an ebook for $4.99, you're probably going to get about $3.50 per sale (depending on currency fluctuations and so forth). That is vastly more than you would get from any publishing contract.   You also don't have to worry about the publisher trying to cheat you out of royalties. We talked about an agency stealing money last episode. Every platform you publish your book on, whether Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Smashwords and Apple will give you a monthly spreadsheet of your sales and then you can look at it for yourself, see exactly how many books you sold and exactly how much money you're going to get. I have only very rarely seen traditional publishing royalty statements that are as clear and have as much data in them as a spreadsheet from Google Play or Amazon. A fourth advantage is you don't have to worry about publishers abandoning you mid-series. In traditional publishing, there is what's called the Publishing Death Spiral where let's say an author is contracted to write a series of five books. The author writes the first book and it sells well. Then the author publishes the second book and it doesn't sell quite as well, but the publisher is annoyed enough by the decrease in sales that they drop the writer entirely and don't finish the series. This happens quite a bit in the traditional publishing world, and you don't have to worry about that in indie publishing because you can just publish as often as you want. If you're not happy with the sales of the first few books in the series, you can change the covers, try ad campaigns, and other strategies.   Finally, you can publish as often as you want and when you want. In traditional publishing, there is often a rule of thumb that an author should only publish one book a year under their name. Considering that last year I published 10 books under my name, that seems somewhat ridiculous, but that's a function of the fact that traditional publishing has only so much capacity and the pieces of the machine involved there are slow and not very responsive. Whereas with self-publishing, you have much more freedom and everything involved with it is much more responsive. There's no artificial deadlines, so you can take as long as you want to prepare it and if the book is ready, you don't have to wait a year to put it out because it would mess up the publisher's schedule.   So what to do instead of chasing traditional publishing? Learn about self-publishing, especially about scams and bad deals related to it. Publish your own works by a platform such as KDP, Barnes and Noble Press, Kobo Writing Life, Apple Books, Google Play, Smashwords, and possibly your own Payhip and/or Shopify store.   Conquer your fear of marketing and advertising. Even traditionally published authors are shouldering more of this work and paying out of their own pocket to hire someone to do it, and if you are paying your own marketing costs, you might as well self-publish and keep a greater share of the profits. The second half of our main topic, another potential risk of prestige, is getting on The New York Times Bestseller List. I should note that I suppose someone could accuse me of sour grapes here saying, oh, Jonathan Moeller, you've never been on The New York Times Bestseller List. You must just be bitter about it. That is not true. I do not want to be on The New York Times Bestseller List. What I would like to be is a number one Amazon bestseller. Admittedly though, that's unlikely, but a number one Amazon bestseller would make a lot more money than a number one New York Times Bestseller List, though because of the way it works, if you are a number one Amazon bestseller, you might be a New York Times Bestseller, but you might not. Let's get into that now.   Many writers have the dream of seeing their name on the New York Times Bestseller List. One self-help guru wrote about “manifesting” this milestone for herself by writing out the words “My book is number one on The New York Times Bestseller List” every day until it happened. Such is the mystique of this milestone that many authors crave it as a necessity. However, this list has seen challenges to its prestige in recent years. The one thing that shocks most people when they dig into the topic is that the list is not an objective list based on the raw number of books sold. The list is “editorial content” and The New York Times can exclude, include, or rank the books on the list however they choose.   What it does not capture is perennial sellers or classics. For example, the Bible and the Quran are obviously some of the bestselling books of all time, but you won't see editions of the Bible or the Quran on the New York Times Bestseller List. Textbooks and classroom materials, I guarantee there are some textbooks that are standards in their field that would be on the bestseller list every year, but they're not because The New York Times doesn't track them. Ebooks available only from a single vendor such as Kindle Unlimited books, ebook sales from not reporting vendors such as Shopify or Payhip. Reference Works including test prep guides (because I guarantee when test season comes around the ACT and SAT prep guides or the GRE prep guides sell a lot of copies) and coloring books or puzzle books.  It would be quite a blow to the authors on the list to realize that if these excluded works were included on the list, they would in all likelihood be consistently below To Kill a Mockingbird, SAT prep books, citation manuals, Bibles/other religious works, and coloring books about The Eras Tour.   Publishers, political figures, religious groups, and anyone with enough money can buy their way into the rank by purchasing their books in enormous quantities. In fact, it's widely acknowledged in the United States that this is essentially a legal form of bribery and a bit of money laundering too, where a publisher will give a truly enormous advance to a public figure or politician that they like, and that advance will essentially be a payment to that public figure in the totally legal form of an enormous book advance that isn't going to pay out. Because this is happening with such frequency, The New York Times gave into the pressure to acknowledge titles suspected of this strategy with a special mark next to it on the list. However, these books remain on the list and can still be called a New York Times Bestseller.   Since the list is not an objective marker of sales and certainly not some guarantee of quality, why focus on making it there? I think trying to get your book on The New York Times Bestseller List would be an enormous waste of time, since the list is fundamentally an artificial construction that doesn't reflect sales reality very well.   So what can you do instead? Focus on raw sales numbers and revenue, not lists. Even Amazon's bestseller category lists have a certain amount of non-quantitative factors. In the indie author community, there's a saying called Bank not Rank, which means you should focus on how much revenue your books are actually generating instead of whatever sales rank they are on whatever platform. I think that's a wiser approach to focus your efforts.   You can use lists like those from Publishers Weekly instead if you're interested in what's selling or trends in the industry, although that too can be manipulated and these use only a fairly small subset of data that favors retail booksellers, but it's still more objective in measuring than The New York Times.   I suppose in the end, you should try and focus on ebook and writing activities that'll bring you actual revenue or satisfaction rather than chasing the hollow prestige of things like traditional publishing, agents, MFAs, and The New York Times Bestseller List.   So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.

S4E9Spring into Sales: Seasonal Marketing Strategies for Self-Publishers!As the flowers bloom and the days grow warmer, spring offers a wealth of opportunities to refresh your marketing strategies and connect with readers. In this episode, Cindy and Tammie share actionable tips for leveraging spring themes to boost book sales. Learn how to create timely promotions, design fresh visuals, and use AI tools to automate your campaigns. Whether you're selling fiction, non-fiction, or printables, this episode will help you turn the season into sales.Show Notes/Links:Links to Mentioned Tools:Canva:https://www.canva.comA Book Creator: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/Metricool: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUFConvertKit:https://convertkit.comChatGPT (OpenAI):https://chat.openai.comOther resources:Tammie's A Book Creator 3-Day Trial Affiliate Link: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/Get 40 free listings when you open a shop on Etsy: https://etsy.me/3XhW8xdPuzzle Book Courses Bundle:https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/ai-sp-seven-puzzle-book-coures-bundle-plus-activity-puzzle-bonus-course-p1Creating Children's Picture Books with AI course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spchildrenspicturebooksaicourseColoring Book Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spcoloringbooksaiFree AI for Self-Publishers Webinar Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/6de7cd75Get "12 Months of Book Ideas - 365 Ideas for Low Content Books" eBook as a bonus when you use Cindy's Affiliate Link to purchase Publisher Rocket: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/Cindy's Metricool Link: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUFCindy's MailerLite Link: https://www.mailerlite.com/a/82bb987c5379Cindy's Publisher Rocket Link:  https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/

In this week's behavior, we discuss how seeking prestige can be dangerous for writers, specifically in the form of MFA degrees and literary agents. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Sword of the Squire, Book #1 in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store: SQUIRE50 The coupon code is valid through March 14, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we've got you covered! 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates   Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 240 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is February the 20th, 2025, and today we are discussing how to escape the trap of prestige that can sometimes catch writers, specifically in the form of MFA degrees and literary agents. Before we get into greater detail with that, we will start with Coupon of the Week and then an update on my current writing projects and then also a Question of the Week before we get to the main topic.   But first, let's start with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Sword of the Squire, Book One of the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store. And that coupon code is SQUIRE50. The coupon code is valid through March 14th, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook as we head into spring, we have got you covered.   Now let's have an update on current writing projects. I am 94,000 words into Ghost in the Assembly. I had two 10,000 word days this week, which really moved the needle forward. We'll talk about those a little bit more later. I'm on Chapter 18 of 21, I believe, and if all goes well, I should hopefully finish the rough draft before the end of the month because I would like to get editing on that as soon as possible. For my next book, that will be Shield of Battle and I am 8,000 words into that and I'm hoping that'll come out in April. Ghost in the Assembly will be in March, if all goes well.   In audiobook news, recording for Cloak of Dragonfire (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) is finished and also recording on Orc-Hoard, the fourth book of the Half-Elven Thief series (as excellently narrated by Leanne Woodward). Both of those should be coming out sometime in March, if all goes well. So that's where I'm at with my current writing projects.   00:01:45 Question of the Week   And now let's move on to Question of the Week. Question of the Week is intended to inspire interesting discussions of enjoyable topics. This week's question, if you have off work or school because of a snow day or extreme cold or other intense weather, what do you do with the day? No wrong answers. We had a number of responses to this.   Surabhi says: Ha, jokes on you! It never snows where I live. We do sometimes bunk school on rainy days, though. What I mostly do then is catching up on homework or listening to the rain.   Justin says: We're having a snow day here; schools and many businesses are closed. So Lord of the Rings Extended Edition movie marathon! Popcorn popped, hot cocoa and cold soda prepped. I have to admit, that seems like a very good idea.   Mary says: Read, write, watch the snow fall, try to exercise inside.   Michael says: That hasn't happened to me since about 1985, but I seem to recall it was on my birthday and boy was I happy to miss school on my birthday! I think I read fantasy books, drank tea, and played video games.   Juana says: curl up with a book and hot chocolate or tea.   John says: Haven't had a snow day since I was a child, but I did either play in the snow or read a book (at that age, Andre Norton, Lester del Rey, or Ben Bova). I'm relocating later this year back to colder climes, but since I now only work remotely and have for the past six years, sadly my days change very little.   Jenny says: Usually shovel snow, make a pot of warm food, more snow removal, watch movies or shows. Bob says: I'm retired now, so probably not much different than any other day, but when I was working, I'd probably be out shoveling snow so I can get to work whenever the roads were clear. Of course, that necessitated more shoveling when the snowplow dumped its load across the end of my driveway and that's why I moved south, where I rarely see snow.   Yes, if you live in a colder climes and you have a driveway, you know that you'll shovel the driveway and then immediately when you're done, these snowplow will come and block up the end of the driveway.   Finally, Dan says: For myself, I enjoy a free day. However, soon the home duties encroach on this free time.   For myself, the answer is clearly that I write 10,000 words on the first snow day and then again on the second day because I just had two days in a row where it was too cold to leave the house. So what I did was stay home and wrote 20,000 words of Ghost in the Assembly.   00:03:54 Main Topic: Escaping the Trap of Prestige, Part I   Now onto our main topic of the week, Escaping the Trap of Prestige, Part I-as it pertains to MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degrees and agents. I'd like to preface this by saying that I'm not looking to knock anyone who has a MFA or who has a literary agent, especially if it's working out for you and you're happy with it. What I'm trying to do here is warn younger writers who are just starting out about the potential consequences of these things, which can be very severe if you choose wrongly. So that is my goal with this episode, to help writers escape the potentially bad consequences of the prestige trap because newer writers in particular want validation. I mean, we all want validation, but writers especially want validation and new writers are very vulnerable to wanting validation to the point where it's been well known for years that there's a large scam industry of various things that take advantage of newer writers looking for validation such as vanity publishers, scammy agents, and a wide variety of other online publishing scams. This isn't to say that MFAs and literary agents are scams, though some literary agents have committed serious crimes (as we'll discuss later), but again, to warn against the danger of wanting prestige too badly and the bad decisions that can lead you to make. And some of this comes from the idea of success in life, especially in the United States and large parts of the Western world, is hitting certain milestones in a specific order. Like you graduate from college, you get a good job, you get married, you buy a house, you have your first kid, and if you don't do these things in the right order, there's something wrong with you and you have made mistakes in life, which isn't necessarily true, but is something that people can fall fall prey to and use to make destructive decisions. In the writing world, some of those measures of success have until fairly recently been getting a Master of Fine Arts degree, finding an agent, getting traditionally published, and hitting the New York Times list. As of this recording, I have sold well over 2 million books without following that normal route to writing success. In fact, I think it's closer to 2.25 million now, and I mention that not to toot my own horn, but to say that there are routes outside of the potentially dangerous prestige paths I'm talking about. And despite that, many aspiring writers feel they must follow that specific route to writer success, otherwise they aren't real writers. They've got to get the MFA, the agent, traditionally published, and then the New York Times list. The quest for prestige can keep writers from succeeding in two ways that are more significant, getting their work in front of readers who want to read it and deriving income from writing. So today in the first part of this two part episode series, we're going to talk about two of those writing markers of prestige, MFAs and literary agents. Why are they no longer as important? What should you devote your energy and focus to instead?   So number one, the Master of Fine Arts trap. The Master of Fine Arts in writing has often been seen as a marker of writing ability, especially in the world of literary fiction. And I think the big problem, one of the big problems with MFA, first of all is cost. Getting a Master of Fine Arts degree is expensive, especially if you are not fortunate enough to receive scholarships or assistantships and so have to rely on student loans. The average cost of an MFA program is in the mid five figures when all is said and done, not even counting living expenses and textbooks and so forth. If you have to take out student loans to pay for that, that is a considerable loan burden, especially if you already have loans from your undergraduate degree.   Even the people who get their MFA paid for (usually in exchange for teaching introductory writing classes to first year university students), the opportunity cost of taking two to three years to get this degree means you're sacrificing other things in your personal and professional life in order to get this MFA. It's a huge outlay of time and energy, especially if you're moving across the country for a residential program. And what are you getting in exchange for this massive outlay of time, money, and effort?   You probably aren't going to learn the practical non-writing skills that you need in the modern writing world like marketing, data collection and analysis, and publication strategies (all of which I do on a fairly regular basis in addition to writing). All of these skills are important for writers now, even if they are traditionally published. The problem with many MFA programs is that they rarely, if ever teach these skills. It seems that what MFAs train their students to do is to become adjunct faculty professors with semester to semester contracts, which can pay around $2,000 to $4,000 USD per writing or literature course at most small to mid-size colleges and universities in the United States. Being an adjunct professor does not confer any benefits like health insurance or retirement funds.   I was talking about this episode with my podcast transcriptionist and she mentioned once she was at a faculty meeting where an adjunct professor in English with an MFA did the math and realized based on her hourly wage (based on all the actual hours she put into a semester), if she worked at the local gas station chain, she would be making $7 per hour more at the local gas chain and she would be only working 40 hours a week. That can be a very dismaying realization, especially after all the work you have put into getting an MFA and teaching. Many defenders of the MFA degree will say that the real value of the degree is learning how to take criticism and learning to edit. But if you're writing in a genre outside of literary fiction, poetry, and memoirs, you are not likely to find a lot of useful advice. To return to my transcriptionist's tales from her time inside academia, she once told me of meeting a faculty member who confessed that he never read a fantasy book and had no idea how to critique or help these students, and he was a writing professor. He meant well, but he's not even remotely an outlier in terms of MFA instructors and their familiarity with mysteries, romance, and science fiction works and fantasy, which is what most genre fiction is nowadays. Also, the quality of advice and help you receive varies wildly based on the quality of your cohort and instructors and their willingness to help others. It's a steep investment with very, very uncertain returns.   So in short, an MFA takes a huge outlay of time and money with very few tangible benefits, especially with genre writers. In all frankness I would say an MFA is the kind of degree you should not go into debt to get and you should only get if you can have it paid for through scholarships or assistantships or so forth. So what should you do, in my opinion, other than an MFA degree? I think you should write as much as possible. You get better by practicing. You should read extensively. You will learn about writing by reading extensively, ideally in more than one genre. If you read enough and write enough, eventually you get to the moment where you read something and think, hey, I could do a better job than this. This is a major boost in confidence for any writer.   It might be a good idea to join a local or online writing group if you'd like critique from other writers. A warning that writing groups can vary wildly in quality and some of them have a bad case of crab bucket syndrome, so you may have to try more than one group to find one that works for you.   Another thing to do would be to listen to advice from successful writers. I saw a brief video from an author who recently pointed out that many people online giving writing advice aren't current or successful writers. One of the downsides of the Internet is that anyone can brand themselves an expert, whip together a course, and sell it online for a ridiculous fee. And people like this, their successes in creating methods or courses that turn writing into something more complicated to make aspiring writers reliant upon that process. Aspiring writers may end up spinning their wheels following all of these steps instead of getting to the actual work of churning out drafts. They may be spending money they can't afford in order to learn ineffective or even damaging strategies.   Many successful writers offer sensible advice for free, such as Brandon Sanderson posting his writing lectures for free on his YouTube channel. If you're looking for writing advice, you could do a lot worse than watching those lectures. And if you're going to take advice from anyone you read on the internet, it's probably better to take advice from successful writers who have demonstrated that they know what they are doing.   And finally, this may be more general advice, but it's a good idea to be open to learning and observing new experiences. It's probably a good idea to go to museums and cultural events, read about the latest developments in science and history, go on a hike in a new place, and observe the world around you. New writers often ask where writers get their ideas come from, and they very often come from just serendipitous things you can observe in the world around you. And that is also a good way to get out of your own head. If you're worried too much about writing, it's probably time to go for a long walk.   So why are agents potentially dangerous to writers? For a long time (for a couple decades, in fact), from I'd say from maybe the ‘80s and the ‘90s to the rise of the Kindle in the 2010s, the only realistic way to get published for most writers in terms of fiction was to get a literary agent. Publishers did not take unsolicited submissions (most of them did not), and you had to go through an agent to send your manuscript to a publisher. The agents were very selective for a variety of reasons. Because of that, a lot of newer writers still idealize the process of getting agents. You'll see this on Twitter and other social media platforms where new writers will talk constantly about getting agents and what they have to do. And the ones who do get a request from an agent to send in the full manuscript after sending a few query chapters are just besides themselves with joy. And those who do get agents can sometimes sound like they're showing off their new boyfriend or girlfriend, like my agent says they like my book, or my agent says this or that. And as you can probably imagine from my description, this is an arrangement that has a lot of potential danger for the writer.   The traditional first step in this time period I was mentioning after finishing a book has been to get as prestigious of an agent as possible to contact publishers and negotiate deals on their behalf. The agent takes 10 to 20% of what a publisher pays a writer, but in theory can get a writer a better deal and are acting in their best business interests. And as I mentioned before, most significantly, most publishers are not willing to read submissions that are not submitted by an agent. If getting traditionally published is the goal, an agent is the crucial first step. I mean, that's the ideal that we've been talking about. In reality, traditional publishing is as cautious and risk averse as it has ever been. Agents have followed suit. It takes industry connections and/or a significant social media presence to even get an agent to look at your book.   Writing query letters and trying to get an agent also takes away from writing and is a completely separate skillset, as is the networking and social media work that is part of this process. Some people have spent months or even years working on query letters and getting an agent when they could have finished another book or more in the same time. Alright, so that is the practical and logistical reasons it's a bad idea for a writer to seek out an agent, and I frankly think you'd be better off. And now we get to the potentially criminal ones.   The thing about literary agents is there's no licensing or requirement or anything of that nature. You can set up a website and call yourself a literary agent. If you consider something like a lawyer, by contrast, I'm sure those of you who are lawyers in the United States will have many complaints and stories about your state bar, which is in charge of licensing lawyers. But the point is that the state bar exists, and if a lawyer is behaving in an unethical or unscrupulous matter, that can be brought as complaint to the state bar. Nothing like that exists for literary agents at all. And because of that, scammy agents are everywhere. Some try to get writers to pay a fee upfront or other made up fees, or they get cuts from scammy book publishers or book packaging services. Or in general, they just try to squeeze every penny possible from aspiring writers. And this is often sadly very easy to do because as we've mentioned, many newer writers still think getting an agent is a major mark of prestige and humans crave prestige. And even if you get a prestigious and seemingly legitimate agent, that can potentially lead to life ruining problems because many of the legitimate agents are very sticky fingered.   Several years ago, the firm of Donadio and Olson, which represented Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk, Godfather author Mario Puzo, and Catch 22 author Joseph Heller found out that one of their accountants had been stealing millions from their authors for many years. Although the accountant was sentenced to two years of prison, it's unlikely those authors will receive the money back fully. As Palahniuk put it in a blog post, “the legal process will be long and offers an iffy reward.” Mr. Palahniuk also lost out on money from touring to promote his books because of this crisis and said he was unable to support himself financially as a result of these stolen royalties.   By not filtering your royalties and earning statements through a literary agency that can falsify reports about these documents (as the accountant in question did), you have a full sense of what you are earning and what amounts you should be receiving. Amazon is open to many criticisms because of its decisions, but they pay monthly and they send a very detailed spreadsheet monthly to any Kindle authors of what books sold and what they expect to earn. It's sometimes almost too much data to process. The traditional publishing world would never even consider showing that to writers and agents often keep that from their writers. Palahniuk trusted his agency and accepted the explanations that rampant piracy and financial difficulties in the publishing world were keeping over a million dollars in royalties from him. He even later found out that this accountant was keeping non-financial correspondence from him. Returning to the topic of Brandon Sanderson, I recently saw an interview between him and a podcaster Tim Ferris. He made the interesting point that the power centers in publishing have shifted from traditional publishing agents to the platform holders and the writers, the platform holders being people like Amazon, Apple, and Google who have the platforms that sell the books and the writers who bring the books to those platforms. The power is shifted away from agents and publishers to the platforms and writers. And because of that, in my frank opinion, literary agents are obsolete for those wishing to publish independently.   And my frank opinion is also that you should be independently publishing and not trying to get an agent or go with a traditional publisher. There's no reason to give someone 15% when you can upload the files to a service like KDP yourself. An agent will not be able to get you a better royalty from KDP. Amazon does not negotiate royalty rates at the agent level, and you have to be a writer on the scale of J.K. Rowling or maybe Dean Koontz to get any kind of special deal from Amazon.   So what should you do instead of seeking out an agent? Publish independently or self-publish. Be wary of excuses and explanations that prey upon emotional responses or a sense of loyalty to individuals, such as the case of Chuck Palahniuk, where they preyed on his fears of piracy and the instability of the publishing industry, as well as sympathy for someone who claimed to be taking care of a family member with a terminal disease. That was one of the excuses they used for why the records weren't right. Ask for facts and verify everything regularly. Publishers and agents are not your friends and not your family, and do not accept that approach in your business relationship with them. Learn how to read and interpret any financial statements you receive. Don't trust a third party to do this for you, or if you must do that, make sure they're being audited regularly by a third party, not from just someone else at their firm.   So the conclusion is that in my opinion, the prestige of getting an MFA and an agent are currently not worth the trade-off and there are considerable risks that you take if your main goals are to build a following and sell books. Prestige is not going to put food on the table. And in fact, if you have five figures of student loan debt from an MFA, it may be keeping you from putting food on the table. So if you want to be a writer, I think both seeking out an MFA and seeking out an agent would be a waste of your time and possibly counterproductive.   Next week in Part Two, we'll discuss two more prestige traps in writing: getting traditionally published and hitting the New York Times Bestseller List.   That is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the backup episodes on https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.

S4E8 Beyond the Basics: Advanced Amazon Ads Strategies for Self-Publishers! SUMMARY: If you've already dipped your toes into Amazon Ads but aren't seeing the results you'd hoped for, this episode is for you. Cindy and Tammie break down advanced strategies to help you take your ad campaigns to the next level. Learn how to master keyword optimization, leverage audience targeting, and use AI tools like Publisher Rocket and ChatGPT to create compelling ad copy. By the end of this episode, you'll have the tools to make your ad campaigns more effective and profitable. Show Notes/Links: Links to Mentioned Tools: Publisher Rocket: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/ ChatGPT (OpenAI): https://chat.openai.com PPC Entourage: https://ppcentourage.com Amazon Ads Dashboard: https://advertising.amazon.com Other resources: Tammie's A Book Creator 3-Day Trial Affiliate Link: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/ Get 40 free listings when you open a shop on Etsy: https://etsy.me/3XhW8xd Puzzle Book Courses Bundle: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/ai-sp-seven-puzzle-book-coures-bundle-plus-activity-puzzle-bonus-course-p1 Creating Children's Picture Books with AI course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spchildrenspicturebooksaicourse Coloring Book Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spcoloringbooksai Free AI for Self-Publishers Webinar Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/6de7cd75 Get "A Year of Book and Marketing Ideas" eBook as a bonus when you use Cindy's Affiliate Link to purchase Publisher Rocket: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/ Cindy's Metricool Link: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUF Cindy's MailerLite Link: https://www.mailerlite.com/a/82bb987c5379 Cindy's Publisher Rocket Link:  https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/

Send us a textToday, Beverage Digest Editor & Publisher Duane Stanford and industry expert & regular podcast contributor John Sicher discuss the remarkable journey of Dr Pepper – a brand that has thrived in today's demanding carbonated soft drink landscape. Through strategic marketing, innovation, and understanding consumer trends, Dr Pepper has positioned itself as a key player in the category. Duane and John offer insights into the brand's growth amid declining CSD volumes, discuss the importance of bottler relationships and KDP's distribution strategy, and explore the brand's effective use of limited-time offerings and social media trends.

S4E7 From Idea to Reality: How to Launch a Book in 90 Days Using AI Tools! Summary: Think launching a book in 90 days is impossible? Think again! In this episode, Cindy and Tammie break down a step-by-step roadmap to take your book from concept to launch in just three months. With the help of AI tools like ChatGPT, Canva, A Book Creator, and Metricool, you'll learn how to brainstorm, draft, design, and market your book efficiently without sacrificing quality. Show Notes/Links: Links to Mentioned Tools: Atticus: https://www.atticus.io/  ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com Metricool: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUF Canva: https://www.canva.com ProWritingAid: https://prowritingaid.com Other resources: Tammie's A Book Creator 3-Day Trial Affiliate Link: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/ Get 40 free listings when you open a shop on Etsy: https://etsy.me/3XhW8xd Puzzle Book Courses Bundle: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/ai-sp-seven-puzzle-book-coures-bundle-plus-activity-puzzle-bonus-course-p1 Creating Children's Picture Books with AI course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spchildrenspicturebooksaicourse Coloring Book Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spcoloringbooksai Free AI for Self-Publishers Webinar Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/6de7cd75 Get "A Year of Book and Marketing Ideas" eBook as a bonus when you use Cindy's Affiliate Link to purchase Publisher Rocket: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/ Cindy's Metricool Link: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUF Cindy's MailerLite Link: https://www.mailerlite.com/a/82bb987c5379

Writer Beware discovered a new company that is so supposed to protect authors from scams, but some things are not quite right. Amazon is offering refunds on unused Kindle Vella tokens in March. KDP upgraded their virtual voice software. And, the US Copyright Office released the second part of a report on registering a copyright of a publication created by AI. All that and more in the self-publishing news! Book Award Pro - https://DaleLinks.com/BookAwardPro (affiliate link) Subscribe to The Self-Publishing Hub - https://TheSelfPublishingHub.com Subscribe to my email newsletter - https://DaleLinks.com/SignUp Join Channel Memberships - https://DaleLinks.com/Memberships Join Me on Discord - https://DaleLinks.com/Discord Check out my main YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@DaleLRoberts My Books - https://DaleLinks.com/MyBooks Source: The Ultimate Guide to 2025 Book Awards for Independent Publishers and Authors - https://publishdrive.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-2025-book-awards-for-independent-publishers-and-authors.html Writer Beware - Book Guard: “Anti-Scam Protection” That's Anything But - https://writerbeware.blog/2024/11/22/book-guard-anti-scam-protection-thats-anything-but/ Invite-Only KDP Beta for Audiobooks - https://www.kdpcommunity.com/s/article/Invite-Only-KDP-Beta-for-Audiobooks?language=en_US We are winding down Kindle Vella - https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/a/faq Apple Books for Authors - https://authors.apple.com/ U.S. Copyright Office Releases Part 2 of AI Report: What Authors Should Know - https://authorsguild.org/news/us-copyright-office-ai-report-part-2-what-authors-should-know/ Miblart (Cover Design) - https://DaleLinks.com/Miblart - code LOVECOVER14 good till Feb. 14, 2025 on romance-themed covers (Affiliate link) GetCovers (Cover Design) - https://DaleLinks.com/GetCovers - code ROMANCE20 good till Feb.14, 2025 on romance-themed covers (Affiliate link)  Get Authentic Book Reviews - https://GetAuthenticBookReviews.com Book Bounty - https://DaleLinks.com/BookBounty (Affiliate link) The Virtues of Wide Distribution with Mark Coker - https://selfpubconnect.mn.co/events/member-qa-the-virtues-of-wide-distribution-with-mark-coker (ALLi membership required) Authors Guild: AI Rights Licensing 101 with Created by Humans - https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SLdFX6VoS3OYgJSK_Gn43w#/registration  Written Word Media: Written Word Media Speaker Series with Ferol Vernon - https://streamyard.com/watch/3mry2CB5wsuU  Master Amazon Ads: Live Ad Audits for Authors - https://www.youtube.com/live/a0snbVjJEPw?si=OCn5IUJ7XgHwxem1 Get your Amazon Ads audited - https://DaleLinks.com/AuditMyAds No Writing Required: Turn Your Podcast Into a Book in 90 Days - https://www.youtube.com/live/VFNtF9K6MJ0?si=MCw9kkwKE9_6Tb8c 6 Authors vs 1 Impostor: Who Will Fool the Rest? - https://youtu.be/WzztnGi-Oj4?si=9Sf9JkKGkmqbNDDv Apply for 6 Versus 1 - https://DaleLinks.com/6v1  Credit: Authors Guild - https://authorsguild.org/  Where noted, some outbound links financially benefit the channel through affiliate programs. I only endorse programs, products, or services I use and can stand confidently behind. These links do not affect your purchase price and greatly helps to building and growing this channel. Thanks in advance for understanding! - Dale L. Roberts  

S4E6 Valentine's Day Special: How to Market Romance and Relationship-Themed Books Effectively! Summary: Valentine's Day is a prime opportunity to market romance and relationship-themed books to readers hungry for love stories and self-improvement guides. In this special episode, Cindy and Tammie share actionable strategies for creating eye-catching promotions, leveraging holiday-themed campaigns, and crafting emotional connections with readers. Learn how AI tools like ChatGPT and Canva can help you quickly create content and run ads that resonate with your audience. Show Notes/Links: Links to Mentioned Tools: A Book Creator Free 3-Day Trial: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/ Canva: https://www.canva.com Publisher Rocket: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/ ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com Metricool: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUF Other resources: Tammie's A Book Creator 3-Day Trial Affiliate Link: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/ Get 40 free listings when you open a shop on Etsy: https://etsy.me/3XhW8xd Puzzle Book Courses Bundle: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/ai-sp-seven-puzzle-book-coures-bundle-plus-activity-puzzle-bonus-course-p1 Creating Children's Picture Books with AI course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spchildrenspicturebooksaicourse Coloring Book Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spcoloringbooksai Free AI for Self-Publishers Webinar Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/6de7cd75 Get "A Year of Book and Marketing Ideas" eBook as a bonus when you use Cindy's Affiliate Link to purchase Publisher Rocket: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/ Cindy's Metricool Link: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUF Cindy's MailerLite Link: https://www.mailerlite.com/a/82bb987c5379

Let us know what you think!Unlock the secrets of turning your family's rich history into a dynamic digital treasure trove with the help of Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing. Discover how digital publishing not only facilitates easy distribution but also creates a lasting resource for family reunions.1. Prepare Your Book for Publishing2. Publish via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)3. Choose Distribution Settings4. Set Your Pricing5. Share the Book with Your Family6. Gifting Copiesorder copies of your book at the author's cost (for print books) send gift copies of the Kindle versionFor Document conversions:Website: https://calibre-ebook.com/Related Blogs:"Reads over Royalties""EPUB with InDesign, Page Breaks""Secrets with the Trees" by John A BrandtBe sure to bookmark linktr.ee/hittinthebricks for your one stop access to Kathleen Brandt, the host of Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen. And, visit us on YouTube: Off the Wall with Kathleen John and Chewey video recorded specials. Hittin' the Bricks is produced through the not-for-profit, 501c3 TracingAncestors.org.

S4E5 The AI Advantage: Automate and Streamline Your Self-Publishing Workflow! Summary: Time is every self-publisher's most valuable resource, and AI tools are here to help you save it. In this episode, Cindy and Tammie explore how AI can simplify your self-publishing workflow—from brainstorming book ideas and drafting content to designing covers, managing marketing campaigns, and analyzing sales data. Learn how to integrate tools like ChatGPT, Canva, A Book Creator, and Metricool into your daily routine and reclaim hours of your time while boosting productivity and creativity. Show Notes/Links: Links to Mentioned Tools: A Book Creator: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/ ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com ConvertKit: https://convertkit.com Metricool: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUF Canva: https://www.canva.com Other resources: Tammie's A Book Creator 3-Day Trial Affiliate Link: https://kdp4b2b--aududu.thrivecart.com/3-day-free-trial-membership/ Get 40 free listings when you open a shop on Etsy: https://etsy.me/3XhW8xd Puzzle Book Courses Bundle: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/ai-sp-seven-puzzle-book-coures-bundle-plus-activity-puzzle-bonus-course-p1 Creating Children's Picture Books with AI course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spchildrenspicturebooksaicourse Coloring Book Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/spcoloringbooksai Free AI for Self-Publishers Webinar Course: https://www.aiselfpublishingbooks.com/6de7cd75 Get "A Year of Book and Marketing Ideas" eBook as a bonus when you use Cindy's Affiliate Link to purchase Publisher Rocket: https://aududu--rocket.thrivecart.com/publisher-rocket/ Cindy's Metricool Link: https://i.mtr.cool/CARGUF Cindy's MailerLite Link: https://www.mailerlite.com/a/82bb987c5379

An Amazon FBA shipment change, TikTok shop not allowing dropshipping anymore, and Walmart launching an in-home testing program. These and more buzzing news on this week's episode! ► Instagram: instagram.com/serioussellerspodcast ► Free Amazon Seller Chrome Extension: https://h10.me/extension ► Sign Up For Helium 10: https://h10.me/signup  (Use SSP10 To Save 10% For Life) ► Learn How To Sell on Amazon: https://h10.me/ft ► Watch The Podcasts On YouTube: youtube.com/@Helium10/videos We're back with another episode of the Weekly Buzz with Helium 10's Senior Brand Evangelist, Shivali Patel. Every week, we cover the latest breaking news in the Amazon, Walmart, and E-commerce space, talk about Helium 10's newest features, and provide a training tip for the week for serious sellers of any level. Amazon FBA Shipment Change https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/GC3Q44PBK8BXQW3Z TikTok Shop Drops Dropshipping The TikTok outage caused TikTok Shop sales to spike, not sink https://digiday.com/marketing/the-tiktok-outage-caused-tiktok-shop-sales-to-spike-not-sink/ Apple, Google remove TikTok from stores as app halts service in U.S. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/18/apple-google-remove-tiktok-from-stores-as-app-halts-service-in-us.html Apple won't return TikTok to the App Store until it's sold to a U.S. buyer https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/01/21/apple-wont-return-tiktok-to-the-app-store-until-its-sold-to-a-us-buyer Walmart will now let suppliers test products in its customers' homes https://www.modernretail.co/operations/walmart-will-now-let-suppliers-test-products-in-its-customers-homes/ Inventory Defect and Reimbursement portal now available https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-news/articles/QVRWUERLSUtYMERFUiNHRkVaMk1ZR05KWFNDSEw2 New Features for Amazon Advertisers https://advertising.amazon.com/API/docs/en-us/release-notes/index New Amazon product title requirements effective January 21, 2025 https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-news/articles/QVRWUERLSUtYMERFUiNHNEJGOUZIUUs4SFBXWkRV In the next segment, we turn our attention to exciting new Helium 10 product features and updates in the Amazon marketplace. We introduce powerful features inside Helium 10 Adtomic like the Share of Voice tool. This tool is designed to enhance brand visibility and streamline advertising campaigns. Furthermore, Shivali guides us through a compelling strategy for expanding product offerings by leveraging niche book topics by using Helium 10's Black Box tool for KDP allowing sellers to tap into new markets and diversify income streams. By identifying high-potential keywords with low competition, sellers can capitalize on existing skills and broaden their market presence. Don't miss this episode for a comprehensive look at these critical updates and strategies to enhance your e-commerce success. In this episode of the Weekly Buzz by Helium 10, Bradley covers: 00:47 - Amazon FBA Shipment Change 02:34 - TikTok Shop Drops Dropshipping 04:23 - TikTok Sales Spike 05:36 - TikTok App Unavailable 07:06 - Walmart's Scintilla 08:59 - IDR Portal LIVE 10:33 - New Features for Advertisers 12:06 - Title Policy Reminder 12:51 - Helium 10 New Feature Alerts 19:09 - Training Tip: Black Box For KDP

As many of you know I self-published my Christmas Cookie Baking Guide in November 2024. This was my fifth published cookbook and my first self-publishing venture. It's easy for me to sit here and talk all about the book. And how the book is the fruit of the work I do every year as a Christmas cookie baker, And how I managed my time and myself to write and publish it. That's all true. But it's not the full story...and that's the topic for today's podcast. Here's the full quote about being in the arena from Theodore Roosevelt "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." Things We Mention In This Episode: Join the waitlist for Cookbooks on KDP that starts in January 2025.  Sign up here for my email list all about writing, publishing, habits, and writing routines.   

As we begin a new year, cartoonists Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar make their predictions for 2025 and share their goals for the next twelve months.PredictionsDAVE: Business planning anxietyBRAD: Because of Dave's prediction, the winners will be people who help address that anxiety. (That's us!) Be the distraction/escape people need; they won't forget you. DAVE: Bluesky at 50M by the end of the yearBRAD: Substack gains prominence — rises to Kickstarter/Patreon levelsDAVE: we'll all be playing reactionary, whack-a-mole life choices for the first two years of the trump admin. Until the midterm elections, when it might calm slightly. BRAD: AI will go mainstream and start to gain acceptance among artists and writersDAVE: Kickstarter and Patreon continue to be market leaders. No change on the horizon for thatBRAD: Printing is on the decline under tariffs. And we might be working with small US printers to do smaller books.DAVE: in publishing, YA & kids will continue to dominate the career path of published cartoonists. BRAD: Non-social media options will grow, hopefully including RSSDAVE: Webtoons might begin to fall apart in the US market. Their Hollywood goals are not working, and they were playing the long game toward THAT in terms of accumulating debt DAVE: I will have to raise prices on all my books. Or cut features in my books. No more metallic foils, spot gloss, or bookmarks…you're just getting a bare-bones book. GoalsBRAD: SurviveDAVE: SurviveBRAD: EiAD v3 or Webcomics HandbookDAVE: ANATOMY OF DOGS Kickstarter BRAD: Build Spice Rack Comics into an example of what you can do with the webring / collective concept. Suggest that this is the time to start building quasi-collectives.DAVE: Triple down on Bluesky in the 4-6 years before enshittification BRAD: Lean into KDP for After Dark booksDAVE: Triple down on BlueskyDAVE: Launch and start building THE WRONG WAY. I have been planning it for over a year. DAVE: Focus on one of the few things I can control: my family's happiness and health. Outlive the fuckers and try not to let them steal my joy. I find solace in friendships at Alaska Camp and SDCC. DAVE: if we can't do books, do we do more smaller Quickstarter?DAVE: Is this the time to start on Substack?SummaryIn this episode, the hosts discuss a range of topics, including a personal quest for a long-lost book, Wimpy the Wellington, predictions for the comic industry in 2025, the anxiety surrounding business planning for cartoonists, and the evolving role of cartoonists in providing relief during turbulent times. They also explore the rise of new platforms like Blue Sky and Substack and the potential mainstream acceptance of AI in the creative fields. In this conversation, Brad Guigar and his co-host discuss the evolving role of AI in creative processes, emphasizing its potential as an assistant rather than a replacement for artists and writers.They make predictions for 2025, including the impact of tariffs on print publishing, the continued dominance of YA and kids' books, and the uncertain future of Webtoons in the U.S. market. The discussion also touches on the concept of 'shrinkflation' in publishing, where features may be reduced due to economic pressures.Ultimately, both hosts express a shared goal of survival in a changing industry landscape. In this episode, the hosts discuss their goals and predictions for 2025, focusing on the importance of social media platforms like Blue Sky, the launch of a new project called The Wrong Way, and the innovative approach of Spice Rack Comics. They also touch on adapting to market changes, personal goals, and the significance of community support in the creative industry.TakeawaysCartoonists have a significant impact on their audience's mental health.Business planning in the comic industry is becoming increasingly complex.The rise of platforms like Blue Sky may change social media dynamics.Substack is poised to become a major player in content monetization.Anxiety will be a common theme in the coming years for creators.AI's acceptance in the creative industry is on the horizon.The importance of community and support among creators is paramount.Predictions for the future can help guide current decisions.The role of humor and distraction in art is vital during tough times. AI will be used as a writing assistant, not a replacement.Ethically sourced AI can enhance creative processes.Print publishing is expected to contract significantly due to tariffs.YA and kids' books will continue to dominate the market.Webtoons may struggle in the U.S. market moving forward.Shrinkflation will affect the features of published books.Survival is the primary goal for creators in 2025.Economic changes will force a reevaluation of publishing strategies.The creative industry must adapt to new market dynamics.The future of comics relies on navigating these challenges. Tripling down on Blue Sky is a strategic move for growth.The Wrong Way project is set to launch in 2025.Spice Rack Comics aims to innovate web rings and promote collaboration.Adapting to market changes is crucial for sustainability.Personal goals should focus on what can be controlled.Community support is essential for success in creative fields.Digital income sources are becoming increasingly important.Maintaining joy and personal happiness is a priority.Nostalgia can be a refuge during uncertain times.Building a supportive network can enhance creative endeavors. You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon$2 — Early access to episodes$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

I'd like to thank the Austin Business Journal for carrying on this decade-long tradition of sporadically mentioning Nutrabolt IPO rumors after each new major business milestone has been reached. The first IPO rumors showed up in an August 2014 PricePlow blog post…after it noticed a spike in search traffic related to Nutrabolt receiving a significant minority investment from private equity firm, MidOcean Partners. Then, at the end of 2022…I predicted Nutrabolt would go public within the next year after receiving an $863 million investment from Keurig Dr Pepper. But what major business milestone did Nutrabolt recently reach that restarted this IPO rumors heading into 2025? Nutrabolt just exceeded one billion dollars in trailing twelve months retail sales data. And you might be wondering…how elusive is that feat? Within the ingestible CPG categories of food, beverage, and supplements…there's only about 80 total brands that currently exceed one billion dollars in annual retail sales. In 2002, Nutrabolt (legally known as Woodbolt Distribution) was founded with the launch of the sports nutrition brand Cellucor. And then nine years later, Cellucor launched the C4 pre-workout product, which is currently (and has been for much of the last decade) the leading pre-workout brand globally. In early-2017, Nutabolt acquired Scivation, the maker of the top-selling post-workout recovery brand Xtend. But it was a year later when Nutrabolt made the single-most important decision in the company history to-date by launching carbonated C4 Energy drinks, which as I just mentioned essentially forced that hero SKU of Cellucor to be spun off into its own platform brand. Additionally, Nutrabolt acquired a significant minority stake in Bloom Nutrition last January…having the strategic foresight to allocate a portion of that KDP capital beyond simply fueling the energy drinks segment growth. And by all accounts a year later that strategic investment decision has paid off mightily…especially after Nutrabolt helped Bloom successfully launch its own energy drink about six months ago. And as I predicted…with KDP being impressed by the standout launch Bloom energy drinks had at Target last summer, it decided in October to sign a national sales and distribution deal with the female-forward positioned brand that began officially this month. But while Bloom might've been the first significant minority (but strategic) investment…I don't see it being the last. And that's because since that Nutrabolt and KDP deal content…I've been forthcoming on my belief that the executive leadership team is strategically focused on building a health and wellness focused version of Unilever. But while some portfolio expansion might come from internal brand (and product) development, I believe most will happen from accretive deal making that extends Nutrabolt into more key consumer-driven wellness platforms. So, my latest first principles thinking content will start by stating assumptions of the Nutrabolt investment criteria...but then explain which brands I believe could be potential fits for Nutrabolt within the attractive consumer-driven wellness platforms of healthy longevity need states like brain/cognitive health and gut health, but also protein and hydration. Potential Targets mention include: LMNT, Seed Health, Timeline Longevity, Thorne Healthtech, Neutonic, and Legendary Foods FOLLOW ME ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LINKEDIN⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YOUTUBE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TWITTER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠INSTAGRAM⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FACEBOOK⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

At the beginning of the year, Dave and Brad made a series of predictions and set some personal goals for the year. The year is over, and it's time to see how they fared.Predictions for 2024BRAD: Twitter will crash in 2023 2024DAVE: Social media will remain distributed over five or six platformsBRAD: Web users will begin to pivot away from social mediaDAVE: Patreon will move closer to an IPOBRAD: Kickstarter will remain #1 by continuing to avoid mentioning blockchainDAVE: SDCC will return to normal after an abnormal '23... and profits will plummet for creatorsThings we DIDN'T see coming!AI snuck up on us in 2024 — No one predicted that!Bluesky snuck up on us, too!Goals for 2024DAVE: Launch "Pickles" Kickstarter in Jan/Feb, launch "Drive 4" Kickstarter in summerBRAD: In Q1, Kickstart an Evil Inc book paired with an After Dark edition. Kickstart another book — Webcomics Handbook, Evil Inc After Dark or collection of single-panel comics — in Q2/Q3DAVE: Prepare for a 5-15% sales drop at Comic-Con InternationalBRAD: Personal appearances, including SDCC and NCSDAVE: ComicLab Across AmericaBRAD: Use NON-social-media alternatives to drive Patreon.DAVE: Revisit KIndle Direct PublishingBRAD: Start prepping website for a post-Patreon futureDAVE: Build the ComicLab Patreon to 500 members   You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon$2 — Early access to episodes$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.