Podcasts about Kindle Direct Publishing

Episode 675 - David Niemitz - Writer and Teacher - Guild Mage,  a serial fantasy novelWriter and teacher David Niemitz joins the show from Connecticut to talk about his dual life in the classroom and on the page, and how both worlds feed each other. He shares how teaching “film as literature” to high school seniors, using stories like Star Wars, The Matrix, Moana and The Princess Bride to explore the Hero's Journey, keeps him immersed in narrative structure, character arcs, and mythic storytelling. That daily engagement with story craft feeds directly into his own writing.David explains the practical realities of publishing, contrasting the limited data and delayed royalty statements that come with working through traditional and small publishers with the detailed dashboards and page-read metrics available to indie authors on Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing and Kindle Unlimited. He talks frankly about the trade-offs: more support and distribution versus more control and information, and how audio rights and sales data can be even more opaque when handled by audio publishers.The conversation then dives into his path to becoming an author. A lifelong reader raised in a house full of science fiction and fantasy, David rediscovered his passion for writing when he pursued a creative writing master's degree while teaching full time and parenting a toddler. That intense season led to his first self-published science fiction novel, set on Europa and grounded in real-world technology and hard science principles. From there, he evolved his craft, ultimately launching Guild Mage, a serial fantasy novel that became his flagship series.Guild Mage began as serial fiction following Liv, the daughter of a castle cook, who slowly discovers her otherworldly heritage and magical powers over many years. David wanted to explore what it means to age more slowly than those you love, watching human friends grow up, marry, and die while you remain “behind.” He layers in his own experience raising an autistic son, using Liv's slower social-emotional development and sense of being left out as an emotional core, then gradually raising the stakes as she moves from bullied child to powerful adult in a complex fantasy world.Community is at the heart of his process. Early chapters of Guild Mage release first on Patreon, where a devoted Discord community offers feedback, catches continuity errors, and even helps shape cover art concepts that his publisher then passes to illustrator Ben Moran. David describes this as “open development” for fiction, heavily influenced by decades of tabletop roleplaying games where he learned to watch what players love, adjust pacing, and keep tension high so no one gets bored.He also unpacks his hybrid “pantser with prep” approach to plotting using worldbuilding notes, bullet lists, and physical note cards for complex multi-POV battles, while still leaving room for discovery and reader-driven emphasis. https://www.facebook.com/p/David-Niemitz-Author-61558007085046/Support the show___https://livingthenextchapter.com/podcast produced by: https://truemediasolutions.ca/Coffee Refills are always appreciated, refill Dave's cup here, and thanks!https://buymeacoffee.com/truemediaca

Self-publishing expert Rodney Miles reveals proven strategies for entrepreneurs ready to publish their first book without traditional gatekeepers. After helping create 300+ books over 14 years, Rodney shares insider knowledge on Amazon KDP, realistic publishing costs, and critical launch mistakes that kill book success before it starts. Busy entrepreneurs can complete professional business books in weeks instead of years using strategic interview methods and content repurposing. Rodney breaks down the complete self-publishing process: choosing between ghostwriters and collaboration models, navigating ISBN requirements, copyright registration, and Library of Congress cataloging. You'll understand why your email list matters more than social media followers, how to generate authentic Amazon reviews without violating terms of service, and the psychology behind book covers that convert browsers into buyers. This episode covers essential publishing infrastructure including Kindle Direct Publishing, IngramSpark for wide distribution, and audiobook production economics. Perfect for entrepreneurs, coaches, and consultants who recognize that business books open doors to speaking engagements, premium client acquisition, and industry authority. Rodney addresses beta reader strategies, advance review coordination, forward selection for credibility, and modern book launch strategies that work in the digital age.

In this week's episode, we share five tips for effectively using Amazon Ads for indie authors. This coupon code will get you 25% off the ebooks in the Sevenfold Sword series at my Payhip store: SEVENFOLD25 The coupon code is valid through January 19, 2026. So if you need a new ebook this winter, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 285 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is January the 9th, 2025 and today we are discussing five tips for Amazon ads for authors. We will also have Coupon of the Week and a progress update on my current writing and publishing projects. So let's start off with Coupon of the Week. First up is Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 25% off the ebooks in the Sevenfold Sword series at my Payhip store. That coupon code is SEVENFOLD25. And as always, the coupon code and the links to my Payhip store will be available in the show notes for this episode. This coupon code will be valid through January the 19th, 2026. So if you need a new ebook for this winter, we've got you covered. And now for an update on my current writing and publishing and audiobook projects. As of this recording, I am about 68,000 words into Blade of Storms, which will be the third book in my Blades of Ruin epic fantasy series. I think the book will be about 100,000 words, give or take, so that means I'm 68% of the way through. And I'm really hoping I can finish the rough draft by the end of the week of the 12th, if all goes well. So hopefully finishing up the rough draft by the 16th or the 17th, if all goes well, but we'll see if I can get there or not. I am also 9,000 words into Cloak of Summoning, which will be the 14th book in the Cloak Mage series. Hopefully that will come out a month or so after Blade of Storms. I'm hoping Blade of Storms will come out in January, but it might be tight. And then Cloak of Summoning will come out the month after that. In audiobook news, Brad Wills is working on recording Blade of Shadows, the previous book in that series and Hollis McCarthy will start recording Cloak of Titans, the 11th book in the Cloak Mage series, at the end of this month. And a few people asked if Wizard-Assassin was going to have an audiobook. It will. Leanne Woodward will record it in March, if all goes well. So that is where I'm at with my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects. 00:02:12 Main Topic of the Week: 5 Tips for Amazon Ads for Indie Writers And now let's move on to our main topic of the week, five tips for Amazon ads for indie writers. And let's not beat around the bush here. Amazon ads for writers can be extremely difficult to figure out, especially when you're just starting out. The advice you'll find online can be contradictory or confusing, and it doesn't help that books tend to act very strangely in terms of advertising compared to other products. A while back, I was chatting on Facebook with someone else who does Amazon ads, and he mainly does cosmetics reselling, and he was shocked by how much a click for an ebook would cost compared to a click for say like a six pack of shampoo or whatever. And that's just the nature of the market category that ebooks are in. Because of that, the advice you'll find online can be contradictory or confusing. Some Amazon ad experts insist that you devote at least an hour or even two a day to managing your ad results and then have intricate formula-filled spreadsheets for doing so, while others advise you to set them and forget them. Advice about the bids and spending vary wildly. It can be very easy to get overwhelmed or overspend starting out, but that doesn't have to be the case. I will say that compared to Facebook ads or BookBub ads, it is a lot harder to accidentally lose a lot of money on Amazon ads because regardless of how you configure your Facebook ads or your BookBub ads, Facebook in particular will cheerfully spend your ad budget and give you nothing in return if you haven't configured or targeted your ad correctly. By contrast, an Amazon ad that doesn't work tends not to display and therefore doesn't spend any of your money. So when I'm talking ad platforms for beginners, I tend to recommend that beginners start out more on Amazon ads just because it's much harder to lose money, but it's not impossible, which is something to keep in mind as we get into that. I'm not going to get into the individual specifics of how to set up Amazon ads today, since there's many other people out there who provide that information and probably do a better job than I would. That said, I'm going to just focus on broad principles based on things I've learned instead of providing a specific step-by-step guide for the topic. So without further ado, here are five lessons I've learned about Amazon ads for writers in the last eight or nine years that I've been learning them. #1: Do your research before you start. It can be tempting to dive in right away, but before you spend a single cent on Amazon ads, you should take the time to learn how the bidding process works and how keyword and category ads work. You should also familiarize yourself with other books and trends in your categories. Your book and its ad copy should feel like it belongs with the others in your category and genre. For example, having a neon pink, high heel boot, and flowers [on a cover] in the political thriller category doesn't match the colors since most political thriller books tend to have a solitary dark figure walking in the opposite direction of the camera and many, if not most of the books in the genre have that kind of cover design. Optimizing your book cover for the category before you start doing ads can make a huge difference in the ad results you see. And this is true on many levels as well since when indie authors ask, "Why isn't my book selling?", the number one thing to fix in like 90% of the cases is a bad cover that looks like it was done in Canva or was slapped out of an AI like Copilot or ChatGPT or something that is immediately off-putting to the reader because it's not attractive. You should also make a set budget before you start out and make sure that your daily budgets for your campaigns reflects that budget instead of using whatever daily budget or bids that Amazon suggests for your ad campaigns. Amazon likes to suggest pretty high suggested bids in daily spending limits, which isn't a great use of money if you're just starting to learn how the ads work. And as always, in business it is very, very, very good advice and a very good idea not to spend money that you don't actually have. #2: Targeting is everything. We've all seen baffling book results when browsing on Amazon. For example, once when I was searching for space opera books, a book on visiting Wisconsin Dells as a tourist showed up as a sponsored result in my search, which is insane because I was searching for space opera books. Sometimes an author will choose to advertise in too many categories or choose ad keywords that don't represent their book well. That's the most likely reason why you see things like that Wisconsin Dells book in search results that don't match it. I've told this story before on the podcast, but our transcriptionist once was taking a class on Amazon ads and heard someone say that they wanted to advertise their gritty memoir in every possible category because everyone should read their book. And I think that is a small-scale example of hubris because someone shopping for children's picture books or Spanish language technical manuals is very unlikely to buy that book. Someone looking for a romance novel might be actively annoyed if they start reading that gritty memoir expecting a happily ever after love story and might leave a negative review since they didn't get the book content that they expected. One of the foundational principles of book marketing is that your book is not in fact for everyone. Your book is for a subset of the reading population. The key to successful advertising is to find a way to advertise that book to the subset of the reading population that would actually be interested in reading your book. There's a reason that when you are publishing your book through Kindle Direct Publishing, Amazon wants you to pick three categories for your book and that is in part because they know books do their best when they're paired with other books in the specific topic or genre. It's not a bad thing to focus your desired audience for a book when marketing it. In fact, ad targeting will save you time and money and help people to find your book. Your goal isn't to find every possible reader for your book. It's to find the readers who are most likely to be interested in your book in the subset of the reading population that I was talking about earlier. The more focused that your category targeting is, the better this process will be. For example, picking romance as a category is so broad and so competitive that you might not get any traction at all on a small bid. Choosing a more targeted category like "Amish romance" or "clean and wholesome romance with a happily ever after ending" that is more targeted is better both for helping readers to find your work and for getting good results on your ads. #3: Start small. My best advice is to ignore Amazon's suggested bid amounts and start out with a small per click bid and daily budget. It may take a few weeks to see results using that method, but it's best to start small and gain some understanding of Amazon ads before you spend lots of money that you may not be able to earn back. Some smaller categories like children's books and technical manuals actually do pretty well with very small bids. Aggressive bids make more sense when you have the data to know that they're going to work well and reach the exact audience that you want to see them. As a new author, it's not your best bet to chase the biggest authors in your category as keyword targets. Bids for those authors will be extremely high and competitive. It's most likely better to find comparable authors in your categories with less expensive bids starting out. Amazon will suggest you advertise in a wide variety of countries (in fact, every country in which they currently offer the Amazon ads platform), but it's probably wisest to start out with just the US before expanding to other countries. Starting with Amazon's largest market will provide you with a lot of ad result data that you can use to refine your ads before you try them in other countries. If you're based outside the US, it may make more sense to start out with the country you're most familiar with. For example, if you're a UK author or a German author, you might have better luck starting advertising your books in Amazon Germany or Amazon UK than in Amazon US. #4: Be patient. And I have to admit this is the hardest one, whether you are just starting out or like me, if you've been self-publishing for almost 15 years because you want to see results now, now, now, but that's often not the case and the best results usually come with applied effort over a span of time. If you're just starting out and your bids are small, it will most likely take at least a few weeks to see a significant amount of impressions on your ads. Don't adjust for anything for at least a couple of weeks unless an ad is spending more than you'd like or is getting a lot of poorly targeted searches to it, which can frequently happen with autotarget ads. #5: Check your Amazon ads dashboard regularly. It's important to review your ad spending regularly and to keep an eye on it, not to maybe obsessively deep dive into it but to keep an eye on it. Sometimes an ad can go a bit haywire and start spending more than you want, seemingly at random. It's good to go into ads that are doing this and see if they need some negative targeting added to them or something needs to be adjusted. The reverse of that is to not check the dashboard obsessively. It can be tempting to do that, but it's what I call a writing adjacent activity that can take too much time away from your actual work of writing. For myself, what I do to check Amazon ads is I just glance at the dashboard at least once a day to make sure that the spending isn't out of control or there isn't something big and obvious that I need to fix. And then at the midpoint of the month and the end of the month, I do take about an hour to do a deep dive into each of the campaign groups I have running to make sure that they are turning a profit, which is the main point after all, and to make sure that nothing is going wrong. And I've been doing that schedule for a couple of years now and that works pretty well for me. Check the dashboard once a day and then a deep dive twice a month to make sure that nothing is going berserk or that something is broken that I need to fix. Now, your ad results can also teach you how people are searching for your books and what other topics and authors are searching for, and this can be a great source for creating keyword ads. I found in the last few years that keyword ads really work a lot better with nonfiction books. And if you're going to use them for fiction books, you need, at least in my experience, at least a very focused keyword ad list with like less than 10 keywords. But as always with anything in Amazon ads, your mileage may vary. So those are my five broad lessons for creating Amazon ads for your book. It can be a frustrating process and there is a bit of a learning curve, but it can also teach you a lot about your potential readers and how they are trying to find your books or what appeals to them about your books specifically. Like many things in life, there are many ways to do it and succeed, but these are a few of the things I've noticed make a difference when working with Amazon ads and I hope you will find them helpful. So that's 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 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 we'll see you all next week.

Kindle Direct Publishing announced two major updates that authors need to understand. Changes to digital rights management are raising questions, while a new ebook pre-order feature could reward authors who are prepared. We also cover AI entering the reading experience, audiobook discovery tied to BookTok, platform updates, and opportunities authors should watch heading into 2026. YouTube Channel Memberships – https://DaleLinks.com/Memberships KDP: New eBook Download Options for Readers Coming in 2026 - https://www.kdpcommunity.com/s/article/New-eBook-Download-Options-for-Readers-Coming-in-2026?language=en_US TechCrunch: Amazon changes how copyright protection is applied to Kindle Direct's self-published e-books - https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/10/amazon-changes-how-copyright-protection-is-applied-to-kindle-directs-self-published-ebooks/ KDP: eBook pre-orders will soon show a reading sample on Amazon – Update - https://www.kdpcommunity.com/s/article/eBook-pre-orders-will-soon-show-a-reading-sample-on-Amazon-Update DigitalTrends: Google Play Books may soon let you ask Gemini questions while you read - https://www.digitaltrends.com/phones/google-play-books-may-soon-let-you-ask-gemini-questions-while-you-read/ Amazon's New Kindle Feature Raises Concerns | Self-Publishing News (Dec. 16, 2025) - https://youtu.be/ozboaJlwhiw Bookvault – https://bookvault.app – Use coupon code BVDALE to waive three upload fees PublishDrive – Save 25% off all annual distribution plans - https://publishdrive.com/save-25-on-publishdrive-annual-plans-forever?fpr=dale10 (affiliate link) – Offer ends December 31, 2025 Audible and TikTok Bring Best of #BookTok Sensations Direct to Listeners - https://www.audible.com/about/newsroom/audible-and-tiktok-bring-best-of-booktok-sensations-direct-to-listeners Get Authentic Book Reviews – https://GetAuthenticBookReviews.com Spoken – https://Spoken.press Payhip: Ecommerce Payment Gateways for Digital Products - https://payhip.com/payment-gateways?fp_ref=lym89 (affiliate link) Authorbase – https://DaleLInks.com/Authorbase (affiliate link) Written Word Media: Author Branding for Self-Published Authors: How to Build a Brand Readers Love (Without Feeling Icky About It) - https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/author-branding-for-self-published-authors Outstanding Creator Awards: 2025 Clash of Champions Contest (results) – https://www.outstandingcreator.com/winners--2025-clash-of-champions.html Reader Views Awards: "Email Marketing for Authors" by Dale L. Roberts - https://readerviews.com/reviews/email-marketing-for-authors-roberts/ Self-Publishing with Dale (book series) – https://DaleLinks.com/SelfPubWithDale  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. 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 "Beyond FBA: Unlocking Amazon's Fulfillment for Retailers", Joe Lynch and Wainwright Yu, the General Manager and Director for Amazon's externalized fulfillment services, including Buy with Prime and Multichannel Fulfillment, discuss how retailers can scale their brands by leveraging Amazon's global logistics and the Prime badge to drive multi-channel growth. About Wainwright Yu Wainwright Yu is a technology executive and leadership coach who currently serves as the General Manager and Director for Amazon's externalized fulfillment services, including Buy with Prime and Multichannel Fulfillment. Over a distinguished thirteen-year tenure at Amazon, he has launched transformative products for Kindle and Amazon Logistics while training emerging leaders through executive development programs. As a scholar-practitioner and father to four multi-exceptional children, he brings a unique, personal perspective to cognitive diversity in the workplace. Through his diverse work in global business operations and private coaching, Wainwright remains dedicated to his mission of establishing mindful, compassionate leadership as the standard for the modern professional world. About Amazon Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth's Best Employer, and Earth's Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews. Key Takeaways: Beyond FBA: Unlocking Amazon's Fulfillment for Retailers In "Beyond FBA: Unlocking Amazon's Fulfillment for Retailers", Joe Lynch and Wainwright Yu, the General Manager and Director for Amazon's externalized fulfillment services, including Buy with Prime and Multichannel Fulfillment, discuss how retailers can scale their brands by leveraging Amazon's global logistics and the Prime badge to drive multi-channel growth. Leveling the Playing Field with MCF: Wainwright explains how Multi-Channel Fulfillment allows any retailer—whether they sell on Amazon or not—to tap into Amazon's global network of 200+ fulfillment centers. This turns Amazon into a high-performance 3PL that handles picking, packing, and shipping for orders from your own website, Shopify, or even social media stores. The "Halo Effect" of Buy with Prime: A major focus is how Buy with Prime allows D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) sites to offer the familiar Prime logo and checkout experience. By providing the same fast, free delivery promise shoppers trust on Amazon, retailers have seen an average 25% lift in conversion rates on their independent sites. Unified Inventory Management: Wainwright discusses the strategic advantage of a single pool of inventory. Instead of splitting stock between various warehouses, retailers can keep all their products in Amazon's centers to fulfill both Amazon.com orders (via FBA) and off-Amazon orders (via MCF), drastically reducing out-of-stock risks. Frictionless Checkout via Amazon Pay: With Buy with Prime, the checkout process is streamlined using the customer's existing Amazon account details. This reduces "cart abandonment" because shoppers don't have to enter credit card or shipping info, making the purchase as simple as a few clicks. Unbranded Packaging Options: A common concern for retailers is brand identity. Wainwright highlights that MCF orders can be shipped in unbranded, "blank box" packaging, allowing the retailer's brand to remain front and center rather than being overshadowed by Amazon's smile logo. Trust-Building through Reviews: Through Buy with Prime, retailers can now display their Amazon.com star ratings and reviews directly on their own websites. This social proof helps "new-to-brand" shoppers feel confident enough to buy from a site they may be visiting for the first time. Predictable, All-In Pricing: Wainwright clarifies that both services offer a simple, transparent fee structure that includes storage, picking, packing, and shipping. For many brands, this eliminates the hidden costs of managing private warehouses and allows for more accurate margin forecasting. Learn More About Beyond FBA: Unlocking Amazon's Fulfillment for Retailers Wainwright Yu | Linkedin Amazon | Linkedin Relentless.com Amazon MCF Amazon MCF Case Study: JLab Recent News The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

Self-published authors Anne Ditmeyer and Martin Lake share what it really takes to go indie, from choosing platforms and budgeting for editing, design, and ISBNs to redefining success, avoiding scams, and playing the long game of finding readers and building a sustainable writing life.  You'll learn:Why Anne and Martin chose self-publishing over traditional routes and how they framed readers as their gatekeepers.How both authors define success beyond bestseller lists, from “book as business card” to improving the craft across 25 books.The real timelines of an indie career, including slow early sales, backlist effects, and why self-publishing is a marathon, not a sprint.What a realistic budget looks like for editing, design, typesetting, audiobooks, and print on demand, plus where they chose to DIY or outsource.How they use platforms such as Kindle Direct Publishing, Lulu, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, and Shopify, and why most sales still come through Amazon.Practical approaches to marketing that do not require a huge following, including series, mailing lists, events, workshops, and using your existing communities.The role of ISBNs, imprints, metadata, and print on demand for getting into libraries and bookstores, and why in-store placement is harder than it looks.Red flags to watch for with third-party “publishing services” and why due diligence can save you thousands in fees and frustration.   Resources and Links:

Thanks for watching and listening!Gordon introduces the You're Entitled to Your Opinion podcast, part of the Capitalize Your Best Podcast Network, which features different shows on Mondays through Fridays. He mentions that the podcast is casual and covers topics like genre reviews, sci-fi, and horrorGordon discussed self-publishing options, particularly through Kindle Direct Publishing, and shared his experience with publishing both fiction and business books. He explained the pricing strategy for author copies and autographed books, noting that shorter works in specific genres like horror and sci-fi can be more profitable. Gordon emphasized the importance of self-promotion and mentioned that his recent release "Glue" has been more successful than his business fable, though both are part of his ongoing publishing efforts.

Amazon continue d'intégrer l'intelligence artificielle dans l'ensemble de ses services. Après le shopping, après Amazon Music, c'est désormais au tour des liseuses Kindle d'entrer dans cette nouvelle ère. Le géant du e-commerce vient de dévoiler Kindle Translate, un service de traduction automatique pensé pour aider les auteurs indépendants à toucher un public international — sans supporter les coûts souvent prohibitifs d'une traduction professionnelle.Le programme, encore en phase bêta, n'est accessible qu'à une partie des auteurs utilisant Kindle Direct Publishing, la plateforme d'autoédition d'Amazon. Pour l'instant, seules trois combinaisons linguistiques sont disponibles : anglais, espagnol et allemand. Un champ d'action limité, mais qui pourrait rapidement s'élargir. Amazon justifie ce lancement par un constat : moins de 5 % des livres disponibles sur sa boutique américaine existent dans plus d'une langue. L'entreprise promet donc de combler cette lacune grâce à l'automatisation.Chaque manuscrit traduit via Kindle Translate passera par une évaluation automatique de la qualité avant publication. De plus, le lecteur sera informé par un étiquetage dédié que l'ouvrage provient d'une traduction générée par IA. L'auteur aura de son côté la possibilité de prévisualiser, ligne par ligne, le résultat final. Mais l'initiative soulève déjà plusieurs interrogations. Car la traduction littéraire ne se résume pas à transposer des mots : c'est un véritable travail d'interprétation culturelle, d'humour, de rythme et de sous-texte. Les risques d'erreurs subtiles, de nuances perdues ou de contresens demeurent élevés, même avec les meilleurs systèmes actuels. S'ajoute une autre inquiétude : l'impact sur les traducteurs professionnels. Depuis l'explosion des IA génératives il y a trois ans, la profession se trouve déjà fragilisée. Le lancement de Kindle Translate pourrait accentuer cette pression en habituant éditeurs et auteurs à des traductions rapides, bon marché… mais parfois très éloignées de l'exigence littéraire d'un travail humain. Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

The U.S. reportedly won't allow Nvidia to sell its B30A chip to China, Tesla shareholders approve a $1 trillion compensation package for Elon Musk, and Amazon introduces an AI-powered translation service for Kindle Direct Publishing authors. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you,Continue reading "Ford Contemplates Discontinuing Its F-150 Lightning Electric Pickup Truck – DTH"

KDP just expanded its print distribution to new global markets, giving authors more reach than ever before. Meanwhile, Amazon Ads opened up Sponsored Brands access for every author, even if you only have one book. There's also plenty happening around the publishing world, from major events to author opportunities you won't want to miss. Tune in for the latest industry updates, insights, and surprises in this week's Self-Publishing News. The Final 3: Your Publishing Playbook, Rewritten (Kickstarter) - https://DaleLinks.com/Kickstarter MK Williams - https://1mkwilliams.com/ KDP Forum: Distribute your print books in the Republic of Ireland and Belgium marketplaces - https://www.kdpcommunity.com/s/article/Distribute-your-print-books-in-the-Republic-of-Ireland-and-Belgium-marketplaces?language=en_US&forum=KDP%20Forum Book Bounty:

Andrew Jedlicka is the Founder of The Andrew Frank Group, LLC, in which he has been a booking agent and marketing business manager for celebrities and influencers since 2019. Before the Andrew Frank Group, Andrew worked on Wall Street in the financial services sector for companies like Citigroup. Andrew is on an advisory committee at Mercy University in New York City, and is an adjunct professor at New York University for graduate-level business courses. Andrew has an MBA in International Business and a BBA in Business Management from Hofstra University-Frank G. Zarb School of Business. James McCusker is an award-winning author from the Atlantic City area of New Jersey. His first book, Atlantic City Nights, an epic crime drama, was published in 2013 by Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing. Since then, he has published 3 other novels (Left in the Sand, Black McCool and The Edge) in addition to 5 children's stories in a 10-year span. His latest work, The Edge, a mystery thriller, won the PenCraft Authors award in 2023 in the Fiction-Drama category. James is a 2009 graduate of Delaware Valley University. In addition to being a full-time writer, James is a top-performing and award-winning sales executive in the IT staffing industry, working with mid-market and enterprise-level companies in the Philadelphia and New York City metro areas.

In the much-delayed final episode of our series on mindset for writers, we take a look at when writers should change course, and talk about the importance of mental flexibility. This coupon code will get you 25% off the ebooks in the Frostborn series at my Payhip store: AUGUSTFROST The coupon code is valid through September 8, 2025. So if you need a new ebook this summer, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 265 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is August 22nd, 2025, and today we are considering when a writer should change course. This is a new episode. It's the third and final one in the mindset series that I had hoped to finish in June, but it was a very busy summer, and so I ran quite a few reruns of old episodes over the summer, but today I have time to record a full length episode, so we're going to do that and wrap up this series on mindset that we've been doing this summer. We will also do Coupon of the Week and an update on my current writing and audiobook projects. First up is Coupon of the Week and this week's coupon will get you 25% off ebooks in the Frostborn series at my Payhip store, and that code is AUGUSTFROST. As always, the coupon code and the store links will be available in the show notes for this episode, and this coupon code will be valid through September 8th, 2025. So if you need a new ebook to read as we wrap up summer and head into fall, we have got you covered. Now let's do an update on my current writing projects. I'm pleased to report to that Ghost in the Siege, the sixth and final book of the Ghost Armor series, is out. You can get it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play, Smashwords, and my Payhip store. And with that, my Super Summer of Finishing Things is finally complete because I have finished the Shield War series, the Stealth and Spells trilogy, and now the Ghost Armor series. So now that those three series are done, what is next? Right now my main project is Blade of Flames, the first book in a new epic fantasy series that will be set in the Kingdom of Owyllain from my Sevenfold Sword series and I am 29,000 words into that. My secondary project right now is Cloak of Worlds, the 13th book in the Cloak Mage series, and I am 1,000 words into that. So hopefully we will have Blade of Flames come out towards the end of September and Cloak of Worlds come out towards the end of October, if all goes well. So my plan now that I have only three unfinished series is that the Blades of Ruin series (of which Blade Flames is the first one) will be my flagship series, and I'll do one of those every other month and then the month in between I will alternate between writing a Cloak Mage book and a Half-Elven Thief book. I will continue that schedule until one of those series is completed and then I will start a new one because what I learned through 2024 and the first two thirds here of 2025 is that having five unfinished series at the same time is too many. It's hard to keep up in my head and it makes for a really long wait for the readers between the individual entries in the series. So I'm going to stick to just three from now on and as I said, I'll have a flagship series and then two that I will alternate back and forth between in the months between the releases for the flagship series. So that is probably what I'll be doing for the rest of 2025 and hopefully most of 2026, if all goes well. In audiobook news, recording is underway for Shield of Power, which will be excellently narrated by Brad Wills. I've been listening to some chapters from that. Work has just started by Hollis McCarthy on recording Ghost in the Siege, so that will hopefully be an audiobook before too much longer. So that's where I'm at with my current writing and publishing and audiobook projects. 00:03:29 Main Topic: Mindset Series: Changing Course And now to our main topic, the final episode in our mindset series and we talk about changing course. In previous episodes on this topic, I've talked about some of the practical ways to help with distractions, procrastinating, and managing time wasters. In this episode, I'm going to focus on things that derail writers from a mindset perspective. Today we're going to wrap up this series by talking about mental flexibility, knowing when to change course, and how to make those types of decisions without spiraling out. First, we'll discuss a few reasons why mental flexibility is an important attribute to possess and then provide you with five examples of times it has been important for me in my writing career. First, why is having mental flexibility and the ability to change course important? With how fast things change in publishing, you have to be willing to change strategies or discard a strategy that's not working for you. An example is that many people who are familiar with Amazon ads swear by using Amazon keyword ads. After much experimentation, I concluded they weren't very helpful for fiction. The reason for that is I found that for most books that are sold off Amazon, people will sit down and type, for example, “Brandon Sanderson latest book” or “J.D. Robb latest book” or “Stephen King latest book” and so on. If you bid high enough, you can get top of search for those where if you pay $2 a click or $2 for the bid and someone types in “Stephen King latest book”, you can get your book to appear at the top of the page with the ad. However, in practice, what actually happens is the person who sat down to look for “Stephen King latest book” isn't looking for your book, he's looking for Stephen King's latest book. So he or she will simply scroll past the ad result with your book and then click on Stephen King's book. The only way I found that keyword advertising works for fiction is if you write towards very specific tropes and are willing to pay a lot of money for those clicks. For example, you write a romance that's a “slow burn, no spice, enemies to lovers romance”, and there are people who search for exactly those tropes, and if you use keyword ads to bid for that, you could get it, but it's very expensive and it's very difficult to turn a profit. Because of my experiments with this, I saw that although many people say keyword ads are essential, I didn't cling to that piece of advice and switched my Amazon ad focus to having a few more category ads and Audible ads for each title, and that has been pretty nearly profitable most of the time, certainly more profitable than just relying on keyword ads would be. I should note the one exception for that would be that keywords ads do work very well for nonfiction where, for example, my Linux Command Line book, I can pretty easily run ads to it for search terms like “Linux Command Line” or “Linux Command Prompt.” And because people are looking for a nonfiction book on that topic without looking for a specific author, that can work. In keyword ads, I found that for fiction, people are looking for a specific author and want that specific author, whereas for nonfiction, they're looking for the topic and don't care so much about the author, so long as the book has good reviews and looks like the author knows what he or she is talking about. Another reason to be mentally flexible is that something new might actually make things easier for you. I used to work in IT support, and so I fairly often encountered someone who stubbornly clings to the way they learn something. I knew numerous people who memorized a specific way to do a task on their computer and then just stuck to that and avoided doing anything easier, such as, for example, not learning to use keyboard shortcuts. And as you know, if you do a lot of office work, learning keyboard shortcuts like Control + C for copy, Control + V for paste, or Control + Z to undo can save you a whole lot of time over compared to very laboriously clicking through the menus with your mouse. People like that very frequently resist a learning curve in favor of a slower approach because it's working for them, but then they lose out on a faster and easier way to do something. Change is not always good, but sometimes change can be good. And the thing about indie publishing is that change is constant. In a field where change is constant like indie publishing, you can't cling to something that first worked when you started out. Trying new software, learning new skills, and keeping up with changes in ebook platforms is something self-published writers must do. Another reason to retain mental flexibility is you might be missing out on a source of revenue. If you're not willing to change sales strategies when the market changes, you might be missing out on potential readers. For example, as people are tightening their budgets in these times of economic uncertainty, they might be less likely to buy individual books and focus their book spending on a subscription like Kindle Unlimited or Kobo Plus. If you don't have content on those platforms for readers, you're missing out on readers who have shifted their spending. For myself, I only have some of my books on Kindle Unlimited because of the exclusivity requirement, but everything I have on Kobo should be available through Kobo Plus, and typically on any given month on Kobo, at least 60% of my revenue tends to come from Kobo Plus instead of Kobo direct book sales. So that was a place where it was necessary to have the mental flexibility to make a pivot. Another good reason to be mentally flexible is that you might be missing out on something important that the data is showing you. One of the big advantages of being self-published is having access to complex and real-time data instead of having to wait for biannual royalty statements that don't provide information. There are some criticisms that can be leveled at Amazon for how much data they show authors. However, this is light years ahead of the kind of sales data that comes out of traditional publishing for writers where royalty statements were often quite arcane and difficult to understand by design, so the publishers could get away with paying the authors as little as possible. And because you have access to this data, you have basis for solid information, solid decision-making. For example, if one of my series is starting very strong in the UK in its first week of release, I can shift some of my ad spending to UK specific ads. Looking at sales and ad data gives you an opportunity to respond and change your approach. And sales data, even more than reviews, tells you if a book, series, or genre is working for you or if it's time to try something new. It's important not to fall prey to what's called the sunk cost fallacy, where you throw even more time and money on something that isn't profitable in hope of recouping the money that you've already spent. Sometimes it's wise to know when to cut your losses and run. It's probably a better use of your time to focus on the next book or series. Data can tell you which book or series that readers are most excited to see from you. Now that we've talked about the various good reasons that mental flexibility is important, I thought it'd be helpful to show you five times that I've had to use mental flexibility and change course over the course of my career as a writer. #1: Self-publishing. For all that I've been a proponent of self-publishing for the last 14 years, that wasn't always the case. I started out with the goal in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s of being traditionally published. Demonsouled actually was traditionally published along with some short stories. However, for a variety of reasons that I've talked about before, this turned out to be a dead end. Traditional publishing at that time was not interested in fantasy series like mine. I felt like traditional publishing was a dead end, and then I changed my efforts to blogging on computer-based topics. I'm still quite proud of the fact that in 2010, I made a good bit of money from Google Ad Sense off my tech blog, a feat which was difficult then and would probably be impossible now. Then I started to hear about self-publishing through Amazon, which at the time was a very new phenomenon. I started hearing about that in 2009/2010, thereabouts, and I initially wasn't very impressed and I wasn't very impressed with the idea of ebooks altogether. At the time, I had a huge collection of paper books and well, I don't have as many now. I still do have a fair bit of paper books, but at the time, I didn't think that ebooks could be a substitute for traditional paper books. Then at the end of 2010, in fact, the week after Thanksgiving, I bought my first Kindle, a third generation Kindle that was famously called the Kindle Keyboard because they had that little keyboard at the bottom, and I was very impressed with the device. I thought there has got to be a way to make money off this. As I started reading various writers groups, I came across Kindle Direct Publishing, and finally in April of 2011, I decided to give it a go and republished Demonsouled through it, and that's where it all began for me. #2: Learning new skills and adapting. I think one of the biggest parts of why I've been fortunate enough to be able to do this for as long as I have is the willingness to take the time and effort to learn or try something new. I've had to teach myself how to format ebooks in several different programs, how to start first the LLC and then a S Corp, which finally involved realizing I couldn't do it myself and hiring people familiar with the appropriate documentation to do it for me, how to hire narrators and proof audio, how to file 1099s for narrators (that was a whole experience, lemme tell you), how to create a direct sales platform on Payhip, how to create my own book covers in Photoshop, how to make various 3D images myself for those book covers, how to maintain and update my website, how to do Amazon ads, how to do BookBub ads, how to do Facebook ads. So in the past 14 years I've been doing this, I think it's fair to say I've acquired quite a few new skills along the way. Each time I weighed out if not having this skill was holding me back. For example, creating my own covers became an absolute necessity for me after a while because even the most experienced cover designers could not create covers at the pace I published. Well, they could, but it's more accurate to say that the cover designers, the really good cover designers, the ones I wanted to hire, worked so far out in advance that you had to book them nine months to maybe a year in advance. And I eventually came to find that very rigid and constraining to my writing process. A couple of my books have titles that are totally unrelated to what the book is about, just because I had to pick the title like nine months, twelve months out in advance. And while they were very good covers, I did find it a little bit constraining that I had to try and keep the book at least close to what the cover was. If I hadn't changed course and learned how to do it myself, it would've limited how many books I could publish in a year, and likely it would've cost me many thousands a year in lost revenue. Therefore, having the mental flexibility to learn new things is a major skill in self-publishing. And the thing I'm contemplating learning right now is something with video, because short form video seems to be a good way that many authors are connecting with their readers and their audience. It's just that I don't personally use short form video a lot, so I'm wondering if it'd be worth the effort to learn. I think it'd probably be worth the effort to learn, but I haven't decided on how to do that and need to do some more reading, which is another aspect of mental flexibility. #3: Changing pricing strategies. Permafree pricing book for free on ebook platforms was not as common of a strategy when I first started self-publishing in 2011. I mean, people were doing it, but not as many as now. At the time (and to this day, in fact), many people were outraged that thought of giving out an ebook for free and opine that it would devalue their work. The argument was that if you take a year to write a book and then people should at least be willing to pay as much as they would for, for example, a fancy Starbucks coffee. However, this overlooks the reality of economics where that something is only as valuable as people are willing to pay for it. And that in fact is, a good way to get people to pay for your remaining books is if they read the first one for free and then they like it enough that suddenly the remainder of the books in the series will have value for them and hopefully they will buy it. But back in 2011, I decided to give permafree a try because I had series instead of standalones, and it has been one of the most significant ways that people have found my work. If I listened to the sort of old school traditional thinking about pricing ebooks, I would've missed out on this opportunity. #4: Doubling down on audio. At one point, towards the end of, actually towards the middle of 2023, I was considering and had almost decided to give up on producing my own audiobooks due to the significant expense and how much time having to proof them was taking away from my writing. Instead, I thought about ways to make the workload easier. I hired someone to proof the audiobooks for me and then found ways to promote them through deals on platforms like BookBub and Chirp. I started to create more Amazon ads for them and focus on making audiobook anthologies because these are very attractive to people trying to get the most out of their Audible credit each month. Although it's still mainly a tax deduction for me at this point in terms of business value, I would've lost out on a growing revenue source and a big piece of the publishing market if I had given up on audiobooks. #5: And fifth and finally, as I've talked about before, the Stealth and Spells series. This series really challenged me because I had a very specific plan for a multi-book series (I was thinking like seven or eight books originally) and enjoyed writing the first one. However, there were a few problems with it that forced me to take a hard look at the series and change my original plans quite drastically. The series was originally called Sevenfold Sword Online, which confused fans of the original Sevenfold Sword series. I made the choice to change the title to Stealth and Spells Online to make the separation clearer, even though it's a pain to change titles, and that came with some confusion of its own. I also changed the covers to resemble some of the other LitRPG books because it was originally closer in look to some of my epic fantasy covers. These changes did help, but I had to take a cold hard look at the data. Sales and ad data clearly showed that it was time to cut my losses and focus on more profitable series. So I changed my series plans to wrap everything up in the third and final book rather than a multi-book series as I had originally planned and based on reader reception to the third book, I think it went pretty well. Ultimately, you can only plan so much as a writer, and you have to accept that those plans might need to change. One of the best gifts you can give yourself as a writer is the ability to be mentally flexible and not stick with plans, books, or attitudes that aren't working for you. Well, I hope you have enjoyed this mindset series and found it useful to your own situation. So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to the Pul Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes athttps://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.      

Your KDP dashboard just got a quiet update—and if you breeze past it, your ebook might lose out on visibility. In this week's Self-Publishing News, we break down what Amazon added, why it matters, and how it ties into a much bigger conversation around accessibility. Plus, we cover new promo tools, AI changes, and a warning about scammers targeting indie authors. It's a busy week, and you don't want to miss what's shifting under your feet. 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 See Another Book's Keywords in Amazon - https://kindlepreneur.com/how-to-see-another-books-keywords/?affiliate=selfpubwithdale Publisher Rocket - https://DaleLinks.com/Rocket (affiliate link) Reach 45,000+ New Readers with BookDoggy - https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/press-release-written-word-media-partners-with-bookdoggy-to-expand-author-reach/ ALLi News Podcast: Anthropic Lawsuit Advances, Senate Grills Tech on AI Use, Kindle Colorsoft Gets Update - https://selfpublishingadvice.org/podcast-anthropic-lawsuit/ KDP: Accessibility for eBooks - https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GBPE3QVZ2J3HLQ4B?mc_cid=0c2de47626&mc_eid=433332c881 Digital Accessibility: The Right Thing, The Smart Thing, The Required Thing - https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zNsXzo2TTjmK5xD0a6zP1w?_ics=1753722149922&irclickid=~4-dhmkhb736-ahgnlmuAqhia51UV0RHNLEADEuvnld861XUMFAxn&_gl=1*1f0r9qg*_gcl_au*NzMwMjczNTY0LjE3NTIwODY2NjY.*_ga*NjY4OTcyMDQuMTc0NDIzMDkzOA..*_ga_L8TBF28DDX*czE3NTM3MjIwNDAkbzI0JGcxJHQxNzUzNzIyMTQ5JGo2MCRsMCRoMA..&mc_cid=0c2de47626&mc_eid=433332c881#/registration Create personal illustrated storybooks in the Gemini app. - Storiad - https://DaleLinks.com/Storiad (affiliate link) - use code DALE50 to get 50% off Storiad Pro.  Author Nation seeking volunteers - https://form.smartsuite.com/so8pqexh/D9a8mbe9ZM?kuid=64cf94e2-3c33-4be6-81ed-cf16b78d7ff4-1754943998&lid=31108&kref=nrBqRWv4lEXc Author Nation - https://DaleLinks.com/AuthorNation (affiliate link) - I'll be speaking, emceeing, and hosting video interviews. 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

Today I discuss why I decided to publish my book on Amazon through Kindle Direct Publishing. I share how the whole process works and what I've learned so far. I also talk about why I finally decided to do a paperback and e-book, and why I've decided to enroll my novel in Kindle Unlimited.LinksCheck out my novel, Critical Balance.Lex Out Loud is now on Spotify.Check out my Guide to Novel Formatting in Word.Join my Book Club.How to get free ebooks & audiobooks from your library.J.J. Ackernecht Book of the New SunCulture SeriesMurderbot showThe Murderbot DiariesStorygraphSupport the show.Join my Discord server.Call My Voicemail: 951-465-5391

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.  

So you wrote a book, congrats! Skip the waiting game with publishers. You can do it yourself with Kindle Direct Publishing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Welcome back to the final episode of the Creativity Miniseries! In this conversation, Emily Sutherland and I open up our personal creativity toolkits and share the resources and strategies that help us bring our ideas to life. Working on this miniseries with Emily has been an absolute joy. She's not just an incredible creative and coach—she's also become a trusted friend and advisor throughout the development of Wrestling a Walrus, my first children's book. I truly could not imagine doing this without her. Interestingly, we didn't plan on recording another discussion on the creative process, but that's exactly where our behind-the scenes, warm-up conversation led us. So, we left it in. I think you might find some usefulness in this bonus material as we share our thoughts on the value of authenticity, the importance of differentiating yourself, and the surprising relationship between uncertainty and clarity.  A huge thank you to Emily for her wisdom and generosity, and to you for joining us as part of the creative community.  SPECIAL MENTIONS Emily Sutherland's Storytelling for Business (April 4, 2025) and Nurturing Your Creative Self (May 9, 2025) - https://www.emilysutherland.me/events Storytelling Community (Substack) - https://open.substack.com/pub/storytellingcommunity The Secret Lies Within by “Auntie Anne” Beiler and Emily H. Sutherland - http://bit.ly/3FmIxPT Betsy B. Murphy - https://substack.com/@betsybmurphy or http://betsybmurphy.com/ Vanessa Marin, sex therapist on IG @vanessaandxander PROCESS TOOLKIT Write it down when you feel it (and be prepared in the middle of the night). Be ready for the idea. Be discerning about what, when, and who to share your idea with.    When your idea is at a tender stage, who are your tender people? Do you need an editor or a cheerleader? Journaling. Let the creative juices flow without requiring an outcome. The more you write, the more ideas will come. Immerse yourself  and trust the process.  Try on new ideas to see if they go anywhere. “I make what I like, and they eat it how they want to eat it.” - Erykah Badu to Donald Glover ELECTRONIC TOOLS Manuscript Software - Scrivener - affiliate link: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview?fpr=emilysuth Google Docs, YouTube, and Apps (e.g., voice memo, talk-to-text, notes) IngramSpark - https://www.ingramspark.com/  Kindle Direct Publishing - https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B008241EAQ Storytelling Workshops - https://www.emilysutherland.me/events PHYSICAL TOOLS  Fine Tip Sharpie Pen or The Pilot G2 (in multiple colors!) Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert - https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/books/big-magic/ Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott - https://writingforyourlife.com/bird-by-bird-some-instructions-on-writing-and-life/ The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron - https://juliacameronlive.com/books-by-julia/ Rifle Paper Company little notebooks (great for lefties!) - https://riflepaperco.com/ The Treasured Journal - https://danielleireland.com/journal DANIELLE IRELAND, LCSW Thank you for your support and engagement as part of the Don't Cut Your Own Bangs community. Feel free to reach out with questions, comments, or anything you'd like to share. You can connect with me at any of the links below. Website - https://danielleireland.com/ The Treasured Journal - https://danielleireland.com/journal Substack - https://danielleireland.substack.com/ Blog - https://danielleireland.com/blog/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/danielleireland_lcsw Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/danielleireland.LCSW Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@danielleireland8218/featured        

Send us a textKendra Collier shares her journey from horseback riding enthusiast to published children's book author. Her book "Amber's Equestrian Alphabet" began as a high school senior project but quickly became a passion project combining her love for animals with new writing skills.• First fell in love with horses during a trail ride in Tennessee just three years ago• Competes in show jumping and earned second place in her first competition• Created "Amber's Equestrian Alphabet" to teach children the ABCs through horse-themed content• Published through Kindle Direct Publishing with both print and e-book versions available on Amazon• Designed book with rhyming text and horse jokes to keep children engaged• Planning to study wildlife biology in college and hopes to work in animal conservation• Dreams of owning her own farm with horses and creating personal riding trails• Book launch event scheduled for March 29th from 11am-2pm at the Oconee LibraryVisit www.aeabookseries.com for more information or email info@aeabookseries.com to connect with Kendra.

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.

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.

“In El Salvador, I dropped $5 out of my pocket at the border, and some guy came running up to me. At the beginning of the trip I would have been surprised by that. But by that point I would have been surprised if it didn’t happen.” —Matt Savino In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Matt talk about how the first version of his travel book was way too long, and what he ended up editing out (6:00); the origins of Matt’s Central America road trip, why he ended up turning it into a book, and how he ended up taking Rolf’s Paris class (12:00); how Matt’s “Spreadsheet of Pain” helped him edit his book down to manageable size, and how historical research helped his narrative (17:00); how he wrote about a road trip that didn’t actually reach its objective, and how he tried to model his narrative on Bill Bryson’s writing (26:00); how Matt used a hybrid publisher to get his travel book into the world in two years (31:00); the challenges, idiosyncrasies, and creative joys that come with creating a hybrid published book (39:00); how AI bots determined that Matt had “plagiarized” what turned out to be his own book (54:00); and Matt’s advice for people interested in hybrid publishing (60:30). Matt Savino (@ushuaia_or_bust) is the author of Land Without a Continent: A Road Trip through Mexico and Central America. He can be contacted via his website. Notable Links: Paris travel memoir writing workshop (Rolf’s writing classes) Matt’s Spreadsheet of Pain (note explainer tab at the bottom) No Baggage Challenge (Rolf’s 2010 blog and video series) Justin's elephant-poop cold remedy (2010 video) Walking every single street in NYC (Deviate episode) The Sweet Superstition of Rooting for the Royals, by Rolf Potts (essay) Van Life Before #VanLife (Deviate episode) Developmental editing (pre-publication writing support) Hybrid publishing (assisted self-publishing) Jew (comedy special by Ari Shaffir) Perhapsing (nonfiction narrative strategy) Illumify Media (hybrid publisher) Cliff Clavin (fictional character on Cheers) IngramSpark (self-publishing book company) Kindle Direct Publishing (e-book publishing platform) Authors, books, and agents mentioned: Bill Bryson (author) Julie Pesano (travel writer and teacher) Cole Kazdin (writer and writing coach) Who Killed the Bishop? by Francisco Goldman (book) Blood of Brothers, by Stephen Kinzer (book) Turning the Tide, by Noam Chomsky (book) A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson (book) Chloe Cooper Jones (author) Eddy L. Harris (travel author) James Faccinto (book publicist and former Paris student) April Eberhardt (literary agent and publishing consultant) AWOL on the Appalachian Trail, by David Miller (book) Pati Jinich (chef, author, and TV host) The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“In El Salvador, I dropped $5 out of my pocket at the border, and some guy came running up to me. At the beginning of the trip I would have been surprised by that. But by that point I would have been surprised if it didn’t happen.” —Matt Savino In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Matt talk about how the first version of his travel book was way too long, and what he ended up editing out (6:00); the origins of Matt’s Central America road trip, why he ended up turning it into a book, and how he ended up taking Rolf’s Paris class (12:00); how Matt’s “Spreadsheet of Pain” helped him edit his book down to manageable size, and how historical research helped his narrative (17:00); how he wrote about a road trip that didn’t actually reach its objective, and how he tried to model his narrative on Bill Bryson’s writing (26:00); how Matt used a hybrid publisher to get his travel book into the world in two years (31:00); the challenges, idiosyncrasies, and creative joys that come with creating a hybrid published book (39:00); how AI bots determined that Matt had “plagiarized” what turned out to be his own book (54:00); and Matt’s advice for people interested in hybrid publishing (60:30). Matt Savino (@ushuaia_or_bust) is the author of Land Without a Continent: A Road Trip through Mexico and Central America. He can be contacted via his website. Notable Links: Paris travel memoir writing workshop (Rolf’s writing classes) Matt’s Spreadsheet of Pain (note explainer tab at the bottom) No Baggage Challenge (Rolf’s 2010 blog and video series) Justin's elephant-poop cold remedy (2010 video) Walking every single street in NYC (Deviate episode) The Sweet Superstition of Rooting for the Royals, by Rolf Potts (essay) Van Life Before #VanLife (Deviate episode) Developmental editing (pre-publication writing support) Hybrid publishing (assisted self-publishing) Jew (comedy special by Ari Shaffir) Perhapsing (nonfiction narrative strategy) Illumify Media (hybrid publisher) Cliff Clavin (fictional character on Cheers) IngramSpark (self-publishing book company) Kindle Direct Publishing (e-book publishing platform) Authors, books, and agents mentioned: Bill Bryson (author) Julie Pesano (travel writer and teacher) Cole Kazdin (writer and writing coach) Who Killed the Bishop? by Francisco Goldman (book) Blood of Brothers, by Stephen Kinzer (book) Turning the Tide, by Noam Chomsky (book) A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson (book) Chloe Cooper Jones (author) Eddy L. Harris (travel author) James Faccinto (book publicist and former Paris student) April Eberhardt (literary agent and publishing consultant) AWOL on the Appalachian Trail, by David Miller (book) Pati Jinich (chef, author, and TV host) The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

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Dave Kellett discusses the three phases of art. First, you're just trying to make it work. Then, you try to make it right. And after you've mastered those, you can begin to make it fast.On today's show:Make it work, make it right, make it fastUPDATE: Danielle Corsetto's lettering tipsUPDATE: Substack Notes adviceUPDATE: KDP and Global ComixSummaryThe hosts discuss the stages of artistic development in comics, starting with making it work, then making it right, and finally making it fast. They compare this progression to the process of building a shelf, where you start by making it functional and then refine it over time. They estimate that it takes about 3-5 years to make it work, 10-15 years to make it right, and even longer to make it fast. They emphasize the importance of putting in the time and effort to reach each stage of development. In this part of the conversation, Brad and Dave discuss the different stages of their careers in comics and how they have evolved over time. They talk about the importance of making it right before making it fast and how their skills and speed have improved over the years. They also discuss the idea of never being as good as their heroes but striving to be the best version of themselves.Additionally, they share a lettering tip from Danielle Corsetto and discuss the potential of Substack. Brad and Dave discuss their experiences with Substack and Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) in this conversation. Brad shares his positive experience with Substack, highlighting its features and the potential for audience growth. They also discuss the drawbacks of KDP, including discoverability issues and the difficulty of dealing with Amazon. Brad recommends Global Comix as an alternative platform for building an audience. The conversation concludes with a discussion of upcoming projects and the excitement for the future.TakeawaysThe process of artistic development in comics involves three stages: making it work, making it right, and making it fast.Making it work is about creating a functional comic while making it right involves refining the details and improving the quality.Progressing through each stage takes time and effort, with estimates of 3-5 years to make it work, 10-15 years to make it right, and even longer to make it fast.Putting in the work and consistently creating comics is essential for growth and improvement as an artist. It is important to focus on making it right before trying to make it fast.Skills and speed improve over time with practice and experience.Strive to be the best version of yourself rather than trying to be as good as your heroes.Consider flipping and printing the artwork on the back to create perfect hand-lettered original art.Substack has the potential to be a valuable platform for comic creators. Substack offers a great platform for artists to share their work and build an audience.KDP may not be the best option for indie creators due to discoverability issuesGlobal Comix is a promising alternative platform for building an audienceIt's important to focus on creating joyful and engaging content on social media platforms  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.

Welcome to Day 1 of the 3-Day Planner Publishing Challenge Series! To get the most out of this challenge and get your free workbook along with direct 1:1 feedback from me as you develop your profitable planner idea, register over at publishaplanner.com/challengeSarahSend us a Text Message.Find more resources over at SarahSteckler.comCome say hi on Instagram @sarahsteckler

Join me for a 3-Day Planner Publishing Challenge starting August 26th! Trainings will be dropping right here on the Mindful Productivity Podcast but if you want to get the most out of the experience I highly recommend registering over at publishaplanner.com/challenge so you can get access to our video trainings, workbook, and direct 1:1 feedback from me to help you narrow down your focus for your profitable planner idea!Register here -->See you then!SarahSend us a Text Message.------Join me starting August 26th for a 3-Day Planner Publishing Challenge where I'll be walking you through generating your profitable planner idea & planner publishing options. Register here -->------Find more resources over at SarahSteckler.comCome say hi on Instagram @sarahsteckler

Hello, and welcome to another episode of the podcast. But before we get started, I want to talk for a minute for those of you who have recipes that you have collected or written that you want to publish in a book. Did you know that with a few simple tools, you can easily format and publish your book in about 3 months? This is exactly what I teach in my course Cookbooks on KDP. I help food bloggers and recipe collectors learn how to format and publish their recipes in a book using Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing platform. So if you have recipes ready to publish and want to publish them in a book before Christmas, we will start our next cohort in September. Get on the waitlist, and I will email you more information.  Today, on the podcast, I have an interview with Ben Tish. Ben Tish is the Chef Director of Cubitt House, a hospitality group in London, England where he oversees the food offerings across a number of London's best pubs and eateries. With an undying love of Mediterranean food and history, Ben is passionate about recreating the flavors and dishes of his travels to the Mediterranean in his own home, cookbooks,  and restaurants. He is the author of five cookbooks, and today we're here to talk about his newest book Mediterra: Recipes from the islands and shores of the Mediterranean. Enjoy this episode as Ben and I take a deep dive into the Mediterranean basin, which includes 18 distinctive countries and a discussion of some ingredients and cooking techniques you might not expect in Mediterranean cooking. Ben shares his philosophy for recipe development and ingredient procurement for his cookbooks, his writing routine when he's actively working on a cookbook project, as well as a discussion of Ben's unique and favorite recipes from each section of the book based on the Northern, Eastern, and Southern Shores, and Islands in the Mediterranean.  Things We Mention In This Episode Do you have Recipes Ready to Publish? Join the waitlist for Cookbooks on KDP Chef Ben Tish Mediterra: Recipes from the Islands and Shores of the Mediterranean Crazy Water and Pickled Lemon Diana Henry Moro The Cookbook Samuel and Samantha Clark  

In this episode, we welcome the Kindlepreneur himself, Dave Chesson for a chat about selling books on Amazon and Kindle Direct Publishing. Dave has devoted huge amounts of time and effort into helping authors sell books and reach readers. We chat about the latest changes Amazon has made to its book category system, how selling books on Amazon works, how you can use Amazon ads to great effect, and what best practices authors can follow (like using keywords) to find more success. The book marketing advice you'll find here will help you sell both fantasy fiction books, non-fiction books, and books of all genres. Dave reveals all about how Amazon works for selling books here. As always, if you have any questions, comments or requests, please email us at thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.com JOIN THE COMMUNITY ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writers⁠⁠ GET FANTASY WRITING CLASSES AND BOOKS https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed ABOUT OUR GUEST Learn more about Dave Chesson: https://kindlepreneur.com/ Get Dave's free Amazon Ads course: www.amscourse.com ABOUT RICHIE BILLING www.richiebilling.com

Welcome to the SaaS Fuel podcast, where we dive deep into the world of online business and investing. In this episode, Kyle Kuderewski shares insights into key trends and risks in online business models, including content sites, FBA, Kindle Direct Publishing, and agencies.Kyle and Jeff, explore the increasing competition and risks associated with artificial intelligence and SEO updates. They discuss the surge of FBA during COVID-19 and the challenges it now faces. You'll also learn about Kyle's journey from engineering to entrepreneurship and his favorite travel destinations and dive sites.Stay tuned for valuable insights on online business and investing.Key Takeaways00:00 Awkward leader conversations in past workplaces.05:16 Upgraded wardrobe, taught laundry care, made progress.09:00 Entrepreneurial spirit leads to vacation rental venture.13:37 Facilitating investment in online businesses, scaling portfolios.16:32 Option to sell businesses after working with us.19:13 Acquisition search continues, cautious about AI impact.23:40 Challenges of AI and ranking in content.25:29 Kindle Direct Publishing offers diverse, creative opportunities.29:16 Seeking private companies with good fundamentals and profit.32:30 Creating a platform for investing and legal considerations.34:36 Attractive remote work culture with strong connections.40:58 Share the episode, get a fearless filter and meet amazing founders.42:03 SaaS Fuel: Listen, follow, subscribe, rate, review.Tweetable QuotesMonetization Strategies in Business Acquisitions: "The investors continue to get, you know, the exit is a big part of the profit plan." — Kyle Kuderewski 00:16:32The Future of Content Marketing: "I don't think that model is going away anytime soon, but it's something that we're being more cautious with." — Kyle Kuderewski 00:24:05Viral Topic: The Future of FBA Businesses“So if you're gonna be an FBA operator in general or with us, I you know, you need to be really an expert at it. It's not nearly as easy as it used to be." — Kyle Kuderewski 00:25:20Viral Topic: Self-Publishing and AI Writing"So we do have, some operators with, onboard with WebStreet that have been very successful with KDP, and that doesn't even necessarily have to be fiction, nonfiction type books." — Kyle Kuderewski 00:25:38Elevating Leadership Through Difficult Conversations: "Embrace the discomfort, wield empathy and honesty, and watch as your leadership reaches new heights." — Jeff Mains 00:06:55Viral Topic: Augmented Reality Visor for Leadership Challenges"It's an augmented reality visor that overlays your daily challenges with visual cues of success, boosting your resolve to tackle those leadership challenges head on." — Jeff Mains 00:41:07SaaS Leadership Lessons1. Emphasize Scalability and Profitability: The episode emphasizes the importance of focusing on scalable and profitable SaaS businesses. This lesson highlights the significance of building a business that can grow sustainably while maintaining profitability, a crucial aspect for SaaS leadership. 2. Skillful Operators and Competitive Advantage: Successful SaaS leadership requires skillful operators and the creation of a strong competitive advantage to stay ahead in a crowded market. Recognizing and nurturing skilled operators within the organization and building a defensible moat around the product are essential components for success in the SaaS industry.3. Handling Difficult Conversations: Jeff Mains shares a 3-step framework for handling tough talks, which includes preparing with empathy and clarity,...

The Kindlepreneur rolled out updated details for Kindle Direct Publishing keywords. PublishDrive announces huge new feature where artificial intelligence produces your metadata. And, Amazon is testing out a new Book Trends Data feature on the sales pages; could this equal more sales? All that and more in the self-publishing news! Subscribe to my email newsletter - https://DaleLinks.com/Signup Subscribe to The Self-Publishing Hub - https://TheSelfPublishingHub.com 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 Sources: How to Fill in Your 7 Kindle Keywords: 2024 UPDATE! - https://youtu.be/vinXgGNxEzk?si=nXWNVGv2n1z3P4pc Book Trends Data - https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G3WC49TM63DUM4VW?mc_cid=1c5f63597e&mc_eid=433332c881 PublishDrive: Mastering Metadata - Unveiling Our AI-Publishing Assistant - https://streamyard.com/watch/PjVM9ebWhxj7 BookBaby: 9 Writing Roadblocks and How to Overcome Them - https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5TZKcqCvQOuSbwlskPOt0A#/registration  Getpremades: Premade Cover Party on May 30th - https://www.facebook.com/groups/getpremades/ ALLi: Email Marketing Tips for Indie Authors - https://selfpublishingadvice.org/podcast-email-marketing/ Dibbly Create - https://DaleLinks.com/DibblyCreate (affiliate link) Credit: The Hot Sheet - https://hotsheetpub.com 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

How can selling your book on Amazon both elevate and challenge your author experience?In this week's episode, podcast host Susan Friedmann discusses the pros and cons of publishing and selling books on Amazon. She goes into detail about the many benefits of using Amazon's platform and some of the challenges that can come with it. Key Takeaways:Ease and Speed of Publishing: Discover how Amazon makes it easy for authors to publish their work with tools like eBooks and print-on-demand so they can get their books out there quickly and easily.Visibility Challenges: Learn about the challenges authors face in getting their books noticed among millions on Amazon and strategies to boost discoverability.Alternative Sales Platforms: Understand the advantages of selling books through your website, which can give you direct customer interaction and valuable data that Amazon doesn't offer.Leverage Print-on-Demand Services: Learn about Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing and other services like BookBaby, which handle printing and distribution, making it easy for authors to publish their work.Using Local Resources and Events: Find out how connecting with local bookstores, events, and media can help you reach a wider audience.Tune in to learn the pros and cons of selling books on Amazon and develop a strategy for maximizing your success in this competitive marketplace.*************************************************************************Sponsored by Aviva Publishing. For over 30 years, we've dedicated ourselves to support nonfiction authors on their journey to publish and sell their books in bulk. Our mission is to empower you to establish yourself as a leading authority in a niche market. Learn my Top 5 Book Marketing Tips! Sign up for the “Book Marketing Kickstarter 5-Day Challenge”—it's free!*************************************************************************

In today's episode, Patrick Donley (@JPatrickDonley) sits down with Nick Di Fabio who, prior to discovering Amazon KDP, had 30 jobs before the age of 30. He has since gone on to make over $1 million in Amazon KDP royalties, had a successful exit, and is now helping others clone his self-publishing strategies. You'll learn how to get started in Kindle Direct Publishing , how to select profitable niches, how AI is changing the publishing landscape, how to 80/20 your marketing efforts and so much more! Nick discovered Amazon KDP while working a 6 pm to 6 am job and has since gone on to publish over 250 books that continue to make him royalties. He also runs Publishing Profits Academy where he teaches others how to build a self-publishing business. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 02:12 - What Amazon KDP is. 06:56 - How Nick found his niche in self-publishing. 07:58 - What are the demographics of people who pursue Amazon KDP. 10:02 - How publishing has changed in the past decade. 13:09 - How Nick selects niches to write about. 21:56 - How AI will continue to change the publishing landscape. 29:10 - What to do to 80/20 your marketing efforts. 35:47 - How to create an exit strategy in publishing. 42:46 - Why do people create a book as a business card. 49:26 - How Publishing Profits Academy was born and what people learn in it. *Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Kyle and the other community members. Checkout: 1000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly. Books mentioned: The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch. Books mentioned: Deep Work by Cal Newport. Books mentioned: 50th Law by Robert Greene. Books mentioned: 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. Books mentioned: On the Shortness of Life by Seneca. Books mentioned: Slow Productivity by Cal Newport. Books mentioned: Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill. Check out the books mentioned in the podcast here. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed. NEW TO THE SHOW? Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok. Check out our Millennial Investing Starter Packs. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here. Try Kyle's favorite tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance. Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services. Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: Toyota Monarch Money Airbnb Meyka NerdWallet Fundrise Yahoo! Finance NetSuite Range Rover Connect with Patrick: Twitter Connect with Nick: LinkedIn |  Twitter  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

What's going on in the planner industry? Are people still buying planners? Is it still a good time to self-publish and create your own journal or planner?Tune in to hear my thoughts on:What's changed in the planner industry and marketWhat trends I'm seeing in purchasing and consumerism Self-publishing alternative options and why I still recommend using Kindle Direct PublishingWhy creating a Pocket Planner can be the best option for new creators!22 Pocket Planner ideas to inspire you!An invitation to our Pocket Planner Creation Round that kicks off May 13thJoin us inside Publish with Purpose: https://www.publishaplanner.com/enroll/Take a look inside my Pocket List Planner --->Questions about the program? Hit me up on Instagram @sarahsteckler xoxoSarahFind more resources over at SarahSteckler.comCome say hi on Instagram @sarahsteckler

50 People Get Killed by Dogs in US Alone. Any Bozo Can Bribe, Beat or Buzz Your Dog into Listening. Dogs Are More Spoiled and Dangerous than Ever. Why do you think that is?Zeddicus King's book,  DOGS DECODED - Your Dog's Mindset vs Your Attitude & Beliefs is finally here! https://www.amazon.com/DOGS-DECODED-Mindset-Attitude-Beliefs/dp/B0CW1SBBLTPrepare to have your perceptions of dog psychology radically shifted as I share the insights from my new book, "Dogs Decoded." It's been a rollercoaster of a decade, writing and re-writing, to bring you this comprehensive guide that's already wagging its tail on the bestseller list. The shocking truth behind dog-related fatalities and the rise of pampered pooches sets a bold backdrop for a conversation that might just help you see the world through your dog's eyes.This episode isn't your ordinary run-of-the-mill dog talk; it's an exploration that challenges the heart and habits of every dog owner. Discover if you're guilty of overindulgence with our "spoiled dog test," and learn why emotional responses in training often overcome logic. Plus, I walk you through the '10 biggest lies in dog training,' and how grasping the real truths can earn you a 'black belt in dog psychology.' From the 'biggest scam' to the '99% sweet, 1% psycho' dog, our discussion is packed with anecdotes and advice that will leave you pondering and possibly chuckling about the dynamics of your pet relationship.As our time together draws to a close, my heart overflows with gratitude for the tidal wave of support and engagement from listeners and readers like you. With a nod to Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, I share how it provides a nimble platform for content updates, ensuring our materials stay as fresh as a puppy's breath. I'm sending out a virtual pat and a scratch behind the ears to all our furry friends and their humans, with the promise of more revealing discussions to come. Keep your leashes at the ready, and your minds open for what's to come! https://www.amazon.com/DOGS-DECODED-Mindset-Attitude-Beliefs/dp/B0CVVKZWJ4/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3IUWIVC2EBZA6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Xdh5m2q-8rgWSDc0t4TggWKrXQUyOlqHl8EYQhkeYtVYfHhvzo7QVuZC-0flY-eyn5-eyX1lDabMai7PdgEjq5utk1cpFaNt3LStiVs87GHRGJ9WNXBFVX8YBIy0OlVLLiXRtTL9MZJcb-sPW6ROe0faqbJrrBPpbq65RroJqBsWaodTTSk9yCBaPAPRV0x14JghaW3jHEFuE_HKUT0HEZmLQD0BegqPpEhrcrTFLSo.x9YLHr3eWXE7lCa6L6Df5IuHP0pR0A7tJxw-AyKgMkE&dib_tag=se&keywords=dogs+decoded&qid=1709613410&sprefix=dogs+decoded%2Caps%2C250&sr=8-5To Hire Zeddicus for Phone/Zoom Consultation, In-Home Lessons or His Doggie Boot Camp in Los Angeles, Paw at: https://DogSecrets.com

TusCon 50 Panel Formatting for Kindle Direct Publishing Recorded live at TusCon 50 Sunday – Ballroom 11:00 am 12:00 pm  https://tusconscificon.com/timetable/event/formatting-for-kindle-direct-publishing/ Publishing isn't just books anymore. But each format is different. How do you keep everything looking right no matter what? Bruce Wiley, Cameron D Blackwell, Jessica Feinberg Bruce Wiley, Cameron D Blackwell, http://Cameron Blackwell books.square.site http://blackwellserials.wordpress.com Jessica Feinberg RareDragons.Shop And a huge Thank you to the TusCon Board, Panelists, Volunteers, and fantastic Con Suite hosts! Chek out more about TusCon at https://tusconscificon.com/ Please support our shows at www.patreon.com/cppn and even join us in some games! Also keep an eye at the new things on our now affiliated Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/creativeplayandpodcast Also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CreativePlayandPodcastNetwork Would you be interested if we hosted D&D and Edge of Empire games on Roll20 for you to join? Email us at Creativeplaypodcastnet@Gmail.com #TusCon50    

Join us as your host, David, dives deep into the extraordinary journey of Ty Cohen, a figure whose life story is a testament to turning adversity into triumph. Ty, a former morning talk show personality turned publishing maven, internet marketer, and personal development guru, shares his incredible path from facing life's toughest challenges to achieving unparalleled success.In this intimate and inspiring series, Ty opens up about his early years in one of the northeast's most notorious housing projects and his battle with sickle cell anemia. Discover how a life-altering prognosis at the age of 12 became the catalyst for his unbreakable spirit and relentless pursuit of greatness.With wisdom gleaned over decades, Ty takes us through his evolution from quitting a secure corporate job to embarking on a risky entrepreneurial venture that would eventually generate millions in sales and transform not just his life but those of countless others. Learn the ins and outs of his simple yet powerful formula for leveraging life's obstacles into financial opportunities, enabling you to reach your fullest potential.This podcast is more than just a dialogue; it's a masterclass in resilience, innovation, and the power of self-belief. Ty shares the secrets behind his success in the digital publishing world, making upwards of 50K a month through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing and beyond. Whether discussing his first venture into the world of comic book selling, navigating the complexities of the music industry, or his groundbreaking strategies in digital marketing, Ty's story is a testament to what's possible when you dare to dream big."Unveiling Brilliance: The Ty Cohen Story" is not just an exploration of one man's journey to the top; it's a beacon of hope and a roadmap for anyone looking to discover, develop, and distribute their unique gifts to the world. Tune in to be educated, inspired, and empowered to take action towards your dreams, with Ty Cohen guiding you every step of the way.

Dive into the world of Barnes & Noble Press and explore how it compares to KDP. Learn about the options for printing hardcover books, the self-publishing process, and whether Barnes & Noble Press is a valuable alternative to Kindle Direct Publishing. Discover if you should self publish on Barnes & Noble Press and if it's worth considering for your book. Barnes & Noble Press - https://press.barnesandnoble.com/ Subscribe to The Self-Publishing Hub - https://TheSelfPublishingHub.com Join Channel Memberships - https://DaleLinks.com/Memberships Join Me on Discord - https://DaleLinks.com/Discord  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

I wrote a ‘little' book and just recently got it up for sale on Amazon. I even recorded it myself as an audio book for Audible which syncs the book on Amazon. It's called:  "How To Talk To Strangers Advice from a Professional Stranger Talker"  (And I'm a roll with 5 star reviews! Good reviews mean everything to an author)  I could not have done it without the help of Donna Kozik, a book coach gal pal out in San Diego,CA  who I've been featuring for years on my radio show because I love her style and how she shows people how to get a book done.  Meanwhile even though it sounded doable, and even though I do know how to write - Donna knows that I tried for a few years but kept not getting it done. I kept backing off. Why? I don't know. I didn't think what I wrote was good enough. I didn't think it was compelling enough. I had imposter syndrome. Then came the pandemic and the totally wrong timing for the topic. And of course, then there were the never ending barrage of life distractions. Finally, with Donna's help and unwavering encouragement, I did it! Whew! Feels Good!   I knew nothing about the process of publishing an ebook or soft cover book, but Donna helped me get it into the right format, helped me with the proofreading, helped me get the cover art done, educated me about Kindle and how to upload it on Amazon and was always available for my zillion email questions.  I had no idea how to set the right price (learned an eBook sweet spot price is $2.99), or the importance of getting reviews, or how to navigate Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing system for the first time.   I'm just deciding how I am going to market the book now that the audio I recorded separately with fabulous Al Hemberger at The Loft Recording Studios in Bronxville, N.Y., was approved by Audible. (Who knew they reserve the right to set the price based on the length of the audio?) That was another thing that took way longer than I had anticipated but, finally got that done too! Whew! Personal accomplishment!   I'm hoping my new ‘little' book will be as Donna calls it "My Big Business Card".  Utilizing a Book as a Business Tool  Donna Kozik book coach extraordinaire, says, a book IS a "Big Business Card" and there are various ways to leverage it for building credibility, obtaining speaking engagements, and promoting one's expertise.  'Short books' she says are the way to go, especially in today's information-saturated world. A short book can be easily read and can still carry a powerful message, making it a good option for authors and readers alike.  My book, "How To Talk To Strangers Advice from a Professional Stranger Talker" is 62 pages, and the audio book is 47 minutes. It's a little book with a big message. You'll get my point, get some laughs and get some tips in under an hour.  I'd love my book to lead to some speaking engagements about teaching people how to connect and communicate better in person. I really do think I have some sage knowledge to share in a fun way. I will now be looking to share it with some event planners, etc. who might be looking for someone like me to speak about this.  Encouragement for Aspiring Authors  I invited Donna Kozik back to join me on my radio show so we could discuss the self-publishing process now that I've been through it, so we could share information with those of you who might have a book in you too!  Donna says many potential authors face the same challenges as I mentioned I had above, and that procrastination or life events should not discourage them. She said, once a book is published, people do not focus on how long it took. (Did I mention I started this book idea 5 years ago? LOL)  Besides her great advice for listeners who may want to write a book, Donna offers a step-by-step approach to getting started, including making the decision, taking action, creating a structure. Her program "Write a Book in a Weekend," her group coaching, and her Business Authors Association, offer support and promotion for new authors. She suggests aspiring writers start with her FreeBookPlanner.com. Oh and she made a big point about avoiding talking about the book you haven't finished writing yet too much, to prevent creating an emotional payoff for yourself without making any progress. (Oh boy, I did this 1000X.) Enjoy this podcast of our live conversation about how to really get a book done on The Debbie Nigro Show.  Tune in to The Debbie Nigro Show 11-12 EST weekdays in the NY/CT area on 1490 WGCH or Listen from Anywhere on WGCH.com Just hit the 'listen live' button.

Has it really been 100 episodes?! Yes!!In this episode of the Writing Momentum podcast, Chris and Gena celebrate their podcast's third year and 100th episode by taking a look back at their top five most listened to episodes. They discuss the importance of avoiding cliches in writing, explore the wide range of materials that can be written for children, highlight the benefits of using an email newsletter for marketing, delve into the different types of editing needed for a manuscript, and provide a step-by-step guide on self-publishing on Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing. They also give an honorable mention to an episode on making time to write based on listener feedback. Listeners are encouraged to subscribe, review, and share the podcast, and are provided with a goal-setting planner and information on an upcoming membership site.Episodes we talk about:62: https://www.writingmomentum.com/writing/avoid-this-writing-trap-like-the-plague/80: https://www.writingmomentum.com/podcast/all-you-can-write-for-children/60: https://www.writingmomentum.com/marketing/our-best-kept-email-marketing-secret-2/75: https://www.writingmomentum.com/podcast/why-your-manuscript-needs-editing-four-times/4: https://www.writingmomentum.com/publishing/what-you-need-to-self-publish-on-amazons-kindle-direct-publishing-kdp/9: https://www.writingmomentum.com/writing/how-to-make-time-to-write-your-answers/Links: Join Liz Wilcox's Email Marketing Membership at https://wmdeal.com/lizGet your FREE Move the Needle goal-setting for authors ebook at https://www.writingmomentum.comWrite with us! Join Chris, Gena, and Rene each Wednesday at noon Central and let's get our writing DONE! https://www.writingmoments.comPrefer to watch it on YouTube? Visit https://www.youtube.com/@writingmomentum

If you're publishing your ebooks and print books through Amazon KDP, then you can't overlook the importance of keywords in the discoverability of your content. Whether you're using free or premium tools, keyword research requires a better strategy than what you find in a cursory search. Finding the right keywords for Kindle Direct Publishing - whether fiction, nonfiction, or low content - is half the battle, and you'll find out how it's so much different in 2023 regardless of what tool you use to get the job done. Tune in for more details. Publisher Rocket - https://DaleLinks.com/Rocket  (affiliate link) Amazon Keywords for Books - https://DaleLinks.com/KeywordsBook Kindlepreneur article on the 7 backend keywords - https://DaleLinks.com/7KindleKeywords  Dibbly Create - https://DaleLinks.com/DibblyCreate (affiliate link) Join Channel Memberships - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl9CjdZQtzufqgYx0CidSbA/join Join my community at: Discord - http://dalelinks.com/discord 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

Between KDP, IngramSpark, Lulu, and many other print on demand companies, authors and self-publishers have a lot of choices. Even still, the companies still have limited printing options and show no signs of exploring print on demand products like spiral bound notebooks, a customized game card deck, or flash drives. Enter Vervante, a place you can get your books self published and build a business on or off Amazon through ecommerce stores like Shopify. If you're tired of what Kindle Direct Publishing has to offer and are playing around with the idea of selling more than just a book, then Vervante might be your solution. Listen into this interview with founder of Vervante, Cindy Tyler, as she shares more about how the company works and why it's a great solution for more ambitious author projects. Vervante - https://www.vervante.com/ Vervante on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@vervante9243 Join Channel Memberships - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl9CjdZQtzufqgYx0CidSbA/join Join my community at: Discord - http://dalelinks.com/discord  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

USA Today Bestselling Author Nick Thacker has published over forty fiction books and is sharing his insights into how he launches his books. Find out what Nick does to prepare each book launch, what secrets he has that sets him apart, and how he manages sales after launching a bestselling books on Amazon KDP, USA Today, and beyond. You'll love Nick's refreshing honesty and blunt approach to leveraging platforms like Kindle Direct Publishing and beyond to reach more readers. The 200th Episode Broadcast - https://youtube.com/live/KWArp8ZcKsk  Nick Thacker - https://www.nickthacker.com/  Book Career in a Year - http://bookcareerinayear.com/ Nick Thacker on YouTube - https://YouTube.com/@AuthorNickThacker  Join Channel Memberships - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl9CjdZQtzufqgYx0CidSbA/join Join my community at: Discord - http://dalelinks.com/discord  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

Going into 2023, I'm armed with a new strategy for publishing on KDP and beyond. Find out how I plan to leverage Kindle Direct Publishing and IngramSpark and what marketing strategies I'll be using. We'll discuss my ideas for self publishing a novel series on Amazon, and when I plan to release my first fiction publication via e book, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook. Get all that and more tips for indie authors looking to publish on Amazon KDP in 2023. Mentioned sites: Miblart Giveaway - https://DaleLinks.com/Giveaway Book Promo Sites List - https://DaleLinks.com/BookPromos Victory Editing's NetGalley Co-Op - https://victoryediting.com/services/netgalley-co-op/  StoryOrigin - https://DaleLinks.com/StoryOrigin eBookFairs - https://DaleLinks.com/eBookFairs Join Channel Memberships - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl9CjdZQtzufqgYx0CidSbA/join Join my community at: Discord - http://dalelinks.com/discord 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

Are you looking for ways for book marketing on Amazon KDP with no money? Are you one of many struggling authors looking for ways to self publish and promote a book for free? Then, find out how to market and promote your books through Kindle Direct Publishing. You'll find out it's possible to sell more books with these tips and strategies for book promotion. Book Promo Sites: https://DaleLinks.com/BookPromos  Join Channel Memberships - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl9CjdZQtzufqgYx0CidSbA/join Join my community at: Discord - http://dalelinks.com/discord   GetCovers Giveaway - https://DaleLinks.com/GetCoversGiveaway 

Host of the popular YouTube channel Think Media, Sean Cannell launched his book YouTube Secrets over four years ago and it's been consistently selling ever since. I interview Sean about what went into publishing his bestselling book, how he was able to sell thousands of books since, and what advice he gives to a new author looking to publish and sell 1000s of books on Kindle Direct Publishing and many other online retailers. YouTube Secrets (book) - https://geni.us/yeLUHW (Amazon) Subscribe to Think Media on YouTube - https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCGxjDWAN1KwrkXYVi8CXtjQ  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 ​

Hello, and welcome to another episode of the podcast. Today on the podcast, I have an interview with Gesine Bullock-Prado, but before we get started, I want to talk to those of you listening who have written recipes that you want to turn into a book to share with your family, friends, or customers. I know that so often we cook and cook, or we're the keeper of the family recipes, and we want to share our recipes in a tangible way, not just with the food but also in a book. I've been doing a lot of cool things behind the scenes with Canva and Amazon Kindle Direct publishing. As a result, I see the potential for you (fellow home cooks and recipe collectors) to create and self-publish a recipe book for your family, friends, or clients on the free publishing platform Kindle Direct Publishing. I am creating a PILOT PROGRAM to teach a small group of interested cooks and bakers how to create and self-publish recipe books. My goal is that you will finish the program with two self-published recipe books to share family recipes, give away as holiday gifts, or attract clients/customers to your business. If you'd like to learn more about this offer, head over to www.cookbookwritersacademy.com/pilot-program-cookbooks, and I'll send you details about how you can access one of the limited spots in this pilot program. So what does it mean to be a pilot program? I've done this work but never taught it - so first time taught it so:  You get to learn as I learn Lots of interaction with me and others in the group A smaller group of students Time to ask questions and help me shape the future program Because the program is a pilot - the price will be a no-brainer You will learn a repeatable process Available outside of the GPGP program Now onto the show: Today, I have an interview with Gesine Bullock-Prado. Gesine is a pastry chef, instructor, and author of six books and lives in White River Junction, VT. In her 18-year career, Gesine has run her own pastry shop and become a baking instructor at King Arthur Flour's Baking Education Center. She is the owner and baking instructor at Sugar Glider Kitchen and is working towards getting her Vermont Master Gardener Certification in 2023. Today we talk about her move to Vermont, where she fell in love with the Green Mountain State's flavors, we go in-depth about Vermont's six unique seasons, and we discuss some recipes unique to Vermont, such as Salt rising bread, Marlborough pie, and Sugar on Snow.  Things We Mention In This Episode: Learn more about the Pilot Program for self-publishing cookbooks Visit Gesine's Sugar Glider Kitchen online   

Replacing Her Corporate Salary With Content Creation With Alex From Mallorca Under the Sun This week we are joined by Alex from the Mallorca Under the Sun YouTube channel. We talk about how she has grown her channel quickly, tips and tricks of being a creator, replacing her corporate salary with content creation, and SO much more! About Alex: After losing her job during the global pandemic, British-born Alex is an expert and authority on one of Europe's favorite holiday destinations, Mallorca in Spain. She creates vlogs, travel guides, news, travel tips, and live streams for anyone wanting to holiday or move to the island. Her greatest achievement, though, is creating a fantastic community. Before setting up the Youtube channel in 2020, Alex was a travel and tourism professional with 20+ years of experience in Marketing and Public Relations. As well as her Youtube channel, Alex has gone on to build a website and has replaced her corporate salary through a mixture of freelancing, Youtube Adsense, website income (Ezoic Adsense and affiliate income), and has just secured her first video sponsor. She has launched her first digital product - an ebook on Kindle Direct Publishing called "Living in Mallorca Under the Sun." TubeBuddy – A tool that makes your YouTube Life EASIER and Helps grow your channel. CLICK HERE for a FREE 30-DAY TRIAL. Go here if you want to submit your YouTube Channel to be a potential guest on the podcast.  Support the show on Patreon here for day-to-day interaction with myself and the community on discord. Connect With Alex Here: YouTube /// Website /// Facebook Group Links Discussed In This Episode Fiverr – Hire the right people for the jobs you need to make your YouTube life and workflow easier! Bluehost – If you need a website use this link to get a Free Domain Name and a great deal on hosting

Today, we're going to talk about a free piece of software that could literally change the course of your life and your business. I'm talking about Kindle Create software. This will allow you to turn tons of things you may have already written, easily into the Kindle format so you can put them on sale on Amazon and take advantage of their hundreds of millions of customers. Amazon Kindle is one of the best small business opportunities available where you can leverage the power of Amazon for free to bring in money and expose you to those hundreds of millions of Amazon customers. Screw The Commute Podcast Show Notes Episode 682 How To Automate Your Business - https://screwthecommute.com/automatefree/ Internet Marketing Training Center - https://imtcva.org/ Higher Education Webinar – https://screwthecommute.com/webinars See Tom's Stuff – https://linktr.ee/antionandassociates 03:41 Tom's introduction to Kindle Create 05:19 Reflowable and Print Replica formats 07:20 Much easier to put graphics in the Kindle software 09:13 Software will generate a Table of Contents for you 10:35 Kindle Direct Publishing and affiliate links Entrepreneurial Resources Mentioned in This Podcast Higher Education Webinar - https://screwthecommute.com/webinars Screw The Commute - https://screwthecommute.com/ Screw The Commute Podcast App - https://screwthecommute.com/app/ College Ripoff Quiz - https://imtcva.org/quiz Know a young person for our Youth Episode Series? Send an email to Tom! - orders@antion.com Have a Roku box? Find Tom's Public Speaking Channel there! - https://channelstore.roku.com/details/267358/the-public-speaking-channel How To Automate Your Business - https://screwthecommute.com/automatefree/ Internet Marketing Retreat and Joint Venture Program - https://greatinternetmarketingtraining.com/ KickStartCart - http://www.kickstartcart.com/ Copywriting901 - https://copywriting901.com/ Training - https://screwthecommute.com/training Disabilities Page - https://imtcva.org/disabilities/ Tom's Patreon Page - https://screwthecommute.com/patreon/ Tom on TikTok - https://tiktok.com/@digitalmultimillionaire/ Kindle Masterclass - https://screwthecommute.com/kindlemasterclass/ Getting Started with Kindle - https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GUGQ4WDZ92F733GC Pretty Links - https://prettylinks.com/ Email Tom: Tom@ScrewTheCommute.com Internet Marketing Training Center - https://imtcva.org/ Related Episodes Hashtags - https://screwthecommute.com/681/ More Entrepreneurial Resources for Home Based Business, Lifestyle Business, Passive Income, Professional Speaking and Online Business I discovered a great new headline / subject line / subheading generator that will actually analyze which headlines and subject lines are best for your market. I negotiated a deal with the developer of this revolutionary and inexpensive software. Oh, and it's good on Mac and PC. Go here: http://jvz1.com/c/41743/183906 The Wordpress Ecourse. Learn how to Make World Class Websites for $20 or less. https://screwthecommute.com/wordpressecourse/ Join our Private Facebook Group! One week trial for only a buck and then $37 a month, or save a ton with one payment of $297 for a year. Click the image to see all the details and sign up or go to https://www.greatinternetmarketing.com/screwthecommute/ After you sign up, check your email for instructions on getting in the group.

What would change for you if you could see a passive 6 figure income from unsold art you have on hand right now? Generating passive income with your art skills is a game changer and one you don't want to miss. You can start generating over $5000 a month online with art you've already created. Rachel Harrison-Sund is an award winning art director from a multinational advertising agency that pivoted her wildly successful career into a wildly passionate online business that she's grown into a multiple 6 figures passive income. She now teaches others how to use their unique talent and skills to do Low Content Publishing through the Kindle Direct publishing platform “If you know how to create a beautiful book cover and a beautiful interior you have such a leg up.” -Rachel Harrison-Sund Turn your unsold prints into full-time income Leverage your artistic skills to create planners at scale Monetize your skills and talents in new creative ways Being able to travel more, live in flow with your creativity and in abundance is possible. Sometimes it takes looking at how we're doing things from a totally different angle, and oftentimes you'll find that the residual of what you're already creating has more value than you think. “I'm really passionate about helping people discover what their unique skills are and monetize them.” -Rachel Harrison-Sund Connect with Rachel Harrison-Sund Website: https://www.rachelharrisonsund.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachel_harrisonsund/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RachelHarrisonSund  3 Steps to Publishing Freeby: https://rachel-harrison-sund.mykajabi.com/opt-in-c9f26513-e5e5-4365-bcac-8fef82e57bf2 Pre-Order your copy of my new book, Artpreneur and get several bonuses Follow us on Instagram for tips and value you can't get anywhere else. For full show notes go to show link schulmanart.com/226 ++++++++++++++++++++