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How can horror writing help readers — and writers — work through psychological trauma? Why does cross-genre fiction take longer to find an audience, but pay off in the long run? Is running a direct sales store actually worth the inventory, postage, and learning curve? And how can SubStack work for fiction authors? With psychotherapist and award-winning author P.D. Alleva. In the intro, thoughts on why in-person conferences are still worth it, even when they are a challenge for sensitive introverts! and tips for making the best of conferences [Self-Publishing Show]. Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, self-publishing with support, where you can get free formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Just go to www.draft2digital.com to get started. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn P.D. Alleva is the award-winning author of horror, sci-fi, thrillers, and fantasy books. He's also a psychotherapist. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why horror puts the human condition on display better than any other genre Emotional trauma as the silent psychological killer most people overlook The pros and challenges of cross-genre writing and finding your audience Practical lessons from running a direct store, including integration and signed-copy fulfilment How a 3 a.m. writing routine keeps the writing separate from the marketing and admin Serialising fiction on Substack, multiple newsletters, and avoiding paid subscriber promotions Why Facebook groups, TikTok Lives, and the three-to-one rule are working right now You can find P.D. at PDAlleva.com or on Substack. Transcript of the interview with P.D. Alleva Jo: P.D. Alleva is the award-winning author of horror, sci-fi, thrillers, and fantasy books. He's also a psychotherapist. So welcome, Paul. PD: Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. This is a great opportunity. I love doing interviews, and I love talking to great people. Jo: Oh, good. Well, first up— Tell us a bit more about you and how you got into writing and being an indie author. PD: So I've been writing since I was a kid, at least second grade and more than likely even before that. I've always had that creative itch. Getting into indie author publishing, I published my first book in 2011. At the time I was also operating my own business, which took up about 24 hours of my time every single day. Then I kind of got through that and sold that in 2016, and I'm like, you know what? The time has come. I'd always written books, poetry, short stories, but never really did anything with them because I just didn't have the time. So in 2017, that's when I really came out and said, all right, the time is now. Indie publishing was doing great. The one good thing I do love about Amazon is they allowed us to come out there and start showing our craft to people. So in 2017, I just started—let's do this. Let's write full time. Let's put books out there. Let's be creative. Let's really get those juices flowing. Plus, I was getting a little bit old, and I was like, now is definitely the time to do this. Since then I've been publishing consistently, and most of my books are horror books, but I dabble. I have a sci-fi series, and I'm starting to get into psychological thrillers too. I've got a new psychological thriller that'll be published in early 2027 called Girl on a Mission. For the most part, I'm definitely into the horror genre—books, short stories, all that good fun stuff. Jo: Right, so a couple of follow-ups. You said you're a bit old. Can you give us what decade you're in at least? PD: Well, I'm 51, so born in 1971. Jo: Oh, there you go. Same age as me. PD: All right, good. See that? So we're going head-to-head there. Jo: I don't think that's old at all. Also, you mentioned you sold your business in 2016. So what was your business before? Because I think business experience is so important. PD: Agreed 100%. So I'm a psychotherapist, and I had owned a treatment centre for mental health and addiction. That was started in 2011, and in 2016 is when it sold. Since then, my wife and I started a private practice. So I still, even to this day—well, about a year and a half ago is when I stopped. I specialise in trauma, PTSD, and addiction. Trauma mostly. Most of my caseload has always been trauma, PTSD, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, war-type trauma. I was doing that mostly individually since 2016 in private practice, and I'll still go into treatment centres and see patients there too, specifically for trauma. About a year and a half ago is when I started wanting to do writing 100% full time. I thought about becoming a professor, maybe going to college, but then I wasn't sure if I wanted to get into that full time, as far as a caseload and school and everything like that. So I decided to just do group therapy, group facilitation, and I've been doing that consistently since then. It may be 15 hours a week. I do love to give back, and to me, it's more what I teach. I specialise in neuro-linguistic programming, bilateral stimulation or EMDR, hypnotherapy, science of mind concepts, psychopharmacology, biological bases of behaviour—which is pretty much how your brain works—ancient wisdom, quantum physics. I do this in a drug addiction treatment centre mostly, also mental health. And of course, just living an addictive lifestyle is traumatic, too, in and of itself. So pretty much I'm teaching them. Behaviour modification is a big part of what I'm teaching during that time. You'll see that, too, if you read my books. There's two things you can figure out from my books. You can figure out how to murder people and get away with it, and two, you can figure out how to overcome trauma as well. The whole “murder people and get away with it” comes from my upbringing. I have a very sorted past, let's put it that way. My upbringing was very different than what most people grow up in. Jo: Oh, can you give us any more than that? Now everyone's like, “Oh.” PD: “What's going on with this guy, right?” So I grew up, let's say, quote unquote, “in an Italian New York family.” Jo: Okay. All right. PD: That might give people ideas, right? Jo: That's going to give people a lot of ideas. PD: If you've ever seen the movie Goodfellas, I kind of grew up in that atmosphere, and with even some of those people too. My family had connections to those people in that movie, which I find very funny. If you watch that movie with me, you get a very different perspective on what's going on in the movie. Jo: Wow. So you're an interesting guy with an interesting background, with a very interesting backstory job as well. Some people are like, “Well, of course he's writing horror because horror is just awful and full of slasher gore and all that.” I often have to say to people who don't read horror, “Look, it's not like that.” Maybe some of it is, sure. But most of it isn't. Could you talk about how reading and writing horror can also be psychologically healthy? How do these worlds intertwine for you? PD: Well, sure. It 100% can be healthy. Especially over the last few years, there's a trend going on out there right now where people are taking their trauma and putting it into a creative process through poems, short stories, and even novels. They're taking their trauma and giving it a face, like a monster, where people are overcoming that monster within the creative process. I always say that horror is the genre that puts on display, better than any other genre out there, the human condition. Why is that? When people are in a terrifying situation, you really see who they are. You get to the heart of the matter of who that person is by putting them in these horrific but undefinable situations where it's like, what are they going to come out as? That real true personality needs to come out, and that courage comes out. That's huge in horror, and I think horror gets such a bad name. Now, I know there's the extreme horror and the splatterpunk, and that has its kind of role too in what I'm saying, but that's where horror is getting its bad reputation out there with the over-the-top type of gore. For the most part, that's a small part of the horror genre. It's a subgenre for a reason. It has its readership, and that's fine. Nothing wrong with it. I read it all the time. I find a lot of joy in it, a lot of excitement. However, for the most part, any horror novel that is not completely with the gore and stuff like splatterpunk can be seen as a psychological thriller, and a lot of psychological thrillers can be seen as a horror novel. Look at books like The Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon. That's horrific as well, but if you read the novel, it's in there. It just gets that bad rap right now, and it's not all gore. Most horror novels that I read today are psychological horror. It's tame on the gore, and the psychological aspect is there. I always see that psychological aspect—it's like psychological trauma. Most people, even in my industry, when people are out there and you mention trauma, PTSD, they're thinking about sexual abuse, physical abuse, or war-type trauma. The silent psychological one—I once wrote an article called “Emotional Trauma: The Silent Psychological Killer.” The one that's out there is the psychological trauma, the emotional trauma that is widespread. Most people go through that, and it could even be from parent to child, and most people don't understand that that's a traumatic experience. It's like a distortion of reality that you're experiencing that then creates a belief system in your brain, and you're constantly acting out that belief system. That's where the psychological component of horror really comes out. People breaking through that psychological belief system that was created through a traumatic experience by reaching courage and coming out through a horrific situation. Jo: Yes, it really annoys me, because with romance, of course people understand that romance is a huge genre. Something like a small town sweet romance is a world away from the bully romantasy, dark, or mafia. Mafia romance is a really big thing with very dark themes. I'm like, well, how can you understand that romance is a huge genre with all these different subgenres, and not think that horror or thriller or fantasy or sci-fi all have so many different subgenres within them? I personally read a lot of supernatural horror, but rarely the slasher gore kind of stuff. So I'm really glad you said that, and hopefully more people will open up a bit more. I did also want to ask you about what you write. You write all these different things. You write standalone—I mean, often horror is standalone—but you also have some series. How do you balance it? What are the benefits of cross-genre writing, but also the challenges of it? PD: Okay. So obviously I love cross-genre writing. To me, I use fantasy to explain the supernatural elements. I blend mostly a tad of fantasy to help explain the supernatural components in my supernatural novels. When I write sci-fi, specifically sci-fi, that has the fantasy element in it too, but there's also a tad of horror in there as well. It's just who I am. When I grew up, I had a lot of different influences. I had Star Wars on one side, and then I'm watching B-rated '80s slasher films on the other side. Those two mixes just kind of followed me throughout my life, and that's why I like putting them into my novels. As I tell my patients, don't limit yourself. Never limit yourself. If you're just limiting yourself to one genre, you're missing out on so much more that's out there. So I love the blend of mixing genres. It just gets my goat each and every time. It is a challenge though. I remember when I first started getting into indie publishing, I was never big into Facebook and social media up until I started becoming an indie author. Before that, with my type of upbringing, you don't advertise yourself. You don't advertise where you're going. That's a big no-no. So I always had this aversion to social media. I'll tell you a funny story. It was the late 2000s, probably 2006. I was a full-time single father at that time, and I was living in Florida. My family—brothers and sisters-in-law—were living in New York, and my sister-in-law said, “Get a Facebook account so we can see pictures of the kids.” I said, “Oh.” I didn't want to do it, but I said, “Okay,” so I did it. And I'm thinking, looking at this Facebook thing, “How do I put pictures on here?” So I figured out how to put pictures in folders. Then I phone called her, and I'm like, “Okay, so they're on there.” And they're like, “Well, where are they?” I'm like, “I put them in these folders. You can go and look at them.” She's like, “No, you've got to post them.” That to me was like, “I'm not posting pictures of my kids.” That was a big no-no. It didn't click. When I got on there finally in 2016, 2017, I'm like, “Okay, so I need to figure out social media. As an indie author, I need to be on there, so I need to get through this aversion and get on there.” I started noticing how people are so particular with their genres. If they're reading a romance, it had to be very specific with that exact type of romance, and if you deviated from it, they're not going to like it. So that was the challenge. I was like, “All right, number one, I'm not going to dilute myself” and say, “All right, take things out of my writing or out of my novel just so I could cater to a certain type of audience.” I'm like, “I'm not going to do that.” I know with me, myself, as a reader, I'll read everything. I don't limit myself to a specific genre. I'll read psychological thrillers. I'll read romance. I've been doing that all my life. So I'm like, if there's a person like me out there—and look at this, I just met like four other people who also read cross genres—then I know that there's at least another 30,000 people, and I know that at least then there's 300,000, then there's three million people out there. So just write the books that you're writing and find your audience. Now, that takes longer. So you've got to chip away. Chip away. You're going to find readers here and there, and then that reader kind of tells a few people about you, and then you've got a few more readers. Then you keep going, and you go on these Facebook groups, and you do a whole bunch of different things, and then you gather a few more readers. Then they're telling some friends, and then you've got more. The process takes a lot longer, yes, 100% agreed, but I would say be true to yourself and you can never go wrong. Jo: Yes, I agree. I write cross-genre as well, and I've browsed your collection. Golem was the one I was like, “Ooh, yes, I like that one.” I haven't read it yet, it's on my list. I think when you're cross-genre, my people come to my store as well, and it's like, “Okay, I'm interested in lots of things, but this is the one by this author that I'm interested in.” Whereas with other authors who only write one type of thing, then I might not like any of their stuff. So I think there are definitely pros and cons and different ways into our world. I also wanted to ask you about the differences in business. Obviously you ran this treatment centre and there were physical humans on all sides, and now you've got a business as an author. So what have you learned in business from what you used to do and what you do now? PD: Okay. You're right. The treatment centre industry is very different from what I'm doing now, but it's still people. Treat those people right, have integrity. If you say you're going to do something, follow through with it. My word is my bond type of thing. That definitely has fed into the writing and publishing industry that I'm in now in a huge way. Just connecting with people is, to me, the biggest part of it. I mean, treatment centres, you've got to connect with people. When I would market the treatment centre, where would I go? I would go to hospitals, residential facilities, detoxes, and talk to them about my programme and why they should be referring clients there. It's the same thing here. Why should you be reading my books? You get there through interviews like what I'm doing here with you. Other podcasts. You get there by doing Facebook Lives, TikTok. I haven't started TikTok Lives yet, but I actually love that platform. I'm falling in love with it. IG Lives, anything like that where you're talking to people and you're making a connection with those people. Through that, I've gathered so many different types of readers who are like, “Yes, I'll give this book a shot.” And then they read it and they're like, “Hey, this is really good, and I'm going to read another book.” With my books, I have very different books. Golem is my psychological horror novel. It's my slow-burn psychological horror novel, heavily inspired by Frankenstein and the Pygmalion myth. It's my first true horror book that I published. Then there's Jigglyspot and the Zero Intellect, which is inspired by B-rated '80s horror movies and the old grindhouse movies of the '70s, and it's mind manipulation. It's just wild and bizarre. And then The Sleepy Hollow Incident is my Gothic tale—it's like a dark romance mixed in with Gothic horror. So I always try to put something for everyone that's out there. To me, when I'm writing, it's got to be about depth, psychological depth. I always refer to my books to be like peeling layers off a Texas-sized onion. The more you read, the more in-depth you get into not only the characters, but the story. It's just something that comes out of me. It's part of me. That's the way I always have to do it. I always have to put that depth in there. To me, that's good storytelling. When I grew up, I read a lot of classic literature. Yes, Edgar Allan Poe, but also Dante's Inferno, Milton's Paradise Lost, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the Brontë sisters. Keep going. Ray Bradbury, Ayn Rand, Daphne du Maurier, Shirley Jackson. Those to me are my books that I absolutely love. So there's a sweet science in today's fast-paced, social media type of world in marrying the depth of the old classic literature and the entertainment value that is required today for being an author. There's that sweet science behind it, and I love just hitting that nail on the head every time. Jo: So did you ever pitch traditional publishing, or have you thought about going that way? Because I also find that a lot of horror actually sits very close to literary. Like, I read a lot more literary horror than I do in some of the other genres. PD: Correct. So in the beginning, yes. Not in a long time. I maybe went to a couple of indie publishers, but as far as traditional, the Big Five publishers, I have an aversion to them for a big reason. I know people who have worked in that industry that have told me some pretty bad horror stories about those places. So I haven't sent anything to that type of place in a very, very long time. Maybe close to 20 years. Indie publishers, the small presses, yes, here and there, but even then, I'm always moving at a fast pace. So if I've got a book and I'm sending it out as a query letter, by the time that query letter is even read, I'm almost done publishing. I love that aspect of it. The control of my story, where I know where this character's going. And listen, I've got my beta readers, I've got my ARC readers. They're there to tell me, “Hey, maybe you should change this or change that.” Whether I take that advice or not, of course my editor too, is really up to me. I always put out the book that I know is the one I want to read. And to me, I haven't gone wrong in doing so. I know with traditional publishing, you sometimes get too many thoughts in the pot there. Let's put it that way. Jo: Okay, so coming back to being indie then. You mentioned Amazon earlier, but you have a store where you sell direct. Many authors are doing this now, but it can be a challenge. So what have you found are the pros and cons of your direct store? What's working? Any lessons there? PD: Okay. So I use a place called Big Cartel. They're the platform where the books are on. They're hosting my website, PDAlleva.com. The big challenge was actually just starting it. It was so overwhelming. How do I put this on there? At the time, I've got all these books, so how do I present them? I'm even going to be doing another revamp with it too, because I want better pictures—taking pictures of the books, stuff like that, instead of just having the covers on there. I also have a lot of shirts that I'm selling. So I think the biggest challenge is just getting on there and starting it. Then of course, you've got to learn a whole new platform, and the mechanics, and how people are going to be downloading, and how that's done on an e-book versus a print version of the book. So it's a huge learning curve that you've really got to put your focus on and give it time. What most people like in indie publishing is signed copies. It's a huge part of indie publishing, selling those signed copies. People love a signed copy, and that's primarily what my website is for. You can order signed copies from me. I also use a place called IngramSpark, and they're more like a distributor. They're used by everyone. They've been around for a very long time. Traditional publishing uses them too, and they're just distributing your novel. I'd say about a year ago, maybe two years ago, they started where you can sell your books on discount through them as well. So I have that on my website too, where you're just clicking on the book and you're pretty much going directly to their site and you're buying paperbacks and hardbacks at a discount. That's going well too. For the most part, people are definitely coming to my site because they want the signed copies. A good thing with indie publishing is limited editions, first print copies, special editions. That type of stuff really just takes off. People love to see that, especially in the indie community. You can sell them too. I go to a few different book conventions during the year, and the limited editions are there. Like I said, people love the signed copies. They love being a part of that and getting that signed copy. They treasure it, just like I treasure my books too. I'm not referring to my books that I've written, but books that I have as well. I love my e-reader, don't get me wrong, but I still prefer the physical copy—the paperback, and even more so than the paperback, the hardback. So people love those signed copies, and that's why I created the website, to sell on there for them. Jo: Yes, I mean, we're getting to a point now though where I think some people are questioning the pros and cons of it. For example, you doing the signed copies—I don't do that from my Shopify store because I don't want to hold stock and I don't want to deal with postage. So I only do it when I do a Kickstarter. I've just finished one recently, Bones of the Deep, and I'm going up to the printer, and I'm going to sign a couple of hundred copies and then they do the postage. That's the only way I'm willing to do it because of the pain of getting books to your house, signing them, getting them in the post. So how do you manage that practically? PD: Okay, so the inventory's there. I don't go and sign everything right away. I just keep the inventory. Once somebody buys the book, then I'll pull out the book, log it and all that good fun stuff, sign it, and then ship it out immediately. Here in my country, we get discounts at the United States Post Office because they're books. So they pass that shipping cost over to the reader too, so it's a little bit cheaper for shipping. I'll just take books once or twice a week over to the United States Postal Service and ship those books out. I don't sign them until I actually get that order. Jo: How many do you have in your house? It's the holding stock of all the backlist that is the problem. PD: Ooh, gotcha. All right. That's why I have a two-car garage. But here's the thing, I won't order 500 at a time. I'll order 20 at a time. Jo: Okay. Right. PD: When I see that inventory's getting low, I'll order another 20 at a time. Jo: And you get those from IngramSpark? PD: Correct. When the new one comes out, maybe at that time I'm just selling those, bringing those to conventions that I go to. Or maybe doing a sale on those books at that time to get rid of the inventory so it's not sitting around anymore. Jo: I think that's so important. Then like you mentioned, you do T-shirts or shirts. That is also really hard because of sizing. So is that all print on demand? PD: Yes. So I don't really hold the stock on the shirts. When I get an order, whatever the size is at that time, I go directly to the place and order it. I use a place called Sublimation Station that's here in Orlando. They do great all-over print T-shirts. They're fantastic. I just did one for The Sleepy Hollow Incident. So The Sleepy Hollow Incident is one long story, and it's broken up into four books. Each book has its own. The covers are fantastic. I use a lady named Cherie Foxley. She's a phenomenal cover designer. So the shirts are, like, book one is on the front of one shirt with book two on the back, and then the second shirt is book three on the cover and book four on the back. However, I can customise those. I just did a giveaway in my Facebook group and I let people know I could customise them, and she wanted book one and book four, so I just got that and sent it out to her. Now, if people go ahead and order that on the website, I can just order it right away from them, boom, and that place will get it shipped right then and there. Jo: Right, so they do the shipping. These are all sort of practical things that people need to answer because I feel like sometimes it's like, “Oh, yes, having a direct store is great,” but there's actually quite a lot of work that goes into it, isn't there? PD: There is. There's a lot of work. You're pretty much opening almost like your own brick-and-mortar store at that point. You just don't have walk-in traffic coming in—your traffic is all coming online. So there is a lot to it, but it's worth it. If you're a self-published author or even a small indie press, it's good to have. Because like I said, people love the signed copies. Jo: When you say it's worth it, is it worth it financially or just because you like to serve the customers in that way? PD: Both. Jo: Right. So it is financially worth it for you? PD: Yes. Jo: I was talking to a friend of mine and saying, are you valuing your time in terms of things like taking the books to the post office and stuff like that? Do you find it eats into your writing at all, or do you just manage it all separately? PD: No, I manage it separately. So I'm an early morning riser. I get up at 3:00 in the morning, and that's when I write my books or do editing or brainstorming. I'm about to write a new novella now called The Adam and Eve Story, which is actually based on a little-known CIA shelved book from the 1990s called The Adam and Eve Story as well. So I've been brainstorming that, and I was doing that this morning. I get up at 3:00 a.m. and I do my writing, and by the time the kids are up and by the time the wife is up, it's like 8:00 a.m. is rolling around and I'm pretty much done at that point. Then I have my days. Tuesday I'm completely working from home and I do my thing in the morning, and then the rest of the day is marketing, fulfilling orders, stuff like that. On the days when I'm going to do group facilitation, I'll of course still get up at 3:00 o'clock in the morning, and then I'll plan out the day. I've got an hour between this group and I can go ahead and do that, and I'm already there so it's not a problem. The post office is right around the corner. You kind of figure out all the logistics for yourself. There are some days, like on Monday, I don't facilitate groups until the afternoon, so I've got the whole morning to work on marketing and do other things, and fulfilment. Then of course Saturday's a big day for that too. Jo: Oh, that's good. I feel like people always need to know how to balance their time, but it sounds like you manage, because at 3:00 a.m., as you say, there's not much else to do other than write. You mentioned marketing, and you have a Substack, pdsalternativefiction.substack.com. Talk about that and serialising fiction and how Substack works. Because I feel like a load of people are jumping in but might not necessarily know how it works, especially for fiction. PD: Correct. It is becoming quite popular out there. I think the one before that was Patreon, and Patreon is pretty big for that too, kind of the same thing. I wanted to start something and just get the work out there. I was very interested when Amazon came out a few years ago with what was called Vella. They kind of started that. I was like, “This is kind of cool.” Couple chapters at a time. I'm writing the books anyway, so why don't we kick this off and see how it goes—a type of experiment. I had a lot of fun doing it. I started on October 4th, 2024. I've done four novels so far. One is still going, which is Volume 3 of my Dark Veil serie— that's a sci-fi series. I wrote three other novels. The Hypnotist, which is a thriller, heavy on the sci-fi and a tad of horror in there too. And then I wrote Girl on a Mission, which is my psychological thriller, and then Cat Fight, which is a horror novel—all within that time. I think I finished all three of those novels in January, and then the first week of February they were all pretty much done. Now what I'm doing is, I went paid recently on the Substack. It's like everything else that's out there—chip away, chip away. I fell into that hole where they say, “Hey, we can promote you and get people to sign up for your newsletter.” And I'll be honest with you, don't do it. It's not worth it. You spend money, and what happens is they're what I refer to as dead leads. They don't click. You wind up shuffling them off after three to six months, because they're just not clicking. Everybody gets a star rating, so you know—are they clicking, are they staying on, are they not? So I got rid of pretty much all of those people, and I'll never do that again. It's got to be done organically. That's why when you read my books, especially the new books, towards the end it'll say, “Sign up for my newsletter.” I do more with that newsletter too. If you're on the free tier, every month I do a monthly newsletter, which is just me talking about updates, things going on in the publishing industry, things going on with me. My daughter puts together a weekly Horror and Sci-Fi Chronicles newsletter, which gives what's going on in new releases in the industry—sci-fi, horror, books, movies, television. She does deep dives into industry tropes, historical tidbits, and a weekly quiz. I also do a monthly Terrors and Tales newsletter. I started this last year, and it was a quarterly newsletter. It's other authors who are new, upcoming, never been published before, looking to get published. It's a chance for them to be on the newsletter where they have a flash fiction story or poem or even a short story that I publish for them. It's called the Terrors and Tales newsletter. What happened is I would put out calls for submissions. And a place called Duotrope—I don't even know who these people are, but all of a sudden I got an email from them stating, “Hey, we found that you're looking for submissions, and we posted your link. We hope you don't mind.” I'm like, “No, of course I don't mind.” I got so many submissions from that one link. I'm like, “Okay.” Do I really want to deny people? I'm not like that. I want to help promote other authors. I know what it's like when you're new and upcoming, no matter what age you are, to say, “Hey, here's a platform for you to see your stuff in print.” Obviously, I read through them just to make sure they're up to a certain standard, but for the most part, if you submit, you're getting in there. With Duotrope, I'm like, I have enough here to put out one a month. So in May 2026, the first one goes out, and then I'll have one each month until December, and then who knows? In 2027 I might go back to quarterly. I might get enough submissions to just keep it going once a month. So that's the Terrors and Tales newsletter, and it usually comes out towards the end of the month—the last two weeks. I have nothing to do with it in terms of content. None of my stories are on there. None of my poems are on there. None of my flash fiction. It's all other authors, just for them to see their name in print, see their work in print, share it with their friends, and put something on their resume, and to encourage people to keep reading and keep the craft going. Jo: When you say in print, you don't mean in physical print? PD: Oh, I mean in the newsletter. I'm sorry. Jo: I think that's important, or you're going to get a lot more submissions, and you will need to do publishing contracts and all that kind of thing. I think that's the difficult thing with a Substack newsletter approach—it's difficult to know where to categorise it. Is it marketing? Is it publishing? It's all of these things, I suppose. A bit like this podcast, it's all kinds of things. In terms of Substack actually making money on its own or leading to book sales that make money, do you think it does serve that purpose? PD: I think I've gotten more book sales through it, and also ARC readers who are enjoying the books and giving reviews. As far as the paid tiers, that's kind of a little bit slow, and that's where I'm saying chip away at it. Keep it up there. Keep it going. Over time, you're going to build that type of audience where it's going to be like, “Hey, this is financially feasible for me to continue to do this.” That's the response that I'm getting out there. Jo: Yes. Before, you mentioned you were doing Facebook Lives and you're looking at TikTok, but— Is anything else working for you in book marketing? If people have a few books and they're like, “What is working for book marketing right now?”—what do you recommend? PD: Okay. For me, the thing that has made the most sense is making sure the reader knows the book is out there through some sort of social media. I've had really good success on TikTok since the beginning of this year especially. I started it about a year ago, year and a half ago, but then my father got sick and passed away, and it was a new venture and I put it off to the side. I really got the flavour going at the beginning of this year. February, March of this year. It seems to be going really well, and I've noticed an uptick in sales from just getting the videos out there and getting it in front of people's eyes. There's an event I'm going to in August called ShiverCon, which is a pretty big event. After that event, I'm going to look to see what type of inventory I have left over from the event, and I'm going to start doing TikTok Lives. I'm very comfortable being on camera. So I'm like, “Yeah, that seems like a good way to go.” I know there's a few other horror authors who are doing it and having good success with TikTok Lives as well. A guy named Jason Davis is doing really well with TikTok Lives, and a few other authors too. I'm like, “Yes, I could definitely do that.” I want to get up to a certain number of people, and I want these events. I'm going to one in July, and then ShiverCon in August. Once those are done, I'm going to have more time to do the TikTok Lives. As far as Facebook is concerned, what I've had really great success with on Facebook is being in the groups and meeting other authors. That's not always about my book per se, but whatever books I'm reading, I'm posting my reviews about those books in those groups and meeting readers. Then obviously, they always say the three-to-one rule. Post about three different books and then post about your own book, whether you're doing a sale or a new release or a re-release or whatever. I've found success through that just by interacting with readers. When they post a book, I'll comment, “Hey, I've read that book,” or, “Hey, that book looks really cool. I like the review.” Commenting on it so you start these relationships with people who are out there in these Facebook groups. I've recently started my own Facebook reader group. I kind of go with the same thing. Last night, we did a live reading for another author. I like other authors to be on there. I always like to think, what does the reader need? What do I want to see as a reader? I would love to hear live readings from authors. So I kind of learn about them, learn about the book, and get a live reading. To me, that's a good way to go. So I started that recently, and it seems to be going well. I've got a new folk horror coming out soon, and I put out a call for ARC readers and got a fantastic response from that. That kind of drives the sales anyway, because when you get those reviews, then people see it gives credibility to the book, and then other people see it, and then they're buying it too. So that comes from the groups. There's so many wheels to spin in this industry as an indie author when you're doing this, especially when you're doing 99% of it on your own. You've got to get out there. No one's going to know your book exists if you don't get out there and tell somebody about it. Jo: Brilliant. Well, tell us— Where can people find you and your books online? PD: All right. Perfect. So obviously I'm on Amazon like everyone. Most of my books are worldwide, so you'll find them in Barnes & Noble as well. And of course, if you want the signed copies or discount print books, I always lead people straight to my website, PDAlleva.com. Then, of course, if you go to my Substack, you'll get all the updates, and you'll get all the links to purchase or find out where they are on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and things like that too. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Paul. That was great. PD: Thank you very much for having me. It was great chatting with you. The post Writing Cross-Genre, Selling Direct, And Serialising On SubStack With P.D. Alleva first appeared on The Creative Penn.

In this episode I'm sharing 5 print on demand niches that you can target to increase your sales in the near future

Lindsay Mack is an intuitive tarot teacher, writer, and founder of Tarot for the Wild Soul, as well as the host of the popular podcast of the same name, which has been downloaded over ten million times. Lindsay's new book Tarot for the Wild Soul: A Trauma-Informed Approach for Growth, Healing, and Grounding in the Present Moment is out now, as is their new tarot deck Soul Tarot, illustrated by Chelsea Granger.Through Lindsay's beloved workshops, retreats, and online Tarot courses, they have taught Soul Tarot to many tens of thousands of students from all around the world. And as a queer, neurodivergent, and (now) joyful survivor of childhood abuse living with complex PTSD and chronic pain, Lindsay is passionately dedicated to honoring and helping to bring space, light, and healing to those who are experiencing any kind of suffering.On this episode, Lindsay discusses how to use tarot as a tool for understanding the present, why it's OK to show up to your deck “messy,” and their gender-transcending interpretations of the cards.Pam also talks about seeking more tender tarot, and answers a listener question about magical support for a life-giving medical procedure.Check out the video of this episode over on YouTube (and please like and subscribe to the channel while you're at it!)Our sponsors for this episode are Weiser Books, Enchanted Heart Shadow Work Oracle Deck, Blessed Be Magick, BetterHelp, The Body Oracle Deck from North Atlantic Books, and Bridgette the StrangeWe also have print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here, and all sorts of other bewitching goodies available in the Witch Wave shop.And if you want more Witch Wave, please consider supporting us on Patreon to get access to detailed show notes, bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam's monthly online rituals, and more! That's patreon.com/witchwave

In this episode, we discuss Amazon's new feature that allows shoppers to design custom merchandise using AI prompts and Alexa, potentially reshaping the print-on-demand market. We explore how this innovation could impact platforms like Etsy and provide insights based on personal experiences in merchandise sales.Chapters00:00 Introduction00:28 Amazon's Custom Merch Feature01:40 Print on Demand Insights08:01 Future Implications for Businesses Our AI Hustle Skool Community: https://www.skool.com/aihustleGet the top 80+ AI Models for $8.99 at AI Box: ⁠⁠https://aibox.aiGet the AI Chat Daily Newsletter: https://www.aichatdaily.com/newsletter

In this episode, we discuss Amazon's new feature that allows shoppers to design custom merchandise using AI prompts and Alexa, potentially reshaping the print-on-demand market. We explore how this innovation could impact platforms like Etsy and provide insights based on personal experiences in merchandise sales.Chapters00:00 Introduction00:28 Amazon's Custom Merch Feature01:40 Print on Demand Insights08:01 Future Implications for Businesses Our AI Hustle Skool Community: https://www.skool.com/aihustleGet the top 80+ AI Models for $8.99 at AI Box: ⁠⁠https://aibox.aiGet the AI Chat Daily Newsletter: https://www.aichatdaily.com/newsletter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lindsay Mack is an intuitive tarot teacher, writer, and founder of Tarot for the Wild Soul, as well as the host of the popular podcast of the same name, which has been downloaded over ten million times. Lindsay's new book Tarot for the Wild Soul: A Trauma-Informed Approach for Growth, Healing, and Grounding in the Present Moment is out now, as is their new tarot deck Soul Tarot, illustrated by Chelsea Granger.Through Lindsay's beloved workshops, retreats, and online Tarot courses, they have taught Soul Tarot to many tens of thousands of students from all around the world. And as a queer, neurodivergent, and (now) joyful survivor of childhood abuse living with complex PTSD and chronic pain, Lindsay is passionately dedicated to honoring and helping to bring space, light, and healing to those who are experiencing any kind of suffering.On this episode, Lindsay discusses how to use tarot as a tool for understanding the present, why it's OK to show up to your deck “messy,” and their gender-transcending interpretations of the cards.Pam also talks about seeking more tender tarot, and answers a listener question about magical support for a life-giving medical procedure.Check out the video of this episode over on YouTube (and please like and subscribe to the channel while you're at it!)Our sponsors for this episode are Weiser Books, Enchanted Heart Shadow Work Oracle Deck, Blessed Be Magick, BetterHelp, The Body Oracle Deck from North Atlantic Books, and Bridgette the StrangeWe also have print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here, and all sorts of other bewitching goodies available in the Witch Wave shop.And if you want more Witch Wave, please consider supporting us on Patreon to get access to detailed show notes, bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam's monthly online rituals, and more! That's patreon.com/witchwave

In this video, I reveal a brand-new print-on-demand product recently added to Printify's catalog and show why I believe it presents a unique opportunity for Etsy sellers. Using Etsy product research and EverBee sales estimates, we'll analyze real bestsellers, validate demand, and explore how print-on-demand sellers can compete in a market where customers are already spending $50+ per order.• Printify (Print on Demand Fulfillment) → ⁠https://bit.ly/POD_Printify⁠ (CODE: "RYANHOGUE30")• *Everbee* (Etsy Research) → https://bit.ly/PODEverbee

What if you could create something once and get paid for it for years? In this episode, I'm speaking with mother-daughter team Elke and Jen Clarke about how they built location-independent income through print-on-demand, allowing them to leave traditional career paths and design lives with more freedom.Takeaways from this episode:How Elke transitioned from a six-figure corporate career into entrepreneurship.How Jen used this business model to move to Spain and live abroad for 10 years.What print-on-demand actually is, and why it's more than just t-shirts and mugsWhy business strategy matters more than artistic talent.If you're looking for a flexible, location-independent way to earn income online, this episode offers an inside look at how Elke and Jen built businesses that continue generating revenue long after the work is done.Subscribe and ReviewIf you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your support helps us reach more visionaries who need these insights.

Learn how to turn your product images into video ads in minutes using Amazon Ads' Video Generator inside Creative Studio. In this step-by-step tutorial, I'll show you how to create, customize, and test Sponsored Brands video ads without any editing experience.• *Learn More* https://advertising.amazon.com/lp/build-your-business-with-amazon-advertising#Ad #AmazonAds

What do a baby sleep mask, a detail van, and a print-on-demand candle have in common? They're all quietly generating serious income for real people — and in this episode, we dig into the numbers behind six of the most interesting side hustle stories making the rounds right now. I'm joined by Cody Berman — co-host of The FI Show and author of Retire by 30: How to Build Wealth, Gain Freedom, and Live Life on Your Own Terms — for a roundtable breakdown of the latest Side Hustle Headlines. Each story comes with real numbers, honest reactions, and ideas for how the same model might work in your own life. Listen to Episode 742 of the Side Hustle Show to learn: how a first-time mom built a $90k/month business in 20-minute bursts between feedings why a "boring" service side hustle is quietly keeping pace with a six-figure salary what the print-on-demand candle boom reveals about finding underserved niches Full Show Notes: $60k/mo Selling Baby Sleep Masks, the $72k “Secret” Detailing Business, $500k in Print on Demand Candles, and more New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Sponsors: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Indeed⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quo (formerly OpenPhone)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — Get 20% off of your first 6 months! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shopify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — Sign up for a $1 per month trial! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Gusto⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Whatnot⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — Whatnot will match your first $150 sold in the first month! About The Side Hustle Show This is the entrepreneurship podcast you can actually apply! The award-winning small business show covers the best side hustles and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠side hustle ideas⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We share how to start a business and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠make money online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and offline, including online business, side gigs, freelancing, marketing, sales funnels, investing, and much more. Join 100,000+ listeners and get legit business ideas and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠passive income⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ strategies straight to your earbuds. No BS, just actionable tips on how to start and grow your side hustle. Hosted by Nick Loper of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Side Hustle Nation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this video, I break down four print-on-demand products that already have proven demand on Etsy, including newly added Printify products and a viral t-shirt niche powered by AI-generated designs. If you're looking for fresh POD opportunities in 2026, this is a great place to start.• *Printify* (Print on Demand Fulfillment) → ⁠https://bit.ly/POD_Printify⁠ (CODE: "RYANHOGUE30")• *Everbee* (Etsy Research) → https://bit.ly/PODEverbee• *MyDesigns* (AI POD Workflows) → http://bit.ly/PODMyDesigns (CODE: "RYAN25" = 25% Off)

hey guys! So as promised, I'm giving you guys a special re-airing of an interview episode I originally released for FREE 5 years ago. YES! this episode was up for QUITE sometime but It was unfortunately taken down because of a song clip that was used in the beginning of the interview. but now I'm re-uploading it without the song clip.and let me tell you guys. this band was absolutely INCREDIBLE! they were SO talented, and it was an absolute HONOR to interview one of the original members of this group on my podcast.If your'e new to listening to this show. I normally don't release interview episodes for free but this interview I originally released for the free version of my podcast prior to launching the premium version of my podcast. but it was taken down because of a song clip so I'm re uploading it without the song clip.anyways, I TRULY believe that their music has held up over the years. Millennial Acoustic Singer Songwriters can EASILY sink their teeth into their stuff. and they had a REALLY good blend of Folk, Country, and Pop/Rock & Roll sensibilities.these guys ALSO mixed in Jug Band Blues into their stuff as well.here are the songs we discussed in this interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnbfuAcCqpY&list=RDJnbfuAcCqpY&start_radio=1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIM579H-f7Y&list=RDBIM579H-f7Y&start_radio=1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4uCug9y0_k&list=RDm4uCug9y0_k&start_radio=1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt5Jy983uTE&list=RDLt5Jy983uTE&start_radio=1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txTEhgReZUA&list=RDtxTEhgReZUA&start_radio=1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G9JEauj7A8&list=RD8G9JEauj7A8&start_radio=1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJAzJR0AiSI&list=RDoJAzJR0AiSI&start_radio=1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YgevxRGXIU&list=RD5YgevxRGXIU&start_radio=1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfXpqgKWJ7g&list=RDPfXpqgKWJ7g&start_radio=1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZqgFyj5uTo&list=RD9ZqgFyj5uTo&start_radio=1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAur4CWJIPw&list=RDpAur4CWJIPw&start_radio=1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9gKcb2DSb8&list=RDG9gKcb2DSb8&start_radio=1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyw29FZki0Y&list=RDZyw29FZki0Y&start_radio=1If you want to hear more interviews like this, please click this link right here & sign up for the premium version of my podcast: https://themillennialthrowbackmachine.supercast.com/also definitely follow me & reach out to me on IG & Tik Tok right here:https://www.instagram.com/iheartoldieshttps://www.tiktok.com/@iheartoldiessince I released this episode for free, I did add the songs that we discussed in this interview to the Spotify & Youtube playlists for this podcast. you can find these playlists right here:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/21f3uBS6kU4hUF6QAC5JMj?si=17c92f74d1b5470fhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS1sYR7xky8&list=PL66sgq_GAmRcXy8yKZJfVmAD14HUYj7NfI'm holding off on promoting my merch until I find some new print on demand companies for my merch, but please do listen to my last music project so you can brace yourself for my next one. you can find that right here:https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/samlwilliams/an-old-soul-with-new--remiagined-thingsIf your a Millennial/ Gen Z and you absolutely LOVED this interview and you got turned on to the Lovin Spoonful's music from me, then PLEASE email me at samltwilli@icloud.com. I wish I could give you more album updates guys with me for this particular episode but I"m running out of character space, so what I'll do is that I'll record a solo episode and release it this month and give you guys some more album updates then. but I hope you guys enjoyed this interview episode. this episode surely is a throwback episode because I'm not 25 anymore (I'm 30 now) but I know that some other earlier podcast episodes were also taken down, but if you want those to be re-uploaded, please let me know. even though it'll definitely be tough to re-upload those. I'll talk to you guys again one more time this month.

In this episode, we dive into how modern e-commerce brands are scaling faster and reducing risk using print-on-demand and AI-powered tools.David Hooker, Head of Brand at Printify, shares how the platform helps business owners launch global stores without buying upfront inventory or managing messy shipping logistics.He also reveals how AI is automating boring tasks like product tagging, creating photorealistic mockups in seconds, and helping sellers target the perfect niche audience. Topics discussed in this episode:  How AI automates repetitive store setup tasks. What print-on-demand means for modern inventory. Why photorealistic AI mockups save massive photography costs. How global fulfillment networks enable rapid local shipping.What traits separate successful sellers from failed stores.Why gathering direct audience feedback drives brand growth.How to launch an online business without risk.What custom products the rising Gen Z audience demands.Why text-based t-shirts often become massive bestsellers.How print-on-demand offers true location and time freedom. Links & ResourcesWebsite: https://printify.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/printify/LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/hookerdjInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/printify/X/Twitter: https://x.com/printifyGet access to more free resources by visiting the show notes at https://tinyurl.com/yd85xumbI'd love your feedback. Tap the the link to send me a text. ______________________________________________________LOVE THE SHOW? HERE ARE THE NEXT STEPS!Follow the podcast to get every bonus episode. Tap follow now and don't miss out!   Rate & Review: Help others discover the show by rating the show on Apple Podcasts at https://tinyurl.com/ecb-apple-podcasts   Join our Free Newsletter: https://newsletter.ecommercecoffeebreak.com/   Support The Show On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EcommerceCoffeeBreak   Partner with us: https://ecommercecoffeebreak.com/partner-with-us/

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Hey guys! so it's at the end of the month now, which means I"m gonna release another free episode for my podcast. and actually, next month I"m doing something pretty special. One of the interviews that I released for the free version of my podcast was unfortunately taken down because of a song clip that I used in the interview, and I didn't get back to my distributor in time to let them know that the song clip was used in context of fair use of my interview that I released. so it was unfortunately taken down. so next month, I'm gonna re release the interview and it's with an original member of the Lovin Spoonful! that was originally released in February of 2021. the playlists for my podcast won't be updated next month as this was a previously released episode for my podcast.it will not have the song clip in the interview (unlike the original interview) but it will be the original interview as it was when I recorded it with Steve Boone (the original member of the Lovin Spoonful who I interviewed for my podcast). but anyways, this month, I'm diving into a song in a very specific style from the 60's known as Swamp PopI dive into exactly what genre is in this episode. here's the song I discuss this month right here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5L5i7ARdAY&list=RDD5L5i7ARdAY&start_radio=1do also follow me & reach out to me on Instagram & Tik Tok right here:https://www.instagram.com/iheartoldieshttps://www.tiktok.com/@iheartoldiesalso PLEASE do subscribe to the premium verison of my podcast! next month I will be re releasing a special interview that I originally released for the free version of my podcast so that way, you guys can get a taste of what you would get for the free version of my podcast. if you want more of those interviews with these REALLY cool 60's music legends, PLEASE click this link right here:https://themillennialthrowbackmachine.supercast.com/also PLEASE do listen to the Spotify and Youtube playlists for this podcast. so that way you guys can hear the songs that I have talked about on my podcast. you can do that by clicking the link right here:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/21f3uBS6kU4hUF6QAC5JMj?si=452caeb240974f61https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS1sYR7xky8&list=PL66sgq_GAmRcXy8yKZJfVmAD14HUYj7Nfalso here's another thing guys. I know that I have been plugging the podcast merch stores for a while, but at this moment, I'm looking for new Print On Demand stores for my merch items. mainly because I"m pretty disappointed with the quality of fabric with the T shirts I've gotten from my merch stores from both makers of my Sam L. Williams Merch and my podcast Merch. I got two shirts from both stores as Christmas Gifts and by March, both shirts were pretty worn out and the logos were very much faded. so I am going to make some moves to another Print On Demand companies with MUCH better quality of products/Fabrics.So I'm gonna hold off on plugging my merch for now, but PLEASE do listen to my last EP so you can brace yourself for my next album that I"m SO excited to finish: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/samlwilliams/an-old-soul-with-new--remiagined-thingsif you guys enjoyed this interview and you fell in love with this song through me, or maybe you weren't crazy about it and your a Millennial/Gen Z, PLEASE email me at samltwilli@icloud.com. you can also follow me & reach out to me on Instagram & Tik Tok @iheartoldies. hope you guys are doing great. I will give you updates about my album in July. but maybe I'll do a solo episode in June as well. we'll see. if it'll help increate listenership for my podcast that'll be good. anyways, I'll talk to you guys next month. Until then, PLEASE, Keep Things Groovy!.

Eine Entscheidungshilfe für Selfpublishing-Autoren und Selfpublisherinnen – PoD oder doch eine Auflage drucken? In dieser Episode des Mission Bestseller Podcasts widme ich mich einer der zentralen Fragen für Selfpublisher:innen: Solltest du dein Buch im Print-on-Demand-Verfahren veröffentlichen oder doch auf klassischen Auflagendruck setzen? Mit meiner langjähriger Erfahrung im Selfpublishing teile meine Erkenntnisse, Vor- und Nachteile beider Methoden, berichte von aktuellen Marktentwicklungen und gebe dir wertvolle Entscheidungshilfen an die Hand. Egal, ob du dein erstes Buch veröffentlichst oder eine etablierte Backlist hast – diese Folge hilft dir dabei, den für dich passenden Weg zu finden, damit dein gedrucktes Buch 2026 die besten Chancen am Markt hat. Hier die wichtigsten Aspekte, die ich in dieser Folge anspreche: Die 10 wichtigsten Themen in dieser Folge Einführung in Print on Demand (PoD) und Auflagendruck Warum war PoD lange Zeit der bevorzugte Weg im Selfpublishing? Welcher Druckweg eignet sich 2026 besser für Selfpublisher:innen? Vorteile von Print on Demand Es werden die wichtigsten Vorteile hervorgehoben: keine finanzielle Vorleistung, einfache Aktualisierungsmöglichkeiten, keine Lagerhaltung und zufriedenstellende Gewinnspanne bei geringen Stückzahlen. Auflagendruck als interessante Alternative Autor:innen haben auch mit Auflagendruck Erfolg. Serviceanbieter, die Selfpublisher:inne beim Vertrieb unterstützen (z.B. NovaMD, Autaria) werden kurz vorgestellt. Entwicklung und Bedeutung von Dienstleistern Die Rolle von Dienstleistern wie Books on Demand, NovaMD und Autaria im Wandel und ihre Bedeutung für Verlage und Selfpublisher werden beleuchtet. Die Spiegel-Bestsellerliste als Ziel und die Rolle des Auflagendrucks Warum der Auflagendruck für Selfpublisher:innen, die auf die Spiegel-Bestsellerliste wollen, oft der notwendige Weg ist. Nachteile von Print on Demand Typische Schwächen wie Qualitätsmängel bei einzelnen Exemplaren, potenzielle Rückläufer, und eingeschränkte Marge bei wenigen Verkäufen werden thematisiert. Kostenmodell beim Auflagendruck Es wird erläutert, ab welchen verkauften Stückzahlen (ab ca. 500 Exemplaren) der Auflagendruck finanziell attraktiver wird und welche logistischen Lösungen es gibt. Tipps für Crowdfunding-Projekte und besondere Genres Die besonderen Anforderungen an Druck und Versand, gerade bei Crowdfunding-Aktionen, werden ebenso angesprochen wie spezifische Herausforderungen bei hochwertigen Büchern (z. B. Koch- oder Bildbände). Die richtige Entscheidung treffen: Verkaufsprognosen und Analyse Die Notwendigkeit einer realistischen Verkaufseinschätzung und einer ehrlichen Analyse der eigenen Reichweite und Ziele wird betont. Kombination verschiedener Publikationswege und Plattformen Wie du flexibel mehrere Wege nutzen kannst: eBook über einen Kanal, Taschenbuch via PoD, Hardcover im Auflagendruck – je nach Zielgruppe und Strategie. # Print on Demand oder Auflagendruck? – Entscheidungshilfe für Selfpublisher:innen Egal, ob du gerade mit deinem ersten Manuskript jonglierst oder schon mehrere Werke veröffentlicht hast – irgendwann steht jede:r Autor:in vor der Frage: Wie bringe ich mein gedrucktes Buch am besten unter die Leute? Setze ich auf Print on Demand oder investiere ich in einen Auflagendruck? In dieser Episode der Mission Bestseller spreche ich ausführlich darüber gesprochen, welche Vor- und Nachteile beide Wege für Selfpublisher:innen heute bieten. ## Was ist Print on Demand und warum ist es so beliebt? Kurz gesagt: Beim Print on Demand (PoD) wird dein Buch erst dann gedruckt, wenn es tatsächlich bestellt wird. Das klingt erstmal unglaublich praktisch – und das ist es in vielerlei Hinsicht auch. Du musst „nicht in die finanzielle Vorleistung gehen" und dich weder um Lagerung noch um Versand kümmern. Auch kleine Anpassungen am Buch – ein übersehener Tippfehler, kleine Ergänzungen – sind schnell und unkompliziert möglich. Ein paar Klicks an den Daten, und das nächste bestellte Exemplar enthält schon die verbesserte Version. Die Geschäftsmodelle der größten PoD-Anbieter wie Books on Demand (BOD), epubli, oder tredition verleihen dir eine erstaunliche Flexibilität. Mit einer vergleichsweise geringen Einstiegssumme (oft im zweistelligen Eurobereich) bist du dabei. Die Marge ist für viele auch attraktiv, besonders, wenn du über Amazon KDP veröffentlichst ## Warum solltest du trotzdem über Auflagendruck nachdenken? Beim Auflagendruck werden – wie der Name sagt – mehrere Exemplare deines Buches in einem Rutsch gedruckt, meist gleich hunderte oder tausende. Oft übernimmt ein Dienstleister wie NovaMD oder Autaria die Lagerung und den Versand für dich. Diese Option lohnt sich vor allem, wenn du viele Bücher verkaufst, 500 oder mehr. Warum? Weil dann die Stückkosten deutlich sinken und du insgesamt einen besseren Gewinn pro Buch erzielen kannst. Ein weiterer spannender Aspekt: Wer auf die renommierte Spiegel-Bestsellerliste schielt, kommt mit Auflagendruck oft eher ans Ziel. Dort schafft man es in der Regel nur, wenn eine gewisse Mindestzahl an gedruckten Büchern in einer relativ kurzen Zeitspanne in den Handel kommt – und Print on Demand reicht dafür meist nicht aus. ## Die größten Pluspunkte und Fallstricke beider Varianten ### Print on Demand: Viel Flexibilität, wenig Risiko - Keine hohen Startkosten: Du investierst nur minimal, daher ist PoD perfekt für erste Gehversuche. - Einfache Anpassungen: Fehler kannst du schnell korrigieren, neue Inhalte hinzufügen. - Kein Stress mit Lager und Versand: Alles übernimmt der Dienstleister, entspannt statt aufwendig. - Ideal bei unsicheren Verkaufszahlen: Wenn du nicht genau weißt, wie viele Bücher du realistisch absetzen wirst, bist du mit PoD auf der sicheren Seite. Dennoch gibt's auch Nachteile. Jedes Buch wird einzeln gedruckt, und da können bei jedem Druckvorgang kleine Fehler passieren – etwa beim Cover oder bei Farben. Das kann zu unzufriedenen Kund:innen führen und deinem Ruf schaden. Die Tantiemen sind bei kleinen Verkaufszahlen okay, aber wenn du über Buchhandlungen kommen willst, wird es finanziell schnell eng, weil Buchhandlungen hohe Rabatte verlangen. ### Auflagendruck: Mehr Risiko, mehr Möglichkeiten - Günstigere Stückkosten: Je mehr du drucken lässt, desto billiger wird's pro Buch. - Höhere Qualität: Du hast meist mehr Einfluss aufs Papier, auf die Ausstattung, Farbtreue bei Fotos und Co. – das ist z. B. bei Kochbüchern oder Bildbänden ein klarer Pluspunkt. - Besserer Zugang zum Buchhandel: Mit professionellem Vertrieb erreichst du leichter stationäre Buchläden. - Crowdfunding-Kompatibilität: Wenn du im Voraus durch Vorbestellungen schon Einnahmen hast, kannst du konkret kalkulieren und zielgerichtet drucken. Allerdings birgt Auflagendruck finanzielle Risiken. Wenn du 500 Bücher produzierst, aber nur 100 verkaufst, bleiben dir 400 Bücher im Lager oder landen sogar bei dir zu Hause. Die logistische Abwicklung über Dienstleister wie NovaMD oder Autaria kostet auch extra, und unverkaufte Bücher können weitere Kosten verursachen, wenn sie zurückgeschickt werden. ## Was ist nun „besser" für dich als Autor:in? Es gibt nicht den einen goldenen Weg – sondern du musst ehrlich in den Spiegel blicken. Frag dich: - Wie viele Bücher werde ich realistisch verkaufen? - Wie wichtig ist mir der stationäre Buchhandel? - Welche Zielgruppe habe ich – und wo kauft sie am liebsten? - Wie stehe ich selbst zum Thema Vorfinanzierung und Risiko? Gerade Anfänger:innen sind oft mit Print on Demand am besten beraten. Du kannst risikofrei starten, erste Erfahrungen sammeln, Feedback einholen und dich langsam rantasten. Hast du aber schon eine große Reichweite, eine erfolgreiche Serie oder viel Erfahrung im Buchmarkt, lohnt es sich, den Schritt zum Auflagendruck ernsthaft zu überlegen. Und – weshalb nicht kombinieren? Vielleicht veröffentlichst du dein eBook über einen Kanal, das Taschenbuch als Print on Demand und spendierst deinem Werk ein besonders hochwertiges Hardcover im Auflagendruck für Buchhandlungen oder für besondere Fans. ## Deine Entscheidung zählt! Selfpublishing ist wunderbar vielfältig – inzwischen gibt es zahlreiche Anbieter und Optionen. Mach dir klar, wo du stehst, was du erreichen willst und wer deine Leser:innen sind. Flexibilität, Kosten, Qualität, Sichtbarkeit im Handel – das alles sind legitime Kriterien, und es gibt nicht die eine Lösung für alle. Es ist vielmehr eine Frage deiner eigenen Ziele und Möglichkeiten. Wenn du auf Nummer sicher gehen willst: Taste dich langsam heran, frage Kolleg:innen nach ihren Erfahrungen oder probiere mehrere Vertriebswege aus. Denn am Ende zählt nur eins: dass dein Buch die Menschen erreicht, für die du es geschrieben hast! Welcher Erfahrungen hast du mit Print on Demand und/oder Auflagendruck gemacht? Teile sie gerne in den Kommentaren!

Sam Pinkleton is the Tony Award-winning director of Oh, Mary! and the 9-time Tony Award-nominated revival of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway at Studio 54. His work as a director also includes Josh Sharp's TA-DA!, Morgan Bassichis' Can I Be Frank?, Noah Diaz' You Will Get Sick, The Wizard of Oz, Elizabeth Swados' Runaways, Head Over Heels (with Jenny Koons), La Cage Aux Folles, and UNTITLED DANCESHOWPARTYTHING (with Ani Taj). Highlights of his work as a choreographer include Stephen Sondheim's final musical Here We Are, Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang's Soft Power, and eight shows on Broadway including Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (Tony Nomination), Macbeth, and Machinal. His film/TV work includes Dying for Sex and the musical The End, starring Tilda Swinton. His upcoming projects include the participatory Scottish dance musical Ceilidh and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.On this episode, Sam discusses the deliciously Dionysian alchemy of Rocky Horror, his blending of stagecraft and witchcraft, and why theatre is collective magic in action.Pam also talks about excavating both personal and historical roots of theatrical magic, and answers a listener question about conjuring supernatural support for a canine familiar.Check out the video of this episode over on YouTube (and please like and subscribe to the channel while you're at it!)Our sponsors for this episode are Wheel of Fate, Mithras Candle, BetterHelp, Blessed Be Magick, and Zouz IncenseWe also have print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here, and all sorts of other bewitching goodies available in the Witch Wave shop.And if you want more Witch Wave, please consider supporting us on Patreon to get access to detailed show notes, bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam's monthly online rituals, and more! That's patreon.com/witchwave

Chris Heckman stared at his computer screen with a sinking feeling: his first major e-commerce store launch was a complete zero, leaving him with $100,000 in credit card debt. Instead of crawling back to the safety of his corporate job at Amazon, he adopted a "burn the boats" mentality, treated his failures as data, and built a print on demand (POD) powerhouse that has since generated over $25 million in total sales.In this episode of the UpFlip Podcast, Chris breaks down the realities of building an e-commerce brand from scratch. He explains how he bounced back from massive debt, why most beginners quit right before they find success, and the exact digital marketing strategies he uses today to generate over $1.1M a year without touching a single piece of inventory.

In this episode I'm sharing 5 print on demand niches that you can target to increase your sales in the near future

The second Black Books Matter Festival is inaugurated by Ramunda Young, co-owner of MahoganyBooks, whose opening remarks resonate with a deep appreciation for the significance of community spaces that embrace and celebrate Black narratives without the constraints of code-switching. Young's reflections set the tone for the festival, which features a panel of independent authors—Charlotte Avery, Brian Heat, and Cerece Rennie Murphy—who share their journeys in self-publishing, emphasizing how this choice has enabled them to maintain their creative integrity.They discuss the internal battles of self-doubt and the motivational factors that drive them to persist in their writing endeavors, focusing on the importance of serving their readers and cultivating their characters with love and dedication. During the panel, the authors delve into the complexities of balancing the artistic and commercial aspects of writing. They highlight the necessity of assembling support teams and utilizing cost-effective resources, such as Fiverr, to manage various facets of the publishing process. The discussion also covers valuable tools and strategies, including IngramSpark for print-on-demand services, and the Amazon KDP platform for effective keyword optimization to enhance discoverability. Young underscores the critical nature of owning intellectual property, which can pave the way for future adaptations and opportunities. She also champions Black Classic Press for its commitment to high-quality printing services, reinforcing the festival's mission to uplift Black-owned enterprises.This episode encapsulates a rich tapestry of experiences, offering practical advice and inspiring stories that illuminate the path of independent authors navigating the publishing landscape. The panelists' insights serve not only as a guide for aspiring writers but also as a testament to the power of storytelling in fostering community and cultural identity within the Black literary tradition.Takeaways:Ramunda Young emphasizes the necessity for Black community spaces to celebrate and share stories.The panelists discuss the importance of self-publishing to maintain creative control and protect their voices.Key strategies for balancing writing with the business aspects include building teams and using affordable services like Fiverr.IngramSpark is recommended as an essential resource for print-on-demand services and distribution among independent authors.Authors are advised to ensure their books have appropriate ISBNs, barcodes, and returnable terms for bookstore acceptance.Mentorship is highlighted as a critical asset for aspiring authors to navigate the publishing landscape effectively.Links referenced in this episode:blackclassicpress.commahonagonybooks.com

"70% of stuff never goes sold. So you have to be prepared to interact with that level of rejection." David Hooker is the brand director for both Printify and Printful, which merged in late 2024 to form FYUL. He's got access to the data behind millions of print on demand sellers, and what he's learned is both humbling and useful. The top 1% aren't more talented. They're more consistent. We get into AI-generated mockups that actually look real, why email marketing is still a "print money button," and how community-driven niche selling beats paid ads for customer acquisition in 2025. Also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ppYhfdota7k SPONSORS Swym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & more getswym.com/kurt Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnels zipify.com/KURT LINKS Printify: printify.com Printful: printful.com David Hooker on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidhooker/ David Hooker's TEDx Talk on Visual Literacy: ted.com/talks/david_hooker_the_importance_of_visual_literacy WORK WITH KURT Apply for Shopify Help ethercycle.com/apply See Our Results ethercycle.com/work Free Newsletter kurtelster.com The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

Send us Fan MailWhat does it actually look like to build a creative business that works for you, not the other way around?In this episode, we're joined by the incredible Liz Kohler Brown, a surface designer, letterer, and mentor for creatives who want to sell their work and find their style. Liz has built a business that looks like it's all her, but the secret is a thoughtfully built team that handles everything so she can focus on what she loves most: making art.We talk about the real strategy behind print on demand, how to hire people you actually like working with, and why front-loading the investment in training pays off in ways you can't imagine. We also get into the AI conversation, how Liz thinks about it with a level head and why she's not worried about it replacing her.If you ever felt like you're doing all the things but can't find the time to just make? This episode is for you.All that and more when you listen to this episode:Liz's journey from ceramics to print on demand and why the iPad changed everythingWhy print on demand platforms aren't saturated (but certain search terms are)How to use SEO to plan what art you make (before you make it)The Venn diagram method for finding your profitable nicheThe real cost of not hiring and the books that will change your mindWhy you should hire for personality first and train the skillsThe membership breakdown: trend reports, live critiques, and real-time creation sessionsLiz's dream greenhouse studioConnect with Liz Kohler BrownLizKohlerBrown.com https://instagram.com/lizkohlerbrown Sell Your Stuff Guide: https://www.lizkohlerbrown.com/sell-your-stuff-field-guide/ Mentioned in this episode:SpoonflowerEtsyMintedBuy Back Your Time by Dan MartellWho Not How by Dan SullivanInsight Timer (free meditation app)10% HappierMeditation for Fidgety Skeptics by Dan HarrisConnect with Katie & Ilana from GoodtypeGoodtype WebsiteGoodtype on InstagramGoodtype on YoutubeWe wrote a book! Grab a copy and sign up to access the audiobook when we release it!Love The Typecast and free stuff? Leave a review, and send a screenshot of it to us on Slack. Each month we pick a random reviewer to win a Goodtype Goodie! Goodies include merch, courses and Kernference tickets!Leave us a review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to the showTag us on Instagram @GoodtypeFollow us on Tiktok @lovegoodtypeLearn from Katie and IlanaGrab your tea, coffee, or drink of choice, kick back, and let's get down to business!

Ever wondered if selling branded merch is worth it, or just another shiny distraction? Michelle pulls back the curtain on what it takes to create merchandise that adds value to your business. From mastering the art of print-on-demand to crafting bespoke gifts that leave a lasting impression, discover the strategic decisions behind every product drop. With insights on platforms, margins, and the delicate dance between brand presence and profit, this will have you rethinking your next merch move. ---------------------- In today's episode we cover the following: The difference between merch and branded items Print on demand services Squarespace vs. Shopify Limited edition product strategy Finding the maximum real estate for your merch Custom products in bulk for conferences Inventory management considerations ---------------------- RESOURCES: Episode 262: Mapping Client Touchpoints for Service-Based Businesses Episode 254: Client Case Study: Studio Tigre Episode 230: Client Case Study: The Galavant Society Episode 131: Building a Merch Brand with Caitlyn Rastetter of Dental Hygiene Nation   ----------------------- WORK WITH MKW CREATIVE CO.   Connect on social with Michelle at: Kiss My Aesthetic Facebook Group Instagram Tik Tok -----------------------   -- COFFEE -- Did you know that the fuel of the POD and the KMA Team runs on coffee? ;) If you love the content shared in the KMA podcast, you're welcome to invite us to a cup of coffee any time - Buy Me a Coffee! -- ZENCASTR -- This episode is brought to you by Zencastr. Create high-quality video and audio content. Get your first two weeks free at https://zencastr.com/?via=kma. -- AUDIBLE -- This episode of the Kiss My Aesthetic Podcast is brought to you by Audible. Get your first month free at www.audible.com/kma.   This episode was edited by Berta Wired Theme music by: Eliza Rosevera and Nathan Menard

In this episode I'm sharing 5 print on demand niches that you can target to increase your sales in the near future

I this video, I show how I used automation tools and AI workflows to generate over 5,000 Redbubble sales since 2019. You'll see my Redbubble upload strategy, template listing system, and a full demo of Merch Titans Automation's new AI-powered Easy Mode for print on demand sellers.• *Redbubble* (Print on Demand Marketplace) → https://www.redbubble.com/• *Merch Titans* (Automate Redbubble Uploads) → https://bit.ly/POD_MerchTitans (25% OFF CODE: "MTARH25")

In this episode of Brave New Bookshelf, hosts Steph Pajonas and Danica Favorite are joined by Greg Keogh, co-founder of Curios, to discuss the revolutionary shift toward direct-to-reader sales. Greg shares how Curios empowers authors by acting as the merchant of record—handling the complexities of sales tax and customer support—while providing a "permissionless" platform that welcomes AI-forward content and high-spice fiction without the fear of de-platforming. From the logistical ease of setting up a digital storefront in minutes to the exciting future of integrated print-on-demand services, this conversation explores how authors can reclaim their independence, own their reader data, and build a more resilient publishing business. Visit our website https://bravenewbookshelf.com to view the full episode notes, links and apps mentioned in the episode, and the full transcript.

Jo Wildsmith helps authors turn their manuscripts into something truly exceptional - polished, professional, and ready to make an impact - using print on demand to its fullest potential. In this week's episode, we'll discuss: ● The benefits of print on-demand publishing. ● Tips and Tricks to Successfully Publishing in Print. ● Marketing Your Print On-Demand Books. //Draft2Digital is where you start your Indie Author Career//   Looking for your path to self-publishing success? Draft2Digital is the leading ebook publisher and distributor worldwide. We'll convert your manuscript, distribute it online, and support you the whole way. • Get started now: https://draft2digital.com/ • Learn the ins, the outs, and the all-arounds of indie publishing from the industry experts on the D2D Blog: https://Draft2Digital.com/blog   • Promote your books with our Universal Book Links from Books2Read: https://books2read.com   Make sure you bookmark https://D2DLive.com for links to live events, and to catch back episodes of the Self Publishing Insiders Podcast.

Aidan Wachter is an animist magician who has been actively involved in magical practice since the 1980s. His work reflects a wide ranging, eclectic, and non-dogmatic approach, with influences from many paths. His books include Six Ways: Approaches and Entries for Practical Magic; Weaving Fate: Hypersigils, Changing the Past, and Telling True Lies; and Changeling: A Book of Qualities. Aidan's writings and extensive Patreon teachings focus on the practice of the craft as a learnable set of skills that can be developed rather than innate talents that must be inherited or granted to the seeker. His books are field guides rather than philosophy. He is based in the Pacific Northwest.On this episode, Aidan discusses his practice of “dirt sorcery,” the romance of animism, and how magic can help us conjure a better world.Pam also talks about how she's making space for new energy, and answers a listener question about working with bird deities.Check out the video of this episode over on YouTube (and please like and subscribe to the channel while you're at it!)Our sponsors for this episode are Weiser Books, Mithras Candle, BetterHelp, Blessed Be Magick, and Zouz IncenseWe also have print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here, and all sorts of other bewitching goodies available in the Witch Wave shop.And if you want more Witch Wave, please consider supporting us on Patreon to get access to detailed show notes, bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam's monthly online rituals, and more! That's patreon.com/witchwave

In this video, I'll show you a print-on-demand niche estimated to generate over 5,000 Amazon sales per month, and how I'd use AI-powered tools to rapidly create and scale niche-targeted POD designs. Learn how to combine real search demand data with AI workflows to streamline your print-on-demand business in 2026.• *Kittl* (AI Design Tool): https://kittl.pxf.io/PzbgVN (CODE: "VIRALVID" = 3 Free Months w/ Annual Plan)• *Merch Dominator* (Multi-Country Trademark Search) → ⁠https://bit.ly/PODMerchDominator⁠

Send us Fan MailWhat if Print on Demand Makes Me Nervous?Have you been thinking about starting your own print on demand shop but keep talking yourself out of it? I get it! Starting anything new is scary and, when you start something, you don't start as the best. And that's okay! I'm so excited to share my thoughts with y'all about why being nervous is normal and how to gain confidence while you grow in your business. Here's a few things we'll be chatting about!Nerves are NormalSucking at Something is Actually Really Great!Building Things Brick by Brick Leads to More SuccessThere is No ShortcutHow to Not Get Discouraged by Other Success StoriesWhy It's Important to Keep Moving, Even When it Feels HardWant to know this episode in one quote? I've got you!Running your own shop is so exciting… and also a little intimidating. Y'know what's also very exciting and super intimidating? Putting your designs out for the world to see! It is normal to be nervous to put your work out into the world. In fact, I think it's to be expected. Know that, first off, no one person has every answer to everything. Second, there is no one right way to do literally anything. What works for one person won't necessarily work for the next so, as you build out your design style and build out your shop, know that it's so important to make decisions that feel right to you. Follow your gut! I'm not saying that your gut is right every time but I am saying that following your gut - specifically with design choices - will pay off over time. It may make you have a slower start but, the more you figure out what you want to make and how you want to put it out into the world, the more solid your design - and business! - foundation will become. --------SEASON THREE OF LISSA TALKS POD WILL HAVE 15 EPISODES!*Marked explicit for accidental swears.Mockup Photos | Your Photographer Mom Podcast | Photography Website | InstagramAnd best of all? Three free mocks!--------More Information + Links About Print On Demand!Total Disclosure: A few of these are affiliate links.Literally forever obsessed with Printify. I use Printify for all of my print on demand printing and I'll never stop singing their praises. They're incredible! For design work, I'm totally in love with Canva and also love finding extra artwork + foThank you so much for hanging with me today!Looking to support the show? Head on over to my colorful mockup shop, Opal and June Mocks. There, you'll find fun model mockups, styled flat lay photos, and so much more. If you are looking for mockups that'll make your items pop, I've got something perfect for you! Go grab your new fave mockup today!Support the show

In this episode I'm sharing 5 print on demand niches that you can target to increase your sales in the near future

There's a town in Texas called Round Top. Population eighty-seven. One square mile. And in that town, an artist named John Lowry sold a single painting for $141,500. (We toured his gallery on YouTube — link's right there in his name. Watch it before or after this episode.) That's the headline. Here's the part nobody tells you: he then sold roughly $60,000 more in reproductions of that same image. Same painting. Different mediums, different sizes, different price points. One image, two hundred grand. That is not luck. That is not a once-in-a-lifetime fluke. That is a system. And the same system is what Gray Malin uses to run a 4,156-SKU catalog with 221 variants of certain images. The same system is what Wyland — yes, that Wyland — uses to sell 972 products across 45 different mediums, raising prices roughly 10% a year for the last sixteen years. This episode deconstructs the engine that makes all of that possible. Print on Demand and the sample ladder aren't two ideas. They're one engine. The artists at the top of this business have figured that out. Most artists haven't. We're going to fix that today. But first — a quick rant about what gets in the way. In this episode: The $141,500 painting in a town of 87 people — and why the second sale is the lesson The knife salesman pivot: why Print on Demand is a sample tool first, a profit tool second Hobbyist or business? The honest question every artist has to answer The Drain — four ideas clogging up most art businesses (you can't run a business / you can't run sales or marketing campaigns / you can't be perceived a certain way / never discount your work) — and why every pro you admire threw all four of them out Why we study the masters: you studied Van Gogh and Ansel Adams in art school. Time to study the people doing it best in the business of art. Gray Malin, deconstructed: 4,156 SKUs, 16-year escalator, 221 variants of single images. What an artist with a real engine looks like under the hood. Wyland, deconstructed: 972 products across 45 mediums. The 10%-a-year price escalator that compounds for decades. The catalog as a museum gift shop. The Range Unlock: your catalog isn't N images. It's N images × M mediums × P price points. Most artists are sitting on 100x more inventory than they think. Same image. Every price point. Why this is the single most important sentence in your art business. The bottom rung IS the sample: a $20 mug isn't a giveaway, it's a customer-acquisition machine wearing a price tag The Buc-ee's flex: how the cheap stuff at the front door funds the expensive stuff at the back wall John Lowry, the customer mirror: an Art Storefronts customer in a one-square-mile Texas town doing exactly what Malin and Wyland do — at his scale. Proof this isn't a billionaire-only game. (Watch the full studio tour on YouTube.) "You don't sell JPEGs" — the Brooks rant about why a digital file is not a product, and what the pros actually sell How the Six Basics from The Long Game show up — receipt by receipt — in all three of these businesses The artichoke storage room (you'll know what this means by the end) This week's homework: audit your own catalog the way we just audited Malin and Wyland. Take your top 5 best-selling images. Count how many mediums you currently offer them in. Count how many price points. Now ask: could I responsibly add three more variants of each, this week, with Print on Demand? If the answer is yes — and it almost always is — you just found revenue you already earned but haven't collected yet. Resources mentioned: John Lowry of Humble Donkey Studio — the full video tour on YouTube (the original 2024 interview referenced throughout this episode) Humble Donkey Studio — John Lowry's website Humble Donkey on Instagram Gray Malin — the catalog we deconstruct Wyland — the other catalog we deconstruct Art Storefronts — the website + storefront engine built for working artists Related episodes: Why Your Website Will Still Be Working in 2055 — The Long Game (the parent episode this one builds on) Humble Donkey Studio — the original John Lowry interview, July 2024 All Oars In — The Anatomy of a Sale Nothing New Under the Sun — The Rules That Actually Sell Art So: which 78-year-old version of yourself wins? The one still asking what to post on social media, or the one running a real engine — same image, every price point, compounding every year? You don't have to be in a billionaire's neighborhood to do this. You can be in Round Top, Texas. Population 87. The engine doesn't care where you live. It cares whether you build it.

Avoid the most common Etsy policy mistakes that get print-on-demand sellers banned, from trademark violations to misleading mockups and shipping issues. In this video, I break down exactly what NOT to do and how to stay compliant while scaling your Etsy POD store safely.• Printify (Print on Demand Fulfillment) → https://bit.ly/POD_Printify (CODE: "RYANHOGUE30")• *Merch Dominator* (Multi-Country Trademark Search) → https://bit.ly/PODMerchDominator

Send us Fan MailHey! Welcome to Season Three of Lissa Talks Print on Demand! Today, I'm doing a quick recap of how I stumbled into print on demand, when things started clicking for me, and how I feel about it now. Pull up your fave design software and a big cup of coffee because, today, I'm answering the question: How Do I Feel About Print on Demand Four Years In?Here's a few things we'll be chatting about!A Quick Overview of my Print on Demand StoryMy Goals for My Print on DemandReminder: This is NOT a Get Rick Quick Scheme What I Would Do Differently if I Started TodayHow I Approach Sales PlatformsWhat It's Like to Have Repeat CustomersLetting Go of Overwhelm Want to know this episode in one quote? I've got you!Running a real, dyed in the wool (is that a phrase?) print on demand business is going to take time. That's great! The best thing about print on demand is that the possibilities for it are literally endless - you can start with one idea and move to another, then to another. But the original idea? It's still there and, eventually, you can circle back to it. Personally, I have a long running list of ideas and certain design categories that I like to catch up with regularly and seeing that design pool get bigger and bigger is the most amazing feeling. --------SEASON THREE OF LISSA TALKS POD WILL HAVE 15 EPISODES!*Marked explicit for accidental swears.Mockup Photos | Your Photographer Mom Podcast | Photography Website | InstagramAnd best of all? Three free mocks!--------More Information + Links About Print On Demand!Total Disclosure: A few of these are affiliate links.Literally forever obsessed with Printify. I use Printify for all of my print on demand printing and I'll never stop singing their praises. They're incredible! For design work, I'm totally in love with Canva and also love finding extra artwork + fonts on Creative Fabrica and Creative Market. --------Thank you so much for hanging with me today!Looking to support the show? Head on over to my colorful mockup shop, Opal and June Mocks. There, you'll find fun model mockups, styled flat lay photos, and so much more. If you are looking for mockups that'll make your items pop, I've got something perfect for you! Go grab your new fave mockup today!Support the show

SummaryHave you ever wondered how a simple idea born from a desire to spread joy can transform into a thriving business that redefines representation during the holidays? The latest episode of the Startup Junkies podcast offers a powerful glimpse into the origin and phenomenal growth of Black Paper Party, the vibrant Black-owned brand shaking up the seasonal décor industry.Hosts Daniel Koonce and Ty Steele sit down with the dynamic founders of Black Paper Party—Jasmine Hudson, Madia Willis, and J'Aaron Merchant—to uncover the inspirations, challenges, and triumphs behind their journey. As Jasmine recounts, the beginnings were humble: an aspiration to create joy and belonging amid the uncertainty of the pandemic, combining creativity and community at its core. Their first designs, launched through print-on-demand, quickly gained traction, paving the way for exponential growth and millions of products sold in stores like Walmart, Target, and more.The episode takes listeners through the unique strengths each founder contributes—Madia's design and sourcing expertise, J'Aaron's illustration talent rooted in children's media, and Jasmine's mastery of merchandising and operations. The team shares the reality of bootstrapping, scaling rapidly, and holding true to their mission of authentic representation and joy, even as their products land on shelves nationwide.For anyone curious about what it really takes to break into major retail with a purpose-driven brand, or how collaboration and authenticity can power success, this episode is an inspiring look behind the wrapping paper. Tune in today!Show Notes(00:00) Starting a Project During Quarantine(05:59) Professional Background and Diversity Work(08:46) Career Journey from College to Walmart(11:26) Securing and Managing Licensing Deals(14:55) Focusing on Customer Feedback and Values(16:39) Startup Challenges and Supply Issues(22:17) Expanding Brand and Holiday Strategy(26:58) Embracing Curiosity and Asking Questions(28:56) Closing ThoughtsLinksDaniel KoonceTy SteeleStartup JunkieStartup Junkie YouTubeJasmine HudsonMadia WillisJ'Aaron MerchantBlack Paper PartySponsored by Bank of America

What happens after a successful Kickstarter campaign?On this episode of the USDN Podcast, we sit down with Saurabh Bhatia, founder of Comix.one, to explore the challenges indie comic creators face after crowdfunding—and how his platform aims to solve them.Drawing from his own experience launching a Kickstarter comic, Saurabh breaks down the biggest gaps in the current system: loss of momentum, discoverability issues, and the lack of long-term infrastructure for creators.We discuss: The lifecycle of indie comics after crowdfunding  The need for a unified ecosystem for creators  Digital and print-on-demand distribution  Integrated crowdfunding and fulfillment solutions  Creator subscriptions and recurring revenue  Live selling, streaming, and fan engagement  Building a shared comics economy This episode is a deep dive into the future of indie comics and the systems being built to support creators long-term.

In this episode I'm sharing 5 print on demand niches that you can target to increase your sales in the near future

There's an artist I talk to every Wednesday. Could be 60s, 70s, 80s, even 90s. Brilliant. 50 years of work. Galleries gone. No website, no email list, no story they can tell in their sleep — just the same panicked question every week: what do I do on social media? I want to tell you about them before you become one of them. There's still time. That's the whole point of this episode. The macro is brutal — Iran, gas, frozen real estate, no photography demand, AI panic. That panic is real. But on a 30-year horizon? It's noise. The basics in 2013 are the basics in 2026 are the basics in 2055. Build on the part that doesn't move. In this episode: The 78-year-old artist still asking the question — and the version of you that's still mid-vine Why the macro doesn't matter on a 30-year horizon (the real estate parallel) The trinity of what's not changing: attention, business ownership, the basics The Six Basics — the list nobody wants to hear #1: A website you own — storefront, not brochure. Plus the SEO foundation: own your name before the next paradigm decides who's allowed in. #2: Print on Demand — sell what you don't have in stock. Unlocks the full pricing range. #3: Capture email every which way. The trifecta: email + phone + address. #4: Run marketing and sales campaigns. You are a business. The muscles compound — 1st campaign awkward, 50th a real machine. #5: A story you can tell in your sleep. Know, like, trust — and things in common. #6: Show up consistently. Do your measure best. Drop a tier when life happens. Just don't go dark. The wine vintage frame: some years fire on all cylinders, some go sideways. The vine doesn't care. The runway ladder: 45 → 40+ years still to come, 55 → 30, 65 → 20+. You are not at the end of anything. You are mid-vine. The tragedy of delay — not the tragedy of talent Why we built Copilot: a gallerist that keeps you consistent when life happens This week's homework: audit yourself across the six basics. Score 1 to 5 on each — website + SEO, POD and pricing range, email list, campaign rhythm, story, consistency. Pick the lowest score. That's your priority. Start today — not next quarter, not when rates drop. Today. Don't be the 78-year-old still asking the question. Resources mentioned: Art Storefronts — the website built for working artists Art Helper — Copilot is your gallerist Related episodes: All Oars In — The Anatomy of a Sale (Ep 11) Nothing New Under the Sun — The Rules That Actually Sell Art (Ep 10) The Algorithm Doesn't Care About Your Art (Ep 8) The Coffee Shop Test — Why Your Social Media Is Failing (Ep 5) You are not too late. You are exactly on time — if you start the basics today. Pick which 78-year-old you're going to be, and how many of the next 20, 30, 40 vintages you're actually going to fill. Pick. Then build.

Learn how to automate your fulfillment with "Developer Logic" to eliminate manual work while taking advantage of the $1/month Shopify offer and a free Printify account to scale your print on demand brand in 2026.• Printify (Print on Demand Fulfillment) → https://bit.ly/PrintifyUSA (CODE: "RYANHOGUE30")• Everbee (Etsy Research) → https://bit.ly/PODEverbee• Shopify ($1/mo) → https://bit.ly/ShopifySpecialDeals

Indie Bookstore Day was April 25th. In this episode we sit down with Ami Greko of Bookshop.org to understand how authors help celebrate the day by encouraging readers to visit their favorite indie bookstores, either in person or online. If you're publishing with D2D, your ebooks and print-on-demand books are purchasable at 3,400+ indie bookstores in the US and UK. And every Bookshop.org purchase benefits local bookstores! .//Draft2Digital is where you start your Indie Author Career//   Looking for your path to self-publishing success? Draft2Digital is the leading ebook publisher and distributor worldwide. We'll convert your manuscript, distribute it online, and support you the whole way. • Get started now: https://draft2digital.com/ • Learn the ins, the outs, and the all-arounds of indie publishing from the industry experts on the D2D Blog: https://Draft2Digital.com/blog   • Promote your books with our Universal Book Links from Books2Read: https://books2read.com   Make sure you bookmark https://D2DLive.com for links to live events, and to catch back episodes of the Self Publishing Insiders Podcast.

Fiona Cook is the author of The Dream Atlas: An Interactive Guide to Dreamwork (illustrated by Kathleen Neeley) which is a year-long workbook to help you deepen your relationship to your dreams. Her debut book, The Wheel of the Year: An Illustrated Guide to Nature's Rhythms, illustrated by Jessica Roux, was a New York Times bestseller and a Kirkus Best Books of 2023 for middle grade. Fiona is also a mother and union home health care worker based in Chicago. She is inspired by the magic, mystery, and mischief of our planet Earth and draws from that relationship with her work. On this episode, Fionadiscusses the profound magic of dreams, methods to deepen one's dreamlife, and how one can become an oneironaut.Pam also talks about deciphering a powerful dream of her own, and responds to a recent viral clip of a politician spewing anti-witch rhetoric. Check out the video of this episode over on YouTube (and please like and subscribe to the channel while you're at it!)Our sponsors for this episode are, Wheel of Fate, Blessed Be Magick, BetterHelp, and Zouz IncenseWe also have print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here, and all sorts of other bewitching goodies available in the Witch Wave shop.And if you want more Witch Wave, please consider supporting us on Patreon to get access to detailed show notes, bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam's monthly online rituals, and more! That's patreon.com/witchwave

Join our mastermind community: https://www.skool.com/apparel-success-mastermindThe best Ai design platform: https://www.design.com/rob88Trademark search links: https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/searchhttps://ised-isde.canada.ca/cipo/trademark-search/srchIf you want to learn how to start a clothing brand in 2026, this video will save you from making the biggest mistakes that destroy most brands before they ever take off. Starting a clothing line can be exciting—you can build something meaningful, make money, and grow a real following—but it can also go very wrong if you don't know what to avoid. In this video, I break down the things you should never do when starting a clothing brand, based on over 10 years of experience, over $1M in sales with my own brands, and working one-on-one with more than 500 clothing brands. We go deep into why skipping a trademark search can completely ruin your brand before launch, how ordering too much inventory without proof of sales can lock up all your cash, and why relying on your friends for validation is one of the most misleading things you can do. I also explain why waiting too long to launch your clothing brand actually hurts you, how to avoid working with sketchy manufacturers, and why you should never hire help before understanding the basics yourself. On the marketing side, you'll learn how to market your clothing brand properly in today's environment—whether you're running a streetwear brand, a t-shirt business, doing print on demand, or building a private label fashion brand. I break down why organic growth requires volume, how social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram actually work for clothing brands, and why buying followers or joining engagement groups will kill your long-term growth. Most importantly, we talk about building a clothing brand with a clear identity—because if your brand doesn't instantly signal who it's for, nobody cares. This is the difference between a brand that gets ignored and a brand people feel like they need to buy from. If you're serious about learning how to start a clothing brand, grow a clothing line, and build a profitable fashion brand, this video will give you the clarity you need to avoid costly mistakes and move forward with confidence. 

You have a product idea — now what? Here's the exact 8-step roadmap Polly used to build a luxury paper product business that's sold 60,000+ planners worldwide! Today I am teaching you how to start a premium planner or journal business. In this episode of the Dream Printing Podcast, Polly walks through the full step-by-step roadmap — from validating your idea all the way to fulfilling your first orders. You'll learn why vision and validation are non-negotiables before you spend a dime, how to move from rough prototype to print-ready files, what manufacturing strategy actually supports a luxury brand (hint: it's not print-on-demand), and how to choose between a direct launch or a pre-order/Kickstarter campaign to fund your first print run. ✨ Ready to go deeper? Take the free 5-Day Print Your Thing Challenge: https://www.dreamprinting.co/challenge   About me: I am Polly Payne, the CEO and founder of Horacio Printing. I have sold more than 60,000 Dream Planners around the world along with bible studies and journals. I now help other dreamers do the same, which is why I created Print School. Have a question? Drop it below — I read every comment. YOUR NEXT STEPS: ✨ Take My 5-Day Print Challenge: https://www.dreamprinting.co/challenge

Story is how we absorb meaning—not just entertainment, but something that reaches deep into the soul and shapes who we become. Using concepts from his book, "Men on Fire," Stephen explores why heritage matters, how the stories of those who came before us fuel greatness in future generations, and why now is the time to write yours down. With tools like print-on-demand publishing more accessible than ever, you'll be challenged to turn your family's story into a lasting, tangible legacy.CONNECT WITH GREATMAN:Website: https://greatman.tv/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greatman.tv/Support GreatMan: https://greatman.tv/greatman-global/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

This week I'm chatting with Juna of Detour Shirts on YouTube who has over 30 years of experience in Print on Demand. We're talking all about Kittl and why it's such a great all in one tool for new sellers, how to improve your designs, and POD wisdom that never changes with time.  **"How to Sell Your Stuff on Etsy" is not affiliated with or endorsed by Etsy.com    STUFF I MENTIONED:  Interested in an advanced Etsy Cohort? https://www.howtosellyourstuff.com/interested-in-advanced-cohort  Submit Your FAQs: https://sprw.io/stt-dEeCxhdfYaf3eqBYohD7fZ  Kittl Full Tutorial 2025 - https://youtu.be/BT8l1iujTbk?si=bLxH8yeMwK2UJEgo Kittl Video - https://youtu.be/uNUrZj-I1TE?si=_WQ_yqoio63RHAbp Kittl Flows - https://youtu.be/QVDNB91yD4A?si=Pa0OpCcTOz6R3cHx My Favorite Kittl Features - https://youtu.be/xPc4XpdDu6U?si=nojMEyTovvjK_I9- Stop Jumping Between AI Tools Use Kittl Instead - . https://youtu.be/qiEaEvtApdA?si=lEBiZzZuYUW7tzNQ   FIND JUNA: https://www.youtube.com/@DetourShirts https://x.com/detourshirts https://www.instagram.com/detourshirts/ https://www.skool.com/theshirtheads/about   HOW I HELP ETSY SELLERS GROW: ⭐Scaling Society: https://www.howtosellyourstuff.com/scaling-society ⭐"How to Blow Up Your Etsy Shop" free training: https://www.howtosellyourstuff.com/interested-in-blow-up-shop  ⭐Trendspotting: https://www.howtosellyourstuff.com/trendspotting ----------------------

#865 What if you could turn funny ideas into a six-figure print-on-demand empire? In this episode hosted by Kirsten Tyrrel, UK-based entrepreneur Michael Essek shares how he went from graphic designer to globally successful t-shirt seller using platforms like Redbubble, Amazon Merch on Demand, and Etsy. Michael breaks down the numbers game behind early traction, the art of creating viral designs, and how humor, trend awareness, and adaptability became his superpowers. You'll learn why over-designing can kill creativity, what separates a funny joke from a bestselling shirt, and how his idea-generation platform Idealy is helping creatives shortcut success. Whether you're a designer, copywriter, or curious entrepreneur, this conversation is packed with insight, inspiration, and practical tips! (Original Air Date - 8/15/25) What we discuss with Michael: + From web designer to t-shirt mogul + First success selling on Redbubble + Leveraging Merch by Amazon to scale + Why quality beats quantity in design + Finding viral jokes and trends + Tools and methods for idea generation + Importance of testing before scaling + Building mini-brands across platforms + Using AI to boost creativity and speed + Creating Idealy to streamline ideas Thank you, Michael! Check out Michael Essek at ⁠MichaelEssek.com⁠. Check out Idealy at ⁠Idealy.app⁠. Watch the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠video podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of this episode! To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MillionaireUniversity.com/training⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jinkx Monsoon returns to the pod for the third time! Jinkx is an award-winning actress, comedian, recording artist, and the first and only drag queen to win RuPaul's Drag Race twice. She has become a Broadway breakout star with critically acclaimed performances in Chicago (where she broke box office records during an extended 10-week run), Little Shop of Horrors, the Tony-nominated revival, Pirates! The Penzance Musical - which landed Jinkx her first Drama League Award nomination, and two stints as the star of the Tony-award winning phenomenon Oh, Mary!. And she's about to take her titanic talents to London next month where she'll be starring as Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow, which is about Judy's final years. Jinkx also plays the musical-mayhem-making villainess, Maestro, in Doctor Who, and she's done tons of voice over work in shows like StevenUniverse. And Jinkx continues to tour the world performing with her drag soulmate BendelaCreme in their annual The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show, as well as in her own cabaret and stand-up shows with longtime collaborator Major Scales. And in 2025 on Valentine's Day she headlined her first - and sold out - concert at Carnegie Hall which featured Pam casting a love spell from that legendary stage. Throughout it all she's brought her witchcraft practice to each performance in overt and covert ways.On this episode, Jinkxdiscusses the magic of theatre, her evolving relationship to witchcraft, and her “witch mission” of liberating the divine genders. Pam also talks about some recent witchy signal boosting from SNL's Rachel Dratch, and answers a listener question about finding comfort from different deities. Check out the video of this episode over on YouTube (and please like and subscribe to the channel while you're at it!)Our sponsors for this episode are, Wheel of Fate, Mithras Candle, BetterHelp, The Moon Studio, Blessed Be Magick, and Zouz IncenseWe also have print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here, and all sorts of other bewitching goodies available in the Witch Wave shop.And if you want more Witch Wave, please consider supporting us on Patreon to get access to detailed show notes, bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam's monthly online rituals, and more! That's patreon.com/witchwave

Maria Minnis is an unapologetically Black and queer tarot reader of 20+ years who teaches people about blending their spirituality with magic, liberation work, and eroticism in their everyday lives. She believes that the end result of all magic should be to cultivate a more equitable and empathetic planet. Maria is the author of Tarot for the Hard Work: An Archetypal Journey to Confront Racism and Inspire Collective Healing and the host of the Kinky Tarot podcast.On this episode, Maria discusses the sacredness of the Fool tarot card, holographic witchcraft, and the ways in which tarot can help us confront racism and cultivate liberation for all. Pam also talks about reframing the magic of April Fool's Day, and answers a listener question about cannabis and spirituality. Check out the video of this episode over on YouTube (and please like and subscribe to the channel while you're at it!)Our sponsors for this episode are, Wheel of Fate, Dear Antigone, BetterHelp, Snowy Owl Arts + Tea House, and Blessed Be Magick We also have print-on-demand merch like Witch Wave shirts, sweatshirts, totes, stickers, and mugs available now here, and all sorts of other bewitching goodies available in the Witch Wave shop.And if you want more Witch Wave, please consider supporting us on Patreon to get access to detailed show notes, bonus Witch Wave Plus episodes, Pam's monthly online rituals, and more! That's patreon.com/witchwave