Podcasts about Reedsy

How is the German market different to English speaking markets, and why might it be worth looking into translation? What are the best ways to translate, self-publish and market your books in German? With Skye MacKinnon. In the intro, thoughts on feeling empty after a book, and the benefits of SubStack for authors [Stark Reflections; Wish I'd Known Then]; AI-Assisted Artisan Author webinars 16 and 23 May. This episode is sponsored by Publisher Rocket, which will help you get your book in front of more Amazon readers so you can spend less time marketing and more time writing. I use Publisher Rocket for researching book titles, categories, and keywords — for new books and for updating my backlist. Check it out at www.PublisherRocket.com This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Skye MacKinnon is the award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of over 70 books across romance and children's books under multiple pen names, most of which are also available in German, which is her bestselling market. Her latest book for authors is Self-Publishing in German: How to Translate, Publish and Market Your Books. 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 the German-speaking market is much bigger than just Germany, and which genres sell best there Title protection laws, the Impressum, and translator copyright How to find and vet human translators, and what a quality translation actually costs The current state of AI translation for fiction, and why quality assurance passes are essential Distribution decisions: the Tolino Alliance, Skoobe, libraries, and why IngramSpark doesn't work in Germany Marketing in German: BookDeals, LovelyBooks, ads, BookTok, and why pre-orders matter even more You can find Skye SkyeMacKinnon.com and her children's books at IslaWynter.com. Transcript of the interview with Skye MacKinnon Jo: Skye MacKinnon is the award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of over 70 books across romance and children's books under multiple pen names, most of which are also available in German, which is her bestselling market. Her latest book for authors is Self-Publishing in German: How to Translate, Publish and Market Your Books. Welcome, Skye. Skye: Hi. Thank you so much for having me. Jo: This is such an interesting topic. But first up— Tell us a bit more about you and how you got into writing and publishing. Skye: I've always loved writing, but I was always told, “Well, you can't be an author. Get a proper job.” So I became a journalist and did that for a few years, but there was always that love of creative writing. At some point when I was getting more active on social media, I was following some other indie authors and realised they're just like me. They're not special people. I had always pictured authors as these mythical beings high up above the rest of us. That gave me the courage to put out my own book. I self-published from the start, never even looked into trad publishing, and that was in 2017. I was really lucky because my first series totally hit it off. I was able to quit my job a year later and I have been a full-time author ever since. I started with romance and then, by accident, got into children's books. Which has been great fun. I don't even have children myself, but it's just that palette cleanser in between. Writing about cute animals and unicorns and just bringing some fun into everything. Nowadays I have about five or six pen names, depending on how you count, across genres, although most of it is romance, and that's my bread and butter really. Jo: Yes, I'm certainly one of those people who wish I could write romance. It always just seems to be the most profitable market in any language, I guess. Let's get into the book. It's a fantastic book. I've been through it myself. It's really packed full of everything you need, so we can't cover everything. Let's start by considering the German language in general. Why is German a good language market to consider expanding into? And for anyone who might not realise, why is it more than Germany? Skye: Well, Germans love to read, and depending on the statistic that you look at, they're generally seen as the third largest book market in the world after English and Mandarin Chinese. So it's a huge market, even though you think of Germany as a small little country in Europe. As you said, it's much more than Germany. Yes, you've got about 83 million people in Germany, but then you've also got Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, parts of Belgium, Luxembourg, and even Italy. So if you look at the whole footprint on the map, it is much bigger than just the one country. A lot of young people there still read and go to bookshops. There's a huge bookshop culture. You will find, if you go to a high street there, way more bookshops than you do here in the UK, for example. There's demand for quality and for really gorgeous books. They have been way ahead of the curve when it comes to special editions and sprayed edges, and they also like translations. I found one statistic where about two thirds of all newly released titles in German are actual translations. Readers are used to translations, but until a few years ago it was all trad-published translations. So this transition is coming now. It's coming very, very fast, especially with AI. They generally are very open to translations as long as the quality is there. Jo: So what about specific genres then? Obviously we mentioned romance there, and romance is not just one genre anymore. Whatever they're writing— How can somebody tell if it's worth expanding into German? How do we do this? It takes time and effort and money, potentially. Skye: It can take a lot of money, so it is worth doing research. There's one easy way, which is just looking at your current sales and looking at how many books you're selling in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland at the moment in English. That can give you an indication of which of your books might be already quite popular there. Sometimes it's quite surprising. A lot of my books sell very differently in German than they do in English. I've got one series that did okay in English, and I almost didn't translate it. The German version is, I think, my second bestselling series in German and has completely surprised me. So sometimes it's worth just experimenting a bit. Otherwise, obviously as you said, romance is doing really well. There are a few surprises though. I had a chat with Draft2Digital and they gave me lots of information from their statistics, and they said about 40% of all the western title sales on Draft2Digital are actually in Germany, which is just a huge percentage. Jo: In English? Skye: Across languages. Jo: Mm-hmm. Skye: Germans, to be fair, they love their westerns. My dad in Germany, he has been watching westerns for I don't know how many decades. It is one of those things that is just really popular there. Another thing is anything that is set in other countries and really has the location as almost like a character. There's lots of Cornwall, Scotland, different islands, but also mountains and cities. So if your book is set in, even in New York City, if it has a clear setting—if it's not just that it could be any city—then that's a good one to think about translating. In general, most genres can do well. There's a few where you have to be a bit careful. Second World War books, for example. If you have a book that portrays every single German as a Nazi and as evil, it might not do as well in Germany. So some common sense when it comes to historical books. Otherwise, just look at German retailers, look at what is selling there—and not just Amazon. Places like Thalia, which is part of the Tolino Alliance, and they have about 40% of the market. So it's really important to look at them too, and not just at Amazon. Jo: We'll come back to the distribution in a minute. There are some important differences between the German market and the US/UK market. Obviously we're talking about a different language, but of course there are a few things that are different that some people might not think about. So give us a few of those things that people definitely need to think about. Skye: Okay, so even before you start publishing, you need to be aware that title protection is a thing in Germany. Your book can't have the same title as an already published book. That is a law that is basically there to avoid readers being confused. So if you had five books with the same title, readers might not realise which book is by which author. You have to do your research and check if anyone else is using your title. There are some exceptions—if it's a completely different category, so if there's a children's book with that title but you write spicy romance, then the chance that the reader gets confused is much lower. Quite often you can then contact either the author or the publisher and ask, “Can I get written permission to use that title?” I did that for one of my series and it was totally fine. Just be sure to get it in writing, because if your book suddenly becomes a huge bestseller, they might reconsider. So title protection is an important one. You need to research that before you publish. One thing that people sometimes get confused about is reusing their English title. That's totally fine because it's your own title. So if your English title hasn't been used and you want to keep that same title, that works. It's just about other people's books where you can't use those titles. Another important legal bit is the Impressum. It's the copyright page. To be fair, websites that are targeting German readers or a German audience have to have that Impressum. It's usually on page two of the book, and it has things like your legal name, your address, and then the usual things like the translator's name, cover design, and other things you would usually put on a copyright page. The problem is that technically you need to put your legal name in there unless you have a limited company, in which case you can also put the business name there, and your address. A lot of people obviously don't want to do that for privacy reasons, especially romance authors where it's sometimes a bit sketchy when it comes to some readers who get a bit too obsessed. There are services where you can pay a monthly or yearly fee and then use their address. It's a bit of a legal grey zone, but a lot of German authors are doing it because—especially as indie authors—we don't always want to put our legal address out there. Jo: Just for people listening, I use my accountant's address. That's quite common. I mean, you have to share your address on your email for anti-spam laws and all that kind of thing. As you say, there are ways to use other addresses. That just needs to happen. What else then do we need to think about? Skye: There are things about the translator. A lot of things that people are sometimes scared about is when they hear that there is a copyright issue with translators and they think, “Oh, my translator has the copyright. I can't do anything.” Actually, the translator is seen as an author—almost like a co-author of the translation in German law—because, to be fair, it's not just putting one word into another. Translation is quite a creative job, especially when it's fiction. It is a very creative job where the translator has to put a lot of their own creativity into it. So in German law, they're recognised as the creator of that translation and therefore have certain rights. But you as the author, as soon as you have a contract with your translator—which is why you always, always, always have to have a contract—you get the usage rights. This means it's exactly the same as with your English books. You can do with them what you want. You can get audiobooks, you can do print books, you can do whatever you want in different formats. It just needs to be clear in a contract that the translator is giving you the usage rights of that translation. That's something that people sometimes find a bit scary, but actually it's really simple. Translations have been done for so long. It's a normal thing. It's just called slightly different. It has to be set out in a contract. Jo: Just on that, that's when the translator themselves is in Germany, because if they are based somewhere else, still doing a German translation, that's not necessary. So that's something else for people to consider. Skye: Yes, definitely. To be fair— I would always try to get a translator based in the country. I mean, I'm a native German speaker, but I've been in Scotland for so long now that I am not confident enough to translate my own books anymore because I'm not surrounded by German 24/7 and my grammar is slightly off and I don't have that up-to-date, modern lingo. So if it's a translator who's only just moved somewhere else or a few years, that's fine. But if it's someone who's been in the US or UK or somewhere else for 20 years, I would be a bit more hesitant. That's just a personal perspective on that. One other thing that's different is Sie and du. There are two different kinds of “you” when you talk to someone. There's the formal Sie, which you use basically amongst adults, in business contexts. But even my German grandma—she had a friend and they used the formal Sie for about 10 years as friends because in German etiquette, the older person has to offer the younger person the informal du, and they never did that for some reason. We found it hilarious as kids that they were still using the formal Sie as really good friends. So there's an entire culture there that people who haven't been to Germany or haven't lived there for a while just find a bit difficult, because there are so many different unwritten rules about when you use Sie and when you use the informal du. It's weakened a bit over the years and nowadays even strangers would sometimes use the informal du depending on the context. It really depends. A good translator will usually handle that themselves. They will find a scene where, for example, especially in romance, you meet as strangers in the beginning, so you use the formal Sie, and then at some point that formality turns to informality. The translator will usually choose that moment and add a little extra scene or a sentence where they either offer it to each other or they just naturally switch into it. But then there might be an internal little monologue of, “Oh, he just used the informal du—I guess we're at that stage,” or, “I really appreciate that.” Just to make it more natural, because that's something I quite often see with AI translation where that doesn't happen, and readers get confused. Why did they just switch from Sie to du without any kind of acknowledgement of that? Jo: This is the same in Spanish and other languages, I imagine. Skye: Yes, French as well. Italian too, I think. A lot of European languages have this. Jo: I think that's something that English speakers just don't get. It is a really interesting moment. I guess that might not happen so much in other genres—that really is a thing in romance. I was just thinking about some of my thrillers. They may never have time to get to du. Skye: But then sometimes using du can also be a rude thing. So if you have an antagonist who really doesn't like your protagonist, they might just use du as a rude sort of address. Again, that's something that English speakers just wouldn't understand or even think of because we just have the one “you.” Jo: We just have the one. Jo: It's the tone. Of course, it's the tone. Skye: Exactly, yes. Jo: Okay, well let's get into the actual translation of the books themselves. Over the years I've worked with lots of humans. I've also licensed my rights. I've used different AI tools. I mean, there are tons, but as we record this— What are the options that are available for translations? Give us some tips on working with humans and finding humans. Because it can be super pricey. And of course most of us will never know about the quality until we publish it. Skye: Oh, yes, definitely a note on that. I found that quite often you will already have German people on your newsletter list or on your social media, and most of them will be super happy to give you some feedback on your translation. That's something I've used a lot. Not for German, because I speak the language, but when I did French and Italian translations. My French is—well, it used to be quite okay. It is passable at best now. So I would never feel confident enough to rate a translation. So I asked my newsletter list, “Are there any French people here who would be happy to read the book? I'll send you a free copy at the end, and some swag.” There were a surprising number of people who got back to me. The same applies to German and other languages, because if you don't speak the language, you sometimes lack the confidence of knowing if this is any good. Getting some reader feedback is super helpful. For finding human translators, the easiest of course is word of mouth, and I'm a big fan of that because you get instant feedback on whether someone is good or not and whether it's easy to work with them. Then there are freelancer platforms. Reedsy is one where everyone is vetted, so that's pretty good. But there are tons of other ones like Upwork and Fiverr, though there you have to do all the vetting yourself, so that takes a lot more time and effort. There are also more and more agencies—translator agencies who specialise in doing indie book translations. There's Literary Queens, there's Valentine Translations, there are tons of them. Then there's also, which I think a lot of authors ignore or don't know about, translation databases. There are two databases for German translators, for example, where you can search and you can usually narrow it down to whether you want literary translators, what kind of fiction or nonfiction you want. An important thing is that a literary translator is very different from a standard translator who translates birth certificates or formal documents. You want someone who has experience with fiction if you write fiction. Someone who knows about adding drama through language. Sometimes, for example, when you have an action scene, you might have shorter sentences. If you have someone who doesn't know about stuff like that, they might just think, “Oh, in German it sounds really nice to have this really long sentence.” Those little nuances are where having an experienced literary translator is a big bonus. There are some platforms that do royalty-split translations that have been quite popular in the past. Most of them I wouldn't really recommend because you just don't get those professional translators there. You usually get people who speak the language but don't really have much experience. So you might end up with a pretty bad translation, or people might just be using AI translations without telling you. If you use a human translator, always, always get a sample, because yes, they might have amazing credentials, but until they've actually translated one of your books or a scene from your book, you don't really know how good they are. I like to always use, if I write romance, a slightly sexy scene, because sex seems to show you if someone can translate or not. It's just what I've found, because if it sounds absolutely awkward or more like mechanical rather than an emotional, spicy thing, then that's a clear point for me to say, “No, thank you. I'll look for someone else.” Action scenes, sexy scenes, really emotional ones, dialogue that has a bit of colloquial language or humour—those are good scenes to choose as a sample because that really shows you if a translator can do their job or not. Then, again, have some German people from your list give you feedback on that. Also, if you work with human translators, always try to make sure that they will be available for your entire series. And not even just a series—if you have lots of books, try to grab that translator, lock them in your basement, and never let them go, because you want their style for all your books. Just like you have a style as an author, translators have a style and that will always shine through, as much as they try to be as close to your original. A bit of their style will always come through. It helps to have the same translator for at least the same series, preferably for as many of your books as possible. You really want to tell them in the beginning, “This series has nine books. I want you to do all of these, even if we only do a few of them at the beginning. Are you available to do the rest later?” Because you don't want to end up having to find a new translator in the middle of the series. That gives you a whole lot of extra work with trying to have a world bible that explains which words get translated and which get left as the original, and stuff like that. When it comes to non-human translation, it's very different because of course you don't need to do all that vetting. Tools have different capabilities and abilities, but in the end, if you put your book into a translation tool, you will always get a slightly different output. So it's not quite the same where you need an entire vetting process. Jo: Just on the human translation, I think I'd be right in saying that every single author in the world would love to have the best human translator translating their book, whatever genre it is. That would just be amazing for all of us. But let's face it, that's extremely expensive. So if I've got, let's say, a 70,000-word thriller, how much money are we talking about? An approximate number, so people know what that might be. Skye: Usually it goes by the word, but by the target language word count. Although it depends on the translator, traditional translators usually go by the target language because that's what they actually produce as their output. The average at the moment is anything from about seven to nine euro cents per word as the medium price. You will find cheaper people. You can go up as high as you want really. I have definitely seen translators who charge 15 cents and above per word, but those will usually be the ones who have worked with a lot of trad publishers who are used to being paid like that. Although even in trad publishing, the rates are going down. With more and more authors wanting translations, I think in general rates are going down. Good for us, not so good for the translators. You're definitely looking at thousands, even if you translate novellas. Then it depends—some translators have editing included, sometimes they don't. A lot of them will have arrangements with other translators where they give the translation to another translator for them to edit it. Sometimes that's included in the price, sometimes it's extra. Always make sure it gets edited, because just like when we write a book, it will never be exactly perfect. I say that as someone who writes very clean because I have a journalism background, so I'm used to writing really fast and clean for deadlines, but there will always be a few typos that just wriggle their way in. Typos are evil like that. It's the same with translations. Jo: So we are probably looking at 2,000 to 10,000 pounds, dollars, euros. We are talking about quite a lot, and this is the main reason I think that now, with AI becoming a lot better, people are looking at this. Originally—and I don't even know, probably eight years now since I did my first, might even be a decade or more—I did at some point do a version in DeepL, which was an early AI translation tool. This was nonfiction, and then paid an editor, a German editor, to then edit that in German. Those books still get good reviews. But now people are looking at options like GlobeScribe and ScribeShadow, or even just using Claude or ChatGPT. I'm actually working at the moment on a Claude Code pipeline through lots of different QA passes. That's been really interesting for me, because I can say, “Okay, now you are a reader who likes these kinds of books. Read it for that.” And because we can now put really big books in, I can actually get a lot of really interesting feedback. So I feel like there's a lot of potential with AI—potential for good stuff, potential for bad stuff too. So talk a bit about that and what to watch out for with AI. Skye: Okay, so I'm very much pro-AI and I use AI in lots of different things in my business, just to preface that. However, with translations, I'm still a bit wary, just because I have seen a lot of bad AI translations. To be fair, I've experimented with it myself for one of my other pen names. It was readable. It was definitely readable. It had sometimes beautiful, gorgeous prose. Really. But there were, occasionally—quite often even—bits where I stumbled as a native speaker. It's readable and, if I just need a little quick book in between, I would be mostly happy with that. I would read it. It's the same as some of the early KU days where you found a lot of bad quality writing, but you just wanted to read it because the story was pretty good or because you were reading it in KU and so it didn't really matter that much. There is that spectrum of quality where you have the, “Yes, it's good enough to read,” but, “Is it good enough to be up to your standards?” That's a decision that everyone has to make for themselves. If they want the same quality that they put into their English book, or if they're fine with just offering that book to a new audience because maybe you wouldn't be able to do it otherwise. I totally see that. Translation is so expensive. I don't even know how much I have spent on translations over the past few years. I'm lucky that most of my books make it back within the first weeks or months. I've never had a book that didn't make its money back, but I have heard a lot of people where that's not the case. It is a lot of investment and I would never tell someone to go into debt or anything to do translations. Do it when you're at a time where you can afford it, or where you can also afford the loss if it doesn't work out. Now, AI has changed that slightly because it now opens it up to almost anyone. Some of the AI translation tools are a few hundred pounds, but if you do it in Claude or ChatGPT or something where you already have a subscription, it can actually be quite cheap. You can do it for a few dollars or pounds. I love, by the way, having someone in the UK. I'm so used to automatically saying everything in dollars, but actually I should be using pounds. I think if you know what you're doing—and you clearly do, with your several passes, you know what you're doing with AI—but if someone just puts their book into Claude or ChatGPT or some random tool, it might just not be good enough. Jo: Let's say it won't be good enough if you just do that. We know that. You have to have QA passes—quality assurance. You have to have rules per genre. There are ways of doing it. It's kind of like you have to get to know how translation works. It's a process. It's not just a translation, like you put something in Google Translate or a menu or something, because we do care. I think that's really important. Skye: Yes. I think if you don't know how AI works—that you need detailed prompts, that you need a style guide, that you need all that extra material and not just your book, all those rules—then please don't do it. If you value your German readers—and I think sometimes when I see people just churn out those translations without doing any quality control, using exactly the same cover or even just putting a German flag on it or something—I really feel bad for German readers because they're not being valued as having the same sort of value to us as authors as our English-speaking readers. Maybe I'm a bit biased there because I read in multiple languages. I want to be able to get the same sort of quality in all languages. I want the author to think of me as being special because I'm their reader and I'm their customer. I think we are on the way where AI translation can be almost autonomous. I would personally always have a human look over it. I know what I'm doing, and I'm almost happy with my translation system that I've built now in AI, but it still needs that human touch for a few things. It still needs me to tell the AI, for example, “This is where we switch from Sie to du.” This is where I need to keep certain words in. For example, I write a lot of Scottish books, and so words like “glen” or “loch”—they are words I want to stay the same in my German translation. I don't want to translate it to the German equivalent of “lake” because that just misses that Scottish context. Things like that need instruction. A human translator will usually know that and chat to you about which words you want to keep and which ones you want translated. AI just needs our guidance, our helping hand, and if we don't know enough about the target language, we just miss knowing that. Now, a lot of tools do it all for you basically, and they set up all these rules. I think many of them are at a very advanced stage now. But AI isn't perfect and it likes to hallucinate, it likes to add random things. So I will always still have a human touch at the end, even if it's just a quick edit. A lot of people think that they just need a proofread after an AI translation, but AI doesn't really make typos—or not to an extent that humans do. So proofreading isn't really what's needed for an AI translation. It is actual editing where you go for the style, the phrasing, and sometimes the context. There's one example I always like to give. I have an alien romance where they go on a honeymoon, and because he's an alien and she's human, he misunderstands and thinks she wants to go to an actual moon. So it's a little pun in the book. It doesn't work in German at all because the word “honeymoon” has nothing to do with moons or planets in German. An AI would probably just try to translate that in a way that's quite close to the original. But my German translator, she had to come up with several different ways of fixing that issue, because humour is hard. It's hard even for humans to get the humour translated in a way that is still funny but also culturally appropriate. If you have a book that is full of puns, it gets harder with AI. I am not saying it's impossible, but it needs a lot of handholding. Jo: Yes, I think humour is hard to translate in general, isn't it? Let's move on to the distribution, because again, having done quite a lot of different languages over the years, I do use Amazon KU for my books in German and Italian and Spanish and some French. So I haven't gone wide in terms of ebook and print or audio, in fact, because I have a lot of books and it is hard to go wide in English, let alone in other languages. But you mentioned earlier that Thalia has 40% of the market or something, and that special editions and print books are important. So what are the decisions we have to make around the actual publishing? Skye: In Germany they did a really cool thing, and I wish they'd done that in other countries. When the bookshops saw that Amazon was growing and posing a threat to them—not just with print books but also with ebooks—a lot of the German bookstores got together and they formed the Tolino Alliance. They have big book chains like Thalia, but also I think it was over 1,500 indie bookshops that all got together. They all support this ecosystem for ebooks, which means they all share the same e-readers. They share the same sort of backend for the shops, which made it really easy for them because they didn't all have to develop an ebook system. It saved them a lot of money. It made it really easy to tell readers, “This is the Tolino system. You can get your books at our bookshops, but you can read them on your Tolino e-reader no matter where you get the books from.” The Tolino e-readers are actually the same as Kobo e-readers, just rebranded. They've got that big advantage there—these independent bookshops and book chains all got together. Now it's hard to find numbers because Amazon doesn't really like to share their numbers, but it's about 40% of the German ebook market, which means it rivals Amazon. They have about the same. Then the rest is split by Apple Books, Google Play, and some of the smaller players. So it is a huge chunk of the market. I'm wide with pretty much all my English books. So for me, I looked into KU, but when I saw that I was going to miss out on 60% of the market—even if Amazon has 45%, that's still a big chunk—I decided to go wide. To be fair, I haven't regretted it, because Tolino are amazing to work with. I like to compare them to Kobo because they have a really lovely human team where you can just email them and tell them, “I've got a new release coming up,” and they will put you into different promos and it's all free. Jo: Do you publish direct to Tolino, or do you use Draft2Digital? Skye: Yes, you can publish direct to Tolino and that's actually the best way of doing it. You don't have access to their marketing opportunities if you use a distributor. The Tolino dashboard is annoyingly all in German, but by now every browser has a translating plugin built in. I know lots of authors who don't speak a single word of German who navigate Tolino very successfully. They started with only ebooks in the beginning, and then about two weeks after the first edition of my book on German translations was published, they introduced print books, which meant my book was immediately out of date. I was fuming. But this time they introduced audiobooks a few weeks before my Kickstarter launch for the second edition, so this time the audiobook part is included. I was very happy about that, because it was a pain to just tell everyone, “Well, this book is out now but it's actually missing a big part of how to do print books in Germany.” So Tolino does print, ebooks, and audiobooks. And just because you're in KU with your ebooks doesn't mean you can't publish your print books via Tolino. I highly recommend that, because IngramSpark—which most of us indies use for distribution for print books—doesn't get you into the German bookstores. They used to. Then German stores have fixed price laws where books have to be the same price in all stores, and IngramSpark kept going against that. They kept sending them the wrong prices. So German bookstores at some point just said, “Nope, we've had enough of this. We no longer take books from IngramSpark.” So now Tolino, in my opinion, is the best way of getting your books listed in German online bookstores, but they can also help you get into brick-and-mortar stores. One of my books was featured by them, I think two years ago, and it was in about 300 of their shops all across Germany. It had its own little pedestal and it was amazing. Tolino love working with their indie authors. They also love romance, which is always a bonus because some stores are more prudish than others. It's really easy to work with them. They speak perfect English, so you can do all your communication outside of the dashboard in English. Their audiobooks feature is very new. Until they did that, it was much harder for German audiobook distribution because places like Findaway Voices and other distributors wouldn't get you into the Tolino Alliance stores for audio. That's a big chunk that we were missing out on. I was always looking for ways to get my German audiobooks into those stores, but the German distributors that I found were really difficult to upload to, to be honest. I'm a very technical person, but it challenged even me. I did not like that experience at all. At some point I really just gave up and wanted to throw my computer out of the window. So when Tolino introduced that, I was celebrating internally. The only problem with their distribution at the moment for audio, because it's so new, is that you can't exclude any shops. So it's all or nothing. They will get you into all the different places, including Audible, Spotify—you name it, lots of different streaming services and retailers—but you can't exclude any. So while they don't actually want exclusivity, if you published it yourself at the same time through ACX or Findaway Voices or something else, you would have duplicates, and of course, we try to avoid those. Jo: Is it human narration only, or do they also accept AI narration? Skye: They accept AI narration. The thing with Tolino is that they want everything made very clear. If you publish any books with them that have an AI production aspect, you need to put that into your Impressum. For audiobooks, there's a box to tick to make it clear. Jo: Hmm. Skye: So they are open to it all. You just need to declare it. Jo: Which I think should be true everywhere, to be fair. Skye: Oh, definitely. And a lot of German distributors—while I was researching for this book, one thing I always looked at is, “Do they need you to declare your AI use?” More and more German distributors and retailers now want you to do that. I think that's the way it's going. It's not a judgement thing. I think it's just making it clear to readers. In Germany, it's all about transparency. That's why there are all those laws with GDPR—everyone will have heard about that one by now. But there are lots of other laws where it's all about consumer rights and transparency, and that's one of them. Jo: Is there anything else on the distribution side we need to think about? Skye: One thing I like to highlight is libraries, because that's quite a big thing in Germany too. They love books and bookstores and they love libraries. Some of the ways we get our English books into libraries—like a distributor like Draft2Digital for OverDrive—OverDrive is growing in Germany. There are other systems like Onleihe, just to name one. You can't get into those through, for example, Draft2Digital or PublishDrive or StreetLib. Tolino gets you into those. There are also subscription platforms that are growing. I think it's the same as in the English-speaking market. People love a subscription, and I love them. I just don't like exclusivity. So I very much support any subscription platform that doesn't require me to be exclusive to them. Skoobe is one of them. They used to be an independent platform, and then the Tolino Alliance bought them. So now they're integrated into the Tolino stores. That means it's really prominent. Basically, any time you go to an ebook on, for example, Thalia, it will have a banner there saying, “You can also get this in our subscription.” So it's taken a while to grow, but actually in December I now made more with their subscription programme than I made in book sales. I think three of my books were in their top 10 in December. To be fair, that was a pretty good month. But it definitely shows that it can take a while to grow these subscription platforms, but when you do, it can be really successful and very much worth it. So I highly suggest looking into those sorts of platforms too, not just the standard retailers and the platforms that you're already used to. Jo: Fantastic. So we've now got translations, they're on the various stores, and then just like in English, one of our next challenges is actually marketing the books. Now this becomes another challenge, because one of the reasons I am in KU for foreign languages is because you get the five free days and you can do Amazon ads. I mean, you can do Amazon ads for wide books too, but it's easier to know that there are some options for marketing at all. I don't do email marketing. I don't do social media, so I'm pretty bad at marketing in foreign languages. So what are your suggestions for those who want to do more active marketing in German especially? Or even if we don't speak German, it can't be all the personal stuff. But are there also advertising things like BookBub? What are our options basically? Skye: There are quite a few things. It's not quite as easy as in English, of course, but I think sometimes you have to remember that you already have most of the material for marketing when you've released a book. You will have made graphics in English, you will have written a newsletter, you will have done some social media posts. All that material is already there, so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You can just translate that, and for that, AI translation is really good because it's very quick. You don't have to bother your translator. You can just get that done. That's what I had to remind myself, because in the beginning I did everything from scratch and it took me forever and I was hating it. Then I realised, well, I could just look at the newsletter I wrote three years ago when that book released in English and translate that. That's done within a minute and I can send that out. So remember that you have a lot of content already. There's no BookBub or nothing as big as BookBub. There is a site called BookDeals, which sends out newsletters for both reduced or free books and also for new releases. I use them for pretty much all my new releases, or at least always the first in series. They're nowhere near as big as BookBub, so don't expect miracles, but I generally always break even or a bit more. It's hard to tell, of course, especially if you do several things for a new release. But my instinctive look on this is that it's worth it. BookDeals is the big one. There are a few other promo sites, but to be honest, I've not really found any of them to give me a positive ROI. I experiment with them occasionally and I listed them all in my book just for completeness, but BookDeals is the big one. Then there is LovelyBooks, which is the German Goodreads. Some Germans also use Goodreads, so always make sure to have all your German books listed there. But LovelyBooks is the big one. I love that place because people are so much kinder than on Goodreads. I avoid Goodreads completely. If I need a review, I send my assistant there to look at reviews. I don't go there. It is scary. LovelyBooks—the name is kind of telling. It is a more lovely place. People are generally more friendly. They are probably a bit more critical when they write reviews than they are on retailers, but I have found it really nice to build a community there. You can do these book clubs where you give away a copy of your book, either as print books—or I always do ebooks because I don't want to send books to Germany. Then people discuss the book as a sort of book club and then they review it at the end. I have had great success with that. I've built up a community of readers who will now buy my books too, even if they don't get them for free. I found some beta readers through that. So I love LovelyBooks. The annoying thing again is it's in German. However, their support all speaks English and you can email them with questions. They're really good. Even if you don't plan to run any book clubs or anything like that because you don't speak the language, I would always advise just setting up an author profile there because it makes it easier for your books to be found. You can track reviews, you can track reads, and that just gives you an extra place to get more visibility for free. Ads—there's not much difference compared to what you do for your English-language books. The one thing is with Facebook ads, now because of EU data protection laws, it's much harder to target because people can opt out of ads and targeting. In general, cost-per-click ads are cheaper than in the US or the UK, so that's a bonus. BookTok is big and only growing there. I don't really do social media for my German books because I just don't have the bandwidth. I wish I could, and I know some people who outsource that. In an ideal world, I would have a social media account for every single language, but it's not an ideal world and I just have limited hours in the day. But even just creating an account so that people can tag you, so that people can find you, can already be a good start. One thing that's not maybe a marketing strategy as such, but something I like to highlight, is pre-orders. If you write in series, always, always make sure that the next books in your series are up for pre-order, because— German readers have been burned so many times by authors or even publishers who just translate book one in a series and then stop. They are quite hesitant sometimes to start a new series when they see it's book one of something and they don't see the next book up for pre-order. To be fair, it's similar in English. I always make sure to have a pre-order up for the next book. Because people would just not read the series until it's complete or until they know it will be complete at some point. So always set up a pre-order if you can. Don't set it up when you don't actually know when your translation is being done, or choose a date far in the future. Just make it very clear to your readers that you are intending to translate the entire series, that you're not going to disappoint them, that they're not just wasting their money on a book one only to never find out what happens next. Jo: Fantastic. Well, this is a big decision for people to make, I think, because there's no point in doing one book in German and then not doing anything else, in the same way as doing one book in English or any language. You have to think about investing in an audience. So lots for people to think about. The book is fantastic. It's called Self-Publishing in German. So where can people find you and your books online? Skye: For my author-facing things, just go to SkyeMacKinnon.com/authors, and there you find the book about German translations. You also find more information on what I do. You can book consultations with me. I love doing those one-to-ones, especially about translations, because you can really dive into someone's catalogue and look at what would be a good strategy for someone, rather than just in general. Otherwise, it's SkyeMacKinnon.com for all my romance. If you want adorable children's books, it's IslaWynter.com. That's Wynter with a Y. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Skye. That was great. Skye: Thank you so much for having me.The post Self-Publishing in German: How to Translate, Distribute, and Market Your Books with Skye MacKinnon first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Can the Author of all things...the Author of your life teach you something even though you're an author too?  Today you'll hear from Jennifer Crosswhite who is an author, book coach, and editor.  You'll hear how God wrote the story of her life?  Did she go along with his "edits" all the time?  Listen to find out.Reach Out to Me:Website: www.dontignorethenudge.comPatreon: www.patreon.com/dontignorethenudgeIG: @dontignorethenudgepodcastPrivate FB group to WATCH interviews: www.dontignorethenudge.com/facebook__________________________________________________________________________________________Business/Personal Coaching with Cori:www.corifreeman.com(951) 923-2674Reach out to Jennifer Crosswhite:Website: https://www.tandemservicesink.com/Website: https://venture.com/domains/alli.comWebsite: https://reedsy.com/Kindle Link: Beneath a Star-Lit SkyAmazon Hard Cover Book Link: https://amzn.to/4cz5U6N

How can you improve your self-editing process? How can you find and work with professional editors and beta readers? How do you know when editing is done and the book is finished? With Joanna Penn In the intro, Poetry craft and business [The Indy Author Podcast]; A Mouthful of Air; How to get your book featured in local media without a publicist [Written Word Media]; thoughts on faith and code; Wild Dark Shore – Charlotte McConaghy; Bones of the Deep – J.F. Penn. Today's show is sponsored by ProWritingAid, writing and editing software that goes way beyond just grammar and typo checking. With its detailed reports on how to improve your writing and integration with writing software, ProWritingAid will help you improve your book before you send it to an editor, agent or publisher. Check it out for free or get 15% off the premium edition at www.ProWritingAid.com/joanna This show is also 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. Overview of the editing process Self-editing How to find and work with a professional editor. My list is at www.TheCreativePenn.com/editors Beta readers, specialist readers, and sensitivity readers When is the book finished? These chapters are excerpted from How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book by Joanna Penn, available direct or on all the usual stores. Overview of the editing process “Books aren't written. They're rewritten.” —Michael Crichton Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles is a classic of English literature. I studied it at school and the scene at Stonehenge still haunts me. Hardy's Jude the Obscure influenced my decision to go to university in Oxford, a city Hardy called Christminster. His novels are still held in great esteem, which is why it's so wonderful to see his hand-edited pages in the British Library in London, displayed in the Treasures collection. You can visit them in person or view them online. Thomas Hardy's edited manuscript of ‘Tess of the D'Urbevilles, one of England's greatest writers While his handwriting is a scrawl, it's evident from the pages just how much editing Hardy did on this version of the manuscript. There are lines struck through, whole paragraphs crossed out, arrows moving sections around, words and sentences rewritten, and comments in the margins. Even the title is changed from A Daughter of the D'Urbervilles to Tess of the D'Urbervilles as we know it today. Those edited pages gave me hope when I saw them for the first time as a new fiction author. Not that I thought I could write a classic of English literature, but that I could learn to edit my way to a better story. There are several stages in the editing process, which I'll outline here and then expand on in subsequent chapters. As you progress in your craft, you won't need every stage every time, so assess with each book what kind of editing you need along the way. Self-editing The self-editing stage is your chance to improve your manuscript before anyone else sees it. For some authors, this stage might mean rewriting the entire draft. For others, it involves restructuring, adding or deleting scenes, doing line edits, and more. Developmental or structural edit An editor reads your manuscript and gives feedback on specific aspects, character, plot, story structure, and anything else pertinent to improving the novel. It is sometimes described as a manuscript critique. You will receive a report, usually ten to fifteen pages, with notes on your novel, which you can then use in another round of self-editing. While this is not always necessary, it can be a valuable step and something I appreciated particularly for my first novel when I had so much to learn. Copyediting and line editing This is the classic ‘red pen' edit where you can expect comments and changes all over your manuscript. This edit focuses on anything that enhances the writing quality, including word choice and phrasing issues, as well as grammar, and more. Some editors split this edit into two, and there are differences between what this edit is called between countries. For some editors, a copyedit includes only attention to grammar and correctness, while a line edit focuses on improving and elevating sentences. Be clear about your expectations and that of your editor upfront. You will usually receive an MS Word document with Track Changes on as well as a style guide or style sheet and other notes, which you can then use to make revisions during another self-edit. This is the most expensive part of the process, as editors usually charge per 1,000 words based on the type of edit you want. If you need to cut your story down by 20K, then do it before you send your manuscript for a line edit! Beta readers, specialist readers, and/or sensitivity readers Some authors use different types of readers as part of their editing process. Beta readers are often part of the author's community and are certainly fans of the genre. They read to help the author pick up any issues pre-publication. Specialist readers are those with knowledge about a topic included in the story. For example, a vulcanologist read specific chapters of Risen Gods to check that the details about volcanic eruptions were correct. Sensitivity readers check for stereotypes, biases, problematic language, and other diversity issues. You will usually receive comments or an email with page numbers or chapter numbers, or sometimes an MS Word document with Track Changes, which you then use to make revisions. Many readers provide services for the love of helping their favorite author with a novel and a mention in the acknowledgments, but there are some paid services for specialist and sensitivity readers. Proofreading Proofreading is the final check of the manuscript pre-publication for any typos or issues that might have been introduced in the editorial process. For print books, this can include a review of the print proof with formatting. You should only fix the last tiny changes at this point. Don't make any major changes this close to publication or you may introduce entirely new errors. Do you need an editor if you intend to get an agent and a traditional publisher? You will go through an editorial process with your agent and publisher. But if you want the best chance of getting to that stage in the first place, it might also be worth working with an editor before you submit your manuscript to an agent. Look for an editor who will help you with your query letter and synopsis as part of their edit. Self-editing I love this part of the process! My self-edit is where I wrangle the chaos of the first draft into something worth reading. I have my block of marble and now I can shape it into my sculpture. The mindset shift from writer to editor, from author to reader In the idea, planning, discovery, and first-draft writing phase, it's all about you, the writer. You turn the ideas in your head into words that you understand, characters that come alive for you, and a plot that you're engaged with. In that first rush of creativity, you can banish critical voice and ignore any nagging doubts. But now you need to switch heads. That's how I prefer to think about it, but you might consider it as changing hats or changing jobs. Anything to help you move from the creative, anything goes, first-draft writer to the more critical editor. There is one overriding consideration in this shift. As Jeffery Deaver says, “The reader is god.” With the editing process, you need to turn your story from something you understand into something a reader will enjoy. Writing is telepathy. It connects minds across time and space. You are reading these words and the meaning flows from my brain into your brain — but only if I craft the book well enough. The same is true of your novel. Yes, of course, you want to double down on your creative choices and make sure you achieve everything you want to with your story. But you also need to keep the reader in mind as you edit because the book is ultimately for them. Will your story have the desired effect on the reader? What might help improve their experience? How can you make sure that they are not bored or confused or jolted out of the story? What will make them read on and, at the end, close the novel with a sigh of satisfaction? My self-editing process At the end of the first draft, I print out my manuscript with two pages to each A4 page, so it looks more like a book. I put it in a folder and leave it to rest. You need fresh eyes for your edit and this ‘resting' gives you some emotional distance. In On Writing, Stephen King suggests leaving a manuscript to rest for at least six weeks. While that is a great idea if you have the time, most authors work to deadline, whether externally set or their own timetable. Many authors — including me — are also impatient! I love this first self-edit, and as I'm still crafting the story as a discovery writer, I usually rest the manuscript for a week or two. I schedule blocks of time for editing in my Google calendar and (when not in pandemic times) I go to a café when it opens first thing in the morning. I put on my BOSE noise-cancelling headphones and edit by hand with a black ballpoint pen from page one to the end. I usually manage ten to twenty pages per editing session of a couple of hours each, but it will depend on the amount of restructuring I need to do. I scribble notes in the margins, draw arrows to move paragraphs around, write extra material on the back of pages, or add where I need to write more later. I change words, rewrite and delete lines, and pick up any issues around lack of sensory detail, character problems, and more. You can see an example of a page below: Some pages end up a mass of black; others are relatively clean. But in this first hand edit, no page goes untouched as I hone my manuscript into something closer to my creative goal. You can edit on a computer or a tablet, or whatever else works for you, but at least change the font or the spacing, or something to make it a different experience to reading the first draft. Most writers have a tendency to either overwrite or underwrite, and so will either need to cut words or add words at this stage. I'm in the latter camp so I usually have to add scenes or deepen characters or theme at this point. Once I have hand-edited the whole manuscript end-to-end, I make the changes in my Scrivener project. I change the color of the flags along the way and, as ever, I back up the session. I also use ProWritingAid at the sentence level to fix up things I missed, because we all miss things! When all the changes have been made, I print the complete manuscript again, and read end-to-end and edit as before. This time, it's usually a lot cleaner and there may only be a few things to fix in each chapter. Once I'm finished, I'll update the Scrivener project once more and then decide whether it needs a third pass. Mostly, two full end-to-end hand edits are enough for me these days, but sometimes I'll do a third or go through specific chapters one more time. This messy editing process is fun for me and it's hugely satisfying to see my story come to life. What to focus on in the self-edit Some authors will go through the manuscript multiple times, focusing on different elements with each pass using the aspects covered in Part 3 and Part 4. For example, they'll do an edit based on character and dialogue, followed by another pass for plot, then theme, and so on. Personally, I try to keep the reader in mind and focus on the story as a coherent whole. That's just how my mind works. I jump from fixing a plot issue to deepening a character to adding foreshadowing and so on as I read and edit. I'm confident that my editor will find a lot of the smaller things that I might miss, so I concentrate on trying to achieve my creative vision with the story. You will find your own way of figuring out your process. It's much better to jump in and have a go at editing rather than trying to work out the best way before you have something to work through. Lost the plot? Try reverse outlining If you're a discovery writer like me and you're struggling with the edit and you feel you have lost the plot (which definitely happens sometimes!) then consider a reverse outline as part of your editorial process. Go through the manuscript and write a few lines per scene. Include character, plot points, conflict, setting, open questions and hooks, and any other notes. This will help you step back and hopefully see the entire story from a high level. Then you can dive back into rewriting each chapter. Read the book out loud or use a text-to-speech reader to do it for you Many authors read their book aloud end-to-end, which is a helpful step once you've been through any major rewrites. There are also plenty of text-to-speech tools that can help, for example, Natural Reader or Speechify, and some are built into devices or applications. MS Word includes a Read Aloud tool in the Review tab. This will also help you edit for audio as you'll hear issues you can't see on the page. Editing for audio Audiobooks are a huge growth market and many readers will listen to your book rather than read it, so it's a good idea to consider editing with audio in mind at this stage. Here are some tips. Watch out for repeated sounds. The editorial process will usually catch repeated written words, but similar sounding words can hit the same audio note in narration. You might not notice them in the text, as they are spelled differently. The words ‘you,' ‘blue,' ‘tattoo,' and ‘interview' all start and end with different letters. They look different on the page, but they strike the same audio note when read aloud. In the same way, repetition can work if you have a point to make, but sometimes it jars the listener if it is overused. A classic recommendation for writing dialogue is to use ‘said' with a character name rather than other words like ‘uttered' or ‘pronounced.' This is because ‘said' disappears for the reader on the written page. But with audio, the repetition of a word is highly noticeable, and repeated sounds can dominate a passage. Rewrite with synonyms for ‘said,' or use action to make it clear who the speaker is without resorting to dialogue tags, as described in chapter 3.5. Contractions — or the lack of them — can also become more obvious in audio. “I am not going to the park,” might be spoken as “I'm not going to the park.” When we type dialogue, it is often more formal than the way someone speaks, so check if you can contract it in your edit. Accents can be an issue with fiction narration. There are plenty of narrators who do a ‘straight read,' but if there are accents within dialogue, make it clear where the character comes from. Make sure the narrator knows about the accent choice upfront, otherwise you might not like it in the finished audio. Remember my friend whose novel had an Irish character narrated like a comedy leprechaun instead of the soft lilt she had in mind? Don't confuse the reader. If you have a lot of characters appearing in a chapter and no clear character tags, you might lose the listener in the detail. When reading on paper or a screen, your reader can quickly flick back and see that George was the butler and Angus was the dog, but that's harder to do when listening to an audiobook. Make sure it's clear who is who. You may have to remind listeners occasionally by adding character tags. For example, ‘Angus ran alongside the canal' could become ‘Angus, the golden cocker spaniel, ran alongside the canal.' For more on audiobooks, check out my book, Audio for Authors: Audiobooks, Podcasting and Voice Technologies. How many drafts do you need? The word ‘draft' means different things to different authors. Some only apply this term to a complete rewrite end-to-end, while others will shift paragraphs around, change some lines, add a new scene, and call that a new draft. Nora Roberts said in a blog post on her writing craft, I work on a three-draft method. This works for me. It's not the right way/wrong way. There is no right or wrong for a process that works for any individual writer. Anyone who claims there is only one way, or that's the wrong way, is a stupid, arrogant bullshitter. That's my considered opinion. I love Nora's no-nonsense approach and she is right that there is no single correct process. You have to find your own. But beware of comparing what you call a draft to what another writer calls a draft. It may be something completely different. Use editing software Once I've finished my hand edits and updated the Scrivener project, I use ProWritingAid on the manuscript. It integrates with Scrivener, so I open my project and go through each chapter. ProWritingAid picks up passive voice, repetitive words, commas and typos, suggests rephrasing, and even picks up culturally problematic language. Yes, these are the type of things that an editor will pick up, but I want to hand over a manuscript that is as clean as possible so my editor can focus on other issues. I don't make all the suggested changes, but it certainly helps improve my writing, and I learn as I go through. You can even create your own style guide so you spell things the same way throughout. This is also a good chance to check typos according to the version of English you want to use (or any other language). I'm English and based in the UK, but when I published my first novel, I received complaints about typos from my readers, who were mainly in the USA. These were not typos, they were just British spelling! I decided to use US English in my books because US readers complain about UK spelling, but non-US readers will rarely complain about US spelling because they are used to it. You can set ProWritingAid to the type of English you want to use, and if you specify this later, your editor can pick up on word usage rather than typos, for example, using the term ‘flashlight' instead of ‘torch.' You can find ProWritingAid at: www.TheCreativePenn.com/prowritingaid You can find my tutorial on how to use ProWritingAid at: www.TheCreativePenn.com/prowritingaidtutorial When is your self-edit finished? You will be utterly sick of your manuscript by the end of the self-editing process. You have read your words so many times you can't see them clearly anymore. You are so over the whole thing that you want to forget the book altogether. If you don't feel this way, you probably haven't self-edited enough! When you really feel you can't do any more, it's time to work with a professional editor. If you are putting off the end of self-editing, then remember that nothing is ever perfect. You can edit forever if you keep obsessing over changes and going over and over the same material. If your self-edit goes on too long, consider whether perfectionism is holding you back. Set a completion date and hold yourself to it. How to find and work with a professional editor If you want your book to be the best it can be, then working with a professional editor is the next step. An editor's job is to take your manuscript and help you improve it through structural changes and story development, line edits, suggestions for new material or sentence refinement, and so much more. Different kinds of editors can help you in different ways from constructing the overarching story to eliminating the final typo. In my experience, good professional editors are well worth the investment as they help improve your book and your craft, especially in the initial stages of your writing journey. They have read so many early-stage manuscripts that they understand the most common problems and know how to help you fix them. Some experienced authors only use proofreaders for their novels, but personally, I still work with a professional editor on every book and I learn something every time. I am a super-fan of editors! How to find a professional editor Consolidation in the traditional publishing industry over the last decade has resulted in many more editors working as freelancers, so authors have a wealth of professionals available for hire in every genre. You can find lists of approved editors through author organizations. The Alliance of Independent Authors has a list of Partner Members, many of whom are editors. You can also use author marketplace Reedsy. Many editors use content marketing to find clients — for example, blogging about editing tips, writing books on editing, or appearing on podcasts. I have had lots of editors on The Creative Penn Podcast over the years, so you can listen and see if they resonate with you. Most authors credit their editors and proofreaders in the acknowledgments of their books, and many authors happily share recommendations on social media in various author communities. If you enjoy a certain novel, it might be worth reaching out to that editor, as you know they are a specialist in the genre. Check out my list of editors at: www.TheCreativePenn.com/editors How to assess whether an editor is right for you I frequently get emails from writers asking me to recommend an editor for their book. But finding an editor is like dating. You have to do it for yourself, and it's likely that you will try a few before you find your perfect match. You may also change editors over your writing life as your craft develops and your needs shift, and that's completely normal too. Make sure the editor has experience in and enjoys your genre. You don't want a literary historical fiction editor working on your YA paranormal romance or your hard sci-fi adventure. Ensure that the editor has testimonials from happy clients, and check directly with a named author if you have doubts. Some editors will offer a sample edit for one chapter. This helps both parties decide whether working together is appropriate. The editor can assess what level your manuscript is at, and you can decide whether their editorial style is right for you. How to work with an editor When you engage an editor, you will receive a contract with a timeline and a price for the work. You agree to deliver the manuscript on a particular date and will usually pay a deposit, especially if this is the first time you're working together. The editor agrees to deliver the edits back on a certain date and also to keep your manuscript in confidence. You can avoid issues later by communicating expectations up front, so if you have questions about the editing process, ask before you sign a contract. Many editors are booked months in advance, so once you know your schedule, contact them early and book a slot. Update them if your timings change. Most allow minor slippage, but since editors plan their work around contractual dates, it's important to be timely with delivery. As a discovery writer, I only book my editor when I am sure of my dates. Submit your manuscript and, once the edit is complete, you will receive whatever has been agreed. That might be a structural report, line edit, or proofread manuscript, along with a style sheet. It's usually in the form of an MS Word document by email. Some editors may offer a call to discuss, but I have never spoken to an editor as part of my process. It has never been necessary. It's all about the words on the page. If you want a call and it is not specified, then include it in the contract up front along with anything else you're concerned about. I consider my editors to be an important part of my team. They help me turn my manuscripts into books that readers love, and I rely on them as part of my business. This is a two-way relationship, and you need to behave as professionally as the editor should. If you find an editor you love working with, pay them quickly and respect their time, and you will hopefully have a long-term business relationship that benefits you both. How does it feel to go through an edit? It's probably going to hurt, especially in the beginning, when your craft is in its early stages. You need fresh eyes on your work, especially at the beginning of your author career. You need feedback to improve. When I received notes back on my structural edit for my first novel, I didn't open the email for ten days. I was so scared of what it would say because my novel meant so much to me, and yet I knew it had problems. Of course it did, it was my first novel! So I let the email sit in my inbox until I was ready to face it, and like many things, the fear was worse than the actual event. Even many years and many books later, I still don't open emails from my editor until I am mentally ready to face criticism. Because that's what it feels like. It is not the editor's job to pat you on the back and say, ‘Well done, this is perfect.' Their job is to help you make it the best book it can be. They are experts and have honed their advice over many manuscripts, so they can spot an issue a mile off. When you receive that email from your editor, particularly if it's your first book, make sure you are well rested and in a positive frame of mind. Set aside a good amount of time and read through the comments and the manuscript as a whole. If you have an emotional reaction, do not email back immediately! Let the feedback sit with you for a few days, and you will find it easier to see what might need to change. Once you're ready, go through the manuscript and work through each change. Don't just click Accept All on the Track Changes version for a line edit. This takes time, but it's well worth it because you will learn with every step and you'll be able to spot your common issues in the future, and hopefully fix them next time. You also need to examine every suggestion to see if you want to make the change. Do you need to make every change that an editor suggests? No, you don't. You are the author, so your creative vision is the most important thing. But try to get some distance and assess whether the change truly serves the book, or if you're just having an emotional response. Remember what Jeffery Deaver said: “The reader is god.” Consider each editorial suggestion on its own merit. Does it help take the story in the direction you want it to? Will it improve the reader's experience? What if my editor wants me to change everything? Perhaps they are not the right editor for you. The editor should not fundamentally change your story or alter your creative vision. Their job is to help you shape your manuscript into a better version of itself, and retain your voice and ideas while at the same time improving it for the reader. This is a skillful balancing act, which is why experienced editors are so highly sought after. How long will the editing process take? This will depend on the type of writer you are in terms of the first draft. If you outline in great detail and spend time up front making the first draft the best it can be, then editing might take less time than for a discovery writer who only figures out the book after the first draft. The more books you've written, the more you understand how to shape a novel, the more you can write a clean draft, so editing speeds up. That doesn't mean it gets easier to write a book, but it does mean you know how to find and fix issues. It will also depend on the length of the book. A 50,000-word romance with one protagonist will be a faster edit than a 150,000-word sprawling fantasy with multiple point-of-view characters. It will also depend on your experience, so don't compare your editing time to someone who has written a lot of books. Give editing the time it needs. You want your book to be the best it can be. But also remember Parkinson's Law, which I discussed in chapter 4.7 on writing the first draft: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” This law also applies to editing. Set your deadline and schedule your editing time accordingly. Don't book a professional editor until you've been through at least your self-editing process, as it may take longer than you think. How much does an editor cost? This will depend on the type of edit, your genre and word count, how experienced you are as a writer, and how much experience the editor has. Editors usually quote a range on their website and you can also email and ask for a more detailed quote based on your manuscript length and sample. Every dollar I have spent on editing has been worth it as an investment in my writing craft and the quality of my finished novels. Although my requirements are different now, I continue to use editors and proofreaders for all my books. The more eyes on your novel before publication, the better it will be on launch. What if you have a tight budget? When I started out as a writer, I had a day job and I saved up for the editorial process. It was an investment in my craft and a possible future creative career. If you already have or intend to set up a business as a writer, then you can offset the cost of editors against any profits. But when you're starting out, you can't necessarily see that far ahead. If you're on a tight budget, then find or set up a writer's group with others in your genre and work through one another's manuscripts. You might also have other skills you can barter for editing services, but remember that bartering is subject to tax in many jurisdictions, so don't assume that it is ‘free.' What if my editor steals my ideas or my manuscript? This is a common concern of new writers who think that editors might run away with their book and make millions with their idea. But don't worry, editors are professionals. They work within a contractual framework that protects both parties. So make sure you are happy with the contract before you sign it. If you are really worried, you can register your copyright before you send the manuscript to anyone else. While it is not legally necessary to register copyright — it exists the moment the work is created — there are registration companies in every country that can provide peace of mind. Just search for ‘copyright registration' within your territory. Will I need different editors when I'm further along in my writing journey? Yes, as your craft and experience improves, you will likely work with different editors. You might also choose to use a new editor for a different genre, or work with recommended professionals to take your craft to the next level. Resources: • My list of recommended editors: www.TheCreativePenn.com/editors • Alliance of Independent Authors — www.TheCreativePenn.com/alliance • The following editing associations offer directories and job posting services: The Editorial Freelancers Association (US), the Chartered Institute for Editing and Proofreading (UK), the Institute for Professional Editors (Australia and New Zealand), and Editors Canada. Beta readers, specialist readers, and sensitivity readers Professional editors approach your manuscript with a critical eye based on their knowledge of language, story structure, and genre. But sometimes, it's a good idea to gain perspective from readers who are not experts on sentence structure or grammar, but comment on the story itself, and their experience of reading it as a whole. Beta readers Beta readers are a trusted group of people who evaluate your book from a reader's perspective before publication. The term comes from the software industry, where early versions are tested in beta before being released to the public. While there are some paid beta reader services, many authors find people from their existing readership, or from among genre fans in the writing community. Authors usually thank their beta readers in their acknowledgments. Specialist readers Specialist readers are experts on a particular topic who read with their expertise in mind. This might be a police officer who checks a crime novel, or a physicist who reads for a science-fiction author. Sensitivity readers Sensitivity readers check for cultural and diversity issues, lack of or clichéd representation, and insensitive, inauthentic, or uninformed language, characters, or situations. This type of feedback can help an author before publication, and can be particularly useful if you are tackling more controversial topics. It can also be valuable when reviewing older manuscripts if you want to republish a new edition, as gendered language has changed, as well as the need for representation, diversity, and inclusivity. While some criticize sensitivity reading as a step toward censorship, most authors want to make their books the best they can be, and ensure the reader experience is excellent, whatever the genre. Being a fiction writer is also about empathy — with our characters and with our readers — so improving our ability to write about diverse characters is important. However, authors cannot be experts on what it's like to experience every race or religion, every body type or disability or mental health issue, or understand every country or culture. Feedback from different kinds of readers can help us write better stories, and it is the author's choice whether to implement suggestions in the final manuscript. Do you need all of these types of readers? No. You don't need any of them, or you can choose to use some of them for different books, depending on the need. It's up to you (and your agent or publisher if you choose to go that route). At what stage in the editorial process should you use these types of readers? The book should be as close to the final version as possible. These people are reading with fresh eyes; if they read again later, they can never approach the story with such an open mind. Most authors will send the manuscript to a select group of readers after the main editorial revisions, but before the proofread. Some authors with more developed careers even use their team of beta readers instead of editors at different stages of the process. What should you provide to readers? Provide the manuscript in the format the reader prefers. This could be an MS Word document or PDF. Many established authors use Bookfunnel, which allows you to create a version that can be read on any reading device or phone. Specialist readers and sensitivity readers have their specific expertise, but for more general beta readers, you need to provide some direction as to what you expect. For example: Did you skip over anything? Did anything bore you? Was anything confusing? Did you have to reread any parts? What did you like? Was there anything you hated or objected to or had a problem with? How long should you give them to read? Allow at least two weeks for readers to assess and provide feedback. Be clear on the timeline when you send them the book.. Do you need to make all the changes they suggest? No, and if you try to, you will end up straying from your creative goal, messing up your author voice, and likely pleasing no one! Keep your number of early readers small and specific to what you want to achieve. Assess each comment and suggestion on its own merit and decide whether or not to make the change. Be confident in your creative vision and beware writing by committee, which becomes a problem if you ask too many people for feedback. Only you can decide what you want for your novel. Resources: • The Reedsy marketplace includes different kinds of editors, beta readers, and sensitivity readers — www.TheCreativePenn.com/reedsy • Directory of sensitivity readers — www.writingdiversely.com/directory • Editors of Color — editorsofcolor.com When is the book finished? “I have not yet found words to truly convey the intensity of this remembered rapture—that moment of exquisite joy when necessary words come together and the work is complete, finished, ready to be read.” —bell hooks,Remembered Rapture You can edit a book forever if you want to. Every time you read it, you will find things to change. Every time you hire another editor, they will find more. If you work with beta readers, they will also offer opinions. Your novel will never be finished — until you decide it is. Nothing is ever perfect. Even if you hire three separate editors and use multiple proofreaders, you will still find a typo or an error in the published novel. Pick up any bestselling book from a traditional publisher, and you will still find an issue somewhere. It happens to everyone. Look at any prize-winning or bestselling book on Amazon and check the reviews. The more popular the book, the more issues people will find with it. There will never be a novel that satisfies everyone, and that's fine. Of course, you must make sure your book is the best it can be, but set boundaries for yourself so you do eventually finish. Have you self-edited your manuscript? Have you worked with a professional editor, or at least worked through the manuscript with other writers to improve it? Have you used editing tools and/or a proofreader? Have you set a deadline to move into the publishing process so you are not editing forever? If you have been through this rigorous editorial process and you still feel the itch to edit again, be honest with yourself. Is another round of changes really going to make a substantial difference to this book? Would it be better to work on the next novel instead of constantly reworking this one? Are you struggling with fear of judgment, fear of failure, procrastination, or other mindset issues that you need to work on instead of editing? Check out my book The Successful Author Mindset if you think this might be the case. Strive for excellence, do your best, and then release your book out into the world. “Set a limit on revisions, set a limit on drafts, set a time limit… The book will never be perfect.” —Kristine Kathryn Rusch, The Pursuit of Perfection and How it Harms Writers These chapters are excerpted from How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book by Joanna Penn, available direct or on all the usual stores. The post Editing a Novel: Self-Editing, And How To Work With A Professional Editor With Joanna Penn first appeared on The Creative Penn.

310 / AI is getting better at producing words, audio, and even video, which raises the question for authors: how do readers know there's a real person behind the book?In this episode, we talk about how writers can stand out in a sea of AI content through leaning harder into trust, voice, and real connection. We share concrete ways to signal “I'm a real person” without forcing yourself to overshare or turn your life into content. ✨ This week's sponsor is: Reedsy https://reedsy.com/studio and https://reedsy.com/studio/templatesWhy authenticity and connection matter more as AI output scales—and what history tells us about tech panic cyclesHow parasocial relationships work, where they go sideways, and how real-world interaction cuts through the noisePractical ways to show your humanity: imperfection, process sharing, physical objects, and curationProtecting your author voice and using credibility signals to build lasting reader trust

309 / Lona McCombie, social media marketer for authors, unpacks essential strategies for authors looking to promote their work, especially on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.✨ This week's sponsor is: Reedsy https://reedsy.com/studio and https://reedsy.com/studio/templatesStarting out in social media marketingPromo strategies for book releasesBest practices for TikTok marketingCross-posting content on social platformsResults of paid promo vs. organic reachTrends in book promo content

308 / Serial fiction expert, Kimboo York, joins us to discuss building long-term reader relationships, letting go of perfectionism and fan fiction, including insights on transitioning fan fiction to original works. We also talk about balancing productivity with kindness and allowing room for mistakes to set yourself up to have a resilient author career. ✨ This week's sponsor is: Reedsy https://reedsy.com/studio and https://reedsy.com/studio/templatesSerial fiction business modelsTransitioning from fanfiction to original fictionProductivity and project management adviceCommunity and discoverability on SubstackMonetization methods for serialsLegal concerns with fanfiction writing

307 / How can automation, AI, and genuine relationships help you thrive as an author? Chelle Honaker shares her insights on blending creativity and business, building community, and navigating the ever-changing publishing world.✨ This week's sponsor is: Reedsy https://reedsy.com/studio and https://reedsy.com/studio/templatesFlywheel marketing instead of funnel marketingBuilding community and collaborationSocial media burnout and challengesDiscoverability and reader relationshipsTrends in publishing and tech for authors

Here are the links for the books, websites and classes I mention in the episode.LiveWriteThrive.com has a LOT of great courses on writing.Reedsy.com/learning is also a great source. Get on their newsletter!I have several masterclasses on Scenes and Characters that you can find on my curios page.Sign up for my writers' newsletter to learn more about the craft of writing, know when my workshops are and be the first to get exclusive information on my writing retreats. https://katcaldwell.com/writers-newsletterWant more information on my books, author swaps, short stories and what I'm reading? Sign up for my readers' newsletter. https://storylectory.katcaldwell.com/signup You can always ask me writing questions on instagram @author_katcaldwell

New York Times bestselling author, Jenna Blum, discusses her latest release, MURDER YOUR DARLINGS. When mid-career novelist, Sam Vetiver, is swept off her feet by the A-list author of her dreams, his stalker sets out to steal her new found bliss. The twisted triangle takes a dark turn as one author after another dies, making Sam wonder if she'll be next. “…will have you cracking up while you're checking under your bed.”—Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author Listen in as we chat about how vulnerability sometimes makes us targets for predators, physical and emotional isolation, and why I was hoping for a side braid while mulling over the idea of narcissist camp! https://www.mariesutro.com/twisted-passages-podcast https://www.jennablum.com ABOUT THE AUTHOR: JENNA BLUM is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of novels THOSE WHO SAVE US, THE STORMCHASERS, and THE LOST FAMILY; novella “The Lucky One” in anthology GRAND CENTRAL; memoir WOODROW ON THE BENCH; audio course “The Author At Work: The Art of Writing Fiction”; and WWII audio drama THE KEY OF LOVE, available on every major podcast streaming platform. Jenna is one of Oprah's Top Thirty Women Writers, with her work published in over 20 countries, and cofounder/CEO of online author interview platform A Mighty Blaze. Jenna's first novel, THOSE WHO SAVE US, won the Ribalow Prize, awarded by Hadassah Magazine and adjudged by Elie Wiesel, and was a Borders pick and the #1 bestselling novel in Holland. In addition to being a career author, Jenna is a professional public speaker, traveling nationally and internationally to talk about her books and work; a veteran teacher, having taught Creative Writing and novel workshops for Boston University, Grub Street Writers, and other institutions for 25+ years; an editor for Reedsy; and on-air host for A Mighty Blaze. Jenna is based in Boston with her black Lab, Henry Higgins. For more information about Jenna and her adventures, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok, and Substack.

New York Times bestselling author, Jenna Blum, discusses her latest release, MURDER YOUR DARLINGS. When mid-career novelist, Sam Vetiver, is swept off her feet by the A-list author of her dreams, his stalker sets out to steal her new found bliss. The twisted triangle takes a dark turn as one author after another dies, making Sam wonder if she'll be next. “…will have you cracking up while you're checking under your bed.”—Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author Listen in as we chat about how vulnerability sometimes makes us targets for predators, physical and emotional isolation, and why I was hoping for a side braid while mulling over the idea of narcissist camp! https://www.mariesutro.com/twisted-passages-podcast https://www.jennablum.com ABOUT THE AUTHOR: JENNA BLUM is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of novels THOSE WHO SAVE US, THE STORMCHASERS, and THE LOST FAMILY; novella “The Lucky One” in anthology GRAND CENTRAL; memoir WOODROW ON THE BENCH; audio course “The Author At Work: The Art of Writing Fiction”; and WWII audio drama THE KEY OF LOVE, available on every major podcast streaming platform. Jenna is one of Oprah's Top Thirty Women Writers, with her work published in over 20 countries, and cofounder/CEO of online author interview platform A Mighty Blaze. Jenna's first novel, THOSE WHO SAVE US, won the Ribalow Prize, awarded by Hadassah Magazine and adjudged by Elie Wiesel, and was a Borders pick and the #1 bestselling novel in Holland. In addition to being a career author, Jenna is a professional public speaker, traveling nationally and internationally to talk about her books and work; a veteran teacher, having taught Creative Writing and novel workshops for Boston University, Grub Street Writers, and other institutions for 25+ years; an editor for Reedsy; and on-air host for A Mighty Blaze. Jenna is based in Boston with her black Lab, Henry Higgins. For more information about Jenna and her adventures, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok, and Substack.

The way readers search for their next book is changing dramatically. With Google's generative search and Amazon's upcoming AI-driven recommendation engine, authors face a completely new landscape for book discovery. But how exactly will these changes affect your books' visibility? Reedsy's Ricardo Fayet joins us to share practical steps to make sure your books remain discoverable and compelling to readers in this rapidly shifting landscape.//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—and we won't charge you a dime.  We take a small percentage of the royalties for each sale you make through us, so we only make money when you make money. That's the best kind of business plan.  • 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.

What does it really take to build a multi-six-figure author business with no advertising? Is running your own warehouse really necessary for direct sales success — or is there a simpler path using print-on-demand that works just as well? In this conversation, Sacha Black and I compare our very different approaches to selling direct, from print on demand to pallets of books, and explore why the right model depends entirely on who you are and what your goals are for your author business. In the intro, Memoir Examples and interviews [Reedsy, The Creative Penn memoir tips]; Written Word Media annual indie author survey results; Successful Self-Publishing Fourth Edition; Business for Authors webinars; Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant; Camino Portuguese Coastal on My Camino Podcast; Creating while Caring Community with Donn King; The Buried and the Drowned by J.F. Penn Today's show is sponsored by Bookfunnel, the essential tool for your author business. Whether it's delivering your reader magnet, sending out advanced copies of your book, handing out ebooks at a conference, or fulfilling your digital sales to readers, BookFunnel does it all. Check it out at bookfunnel.com/thecreativepenn This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Sacha Black is the author of YA and non-fiction for authors and previously hosted The Rebel Author Podcast. As Ruby Roe, she is a multi-six-figure author of sapphic romantasy. 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 Two models for selling direct: print on demand vs running your own warehouse. Plus, check out Sacha's solo Rebel Author episode about the details of the warehouse. Cashflow management Kickstarter lessons: pre-launch followers, fulfillment time, and realistic timelines How Sacha built a multi-six-figure business through TikTok with zero ad spend Matching your business model to your personality and skill set Building resilience: staff salaries, SOPs, and planning for when things change You can find Ruby at RubyRoe.co.uk and on TikTok @rubyroeauthor and on Instagram @sachablackauthor Transcript of the interview Joanna: Sacha Black is the author of YA and nonfiction for authors, and previously hosted the Rebel Author podcast. As Ruby Roe, she is a multi-six-figure author of sapphic romance. So welcome back to the show, Sacha. Sacha: Hello. Thank you for having me. It's always a pleasure to be here. Joanna: I'm excited to talk to you today. Now, just for context, for everybody listening, Sacha has a solo episode on her Rebel Author podcast, last week as we record this, which goes into specific lessons around the warehouse in more detail, including financials. So we are going to come at this from a slightly different angle in our discussion today, which is really about two different ways of doing selling direct. I want us to start though, Sacha, in case people don't know your background, in case they've missed out. Can you just give us a quick recap of your indie author journey, because you haven't just come out of nowhere and jumped into this business and done incredibly well? Sacha's Indie Author Journey Sacha: No, I really haven't. Okay. So 2013, I started writing. So 12 years ago I started writing with the intention to publish, because I was writing before, but not with the intention. 2017 I first self-published and then two years after that, in 2019, I quit the day job. But let me be clear, it wasn't because I was rolling in self-published royalties or commissions or whatever you want to call them. I was barely scraping by. And so those are what I like to call my hustle years because I mean, I still hustle, but it was a different kind. It was grind and hustle. So I did a lot of freelance work. I did a lot of VA work for other authors. I did speaking, I was podcasting, teaching courses, and so on and so forth. 2022, in the summer, I made a realisation that I'd created another job for myself rather than a business that I wanted to grow and thrive in and was loving life and all of that stuff. And so I took a huge risk and I slowed down everything, and I do mean everything. I slowed down the speaking, I slowed down the courses, I slowed down the nonfiction, and — I poured everything into writing what became the first Ruby Roe book. I published that in February 2023. In August/September 2023, I stopped all freelance work. And to be clear, at that point, I also wasn't entirely sure if I was going to be able to pay my bills with Ruby, but I could see that she had the potential there and I was making enough to scrape by. And there's nothing if not a little bit of pressure to make you work hard. So that is when I stopped the freelance. And then in November 2023, so two months later, I started TikTok in earnest. And then a month after that, December the eighth, I went viral. And then what's relevant to this is that two days after that, on December the 10th, I had whipped up my minimum viable Shopify, and that went live. Then roll on, I did more of the same, published more Ruby Roe books. I made a big change to my Shopify. So at that point it was still print on demand Shopify, and then February 2025, I took control and took the reins and rented a warehouse and started fulfilling distribution myself. The Ten-Year Overnight Success Joanna: So great. So really good for people to realise that 2013, you started writing with the intention, like, seriously, I want this to be what I do. And it was 2019 when you quit the day job, but really it was 2023 when you actually started making decent money, right? Sacha: Almost like we all need 10 years. Joanna: Yeah. I mean, it definitely takes time. So I wanted just to set that scene there. And also that you did at least a year of print on demand Shopify before getting your own warehouse. Sacha: Yeah, maybe 14 months. Joanna: Yeah, 14 months. Okay. So we are going to revisit some of these, but I also just want as context, what was your day job so people know? Sacha: So I was a project manager in a local government, quite corporate, quite conservative place. And I played the villain. It was great. I would helicopter into departments and fix them up and look at processes that were failing and restructure things and bring in new software and bits and bobs like that. The Importance of Business Skills Joanna: Yeah. So I think that's important too, because your job was fixing things and looking at processes, and I feel like that is a lot of what you've done and we'll revisit that. Sacha: How did I not realise that?! Joanna: I thought you did know that. No. Well, oh my goodness. And let's just put my business background in context. I'm sure most people have heard it before, but I was an IT consultant for about 13 years, but much of my job was going into businesses and doing process mapping and then doing software to fix that. And also I worked, I'm not an accountant, but I worked in financial accounting departments. So I think this is really important context for people to realise that learning the craft is one thing, but learning business is a completely different game, right? Sacha: Oh, it is. I have learnt — it's wild because I always feel like there's no way you can learn more than in your first year of publishing because everything is brand new. But I genuinely feel like this past 18 months I have learnt as much, if not more, because of the business, because of money, because of all of the other legal regulation type changes in the last 18 months. It's just been exhausting in terms of learning. It's great, but also it is a lot to learn. There is just so much to business. Joanna's Attempts to Talk Sacha Out of the Warehouse Joanna: So that's one thing. Now, I also want to say for context, when you decided to start a warehouse, how much effort did I put into trying to persuade you not to do this? Sacha: Oh my goodness, me. I mean a lot. There were probably two dinners, several coffees, a Zoom. It was like, don't do it. Don't do it. You got me halfway there. So for everybody listening, I went big and I was like, oh, I'm going to buy shipping containers and convert them and put them on a plot of land and all of this stuff. And Joanna very sensibly turned around and was like, hmm, why don't you rent somewhere that you can bail out of if it doesn't work? And I was like, oh yeah, that does sound like a good idea. Joanna: Try it, try it before you really commit. Okay. So let's just again take a step back because the whole point of doing this discussion for me is because you are doing really well and it is amazing what you are doing and what some other people are doing with warehouses. But I also sell direct and in the same way as you used to, which is I use Bookfunnel for ebooks and audiobooks and I use BookVault for print on demand books, and people can also use Lulu. That's another option for people. So you don't have to do direct sales in the way that you've done it. And part of the reason to do this episode was to show people that there are gradations of selling direct. Why Sell Direct? Joanna: But I wanted to go back to the basics around this. Why might people consider selling direct, even in a really simple way, for example, just ebooks from their website, or what might be reasons to sell direct rather than just sending everything to Amazon or other stores? Sacha: I think, well, first of all, it depends on what you want as a business model. For me, I have a similar background to you in that I was very vulnerable when I was in corporate because of redundancies, and so that bred a bit of control freakness inside me. And having control of my customers was really important to me. We don't get any data from Amazon or Kobo really, or anywhere, even though all of these distributors are incredible for us in our careers. We don't actually have direct access to readers, and you do with Shopify. You know everything about your reader, and that is priceless. Because once you have that data and you have delivered a product, a book, merchandise, something that that reader values and appreciates, you can then sell to them again and again and again. I have some readers who have been on my website who have spent almost four figures now. I mean, that is just — one person's done that and I have thousands of people who are coming to the website on a regular basis. So definitely that control and access to readers is a huge reason for doing it. Customising the Reader Relationship Sacha: And also I think that you can, depending on how you do this model, there are ways to do some of the things I'm going to talk about digitally as well. But for me, I really like the physical aspect of it. We are able to customise the relationship with our customers. We can give them more because we are in control of delivery. And so by that I mean we could give art prints, which lots of my readers really value. We can do — you could send those digitally if you wanted to, but we can add in extra freebies like our romance pop sockets, that makes them feel like they are part of my reader group. They're part of a community. It creates this belonging. So I think there is just so much more that you can do when you are in control of that relationship and in control of the access to it. Joanna: Yeah. And on that, I mean, one of the reasons we can do really cool print books — and again, we're going to come back to print on demand, but I use print on demand. You don't have to buy pallets of books as Sacha does. You can just do print on demand. Obviously the financials are different, but I can still do foiling and custom end papers and ribbons and all this with print on demand through BookVault custom printing and bespoke printing. The Speed of Money Joanna: But also, I think the other thing with the money — I don't know if you even remember this, because it's very different when you are selling direct — you can set up your system so you get paid like every single day, right? Or every week? Sacha: Yes. Joanna: So the money is faster because with Amazon, with any of these other systems, it can take 30, 60, 90 days for the money to get to you. So faster money, you are in more control of the money. And you can also do a lot more things like bundling and like you mentioned, much higher value that you could offer, but you can also make higher income. Average order value per customer because you have so many things, right? So that speed of money is very different. Sacha: It is, but it's also very dangerous. I know we might talk about cashflow more later, but— Joanna: Let's talk about it now. Managing Cashflow With Multiple Bank Accounts Sacha: Okay, cool. So one of the things that I think is the most valuable thing that I've ever done is, someone who is really clever told me that you're allowed more than one business account. Joanna: Just to be clear, bank accounts? Sacha: Yes, sorry. Yeah. Bank accounts. And one of my banks in particular enables you to have mini banks inside it, mini pots they call it. And what I do with pre-orders is I treat it a bit like Amazon. So that money will come in — you know, I do get paid daily pretty much — but I then siphon it off every week into a pot. So let's just say I've got one book on pre-order. Every week the team tells me how much we've got in pre-orders for that one product and all the shipping money, and I put it into an account and I leave it there. And I do not touch it unless it is to pay for the print run of that book or to pay for the shipping. Because one of the benefits of coming direct to me is that I promise to ship all pre-orders early, so we have to pay the shipping costs before necessarily Amazon might pay for its shipping costs because they only release on the actual release day. But that has enabled me to have a little savings scheme, but also guarantee that I can pay for the print run in advance because I haven't accidentally spent that money on something else or invested it. I've kept it aside and it also helps you track numbers as well, so you know how well that pre-order is doing financially. Understanding Cashflow as an Author Joanna: Yeah. And this cashflow, if people don't really know it, is the difference between when money comes in and when it goes out. So another example, common to many authors, is paying for advertising. So for example, if you run some ads one month, you're going to have to pay, let's say Facebook or BookBub or whoever, that month. You might not get the money from the sale of those books if it's from a store until two months later. In that case, the cash flows the other way. The money is sitting with the store, sitting on Amazon until they pay you later. This idea of cashflow is so important for authors to think about. Another, I guess even more basic example is you are writing your first book and you pay for an editor. Money goes out of your bank account and then hopefully you're going to sell some books, but that might take, let's say six months, and then some money will come back into your bank account. I think this understanding cashflow is so important at a small level because as it gets bigger and bigger — and you are doing these very big print runs now, aren't you? Talk a bit about that. The Risks of Print Runs Sacha: Yeah. So one of the things I was going to say, one of the benefits of your sell direct model is that you don't have to deal with mistakes like this one. So in my recent book, Architecti, that we launched at the end of September, we did a print run of a thousand books, maybe about 3,000 pounds, something like that, 2,000 pounds. And basically we ended up selling all thousand and more. So the pre-orders breached a thousand and we didn't have enough books. But what made that worse is that 20% of the books that arrived were damaged because there had been massive rain. So we then had to do a second print run, which is bad for two reasons. The first reason is that one, that space, two, the time it's going to take to get to you — it's not instant, it's not printed on demand. But also three, I then had to spend the same amount of money again. And actually if we had ordered 2,000 originally, we would've saved a bit more money on it per book. So you don't — if you are doing selling direct with a print on demand model, the number of pre-orders you get is irrelevant because they'll just keep printing, and you just get charged per copy. So there are benefits and disadvantages to doing it each way. Obviously, I'm getting a cheaper price per copy printed, but not if I mess up the order numbers. Is Running a Warehouse Just Another Job? Joanna: So I'm going to come back on something you said earlier, which was in 2022 you said, “I realised I made a job for myself.” Sacha: Yeah. Joanna: And I mean, I've been to your store. You obviously have people to help you. But one of my reservations about this kind of model is that even if you have people to help you, taking on physical book — even though you are not printing them yourself, you're still shipping them all and you're signing them all. And to me it feels like a job. So maybe talk about why you have continued — you have pretty much decided to continue with your warehouse. So why is this not a job? What makes this fun for you? The Joy of Physical Product Creation Sacha: I wish that listeners could see my face because I'm literally glittering. I love it. I literally love it. I love us being able to create cool and wacky things. We can make a decision and we can create that physical product really quickly. We can do all of these quirky things. We can experiment. We can do book boxes. So first of all, it's the creativity in the physical product creation. I had no idea how much I love physical product creation, but there is something extremely satisfying about us coming up with an idea that's so integrated in the book. So for example, one of my characters uses, has a coin, a yes/no coin. She's an assassin and she flips it to decide whether or not she's going to assassinate somebody. We've actually designed and had that coin made, and it's my favourite item in the warehouse. It's such a small little thing, but I love it. And so there is a lot of joy that I derive from us being able to create these items. Sending Book Mail and Building Community Sacha: I think the second thing is I really love book mail. There is no better gift somebody can give me than a book. And so I do get a lot of satisfaction from knowing we're sending out lots and lots of book presents to people and we get to add more to it. So some of the promises that we make are: I sign every book and we give gifts. We have character art and, like I've mentioned before, pop sockets and all these kinds of things. And I get tagged daily in unboxings and stories and things like this where people are like, oh my gosh, I didn't realise I was going to get this, this, and this. And I just — it's like crack to me. I get high off of it. So I can't — this is not for everybody. This is a logistical nightmare. There are so many problems inherent in this business model. I love it. Discovering a Love of Team Building Sacha: And I think the other thing, which is very much not for a lot of authors — I did not realise that I actually really like having a team. And that has been a recent realisation. I really was told that I'm not a team player when I was in corporate, that I work alone, all of this nonsense. And I believed that and taken it on. But finding the right team, the right people who love the jobs that they do inside your business and they're all as passionate as you, is just life changing. And so that also helps me continue because I have a really great team. Joanna: I do have to ask you, what is a pop socket? Sacha: It's a little round disc that has a mechanism that you can pull out and then you — and it has a sticky command strip back and you can pop it on the back of your phone or on the back of a Kindle and it helps you to hold it. I don't know how else to describe it. It just helps you to hold the device easier. Joanna: Okay. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was confused. I'm like, why are you doing electrical socket products? Know What Kind of Person You Are Joanna: But I think this actually does demonstrate another point, and I hope people listening — I hope you can sort of — why we are doing this partly is to help you figure out what kind of person you are as well. Because I can't think of anything worse than having lots of little boxes! And I've been in Sacha's thing and there's all these little stickers and there's lots of boxes of little things that they put in people's packages, which make people happy. And I'm like, oh, I just don't like packages of things. And I mean, you geek out on packaging, don't you as well? Sacha: Oh my goodness. Yeah. One of the first things I did when we got the warehouse was I actually went to a packaging expo in Birmingham. It was like this giant conference place and I just nerded out there. It was so fun. And one of the things that I'm booked to do is an advent calendar. And that was what drove me there in the first place. I was looking for a manufacturer that could create an advent calendar for us. I have two. I'm not — I have two advent calendars this year because I love them so much. But yeah, the other thing that I was going to say to you is I often think that as adults, we can find what we're supposed to do rooted in our childhood. And I was talking the other day and someone said to me, what toy do you remember from your youth? And I was like, oh yeah. The only one that I can remember is that I had a sticker maker. I like — that makes sense. You do like stickers. And I do. Yeah. Digital Minimalism vs Physical Products Joanna: Yeah, I do. And I think this is so important because I love books. I buy a lot of books. I love books, but I also get rid of a lot of books. I know people hate this, but I will just get rid of bags and bags of books. So I value books more for what's inside them than the physical product as such. I mean, I have some big expensive, beautiful books, but mostly I want what's in them. So it's really interesting to me. And I think there's a big difference between us is just how much you like all that stuff. So if you are listening, if you are like a digital minimalist and you don't want to have stuff around your house, you definitely don't want a warehouse. You don't want all the shipping bits and bobs. You are not interested in all that. Or even if you are, you can still do a lot of this print on demand. Then I think that's just so important, isn't it? I mean, did you look at the print on demand merch? Did you find anything you liked? The Draw of Customisation Sacha: Yeah, we did, but I think for me it was that customisation. We are now moving towards — I've just put an order in this morning for 10,000 customised boxes. We've got our own branding on them. We've got a little naughty, cheeky message when they flip up the flap. And it's little things like that that you can't — you know, we wouldn't have control over what was sent. So much of what I wanted, and some of the reasons for me doing it, is that I wanted to be able to sign the books. I was being asked on a daily basis if people could buy signed books from me, and it was driving me bonkers not being able to say yes. But also being able to send a website mailing list sign-up in the box, or being able to give them a discount in the box. I mean, I know you do that, but yeah, there was just a lot more customisation and things that we could do if we were controlling the shipping. Also, I wanted to pack the boxes, the books better. So we wanted to be able to bubble wrap things or we wanted to be able to waterproof things because we had various different issues with deliveries and so we wanted a bit more control over that. So yeah, there were just so many reasons for us to do it. Print on Demand Is Still Fantastic Sacha: Look, don't get me wrong, if I suddenly wanted to go off travelling for a year, then maybe I would shut down the warehouse and go back to print on demand. I think print on demand is fantastic. I did it for 14 months before I decided to open a warehouse. It is the foundation of most authors' models. So it's fantastic. I just want to do more. Joanna: Yeah. You want to do more of it. Life Stage Matters Joanna: We should also, I also wanted to mention your life stage. Because when we did talk about it, your son is just going to secondary school, so we knew that you would be in the same area, right? Sacha: Yeah. Joanna: Because I said to you, you can't just do this and — well, you can, you could ditch it all. But the better decision is to do this for a certain number of years. If you're going to do it, it needs time, right? So you are at that point in your life. Sacha: Yeah, absolutely. We — I mean, we are going to move house, I think, but not that far away. We'll still be in reachable distance of the warehouse. And yeah, the staying power is so important because it's also about raising awareness. You have to train readers to come to you. You have to show them why it's beneficial for them to order directly from you. Growing the Business Year Over Year Sacha: And then you also have to be able to iterate and add more products. Like you were talking earlier about increasing that average order value. And that does come from having more products, but more products does create other issues like space, which may or may not be suffering issues with now. But yeah, so for example, 2024, which was the first real year, I did about 73 and a half thousand British pounds. And then this year, where — as we record this, it's actually the 1st of December — and I'm on 232,000. So from year one to year two, it's a huge difference. And that I do think is about the number of products and the number of things that we have on there. Joanna: And the number of customers. I guess you've also grown your customer base as well. And one of the rules, I guess, in inverted commas, of publishing is that the money is in the backlist. And every time you add to your backlist and every launch, you are selling a lot more of your backlist as well. So I think as time goes on, yeah, you get more books. Kickstarter as an Alternative Joanna: But let's also talk about Kickstarter because I do signed books for my Kickstarters and to me the Kickstarter is like a short-term ability to do the things you are doing regularly. So for example, if you want to do book boxes, you could just do them for a Kickstarter. You don't have to run a warehouse and do it every single day. For example, your last Kickstarter for Ruby Roe made around 150,000 US dollars, which is amazing. Like really fantastic. So just maybe talk about that, any lessons from the Kickstarter specifically, because I feel like most people, for most people listening, they are far more likely to do a Kickstarter than they are to start a warehouse. Pre-Launch Followers Are Critical Sacha: Yeah, so the first thing is even before you start your Kickstarter, the pre-launch follow accounts are critical. So 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. So we actually have a formula now. Somebody more intelligent gave this to me, but essentially, based on my own personal campaign data — so this wouldn't necessarily be the same for other people — but based on my campaign data, each pre-launch follower is worth 75 pounds. And then we add on seven grand, for example. So on campaign three, which was the most recent one, I had 1,501 pre-launch followers. And when you times that by 75 and you add on seven grand, it makes more or less exactly what we made on the campaign. And the same formula can be applied to the others. So you need more pre-launch followers than you think you do. And 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. Early Bird Pricing and Fulfillment Time Sacha: And then the other thing that we do is that we do early bird pricing. So 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. 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 are 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. And the other thing is that the amount of time it takes to fulfil is directly proportionate to the size of the campaign. That's one thing I did not even compute — the fact that we went from about 56,000 British pounds up to double that, and the time was exponentially more than double. So you do have to think about that. Overseas Printing and Timelines Sacha: The other lesson that we have learned is that overseas printing will drag your timelines out far longer than you think it does. 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. And thankfully, we are now only going to be a month delayed, whereas lots of campaigns get up to a year delayed because they don't consider that. Reinvesting Kickstarter Profits Sacha: And then the last thing I think, which was really key for us, is that if you have some profit in the Kickstarter — because not all Kickstarters are actually massively profitable because 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 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 yeah, depending on what you want to do with your profit, for us it was all about buying more books, basically. Offering Something Exclusive Sacha: I think the other thing to think about is what is it that you are 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? Because you've done more Kickstarters than me. What do you think is the biggest lesson you've learned? Reward Tiers and Bundling Joanna: Oh, well I think all of mine together add up to the one you just did. Although I will comment on — you said something like 75 pounds per pre-launch backer. That is obviously dependent on your tiers for the rewards, so most authors won't have that amount. So my average order value, which I know is slightly different, but I don't offer things like book boxes like 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 are never going to make it up to that kind of value. So I think this is important too, is have a look at what people offer on their different levels of Kickstarter. And 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 I uploaded my book 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 I think bundling your backlist is another thing you can do as upsells, or you can just, for example, for me, when I did Blood Vintage, I did a horror bundle when it was four standalone horror books in one of the upper tiers. So I think bundling is a good way. Also upselling your backlist is a really good way to up things. And also if you do it digitally, so for ebooks and audiobooks, there's a lot less time in fulfillment. Focus on Digital Products Too Joanna: So again, yours — well, you make things hard, but also more fun according to you, because most of it's physical, right? In fact, this is one of the things you haven't done so well, really, is concentrate on the digital side of things. Is that something you are thinking about now? Sacha: Yeah, it is. I mean, we do have our books digitally on the website. So the last — I only had one series in Kindle Unlimited, and I took those out in January. But so we do have all of the digital products on the website, and the novellas that we do, we have in all formats because I narrate the audio for them. So that is something that we're looking at. And since somebody very smart told me to have upsell apps on my website, we now have a full “get the everything bundle” in physical and digital and we are now selling them as well. Surprising. Definitely not you. So yeah, we are looking at it and that's something that we could look at next year as well for advertising because I haven't really done any advertising. I think I've spent about 200 pounds in ads in the last four months or something. It's very, very low level. So that is a way to make a huge amount of profit because the cost is so low. So your return, if you're doing a 40 or 50 pound bundle of ebooks and you are spending, I don't know, four pounds in advertising to get that sale, your return on that investment is enormous for ads. So that is something that we are looking at for next year, but it just hasn't been something that we've done a huge amount of. A Multi-Six-Figure Author With No Ads Joanna: Yeah. Well, just quoting from your solo episode where you say, “I don't have any advertising costs, customers are from my mailing list, TikTok and Instagram.” Now, being as you are a multi-six-figure author with no ads, this is mostly unthinkable for many authors. And so I wonder if, maybe talk about that. How do you think you have done that and can other people potentially emulate it, or do you think it's luck? It's Not Luck, It's Skill Set Sacha: Do you know, this is okay. So I don't think it's luck. I don't believe in luck. I get quite aggressive about people flinging luck around. I know some people are huge supporters of luck. I'm like, no. Do I think anybody can do it? Do you know, I swing so hard on this. Sometimes I say yes, and sometimes I think no. And I think the brutal truth of it is that I know where my skill set lies and I lean extremely heavily into it. So what do I mean by that? TikTok and Instagram are both very visual mediums. It is video footage. It is static images. I am extremely comfortable on camera. I am an ex-theatre kid. I was on TV as a kid. I did voiceover work when I was younger. This is my wheelhouse. So acting a bit like a tit on TikTok on a video, I am very comfortable at doing that, and I think that is reflected in the results. Consistency Without Burnout Sacha: And the other part of it is because I am comfortable at doing it, I enjoy it. It makes me laugh. And therefore it feels easy. And I think because it feels easy, I can do it over and over and over again without burning out. I started posting on TikTok on November the 19th, 2023, and I have posted three times a day every day since. Every single day without stopping, and I do not feel burnt out. And I definitely feel like that is because it's easy for me because I am good at it. Reading the Algorithm Sacha: The other thing that I think goes in here is that I'm very good at reading what's working. So sorry to talk Clifton Strengths, but my number one Clifton Strength is competition. And one of the skills that has is understanding the market. We're very good at having a wide view. So not only do I read the market on Amazon or in bookstores or wherever I can, it's the same skill set but applied to the algorithm. So I am very good at dissecting viral videos and understanding what made it work, in the same way somebody that spends 20,000 pounds a month on Facebook advertising is very good at doing analytics and looking at those numbers. I am useless at that. I just can't do it. I just get complete shutdown. My brain just says no, and I'm incapable of running ads. That's why I don't do it. Not Everyone Can Do This Sacha: So can anybody do this? Maybe. If you are comfortable on camera, if you enjoy it. It's like we've got a mutual friend, Adam Beswick. We call him the QVC Book Bitch because he is a phenomenon on live videos on TikTok and Instagram and wherever he can sell. Anything on those lives. It is astonishing to watch the sales pop in as he's on these lives. I can't think of anything worse. I will do a live, but I'll be signing books and having a good old chitchat. Not like it's — like that hand selling. Another author, Willow Winters, has done like 18 in-person events this year. I literally die on the inside hearing that. But that's what works for them and that's what's helping grow their business models. So ah, honestly, no. I actually don't think anybody can do what I've done. I think if you have a similar skill set to me, then yes you can. But no, and I know that I don't want to crush anybody listening. Do you like social media? I like social media. Do you like being on camera? Then yeah, you can do it. But if you don't, then I just think it's a waste of your time. Find out what you are good at, find out where your skill set is, and then lean in very, very hard. Writing to Your Strengths and Passion Joanna: I also think, because let's be brutal, you had books before and they didn't sell like this. Sacha: Yep. Joanna: So I also think that you leaned into — yes, of course, sapphic romance is a big sub-genre, but you love it. And also it's your lived experience with the sapphic sub-genre. This is not you chasing a trend, right? I think that's important too because too many people are like, oh, well maybe this is the latest trend. And is TikTok a trend? And then try and force them together, whereas I feel like you haven't done that. Sacha: No, and actually I spoke to lots of people who were very knowledgeable on the market and they all said, don't do it. And the reason for this is that there were no adult lesbian sapphic romance books that were selling when I looked at the market and decided that this was what I wanted to write. And I was like, cool, I'm going to do it then. And rightly so, everyone was like, well, there's no evidence to suggest that this is going to make any money. You are taking a huge risk. And I was like, yeah, but I will. I knew from the outset before I even put a word to the page how I was going to market it. And I think that feeling of coming home is what I — I created a home for myself in my books and that is why it's just felt so easy to market. Lean Into What You're Good At Sacha: It's like you, with your podcasting. Nobody can get anywhere near your podcast because you are so good at it. You've got such a history. You are so natural with your podcasting that you are just unbeatable, you know? So it's a natural way for you to market it. Joanna: Many have tried, but no, you're right. It's because I like this. And what's so funny — I'm sure I've mentioned it on the show — but I did call you one day and say, okay, all right, show me how to do this TikTok thing. And you spent like two hours on the phone with me and then I basically said no. Okay. I almost tried and then I just went, no, this is definitely not for me. And I think that this has to be one of the most important things as an author. Maybe some people listening are just geeking out over packaging like you are, and maybe they're the people who might look at this potential business model. Whereas some people are like me and don't want to go anywhere near it. And then other people like you want to do video and maybe other people like me want to do audio. So yeah, it's so important to find, well, like you said, what does not work for you? What is fun for you and when are you having a good time? Because otherwise you would have a job. Like to me, it looks like a job, you having a warehouse. But to you, it's not the same as when you were grinding it out back in 2022. Packing Videos Are Peak Content Sacha: Completely. And I think if you look at my social media feeds, they are disproportionately full of packing videos, which I think tells you something. Joanna: Oh dear. I just literally — I'm just like, oh my, if I never see any more packaging, I'll be happy. Sacha: Yeah. That's good. The One Time Sacha Nearly Burnt It All Down Sacha: I have to say, there was one moment where I doubted everything. And that was at the end — but basically, in about, of really poor timing. I ended up having to fulfil every single pre-order of my latest release and hand packing about a thousand books in two weeks. And I nearly burnt it all to the ground. Joanna: Because you didn't have enough staffing, right? And your mum was sick or something? Sacha: Yeah, exactly that. And I had to do it all by myself, and I was alone in the warehouse and it was just horrendous. So never again. But hey, I learned the lessons and now I'm like, yay, let's do it again. Things Change: Building Resilience Into Your Business Joanna: Yeah. And make sure there's more staffing. Yes, I've talked a lot on this show — things change, right? Things change. And in fact, the episode that just went out today as we record this with Jennifer Probst, which she talked about hitting massive bestseller lists and doing just incredibly well, and then it just dropped off and she had to pivot and change things. And I'm not like Debbie Downer, but I do say things will change. So what are you putting in place to make sure, for example, TikTok finally does disappear or get banned, or that sapphic romance suddenly drops off a cliff? What are you doing to make sure that you can keep going in the future? Managing Cash Flow and Salaries Sacha: Yeah, so I think there's a few things. The first big one is managing cash flow and ensuring that I have three to six months' worth of staff salaries, for want of a better word, in an account. So if the worst thing happens and sales drop off — because I am responsible for other people's income now — that I'm not about to shaft a load of people. So that really helps give you that risk reassurance. Mailing Lists and Marketing Funnels Sacha: The second thing is making sure that we are cultivating our mailing lists, making sure that we are putting in infrastructure, like things like upsell apps. And, okay, so here's a ridiculous lesson that I learned in 2025: an automation sequence, an onboarding automation sequence, is not what people mean when they say you need a marketing funnel. I learned this in Vegas. A marketing funnel will sell your products to your existing readers. So when a customer signs up to your mailing list because they've purchased something, they will be tagged and then your email flow system will then send them a 5% discount on this, or “did you know you could bundle up and get blah?” So putting that kind of stuff in place will mean that we can take more advantage of the customers that we've already got. Standard Operating Procedures Sacha: It's also things like organisational knowledge. My team is big enough now that there are things in my business I don't know how to do. That's quite daunting for somebody who is a control freak. So I visited Vegas in 2025 and I sat in a session all on — this sounds so sexy — but standard operating procedures. And now I've given my team the job of creating a process instruction manual on how they do each of their tasks so that if anybody's sick, somebody else can pick it up. If somebody leaves, we've got that infrastructure in place. And even things down to things like passwords — who, if I unfortunately got hit by a car, who can access my Amazon account? Stuff like that, unfortunately. Joanna: Yeah, I know. Well, I mean, that would be tragic, wouldn't it? Sacha: But it's stuff like that. Building Longer Timelines Sacha: But then also more day-to-day things is putting in infrastructure that pulls me out. So looking more at staffing responsibilities for staffing so that I don't always have to be there, and creating longer timelines. That is probably the most important thing that we can do because we've got a book box launching next summer. And we both had the realisation — I say we, me and my operations manager — had the realisation that actually we ought to be commissioning the cover and the artwork now because of how long those processes take. So I'm a little bit shortsighted on timelines, I think. So putting a bit more rigour in what we do and when. We now have a team-wide heat map where we know when the warehouse is going to be really, really full, when staff are off, when deliveries are coming, and that's projected out a year in advance. So lots and lots of things that are changing. And then I guess also eventually we will do advertising as well. But that is a few months down the line. Personal Financial Resilience Sacha: And then on the more personal side, it's looking at things like not just how you keep the business running, but how do you keep yourself running? How do you make sure that, let's say you have a bad sales month, but you still have to pay your team? How are you going to get paid? So I, as well as having put staff salaries away, I also have my own salary. I've got a few months of my own salary put away. And then investing as well. I know, I am not a financial advisor, but I do invest money. I serve money that I pay myself. You can also do things like having investment vehicles inside your business if you want to deal with extra cash. And then I am taking advice from my accountant and my financial advisor on do I put more money into my pension — because did I say that I also have a pension? So I invest in my future as well. Or do I set up another company and have a property portfolio? Or how do I essentially make the money that is inside the business make more money rather than reinvesting it, spending it, and reinvesting it on things that don't become assets or don't become money generating? What can I do with the cash that's inside the company in order to then make it make more for the long term? Because then if you do have a down six months or worse, a down year, for example, you've got enough cash and equity inside the business to cover you during those lower months or years or weeks — or hopefully just a day. Different Business Models for Different Authors Joanna: Yes, of course. And we all hope it just carries on up and to the right, but sometimes it doesn't work that way. So it's really great that you are doing all those things. And I think what's lovely and why we started off with you giving us that potted history was it hasn't always been this way. So if you are listening to this and you are like, well, I've only got one ebook for sale on Amazon, well that might be all you ever want to do, which is fine. Or you can come to where my business model is, which is mostly even — I use print on demand, but it's mostly digital. It's mostly online. It's got no packaging that I deal with. Or you can go even further like Sacha and Adam Beswick and Willow Winters. But because that is being talked about a lot in the community, that's why we wanted to do this — to really show you that there's different people doing different things and you need to choose what's best for you. What Are You Excited About for 2026? Joanna: But just as we finish, just tell us what are you excited about for 2026? Sacha: Oh my goodness me. I am excited to iterate my craft. And this is completely not related to the warehouse, but I have gotten myself into a position where I get to play with words again. So I'm really excited for the things that I'm going to write. But also in terms of the warehouse, we've got the new packaging, so getting to see those on social media. We are also looking at things like book boxes. So we are doing a set of three book boxes and these are going to be new and bigger and better than anything that we've done before. And custom tailored. Oh, without giving too much away, but items that go inside and also the artwork. I love working with artists and commissioning different art projects. But yeah, basically more of the same, hopefully world domination. Joanna: World domination. Fantastic. So basically more creativity. Sacha: Yeah. Joanna: And also a bigger business. Because I know you are ambitious and I love that. I think it's really good for people to be ambitious. Joanna: Oh, I do have another question. Do you have more sympathy for traditional publishing at this point? Sacha: How dare you? Unfortunately, yeah. I really have learnt the hard way why traditional publishers need the timelines that they need. This latest release was probably the biggest that — so this latest release, which was called Architecting, is the reason that I did the podcast episode, because I learned so many lessons. And in particular about timelines and how tight things get, and it's just not realistic when you are doing this physical business. So that's another thing if you are listening and you are like, oh no, no, no, I like the immediacy of being able to finish, get it back from the editor and hit publish — this ain't for you, honey. This is not for you. Joanna: Yeah. No, that's fantastic. Where to Find Sacha and Ruby Roe Joanna: So where can people find you and your books online? Sacha: For the Ruby Empire, it's RubyRoe.co.uk and RubyRoeAuthor on TikTok if you'd like to see me dancing like a wally. And then Instagram, I'm back as @SachaBlackAuthor on Instagram. Joanna: Brilliant. Thanks so much for your time, Sacha. That was great. Sacha: Thank you for having me.The post Two Different Approaches To Selling Books Direct With Sacha Black And Joanna Penn first appeared on The Creative Penn.

On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Dan Holloway reports on the closure of Baker & Taylor, the century-old book distributor that will shut down in 2026, leaving a gap that companies like Ingram and Amazon may fill. He also notes Spotify's new integration with ChatGPT, assuring creators that their music and podcasts won't be used to train AI. In other news, Reedsy has launched the Reedsy Novel Sprint, a NaNoWriMo-style writing challenge with cash prizes and no AI allowed, as the original NaNoWriMo organization shutters. Sponsor Self-Publishing News is proudly sponsored by PublishMe—helping indie authors succeed globally with expert translation, tailored marketing, and publishing support. From first draft to international launch, PublishMe ensures your book reaches readers everywhere. Visit publishme.me. Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. About the Host Dan Holloway is a novelist, poet, and spoken word artist. He is the MC of the performance arts show The New Libertines, He competed at the National Poetry Slam final at the Royal Albert Hall. His latest collection, The Transparency of Sutures, is available on Kindle.

In this Self-Publishing Advice Conference highlight, Martin Cavannagh of Reedsy moderates a panel with editor Rebecca Heyman, designer Danna Mathias Steele, and marketeer Ricardo Fayet. The session examines the role of professional services in the success of self-published books, focusing on how expert editing, design, and marketing can increase sales and long-term profitability. The discussion also outlines how Reedsy's marketplace connects authors with established industry professionals and includes case studies of authors who improved their publishing results through professional partnerships. This is a post from SelfPubCon (The Self-Publishing Advice Conference), an online author event run free twice yearly in association with the Alliance of Independent Authors. Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org.

Jordan explores great books Reedsy.com has to offer.Get all the news you need by listening to WBZ - Boston's News Radio! We're here for you, 24/7.

In this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Anna Featherstone talks with Stuart Grant, founder of the Digital Authors Toolkit, about how authors can use augmented reality (AR). The discussion covers what AR is, how it fits into the publishing process, and practical, affordable ways for indie authors to experiment with it. Real-world examples and tools help illustrate whether AR is a good fit for a particular type of book or publishing stage. Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our Self-Publishing Author Advice Center, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. Sponsors This podcast is proudly sponsored by Bookvault. Sell high-quality, print-on-demand books directly to readers worldwide and earn maximum royalties selling directly. Automate fulfillment and create stunning special editions with BookvaultBespoke. Visit Bookvault.app today for an instant quote. This podcast is also sponsored by Gatekeeper Press, the all-inclusive Gold Standard in Publishing, offering authors 100% rights, royalties, satisfaction and worldwide distribution. Gatekeeper Press, Where Authors are Family. About the Host Anna Featherstone is ALLi's nonfiction adviser and an author advocate and mentor. A judge of The Australian Business Book Awards and Australian Society of Travel Writers awards, she's also the founder of Bold Authors and presents author marketing and self-publishing workshops for organizations, including Byron Writers Festival. Anna has authored books including how-to and memoirs and her book Look-It's Your Book! about writing, publishing, marketing, and leveraging nonfiction is on the Australian Society of Authors recommended reading list. When she's not being bookish, Anna's into bees, beings, and the big issues of our time. About the Guest Stuart Grant is the highest-rated author website designer on Reedsy, with more than 300 author sites to his credit. A former radio presenter and theatre lecturer, he now runs Digital Authors Toolkit, helping writers build beautiful, profitable, and future-ready websites. A regular speaker at the Self Publishing Show, Author Nation, and Ireland's Publishing Show, Grant is known for blending practical marketing advice with innovative tech such as AR, AI, and animation.

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

In this episode, we are joined by Tom Bromley, author, ghost writer, and writing teacher who is currently the Head of Learning at Reedsy, where he teaches the How to Write a Novel course, a writing course for authors at all stages of their career looking for insights and guidance on writing their first (or second, or third…) novel. We spoke to Tom about his path to becoming a published author, how his musical talents have helped him write prose, learn more about his ghostwriting career, and get into the How to Write a Novel course he teaches at Reedsy. Tom had some great insights into novel-writing and shared some great stories about students past and present. For those looking to join the course, look no further: the next class begins on April 28th 2025! Listeners of the KWL podcast can use the code WRITINGLIFE to get 10% off the course fee (valid until April 28th 2025). Learn more on Tom's website, and be sure to check out Reedsy and Reedsy's How to Write a Novel course!

ALLi Campaigns Manager Matty Dalrymple talks with Marketing Adviser Ricardo Fayet, co-founder of Reedsy, about the value of professional editing in self-publishing. Fayet explains the types of editing, how to manage costs, and why editors offer more than beta readers. He also discusses when to hire an editor, how editing improves writing, and the limits of AI tools. Sponsors This podcast is proudly sponsored by Bookvault. Sell high-quality, print-on-demand books directly to readers worldwide and earn maximum royalties selling directly. Automate fulfillment and create stunning special editions with BookvaultBespoke. Visit Bookvault.app today for an instant quote. This podcast is also sponsored by Gatekeeper Press, the all-inclusive Gold Standard in Publishing, offering authors 100% rights, royalties, satisfaction and worldwide distribution. Gatekeeper Press, Where Authors are Family. About the Host Matty Dalrymple podcasts, writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage as The Indy Author. She has written books on the business of short fiction and podcasting for authors, and her articles have appeared in Writer's Digest magazine. She serves as the campaigns manager for the Alliance of Independent Authors. Matty is also the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with Rock Paper Scissors; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with The Sense of Death; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts, including Close These Eyes. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. About the Guest Ricardo Fayet is one of the four founders of Reedsy, a marketplace that connects authors with top publishing professionals—from editors to cover designers, book marketers, and literary translators. He is the author of two books on book marketing and a regular speaker at writers' conferences including NINC, Author Nation, InkersCon, and The Self Publishing Show Live. Fayet also serves as the marketing adviser to ALLi. You can find Reedsy online: Website, YouTube, X, and Instagram.

Dogs are Smarter Than People, Writing Exercise, Cool Submission OpportunitySo, we're been talking about dialogue in novels lately and tips about it and the purpose of it. To find any back posts, just head to LIVING HAPPY and search “dialogue.”One of the things that some writing stylists talk about is the three-beat rule, which is credited to Screenwriter Cynthia Whitcomb.Reedsy explains this as:“What this recommends, essentially, is to introduce a maximum of three dialogue ‘beats' (the short phrases in speech you can say without pausing for breath) at a time. Only after these three dialogue beats should you insert a dialogue tag, action beat, or another character's speech.”If it sounds a bit formulaic, well, it is. But it can be really helpful, too, the way formulas usually can.Reedsy made a little graphic to demonstrate all this:Here's another example from Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451:Montag stopped at the door, with his back turned. “Millie?” A silence. “What?” “Millie? Does the White Clown love you?” No answer. “Millie, does—” He licked his lips. “Does your ‘family' love you, love you very much, love you with all their heart and soul, Millie?”There's no Rule of Three here. It's more Rule of Three or Less, which makes it a tiny bit less formulaic, right, and it's natural.What Bradbury does is integrate the dialogue (spoken word) with the dialogue beats (the stopping at the door, the silence, the licking of lips.”That action beat is different from a dialogue tag, which is the she said, he said, we yelled. It is a beat of action or emotion or setting/senses. And the dialogue beat again (which is what the rule is about) is the "short phrases in speech you can say without pausing for breath.:But back to the less-than-three-beat rule. When we look up that at that Bradbury piece, emotions glide right in. He communicates the tension of the scene, right? And those short lines and short bits of talking make it very fast paced.People's brains react to that fast pace and recognize it and look for it in dialogue.PLACE TO SUBMITTHE FABER ACTION! PRIZEFaber launches the Action! Prize in direct response to research from the National Literacy Trust that reveals children's reading enjoyment is at its lowest level in almost two decades, and that the problem is most acute for boys.The prize will be launched in conjunction with Literary Manager and Film/TV Producer Eddie Gamarra, who will be judging the prize alongside Kieran Larwood, author of the World of Podkin One-Ear series, and with the support of EmpathyLab.The Action! Prize, now open to agented and unagented writers in the UK, Ireland and US, calls for fast-paced and filmic, action-packed adventure stories, and offers a publishing contract to the three winners. Entries to the prize need to feature a diverse cast of fully rounded characters in any one of these four age bands: 7–9, 9–11, 12–14, 14+.Faber Publisher Leah Thaxton says:‘We are all alarmed at the falling number of children reading for pleasure, especially when it comes to boys; it is clear they are not finding enough of what they need on the shelves. I'm keen we offer a much wider range of instantly appealing, action-packed stories that will compete with the adrenaline rush of gaming and screens. We know books are vital to children's development, so this prize is a call-out for high octane, filmic, thrilling fiction that will get children hooked (back) into books.'Founder of EmpathyLab, the UK's only charity that focuses on building children's empathy through use of high-quality literature, Miranda McKearney, OBE, says:‘This generation of boys face so many issues, including toxic masculinity, where an empathy education would help. Scientific research shows that empathy is learnable, and that books are a powerful tool to build it. So this Faber prize is a really welcome, practical initiative. Over time it will be a pipeline for author events from male authors, acting as inspiring empathy role models. Right now, our world has never needed empathy more.'Submissions are until January 30. More information is here.DOG TIP OF THE PODDogs like short sentences when it comes to dialogue. Sit. Treat. Walk.People do, too.It keeps our attention.COOL EXERCISEKatherine Cowley has a cool action beats exercise to help.“Write one paragraph in which a character takes a trip to the grocery store. Use just ONE type of action beat (for example, only long-shot action beats, only extreme close-up action beats, or only future action beats).“Then write a new paragraph in which a character takes a trip to the grocery store. This time use as many different types of action beats as possible.”RANDOM THOUGHT LINKMost of today's random thought was brought to you by Carrie being anxious and depressed, but the cool stuff about the wallaby is from here.SHOUT OUT!The music we've clipped and shortened in this podcast is awesome and is made available through the Creative Commons License. Here's a link to that and the artist's website. Who is this artist and what is this song? It's “Summer Spliff” by Broke For Free.WE HAVE EXTRA CONTENT ALL ABOUT LIVING HAPPY OVER HERE! It's pretty awesome. We have a podcast, LOVING THE STRANGE, which we stream biweekly live on Carrie's Facebook and Twitter and YouTube on Fridays. Her Facebook and Twitter handles are all carriejonesbooks or carriejonesbook. But she also has extra cool content focused on writing tips here. Carrie is reading one of her raw poems every once in awhile on CARRIE DOES POEMS. And there you go! Whew! That's a lot! Subscribe

On this episode of The Daily with Syl Stein I am talking about writing tips and we're focusing on the blog by former literary agent and author Nathan Bransford. We are talking all about perspectives and writing mainly the third person omniscient and the third person limited and what is head, jumping in writing and why should we avoid it all through his blog Nathan Bransford provides detailed examples and tips. I've also recommended his books on writing and publishing and also check out his page at NathanBransford.com I also talk about Former literary agent and Editor Rachel Stout check her out at Rachelestout.com Book recommendations : How to Write a Novel by Nathan Bransford How to Publish a Book by Nathan Bransford Other books by Nathan Bransford; Jacob Wonderbar series Check out Reedsy.comCheck out my pages: @thedailywithsylstein InstagramAuthor Sylvia Stein Facebook Email: sylwriter07@gmail.comhttps://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fshoutout.wix.com%2Fso%2Fe6P6_H5lB%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2BYp0NvFG1y2camNxZZ2G9PQG2g5pzQggeRaq6JbMfaKDjp-dFc50R60I_aem_af4pRVQ-Nth9Dc9zPhnjYA&h=AT2K_HsE2KLM4Mp-JW0Wu1t-wsshQrM5T-zO30CvNUwP-oMkUjoUANgoxEep3Yny2D3EEWpwX3VxUZ3tKBGrJwgiqrCM4gejcnxS29heuPt7PumsXNAInNy3xh98fo8gO_gbNtazlB7s0as&s=1

One of the most common questions people ask me about ghostwriting is, “Where do I get clients?” It's a natural question, of course, because all writers who are doing client work would probably like to increase their income and have more consistent work. My answer to these friends is sometimes a little disappointing because almost all of my clients have come to me via referrals from colleagues, friends, and previous clients. A great network takes time to build, but it's worth it because those relationships are the foundation for a client-based business over the long haul. However, there are other sources for client work as well. One of the most popular ones is Reedsy, a marketplace for writers, editors, marketers, and designers. I've asked my friend, Alice Sullivan, to join me for a conversation about Reedsy since she's had a lot of success connecting with ghostwriting clients there over the last few years. Alice Sullivan is a #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling ghostwriter, New York Times bestselling editor (11 times over), collaborator, and speaker. A natural-born storyteller, she has written 64 books and edited over 1,300 titles since 2001. In addition to her NYT and WSJ bestsellers, other books have achieved Amazon bestseller status and won several awards, such as Readers' Favorite, Living Now Book Award, and Nashville's Best Local Children's Book Award. She has written for Forbes, Hay House, Thomas Nelson Publishers (Harper Collins), Abingdon Press, Made for Grace Publishing, World Net Daily, Changing Lives Press, Carpenters Son Publishing, Clovercroft, and KN Literary Arts. Alice specializes in memoir, self-help, personal growth, and leadership because she loves personal stories and practical advice. Her favorite projects challenge her point of view, expand her knowledge, and add meaning to her life. Alice is not just a consummate storyteller and writer. She's also one of the most kind and down-to-earth people I know. In this conversation, I get to ask Alice all my burning questions about getting started on Reedsy. We talk about: Alice's experience on Reedsy. How to connect with clients and be successful there. Alice's income from Reedsy projects. How to get started on Reedsy. How the platform is different than going to clients directly. If you want to expand your client base as a ghostwriter, editor, or designer, you'll love Alice's advice! Make sure to connect with Alice at https://alicesullivan.com.

S.M. Sykes (Scott)Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know S.M. Sykes. Scott Sykes is an author in the young adult (YA) fiction genre. In this episode, we chat about what his career was before he started writing, and what led him to eventually start writing his first novel. After serving in the U.S. Navy, and settling down in Delaware, Scot got inspired to pick up the pen. In addition to his THREE novel series (The Blue Series), Scott has written tons of novellas and short stories. You better believe I ask him to explain the difference to me! We discuss several different writing forums including Medium, and NaNoWriMo, and even some of his social media strategies. The Blue Series consists of: Eyes of Blue, A Dim Blue, and Loss of Blue. Scott thought the series was done there, but the story won't be laid to rest! Expect more books in the series from this tireless indy writer. You can catch Scott at various writing & horror conventions around the country, and don't forget to check out his social media. He posts some pretty fun and inventive videos on Instagram & TikTok.

Audible announces a new royalty model for indie authors publishing direct to their platform while signaling they aren't quite ready to roll it out for ACX account holders. Alessandra Torre is selling a part of her company Authors AI, but is it truly worth $8 million dollars? And, ProWritingAid unveiled their new branding with a statement by the CEO and founder of the company. All that and more in the self-publishing news this week! Subscribe to The Self-Publishing Hub - https://TheSelfPublishingHub.com  Join Channel Memberships - https://DaleLinks.com/Memberships  Join Me on Discord - https://DaleLinks.com/Discord Check out my main YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@DaleLRoberts  Sources: Book Award Pro - https://DaleLinks.com/BookAwardPro (affiliate link) A new chapter for ProWritingAid - https://prowritingaid.com/new-chapter?afid=6615 ProWritingAid - https://DaleLinks.com/ProWritingAid (affiliate link) Kindlepreneur - https://kindlepreneur.com/ Self-Publishing for New Authors - https://DaleLinks.com/NewAuthors  Dibbly Create - https://DaleLinks.com/DibblyCreate (affiliate link) Authors A.I. - https://authors.ai/  GET A PIECE OF AUTHORS A.I. (Start Engine) - https://www.startengine.com/offering/authorsai  Audible's New Royalty Model: More Opportunities for Authors and Publishers - https://www.audible.com/about/newsroom/audibles-new-royalty-model-more-opportunities-for-authors-and-publishers Streetlib - https://streetlib.com  Win $250 in Reedsy's weekly short story competition - https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/contests/ Kindle Storyteller Award - https://www.amazon.co.uk/b?ie=UTF8&node=12061299031  Authors Guild Launchpad: Platform Building for Self-Publishing Authors - https://authorsguild.org/event/ag-launchpad-platform-building-for-self-publishing-authors/ Authors Guild Launchpad: Marketing and Promoting Self-Published Books - https://authorsguild.org/event/ag-launchpad-marketing-and-promoting-self-published-books/ Dibbly presents Time Traveler's Guide: Crafting Captivating Historical Fiction Epics - https://omniform1.com/forms/v1/landingPage/5b8fd6e4597ed708a4080856/6699402ed7d48ea3b4e80740 Children's Book Mastery Summit - https://childrensbookmastery.com/childrens-book-mastery-online-summit-2024-registration How to Attract Book Clubs to You and Your Book with DiAnn Mills - https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0od-Csqz4iH9AbR1I4RLyut-h4Du7qsJVw#/registration  Credit:  The Alliance of Independent Authors - https://DaleLinks.com/ALLi (affiliate link)  The Hot Sheet - https://hotsheetpub.com  Where noted, some outbound links financially benefit the channel through affiliate programs. I only endorse programs, products, or services I use and can stand confidently behind. These links do not affect your purchase price and greatly helps to building and growing this channel. Thanks in advance for understanding! - Dale L. Roberts

Send us a Text Message.Episode 220 /  KimBoo York joins us to share how to embrace flexibility and spontaneity in your writing process through discovery writing. Whether you thrive on outlining or prefer a more free-flowing approach, there are different techniques to suit your writing style.

Join James Blatch and Stuart Grant from Digital Authors Toolkit and also the highest rated web designer on Reedsy, as they discuss the future of Author websites, direct selling, and how you can make your website stand out.

Today I interview Alice Sullivan. She is an incredible ghostwriter of memoirs and other books.  We talk about her strategy of getting clients via Reedsy as well as how she's been able to grow from making a few thousand per client to where she is now at 150k per client. Hope you find inspiration and value in this episode. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/timmy-bauer/message

Notes:We've done a previous Fable and the Verbivore conversation on the subject of writing craft books. That episode is here:- Episode 79: Let's talk about craft booksThe Verbivore references several YouTube video essays, interviews, websites, and articles as part of the free resources she loves. They are:YouTube TedEd Writers Workshop Playlist - Favorites include: How to Make Your Writing More Suspenseful by Victoria Smith | Titan of terror: the dark imagination of H.P. Lovecraft - Silvia Moreno-García | How to write descriptively - Nalo HopkinsonYouTube Ted Talks on Writing Playlist - Favorites include: Your elusive creative genius: Elizabeth Gilbert | The mystery of storytelling: Julian Friedmann | The clues to a great story: Andrew Stanton Diane Callahan - Quotidian Writer YouTube Channel - Favorites include: How to Title Your Novel: The Complete Writing GuideLike Stories of Old YouTube Channel - Favorites include: Lighting the Beacons, and Other Perfect Movie MetaphorsActors on Actors Playlist by Variety - Favorites include: Cilian Murphy & Margot Robbie | Greta Lee & Andrew Scott Directors on Directors Playlist by Variety Favorite Websites- Writers Helping Writers & One Stop for Writers - Searching emotion thesaurus by topic and writing craft blog - MasterClass.com Articles - Use key words to find a plethora of well written articles on a specific writing related topics or click “Writing” button to bring up all of their craft articles- WritersDigest.com - Thoughtful and well researched articles on the writing craft for a variety of stages of writing- Reedsy.com blog - Useful and in depth articles on a variety of writing craft related subjects - LitHub - Honest interview essays from writers on their experiences and processBooks Mentioned:- Wired for Story by Lisa Cron - How to Make a Living as a Writer by James Scott Bell - Gentle Writing Advice: How to Be a Writer Without Destroying Yourself by Chuck Wendig - Ten Things About Writing: Build Your Story, One Word at a Time by Joanne Harris- Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets A Novelist Can Learn From Actors by Brandilyn CollinsMusic from: https://filmmusic.io'Friendly day' by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

The term "self-publishing" doesn't mean that you sit in a cabin in the woods all by yourself and emerge with a published book as if you'd done it all singlehandedly.It's rare to find one person who has all the skills required to turn an idea into a physical book. We need cover designers, formatters, web designers, assistants, and more. You might be self-publishing, but you will need some help.But what if you don't know anyone who can help? Where can you find skilled professionals who can produce the high-quality work your book deserves?I asked Ricardo Fayet, the cofounder of Reedsy, a curated community of book professionalsIn this week's episode, you'll learnHow to search Reedsy to find experienced professionals who specialize in your genreHow Reedsy vets the professionals in their marketplaceHow Reedsy makes money and saves you money at the same timeListen in to discover how Reedsy can help indie and traditional authors create beautiful, compelling, and marketable books, and find all the related links in the blog version.Support the show

Have you ever started writing a story, and the words rush onto the page. But then you start worrying that your writing or your ideas aren't good enough.You start rewriting chapters over and over again. You can't shake that voice in the back of your head that says you're doing this wrong. Something isn't right, but you can't pinpoint what that is. Or worse—you scrap the whole project and give up. In today's episode, Erin shares how finding the right editor can help you avoid or blow through all of that confusion and doubt. You'll also learn the major differences between development editors, inline editors, and proofreaders. Erin also shares when beta readers fall into the picture and what type of feedback to watch out for. You'll also get the answers to what these editors do, when's the right time to use their services, how much they cost, and what you should look for in order to find a quality editor. So stay tuned to find out which editor you might need right now and how you can find your right editor.Editing w/ Parents Who Write: Ready to stop circling around your manuscript? As an experienced professional editor, I can help you finish your book with confidence and direction. Learn more by visiting ParentsWhoWrite.com/editing, and book a free 30-minute call with me to discuss what's right for you. Connect with Parents Who Write: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parentswhowrite Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/parentswhowrite Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/parentswhowrite  Book a free 30-minute consultation call to learn about my editing services: https://calendly.com/parentswhowrite/30min-meeting Resources discussed during the show: Reedsy.com Ready to stop circling around your manuscript? As an experienced professional editor, I can help you finish your book with confidence and direction. Learn more by visiting ParentsWhoWrite.com/editing, and book a free 30-minute call with me to discuss what's right for you.

Amazon Product descriptions have changed in a pretty big way. Email marketing is experiencing a huge shake-up with massive changes coming through Google and Yahoo. And, GetCovers shows you how to spot AI-generated images through seven unique ways. All that and more in the self-publishing news this week! Subscribe to The Self-Publishing Hub - https://TheSelfPublishingHub.com Join Channel Memberships - https://DaleLinks.com/Memberships Join Me on Discord - https://DaleLinks.com/Discord  Sources: Audiobooks Are Booming. Spotify Wants in on the Action. - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/29/books/spotify-audiobooks.html How to Сheck if the Stock Image Is AI-generated: 7 Workable Ways - https://getcovers.com/blog/how-to-detect-ai-generated-images/ Streetlib Community - https://community.streetlib.com/ ProWritingAid presents: Romance Writers' Week 2024 - https://DaleLinks.com/Romance (affiliate link) BookMarCon - https://bookbrush.com/bookmarcon/ Author Interview with Dale L. Roberts - https://youtu.be/tQLu9_H-OUo?si=bk8nKAspgUBGKgS8  Credit:  The Hot Sheet - https://hotsheetpub.com  CraveBooks - https://cravebooks.com Reedsy - https://reedsy.com PublishDrive - https://DaleLinks.com/PublishDrive (referral link) Streetlib - https://streetlib.com Apple Books for Authors - https://authors.apple.com/  Where noted, some outbound links financially benefit the channel through affiliate programs. I only endorse programs, products, or services I use and can stand confidently behind. These links do not affect your purchase price and greatly helps to building and growing this channel. Thanks in advance for understanding! - Dale L. Roberts

When I was a baby newspaper reporter, one of my editors, Grady Holloway, used to call me over to his desk. A lot. I loved Grady. He had this great, grizzly beard before it was cool, wore a dirty hat, had been married to an ambassador's daughter, rode horses, drove cab in Colorado when all the beat poets and journalists were out there, and liked noir mysteries. But whenever he pulled me over to his big metal desk in the newsroom, I knew that I was about to get advised. “Cici,” he'd say with this perfect, gruff whiskey voice, “you're a great writer, but have you ever thought about . . .” And then he'd tell me something I hadn't thought about. Passive verbs. Starting sentences strong with the important stuff first. The dreaded -ing -Ings are addictive like all sexy grammatical elements are. They might not be as addictive as the debonair em-dash (—) or the lovely ellipses (…) or the goddess we know as the parenthetical ( ), but they are pretty close. When you put -ing at the end of a verb that verb becomes progressive. You feel like the verb is happening right now in the present even if your tense is the past. Like this . . . She was running, breathing hard and fast, shallow breaths that couldn't quite make it all the way into her lungs. Running so that he wouldn't catch up. And the ground was breaking beneath her, dead people's hands reaching through the woods' surface, fingers trying to clutch her sneakers, her ankles, even the laces. Anything. Scary, right? Or, um . . . kind of? Now let's see that without the -ings on there. She ran, her breath hard and fast, shallow breaths that couldn't quite make it all the way into her lungs. She ran so that he wouldn't catch up. And the ground broke beneath her. Dead people's hands reached through the woods' surface. Fingers tried to clutch her sneakers, her ankles, even the laces. Anything. Wait. They both kind of work, don't they? Absolutely. Sometimes you want to use those -ings for impact. But just like the em-dash, ellipses, and parenthetical statements, there can be too much of a good thing. Crying because of the creepy man racing after her for five terrifying minutes, Carrie raced through the woods trying to get away and breathing out heavily even as horrifying zombie hands reached through the dirt and pine needles, hoping to grasp her shoes and bringing her down beneath the surface with them. You can see the difference now right? We have present participles, adjectives, progressive verbs and even a gerund. Those -ings are doing a lot of work here and there's just too darn many of them. And what happens in that passage? The reader starts to get bored. It doesn't feel fluid. The mind sort of numbs from all those -ings. And the bleed into each other, blending. Yes, yes, I know! Blending has an -ing. Now, let me try to do it without -ings. She cried. She ran through the woods, each breath a prayer, an intake of hope as her feet raced across the pine needles. He was close. Too close. The thud of his footsteps pounded after her. The dirt trembled but not from her. Hands. Dead, decayed hands somehow broke through the hard ground. One poked up just as her sneaker hit the ground. It reached for her. Missed. Another tried. Another. Different again, right? Same scene. No -ings. It's pretty cool when you can see the difference of tone and feel that happen just by playing with one tiny element of the language. DOG TIP FOR LIFE Notice things. Don't drop the goods when you're running away. PLACE TO SUBMIT Rejoinder. The Archival is Political special issue. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, cross-genre, drama, graphic narratives, interviews, art, photography. No fee. Deadline: December 15, 2023. Ploughshares. Regular Reading Period. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translations. $3 fee (free for subscribers). Deadline: January 15, 2024. Burnside Review Press. Book Contest. Poetry. $25 fee. Prize: $1,000, book publication, 10 author copies. Deadline: December 31, 2023. COOL WRITING EXERCISE This one is from Reedsy, Play a game of Truth and Dare with your characters Most of us remember “truth or dare” from childhood sleepovers. Some would bravely declare “DARE!” and wait for the inevitably embarrassing challenge. Others would hazard a “truth…?” and wait nervously in their sleeping bags while the challenger mulled over which deeply provoking and juicy question to ask. To dive deeper into your character's emotional depths, ask a round of questions — both probing and seemingly innocuous alike. (Hey, you never know when your character's favorite choice of ice cream topping might come in handy!) We recommend downloading our free character profile template — with the help of this worksheet, you'll be raring to go. BEST RANDOM THOUGHT EVER Well, it's just that . . . This is the best song ever. SHOUT OUT! The music we've clipped and shortened in this podcast is awesome and is made available through the Creative Commons License. Here's a link to that and the artist's website. Who is this artist and what is this song? It's “Summer Spliff” by Broke For Free. WE HAVE EXTRA CONTENT ALL ABOUT LIVING HAPPY OVER HERE! It's pretty awesome. We have a podcast, LOVING THE STRANGE, which we stream biweekly live on Carrie's Facebook and Twitter and YouTube on Fridays. Her Facebook and Twitter handles are all carriejonesbooks or carriejonesbook. But she also has extra cool content focused on writing tips here. Carrie is reading one of her raw poems every once in awhile on CARRIE DOES POEMS. And there you go! Whew! That's a lot!

Stu Grant has been working in the publishing industry for over 8 years- largely with the team at Self Publishing Formula and is currently the highest rated Author Website designer on Reedsy (maybe even the world!) with his company Digital Authors Toolkit. Curious about what makes an author website world class? Tune in to find out.//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—and we won't charge you a dime.  We take a small percentage of the royalties for each sale you make through us, so we only make money when you make money. That's the best kind of business plan.  • 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.

Spotify is rolling out even more changes to the audiobook distribution service, Findaway Voices. The Marketplace is going away after a short run on Findaway Voices, Spotify Premium might not be what audiobook rights holders want, and more. Also, Reedsy shares the difference a professional cover design can make in your book sales. And, Kobo Writing Life updated their Kobo Plus reports and analytics. All that and more in the self-publishing news! Join Channel Memberships - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl9CjdZQtzufqgYx0CidSbA/join Join my community at: Discord - http://dalelinks.com/discord Sources: Dibbly Create - https://DaleLinks.com/DibblyCreate (affiliate link) Holiday Ordering Deadlines - https://mail.barnesandnoble.com/H/2/v60000018b41022003a1e7f46e96c660a0/87ce7d25-327d-4d48-9056-715e3f72bb9c/HTML  IngramSpark Recommended Order Dates - https://www.ingramspark.com/%F0%9F%93%A6act-fast-recommended-order-dates-and-book-nominations LaterPress - https://www.laterpress.com/ There is No Marketing Magic Bullet: Reaching More Readers Podcast, With Dale L. Roberts and Holly Greenland - https://selfpublishingadvice.org/podcast-marketing-magic-bullet/  GetCovers - https://DaleLinks.com/GetCovers - use code TREAT20 (affiliate link) Kobo Plus Data - https://preview.mailerlite.com/a0s2y7l2v8/2332257606858446275/y8b6/  Can a Professional Book Cover Double Your Sales? - https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/book-design/redesign/ The NEW Findaway Voices by Spotify - https://www.findawayvoices.com/dale  Spotify Premium Analytics - https://my.findawayvoices.com/reporting/spotify-premium-analytics  Spotify's new audiobook streaming could have ‘devastating effect', says Society of Authors - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/oct/11/spotify-audiobook-streaming-devastating-effect-authors No Fakes Act wants to protect actors and singers from unauthorized AI replicas - https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/12/23914915/ai-replicas-likeness-law-no-fakes-copyright Game-Changing Creator Insights for 2024 - https://assets.lulu.com/media/unbounce/lulu-tilt-creator-insights.pdf Where noted, some outbound links financially benefit the channel through affiliate programs. I only endorse programs, products, or services I use and can stand confidently behind. These links do not affect your purchase price and greatly helps to building and growing this channel. Thanks in advance for understanding! - Dale L. Roberts

Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a mini-masterclass on Plotting 101 with author Greta Kelly. During the episode, Greta plots out the essentials for outlining a novel, including what plotting and outlining are, how it can help stimulate your creativity and focus, evolving plotting processes, planning character and story arcs, tools/methods/software for plotting, going from outline to first draft to edits, helpful writing resources and more. NOTE: This is part two of a two-part chat with Greta. Click here to check out part one. RESOURCES MENTIONED: - Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer: https://amzn.to/3tBteg1 - Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin: https://amzn.to/3tHfyjO - The Kick-Ass Writer by Chuck Wendig: https://amzn.to/3FqFQcI - https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/ - Chuck Wendig's Terrible Minds blog: https://terribleminds.com/ - https://thewritelife.com/ - Susan Dennard's blog: https://susandennard.com/for-writers/ - Query Shark: https://queryshark.blogspot.com/ - Reedsy (editors, designers and marketers): https://reedsy.com/ SUPPORT THE SHOW: - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (for exclusive bonus episodes, author readings, book giveaways and more) - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Merch shop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (for a selection of tees, tote bags, mugs, notebooks and more) - Subscribe to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FanFiAddict YouTube channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where this and every other episode of the show is available in full video - Rate and review SFF Addicts on your platform of choice, and share us with your friends EMAIL US WITH YOUR QUESTIONS & COMMENTS: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sffaddictspod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ABOUT OUR GUEST: Greta Kelly is the author of the upcoming The Queen of Days, as well as the Warrior Witch Duology (The Frozen Crown and The Seventh Queen). Find Greta on ⁠Twitter⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠her personal website⁠⁠⁠⁠.  ABOUT OUR HOSTS: Adrian M. Gibson is a podcaster, writer and illustrator, and is currently working on his debut novel. Find Adrian on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠his personal website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. M.J. Kuhn is the author of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Among Thieves⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, her debut novel, and its sequel ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thick as Thieves⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Find M.J. on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠her personal website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. FOLLOW SFF ADDICTS: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FanFiAddict Book Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MUSIC: Intro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Into The Grid⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by MellauSFX Outro: “⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Galactic Synthwave⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠” by Divion --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sff-addicts/message

So far we've talked (and written) twice about character misbeliefs. Then we took a baby break because we're like that, but we're back on it now, my friends. Those earlier posts are linked below. First off to recap, the big lie or character misbelief in your story is what motivates them or causes them to act in a certain way. If your character grows in a positive way, during the story, they usually realize by the end that the lie was a big ole lie and not a glorious simple truth and voila—life is better. Your lie has to move the plot forward and it has to relate to your story's theme. According to LitCharts, theme is just “a universal idea, lesson, or message explored throughout a work of literature.” So a character lie is something like “MIGHT MAKES RIGHT” because your character believes this with all their mighty heart. The theme might be love is more powerful than might. Often, the theme disproves the lie, right? Cool. Now, when you're building characters for your novel and building the plot around them, you want to use that theme and that lie to make your story resonate, to make your readers or audience feel for the characters involved and root for them to stop lying to themselves and get some wisdom (in the form of the story's theme). So basically, you find the theme and the opposite (kind of tweaked) is usually the character's misbelief. So, here's how it goes, step by step for those of you who like steps: Figure out the theme. Think of what's the opposite of the truth of that theme (the lie). Think about why your main character believes this hideous lie. Write a little scene about it. Call it backstory. Think deeply about whether it actually needs to be in the story AS SCENE or if it can be sprinkled in. Think about other moments that made your poor honey of character believe this BS. Think about how believing this lie has totally messed up your character's life right now in the story. Figure out if your main does something that they think sparks joy because of this BS lie but they are totally wrong? How does your character go after a goal that deals with the lie or the theme? This is the plot of your book. Cool, right? DOG TIP FOR LIFE Every once in awhile reassess the things you believe about yourself and the world. Are they really true? Why do you even believe them? What's the theme of your life? It sounds like we've had some Mary Jane, but seriously, as Kira Newman at the Greater Good asks, “If your life were a movie, where would the plot be headed right now? “You may not be immortalized in film anytime soon, but your life is still a story. According to psychologists, we all have an internalized narrative that explains how we became the person we are today and where we are headed tomorrow. Like any Hollywood blockbuster, this narrative has settings, scenes, a plot, characters, and themes.” WRITING TIP OF THE POD A lot of books are flat not because they aren't clever or the plot doesn't have cool things. They are flat because the characters are. The characters are often flat because there's no big lie that's part of their motivation. PLACE TO SUBMIT Exploration and Recovery: Mental Illness and The Awakenings Review Year-round “The Awakenings Review is an award-winning literary magazine committed to publishing poetry, short stories, nonfiction, and photography by writers, poets, and artists who write from experience with mental illness: either in themselves, family members, or friends. Located in the Chicago area but international in scope, our print publication is one of the nation's leading journals of this genre. By its nature, mental illness is a troubling, distressing, and painful experience. At The Awakenings Review we love to get works of renewal and healing, a positive outcome to your suffering and distress. We are currently accepting submissions for our Spring 2024 issue. Please read our submission guidelines at www.AwakeningsProject.org.” RANDOM EXERCISE FOR THEME Over on the Reedsy blog, there is a post about finding your novel's theme. You can read it in full over there, but we're going to encapsulate it here: Write nouns that deal with your novel. Hobbits. Friendship. Powerful ring. Hot elves. Pick one to be your center noun. Power. Make a thematic statement with that theme. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. THOSE LINKS I WAS TALKING ABOUT Write Better NowNeither of Us are Lookers, Seventh Grade Insults and Character Misbeliefs Carrie Jones · Sep 28 Read full story Write Better NowYOUR BIG LIE OR CHARACTER'S MISBELIEF Carrie Jones · Sep 21 We're doing a hybrid writing tip and podcast this week. All the important stuff is written down here. All the fun stuff and Shaun aka The Talent is in the podcast where we talk about this important writing stuff and other things. So, let's get started. Read full story MORE LINKS TO HELP YOU OUT Poop there it is SHOUT OUT! The music we've clipped and shortened in this podcast is awesome and is made available through the Creative Commons License. Here's a link to that and the artist's website. Who is this artist and what is this song? It's “Summer Spliff” by Broke For Free. WE HAVE EXTRA CONTENT ALL ABOUT LIVING HAPPY OVER HERE! It's pretty awesome. We have a podcast, LOVING THE STRANGE, which we stream biweekly live on Carrie's Facebook and Twitter and YouTube on Fridays. Her Facebook and Twitter handles are all carriejonesbooks or carriejonesbook. But she also has extra cool content focused on writing tips here. Carrie is reading one of her raw poems every once in awhile on CARRIE DOES POEMS. And there you go! Whew! That's a lot! Share Living Happy and Write Better Now! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Don't participate half-heartedly or use work that you have not yet edited or assume that there is a less talented writing pool participating in the contest. You should prepare for the competition assuming everyone else is taking the process just as seriously as you are. - Ran Walker The post S46 Bonus – About Writing Contests with Rebecca van Laer of Reedsy appeared first on Writing Roots.

Which formatting software works best for the self-published author? Today's guest and Linda cover free and for-purchase options.Welcome to Your Best Writing Life, an extension of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference held in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mts of NC. I'm your host, Linda Goldfarb. Each week, I bring tips and strategies from writing and publishing industry experts to help you excel in your craft. I'm so glad you're listening in. During this episode, you'll learn the Publishing Success Skills for the Indie Author part 2. My industry expert is…Sara Turnquist.  Sara is a coffee-loving, word-slinging, clean Historical Romance author of over 20 published books. She loves those odd little tidbits of history that are stranger than fiction. That's what inspires her. And a good love story. She lives happily with her Prince Charming and their gaggle of minions. Today, we cover both free and for-purchase formatting software options for Indie authors.D2D, Reedsy, Scrivener, Atticus, and Vellum software choices. Udemy CoursesLINKSSara TurnquistKentucky Christian Writers ConferenceSara Turnquist's Formatting Options Giveaway Kentucky Conference YouTubeChristian Editors NetworkA Convenient Risk99 Designs for Web DesignSara's Books, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, FacebookSara Turnquist on TwitterEnjoy our content? Support this podcast.About your host - Linda GoldfarbLinda is a multi-published, award-winning author, audiobook narrator, international speaker, and board-certified Christian life coach. Linda and her hubby, Sam, experience a new adventure every day with four adult children and many grandchildren. She loves sipping frothed coffee with friends and traveling with Sam.Visit Your Best Writing Life website.Join our Facebook group, Your Best Writing LifeAbout your host - Linda GoldfarbAwarded the Spark Media 2022 Most Bing-Worthy Podcast

Mark interviews Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy about their new online course on How to Write a Novel. Prior to the interview, Mark shares and reflects on a brief industry update related to Amazon's recent AI-related change, comments from recent episodes, and word about this episode's sponsor. Reedsy contains an online listing of vetted professionals from across the industry, including editors, cover designers, and marketing experts. Get $20 off hiring a pro through Reedsy using Mark's Reedsy affiliate link. In the interview, Mark and Ricardo talk about: Ricardo's persona and image being directly attached to Reedsy When Reedsy started and what the main idea behind it was, and the value proposition to authors How only 3 to 5% of the professionals who apply to be on Reedsy actually make it through The Reedsy online writing tool that you can use to write and export professional looking ePub and print-ready PDF files Some of the future development plans for the Reedsy writing platform, including collaboration with an editor Ricardo's HOW TO MARKET A BOOK, which is free in eBook edition The 2nd book he wrote and released in Jan 2023 called AMAZON ADS FOR AUTHORS which is the 2nd book in the Reedsy Guides series Some of the reasoning behind why one of the books is free in eBook and the other has a retail price associated with it (hint: it's a marketing tip) Important marketing information that Ricardo would want authors to know The new Reedsy course that runs 3 months and helps authors work through the first draft of their novel The various ongoing cohorts for the course, including one that opens in Sept and another that starts Oct 30th, to co-incide with NaNoWriMo, then the next that'll start in January 2024 The term "Reedsian" which is used to denote Reedsy employees Tom Bromley, the instructor they hired to teach the How to Write a Novel course The intial launch price for the course, which is $1000 - and that it'll be going up shortly after the September launch Ricardo's previous attempts to try to write a novel and how this course might be one that he himself can benefit from Some of the things that surprised Ricardo about Reedsy since it's launch nearly 10 years ago How to find Reedsy and Ricardo What Ricardo is looking forward to about the future of our industry And more...   After the interview Mark reflects the overall supportive nature of the publishing industry   Links of Interest: Reedsy Reedsy's How to Market a Book Online Course Subscriptions for Authors Episode 018 - Finding The Right Professional with Ricardo from Reedsy Episode 006 - What's Wrong with Indie Publishing (Mark's "10-year-olds playing soccer" analogy) Mark's Wide for the Win Update Page YouTube Video: OH NO! Is Amazon Anti AI? Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   Ricardo Fayet is one of the four founders of Reedsy, a marketplace connecting authors to the world's top publishing talent--from editors to cover designers, book marketers, or literary translators. He's the author of two books on marketing for authors, and a regular presenter at several prestigious writers' conferences: NINC, 20BooksVegas, and The Self Publishing Show Live, among others.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

In this episode of the Write the Damn Book Already podcast, we simplify the sometimes complicated landscape of book editing, clarifying the various editing stages. From developmental editing that shapes the overarching structure to line editing that refines prose to copyediting that makes sure grammar and syntax are correct, you'll discover the important roles each phase plays in refining a manuscript's clarity and impact.You'll also hear my tips for creating an effective editor-author partnership (not to mention how and where to find a great editor to begin with!).   RESOURCES MENTIONEDJoanna Hardis's new book: Just Do Nothing: A Paradoxical Guide to Getting Out of Your WayBlog post: What a Good Book Editor REALLY DoesSource for book editors: Reedsy.comSource for book editors: Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA)Blog post on average editing rates(Another) blog post on average editing rates ELIZABETH'S EDITING OPENINGSI continue to be incredibly passionate about partnering with authors as their editor, and I accept new editing clients as my schedule permits. I typically work on fiction (rom-com, women's fiction, contemporary romance), entrepreneurship, self-help, memoir, and business. To discuss available openings, please email me at elizabeth@elizabethlyons.com. To see a sample of the books I've edited and learn more about my process and rates, click here. Thanks so much for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe and leave a review!To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written, published, and launched, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

"I'm the other kind of writer. I don't write every day. I don't have set hours that I write (and I know I should). But I get there eventually...I want it to be an enjoyable process." --Heidi Eliason Have you ever felt suffocated by your routine and responsibilities, or just longed for some adventure? Heidi Eliason did, so at the age of 45 she quit her job, sold her house, bought a motorhome, and embarked on a five-year road trip with her dog, Rylie. It was a journey that transformed her life. Through memoir, she recounts the challenges of managing the Green Monster--her motorhome--traveling in Mexico, and getting derailed by Mr. Wrong. She learned--sometimes the hard way--that chasing the corporate ladder and storybook romance was not always a sure route to happiness. She struggled with insecurities, faced her fears, and dug her way out of depression. Today I talk with Heidi about her process to write the story of this journey. She hopes that her book, Confessions of a Middle-Aged Runaway, may help others to find the courage to jump off the hamster wheel of the conventional dream and make a transformative journey of their own. And perhaps you will be inspired, by our conversation today, to write about YOUR journey! Here are a couple of resources she mentioned in today's interview: Reedsy.com Ebooklaunch.com IngramSpark.com Draft2Digital.com You can find her book ⁠here ⁠and ⁠here ⁠and on her website ⁠here⁠. You can check out Heidi's writing editing services here. She belongs to The California Writer's Club and the Nonfiction Authors Association. She mentioned several books that she found inspiring. They were... On Writing by Stephen King The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr Big Magic by Melissa Gilbert Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg⁠, and The Nonfiction Book Publishing Plan: The Professional Guide to Profitable Self-Publishing by Stephanie Chandler Watch our conversation at ⁠https://youtu.be/bxm0xx2v3vA Get free monthly writing prompts and more information about our Sidetracked Legacies membership ⁠⁠at ⁠https://sidetrackedsisters.com/⁠ Check out LisaHoffmanCoaching ⁠⁠at ⁠https://www.instagram.com/lisahoffmancoaching/⁠ ⁠#overcomingwritersblock⁠ ⁠#writersblock⁠ ⁠#blankpage⁠ ⁠#SidetrackedSisters⁠ ⁠#SidetrackedLegacies⁠ ⁠#legacybuilding⁠ ⁠#LisaHoffmanCoaching⁠ 

"If you have an idea, you should run with it. That idea was given to you for a reason, and you...YOU are the person who is supposed to take that idea and make something out of it." -- Melanie Gareau Today I talk with Melanie Gareau. She is a parent, educator, and author who lost a student to suicide and the experience shattered her heart. As a form of self-therapy, she turned to writing. This writing in turn developed into a resource for teenagers and young adults--WHY ME? What now? Melanie knew that kids don't want or need to be told what to do or what to think. There are enough people trying to do that already. Instead, she wants to empower teens to talk, ask for help, find support, and do what feels right for them. Her book is a resource with stories and practical advice to empower readers. The struggle is real, but it is possible to meet life's challenges and come out the other side stronger and more resilient. Here are a couple of resources she mentioned in today's interview: Reedsy.com Bigmoosepublishing.com You can find her book here and here and on her website here. She is also on social media on Facebook and Instagram. Watch our conversation at https://youtu.be/Dgfsaw_3zGo Get free monthly writing prompts and more information about our Sidetracked Legacies membership ⁠⁠at https://sidetrackedsisters.com/ Check out LisaHoffmanCoaching ⁠⁠at https://www.instagram.com/lisahoffmancoaching/ #overcomingwritersblock #writersblock #blankpage #SidetrackedSisters #SidetrackedLegacies #legacybuilding #LisaHoffmanCoaching #melaniegareau #whymewhatnow

My guest this episode is Ricardo Fayet, a cofounder of Reedsy, a marketplace connecting authors to editors, cover designers, book marketers, translators, and other professionals. Also, full disclosure, I am also a developmental editor for Reedsy. As for Ricardo, when he's not coming up with new and expanded services for Reedsy, he's writing books on an important part of the publishing ecosystem: marketing. ALLi's Inspirational Indie Author Podcast stream is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, a global, independent ebook and audiobook publishing platform that empowers authors with a quick and easy publishing process and unique promotional opportunities. To reach a wide readership, create your account today! Thank you, Kobo, for your support of this podcast. Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center, with a huge archive of 2,000+ blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. We invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally, if you haven't already. You can do that at allianceindependentauthors.org. About the Host Howard Lovy has been a journalist for more than 35 years, and now amplifies the voices of independent author-publishers and works with authors as a developmental editor. Find Howard at howardlovy.com, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Marketer and Reedsy Co-founder Ricardo Fayet on the essential elements of marketing your book, the importance of knowing your target audience and how to utilise different platforms to find your readers.  This interview was recorded in 2021.*ABOUT RICARDO FAYETRicardo Fayet is one of the co-founders of Reedsy, a marketplace connecting authors to the world's top publishing talent--from editors to cover designers, book marketers, or literary translators. He oversees the marketing for all Reedsy products--Marketplace, Book Editor, Learning, Discovery--and is a big SEO and Facebook advertising enthusiast. He is the author of How to Market Your Book where he has distilled lessons learned from helping thousands of writersHis weekly book marketing newsletter is read by over 150k writers.*RESOURCESFollow Ricardo Fayet:Twitter: @RicardoFayetOther links mentioned:LJ RossJoanna PennPublisher RocketFree BooksyBookbub*For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.comFor free writing sessions, join free Writers' Hours: writershour.com*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS' SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you're enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

I've collaborated with Reedsy on a few learning resources over the years, including a course and webinar, always working with Martin Cavannagh, Head of Content. He does a fantastic job running their content and has been successful positioning the company at the top of search results, helping drive a steady stream of leads to the marketplace. So when he agreed to come on the podcast to share some BTS on how he runs content strategy and execution for Reedsy, as well as tips for authors, I knew this episode would be packed with value. In this episode, we discuss: Martin's journey to publishing and work as the Head of Content His advice for creating content people are searching for—and how to show up in the top three of search results How to build a content ecosystem if you're just starting out or grow an empire if you have support His thoughts on publishing pathways and how to ensure you're working with real pros Whether you're dreaming of writing your book or marketing a recent release, don't miss this thoughtful, fun, and informative conversation. Learn more about Reedsy: Three-month online course from idea to draft for novel: reedsy.com/learning Learn more about Reedsy and check out my profile Twitter Instagram Learn more about my Idea-to-Draft Accelerator and Author Mentorship program here. Follow me on: Instagram @stacyennis Facebook @stacyenniscreative LinkedIn Youtube @stacyennisauthor To submit a question, email hello@stacyennis.com or visit www.stacyennis.com/contact and fill out the form on the page.

Today's guest on the Writer's Parachute, Guiding Author and Writer dreams to a perfect landing®...is: Author/Writer, Puppet Builder, Debra ClewerBe sure to follow the Writer's Parachute on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @WriterParachutehttps://linktr.ee/writerparachuteBio:Wife, mother, grandmother, & great-grandmother of 2. Debra re-married after her first husband John died in 2016. A volunteer working with children in various capacities since 1986, including 3 years at a local primary (elementary) school from 2017-2019. She has self-published 3 Middle-Grade novels between 2017-2019, plus 3 short stories published in children's anthologies in 2019 & 2021; with some short adult stories published on Reedsy.com . Debra's latest title is a Juvenile Fiction Chapter Book, a fun story involving a Persian cat detective, and a nefarious gang of rats. It's a bit of a spy-detective spoof for children aged 7-11 years. Debra became interested in writing for children after observing how many struggled with their reading and comprehension in the classroom. Her aim is to encourage and inspire kids to read and imagine. Debra Clewer lives in the Southern Australian state of Tasmania.

Stuart Grant isn't just a key member of the SPS team – he's also the highest rated web designer on Reedsy.

The KDP price change hit a few hot buttons among authors using the Amazon platform, but what should authors do? Also, the Director of IngramSpark issues a statement about recent changes on their platform and how it benefits authors. Also, Lulu rolled out new binding types for their 5x8 print books. And, so much more in the self-publishing news! Join Channel Memberships - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl9CjdZQtzufqgYx0CidSbA/join Join my community at: Discord - http://dalelinks.com/discord Sources: GetCovers Giveaway - https://DaleLinks.com/GetCoversGiveaway Printing cost changes FAQ - https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GPGVYM9KWTYLD2GD?ref_=pe_3052080_716951770#newcosts  Inkers Con - https://www.inkerscon.com/ The Book Marketing Mindset with Sue Campbell - https://www.youtube.com/live/LsjYn7Xxcgg?feature=share Are you looking to optimize your wide digital sales? - https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/speaker-series Reedsy - https://reedsy.com Lulu new binding types for 5x8 - https://www.lulu.com/products StoryOrigin - https://DaleLinks.com/StoryOrigin A Note from the Director of IngramSpark: No More Book Setup Fees - https://www.ingramspark.com/blog/a-note-from-the-director-of-ingramspark-no-more-book-setup-fees The Spark Tour 2023 - https://www.ingramspark.com/tour Kindle Vella Bonus Pool - https://www.kdpcommunity.com/s/question/0D58V00007ecjaBSAQ/kindle-vella-april-bonus-announcement?language=en_US&topicId=0TO2T000000MFRiWAO My Spring Store - https://selfpubwithdale.creator-spring.com/. Use coupon code YTShopping25 for 25% off for a limited time. Where noted, some outbound links financially benefit the channel through affiliate programs. I only endorse programs, products, or services I use and can stand confidently behind. These links do not affect your purchase price and greatly helps to building and growing this channel. Thanks in advance for understanding! - Dale L. Roberts

Reedsy co-founder Ricardo Fayet delivers useful tips for running effective Amazon Ad campaigns.