Podcasts about self publishing

In this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Matty Dalrymple talks with author and ghostwriter Jon McGoran about the craft and business of ghostwriting fiction. They discuss how Jon got started through an agency, the difference between fiction and nonfiction ghostwriting, the challenges of working in someone else's creative world, and how clear contracts and good collaboration can make ghostwriting a steady income stream for authors. 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 Jon McGoran is the author of eleven novels for adults and young adults, including his latest thriller, The Price of Everything, which Publishers Weekly called "a page-turning thrill ride." His other books include the YA science-fiction thrillers Spliced, Splintered, and Spiked, as well as the science-based thrillers Drift, Deadout, and Dust Up. Jon is also a developmental editor, ghostwriter, and teacher in Drexel University's Creative Writing MFA program, and he lives outside Philadelphia. You can find Jon through his website, Facebook, Goodreads, Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn.  

Holiday cutoffs, platform updates, and a major distribution move are shaping the publishing world this week. One company picked up a key piece of a system that almost shut down, and this change could affect how your books reach readers. A few author services also shared new updates, warnings, and opportunities worth exploring. Catch everything you need to know in today's self-publishing news. My Channel Memberships (podcast) - https://DaleLinks.com/Membership My Channel Memberships (main channel) - https://DaleLinks.com/Memberships Publishers Weekly: Lakeside Book Company Buys B&T Distribution Arm - https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/99162-lakeside-book-company-buys-b-t-distribution-arm.html Bookvault – https://Bookvault.app (use code BVDALE to waive your first 3 upload fees) Draft2Digital – https://DaleLinks.com/D2D (referral link) Draft2Digital Now Hiring - https://draft2digital.com/careers/ Booksprout – https://DaleLinks.com/Booksprout (affiliate link) Booksprout Now Hiring, Contact: virginie@booksprout.co IngramSpark: Understanding IngramSpark Title Processing - https://www.ingramspark.com/blog/understanding-ingramspark-title-processing   Google Play Books Partner Center (GPBPC) – https://play.google.com/books/publish/   GPBPC: Publisher Program Policies - https://support.google.com/books/partner/answer/166501   CraveBooks – https://DaleLinks.com/CraveBooks (affiliate link) Written Word Media: Author Beware: How Scammers Target Indie Authors (and How to Avoid Today's Most Common Publishing Scams) - https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/avoid-author-scams/   Twin Flames Studios: 7 Smart Ways to Sell More Books During the Holidays (Without Losing Your Mind) - https://twinflamesstudios.com/7-smart-ways-to-sell-more-books-during-the-holidays-without-losing-your-mind/   Dibbly Create - https://DaleLinks.com/DibblyCreate (affiliate link) Dibbly Create Handbook - https://dalelinks.com/dibblycreatehandbook   Spoken: Digitally-Narrated Audiobooks with Spoken – Bring Your Backlist to Life in 2026 - https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Hlp1wQBYR-ebipBiVUuc7g#/registration   Booklinker: Facebook/Meta Ads Insights with Melissa Storm - https://booklinker.mykajabi.com/Facebook-Ads   Subscribe to my email newsletter - https://DaleLinks.com/SignUp  Join Channel Memberships - https://DaleLinks.com/Memberships Join Me on Discord - https://DaleLinks.com/Discord Check out my main YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@dalelroberts My Books - https://DaleLinks.com/MyBooks Wanna tip me? Visit https://dalelroberts.gumroad.com/coffee. Where noted, some outbound links financially benefit the channel through affiliate programs. I only endorse programs, products, or services I use and can stand confidently behind. These links do not affect your purchase price and greatly helps to building and growing this channel. Thanks in advance for understanding! - Dale L. Roberts

Send us a textIn this episode of Quilting on the Side, Tori and Karlee Porter discuss the evolution of quilting, particularly focusing on graffiti quilting. Karlee shares her journey from working with long arm machines to developing her unique artistic style. The conversation explores the importance of community, the impact of self-publishing, and the accessibility of quilting machines. Karlee emphasizes the need for open-mindedness in the quilting world and the significance of balancing business with creativity. The episode concludes with rapid-fire questions that reveal Karlee's personal preferences and inspirations.Don't miss an episode! Like, comment, and subscribe for more quilting stories, tips, and industry insights.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Quilting and Artistic Journey03:11 Transitioning from Long Arm Testing to Artistic Quilting05:52 The Evolution of Graffiti Quilting08:55 Reactions to Graffiti Quilting and Breaking Norms11:47 The Impact of Graffiti Quilting on the Quilting Community15:02 Self-Publishing and Building a Brand17:51 Expanding the Product Suite and Online Teaching21:00 The New Graffiti Quilting Book and Its Features23:47 Creating a Community Through Quilting26:45 Conclusion and Future Directions33:33 The Evolution of Graffiti Quilting39:11 Balancing Business and Creativity44:15 Open-Mindedness in Quilting52:31 Finding Inspiration and Community59:28 The Bruce Wayne and Batman of QuiltingAlso mentioned in this episode: Podcast Episode Where Tori yelled: Collaboration Over CompetitionSam Hunter's Podcast interview with Karlee Porter: https://www.revcraftbiz.com/p/navigating-the-gatekeeping-with-karlee?r=rkjue&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Karlee Porter Inspiration:Jeff Soto: https://jeffsoto.com/Jessica Hische: https://jessicahische.is/James Jean: https://www.jamesjean.com/ Alphonse Mucha: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonse_Mucha Qveen Herby: https://qveenherby.com/NF: https://www.nfrealmusic.com/Charlie Puth: https://www.youtube.com/@charlieputh Connect with Karlee PorterOn Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karleeporterdesign/On her website: https://www.karleeporter.com/ Want More Quilting Business Content?

This podcast is with Adam Skolnick, an award-winning independent journalist and author covering adventure sports, environmental issues, travel and human rights for The New York Times, Outside, Playboy and Lonely Planet. He is the author of One Breath: Freediving, Death and the Quest to Shatter Human Limits, the ghost writer and narrator of David Goggins' smash hit memoir and audiobook Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds, and he is a co-host on the Rich Roll Podcast. His latest book, American Tiger, is available to order now. (I've read it and it fucking rocks.) In this episode, we talk about the state of publishing today, the Southern California wilderness, and creativity as lantern offerings. Follow Adam's Substack here.If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can watch this podcast on my YouTube channel and join my newsletter on Substack. It's glorious. My first book, ONE LAST QUESTION BEFORE YOU GO, is available to order today. Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe

This podcast is with Adam Skolnick, an award-winning independent journalist and author covering adventure sports, environmental issues, travel and human rights for The New York Times, Outside, Playboy and Lonely Planet. He is the author of One Breath: Freediving, Death and the Quest to Shatter Human Limits, the ghost writer and narrator of David Goggins' smash hit memoir and audiobook Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds, and he is a co-host on the Rich Roll Podcast. His latest book, American Tiger, is available to order now. (I've read it and it fucking rocks.) In this episode, we talk about the state of publishing today, the Southern California wilderness, and creativity as lantern offerings. Follow Adam's Substack here.If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can watch this podcast on my YouTube channel and join my newsletter on Substack. It's glorious. My first book, ONE LAST QUESTION BEFORE YOU GO, is available to order today. Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe

On the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Campaigns Manager Matty Dalrymple interviews Hannah Jacobson about how indie authors can find and make the most of book awards. Their conversation covers everything from spotting red flags and budgeting for entry fees to using nominations and wins to boost visibility, strengthen a book's metadata, and open doors to opportunities like BookBub Featured Deals. Jacobson, founder of Book Award Pro, also explains how awards can support authors at any stage of their publishing journey and offers practical tips on sharing award news without sounding self-promotional. 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.

On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Dan Holloway reports on concerns around companies using AI-generated staff profiles to sell high-priced author services, including Melbourne Book Publisher and related outfits in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. He also looks at Tulia's new author platform that builds customizable book pages from ISBN data, highlights a small-group social reading app, and notes a case from New Zealand where AI-assisted cover design led to books being disqualified from a major award. 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.

Audiobook sales have been on the rise for many years, and they show no signs of stopping; so many independent publishers are hoping to take advantage of this boom. But there are important factors to consider first. Will the return on investment be worth the cost of producing an audiobook? How do you produce a quality audiobook on a lean budget? What genres perform the best as audiobooks? Do you market your audiobook differently than your print and ebooks?Podium Entertainment has had great success in the audiobook market, so Publisher Victoria Gerken joins the podcast today to answer those questions, as well as discuss their transition from being an audiobook-only publisher to now also publishing print and ebooks.PARTICIPANTSVictoria Gerken is the Publisher at Podium Entertainment. She has welcomed independent authors into the Podium family since 2016. She previously worked with authors in traditional publishing roles - at Random House and Alfred A. Knopf - where she was a publicist and sold subsidiary rights. Victoria got her first taste of entrepreneurship in publishing as the founder of the Random House Speakers Bureau.Independent Book Publishers Association is the largest trade association for independent publishers in the United States. As the IBPA Director of Membership & Member Services, Christopher Locke assists the 4,000 members as they travel along their publishing journeys. Major projects include managing the member benefits to curate the most advantageous services for independent publishers and author publishers; managing the Innovative Voices Program that supports publishers from marginalized communities; and hosting the IBPA podcast, “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA).” He's also passionate about indie publishing, because he's an author publisher himself, having published two novels so far in his YA trilogy, The Enlightenment Adventures.LINKSLearn more about the many benefits of becoming a member of Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) here: https://www.ibpa-online.org/Learn more about Podium Entertainment here: www.podiumentertainment.comFollow IBPA on:Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/IBPAonlineX – https://twitter.com/ibpaInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/ibpalovesindies/Follow Podium Entertainment on social media: @podiumentertainment

Gespräche über das Schreiben und Veröffentlichen von Büchern, egal ob Selfpublishing oder Verlag. Autorin Jana Lukas schreibt Liebesromanreihen über traumhafte Wohlfühlorte – und arbeitet gleichzeitig als Drogenfahnderin. Sie verrät, warum ihre ersten Romane zwar Thriller waren, aber nicht dort spielen, wo sie wirklich bei der Polizei arbeitet, und wie sie schließlich zu den romantischen Geschichten gekommen ist.Außerdem erzählt Jana von ihrer hardcore Plot-Arbeit, von ihrer Reihenstrategie und davon, wie wild Liebesromancover werden können. Hört rein und profitiert von interessanten Einblicken!Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions!In this episode, we walk through 5 mistakes that quietly undermine first-time self-publishers and show how to fix each one with practical, doable steps.We start by tightening your audience with a one-sentence framework that keeps every chapter aligned to a clear promise. From there, we map a real editing workflow: self-edit, gather targeted beta feedback on structure and flow, then bring in a professional editor who can strengthen the developmental and line work.We also get honest about design. DIY your interior with reliable templates and checklists. But your cover? Invest in that. It needs to signal genre, earn clicks, and meet exact printer specs for spine width, trim, and image quality.Then we dig into metadata, the quiet engine behind discoverability. Keywords, categories, and a clean description help the right readers find you on the world's third-largest search engine. If you're tired of guessing and want a simpler way to publish with confidence, this conversation gives you clarity and next steps you can trust.MENTIONED RESOURCES:Workshop with Jane Friedman: The Indie Author's Guide to a Standout Amazon ListingDate: January 16, 2026Time: 10am PST / 11am MST / noon CST / 1pm ESTSign up here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__NjEykZNSwSpeZ48tydhpwSelf-Publishing Starter Kit: https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/selfpublishing101Self-Publishing Action Plan:https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/actionplan

On the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Joe Solari sits down with ALLi Director Orna Ross for a candid debrief from Author Nation, where they talk about the energy of the conference, what it means for indie authors, and where the industry is headed. They cover everything from the value of in-person community to the rise of AI, new advertising opportunities, and the growing range of publishing paths available to authors. Orna reflects on meeting members face to face, the professionalism of the event, and what she sees as the key trends shaping author careers in the coming year. 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. About the Host Joe Solari assists authors in developing successful businesses as the managing partner of Author Ventures LLC. In his role as a business manager, he supports his private clients, who collectively achieved gross royalties of twenty-two million in 2023, with an average pre-tax profit of 44%. This remarkable success results from implementing disciplined business strategies and maintaining an unwavering dedication to enhancing the customer experience.

Draft2Digital made another move this week, and it has authors talking. Also, find out about the latest shift in their distribution landscape along with industry updates from Spotify, Bookvault, ALLi, and more. We also revisit the Share and Sell spotlight from IngramSpark and update authors on several new opportunities heading into the holiday season.  YouTube for Authors (paperback) – https://DaleLinks.com/YouTubeForAuthors  Authors Guild: Predatory Opt-Out Scheme ClaimsHero Targets Anthropic Settlement Participants: What Authors Need to Know - https://authorsguild.org/news/claimshero-and-anthropic-settlement-what-authors-need-to-know/  Draft2Digital – https://DaleLinks.com/D2D (referral link) Draft2Digital: The Indie Advantage (Nov. 2025) - https://authoremail.com/email/campaigns/jl895x7j8m0c9/web-version/lg0604x35fb97 Draft2Digital: Smashwords 2025 End of Year Sale - https://draft2digital.com/smashwords-sale/ Bookvault: WooCommerce Integration Upgrade - https://bookvault.app/woocommerce-integration-upgrade/  Spotify for Authors: Spotify Expands Audiobook Access for Premium Subscribers in Five More European Countries - https://newsroom.spotify.com/2025-11-18/audiobooks-in-premium-sweden-denmark-finland-iceland-monaco/ ALLi: Inside the Judges' Minds: What Award Panels Really Look For - https://selfpublishingadvice.org/award-panels/ Spoken: Digitally-Narrated Audiobooks with Spoken – Bring Your Backlist to Life in 2026 - https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Hlp1wQBYR-ebipBiVUuc7g#/registration Kerrie Flanagan presents The Book Business Collective - https://geni.us/DaleTBBC IngramSpark: Share & Sell Giveaway - https://www.ingramspark.com/create-your-link-and-be-entered-to-win IngramSpark: Share & Sell Users Feedback - https://www.ingramspark.com/sell-my-book-feedback  YouTube for Authors (hardcover) – https://DaleLinks.com/YouTubeHardcover   Subscribe to my email newsletter - https://DaleLinks.com/SignUp  Join Channel Memberships - https://DaleLinks.com/Memberships  Join Me on Discord - https://DaleLinks.com/Discord  Check out my main YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@dalelroberts  My Books - https://DaleLinks.com/MyBooks  Wanna tip me? Visit https://dalelroberts.gumroad.com/coffee. Where noted, some outbound links financially benefit the channel through affiliate programs. I only endorse programs, products, or services I use and can stand confidently behind. These links do not affect your purchase price and greatly helps to building and growing this channel. Thanks in advance for understanding! - Dale L. Roberts

What if your next “big business move” isn't a new offer or a rebrand… but a book with your name on the cover? In this episode, we're breaking down how to finally get that book idea out of your head and into the hands of your future clients.Katrina Sawa is a business and marketing coach turned self-publishing expert who has written or contributed to 22+ books and helps entrepreneurs use books as real business assets—not just vanity projects. We talk about how to decide what your first book should be about, the difference between a story book and a system book, why compilation books can be a smart first step, and how to think about ROI so you're not writing a book instead of paying your bills. If “write a book” is on your vision board, this episode will help you move from dreaming to actually doing.In this episode:why knowing why you want to write a book matters more than having the “perfect” ideathe difference between a story driven book and a system based bookhow to treat your book like a business asset and lead generator, not just a productwhy compilation books can be a low lift way to become a published authorreal talk on costs, timelines, and when it's not the right time to write a bookhow to use AI ethically for brainstorming without letting it write your whole bookConnect with Katrina: https://jumpstartpublishing.netConnect with me, Hayleigh Hayhurst:Steal my Podcast Launch Checklist for free: ⁠https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com/⁠checklist⁠Website: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EspressoPodcastProductionInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/espressopodcastproduction/Music: John Kiernan. www.johnkiernanmusic.comProduced by Espresso Podcast Production:  https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com/Join the Conversation: What did you think of this episode? Share your thoughts and key takeaways with me on social media using the hashtag #EmployeeToBoss. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share it with your network.

How can you write science-based fiction without info-dumping your research? How can you use AI tools in a creative way, while still focusing on a human-first approach? Why is adapting to the fast pace of change so difficult and how can we make the most of this time? Jamie Metzl talks about Superconvergence and more. In the intro, How to avoid author scams [Written Word Media]; Spotify vs Audible audiobook strategy [The New Publishing Standard]; Thoughts on Author Nation and why constraints are important in your author life [Self-Publishing with ALLi]; Alchemical History And Beautiful Architecture: Prague with Lisa M Lilly on my Books and Travel Podcast. Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, self-publishing with support, where you can get free formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Just go to www.draft2digital.com to get started. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Jamie Metzl is a technology futurist, professional speaker, entrepreneur, and the author of sci-fi thrillers and futurist nonfiction books, including the revised and updated edition of Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech, and AI Revolutions Will Transform Our Lives, Work, and World. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes How personal history shaped Jamie's fiction writing Writing science-based fiction without info-dumping The super convergence of three revolutions (genetics, biotech, AI) and why we need to understand them holistically Using fiction to explore the human side of genetic engineering, life extension, and robotics Collaborating with GPT-5 as a named co-author How to be a first-rate human rather than a second-rate machine You can find Jamie at JamieMetzl.com. Transcript of interview with Jamie Metzl Jo: Jamie Metzl is a technology futurist, professional speaker, entrepreneur, and the author of sci-fi thrillers and futurist nonfiction books, including the revised and updated edition of Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech, and AI Revolutions Will Transform Our Lives, Work, and World. So welcome, Jamie. Jamie: Thank you so much, Jo. Very happy to be here with you. Jo: There is so much we could talk about, but let's start with you telling us a bit more about you and how you got into writing. From History PhD to First Novel Jamie: Well, I think like a lot of writers, I didn't know I was a writer. I was just a kid who loved writing. Actually, just last week I was going through a bunch of boxes from my parents' house and I found my autobiography, which I wrote when I was nine years old. So I've been writing my whole life and loving it. It was always something that was very important to me. When I finished my DPhil, my PhD at Oxford, and my dissertation came out, it just got scooped up by Macmillan in like two minutes. And I thought, “God, that was easy.” That got me started thinking about writing books. I wanted to write a novel based on the same historical period – my PhD was in Southeast Asian history – and I wanted to write a historical novel set in the same period as my dissertation, because I felt like the dissertation had missed the human element of the story I was telling, which was related to the Cambodian genocide and its aftermath. So I wrote what became my first novel, and I thought, “Wow, now I'm a writer.” I thought, “All right, I've already published one book. I'm gonna get this other book out into the world.” And then I ran into the brick wall of: it's really hard to be a writer. It's almost easier to write something than to get it published. I had to learn a ton, and it took nine years from when I started writing that first novel, The Depths of the Sea, to when it finally came out. But it was such a positive experience, especially to have something so personal to me as that story. I'd lived in Cambodia for two years, I'd worked on the Thai-Cambodian border, and I'm the child of a Holocaust survivor. So there was a whole lot that was very emotional for me. That set a pattern for the rest of my life as a writer, at least where, in my nonfiction books, I'm thinking about whatever the issues are that are most important to me. Whether it was that historical book, which was my first book, or Hacking Darwin on the future of human genetic engineering, which was my last book, or Superconvergence, which, as you mentioned in the intro, is my current book. But in every one of those stories, the human element is so deep and so profound. You can get at some of that in nonfiction, but I've also loved exploring those issues in deeper ways in my fiction. So in my more recent novels, Genesis Code and Eternal Sonata, I've looked at the human side of the story of genetic engineering and human life extension. And now my agent has just submitted my new novel, Virtuoso, about the intersection of AI, robotics, and classical music. With all of this, who knows what's the real difference between fiction and nonfiction? We're all humans trying to figure things out on many different levels. Shifting from History to Future Tech Jo: I knew that you were a polymath, someone who's interested in so many things, but the music angle with robotics and AI is fascinating. I do just want to ask you, because I was also at Oxford – what college were you at? Jamie: I was in St. Antony's. Jo: I was at Mansfield, so we were in that slightly smaller, less famous college group, if people don't know. Jamie: You know, but we're small but proud. Jo: Exactly. That's fantastic. You mentioned that you were on the historical side of things at the beginning and now you've moved into technology and also science, because this book Superconvergence has a lot of science. So how did you go from history and the past into science and the future? Biology and Seeing the Future Coming Jamie: It's a great question. I'll start at the end and then back up. A few years ago I was speaking at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which is one of the big scientific labs here in the United States. I was a guest of the director and I was speaking to their 300 top scientists. I said to them, “I'm here to speak with you about the future of biology at the invitation of your director, and I'm really excited. But if you hear something wrong, please raise your hand and let me know, because I'm entirely self-taught. The last biology course I took was in 11th grade of high school in Kansas City.” Of course I wouldn't say that if I didn't have a lot of confidence in my process. But in many ways I'm self-taught in the sciences. As you know, Jo, and as all of your listeners know, the foundation of everything is curiosity and then a disciplined process for learning. Even our greatest super-specialists in the world now – whatever their background – the world is changing so fast that if anyone says, “Oh, I have a PhD in physics/chemistry/biology from 30 years ago,” the exact topic they learned 30 years ago is less significant than their process for continuous learning. More specifically, in the 1990s I was working on the National Security Council for President Clinton, which is the president's foreign policy staff. My then boss and now close friend, Richard Clarke – who became famous as the guy who had tragically predicted 9/11 – used to say that the key to efficacy in Washington and in life is to try to solve problems that other people can't see. For me, almost 30 years ago, I felt to my bones that this intersection of what we now call AI and the nascent genetics revolution and the nascent biotechnology revolution was going to have profound implications for humanity. So I just started obsessively educating myself. When I was ready, I started writing obscure national security articles. Those got a decent amount of attention, so I was invited to testify before the United States Congress. I was speaking out a lot, saying, “Hey, this is a really important story. A lot of people are missing it. Here are the things we should be thinking about for the future.” I wasn't getting the kind of traction that I wanted. I mentioned before that my first book had been this dry Oxford PhD dissertation, and that had led to my first novel. So I thought, why don't I try the same approach again – writing novels to tell this story about the genetics, biotech, and what later became known popularly as the AI revolution? That led to my two near-term sci-fi novels, Genesis Code and Eternal Sonata. On my book tours for those novels, when I explained the underlying science to people in my way, as someone who taught myself, I could see in their eyes that they were recognizing not just that something big was happening, but that they could understand it and feel like they were part of that story. That's what led me to write Hacking Darwin, as I mentioned. That book really unlocked a lot of things. I had essentially predicted the CRISPR babies that were born in China before it happened – down to the specific gene I thought would be targeted, which in fact was the case. After that book was published, Dr. Tedros, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, invited me to join the WHO Expert Advisory Committee on Human Genome Editing, which I did. It was a really great experience and got me thinking a lot about the upside of this revolution and the downside. The Birth of Superconvergence Jamie: I get a lot of wonderful invitations to speak, and I have two basic rules for speaking: Never use notes. Never ever. Never stand behind a podium. Never ever. Because of that, when I speak, my talks tend to migrate. I'd be speaking with people about the genetics revolution as it applied to humans, and I'd say, “Well, this is just a little piece of a much bigger story.” The bigger story is that after nearly four billion years of life on Earth, our one species has the increasing ability to engineer novel intelligence and re-engineer life. The big question for us, and frankly for the world, is whether we're going to be able to use that almost godlike superpower wisely. As that idea got bigger and bigger, it became this inevitable force. You write so many books, Jo, that I think it's second nature for you. Every time I finish a book, I think, “Wow, that was really hard. I'm never doing that again.” And then the books creep up on you. They call to you. At some point you say, “All right, now I'm going to do it.” So that was my current book, Superconvergence. Like everything, every journey you take a step, and that step inspires another step and another. That's why writing and living creatively is such a wonderfully exciting thing – there's always more to learn and always great opportunities to push ourselves in new ways. Balancing Deep Research with Good Storytelling Jo: Yeah, absolutely. I love that you've followed your curiosity and then done this disciplined process for learning. I completely understand that. But one of the big issues with people like us who love the research – and having read your Superconvergence, I know how deeply you go into this and how deeply you care that it's correct – is that with fiction, one of the big problems with too much research is the danger of brain-dumping. Readers go to fiction for escapism. They want the interesting side of it, but they want a story first. What are your tips for authors who might feel like, “Where's the line between putting in my research so that it's interesting for readers, but not going too far and turning it into a textbook?” How do you find that balance? Jamie: It's such a great question. I live in New York now, but I used to live in Washington when I was working for the U.S. government, and there were a number of people I served with who later wrote novels. Some of those novels felt like policy memos with a few sex scenes – and that's not what to do. To write something that's informed by science or really by anything, everything needs to be subservient to the story and the characters. The question is: what is the essential piece of information that can convey something that's both important to your story and your character development, and is also an accurate representation of the world as you want it to be? I certainly write novels that are set in the future – although some of them were a future that's now already happened because I wrote them a long time ago. You can make stuff up, but as an author you have to decide what your connection to existing science and existing technology and the existing world is going to be. I come at it from two angles. One: I read a huge number of scientific papers and think, “What does this mean for now, and if you extrapolate into the future, where might that go?” Two: I think about how to condense things. We've all read books where you're humming along because people read fiction for story and emotional connection, and then you hit a bit like: “I sat down in front of the president, and the president said, ‘Tell me what I need to know about the nuclear threat.'” And then it's like: insert memo. That's a deal-killer. It's like all things – how do you have a meaningful relationship with another person? It's not by just telling them your story. Even when you're telling them something about you, you need to be imagining yourself sitting in their shoes, hearing you. These are very different disciplines, fiction and nonfiction. But for the speculative nonfiction I write – “here's where things are now, and here's where the world is heading” – there's a lot of imagination that goes into that too. It feels in many ways like we're living in a sci-fi world because the rate of technological change has been accelerating continuously, certainly for the last 12,000 years since the dawn of agriculture. It's a balance. For me, I feel like I'm a better fiction writer because I write nonfiction, and I'm a better nonfiction writer because I write fiction. When I'm writing nonfiction, I don't want it to be boring either – I want people to feel like there's a story and characters and that they can feel themselves inside that story. Jo: Yeah, definitely. I think having some distance helps as well. If you're really deep into your topics, as you are, you have to leave that manuscript a little bit so you can go back with the eyes of the reader as opposed to your eyes as the expert. Then you can get their experience, which is great. Looking Beyond Author-Focused AI Fears Jo: I want to come to your technical knowledge, because AI is a big thing in the author and creative community, like everywhere else. One of the issues is that creators are focusing on just this tiny part of the impact of AI, and there's a much bigger picture. For example, in 2024, Demis Hassabis from Google DeepMind and his collaborative partner John Jumper won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry with AlphaFold. It feels to me like there's this massive world of what's happening with AI in health, climate, and other areas, and yet we are so focused on a lot of the negative stuff. Maybe you could give us a couple of things about what there is to be excited and optimistic about in terms of AI-powered science? Jamie: Sure. I'm so excited about all of the new opportunities that AI creates. But I also think there's a reason why evolution has preserved this very human feeling of anxiety: because there are real dangers. Anybody who's Pollyanna-ish and says, “Oh, the AI story is inevitably positive,” I'd be distrustful. And anyone who says, “We're absolutely doomed, this is the end of humanity,” I'd also be distrustful. So let me tell you the positives and the negatives, and maybe some thoughts about how we navigate toward the former and away from the latter. AI as the New Electricity Jamie: When people think of AI right now, they're thinking very narrowly about these AI tools and ChatGPT. But we don't think of electricity that way. Nobody says, “I know electricity – electricity is what happens at the power station.” We've internalised the idea that electricity is woven into not just our communication systems or our houses, but into our clothes, our glasses – it's woven into everything and has super-empowered almost everything in our modern lives. That's what AI is. In Superconvergence, the majority of the book is about positive opportunities: In healthcare, moving from generalised healthcare based on population averages to personalised or precision healthcare based on a molecular understanding of each person's individual biology. As we build these massive datasets like the UK Biobank, we can take a next jump toward predictive and preventive healthcare, where we're able to address health issues far earlier in the process, when interventions can be far more benign. I'm really excited about that, not to mention the incredible new kinds of treatments – gene therapies, or pharmaceuticals based on genetics and systems-biology analyses of patients. Then there's agriculture. Over the last hundred years, because of the technologies of the Green Revolution and synthetic fertilisers, we've had an incredible increase in agricultural productivity. That's what's allowed us to quadruple the global population. But if we just continue agriculture as it is, as we get towards ten billion wealthier, more empowered people wanting to eat like we eat, we're going to have to wipe out all the wild spaces on Earth to feed them. These technologies help provide different paths toward increasing agricultural productivity with fewer inputs of land, water, fertiliser, insecticides, and pesticides. That's really positive. I could go on and on about these positives – and I do – but there are very real negatives. I was a member of the WHO Expert Advisory Committee on Human Genome Editing after the first CRISPR babies were very unethically created in China. I'm extremely aware that these same capabilities have potentially incredible upsides and very real downsides. That's the same as every technology in the past, but this is happening so quickly that it's triggering a lot of anxieties. Governance, Responsibility, and Why Everyone Has a Role Jamie: The question now is: how do we optimise the benefits and minimise the harms? The short, unsexy word for that is governance. Governance is not just what governments do; it's what all of us do. That's why I try to write books, both fiction and nonfiction, to bring people into this story. If people “other” this story – if they say, “There's a technology revolution, it has nothing to do with me, I'm going to keep my head down” – I think that's dangerous. The way we're going to handle this as responsibly as possible is if everybody says, “I have some role. Maybe it's small, maybe it's big. The first step is I need to educate myself. Then I need to have conversations with people around me. I need to express my desires, wishes, and thoughts – with political leaders, organisations I'm part of, businesses.” That has to happen at every level. You're in the UK – you know the anti-slavery movement started with a handful of people in Cambridge and grew into a global movement. I really believe in the power of ideas, but ideas don't spread on their own. These are very human networks, and that's why writing, speaking, communicating – probably for every single person listening to this podcast – is so important. Jo: Mm, yeah. Fiction Like AI 2041 and Thinking Through the Issues Jo: Have you read AI 2041 by Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan? Jamie: No. I heard a bunch of their interviews when the book came out, but I haven't read it. Jo: I think that's another good one because it's fiction – a whole load of short stories. It came out a few years ago now, but the issues they cover in the stories, about different people in different countries – I remember one about deepfakes – make you think more about the topics and help you figure out where you stand. I think that's the issue right now: it's so complex, there are so many things. I'm generally positive about AI, but of course I don't want autonomous drone weapons, you know? The Messy Reality of “Bad” Technologies Jamie: Can I ask you about that? Because this is why it's so complicated. Like you, I think nobody wants autonomous killer drones anywhere in the world. But if you right now were the defence minister of Ukraine, and your children are being kidnapped, your country is being destroyed, you're fighting for your survival, you're getting attacked every night – and you're getting attacked by the Russians, who are investing more and more in autonomous killer robots – you kind of have two choices. You can say, “I'm going to surrender,” or, “I'm going to use what technology I have available to defend myself, and hopefully fight to either victory or some kind of stand-off.” That's what our societies did with nuclear weapons. Maybe not every American recognises that Churchill gave Britain's nuclear secrets to America as a way of greasing the wheels of the Anglo-American alliance during the Second World War – but that was our programme: we couldn't afford to lose that war, and we couldn't afford to let the Nazis get nuclear weapons before we did. So there's the abstract feeling of, “I'm against all war in the abstract. I'm against autonomous killer robots in the abstract.” But if I were the defence minister of Ukraine, I would say, “What will it take for us to build the weapons we can use to defend ourselves?” That's why all this stuff gets so complicated. And frankly, it's why the relationship between fiction and nonfiction is so important. If every novel had a situation where every character said, “Oh, I know exactly the right answer,” and then they just did the right answer and it was obviously right, it wouldn't make for great fiction. We're dealing with really complex humans. We have conflicting impulses. We're not perfect. Maybe there are no perfect answers – but how do we strive toward better rather than worse? That's the question. Jo: Absolutely. I don't want to get too political on things. How AI Is Changing the Writing Life Jo: Let's come back to authors. In terms of the creative process, the writing process, the research process, and the business of being an author – what are some of the ways that you already use AI tools, and some of the ways, given your futurist brain, that you think things are going to change for us? Jamie: Great question. I'll start with a little middle piece. I found you, Jo, through GPT-5. I asked ChatGPT, “I'm coming out with this book and I want to connect with podcasters who are a little different from the ones I've done in the past. I've been a guest on Joe Rogan twice and some of the bigger podcasts. Make me a list of really interesting people I can have great conversations with.” That's how I found you. So this is one reward of that process. Let me say that in the last year I've worked on three books, and I'll explain how my relationship with AI has changed over those books. Cleaning Up Citations (and Getting Burned) Jamie: First is the highly revised paperback edition of Superconvergence. When the hardback came out, I had – I don't normally work with research assistants because I like to dig into everything myself – but the one thing I do use a research assistant for is that I can't be bothered, when I'm writing something, to do the full Chicago-style footnote if I'm already referencing an academic paper. So I'd just put the URL as the footnote and then hire a research assistant and say, “Go to this URL and change it into a Chicago-style citation. That's it.” Unfortunately, my research assistant on the hardback used early-days ChatGPT for that work. He did the whole thing, came back, everything looked perfect. I said, “Wow, amazing job.” It was only later, as I was going through them, that I realised something like 50% of them were invented footnotes. It was very painful to go back and fix, and it took ten times more time. With the paperback edition, I didn't use AI that much, but I did say things like, “Here's all the information – generate a Chicago-style citation.” That was better. I noticed there were a few things where I stopped using the thesaurus function on Microsoft Word because I'd just put the whole paragraph into the AI and say, “Give me ten other options for this one word,” and it would be like a contextual thesaurus. That was pretty good. Talking to a Robot Pianist Character Jamie: Then, for my new novel Virtuoso, I was writing a character who is a futurist robot that plays the piano very beautifully – not just humanly, but almost finding new things in the music we've written and composing music that resonates with us. I described the actions of that robot in the novel, but I didn't describe the inner workings of the robot's mind. In thinking about that character, I realised I was the first science-fiction writer in history who could interrogate a machine about what it was “thinking” in a particular context. I had the most beautiful conversations with ChatGPT, where I would give scenarios and ask, “What are you thinking? What are you feeling in this context?” It was all background for that character, but it was truly profound. Co-Authoring The AI Ten Commandments with GPT-5 Jamie: Third, I have another book coming out in May in the United States. I gave a talk this summer at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York about AI and spirituality. I talked about the history of our human relationship with our technology, about how all our religious and spiritual traditions have deep technological underpinnings – certainly our Abrahamic religions are deeply connected to farming, and Protestantism to the printing press. Then I had a section about the role of AI in generating moral codes that would resonate with humans. Everybody went nuts for this talk, and I thought, “I think I'm going to write a book.” I decided to write it differently, with GPT-5 as my named co-author. The first thing I did was outline the entire book based on the talk, which I'd already spent a huge amount of time thinking about and organising. Then I did a full outline of the arguments and structures. Then I trained GPT-5 on my writing style. The way I did it – which I fully describe in the introduction to the book – was that I'd handle all the framing: the full introduction, the argument, the structure. But if there was a section where, for a few paragraphs, I was summarising a huge field of data, even something I knew well, I'd give GPT-5 the intro sentence and say, “In my writing style, prepare four paragraphs on this.” For example, I might write: “AI has the potential to see us humans like we humans see ant colonies.” Then I'd say, “Give me four paragraphs on the relationship between the individual and the collective in ant colonies.” I could have written those four paragraphs myself, but it would've taken a month to read the life's work of E.O. Wilson and then write them. GPT-5 wrote them in seconds or minutes, in its thinking mode. I'd then say, “It's not quite right – change this, change that,” and we'd go back and forth three or four times. Then I'd edit the whole thing and put it into the text. So this book that I could have written on my own in a year, I wrote a first draft of with GPT-5 as my named co-author in two days. The whole project will take about six months from start to finish, and I'm having massive human editing – multiple edits from me, plus a professional editor. It's not a magic AI button. But I feel strongly about listing GPT-5 as a co-author because I've written it differently than previous books. I'm a huge believer in the old-fashioned lone author struggling and suffering – that's in my novels, and in Virtuoso I explore that. But other forms are going to emerge, just like video games are a creative, artistic form deeply connected to technology. The novel hasn't been around forever – the current format is only a few centuries old – and forms are always changing. There are real opportunities for authors, and there will be so much crap flooding the market because everybody can write something and put it up on Amazon. But I think there will be a very special place for thoughtful human authors who have an idea of what humans do at our best, and who translate that into content other humans can enjoy. Traditional vs Indie: Why This Book Will Be Self-Published Jo: I'm interested – you mentioned that it's your named co-author. Is this book going through a traditional publisher, and what do they think about that? Or are you going to publish it yourself? Jamie: It's such a smart question. What I found quickly is that when you get to be an author later in your career, you have all the infrastructure – a track record, a fantastic agent, all of that. But there were two things that were really important to me here: I wanted to get this book out really fast – six months instead of a year and a half. It was essential to me to have GPT-5 listed as my co-author, because if it were just my name, I feel like it would be dishonest. Readers who are used to reading my books – I didn't want to present something different than what it was. I spoke with my agent, who I absolutely love, and she said that for this particular project it was going to be really hard in traditional publishing. So I did a huge amount of research, because I'd never done anything in the self-publishing world before. I looked at different models. There was one hybrid model that's basically the same as traditional, but you pay for the things the publisher would normally pay for. I ended up not doing that. Instead, I decided on a self-publishing route where I disaggregated the publishing process. I found three teams: one for producing the book, one for getting the book out into the world, and a smaller one for the audiobook. I still believe in traditional publishing – there's a lot of wonderful human value-add. But some works just don't lend themselves to traditional publishing. For this book, which is called The AI Ten Commandments, that's the path I've chosen. Jo: And when's that out? I think people will be interested. Jamie: April 26th. Those of us used to traditional publishing think, “I've finished the book, sold the proposal, it'll be out any day now,” and then it can be a year and a half. It's frustrating. With this, the process can be much faster because it's possible to control more of the variables. But the key – as I was saying – is to make sure it's as good a book as everything else you've written. It's great to speed up, but you don't want to compromise on quality. The Coming Flood of Excellent AI-Generated Work Jo: Yeah, absolutely. We're almost out of time, but I want to come back to your “flood of crap” and the “AI slop” idea that's going around. Because you are working with GPT-5 – and I do as well, and I work with Claude and Gemini – and right now there are still issues. Like you said about referencing, there are still hallucinations, though fewer. But fast-forward two, five years: it's not a flood of crap. It's a flood of excellent. It's a flood of stuff that's better than us. Jamie: We're humans. It's better than us in certain ways. If you have farm machinery, it's better than us at certain aspects of farming. I'm a true humanist. I think there will be lots of things machines do better than us, but there will be tons of things we do better than them. There's a reason humans still care about chess, even though machines can beat humans at chess. Some people are saying things I fully disagree with, like this concept of AGI – artificial general intelligence – where machines do everything better than humans. I've summarised my position in seven letters: “AGI is BS.” The only way you can believe in AGI in that sense is if your concept of what a human is and what a human mind is is so narrow that you think it's just a narrow range of analytical skills. We are so much more than that. Humans represent almost four billion years of embodied evolution. There's so much about ourselves that we don't know. As incredible as these machines are and will become, there will always be wonderful things humans can do that are different from machines. What I always tell people is: whatever you're doing, don't be a second-rate machine. Be a first-rate human. If you're doing something and a machine is doing that thing much better than you, then shift to something where your unique capacities as a human give you the opportunity to do something better. So yes, I totally agree that the quality of AI-generated stuff will get better. But I think the most creative and successful humans will be the ones who say, “I recognise that this is creating new opportunities, and I'm going to insert my core humanity to do something magical and new.” People are “othering” these technologies, but the technologies themselves are magnificent human-generated artefacts. They're not alien UFOs that landed here. It's a scary moment for creatives, no doubt, because there are things all of us did in the past that machines can now do really well. But this is the moment where the most creative people ask themselves, “What does it mean for me to be a great human?” The pat answers won't apply. In my Virtuoso novel I explore that a lot. The idea that “machines don't do creativity” – they will do incredible creativity; it just won't be exactly human creativity. We will be potentially huge beneficiaries of these capabilities, but we really have to believe in and invest in the magic of our core humanity. Where to Find Jamie and His Books Jo: Brilliant. So where can people find you and your books online? Jamie: Thank you so much for asking. My website is jamiemetzl.com – and my books are available everywhere. Jo: Fantastic. Thanks so much for your time, Jamie. That was great. Jamie: Thank you, Joanna.The post Writing The Future, And Being More Human In An Age of AI With Jamie Metzl first appeared on The Creative Penn.

In this second episode of Indie Publishing, Angie and Daniel discuss a world where algorithms pick what books are published and what books are not, how riding market trends determines more of what agents and publishers see as "good" than the quality of writing, the strength of the story, and even the purpose of story itself. It is stories that make us human, and the stories are many. Angie and Daniel open up about why they chose indie publishing, what they have learned from rejections and near-closes with agents, and how sales and marketing teams boisterously shape which books make it to shelves and which do not. From audiobook production shock to royalty splits that pale to pay authors what they deserve, Angie and Daniel also break down the real math of storytelling and the practical realities that every author faces.If you've ever wondered whether Amazon's Kindle Unlimited helps or hurts, why preorders feel invisible, or how much a book's cover actually costs, you may enjoy this yarn! They also get candid about craft, discussing how hook-first culture, originated by Agents and queries, can warp a novel, forcing fireworks into page one while the middle goes slack, while the storyline tanks and even falls limp. Daniel argues for protecting slow openings, layered worlds, and voices that don't mirror the algorithm's taste. Then, Angie and Daniel discuss how fantasy as a genre, a genre originally constructed to explore the weird and off-shoot worlds and stories, has developed strangely into a linear story-ground: trend waves demand dragon rider and romantasy, but the new mythologies, gothic whispers, and odd structures that breathe weird breaths go missing.Toward the end, Angie and Daniel discuss the role of Indie publishing in keeping the storytelling doors open. That intimacy and living stories turn commerce into conversation: signing paperbacks, tucking art prints into packages, and hearing what resonates directly with readers help keep the oral-storytelling human alive and healthy.If this episode helps you on your journey, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help more humans find us.Daniel Firth Griffith is markâko and seanchaí, a participant citizen of Earth Mother, a father, horse-friend, sacred butcher, magikal storyteller, and award-winning indie author of six books on kincentric ecology, mythology, and horror. Learn more about Daniel's work and books HERE!Angelina Kelly is an indie author and biologist who was born and raised in Alaska and has an inherent love for nature. She now lives in British Columbia where she works as a biologist and writes epic fantasy books that weave in her reverence for wilderness and the natural world. Learn more about Angie's work and books HERE!Watch this episode on YouTubeListen to this episode inside our Community

On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Dan Holloway reports on Spotify's continued expansion into audiobooks, including new access across key Nordic markets and the rollout of its AI-powered "recaps" feature that helps listeners pick up where they left off. He outlines how Spotify is addressing copyright concerns around AI use and notes broader audio developments, including 11 Labs signing voice deals with major celebrities. Dan also looks at beehiiv's move to position itself as a full-service platform for long-form creators, offering new website and analytics tools for authors who rely on newsletters. 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.

Ever wondered how a former CFO ends up writing paranormal novels? Join Cathy and Merry as they chat with Kirsten Marion, who took a daring leap from finance to fiction. What sparked this transformation? A move to Moscow, a reassessment of life, and a childhood passion rekindled! Kirsten dives into the world of paranormal fiction, explaining how she brings magic into the mundane and champions older female protagonists. She also shares the nitty-gritty of self-publishing, from marketing strategies to tackling self-doubt. Feeling stuck? Kirsten's advice on revisiting childhood dreams might just be your key to unlocking new paths. Tune in to discover how Kirsten found fulfillment in her new career and how you can too. Join us for an inspiring tale of reinvention and empowerment!About KirstenI'm a recovering corporate executive writing paranormal women's fiction with a bit of class, and a lot of sass, for anyone who feels age is just a number. My Rowanswood Crones series explores what happens when midlife meets magic, and when ordinary women discover extraordinary power at the very moment life expects them to shrink. I live on the southwestern tip of Canada.Connect with KirstenWebsite: https://kirstenmarion.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirstenlmarion/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@kirstenlmarionhttps://bsky.app/profile/kirsten-marion.bsky.social

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions!If you're writing a nonfiction book or memoir and your draft feels messy, scattered, or “not quite ready,” this episode will help you clean it up fast. I'm sharing 5 editing rules that instantly improve any nonfiction manuscript — the same rules I use to help guide the authors whose manuscripts I edit. These are the patterns I've seen again and again after coaching hundreds of authors, editing countless drafts, and publishing six nonfiction books of my own. When you understand these rules, your writing gets clearer, tighter, and far more compelling. And most importantly, your reader stays with you.Inside the episode, you'll learn: – Why your intro is probably too long – How writing for ONE reader changes everything – How to make each chapter deliver a single promise – The difference between clarity and jargon – How to end chapters with momentum (and why that matters more than you think)If you want help starting your book, you can grab my free “Can't Stop Writing” guide here: https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/chapteroneAnd if you're ready to self-publish a book that looks and feels professional — without getting lost, overwhelmed, or making amateur mistakes — the full Publish the Damn Book Already program is here: https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/publish

Im aktuellen Mission Bestseller Podcast habe ich Larissa Böhning aus dem Vorstand des Selfpublisher-Verbands zu Gast und wir sprechen anlässlich der bevorstehenden Bekanntgabe der Longlist des Selfpublishing-Buchpreises 2025/2026 über den aktuellen Stand dieses Buchpreises. Die 10 wichtigsten Aspekte des Selfpublishing Buchpreises, die wir zusammen herausgearbeitet haben Hohe Teilnehmer:innenzahlen: 2025 gab es mit über 1800 eingereichten Titeln von mehr als 1300 Autor:innen die höchste Beteiligung aller Zeiten. Das zeigt die Relevanz und Akzeptanz des Preises in der Selfpublishing-Szene. Qualitätsanspruch: Selfpublishing wird durch den Preis als qualitativ hochwertige Alternative zum Verlagswesen präsentiert. Viele eingereichte Bücher überzeugen sowohl inhaltlich und handwerklich. Mehrstufiger Auswahlprozess: Es gibt eine Vorjury (Formalkriterien und Vorauswahl) und eine Hauptjury für die finale Bewertung. Die Longlist und Shortlist sind zentrale Meilensteine auf dem Weg zur Preisverleihung im Rahmen der Leipziger Buchmesse 2026. Bekanntgabe der Longlist: Die Longlist wird am 22.11. um 19:00 live auf YouTube veröffentlicht und ist eines der spannendsten Momente für die Community, weil viele Autor:innen noch im Rennen sind und gefeiert werden können. Preisgeld und Sachpreise: Insgesamt werden Preise im Wert von über 20.000 Euro vergeben, darunter jeweils 3000 Euro für die Gewinnertitel, sowie Sachpreise und Marketing-Unterstützung. Präsenz im Buchhandel: Ein besonderer Preis ist die Aufnahme der Siegertitel bei Thalia, wodurch Selfpublisher:innen zusätzliche Sichtbarkeit im klassischen Buchmarkt bekommen. Drei Hauptkategorien: Belletristik, Kinder- und Jugendbuch (kombiniert) sowie Sachbuch/Ratgeber sind die ausgeschriebenen Kategorien. Die meisten Einreichungen kommen wie traditionell aus der Belletristik. Veranstaltungsrahmen: Die Preisverleihung findet auf der Leipziger Buchmesse statt – dieses Mal auf der Hauptbühne, größer und feierlicher als zuvor. Netzwerk und Community: Neben dem Autorenwettbewerb steht auch das Netzwerken und der Austausch im Fokus. Gerade die Präsenz in der Longlist- und Shortlist-Phase stärkt die Kontakte zwischen den teilnehmenden Autor:innen. Innovationen und Zusatzaktionen: Ein Tipp-Gewinnspiel zur Longlist und ein modernes Jury-Tool (Lesehits) sorgen für zusätzliche Interaktion und Engagement der Community. Das macht den Preis noch greifbarer und spannender. Jeder dieser Punkte zeigt, wie vielfältig und bedeutsam der Selfpublishing Buchpreis für Autor:innen und das gesamte Genre geworden ist. Hier die Links, die ich im Podcast anspreche, und weiterführende Informationen, Tipps und Erfahrungsberichte rund um Bücher, eBooks und deinen Erfolg: Hier findest du die Webseite zum Selfpublishing-Buchpreis: https://selfpublishing-buchpreis.de Hier findest du eine Podcastfolge zur vorigen Auflage des Selfpublishing-Buchpreises: https://mission-bestseller.com/folge-298-der-selfpublishing-buchpreis-2023-24/ Hier geht es zu den Mission Bestseller Buchmarketing-Bootcamps: https://mission-bestseller.com/buchmarketingcamp Unter diesem Link kannst du dich zu meinen aktuellen kostenlosen Online-Trainings anmelden: https://mission-bestseller.com/onlinetraining Hier kommst du zum Mission Bestseller Schreib-Bootcamp: https://mission-bestseller.com/bootcamp   Hier findest du alles rund ums Selfpublishing: https://mission-bestseller.com Einige der Links auf dieser Seite sind Affiliate-Links und ich erhalte eine Provision, wenn du über sie kaufst, die sich nicht auf deinen Kaufpreis auswirkt.

Amazon rolled out a new KDP feature that could change how authors reach global readers. This roundup walks through what happened and why it matters without spoiling anything. If you publish through KDP or go wide, you need to know what just launched. Stay sharp and stay informed. KDP: Introducing Kindle Translate in Beta - https://www.kdpcommunity.com/s/article/Introducing-Kindle-Translate-in-Beta-Translate-eBooks-into-multiple-languages?language=en_US KDP: Kindle Translate FAQs - https://www.kdpcommunity.com/s/question/0D5at00000VrSMkCAN/kindle-translate-faqs?language=en_US&topicId=0TOat0000001UnFGAU&count=3 Amazon: Simple tips to spot impersonation scams - https://www.amazon.com/b?node=206290002011&ref_=pe_158999060_1300845330 Draft2Digital – https://DaleLinks.com/D2D (referral link) Draft2Digital: Clean Up Your D2D Account with Merge Tools - https://authoremail.com/email/campaigns/mt7177wad57c8/ Draft2Digital Content Guidelines - https://draft2digital.com/content-guidelines/ IngramSpark – https://IngramSpark.com IngramSpark's Share & Sell Giveaway - https://www.ingramspark.com/share-sell-giveaway Bookvault – https://Bookvault.app Apple Books for Authors – https://authors.apple.com Spotify for Authors: Introducing Audiobook Recaps - https://authors.spotify.com/blog/recaps The Bottom Line (subscription required): A Deep Divide Emerges between AI Users and Nonusers – https://DaleLinks.com/TheBottomLine Spoken.Press – https://spoken.press Twin Flames Studios: The State of AI Audiobooks in 2025 - https://twinflamesstudios.com/the-state-of-ai-audiobooks-in-2025 Dibbly Create – https://DaleLinks.com/DibblyCreate (affiliate link) Dibbly Create: Book Layout Studio Webinar - https://dibbly.com/join-free-webinar/ Dibbly – https://DaleLinks.com/Dibbly (affiliate link) ProWritingAid: Novel November – https://DaleLinks.com/NovNov (affiliate link) ProWritingAid Black Friday Deal – https://DaleLinks.com/ProWritingAid (affiliate link) Book Award Pro – https://DaleLinks.com/BookAwardPro (affiliate link) Get Authentic Book Reviews – https://GetAuthenticBookReviews.com DropCap Marketplace - https://dropcapmarketplace.com/pricing Behind the Scenes at Author Nation 2025 - https://www.buzzsprout.com/2121723/episodes/18169217 Author Nation 2025: My Honest Review - https://youtu.be/AmmElopRJJY?si=xG915vwoZ1hf_q-q Amazon Ads Insights with Dale L. Roberts - https://booklinker.mykajabi.com/AmazonAdsDale The First 2 YEARS Sucked! Self-Publishing Secrets with Dale L. Roberts - https://youtu.be/K8iSpCkV4C0?si=Yk1q8Z9MDpTeh5r5 Subscribe to The Self-Publishing Hub - https://TheSelfPublishingHub.com Subscribe to my email newsletter - https://DaleLinks.com/SignUp  Join Channel Memberships - https://DaleLinks.com/Memberships  Join Me on Discord - https://DaleLinks.com/Discord Check out my main YouTube channel  - https://www.youtube.com/@dalelroberts My Books - https://DaleLinks.com/MyBooks Wanna tip me? Visit https://dalelroberts.gumroad.com/coffee. 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

What does it take to make human art today? Is worth it? We kick off a new series on Indie Publishing with my dear friend and found-sister Angie Kelly today! Welcome to Episode 1. On this episode, Angie and I work to pull back the curtain on the emotional and economic substrate behind a book: the thousands of quiet hours, the minimum‑wage calculus, the edits that cost more than many tired authors even earn, and the launch-day silence that can follow years of work.From there, Angie and I dive into the attention economy bent on reshaping how readers discover books, and all art, from BookTok and Bookstagram to other strange realities that can crown a title overnight, and we highlight how trend saturation squeezes nuance and human-ness, leaving quieter and highly crafted novels invisible. Angie speaks well on why publishers chase velocity, why flashy debuts can fizzle just as fast, and how fan-fiction-to-film pipelines and algorithm-friendly marketing pathways distort realities of art.If you care about books built by human hearts, you'll find both something here. Join us, subscribe, and share this episode with a reader or writer who needs it!Angelina Kelly is an indie author and biologist who was born and raised in Alaska and has an inherent love for nature. She now lives in British Columbia where she works as a biologist and writes epic fantasy books that weave in her reverence for wilderness and the natural world. Learn more about Angie's work and books HERE!Learn more about Daniel's work and books HERE!

Can self-publishing actually pay off?If you've ever wondered whether you can make real profit from your book — not just cover your costs — this episode is for you.In this week's Your Path to Book Publishing, we break down how one nonfiction author launched their book just a few weeks ago and is already seeing thousands in profit from a direct-sales strategy that outperforms Amazon and traditional publishing combined.Whether you're a coach, consultant, speaker, or thought leader, you'll learn how to turn your book into a real revenue stream — even if you don't have a huge platform or marketing team.IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:Why self-publishing is more than a publishing path — it's a revenue modelHow to use direct book sales from your website to dramatically increase profitThe real profit-per-book comparison between direct sales, Amazon, and traditional publishingHow one author earned nearly $5,000 in profit in the first month after launchWhat tools and setup you need (like BookVault + WooCommerce) to make it all work seamlesslyHow to pair simple, consistent marketing with strong ROI — even without adsIf you've ever felt unsure about whether self-publishing can be profitable, this episode will show you the numbers, the process, and the path forward.Make your mark as an author.Learn more about The Author's Mark — Juxtabook's 12-month professional publishing experience that helps nonfiction authors go from idea to published platform in 12 months or less.Juxtabook.com/authorsmarkLearn more about Your Path to Book Publishing by visiting Juxtabook.com and discover if traditional publishing, self-publishing, or hybrid publishing is right for you. It's time to make your mark and connect with like-minded authors to publish your book, build your author brand, and book marketing. Join TodayLiked this episode? Share it and tag us on Instagram @juxtabkLove the show? Leave a review and let us know!CONNECT WITH US: Website | Instagram | Facebook

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

On the Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast, Orna Ross talks about the latest ALLi projects designed to support both the creative and commercial sides of an indie author's life. In this episode, she discusses the new indie author bookstore, the Indie Author Income Survey, and why understanding your own definition of success matters as much as the numbers. Orna encourages authors to think about what "enough" looks like in their writing lives and offers practical steps to move toward those goals, whether that means updating your author profile, planning your next release, or carving out regular time for business decisions. About the Host Orna Ross launched the Alliance of Independent Authors at the London Book Fair in 2012. Her work for ALLi has seen her named as one of The Bookseller's "100 top people in publishing". She also publishes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction and is greatly excited by the democratizing, empowering potential of author-publishing. For more information about Orna, visit her website.

On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Dan Holloway reports on Amazon's launch of Kindle Translate, an AI-powered tool that allows translations between English, Spanish, and German. He discusses how it could open new markets for authors while raising questions about accuracy and the role of human translators. Dan also covers Australia's decision to reject a text and data mining exception to copyright law, a win for authors and creatives concerned about AI training practices, and shares updates on the ongoing Anthropic settlement affecting writers worldwide. 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.

Send us a textIn this episode of Talking Book Publishing, hosts Kathleen and Adanna sit down with Naomi Kim Eagleson, writer, editor, and founder of The Artful Editor, for a deep dive into the full editing journey—whether you're self-publishing or going the traditional route. Naomi takes us through her four-phase editing model and explains why many manuscripts spend too long in “line-edit purgatory” when what they really need is a developmental overhaul.We talk manuscript critiques vs. developmental edits vs. line-editing vs. proofreading — Naomi breaks each one down, explains when they belong in your publishing timeline, and shows why waiting too long (or paying too early) can hurt your book. She also shares veteran insights on what agents look for in your first 5–10 pages, why voice matters more than perfect punctuation at query time, and how simple tactics like reading your work aloud or letting Word speak it back can reveal structural problems you'll miss by eye alone.Whether you're polishing your first draft or prepping your launch, this episode delivers practical, actionable advice to elevate your manuscript and position your book for success.Resources: • Website ArtfulEditor.com • Instagram: @artfuleditor • Facebook: @artfuleditorAbout our guest: Naomi Kim Eagleson is a Los Angeles-based writer and editor who founded The Artful Editor, an editorial agency dedicated to helping writers of all stripes elevate their manuscripts for publication. Originally from Hawai‘i, Naomi began her career at Manoa, an award-winning literary journal, where she honed her editorial expertise. After earning her MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, she moved to California in 2010 and launched her own agency offering full-service editing—developmental edits, copyedits, and query reviews. With more than a decade of experience guiding authors toward their publishing goals, Naomi brings deep respect for craft, clear process, and a compassionate edit-mindset to every project.Related Episodes: • Season 5 | Episode 8 • Kim Dower • Season 5 | Episode 7 • Penny SansevieriReady to level up your manuscript? Subscribe to Talking Book Publishing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite platform—and please leave us a review! Your feedback helps more writers discover these conversations. We'd like to hear from you. If you have topics or speakers you'd like us to interview, please email us at podcast@talkingbookpublishing.today and join the conversation in the comments on our Instagram @writerspubsnet.

Im aktuellen Mission Bestseller Podcast habe ich Jurenka Jurk, die Leiterin der Romanschule zu Gast und wir stellen ihr aktuelles Buch „Bestseller schreiben" vor. Jurenka hat für ihr Buch die Erfahrungen aus vielzähligen äußerst erfolgreichen Autoren und Autorinnen zusammengestellt. Hier die 10 wichtigsten Erkenntnisse aus unserem Gespräch über Bestseller schreiben Es gibt kein Patentrezept für Bestseller Laut Tom Oberbichler und Jurenka Jurk existiert keine Schablone, mit der garantiert jedes Buch zum Bestseller wird. Jeder Erfolgsweg ist individuell. Dranbleiben ist entscheidend Ein immer wieder genannter Unterschied zwischen Amateur und Profi ist laut den interviewten Bestseller-Autor:innen das Durchhaltevermögen: Profis bleiben an ihrem Thema und arbeiten kontinuierlich daran. Thema und Authentizität sind wichtiger als Markttrends Alle Bestseller-Autor:innen betonen, dass man seinem Herzensthema treu bleiben und sich nicht ausschließlich nach Markttrends richten sollte – es sei denn, der Markt deckt sich zufällig mit dem eigenen Thema. Handwerk lernen lohnt sich Viele Bestseller-Autore:innen haben sich im Laufe ihres Weges Handwerkszeug angeeignet, sei es strukturiert wie bei der Romanschule oder autodidaktisch. Erwartungen der Leser sollten berücksichtigt werden, ohne sich zu verbiegen. Motivation und Spaß am Schreiben nicht verlieren Gerade im Hinblick auf Planung, Handwerk und Marketing betonen Jurenka Jurk und Tom Oberbichler, wie wichtig es ist, den Spaß am Schreiben immer wieder neu zu entdecken und zu stärken. Von anderen lernen – aber nur das passende übernehmen Die Interviews mit 14 Bestseller-Autoren zeigen teils widersprüchliche Ansichten und Wege, was den Leser:innen Mut macht, ihren eigenen Kurs zu finden und nicht alles eins zu eins umzusetzen. Ein gutes Buch wird durch gutes Marketing unterstützt Die Vermarktung ist die „zweite Seite der Medaille". Frühzeitige und breit angelegte Marketingmaßnahmen sind unerlässlich, wenn ein Buch wirklich wahrgenommen werden soll. Netzwerke gezielt aktivieren Der Erfolg eines Buches hängt auch davon ab, Kund:innen und Kontakte möglichst früh einzubinden – sei es zum Testlesen, für Rezensionen oder die Verbreitung von Leseproben. Ausprobieren und lernen, was funktioniert Nicht jede Marketingaktion wird zum Erfolg. Aus Fehlern und weniger erfolgreichen Versuchen lernst du, was beim nächsten Mal besser funktioniert. Das Ziel und das Investment vorher klären Bevor ein Buch veröffentlicht wird, sollte klar sein, was du erreichen möchtest – und wie viel Zeit, Geld und Energie du bereit bist zu investieren. Das gilt sowohl für Einzelbücher als auch für größere Projekte. Diese Learnings bieten Inspiration und sehr konkrete Ansätze – von der praktischen Umsetzung über die richtige Motivation bis hin zum professionellen Marketing, wie Jurenka Jurk sie in ihrem neuen Buch und ihren eigenen Erfahrungen zeigt. Hier findest du „Bestseller schreiben" von Jurenka Jurk auf Amazon: https://amzn.to/3LC5FN7 Viel Erfolg beim nächsten Buchprojekt – Selfpublishing wird immer vielfältiger und uns stehen immer mehr Möglichkeiten offen!  Hier die Links, die ich im Podcast anspreche, und weiterführende Informationen, Tipps und Erfahrungsberichte rund um Bücher, eBooks und deinen Erfolg: Hier findest du „Bestseller schreiben" von Jurenka Jurk auf Amazon: https://amzn.to/3LC5FN7 Hier findest du mein Gespräch mit Jurenka Jurk über die Heldenreise und wie du sie für das Romanschreiben verwenden kannst: https://mission-bestseller.com/folge-303-erfolgreich-schreiben-mit-der-heldenreise-eine-bewaehrte-struktur-fuer-packende-buecher/ Hier kommst du zur Vorstellung des Schreibprogramms Papyrus mit Jurenka Jurk: https://mission-bestseller.com/was-kann-das-schreibprogramm-papyrus-folge-199/ Natürlich findest du Jurenka Jurk auch in meiner Empfehlungsliste für die 28 besten Podcasts und Blogs für Selfpublishing-Autor:innen: https://mission-bestseller.com/folge-306-die-28-besten-blogs-und-podcasts-fuer-selfpublishing-autoren-und-selfpublishing-autorinnen/ Hier kommst du zur Romanschule: https://romanschule.de Hier geht es zu den Mission Bestseller Buchmarketing-Bootcamps: https://mission-bestseller.com/buchmarketingcamp Unter diesem Link kannst du dich zu meinen aktuellen kostenlosen Online-Trainings anmelden: https://mission-bestseller.com/onlinetraining Hier kommst du zum Mission Bestseller Schreib-Bootcamp: https://mission-bestseller.com/bootcamp   Hier findest du alles rund ums Selfpublishing: https://mission-bestseller.com Einige der Links auf dieser Seite sind Affiliate-Links und ich erhalte eine Provision, wenn du über sie kaufst, die sich nicht auf deinen Kaufpreis auswirkt.

293 / Curious about how conferences can spark inspiration, build connections, and transform your author business? We  recap our experiences at Author Nation, share some lessons learned, and highlight community connection possibilities.Panel insights: romance, rom-com, cozy, and moreDirect sales, Kickstarter, and translations for authorsNew tech for signed ebooks and social media marketing

Send us a textIn this inspiring episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we are joined by Chandra Lynn, a transformational coach, author, and founder of GLOW Living. With a rich background in marketing for renowned brands like Apple and Mercedes, Chandra shares her journey of personal growth that led her to develop the "Root to Rise" framework, designed to help individuals find emotional balance, purpose, and resilience. She discusses the challenges she faced in her career and how they shaped her approach to coaching. Chandra's new book, "Root to Rise: How to Love Life," is a culmination of her insights and experiences, offering readers practical tools to navigate life's transitions and align with their true purpose. Listeners will learn about the six hidden forces that drive our decisions and how to build emotional resilience during times of change. Join us for this enriching conversation that encourages self-discovery and the pursuit of fulfillment. Discover more at www.glowliving.com and take advantage of a special discount on her book at glowliving.etsy.com using the code Rise25.

How do you turn a literary world into a collaborative storytelling experience? In this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Anna Featherstone talks with Vee Hendro and Hayley Gordon—the award-winning duo behind Storybrewers Roleplaying—about producing their book- and card-based role-playing games, including Good Society: A Jane Austen Roleplaying Game and My Late Father's Correspondence. Together, they explore how indie creators can merge writing, design, and ethics to craft imaginative, inclusive, and immersive books. 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. Sponsor This podcast is proudly sponsored by Gatekeeper Press — your partner in premium independent publishing. Empowering authors with expert guidance, 100% rights, 100% royalties, and global distribution. From editing to marketing, their all-inclusive services help you publish professionally and confidently. 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 Guests Vee Hendro and Hayley Gordon are the award-winning designers and married duo behind Storybrewers Roleplaying, an Australian studio known for emotionally rich, character-driven tabletop role-playing games that explore history, literature, and queer narratives. Their work has earned multiple honors, including two ARPIA Game of the Year awards, Best Tabletop Game at SXSW Sydney, and back-to-back wins at the PAX Aus Indie Showcase. Based on Gadigal land in Sydney's inner west, they live with their dog Holiday and a rotating crew of foster cats. More at linktr.ee/storybrewers.

Send us a textIn this captivating episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we sit down with Jared Givens, a talented author and screenplay writer from Wichita, Kansas. Jared shares his inspiring journey from a young writer to a multi-genre author, highlighting his transition from self-help books to the thrilling world of horror novels. With seven books under his belt and a passion for storytelling, Jared discusses the influences that shaped his writing, including icons like R.L. Stine and Stephen King. He delves into his aspirations of becoming a prominent voice in the horror genre and the creative process behind his projects, including his recent horror novel "Roll Call" and its upcoming sequel. Listeners will gain valuable insights into the world of self-publishing, the importance of persistence in writing, and the thrill of seeing one's name on the big screen. Join us for an uplifting conversation that encourages you to pursue your dreams and embrace your creative journey!Instagram: @jaredgivenswritesTwitter: @jaredgauthorAmazon: Search for Jared Givens

Send us a textAre you ready to find a book designer?Or, save the name of our guest, Karolina Wudniak, for later.Karolina works with self-published authors, mostly nonfiction, on the design of their book covers and the interior design of their books.She absolutely loves working visually which led her to becoming a graphic designer for authors.Karolina appreciates simple design and brings inspiration from nature to her designs.She can work on your cover design and the interior of your book.You'll be really interested to learn Karolina does her due diligence by reading each manuscript to find ideas and understand the vibe.Karolina's biggest recommendation for self-published authors is to work with a professional editor because she often finds lots of errors.Meet Karolina:Karolina is a Book and Layout Designer. She can be found at the crossroads between words and visuals, ready to help turn a manuscript into a book that can fly high. When she's not crafting compelling book covers and layouts, you might find her chasing outdoor adventures in the stunning West Coast mountains with her husband and son or sipping on yet another cup of coffee while reading—fuel for both creativity and life's explorations.https://karolinawudniak.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/anglartkarolina/https://www.instagram.com/karolina.wudniak/Free resources: https://karolinawudniak.com/book-design-resources/The Indie Book Lab event calendar: https://lu.ma/indiebooklab?utm_source=isc Welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. If you've ever felt the pull to write your truth, to shape the chaos of real life into something meaningful and to share your journey with the world, you're in the right place. We're your hosts, Elizabeth and Stephanie, writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who believe in you and know how important it is to find a writing community to guide you on your path to self-publishing. You're invited to connect with us by joining our Embodied Writing Experience where you'll get a writer's retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. Whether you're working on a memoir, a novel, or journaling for yourself, this is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention. Join our Embodied Writing Experience where you'll get a writer's retreat directly to your inbox on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week. This is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and write with embodied intention. Get on the waitlist for the Memoir Master Plan cohort here. If you prefer to watch our conversations, you can find all of them on our YouTube channel. You can find us on Instagram and Threads

On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Dan Holloway reports on Grammarly's rebrand as Superhuman and what it signals about the growing role of AI in writing tools. He also outlines the European and International Booksellers Federation's new AI charter, which emphasizes copyright protection and fair treatment for small publishers, and highlights a new $50 million Literary Arts Fund aimed at supporting organizations that help writers and creators. 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.

Timothy Flemming, Jr. has spent over a decade helping hundreds of authors publish their books through his company, T&J Publishers. But what he noticed changed everything: most authors don't struggle with writing their book — they struggle with what comes next. For some, the obstacle was mindset — imposter syndrome, fear, and self-doubt that kept them from sharing their message boldly. For others, it was strategy — not knowing how to turn their book into a coaching program, a digital offer, or a business that could sustain them. Today, as the founder of The Kingdom Launch Pad, Timothy helps Christian and Self-Help authors and experts overcome both. Drawing on 30+ years of ministry experience, 10+ years in publishing, and the same systems he and his wife, Jackie, used to build multiple six-figure businesses, he equips others to step fully into their calling and create Kingdom impact. For more information, visit TimothyFlemmingJr.com.

Coaches & Consultants at 7–8 Figures with a Book-Driven Funnel (w/ Chandler Bolt, founder of selfpublishing.com) SelfPublishing.com How top coaches and consultants turn one book into a client engine. Chandler shares the 4 Ps (Person, Pain, Promise, Price), book-to-funnel integration, and the counterintuitive "free audiobook → booked calls" play. Grab the FRD bonus: selfpublishing.com/front row. His team has helped publish 7,000+ books. You'll learn: How to pick the right book for your offer using the 4 Ps. Exactly where a book plugs into your funnel (opt-ins, sales calls, stages) to drive revenue. Why publishing in all formats—print/Kindle/audio—multiplies reach (and why audio often converts best). The "two-copy" referral play that turns readers into recruiters. What to expect on timeline & budget so you actually ship (real-world ranges shared). _______________________________________________

If you've ever wondered whether the music you compose or arrange for your students could become more than a creative outlet—maybe even a second income stream—this episode is for you. My guest, James Michael Stevens, is a composer and college music dean who has steadily built something quite remarkable: a catalog of thousands of piano and organ pieces, all self-published online, that reaches players around the world. What I love most about his story isn't just the scale of what he's created—it's how he's done it. His process is simple, consistent, and completely self-driven, and it offers a model for any creative teacher who wants to turn small, steady efforts into something substantial. In our conversation, James shares how he got started, what keeps him motivated, and the systems he uses to sustain that level of creative output year after year. Whether you write music, design resources, or just have an idea you've been meaning to follow through on, this episode is full of practical wisdom for anyone building something one step at a time. Here's my conversation with James. A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode174.   MSS Entrepreneurs Hub + Mastermind MSS Studio Launch Grant Competition Music Studio Business Building 101 Business Finance for Music Teachers  

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions!Wanting life to be wonderful and wanting to be wonderful aren't the same thing, and that gap is where today's conversation lives.Israeli journalist and author Lihi Lapid joins me to talk about motherhood's messy truths, the pressure to be “more” than "good enough," and the writing choices that make a story feel honest. From bestselling novels to a children's book that calms homes during chaotic times, Lihi's path as an author reframes what success and impact really mean.We unpack her new book's dual narrative: a “princess” self alongside the unfiltered woman doing dishes once the spotlight fades. It's a sharp mirror of how we perform on the outside while wrestling with doubt inside. This episode serves as an important reminder that grace and grit can coexist, and that being real might be the easiest, hardest, and most wonderful act of all.

Taylor Tran is a writer and podcaster with a deep interest in astrology, known for her dystopian book series that weaves astrological concepts throughout the narrative. In this episode, we discuss her creative journey, her experience as a competitive gymnast who underwent multiple surgeries, and her podcast Moonlit Musings where she explores astrology with guest astrologers.(00:03:26) How Taylor's Interest in Astrology Began(00:09:03) Meeting People & Restraining Astrological Observations(00:11:44) Taylor's Saturn Return & Writing Her Book Series(00:22:15) The Book's Arc: Pisces to Aries Journey(00:28:49) Medical Journey: Headaches & Multiple Surgeries(00:42:28) Navigating College & Recovery(00:47:00) Astrological Transits During Her Surgeries(01:01:10) The Writing & Rewriting Process(01:07:26) Publishing Challenges & Creative Control(01:15:04) Self-Publishing vs Traditional Publishing(01:21:26) Trusting Others & Learning to Have Faith(01:25:28) Human Design: Taylor as a Rare Reflector Type(01:32:12) The Lunar Cycle & Decision-Making Strategy(01:36:51) Her Podcast: Moonlit Musings(01:44:45) Supporting LA Fire Relief Efforts(01:49:14) Podcasting, Chiron & North Node Work(01:51:27) Surprise, Manifestation & Trusting the UniverseTaylor's WebsiteTaylor's Instagram Moonlit Musings If you are an astrologer affected by the Los Angeles Fires and would like to be a guest on Taylor's podcasthttps://theweeklytransit.com/

So, here we are again for the actually now offically award winning Failing Writers Podcast.You were perhaps hoping this was the competition reveal episode weren't you?Well, look, it's not that one… not yet, however, we've got a little treat for you today. 'Specially for long time fans of the podcast.Someone we've had on before and was a delight from start to finish.Someone who's just self published a book, and has come to talk to us all about their experiences of putting a book out into the world, all on their own*Anyway, I won't say any more in case I ruin the surprise, but you should definitely have a listen.What I will say though, is that our mystery guest is also a genuine fan of Scrivener.And if you'd like to join the thousands of people who swear by the wonderful writing app Scrivener, why not go to https://www.literatureandlatte.com/store/scrivenerand download it now!It's currently only £55 - which is already a bargain, BUT if you'd like 20% off on us - simply use the code failing at checkout and it will only cost you… wait… quick bit of arithmetic… erm… roughly… wait… is it £44?I think so!So that's blummin great innit?Anyway… if you like the sound of our guest's book… you can purchase it right here: https://amzn.eu/d/eKujSNAPlease do support the indie book world! It makes a helluva difference to your fellow writers, as I'm sure you know.*OK, maybe not entirely on their own. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Literary agent and author Kate McKean shares how to pitch like a human, read rejection letters usefully, and protect your joy so you can build a durable writing life. You'll learn:How to build a clear 1–2 line pitch others can repeat and sell.How to read rejection letters, spot strong notes, and decide when to revise.Query etiquette and timelines: when to follow up and how resubmissions work.Fixing weak nonfiction proposals with clearer scope, audience, and takeaway.Write for the reader: comp titles, positioning, and a useful synopsis.US vs UK agenting models and what that means for money and process.Why agents don't steal ideas and why execution is what matters.Self-publishing realities: expectations, track records, and when it helps the book. Resources and Links:

In this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi Member Q&A podcast, hosts Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black discuss how an author can find a reliable publishing mentor, when to seek paid help, and low-cost community options to avoid overspending. Other questions include: Does ALLi maintain a vetted list of book contests, and where can members find it? Can you change your Amazon list price without matching the printed barcode price? Which review routes are worth it—editorial reviews vs. reader-review services? How should authors handle translations and run ads in languages they don't speak? Can you include color photo inserts with print-on-demand and still distribute on Amazon? How much lead time should ARC readers get, and do launch-day reviews matter? And more! 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 Hosts Michael La Ronn is ALLi's Outreach Manager. He is the author of over 80 science fiction & fantasy books and self-help books for writers. He writes from the great plains of Iowa and has managed to write while raising a family, working a full-time job, and even attending law school classes in the evenings (now graduated!). You can find his fiction at www.michaellaronn.com and his videos and books for writers at www.authorlevelup.com. Sacha Black is a bestselling and competition winning author, rebel podcaster, speaker and casual rule breaker. She writes fiction under a secret pen name and other books about the art of writing. When Sacha isn't writing, she runs ALLi's blog. She lives in England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son. You can find her on her website, her podcast, and on Instagram.  

What does it really take to write and publish more than forty books—and still love the process? In this episode of Write It Scared, I sit down with fantasy author Michelle Miles, who's done exactly that.Michelle pulls back the curtain on the realities of indie publishing—how to manage burnout, balance creativity with deadlines, and build systems that let you keep writing for the long haul. We talk about shifting from traditional to indie publishing, finding joy in the work again, and learning when to push forward (and when to pause).If you've ever dreamed of a full-time writing career—or wondered how to make it sustainable—this episode is packed with hard-earned wisdom, practical strategies, and heart.Episode Timestamps: 00:00 Rapid release strategies that actually work 01:25 Meet fantasy author Michelle Miles 03:29 From traditional to indie publishing 06:21 Lessons from 40+ books: challenges, triumphs, and persistence 17:31 Finding balance between writing and real life 24:17 Building sustainable publishing systems 31:01 Advice for aspiring indie authors 34:19 When to hire an editor (and when to trust yourself) 40:58 Dealing with doubt and staying motivated 48:38 Final thoughts and encouragementLinksHolly Lisle How To Think SidewaysLiegh Bardugo's TED Talk: The Art of Discomfort Miles Beyond the Page Podcast Michelle Miles Author WebsiteDirect Store: http://www.michellemilesbooks.comHave a comment or idea about the show? Send me a direct text! Love to hear from you.Support the show To become a supporter of the show, click here!To get in touch with Stacy: Email: Stacy@writeitscared.co https://www.writeitscared.co/wis https://www.instagram.com/writeitscared/ Take advantage of these Free Resources From Write It Scared: Download Your Free Novel Planning and Drafting Quick Start Guide Download Your Free Guide to Remove Creative Blocks and Work Through Fears

On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Dan Holloway takes a close look at Amazon's new book discovery algorithm and how it may be impacting indie authors' visibility and sales stability. He contrasts the uncertainty of platform-dependent publishing with the growing reliability of direct sales, particularly through Substack, where income trends show consistent returns for authors building engaged readerships. Dan explains what these shifts mean for indie authors trying to build sustainable careers in a changing marketplace. 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.

The question that IBPA staff probably gets asked the most by publishers is: How do I sell more books. We're always happy to help, so IBPA's Chief Content Officer Lee Wind joins “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to share advice on the most effective and ineffective book marketing tactics, including how you can get your book vetted so bookstores, librarians, and consumers will be more likely to buy it; how you can make your books more discoverable to buyers; how you should successfully market your book pre-publication, during the launch, and post publication; and much more.PARTICIPANTSLee Wind (he/him) is IBPA's Chief Content Officer, and is constantly iterating IBPA's book marketing programs to help our members' books achieve and succeed. A book blogger and author published by six different independent presses himself, Lee is passionate about empowering and amplifying independent voices. As an author, Lee writes stories to empower kids and teens to be their authentic selves and change the world—the same books that would have changed his life as a young gay, Jewish kid. Lee is also the co-founder of We Are Stronger Than Censorship, a nonprofit program that buys and donates two books to offset every one book challenge. You can visit Lee's author website at leewind.orgIndependent Book Publishers Association is the largest trade association for independent publishers in the United States. As the IBPA Director of Membership & Member Services, Christopher Locke assists the 3,900 members as they travel along their publishing journeys. Major projects include managing the member benefits to curate the most advantageous services for independent publishers and author publishers; managing the Innovative Voices Program that supports publishers from marginalized communities; and hosting the IBPA podcast, “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA).” He's also passionate about indie publishing, because he's an author publisher himself, having published two novels so far in his YA trilogy, The Enlightenment Adventures.LINKSLearn more about the many benefits of becoming a member of Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) here: https://www.ibpa-online.org/Sell more books with IBPA's book marketing programs: https://www.ibpa-online.org/page/ListofBenefits#sellmorebooksSupport independent publishers whose books have been banned through the We Are Stronger Than Censorship campaign: https://www.wearestrongerthancensorship.org/Check out IBPA Chief Content Officer Lee Wind's books here: https://www.leewind.org/Follow IBPA on:Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/IBPAonlineX – https://twitter.com/ibpaInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/ibpalovesindies/Follow Lee Wind here:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamleewind/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leewindBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/leewind.bsky.socialYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/leewindauthor

Bekah Brinkmeier is a USA Today bestselling author and ghostwriter behind more than 85 novels. When she's not deep in a draft, she's teaching at AutoCrit, speaking at author events, or coaching fellow writers—especially neurodivergent creatives—on how to wrangle their ideas and actually finish what they start. In this interview, we talk about her path to becoming a full-time writer, her ghostwriting experience and the lessons learned, the business and marketing side of publishing, AutoCrit, and much more. This episode is brought to you by AutoCrit—the all-in-one platform to plan, write, analyze, and edit your books. With comprehensive editing and analysis tools for fiction and nonfiction writers, and a vibrant community featuring courses like Nightmare Fuel starting October 6th and the Writing Iconic Killer Characters Workshop starting October 14th, AutoCrit gives you the tools and support serious writers need. Pro membership normally costs 30 dollars a month, but Creative Principals listeners can get a LIFETIME membership for one fee. Head to www.autocrit.com/brock for more information. If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60 seconds, and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom of your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Send us a textHave a book idea but don't know where to start? You're not alone! Whether you're sitting on a half-finished manuscript or feel called to share your story, the interactive Self-Publishing Made Simple workshop will guide you step-by-step through the self-publishing process.Self-Publishing Made Simple is hosted by LaTosha Johnson, marketing professional, author, podcaster, and creator of Hustle in Faith. This workshop equips you with the blueprint to publish, promote, and profit from your book without feeling overwhelmed.DATE: Saturday, November 8th, 2025 @ 10 AM to 2 PM  (Eastern) SIGN UP FOR SELF-PUBLISHING MADE SIMPLE WORKSHOP HERE: https://latoshajohnson.bio/unlock-your-book/IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT HUSTLE IN FAITH, PLEASE CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING:MY AMAZON STOREhttps://www.amazon.com/shop/hustleinfaithMY TSHIRT SHOP: STARENGUCREWhttps://www.redbubble.com/people/StarenguCrew/shopDONATE Please consider donating using one of these ways:https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/HustleinFaith https://www.buzzsprout.com/2461272/supportBUY A BOOK OR AUDIOBOOK: GET THE HOW TO LIVE AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE, WITH OR WITHOUT MR. RIGHT BOOK AND WORKBOOKWebsite: https://withorwithoutmrright.com/books/Book: https://amzn.to/3ZjtBJJWorkbook: https://amzn.to/4guXFYALeave a review about the book: https://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?asin=B0DMVP65PRAudiobook: https://withorwithoutmrright.com/books/LISTEN TO CHAPTER ONE FOR FREEhttps://app.helloaudio.fm/feed/3228c79f-0dea-4f6b-a428-d7fcfd1f72f5/signupSupport the showLET'S CONNECT! I'm @HustleinFaith on all social networks.

This week on #SolutionsWatch, James is joined by Tom-Oliver Regenauer, a self-taught publisher whose German language self-published books now regularly outsell major publishing houses in Germany. He discusses how and why he started Regenauer Press, how he self-publishes his books, how others can join the self-publishing revolution and produce actual print books that evade the digital censors, and how he used his skills to publish the German translation of REPORTAGE.

#895 I'm a New York Times bestselling author! This is thanks to my new book, Lean Learning, and a massive pre-launch promotional effort. So, what's changed in my life since earning this prestigious badge? Almost nothing. But writing books is still worth it, and I'll tell you exactly why in today's episode. I'll also share the strategies to help you unlock the true benefits of becoming an author. Importantly, I also want to help you succeed without getting sidetracked by goals that won't move the needle for your brand and business! Listen in to hear what traditional publishers will and won't do for you and why I wouldn't go down this route again. I'll discuss the BILF, books-in-lieu-of-fee, tactic that enabled me to move copies and build relationships around this release. I'll also dive into the promotional methods I've been using since Superfans and Will It Fly? that are still delivering massive results today. Tune in! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/session895.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.