Podcasts about self publishing

Wir gehen alle Kosten durch, die vom fertigen Manuskript bis zum verkauften Buch anfallen – mit konkreten Zahlen für den deutschen Markt und zwei kompletten Beispielrechnungen (Spar- und Luxusvariante).

Germany is the third-largest book market in the world, and unlike the English-language market, it is not yet saturated. Skye MacKinnon has turned her second publishing language into her bestselling one across three pen names and more than seventy translated titles. In this conversation about the newly released second edition of her book, Self-Publishing in German, she tells indie authors how to decide which of their books to translate first, where AI earns its keep and where it quietly ruins things, and how on earth you market a book in a language you don't speak. Show Notes Skye MacKinnon's store Skye's author resources page Sponsor Our Creative Self-Publishing stream is brought to you by Orna Ross's Go Creative! program—helping authors harness the power of creative flow in writing and publishing. 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. About the Guest Skye MacKinnon is a USA Today bestselling author, self-publishing educator, and translation expert who has published more than ninety books across multiple pen names and genres. A former journalist and science communicator, she is known throughout the indie author community for her work on wide publishing, foreign-language translations, and international book marketing. Through her books, coaching, and leadership in the Wide for the Win community, she helps authors expand their reach beyond the English-language market, drawing on her own experience publishing more than seventy translated titles in German.

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway reports on a week dominated by good news for readers and indie authors alike. He covers new social reading partnerships — Kobo with StoryGraph, and Everand with Fable — that let readers track, share, and experience books together. He reports on the American Booksellers Association's announcement that indie bookstore membership has hit its highest level since the 1990s, driven largely by single-genre stores focused on romance, fantasy, and romantasy. And he ends with a personal highlight: a new romantasy bookstore called Bad Girl Books is opening in Oxford — in the former Albion Beatnik space — with a specific welcome for self-published authors. 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. 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.

Ein eigenes Buch schreiben – davon träumen viele. Doch wie wird aus einer Idee tatsächlich ein fertiges Buch? In der neuen Folge von StoryRadar spricht Ferris mit Autorin, Journalistin und Kommunikationsprofi Nadine Gerber über den Weg von der ersten Idee bis zur Veröffentlichung. Nadine verrät, woran man erkennt, ob ein Thema genügend Potenzial für ein Buch hat, welche Fehler viele Erstautor:innen machen und wie man auch dann motiviert bleibt, wenn das Manuskript monatelang nur auf dem eigenen Laptop liegt. Ausserdem spricht sie über Ghostwriting, die Rolle von Dramaturgie und die Frage, ob KI beim Schreiben eher Fluch oder Segen ist. Natürlich geht es auch um die Verlagswelt, Selfpublishing und die finanzielle Realität hinter dem Traum vom Bestseller. Jetzt reinhören und erfahren, wie aus einer Idee ein Buch wird!  Mehr über Nadine Gerber:LinkedIn Nadine GerberInstagram Nadine GerberWebseite nadinegerber.chMehr über Ferris Bühler:LinkedIn Ferris BühlerInstagram Ferris BühlerHier findest du uns:Webseite Ferris Bühler CommunicationsFacebook Ferris Bühler CommunicationsLinkedIn Ferris Bühler CommunicationsInstagram Ferris Bühler CommunicationsTikTok Ferris Bühler CommunicationsWebseite StoryRadarInstagram StoryRadarWir freuen uns sehr über eine positive Bewertung auf Apple Podcasts.StoryRadar wird präsentiert von news aktuell. Ob Medienmitteilung, Bild oder Video – news aktuell bringt Ihre PR-Inhalte zuverlässig zu den gewünschten Zielgruppen. Vertrauen Sie für Ihre erfolgreiche Kommunikation auf vielfältige PR-Lösungen aus einer Hand und sorgen Sie so einfach und gezielt für mehr Reichweite sowie Sichtbarkeit. Jetzt informieren auf newsaktuell.ch.Mehr über news aktuell:LinkedIn news aktuellX news aktuellBluesky news aktuellYouTube news aktuellFacebook news aktuellInstagram news aktuellFragen oder Anregungen dürft ihr jederzeit an storyradar@ferrisbuehler.com senden.

Du möchtest in 2026 gemeinsam mit uns dein KDP Business aufbauen? Dann melde dich bei uns!Hier geht's zu deiner kostenlosen Strategie-Session:https://nomad-publishing.de/termin/Saisonale Buchprojekte können dein KDP-Portfolio gezielt ergänzen – entscheidend ist, dass Timing, Nachfrage und Aufwand wirklich zusammenpassen.In der heutigen Folge des Verlagsniveau Podcasts sprechen Tom und Jonathan darüber, wann sich saisonale Nischen im Self-Publishing lohnen, warum der richtige Launch-Zeitpunkt über Erfolg oder Misserfolg entscheiden kann und wie du saisonale Peaks strategisch für dein Buchportfolio nutzt.Sie zeigen, worauf du bei kurzen Verkaufsfenstern wie Muttertag, Einschulung, Weihnachten oder großen Einmalevents achten solltest, wie du Nachfrage und Timing vorab besser einschätzt und warum saisonale Bücher vor allem als Ergänzung zu Evergreen-Projekten sinnvoll sind. Außerdem sprechen sie über Amazon Ads, Profitabilität in kurzen Saisonphasen und die Frage, wie du mit saisonalen Projekten Umsatzlücken im Jahr gezielt ausgleichen kannst.Du erfährst unter anderem:Wie du erkennst, ob sich eine saisonale Buchnische wirklich lohntWarum der richtige Launch-Zeitpunkt bei Saisonbüchern besonders wichtig istWelche Rolle Suchvolumen, Bestseller-Ranks und historische Daten bei der Planung spielenWie du saisonale Projekte mit Evergreen-Büchern kombinierstWarum Ads bei kurzen Verkaufsfenstern anders gesteuert werden müssenWie du mit saisonalen Büchern dein KDP-Portfolio strategisch diversifizierstFacebook GruppeTritt jetzt unser Facebook Community mit über 5.000Selfpublishern bei und erhalte bereits nach wenigen Minuten Antworten auf alledeine Fragen:https://www.facebook.com/groups/2163341583907774/Hier geht's zu unserem YouTube Kanal mit mehr als 200kostenlosen Tutorials:https://www.youtube.com/c/nomadpublishing

Today I'm thrilled to have Kailea Rose Loften and Kate Rose Weiner of Loam on the podcast to discuss their new book, Compassion in Crisis, which just came out with Heyday Books.Together we have a gentle, honest, and deep conversation exploring:The meaning of ‘polycrisis'Why it's important to think about preparednessWays to prepare without slipping into hypervigilance (even if you're an anxious person)The role social media plays in both community building and community surveillanceWhy we still turn to social media for resource sharing and rapid responseThe spread of misinformation & disinformation online during disastersPublishing as a way of getting ‘off the grid'Free Family Preparedness Information from Summer Starr If you enjoy this episode, please get yourself a copy of Compassion in Crisis! You can also join Kate & Kailea for book-related events across the US this summer!    RESOURCES + LINKS

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions!In this heartfelt interview, author Cinelle Barnes shares her journey through writing A Way Home (Little A, June 9, 2026), a heart-wrenching memoir about remembering and rebuilding a life after everything known disappears in a flash. Her latest memoir takes us alone with her as she recovers from a sudden ruptured brain aneurysm. But her journey was far more than physical. It's the healing of soul, of body, of identity. It's a woman/mother/daughter/immigrant/writer redrawing the map of herself. The mere existence of this book is a triumph, and the beautiful magic of it is a feat of awe. Cinelle is also the author of Monsoon Mansion: A Memoir and Malaya: Essays on Freedom. 

In this member-first Q&A on the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, ALLi nonfiction adviser Anna Featherstone walks authors through how to write, publish, and promote nonfiction that sells—covering how to test market demand, what makes a book stand out, and the most common pricing and production mistakes. She shares practical, low-cost marketing tactics, from direct outreach and library events to writing ready-made stories that overstretched newsrooms welcome. 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.

Wie schreibt man einen guten 'Whodunit', also einen Krimi, bei dem die Suche nach dem Täter im Zentrum steht? Mit Autorin, Drehbuchautorin und Coachin Beatrix Mannel sprechen wir über falsche Fährten, vielschichtige Figuren und den Schreibprozess.Was macht das Genre des Whodunit aus und wie fängt man am besten an? Was ist wichtiger: Figuren oder Tat? Und wie gelingt ein wirklich rundes Ende?Beatrix erklärt, wie Motive, Verdächtige und Figurenentscheidungen zusammenspielen und warum Gespräche mit Fachleuten bei der Recherche mehr bringen als Stunden im Internet. Eine Folge, die durchaus auch Autor:innen anderer Genres inspirieren wird!

Writing a book is one of the most overlooked thought leadership moves a female founder can make, and most people go into it completely unprepared.On this episode of Dear FoundHer, Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Ruthie Ackerman, author of The Mother Code and founder of Ignite Writers Collective, about what it actually takes to write and publish a book. Ruthie spent years as a journalist and deputy editor at Forbes Women before losing her job, starting a business, and landing a Random House book deal. Now she helps women in business find their voice on the page, and she's honest about how hard the process is.The publishing world has a glamour problem. Most people picture the finished book, not the 90-page proposal, the years of revision, or the media outreach that a publisher will not do for you. Ruthie lays out what female founders need to know before they commit, including how to choose the right publishing path, what a real publicity strategy looks like, and why treating your book like a business launch is the only approach that works.For anyone building a personal brand and wondering whether a book belongs in that plan, Ruthie also speaks directly to the PR for small business reality. Getting press, landing speaking opportunities, and reaching the right audiences all require the same intentionality you bring to every other part of your business. A book done right is a long-term thought leadership asset, not a project you finish and walk away from.If your story has been sitting in the back of your mind waiting for the right moment, this episode is worth your time.Episode Breakdown:00:00 Thought Leadership Starts With Your Story03:51 Ruthie Ackerman's Path From Forbes to Random House05:59 Getting Laid Off and Launching Ignite Writers Collective08:21 How Ignite Writers Collective Grew During the Pandemic10:35 Starting a Book Three Months After Having a Baby12:08 Five Questions to Ask Before You Write a Book13:57 Traditional Publishing vs. Self-Publishing vs. Hybrid15:50 What a 90-Page Book Proposal Actually Looks Like18:35 Why Authors Have to Be Their Own Marketers20:07 Three Tips for Making Time to Write22:08 What Not to Do When Writing a Book24:10 How to Find a Literary Agent26:41 All the Hats You Have to Wear as an Author28:55 How Ignite Studios Supports Authors End-to-End32:11 Ruthie's Three Actionable Steps for Aspiring AuthorsConnect with Ruthie Ackerman:Follow Ruthie on Instagram Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this engaging episode of the Goal Crazy Podcast, host Jason VanDevere welcomes Chandler Bolt, CEO of SelfPublishing.com. Chandler shares his inspiring journey from a college dropout to leading a company that has generated over $75 million in revenue. He discusses the transformative power of books, both as a reader and an author, and how they have been pivotal in his personal and professional growth.Chandler explains how he and his brother wrote their first book, "Breaking Out of a Broken System," which laid the foundation for his future endeavors. He emphasizes the importance of leveraging books as tools for business growth, describing them as "seven-figure business cards." Chandler outlines strategies for using books to generate leads, sales, and referrals, and how they can be integrated into a broader sales funnel to achieve significant revenue milestones.The conversation also delves into the challenges of scaling a business from six to seven figures, highlighting the need for effective marketing, team building, and process optimization. Chandler shares insights on overcoming limiting beliefs and the importance of focusing on strengths to drive success.For more insights from Chandler, listeners can explore his content on the SelfPublishing.com YouTube channel and follow him on Instagram. He also offers a free audiobook at publishedbook.com/audio and invites listeners to book a consultation at selfpublishing.com/JasonLinks:SelfPublishing.com YouTube ChannelChandler Bolt YouTube ChannelChandler Bolt Instagram @chandler.boltFree Audiobook - publishedbook.com/audioBook a Free Consultation Call - selfpublishing.com/Jason

Viele träumen davon, aber befürchten auch, dass das dann doch eher nichts für sie ist: ein eigenes Expertenbuch. Deshalb habe ich Ghostwriter, Schreibcoach und Lektorin Natalie Dechant eingeladen und gefragt, ob und wie ein eigenes Buch als Marketingtool funktionieren kann. Wir sprechen darüber:für wen sich ein eigenes Buch als Marketingtool eignet und für wen eher nichtwie wir mit der Angst "Das kann ich ja dann nie mehr ändern!" umgehen könnenwie der Prozess vom ersten Gedanken bis zum fertigen Buch aussiehtob eine Veröffentlichung über einen Verlag oder im Selfpublishing die bessere Wahl istMehr zu Natalie und ihrer Arbeit findest du auf ihrer Website https://nataliedechant.de/. Schau gerne mal bei ihr vorbei.Mehr zu mir und meiner Arbeit für dein Marketing ohne Marktgeschrei auf meiner Website https://sonjamahr.de/. Hat dir diese Folge gefallen? Dann würdest du mir sehr helfen, wenn du den Podcast abonnierst und/oder positiv bewertest. Danke dir sehr für deine Unterstützung und Wertschätzung!

Have you ever lost the joy in your creative work — that sense of fun you had when you were starting out, before the admin and the algorithms drained it away? How do mid-career creatives get it back, and what can a four-year-old teach us about play? Austin Kleon talks about productive procrastination, silly rituals, the case for paper reference books in an AI world, and how his newsletter went from a marketing cost to the day job that keeps the lights on. In the intro, Does social media still sell books? [Self-Publishing with ALLi]; Trial by algorithm [The Bookseller]; Publishing's AI Hypocrisy Problem [The New Publishing Standard]; ALLi AI survey for authors; Brave New Bookshelf Podcast, and Pics from signing at BookVault. Today's show is sponsored by ProWritingAid, writing and editing software that goes way beyond just grammar and typo checking. With its detailed reports on how to improve your writing and integration with writing software, ProWritingAid will help you improve your book before you send it to an editor, agent or publisher. Check it out for free or get 15% off the premium edition at www.ProWritingAid.com/joanna This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Austin Kleon is the New York Times and international bestselling author of nonfiction books, including Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work!, and Keep Going, as well as an artist, professional speaker, and poet. His latest book is Don't Call It Art: 10 Ways to Create Like a Kid Again. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why Austin wrote Don't Call It Art now, and what his kids taught him about creative joy Productive procrastination, silly rituals, and treating writing like Lego Comedy as a philosophical position, and giving yourself permission to be bad in private Sharing process in the algorithm era, and why your whole life is the process Bibliomancy, paper reference books, and what AI can't give you that a dictionary can Style, the Taco Bell distinctiveness rule, and how Austin's newsletter became his day job You can find Austin at AustinKleon.com. Transcript of the interview with Austin Kleon Jo: Austin Kleon is the New York Times and international bestselling author of nonfiction books, including Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work!, and Keep Going, as well as an artist, professional speaker, and poet. His latest book is Don't Call It Art: 10 Ways to Create Like a Kid Again. So welcome back to the show, Austin. Austin: Thank you for having me back. It's nice to talk to you again. Jo: You were on the show in March 2020, and at the time, your book was Keep Going, which was prescient considering the pandemic and politics. So I wondered, why this book, Don't Call It Art, now? Was this something you see in the creative community or your own life that made you want to write this book? Austin: Keep Going is a book about what happens when the world goes crazy around you and you're still trying to do your creative work. This is a book about what happens when inside has bottomed out. Keep Going is a book about the world bottoming out, and you're worried that your own creative work is going to bottom out too. How do you keep pushing through and keep making stuff? This book, to me, is about what happens when you bottom out inside—when you've lost that love and feeling for the thing that you wanted to do, and you're just not connecting with it in the way that you used to or the way that you want to. How do you get back? How do you return to that sense of joy and wonder and fun that we have when we're starting out? And for me, it was being around my little kids that taught me how to tap into that. My kids were natural—they didn't have any creative hangups. I would spend all day talking to people who had creative hangups, and then I'd get back in the house, and I'd just be around these beings who didn't have any of them. It was really instructive. I felt like, if I could bottle the energy of my kids when they were about four years old and try to put it in a book, I think it could really help a lot of the people that I run into, and the people with the kinds of problems I hear from. Jo: You mentioned bottoming out. How do people know when they've hit that point? Austin: You just don't want to do it anymore. You're kind of like, “This just isn't giving me back what it used to.” When we start with our creative work, that's the thing that juices us. We come away from it feeling full up. I think you hit a certain point where you start to feel drained after it. Or maybe you don't feel drained by the thing itself that you're doing—maybe it's all the stuff around it, which is more often the case. For example, if you're a mid-career writer like me, who's been publishing books for 16 years now, I still really like writing. I still really like drawing. I still really like cutting and pasting and putting things together. It's the admin around the work—the emails, the meetings, the running-a-business part of it—that's super draining for me, and that stuff can start to bleed over into the creative work. So it's really important for me to make sure that I'm having some playtime, some R&D, some research and development time, to make sure it's not just all business. When you take the thing that you love and you turn it into the thing that you make a living from, you can really run into a lot of problems. Jo: I'm at 20 years, so I know exactly what you're saying, and a lot of listeners are the same. We love writing books, but it's all the stuff that goes around it. So for those of us who do this for money as well as passion, what are some practical ways to have more fun with our creativity? Austin: Something I learned from my kids is that you really are your most creative when you're supposed to be doing something else. So one of the things I use a lot in the studio is productive procrastination. Whatever I'm supposed to be working on, I start another little project, and that's my little naughty fun time. When I first come into the studio, I try to do something that I'm not supposed to be doing—something that I won't have much to show for. That could be making one of my blackout poems. That could be making a collage in my notebook. It could also be sitting here. I have a bass in the studio now, so I can practise my bass guitar. Sometimes I'll do that for the first 15 minutes just to get in that headspace of, “Hey, what's it like to do something just for yourself? Just because you want to do it?” The juice that you get from that little naughty “I'm going to do what I'm not supposed to be doing right now” thing, that carries into the rest of the day. It's like a nice start to things. Jo: Do you think that play could be something different to what we make our money with? For me, writing novels and stories is great fun in one way, but it's also what I then publish and make money on. So writing stories is more serious, I guess, than playing with Lego or something. Austin: Right. So the trick is, how can you make writing your stories like playing with Lego? That's kind of been my whole career. I hate staring at Microsoft Word and that blinking cursor, taunting you like, “Come on, what have you got?” A lot of my creative life has been about trying to make it more playful, trying to make it feel more like a game. That's how I came up with my blackout poems. I take an article from The New York Times and I black it out until it only has a few words left behind. It sort of looks like if the CIA did haiku, for some people listening. That was one little exercise. Then weirdly, that side thing that I thought was just play, just fun—that turned into my first book. So then it's, okay, what else can I mess around with and play with? I do a lot of collage work in the studio, and I rarely actually use that for any of the books. Sometimes I use it for my newsletter to illustrate the newsletter. But it's always about trying to figure out, how can I make writing a game? How can I make it more playful? There are different things that I do to make it feel more playful. One of them's really stupid. I really believe in silly rituals because I think silliness is really powerful. People talk about their daily rituals—Mason Currey has that great book, Daily Rituals: How Artists Work. When I was reading that book, I realised it was really the silly stuff that I really liked. There was, I think it was Balzac counting out coffee beans or something before he got to write. Or Steinbeck sharpening 12 pencils or something goofy like that. So one of the things I like to do before I write is that I have these cigarette pencils. They're pencils that look like cigarettes in the studio. I put one in my mouth before I start writing, and I pretend to be some old '40s writer on a typewriter. I like doing goofy stuff in the studio because I think when you do goofy stuff—stuff that you'd be embarrassed if anyone else saw it—it gets you in that playful state. Jo: It's interesting. In your book, you have a section that says, “Don't take things too seriously.” For many of us, we write memoir for example, and that is very close to us. It's like the deepest expression of what we want to say in the world. It feels very serious. So how can we hold things more lightly and not take things so seriously? Austin: For me, comedy is actually a philosophical position. What I mean by that is, I think a lot of people set out with a tragic model of creative work. They think, “Oh, I have this special gift,” or, “I have this thing that I really need to do, and I need to put it out into the world, and I need to make the world look more like I want it to look.” They have this idea that, “Through blood and sweat and tears, I'm going to see this thing through, and I'm going to push it into the world, and I'm going to have my way.” I think there's another way of working where it's more like, “I'm just a normal person trying to play with my environment, and take my experiences and put them into something interesting. So I'm going to play and use my wits, and we're going to see what we come up with.” Those really are two modes of life. The pandemic taught me that it was really when we were keeping our sense of humour, when we were having a laugh and keeping our egos in check around the house and just acknowledging how goofy we all were and how ridiculous the situation was, that seemed to be when we were really thriving. Versus, “Well, we're in this tough situation. We've got to make it into what we want it to be.” That felt really bad. But when we cruised along and we were just improvisational, when we went at things with a kind of lightness, that worked. There's a great Italo Calvino essay about lightness in Six Memos for the Next Millennium. Lightness is really underrated. Even when we're going about heavy work, having a sense of lightness and play with it just makes the work better. That's a philosophical position of mine. I aspire to comedy. I aspire to a comic outlook on life. I'm just a creature with a body who's going to die, and I'm fundamentally ridiculous. Life is pretty absurd. You just make the best of it. Jo: There's certainly some truth there. Staying on a similar theme, you have a chapter in the book on permission to be bad. Many of the listeners also have your book Show Your Work, and it shaped many of us into sharing our work in progress. It feels quite dangerous now, in a world where judgment is much louder than it maybe was when you wrote Show Your Work. So tell us a bit about permission to be bad versus should we keep some of this private? Austin: Permission to be bad is about the making part of things. It's the private part. It's permission to be bad when you're in private, when you're actually doing the work. Show Your Work is a book about what you do after you've done the work, or while you're doing the work. It was never about putting up a webcam and running a 24/7 feed. It was more like, hey, what are the ways that I can connect with the kind of audience I can build while I'm making the work itself? So the way I see permission to be bad is, you really have to give yourself permission when you're not sharing, when you're off screen, to really be as bad as you want to be. It doesn't necessarily mean quality-wise. I think it also means letting yourself write stuff that you would never say on social media. Letting yourself read stuff that you wouldn't admit you were reading on social media. Letting yourself listen to stuff. Letting yourself really be that unfiltered, unhinged, private person that you want to be. Then when it comes to sharing, you put some time in between that input time, that making time, and the sharing time, and then you share what you think is going to be useful or helpful or interesting to other people. Jo: I think you wrote that book before TikTok, and how fast people are moving. Do you think people need to slow down a bit in what they share, maybe? Austin: I don't know. I obviously had a lot more faith in social media back then. I use all the principles from Show Your Work in my newsletter. Newsletters are very much the new kind of great thing. They're doing a lot of the work that social media used to do, in that you're still able to have this direct connection with the people that you're trying to reach. The big problem with social media now is that it's all algorithmically tuned, where the people that are following you don't see the stuff that you're doing most of the time. What you have to do now, if you want the people who are following you to see your stuff on social media, is you have to make stuff that the algorithm likes. That's a whole different thing. As far as the Show Your Work principle—which is share your process as much as your product—that carries over to any platform. In my newsletter every Friday, I share a list of 10 things that were going on behind the scenes here. It might have been what I was watching on TV, what I listened to, a new pen I was trying out, or something like that. The Friday newsletter is almost always process stuff. When I talk about process, my definition is actually very broad. For a lot of people, it's drafting, editing, whatever. For me, the process is the whole life. The process is almost everything except the finished thing. A writer's life is 24/7. My friends who have real jobs really are like, “What do you do all day?” And I'm like, “Well, what do you mean?” They're like, “Well, I see you out on your bike ride.” I'm like, “Yes, when you see me out on a bike ride, I'm thinking through something half the time.” If I'm watching TV, I'm thinking, “Hey, would this be good in the newsletter?” I'm never off. My whole life—everything is copy, as Nora Ephron said. That's part of the job. It's very hard to turn off. So I see the whole life as process, and the question becomes, what little bits and pieces of that life and that process can you share with people while you're making the things that you hope to sell them later? Right now, I'm in a cycle where I'm selling this book, but all these people have showed up because I've shared my process every week for the past seven years since I put out a book. Jo: It's funny you say that. I was at the dentist yesterday, and— My dentist literally asked me, “So where do you get all your ideas?” This is a common question for all of us, right? And it just becomes so hard to explain that to people who don't walk around in the world just constantly getting ideas. Austin: I can't believe I'm going to tell this story. I was getting my vasectomy after my second kid, and I was talking to this doctor just before the operation. He said, “So what do you do for a living?” I said, “I'm a writer.” He said, “Oh, that must be cool. You get to use your brain.” And I said, “That's everything that you want your doctor to say.” I was going to say, “Please use your brain,” before he's about to cut into you. He said, “Oh, no, no. What I mean is, I know what I'm going to do every day for the next 10 years.” He knew exactly what his day was going to look like. He said, “You have to use your brain. You've got to figure out new stuff.” I was like, “Oh, that's really interesting.” That's the trade-off, right? He's got the job security. He knows what he's going to do. Every writer has a moment where they have to talk to a normal person about what you do. Jo: I was going to say, I'm married to one. Austin: Now, my wife, on the other hand, grew up the daughter of a writer, so she knows exactly what it's like. Nothing ever phases her. She's totally used to it. She's used to me staring off into space, completely checking out of a conversation. She's used to me using lines on her that I'm going to put in a piece later. She's used to the whole rigmarole. It's very handy. I've been very lucky in that sense. Jo: Coming back to the book, you talk about your use of bibliomancy for inspiration. Since we're talking about that, tell us about it. I think all the book people listening will be happy. Austin: I'm a person who still keeps a dictionary nearby—a paper dictionary. I keep a big old American Heritage. It's just a big, thick book. When I really don't have any ideas, I will turn at random to the dictionary, close my eyes, stick my finger down the page, open my eyes, and just see what I come up with. Sometimes just that act will give me an idea. I also do that with books. I'll go around the studio, pick up a book, flip to a random page, and just see what it says there, or read an old piece of marginalia that I've left in a book. I believe deeply in the power of bibliomancy, and I think it's a case for paper books. I'm one of those people that still really believes in reference books. I've started collecting more and more of them. I have an old, big dictionary that's always open on my desk, and I look up words. I learned from John McPhee, the writer, that you should look up words that you think you know. That was the first time I'd ever heard anyone say that. So I look up words that I think I know. Instead of reaching for a thesaurus when I need a different word, I actually just look up the definition of the word that I already have. That's another McPhee tip. The other thing that happened that I thought was really interesting is, I got a Roget's for the first time—a thesaurus. I don't think most people know what an actual thesaurus is. Most people think of a thesaurus as a synonym finder, and that's not actually what a thesaurus is at all. A thesaurus is more like an encyclopaedia, weirdly. You look up things based on big concepts, and then it gives you a bunch of words to look up later. It's a very strange thing. It's not what most people think it is. I have a couple of editions of Roget's in here. I like the really old Roget's from the 1900s because they actually have opposing ideas facing each other on the page. Do you have an old-school Roget's? Have you ever looked through one? Jo: I don't have one now, but I certainly grew up with them. I was literally just thinking, I wonder if there are ones for Americans and ones for British people, because so often we say different things and mean different things. I always hear Americans say, “Oh, that's a doozy,” or something, and it means the complete opposite thing here. Austin: Like if you say “fanny pack” over there. That means something very different than it means here, right? Chips or fries, that kind of stuff. So I wonder if there are different ones for different cultural references. Jo: I don't know. Austin: As people, with ChatGPT and all these LLMs and stuff, people are like, “Why would you ever pick up a paper reference book?” And I'm like, “I actually like the friction.” I like having to move in space and go over to my dictionary. I like flipping the pages. I like having to scan a page for the word I'm looking for, because— This marvellous thing happens when you're looking for the word, where you bump into all these other words. If you're a word nerd, you get to start thinking about the root of the word—oh, why is this word next to this word? Well, it's because they share the same root. Then you're going down all these fun rabbit holes. The thing that I'm trying to do as a writer and a creative person is, I'm trying to get to the thing that I didn't know I was looking for. The thing that people misunderstand about AI, I think personally, is that it's a great tool if you know what you're looking for. If you're like, “Find me this thing. I want exactly this. I want to see a picture of a dog wearing a king's costume,” or some crap like that, then it can spit that picture out for you. Or, “I want to know what happened on this day,” and whatever. It can do that. But that's not actually what I'm doing most of the time when I'm writing or making something. I start with an idea, but what really happens—the magic of writing and the magic of making stuff in general—is when you discover something that you didn't even know you were headed for. That's the real magic for me. Sometimes I have an idea and I want to articulate it for people, but more often than not, there's something that bothers me or something that I want to talk about, and I sit down and write, and I figure out what it is that I actually have to say and what I actually think. Every writer really knows this, and that's why the dictionary, stuff like that, those are ways of training you to get in that discovery mode. “Well, let me—oh, I bumped into this. I went looking for this one thing and then I ran into this other thing.” That's why I love the library. I don't know what system you use over there, but you look for one book in the Dewey Decimal System over here, and then, okay, here's all these other weird books next to it. Then you end up with three other books other than the one that you were looking for. That's the magic. To me, that's the magic of creative work, discovering what you didn't know you were looking for. That was particularly important for me when I was writing this book because we discovered that my wife has a condition called aphantasia. It's very rare in the population, about 2 to 3% of people. There's probably some people listening to this right now who are like, “What is this? Tell me.” Jo: Aphantasia actually more common in the creative industries. Austin: Yes. What it is, is that you don't see—when I say close your eyes and picture an apple, you don't actually see the apple in your head. You can think about an apple and the qualities of an apple, but you don't actually see it. Some people, and it's a matter of degree—some people like me, I can close my eyes, I can tell you what the apple looks like, I can tell you what colour it is, I can tell you where the shading is. Someone like my wife doesn't see the apple. She can tell you what an apple is. It's really interesting because she has a degree in architecture, which is known as a very visual field. But the thing you discover about aphantasia is, it doesn't keep people from becoming artists. In fact, it's the opposite. Someone like Ed Catmull, who co-founded Pixar, writes about it in his book, and so many of the great animators at Pixar are actually aphantasics. The reason is that they learned that they had to draw in order to see things. When you don't have a picture in your head of what you want something to look like, things appear in the drawing, and you find things that you couldn't even picture. A lot of writers actually are aphantasics. John Green discovered recently that he has aphantasia. It turns out that it's a superpower for writers, because if you don't have a picture in your head, then you don't have to translate that picture into words. A lot of writers talk about thinking in radio, like they have a constant narrator. My wife—she's probably going to kill me for talking about her this much—when she describes it to me, she's like, “Oh, it's like a radio in my head. I'm constantly hearing a voice, and it's a narrator.” I was like, “Holy shit, that would be really helpful to me.” I don't have anything like that in my head. I read Mrs Dalloway for the first time, and I gave it to her and I said, “You've got to read this book. I think this must be what it's like in your head.” And she said, “Oh my God, it is.” Part of the thing that I took away from that experience—this is a long-winded way of getting here—is that I take a lot of inspiration from people with this condition. Most of the people I know in the arts or the creative fields, they set out with this grand vision, and then they start working on the thing and it's nothing like what they had in their head, and they get really depressed: “This isn't what I had in mind.” Whereas if you set out without a picture in your head, and you just start manipulating things and you see what appears, that's more of the comic mode I was talking about earlier. What would happen if we just sat down with our materials and we started playing and we saw what appeared on the page? What if we started typing and saw what appeared, and then we played with that? That's the kind of joy. That's more like how kids operate. Kids are better at that. They're better at reacting to what's actually in front of them, instead of having these grandiose visions about what they're trying to achieve. Jo: Just coming back on the longevity of a creative career. Your books are very distinctive. You have a very distinctive visual style, your handwriting and the way the books are done. I wondered if another part of the ennui, perhaps, or the draining of the later career is that we get trapped into doing something that feels like it looks the same. Or we have a voice, and we're happy in that voice, but sometimes we want to do something completely different. For authors, we have different names. I write under two different names, and that helps. But equally— How do you define author voice, and do you ever feel like doing something completely different to your normal style? Austin: Style, in a lot of ways, is self-plagiarism. Style is the repeated things that we notice in people's work. Hitchcock talked about this in films. Wes Anderson is someone like that—Wes Anderson has a style. I'm sure that he gets really sick of it too sometimes, but you also can't help it in some ways. I thought a lot about this because people worry about style so much. A lot of the time, what we call style is what Adrian Tomine one time said: “Style is just the distance between what's in my head and what comes out of my hand.” I really like that definition. With this book, I was trying to think, “Okay, if I do another book in this series, how can I push things a little bit?” And then I was reading this article about Taco Bell. You guys have Taco Bell over there, don't you? Do you have Taco Bell? Jo: No. Austin: So Taco Bell, for people who don't know, is this American Mexican chain, and they have tacos and burritos and stuff like that. They're well known for making these really insane… it's so American, this company. They make a taco with a Doritos as a shell. Doritos are crisps, I guess. Jo: Yes, we have Doritos. Austin: Okay. I spent time in England, I just don't remember if I ate Doritos when I was in England. Anyway, I was reading this article about Taco Bell. It was really funny. They have an innovation kitchen at Taco Bell, and they have a rule about new products. The rule is called the distinctiveness rule, and the rule is: you can change the flavour or you can change the taste, or you can change the form, but you can't change both at the same time. I got really obsessed with this concept because I thought, “Well, this could be kind of interesting.” If you're someone who's had success and you're known for something, this presents an interesting thing. You could do a complete break and do something completely new, or you could try the distinctiveness rule. Okay, well, what if I play with this idea of taste versus form? What if I change the taste and keep the form? So the idea for Don't Call It Art was, what if I do another one of these books, but the taste is more like if my kids made it? It had the texture of kids' art, it had lots of scribbles in it, it was loose and messy. That was kind of the idea. The actual book ended up being more like the other books. It ended up looking like an Austin Kleon book, because I just can't help that. The thing you said about having multiple names that you write under, that's kind of what I do with the newsletter. I think of the newsletter as very different from the books. The newsletter is this twice-weekly thing where I can be a little bit more of myself. In the books, I'm this very helpful, happy version of myself. It's me, but it's me on my best day. I'm really helpful and interesting for you. The newsletter is still a highlight reel in a sense, but it's a little bit more of my weird everything-I'm-into. It's more of the unclipped version of me. The newsletter becomes a place where I can do a lot of the weird stuff that's much different from the books. I have these little projects going all the time. Sometimes I'll make a bunch of prints and put them online. Sometimes I'll make a bunch of zines on a topic I haven't covered in the book. Sometimes I'll do a mixtape. As someone who's interested in a lot of different forms and genres and just different modes of output, having something like a newsletter has been really creatively fruitful for me. It's kept me from getting too bottomed out with the books because the books do a certain thing for the reader, and as much as I'd love to do a book that was radically different, I also think I've been given a real gift with the form of my books, in that I kind of own the way that they feel and look. There aren't a lot of books that look like those books and feel like those books, and so I like playing with that form. It would be hard to get rid of it now. The pseudonym for me is kind of like the newsletter in a sense. The newsletter is a little bit more of where I get to be wild and wacky. Then the books are a little bit more of a chiselled thing. Jo: The books are perfect examples of the form, as you say, but it's interesting about the newsletter. You mentioned at the beginning that we can be drained by the admin around the work. For many people listening, a newsletter becomes admin. So how does the newsletter fit into your business? The books are traditionally published, they're very professional. How do you have your independent side, and how does all of that work together in your business? Austin: Thank you for asking that question. I run the whole show at the newsletter. The newsletter is just me, and then my wife edits it, and no one else is involved. I don't have an assistant. I don't have a team. It is just me, and that's why I love it. I control everything. I pick who gets in there. I pick everything. I love that. I grew up watching David Letterman over here, and Letterman had a nightly show, and I always thought that was killer. I thought, “Man, what a fun job. You have a show every night where you have a new guest, and you have all these wacky things going on.” It was like a variety show. I always thought that would be really fun, so the newsletter is my version of that. I started the newsletter in 2013, and it was just a Friday newsletter. It quickly became a list of 10 things I thought were worth sharing. I had a friend, Hugh MacLeod, who was like, “Hey, I have a newsletter. It's bigger than any conference you've ever gone to.” He was talking about South by Southwest here in Austin. He's like, “I have a newsletter now, and it's bigger than South by Southwest.” Jo: Oh, I remember him. Austin: He would say, “Every time I have a new print, I put it out, and there's a button, and then they buy it.” He was like, “You've got to get it. This newsletter thing is killer.” This was in 2011 or something. Jo: Yes, I still have his books. Blogging in Your Underwear or something. Austin: Totally. So Hugh's a whole different story, but I was just like, “Oh, I should really get a newsletter.” Letterman always had a top 10 list on his show. I just always thought a 10 list was really fun. And of course the books are lists of 10 too. So it just worked to have a weekly list of 10. It felt good, and it felt like an infinitely repeatable format. What I'm looking for as a creative person is an infinitely repeatable format that can go on and on and on and be new every time. So the list of 10 is something that people know the form of. It goes back to the Taco Bell thing. They know the form, but they're not sure what's going to go inside. They know it's going to be a burrito, but they don't know what's going to be in the burrito, and that's the exciting part. The newsletter, business-wise, was always a marketing cost for about the first eight years of its existence. I paid MailChimp to send it out. Then in about 2021, when I hadn't done a book for a while, my agent said, “You know, you should really think about doing a paid tier of your newsletter.” And this is to his credit, because he doesn't make anything off the newsletter. He said, “There's this thing called Substack now that makes that really easy.” So we moved to Substack in 2021 in October, and I started doing a Tuesday edition of the newsletter that was just for paid people. That grew enough that it's gone from a marketing cost to something that's almost—it's not quite as much as I make on my books, but it's close. And to be candid, my books sell pretty well. So suddenly the newsletter has become this really healthy income stream. The newsletter to me is actually the day job now. The newsletter is what really keeps the lights on. It's also the perfect mix. It's the day job, it's the thing that keeps income coming in on a regular basis, but it's also the thing I like to do the most. I'm not like a traditional writer who likes to just get lost in their book and take years and years and go away. I'm someone who loves to be doing a lot of different things. The newsletter is a perfect format for me. I'm talking myself into not quitting, actually. It's funny. It's gone from this thing that was a marketing cost to now it's a significant part of our income. That journey—such a bad word, journey—that trip has been very interesting. It's been really cool. But I'm also just lucky. I've been really lucky, and I think part of my thing is, I'm always just trying not to squander my luck. Jo: Well, the book is fantastic, and I know people are going to love it. And the newsletter, of course. So tell us— Where can people find you and your books and newsletter online? Austin: The easiest thing to do is to just go to AustinKleon.com, and that has links to everything—the books, the newsletter. I do actually keep an old-school blog still. I'm one of the few people that still maintains their blog and keeps it up to date. I'm hedging my bets because I think in the end everything will come back to a self-hosted website. I think in the end everyone's going to just go back to their little websites, or at least I hope so. Jo: Well, that was great, Austin. Thanks so much. Austin: Oh, thank you. The post Don't Call It Art: Rediscovering Creative Joy With Austin Kleon first appeared on The Creative Penn.

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway reports on Spotify's investor day, where the company credited its Page Match feature for a 60 percent rise in audiobook listening hours, notes ElevenLabs' quiet expansion as a listening platform in its own right, and examines a troubling trend in AI copyright class actions — where increasingly narrow eligibility requirements around ISBN registration and Copyright Office filings are leaving many indie and overseas authors out of the picture. 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. 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.

Warum dein Newsletter auch 2026 noch dein wichtigstes Buchmarketing-Tool ist In dieser Episode spreche ich über das Thema Newsletter und E-Mail-Marketing für Autorinnen und Autoren. Ich führe aus, warum ein eigener Newsletter auch im Jahr 2026 ein unverzichtbares Werkzeug für alle Schreibenden bleibt, wie du Abonnent:innen gewinnst und welche technischen Tools sinnvoll sind. Auf dich warten praxisnahe Tipps, ein Überblick über verschiedene Wege, mit Leserinnen und Lesern in Kontakt zu bleiben und Vorschläge wie du deinen Newsletter spannend und gewinnbringend gestaltest. Egal, ob du gerade erst mit dem Thema startest oder schon Erfahrungen gesammelt hast – in dieser Folge findest du wertvolle Anregungen, wie du mit deinem eigenen Newsletter als Autor oder Autorin langfristig erfolgreich sein kannst. Hier die wichtigsten Aspekte, die ich in dieser Folge anspreche: 1. Einführung in das Thema Newsletter-Marketing für Autor:innen Vorstellung des Themas und Verweis auf einen vertiefenden Artikel https://mission-bestseller.com/newsletter-marketing-fuer-autoren-und-autorinnen-aufbau-nutzen-fallstricke/ Überblick über Inhalte und Zielsetzung der Folge 2. Bedeutung von E-Mail-Marketing für Autor:innen Relevanz des Newsletters 2026 und darüber hinaus Ziele: Leser:innen erreichen und Buchverkäufe unterstützen Vergleich der Kommunikationswege: Offline, Social Media, Newsletter 3. Vor- und Nachteile von Offline- und Social-Media-Kontakten Möglichkeiten über Buchmessen, Lesungen und lokale Netzwerke Social Media: Vorprogrammieren, Unverbindlichkeit, besonders für Introvertierte vorteilhaft Nachteile von Social Media: Eigentum der Kontakte bei den Plattformen ([Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.]) Gefahr von Kontosperrungen Organische Reichweite sinkt ständig 4. Vorteile des eigenen Newsletters Kontrolle und Eigentum über die eigenen Kontakte Direktkontakt zu Interessierten Wichtigkeit von Double Opt-in auch bei Offline-Kontakten Datenminimierung (nur Vorname und E-Mail) 5. Aufbau und Nutzen von E-Mail-Listen Möglichkeiten zur Sammlung von Adressen Nutzen der Liste bei Buchveröffentlichungen Beispielhafte Quoten (10% Kaufquote als realistisch) Motivation, einfach zu starten, egal wie viele Adressen vorhanden sind 6. Newsletter als Produkt: Nutzen und Anreize für Abonnent:innen Newsletter als zu bewerbendes Produkt verstehen Emotionale und praktische Argumente für den Mehrwert Spezielle Anreize: Bonuskapitel, Zusatzgeschichten, Materialien (Lesezeichen, Karten, Übungsblätter, Bilder) Notwendigkeit zur DSGVO-konformen Anmeldung Abgrenzung zu alten „Tauschgeschäften" ohne echte Einwilligung 7. Technische Grundlagen: Die eigene Autor:innen-Webseite Zweck der eigenen Webseite: Integration von Anmeldeformularen und Bereitstellung von Materialien Baukastensysteme oder WordPress als Grundlage Aspekte von Investition und Amortisation 8. Optimale Struktur einer Autor:innen-Webseite Wichtige Seiten: Startseite, Über-mich, Bücher, Datenschutzerklärung Empfehlung: Eigene Verkaufs-/Infoseite nur für den Newsletter Angebotsgestaltung: Darstellung der Newsletter-Inhalte und Werbegeschenke 9. Inhaltliche Gestaltung des Newsletters Inhalte: Alltagsschilderungen, Recherchereisen, Buchempfehlungen, Fortschrittsberichte Ziel: Beziehung zu Leser:innen halten, auch wenn zwischen Veröffentlichungen längere Pausen liegen Nutzen für regelmäßige Sichtbarkeit 10. Versandfrequenz und Umgang mit Feedback Kein starres Dogma zur Versandfrequenz (zwischen 2 und 4 Wochen empfohlen) Achten auf Feedback der Leser:innen und Anpassung der Häufigkeit Erwartungen an Rückmeldungen realistisch halten (meist Konsum, weniger direkte Reaktionen) 11. Technische Umsetzung: Auswahl der Newsletter-Software Notwendigkeit professioneller Tools (bei mehr als ca. 30 Kontakten) Empfohlene Anbieter: GetResponse (EU-Server, Datenschutz), Erwähnung von Active Campaign & ConvertKit (USA, zu komplex), Clicktip (deutschsprachig, teuer, zu umfangreich) Relevante Features: Adressorganisation, automatisierter Versand, Segmentierung 12. Anwendungsmöglichkeiten und Zielsetzung des Newsletters Direktvertrieb der Bücher über abgestufte Versandaktionen Langfristige Beziehungspflege als gleichwertiges Ziel neben dem Verkauf Aufbau eines „fernfreundschaftlichen" Kontaktnetzwerks 13. Abschluss und Handlungsaufruf Einladung, mit dem Newsletter zu beginnen oder die eigene Strategie zu optimieren Hinweis auf ein 7-Tage-Programm im Blogartikel für Einsteiger und Fortgeschrittene https://mission-bestseller.com/newsletter-marketing-fuer-autoren-und-autorinnen-aufbau-nutzen-fallstricke/ Aufforderung zu Rückmeldungen und Austausch per E-Mail oder Kommentar   # Newsletter und E-Mail-Marketing für Autor:innen: Deine Community, deine Regeln   Newsletter und E-Mail-Marketing sind für dich als Autor:in wichtiger denn je. Vielleicht schiebst du das Thema schon länger vor dir her, vielleicht hast du schon einen Newsletter, nutzt ihn aber noch nicht voll aus – oder du bist ganz neu dabei und möchtest wissen, wie du starten sollst. In dieser Podcastfolge erfährst du von mir, warum gerade jetzt ein eigener Newsletter das beste Mittel ist, um mit deinen Leser:innen in Kontakt zu treten und zu bleiben.   ## Warum solltest du als Autor:in einen Newsletter haben?   Zuerst einmal: Deine Leser:innen wollen von dir hören! Sie wollen wissen, wann dein nächstes Buch erscheint, ob es gerade eine coole Aktion gibt oder einfach ein bisserln mehr über dich und deine Buchwelt erfahren. Aber warum reicht nicht einfach Social Media?   1. Du hast die Kontrolle über deine Kontakte:     Bei Facebook, Instagram & Co. gehören die Daten alle der Plattform. Accounts können ohne Vorwarnung gesperrt werden, die Reichweite deiner Beiträge ist begrenzt und abhängig vom Algorithmus. Selbst in Gruppen sehen viele die Beiträge nicht, wenn sie nicht täglich aktiv sind.   2. Nachhaltige Beziehungen aufbauen:     Bei einem eigenen Newsletter entscheidest du, wann und was du verschickst – und erreichst die Lesenden direkt. Die E-Mail-Adressen gehören dir, und niemand kann dir den Zugang dazu wegnehmen.   Offline-Events, Lesungen und Buchmessen sind wichtig, aber sie bieten keine langfristige Möglichkeit, den Kontakt zu halten. Deshalb ist der Newsletter das wertvollste Werkzeug für dich als Autor:in.   ## Wie gewinnst du Newsletter-Abonnent:innen?   Die wenigsten Menschen tragen sich »einfach so« für deinen Newsletter ein. Ich empfehle deshalb, deinen Newsletter wie ein Produkt zu behandeln, das du »verkaufst« – und das bedeutet, du musst überzeugende Argumente liefern, warum sich jemand eintragen soll.   Am besten funktioniert das mit einem Gratis-Mehrwert:   - Bonuskapitel - Exklusive Kurzgeschichte (z. B. zu einer beliebten Nebenfigur) - Leseproben, Lesezeichen, Kartenmaterial oder Illustrationen als Download - Im Sachbuchbereich: Checklisten, Arbeitsblätter oder ergänzende Materialien   Wichtig: Frag möglichst wenige Daten ab – Vorname und E-Mail-Adresse reichen. Je niedriger die Hürde, desto eher werden sich Menschen eintragen.   Technischer Hinweis:  Aufgrund der Datenschutzgrundverordnung (DSGVO) brauchst du Double Opt-in: Die Leute müssen ihre Anmeldung aktiv bestätigen.   ## Die richtige Basis: Deine Autor:innen-Webseite   Neben dem Newsletter brauchst du eine eigene Website. Hier kannst du das Anmeldeformular einbinden und z. B. auch deine Gratis-Extras zum Download bereitstellen. Ob du dafür WordPress, Jimdo oder ein anderes Baukastensystem nutzt, bleibt dir überlassen.   Mein Tipp:  Lege zusätzlich zu Startseite, Über-mich, Bücherseite und Datenschutzerklärung eine eigene Newsletter-Verkaufsseite an. Dort erklärst du genau, was deine Abonnent:innen erwartet, was sie bekommen und wie oft du schreibst. Das steigert die Eintragungen deutlich, weil Interessierte hier gezielt angesprochen werden.   ## Was gehört in deinen Newsletter?   Natürlich ist der wichtigste Anlass der nächste Buchlaunch oder eine Preisaktion. Doch echte Beziehungen entstehen darüber hinaus. Einige Ideen für den Inhalt:   - Einblicke in deinen Schreibprozess oder Alltag - Berichte von Recherchereisen oder aus deiner Umgebung - Empfehlungen von befreundeten Autor:innen - »Making-of« zum nächsten Buch, Updates zum Fortschritt - Geschichten hinter den Kulissen und Inspirationen   Du musst nicht befürchten, dass du zu viel von dir preisgibst: Die meisten Leser:innen finden es spannend, ein bisschen mehr über den Menschen hinter den Büchern zu erfahren.   ## Wie oft solltest du schreiben?   Ein zu häufiger Versand schreckt ab – aber zu selten ist auch nicht optimal, sonst vergessen deine Abonnent:innen dich. Ich empfehle einen Rhythmus von alle zwei bis vier Wochen. Das ist genug, um präsent zu bleiben, aber nicht aufdringlich. Natürlich kannst du auch nach Feedback fragen und die Rückmeldungen berücksichtigen.   ## Welche Tools eignen sich?   Für kleinere Newsletter-Listen reicht es am Anfang, wenn du bei etwa 20–30 Leuten noch manuell mailst – aber sobald deine E-Mail-Liste wächst und du DSGVO-konform arbeiten willst, ist eine Newsletter-Software nötig.   Meine Empfehlungen:   - GetResponse: datenschutzkonform, preislich fair, einfacher Einstieg - Brevo ebenfalls beliebt im deutschsprachigen Raum - Finger weg von zu teuren oder komplizierten US-Anbietern (datenschutzrechtlich schwierig, unnötig komplex für unsere Zwecke)   Wichtig sind: automatische Anmeldebestätigungen (Double Opt-In), einfaches Versand- und Listentool und die Möglichkeit, Willkommensmails bzw. kleine »Freebies« zu verschicken.   ##Nutze den direkten Draht zu deinen Fans!   Mit einem eigenen Newsletter baust du dir eine treue Leserschaft auf, die wirklich an dir und deinen Büchern interessiert ist. Nutze die Chance, Beziehungen zu pflegen, tolle Inhalte zu teilen und vor allem deine Veröffentlichungen erfolgreich zu begleiten. Trends kommen und gehen – aber deine eigene Community bleibt dir erhalten.   Wenn du noch keinen Newsletter hast, fang heute an. Und wenn du schon einen hast, prüfe, wo du ihn noch besser gestalten kannst, um mehr Freude – und mehr Verkäufe – herauszuholen. Ran an die Tasten!   Hier die Links, die ich im Podcast anspreche, und weiterführende Informationen, Tipps und Erfahrungsberichte rund um Bücher, eBooks und deinen Erfolg: Hier kannst du meinen ausführlichen Blogartikel zu diesem Thema nachlesen: https://mission-bestseller.com/newsletter-marketing-fuer-autoren-und-autorinnen-aufbau-nutzen-fallstricke/ Und wenn du trotz alledem wie ich weiterhin über Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) veröffentlichst, dann brauchst du diesen Kurs, um deinem Buch mehr Sichtbarkeit zu verschaffen: https://mission-bestseller.com/keywords 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.

Gespräche über das Schreiben und Veröffentlichen von Büchern, egal ob Selfpublishing oder Verlag. Amazon-Ads mit neuer Herangehensweise: Vera berichtet, wie sie bei ihrem dritten Versuch nun durch konsequentes Reihendenken, feste Gebote und clevere Keywords endlich mehr gelesene Seiten und mehr Verkäufe erzielt.Sie teilt Schritt für Schritt ihr Vorgehen, ihre Keyword-Recherche und die Optimierung der Kampagnen. Tamara hakt nach, und Vera verrät Details über Budget, Einnahmen und welche Kennzahlen wirklich zählen.Die Strategie ist klar auf Reihen ausgelegt, doch vielleicht kann Tamara mit ihren Spin-offs da doch auch etwas draus machen? Hört rein!Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr

Send us Fan MailSend us Fan MailIn this enlightening episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we sit down with author PK Stewart, who takes us on her transformative journey from a successful career in business management to becoming an indie author. After spending six years crafting her debut novel, PK has embraced the indie publishing world with confidence and a clear strategy, leveraging her business acumen to navigate the complexities of the authoring process.PK shares her early inspirations for writing, revealing how her love for storytelling blossomed from her childhood reading experiences. She discusses the pivotal moment at a writers' conference that ignited her belief in her own potential as a writer and the decision to pursue an indie path rather than traditional publishing.Listeners will gain valuable insights into the realities of indie publishing, including the challenges of marketing oneself and the importance of balancing creativity with the business side of writing. PK opens up about her Times End series, exploring the themes of inequality and climate change while ensuring her narratives remain engaging and entertaining.As she reflects on her journey, PK emphasizes the importance of trusting one's creative instincts and the power of community support within the writer's world. She also shares her upcoming projects and her passion for teaching others in the writing community.Join us for an inspiring conversation that encourages aspiring authors to pursue their dreams and carve out their own paths in the literary world.What You'll Learn in This Episode:- The journey from business management to indie author- Insights into the indie publishing process and marketing challenges- The significance of character-driven storytelling- How to balance creativity with the business side of writing- Tips for growing an audience and engaging readersFor more information on PK Stewart and her work, visit www.pkstewart.com and stay connected through her newsletter and upcoming Substack, *Where the Story Leads*. https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Tree-Line-Times-Book-ebook/dp/B0C9SQ7LGSSupport the show

Send us Fan MailSix seasons. Over a hundred episodes. Three years of real talk about building a quilting business on the side — and Tori and Andi are not done yet.In this Season 6 finale, the co-hosts take a walk down memory lane through what turned out to be their longest season yet — 21 episodes packed with guests, trade show adventures, solo experiments, and more than a few lessons learned the hard way.They recap the full guest lineup from Season 6: a cross-promotion episode with Brandy Maslowski of Quilter on Fire, mindset and weight loss coaching with Dara Tomasson, a masterclass on summits and email marketing from Jamie Bright, a return visit with Theresa Benson (The AI Quilter) on navigating AI ethically in 2026, self-publishing powerhouse Kathryn LeBlanc, Monika and her Canadian subscription box business Quilt the North, mosaic appliqué artist Cindy of Patterns on the Prairie, and pattern designer Brooke Stambersky of Brooke's Bitchin' Stitches. They also revisit their h+h Americas thread — from booth planning and brochures to the show floor rapid fire episode to the full panel debrief — and reflect on the solo episode format they experimented with this season.Andi shares a sneak peek at her upcoming book, Quilting on Video, and the hosts close out with honest thoughts on a "Top 40 Quilting Podcasts" nod — and why they're taking it with a grain of salt. Need some more help starting a YouTube channel? Grab Andi's No-Fear Filming Checklist here.Season 7 is coming in August or September. Until then, there are over 100 episodes waiting for you.Chapters00:00 Celebrating Three Years of Quilting on the Side03:04 Highlights from Season Six Guests06:31 Exploring AI in Quilting with Teresa08:01 Kathryn LeBlanc: The Multi-Passionate Quilter09:47 Navigating the Canadian Quilting Business with Monica10:58 Building a Business Without Social Media: Joyce's Story12:33 Andi's Journey into YouTube and Book Writing13:19 Brooke's Bitchin' Stitches: Balancing Business and Life14:49 H and H Rapid Fire: Insights from the Trade Show17:37 Diverse Perspectives from the H and H Panel Discussion20:01 Recapping Season Six and Looking Ahead to Season SevenWant More Quilting Business Content?

What happens when a dream refuses to let go?In this inspiring episode of Conversations with Rich Bennett, Rich sits down with award-winning author Sam Polakoff, a retired business executive who spent decades building a successful company while quietly holding onto a lifelong dream of becoming a novelist.That dream eventually became reality.Sam shares the fascinating story behind his first novel, Hiatus, inspired by recurring dreams about his grandfather, and discusses how curiosity led him to write Shaman, a thought-provoking thriller exploring reincarnation, Akashic Records, and spiritual healing. The conversation also dives deep into his acclaimed historical fiction series, The Diary of Essie Lassiter, set during the American Revolution.In this episode, you'll learn:• How Sam pursued a dream after nearly 40 years • The challenges and rewards of self-publishing • Why research is critical when writing historical fiction • How business principles can help authors succeed • The importance of staying curious and embracing lifelong learningLearn more about Sam and his books: sampolakoff.com If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with fellow readers, writers, and dreamers.Send us Fan MailCelebrate the Magic of Words in Bel Air, Maryland!https://bookfairatbelair.org/WHFC 91.1 FMIt's all about community. WHFC 91.1 FM, Harford Community College Radio, is the college radio staDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showRate & Review on Apple Podcasts Follow the Conversations with Rich Bennett podcast on Social Media:Facebook – Conversations with Rich Bennett Facebook Group (Join the conversation) – Conversations with Rich Bennett podcast group | FacebookTwitter – Conversations with Rich Bennett Instagram – @conversationswithrichbennettTikTok – CWRB (@conversationsrichbennett) | TikTokSponsors, Affiliates, and ways we pay the bills:Hosted on BuzzsproutSquadCastSubscribe by Email

Send us Fan MailThis week, Elizabeth Wilson sits down with her developmental editor, Allison Lau, to reflect on her self-publishing journey. These are often the steps you don't see every day from writers.  Elizabeth decided she wanted more control over the publishing process so she could get her memoir in the hands of readers faster. You'll hear about how Elizabeth decided on her ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) readers and getting over the hurdle of asking them to read her book.Elizabeth shares about taking on the role of project manager for her memoir as she decided to hire out the tasks that would've taken her a lot longer to complete. She decided it was better to do this than struggle a lot on her way to publishing her memoir. She sought the support she needed to get her book ready for readers by her launch date in June, and it was worth every bit of the investment. If you're curious about what it takes to get your book to print as a self-published author, this is an episode you don't want to miss. It's a candid, behind-the-scenes look at decisions Elizabeth made as she prepares to unbox the delivery from IngramSpark when she arrives at her new home.  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.   Work 1:1 with Memoir Coach Elizabeth Wilson. Book a session here.Feel Good Marketing with Stephanie. Book a session 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

In this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi Member Q&A podcast, hosts Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black discuss how to successfully pivot from one nonfiction topic to another, including whether you need a new pen name and how to manage existing backlist titles. Other questions include: What are the most effective low-budget marketing strategies for a nonfiction book about technology and society What options exist when series covers are inconsistent and how important is it to obtain source files from designers Should an urban fantasy series be focused on a tabloid rather than a single protagonist, or is that a strategic mistake How should UK authors operating as limited companies complete KDP tax forms, particularly the limitation of benefits section How can authors troubleshoot A+ content on Amazon when it refuses to populate despite entering all required information And more! Show Notes Lessons Learned from Starting a New Pen Name (Sacha Black podcast) 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.

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway covers a week dominated by AI controversy: Spotify's expanded ElevenLabs partnership for seamless AI audiobook creation, Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt's muddled attempt to clarify his store's AI book policy, and a Commonwealth Short Story Prize winner accused of using AI — and why Dan thinks the organizers got their response exactly right. 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. 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.

AI tools are showing up across more self-publishing platforms, and authors need to know what is changing. In this Self-Publishing News update, we cover new AI tools from IngramSpark, Laterpress, and Spoken, along with audiobook updates from Audible and Voices by INAudio. We also look at Bookvault pricing changes, author events, and a quick mid-year survey from Written Word Media. Dibbly Create - https://DaleLinks.com/DibblyCreate (affiliate link) ACX: Audible's New Royalty Model - https://help.acx.com/s/article/audible-s-new-royalty-model  IngramSpark Assist FAQs (Metadata Assistant) - https://help.ingramspark.com/hc/en-us/articles/41627826665997-IngramSpark-Assist-FAQs-Metadata-Assistant Bookvault - https://bookvault.app Use BVDALE to waive three upload fees Bookvault: Quote Tool - https://quote.bookvault.app/  Laterpress - https://Laterpress.com  Voices by INAudio - https://www.voicesbyinaudio.com/  Spoken: Spoken Studio V2 — Magic Mode & Turnkey Full-Cast Audiobook Creation - https://www.spoken.press/the-spoken-chronicle/spoken-studio-v2-magic-mode-amp-turnkey-full-cast-audiobook-creation Rapid-Fire Newsflash Apple Books for Authors - https://authors.apple.com  AppSumo: DepositPhotos Deal - https://DaleLinks.com/DepositPhotos (affiliate link) Cooling Tiger Media Podcast w/ W.A. Blinko - https://open.spotify.com/show/4HNUrH8YLI8VpMiof0c4zY?si=0c4dffce16e34f6e&nd=1&dlsi=ac35936844ea4d3d Contact Wayne at info@wayneblinko.com Self-Publishing Made Simple w/ April Cox: The 5 Biggest Mistakes First-Time Authors Make (And How to Avoid Them) - https://selfpubmadesimple.com/why-authors-dont-publish  Twin Flames Studios: Pitching Your Book for Film & TV - https://twinflamesstudios.com/pitching-book-film-tv?partnerid=r1249 (affiliate link) Written Word Media Podcast: How Authors Are Winning On YouTube Right Now - https://youtu.be/qJu6uK-Dy2A?si=mKsbjapgX9y0KJfe Written Word Media Mid-Year Survey - https://writtenwordmedia.typeform.com/to/CCvrkXxE   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

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

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions!In this episode, Joan F. Smith, author of Your Soulmail is Attached (her debut adult novel), shares her journey through the publishing world, her writing process, and insights into navigating multiple editors, genres, and the realities of a writing career. TOPICS COVEREDWriting process and outlining techniquesNavigating multiple editors and genre shiftsBalancing income and writing careerHandling feedback and critique partnersPublishing industry insights and author experiences

On the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, host Anna Featherstone speaks with indie author-illustrator Mike Barry about the production and distribution decisions behind his children's graphic novel trilogy Action Tank, from reverse-engineering Marvel's print specifications to building a loyal school and library audience. Barry reflects on Kickstarter, the realities of international distribution, and his publishing adventures. Whether you write for children or not, the conversation offers insight into finishing what you start, finding your market, and letting one opportunity lead to the next. 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 Guest Mike Barry is the writer, artist and singular creative force behind Action Tank, his graphic novel trilogy for kids about intergalactic adventure and spaghetti carbonara. He won a Comic Arts Award of Australia for Action Tank in 2021, when he was also nominated for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, The Russell Prize for Humour Writing for Young People, and the Aurealis Awards. Action Tank was also included in the American Library Association's 2022 Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading List. He lives with his wife and sons near the beach in Sydney, Australia, which is even better than it sounds. You can find Mike Barry on Instagram.  

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway opens with an urgent warning from Writer Beware's Victoria Strauss about two new AI-generated scams targeting authors — one involving fake radio show invitations, one involving fraudulent book fair representation — and explains the telltale signs that give them away. He then reports on Audible's StoryHouse, a pop-up audiobook store in New York's Bowery modeled on a vinyl record shop, and closes with an update on the Anthropic settlement fairness hearing, including concerns about the $3,000 per-title payout and the US copyright registration requirement that overseas authors say is unfair to them. Show Notes Book Festival Scams, Interview Fakes: Two New AI-Driven Impersonation Scams to Avoid 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. 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.

Do readers judge a book by its cover? Absolutely. And if your book looks self-published, readers notice before they read a single word.This week on the podcast, book designer extraordinaire Victoria Wolf pulls back the curtain on what makes a book look polished, credible, and impossible to ignore.With more than 30 years in the industry and 500+ books designed, Victoria shares the design choices that separate books people buy from books people scroll past.We talk covers that instantly signal quality, interiors that keep readers engaged, and the subtle design mistakes that quietly kill credibility. You'll also hear why many nonfiction authors sabotage their authority with amateur visuals without even realizing it.If your book is supposed to open doors, your design can't afford to whisper.Key takeways from this week's episode; Why interior design matters far more than most authors think  The typography and layout choices that make books easier to read and harder to put down  The real job of a book cover and why most self-published covers miss the mark  When your author photo helps your brand and when it hurts it  The tiny design tweaks that instantly make a book feel professionally published  How strong design builds trust, authority, and sales before readers even open the book If you want your book to compete with traditionally published titles instead of looking like an afterthought, don't miss this conversation. Tune in now!Here's how to connect with Victoria:Website:  Wolf Design and Marketing,LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriawolf/LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wolf-design-marketingFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wolfdesignandmarketingYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WolfsOnBooks*************************************************************************When Visibility Feels Hard, Podcast Guesting Changes the GameIf you know your book deserves more reach but visibility feels like a struggle, podcast guesting can open the right doors.Podcast Connections gets you in front of the audiences who need your message and your expertise.Contact them at PodcastConnections.co*************************************************************************

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions!Louise Marburg has spent years devoted to the short story form. So naturally, she accidentally wrote a novel. Her debut, Fancy Meeting You, features Laura Harrigan: a psychiatrist, mother of twin boys, and pathological liar who apparently had too much personality to stay confined to a short story. Louise and I talked about what it was like to finally write a character she didn't want to let go of, and why she'd actually consider a sequel (which, she says, she'd never say about anything else she's written).We also got into the bigger picture stuff: the current state of publishing, why small presses are having a real moment, and why luck is a bigger factor in this industry than most people want to admit. Louise is refreshingly clear-eyed about the money side of writing (hint: making loads of money isn't the point), and her take on what a publicist is actually for might shift the way you think about hiring one!Plus we talked AI, the two completely separate industries that both call themselves "the book world," and what Louise is reading right now—including one very famous book she was not a fan of (because no book is for everyone!).

On the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, host Howard Lovy talks to Michele DeFilippo, founder of 1106 Design, about the role genre conventions play in professional book cover design. Michele explains the visual signals that help readers recognize a book's category at a glance, from the authority expected in business books to the mood and atmosphere that drive fiction covers. She also discusses the thumbnail test, common amateur mistakes, the danger of cramming too much information onto a cover, and the importance of giving designers enough room to create a cover that serves both the author and the marketplace. 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 Howard Lovy is an author, developmental editor, and writing coach with a long career in journalism and publishing. He works with writers at many stages of their careers, with a focus on helping them develop their ideas and strengthen their work while preserving their unique voices. He lives in Northern Michigan. About the Guest Michele DeFilippo has more than fifty years of experience in book publishing. Her company, 1106 Design, helps authors publish high-quality books, keep control of their work, and earn more from each copy sold. Michele is committed to helping authors ask the right questions, avoid scams, and make informed decisions when choosing publishing service providers. A PDF of her eighty-eight-page guide, "Publish Like the Pros: A Brief Guide to Quality Self-Publishing," can be downloaded for free.

Künstliche Intelligenz – kurz KI – ist seit ein paar Jahren in aller Munde. Für viele Auto:rinnen stellt sich die Frage, wie und ob sie KI-gestützte Werkzeuge, etwa ChatGPT von OpenAI, in ihrem Schreibprozess nutzen sollten. In der Selbstverlagsbranche erleben wir einen grundlegenden Wandel, der nicht nur Chancen eröffnet, sondern auch neue Herausforderungen und ethische Fragen aufwirft. Hier die wichtigsten Aspekte, die ich in dieser Folge anspreche: 1. KI ist allgegenwärtig und nicht mehr wegzudenken     Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) ist - unabhängig von Ablehnung oder Skepsis – bereits überall in unserem Alltag und in der Buchbranche präsent ist und auch bleiben wird.   2. Jede Nutzung fördert die Weiterentwicklung von KI     Jede Anfrage und Nutzung einer KI trägt zur Weiterentwicklung und zum Training der jeweiligen Software bei. Nutzende sollten sich der Verantwortung bewusst sein, welchem System sie ihre Daten und Anfragen anvertrauen.   3. Vorsicht bei Recherche: Überprüfen von KI-Ergebnissen notwendig     KI-Textmaschinen können auch Falschaussagen liefern. Deshalb ist ein Gegencheck bei anderen Quellen unerlässlich, um Fehler oder erfundene Informationen zu vermeiden.   4. KI arbeitet oft nach "Was will die Nutzer:in hören"     KI-basierte Textgeneratoren sind so programmiert, dass sie Aussagen oft so generieren, wie sie dem Nutzenden gefallen könnten – nicht zwingend die objektive Wahrheit.   5. OpenAI/ChatGPT hat sich zum profitorientierten Unternehmen gewandelt     ChatGPT startete als Open-Source-Projekt, ist nun aber klar gewinnorientiert, wobei Investoren wie Microsoft involviert sind, was zu anderem Geschäftsgebaren führt.   6. Datenschutz und moralische Bedenken bei US-Anbietern     Tom Oberbichler unterstreicht die Problematik der Datennutzung und -weitergabe bei US-basierten KI-Systemen. Die erhobenen Daten dienen vor allem der Gewinnmaximierung und gezielter Werbung.   7. KI wird auch militärisch verwendet     Ein wesentlicher Ablehnungsgrund für Tom Oberbichler: KI wird von Staaten wie Israel und den USA militärisch oder für Überwachungszwecke eingesetzt.   8. Chinesische KI-Alternativen als weniger kommerzielle Option     Tom Oberbichler nutzt bewusst chinesische Tools wie DeepSeek oder Ernie, da sie kostenfrei sind und nicht primär der Profitorientierung westlicher Firmen folgen.   9. Jede KI hat ihre Eigenheiten und Anwendungsbereiche     Die Wahl der passenden KI hängt von individuellen Anforderungen, ethischen Werten und gewünschten Ergebnissen ab. Nicht jede Maschine ist für jeden Zweck gleichermaßen geeignet; Experimente sind sinnvoll und notwendig für optimale Ergebnisse.   10. Gesetzliche Maßnahmen sind schwierig und langsam      Die Hoffnung, dass Gesetze die Verbreitung und Nutzung von KI eindämmen könnten, ist naiv. Vielmehr plädiere ich für realistische, gemeinsame Forderungen, wie z. B. eine Kopierabgabe für KI-Outputs. # KI im Selfpublishing: Chancen, Risiken und eigene Verantwortung  ## Wie Autoren und Autorinnen mit ChatGPT & Co. produktiv und reflektiert umgehen können   Künstliche Intelligenz – kurz KI – ist seit ein paar Jahren in aller Munde. Für viele Auto:rinnen stellt sich die Frage, wie und ob sie KI-gestützte Werkzeuge, etwa ChatGPT von OpenAI, in ihrem Schreibprozess nutzen sollten. In der Selbstverlagsbranche erleben wir einen grundlegenden Wandel, der nicht nur Chancen eröffnet, sondern auch neue Herausforderungen und ethische Fragen aufwirft.   ---   ## KI: Von der Science-Fiction zur Alltagsrealität   Was vor wenigen Jahren nach Zukunftsmusik klang, ist längst Gegenwart: Ob beim Schreiben in Word, der Nutzung von Suchmaschinen oder beim professionellen Layout von Büchern – künstliche Intelligenz ist überall. Fast unbemerkt haben große Anbieter wie Microsoft, Google, Adobe oder Amazon ihre Systeme „intelligent" gemacht. Wer einen Text am Rechner schreibt, arbeitet praktisch immer auch mit KI-basierten Algorithmen.   Nach meiner Ansicht ist es illusorisch, sich dem grundsätzlich zu entziehen. Der technische Fortschritt verschwindet nicht mehr aus unserem Alltag, sobald er profitabel ist. Die entscheidende Frage ist daher nicht mehr, ob wir KI in der Buchbranche erleben, sondern vielmehr: Welche KI-Tools nutzen wir? Und nach welchen Kriterien wählen wir diese aus?   ## ChatGPT, OpenAI und die neue KI-Landschaft   ChatGPT von OpenAI wurde in Rekordzeit zu einem der populärsten KI-Tools weltweit. Laut Berichten lag der Marktanteil zum Teil bei über 87 Prozent – eine beeindruckende Zahl, die jedoch in den letzten Monaten leicht rückläufig war, da immer mehr Menschen kritisch hinterfragen, mit welchem Anbieter sie arbeiten möchten.   Was unterscheidet die verschiedenen Lösungen? Zunächst die Qualität der Ergebnisse. Mindestens genauso wichtig ist jedoch die Frage der Werte und Interessen, die hinter einer Software stehen. So startete OpenAI ursprünglich als Non-Profit-Initiative, ehe Investoren wie Microsoft einstiegen und einen klaren Renditefokus einforderten. Immer wieder gibt es Berichte über Trägheit der Software oder spürbar schlechtere Ergebnisse vor der Einführung einer neuen, kostenpflichtigen Version – ein billiger „Schaustellertrick" zur Absatzförderung.   Schwerwiegender sind freilich die ethischen Implikationen: Die militärische Nutzung von KI – etwa zur Zielidentifikation im Krieg oder zur Massenüberwachung – ist längst Realität. Ich kann nur unterstreichen, dass sich jeder, der KI-Tools aktiv nutzt, immer auch fragen muss, ob und wie er oder sie Teil von Entwicklungen werden möchte, die diesen Einsatz indirekt unterstützen.   ## Wahrheit oder Wunsch? – KI-Tools als Recherchehilfen   KI ist kein Orakel und schon gar keine zuverlässliche Quelle. Als Tom ich z.B. ChatGPT nach mir selbst fragte, fand er zu seiner Überraschung heraus, dass die KI mir fälschlicherweise auch eine Karriere als erfolgreicher Fantasy-Autor zuschrieb (ich habe noch keine Zeile Fantasy geschrieben …). Das illustriert: KI ist darauf optimiert, plausible, aber nicht notwendigerweise wahre Antworten zu liefern. Wer KI für die Recherche nutzt, muss unbedingt kritisch gegenprüfen und darf sich nicht auf die Maschinen verlassen.   Nicht weniger problematisch ist die Datensammelwut großer US-amerikanischer Konzerne wie Google, Facebook oder Microsoft. Hier werden Informationen hauptsächlich gesammelt, um Werbung gezielt zu steuern und Gewinne zu maximieren. Für mich ist das mit ein Grund, nach alternativen KI-Angeboten zu suchen.   ## KI-Alternativen: Ein Blick nach China   Mit Anbietern wie „DeepSeek" und „Ernie" gibt es KI-Textmaschinen aus China, die in vielerlei Hinsicht mit den US-Produkten konkurrieren können – und das sogar kostenfrei. Ich schätze besonders DeepSeek für zuverlässige Texterstellung sowie eine klare Sitzungsstruktur: Am Ende jeder Sitzung sind die Konversationsregeln gelöscht – ein kleiner, aber feiner Beitrag zu mehr Datenschutz.   Faszinierend ist für ihn auch, wie simpel und direkt das Arbeiten mit diesen Tools oft ist. Die oft propagierten teuren Prompting-„Crash-Kurse" sind meist gar nicht nötig – die chinesischen Tools liefern intuitive Bedienbarkeit. Besonders bei Stilwünschen, etwa zum Thema Gendern, reagieren sie flexibel und anforderungsgerecht.   ## Ethische Verantwortung: Wo ziehe ich persönlich meine Grenze?   Die Frage nach Moral und persönlicher Verantwortung zieht sich durch das gesamte KI-Thema. Ich lege dir nahe, dir genau zu überlegen, wie und warum du eine bestimmte KI-Lösung nutzt. Denn spätestens, wenn KI-Tools für militärische Zwecke oder zur Diskriminierung eingesetzt werden, sollte jede:r für sich klären, wo die eigene rote Linie verläuft.   Auch politische Forderungen an Gesetzgeber und Interessenvertretungen müssen klar definierbar und umsetzbar sein. Vorschläge wie eine allgemeine "Kopierabgabe" für KI-Nutzung zur fairen Verteilung an Kreative werden diskutiert, sind aktuell aber noch nicht umgesetzt. ## Chancen für Selfpublisher: Mit KI wachsen – aber reflektiert!   Was können Autor:innen, Selfpublisher:innen und andere Kreative lernen? Wie schon in der englischsprachigen Buchszene geht es nicht nur um juristische Risiken, sondern vor allem darum, wie und in welcher Form du KI hilfreich für den persönlichen Bucherfolg nutzt. KI kann Bearbeitungen vereinfachen, den Schreibprozess inspirieren oder beim Plotten unterstützen. Indem du sie bewusst und kritisch anwendet, profitierst du von der Textmaschine deiner Wahl.   Doch: Die Verantwortung liegt beim Menschen. Niemand sollte blind folgen, sondern Informationsquellen prüfen, ethische Faktoren reflektieren und eigene Erfahrungen sammeln. Ohne dich gibt es kein gutes Buch!   ## Bewusst entscheiden, ausprobieren, austauschen   Die KI-Entwicklung lässt sich nicht aufhalten. Für Selfpublisher:innen ist jetzt der beste Zeitpunkt, sich aktiv mit dem Thema auseinanderzusetzen, verschiedene Tools zu testen und sich eine fundierte Meinung zu bilden. Ich lade dich dazu ein, deine eigenen Erfahrungen zu teilen, neue Lösungen kennenzulernen, aber immer auch kritisch zu bleiben.   Letztlich entscheidet jeder und jede für sich, mit welcher KI, für welche Zwecke und unter welchen Bedingungen er/sie schreibt. Reflexion, Austausch und klare Werte sind dabei der beste Kompass.   Du hast eigene Erfahrungen mit KI beim Schreiben gemacht? Teile sie gerne in den Kommentaren!  Hier die Links, die ich im Podcast anspreche, und weiterführende Informationen, Tipps und Erfahrungsberichte rund um Bücher, eBooks und deinen Erfolg: Hier kommst du zu dem Blogbeitrag über ChatGPT, den ich im Podcast erwähne: https://mission-bestseller.com/chatgpt-von-openai-als-ki-nutzen/ Hier findest du meinen ersten Artikel zu der Problematik von Amazon und der Politik: https://mission-bestseller.com/amazon-und-die-politik-ein-dilemma-fuer-unabhaengige-autorinnen-und-autoren/ Und wenn du trotz alledem wie ich weiterhin über Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) veröffentlichst, dann brauchst du diesen Kurs, um deinem Buch mehr Sichtbarkeit zu verschaffen: https://mission-bestseller.com/keywords 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.

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Orna Ross and Joanna Penn explore the concept of friction in the author business — the stuff that stops readers from buying and stops authors from acting. They examine reader friction including decision fatigue, pricing signals, platform fragmentation, and the challenge of buying direct; author friction including tech overload, identity resistance, and fear of judgment; and the counterintuitive idea that some friction — a signed limited edition, a serialized novel released chapter by chapter, a live human conversation — is actually worth keeping, because it creates connection, commitment, and differentiation in an age of one-click AI convenience. Show Notes Bones of the Deep. A Thriller: Kickstarter ALLi's Indie Author Bookstore About the Hosts Joanna Penn writes nonfiction for authors and is an award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller author as J.F.Penn. She's also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker. 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 Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway examines three interconnected stories about how books get discovered and sold. He reports on the launch of the UK's first BookTok bestseller list, powered by Nielsen BookScan, and what its romance- and romantasy-heavy lineup reveals about how viral book conversations actually work. He also looks at two striking examples of subscription boxes driving books to the top of the charts — including Goldsboro Books' GSFF box and the fantasy service Fairyloot — and closes with the question of whether the special edition and deluxe edition market may have reached its peak, drawing a sharp parallel with the vinyl singles collecting craze of the 1980s. 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. 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.

BLADES, BOOKS, AND THE BANDIT is out in the world! I'm celebrating that and also looking back over the last ten years of being on the self-publishing endless hustle - and what it means to step off of that hamster wheel and let it get a little dusty.Goodreads Giveaway for AMONG THE THORNS goes May 4-25. Enter here. https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/431710-among-the-thornsIndie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request for an order hereNew Releases ~Love, Lies, and Ley LinesMAGIC REBORNNever The RosesPreorder ~Among The ThornsBlades, Books, and the BanditSocials ~ @jeffe_kennedy on all platforms :)Upcoming Events ~Tuscon Festival of Books is March 14th-15th this year! See you there! https://tucsonfestivalofbooks.orgFollow me on Amazon or BookBubThe posture correcting sports bra I love almost more than life itself can be found hereThank you for listening! You all take care. Support the show

A little story about how it took a long time self publishing to find a traditional publisher.Get "You're Going To Be Ok" here as a paperback or audiobookGet my book, "You're Going To Be Ok" & "DARBY, LOVE... (Alive things mum said before she died)", (published by Andrews McMeel):ME BOOKSMy books and prints:www.darbyhudson.comFind me:InstagramTikTokYouTube#art #writingtips #creativity #writingcommunity #writing #artist

Today's show is sponsored by Huion, makers of the Huion Kamvas 22 (Gen 3) — a 21.5" pen display with a gorgeous 2.5K screen and really smooth performance. Bottom line: it feels great to draw on — and it punches way above its price. • Check it out at https://comiclabshop.com • Use code COMICLAB5 for an exclusive 5% discount! (Valid through June 14th) Brad and Dave tackle a listener question that gets to the heart of creative careers: Can you make a living telling shorter stories, or does success demand long-form work? As always, the answer is equal parts practical advice and creative philosophy — grounded in real-world experience and delivered with ComicLab's signature mix of humor and honesty. TODAY'S SHOW • Can you build a career on individual short stories? • Market expectations around story length (comics, film, TV) and perceived value • Creative problem-solving as a business tool — making unconventional formats work • Strategies for packaging short stories (genre consistency, shared setting, through-lines) • Examples of experimental storytelling formats (anthologies, vignette structures) • PROMO: Huion Kamvas 22 (Gen 3) — features, workflow integration, and discount code ComicLab5 at https://comiclabshop.com • Estate planning for cartoonists — what happens to your IP after death? • Debate: Should creative work become public domain sooner? • Should kids continue your comic… or make their own work? • The reality of legacy comics vs. modern independent publishing You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon$2 — Early access to episodes$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.

Chandler Bolt realized that much of what his sales managers did at Selfpublishing.com can be done better by good AI. Within a month, he built a first version with spiked sales. Now he's replacing all his managers. This is his guide to doing it well. Chandler Bolt is the founder and CEO of SelfPublishing.com, an education company that helps entrepreneurs and experts write, publish, and market books. Over the past decade, the company has helped publish more than 7,000 books and grown into an eight-figure business. Today, Chandler is focused on using AI tools like Lovable to build internal systems that improve sales, operations, and management at scale. Sponsored byZapier More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

Send us Fan MailIn this empowering episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we are joined by the remarkable Sarah Freeman-Smith, a visually impaired author, motivational speaker, and advocate for the inclusion of individuals with disabilities. With over 25 years of experience in human resources, Sarah shares her inspiring journey of resilience, purpose, and transformation in the face of adversity.Sarah opens up about her extensive background in recruiting and her passion for helping others find their calling. After facing a life-altering diagnosis that threatened her career, she turned her challenges into opportunities, becoming a disability advocate and motivational speaker. Through her personal story, she encourages listeners to embrace their worth and pursue their passions, no matter the obstacles they face.In our conversation, Sarah discusses her book, "Turning Stones into Gems," which serves as a guide for individuals seeking to uncover their true potential. She shares insights on the importance of self-belief, the power of prayer, and the process of transforming challenges into opportunities for growth. With practical advice and heartfelt anecdotes, Sarah empowers listeners to take charge of their careers and lives.Join us for a thought-provoking discussion filled with motivation, insightful tips for career change, and the reminder that everyone has the potential to shine like a gem.What You'll Learn in This Episode:- The journey of transforming adversity into advocacy- Key insights from Sarah's book, "Turning Stones into Gems"- The significance of self-belief and positive self-talk in career transitions- Practical steps for pursuing a purposeful career change- The importance of community and mentorship in personal growthFor more information on Sarah Freeman-Smith and her work, visit www.urjems.com and explore her resources for personal and professional development.Support the show

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions!If you've ever thought "I could write a book about this" while watching a reality TV show at 10pm, you're going to love this episode! Amy Mass spent years writing for TV (you might recognize "The Goldbergs" and "Last Man Standing" from her credits), and after relocating from LA to a charming small town outside Atlanta during COVID, she channeled all of that storytelling experience into her debut novel, Reality Bites, out May 12, 2026 from Harper Perennial.In this episode, Amy and I talk about what it actually looked like to make the leap from TV writer to novelist, including writing three books and two movies in four years, going out on submission, shelving her first manuscript, and finally landing a deal with a major publishing house. We also get into her writing process (she's both a pantser and a plotter), why she writes dialogue first, and how she keeps a running collection of joke scraps and character notes scattered across her phone, her laptop, and random Post-its around the house.We also talk about what it was like getting notes from her agent and her editor, and how to push back on notes without being precious about it. Her phrase "find the note behind the note" is one to hold onto! And then we get into the part that surprises most authors: how much marketing is still on you. Amy was genuinely caught off guard by how much time, energy, and social media hustle a book launch requires—even with a publicity team in your corner. 

On the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Joe Solari draws a lesson from Jeff Bezos's early years at Amazon — when Wall Street was calling it amazon.bomb and Bezos kept building anyway — to make a case for why indie authors need to stop watching their competitors and start watching their readers. Using the philosopher René Girard's concept of mimetic desire, Joe explains how author communities, for all their value, can quietly install somebody else's North Star in your publishing business without you even noticing. He offers two practical tools to counter this: a one-page North Star document that anchors your publishing vision before you open any dashboard or social media group, and a one-week information audit that helps you identify how much of what you're consuming is signal and how much is just other people's noise. Sponsor The Publishing for Profit podcast is proudly sponsored by Tertulia for Authors. Build a beautiful author storefront in minutes, showcase your books, send newsletters, and sell direct. Get started at tertulia.com/alli. 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.

Audible is rolling out a new ACX royalty model, and indie authors need to understand what's changing. We'll cover the new audiobook royalty rates, concerns around pooled payouts, Spotify for Authors distribution terms, IngramSpark metadata research, AI audiobook tools, and author scams. Stay informed before you make your next publishing move. Dibbly Create - https://DaleLinks.com/DibblyCreate (affiliate link) Audible's New Royalty Model Screws Authors - https://open.substack.com/pub/selfpub/p/audiblegate2?r=1nx44v&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true ACX: Audible's New Royalty Model - https://help.acx.com/s/article/audible-s-new-royalty-model Spotify for Authors Opt-In Audiobook Distribution Terms - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/spotify-for-authors-opt-in-distribution-terms/  IngramSpark: Study Finds Improved Metadata Could Boost Sales by Up to 9%* - https://www.ingramspark.com/blog/study-finds-improved-metadata-could-boost-sales-by-up-to-9-percent  Rapid-Fire Newsflash Apple Books for Authors - https://authors.apple.com Spoken - https://spoken.press Spoken: Become a Producer - https://www.spoken.press/producers GeniusLink - https://DaleLinks.com/Genius (affiliate link)  StoryVox (beta) - https://storyvox.app/ D2D's Self-Publishing Insiders: Scammers are Coming for You! - https://www.youtube.com/live/2EPOnKdNNDY?si=VLm5hPmpPA1httTl This Scam Could Cost Authors Real Money - https://youtu.be/pEbnC9PRGgw?si=RUNcHKkoekTMvgf-  Electric Lit: Author AI Scams Bingo - https://electricliterature.com/author-ai-scams-bingo/   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

It's AMA time! When is the best time to query an agent? When is the best time to go out on submission? How on earth does a writer choose comp titles? Literary agent, Kathleen Foxx, answers these questions and more on today's Hook Your Reader episode. If you want our feedback on your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample, visit storynerd.ca for details on how to submit. We look forward to reading your work! -V. Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway breaks down Audible's decision to retire its legacy royalty model by the end of 2026, explaining what the new model means for audiobook authors and the separate decision about whether to enter the All You Can Listen pool. He also reports on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' new Oscar eligibility rules requiring human actors and writers, and examines a Book Industry Study Group survey showing that concern about AI-generated books in the marketplace has now entered the top four worries for publishing industry professionals. Show Notes Audible's New Royalty Model 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. 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.

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions!Most authors don't realize that publishing isn't just about writing a book. Before long, it often becomes a full-on entrepreneurial rollercoaster. In this episode, I talk with Allie Hill, author of the Girlfriend's Guide to Empty Nesting, about what really happens after you hit "publish." She reveals what surprised her, what flopped, and what secretly skyrocketed her confidence. This episode is perfect for first-time authors, seasoned writers, or anyone curious about the gritty truth behind that glossy book cover.(And just wait until you hear her book recommendation from the "What I'm Reading Now" segment!) 

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

In this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi Member Q&A podcast, hosts Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black discuss whether authors of memoir and creative nonfiction should invest in a legal review before publication. Other questions include: Should you agree to a publishing services contract that assigns your ISBN to the company? When is the right stage to add references in a nonfiction manuscript? Are Goodreads giveaways worth the cost compared to other marketing options? What is the simplest way to build a functional author website with email capture and reader magnets? Should you revise and republish a bestselling book with low reviews or focus on new work? What should you do if you are about to miss an Amazon pre-order deadline? 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.

This episode examines a Bluesky thread where cartoonists self-reported their financial realities. While the original question was thoughtful — seeking insight into full-time and part-time comic careers — the resulting discussion revealed a common problem: an echo chamber of discouragement. Brad and Dave emphasize that these threads often skew negative due to self-selection bias. Many successful creators don't participate—either because they're busy, uncomfortable sharing income, or wary of backlash. The result? A distorted picture where it appears that no one is succeeding, even though many are. TODAY'S SHOW Nobody makes a living in comics ComicLab LIVE at the NCS Conference and Reuben Awards, Aug. 6-8, Columbus, Ohio — nationalcartoonists.com Tattoos Baby Blues and Zits announce retirement Death of syndication   You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon$2 — Early access to episodes$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.

The FTC just hit Publishing.com and the Mikkelsen Twins with a $1.5 million settlement, and that is only part of this week's self-publishing news. I also cover impersonation scammers targeting authors, Spotify expanding deeper into audiobooks and print discovery with Bookshop.org, a helpful new KDP Select calculator from Kindlepreneur, and more rapid-fire updates authors need to know. If you care about self-publishing news, author scams, audiobook growth, and the latest publishing industry shifts, this one is worth your attention. Dibbly Create - https://DaleLinks.com/DibblyCreate (affiliate link) Publishing.com to Pay $1.5 Million for Misleading Consumers about How Much Income They Could Earn Using the Company's Products and Services - https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/04/publishingcom-pay-15-million-misleading-consumers-about-how-much-income-they-could-earn-using Kindlepreneur: KENP Calculator: Know What a Kindle Unlimited Reader Is Actually Worth - https://kindlepreneur.com/kenp-calculator/?aff=18 Spotify Expands Audiobook Features, and Printed Book Sales Go Live in the US and UK - https://newsroom.spotify.com/2026-04-15/audiobook-charts-recaps-page-match-bookshop-update/  Spoken: What Did the "Your Story" Winner Webinar Reveal? - https://www.spoken.press/the-spoken-chronicle/your-story-grand-prize Rapid-Fire Newsflash ProWritingAid: Plot Analysis - https://prowritingaid.com/features/plot-analysis?afid=6615 Book Brush: Launch Smarter: Build Your Newsletter, Website, and ARC Team Before Your Book Hits - https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/gr1FVJtBSzOwv4qYost18Q#/registration Twin Flames Studios: Great Books Aren't Written—They're Edited - https://twinflamesstudios.com/book-editing-authors/  The Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast: Marketing Your Books Using Video, with Dale L. Roberts and Matty Dalrymple - https://selfpublishingadvice.org/podcast-marketing-your-books-using-video/ Indie Author Magazine: Email Marketing That Turns Readers Into Fans (and Buyers) - https://webinars.indieauthortraining.com/replays/   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

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What if a microscopic alien lifeform was slowly eating our sun? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice sit down with Andy Weir, the bestselling author of Project Hail Mary, for a deep dive into designing aliens, science fiction, and science behind the book (and the movie.) NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here:  https://startalkmedia.com/show/project-hail-mary-with-andy-weir/ Thanks to our Patrons RT, Matthew Wessel, Tyler Walker, nuclear_detergent, Ryan Buchanan, The Lord of the Ganja, Tyrone Morgan, Ciara Steinert, Fabian De Rossi, Travis Anders, Dee El Dee, Lazzarous, Moshe Sedero, Sebastian Heineberg, David, Casey Sizeland, Anna, Simon Franklin, Chris Carley, ohhdontdoit, hilde, Jim Niemann, Jesse Lee, Sri Harsha Chennavajjala, grbac6800, Mike, Aviad Pineles, salima makitina, Gero Finke, Nick Charles, David Shapiro, Diyako Kochar Taymur, David Kunz, Bob, Doug, Aviral Bhatnagar, Matthew Sims, Squibb Thompson, Theta544, D00gster x702, Kyle Sullivan, John Hermansen, April Stearns, Brian Eastwood, jassim tazi, Kassious, Gustavo Rincon, Reloadown, Tom Kavanaugh, Kay 1, George Grimes, Barbara Lewis, Davey Maclaren, Blake Muccini, Sydney, MISFIT, Mohammed Nadeem Amin, JB, rasma, Chris, Glenn Whelan, Elizabeth Grey, Eli Hadden, Elias Holguin, Darrell Thayer, Jason, Shayla Hamady, Bradley Martin, jamie jarrard, Robert Douglas Brown, Michael Johnston, Kristine Nixon, VirusJTG, Briana Bartlett, Tim Rea, Leo Carrasco, Christopher Friedline, belle g, Carver Nevling, Emily Winter, Draxontheyeen, Leslie, Bombed Blonde, Shadow, Brian, Sam Smith, Brianna Smith, Evan Q, Anzhr, Jolo, Austin Applegate, Bryan Smarkola, Steven Patterson, Femke Seynaeve, Bee, Jeffrey Macris, Stan Ginsel, Bob M, Eric, and Yet Another Patron for supporting us this week. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of StarTalk Radio ad-free and a whole week early.Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.