Danny Boyle’s new film seems to rip off a self-published story, a much-hyped traditionally published book bombs in the UK, and you can now listen to Mark’s BBC appearance.
PublishDrive’s Kinga Jentetics explains how the aggregator distributes books globally, including to growing English markets like China and India.
Breaking down that daunting debut novel into one daily step at a time.
Million selling author LJ Ross sits down to talk about taking a leap out of her first career and into writing. Spoiler: it worked out pretty well for her.
Retiree David Penny talks about his return to writing after a thirty-five year hiatus and shares his strategy for making a mid-five-figures per year income from his very niche historical mysteries.
PATREON: Self Publishing Formula Podcast’s Patreon page
ADS FOR AUTHORS COURSE: The Ads for Authors course is open again for a short enrollment window.
AUTHOR SUPPORT: The Alliance of Independent Authors
Indie author community superstar Joanna Penn talks to James about putting a focus on improving her health and creating a sustainable long-term career as a writer.
PATREON: Self Publishing Formula Podcast’s Patreon page
JUST GIVING: The fundraising page for author Tommy Donbavand
Joanna’s Book: HOW TO BE A HEALTHY WRITER
Author, mother, and nap-time entrepreneur Katie Cross offers an explanation for why it’s normal for indie authors to struggle with Imposter Syndrome, and also specific strategies for how to deal with it.
FREE PDF: Katie created a free PDF on how to defeat Imposter Syndrome
BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Playing Big by Tara Mohr
COMPLIMENTARY SESSION: Katie offers a complimentary 20 minute strategy session with authors
SPF FOUNDATION: Click here to learn more
PATREON: Self Publishing Formula Podcast’s Patreon page
Ads for Authors Course – INFO/PURCHASE link
Nov 21, 2017: Free Webinar with Mark about Advertising Strategies REGISTER HERE
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Ads for Authors Course – INFO/PURCHASE link
Vellum for ebook and print formatting
Clinical psychologist and sleep expert, Anne Bartolucci, explains why sleep matters for creatives (including writers), how to improve our sleep to boost productivity and how to work around the procrastination and resistance that plagues so many writers.
Legendary comic book author, Pat Mills, creator of 2000 AD, featuring Judge Dredd, talks to SPF about the state of the nation in the comic book industry, his move to writing text novels, and what he’s learned from his experiences dealing with Hollywood.
It’s difficult to talk about marketing for self publishing and indie authors without the name of Bookbub coming into the conversation. That’s because Bookbub is a very effective and powerful platform for getting indie authors notices in the very niches their readers love. On this episode of the Self Publishing Formula James and Mark host Katie Donelan, the first non-founder employee of Bookbub, to chat about how Bookbub works, why it’s so powerful, and how self published authors can use the platform to promote their own work.
How does the Bookbub promotion platform work?
Bookbub has been around since 2012 and has build a very powerful platform for promoting self published books to the specific niches of readers who are interested in their genre. Its main approach hinges on an email they send out to readers who have opted-in to their list. Authors are able to submit their books for consideration and the Bookbub team makes the decision about whether to include the author’s book or not. Since Bookbub gets so many submissions, there is a very careful selection process and not all submissions are accepted. You can find out how Katie suggests you go about applying to get your work included in the Bookbub newsletter.
The Bookbub approach focuses on quality and data, with an editorial twist.
Katie shares how Bookbub uses the data regarding authors and their past successes as well as a group of editors who evaluate submitted books with a human touch to make sure that there is a proper assessment of each submission.
Coming soon: The Bookbub ad platform.
For a while now the Bookbub team has been running a beta program of their new ad platform where authors can purchase ads to promote their books within the Bookbub newsletter. They can do so without the editorial hoops to jump through and with the ability for their ads to appear to their specific audience. It’s a masterful move by the Bookbub team and Mark has actually been trying it out. On this episode you’re going to be able to hear how the ad platform has been going for Mark and why he’s convinced it’s going to be a great tool for authors of any stripe and skill level.
What can you do if your submission to Bookbub has never been approved?
Many authors have submitted to be included in the Bookbub newsletter but have never been accepted for inclusion. Why? It has to do with the genre your book is in and whether there is a high demand for books in that niche. It also has to do with the historical success of books within that genre as well as the success of the author in past book sales. There’s also the issue of quality and the view Bookbub has of taking care of its reader audience by only promoting books that meet their quality standards. So what should you do if you’ve never been accepted by Bookbub? You can find out on this episode.
Today’s guest is one of the most prolific and hardworking Indie authors out there. All it takes is a glance at Bella Andre’s catalogue to realize that this woman knows how to do what it takes to get books written! Success has come with over 50 bestsellers to her credit, and, during this chat, you’re going to hear Bella’s thoughts about how self-publishing has changed over the years of her career, how and when Indie authors need to put on the blinders, learning to work in your own cycles, and the details of how she got her seven figure print-only publishing deal.
If you know you’re supposed to be a writer and are doing the work, you’re going to have plenty of feedback and pushback regarding all kinds of things. People will criticize your work, tell you that you’re a bad author – the list goes on. It’s during those times that you can’t let yourself get focused on the negative things coming your way. Bella calls it “putting on the blinders” to keep yourself on track in your writing career. During this conversation she shares some of the things she’s had to overcome and how she did it by employing her own set of blinders. It’s encouraging and helpful stuff for any indie author.
Bella has learned over the years of being a self published author that she has to be true to the way that SHE works and not try to follow some predefined or suggested writing formula. Even within the way she works she’s found that the routine changes from time to time. For her it’s a case of knowing herself and doing what best facilitates success for herself from day to day. James and Mark quiz Bella on how she goes about determining those cycles for herself and ask what she’d recommend to authors who are struggling to get into their own routine. You’ll love her responses.
From an author as successful and prolific as Bella you might think that the most beneficial things in her career are things you typically hear: writing a set number of words every day, doing the work, focusing on technique and skill development, killing her darlings. But she’s got a very different answer to the question that she shares on this episode – and it doesn’t have to do with the act of writing at all.
Bella’s website: http://bellaandre.com/
You can win a scholarship to Mark Dawson’s acclaimed premium course “Facebook Ads for Authors” by spreading the word about this podcast.
Visit selfpublishingformula.com/contest to enter.
You can win a scholarship to Mark Dawson’s acclaimed premium course “Facebook Ads for Authors” by spreading the word about this podcast.
Visit selfpublishingformula.com/contest to enter.
James: You can win a scholarship to Mark Dawson’s acclaimed premium course “Facebook Ads for Authors” by spreading the word about this podcast.
Visit selfpublishingformula.com/contest to enter.
Hello and welcome to podcast #6 from The Self-Publishing Formula.
Female: Two writers: one just starting out; the other a best-seller. Join James Blatch and Mark Dawson and their amazing guests as they discuss how you can make a living telling stories. There’s never been a better time to be a writer.
It’s the first full edition of the Self Publishing Formula Podcast! In this episode, bestselling indie author Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn fame talks mistakes, mishaps and triumphs in Self Publishing. She also reflects on the immense changes that have taken place in the industry since her first book was published and provides tips and advice for those starting out on their indie author journey.
