Russell Blake is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of some 30 – count ‘em! – much loved books and has been featured in the likes of the Wall Street Journal and The Chicago Tribune. He’s become a hugely respected figure in indie publishing circles and together with Mark and James, happily discusses, amongst other things, why marketing a book is quite a different process to writing one, the whole Kindle Unlimited thing and how to be an exceptional author (i.e. one that makes a living from writing).
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.
Show Notes
- What a new author should focus on.
- On marketing books and how that skill set is very different from writing them.
- What being the exception to the rule in self-publishing means.
- The perma-free strategy and whether Russell is a believer.
- Russell’s thoughts on Kindle Unlimited.
- On selling in online retail stores other than Amazon.
- Kindle Worlds fan fiction and what it’s like to read stories by other writers set in Russell’s world.
- Marketing a book that’s in a different genre than your readers / newsletter subscribers are used to, including pricing strategies.
- Questions from listeners, including what Russell’s experience working with Clive Cussler was like.
- Comparisons between the music business and the traditional publishing business.