SPA Girls Podcast

Doubts are the biggest creativity and success blocker. But it takes a strong person not to have them.

No one said this was going to be easy, or everyone would be doing it. If you ask those that succeed in this business they will all tell you they’ve had knock backs. It’s about perseverance. It’s about holding on to your self belief and forging ahead.

How do you build superfans and a sustainable income through patreon*, kickstarter, subscriptions and serial works? Bestselling author Tao Wong joins us this episode to reveal all the secrets of keeping readers begging for more (cliff-hangers anyone ?!), building a thriving community of superfans and, most importantly, diversifying your income streams.

How the heck do you build a reader newsletter list when you're first starting out? We're back with another SPA Girls minisode, to get your author career rocking. Listen up for how we built our own reader newsletters and what tools and services we recommend.

Being a resilient author means being able to bounce back after experiencing a knock - and we all know that being a self-published author can knock you around sometimes! This week we talk with Patricia McLinn, an author who's been writing for more than 35 years, and who knows a thing or two about how to keep going when the going gets tough. Pat gives us her top five pieces of advice so you can stay focused and keep the positivity flowing when it seems like everything is falling apart around you.

Kate Hall is a paranormal romance and non-fiction author who has taken her marketing expertise and used it to kick butt on TikTok. She started Alyne Digital Solutions in an effort to help authors make a sustainable income from their books, and since starting has scaled two of her businesses and several others’ to six figure incomes.
As well as discussing facts and figures for TikTok, we’re also delving into marketing for authors, and why you’re probably using the wrong hooks in your social media.
A wonderful open and informative discussion that could unlock answers to questions we’re all asking right now!

This week we're covering two burning topics: what are the worst mistakes newbies are making, and how to write chapter endings that keep readers reading!

In this podcast we talk to KimBoo York about her latest book Secrets of Discovery Writing.
We dive into how you can successfully use discovery writing when crafting your novel. It's an awesome podcast and one the pantsers among us will really enjoy.

Our guest today, Kiwi author Melissa Pearl, has five pen names across multiple genres and has been learning about self publishing since she published her first book in 2011. Since then she's published more than 80 books, and shares with us some real and raw insights into the career of an indie author, including all the highs and the lows. When she launched her latest pen name last year, she made sure she used everything she'd learned over that time to ensure her new pen name was successful right from the start.
Melissa generously tells us exactly what she did to create her latest pen name, and every step she took along the way to make it successful. Don't miss this information packed episode!

The Enneagram is a personality typing system, where each person falls into one of nine types. Today we're talking with author, educator and fiction strategist, Claire Taylor, about how understanding our enneagram type liberates writers from the "shoulds" and self-judgement, and helps us become more successful as authors.

Procrastination takes many forms for writers, and it holds us back from writing, publishing and promoting our work. We discuss how to get out of your own way with our guest today, Kathryn Burnett.

Creating and running Facebook ads has gotten a lot easier! Wondering how to delve into facebook advertising or had poor experiences in the past and wondering where you went wrong? This episode is for you!

Ever hesitate over making an important decision because you were trying to figure out what the 'right' thing to do was... and then miss out on an awesome opportunity because you didn't take a leap of faith? Yeah, us too. That's why this episode is all about making good decisions in your author career. 

In fact, we're not only advocating making decisions and moving forward, we're also suggesting that a FAST decision is even better than an average speed decision. Research has shown that fast decisions are often higher quality, perhaps proving that our subconscious brain can move faster than our conscious brain... or maybe it's just our intuition is more capable than our overthinking brain? Whatever the reason, it's a powerful reminder that we know more than we think we know... 

In this episode you'll learn some ideas and techniques on how to assess decisions, learn when to make fast decisions and hear about some of the decisions we did and didn't make in our careers and what we learned from them.

Today we’re interviewing Dan Wood, Chief Operating Officer at Draft2Digital, one of the best known distributors for eBooks, print and audio books.

We last spoke to Dan in 2019 and a lot has happened since then!

D2D has not only merged with Smashwords to make their reach stronger, they build tools and services that let you focus on writing while they take care of layout, publishing, distribution, print-on-demand paperbacks, and more.

If you’re a new author or simply want to level up and expand, Dan has lots of tips to help you, including promotional opportunities and Books2Read, an author promotions powerhouse that includes New Release Notifications, Universal Book Links (UBLs), B2R Author Pages, B2R Book Tabs, and so much more!

Your brain is a liar!

Heather Hildenbrand is a bestselling author and business coach for creatives. This episode she demystifies how our results are determined by our beliefs first, and our efforts, second.

Listen up for amazing (and do-able!) mindset tips for authors and how to overcome our blocks with less woo and more “do”!

In this episode we chat to YA Fantasy author Katie Cross. She has so much passion and enthusiasm for what she does, and loves her readers! 
We talk about direct sales and how to relate to your readers, and these are just two of the topics we covered. It's action packed and full of information!

You are your own publishing house when you self-publish. There’s lots to do, and lots to think about, especially the first few times you publish a book.

That’s why we’ve created this helpful, back-to-basics SPA Girls Podcast episode – to help you go from rough manuscript to published book, with our notes on what you need to plan for and schedule, and how to figure out what you’re going to need to actually do to get your book published on all the platforms.

We haven’t given a specific order for these tasks to be done in – we know too many successful authors who get different aspects of the checklist done at different times. There are also tasks that can be finished quickly and others that will take time. The important thing is to know what you need to do, to work out a schedule that suits you and your life, and then to actually do the tasks!

To help out, we’ve also created a handy checklist for you to download; just click the links in the show notes to find it, or head to the show notes for the episode on our website!

This episode, we’re joined again by the effervescent Kathleen Sweeney from Bookbrush. She's is going to update us on best practices, new additions to Book Brush software and added service options that can save authors time and stress producing graphics.

Inspired by Dr Michael Moseley’s JUST ONE THING we use his framework to give practical tips for uncomplicating your writing and author business life.

Today we discuss business plans. Need help creating yours? It doesn't need to be complicated, just download our simple SPA Girls template in the show notes.

Want to set yourself up for an awesome 2024? Then this is the SPA Girls podcast episode for you. We go through our top eight tips to help amp up your career and kickstart your year!

We’re celebrating you, our wonderful listeners, in the SPA today by sharing our 12 Christmas Wishes for you and your self-publishing journey.

We want you to know how special to us. We’re so proud of this journey we’ve all embarked on and with what everyone has achieved. No matter where you are in the publishing process, it really is time to celebrate!

May your holiday be filled with love, joy, good food, fun, books and time to relax and recharge yourself.

Are you dreaming of an easy approach to create successful book releases? Listen up, because we’re joined again by the bestselling fantasy author, Helen Scheuerer, who shares all the secrets of a Successful Series Launch, including:

Congratulations! You’ve finished your first book (or series) and are ready to hit the publish button! So what can you do to get your book noticed in sea of other new books, and how can you find the right readers for you?
The SPA Girls are here to help!

Most authors know what BookFunnel is these days (just in case: it's a platform that helps you deliver reader magnets, ARC copies, audio files, and so much more to your readers) but do we all know how to use it the best we can? I'm pretty sure the answer is no!
That's why we spent this episode with Damon Courtney, creator and CEO of BookFunnel, going over all the functions, from the innovative ways that successful authors are using this platform to deliver ebook files, to using features like the one-on-one author swap tool, the group promo tool, certified mail, and the direct email integrations, to name a few. Because Damon is the creator of the platform, he knows every single thing about it, which means this episode is packed full of all the information you'll ever need to make BookFunnel work for you!

Bumps on the publishing path are unwelcome yet inevitable. So how can we reset ourselves when the wobbles and disappointment set in?

Today we’ve got a SPA Girls 6-Step Guide to turning those setbacks into success!

Side characters - how do you make them memorable, but not over-take the spotlight? And what purpose do they serve in the story?

This episode, the awesome author and educator, Sacha Black, gives us the scoop on developing incredible side characters that will take your story from blah to bleepin' amazing. She takes us through three different types of side character and how to create juxtapositions that SELL BOOKS.

This week we talk to contemporary romance author, Carrie Elks about amping up your book marketing. It's a fantastic and informative interview packed with great tips and advice that you won't want to miss!

This week we talk about the forward planning we all do for our author careers. Because we're all so different here in the SPA, we all plan differently, and have different goals. But that means there will be nuggets of gold for everyone in this episode!

We go through what it means to forward plan in your author business, why it's important, what we think about when we do our planning, and how to actually get it down in a format that works for you.

Self-publishing since 2010, Amazon top 100 best-selling Amazon author with 1 million books sold, Sarra writes magical contemporary fantasy novels with both teen and college aged characters (and lots of twists you'll never see coming).

Do you feel like a hamster on a wheel?

Sarra talks to us about her solution to planning without all the heartache and leading us to be more joyful. “When we sit down to plan we see the perfect scenario. Then Life gets in the way.”

We’re thrilled to welcome UF/PNR author Sarah Piper to the show today. Sarah has seen great success publishing across a number of genres, and we discuss her strategy moving from Amazon-exclusive to publishing wide, selling her audiobooks direct and working with your spouse!

Amazon has moved the furniture again! This episode, Alex will help explain Amazon’s category changes, what they mean for authors, and how best to categorize your books now.

This week we chatted with Angela Ackerman, one of the authors of the classic writing book, The Emotion Thesaurus. 

If you've never picked up one of the amazing thesauruses by Angela Ackerman and her co-writer, Becca Puglisi, you're missing out! Created especially for writers, the ten different thesauruses will help you add emotion, be more creative, and make your book sing! 

In this particular episode (aside from Trudi and the other SPA Girls singing the praises of Angela's books) we talk to Angela about emotional wounds - what that means, why it's important for our characters and how we can add emotional wounds into our writing and give our characters more depth.

There are many ways we get stuck as authors.

Some ways you can get stuck is in the writing, editing, time management and making decisions areas.

Getting unstuck is much harder and yet easier than we think. Letting go of perceptions of our writing or our characters helped Trudi a great deal when she put off writing the last book in a series - for years!

Cheryl had to get past the fear of getting edits back and find a way to embrace the process to get them done.

For Shar, it’s being done with the book and accepting it. No one wants to put up sub-standard work and we all do our very best to make sure that happens, but agonizing over a book doesn’t move you forward.

We discuss how to do these things while facing fears and preconceptions, as well as the overwhelm of too many ideas and choices.

Kathryn shares her unique publishing insights and forecast, historical romance trends, why she doesn’t have an author newsletter, and behind the scenes insight of running Dragonblade.

Today’s topic was prompted by a commenter on youtube who asked us about reverse engineering bestsellers. What makes a book, be it your second one published or your tenth, sell more than others. 

We believe there are many variables to that. Timing, tropes, the first 10% of how a book starts. The cover, blurb, and other popular tv or books that may have similar aspects. 

There are many things to consider, and today we take a dive into why a book can launch a career!

This week we talk to fiction and non-fiction author Katlyn Duncan, who wrote the non-fiction books The Successful Hybrid Author (all about being a hybrid author) and Take Back Your Book (all about how to get your rights back after being traditionally published). She shares her path to becoming a hybrid author, but also what you need to know about being hybrid, how it works, the pros and cons of traditional publishing versus indie publishing versus hybrid publishing, and how to get your rights back if you want to take up indie publishing.

Author Jenna Moreci is a YouTube sensation! With almost 300k subscribers on her YouTube channel "Writing with Jenna Moreci", ten years of making videos, and over 28 MILLION views, she's produced an incredible body of work and large community. So how has this impacted her writing and publishing, especially as her audience is both writers AND readers?

Marketing but not achieving results? Maybe you need to do a bit of a deep dive into why. We've got some tips on where to start ...

USA Today Bestseller, Sadie King has grown her publishing business from zero to six figures in less than four years, writing short instalove romances. Learn how she's done it ...

This week we take an in-depth look at author brands - starting with what branding actually means, what your branding should look like as an author, and then how you can make sure your author brand is the best it can be. We talk about how newbie authors can set up a brand for the first time, and how more experienced authors can reassess your current brand and make any necessary changes.

What is it EXACTLY that makes a book addictive?

How do twists and turns come into play?

And how do you create these elements with any genre of books?

Today we’re joined by two dynamic guests - author Emilia Rose and Michael Evans, co-founds of the REAM subscription service for authors. We cover a LOT in this episode - from “what is the Creator Economy” to making subscriptions work for authors, so settle in for a great listen/watch!

We know there are still 5.5 months to go until the end of the year! But!! We think it’s important to start getting organized for the final push. Ads, blurbs, covers. In the SPA today we talk about the things you need to focus on!

This week we go in-depth with USA Today, international and #1 Amazon bestselling author of new adult and contemporary romance, Ana Huang. Aside from being very successful (check out her Twisted series!) Ana is a super smart and hardworking author with a tonne of great advice that she generously shared with us in this information-packed episode. Check it out now!

We’re looking at failure and putting a different slant on it. By changing the way you think of failing at a certain thing and thinking of it as simply a part of learning. You are future proofing the way you react to any result.
Fail = First Attempt In Learning.
Don’t measure yourself by how others are doing. They had their own journey and would have failed at something along the way. Successful people use those moments to push through, pivot, or try a new iteration. Learning is a part of the process.
Letting go of a perception is hard, we get that. However, you shouldn’t let that outcome define you. Don’t dwell on it. Instead, find a way to deal with it and to stop the negative talk. A way that moves you forward.

Back in 1996, author Debra Dixon published Goal, Motivation and Conflict and ever since the letters GMC have been tattooed on our brains

Today we talk to the amazingly talented author Lynn Raye Harris about series. Everything from multiple connected to branding. This is a must listen podcast!

It's celebration time! We've reached another milestone here in the SPA - FOUR HUNDRED EPISODES! 

And that's 400 weekly episodes with no repeats, no "best of"s, and no stopping during the eight years we've been doing this. Phew! *wipes brow* 

This episode we're looking back on that time, trying to figure out why we're still here, and what we've learned along the way. Go behind the scenes with us as we discuss some of what we've learned, advice we wish we'd been given, and try to give you inspiration that will get you writing and publishing!

How can a writer diversify their income? In this episode Rachael Herron shares her advice for maximizing your income as a writer!

We talk on the SPA all the time about the importance of knowing what genre/sub genre you’re writing and what reader expectations for that genre are. But what happens if you’ve written a spectacular mashup of genres? Or you wanted to write a romance cross memoir? There’s no doubt it can be harder to market an off-genre book, so where do you start?

USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Hefner is passionate about marketing audio books wide. After several years of struggling early on, her audiobook sales now surpass her ebook sales most months. As Rebecca says, “I had an excruciating learning curve with wide audio and want to save other authors from this torture!” She shares her best practices and tips for wide audiobook success in this must-listen episode.

If you've been working on amping up your characters and writing a more compelling novel, this is the episode for you. We talk to Matt Bird - the Amazon bestselling author of The Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers and The Secrets of Character: Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love - about characters and other secrets involved in writing an awesome story your readers will love.

Matt talks to us about what readers expect from characters and how to ensure they connect and fall in love with your characters early in your novel. He also gives practical examples of techniques that will engage your readers by helping you create flawed, vulnerable and compelling characters.

We loved having Matt in the SPA and we know you'll enjoy this episode too!

Get ready to be encouraged! Erin Marcus is a business coach who helps authors take charge of their career and get results.

From mindset and productivity, to branding, social media and your writing community – we cover the gamut of how to sustain your author career long term.

Today we’re covering reader expectations for romance and it’s subgenres and mystery. Let us help you define where your book should sit on the virtual book shelves!

Skye MacKinnon is a USA Today and International Bestselling Author whose books are filled with strong heroines who don't have to choose. She embraces her Scottishness with fantastical Scottish settings and a dash of mythology, no matter if she's writing about aliens in kilts, Celtic gods, cat shifters, or the streets of Edinburgh.

She's also doing great with German translations and this week in the SPA she breaks down everything she's been doing, including how to get started with a translator, what to watch out for, how and where to load your translated book, and how to market them once they're up!

USA today bestselling author of Western Romance, Erin Wright, has worked every job under the sun, including library director, barista, teacher, website designer, and ranch hand, helping brand cattle, before settling into the career she’s always dreamed about: Author. 

Despite starting out in KU in 2016, she went wide on all platforms in 2017 when she discovered she couldn’t get her books in libraries if she was exclusive to Amazon. She started the Wide for the Win Facebook group in 2019, to help other authors find information about being wide, and now the group has grown to a community of 14,390. 

Erin breaks it down and lists the reasons why she made this decision.

She uses serial apps, website direct sales, multi-author promotions, as well as many platforms that we had never heard of.

If you are keen to diversify and find more ways to reach readers, this is the episode for you.

When her facebook ad account was shut down, Vanessa had to learn how to sell books WITHOUT paid ads and she shares how she came up with her solid marketing strategies in the episode.

Kait is a USA Today best selling, RITA® Award-winning Mississippi author of smart, sassy, small town Southern romance. She calls everyone sugar, honey, or darlin', and can wield a 'Bless your heart' like a Snuggie or a saber, depending on requirements.

The number one thing you need to produce as an author is WRITTEN words, but sometimes that's the hardest thing to do.

So when words are hard to come by, when you’re avoiding the blank screen or finding yourself doing housework for hours instead of sitting your butt on the office chair (or couch) with your laptop, you need a cheerleader, an advocate, and champion... a human cattle prod, if you will.

And that's where we come in.

This week we’re sharing our best tips and advice on how to get yourself motivated, beat resistance and get your $#@!! words down.

Award-winning USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brighton Walsh spent a decade as a professional photographer before taking her storytelling in a different direction and reconnecting with her first love—writing.

After getting a publishing deal Brighton went on to become a hybrid author and is now mainly indie.

She started on TikTok in January 2022 and used mainly page flips back then and went viral immediately. She has since developed her own brand of TIKTOKing which continues to impress.

Today she brings you plenty of tips and tricks to start you off on the right foot.

Ten proven productivity hacks for self-publishing authors!

Alpha, Beta, Tortured or Bad Boy? How do you like your heroes? This week Cheryl, Wendy and Shar discuss how to write a great hero (in their opinion) complete with controversial examples!

In particular we cover:

Character Connection

Creating Conflict from Character

Main Characters Should Be Equals

Characters Should Have Complementary Strengths 

Hero should Show Vulnerability

Different hero types including Alpha, Beta, Bad Boy, Tortured and Playboy

Don't miss out on our take on writing a great hero!

Wanting to speed up your plotting and writing time? Or have an easy way to keep a series bible? We've got just the answer today ...

Who says Valentine’s Day has to be about couples? We think it should be about all kinds of love and this year we’re promoting a little self-love.

Go on, you deserve it!

Treat yourself to a craft course or something else you would enjoy – find a course and do it!

Do something awesome for your body – manicure, pedicure, massage, facial.

Regular exercise – walk, run, bike, swim, yoga, pilates, sport.

Combat stress – read, listen to music, have a bath, meditate - try Paul Mckenna and Youtube videos.

Breathing exercises – breathe in for seven, hold for seven, out for seven.

Eat healthy and drink more water.

Try something different – puzzles, a new hobby like knitting, crochet or miniatures. 

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

This week Trudi and Shar go rogue ... and discuss courses along with our writing friend and writing tutor Tania Hutley / Talia Hunter.

So many times we’ve heard authors say that they don’t like this or that when it comes to promoting themselves. So how can we work with our biases and not fight against them?

If there’s one person in the self publishing world who’s considered a bit of an expert at advertising… it’s Mark Dawson. This week Mark joins us in the SPA to talk about Facebook ads – how to set them up, what to do if they’re not working, and some of his best tips and advice to get them running well for you. He’s a genuine guy, and he still does all his own ads – which means he knows exactly what works and what doesn’t! Join us for another awesome podcast in the SPA.

Kathleen Sweeney is Bookbrush’s Customer Service Manager & Marketing Lead. She brings over 17 years of client service experience, business assurance, strategy and problem solving to Book Brush. Kathleen loves creating images and is happy to share her knowledge.

We’re talking trailers for TiK Tok Instagram and other social media, as well as QR codes and where to use them. And so much more!

Ready to up your newsletter game in 2023? Listen up, because Tammi's got the very latest best practices for author newsletters ...

Happy New Year from the SPA Girls !!

In this episode we talk about what goals and plans we have for 2023, Rom Com style using Billy Mernit's book, Writing The Romantic Comedy. We work through his story beats.

Set Up. Catalyst. Turning Point. Midpoint. Second Turning Point. Crisis Climax. Resolution.

The SPA Girls open a vein and talk about what we want to impliment and change in 2023.

(there will be no fries with this, ignore Trudi)

The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon!

This is an awesome episode just for you! We went through all of our episodes from 2022, and picked out the best pieces of advice, the most actionable tips, and the things we definitely think you should be doing for your writing career in 2023 and gave them to you here in one easy episode. You're welcome. :)

The Spa Girls wish you a wonderful Christmas and today we’re sharing our celebrations and things we’re grateful for.
From Shar’s first taste of travel in three years and reaching 1000 subscribers on Youtube, all Wendy’s historical books hitting the top in that category and doing German translations, Cheryl achieving her goal of four books for 2022 and opening a store, Trudi finally finished a series and found a course that resonated more than she could have hoped for, there is plenty celebrate.
The grateful list was long and included our guests who keep things real, listeners old and new who make us want to continue, doing what we love, family and author friends who support and get us, and on to entrepreneurs who build products and supply services which make our lives easier – we thank you all.
Listen in to for a more comprehensive list and maybe there are some things that resonate with you too.
Take care and make sure to recharge over the season.

If your book is not selling, what can you do? USA Today Bestseller, romance writer Leanna Morgan is here to day to help us sell more books PLUS offer wise ideas on advertising.

Lightbulb moments about writing and publishing that have turned you from gloomy to galloping along - have you had them? We have and today we're sharing the nitty gritty self publishing and writing tips that positively impacted our craft and careers - plus, of course, the mentors who've given us great advice.

Join us for another deep dive into an intriguing genre that's doing well for indie authors. USA Today bestselling author Honey Phillips joins us in the SPA to talk about Science Fiction Romance - what it is, what readers are looking for, and how to make sure they get it! Honey was a delight to interview and there are definitely a few gems in here for everyone, whether you write in this genre or not!

Today we’re talking to Dionne Lister about how she made the leap from part-time to full-time in one year, writing in two genres.

Steff ran an incredibly successful kickstarter in 2022 to fund limited-edition hardcovers of her books - in fact, it was fully funded in just FIVE HOURS! Join us in this episode to find out how she did it!

Today in the SPA we talk about not relying on luck to build your career.

We believe you can make your own luck, but don’t wait for it to happen!

Ron Weasley (or not, we’re not really sure) says believing in yourself is 100% more powerful than luck!

Overnight success may happen for some, but if you dig deeper often, what appears to be a lucky break is actually from years of hard work to get to that point.

In this fun episode with Lillian Lark, we learn about monster romance - what it is, how it's defined, who's writing it well, and how to write one for yourself! Not only is Lillian doing well in the genre of monster romance, she's also doing amazing things on TikTok, so we were able to quiz her on her tricks and techniques for the social media platform as well.

There are many types of editing and today we're discussing how the SPA Girls approach a second draft. Plus, don't miss out on the Second Draft Checklist, an amalgamation of all our processes in one handy spot.

This episode sees the SPA Girls sharing their own Big Oops and how they recovered / learned from them. Inspiration plus for indies at all stages of their careers :)

In this episode we talk to the amazing Renee Rose about her new release Write To Riches! 
15-time USA Today bestselling romance author Renee talks to us about the power of abundance mindset, manifesting your desires, and attracting wealth. She's an amazingly inspirational speaker and this is one episode you don't want to miss!

Ever wondered how authors create a reader base full of raving superfans... and how you could do it too?? Well, wonder no more! This week we have bestselling paranormal and contemporary romance author Steffanie Holmes on the show to talk about how to create superfans for your books.

Steff talks about the methods she's used to create stronger connections with her readers, including having a strong author brand, newsletters, interconnected stories, and so much more!

We love having Steff in the SPA, and she's super smart with her marketing, so this is an episode you don't want to miss!

A long-time friend of the SPA Girls, multi NYT Bestseller, Nalini Singh, is here to talk about world-building, and if anyone knows how to do this–it’s Nalini!

Looking for tips to make your marketing tasks more organized and less stressful? This is the episode for you! From marketing bibles to free online tools, your book marketing should become a whole lot less overwhelming.

This week we talk to the amazing Mia Brody all about how she makes a fulltime living writing instalove short romances. It's an amazingly informative episode with plenty of wow moments, that you won't want to miss!

One size doesn't fit all - we've all heard that saying, but how do you know what DOES work for you?

In this episode, we discuss how to identify what best works for you in three areas:

- Your Writing Process
- Your Publishing Strategy
- Your Marketing Strategy

and share tips and resources that we've learned along the way.

It was our great pleasure to interview Michele Scott, a NYT, Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestselling author of over forty novels and the CEO/owner of equestrian sports medicine company Professional’s Choice, Inc.

Michele has written in various genres including thrillers, mysteries, young adult mysteries, fantasy, and women’s fiction. Her thriller Daddy’s Home from her Holly Jennings’ Thriller series written under her pen name of AK Alexander has sold over one million copies and was the #1 bestselling book in the UK Amazon. Her thriller Mommy, May I? was number 2 on the Amazon list.

Her Wine Lover's Mysteries are currently optioned, and a movie version is projected to begin filming this year.

Learn how Emilia Rose started her publishing career through posting chapters on Wattpad, and monetized through Patreon subscriptions!

Do you want to have an author store and don't know where to start? USA Today bestselling author Morgana Best takes us through the process of setting up your store and best practices. This is an episode you won't want to miss!

This week we talk about how to find new ideas, and how to use those ideas in new ways. How to find them in the everyday hustle and bustle of our lives, and how to turn them on their heads to create something intriguing and interesting to our readers. 

We go through a series of story starters, of intriguing kernels that you can use to create an awesome story that your readers will love to read...

Samantha Price is a USA Today bestselling author of Amish romance books and cozy mysteries. She was raised Brethren and has a deep affinity for the Amish way of life, which she has explored extensively with over a decade of research. 

Focused and organized, Samantha's the results speak for themselves, but it will amaze you how prolific she is and how she built her career in a relatively small niche.

Listen in to the episode for all the details of how understanding that niche inside and out made her such a popular and successful author.

This week we discuss burnout, protecting our creativity, being productive and not buying in to the hustle culture.

All about book launch strategy - from pre-orders, why publishing print books before ebooks makes sense, wrangling an ARC team, paid and free advertising and lots more!

Dave Chesson joins us in the SPA to chat about some of the awesome apps that he's designed for authors on the Kindleprenuer website. 

Dave is a smart guy, and he knows his stuff when it comes to self publishing, so the apps are all super useful and on-point. This includes the free apps, such as the Book Description Generator and the Hashtag Generator (if you've ever struggled with finding good hashtags on any of the socials, that's the app for you!) and his two powerful paid apps, Publisher Rocket and newbie Atticus. 
Join us for Dave's insider tips and tricks on how to get the best use out of the apps, and hear some of his best insights into marketing for indies.

When you feel the frantic need to achieve and you don’t, it’s easy to get stuck or suffer burnout. If that’s happened to you, then Corinne O'Flynn has some ideas to get you through.

The Calm Entrepreneur was born out of a series of aha moments over the past several years. It's about getting back to basics and re-assessing and re-securing the foundational practices.

We know you'll love this awesome episode with Corinne!

This week we broadcast our 350th episode and in complete contrast to how laid-back Kiwis generally approach milestones, we’re celebrating the heck out of it!

Building a deep connection between your characters and your readers is what
creates raving fans, books that stick like glue to the sales charts and fuels word-of-mouth recommendations. So how do we do this?