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Today’s guest is David Berens, an author who writes what he calls Tropical Thrillers.   Well, it just so happens that I really enjoy sunshine based mysteries and thrillers, so I’ve had the opportunity to watch David build his author business from afar over the past fifteen months. When I saw a post he wrote on Facebook, I knew I wanted to have him on the show. HIs post used the keyword 13 book to 50k, but since I followed David, I knew the majority of his revenue came from far fewer than the 13 his book report screenshot showed. I also knew how hard he worked to get things right for his Troy Bodean series, and that’s the focus of this interview.  Links: David’s books at Amazon David’s website www.davidfberens.com The Facebook post that is the inspiration for this show The post TAB143: How Being Willing to Tweak Everything has Fueled Sales for Thriller Author David Berens appeared first on The Author Biz.

Today’s guest is Craig Martelle. Craig is a best-selling author and the Godfather of the indie-focused 20books conferences that are held around the world. We last spoke with Craig in February of 2017 in episode 105, A Year in the Life of a Blue Collar Author.   As you’ll hear in this episode, things have changed a bit for Craig in the past 18 months. As you know, things change quickly in the world of publishing.  We’ll discuss Craig’s thoughts on some of what’s changed for authors during the past year and a half, and some of the tried and true practices that are still critical to indie publishing success today. Then we get into Craig’s thoughts on growing an author business from a couple of different starting points. Of course, we’ll also get into his books, including his recently published Become a Successful Indie Author, his writing habits and what he’s learned by putting on the 20books conferences.     Links: Website: www.craigmartelle.com Vegas Conference: www.20bookvegas.com/ London Conference: www.20bookslondon.com/ Craig’s Book – Become A Successful Indie Author   Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB142: How to Become a Successful Indie Author – With Craig Martelle appeared first on The Author Biz.

In this week’s episode, we discuss the process of self-publishing a series that had previously been traditionally published with NYT, USA Today, and Amazon bestselling author Jennifer Ashley. As you’ll hear during the interview, Jennifer didn’t just decide to continue her Stormwalker series, she also made the decision to invest in the continuation of audiobooks for her series,  by hiring the same narrator her publisher had selected to narrate the books originally. But we go way beyond just that one topic in this wide-ranging interview.  We also dive into things like how and why Jennifer gets involved in the audio production of her books, the various ways she has her books translated into different languages and why she takes such a hands-on approach with every aspect of her indie publishing business. *** During the show’s intro, I also mention a new podcast project I’m working on with Michael Anderle and LMBPN Publishing. The show is called Ear Crush, and our objective is to deliver professionally narrated stories and behind the scenes information to readers who might also enjoy listening to audio versions of stories. As you know, the popularity of audiobooks is growing like crazy, but there are still way too many people who don’t yet understand the pleasure that can be had by listening to a well written, professionally narrated story. Our hope is that by making this short form audio available to people, it will eliminate some of the barriers to entry that subscribing to an audiobook service like audible might present, and can just allow listeners to enjoy hearing stories that feature some of their favorite characters. In our case, we’re starting out by using the narrators of LMBPN’s existing audio catalog of 100 plus audiobooks, to narrate short stories that feature the series characters of the existing books. Obviously, the hope is that listeners will enjoy the stories enough to want more of those characters and narrators, which they can get by grabbing our audiobooks at Audible or iTunes. I am really excited about the possibilities of this project, and I hope you’ll check it out and let me know what you think. Links Jennifer’s website – www.jenniferashley.com Jennifer’s Amazon Author Page Hillary Huber’s website www.hillaryhuber.com The Ear Crush Podcast – Episode One Ear Crush – Subscribe at iTunes The Plot Whisperer- at Amazon Story Engineering – at Amazon Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB141: Going Indie With A Traditionally Published Series, with Jennifer Ashley appeared first on The Author Biz.

In this week’s episode, we discuss the idea of going wide with a portion of your books. Our guest is best-selling indie author Scott Paul, who writes fantasy and science fiction under the name of T.S. Paul. Scott’s journey as an indie author is fairly short and definitely spectacular. He goes his own way as a writer and is willing to step way outside the box when it comes to his author business. We discuss Scott’s thoughts behind the decision to take some of his writing wide, why he chose to keep some in Kindle Unlimited and what his plans are regarding the distribution of his books going forward. Then we get into the various ways in which Scott markets his author business, both online and offline. If you’re unfamiliar with the background story of T.S. Paul, you might be interested in hearing his first two visits to the podcast. The first was episode 78: How to Make Real Money selling short fiction, and the second was about a year later, episode 137: Blowing Through the Six Figure Sales Level in Year One. Links Scott’s Website: www.tspaul.blogspot.com Scott’s Amazon Author Page Scott’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ForgottenEngineer/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tspaulauthor/?hl=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/Allaboutthehorn Scott’s Kobo Author Page here Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB140: Going Wide With Some Of Your Books, with T S Paul appeared first on The Author Biz.

This week’s show is all about Crisis Management, which is not, as you might expect, just managing a crisis when you’re in the middle of one. What it can and should be is a process of training yourself to recognize and to deal with potential threats quickly and without allowing your emotions to become involved. Our guest is a longtime favorite of the show, author, speaker and teacher, Chris Syme. Many of us know Chris as an author marketing expert, but her early training was in Crisis Management. In this episode, we’ll learn to identify and to appropriately respond to the different threat levels that can impact your author business and to plan for the possibility of negative online or offline events. Links: Chris’s Website:  www.cksyme.com Chris’s new book, Crisis Management for Authors Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB139: How to Keep a Problem from Becoming a Crisis – With Chris Syme appeared first on The Author Biz.

Let’s talk about how most authors learn best practices for audience building.  Primarily, we listen to and learn from other authors. Maybe on podcasts, like this one, or in books written by authors on how they’ve done it, or maybe we just learn by asking questions in social media groups, or at conferences. But there are other creative entrepreneurs out there who deal with the same need to build fan bases.  Artists, photographers, filmmakers, musicians and more. What can we learn from them and how they build their businesses?  That’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently, and so I’m very pleased to have Singer/Songwriter, Author and Creative Entrepreneur Charlotte Eriksson as this week’s guest. The intro music for this episode comes from a song called White Spaces, written and performed by Charlotte, who as you’ll hear during the interview has branded herself as The Glass Child. I Listened to her music while doing the research for this episode, and what I learned while doing that research is that she’s a talented marketer who has built an enormous audience for her work in both music and writing. In this episode, We’ll talk about what Charlotte does to build her audience and how it applies to authors, and even do a little comparing and contrasting.  Then we’ll close the show with another of Charlotte’s songs, titled Save Me. Links Charlotte’s Website- http://www.charlotteeriksson.com/ Charlotte’s Spotify Page (Listen to her music)  Online Store Creator- https://www.bigcartel.com/ Book Printing Services- https://www.bookprinting.co.uk/ Blue Ocean Strategy – Available at Amazon.com Ryan Holiday- https://ryanholiday.net/ Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB138: What Can Authors Learn From Musicians About Audience Building? appeared first on The Author Biz.

There are lots of stepping stones along the path to building a successful business, and one of those is making the decision to bring on help.  Hiring people to do the things you’re either not well suited for, or to free up time to do the things only you can do to build your business. For many authors that happens when we decide to hire a cover designer or an editor. But what about some of the other tasks that fill our non-writing time? Today’s guest is Chloe Adler. She’s still involved in the work world and she’s a romance author building her own thriving and sustainable author business. One of her strategies is to outsource certain aspects of her business to virtual assistants so that she has time to pursue her writing, her passion for learning, and her somewhat unusual exercise hobby. She wrote extensively about this process on her website, here and here. In this episode, we’ll get into the details of how she finds and trains her virtual assistants, what she expects of them, and what having them has allowed her to do.  She’ll share some of the benefits of finding the right people for your team, and the pitfalls of finding the wrong people. Links Chloe Adler’s Website- http://www.chloeadler.com/ Chloe’s post on finding VAs (Part 1) and (Part 2) Chloe Adler’s Facebook Page- https://www.facebook.com/ChloeAdlerAuthor/ The Front Row Facebook Group (Jen Lehner) https://www.facebook.com/groups/InTheFrontRow/ Loom- https://www.useloom.com/ Screen Flow- https://screenflow.en.softonic.com/mac Trello- https://trello.com/ WhatsApp- https://www.whatsapp.com/ The Front Row- https://www.frontrow.com/ Last Pass- https://www.lastpass.com/ Hub Talent- https://talent.hubstaff.com/ Hub Staff- https://hubstaff.com/ Upwork- https://www.upwork.com/ Miracle Morning for Writers- https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Morning-Writers-Writing-Increases/dp/1942589050 Link to the facial expression page mentioned in the show.  http://www.bryndonovan.com/2015/04/05/master-list-of-facial-expressions/ Chloe’s Other Social Links Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChloeAdlerWrite Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chloeadlerauthor/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ChloeAdlerAuthor Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/chloe-adler Author Page on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Chloe-Adler/e/B06ZZ838HR/ Email: chloe@chloeadler.com Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB137: Should You Hire a Virtual Assistant to Help with Your Author Biz? appeared first on The Author Biz.

When speaking with authors about GDPR, I get a variety of responses that range from a thoughtful what are you talking about to a sense of panic. If you’re in the “what are you talking about” category, GDPR is the General Data Protection Regulation rule in the EU that will govern data protection and privacy for individuals within the European Union. These new rules, which takes effect beginning May 25th, 2018, will impact nearly all authors. Today’s guest is author B.L. (Barb) Berry, and as you’ll hear in the interview, her job forced her to take a hard look at GDPR, and then to take an even deeper look at how it might impact her career as a romance author. In today’s episode, we’ll take a look at the GDPR and what we’re doing to prepare for May 25th. Now for the disclaimer.  Neither Barb or I are attorneys. Not of what we’re discussing during this show is advice aimed at listeners.  It is instead a discussion of the steps we’re taking to be sure we don’t run afoul of these new laws. Every situation is different, but we hope this show gives you the insight you need to move forward confidently with your own plans for GDPR. In addition to the GDPR discussion, we also discuss Barb’s work as an author and how she uses audiobooks to spread the love. Links BL Berry’s website: www.authorblberry.com Barb’s GDPR blog post Barb’s Amazon author page BL Berry’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BLBerryAuthor/ Mark Dawson’s Self Publishing Formula Podcast on GDPR Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB136: Will you be ready for the GDPR on May 25th? appeared first on The Author Biz.

If you’re an indie author, how many books to do you have to publish each year to be successful? Obviously, success is different for everyone, and there is no hard and fast rule for achieving success as an author, especially an indie author. But if that’s the case, why do so many people believe the only way to succeed as an indie is to publish a book a month? For some, it’s simply impossible to publish that quickly. For others, people like Michael Anderle, it’s impossible to publish that slowly. One of the reasons I’ve focused two of the last three episodes on people who are not publishing a book or more a month is to highlight what we all intuitively know to be true. There are a variety of paths to success in the world of Indie publishing. The secret is to find yours, not to follow one carved out by someone else. This week’s guest is author Bobbi Holmes, who joined us on episode 82, almost two years ago when we discussed pre-orders.  At that time she had a fairly rigid publication schedule, and when I looked again at her Amazon author page, I see that she’s continued with the “new book every 90 days” plan over the past two years. It turns out her schedule hadn’t changed since August of 2014 when she published the first book in her Haunting Danielle series, and as you’ll hear in the interview, publishing four books a year is working out very well for her. We cover a lot of ground during this interview, going into some detail on Bobbi’s publication schedule, revisiting the rationale for her pre-order process, we discuss her marketing efforts, and we discuss the reason she works with an agent as an indie author.   Links Bobbi’s webpage www.bobbiholmes.com Bobbi’s Amazon Author Page Haunting Danielle Facebook Page Bobbi’s Facebook Page Elizabeth Mackey Design website www.elizabethmackeygraphics.com/ Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB135: Finding The Publication Schedule That’s Right For You appeared first on The Author Biz.

In today’s episode, we take close look at the process romance author, Jami Albright uses to keep her books tickling the Amazon algorithms, staying near the top of the sales charts, and generating around $5,000 in royalties each month. Jami manages all of this despite the fact that she’s published only two books, both in the last year. Jami is an active participant in the 20booksto50k Facebook Group, so when I saw that she’d come close to 50k with just two books, I had to talk to her, if for no other reason than to be able to title an episode 2 books to 43k. I’ve known and followed Jami, and this show delivers way more than just a great title. We also get some great laughs and insights from an author who gladly shares both the hits and the misses in this episode of The Author Biz. Links See Jami’s Amazon Author Page Jami Albright’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Jami-Albright-Author-576095932592545/ Jami Albright’s Website: https://www.jamialbright.com/ Amazon Marketing Services: https://ams.amazon.com/ Sell More Books Show by Jim Kukral and Bryan Cohen: http://sellmorebooksshow.com/ Become a Successful Indie Writer by Craig Martelle: Amazon Link Jami Albright’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Jami-Albright-Author-576095932592545/ Jami Albright’s Website: https://www.jamialbright.com/ Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB134: Two Books to 43k (2BOOKSto43k) with Romance Author Jami Albright appeared first on The Author Biz.

One of the great debates in the indie author community is the KDP Select versus selling wide choice that every indie author must consider. It’s easy to find success stories on both sides of the divide, but which direction is right for your author business? Mystery and thriller author Kristi Belcamino did her research when she transitioned from traditionally published to indie and chose KDP Select.  But she’s since changed her mind. In this episode, we discuss the thinking behind her decision and then spend some time discussing topics like making the switch from traditional to indie, the rapid release strategy for mysteries and thrillers, the goals she has for her new Facebook reader group, and more in this “welcome back” edition of the podcast.   Links David Gaughran’s Blog Post about Kristi and the rank stripping  Kristie’s website www.kristibelcamino.com Kristi’s Amazon page Kristi’s Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/CrimeCoffeeCannoli The todoist app Web Copy That Sells – By Maria Veloso Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB133: Making the Switch – Moving Away From KDP Select, with Kristi Belcamino appeared first on The Author Biz.

After a lengthy break, The Author Biz returns next week for season 2.  I know, I know, how can there be a season two without a season one.  But I’m calling the first 132 episodes season one and we’re moving on!  Thanks for keeping the show in your podcast app! The post TAB132-5: WOOT! The podcast returns next week appeared first on The Author Biz.

In today’s episode, we delve into the importance of personal development for authors, with one of my favorite guests, Honorée Corder. Honorée is the author of dozens of books, including You Must Write a Book, The Prosperous Writer book series, the Miracle Morning for Writers and the new The Like A Boss series for authors. We recorded this conversation face to face at the 20 books conference in Las Vegas the day after she gave her keynote address. We cover a lot of ground in this interview, including how she’s written over 30 books by consistently writing just an hour a day, the importance of legal agreements when it comes to writing partnerships, a number of different apps and technology that can help to keep us on moving forward with the important work of the day, and the various writing partnerships she has going right now, including her lastest, the “Like A Boss” series with Ben Hale. Links Honorée’s Website www.honoreecorder.com Honorée’s Amazon page The Miracle Morning for Writers at Amazon Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB132: The Importance of Personal Development to Authors with Honorée Corder appeared first on The Author Biz.

In today’s episode, we delve into the subject of taxes with John Pollock, the Chief Executive Officer of Financial Gravity Companies, and the President of Pollock Advisory Group, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisory firm. John has been featured in Forbes Magazine and is a frequent contributor on television and Radio. He’s also someone that I’ve heard a lot about over the years from my good friend and podcasting partner for her show on the craft of writing, Taylor Stevens, who has been a guest on The Author Biz several times. Taylor joins us on this episode as well and adds some great insights on the importance of being strategic with your tax planning. Now, for those of you thinking, taxes, oh, boring, give this show a try. If you’re listening because you want to take your author business to the next level, taxes are something you’ll need to deal with, and as you move through the various levels of success as an author, they’ll be critical to you and your business. We cover a lot of ground in this show, and John delivered some information I’ll be able to use beginning next year to lower my taxes.  So listen closely. We’re all in different situations when it comes to taxes, but if you’re paying taxes in the United States, I suspect you’ll find something in here you can use.   Links John’s Website www.lowertaxhigherprofit.com Financial Gravity Website www.financialgravity.com Text “taxbook” to 33444 Taylor’s Patreon Page www.patreon.com/taylorstevens Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB131: The Importance of Being Strategic with Tax Planning, with John Pollock appeared first on The Author Biz.

Show Notes In today’s episode, we’re learning from thriller author AC Fuller, who set a goal for himself to become a full-time writer in late 2016 and over the past year went out and accomplished that goal. There’s a lot to like about this interview as we get into subjects like being successful landing Bookbub ads and the value AC has found in running AMS ads for his Alex Vane media thriller series. We into the launch strategy he’s put together for a new series that’s coming out after the first of the year, and the mindset change that allowed him to achieve his goal of becoming a full-time author. Once a journalist in New York, A.C. Fuller now writes novels stories at the intersection of media, politics, and technology. Before he began writing full time, he was an adjunct professor of journalism at NYU and an English teacher at Northwest Indian College. Links   AC Fuller Amazon Author Page AC Fuller’s Facebook page  AC Fuller Author Website www.acfuller.com 20booksto50k Facebook Group Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB130: Laser Focus as the Path to Becoming a Full Time Author with A.C. Fuller appeared first on The Author Biz.

Have you ever asked yourself, what could happen if you took this author thing seriously? Today’s guest is Shayne Silvers, an author who asked himself that question in early 2016. At that point, he’d self-published one book in 2012 and had just published his second.  His monthly revenue ranged from barely registering, to a couple of hundred dollars a month when he asked the question. Shayne spent the first six months of 2016 in what he calls his R&D phase, learning everything he could about what it takes to get HIS books, in front of the right readers. In July, he started putting what he’d learned to work. In August, he released the third book in his Nate Temple series and sales began to grow. And they kept growing. As you’ll learn during the interview, Shayne quickly went from a few hundred dollars a month in sales, to thousands, and then tens of thousands in monthly revenue. This interview is that rare combination of how to and inspiration, and I think you’re going to enjoy it.  Please hang on after it seems like the discussion is over because we kept talking and Shane continued to drop knowledge, including the fascinating story of exactly how he figured out when he could quit his job and go full time as an author. Links Shayne’s Amazon Author Page Shayne’s Facebook page  Shayne’s author website www.shaynesilvers.com 20booksto50k Facebook Group Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB129: Using Research as a Springboard to Mega Success with Shayne Silvers appeared first on The Author Biz.

In today’s show, we take a deep dive into a variety of ways you can use data to improve the sales of your books. Our guest is USA Today bestselling author Michelle Spiva. In addition to her work as an author, she’s also a counselor, a writing coach, and an extreme data geek. In this episode, we talk briefly about her work as an author, and then get into the types of data authors can use to increase the sales of their books. We’ll discuss things like avoiding the fear of data, learning from books that are winners, her version of survivor bias, revenue management, push versus pull marketing, and all with lots of examples that will help us to put Michelle’s teaching into action. Links Michelle’s Facebook page  Michelle’s author website K-lytics Website www.k-lytics.com (affiliate link) YASIV website The YouTube video Michelle mentioned during the show is here. Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB128: A Deep Dive into Using Data as an Author with Michelle Spiva appeared first on The Author Biz.

I returned from the marvelous 20booksvegas conference on Monday and woke to some interesting news on Tuesday.  The story of the demise of Pronoun and the announcement that Draft2Digital has added Amazon distribution whipped through the indie author community at hyperspeed. I reached out to Draft2Digital’s Director of Marketing, Kevin Tumlinson to learn more and that’s the focus of this weeks show. Links Draft to Digital website www.draft2digital.com YouTube Video Kevin Mentioned  Kevin Tumlinson’s website www.kevintumlinson.com Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TSS127: Draft2Digital Adds Amazon Distribution and Pronoun Ceases Operations appeared first on The Author Biz.

My guest today is Michael Anderle. This is Michael’s fourth visit to the show, and his first visit, Zero to $10k Per Month in 90 days is still the most popular Author Biz episode of all time, not counting the thousands of times the video of that show has been seen on YouTube.   November 3rd, marks the two year point from Michael’s first published book, and in those two years, he’s gone from being an indie author to a successful indie author to a really successful indie author and now he’s a successful indie publisher, whose company, LMBPN publishing is currently publishing over a dozen books and a half dozen audiobooks each month. In this show, we’ll be discussing Michael’s first two years and his transition from indie author to Indie publisher. When this show drops on Thursday, I’ll be on my way to Las Vegas, for the very first 20books conference, that’s been organized by former guest of the show, Craig Martelle, who will be hosting about 450 of his closet friends over what should be a really entertaining weekend.  If you’re there, please look me up.  Links Buy Michael’s books at Amazon LMBPN Publishing website Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB126: Transitioning From Indie Author to Indie Publisher, with Michael Anderle appeared first on The Author Biz.

Today’s show is about creating a fictional world in which you and other authors can write and publish books. Our guest is Martha Carr, who you may remember from the five or six episode Martha Carr experiment last year. Martha, and her partner, Michael Anderle, just began publishing books in the recently launched Oriceran Universe, a universe that over the next couple of months will have books written by five different authors. In this episode, we’ll take a deep dive into the creation of the universe, discussing topics like creating the universe name, selecting the core group of authors to write the books, the creation of art, covers, storylines, the social media community, and the website. We’ll even get into things like the technology involved in managing those storylines and how the various authors work together to create their books. Is this something you’re considering? I’ve spoken with some you who are curious about this, and some of you are actively considering offers to write inside these types of multi-author worlds. Or, maybe you’ve already reached the level where you’re considering inviting authors to write in a world you’ve already created. In our examples today, we’re talking about science fiction and fantasy universes, but the same can work in genres you write in as well. During the show, we also skirt around the name of the troll sitting atop Leira’s shoulder on the picture above but mention the troll’s popular mug.  His name is Yumfuck Tiberius Troll and you’ll find his popular mug below. Links Buy Oriceran Books at Amazon The Oriceran Facebook page www.facebook.com/oriceranuniverse Imerman Angels Website www.imeranangels.org Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. If you’d like a deeper connection with the show, please check out the Author Biz Facebook Group. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the left of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for The Author Biz Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and mean a great deal to me. They matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If you’re not sure how to leave an iTunes review, you can follow the step-by-step instructions here. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher to get automatic updates. Please note:  Amazon links in this post are affiliate links. You’ll pay no more for buying through these links but the show will earn a small commission. The post TAB125: Creating a Multi-Author Universe from Scratch with guest Martha Carr appeared first on The Author Biz.