Episode 230 – Mindset, Hooks, and Author Tax Breaks (with Adam Croft)

Question of the Week: How do you think your mindset has held you back in your indie author career? What would you have to do to overcome that mental hurdle to take your career to the next level?

How can you overcome your own mental roadblocks to take your writing career to the next level? Jim is out fishing and Bryan has a wonderful guest co-host—Adam Croft. Bryan and Adam get off course discussing cider, but bring it back on topic with Adam’s new nonfiction book, The Indie Author Mindset. This week’s Happy Book Reviews feature winner is Steeven R. Orr. Bryan thanks our Featured Patrons The Strange, Excelsior, and How to Sex Your Snake. Some great tips this week include how to republish on Kobo without losing your reviews, which overhaul strategies helped launch one author’s career, and how to up your click-through rates on Bookbub ads. We have and Honorable Mention story this week about which types of entertainment kids are into besides video games. The Top News stories you’ll want to hear are which new promotional tools can help your next release, how soon you’ll have to move your books from Createspace to KDP, an author success story with quadrupled sales, why tax law changes could add to you bottom line, and what strategy one author used to double page reads. Question of the Week: How do you think your mindset has held you back in your indie author career? What would you have to do to overcome that mental hurdle to take your career to the next level? read more

Episode 229 – Facebook Profile Posts, Pain Points, and Slow But Steady Writing

Question of the Week: What’s the best made-up headline you can come up with about the latest terrible thing happening to the author community? (i.e. Amazon Now Requires Blood Sample to Join KDP Select)

What’s your best “sky is falling” clickbait headline for the author community? Jim and Bryan are back in action, and they’re here to announce the Author Accelerate 31 Covers promotion, which gives you a chance to get a professional cover tweak! After thanking their patrons Hypercage, The Secret Blush, and Sell More Books With Less Social Media, the dynamic duo provided tips on writing out of town, organizing your email lists, and building your brand. News stories included the launch of the Walmart/Kobo online bookstore, the biggest international stories of the week, China Literature’s recent film company purchase, one author’s slow but steady path to success, why the sky isn’t falling on Facebook, and how another author 30x’d his sales by buckling down and doing the work. This week’s Question of the Week: What’s the best made-up headline you can come up with about the latest terrible thing happening to the author community? (i.e. Amazon Now Requires Blood Sample to Join KDP Select) read more

Episode 228 – Free Books, Amazon Videos, and Squeeze Pages

Question of the Week: What’s a promotional method you’ve tried in the past that you’d consider giving your full effort on here in the present?

What is a promotional technique you’ve used in the past that you’re willing to give a second shot? Bryan and Jim talk about the importance of family time. This week’s Happy Book Reviews feature winner is StoryHack. Bryan thanks our Featured Patrons How to Drive Your Next Car Deal, A Christmas Gift, and The Last Verdict. Some great self-publishing tips include why frugality and creativity are a winning combination, how to make the most of squeeze pages, and which Gmail hacks can save you time. We have an Honorable Mention news story this week delving into the recent Mailerlite maelstrom. The Top Five news stories you need to know include why trad pub authors are taking a hit, how authors can take advantage of Amazon’s new video feature, a fantastic success story from Victoria Bright, which authors are the latest victims of Amazon’s Terms of Service crackdown, and why giving away free books can still lead to great sell-through royalties. Question of the Week: What’s a promotional method you’ve tried in the past that didn’t work that you’d consider giving your full effort on here in the present? read more

Episode 227 – Market Research, Other Income Streams, and Focus vs. Diversification

Question of the Week: Are you the kind of learner who needs to take a paid course for accountability or can you take free or cheap info from a video or a book and use those resources to put the info into action?

Will you actually take action on the information you gather from free info, books, or webinars or do you need to pay for training to make it a priority? Jim is back from vacation and he is having great success with his new clients on AuthorAccelerate.com. Bryan has an informative Amazon Ads webinar coming up tomorrow – don’t miss out! The Happy Book Reviews winner this week is Steeven Orr. Bryan takes a moment to thank the featured Patrons Unfrozen, 31 Days of Wisdom: A Daily Devotional for Christ-Followers, and 5 Numbers of Destiny: Change your Fate. This weeks most helpful tips include a great financial tool for your author business, why it’s so important to ask your readers what they want, and how crowdfunding creativity may be the key to your success. The five news stories that rose to the top this week are which books are trending on Barnes and Noble, what ever happened to cockygate, why writing to market and rapid release are still successful strategies, how large-print editions and audiobooks can provide additional income, and author Rob Peecher’s inspiring success story. Question of the Week: Are you the kind of learner who needs to take a paid course for accountability or can you take free or cheap info from a video or a book and use those resources to put the info into action? read more

Episode 226 – Authors Direct, Community Support, and the Walmart-Kobo Partnership (with the Best Page Forward Team)

Question of the Week: How do you think Authors Direct will disrupt Amazon? Will you publish your audiobooks through Authors Direct to contribute to that disruption?

Do you think Authors Direct can provide Amazon with serious competition, and would you use them? Bryan is joined by four co-hosts as the Best Page Forward team takes over the podcast. The Happy Books Review Winner is Jim Heskett. Our featured Patrons are Plain Talk About Marketing Blog Tours, Blogging for Authors, and What Sells Books. Bryan gets into the Hot Tips which include how to usage issues with stock images, why self-doubt will take a toll on your creativity, and which promo sites could benefit your marketing. The story receiving Honorable Mention is the KU reporting crisis that’s making authors crazy! Bryan and the gang jump into this week’s top five news stories, including what is the fate of the Createspace DVD program, a great author success story from Mary Crawford, how will the Kobo/Walmart partnership affect online ebook sales, why rebranding was the change that helped Jeremy Williams reach his financial goals, and how Authors Direct could change the audiobook market. Question of the Week: How do you think Authors Direct will disrupt Amazon? Will you publish your audiobooks through Authors Direct to contribute to that disruption? read more