Author: SMBS Team

Episode 292 – Poetry Sells, Jobs Smell, and Fired Up Financials

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How do you apply discipline to your everyday life to get the words and publishing done in the midst of all the other stuff in your busy schedule?

What discipline hacks do you have to keep your indie author goals on track? Episode 300 is so close! Jim is gone this week, hopefully on some kind of vacation, so we have Patrick O’Donnell as our Guest Host. Early Bird tickets for Bryan’s Self-Publishing Live are on sale now! This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Roland Denzel. Thank you to our featured Patrons: The Hunted, The Sell Smarter Collection, and Level Up. The Top Tips of the week include what new app could make your writing easier, how you can get your new work on Audible.com, and what new service could help you keep track of everything publishing related. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what the Chicago library is doing right, why empty books are making money, how you should be saving your money, what author Steven Higgs prioritized over sleep and how it changed his life, and why you might need to spend more money on ads. Question of the Week: How do you apply discipline to your everyday life to get the words and publishing done in the midst of all the other stuff in your busy schedule? read more

Episode 291 – Serial Success, Google Doesn’t Play, and 22 Books to $60k

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What self-publishing tactic that worked back in 2015-2017 would you love to bring back and try here in 2019?

What publishing hacks do you wanna bring back? Episode 300 is so close! Jim’s webinar is later today at 2PM CST. Show up and learn the ropes! Bryan will officially be doing an Author conference in Chicago coming up next year! This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Justin Salisbury. Thank you to our featured Patrons: A Turn for the Worse, Leaving Eva, and God and Gigs. The Top Tips of the week include How to write you book (outline) in three simple steps, what new ways you can advertise on Amazon, and why content marketing might change how you advertise. Honorable Mention this week goes to why Draft2Digital cancelled the Play Store. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how California’s new bill may not be as good as it sounds, why Amazon is cracking down on scammers, what different ways you can be successful as a full time author, how more books can mean more money, and why a series may be the way to your reader’s heart. Question of the Week: What self-publishing tactic that worked back in 2015-2017 would you love to bring back and try here in 2019? read more

Episode 290 – Publishing Predictions, Genre Confusion, and Amazon Spinoffs

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What’s the most obvious prediction you can make about the publishing industry coming up in the next five years?

In five years, where will the publishing industry be? Episode 300 is so close! Jim and Bryan will not be going to Australia for the 300th show. Bryan has a webinar next week for making sure you don’t skip steps in your self-publishing journey. Jim will be holding a webinar on how to become a professional paid speaker – link next week. This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Jennifer Kelly. Thank you to our featured Patrons: Strings of Subversion, Dorothy and the Cane of Destiny, and Fighting to Survive. The Top Tips of the week include How you can avoid taxation through Amazon, why your readers may be missing your books, and why your website could be the reason your losing readers. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what new ways Amazon is helping readers with prime, why Amazon’s CEO should break up the company before it breaks him, why indie novel sales are on the rise according to Bowker, what advice author Caitlin White can give, and what changes have happened and whats to come in the publishing world. Question of the Week: What’s the most obvious prediction you can make about the publishing industry coming up in the next five years? read more

Episode 289 – Facebook Video, Christmas Romance, & Keywords a Plenty

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Now that the show will be available in video, do you think you’ll keep listening in audio or consume the podcast in its video format? Also, what is the giant trophy for on Bryan’s bookshelf?

Video or audio, do you have a preferred way of getting content? Episode 300 is so close! Were going to start releases on video now as well! Jim will be hosting a webinar on becoming a public speaker, Bryan is excited about 20BooksVegas and he will do a Meetup Pizza Party by the pool. This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Roland Denzel. Thank you to our featured Patrons: Kiss Kill, A Dragon among the Eagles, and Stone Cold. The Top Tips of the week include how Sandra Beckwith helps authors turn reviews into more sales, why Facebook may be a way to reach more readers, and why your seven keywords may need to be upgraded. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how publishers create a gray area for plagiarism, why Audiobook is changing how you market, how K-Lytics will help you decide if you need to write a Christmas novel, why author Nick Thacker was finally able to quit his day job, and which sites vaporized due to Facebook’s false information and how they tried to make up for it. Question of the Week: Now that the show will be available in video, do you think you’ll keep listening in audio or consume the podcast in its video format? Also, what is the giant trophy for on Bryan’s bookshelf? read more

Episode 288 – Amazon Ads in Germany, Direct Kobo Audiobooks, and First Line Generators

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Do you plan on using Amazon Ads in the German market and do you think they’ll be successful for books in English?

Do you think ads for your English-version books will appeal to Amazon’s German market? Bryan and Jim are enjoying the great weather. Bryan is planning another Amazon Ads Challenge for January—stay tuned! Jim’s co-author fiction project is really taking shape and he’s already making plans to turn it into a film. Call for Success Stories! Submit via email or in the comments. This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Gisele LeBlanc. Thank you to our featured Patrons: Leading Effectively, The Life of Magdaline Slatewood, and Cowgirl, Unexpectedly. The Top Tips of the week include How a first line generator can jumpstart your creativity, why your book description should be scan friendly, and how often should you be sending a newsletter and what should be in it. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include why the Audible request for a referral in their settlement suit was denied, why HarperCollins started to put backlist titles on Kindle Unlimited in Australia and the UK, how shortening your completion date can be more productive, how you can get audiobooks uploaded directly to Kobo Writing Life, and why foreign advertising can help you promote your books. Question of the Week: Do you plan on using Amazon Ads in the German market and do you think they’ll be successful for books in English? read more

Episode 287 – Amazon Giveaways, Abolishing Likes, and Bookshop

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Why do you think Amazon got rid of Giveaways and the Matchbook program?

What do you think motivates Amazon to make changes to its promotion programs? Episode 300 is coming! Bryan is recovering after an intense Amazon Ads 5-day challenge. This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Eric Warren. Thank you to our featured Patrons: The Busy Busy Author, Dead Still, and Achieve Anything In Just One Year. The Top Tips of the week include how podcasts may be your way to the top, what are the benefits of connecting with the final product instead of the work in progress, and how to find your niche and how to spread it around. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how Bookshop will bring back bookstores, how libraries can actually be helpful to book sales, why is Facebook hiding your likes, why Author Mark Dawson is on a new journey, and how Amazon is changing in drastic ways. Question of the Week: Why do you think Amazon got rid of Giveaways and the Matchbook program? read more

Episode 286 – Advances, Outlines, and Ebooks vs. Hardbacks (with Kirsten Oliphant)

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What’s your average word count written per day?

How much do you usually write during the day? Episode 300 is coming! Bryan is off this week because he is running his 5-day Amazon Ad Profit Challenge. Jim’s cohost is the amazing Kirsten “Beersten” Oliphant. And… Happy Birthday to Jim! This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Dan Thompson. Thank you to our featured Patrons: A Band Director’s Guide to Everything Tuba, The Darby Shaw Chronicles, and Doubt The Stars. The Top Tips of the week include how to navigate Amazon’s new ad features, the difference between a website and an ideal website, and 10 words all authors should know. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include the still banned Harry Potter books, reselling used ebooks, why author Heather Demetrios shouldn’t have quit her day job, how ebooks have not taken over the book world, and how outlining could increase your daily word count. Question of the Week: What’s your average word count written per day? read more

Episode 285 – Keanu Reeves, Author Privacy, and 700 Words a Day (with Becca Syme)

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If you were to become the bestselling author in your genre tomorrow, would you be nervous about the amount of personal information you’ve shared with your fans? Why or why not?

How much is too much when you share personal info with readers? Episode 300 is coming! Jim is off this week and Bryan’s cohost is the brilliant Becca Syme. Bryan is recovering from a concussion and he’s also got a big Amazon Ads promo going on. This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Tom. Thank you to our featured Patrons: Guardian of the Grail, The Thing Speaks for Itself, and Dark as the Grave. The Top Tips of the week include how to avoid social media FOMO, why beta readers are so valuable and how just one in-person event per year can benefit all types of writers. We have an Honorable Mention story this week about the amazing Keanu Reeves and his foray into the small press world. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how to workaround Vellum’s “no more .mobi” announcement, how author Jack Knight reached $1k in monthly sales with only two books, why author Julia Watts has been disinvited from a teen literary festival, how author Tamie Dearer reached $10k per month after 19 books, and where the line might be between connecting with readers and over-sharing. Question of the Week: If you were to become the bestselling author in your genre tomorrow, would you be nervous about the amount of personal information you’ve shared with your fans? Why or why not? read more

Episode 284 – One-Year Preorders, Biometric Payment, and Hoopla

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Do you think biometric scanning for payments will become normal within the next decade? Why or why not?

Place hand here to pay! Is Biometric scanning the future of payment? Bryan and Jim are counting down to show #300! Bryan announces his five days of building profitable Amazon ad campaigns for you. If you sign up for this five day challenge you’ll be entered in a raffle to win the Amazon Ads Group Coaching Mastermind. This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Blaine Moore. Thank you to our featured Patrons: Inharmonic, Hitler Out of Time, and Shadow Raiders. The Top Tips of the week include the benefits and drawbacks of using Facebook groups as an author, how to change your mindset to “it’s about my book” in order to obtain better promotions, and the advantages of setting parameters while working on a multitude of projects. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include outrage at Amazon from small shop owners for early release on products, a rise ebook rentals at libraries due to Hoopla, just a flick of the wrist and you can pay at Whole Food Market, the growing industry of Audible, and how authors can set pre-order options up to a year in advance. Question of the Week: Do you think biometric scanning for payments will become normal within the next decade? Why or why not? read more

Episode 283 – Social Media, the Tamer Lawsuit, and One Billion Dollars

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What would ebook customers do if Amazon decided to drop publishing indie authors tomorrow? What would you do as an author?

If Amazon relinquished its publishing of indie Authors what would you do to maintain readers? How would it effect customers that have ereaders? Bryan and Jim are counting down to show #300! Bryan and Jim discuss avoiding Google newsfeed while receiving words of wisdom. This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Rosanne. Thank you to our featured Patrons: The Last Days, Gone, and Covermint Design. The Top Tips of the week include why Findaway Voices can help authors set prices and branch across multiple selling platforms, how an ebook scam to take your book to “Hollywood” can cost you a fortune, and the true importance of a book cover. We have an Honorable Mention story this week and it seems that Audible will not use their captioning technologies on audiobooks where publishers have filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include where to tap into new social media marketplaces for your ads, a lawsuit for copyright infringement on the common term “tamer,” How Amazon Prime has brought various consumers to indie authors out of self-interest, Eric Warren’s first series flop has motivated his second collection’s success, and how over one billion dollars has been paid out to the authors of Kindle Unlimited. Question of the Week: What would ebook customers do if Amazon decided to drop publishing indie authors tomorrow? What would you do as an author? read more