Podcast

Episode 117 – Brexit, The Midlist, and B&N POD

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Question of the Week: How would the indie landscape be different if Nook successfully implemented POD six years earlier in June 2016?

After Jim recounted his experience at the Cleveland Cavaliers parade and Bryan discussed his upcoming new book, How to Write a Sizzling Synopsis, the triple-threat-twosome tackled stories on algorithms, Brexit, joining the midlist, Nook’s POD idea, and author service scams. They also thanked their latest patron Anmarie Uber (and hßer book 5 Numbers of Destiny http://bit.ly/5numdest ) and provided a few thoughts on tips related to Snapchat, pricing at $1.99, and getting more out of your readers. This Week’s Question of the Week: How would the indie landscape be different if Nook tackled POD six years earlier in June 2016?

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Episode 116 – Web Tracking, Affiliate Abandonment, and KU Cautionary Tales

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Dual Question of the Week: Why did Amazon drop Pixel of Ink and the other deal sites? What should Bryan name his baby?

Summary: Amazon brought down the hammer in our top two stories of the week. After thanking their patron Parker Hudson (and his book On the Edge http://bit.ly/parkhud ), Jim and Bryan took on tips related to web tracking, single tasking, and choosing your genre. They dispensed with stories on the Apple settlement, Neon Play, and Facebook video to get to the big ones: harmful KU scams and Amazon dropping more ebook deal affiliates. We have a Dual Question of the Week: Why did Amazon drop Pixel of Ink and the other deal sites? What should Bryan name his baby? read more

Episode 115 – Book Marks, Discounting, and Google Indifference

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Question of the Week: What kind of prize would you need up for grabs to sign up for a $99 traditional publishing contest and why?

Summary: Michael Lister revisited the show to discuss his USA Today bestseller play, and Jim and Bryan talked reviews, discount rants, and Google indifference in the latest episode. After thanking their patron Nora Remenia (and her book Guerrilla Tactics Against Passive Aggression http://bit.ly/passagress ), the triple threat twosome tackled tips on domains, email signatures, and post scheduling. News stories included testimonial contests, book review aggregators, trad pub print stats, discounting doubters, and Google’s indifference to selling more books. This week’s Question of the Week: What kind of prize would you need up for grabs to sign up for a $99 traditional publishing contest and why? read more

Episode 113 – BookBub Ads, Book Titles, and Moneyball

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Question of the Week: Do you plan on buying BookBub Ads? Why or why not? Do you think BookBub Ads will be a success?

BookBub is selling ads and Jim thinks it’s a mistake. Welcome to the latest episode, which featured tips on creative scheduling, video marketing, and book titles. This week, you should check out Bryan’s upcoming webinar with Mark Dawson ( http://www.selfpublishingformula.com/bryan ), and our latest patron Percival Constantine (and his book Vanguard http://bit.ly/pcvanguard ). Our latest news stories included the continued rise of audio, adult coloring VAT, the team of Pronoun and MacMillan, Moneyball in publishing, what trad pub should fear, and BookBub Ads. This week’s Question of the Week: Do you plan on buying BookBub ads? Why or why not? Do you think BookBub Ads will be a success?

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Episode 112 – The USA Today List, Author Value, and Literature Map (with Michael Lister)

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Question of the Week: Do you think indie authors pricing books at 99 cents and free has hurt the industry? Why or why not?

Michael Lister joined the show in our latest Lab segment about the USA Today Bestseller List. Bryan and Jim also took on a trio of tips and six news stories in the self-publishing world! After thanking Michael (who was also our featured patron with his mystery box set: http://bit.ly/6jjmyst ), our illustrious hosts spoke on finding more ad targets, building up a base of readers, and spending money on Fiverr. They also touched on stories about Kobo’s new customer acquisition, the plight of the trad pub author, non-compete agreements, whether low prices devalue authors, AI book marketing, and Ellora’s Cave’s latest threat. This week’s Question of the Week: Do you think indie authors pricing books at 99 cents and free has hurt the industry? Why or why not?

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Episode 111 – Gatekeepers, BookExpo America, and Goodreads Deals

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Question of the Week: Will Goodreads Deals overtake BookBub as the #1 author email marketing service? Why or why not?

With their sights always set on the next big game changer, Jim and Bryan took on the latest in publishing news. After thanking their latest patron Ladey Adey (and her book Unfrozen http://www.ladeyadey.com/author/ ), the dynamic duo covered tips on indie promo sites, digital publishing pitfalls, and Audible’s new gifting feature. Stories included a crowdsourced sci-fi novel, one publisher’s argument for gatekeepers, the Amazon ebook giveaway system, publisher contract terms, BookExpo America, and Goodreads’ new deal site. This week’s Question of the Week: Will Goodreads Deals overtake BookBub as the #1 author email marketing service? Why or why not? IMG_2294

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Episode 110 – Workbooks, Estate Planning, and Amazon Video Direct

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Question of the Week: Will you take additional steps to plan for the publishing side of your estate? Why or why not?

Bryan and Jim are back with more news than you can shake an Author Solutions Star Trek writing contest at! After thanking their new patrons, Bobby Adair (and his book Slow Burn: Zero Day http://bit.ly/slowburne ) and L.J. Burke (and his book Divorced Dad http://bit.ly/daddivor ), the double stack of digital news took on tips about self-published workbooks, Goodreads ebook giveaways, and Amazon’s new Video Direct platform. News stories included Simon & Schuster’s Star Trek writing contest, attractiveness in trad pub contracts, estate planning, The Fussy Librarian’s affiliate troubles, and Hugh Howey’s thoughts on 2009 ebook selling vs. today. This week’s Question of the Week: Will you take additional steps to plan for the publishing side of your estate? Why or why not?

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Episode 109 – Editing Costs, Amazon Advantage, and Branded Content (with Chris Fox)

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Question of the Week: Are you going to shell out $99 a year to join the Amazon Advantage program? Why or why not?

With a little help from their five intern candidates, Bryan and Jim took on a massive news week in the world of self-publishing. After thanking their new patron Nora Femenia (and her book The Silent Marriage http://bit.ly/silmarr ) Chris Fox dropped by the show to discuss the results of his 21-Day Novel Writing Challenge. Chris and the guys discussed tips on book marketing examples, the costs of editing, and productivity heat maps. The temporary trio examined 7 big stories, including Kobo’s expansion to Turkey, backwards copyright law proposals, trad pub algorithms, podcast TV adaptations, branded content on Facebook, Wattpad’s new entertainment endeavor, and the Amazon Advantage program. This week’s Question of the Week: Are you going to shell out $99 a year to join the Amazon Advantage program? Why or why not?

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Episode 108 – Film Rights, KU Recruiting, and Writing Sprints (with Monica Leonelle)

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Question of the Week: If you had the opportunity to sell your film rights tomorrow for a small sum, would you sell them or would you hold on to them in hopes of actually getting your film made?

With Jim on a boat somewhere, Bryan invited fiction and nonfiction author Monica Leonelle to the show! After thanking patron Emma Alisyn (and her book Character Sketch & Color http://bit.ly/emcolor ), Monica & Bryan focused their energy on tips about BookBub, indie pressure, and writing sprints. News stories included the Pulitzer Prize push, Kindle Scout naysayers, Google Play, Amazon’s publisher recruitment for KU, who loses most when scammers win, and indie film rights. This week’s Question of the Week: “If you had the opportunity to sell your film rights tomorrow for a small sum, would you sell them or would you hold on to them in hopes of actually getting your film made?”

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