Self Publishing

Episode 455 – The Lightning Round and Happy 2023

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What does going wide mean to you? Will going wide be a part of your publishing plan going into 2023?

This week we have a great show in store for you. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. Top Tips of the week include what’s working to sell children’s books right now, whether you should be on social media at all, and how to set yourself up for success when you stay, and how to make your New Year’s Resolutions actually work this year. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week is that the history of indie publishing might surprise you, why 2023 might just be the year to go wide, what’s new in Amazon book reviews, what professional authors do that you can do, too, and Brandon Sanderson is calling out Audible on its bad business practices for authors. Question of the week: What does going wide mean to you? Will going wide be a part of your publishing plan going into 2023? read more

Episode 454 – New Author Pages, Apple AI Audio, and Musical Books (with Roland Denzel)

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What has worked for you for your book marketing here in 2022? How will that change what you focus on next year?

This week we have a great show in store for you. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. Come join Bryan’s Webinar with Plottr https://plottr.com/bryan-cohen/?ref=342. Top Tips of the week include how commitments can make or break your author career, not to do what Dale did, and how to sell with the skills of a bookseller. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week is that mood music could be coming to your books one day soon, what your past book marketing can teach you about your future launches, how your book recommendations can sell more books, Apple is the latest to jump into the AI Narration of audiobooks, and what’s changing with your Amazon Author Page. Question of the week: What has worked for you for your book marketing here in 2022? How will that change what you focus on next year? read more

Episode 453 – USA Today List, The 2022 Author Survey, and Multiple Paths to Success (with Jen Lassalle)

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How much emphasis do you put on your book launch? How would it feel if you didn’t focus as much on sales in the first 30 days of a book’s release?

This week we have a great show in store for you. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. Top Tips of the week include how to have the perfect writing space, wherever you are, whether or not you should juggle multiple projects at once, and which BookBub ads are working and how to test your own. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week is what happened when only two readers showed up at one author’s signing, how D2D can get you selling in the Smashwords Store, why you should find a genre that you love to write that readers love to buy, the scoop on author earnings from Written Word Media, and what we think will happen with the USA Today bestseller list. Question of the week: How much emphasis do you put on your book launch? How would it feel if you didn’t focus as much on sales in the first 30 days of a book’s release? read more

Episode 452 – More AI Art, Publishing Scammers, and Author Freedom (with Quinn Ward)

Posted on by SMBS Team

What’s one small habit you’d like to adapt for your author career in 2023?

This week we have a great show in store for you. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. Top Tips of the week include why the shortest part of the book can be the hardest part to write, why verified reviews are so valuable, and how to get more of them, and how to get back into writing when it’s been a while. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week is that the little things add up to big results, why the best way to market your book might be to adopt herd mentality, which audiobook service is backtracking on all-you-can-eat audiobooks, how to take back your book from a scammy publisher, and why those AI portraits you’ve been seeing may be more complicated than you think. Question of the week: What’s one small habit you’d like to adapt for your author career in 2023? read more

Episode 451 – Spotify Cards, Staying On Brand, and Fun Tools

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Do you plan on changing your writing routine over the holiday, and if so, how?

This week we have a great show in store for you. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. Top Tips of the week include Spotify having a new tool to help you promote your audiobooks, there’s a new link tool for authors, and this one features books, and how easy it is to get an Epub on your Kindle. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include Amazon having some new KDP reporting features for you, that authors can be artists and good business people, what Amazon lawsuit is back on the table, building an on-brand author brand, and how to write more when the holidays say ‘write less’. Question of the week: Do you plan on changing your writing routine over the holiday, and if so, how? read more

Episode 450 – Tech Solutions, Big Tech Woes, and the Christmas Crunch

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What are you plans for selling direct? What does that look like specifically?

This week we have a great show in store for you. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. Claire’s book, Reclaim Your Author Career, is available: www.books2read.com/RYAC. Guest, Chelle Honiker of indieauthormagazine.com and Authortechsummit.com. Top Tips of the week include new features in Vellum that make your book’s messaging clear, how our own Bryan Cohen has Amazon’s official stamp of approval, if you need author copies of your print books, you need to order today, what Amazon’s layoffs mean to the publishing business, and TikTok took our advice and started selling direct! The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include news about Ingram’s new ad platform, how Google is giving Spotify what Apple won’t, why authors are abandoning Twitter and starting from scratch, the latest scams hitting Amazon authors, and to sell your books and serials by chapter, books, or subscription. Question of the week: What are you plans for selling direct? What does that look like specifically? read more

Episode 449 – Publishing Jargon, App Fees, and a New Ad Platform (w/Amy Teegan)

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What is the next step for your book marketing beyond publishing on the major retailers?

This week we have a great show in store for you. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. Claire’s book, Reclaim Your Author Career, is available: www.books2read.com/RYAC. Amy Teegan’s books: www.amyteegan.com. Top Tips of the week include how to be alerted when your book price or reviews change, the ABCs of publishing, and why less is more when it comes to your writing. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include news about Ingram’s new ad platform, how Google is giving Spotify what Apple won’t, why authors are abandoning Twitter and starting from scratch, the latest scams hitting Amazon authors, and to sell your books and serials by chapter, books, or subscription. Question of the week: What is the next step for your book marketing beyond publishing on the major retailers? read more

Episode 448 – Modern Dictation, Email Boosting, and App Store Fees

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What is a story from your life that you could bake into your welcome sequence?

This week we have a great show in store for you. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. Claire’s book, Reclaim Your Author Career, is available: www.books2read.com/RYAC. Sign up for Bryan’s webinar, 2023 Success, happening this Thursday: https://bryancohen.lpages.co/succeed-in-2023. Top Tips of the week include the best options for dictating your book in 2022, how one author added 3,000 email subscribers in three months, and why exercise helps you write better. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include why the court blocked the Big 5 book merger, why one veteran author says the Big 5 no longer matter, that avoiding decisions can help you write more, why Spotify and Apple are pitched for battle, and Amazon has a new program to incentivize book buying. Question of the week: What is a story from your life that you could bake into your welcome sequence? read more

Episode 447 – ShopTok, Recession Planning, and Collaborators with Benefits

Posted on by SMBS Team

What do you think is the deal with the Goodreads ratings on Amazon pages? Why would Amazon do that?

This week we have a great show in store for you. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. Our Webinar is on Thursday! https://bryancohen.lpages.co/supercharge-your-story-nov22/. Top Tips of the week include the benefits of author collaborations, how the type of author you are can determine the success of your career, and what lessons you can take from the publishing process. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include why more book sales data isn’t always better for authors, how Audible has changed their return policy and neither authors or readers like it, that TikTok wants to challenge Amazon and sell physical products, what the 6 Figure Authors are doing to revive book sales, and what Goodreads is doing to your Amazon books. Question of the Week: What do you think is the deal with the Goodreads ratings on Amazon pages? Why would Amazon do that? read more

Episode 446 – Bestseller Lists, Print Power, and Amazon Author Pages

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Outside of the promise of money or public success, what makes you keep writing instead of quitting?

This week we have a great show in store for you. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. Top Tips of the week include how (and why) to put your book into more categories on Amazon, how BookFunnel is improving the reader experience again, and ways to market print books from successful authors. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include some new audiobook promotional opportunities are here (but hurry), what (or who) makes a best seller, that you should keep writing, even with chronic illness, Amazon’s latest problem affecting your book sale, and why most authors fail (and how not to). Question of the Week: Outside of the promise of money or public success, what makes you keep writing instead of quitting? read more