Jim and Bryan wrapped up 2014 by recapping the top tips and news stories of the year. The top three tips revolved around sales tracking, changing your social media mindset, and a multitude of ideas related to email lists. The top news stories of the year included the concept of the authorpreneur, the EU’s Value Added Tax laws, Hachette vs. Amazon, Author Earnings, and Kindle Unlimited. Jim and Bryan closed by making some big predictions for 2015. The Question of the Week: What are your predictions for 2015?
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Episode 38 – Serial, Macmillan and Rights
Jim and Bryan’s ho-ho-holiday episode of SMBS touched upon the popular podcast Serial, the big boost adults buying YA gave the industry, Macmillan’s deal with Amazon, Konrath dropping out of KU, and what trad pubs learned in 2014. They also touched upon social media tips, the path to a bestseller, and mistakes that hold indie authors back. The Question of the Week: What book do you want for Christmas and why?
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Episode 37 – Indies, Pricing and Premium Facebook
Jim and Bryan welcomed March to a Bestseller 2 Contest Winner Tara Ross onto the show to chat about Facebook’s 2015 changes that will affect indie authors. Before that, they discussed digital tools like MightyBell, New Year’s resolutions for writers, and launching pieces of meat into space. The temporary trio also talked about being an indie midlister, reasons for quitting self-publishing, how the indie tide is turning, traditional publishers using lower price points, and Facebook’s upcoming monthly fee for promotional posts. The Question of the Week: How will Facebook’s changes impact your promotional strategy?
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Episode 36 – Ghostwriting, Subscriptions and Indie Pulp
Without sound effects or background noise, Jim and Bryan discussed stories related to Hachette’s direct experiment and the recent Zoe Suggs ghostwriting controversy. Before they got to that, Bryan offered free review copies of his Ted Saves the World audiobook and Jim discussed the new deal for a ticket to Author Marketing Live’s virtual event. This week’s tips included authorpreneur action steps from Joanna Penn, the keys to a great book launch page, and how you can create a bestselling outline. In the news, we talked about sales rank metrics, the new pulp movement for indies, an individual author subscription idea, BookBub’s new Author Follows feature, the controversy behind the book Girl Online, and Hachette’s direct selling efforts on Twitter. This week’s two-part Question of the Week: If you found out a book you just bought was ghostwritten, how would you react? If you were Jim, what would be some ways you’d have a good time during the show while also providing value to Sell More Books Show listeners?
Episode 35 – Hustle, VAT and KU Discontent
With big news and tips galore, Jim and Bryan discussed the new VAT laws and recent discontent with Kindle Unlimited. Before they got to it, however, Jim announced the Author Marketing Podcast and Bryan discussed his Thunderclap and free run for Ted Saves the World. Their trio of tips included stories on hustling, cover design, and avoiding distractions. Other news stories revolved around Kindle Scout, Sterling and Stone’s lessons learned in 2014 and Jane Friedman’s view ahead to 2015. This week’s Question of the Week: What have your results been like for Kindle Unlimited? Do you plan to join KDP Select or opt-out of it?
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Episode 34 – Dreams, Shots and Kobo Kool-Aid
In our special Thanksgiving episode, we discussed a trio of tips on choosing your target audience, taking advantage of Cyber Monday, and getting your book featured on WattPad. Bryan also talked about his recent success on Kobo. The news stories for episode 34 included Lindsay Buroker’s new pen name launch, HarperCollins’ new airplane partnership, researching your way to self-publishing success, the hill many authors may have to climb, and Steve Scott’s third quarter earnings. We also expressed our thanks for you wonderful listeners out there. Our two part Question of the Week: Do you think exponential sales growth is over for indie authors? What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food?
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Episode 33 – Happiness, Author Ethics and Hachette Makes a Deal
Jim and Bryan made it one-third of the way to 100 with this week’s news-packed episode. After discussing some of Bryan’s Amazon tech support issues and sharing their code for the WriteOn service (7TLTK92H), the hosts with the most talked tips with pointers on pitching festivals, connecting with reviewers and a checklist for successful authors. The news included stories on happiness for indie authors, Amazon purchase of dot-book domains, women’s dominance of self-publishing, the Ethical Author Code, and Hachette’s deal with Amazon. Our Question of the Week: Who won the Amazon/Hachette deal and why?
Episode 32 – Penny Sansevieri, Event Results and Bestseller Lists
Penny Sansevieri of Author Marketing Experts joined Jim and Bryan to discuss the results of last week’s March to a Bestseller 2 event. The gang discussed over 100 writing tips from Galleycat, the author success traits that are more important than talent and lessons learned from MTAB2. In the news this week were stories based on Kindle Unlimited earnings, the Indie Author Power Pack’s push for the bestseller list, the importance of your book launch, the Nook Press push for print on demand and traditional publishing’s view on contracts with indies. The sound is a little off in this episode, so please bear with us until we get back to normal next week! This week’s Question of the Week: What role do book launches play in your marketing? Have you ever had a successful book launch? If so, how’d you do it? Music: Inspirational, Promo Presentation Music by Marcus Neely (Creative Commons)
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Episode 31 – Audio, Contracts and Product Placement
In this week’s episode, Jim and Bryan discussed a trio of tips on where you should focus your marketing, the Awesome Indies Project and using an ACX alternative. The news stories included an audiobook subscription service, product placement in novels, temporary library cards at the airport, self-publishing services contracts and the health of the publishing industry. We also chatted about the launch of Author Marketing Institute and this week’s March to a Bestseller event. Check out the event on Friday, November 7th at http://bit.ly/marchtab2 Music: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes from Daddy_G’s Memory Music, Creative Commons License. Question of the Week: Have you ever paid a company to self-publish for you? If so, were you happy with your experience and why?
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Episode 30 – Negative Reviews, iBooks and Amazon’s Favor
In the landmark 30th episode of the Sell More Books Show, Jim and Bryan geared up for the impending March to a Bestseller 2 event, which will be held on Friday, November 7th. Check out the lineup and the two-dozen prizes you can win at http://bit.ly/marchtab2
The tips of the week included how to get into Costco and specialty stores, ways to increase your writing speed, and planning ahead for holiday publicity opportunities. Jim and Bryan also chatted about the Dear Author lawsuit, the Guardian reviewer stalking piece, five marketing mistakes most beginning fiction writers make, why Amazon is doing the world a favor, and several new features for the iBooks platform. Jim also offered up a 60-minute consultation as one of the giveaways for March to a Bestseller.
This week’s Question of the Week: Have you ever approached a reviewer? If so, how did it turn out?
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