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

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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

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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

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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

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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)

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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

Episode 225 – Audible Bounties, Book Description Keywords, and Make or Break Moments

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Question of the Week: If you were forced into a “make or break moment,” what would you do differently with your author business to get the money you needed in time?

What’s your do or die author strategy to get the money you need for your business? Jim tells us a little about AuthorAccelerate.com and how it can benefit authors with a big bundle of helpful services including one-on-ones. The Happy Book Reviews winner is Allen Alright. Bryan thanks our fabulous Patrons – Email Lists Made Easy for Writers and Bloggers, Sanyare: The Last Descendant, and The Ten-Year Turnaround: Transform Your Personal Finances and Achieve Financial Freedom in The Next Ten Years. The Hot Tips this week include how IngramSpark allows you to personalize your paperbacks for $1 per copy, why a writing routine is critical for author success, and what you need to know about keywords in your Amazon book description. The five stories that made the cut this week are which trademark dilemma is rocking the author world, why the Audible bounty increase may have a hidden downside, how constant care and attention to your marketing and content can add to your bottom line, how book stuffing and gaming the system is losing momentum and indie authors are finding huge success, and why giving readers something they don’t know they want can pay off BIG! Question of the Week: If you were forced into a “make or break moment,” what would you do differently with your author business to get the money you needed in time? read more

Episode 224 – Marketing to Market, Also-bought Updates, and the Golden Age of TV Adaptations

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Question of the Week: If Amazon goes through with its changes to limit also-boughts, will you add more advertising to your marketing to compensate or keep on keepin’ on?

How will you adapt your advertising strategy to accommodate Amazon’s shifting policy on also-boughts? Bryan and Jim are both on hand this week and Bryan has a no-pitch webinar coming up and you get to choose the topic! Last week’s winner of the Happy Book Reviews feature is Laura Martone. Bryan thanks the awesome featured Patrons The Author’s Guide to Ebook Bundling, More Than Monsters, and A Band Director’s Guide to Everything Tuba. Three useful tips include how to effectively bend Amazon’s algorithm to you advantage, why writers underestimate the physical strain that writing takes, and what sales techniques will keep you stuck in the past with you book marketing efforts. We have an Honorable Mention news story regarding server issues for Amazon and Mailerlite. The top stories that are worth a listen this week include how a new Bookfunnel gifting feature can benefit you, why Amazon’s also-boughts could affect your ad strategy, author Galen Surluk-Ramsey’s personal success story, why collaboration and tropes in titles could be the boost you’ve been looking for, which literary writers are looking for television adaptations and why it’s so lucrative. Question of the Week: If Amazon goes through with its changes to limit also-boughts, will you add more advertising to your marketing to compensate or keep on keepin’ on? read more

Episode 223 – Author Mindset, Silly Surveys, and Expanded Distribution

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Question of the Week: Aside from an income survey, what kind of survey of the author community do you feel would be the most helpful for you and why?

If you could design a survey for the author community, what information would you gather? Jim is back on the show this week and he and Bryan had a great July 4th. Bryan announced the Happy Book Reviews winner Will Brown and the guys thank their iTunes reviewers for the great feedback. Bryan thanks the wonderful Patrons Nightblade, Gone, and The Cordova Vector. The fabulous weekly tips include how to get creative about your writing time, which tips can save you tons of time during the edit, and what marketing mistakes you might be in danger of making. Honorable mention story is who got the boot at Barnes and Noble. The top five stories that matter this week include how Amazon is expanding the ebook market, what’s pushing Createspace toward obsolescence, how one author revived old books, are author surveys uncovering truths or muddying the waters, and how mindset can increase monthly sales by ten times. Question of the Week: Aside from an income survey, what kind of survey of the author community do you feel would be the most helpful for you and why? read more

Episode 222 – Renaming Awards, Building Your Backlist, and the Dome of Silence

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Question of the Week: Do you think Association for Library Service to Children made the right decision to rename its award? How do we best distinguish between racist themes, characters, and authors when looking back on books from the past?

Do you think the Association for Library Service to Children made the right decision in their attempt to airbrush history? Should history be rewritten? Bryan Cohen is flying solo this week, but the sound effects king Jim Kukral will be back next week! Our fabulous featured Patrons include Slow Burn: Zero Day, The Final Arrangement, and Wanderer’s Escape. This week’s Happy Book Reviews Feature winners are Darren Sapp and Franki Kidd. Get ready for hit tips including how to use the Dome of Silence to get great feedback on your writing, why extreme calendaring is the new sport for you, and which milestones and achievements can motivate your future projects. The five news stories that deserve your attention this week are why pronouns won’t double your income, which sales strategies can help you go wider than wide, how Wattpad is becoming the launchpad for original film and television content, when is it all right to airbrush history—if ever, and how author Barry Hutchinson combined a backlist and a rapid release strategy to explode his income. Question of the Week: Do you think Association for Library Service to Children made the right decision to rename its award? How do we best distinguish between racist themes, characters, and authors when looking back on books from the past? read more

Episode 221 – Sharing Drafts, Direct Taxes, and Scrivener to Vellum Conversions

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Question of the Week: Would you ever consider relaunching any of your books? If so, what strategies would you use to get them right the second time around?

If you could have a “do-over” on launching any of your titles, what would you change? Bryan’s voice is back and Jim survived a horrendous landscaping accident! Remember to take advantage of the payment plan for the Sell More Books Show Summit tickets before it disappears on July 4th. Bryan thanks this week’s wonderful featured Patrons: How to Fight Fair in Your Marriage, Divorced Dad, and Somebody’s Darling. This week’s Happy Book Reviews Feature winner is Steeven Orr! Some great tips include how to integrate Scrivener and Vellum, What the hot new marketing GIF collection can do for you, and why you might want to use a tone analyzer to evaluate your writing. Honorable Mention goes to the launch of Prime Reading in France. The five top news stories in this episode include how to use your existing social media to launch your first book, a relaunch success story from Danielle Romero, how to keep writing in spite of health issues, why you might want to serialize your rough draft to build readership, and you may have to collect sales tax in the near future. Question of the Week: Would you ever consider relaunching any of your books? If so, what strategies would you use to get them right the second time around? read more

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