EP 286 - Investment, Compromise, and Evolution with Juliette N. Banks

Mark interviews Juliette N. Banks, a bestselling, wide author who writes steamy contemporary and paranormal page-turning romances. Prior to the interview, Mark shares recent comments, welcomes new patron Dharma Kelleher, and shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   In their conversation, Mark and Juliette talk about: Juliette always believing that some day she would be a published author, but it was something she never chased Juliette's marketing background at a book she wrote in 2012 that was published by Random House in 2013 The significant and tight Covid related lock-downs in New Zealand Juliette's adaptation to reading a lot of eBooks during the pandemic The incredibly expensive cost of print books in New Zealand Writing an archangel series and a vampire series Launching her books and reader magnet in Jan and March of 2021 Working a full time job squeezed into 4 work days per week while writing all these novels The roughly 200 people Juliette was sharing her works with for free before she even published her first book (and how they've maintained their loyalty as readers to this day) Launching a new contemporary billionaire romance series at the beginning of 2022 The parallel between the vampire characters and the billionaire characters Training herself to think very American in terms of her largest readership base Calculating the value of going to book signings, particular in the cost of flying from New Zealand to somewhere in the US The process Juliette works on with editing and publishing Having had five BookBubs in 2022 The steady stream of releases and the stress that comes from that, particularly when illness like Covid occurs to throw a monkey wrench into it Where Juliette has been focusing in her initial goal to get to the 5 figures she needed in order to quit her corporate job Spending time on learning what she has to do to make her books "BookBub Worthy" Why she doesn't separate "indie" and "traditional" - you're competing in a store with suppliers of all sizes The pricing strategy that Juliette uses How only 10 of her books are creating income right now. The other 10 are things like reader magnets The way Juliette plans and maps out her writing business The importance of knowing what your skills and abilities and weaknesses are The value of professional coaches and taking some action upon those meetings/sessions And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on the investment Juliette made by engaging for a long period and in detail with a group of 200 readers.   Links of Interest:   Juliette N. Banks Website BookBub Article: How I Maximized my First BookBub Deal EP 285 - Written Word Media's Top 10 Publishing Trends for 2023 EP 284 - Collaborations in AI with Elizabeth Ann West Walk Thru of Sudowrite with Elizabeth Ann West (Patreon) EP 280 - J.C. McKenzie & Jo-Ann Carson on the 2023 Jozie Planner for Authors Be a guest on the Stark Reflections Podcast Superstars Writing Seminars (Save $100 with code: STARKSSWS2023 Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles     Juliette N. Banks is a bestselling, wide author who writes steamy contemporary and paranormal page-turning romances with alpha heroes who fall for sassy heroines and a healthy dose of action and suspense. Juliette has a vast background in consumer marketing and previously published with Random House. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand with Tilly, her Maine Coon kitty, and is now a full-time author.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0