The Publishing Profits Podcast Show | Writing | Marketing | Books | eBooks | Audiobooks | Authors | Entrepreneurs

Ricardo Fayet is a cofounder of Reedsy, an online marketplace that connects authors with everything you need to succeed, from free educational courses, to a platform to help you find the best cover artists, book designers, and publishing support. Ricardo and a friend got the idea for Reedsy in business school. They approached developing Reedsy from a reader perspective. The Birth of Reedsy Ricardo and his friend were among the first early adopters of the Kindle device. They began thinking about how the device was changing the publishing industry for publishers and authors. They asked themselves several questions: What does it change for authors and publishers? How does it change how readers read books? Will there be more ebooks produced than paper books? After asking these questions, Ricardo began learning about self-publishing. At first, self-publishing was a fascinating market space. As Ricardo looked into self-publishing more deeply, he realized that there’s a lot that goes into publishing a book beyond simply hitting publish. You have to: Edit the book. Do cover design for the book. Market the book. That’s when Ricardo and his partners decided to create a marketplace for authors who were self-publishing, as well as the people who were leaving traditional publishing companies. When self-publishing started to take off, in the period from 2010 to 2011, a lot of people who had worked for traditional publishers decided to do freelance work instead. They like the freedom and flexibility of working as a freelance provider, and they also like the access to self-published authors. “It’s really a misnomer to call it self-publishing. No one does it by themselves. You have to have cover designers, book designers to do the layout, and usually marketing support and help. So there’s a big team that any self-published author needs to create in order to make a project really successful.” – Tom Corson Knowles How to Create the Best Team to Support Your Book “The most common advice out there is to ask your peers and other authors in your genre. On the one hand, I think it’s great advice, because obviously what worked for one author might work for you. But on the other hand, it depends a lot on your genre, for both cover design and editing. Editing depends a lot on your personality and writing style.” – Ricardo Fayet The most important factor that affects cover design is your genre or category. If you ask authors in your specific genre or category for advice on cover designers, that advice will probably work for you. The most important factor that affects your relationship with your editor is your personality and writing style. Because every writer is different, it’s less likely that one author’s advice about a good editor will translate into a good working experience for another author. When looking for an editor, it’s best to look for an editor who specializes in your genre. On Reedsy, the editors in the marketplace specialize in certain genres. As an editor: It’s simple to specialize in a genre. Simply choose to edit the books you like to read. Once you get some clients and do good work for them, they will recommend you to other authors who write in their genre. Then you can begin to build a portfolio as an editor. As an author: When you’re looking for an editor, reach out to three or four and see how they work. Send them a small sample of your work, about 3,000 words. This allows you to get a feel for the relationship before you commit to working together on the larger project. When you’re looking for a developmental editor, you definitely want someone who specializes in editing your genre. Ricardo recommends asking for a sample feedback letter that they wrote for another author. You can’t really ask them to look at a sample of your work because they need to see the whole book in order to give you good feedback. But by asking for a sample letter, you can get an idea of how they give feedback to authors. Some editors are very blunt. Some editors like to sugarcoat their feedback. By looking at an editor’s sample feedback letter, you can get a sense of the type of feedback you’re likely to receive from that editor, and you can decide whether or not that feedback will help you write a better book. When you hire an editor, it’s all about developing the right kind of relationship. That’s why it is important to reach out to several people, get several quotes, and get an idea of what type of feedback each editor will give you. Reedsy only accepts 3% of the freelancers who apply to be listed in the marketplace. They are very selective about the professionals they choose to offer to authors. Reedsy has never seen any freelancer abuse their access to the creative work of authors. A lot of the freelancers on Reedsy come from traditional publishing. They’re not going to compromise their good working relationship on Reedsy in order to publish some author’s idea under their own name. In many cases, they aren’t even authors themselves. A lot of the best editors on Reedsy make between $10,000 and $15,000 a month. They’re not going to risk their reputation to publish an author’s work themselves. The biggest problem Reedsy has run into as a platform is editors and authors not getting along. That’s why Ricardo recommends that you get several samples from copy editors and a sample feedback letter from a developmental editor. The best way to make sure you’re going to have a good relationship with an editor is to try out numerous applicants until you find a good fit. The editor/author collaboration is a real partnership and you have to make sure your personalities match as much as possible before you agree to working on a larger project together. If you use a freelancing marketplace like Reedsy and you make sure you’re going to have a good personality match with the editor, you’re never going to be unhappy with your results. When an editor quotes you a price on Reedsy, Reedsy will add a 10% service charge to the price. That’s how they make money. So, if an editor quotes you a price of $1,000, your final bill as the client will be $1,100. Of that, $100 will go to Reedsy and the agreed-upon $1,000 will go to the editor. The Hiring Process on Reedsy You can use Reedsy to hire a variety of professionals to help with your manuscript. Hiring an Editor Let’s say you’re hiring a developmental editor through Reedsy. Reedsy is going to give you a form that asks a lot of questions. They’re going to want you to send a sample of your manuscript, as well as describe the characters in your story. They’ll also want to know when you want to publish your book and when you want the editor to get back to you. After the editor receives your submission, they’ll likely have additional questions. Typically, after an editor responds to you, a natural conversation takes place. If, after you send initial information to an editor, that conversation doesn’t take place, you should look for another professional. Communication is always key. If you start a project with a $500 budget and you find a cover designer who says they’ll design you a cover without asking questions, that’s a warning sign. You haven’t said what genre your book is, or whether your cover design is for a print book or an ebook. Those are very basic questions that any good cover designer would ask. There’s a lot of information that freelancers need before giving you a quote for the service. Most likely, you’re not going to think of all the information they need. You should expect to get questions back when you put a project on Reedsy. If you don’t get questions back, you should look for another professional who will give your project the kind of attention it deserves. Hiring a Cover Designer It’s always good when you’re working with a cover designer to send them inspiration. Find two or three covers on Amazon in the genre of your book that you really like. When you send those to the cover designer, that’s going to give them an idea of what appeals to you, and then they’ll most likely begin a conversation with you about the specifics of your cover. Experienced freelancers are going to ask the most questions up front because they know the process, and they know all of the issues that might pop up during their work. So they want to have as many answers for those potential problems as possible before they put in the time and effort to do the project. It’s important that you hire a cover designer who has experience with book cover design, especially if you don’t. If you are an experienced indie author, you can take on an inexperienced cover designer because you’ve been through it before. But if this is your first project, you want someone who knows the ins and outs of cover design. You’ll want someone who: Knows the type of images that will work for your genre cover. Knows the kind of typography that will work for your genre cover. Knows how to lay out your cover so that it looks right. Has experience with the types of problems that can occur when designing a cover. What to Do If the Project Isn’t Working Out the Way You Want When a project starts going wrong, it’s important that you manage the expectations of the freelancer. It’s also important that you be honest and upfront from the very beginning. The biggest problems on Reedsy’s platform happen because authors don’t make freelancers aware that they’re unhappy until very far along in the process. If you’re honest and upfront at the beginning, the freelancer can either adjust direction, or you can part ways without wasting any more of each other’s time. When you’re not honest about a problem at the beginning of the process, it leads to miscommunication, hurt feelings, and bad relationships throughout the entire process. This means a loss of time and money for both you and the freelancer. The longer you wait to let your freelancer know there’s a problem with your project, the more likely it is that you won’t be able to publish your project on time. When you hire a freelancer through a third party like Reedsy, you should get them involved as soon as you feel like something is starting to go wrong. The sooner you get Reedsy involved, the more time they have to look into the problem before it leads to a real issue with your publishing schedule. Almost all the problems you might encounter can be avoided by communicating with your freelancer before you hire them. If things go really wrong, the final recourse is a legal one. If you’re not hiring a freelancer through Reedsy, make sure you sign a contract. Make sure you read all of the provisions in that contract before you sign it. Make sure the contract: Protects your intellectual property. Protects your copyright. Clearly defines the consequences to each party of canceling. Ricardo has heard horror stories about cancellation fees and communication breakdowns when a project goes wrong. Reedsy has developed standard contracts to protect both parties that are a part of their normal terms of service. Overall, Reedsy has conflicts between freelancers and authors only 2% of the time. In those cases, Reedsy steps in as a neutral third-party mediator. In Ricardo’s experience, every problem can be avoided by communicating with the freelancer up front before you hire them. Don’t be afraid to tell a freelancer that you don’t like the way the project is going early on. Ricardo knows of one publishing company that uses Reedsy to find cover designers. The managing editor insists on having a “kill fee” in the contract. If she gets three cover designs she doesn’t like, she’ll pay the cover designer $300 or $500 to kill the project. How to Have the Best Customer Experience on Reedsy All the freelancers on Reedsy have been vetted by the company. That means they all have the same basic level of ability to do the work. That being said, it’s probably best to work with editors and cover designers who have fewer clients. If you work with freelancers who have fewer clients, that means they’ll have more time to devote to your individual projects. Reedsy has quite a few editors who worked on big traditional books, and a lot of people want to hire them. They’re all able to do their work, but when you hire a famous editor who’s working with several clients at once, you’re not going to get the type of attention you could get if you work with someone who’s only working on your project. Ricardo has noticed a career trajectory for editors on Reedsy. The editor will start with one or two clients. Those clients will be satisfied and recommend that editor to their friends. Now the editor has more clients. Those clients will be happy and recommend the editor again. At some point, the editor will book one client too many. When they book one client too many and then have issues in their personal lives come up, that’s when problems arise. As an author, you can’t predict when that’s going to happen for an editor. Ricardo recommends you be patient if you realize the editor may have booked too many clients. He also recommends that you always ask the editor how many clients they have booked for the time that they’re going to be editing your project. The fewer clients they have booked, the more time they can devote to editing your work. Advice for Authors in a Rush If you’re on a tight deadline, it’s important that you contact more good applicants for the position you need filled. It’s also important that you brief them really thoroughly about the project itself so that the rest of the process can go smoothly. In general, cover designers can come up with a good cover design in a week, but you’ll want to contact more of them because if you have a hard deadline, more of the cover designers you want to work with will be booked during the week you need them. Good copy editors can work with you on a tight deadline. It’s important that you contact more of them to find one who is available, and that you brief them thoroughly on the specifications for the project. Good developmental editors are generally booked a full 3 to 6 months in advance. That’s a good thing! They know how many clients they can handle and they stick to that number per month. Those are the kind of editors that you want. If you need a developmental editor, it’s important that you don’t put yourself in a position where you’re on a fixed deadline. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Interview https://reedsy.com/ – a marketplace connecting authors with the freelancers they need to self-publish their books. https://blog.reedsy.com/learning/ – free courses for authors on writing, editing, design, marketing, publishing, and distribution. [email protected] – contact Ricardo directly. Feel free to ask any questions you want. He’s also happy to recommend freelancers for your project. Advice for Authors Who Want to Use Reedsy.com 4 tips to find your dream editor on Reedsy What to Look out for When You’re Looking for an Editor Book Cover Design: How Self-Publishing Authors Can Do It Best 6 Tips for Briefing Your Book Designer Is It Worth Partnering with a Book Marketer   The post 178: How to Build a Team for Your Self-Published Book with Ricardo Fayet appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Ethan Jones is the bestselling author of more than 20 books, including the best-selling Justin Hall Spy Thriller Series. Ethan always wanted to be a writer. He started writing novels seriously in 2008, but ever since he was a kid, Ethan would watch TV shows and movies and imagine future adventures for the heroes he loved. He doesn’t have a favorite spy movie, although Salt, The Bourne Identity, and the James Bond films rank fairly high with him. In 2008, he began carving out extra time to schedule to write his own stories. He always loved TV shows and movies that had to do with spies, so he figured that writing spy thrillers would be right up his alley. It turns out his audience agrees with him. In this episode, we talked about Ethan’s author journey, his writing process, and the importance of treating your writing like a business. We also talked about Ethan’s marketing strategies, his daily routine, and some mistakes Ethan made early in his career you can learn from. This was a fast-paced interview jam-packed with information. Ethan’s Turning Point Ethan decided to write his first novel after he read a spy novel that wasn’t very good. He thought for sure that he could write something at least as good as the book he’d just finished reading. That was the beginning of his writing adventure. It took Ethan one year to write his first book. The first book is always the hardest to finish. He wanted to write something a little different than the standard spy story. So the story takes place in Canada and his hero is a member of the Canadian special forces. Usually in spy fiction, the hero is a member of some sort of US government agency, whether that be the CIA or FBI or another alphabet soup agency. How Ethan Developed His Writing Process Ethan developed his writing process by writing books. He wrote his first book completely by the seat of his pants. There were one or two places where he wrote himself into a corner, and he had to spend a few days figuring out how the story was going to work out. These days, Ethan has an idea of where the story is going to end. He doesn’t have a detailed outline, but he has some idea of what the major plot points are and roughly where they occur. He’s not so tied to his outline that he won’t let the story change as he writes it. He allows his characters the flexibility to discover the story as they’re living through it. Having an ending firmly in mind has been helpful for Ethan when writing his books, even if the ending might change as he produces the manuscript. Why Pantsing Works for Ethan Ethan tried to plot a couple of his novels in detail. He found it was difficult for him to force the story on to the path he wanted it to take. It broke his creative flow. Ethan is much more productive with a loose idea of where the story is going and the flexibility to allow his characters to react naturally. Most of his stories are about spying and spycraft. So his characters have a lot of trust issues, and it’s very easy for him to manipulate the mood of a character to make them more suspicious, then gently nudge the story where he wants it to go. Writing mostly by the seat of his pants just works best for Ethan. How Ethan Comes up with His Story Ideas To develop his stories, Ethan does a lot of research. He pays attention to international news, and specifically news about the region where he’s going to set his next book. Recently, Ethan decided to write a book where ISIS featured prominently. He watched a lot of documentaries by journalists about the group. For Ethan, research is essential in coming up with his ideas and making sure his book seems like something that might actually happen. Write in a Genre You’re Passionate about Some time ago, Ethan tried his hand at romantic suspense. There was less research involved, but his heart wasn’t really in it. Those books took much longer to write because he wasn’t as passionate about the genre. “Writing good spy thrillers does involve a lot of research, but when you’re doing something you really enjoy, it doesn’t sound like work.” – Ethan Jones Ethan’s Publishing Journey Ethan wrote Arctic Wargame: A Justin Hall Spy Thriller back in 2008. At first, he tried to get a traditional publishing deal. Self-publishing wasn’t as popular back then as it is now, and a traditional publishing deal seemed like the way to go. In Canada, the book market is smaller, so you don’t necessarily need an agent to have your book traditionally published. Ethan tried submitting his book to agents and publishers. Some of the people he submitted to requested a partial manuscript, and he got good feedback from them, but he couldn’t secure a book deal. In 2011, a friend suggested that he self-publish his manuscript. Before diving in, he took some time figuring out how self-publishing works. He was able to publish the first book in the Justin Hall Spy Series in 2012, shortly after finishing the manuscript for the second book in the series. He published the second and third books in 2014 and hasn’t slowed down since. Back in 2012, you didn’t need to do a lot to promote a self-published book. Just the fact that was in the marketplace at a price lower than traditionally published books was enough for you to make a few hundred dollars a month, as long as the story was decent. The market was less crowded in 2012, and it was a lot easier to make money as a new author in the marketplace. Today, it takes more work—and more books. Ethan has three series out right now, and he plans to add another series in March 2018. Lessons Ethan Has Learned about Writing and Publishing in the Last 10 Years Things change in the self-publishing marketplace quickly. Things are often different just month to month! It’s important to adapt to changes as they occur. Don’t expect things to stay the same. Ethan suggests that all indie authors should consider wide distribution. There’s value in not having all your eggs in one basket, or all your books in one distribution system. Having your books available at different bookstores creates multiple income streams. That way, if one website’s sales slow down for you, the other booksellers might be able to pick up the slack. Ethan tried Kindle Unlimited as recently as early 2017, and his books didn’t stick in Amazon’s ecosystem. He’s had much better luck going wide. He’s done particularly well with his books in Kobo. Kobo also gives you opportunities to promote your work. Think about physical products. Sony televisions are available in a number of different stores and chains. They aren’t exclusive to Wal-Mart or any other chain of stores. Don’t be afraid to experiment, but always focus on collecting data that gives you information going forward. Ethan’s Strategy for Launching a New Book Ethan didn’t do any active promoting of his books until early 2017. His promotional strategy for his early books was to: Tell his mailing list that a new book was available. Be active on social media. Write Facebook posts and tweet about the fact that a new book is available. Write a blog post on his website announcing that a new book was available. Ethan’s Paid Promotion Strategy, Starting Early 2017 Ethan has been experimenting with Amazon marketing ads since early 2017. He’s also been experimenting with boosting his Facebook posts. Ethan’s Free Promotion Strategy Starting Early 2017 On the free side of things, Ethan has been building his network of authors in his genre and cross-promoting with them. The authors Ethan has teamed up with tell their mailing lists when he has a new book out. He returns the favor when they have a new book out, or when they have a deal going on. “Cross-promoting with authors in your genre is the best marketing you can do, because that audience is already hot for books like yours. Also, you’re not an unknown person to them, because you’re coming with a recommendation from the author that is writing to them.” – Ethan Jones Depending on how involved the author recommending you wants to get, they can say they read the book and enjoyed it and their subscribers might enjoy it as well, or they can simply say that you have a new book out and it looks good. It’s very important to be honest and aboveboard with your email list at all times. You shouldn’t lie to your readers to drive up book sales. You might get some short-term benefit, but it will cause you headaches in the long run. Cross-promoting with other authors is kind of like dating. Working with some authors might get you a lot of book sales. Working with other authors might not get you many sales at all. You’ll never know which partnerships will work best for you until you dive in and give it a try. It’s best to network with authors who write in your genre, because they have readers on their list who will probably like the books you’re writing. Ethan’s Daily Routine Ethan has a full-time job and has to carve out writing time wherever he can. He takes the bus to work every day, and that commute takes about an hour. He writes every morning as he commutes to work. There are times when he wishes the bus would take longer because he has to stop at a point where things are going really well for him. Sometimes Ethan wakes up earlier in the morning to do his writing. He has to get on the bus at 7 a.m., so he’ll get up at 4 or 5 a.m. to start his writing day. “I used to think writing was only to be done when you could have four or five uninterrupted hours on a Saturday. But realistically, that’s difficult to do when you have a family and other obligations. So even if I can spend 15 minutes and write it’s possible to get 100 words down in that period of time. So even if you only spend 15 minutes a day, by the end of the month, if you’re consistent you can get a few pages down for sure.” – Ethan Jones Mistakes You Can Learn From Ethan has made many mistakes in his author journey. Here are some of the bigger ones: Ethan’s biggest mistake was not having a mailing list from the beginning. Ethan wrote his books without a mailing list for three years. Without a mailing list, Ethan could only communicate with readers who sought him out; he had no way to follow up with his audience. You should have an autoresponder, a mailing sequence for your readers, and a call to action to join your email list at the front or back of your book. It’s important that you adopt a business mindset when it comes to publishing your work. Ethan had to learn more about how a business is run, how promotions work, and how to market his books. Business skills don’t come naturally to many authors, but they’re important if you want to be successful. In the beginning, Ethan priced his books too high. He also wishes he had begun networking sooner. It’s also important to improve your writing craft. It can be harder to see your writing mistakes than your business mistakes. When you’ve read over your manuscript a few times, you can get to the point where you’re tired of rereading it. It can be much easier to see your business mistakes when you do a promotion for your books and they don’t sell very well. Of course, if your book isn’t good, or it doesn’t have good packaging, that can certainly affect your sales. But you absolutely must have: A good story A good cover A good, succinct description An opening that grabs your readers. Readers can usually see about the first 10% of your story for free in the different online bookstores. You want to make that beginning as good as you can to draw readers in. A promotion that brings more traffic to your product page should lead to more sales. Also remember that some promotional websites give you a better return on your investment than others. Ethan Reflects on his Author Journey Ethan tried to get his first book published through a traditional publisher. As with all authors, his first book was his weakest in terms of craft. He also wrote the book to be a standalone story, something he doesn’t recommend for today’s authors wanting to make a living. Series sell better because each new book is an advertisement for all the other books in the series. He wants to improve his writing style, particularly focusing on some weak areas readers have pointed out in the past. You don’t have to put all of your research into the book you’re writing. Nobody likes a show-off. If the detail of your research doesn’t add to your story, leave it out. You should only add details about setting if they’re unique to the place you’re talking about, or if they add to the story. If you’re talking about a beach or a gun, you don’t need to describe every minute detail. Even if your readers haven’t been to the beach you’re talking about, most of your readers have been to a beach. Don’t get bogged down in details that don’t advance your story. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Interview Ethan Jones Books – Ethan’s website where you can join his mailing list and get a free short story. He wrote the short story recently and it’s one of his better works. Ethan Jones’s Amazon author page The Justin Hall Spy Thriller Series – Ethan’s first series. It’s about a spy in the Canadian Special Forces. The post 173: How Author Networking and Co-Promotion Can Help Sell Books with Ethan Jones appeared first on TCK Publishing.

AJ Cosmo is the bestselling author of The Monster that Ate My Socks and more than 20 other fun children’s picture books. His stories are crafted to help parents teach children lessons in a fun and engaging way. Six years ago, AJ was at his day job searching for ways to make money online. One […] The post 169: How to Write Children’s Books and Work with an Illustrator with AJ Cosmo appeared first on TCK Publishing.

James Blatch is a former BBC defense reporter. He reported on the UK military from Kuwait, the Arctic Circle, and during the Kosovo conflict in 1999, among many other crazy war zones and places. Today he is the director of The Self-Publishing Formula Course. He’s an online course provider for independent authors. He also cohosts […] The post 167: How to Build Your Platform as a New Author with James Blatch appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Evan Marshall is a literary agent and owner of the Evan Marshall Agency. He’s also a multi-published novelist and a nonfiction author, and the creator of The Marshall Plan novel writing software. Evan was born in Massachusetts. His first job was with the Big Five publisher Houghton Mifflin in Boston. Then he moved to New […] The post 165: How Traditional Publishing and Agents Work with Evan Marshall appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Ricci Wolman is the founder and CEO of Written Word Media. You may not have heard of Written Word Media before, but I’m sure you’ve heard of some of their brands, including Free Booksy, Bargain Booksy, and Red Feather Romance, all of which are very popular book promotion websites. Ricci has more than 10 years […] The post 163: How Book Promotion Sites Work and Data-Driven Online Marketing Strategies with Ricci Wolman appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Tyler Basu is the content marketing genius at Thinkific, one of the fastest-growing online course platforms. In episode 48, we talked with Tyler Basu about how to create a lifestyle business and live your dream life. He had just launched Lifestyle Business Blueprint. Since then, Tyler has gotten on board with Thinkific as their content […] The post 162: How to Create, Promote, and Grow an Online Course with Tyler Basu appeared first on TCK Publishing.

In episode 7, we talked to Rob Archangel about audiobook publishing. In the last three years, Rob has built one of the most successful self-publishing services companies out there. I brought Rob back to talk about what he’s doing now and the lessons he’s learned over the last few years. Selling Books Directly from Your […] The post 161: How to Generate More Leads and Accelerate Your Business with Book Sales with Rob Archangel appeared first on TCK Publishing.

  Brian David Crane is a serial entrepreneur. He sold his first company at age 24. He has helped launch six different million-dollar brands, including Archives.com, which was bought for $100 million three years after launch. Brian has been a digital nomad since 2014 and he’s here to talk about the downsides of the digital nomad […] The post 160: The Real Digital Nomad Lifestyle: Pros and Cons of Traveling the World with Brian David Crane appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Penny Sansevieri is the author of several books, including How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon. She’s also the founder of Author Marketing Experts. We interviewed Penny back in Episode 22: Getting Red-Hot Internet Publicity for Your Book, where we talked a lot about how to get online publicity for your books. I […] The post 159: Using Amazon Keywords to Sell More Books with Penny Sansevieri appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Dustin Mathews is the founder of Speaking Empire, which teaches entrepreneurs how to scale up their business by selling from presentations and stages. Speaking Empire is the company behind some of the biggest speakers out there, including Kevin Harrington, Russell Brunson, and Jairek Robbins. Dustin began his professional journey after he read Rich Dad Poor […] The post 158: How To Create an Irresistible Offer: Presentation and Speaking Tips with Dustin Mathews appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Heath Armstrong is a serial creative entrepreneur. He is the author of The Sweet Ass Journal to Develop Your Happiness Muscle in 100 Days. By adopting the habits of 100+ creative entrepreneurs, he was able to pay off $20,000 in debt, quit his job, sell all of his belongings, travel the world, and scale his […] The post 157: How To Create Winning Habits in Just 100 Days with Heath Armstrong appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Charlie Gilkey is the author of The Small Business Lifecycle, a business book that helps creative people focus on the actions that will significantly grow their businesses. He’s also the founder of Productive Flourishing, a website that helps change makers finish the projects that really matter. In this great interview, we talk about how to […] The post 156: How to Finish the Projects that Matter with Charlie Gilkey appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Gabriela Pereira is the founder of DIYMFA.com, the do-it-yourself alternative to a master’s degree in writing. She teaches at conferences and online, and she’s helped hundreds of writers get the MFA experience without having to go to an expensive school. In this fantastic interview, we talk about the value of an MFA degree, but we […] The post 155: How to Read to Become a Better Writer with Gabriela Pereira appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Nick Loper is an author, entrepreneur, and founder of sidehustlenation.com, a growing community and resource for aspiring and part-time entrepreneurs. As the host of the top-rated Side Hustle Show Podcast, Nick explores a different business idea every single week and helps listeners discover the path to new job-free income streams. Nick’s original side hustle was […] The post 154: How To Build a Successful Side Hustle with Nick Loper appeared first on TCK Publishing.

A few bloggers have cracked the code to making money from blogging, and Crystal Paine is one of them. She is a New York Times bestselling author, and she’s the founder of the incredibly successful blog MoneySavingMom.com, where she teaches moms how to save and earn more. In this interview, we talk about how Crystal […] The post 153: How to Make Money Blogging with Crystal Paine appeared first on TCK Publishing.

The results of Rachel’s latest book marketing experiments will surprise you. Rachel Aaron is a bestselling traditionally published novelist and author of several books including the Eli Monpress series, as well as one of my absolute favorite nonfiction books on writing: 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love. We […] The post 152: Market Less and Sell More with Rachel Aaron appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Jonah Berger is a marketing professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and the bestselling author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On and Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior. This was a great interview. We talk about what makes things go viral and how authors can create a word-of-mouth campaign to […] The post 151: How To Make Your Book Go Viral with Word-of-Mouth Campaigns with Jonah Berger appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Mike Rohde is the bestselling author of The Sketchnote Handbook and The Sketchnote Workbook. He presents sketchnoting workshops around the world that encourage people to use visual thinking skills to generate, capture, and share ideas more effectively. In this awesome interview, we talk about sketchnoting, including what it is and how to do it. And […] The post 150: How Visual Thinking Helps You Remember More and Be More Creative with Mike Rohde appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Dave Kusek is the author of The Future of Music, which has sold more than 50,000 copies. He’s a pioneer in the music industry, and he teaches artists how to thrive and prosper in our high-tech digital society. This is a great interview. We talk about how to have a music career in the digital […] The post 149: Build a Successful Creative Career and Use YouTube to Grow Your Audience with Dave Kusek appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Farnoosh Brock is the bestselling author of several books, including the Healthy Smoothie Bible, which has more than 450 reviews on Amazon. She works with professionals who are in a mid-career crisis to help them navigate the corporate landscape or start their own profitable businesses. In this fantastic interview, we dive deep into what it […] The post 148: How to Use Your Passion to Find Success—and Why Calm Leadership Is Key with Farnoosh Brock appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Chris Brogan is a New York Times bestselling author. He has written nine books, including Find Your Writing Voice—which is, naturally, about how to find your unique writing voice. He’s also the CEO of Owner Media Group, where he teaches strategy and skills for modern businesses. This is a great interview. We talked about how […] The post 147: How to Find Your Unique Writing Voice and Stand out from the Crowd with Chris Brogan appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Ashley Scott Meyers is a screenplay writer, producer, and director. He’s also the creator of SellingYourScreenplay.com, where he teaches screenwriters how to sell their screenplay and get a great deal. This was an interesting interview. We talked about how to sell your screenplay and the importance of building relationships in Hollywood. Ashley grew up in […] The post 146: How to Write a Great Script, Build Relationships, and Succeed in Hollywood appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Yaro Starak is a professional blogger and serial Internet entrepreneur. As the founder of Entrepreneurs-Journey.com, he teaches others how to build a sustainable online business through blogging, selling digital products, and more. Yaro began blogging in 2004 in an effort to get traffic to his essay editing business. At the time, he didn’t know anything […] The post 145: How To Turn Your Blog Into a Profitable Business appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Jane Friedman has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. Her expertise is in digital media strategy for authors and publishers. She is the founder of the award-winning blog JaneFriedman.com and cofounder of the industry-leading newsletter The Hot Sheet with Porter Anderson. We covered a ton of ground in this interview. We talked about […] The post 144: What Traditional and Indie Publishers Can Teach Each Other appeared first on TCK Publishing.

This is an information-packed interview. We talk about the 4P’s of Author Success, and we dive deep into how to promote your book offline. There’s also a lot of information on pricing and selling paperback versions of your book. Alinka Rutkowska is a multi-award-winning, internationally bestselling author and coach. She is also the founder and […] The post 143: How to Sell More Books Offline appeared first on TCK Publishing.

TCK Publishing has published more than 400 books, and many of them have become #1 international bestsellers. In this podcast and blog post, I’m going to share what I’ve learned about book market research that can help you achieve your goals of becoming a bestselling author and making a serious impact with your message and […] The post 142: Six Simple Steps to Effective Book Market Research appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Larry Becht has been a digital marketing expert for the last decade and is a Click Funnels certified partner. His company, the Expert Media Group, helps you turn your products and ideas into profit. Today, Larry is going to share with us how authors can use Click Funnels to build an e-mail list, establish a […] The post 141: Using Click Funnels to Grow Your Audience and Sell More Books appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Sarah Barbour is a book coach and editor who helps entrepreneurs write books they can brag about. She can help you craft your content, plan a manuscript you can be proud of, and navigate the world of self-publishing so that you can put your book in the hands of people who need it. She recognizes […] The post 140: Building Daily Writing Habits with Sarah Barbour appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Jen Berson is the founder of Jeneration PR, a boutique public relations firm that specializes in beauty, baby, and lifestyle brands. She’s a regularly featured PR and social media expert on the American Express OPEN forum for small business. She’s also been featured in the New York Times, Entrepreneur Magazine, and PR Week, among many […] The post 139: Crafting Personal Stories for PR Success with Jen Berson appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Rob is the best-selling author of Life after Debt and the founder of Bestseller Publishing. He’s been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and in the Wall Street Journal and on many other media sites. Rob teaches entrepreneurs, coaches, and consultants how to stop hunting for clients and instead position yourself as the hunted. Rob […] The post 138: How to Build a Business with a Book with Rob Kosberg appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Kylie Stewart is the author of Set in Stone, the first book in the Legend series, a contemporary romance story based on the legends of King Arthur and published by TCK Publishing. She is also an audiobook narrator and has produced more than 50 audiobooks. Kylie got a master’s degree in equine industry and worked with race […] The post 137: Audiobook Narration Tips with Kylie Stewart appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Ryan Stewman is the best-selling author of several books including Elevator to the Top. He’s also the founder of Hardcore Closer, a company that teaches sales skills to people who are ready and willing to tear up their list of excuses and close more sales. Ryan started working at eight years old, mowing lawns for […] The post 136: Selling with Confidence with Ryan Stewman appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Jim Heskett is the author of the new book The Juggling Author: How To Write Four Books a Year While Balancing Family, Friends, and a Full-Time Job. He fell in love with writing at the age of fourteen thanks to a copy of Stephen King’s The Shining. Poetry became his first outlet for teen angst, then […] The post 135: Using Deadlines to Accelerate Your Writing with Jim Heskett appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Monica Leonelle is a best-selling author and entrepreneur empowering writers to take charge of their careers through efficient and inspired marketing. Her recent release, Prosperous Creation, focuses on making art and money while overcoming the mental blocks that hold us back from reaching our goals. Monica‘s expertise comes from authoring and marketing more than 20 books of […] The post 134: Marketing Made Easy with Monica Leonelle appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Mark Lefebvre is an author and editor; he serves as the director of self-publishing and author relations at Kobo, one of the top eBook retailers in the world. This fantastic interview covers a wide range of topics. We talked about traditional publishing and self-publishing and the true value of both. We also discussed emerging global markets […] The post 133: Kobo Writing Life and International eBook Sales with Mark Lefebvre appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Bryan Cohen is the author of Ted Saves the World, the first book in a new YA sci-fi/fantasy series, and a collection of creative writing prompts books. His books have been downloaded over 400,000 times. Bryan has always been interested in writing. He started his indie publishing journey by writing a blog about writing inspiration. […] The post 132: How to Write Book Descriptions for Fiction and Non-Fiction with Bryan Cohen appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Kevin Tumlinson is a thriller and speculative fiction author. He’s also the Director of Marketing at Draft2Digital, one of the leading automated self-publishing services companies. Kevin wrote his first book at the age of five. The reaction he got for it sparked a lifelong interest in writing. By age 12 he was writing professionally for […] The post 131: Indie Publishing Strategy with Kevin Tumlinson appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Gregory has lived and worked in 50 countries and continues to help others along the path of self-fulfillment through exploration. Gregory’s books, Brand Identity Breakthrough and Travel As Transformation, are Amazon bestsellers, and his company Identity Publications helps authors grow their business with books, videos, and courses. Gregory published Brand Identity Breakthrough 10 months ago. […] The post 130: Amazon Marketing Strategy and Beta Readers with Gregory Diehl appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Derek Doepker is the first guest to come back on the show for a third visit. In Episode 24 we talked about creating a great book marketing strategy for long-term success and some awesome tips on saving money when you self publish, and in Episode 94 we talked about developing a success mindset and some […] The post 129: Amazon Book Ads and Amazon Marketing Services with Derek Doepker appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Michelle Paisley Reed is an author, inspirational speaker, and spiritual channel. She’s written four screenplays and five books, including a bestseller we recently published together called Manifesting Miracles and Money: How to Achieve Peace, Purpose, and Plenty Without Getting in Your Own Way. Michelle is working on a new reality TV show called “Don’t Change The […] The post 128: How Meditation, Mindfulness, and Intuition Can Boost Creativity with Michelle Paisley Reed appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Chris Fox is the best selling author of several books on Amazon including No Such Thing As Werewolves. He used to be an iPhone and iPad app developer before transitioning to be a full-time author. He’s written several sci-fi/fantasy books as well as several helpful nonfiction books for authors. In episode 52 week talk about […] The post 127: How Amazon Data Science Can Help You Sell More Books with Chris Fox appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Joel Kessel is the founder of Kessel Communications, a strategic communications agency that helps businesses communicate better. Joel specializes in media relations and PR Strategy for business owners and thought leaders. During his sophomore year in college, Joel got into a small talk with a news reporter while waiting for his shift. The news reporter gave him […] The post 126: Public Relations Strategy and Building Better Relationships with Media and Influencers appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Adam is a preacher, teacher, novelist and #1 international bestselling author of over 100 books on the Christian faith. With over 2 million books distributed, his titles range from devotionals, to prayer books, to Christian inspiration, and inspirational fiction. This was a quick interview loaded with information. In this podcast we talk about Amazon’s algorithm, […] The post 125: How to do a Book Launch that Will Get Your Book Noticed by Amazon with Adam Houge appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Derek Murphy is the bestselling author of several books including his new novel Shearwater. Derek has a wealth of experience in the publishing industry as a professional editor, cover designer, consultant, keynote speaker, and as a bestselling nonfiction and fiction author. This is our second time interviewing Derek. In episode 37 we talked about how […] The post 124: Author Derek Murphy Shares Marketing Advice appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Craig Ballantyne has been the Editor of the personal development newsletter, Early To Rise, since 2011. His daily essays reach over 150,000 readers and teach people how to build their wealth, improve their health, and become the best version of themselves. He now coaches entrepreneurs around the world how to turn their ideas into money […] The post 123: Time Management for Writers and Sales Funnels with Craig Ballantyne appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Kathy Meis is the founder and CEO of Bublish, the world’s first complete publishing solution with integrated brand-building, marketing and discoverability features. Kathy’s career began when she graduated Indiana State. As a reporter she worked for Forbes building the editorial brand from scratch. When the Internet emerged as the new way to communicate and connect […] The post 122: Book Metadata, Search Engines, and Discoverability with Kathy Meis appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Ben Krueger is the founder of Cashflow Podcasting, a done-for-you podcasting and marketing service for entrepreneurs and thought leaders. This interview was great. It contains everything you might want to know about the business of podcasting. We talk about how to start a podcast, the history of podcasting, the different podcasting platforms, the different types […] The post 121: How to Start a Podcast for Authors and Thought Leaders with Ben Krueger appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Joseph Clough is the best selling author of Be Your Potential published by Hay House. He is also the creator of over 200 hours of Hypnosis and Coaching MP3s and videos that are being downloaded over 3,000,000 times every year. He is an international Speaker, Celebrity Coach and Hypnotherapist. This was a great interview! In […] The post 120: Change Your Mindset, Eliminate Anxiety and Overcome Your Fears with Joseph Clough appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Amy Newmark is publisher, editor-in-chief and coauthor of the book series Chicken Soup for the Soul. By curating and editing inspirational true stories from ordinary people who have had extraordinary experiences, Amy has kept the twenty-two-year-old Chicken Soup for the Soul brand fresh and relevant. Amy was always a writer. She started writing stories in […] The post 119: Transmedia Storytelling and Book Series Branding with Amy Newmark appeared first on TCK Publishing.