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Oh, how the world of fiction publishing has changed! What used to be Mom’s tea party (with agents and traditional book contracts and demure, knees-together seating) has become a wild house-party of bold self-publishing, mystical Amazon algorithms, seat-of-the-pants marketing and promotions. Experienced romance novelist and book coach Meredith Bond walks Pru Warren, her wide-eyed and unpublished co-host, through the real life of an author from the craft of writing and editing, through publishing and marketing, and finally into building a GLOBAL PUBLISHING EMPIRE! Grab a drink, pull up a chair, and get ready to start your weekend with the Writer's Block Party Podcast. Tune in every Friday.
Episodes
Friday Aug 20, 2021
Friday Aug 20, 2021
Promotions guru Heather Roberts of Elle Woods Promotions joins us to explain to novice Pru Warren that “branding” is not just about a logo…and while she’s chatting with us, she helps experienced author Meredith Bond consider an entirely new approach for Merry’s fantasy catalog. Dang—that’s a half-hour (and more) well spent!
Friday Aug 13, 2021
Friday Aug 13, 2021
Merry thinks it comes down to three simple questions, but as usual when it comes to pricing, it turns out to be a lot more complicated than that! Pru learns about indie versus traditional pricing, pricing if you’re part of KU, paperback pricing, and the absolute printing swamp for independent bookstores and libraries. If pricing your book makes you confused, you are not alone!
You can (and probably should) join the Alliance of Independent Authors. Here's their website: https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/
Friday Aug 06, 2021
Friday Aug 06, 2021
Merry is full of brilliant suggestions for how authors can pad their budgets by freelancing. Pru thinks that she’s too much of a novice to take advantage of any of the opportunities…until: SHAZAAM! Shoot—I could totally do that. And I’d be good at it, too! Quitting the day job might have just eased a little closer to reality!
Friday Jul 30, 2021
Friday Jul 30, 2021
Given that Amazon is the 600-pound gorilla in the room, should you release your book exclusively on Kindle Unlimited? Or would you be better off putting it on multiple platforms? Like everything else having to do with The Smile That Ate The World, the answer is complicated. Fortunately, Merry walks Pru through the maze!
Friday Jul 23, 2021
Friday Jul 23, 2021
Merry and noted author Mindy Klasky discuss the challenges (and solutions) of “buy my book” links when Amazon and Apple are the Hatfields and McCoys of the publishing world. Mindy walks us through her thoughtful creative process, and Pru decides that maybe plotting isn’t such an impossible chore after all!
Two places to consider when thinking about evergreen links:
https://books2read.com/links/ubl/create/
If your website is on WordPress, watch for the option to add a "re-direct" application.
A great book for plotters: Gwen Hayes' Romancing the Beats. https://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Beat-Structure-Romance-Kissing/dp/1530838614/
Friday Jul 16, 2021
Friday Jul 16, 2021
Special guest and wise interpreter of occult marketing mysteries JENNY KATE and Merry walk Pru gently through identifying the right audience. Pru discovers it’s NOT about guessing, or throwing a dart at a demographics map (neither of which was working very well). Instead, Jenny and Merry show Pru how science and reason can take the guesswork out of marketing. Oooh—I get it now!
Links that will help you:
Ads for Authors by Jenny Kate https://www.amazon.com/Ads-Authors-Advertising-Basics-Writers-ebook/dp/B087T54BRD/
Social Media for Authors by Jenny Kate https://www.amazon.com/Social-Media-Authors-Marketing-Writers-ebook/dp/B07X99T2G4/
To explore Jenny's fascinating website and contact her to hire her to divine YOUR marketing mysteries: http://www.thewriternation.com
For more about the Pikes Peak Writer's Conference: https://pikespeakwriters.com/
And to buy swag branded with the Writer's Block Party Podcast logo, go to:
Friday Jul 09, 2021
Friday Jul 09, 2021
You gotta do a “flamethrower” round of edits before your novel is ready for someone else to see, and it can be a surprising one! How many times do you use “that” unnecessarily? What about actually, really, finally, or suddenly? Here’s a whole list of ways to make your writing stronger, more effective, and more tasty. Write ‘em down—keep a list!
Pru and Merry agree that the following phrases must be exterminated with prejudice where possible:
That
Just
Very
A little
A bit
A lot
Actually
Really
Finally
Suddenly
Friday Jul 02, 2021
Friday Jul 02, 2021
You can do it, too—really! Merry shows Pru the ten simple (most of them!) parts of an effective, useful business plan. And only one of them (the financial part!) will make you hyperventilate. The others are ALL ABOUT YOU…and what’s more fascinating than that??
Some useful resources:
Joanna Penn: Your Author Business Plan
Friday Jun 25, 2021
Friday Jun 25, 2021
“The types of changes that can completely alter a character don’t have to be THAT big,” says author BC Deeks, which blows Pru’s mind. BC walks us through how understanding a few simple principles of sentence structure and word sequence can significantly affect the written word. Outstanding!
Go to The Writers' Block Party Podcast website for all of Brenda's fascinating notes.
Friday Jun 18, 2021
Friday Jun 18, 2021
Meredith Bond, author of multiple series, walks Pru through the planning of an entire series—what you need to know up front as well as what you can leave until later. We talk about the kinds of series, stupid mistakes that can be avoided, and how to create an effective plot that can last over several books.
If you want to see Merry's pictures from Kyiv, pop over to HTTP://thewritersblockpartypodcast.com