Author: SMBS Team

Episode 436 – AI Art, Kate Bush, & The History of Blurbs (with Phoebe Ravencraft)

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If you had to choose between earning some money now but losing future rights, would you take a chance on keeping all of your rights (with no guarantee of a future payday)?

This week we have a great show in store for you. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. We welcome Phoebe Ravencraft as our Co-host. She’s the author of Fiction Blurbs The Best Page Forward Way and Editor in Chief of Best Page Forward. Top Tips of the week include the history of blurbs and why they still work today, all the parts of a book, and why you need to know them, and how to manage your screen time as an author. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include why AI’s can’t copyright their work. Even with human help, what Kate Bush’s success tells authors about rights, how one librarian is fighting back against book banning activists, that Amazon has a big problem with fake books on its platform, and about D2D’s new partnership with Humble Bundle. Question of the Week: If you had to choose between earning some money now but losing future rights, would you take a chance on keeping all of your rights (with no guarantee of a future payday)? read more

Episode 435- Travel, Tricks, and the Tingleverse

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How have you gathered information or otherwise found creative inspiration from your roadtrips?

This week we have a great show for you! Join the Sell More Books Show Afterparty group on Facebook and be sure to leave us a review on Apple Podcast! Top Tips of the week include how to make your newsletter easier and more effective at the same time, what crazy way an author got some attention for his book, and how to take a summer road trip and keep up your writing. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how to get to know your reader to sell more books, how a 30 year old author makes $97k with books about money for young women, what’s so special about Chuck Tingle’s Big 5 book contract, where to find a great opportunity for anyone who loves books and bare feet, and how textbook publishers want to use NFTs to charge students for used ebooks. Question of the week: How have you gathered information or otherwise found creative inspiration from your roadtrips? read more

Episode 434- Acquisitions, Adapting, and Decision Fatigue

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What are some tricks you’ve found for managing decision fatigue in your writing life?

This week we have a great show for you! Join the Sell More Books Show Afterparty group on Facebook and be sure to leave us a review on Apple Podcast! Top Tips of the week include why you should consider selling direct, how insecurity is the creativity killer, and why every decision you make could make your writing harder. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what new features the Google play store has, how an indie author is seeing his novel come to television, data guy is back and selling his company, why the Internet free library case could have huge copyright implications, and how you and your author career will die if you refuse to change. Question of the week: What are some tricks you’ve found for managing decision fatigue in your writing life? read more

Episode 433- Taking Stock and Measuring Progress

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When it comes to the idea of reviewing your old writing, do you feel more like Bryan and like the idea, or do you feel more like Claire and not want to touch that with a 10ft pole? Why?

This week we have a great show for you! Join the Sell More Books Show Afterparty group on Facebook and be sure to leave us a review on Apple Podcast! Top Tips of the week include how to market your series slowly, deliberately, and effectively, how to see how far you’ve grown as an author, and what spot reviewer services aren’t legit. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what is a great way to take stock of your author business, how one SciFi author org is opening up to more members, what to do to maximize Google Book sales, how to be more inclusive of disabilities in your author business, and how Penguin is fighting off the DOJ to make the Big 5 the Big 4. Question of the week: When it comes to the idea of reviewing your old writing, do you feel more like Bryan and like the idea, or do you feel more like Claire and not want to touch that with a 10ft pole? Why? read more

Episode 432- Missing Data, Influence, and Less is More

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If you had to pick one project to give your full attention to, which one would it be and why? Which projects would you let drop?

This week we have a great show for you! Join the Sell More Books Show Afterparty group on Facebook and be sure to leave us a review on Apple Podcast. Author Ad School is now open through July 25th and Claire’s Kickstarter ends July 21st at midnight, you can visit the links in the show notes! Top Tips of the week include how to have a guilt free summer even if you don’t write, how to find the best keywords for your books, and how to give your backlist a kick in the pants! The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how to finish your first book, how BookTok and other influencers can help sell books, what author is making his living by doing less, what new reality show is following writers writing their books, and how ALLi is trying to track indie author sales and successes. Question of the week: If you had to pick one project to give your full attention to, which one would it be and why? Which projects would you let drop? read more

Episode 431- All About Platforms, Apparently

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What platform has caught your interest lately, and why are you thinking about hopping on?

This week we have a great show for you! Join the Sell More Books Show Afterparty group on Facebook and be sure to leave us a review on Apple Podcast. Claire’s Kickstarter is live, you can visit the link in the show notes! Top Tips of the week include how to record your own audiobook, how to use Facebook’s new Pages to your advantage, and why connections can be the best way to market. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how to learn from another author’s mistakes, how LGBTQ is taking the book world by storm, how to make Vella work for you, how to make Patreon work for you and your readers, and what’s the big news for authors at Wattpad. Question of the week: What platform has caught your interest lately, and why are you thinking about hopping on? read more

Episode 430 – Productivity Addiction, De-Vella-pments, and Audiobook Ads

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Do you tend toward Toxic Productivity? If so, what are some of the signs that you notice, and what do you do when you notice them?

This week Claire is joined by author Nikki Haverstock! Join the Sell More Books Show Afterparty group on Facebook and be sure to leave us a review on Apple Podcast. Claire’s Kickstarter is live, you can visit the link in the show notes! Top Tips of the week include whether you’re addicted to productivity, how BookBub’s preorder alert can help you sell books, and how to get the word out on your audiobooks. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how Spotify is planning to play your audiobooks free with ads, how one author’s pivot led to six-figures, how to save taking your print books wide, how to show off your Vella stories on your Author Page, and what the end of Mobi files means for you and your readers. Question of the Week: Do you tend toward Toxic Productivity? If so, what are some of the signs that you notice, and what do you do when you notice them? read more

Episode 429 – Takeovers, Going Wide, and What Readers Want

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In the style of “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine” what would your own “Person Doing a Thing” title be like if you were the title character?

Join the Sell More Books Show Afterparty group on Facebook and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. Be sure to leave us a review on Apple Podcast. You can find Claire, Bryan and Monica’s Kickstarter links in the show notes. Top Tips of the week include how to have more pen names on Amazon, what is the new title trend that has your protagonist’s name all over it, and why emailing more often might boost your open rates and sell more books. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what turns faithful readers off and makes them stop reading your books, how Goodreads is finally changing, what is Tertulia, how Spotify plans to use AI voices, and how B&N is highlighting indie books. Question of the Week: In the style of “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine” what would your own “Person Doing a Thing” title be like if you were the title character? read more

Episode 428- Pricing Right, Copyright, and Running Right

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What do you usually price a book at for launch, and based on today’s discussion, would you consider changing that pricing strategy in the future?

Join the Sell More Books Show Afterparty group on Facebook and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. Be sure to leave us a review on Apple Podcast. You can find both Claire and Bryan’s Kickstarter links in the show notes. Top Tips of the week include how to avoid author burnout in three ways, why you need a book pricing strategy, and how to find an author group for you. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include why it’s a mistake not to think of your writing as a business, why Kickstarter is a perfect second stream of income for authors, what are the pros and cons of small claims copyright court, how to do a Kindle Countdown for the world not just US and UK, and what Spotify and Findaway have in store now that they’re official. Question of the Week: What do you usually price a book at for launch, and based on today’s discussion, would you consider changing that pricing strategy in the future? read more

Episode 427- ISBN Issues, Audio Opportunities, and Danger Zones

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Have you written in more than one genre, and if so, did you run into the similar issues of extra time being required to start out?

Join the Sell More Books Show Afterparty group on Facebook and answer the Question of the Week in the comment section. Be sure to leave us a review on Apple Podcast. You can find both Claire and Bryan’s Kickstarter links in the show notes. Top Tips of the week include what are the ultimate audiobook tips, what you need to know before changing genres, and how James Patterson is so prolific. This week dHonorable Mention is Y2K all over again. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what Spotify’s audiobook plans mean for authors, why authors are getting fed up with hybrid publishers, what’s up with Wattpad these days, how a Top Gun copyright lawsuit could affect authors, and what audiobook creation advice Findaway Voice’s best authors have to share. Question of the Week: Have you written in more than one genre, and if so, did you run into the similar issues of extra time being required to start out? read more