Author: SMBS Team

Episode 452 – More AI Art, Publishing Scammers, and Author Freedom (with Quinn Ward)

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What’s one small habit you’d like to adapt for your author career in 2023?

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. Top Tips of the week include why the shortest part of the book can be the hardest part to write, why verified reviews are so valuable, and how to get more of them, and how to get back into writing when it’s been a while. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week is that the little things add up to big results, why the best way to market your book might be to adopt herd mentality, which audiobook service is backtracking on all-you-can-eat audiobooks, how to take back your book from a scammy publisher, and why those AI portraits you’ve been seeing may be more complicated than you think. Question of the week: What’s one small habit you’d like to adapt for your author career in 2023? read more

Episode 451 – Spotify Cards, Staying On Brand, and Fun Tools

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Do you plan on changing your writing routine over the holiday, and if so, how?

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. Top Tips of the week include Spotify having a new tool to help you promote your audiobooks, there’s a new link tool for authors, and this one features books, and how easy it is to get an Epub on your Kindle. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include Amazon having some new KDP reporting features for you, that authors can be artists and good business people, what Amazon lawsuit is back on the table, building an on-brand author brand, and how to write more when the holidays say ‘write less’. Question of the week: Do you plan on changing your writing routine over the holiday, and if so, how? read more

Episode 450 – Tech Solutions, Big Tech Woes, and the Christmas Crunch

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What are you plans for selling direct? What does that look like specifically?

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. Claire’s book, Reclaim Your Author Career, is available: www.books2read.com/RYAC. Guest, Chelle Honiker of indieauthormagazine.com and Authortechsummit.com. Top Tips of the week include new features in Vellum that make your book’s messaging clear, how our own Bryan Cohen has Amazon’s official stamp of approval, if you need author copies of your print books, you need to order today, what Amazon’s layoffs mean to the publishing business, and TikTok took our advice and started selling direct! The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include news about Ingram’s new ad platform, how Google is giving Spotify what Apple won’t, why authors are abandoning Twitter and starting from scratch, the latest scams hitting Amazon authors, and to sell your books and serials by chapter, books, or subscription. Question of the week: What are you plans for selling direct? What does that look like specifically? read more

Episode 449 – Publishing Jargon, App Fees, and a New Ad Platform (w/Amy Teegan)

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What is the next step for your book marketing beyond publishing on the major retailers?

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. Claire’s book, Reclaim Your Author Career, is available: www.books2read.com/RYAC. Amy Teegan’s books: www.amyteegan.com. Top Tips of the week include how to be alerted when your book price or reviews change, the ABCs of publishing, and why less is more when it comes to your writing. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include news about Ingram’s new ad platform, how Google is giving Spotify what Apple won’t, why authors are abandoning Twitter and starting from scratch, the latest scams hitting Amazon authors, and to sell your books and serials by chapter, books, or subscription. Question of the week: What is the next step for your book marketing beyond publishing on the major retailers? read more

Episode 448 – Modern Dictation, Email Boosting, and App Store Fees

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What is a story from your life that you could bake into your welcome sequence?

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. Claire’s book, Reclaim Your Author Career, is available: www.books2read.com/RYAC. Sign up for Bryan’s webinar, 2023 Success, happening this Thursday: https://bryancohen.lpages.co/succeed-in-2023. Top Tips of the week include the best options for dictating your book in 2022, how one author added 3,000 email subscribers in three months, and why exercise helps you write better. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include why the court blocked the Big 5 book merger, why one veteran author says the Big 5 no longer matter, that avoiding decisions can help you write more, why Spotify and Apple are pitched for battle, and Amazon has a new program to incentivize book buying. Question of the week: What is a story from your life that you could bake into your welcome sequence? read more

Episode 447 – ShopTok, Recession Planning, and Collaborators with Benefits

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What do you think is the deal with the Goodreads ratings on Amazon pages? Why would Amazon do that?

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. Our Webinar is on Thursday! https://bryancohen.lpages.co/supercharge-your-story-nov22/. Top Tips of the week include the benefits of author collaborations, how the type of author you are can determine the success of your career, and what lessons you can take from the publishing process. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include why more book sales data isn’t always better for authors, how Audible has changed their return policy and neither authors or readers like it, that TikTok wants to challenge Amazon and sell physical products, what the 6 Figure Authors are doing to revive book sales, and what Goodreads is doing to your Amazon books. Question of the Week: What do you think is the deal with the Goodreads ratings on Amazon pages? Why would Amazon do that? read more

Episode 446 – Bestseller Lists, Print Power, and Amazon Author Pages

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Outside of the promise of money or public success, what makes you keep writing instead of quitting?

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. Top Tips of the week include how (and why) to put your book into more categories on Amazon, how BookFunnel is improving the reader experience again, and ways to market print books from successful authors. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include some new audiobook promotional opportunities are here (but hurry), what (or who) makes a best seller, that you should keep writing, even with chronic illness, Amazon’s latest problem affecting your book sale, and why most authors fail (and how not to). Question of the Week: Outside of the promise of money or public success, what makes you keep writing instead of quitting? read more

Episode 445 – Writing Commandments, Account Glitches, and AI Copyrights

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What is one commandment you live by as an author?

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. Author Ad School is now open for $100 off! Https://AdSchool2022.com Top Tips of the week include why the basics matter with book marketing, the 10 Commandments of Writing, and how to get out of your stuck ways. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what successful authors have in common, and what you can learn from them, Amazon is having lots of hiccups, but what can you do, An AI copyrighted art for the 1st time, Hallmark is outta here, but I hope not before Christmas movie season, and how to recover from an Amazon suspension or termination (first, just breathe). Question of the Week: What is one commandment you live by as an author? read more

Episode 444 – NFT Comeback, Free Data, and Amazon Attribution

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If you’re going to use the Amazon Attribution links, HOW are you going to use the data you collect from them

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. 5-Day Author Ad Profit Challenge starts today! Sign up at https://AuthorsAdvertise.com Top Tips of the week include why editing is a must have if you’re thinking of your writing as a business, where to go to learn all about romance. Romance books, at least, and how to make your cover stellar! The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include whether NFT books can really be a thing, why you shouldn’t bother to find a publisher, why free data is worth every penny, why BookTok promoters are ignoring a big new feature, and there’s a new way to track your Amazon sales conversions. Question of the Week: If you’re going to use the Amazon Attribution links, HOW are you going to use the data you collect from them? read more

Episode 443 Beta Bruises, Unreliable Narrators, and Changing Covers

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Question of the week: What’s your process for using beta readers?

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. Author Ad Challenge starts Oct 12th! You can join here: https://AuthorsAdvertise.com Top Tips of the week include why your book isn’t for everyone, and that’s a good thing, how beta readers can hurt, but also help at the same time, whether authors should be seen marketing their books. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how D2D is making proofs and author copies easier for non-US authors, how TikTok is changing book covers, how to leap ahead of the Big 5, protecting yourself and your audiobook using Findaway Voices, why genre doesn’t matter except to your readers. Question of the Week: What’s your process for using beta readers? read more