The Sell More Books Show: Book Marketing, Digital Publishing and Kindle News, Tools and Advice (general)

This week Claire is joined by Drew Hayes, you can find his information in the show notes. We have a great show in store for you as we dive deep into serial. Make sure to leave a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week! The winner this week is - Lisa M. Lilly. Top Tips of the week include why you should get your books on as many platforms as possible, who is threatening to leave egregious reviews on Goodreads, and how super URL’s could be killing your book reviews. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what scammers are doing on Amazon, what to look at when considering indie vs traditional, what is Bookwire creating for the publishing and creator industry, what is happening with Kakao Entertainment, and where you can find helpful information when thinking about writing for Kindle Vella. Question of the Week: If you’re giving Kindle Vella a try, what are you hoping to get out of it?

Direct download: SMBS_372.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

This week we have a great show in store for you. Make sure to leave a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week! The winner this week is - Lisa M. Lilly. Top Tips of the week include how to choose a pen name, how to turn your work into multiple streams of income, and why you should clean up your social media. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include why it pays to engage with your readers, what is going to change with personalized ads segment, where is paperback printing going to be available, how we will remember author and indie publishing leader Joel Friedlander, and what to prepare for when you end a series. Question of the Week: Who is an established leader in this industry who’s inspired you, and what qualities of theirs do you admire the most?

Direct download: SMBS_371.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

This week we have a great show in store for you. Make sure to leave a review on Apple Podcast and answer the Question of the Week! The winner this week is - Anmarie. Top Tips of the week include how to get clicks on your ads, why to switch out your email list, and how to catch scammers. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include who is Disney refusing to pay, what is new with Amazon, how to get into the right mindset when writing, where has Kobo Plus launched, and how to take on new opportunities. Question of the Week: What sort of environmental accommodations do you make to aid your focus and get the most out of your deep-work time when you have it? 

Direct download: SMBS_370.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

This week we have a great show in store for you. Make sure to leave a review on Apple Podcast. The winner this week is - Jessica Hall. Our Honorable Mention is - Non-Fungible Bragging Rights. Top Tips of the week include what freebies can do for you, how a funnel can up your marketing, and how to write a bestseller. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how to make sure you don’t lose your Amazon Affiliate account, why you need to stop doubting if you’re an author, what concept is being offered to publishers of print and ebooks, who supports indie authors, and how to push on as an author. Question of the Week: What would you say you’ve learned since you started publishing about bringing people in to find out about you as an author and taking care of them along the way?

Direct download: SMBS_369.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

This week we have author Monica Leonelle on the show! She also teaches writing, publishing, business, and marketing. Claire still has some seats available for her last Indie Author Alignment Workshop on April 24th. You can check them both out at the links provided. The winner this week is - Betsy Flak. Top Tips of the week include why it may be time for you to dive into Tik Tok, what aggregator is best, and how to support your favorite authors without having to spend money. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what your sleep schedule says about you, who is the new cover design resource that just launched, what new changes are coming to Barnes and Noble, where you can track all your sales in one place, and what is Kindle Vella. Question of the Week: Are you planning on trying out Kindle Vella, and if so how are you planning on using it for your catalog?

Direct download: SMBS_368.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

Claire has her last Indie Author Alignment Workshop on April 24th before she switches things up, you can find tickets at the link provided. You can still join Bryan’s April 5-Day Amazon Ad Profit Challenge, all links will be in the show notes. The winner this week is - KT Sargent. Top Tips of the week include why quality might be better than quantity for email lists, what hybrid means in publishing, and what you need to know about growing in Instagram. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how introverts feel about returning to a pre-pandemic world, what what are the 7 P’s of publishing success, why brand strategy is important, what honest truth writers need to hear when starting out, and what  advice author Ines Johnson has for you. Question of the Week: What do you want your writing to do for you (outside of making you money)?

Direct download: SMBS_367.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

Happy April! Claire is back this week and has an Indie Author Alignment Workshop on April 24th, you can find tickets at the link provided. Bryan’s April 5-Day Amazon Ad Profit Challenge coming around the corner, look out for that link in the show notes. The winner this week is - Bradley. Top Tips of the week include how to market your children’s books, why video is a great way to engage with your readers, and what you need to know about starting a fiction podcast. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what is the PRO Act, why you should look into Medium to publish your books, what major update Scrivener is getting, what ACX needs to change about their sales reports and why you should think about going direct. Question of the Week: When do you think that selling direct will start to surpass Apple Books as the #2 sales platform for authors?

Direct download: SMBS_366.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

This week Bryan is joined by Mark Leslie Director of Business Development at Draft2Digital, we have a great show in store for you. Check out Mark and Wide for the Win at the link provided. Bryan’s April 5-Day Amazon Ad Profit Challenge coming up so look out for that. The winner this week is - Abraham Benguigui and our Self Publishing Resource of the Week is Wide for the Win. Top Tips of the week include what is D2D payment splitting, why it’s important to find allies, and how spending time where your readers are is beneficial. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what new feature BookFunnel has launched, how author visits during the pandemic have changed, who is starting its own audiobook imprint, what to use to boost your book sales and what big name company has launched an audiobook store. Question of the Week: Based on this week's audio-related news, will you consider doing audiobook versions sooner, or do you still plan on doing audio sometime in the future?

Direct download: SMBS_365.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

Happy 7 Years of SMBS! We are so thankful for all of our awesome listeners and look forward to seven more years. Claire is holding a 5-Star Power Endings Masterclass this month and there are a few tickets left, you can find tickets at the link provided. Be sure to leave the show a review on Apple podcast. The winner this week is - Bill Cokas and our Honorable Mention is - Cops And Writers. Top Tips of the week include where to start when to make your author business a company, where to find daily write-ins, and why you need to let go of limiting beliefs. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how TikTok is boosting books for authors, where to find the new Nook, why self-promoting isn’t as icky as you think, what new platform Facebook is launching for authors, and what has happened with the Sell More Books Show over the last seven years. Question of the Week: How has the Sell More Books show helped you on your author career over the last 7 years?

Direct download: SMBS_364.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

Welcome back to another week of SMBS! Claire is holding a 5-Star Power Endings Masterclass this month, you can find it at the link provided. Be sure to leave the show a review on Apple podcast. The winner this week is - Wordsmith426 and our Honorable Mention is - Know Thy Reader. Top Tips of the week include where to start when launching a book, why it pays to learn the skills of advertising, and how to spice up your Amazon author page. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what scam to be on the look out for, which day is best for a book promotion, when are pre-orders a good idea, what bill is pending in Maryland, and why we’re saying bye to mobi. Question of the Week: What’s something that was a part of the indie publishing game when you started that has since been phased out?

Direct download: SMBS_363.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT