Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

EP 440 - Behind the Scenes of The Podcast Guest Playbook with Matty Dalrymple

Oct 24, 2025

Matty Dalrymple, an indie author, podcast host, and campaign manager for the Alliance of Independent Authors, dives into the rich tapestry of podcast guesting. She shares the fascinating journey of earning her private pilot license and weaving aviation into her novels. Exploring the genesis of The Podcast Guest Playbook, Matty highlights the importance of genuine connections fostered through conversation. She offers tips for first-time guests, emphasizes the long-term benefits of podcasting, and encourages a service-minded approach over mere sales.

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ANECDOTE

From Flight Lessons To Fiction

Matty Dalrymple trained for a private pilot license and later stopped due to time constraints while working on a novel and full-time job.
She has since woven aviation into multiple novels and uses flying metaphors when co-authoring, like "you have the plane" to pass manuscript control.

INSIGHT

Conversations Build Long-Term Value

The book title centers on conversations as the path to connections and community for authors using podcasts.
Matty emphasizes that conversations create long-term dividends beyond immediate promotion.

ANECDOTE

A Network Too Complex For One Slide

Matty sketched a growing web of connections from meeting Mark that expanded into co-authoring, speaking, and other opportunities.
She found the real network's complexity too intricate for a single slide but vital to long-term success.

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In this episode Mark talks with Matty Dalrymple, co-author of the book The Podcast Guest Playbook which was released earlier in 2025.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares recent comments, a brief personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK5 at checkout and save $5.00 off your own personalized report.

In their interview, Mark and Matty talk about:

Something that Stark Reflections listeners might not know about Matty related to getting her private pilot license
Having worked aviation into at least two of her novels
The phrase that goes along with the very intentional passing of the manuscript from one co-author to another
How long Matty has been running The Indy Author Podcast
The genesis of the book PODCASTING GUEST PLAYBOOK that Matty and Mark co-authored
The underlying importance of connections that can happen through direct conversation between two people, but also among people who listen to that conversation (such as in a podcast)
An anecdote from meeting an author at ALA (American Library Association) who thought they'd met Mark in person before because they'd heard him as a guest on someone else's podcast
Wanting it to be a mutually beneficial relationship when making those connections
A reminder about the old Storygraph tool that showed a visual representation of how books were linked (Back in 2007 this was a visual search tool where book covers appeared as thumbnails and “connections” between books (via “customers who bought this also bought this”) were drawn as lines.
Some of the unique connections that happened when both Mark and Matty were at ALA in Philadelphia in the summer of 2025
An example of how Damon Courtney of Bookfunnel is a great podcast guest who is more interested in providing value to all listeners rather than someone who is solely trying to sell his product
How indirect opportunities can be better than a sudden spike in book sales
The offer that Matty has for authors to help do a short interview for them to demonstrate their skills as a interview guest
A special offer for patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast to get a free coaching session from Matty with her pod-pro coaching
An example of a guest who was very reluctant to provide valuable information in an interview (ie, being far more interested in selling something)
The value of having a service mindset over a selling mindset
Making sure that you're pitching to the right podcast in the right way at the right time
Advice Matty would offer to authors
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on a few different things, including the rise of the sophistication of the spammy author connection and service requests that arrive in his email a half dozen times a day.

Links of Interest:

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0