Episode 2: We’re still covering the OG Six Figure Author Experiment: the launch of Russell’s fantasy series, the Godsverse Chronicles. In this episode Russell updates us on his experience uploading four of his novels to book retailers. He and Lee discuss mindset and the fear that bubbles up on your author journey–fear of both failure and success. Fear is the mind killer but there are antidotes that don’t involve riding a giant worm.

Content warnings: discussion of depression, mental illness and suicidal ideation.

* The busywork that’s part of an indie author’s life

* “The Busy Mom” publishing option for authors who have no time

* Boo to Ingram Spark, yay to PublishDrive and Draft to Digital

* Character-driven writing

* How dysfunction in the mind is NORMAL

* How to expand your comfort zone

* How Russell caused the apocalypse

* A useful approach to success or failure

* “Every decision you make in writing is also a marketing decision”

* The ideal number of books for a successful series

* The advice Lee gave to a millionaire author

* Russell’s dog’s happily ever after

* The #1 thing you can do to realize instant success

Your Homework:

* Make a list of things you’re grateful for, especially regarding your books and your writing career so far.

* Choose a book from your catalog and make a list of things that are holding that book back–the cover, the plot, the writing style, the audience and market you’re targeting

We want to hear from you! Let us know how the homework goes and what was your favorite part of this episode.

Resources:

* Free Book Launch Checklist

* The Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers by Matt Bird: https://amzn.to/4cuqC5P

* Jim Butcher’s Livejournal: https://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/969.html

* An excellent resource for shifting your mindset and relieving anxiety: The Rapid Resolution Technique by Jon Connelly:

https://www.rapidresolutiontherapy.com/

* Author ecosystems: https://authorecosystem.com/overview/

Gratitude Studies

Wong Y J, et al. Does Gratitude Writing Improve the Mental Health of Psychotherapy Clients?

Bartlett M, Condon P, et al. Gratitude: prompting behaviors that build relationships

Yu H. Gao X, et al. Decomposing Gratitude: Representation and Integration of Cognitive Antecedents of Gratitude in the Brain

Lúzie Fofonka Cunha, et al. Positive Psychology and Gratitude Interventions: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Philip Watkins: Thieves of Thankfulness: Traits that inhibit gratitude

Philip Watkins: Grateful recounting enhances subjective well-being: The importance of grateful processing

P. Kini, et al. The effects of gratitude expression on neural activity

For more, check out the excellent video “An Antidote to Dissatisfaction” by Kurzgesagt

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.sixfigureauthorexperiment.com

INTERVIEW - Prof. Dr. Mathias Binswanger - 03.03.2025