SPA Girls Podcast

It’s celebration time! We’ve reached another milestone here in the SPA – FOUR HUNDRED EPISODES!  And that’s 400 weekly episodes with no repeats, no “best of”s, and no stopping during the eight years we’ve been doing this. Phew! *wipes brow*  This episode we’re looking back on that time, trying to figure out why we’re still here, and what we’ve learned along the way. Go behind the scenes with us as we discuss some of what we’ve learned, advice we wish we’d been given, inspiration we wish we’d had to get you writing and publishing! 

Rachael Herron is the internationally bestselling author of more than two dozen books, including thrillers (under R.H. Herron), mainstream fiction, feminist romance, memoir, and nonfiction about writing. She received her MFA in writing from Mills College, Oakland, and she’s taught writing extension workshops at both UC Berkeley and Stanford. She is a proud member of the NaNoWriMo Writer’s Board. A New Zealand citizen as well as an American, she lives in Wellington, New Zealand with her banjo-playing wife and brick-eating dog. What is diversification? It could be as simple as putting your book up on all the platforms by taking it from KU and making it wide. We discussed how one product can be made into so many more by iterations such as: audio, translations, print – hardback and large print. You could put it in a box set that has three or more books and then put it another for the whole series, or make a first in series box set, or put it in an anthology with other authors Perhaps you need more money than you are currently earning, so Rachael explains the ways to earn outside of writing such as selling a service like coaching, or taking a part-time job that is far removed from writing to prevent burnout. It’s a fun podcast and definitely worth a listen! Find Rachael at https://rachaelherron.com/ Make sure to check out Rachael’s podcast, How Do You Write  Resources mentioned QUIT by Annie Duke SPA Girls Podcast – EP146 – Interview with Becca Syme on Writing Better Faster SPA Girls Podcast – EP358 – Six Figures through Subscriptions with Emilia Rose SPA Girls Podcast – EP370 – Running A Successful Kickstarter – with Steffanie Holmes 💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons! ⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there! www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast ✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info 😊Watch the recording on our YouTube Channel @spagirlspodcast

How do you market a book that doesn’t quite fit a genre – or is a mash up of more than one genre? We talk on the SPA all the time about the importance of knowing what genre/sub genre you’re writing and what reader expectations for that genre are. But what happens if you’ve written a spectacular mashup of genres? Or you wanted to write a romance cross memoir? There’s no doubt it can be harder to market an off-genre book, so where do you start? Questions to consider: Is it one or a series? Can you identify which genres it straddles? Is it worth editing it? Is it affecting your other sales? Could it work as bonus content for existing series? Is the cover missing the mark? Do you need more reviews? Is it a mashup because you don’t understand genre expectations? Beware the sunk cost fallacy – writing more books isn’t always the answer For a lot of writers, getting their first books out of their system is needed 💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons! ⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there! www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast ✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info 😊Watch the recording on our YouTube Channel @spagirlspodcast

Author Rebecca Hefner is passionate about marketing audio books wide. After several years of struggling early on, her audiobook sales now surpass her ebook sales most months. As Rebecca says, “I had an excruciating learning curve with wide audio and want to save other authors from this torture!” She shares her best practices and tips for wide audiobook success in this must-listen episode. Download Rebecca’s free tips for audiobook marketing here:  Self-Publishing Advice & Resources And her (currently free!) Promo site, Indie Audiobook Deals at  indieaudiobookdeals | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Hefner grew up in Western NC and now calls the Hudson River of NYC home. In her youth, she would sneak into her mother’s bedroom and read the romance novels stashed on the bookshelf, cementing her love of HEAs. Before becoming an author, Rebecca had a successful twelve-year medical device sales career. After launching her own indie publishing company, she is now a full-time author who loves writing strong, complex characters who find their HEAs. Rebecca is passionate about marketing audiobooks WIDE and runs the Indie Audiobook Deals site to help authors promote their books, as well as the Marketing Audiobooks wide facebook Group for author support. Marketing Audiobooks Wide Facebook group www.RebeccaHefner.com 💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons! ⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there! www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast ✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info 😊Watch the recording on our YouTube Channel @spagirlspodcast

If you’ve been working on amping up your characters and writing a more compelling novel, this is the episode for you. We talk to Matt Bird – the Amazon bestselling author of The Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers and The Secrets of Character: Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love – about characters and other secrets involved in writing an awesome story your readers will love.  Matt talks to us about what readers expect from characters and how to ensure they connect and fall in love with your characters early in your novel. He also gives practical examples of techniques that will engage your readers by helping you create flawed, vulnerable and compelling characters.  We loved having Matt in the SPA and we know you’ll enjoy this episode too!  Find Matt at the Cockeyed Caravan blog – http://www.secretsofstory.com/ Also on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/@secretsofstory6921 Find Matt’s Book on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Story-Innovative-Perfecting-Captivating-ebook/dp/B01N7HV0CT/ 💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons! ⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there! www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast ✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info 😊Watch the recording on our YouTube Channel @spagirlspodcast

Erin Marcus is a business and life coach who helps authors take charge and get the results they’ve always wanted in their careers.  Erin says she loves helping people take action they didn’t think possible, do things they didn’t think they could do, and succeed beyond what they dared to dream – and that’s what this episode is all about! Having made the successful leap from corporate executive to entrepreneur, Erin uses 20 years of experience, along with her MBA education and a street smart upbringing, to help her clients reach heights they never dreamed possible. And have fun doing it! This podcast is exciting and encouraging. Erin also pokes a few holes in how we look at what we do and how to do it better. You can find Erin at https://conqueryourbusiness.com. 💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons! ⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there! www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast ✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info 😊Watch the recording on our YouTube Channel @spagirlspodcast

This is a really important discussion for writer at all stages of their careers. Brenna has experienced publishing highs and has also dealt with the darker side of the writer’s journey. Her candour and courage discussing some difficult topics in this interview made it a very humbling experience for us, and we truly appreciate Brenna’s openness in wanting to help her fellow authors. From mindset and productivity, to branding, social media and your writing community – we cover the gamut of how to sustain your author career long term. About Brenna Aubrey Brenna Aubrey is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author of contemporary romance featuring geek culture. Her bestselling romance series, Gaming The System, is available in eBook and print format across all vendors. When she’s not dreaming up people and worlds and writing them down, she’s also a mom, wife, teacher, avid reader, a proud geek-girl, a self-confessed gaming addict, a French-speaking Francophile, lover of nature and beautiful sunsets. Find her at https://brennaaubrey.net/ 💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons! ⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there! www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast ✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info 😊Watch the recording on our YouTube Channel @spagirlspodcast

Today in the SPA we’re covering genre expectations for readers of romance and it’s subgenres and mystery. All are our opinion based on decades of reading and 20+ years writing romance and it’s various subgenres. It can be a bit messy and confusing and it’s subjective. But it’s also important to know the genre expectations for the “wrong” answers more so than the right. So let us help you define what sub category your book should be virtually “shelved” on! Links mentioned: EVLind – Supernatural Suspense author Adam Richardson, The Writer’s Detective The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!  Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there! www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast  Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info.

Skye MacKinnon is a USA Today and International Bestselling Author whose books are filled with strong heroines who don’t have to choose. She embraces her Scottishness with fantastical Scottish settings and a dash of mythology, no matter if she’s writing about aliens in kilts, Celtic gods, cat shifters, or the streets of Edinburgh. She’s also doing great with German translations and this week in the SPA she breaks down everything she’s been doing, including how to get started with a translator, what to watch out for, how and where to load your translated book, and how to market them once they’re up! According to Skye, the German e-book market is growing rapidly and readers are hungry for more books. Translations are no longer just reserved for big publishers and it can be a lucrative market. It’s a logical step for any successful author: you’ve already written the book, now find new ways to expand your reach. Take the first step into translations by listening to this episode with Skye! Show notes: If you want to find out more about german translations from Skye head to her facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/262551475032407/ Head to her website to check out her books here. If you’d like to purchase her book on translations, it is available by clicking here. 💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons! ⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there! www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast ✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info 😊Watch the recording on our YouTube Channel @spagirlspodcast

USA today bestselling author of Western Romance, Erin Wright, has worked every job under the sun, including library director, barista, teacher, website designer, and ranch hand, helping brand cattle, before settling into the career she’s always dreamed about: Author.  Despite starting out in KU in 2016, she went wide on all platforms in 2017 when she discovered she couldn’t get her books in libraries if she was exclusive to Amazon. She started the Wide for the Win Facebook group in 2019, to help other authors find information about being wide, and now the group has grown to a community of 14,390.  Erin breaks it down and lists the reasons why she made this decision. She uses serial apps, website direct sales, multi-author promotions, as well as many platforms that we had never heard of. Erin also does courses on going wide. If you are keen to diversify and find more ways to reach readers, this is the episode for you. You can find more information from Erin’s Website, and also her group, on the links below. Wide for The Win Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/wideforthewin https://erinwright.net 💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons! ⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there! www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast ✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info 😊Watch the recording on our YouTube Channel @spagirlspodcast