Kobo Writing Life Podcast

In this episode, we are joined by Canadian editor and writer Amanda Lewis, whose non-fiction book Tracking Giants chronicles her journey trying to visit every “champion” tree in her home province of British Columbia. Tracking Giants soon turns into an exploration of creativity on the way, and the book includes reflections on being a writer and a creative overall. Amanda’s perspectives on writing and editing as both an author and editor are invaluable, and we were so excited to host her on the show. We spoke to Amanda about her career as an editor, how indie authors can build successful relationships with their editors, heard some advice on editing specifically for self-published authors, learn more about the process behind writing Tracking Giants, how to tackle constructive criticism as an author, and more!  To learn more, visit Amanda's website.

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. In this episode, we spoke to writer and director of the Alliance of Independet Authors, Orna Ross! Orna joined us to talk about having a global approach to book sales, making business desicions that can expand your writing career, and much more.  Novelist, poet, and director of the Alliance of Independent Authors Orna Ross joins us on the podcast this week to discuss taking a global approach to your indie publishing business. Orna talks about what business decisions authors should consider and how to get into the right mindset before going global, and she gives us some great advice for new and veteran authors alike. To learn more, visit Orna's website.

In this episode, we are joined by best-selling romance author Lexi Blake! Lexi is the author of over 100 books and has been in the indie author and self-publishing space for well over a decade now. As a result, she has lots of advice to share to her fellow indie authors in this episode. Lexi’s popular books include the Masters and Mercenaries series, the Park Avenue Promise series, and more. Here latest, Spy With Me, is book five in the Masters and Mercenaries: New Recruits series. We were honoured to have Lexi on the show as our guest and delighted to hear some great advice from her. We talked about Lexi’s history in indie publishing, the challenges she’s faced as an indie author, and get some insight into her publishing and promotional strategies. We also got to hear some great advice for indie authors at all stages of their career! Don’t miss this opportunity to listen and learn from an expert like Lexi. Visit Lexi’s website to learn more and check out Lexi’s books on Kobo.

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. This episode featuring Brenna Aubrey is all about translations and how to find success in a foreign language market. Brenna had great advice about being a globally conscious author, translation rights, and more! Breakout star in France, Italy and Germany, Brenna Aubrey gives listeners tips on translations. She advises on how to decide if translations are right for you, how much money an author should budget for translations, picking which market to target and selecting which backlist titles to translate. Brenna also discusses how she fell into her niche (writing “geek romance”) and why ultimately, she decided on self-publishing rather than traditional publishing. To learn more, visit Brenna's website.  

Noreen Nanja, a talented Canadian author, discusses her debut romance novel, The Summers Between Us, which highlights themes of identity and belonging. She shares her journey as a mentee and the significance of community support in her writing career. The conversation dives into the intricacies of crafting a dual timeline romance, the complexity of character relationships, and the role of mentorship in publishing. Noreen also provides practical tips for aspiring authors on balancing writing with other commitments while fostering creativity.

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. Today, we're bringing you a recording of a live Q&A event with Maria Fesz, team lead of collection development at OverDrive! This Q&A is full of great information on how to get your books onto those (digital) library shelves. In this episode, we spoke to Maria Fesz, who is team lead of collection development at OverDrive. Kobo and OverDrive are companies with a combined passion for readers and reading and by working together, we have developed a way to make it easy for KWL authors to opt their titles directly into OverDrive’s library marketplace. This conversation consisted of great conversation and plenty of helpful information, including: The importance of selling to libraries BISAC codes Preorder titles How to opt in your books to OverDrive via KWL And much more! Check out OverDrive's website to learn more.

In this episode, we were joined by USA Today and New York Times best-selling historical romance author, Erica Ridley! Erica is a full-time author who publishes through both traditional publishers alongside her own self-published books. Erica has written dozens of books across multiple series and in many different sub-genres, with some of her best-sellers include the Dukes of War series, the Rogues to Riches series, and many more. We talked to Erica about how she went from working in advertising to being a full-time writer, her experience as a hybrid author, what genres she likes to write in and why, researching for her historical novels, her marketing strategies and how she uses her newsletter, her YA novel debut, and much more! We had a great time talking to Erica and she has lots of amazing advice to share in this episode. For more information, visit Erica's website and check out her books on Kobo.

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. Today, we're bringing you a great conversation about writing dark romance with best-selling author Autumn Jones Lake. We loved chatting to Autumn about all things motorcycle romance and the misconceptions about being an author writing in this sub-genre!  USA Today bestselling author,Autumn Jones Lake explains the misconceptions associated with motorcycle romance, how she plots her Lost Kings MC series (fifteen books and counting!) and shares her tips for aspiring romance writers. In this episode: Autumn tells us about her publishing journey from trying out traditional publishing, working with a small press, and her decision to go indie She explains why she enjoys writing MC romances and the common misconceptions people have about the genre Autumn breaks down her writing process from planning an outline to keeping track of all of her various characters to how she’s influenced by her readers, and she tells us about the challenges that come with writing a long-standing series She shares some tips for writers looking to get into romance writing, including the best things she’s done for her writing business Autumn discusses how she markets such a long-standing series and how she utilizes her newsletter to not only stay in touch with her readers, but to also introduce new material And much more! Learn more on Autumn's website and check out her books on Kobo.

Damon Courtney, the founder and CEO of BookFunnel and a self-published fantasy author, joins the conversation to share his journey in indie publishing. He discusses the innovative features of BookFunnel that enhance author-reader engagement. Fascinatingly, Damon connects indie authorship with Taylor Swift's strategies for building a loyal fanbase. He also emphasizes the importance of wide publishing and crafting a unique author brand in today's market, offering insights that are invaluable for aspiring writers.

In this engaging discussion, Simon Collinson, a content sales manager at Kobo and EPUB expert, teams up with Ben Dugas to unveil the intricacies of eBook files. They dive into the various EPUB formats and share valuable tips for indie authors to sidestep common pitfalls. Simon outlines effective methods for crafting EPUBs, while Ben emphasizes the necessity of testing eBooks on multiple devices. The duo also touches on the future of eBooks, accessibility features, and the importance of quality design, making this a must-listen for aspiring authors.