Episode 138 / We’re going back to the archives this week as we re-air an episode with J. Thorn. Sci-fi author, podcaster, teacher, and event organizer J. Thorn joins us to discuss creative ways to diversify your author income, podcasting, and what he wishes he’d known about co-writing.  Intro links: Sara’s Kickstarter In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: How J. came to creative writing after teaching J.’s transition to full-time writing What he wishes he’d known about creative writing The difference between developmental editing and proofreading J.’s dislike of running paid ads and how he runs his business so that he doesn't have to use them Why podcasting is better for lead-generation than revenue generation Why it’s not too late to get into podcasting The downside of completely original ideas How being a musician influences J.’s co-writing projects J.’s long-running collaboration with Zach Bohannon and what J. wishes he’d known about co-writing  How J., a self-identifying introvert, runs writing events  The most difficult aspects of planning author events J.’s mistake of quitting his full time job without a financial safety net, and how that turned out to be a good thing  Send us a textSupport the show🚀 Jami’s Launch Plan https://www.jamialbright.com/authorservices❤️ Jami’s books https://amzn.to/3wSraA5🔎 Sara’s books https://www.sararosett.com/bibliography/ 📚 Sara’s How to Write a Series book and audiobook: https://www.sararosett.com/how-to-write-a-series/The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes https://bookshop.org/lists/recommenced-resources-for-writers-from-the-wish-i-d-known-then-podcastResources from the Author and Reader Community to Help Ukrainians https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E9QQhmcpa_dlxQY-GEqBiIbIZk-_J1MgQX_BxLI3F84/edit?usp=sharing

Episode 137 / Helen Scheuerer, bestselling fantasy, joins us this week to talk about writing a series. We also discuss finding breathing room in your career, reaching out to other authors to develop friendships in the writing community, and work/life balance.  Intro links:  Author Wheel podcast Sara’s Kickstarter Show notes: How Helen learned to love her own writing process Why the groundwork of learning the market before writing is so important How Helen reached out to other authors and developed friendships in the writing community How she came to write a book for authors about writing a series Why the book includes tactics for outliners as well as discovery writers Helen’s tips for creating a series bible How Helen outlines her books and plans her series   Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. Links:  www.helenscheuerer.com https://helenscheuerer.com/for-authors/   GoFundMe for Jami’s sister: Send us a textSupport the show🚀 Jami’s Launch Plan https://www.jamialbright.com/authorservices❤️ Jami’s books https://amzn.to/3wSraA5🔎 Sara’s books https://www.sararosett.com/bibliography/ 📚 Sara’s How to Write a Series book and audiobook: https://www.sararosett.com/how-to-write-a-series/The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes https://bookshop.org/lists/recommenced-resources-for-writers-from-the-wish-i-d-known-then-podcastResources from the Author and Reader Community to Help Ukrainians https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E9QQhmcpa_dlxQY-GEqBiIbIZk-_J1MgQX_BxLI3F84/edit?usp=sharing

Episode 136 / Cozy mystery author Morgana Best joins us today to talk about direct sales. We discuss how to get started as well as advanced tactics like SMS marketing and influencer marketing.   Intro links:  GoFundMe for Jami’s sister: Joni’s Hospice Journey Sara’s Kickstarter Show notes: Why Morgana looks at mistakes as opportunities for discovery What authors should consider before starting direct sales Who shouldn’t go all-in with direct sales  Why starting slowly is a good thing when it comes to direct sales Considerations when it comes to organizing your store How authors can us SMS (Text) marketing as well as influencer marketing Helpful links: Payhip Shopify Klaviyo ShoutCart Lulu Express Book Vault Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. Links:  Morgana’s website Send us a textSupport the show🚀 Jami’s Launch Plan https://www.jamialbright.com/authorservices❤️ Jami’s books https://amzn.to/3wSraA5🔎 Sara’s books https://www.sararosett.com/bibliography/ 📚 Sara’s How to Write a Series book and audiobook: https://www.sararosett.com/how-to-write-a-series/The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes https://bookshop.org/lists/recommenced-resources-for-writers-from-the-wish-i-d-known-then-podcastResources from the Author and Reader Community to Help Ukrainians https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E9QQhmcpa_dlxQY-GEqBiIbIZk-_J1MgQX_BxLI3F84/edit?usp=sharing

Episode 135 / Brad West, one of the creators of Vellum software, joins us to talk about how authors format their books, both ebook and print, what’s changed in the publishing industry, and unique ways authors are using Vellum.  Intro links:  Troy Lambert WIKT interview - promotion idea: bookstore giveaway copies Free Little Library Show notes: Brad shares how he came to work with authors after working at Pixar Why authors don’t need to know every small detail about the formatting software to have beautiful books A common mistake of new authors when it comes to publishing their first book How Vellum expanded from ebook formatting into print formatting How authors are using Vellum to create special editions What’s changed in publishing and what’s stayed the same  Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. Links:  Vellum website The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes  Jami’s Launch Plan Send us a textSupport the show🚀 Jami’s Launch Plan https://www.jamialbright.com/authorservices❤️ Jami’s books https://amzn.to/3wSraA5🔎 Sara’s books https://www.sararosett.com/bibliography/ 📚 Sara’s How to Write a Series book and audiobook: https://www.sararosett.com/how-to-write-a-series/The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes https://bookshop.org/lists/recommenced-resources-for-writers-from-the-wish-i-d-known-then-podcastResources from the Author and Reader Community to Help Ukrainians https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E9QQhmcpa_dlxQY-GEqBiIbIZk-_J1MgQX_BxLI3F84/edit?usp=sharing

Episode 134 / Do you want to add subscription income to your business? Emilia Rose, USA Today bestselling author of steamy romance, joined Sara to give tips and ideas on how authors can include a recurring income stream in their business models.  Intro link:  Bookvault.app Sara’s Kickstarter Show notes: How Emilia uses subscriptions to connect with readers  Why your story isn’t for everyone How writing organically helps Emilia bring out emotions in her characters and in her readers Why going from a one-time payment for content to a subscription is a big mindset shift Why subscription models are great for authors: connections with readers, recurring income, and stability  Tips for getting started with a subscriptions  What to watch out for if you’re thinking of using subscriptions  How to attract people to your subscription– hint: free content and cliffhangers are excellent at pulling readers to your subscriptions Tips to maximize your subscription Ream - Patreon but for fiction authors is coming soon! Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. LSend us a textSupport the show🚀 Jami’s Launch Plan https://www.jamialbright.com/authorservices❤️ Jami’s books https://amzn.to/3wSraA5🔎 Sara’s books https://www.sararosett.com/bibliography/ 📚 Sara’s How to Write a Series book and audiobook: https://www.sararosett.com/how-to-write-a-series/The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes https://bookshop.org/lists/recommenced-resources-for-writers-from-the-wish-i-d-known-then-podcastResources from the Author and Reader Community to Help Ukrainians https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E9QQhmcpa_dlxQY-GEqBiIbIZk-_J1MgQX_BxLI3F84/edit?usp=sharing

Episode 133 / Jami is flying solo in this week’s interview with Katlyn Duncan, who writes suspense thrillers, young adult fiction, and nonfiction for writers. They discussed the ins and outs of getting your rights back from traditional publishers. As well as Youtube for Authors and ghostwriting. Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. Links:  Katlyn’s website Twitter handle: @katlyn_duncan Instagram handle: @authorkatlynduncan Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/duncankatlyn/ Youtube:  youtube.com/katlynduncanauthor The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes  Jami’s Launch Plan Sara’s Book Release Timeline Checklist Jami’s books Sara’s books Resources from the Author and Reader Community to Help UkrainansSend us a textSupport the show🚀 Jami’s Launch Plan https://www.jamialbright.com/authorservices❤️ Jami’s books https://amzn.to/3wSraA5🔎 Sara’s books https://www.sararosett.com/bibliography/ 📚 Sara’s How to Write a Series book and audiobook: https://www.sararosett.com/how-to-write-a-series/The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes https://bookshop.org/lists/recommenced-resources-for-writers-from-the-wish-i-d-known-then-podcastResources from the Author and Reader Community to Help Ukrainians https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E9QQhmcpa_dlxQY-GEqBiIbIZk-_J1MgQX_BxLI3F84/edit?usp=sharing

Episode 132 / This week Jami and Sara are re-airing an early episode with Kait Nolan, who talks about getting through burnout and writing during stressful times--whether that stress is coming from your own personal situation or world events. Intro links:  Sara’s Kickstarter for her special edition hardcover - sign up to get notified when it goes live Morgana Best on selling direct - interview on The Creative Penn Podcast Show notes: Tips for marketing a series--grouping books and banking books for a rapid release How expectations about productivity and major upsets in her personal life lead to burnout Why burnout is becoming more common in the writing community  How Kait sets goals to write a certain number of days per month instead of a certain number of words per day Building in some grace into our schedules and adjusting our expectation The tyranny of the “shoulds” Recommendations for writing during trying times How a “just for fun” project can help you when the world is crazy What Kait has discovered isn’t worth her time and effort How Kait went against the prevailing wisdom and didn’t use paid ads. Instead she built a career with paid newsletters and free forms of promos Changes Kait has seen in her genres and hSend us a textSupport the show🚀 Jami’s Launch Plan https://www.jamialbright.com/authorservices❤️ Jami’s books https://amzn.to/3wSraA5🔎 Sara’s books https://www.sararosett.com/bibliography/ 📚 Sara’s How to Write a Series book and audiobook: https://www.sararosett.com/how-to-write-a-series/The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes https://bookshop.org/lists/recommenced-resources-for-writers-from-the-wish-i-d-known-then-podcastResources from the Author and Reader Community to Help Ukrainians https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E9QQhmcpa_dlxQY-GEqBiIbIZk-_J1MgQX_BxLI3F84/edit?usp=sharing

Episode 131 / Historical cozy author Benedict Brown joins us to talk about writing mysteries, transitioning from one genre to another, and how he learned to lean into the tropes and expectations of the genre.  Show notes: How Benedict started writing children’s books and why he shifted to contemporary cozies and then later transitioned to historical cozies set in the 1920s How he researches his historial series How Benedict and his cover artist developed the cover concept for the historical series How he uses first readers and an ARC team for his editing process Why he thinks it healthy to have two contrasting series to work on How “failure” helped set him up for success    Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. Links:  Benedict’s website The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes  Jami’s Launch Plan Sara’s Book Release Timeline Checklist Jami’s books Sara’s books Send us a textSupport the show🚀 Jami’s Launch Plan https://www.jamialbright.com/authorservices❤️ Jami’s books https://amzn.to/3wSraA5🔎 Sara’s books https://www.sararosett.com/bibliography/ 📚 Sara’s How to Write a Series book and audiobook: https://www.sararosett.com/how-to-write-a-series/The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes https://bookshop.org/lists/recommenced-resources-for-writers-from-the-wish-i-d-known-then-podcastResources from the Author and Reader Community to Help Ukrainians https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E9QQhmcpa_dlxQY-GEqBiIbIZk-_J1MgQX_BxLI3F84/edit?usp=sharing

Episode 130 / It’s back to the archives this week for one of our most popular episodes. Jami and Sara share how they launch a book, covering tactics for low-, medium-, and high-budget launches as well as sharing beau·coup tips about what’s working for book launches right now. Intro links:  Kickstart Your Book podcast Sign up to be notified when Jami’s book about launching comes out Show notes: KU or wide - weigh pros and cons of each Price point - consider typical price of genre and goals to pick the best price point (99 cents can generate preorders and sales while a higher price point give you a higher royalty and the option of dropping it for sales later) Preorders - a preorder lets you capture sales and get your sales pages live on the vendors, but some authors won’t do preorders because they feel Amazon doesn’t weight the preorder sales as heavily as purchases/borrows made after the books releases, which may impact rank. Don’t forget the impact of your newsletter to launch  Low-cost Launch Tactics for a New Author Blog tours Newsletter swaps Goodreads giveaways  Library Thing giveaways  Newsletter Connect with authors iSend us a textSupport the show🚀 Jami’s Launch Plan https://www.jamialbright.com/authorservices❤️ Jami’s books https://amzn.to/3wSraA5🔎 Sara’s books https://www.sararosett.com/bibliography/ 📚 Sara’s How to Write a Series book and audiobook: https://www.sararosett.com/how-to-write-a-series/The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes https://bookshop.org/lists/recommenced-resources-for-writers-from-the-wish-i-d-known-then-podcastResources from the Author and Reader Community to Help Ukrainians https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E9QQhmcpa_dlxQY-GEqBiIbIZk-_J1MgQX_BxLI3F84/edit?usp=sharing

Episode 129 / Dark fantasy author Kerstin Espinosa Rosero joins us to talk about bootstrapping her first book, lessons she’s learned about marketing, and tips on writing fantasy. Intro links:  Sara’s interview on Behind the Book podcast Show notes:  How Kerstin’s art led her to write her first book Her advice for new authors when it comes to marketing How Kerstin found her cover designer How she decides how much backstory and worldbuilding to include in her fantasy books Tips for authors who want to create maps for their books Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. Links:  Kerstin’s website The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes  Jami’s Launch Plan Sara’s Book Release Timeline Checklist Jami’s books Sara’s books Send us a textSupport the show🚀 Jami’s Launch Plan https://www.jamialbright.com/authorservices❤️ Jami’s books https://amzn.to/3wSraA5🔎 Sara’s books https://www.sararosett.com/bibliography/ 📚 Sara’s How to Write a Series book and audiobook: https://www.sararosett.com/how-to-write-a-series/The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes https://bookshop.org/lists/recommenced-resources-for-writers-from-the-wish-i-d-known-then-podcastResources from the Author and Reader Community to Help Ukrainians https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E9QQhmcpa_dlxQY-GEqBiIbIZk-_J1MgQX_BxLI3F84/edit?usp=sharing