Wish I'd Known Then . . . For Writers

Episode 043 /  Is it too late to plan holiday promotions? Nope. You still have plenty of time--and holiday promotions don’t have to be complicated or time-consuming.  We share what we wish we’d known about holiday promos. We delve into what tactics we’ve used and found effective for marketing to cold, warm, and hot audiences.  Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. New! You can find the WIKT podcast on Youtube: Wish I’d Known Then Youtube Channel What we wish we’d known about marketing during the holidays: Jami: that it was a thing! Sara: you don’t have to have a holiday book   Group promos ideas -> warm/cold audience  Get together with a group of authors and promote books in your newsletters and on social media   Jami: this has been one of my most effective promotion tactics Sara: print book sales promotion though BookFunnel - https://books.bookfunnel.com/paperbackcozymysterychristmas/gtsoc2z64x Solo promo ideas -> hot audience -Bundles:  Limited time or bundle whole series (convenience of having them all together) -Gift Giving lists  Bookish Wish List - your favorite books/bookish things https://www.sararosett.com/bookish-wish-list/ Mystery Lover’s Gift Guide: 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 042 /  Science fiction and fantasy author and co-host of the Six Figure Authors podcast, Joseph Lallo joins us to talk about the advantages of planning when it comes to writing books as well as in promotion and marketing. We also delve into how Jo’s prep for NaNoWriMo has changed over the years, his tips for writing short stories, how he commissions art, and his advice on the transition from the day job to full-time writer. Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. Interview with Sara Rosett and Tonya Kappes for Authors A.I. First Draft Friday Jump Start Your Cozy Free Mini-Course In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: Why Jo wishes he’d known how to outline at the beginning of his career and how he learned to outline How Jo’s prep for NaNo has changed over the years Jo’s maintenance advertising strategy Why rejections from agents and editors aren’t always a good measure of an authors’ ability to write or a book’s appeal to readers  How Jo’s “mistake” of writing a book that seemed to fit the steampunk tropes but was a little off in some critical details actually turned out to be a good thing Jo deconstructs why one of his releases didn’t do as well as he hoped, even though he did all the “right” things (write to the tropes, rapid release into KU, and run an ad campaign) Jo’s advice on writing short stories: Uses “orphaned ideas” file for starting pSend 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 041 / Robin Cutler, director of IngramSpark, joined Sara and Jami to talk about how indie authors can expand their readership through print books. They also discussed common mistakes Robin sees authors make, how to set up print preorders through IngramSpark, what genres are selling right now, and future trends in publishing. Intro recap: Sara was on the Six Figure Authors podcast (#60-How to Write Series that Sell with Sara Rosett) and her How to Write a Series audiobook  just released. Jami’s exciting news: she has a new grandbaby! Jami is grateful for indie publishing, which gives her the ability to spend time with her family and help them out during this time. Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: An explanation of the wholesale model and discounting Why discounting makes your books attractive to booksellers Publisher direct orders - using IngramSpark as your printer and having them dropship your books to readers The next iteration of publishing industry: direct sales Common mistakes Robin sees authors make Top genres right now and future publishing trends to watch for IngramSpark’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 040 / It’s Q & A time. We talk about how finding a critique group is similar to dating, how to prepare to go wide, and much more.  Intro: Sara is planning a limited edition hardcover for the holidays and Jami is signing books for a subscription box. Plus Sara shares about an audiobook giveaway site. Reveal Book Box Library Thing Audiobook Giveaway Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: Developmental editing and critique groups Pros and cons of each  Why finding a critique group is like dating Tips for publishing wide Mindset - long-term thinking Why you may need to save up “quit your job money” Go wide in format first -- audio, print, large print Try a perma-free, either a first book in series or prequeal Use smaller paid newsletter sites Check price points  Advice for new writers 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 039 / H. Claire Taylor joins us to talk about writing satire, creating character flaws, and how Claire helps authors figure out what they really want in their careers. Plus, we delve into the Enneagram and how you can use it to add depth to your characters.   Intro links: Where We Began by Serena Clark The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman Jingle Balls Anthology Helpful stuff/Podcast round-up:     Rebel Author Podcast - Seasonal Marketing with Penny Sansevieri   Successful Writer Podcast - The Right (and Wrong) Way to Talk about your  Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: Why it’s crucial to know what your story is about so you can “steer the ship” in the direction you need to go and save time on revisions How knowing what you want out of your writing career impacts your expectations and your marketing plans Common mistakes Claire sees as she works with authors How understanding your motivations and needs as a writer helps you set your goalsSend 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 038 / Horror and nonfiction author Mark Leslie Lefebvre gives tips on using your intellectual property to think beyond the ebook version of your book. Plus Mark shares ideas on how to get your print books into libraries and bookstores. Intro links:  Sara’s interview on Authors Love Readers podcast Jami’s interview on Authors Love Readers podcast Sara’s reader-focused podcast: Mystery Books Podcast Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: Finding your tribe through writing critique groups and conferences and learning from other writers Why Mark wishes he’d written a series earlier Mark and Sara’s advice on creating hardcover large print books for libraries through Ingram Spark Draft 2 Digital tools to help authors: epub and mobi creator, Books2Read geo-targeted links, library distribution, print books How Mark uses Draft 2 Digital’s paperback wrap creator to bring all his books, even short books, into print and then uses them for promotion Why you’re “lying” to your readers when you market to the wrong audience 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 037 / Cozy mystery author Zara Keane shares how changing genres allowed her to write to her strengths. We also delve into nurturing our newsletters, chatbots, and selling direct.   Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. Intro links:    In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: Why finishing that first book is so important How our writing processes change and evolve and how we can’t pin down a single system and replicate it again and again Why trying to do it all is a mistake and the importance of filtering advice How Zara moved from romance to cozy mystery Zara’s “experiment budget” and her attitude to testing Writing to your strengths--writing in a genre that lets you use your natural talents to their fullest Nurturing your newsletter Filtering readers who find you through a promotion Using a serial novella in your newsletter Using content themes to guide content creation for newsletter Zara’s recommendations for getting started with chatbots Benefits of selling direct with Payhip and Bookfunnel: flash sales, coupons, and built-in discounting How Zara created a Christmas in July, promoted it to her newsletter, which gave her a financial return on par with a Bookbub feaSend 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 036 / Damon Courtney of BookFunnel joins Sara and Jami to talk about getting books to readers, best practices of successful authors, and trends in audio--and Damon has some exciting news about audiobooks and Bookfunnel!  Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. Intro: Condolences to the T.S. Paul family. Jami’s broadcasting from a closet and is still on grandbaby watch. She’s focusing on writing the next scene. Sara’s working on a solo podcast that will have short seasons and doing exciting admin things like bookkeeping. She’s got plenty of writing quotes. It’s a quote-tastic intro.  Hindenburg - for editing podcast audio Thomas Umstattd Jr. - Novel Marketing Podcast In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: How Bookfunnel helps authors get books and bonuses (reader magnets, bonus epilogues, short stories) to readers Bookfunnel’s author-driven features like a group promo, integrations for selling direct, and audiobooks Damon’s advice to authors who are just starting out Mistakes Damon sees authors making and why writing books is the most important thing Current trends: increase in readers new to ebooks  Benefits of selling direct: customer data and reader happiness :)  The best time to put your books into audio What’s coming in the future: BookfunSend 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 035 / Cozy mystery and sci-fi romance author Laura Durham joins Sara and Jami to discuss how writing in different genres can improve your books plus a lot more including: tips for transitioning from traditional publishing to indie publishing and getting the most out of your intellectual property. 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 from intro: Kobo Writing Life podcast about audiobook production  Ingram Spark podcast about the state of bookselling during Covid and how to get into print and get books into bookstores and libraries  From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout Enola Holmes and the Missing Marquess  In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: How Laura transitioned from traditional publishing to indie publishing How Laura got her rights back to her traditional books and how she updated those books before releasing them  The perils of writing a love triangle Learning what your readers want How Laura juggles the writing and marketing in two extremely different genres, including her thoughts on pen names Laura’s tips for translations, selling direct, and creating multiple streams of income Genres dSend 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 034 / Authors A.I founders J.D. Lasica and Alessandra Torre join Sara this week. Jami wasn’t able to join them for the recording. Sara, J.D., and Alessandra delved into the topic of artificial intelligence and how it can help authors.  Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. Sara’s news of the week is that her audiobook went live on Audible, which is about four weeks after upload through Findaway Voices (in case listeners are attempting to time an audio release). She’s also working on rebooting a podcast that’s been fallow for years. More on that later.  Jami’s news is that she’s looking into using an audiobook production company. Sara says she stumbled into the benefits of working with an audiobook narrator who has their own following. Jami shares about the challenge of doing audiobooks when your have characters with Texas accents. Helpful news:  -Findaway Voices launches retail links beta version  -David Gaughran’s post about launching books - that post isn’t live at time of podcast upload, but check out David’s blog with tons of useful information on writing and publishing  In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: J.D.’s background in journalism and how he transitioned to writing tech thrillers, inspired by living in the “start-up world” of Silicon Valley Alessandrea’s “boring” background in business and banking and how she shifted to writing romance and suspense Authors A.I.’s backstory with Matt Jockers, Ph.D., co-author of The Bestseller Code How the A.I., called Marlowe, reads and understands novels, and gives feedback 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