Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interview Michelle Rowen/Morgan Rhodes about her different pen names, the genres she writes, her publishing journey, and her latest novel, ECHOES & EMPIRES. Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update that includes devastating news of the loss of a writer friend, along with some good news related to his writing, the results of a recent Chirp audiobook promotion, and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Michelle talk about: ECHOES AND EMPIRES, Michelle's new alt-world fantasy under the name Morgan Rhodes Michelle's thoughts on the difference between her Michelle Rowen and Morgan Rhodes pseudonyms and the different genres under each Being inspired by Buffy's drama, action, and humor The "fallen princess" phase or theme that keeps coming up in her writing lately The way the covers properly and effectively highlight the genre similarities and differences Michelle's prolific 4 to 5 books a year era when she was writing her paranormal chick-lit style lighter Michelle Rowen books, and how that changed to 1 book a year working on the Fallen Kingdoms titles The lead time on trad publishing and how it differs from indie publishing Getting her first starred review from School Library Journal The challenge of not revealing the many plot twists in her novels when she talks about them with media Getting rights back on some of her previously traditionally published titles and the steps and work involved in re-launching them, including having to re-edit them based on updated "sensitivity" perspectives Michelle's dreams of being a writer (Romancing the Stone) versus the reality Her discovery of the power of plotting (verses pantsing) Advice Michelle would give to new writers Michelle's take on "write what you know" And more...   After the interview Mark reflects on Michelle's dedication to her fans and her professionalism. Links of Interest: Morgan Rhodes Facebook Twitter Tumblr Instagram Michelle Rowen Twitter Facebook Pinterest Instagram BookBub EP 228 - EP 227 - Publishing Trends & Reflections for 2022 EP 168 - Writing Your Way to Paradise with David Farland Kobo Writing Life Podcast EP 50 - David Farland Findaway Voices Chirp Listing for Canadian Werewolf series Kobo Writing Life Indie Cover Contest WINNER TikTok FEAR AND LONGING IN LOS ANGELES Giveaway video The Canadian Mounted Patreon for Stark Reflections The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon   Morgan Rhodes is the New York Times bestselling author of the YA high fantasy Falling Kingdoms series, and loves to write about the epic adventures of the quirky, interesting characters who inhabit her imagination. She also writes as Michelle Rowen, a bestselling and award-winning author of over two dozen novels. A former graphic designer drawn to sparkly objects and fancy handbags, Morgan lives in Ontario, Canada, where she maintains a very healthy belief in all things magical. Her latest novel is Echoes and Empires, a young adult alt-world fantasy published by Razorbill Books.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0   

In this episode, Mark looks back at his 2021 goals and achievements, outlining the successes, the failures, and the unexpected. Prior to the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and also shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. A high level overview of Mark's 2021 Goals Stated 2021 Goals 1 - Publish FEAR AND LONGING IN LOS ANGELES (Completed Feb 2021) (In addition - Pub'd FRIGHT NIGHTS BIG CITY 2 - Publish WIDE FOR THE WIN (Completed March 2021) - had to push pub date back from Jan 26 to March 16 3 - Publish LOVER'S MOON (novelette/novella) (Didn't do it) 4 - Stark Publishing Solutions - Unnamed book for writers (Completed Aug 2021) 5 - Stark Publishing Solutions - Unnamed book 2 for writers (Didn't do it) 6 - Publish SCREAMING SKULLS X (Didn't do it) 7 - Publish GHOSTLY GANANOQUE X (Didn't do it) 8 - Considering another anthology (Didn't do it) 9 - Expanding Stark Publishing into something bigger - Author A - One book (Sarah Kades - Kiss Me in the Rain) - Author B - Delayed until 2022 - Author C - still a work in progress 10 - Special un-named project (Planes, Trains and Automobiles) (Didn't do it) Mark also shares some of the high level %'s of his 2021 eBook income, including % of sales at Amazon, Kobo, Apple, B&N, Google, and other places.   Links of Interest: EP 225 - Writing Personal Experience in Fiction with Ami Sands Brodoff EP 226 - Reflective Roundtable December 2021 EP 227 - Publishing Trends & Reflections for 2022 Findaway Voices Findaway Voices Blog: What You Can Control The Canadian Mounted Patreon for Stark Reflections The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark reads from a 2000 word article he wrote when asked to discuss publishing trends for 2022. Prior to the main content, Mark, using an AI voice double (Overdub) from Descript to speak the words he has typed, explains why he is using a voice double for the interstitial parts of the podcast, and also shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.   Links of Interest: The Top Eight Publishing Trends for 2022 - Article by Clayton Noblit from Written Word Media EP 148 - Voice Double Conversation with Joanna Penn The Canadian Mounted Patreon for Stark Reflections The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

The first in a new series of "Reflective Round Table" discussions between Mark and a selection of patrons of the podcast. This episode is sponsored by the patrons of the Stark Reflections podcast who support this podcast at: https://patreon.com/starkreflections In this episode, Mark chats with: Matty Dalrymple Shari Decter Hirst (writing as Sherilyn Decter) Jeff Elkins Kathy Mac In their conversation Mark, Matt, Shari, Jeff, and Kathy talk about The importance of a strong narrative question/theme for a book and/or series Different planning processes as we hurtle toward 2022 Timelines/stressors/deadlines where editorial input is shortchanged  And a few other things in between   Links of Interest: Matty Dalrymple Shari Decter Hirst (writing as Sherilyn Decter) Jeff Elkins Kathy Mac The Dialogue Doctor The Indy Author The Canadian Mounted Patreon for Stark Reflections The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews Ami Sands Brodoff, the award-winning author of three novels and two story collections about her latest book, The Sleep of Apples and the stories and books she has written over the years. Prior to the main content, Mark discusses recent comments, welcomes new patron Jared Nelson, shares a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation Mark and Ami talk about: Ami as a "late-bloomer" writer who had worked on a number of short stories for years before working on a novel The encouragement, including a nomination for The Pushcart Prize that happened early on with Ami's first published story Being invited to The Algonquin Hotel in New York for lunch with some editors Asking herself is this the career I want to be doing no matter what The related anchor job that Ami had for guaranteed writing money coming in while she did freelance work Adapting real-life circumstances into her first novel, Can You See Me? How the stories in The Sleep of Apples are linked by a neighborhood, whereas in a previous collection, it was a theme that unified the stories The concept of neighborhoods in cities like Montreal and New York The amazing critical acclaim for The Sleep of Apples and how publicist can snowball Various workshops that Ami has lead over the years Tapping into the stories that other people want to share and tell Advice Ami would have for beginning writers And more... After the interview Mark reflects on the idea of how publicist can snowball, or how a lot of hard work can lead to those "viral" things.   Links of Interest: Ami Sands Brodoff Website EP 223 - Love, Only Better with Paulette Stout The Canadian Mounted Patreon for Stark Reflections The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon   Ami Sands Brodoff is the award-winning author of three novels and two story collections. Her latest novel-in-stories, The Sleep of Apples, centres on 9 closely-linked characters confronting crises related to mental illness, mortality--sooner rather than later--and gender identity. Ami's novel, In Many Waters, grapples with our world-wide refugee crisis. The White Space Between, which focuses on a mother and daughter struggling with the impact of the Holocaust won The Canadian Jewish Book Award for Fiction. Bloodknots, a volume of thematically-linked stories was a finalist for the ReLit Award. Ami leads workshops for teens, adults, and seniors. She has taught writing to formerly incarcerated women and to people grappling with mental illness. Ami has been awarded fellowships to Yaddo, the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Ragdale Foundation, and St. James Cavalier Arts Centre for Creativity (Malta). Ami lives in Montreal with her partner, children and high energy Brittany Spaniel Xeno.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews Heather Campbell co-founder and publisher at Latitude 46 Publishing, and owner of a brand-new indie bookstore in Sudbury, Ontario. Prior to the main content, Mark shares some recent comments, a personal update, and shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation Mark and Heather talk about: Heather's long love of reading and books, and her engagement in the Sudbury, Ontario writing community Deciding to start Latitude 46 when Scrivener Press decided to close shop How Heather got into learning about publishing, distribution, and self-publishing twelve years ago by helping a friend out with her book Celebrating Latitude 46's 7th anniversary on March 22, 2022 How often a regional/local publisher has to start off doing it part time and with funding support from arts councils, etc The average number of submissions rec'd versus books published The way that Heather, as a publisher, seeks to have a collaborative relationship with her writers Advice for authors looking to submit to Latitude 46 The mandate to publish authors either from or with strong ties to Northern Ontario and mid-Northern Ontario Heather's decision to open up a downtown independently operated bookstore as part of a 4 month opportunity by the city called "Zero Vacancy" to help revitalize the downtown core Some of the other artisan and local artist merchandise carried in the store An imprint from Latitude 46 that Heather uses when the title doesn't have a literary bend to it Authors who have come in to sign books and the store as well as forthcoming planned author visits Heather's thought that writers could benefit from going and working in a bookstore, even briefly, to understand what that experience is like The question of "is this publishable" that publishers often ask when a manuscript is presented Toni Morrison's long term "teamwork" based relationship with her editor After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of understanding a publishers vision and mandate as well as the idea of how writers can benefit from in person bookstore experience.   Links of Interest: Latitude 46 Publishing Facebook Page Instagram Twitter EP 189 - From Stage to Page Then Back to Stage with Rod Carley EP 223 - Love, Only Better with Paulette Stout The Canadian Mounted Patreon for Stark Reflections The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon   Heather Campbell has spent over 25 years in communications and freelance writing, specializing in issues relevant to Northern Ontario communities. A graduate of York University (BA Sociology ’92), she has combined her education, experience and ‘need to initiate’ by starting a local chapter of the Professional Writers Association of Canada and the Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival. Joining forces with another local writer to start a new publishing house for the North is a natural extension of how she can contribute to creating a thriving literary scene in Northern Ontario.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

In this episode Mark interviews author Paulette Stout about her new novel Love, Only Better. Prior to the main content, Mark shares a recent comment, a personal update, thanks new patron Jo-Ann Carson, and shares a word and update about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Paulette talk about: Why Paulette chose to fictionalize the taboo subject matter of the novel How this novel can help some women realize that they're not alone in this experience Taking a really difficult topic and making it a beach read The importance of approaching a deeply personal and emotionally difficult topic with humor The process of deciding to write this novel Reaching out to agents with queries for this book Learning about indie publishing and how it suited this book with what many publishers saw as a taboo topic Scribbling at the alter of Joanna Penn Writing a prequel as an author newsletter giveaway Getting a BookBub Feature New Release on her first time asking for one Using NetGalley and getting more than 300 downloads for the book while it was up for preorder How initially positioning the book as romance rather than women's fiction resulted in a few mis-matches on reader expectations Deciding to change a great cover for a different great cover based on those reader expectations Paulette's desire to "up" the level of intimacy within women's fiction Sales so far of the book in print and eBook Segmenting her list into two groups: people who open and people who don't open her newsletters Working on Book 2 for NaNoWriMo 2021 so she can get it to editors in December for a spring 2022 release Advice Paulette would offer to beginning writers or writers who want to write a book about a more taboo topic And more... After the conversation Mark reflects on the business decision Paulette made to re-do her covers (see below) and also on how (and why) authors are so hard on and so down on themselves. Links of Interest: Paulette Stout's Website Facebook Author Page Twitter Instagram PR By The Book Findaway Voices Books A Million Announcement EP 154 - Reflections on T S Paul The Canadian Mounted Patreon for Stark Reflections The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City   Paula Stout is the fearless author of Love, Only Better, a contemporary novel and bedroom rallying cry for women everywhere. Born in Manhattan, Paulette is the gold-star wordsmith and owner of her content marketing agency, Media Goddess Inc., where she crafts content for her list of global clients. Prior to MGI, Paulette led content and design teams at several tech companies, and one educational publisher where her elimination of the Oxford comma caused a near riot. Paulette’s prior career as a media buyer/planner in New York earned her three industry awards, including a MediaWeek All-Star. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Cornell University and her MBA in Marketing from the Lubin School of Business, Pace University. You can usually find Paulette rearranging words into pleasing patterns while wearing grammar t-shirts.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark interviews author Brittany Fichter about writing happily ever after endings, clean romance, and taking the time to care for her readers. Prior to the main content, Mark shares a personal update, thanks new patron James S. Aaron, and shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Brittany talk about: Writing clean, sweet, and wholesome romance Living and writing with OCD, Tourettes and free-floating anxiety The Writing Gals Podcast and their outline of the various levels of heat in romance fiction How the outline for Brittany's last book was 50,000 words The way that clean romances can still deal with heavy concepts and deep emotions Writing fairy tales that are full fantasy, much like the darkness to light moment in The Lord of the Rings Brittany's childhood love of fairy tales and her desire to what to know the characters beyond the tropes Stephen King's writing prompt to write a story you'll never share with anyone, and how Brittany used that to write a story inspired by Beauty and The Beast that she published in 2015 Revising covers, and the fact her first book (Beyond Beauty) has gone through four covers already Getting writing done with young children Making YouTube music playlists for every book that she writes as a way of triggering her brain that it's time to write The push that leads a lot of writers to writer burnout The Happy Planner brand Writing and publishing a chapter a week on her blog to keep her readers happy while they're waiting for the next book Why Brittany has a "Fun and Games" section on her website and why she avoids political discussion in her reader groups and author page How her writing is all about light overcoming dark The way that 2020 had us on social media and on our phones a lot, instead of being with and understanding others Advice Brittany would give to new writers And more... After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of attending to the needs of your readers. Links of Interest: Brittany Fichter's Website Facebook Author Page Facebook Reader Group Instagram Writing Gals: What Makes Clean Romance Clean 20BooksVegas Website 2021 Video Playlist of 162 Videos (YouTube) Killing it on Kobo Wide for the Win Apple Books Panel Findaway Voices The Canadian Mounted You Play with Your Balls a Lot (Lipsync) The 2021 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Storybundle Patreon for Stark Reflections The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Brittany Fichter lives with her Prince Charming, little fairy, and little prince in a decently clean castle in whatever kingdom the United States Air Force has most recently placed them.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Mark shares three short audio excerpts from the November 2021 20BooksVegas conference. 20Books Vegas 2021 is by far the biggest and best of the 20Books shows (there have been ten so far). It is the biggest show in the world focused on self-publishing although there is something for every author, traditional or indie. The 20Books mentality is that everyone deserves a chance to succeed if they take the knowledge and experience and apply it to their author business. With up to 20 authors making seven figures a year and hundreds making a full-time living, there will be something for everyone. Be warned, no one is going to carry you and make you an overnight sensation. You have to do that for yourself by applying what over 100 guest speakers have to offer. Are you ready to excel, reap the rewards of your good work? Then take control of your author career.   Prior to the main content, Mark shares recent comments, a personal update, thanks new patron Michael Howell and shares a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. The three clips (each approximately 10 minutes) are: Mal Cooper - Finding and Keeping Fans https://youtu.be/qlqdlrgGXCQ (Full video) Caroline Peckham - Starting and Growing Your TikTok Platform https://youtu.be/dBiIPaeYUmk (Full video) Kevin McLaughlin - The Five Pillars of Indie Publishing https://youtu.be/yFXZAoi02sk (Full video)     Links of Interest: 20BooksVegas Website 2021 Video Playlist of 144 Videos (YouTube) Findaway Voices Findaway Voices Blog - Spotify EP 218 - John Gaspard on Business, Magic, and Writing The 2021 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Storybundle Patreon for Stark Reflections The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  

Mark interviews Vikrant Shaurya, CEO and Founder of Bestsellingbook.com. Prior to the interview, Mark shares an extremely brief personal update with crappy audio from a Vegas hotel room and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation Mark and Vikrant talk about: The story of how Vikrant got started in writing Spending more time in the college library than in classe Starting a company, making a number of mistakes, and being left with no money and being forced to shut down the business Discovering self-publishing and working hard to write and go through the publishing process Creating a "done for you" publishing company to help entrepreneurs and speakers Who Vikrant's ideal client is and the detailed customized process of ensuring their book is written using their insights/knowledge/experience in their unique voice The packages and costs of making the book a bestseller on Amazon The process of the angel writers who work closely with clients Going through the book chapter by chapter with the client with unlimited revisions Potential opportunities for writers to work for Bestselling Book as angel writers And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on the various needs and pathways for different types of writers and where a service like Bestsellingbook.com might fit in to that. Links of Interest: BestsellingBook.com Findaway Voices 20BooksVegas SelfPubCon 2021: The Writing Craft Conference (ALLI) - The Craft of Writing Short Books The 2021 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Storybundle Patreon for Stark Reflections The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City   Vikrant Shaurya is the CEO & Founder of BestsellingBook.com, #1 Bestselling Author, sought-after Book Launch Manager, and an internationally recognized Digital Publishing Expert. He has helped thousands of entrepreneurs and first-time authors actualize their dreams by joining them in their self-publishing journeys through his courses, coaching, and done-for-you services.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0