Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

This week's episode is a solo one, where Mark reflects on reflect the Two Wrongs That Make a Writer Spite. He takes a look at two negative things that writers often focus on which can be demotivating and make them hateful or spiteful - all things that detract from what writers should be focusing on to move onward and upward in their writer journey. Before the main content, Mark shares a few personal updates, one of which is related to the sell-direct BookFunnel and audiobook sell-direct option recently offered by Findaway Voices via Authors Direct. This week's episode is sponsored by listeners and Patreon supporters to the show. Mark explains that his nickname for listeners have been christened as Reflectives, and the outlines who he believes his ideal listening audience to this podcast is. He also outlines the ways that listeners can help support the show, which are: a) continuing to listen to the podcast b) sharing the podcast with someone who would likely get value from it c) becoming a Patreon supporter for as little as $1 a month d) leaving a review on the podcasting/podcatcher platform of your choice e) filling out the recent podcast listener survey f) leaving a comment on show episodes where applicable. Writers have a difficult time. Just the creation aspect of writing is a tremendous feat in and of itself. There's so much to learn, so many mistakes to make along the way. And yet, writers tend to put more on their own shoulders that cause more pain, more angst, more anxiety, more self-doubt. Those two things are COMPARISON and REJECTION. Mark talks about each of them and shares his own reflections on ways that he attempts to overcome them and turn these two negatives into a positive. He looks at some personal fitness running goals recently achieved and the possibility of what might happen if he were to compare his personal achievements and goals with those master runners. He parallels that to the goals and comparisonitis that writers struggle with. Then he uses an analogy that author Kerrie Flanagan writes about in a recent book she wrote for writers, comparing the rejection a writer feels from either submissions not accepted or self-published books that haven't been selling. He looks at how a waiter might react to restaurant patrons NOT choosing the "daily special" and asks writers to consider the reasons for not choosing that special, which likely have NOTHING to do with the quality or value of that special, and thus shouldn't be taken personally. He reminds writers that they already have enough self-doubt and anxiety and needn't put the additional COMPARISON and REJECTION issues on their own shoulders. Links of Interest: Joanna Penn's Interview (Episode 2) Kerrie Flanagan's Interview (Episode 31) Bookfunnel Findaway Voices - Authors Direct Books2Read.com Mark's US Authors Direct Page for Stark Publishing Mark's home-page for EVASION (with links to ebook and audiobook purchasing)

The feature interview in this episode is with C.C. Humphreys, an actor, playwright, fight choreographer and novelist. Chris has ten novels that were all traditionally published, several of which have been Globe and Mail Bestsellers and his historic novel "Plague won the Crime Writers of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel in 2015. Prior to the interview Mark shares a few personal updates that include being in the Sudbury area to participate in a multi-author event in support of a book launch for his friend Mathew Del Papa for his latest book, Capreol at Bat. He also talks about how he has been slipping in the uploading of his #FreeFridayFrights weekly videos to YouTube as well as an update on how the free first in series sales for the Nocturnal Screams series are going on Kobo and iBooks. Mark then talks about how this podcast's sponsor, Findaway Voices, has soft-launched a new product called Authors Direct, a platform and app that allows authors the ability to sell their audiobooks directly and keep 70% of the income. Mark's store that includes four of his audiobooks is live at . . . https://stark-publishing.myshopify.com . . . and he shares his excitement for what is likely to prove to be a major and game-changing tool for authors to be successful with audiobooks. In their conversation, Mark and Chris talk about: Chris's new historical thriller, CHASING THE WIND, about a young woman aviatrix named Roxy Loewen and how Chris fell in love with Roxy as well as historical figures like Amelia Earhart while working on this book Writing historical fiction and incorporating real-world figures into the fiction text and honoring who these people were by "fictionalizing real people and realizing fictional ones" The difference between writing "modern" historical fiction (1930s) and writing earlier historical periods (such as the 1450s of the 1600s) The amount of time and type of research that Chris does when working on a historical novel, including the risk that "research" can be procrastination The cedar octagon hut in a luscious forest where Chris does most of his writing (and the back-chat he gets from other authors about this) which is just the right distance from the house The changes to the publishing industry that have changed for mid-list authors, which is what led to Chris's latest novel being a hybrid published book (traditionally published in Canada by Penguin Random House) but indie or self-published by Chris in the US and the rest of the world The Creative Academy that Chris learned from before starting on his self-publishing journey Chris's decision to publish the book to Kindle exclusive for the first three months before going wide with it in 2019 The debate of the $4.99 USD price point Chris struggled with (which is far cheaper than the Canadian traditionally published price), or the US price of his traditionally published book The countdown deal that Chris is running this week, the third party services he has used, such as Written Word Media, to help boost the sales and ranking for the title and the great service they provided to ensure that Chris would be pleased with the results of this investment The rights Chris still has and has received back for a few of his previously published novels, such as Plague and Fire and the "soft-launch" he is conducting for Plague Advice Chris offers to authors on the "performance" involved in doing author readings as well as a reminder that the people in the audience WANT the author to succeed and are there to be entertained and engaged with A bit about Chris's parents, including that his dad was a fighter pilot and his mom was a spy, and his intrigue in the world and the drama that brought them together How Chris's father met famous English playwriter Noel Coward and the very frank letter and writer advice that he wrote back on a manuscript his father sent to him which began with "Dear Peter, be prepared, I'm going to be rather beastly to you." but ended with amazingly safe advice: "You must read more, you must write much more, and let your characters dictate your plot rather than your plot dictate your characters." How that advice leads to the oscillation between plot and characters that Chris talks about when teaching other writers Chris's favorite advice to share with writers including removing the words "good" and "bad" from the writing of the first draft of a manuscript Links of Interest C C Humphreys Website Facebook Author Page Twitter Author Central Page Pinterest Chasing The Wind Findaway Voices Free Friday Frights

Mark interviews Kerrie Flanagan, author of the author of Guide to Magazine Article Writing by Writer's Digest. Kerrie is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience. As a writing consultant, she works with writers, giving them the encouragement, support, resources and tools to find success on their writing journey. She is the author of 8 other books published under her label/publishing company Hot Chocolate Press. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a message from this episode's sponsor, the BOOKS GONE BAD BUNDLE from BundleRabbit, which features about 260,000 words from 11 authors in 2 books and 10 stories of "Speculative Visions of a Uniquely Portable Magic." You can learn more about the bundle via BundleRabbit or check it out at your favorite eBook retailer. http://books2read.com/booksgonebad Mark shares a few personal updates, which are: The new FREE email course he launched via Reedsy called Kobo Hacks for Optimizing Sales. It is a series of 10 emails that each take about 5 minutes to read that will be automatically delivered to those who sign up His story "Active Reader" appearing in the latest issue (#3) of Pulphouse Magazine and how that ties back to a goal/dream Mark had several decades ago when he first started writing In their conversation, Mark and Kerrie discuss: How Kerrie hadn't been someone who had always dreamed about being a writer; and how it was her role as a teacher that ended up leading her down that particular path The submission process she originally went through to get her first book published, and how that led to her self-publishing that book back in 1997 when self-publishing was an almost taboo path for a writer to take The local writer critique group that first exposed Kerrie to the idea of magazine article writing Kerrie's first magazine article query, which was to Better Homes & Gardens magazine The genesis of a Colorado winery article that Kerrie wrote, based on her interest in wine The biggest mistakes that writers make when trying to pitch article ideas to a magazine, which include not doing one's homework or properly researching and understanding the readership/audience of the magazine One of the things that surprised Kerrie about the writing of this book after she had begun the process The many hats that Kerrie has worn as a writer and publisher The thrill of having a hugely respected publisher of books for writers behind her on this new book The importance of building connections with people (as an underlying factor that contributed to this book happening) The work Kerrie did as an event coordinator for Writer's Digest The very meta experience of using an article from Writer's Digest to help Kerrie with negotiating the contract she signed with Writer's Digest for this new book Hot Chocolate Press, the publishing company Kerrie heads up that has 18 books and 8 different authors The challenge of balancing the various hats that Kerrie wears as a writer, a ghost-writer and a publisher The three conferences that Kerrie will be speaking at in the next little while Mendocino Writer's Conference in CA (August), The Writer's Digest Conference in NYC (August), the new Indie Lab Writer's Digest Conference in Cincinnati (Sept) How Kerrie connected with Angela MacKintosh, Editor-in-Chief of WOW! Women on Writing magazine and landed her first assignment with that market The use of magazine article writing for building your author brand and expanding your reach in a way that isn't as likely via standard social media How libraries and the internet have made the process of researching magazines so much easier than it used to be The advice that Kerrie would give to a writer wanting to get started Her avoidance of the use of the term "rejection" when a magazine article isn't accepted by an editor The importance of not giving up, and how it took Kerrie 20 years of hard work to get where she is today After the interview, Mark shares his reflections on what the conversation with Kerrie and reading her new book made him think of, including his own rise through publishing selling short fiction to magazines (comparing that to non-fiction selling to magazines), and a few ideas he is planning on implementing related to niche article writing. He also talks about selling articles to magazines as an additional revenue source for a writer, helping to balance out dependencies and income streams. Mark then thanks listeners and Patreon supporters and closes off the show. Links of Interest: Kerrie Flanagan's Website Hot Chocolate Press Writer's Digest Guide to Magazine Article Writing Writer's Digest BundleRabbit Findaway Voices

Mark chats with Dana Pharant and Barb Stuhlemmer about elements of running their own businesses that also apply to writers. Mark, Dana and Barb are 3 of 5 members of a recent business mastermind that took place where 5 business owners from different industries and areas of expertise all work together to hold one another accountable for business plans, visions, goals and next steps for growth. Mark shares his perspective on this first business mastermind group he has been a part of and then talks about his own specific takeaways, including the publication of a book he is 20,000 words into called INDIE PUBLISHING INSIDER SECRETS: What Running Kobo Writing Life, a Print-on-Demand Business and 25 Years of Bookselling Taught Me About Success for Authors, Publishers & Self-Publishing Services. He shares how the group is holding him accountable for a proposed publishing and delivery schedule for this book that he has already dropped onto the back burner. In their chat, Mark, Dana and Barb discuss: Strategies on how to find and define your core audience, with an example that Dana shares about not doing it right the first time and how it lost her about 6 months of traction * The challenges of taking money from the people who aren't part of the ideal target audience and the related "Steak and Burger" analogy Barb's experiences of knowing what company needs a service, but the challenge of finding the specific person within that company to speak to and to sell to, which can relate to sub-genres and other more specific niche targeting for authors Targeting the right people, but with the wrong product How Dana and Barb, who have been friends for about eight years, originally met How in relationships, if you are GIVING, in the right aspect and for the right reasons, you get back a huge amount The people and the relationships and the circles that can be cultivated among your peers who are willing to rise How knowing who you can count on (not just for support, but for honesty) in your inner circle can really make a difference Authenticity in engagement with one's audience, mailing list, and core followers or fans How you can't impress people with things that you're not; you can only impress people with what you have The concept of creating the "ideal reader" as a character sketch the same way one might sketch out a character in their book Advice on success in turning passion into profit After the chat, Mark shares his reflections on the importance of taking insights, wisdom and learning from people and industries outside one's own area of expertise and perspective and how, listening to the business intelligence and strategies of 4 women from different business pursuits helped Mark to grow his own knowledge and strategy in writing and publishing. Links of Interest: Dana Pharant Dana's Podcast: Inner Dominatrix Barb Stuhlemmer Barb's Book: Entrepreneur Awakening

This episode features an interview with Canadian author Terry Fallis. who is a two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, the winner of CBC Canada Reads for "the essential novel of the decade" the winner of the CBA Libris Author of the Year Award for 2013, and someone who has had a 6-part mini-series based on his first novel appear on CBC Television. Prior to his personal update, Mark delivers this episode's Tongue Twister, which is something Stephen King fans might be familiar with: the mantra that Bill practices when working on his stutter. "Amidst the mists and fiercest frosts, With barest wrists, and stoutest boasts, He thrusts his fists against the posts, And still insists he sees the ghosts" The Tongue Twister segment is sponsored by Findaway Voices. Learn more about how they can help authors control their audiobook production and distribution at www.starkreflections.com/findaway For his personal update Mark shares how he has been overwhelmed with tasks and a growing list of unfinished projects, and talks through 3 things that have helped him deal with the feeling of being overwhelmed 1) Unplugging and Recharging 2) Listing the Things Making You Feel Overwhelmed 3) Listing the Small Surprise Accomplishments Already Achiveved In their chat, Mark and Terry discuss: The process of writing a novel and then sending query packages and sample chapters to agents and editors, followed by the "radio silence" from the industry that Terry experienced (not even generating an automated rejection letter) What led to his deciding to try both self-publishing the novel as well as releasing it as a free podcast novel in 2007 How some of the little things along the way (a suggestion from his wife, a single response from one agent, a bookseller who wanted to host a book launch party, comments from the podcast audience, a single box of ten copies of the self-published books sitting in a box by his desk), could lead to a dramatically defining moment in Terry's career as an author The "you've written a satirical novel of Canadian politics – what were you thinking?" line that keeps coming up How listening to Terry's podcast was all it took for Mark to become hooked on Terry's first novel THE BEST LAID PLANS The New York Times article about Scott Sigler and his podcast novels that had inspired Terry to begin podcasting his first novel Why Terry is convinced that more physical books have been sold via the process of giving away the audio/podcast version for free The chills Terry gets when thinking about doing his very first book signing The factors that led to Terry deciding to enter his first self-published novel into the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour (which included that the award didn't have a clause that said self-published novels couldn't be entered) Details about being nominated for and then winning the Leacock Medal for Humour Terry's email to the only agent who had bothered to reply to his original query (who is still his agent to this day, ten years later) The Canada Reads win and how that likely created the climate for the book to be optioned for film and television, where it was made into a 6 part television movie as well as a staged musical What it was like being in full control versus having to hand complete creative control over to the film production folks How impressed Terry was by the script writers for the series, Susan Coyne and Jason Sherman Why Terry believes that the New York Times called him to comment about a recent disagreement between Trudeau and Trump The effective use of humor in addressing serious issues, content and situations – in particular, the important elements of feminism and women's rights in Terry's novel POLES APART How Terry used his own experience as an identical twin when writing the novel ONE BROTHER SHY A bit of a teaser about Terry's work in progress, IF AT FIRST YOU SUCCEED The fact that Terry's publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, has, for his first six novels, allowed him to begin to release his weekly serialized podcast for his novels in the month prior to each novel's release How doing the reading/recording for the podcast has helped with Terry preparing sections for public readings of his novels; as well as being a great editing/proofreading tool The value that Terry places in booksellers, in particular the independent booksellers who have supported his career from the very beginning Terry's favorite advice for authors about writing with authenticity and passion. "It's hard to write your best work when you're not writing about something that you care about." Links of Interest: Terry's Website Terry's Twitter Account: @TerryFallis Terry's Author Facebook Page Findaway Voices Mark's Stark Publishing Survey

Solo Episode After providing a personal update on a few of the "Free" experiments he has been running, Mark reflects on inspiration drawn from reading the book THE POWER OF MOMENTS by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. The Tongue Twister segment of the show is sponsored by Findaway Voices. Mark also talks about (and yes, it was certainly inspired from reading the aforementioned book), a survey that he has launched to get more detailed feedback from listeners on this podcast. If you wish to fill it out, you can do so at the following site: www.markleslie.ca/starksurvey Links of Interest Chip Heath & Dan Heath - The Power of Moments Mark's Free Kobo Tracking Details Mark's Free Friday Frights Video View Tracking

The feature interview in this episode is a chat with Jamie Ferguson about her writing, the thing that made the difference in terms of kick-starting her writing productivity, and the various collaborations and curation she has done by leveraging BundleRabbit as a collaborative tool. Mark then shares a quick personal update, about the fact that there's nothing like screwing up to get views on a video. The Tongue Twister segment, sponsored by Findaway Voices includes Mark reading the following: I thought a thought. But the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought I thought. If the thought I thought I thought had been the thought I thought, I wouldn't have thought so much. In the interview, Mark and Jamie talk about: How Jamie had wanted to be a writer from when she was a child and had started and stopped various projects, but that it wasn't until she joined a workshop started by Edward Bryant about fifteen years ago that prompted her to actually complete the projects How finishing something can actually be scary ("OMG, somebody could read it!") The recent YA contemporary fantasy story by Jamie that appears in the new WISHES anthology from WMG Publishing The collaborative publishing project bundles & collections that Jamie has created using BundleRabbit that include: Fantasy in the City The Witches' Brew Haunted The Faerie Summer Bundle and more (see all the bundles here) The basic differences between curating bundles and creating anthologies (called collaborations) using BundleRabbit and the process that a curator goes through How BundleRabbit assists the curator by allowing the tools that make the curation, collaboration and payment distribution easier (and the time that has saved Jamie, who likely wouldn't have been able to budget the time for the aforementioned projects How the Faerie Summer Bundle has been the most successful, which has led to Jamie adapting it into an ongoing series Factors in bundles/collaborations Jamie has created that contributed to their success How an author's web and social media presence can make a positive difference in terms of curating their work into a bundle or collaboration The unexpected additional time required related to editing and formatting in the anthology collaboration projects Jamie's plan for a forthcoming non-fiction book sharing what she has learned Some of Jamie's favorite writing advice The forthcoming Amazing Monster Tales project Jamie is working on with DeAnna Knippling Links of Interest Jamie's Website Jamie's Social Media Facebook Author Page Twitter Pinterest Goodreads Instagram BlackBird Publishing Website Facebook Twitter Blackbird Publishing Collections Jamie's Article on the differences between bundles and collaborations Findaway Voices Stark Reflections Patreon Page Jamie Ferguson focuses on getting into the minds and hearts of her characters, whether she's writing about a saloon girl in the Old West, a man who discovers the barista he's in love with is a naiad, or a ghost who haunts the house she was killed in – even though that house no longer exists. She's curated 8 short story bundles and anthologies to date, and is working on several more, including a monster-themed anthology series she's co-editing with DeAnna Knippling. Jamie lives in Colorado, and spends her free time in a futile quest to wear out her two border collies, since she hasn't given in and gotten them their own herd of sheep...yet...

In episode 26, Mark chats with author Armand Rosamilia who is originally from New Jersey and currently lives in sunny Florida with his wife. Armand is not only a hybrid author with more than 150 stories, and numerous books published both via traditional publishers and via indie-publishing methods, but he is also a podcaster and the co-owner of the Project Entertainment Network. This episode's tongue twister, sponsored by Findaway Voices comes from Edward, who sent the short quick tongue twister "Eddie edited it" which Mark is to say 5 times really fast in a cartoonish character voice. Mark then thanks Patreon patrons who support the show and reminds users they can support the show via Patreon or by simply sharing the show with a friend or leaving a review. In their chat, Mark and Armand talk about: How Armand prioritizes his time with all of the various tasks on his plate, and the important support from his wife who helps keep him on track The opportunities that allowed him to leave his job 7 years ago to begin writing full time The fear that continues to drive his writing to this day The difference between creative writing on his own (as an admitted pantser) and adapting a screenplay into a novelization The "what if" that drives most of Armand's writing, including looking at a group of people on the beach and imagining what if zombies started to appear coming out of the surf How Armand was able to adapt his "pantser" habit when collaborating with another writer who was a "plotter" The combination of working with traditional publishers and self=publishing that allows Armand to embrace the best of both worlds How the desire to write a single zombie novel just to "get it out of his system" turned into "The Dying Days" series of nine books that are among his top-selling books The radio DJ work that Armand used to do which led to a couple of podcasts that he is host/co-host of The "Mando Method" of writing that Armand practices (named after him), in which he writes for the first 15 minutes of every hour, and then has the remaining 45 minutes of that hour to play, check emails, do whatever. Doing this 3 or 4 times a day gets him 2,000 or 3,000 words written per day Project Entertainment Network, which Armand and his wife owns (see links below for the great podcast lineup from this Network) The amazingly supportive community that surrounds the "Scares that Care" convention held in Williamsburg, Virginia in August The Beers N Fears Brewery Tour that Armand started and how it has worked as it has grown over the past three years The "Any Book for $10 or 3 books for $20" model they use for simplicity on the Beers N Fears tour; with a reminder that it's not about how much profit they can make off each book sale, bur rather more about reaching new readers The "Belford Stories" series set in the town that he grew up in that Armand has written about and how the series has been popular with the local community How Armand uses his Patreon page to connect with and provide unique, early and exclusive content for his reader community Common advice that Armand offers to authors regarding a common "how much do you need to earn to consider writing full time" question Links of interest Armand's website The Mando Method Podcast Arm Cast Podcast Project Entertainment Network Three Guys With Beards The Horror Show with Brian Keene Lunch Ladies Book Club Beers N Fears Book Tour Links Tim Meyer Blog Chuck Buda Blog Findaway Voices Mark's Nocturnal Screams Series (First in Series FREE Promo Test) Kindle Kobo

In this solo episode, Mark shares 10 Ways of Thinking Outside the Ad: Book Marketing ideas that appeal to your target audience. Prior to the main content, Mark gives a bit of an update on how his Kobo Writing Life FREE first book in series is going two weeks out. Then he does the Tongue Twister, suggested by his friend Pete, and sponsored by Findaway Voices. In brief summary, here are the 10 Ways of Thinking Outside the AD that Mark shares: 1) FOOD & DRINK & BOOKS Mark shares a few thoughts about Julie Strauss with her "Chef in Love" romance books - in particular the amazing Prosecco Heart novel and how that could so brilliantly be tied in to delightful pairings. Food and drink and reading. This would be the ideal book to give to a wine lover and romance reader. Or maybe package a CD, a book and a bottle of wine with it - it wouldn't have to be a Prosecco although that does nicely tie-in with the title, placed on an author table as a suggestion for how it could be part of an excellent creative gift package. 2) ATTENTION MARKETING PROMO INFO & SWAG Mark talks about a few examples from The Jewels of Historical Romance - and how they sent the chocolates to the retailers. Puts them above and beyond. Chris Mandeville - and her book Seeds - brilliant idea Deborah Cooke's Book Charms Glynnis Campbell's Bookish Swag - Lords with Swords letter opener 3) ATTENTION MARKETING PACKAGING Based on a few packages mailed to Mark when he was at Kobo from Publishers Group Canada, Mark shares how the inventive packaging for the following books created a memorable and sharable entity: Peter James LOVE YOU DEAD Anne Cleaves COLD EARTH 4) UNIQUE & BOOK-SPECIFIC SWAG How Madison Avery created an enscribed penny based on the "Penny for your thoughts" story from her erotic romance collection CAPTURING THE MUSE (all the stories involve female writers and erotic entanglements with her muse, who often takes the form of a sexy man) Mark's own idea for using t-shirts to advertise local bookstores and libraries where he had scheduled book events that included an "I love to haunt [LOCATION] motif advertising the bookstore 5) PROPS Mark talks about his his of the full life skeleton Barnaby as a prop that he uses as a way to draw in the ideal target readers for his books (as well as to keep away those who are not interested in the macabre), as well as the way that a visual prop specifically related to the book content, can be an easily identifiable differentiator 6) HIGHWAY BILLBOARDS Though it's not an easy or common thing to do, Mark has witnessed how effective a series of highway billboard ads can be. He shares the huge success that author Brian Horeck saw with his books Minnow Trap and Frozen Beneath. This is a demonstration of strategic marketing to a target audience (Northern Ontario readers) and aggressive and intelligent salesmanship to ensure the book was available at various non-traditional stores on that northern highway. 7) VEHICLE ADVERTISEMENTS Similar to highway signs is the concept of advertising using your own vehicle. Mark was inspired by T S Paul and his car wrap concept. Mark invested in a much more cost-effective car magnet purchase for his own vehicle. Since Mark's skeleton Barnaby is already sitting in the car all the time, why not put something on the side of the car that explains why the skeleton is there? 8) COMIC CONS Mark took advantage of a specific target audience to start buying tables to sell print books (which still represent 70 to 80% of the book industry overall market) to the core group of fans most likely to enjoy his books. He also talks a bit about Armand Rosamilia and the Beers N Fears Tour and how this unique merger of local interest with craft beer worked extremely well. 9) LOCATION BASED APPS & SHARING Mark talks about sharing content and quotes from his books on Foursquare (Swarm) as well as using apps like Squirl to introduce locations from where books are set. Mark also shares the Spirits Untapped Google map that he and Liz created and as well as the Macabre Montreal map as a no cost (except for time) way of increasing SEO for content based on locations from books. 10) LIVE VIDEOS & SMALL FISH Mark shares his experiences experimenting with live videos via his #FreeFridayFrights. He shares a bit about the explosion that happened with a video he recorded just this past Friday while up in my home town of Levack Ontario His "Facebook Live" video about a ghost on Level 2650 of Levack Mine reached well over 3500 views and continues to get re-shared. Compared with the standard dozen to two dozen views most of his videos have received, this is a blockbuster. It speaks to something Mark learned from his friend Robert J. Sawyer years ago - and that is the importance of defining yourself as a big fish in a small pool. Mark shares how that "big fish in small pool" has elevated sales of one particular book.

Mark interviews Laura and Daniel Martone, former residents of New Orleans who now travel the country in their mobile writing studio, a cozy RV dubbed Serenity. Together they write urban fantasy, post-apocalyptic, time travel, epic fantasy, and space opera novels. Prior to the interview, Mark shares an update on the recent FREE promotion that he paid for via the Kobo Writing Life PROMOTIONS tab. We also talks about the importance for authors to listen, learn and then to adapt what they are seeing, hearing and learning into strategies and tactics that work best for them and their own unique goals and publishing plans. Then he launches the Tongue Twister segment, which is sponsored by Findaway Voices. You can learn more about Findaway Voices at www.starkreflections.ca/findaway. In the interview, Mark talks with Daniel and Laura about: The way they met via the world of films and film festivals The experience of having a horror screenplay altered to the tune of a director's completely different interpretation of their script The storytelling aspect of creating virtual audio ghost tours The incredible patience involved in working on building a product line and listening and learning for more than a year before launching their first collaboratively published book series The planned-out release schedule that they struggle with sticking to for their Space Opera series and their Zombie series How they work together to split the work required in creating and writing their books What Dan calls a "Skeleton Draft" which is a hybrid between a screenplay and story beats of about 17,000 words Laura's next step of taking that draft and fleshing it out into a "well nourished" format The next step where Dan then trims and cuts the 60,000 or 70,000 word draft back down by 5,000 or so words The 9 arc structure that each book they write fulfills Intertwining their different series in a multiverse that they have created How their background in film and screenwriting has woven itself into their writing process Playing off each others skills, preferences, passions and work habits for the ultimate complimentary benefit Being fans of the Supernatural TV show and Joss Whedon's Firefly and the impact that has had on their personal and creative lives Serenity, their mobile home The nature of learning and then adapting the things they have absorbed and learned into their own unique strategies How Laura was inspired by Lindsay Buroker, in particular her expressions of: "Be genuine, be generous" The lack of confidence that can result from not hitting that publish button (which can be a crippling thing for a writer – ie, just STARTING is sometimes the key, otherwise, one might never start) and the concept of learning from doing The collaboration that Laura and Daniel are doing with a larger group of authors (currently 43 writers) for a forthcoming massive project that will be releasing later this year – (Mark gets them to promise to return to the podcast to share an update on that project) The favorite bit of writing advice that resonates with each of them Where The Martones will be traveling (in Serenity) for the remainder of this year (including 20Booksto50K Vegas) After the interview, Mark reflects on a couple of things that his conversation with Laura and Daniel made him think about. One of those items was about that moment where a writer hesitates with their finger over the "publish" button and the wonder of whether or not they should go back to one more re-write, one more edit, one more re-polish before either publishing the manuscript or perhaps submitting it to an agent or editor. Links of Interest: The Martones Smarter Artist Summit Bundlerabbit Findaway Voices