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The Key Ingredient for Timeless Christian Storytelling: Morality
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The stories we ingest shape the morality we develop, but only to a point.If a story’s morality strays from reality or gets too twisted, the story fails to resonate with readers. Moral confusion is why movies and TV shows are less entertaining than they used to be.But what is morality?Why is it so important for good stories?How do you put a message into your book without being preachy?In this month’s episode, you’ll learn:Why you must carefully consider your own moral system before writing a storyHow to keep your book from being boringHow to write a story that resonates for decadesFiction can be a powerful tool to demonstrate the consequences of actions. It allows us to learn from the mistakes and triumphs of others. Listen in and discover why establishing a clear moral system is critical in writing a timeless story that conveys a memorable message. Check out the blog version of this episode here.Support the show
Publishing Industry Secrets Revealed at the Penguin Random House Trial
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These secrets of the publishing industry offer important points for all authors to consider as they choose a publishing path.Support the show
Publishing Industry Secrets Revealed at the Penguin Random House Trial
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For those outside the publishing industry, the inner workings of the industry are wrapped in mystery.How do books get published?Who decides which books to publish?How well are books selling?How much money do authors really make?In secretive industries, information is typically leaked through hacks, whistleblowers, and court cases. Cases involving big publishers rarely go to trial because big companies dislike having their secrets publicized.But when one of the largest publishers in the history of publishing was taken to court by the Department of Justice, we got a rare peek behind the scenes.Some of the best journalistic coverage of the DOJ v. PRH case came from Jane Friedman’s Hot Sheet newsletter, and in this week’s episode, I interviewed Jane Friedman about the trial and what we learned.You’ll find outThe scoop behind some astonishing and controversial statsHow publishers decide which titles are allotted a marketing budgetThe biggest challenge traditional publishers have to solve soon Listen in or check out the blog post for insight into traditional publishing secrets, challenges, and methods.Support the show
How to Write for American Readers – An Outsider’s Guide to the Different American Regional Cultures
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Did you know that one in five Novel Marketing listeners lives outside the United States?Authors living overseas view America as the land of plenty because there are so many American readers. However, foreign authors often struggle to sell their books in America. Why? These United States are made up of 11 ethno-geographic regions, each with its own culture. Your book will resonate with one region more than others, but how do you find out where it will sell?In this week’s episode, which will be our last episode of 2023, you’ll learn about the vast differences between the 11 American nations, as categorized by Colin Woodard in his book American Nations.You’ll find outWhich regions are underserved by authors and publishersWhich regions require nearly flawless writingWhich regions will resonate with the themes and characters in your book Knowing how Americans are different from each other culturally can help you craft more interesting and believable American characters. It is also key to crafting marketing messages that resonate with American buyers.The key to writing for American readers is to know which readers you are trying to reach. If you aim between two targets, you will miss them both. Listen in so you can target readers from the region where your book will resonate most. Read more in the blog post version of this episode.Support the show
How to Write for American Readers – An Outsider’s Guide to the Different American Regional Cultures
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Did you know that one in five Novel Marketing listeners lives outside the United States?Authors living overseas view America as the land of plenty because there are so many American readers. However, foreign authors often struggle to sell their books in America. Why? These United States are made up of 11 ethno-geographic regions, each with its own culture. Your book will resonate with one region more than others, but how do you find out where it will sell?In this week’s episode, which will be our last episode of 2023, you’ll learn about the vast differences between the 11 American nations, as categorized by Colin Woodard in his book American Nations.You’ll find outWhich regions are underserved by authors and publishersWhich regions require nearly flawless writingWhich regions will resonate with the themes and characters in your book Knowing how Americans are different from each other culturally can help you craft more interesting and believable American characters. It is also key to crafting marketing messages that resonate with American buyers.The key to writing for American readers is to know which readers you are trying to reach. If you aim between two targets, you will miss them both. Listen in so you can target readers from the region where your book will resonate most. Read more in the blog post version of this episode.Support the show
How to Prepare for Success as a New Author
How to Prepare for Success as a New Author
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God often calls authors into periods of waiting. Learn how to improve your writing and your chances of success by making the most of the wait.https://www.christianpublishingshow.com/how-to-prepare-for-success-as-a-new-author-with-laura-richmond/Support the show
Five Plugins Every Author Website Needs in 2024
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Most authors build their websites on WordPress, partly because of its powerful and enormous plugin repository. A plugin is like an app for your website. Each of WordPress’s nearly 60,000 plugins can add specific functionality to your website. But how do you know which ones you need and which to avoid?In this week’s episode, you’ll learnThree categories of WordPress pluginsHow to tell if a free plugin is good (or not!)Which plugins your author website needsWhich plugins you should avoidIf you’ve been overwhelmed by the number of plugins available or haven’t yet added any to your website, listen in to find out where to start and which ones you need. Read more at the blog version of this episode.Support the show
Five Plugins Every Author Website Needs in 2024
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Most authors build their websites on WordPress, partly because of its powerful and enormous plugin repository. A plugin is like an app for your website. Each of WordPress’s nearly 60,000 plugins can add specific functionality to your website. But how do you know which ones you need and which to avoid?In this week’s episode, you’ll learnThree categories of WordPress pluginsHow to tell if a free plugin is good (or not!)Which plugins your author website needsWhich plugins you should avoidIf you’ve been overwhelmed by the number of plugins available or haven’t yet added any to your website, listen in to find out where to start and which ones you need. Read more at the blog version of this episode.Support the show
How to Publish Your Book as an Audiobook With Scott Sigler
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For the last 11 years, audiobooks have seen
How to Publish Your Book as an Audiobook With Scott Sigler
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For the last 11 years, audiobooks have seen
Time Saving Tools for Authors
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When I was in college, I experimented with cooking Asian food, but my stovetop-cooked rice never tasted very good. Then, one of my Asian friends introduced me to the right tool for the job: a rice cooker. Its only function was to perfectly cook rice, and it worked every time.While I never got good at cooking Asian food, I always had great rice because I had the right tool for the job.When we’re cooking up books, many of us waste time doing things the hard way because we don’t have the right tools for the job. But it’s hard to find the right tool if you don’t know it exists.In this week’s episode, I am the guest! Derek Doepker interviewed me about tools that make writing and marketing easier. The interview first aired on the Bestseller Secrets Summit, and Derek kindly agreed to let me share a portion of that interview on Novel Marketing.You’ll discoverTwo tools every author must haveA tool that saved me 106 hours (and can save you hours, too!)Tools to reduce your password-security stressAnd more! If you’re losing time or simply want to fine-tune your writing systems, listen in or read the blog version about these time-saving tools for authors.Support the show
Time Saving Tools for Authors
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When I was in college, I experimented with cooking Asian food, but my stovetop-cooked rice never tasted very good. Then, one of my Asian friends introduced me to the right tool for the job: a rice cooker. Its only function was to perfectly cook rice, and it worked every time.While I never got good at cooking Asian food, I always had great rice because I had the right tool for the job.When we’re cooking up books, many of us waste time doing things the hard way because we don’t have the right tools for the job. But it’s hard to find the right tool if you don’t know it exists.In this week’s episode, I am the guest! Derek Doepker interviewed me about tools that make writing and marketing easier. The interview first aired on the Bestseller Secrets Summit, and Derek kindly agreed to let me share a portion of that interview on Novel Marketing.You’ll discoverTwo tools every author must haveA tool that saved me 106 hours (and can save you hours, too!)Tools to reduce your password-security stressAnd more! If you’re losing time or simply want to fine-tune your writing systems, listen in or read the blog version about these time-saving tools for authors.Support the show
How to Successfully Self Publish Your Book in 2023 with James Blatch
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Learn the seven critical steps to successfully self-publish your book, and find out how to excel at each step of the process.Support the show
How to Successfully Self Publish Your Book in 2023 with James Blatch
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So you’re thinking about self-publishing a book.You’ve heard self-published authors can make more money, control the content and design, and have better access to marketing data.But self-publishing a book can be daunting. There are so many factors involved: writing, editing, formatting, finding a cover designer, uploading to Amazon, setting up a sales page, and promoting your book.Self-publishing, also known as indie publishing, is not for the faint of heart.But sometimes the overwhelm comes from not understanding how the process works.In this week’s episode, we remove some of the overwhelm by talking with James Blatch, who has been helping authors self-publish for years.You’ll learnWhich tasks you need to focus on at the beginning of your careerWhich tasks you must learn laterWhich task you need to begin long before you publishHow to get your book on Amazon without paying someone else thousands of dollars Listen in and learn the seven critical steps to successfully self-publishing your book, and find out how to excel at each step of the process. Read the blog version here.Support the show
From Podcast to Bestselling Book: How to Use Audio to Refine Your Book’s Message with Asheritah Ciuciu
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If you don’t test your book ideas, you may write a book no one wants to buy. Learn how a podcast can help you test your ideas so you can write a commercially viable book.Support the show
From Podcast to Bestselling Book: How to Use Audio to Refine Your Book’s Message with Asheritah Ciuciu
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If you don’t test your book ideas, you may write a book no one wants to buy. Learn how a podcast can help you test your ideas so you can write a commercially viable book.Support the show
Black Friday Promo Tips for Authors
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Black Friday marketing phenomenon is an opportunity, but it’s also a threat.In this week’s episode, I share some powerful tips to supercharge your book sales!You’ll learnWhat motivates people to buy books on Black FridayWhich book promotion tactics work best on the big dayThree mistakes to avoid when running your holiday promotionWhat to do if Black Friday marketing stresses you out!Black Friday isn’t technically a holiday, but you can still maximize your book sales while readers are in the buying mood. Click here to read the blog version.Support the show
Black Friday Promo Tips for Authors
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Black Friday marketing phenomenon is an opportunity, but it’s also a threat.In this week’s episode, I share some powerful tips to supercharge your book sales!You’ll learnWhat motivates people to buy books on Black FridayWhich book promotion tactics work best on the big dayThree mistakes to avoid when running your holiday promotionWhat to do if Black Friday marketing stresses you out!Black Friday isn’t technically a holiday, but you can still maximize your book sales while readers are in the buying mood. Click here to read the blog version.Support the show
How to Protect Your Writing From Reputation Theft
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There is a new scam targeting authors.An enterprising scammer can use AI to write a book similar to your writing style. They can use an AI-generated cover similar to yours, and publish the book with a pen name that also happens to be yours.Sometimes, Amazon even puts this fraudulent book in your Author Central account so customers see the AI book you didn’t write listed with the books you did write.The crazy thing about this attack is that it might not be illegal.It is such a new type of attack that there is no name for it yet. But in this week’s episode, I will call it “reputation theft.” Reputation theft is where someone you don’t know uses your name and style to sell their own books.How do you protect yourself from reputation theft?How do you navigate the many legal dilemmas authors face in this age of AI-assisted writing?I invited literary lawyer Lloyd Jassin to guide us through this legal forest. He’s a publishing insider who tells us.The difference between copyright and trademarkWhich tool is best for protecting your name and workWhat you can do if you’ve been attacked by “reputation theft”Listen in and learn how to protect your writing from copyright infringement and which legal tools can help you deal with AI-generated fraudulent versions of your books. Read more…Support the show