BEHIND THE SCENES DIARY
One Author shares her journey to publication.
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Episodes
BTS056, AI-Generated Images, Designing Your Own Book Cover, Declining Free eBook Downloads, and Struggling to Write Book Three
In this episode, I discussed whether you should use AI-generated images in book covers, how to work with a book cover designer and the things you need to know before you design your own book cover. But, this episode isn’t just about blog posts; I also discuss my struggles with writing and the epiphany I’ve had, which helped me make progress after chasing my tail for so long.
BTS055, My Experiment with Tempting Readers to Impulse Buy the Second Book in a Series. Did It Work?
So, I have a confession to make. Actually, I’ve been struggling to sell paid books. Sure, I can give them away for free, but paid is a different problem altogether. I’ve been struggling to sell Duplicity, the second book in my James Lalonde Amateur Sleuth Mystery Series. A few days before my forty-second birthday, I decided to embark on a book marketing experiment where I tempt readers to impulse buy the second book in a series.
BTS054, Changes to the KDP Print Pricing, New Categories in KDP, and A Solution to My Series Mistakes | May Author Diary
In the April Behind the Scenes Author Diary, I mentioned that I screwed up my amateur sleuth mystery series; well, a solution might be at hand. So, in this episode, I discuss my plans for my James Lalonde Amateur Sleuth Mystery series books three and four and a new shiny object. On top of this, I discuss a few self-publishing updates, including changes to the KDP print pricing, the new KDP categories, and selling direct with WooCommerce.
BTS053, The 100th Podcast Episode: Ask Me Anything on Writing, Revision, Editing, and Self Publishing
In the spirit of celebrating the 100th episode milestone, I’m going answer the top questions asked by my Blog Readers, YouTube Subscribers, and Podcast Listeners, and questions asked through my Ask A Question form on my website.
BTS052, I Screwed Up My Series and Reaching a New Level of Appreciation for Draft2Digital
At present, I’m struggling to sell book two in my amateur sleuth mystery series, and I’m going into detail about my experiments to get this bookselling and my issues with publishing direct to Barnes and Noble upon the advice of going wide webinar. Let’s just say that I regret leaving Draft 2 Digital. And I discuss how I’ve screwed up my amateur sleuth mystery series.
BTS051, Writing a Locked Room Mystery, Author Book Readings, and Tech Issues Galore
In this episode, discuss what I’ve been doing in February. I also share my frustrations about a tech fail and newfound thoughts on this product and delve into why I’ve changed my mind. Also, I discuss a few things I did for the podcast, plus a marketing experiment I did this month. And I share my experience writing a locked room mystery
BTS050, More Experiments with Ad Stacking
So, I decided to list Suspicion for free and promote it using various newsletter book promotion services ahead of the release of the second book in the James Lalonde series. In this episode, I will share more of my experiences with Ad stacking.
BTS049, A Year in Review and Self Publishing Products I Loved in 2022
This year, I’ve decided to start my podcast by looking back at everything I achieved in 2022. After that, I will discuss the products I loved in 2022 and will continue to use in 2023. I will also not dive too deeply into metrics like hours or word count because that’s not helpful. In fact, as a coach, I hate metrics because it doesn’t contribute anything of value, especially in the writing space. Everyone writes differently. Some people need to write slowly, think and research as they write. And if that’s you, it’s okay to write that way and slowly build your backlist. But I’ll hop off my soap box now.
An Update on My Three Act Structure Scrivener Template
In an upcoming episode of the authorpreneur podcast, I discuss how I stopped supplying my three-act structure Scrivener template to my email list and the reasons that led to the decision. As I was editing that episode, I had an idea.
BTS048, Trademarking My Podcast Name, Publishing Books, Mixed Feelings About ARC services, and Designing Covers
In this show, I’m going to come clean about why I’ve trademarking my podcast name. Honestly, this isn’t the first time I considered discussing it. The last time I chickened out. Also, I will discuss the books I published this year and my mixed feelings about using Advanced Reader Services. And I’m going to come out of the closet as a book cover designer.
BTS047, Issues with Apple Books, Cover Redesigns, and The Results of Using Advanced Reader Services like BookSirens and BookSprout | December 2021 Author Diary
In this episode, I discuss a series of frustrating issues with Apple Books. While I was struggling with Apple Books I decided to redesign the cover of the ebook, and I went on to design the paperback based upon this new design. Also, I started paying attention to the results of using advanced reader services like BookSirens and BookSprout.
BTS046, Preparing for My Book Release, Snarky Reviews and Why I No Longer Recommend Etsy to Creative Businesses | November 2021 Author Diary
In this episode, I discuss my newfound distrust of Etsy and no longer recommend them to creative businesses. Also in November, I finish preparing for my book release, and I get some snarky reviews.
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Tools I Love + Use
The following recommended tools contain affiliate links.
I’ve been using Blubrry to host the Authorpreneur Podcast since 2018.
I’ve been a proud Divi Theme user since 2015.
A great website host for WordPresss sites and Divi Theme users.
A great writing tool that I’ve been using since 2014 or possibly earlier.
A course that I use and recommend that helps you get the most out of Scrivener.