Why You Need a Mailing List
In this episode, J, J.D., and Zach talk about why every author needs a mailing list and how to build one from scratch, maintain expectations, and continuously acquire new readers.
Whether you’re traditionally published or indie, writing a good book is only the first step in becoming a successful author. The days of just turning a manuscript into your editor and walking away are gone. If you want to succeed in today’s publishing world, you need to understand every aspect of the business – editing, formatting, marketing, contracts. It all starts with a good book, then the real work begins.
Join international bestselling author J.D. Barker and indie powerhouses, J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon, as they gain unique insight and valuable advice from the most prolific and accomplished authors in the business.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
- JD’s new ghost project
- Methods to build your list
- Why to set up expectations for your list
- The differences between fiction and non-fiction lists
- Why to limit CTAs when acquiring new readers
Links:
Google Play Books Announcement
Google Play Books has redesigned our promotional pricing tool, which allows publishers to change the list price of their book for a specified date range.
Publishers are no longer required to upload a spreadsheet to activate a promotional price. Instead, publishers can easily create a new campaign in their Promotions tab by selecting the promotion’s date range, titles, and prices. For a step-by-step guide to promotional pricing, visit g.co/play/promopricing.
When a publisher discounts their book on Google Play Books, the book becomes eligible for additional in-store merchandising and customer notifications. This doesn’t mean that every book will receive every promotion, but this discount significantly increases the book’s likelihood of receiving more promotion in the storefront.
These discount promotions are driven by our algorithm and can include:
Appearance in a collection highlighting discounted titles, including relevant genre collections
Targeted in-app notifications and emails to customers that have wishlisted or sampled that title
As a reminder, Google Play Books recently launched another marketing tool for publishers: promo code campaigns. Promo code campaigns can be used to offer select customers a discounted book without lowering the book’s list price. After creating a promo code campaign, publishers can easily share the deal via a link to the Play Store, where customers can redeem the discounted book offer.
Both promotional pricing and promo code campaigns can be used to offer discounts to customers in 75+ countries. To get started, publishers can visit the Partner Center and go to the Promotions tab.
Tell J.D. your ghost story – https://jdbarker.com/haunted/
J. D. Barker – http://jdbarker.com/
J. Thorn – https://theauthorlife.com/
Zach Bohannon – https://zachbohannon.com/
Story Rubric – http://storyrubric.com
Nonfict Rubric – http://nonficrubric.com
The Career Author Summit 2021 – https://thecareerauthor.com/summit2021/
Proudly sponsored by Kobo Writing Life – https://kobowritinglife.com/
Music by Nicorus – https://cctrax.com/nicorus/dust-to-dust-ep
Voice Over by Rick Ganley – http://www.nhpr.com and recorded at Mill Pond Studio – http://www.millpondstudio.com
Contact – https://writersinkpodcast.com/dev/contact/
*Full disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links.
Keeping Bram Stoker Alive with Dacre Stoker
Dacre Stoker is committed to keeping his great great-uncle’s work alive and relevant. By writing Dracul, a prequel to Dracula, with JD, reproducing Bram’s first-edition classics, and adapting his little-known short stories into graphic novels, he has expanded the Bram Stoker universe to a generation of new readers by retelling old stories in a new and exciting way. Dacre is an international bestselling author who is well known for works like Dracula the Un-Dead and The Lost Journal of Bram Stoker and for offering extensive Transylvania tours that help uncover the real geography referenced in Bram’s writing. To learn more about Dacre’s work, visit the links below.
From DacreStoker.com:
Dacre Stoker is the great grand-nephew of Bram Stoker and the international best-selling co-author of Dracula the Un-Dead (Dutton, 2009), the official Stoker family endorsed sequel to Dracula. Dacre is also the co-editor (with Elizabeth Miller) of The Lost Journal of Bram Stoker: The Dublin Years (Robson Press, 2012). His latest novel, Dracul, a prequel to Dracula, released in October 2018 co-authored with JD Barker, has been sold to Putnam in North America, Penguin Random House in the UK, and additional publishers in France, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Brazil, Serbia, Taiwan, Turkey, Vietnam, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Portugal, and Poland with film rights purchased by Paramount Studios.
Whether you’re traditionally published or indie, writing a good book is only the first step in becoming a successful author. The days of just turning a manuscript into your editor and walking away are gone. If you want to succeed in today’s publishing world, you need to understand every aspect of the business – editing, formatting, marketing, contracts. It all starts with a good book, then the real work begins.
Join international bestselling author J.D. Barker and indie powerhouses, Jim Thorn and Zach Bohannon, as they gain unique insight and valuable advice from the most prolific and accomplished authors in the business.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
- Dacre’s experience writing with JD
- How to co-write when you don’t share a writing process
- The importance of real or believable geography
- How to blend the real world with the supernatural
- Why you should explore alternate storytelling opportunities
Links:
J. D. Barker – http://jdbarker.com/
J. Thorn – https://theauthorlife.com/
Zach Bohannon – https://zachbohannon.com/
Dacre Stoker – http://dacrestoker.com/
Dracul – https://mybook.to/Dracul
Back Dacre’s Reproduction Project – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/geminiartifacts/first-editions-dracula/faqs
Story Rubric – http://storyrubric.com
Nonfict Rubric – http://nonficrubric.com
The Career Author Summit 2021 – https://thecareerauthor.com/summit2021/
Proudly sponsored by Kobo Writing Life – https://kobowritinglife.com/
Music by Nicorus – https://cctrax.com/nicorus/dust-to-dust-ep
Voice Over by Rick Ganley – http://www.nhpr.com and recorded at Mill Pond Studio – http://www.millpondstudio.com
Contact – https://writersinkpodcast.com/dev/contact/
*Full disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links.
Writing an Extended Series with C.J. Box
With twenty-one Joe Pickett books under his belt, New York Times bestseller C.J. Box knows how to write an extended series. By maintaining previous worlds and characters that fans love, creating new and innovative storylines, and gaining exposure through advertisements and book tours, he keeps readers coming back for every book. C.J. is the #1 bestseller of more than thirty novels, including two wildly successful series, Joe Pickett and Cassie Dewell, the latter of which was adapted into “Big Sky” by David E. Kelley. To order his most recent publication, Dark Sky, follow the link below.
From Amazon.com:
C. J. Box is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over twenty-two novels including the Joe Pickett series. He won the Edgar Alan Poe Award for Best Novel (Blue Heaven, 2009) as well as the Anthony Award, Prix Calibre 38 (France), the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, the Barry Award (twice), the Western Heritage Award for Literature, and 2017 Spur Award for Best Contemporary Western. The novels have been translated into 27 languages. Open Season, Blue Heaven, Nowhere To Run, and The Highway have been optioned for film and television. Millions of copies of his novels have been sold in the U.S. alone.
Whether you’re traditionally published or indie, writing a good book is only the first step in becoming a successful author. The days of just turning a manuscript into your editor and walking away are gone. If you want to succeed in today’s publishing world, you need to understand every aspect of the business – editing, formatting, marketing, contracts. It all starts with a good book, then the real work begins.
Join international bestselling author J.D. Barker and indie powerhouses, J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon, as they gain unique insight and valuable advice from the most prolific and accomplished authors in the business.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
- What to do if you’re stuck in rural Wyoming
- What not to post on social media
- The pros and cons of writing a series vs. a standalone
- The importance of background research
- Why you shouldn’t write for TV/film
- What Stephen King said about “Big Sky”
Links:
J. D. Barker – http://jdbarker.com/
J. Thorn – https://theauthorlife.com/
Zach Bohannon – https://zachbohannon.com/
C.J. Box – https://www.cjbox.net/
Dark Sky – https://mybook.to/DarkSky
“Big Sky” – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11794642/
Story Rubric – http://storyrubric.com
Nonfict Rubric – http://nonficrubric.com
The Career Author Summit 2021 – https://thecareerauthor.com/summit2021/
Proudly sponsored by Kobo Writing Life – https://kobowritinglife.com/
Music by Nicorus – https://cctrax.com/nicorus/dust-to-dust-ep
Voice Over by Rick Ganley – http://www.nhpr.com and recorded at Mill Pond Studio – http://www.millpondstudio.com
Contact – https://writersinkpodcast.com/dev/contact/
*Full disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links.
From Book to Screen with Jean Hanff Korelitz
Jean Hanff Korelitz knows how to take a story from book to screen. By both working closely with producers but also understanding that adapted stories will be inherently different, she has learned to give up a level of creative control in order to create a show or film that is just as good as the book. Jean has published six novels since she entered the industry in 1996, two of which garnered considerable attention from screenwriters: Admission (2009) was adapted for a film starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd and You Should Have Known (2014) was adapted for a limited series on HBO by David E. Kelley. She even personally adapted James Joyce’s The Dead, 1904 into a theatrical production. Her most recent novel, The Plot, is available for preorder now.
From Amazon.com:
Jean Hanff Korelitz is the author of the novels YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN (adapted for HBO as “The Undoing” by David E. Kelley, and starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland), ADMISSION (adapted as the 2013 film starring Tina Fey), THE DEVIL AND WEBSTER, THE WHITE ROSE, THE SABBATHDAY RIVER and A JURY OF HER PEERS. A new novel, THE PLOT, will be published on May 11th 2021. Her company BOOKTHEWRITER hosts “Pop-Up Book Groups” in NYC, where small groups of readers can discuss new books with their authors. www.bookthewriter.com
Whether you’re traditionally published or indie, writing a good book is only the first step in becoming a successful author. The days of just turning a manuscript into your editor and walking away are gone. If you want to succeed in today’s publishing world, you need to understand every aspect of the business – editing, formatting, marketing, contracts. It all starts with a good book, then the real work begins.
Join international bestselling author J.D. Barker and indie powerhouses, J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon, as they gain unique insight and valuable advice from the most prolific and accomplished authors in the business.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
- The worst film Jean has ever seen
- How she grew comfortable with film adaptations
- The risks of adapting your own work
- Why writers are “never safe”
- Marketing techniques for new books
- Why the pandemic has been a good time for publishing
Links:
J. D. Barker – http://jdbarker.com/
J. Thorn – https://theauthorlife.com/
Zach Bohannon – https://zachbohannon.com/
Jean Hanff Korelitz – https://www.jeanhanffkorelitz.com/
Admission – https://mybook.to/Admission
The Plot – https://mybook.to/ThePlotBook
Story Rubric – http://storyrubric.com
Nonfict Rubric – http://nonficrubric.com
The Career Author Summit 2021 – https://thecareerauthor.com/summit2021/
Proudly sponsored by Kobo Writing Life – https://kobowritinglife.com/
Music by Nicorus – https://cctrax.com/nicorus/dust-to-dust-ep
Voice Over by Rick Ganley – http://www.nhpr.com and recorded at Mill Pond Studio – http://www.millpondstudio.com
Contact – https://writersinkpodcast.com/dev/contact/
*Full disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links.
Thinking Beyond Books
In this episode, J, J.D., and Zach discuss the advantages of using different mediums, such as TV, film, video games, and comics, to tell stories and how authors should approach these different modes of storytelling.
Whether you’re traditionally published or indie, writing a good book is only the first step in becoming a successful author. The days of just turning a manuscript into your editor and walking away are gone. If you want to succeed in today’s publishing world, you need to understand every aspect of the business – editing, formatting, marketing, contracts. It all starts with a good book, then the real work begins.
Join international bestselling author J.D. Barker and indie powerhouses, J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon, as they gain unique insight and valuable advice from the most prolific and accomplished authors in the business.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
- Why J.D. needs a heated driveway
- How to avoid tunnel visioning a final product
- Advice for writing budget-friendly stories
- If authors should focus on screenwriting
- Why streaming services are looking for original content
- Why video games are the new storytelling frontier
Links:
J. D. Barker – http://jdbarker.com/
J. Thorn – https://theauthorlife.com/
Zach Bohannon – https://zachbohannon.com/
Story Rubric – http://storyrubric.com
Nonfict Rubric – http://nonficrubric.com
Proudly sponsored by Kobo Writing Life – https://kobowritinglife.com/
Music by Nicorus – https://cctrax.com/nicorus/dust-to-dust-ep
Voice Over by Rick Ganley – http://www.nhpr.com and recorded at Mill Pond Studio – http://www.millpondstudio.com
Contact – https://writersinkpodcast.com/dev/contact/
*Full disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links.