Self-publishing Answers

Outsourcing. What is it? Basically, getting someone else to do work for you. What kind of work? That's the question. In this episode, Kevin and I chat about outsourcing as an author, what we outsource, what we want to outsource, and, of course, tangents.

Merry Christmas episode! Today Kevin and I talk about these "Must-Haves" for writers. For you or the writer in your life, these tools and toys are just what you want to see under the tree!

Voicemails! Two today.

This week, Kevin and I chat about goals: how to set them, how "granular" they need to be, and why they're important to us as writers/entrepreneurs. Also, we chat about the difference between "dreams" and "goals," and why I think they're crucial to my long-term success plan.

Kevin and Jonny steal the airwaves from me (Nick) today, since I was held up with frozen pipes. Kevin and Jonny do an interview-style episode.

We're talking today about the second type of "systems" in an author business: the business side of things, including marketing and growing a mailing list. We started to get into a few things and quickly realized that this topic is WAY bigger than we initially thought. For that reason, we decided to end it by inviting you to call our voicemail line and ask a more specific question: 978-48-ASK-ME. Scrivener - Mac Scrivener - Windows The Lucid - Episode One (now live!) The Wake-Up Call: What It Means to Be A Self-Published Writer How to use Twitter Ask us a question: 978-48-ASK-ME. We'll air it on the show! Also, leave a review on iTunes!

In this episode on systems, Kevin and I discuss "systems" we use for writing fiction. We'll get into systems for the business side of things in a later episode, but in today's, here's what we discuss: NaNoWriMo Scrivener Learn Scrivener Fast Writing 10k Words A Day Nick's 3 Hacks for Writing A Whole Bunch-A-Lot: Plan! Leave on a cliffhanger Set a writing schedule Don't forget to rate the show on iTunes!

(I know it's not Friday, so I'm sorry for getting this posted late!) Today on the show, Kevin and I briefly talk through our current projects, including The Lucid: Season One, Sawyer Jackson: Book 2, and life while trying to write four books a month (me!). Kevin mentions the Author Earnings website, and why it's imperative as a self-published author to be reading these updates. Finally, we jump into an article that took me forever to find (had to remember where it was!) about routine, then finished with some shout-outs to some services we're currently using (ACX and Babelcube). Show notes: Author Earnings side-by-side comparison The Lucid - Season 1, Episode 1 Sawyer Jackson, Book 2 Woody Allen on routine Babelcube ACX - Mike Vendetti Like the show? Give us a call at 978-48-ASK-ME, or email nick@tumlinsonthacker.com. Leave a review on iTunes!

Happy Halloween! On the show today we talked about the thing we've talked about talking about for the last two times we've talked (still following?): Focus and Productivity for Writers Focus and productivity for writers means anything that helps us, as writers, focus and stay productive. It means doing things that improve focus and increase productivity.  Show notes: Self-Publishing Podcast Jon Morrow Things CoSchedule 279 Days to Overnight Success Asana Hey, if you have a sec, would mind rating us on iTunes?

Talking today about "accidental success," "luck," and other feelings we've been having as of late, especially momentum. What is it? How do you "get" it? Show notes: The Lucid - Almost done! Check it out here, and pre-order here. The Enigma Strain - Also almost done (in editing). Check it out and pre-order here. NaNoWriMo - National Write A Novel Month, kicking off very soon! The Productive Writer: 2015 Productivity Planner - Coming soon (sign up for emails to stay up-to-date and get first access!) WriteHacked.com - New website design/features! Soft launch with new pants... Sawyer Jackson & Citadel (Omnibus) - Kevin's books KevinTumlinson.com Washington Post article: "Popular on Amazon: Wildly misleading self-published books about Ebola, by random people without medical degrees"

Kevin Tumlinson returns! In this week's episode of the Self-Publishing Answers podcast, Kevin Tumlinson and I chat about the same sort of stuff we chatted about last week... self-publishing, books, and random tangents. Don't miss out!

Kevin Tumlinson: In the House! Starting TODAY, please welcome to the show THE Kevin Tumlinson, author and marketer extraordinaire! He's written a handful of fantastic books, all of which can be found at his website, Kevin Tumlinson, and he's also been co-writing a series with me called The Lucid. (The Lucid is about a man who's being chased by baddies because they need something from him. He realizes they've put something in the water supply, and he needs to figure out what it is. It's available for pre-order on Amazon). Today's episode is more of a "fireside chat" with Kevin Tumlinson, without the fire. And without being next to one another (he's in Texas, and I'm in Colorado). We discuss an article Kevin found called 5 Reasons Why Your Self-Published Book Isn't Selling, written by Crystal Ponti. Aside from that, we sort of just... go off on tangents, which we think (*we hope*) is funny and somewhat entertaining. Also, I'm in a coffee shop, which is why you'll hear a bunch of noise in the background. I had i

Roz Morris: Author, Editor, Speaker, Coach Another Friday means another podcast... and this one's AWESOME as well. Seriously, if you've never heard of Roz Morris, go check out her stuff right now. She's a fantastic writer, editor, and professional ghostwriter (no, that doesn't mean she writes stories about ghosts). She's written or ghostwritten so many books that she's had over 1 million readers! Seriously: her average sales per book were 500,000 copies! Check out more on her homepage. In addition to writing, she teaches creative writing masterclasses for The Guardian in London. Check out more about Roz Morris on her Amazon.com page as well. In this interview we chat about ghostwriting as a business model, publishing, and some of the finer points of writing craft. Take a listen!

Well, it's a great day in the life of a podcaster when you get to interview Joanna Penn of TheCreativePenn.com. So today's a great day. Yep, we've got Joanna Penn, full-time indie author and self-publishing expert. I don't use that term lightly, either. Joanna knows her stuff. Enjoy this one, and keep it handy -- you'll want to take notes on what she has to say! Show notes:  I ask about Joanna's history -- how did she get to where she was? Who was she before she was a super-duper famous author? How did her early career experience prepare her for this indie lifestyle? Joanna and I talk about running an author blog, separate from a "nonfiction" or self-publishing blog. It's something I've considered for quite some time, and she ended up talking me into setting up my own (see the link mentioned below). Also, we discuss the concept of running a "media empire," or basically an "author business." What does it mean to be an entrepreneur and author, and how do you keep it all organized? When should you make the switc

Dan Blank is the founder of WeGrowMedia.com, where he consults and helps authors do their thing better. Today we talk about what it is they do, how he does it, and what it means for you! Show Notes:  WeGrowMedia.com http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/10/03/111003fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=all http://wegrowmedia.com/how-i-am-trying-to-create-a-book-giveaway-filled-with-enthusiasm-fun-instead-of-spammy-self-promotion/ http://wegrowmedia.com/bittersweet/ http://wegrowmedia.com/publishing-is-a-team-sport-with-a-singular-black-hole-in-the-middle/

In today's episode, I interview Denise Wakeman of DeniseWakeman.com and TheFutureofInk.com. I highly recommend you check out her websites! She's a fantastic marketer and expert on teaching self-promotion, which is a crucial skill for artists and authors.

Have you ever been depressed? I've been there. It wasn't anything too life-threatening, nor was it chronic, but it was a form of mild depression, caused by work stress, the feeling of never-ending boredom, and that I'd reached a dead-end with my job. At the time, I was working a 9-t0-5 at a marketing company that was going nowhere fast. It was a ruthless, sales-focused environment, run by people who cared more about the bottom line than the people they worked with. It was all I could do to keep showing up to work each day...

...Or create more art. Or whatever is you do, do more of it. That's really the "secret" to building a successful, sustainable online platform. Mentions in this episode: Downcast - Best podcasting app I've used (iOs and Mac) MichaelHyatt.com Michael Hyatt's Ideal Week - Explanation Michael Hyatt's Ideal Week - Spreadsheet Leave a review on iTunes and let us know what you think of this show!

When you market your book, think about this first: what works on you? Don't do things that don't work... do things that do work. It's not a difficult concept, but it can still be a little confusing to try to wade through all of the "proven" marketing strategies that are out there. In this episode we look at ways to determine what "works" for you, and I answer a reader question about online bookstores and which is right (or wrong) for her book. Don't forget to write an iTunes review!

Today's post continues the "5 Principles of Self-Publishing" discussion with #3: Always Add Value. Also, I answer a question about the marketing "silver bullet." (Hint: it doesn't exist...) As mentioned in the show, here are the links to the 10 (really 11) books I talked about: The 4-Hour Workweek - Tim Ferriss $100 Startup - Chris Guillebeau Techniques of the Selling Writer - Dwight Swain Plot & Structure - James Scott Bell Story - Robert McKee How to Market A Book - Joanna Penn Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World - Michael Hyatt Let's Get Digital/Let's Get Visible - David Gaughran Your First 1,000 Copies - Tim Grahl Welcome Home - Nick Thacker Also, I mentioned that I'm re-releasing Welcome Home: The Author's Guide to Building A Marketing Home Base sometime later this year (hopefully), and that I hired a freelance designer to do it for me. There's a cool story there, but I'll just make you wait ;-) Rest assured, I'll be posting about that release and my process here pretty soon! Well, what do you think?