"Write. Publish. Repeat" Conversations

The landscape isn't what it used to be. Shifts in discoverability have changed the way readers find books and authors, how smart authors can (and sometimes should) approach categorization and genre, and more. This video explains how to make the most of it.

There's good news and bad news about the e-book, self-publishing age. In this lecture, we discuss what we've found to be true, and how you can position yourself to approach those truths.

There's a lot (A LOT) of misinformation and myth out there about self-publishing -- in terms of what readers believe, what's pro and what's non-pro, and when you should look to self-publishing vs. traditional. Believe them at your own peril.

Readers don't actually care if you're self-published, but they DO care if you're unprofessional. The truth is that most self-published authors are unprofessional (usually by accident), making the two concepts synonymous. This video explains how to be one of the rare pros.

In this lecture, we talk about what you should do BEFORE writing if you want to create pro products that readers will love, buy, and review well: outlining in the "beats" manner that keeps us productive and quick, knowing your world, and much more.

This lecture continues where the last left off, all about creating pro products BEFORE you actually start creating them.

In this one we talk about how to stay on task while writing and producing, creating quality work quickly, efficiently, and while having fun.

Think you're done once you've written "The End"? Nope, not even close. Even after doing all that hard work of writing, you can still sabotage yourself with bad post-production. We talk here about how to do it well.

Before you hit "publish," there's a few things you should absolutely, positively pay attention to if you don't want to look like a sloppy amateur. Here's our checklist. (Video 1 of 2)

Before you hit "publish," there's a few things you should absolutely, positively pay attention to if you don't want to look like a sloppy amateur. Here's our checklist. (Video 2 of 2)

Having a loyal troop of readers and followers and supporters -- a "tribe" -- can greatly accelerate and increase the effectiveness (and sales) of everything you do, every book you publish. This lecture explains how to gather them.

In order to gather a tribe, you need a place from which to speak to them and potential new members. That place is your "platform," and it takes many forms. Here's how to build it. (Video 1 of 2)

In order to gather a tribe, you need a place from which to speak to them and potential new members. That place is your "platform," and it takes many forms. Here's how to build it. (Video 2 of 2)

Creating smart "marketing funnels" is THE SECRET SAUCE in everything a smart indie publisher does. In this lecture, we explain what funnels are, several ways to build them, and why you absolutely need your own.

If funnels are the bedrock of your publishing business's structure, email marketing is the bedrock of your marketing and sales efforts. In this lecture, we talk about how to get and use a list of people who are dying to buy what you're selling.

Reviews are the crucial social proof potential new readers will look at before they decide if your book is worth buying. We explain here how to get more good reviews and how to deal with the bad ones.

In this lecture, we list some of what we've found to be the most effective ways to market as an indie publisher beyond email (which should still be your #1 marketing tactic.)

If you've made it this far in the series, you'll know we encourage smart artists to be long-term thinkers. In this video, we explain how to make sure you're a LONG-TERM success, future-minded and always planning for a future-proof writing career.

You can't just know what to DO to succeed ... you also have to know what NOT to do, and which common mistakes to avoid. Here's how to sidestep the mistakes and have your best chances of success.

Through our podcast and our own experiences, we've seen a lot of things many indie authors worry about (copyright, privacy, others) that are really not worth your mental energy. We talk about what they are and why you may be wasting your time worrying about them.

In contrast to the previous video, the things we discuss in this one really WILL probably gain you some small amount of results ... but we explain why you should still probably ignore them because the results are outweighed by the time you spend doing them instead of more effective activities that will get you further.

When you get right down to it, there are some surprising things that truly make the difference between successful authors and ones who fail. In this video, we explain the ones we've seen.

From speaking to consulting to e-products to affiliate promotions, there are plenty of ways for smart publishers to make money beyond just book sales. We talk about them here.

Time to think about your focus and your legacy ... because if you don't decide your direction consciously, it'll happen by default. We also cover fiction vs. nonfiction here, and how we balance writing both.

For each of us, there was a "key moment" where we knew the time was right to delve into authorship more seriously. We talk about those moments here, and when we truly felt like writers instead of hobbyists.

Want to benefit from our experience and mistakes? We've found a lot of great tools and resources out there that we share in this video. Fantastic sources of ongoing, up-to-date information, the best software and systems, and so on ... we'll tell you what they are here!

This really, truly is an amazing time for writers. Will you get rich right away ... or ever? We won't and can't promise either. But we do know that your chances of success -- and at getting your words out there, at least! -- are better now than they ever, ever have been. Your time is now ... go out there and grab what's yours!