The Career Author Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Amazon Exclusivity v.s. Selling Wide Mar 08, 2018

Show notes

On today’s episode of The Career Author Podcast, Zach and J. talk about the Audible romance controversy, Facebook algorithm changes strike, and Amazon bookstores. In the main topic, the co-hosts discuss Amazon exclusivity and their strategies on being enrolled in Kindle Select versus selling on all retailers.

Special thanks to our newest Patrons: Scott Jarol, Valerie Francis, Miriam Greystone, and Michael

Get exclusive bonus content by supporting The Career Author Podcast on Patreon at www.thecareerauthor.com

News Links:

Audible Romance: A Tragic Love Story For Authors

https://the-digital-reader.com/2018/03/02/audible-promises-patch-sinking-audible-romance-payments-bonuses/

New Facebook Algorithm Closes Doors on Once Flourishing Digital Publisher

http://www.businessinsider.com/littlethings-online-publisher-shuts-down-and-blames-facebook-algorithm-2018-2?utm_content=buffer5b81a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Amazon Bookstore Goes to Mile High

https://the-digital-reader.com/2018/03/05/amazon-books-coming-denver/

Other Links:

Authors on a Train - http://www.authorsonatrain.com Sell More Books Show Summit - http://www.sellmorebooksshow.com/summit

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Unplugging, Distractions, and Living in the Moment Mar 01, 2018

Show notes

Zach is back from vacation and brings today’s topic with him as he and J. talk about unplugging and recharging. In the news, there’s a new serial subscription service.

Special thanks to our newest Patrons: Sheryl Hayes, Suzie Howe, John Connelly

Get exclusive bonus content by supporting The Career Author Podcast on Patreon at www.thecareerauthor.com

News Links:

Fantasy Author Terry Goodkind is not too good or kind to his cover artist

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/feb/26/terry-goodkind-book-cover-shroud-of-eternity?CMP=share_btn_tw&utm_content=buffer5db62&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Twitter Says Goodbye to Mass Tweets

https://the-digital-reader.com/2018/02/21/twitter-changes-rules-crack-bots-bans-mass-tweeting-duplicate-accounts/

A Subscription Service for Serials

http://deadline.com/2018/02/serial-box-e-books-audio-startup-raises-1-65-million-seed-round-1202296871/

Other Links:

Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire at The Void - https://www.thevoid.com/dimensions/starwars/secretsoftheempire/

Facebook Notifications - http://www.facebook.com/notifications

Authors on a Train - http://www.authorsonatrain.com Sell More Books Show Summit - http://www.sellmorebooksshow.com/summit

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Talking Podcasts with Luke Kondor and Daniel Willcocks of Hawk & Cleaver Feb 22, 2018

Show notes

With Zach traveling, the guys from Hawk & Cleaver were kind enough to drop by and talk about their smashing fiction podcast, The Other Stories, as well as talking about the claim by the New York Times CEO that “print is dead.”

Special thanks to our newest Patrons: Lori Drake, Michael Robertson, L.D. Fox, Rebecca Adams, Chuck Buda.

Get exclusive bonus content by supporting The Career Author Podcast on Patreon at www.thecareerauthor.com

News Links:

Google turns on the charm with publishers by focusing on subscriptions.

https://digiday.com/media/google-turns-charm-publishers-pivoting-subscriptions/

As promised, Facebook traffic to news publishers declines again, post news-feed change.

https://digiday.com/media/promised-facebook-traffic-news-publishers-declines-post-news-free-change/

New York Times CEO States Print is Dead.

https://goodereader.com/blog/digital-publishing/new-york-times-ceo-states-print-is-dead

Other Links:

www.hawkandcleaver.com

www.theotherstories.net

www.danielwillcocks.com

Authors on a Train - http://www.authorsonatrain.com

Sell More Books Show Summit - http://www.sellmorebooksshow.com/summit

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Story Grid Creator, Shawn Coyne Feb 15, 2018

Show notes

Story Grid creator, Shawn Coyne, joins J. for a special episode of The Career Author Podcast. Originally broadcast in October of 2017 on The Intronaut, J. and Zach are thrilled to give this valuable conversation a permanent home on The Career Author Podcast. Discover how to break down and analyze any story beat or scene to figure out how it was done which you can then apply to your own writing. For those intimidated by the Story Grid methodology, this episode will serve as an accessible and valuable introduction.

To watch “Floor 9.5,” read the transcript of the interview, and see the questions Shawn and J. used to deconstruct the scene, go to http://theauthorcopilot.com/floor95/

Special thanks to our newest Patrons (you’ll get a shout out on Episode 8, we promise)

Get exclusive bonus content by supporting The Career Author Podcast on Patreon at www.thecareerauthor.com

Other Links:

Authors on a Train - http://www.authorsonatrain.com

Sell More Books Show Summit - http://www.sellmorebooksshow.com/summit

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Should You Have Audiobooks? Feb 08, 2018

Show notes

On this episode of The Career Author Podcast, Zach and J. discuss Draft2Digital’s plan to tackle reader discoverability and Barnes & Nobles’s new app. In the main topic, they talk about what authors should think about when considering audiobook production.

Special thanks to our newest Patrons: Cameron Coral and Jami Albright

Get exclusive bonus content by supporting The Career Author Podcast on Patreon at www.thecareerauthor.com

News Links:

Barnes and Noble and Draft2Digital Tackle Discoverability

https://the-digital-reader.com/2018/02/02/browsery-barnes-noble-now-beta/

http://draft2digital.activehosted.com/index.php?action=social&chash=fbd7939d674997cdb4692d34de8633c4.116

Amazon is shaking up the audiobook market

http://www.thepassivevoice.com/2018/02/readers-listen-up-amazon-is-shaking-up-the-audiobook-market/

Netflix Drops A Beyonce

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/netflix-paid-paramount-more-50-million-cloverfield-paradox-1082305

Other Links:

Dark Shadows: Vampires of Ghosts of New Orleans (An Authors on a Train Anthology) - http://books2read.com/darkshadows01

Authors on a Train - http://www.authorsonatrain.com Sell More Books Show Summit - http://www.sellmorebooksshow.com/summit

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Reader Magnets Feb 01, 2018

Show notes

On this episode of The Career Author Podcast, Zach and J. discuss the announcement that Kobo and Wal-Mart have joined forces, Harper Collins releasing audiobooks on vinyl, and how to build a mailing list and provide more value with reader magnets.

Special thanks to our newest Patrons: Melissa Corbett, Eliza Peake, Lon Varnadore, Ariel Teague, Rich F. Kacy, and Jon Howard.

Get exclusive bonus content by supporting The Career Author Podcast on Patreon at www.thecareerauthor.com

News Links:

Kobo Announces Partnership with Wal-Mart - https://kobowritinglife.com/2018/01/26/kobo-announces-partnership-with-walmart/

HarperAudio Goes Retro with Vinyl Audiobook Series - https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/audio-books/article/75843-harperaudio-goes-retro-with-new-vinyl-audiobook-series.html

Other Links:

Dark Shadows: Vampires of Ghosts of New Orleans (An Authors on a Train Anthology) - http://books2read.com/darkshadows01

Authors on a Train - http://www.authorsonatrain.com

Sell More Books Show Summit - http://www.sellmorebooksshow.com/summit

Reader Magnets: Build Your Author Platform and Sell More Books by Nick Stephenson - http://books2read.com/readermagnets

The Petal to the Metal Podcast - http://www.thepetaltothemetal.com The Other Stories Podcast - http://www.hawkandcleaver.com/podcasts/

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Handling Negative Reviews Jan 25, 2018

Show notes

On this episode of The Career Author Podcast, Zach and J. discuss what’s going on with Nook, then talk about the best way to handle negative customer reviews on your books.

Special thanks to all of our Patrons!

Get exclusive bonus content by supporting The Career Author Podcast on Patreon at www.thecareerauthor.com

Choose Your News Stories:

Nook becomes Noble as Nook increases royalty rate and merges brands

https://goodereader.com/blog/indie-author-news/bn-rebrands-its-selfpub-platform

YouTube Puts Away Their Wallet

https://www.polygon.com/2018/1/18/16906036/youtube-monetization-small-creators-top-creators-changes

Surprise: Google Play Jumps into Audiobooks

https://the-digital-reader.com/2018/01/23/knock-feather-google-play-now-sells-audiobooks/

Other Links:

Authors on a Train - http://www.authorsonatrain.com Sell More Books Show Summit - http://www.sellmorebooksshow.com/summit

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How To Find Your Collaborative Partner Jan 18, 2018

Show notes

On this episode of The Career Author Podcast, Zach and J. discuss the changes in Facebook’s algorithm and provide tips and advice on how to find your collaborative writing and publishing partner.

Special thanks to our new Patrons: Crystal Bryant, Jesse Daggett, Christopher Wills, Amy Draper, and Guy Alton

Get exclusive bonus content by supporting The Career Author Podcast on Patreon at www.thecareerauthor.com

Choose Your News Stories:

Facebook To Feed You Less Ads

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/12/technology/facebook-news-feed-changes.html

Kindle Unlimited Funding Passes Half-A-Cent Per Page in December

https://the-digital-reader.com/2018/01/15/kindle-unlimited-funding-pool-grew-december-2017-per-page-rate-passed-half-cent/

No More Author Services Through CreateSpace

https://www.postandcourier.com/business/amazon-laying-off-workers-at-north-charleston-self-publishing-business/article_d623bb16-f7d0-11e7-bef2-d3a151f19a96.html

Other Links:

Authors on a Train - http://www.authorsonatrain.com

The Petal to the Metal Episode 54: An Experiment From 1987 - http://thepetaltothemetal.com/ep054/

Sell More Books Show Summit - http://www.sellmorebooksshow.com/summit

Molten Universe Media (Zach and J.’s publishing company) - http://www.moltenuniversemedia.com

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Do You Need an Author Website? Jan 11, 2018

Show notes

On the second episode of The Career Author Podcast, Zach and J. discuss the responsibility of publisher with checking facts in non-fiction books, as well as whether or not you need to have a website for your author business.

Special thanks to our new Patrons: Jeff and Will, Jana Floyd, Sperry Editorial, Richard Sayer, Leftie Aubé, Deanna Gill, Philip Caroll, and Glynn James

Get exclusive bonus content by supporting The Career Author Podcast on Patreon at www.thecareerauthor.com

Choose Your News Stories:

Fire and Fury Fact Checking

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/01/09/how-did-michael-wolffs-fire-and-fury-get-past-a-fact-checker-its-not-clear-that-the-book-was-vetted/?utm_term=.db59db39656c

Ebooks Improve Child Literacy

http://www.librarycity.org/e-books-e-reading-help-child-literacy-study/

A Record Year For Publishing Stocks

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-reporting/article/75758-a-record-year-for-publishing-stocks-with-a-caveat.html

Other Links:

Sell More Books Show Summit - http://www.sellmorebooksshow.com/summit

J.’s Website - http://jthorn.net

Zach’s Website - http://www.zachbohannon.com Molten Universe Media (Zach and J.’s publishing company) - http://www.moltenuniversemedia.com

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The State of the Publishing Industry in 2018 Jan 04, 2018

Show notes

On the inaugural episode of The Career Author Podcast, Zach and J. discuss an indie author’s recent troubles with Amazon KDP, as well as what 2018 holds (or doesn’t hold) for the indie author community.

Special thanks to our very first Patrons: Leisa Zoeller, Steven Turner, Rachael Herron, Jill Harris, Chloe Adler, and Marrije Schaake

Get exclusive bonus content by supporting The Career Author Podcast on Patreon at www.thecareerauthor.com

Choose Your News Stories:

Amazon author rank-stripped for the 3rd time - http://www.thepassivevoice.com/2018/01/innocent-author-rank-stripped-for-third-time/

Smashwords’ Mark Coker predicts doom and gloom for 2018 - http://blog.smashwords.com/2017/12/2018-book-industry-predictions.html

Amazon to buy Target - https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/02/amazon-will-buy-target-in-2018-influential-tech-analyst-gene-munster-predicts.html

Other Links:

Sell More Books Show Summit - http://www.sellmorebooksshow.com/summit

Sign up for J. and Zach’s free webinar taking place Wednesday, January 10th at 6 CST/7 EST - http://www.thecareerauthor.com/webinar

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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