Spa Girls Podcast

Are you bored, or disheartened, with your writing? Many of us hit the wall of blahhsss or burnout. When persevering and grinding through it just doesn’t work, sometimes you really need to shake things up. From writing in a completely different genre, to rekindling your creative spark, we discuss how to cleanse your writing palate. Soon you'll be moving from the wahs to the wahoos!

If you’ve wondered whether writing a cozy is for you, then this episode will answer that question! Alongside her fiction, Nancy has also written the acclaimed “how to” for cozies “Writing The Cozy Mystery”, so we’re thrilled she agreed to give us the scoop on all things cozy.

Conventional wisdom says 'bigger is better' for books, but is that really true? In this episode, we discuss what different word counts and book sizes mean for successful publishers today, how you can use different sizes to your advantage, and how to find your sweet spot. The Right Size isn't a black and white thing - in fact, there are 50 shades of writing (size) to embrace!

Join Shar, Wendy, Cher and Trudi for the 300th EPISODE of the SPA Girls Podcast! EEEEEEKKKKK!!!!! Can you believe it? It's been a crazy ride, but we've loved every minute of it. :) In this episode we talk about having pride in your work and being proud of everything you've achieved, and then how to persevere in the face of all the odds! This is a fun episode where we open up about some of the things we've been through over the last six years, and give our best advice for anyone looking to self publish! 

Marketing doesn't have to be Big Bucks spent on advertising. In fact, some of the best marketing you can do is free or low cost. If you're just starting out there probably isn't much left in the budget for paid marketing. We've been there! In this episode, we've dug deep to find all the tools we used instead of heavy investments—and some we still do. One thing to note, you’ll need to invest something in your marketing—if it’s not money, it’s your time. This episode we'll cover: * Revising keywords * Tweaking your blurbs * Reach out to other authors for Facebook group intro / newsletter swaps / social media interviews * Writing another series "lead in" as a giveaway on bookfunnel * Revise your Goodreads strategy (see our interview with Alessandra Torres for ideas - https://spagirls.libsyn.com/spa-girls-ep235-interview-with-alessandra-torre) * Run some social media giveaways using ebook / bookfunnel * Review your author bio * Refresh your website and social media graphics with canva * Create quotes from your b

Lucy saw extraordinary success straight out the gate, from when she first published her MM romance, Borrowing Blue, in November 2016. In fact, by her second month of publishing, Lucy was earning five figures per month! This episode she shares all her incredible writing and business advice for writers of all genres.

Dive into this amazing episode with six-figure author Fallyn Briggs, where she discusses the hot top of writing to trend v writing to market. Fallyn says, "writing to market may have hungry readers, but writing to trend is hitting on a hot button trope, idea, theme, niche, or genre that has VERY voracious readers gobbling up that particular kind of book on a likely more limited time frame. Like Veruca Salt, they want it and they want it NOW."

In this episode of the SPA Girls Podcast we talk about emotional wounds, and why they're so important in developing your characters, and creating an awesome story! From possible wounds that you could give your characters, to how those wounds will develop the story, and how you can use them to amp up the tension, and create a story that your readers will love - we talk about it all!

Celeste Barclay joins us to discuss finding your village and what doing so did for her. Celeste has published an incredible 27 books since 2017 primarily in historical romance. Her popular series include the medieval The Clan Sinclair novels and The Highland Ladies series which has an impressive 15 individual books and counting. Before becoming a full-time author, Celeste was a Social Studies and English teacher. She holds degrees in International Affairs (BA), Teaching Secondary Social Science (MAT), and Political Management (MPS). She channels that knowledge into creating rich historical romances that bring the steam. It was the third book in her first series which really took off and she's been incredibly successful ever since. Celest says her Author Village "made her career" and today she talks to us about what that means to her, how to find and build your own village, and why it's so important. Celeste defines her Author Village as her own network of fellow author peers who lend friendship, support, f

This episode we're back "on the couch" with the SPA Girls to discuss tools and resources we've used to cope with the ever changing climate of self-publishing, AND those big life events that we all face at times.

You're worth it and your work is worth it. This episode will blow your mind! USA Today Bestselling author Renee Rose is passionate about helping authors and creatives get their mindset dialed to SUCCESS. So many nuggets of creativity and business wisdom in this episode, you'll want to listen more than once.

It's a heated debate that occurs regularly in the bars and cafes of self-publishing-land - should you go exclusive to Amazon and get the benefits of Kindle Unlimited, or should you go wide, and get the benefits of being able to upload your books on retailers like Kobo, Apple Books and Nook, as well as Amazon?  There are arguments both ways, and in this episode of the SPA Girls Podcast, we take you through all the pros and cons of both, and try to give you some information that will help you make the decision when the time comes... 

We absolutely have more than 9 tools we could recommend because we don’t all use the same ones. Listen to find out which ones we can’t do without and who uses the others and why. Cheryl has a few homemade spreadsheets and tables – no surprises there – which she may be inclined to share.

Getting edits and critiques is part of every author's career, but sometimes it can feel worse than getting stung by a wasp on your eyeball. Like directly in the middle of your eyeball. By a really big wasp. Where it would really, really hurt.  So that's what we're talking about this week in the SPA - how our thoughts on critiques have changed over the years, how we deal with the pangs when someone says something mean about our book babies, and why we think you can't afford to go without critiques and edits. 

Writing bestselling romance with incredible character chemistry is something that NYT Bestseller Annika Martin excels in, and today she joins us in the SPA to give ALL THE TIPS! Annika, who also publishes romantic suspense as Carolyn Crane, has seen incredible success writing two books a year (on average) and publishing wide. This episode, she reveals her plotting and writing process, getting the most "comedy" in her writing, editing tips for deepening characterization, what point of view to choose for best results, cover trends and how she approaches her newsletter and advertising. This is a wonderful discussion, deserving of a long episode, where Annika reveals some absolute nuggets of GOLD that we hadn't heard before. You'll love this one, even if you're not a "funny" writer - trust us! About Annika: Annika Martin is a NYT bestselling author who loves reading and writing fun, sexy books, taking pictures of her cats, rocking out, saving animals, taking long baths, and consuming boatloads of chocolate

We have a terrible confession to make. We have no idea what we're doing when it comes to Instagram (well, Shar does, but the rest of us have no idea) and TikTok.  So we got in an expert. Someone who could tell us everything we ever wanted to know about how to post on social media to engage with readers and develop a deeper connection. (Because that's what it's about!)  Anne Malcom is an awesome Kiwi author, kicking butt and taking names in the Dark Romance genre. She's also genuine, savvy, and smart and knows all about connecting with readers in an authentic way. Which is why you need to listen to this episode! 

Are you one or the other, or something in between? While Trudi is an outright plotter, Cheryl considers herself a hybrid and Wendy is a confirmed pantser. Shar isn’t with us today but we know she’s tried it all! But is this a hard and fast thing? In this episode, you’ll find out when and how we plot and the struggles involved with pantsing. Whatever type of writer you are, remember that no one writes like you and how you write affects your voice and your process. Before you decide what that is is, try all the ways we’ve suggested – you may be surprised!

Resistance. Fear. Procrastination. Avoidance. Most of us writers struggle with these challenges at some point in their career (or day!). This episode we cover everything from the struggle to finish a manuscript through to fear of publishing, and everything in between.

Get ready to be inspired! Our guest today, USA Bestseller, Janie Crouch, writes passionate romantic suspense (both traditionally published and self-published) and she's recently launched her indie Linear Tactical series to six-figure success.

If you've ever considered starting up a Facebook reader group, then you need to listen to this episode. Lucy Score's group is an example of a well run group that is positive, supportive and fun - everything you want in a reader group. She talks to us about how she set it up, and what makes it so great, as well as why she loves her readers so much. Lucy also gives us insight into her most recent book launch, how she connects to readers and why relationships are such an important part of her very successful Indie career. The best thing about Lucy? She's awesome, genuine, and super smart. We love having her on the show, and we know you'll get a whole bucket load of useful information for your author career in this podcast. Enjoy!