Spa Girls Podcast

Today we’re talking with Kaye Kennedy who had the successful experience we all hope for when we start out. Using her business experience and spending years studying how to do it right, Kaye managed a million page reads in 6 months and she’s going to tell you how she did it. A CEO by day and a contemporary romance author by night, in her novels, you can always expect a happily ever after that kisses and tells. She's had a love affair with reading and writing for as far back as she can remember, which led her to earning her degrees in English Literature. Kaye taught college composition & literature classes before switching gears entirely and becoming an entrepreneur, starting multiple businesses.  Originally from New York, Kaye now lives on the Florida coast with her husband, who often inspires her characters (she's a sucker for an alpha with a soft side).  When she isn't busy writing or running one of her companies, Kaye spends as much time as she can cuddling with her rescue mutt, Zeus, paddling on the wat

Making six figures a year while publishing one book a year, isn't the usual career path for most indies, but for our guest today, it absolutely is!

Today we're delighted to welcome fellow Kiwi, Nat Connors. Nat has recently launched KINDLETRENDS (www.kindletrends.com) - the research newsletter for authors so you can find out what's trending immediately in the kindle store in major categories, covering what's trending with new releases, covers, blurbs, keywords and a whole lot more. The SPA Girls have got the scoop on Kindletrends, so listen up! ...

Trying to figure out how to finish your book? Keep getting distracted or discombobulated? This is the episode for you! We break down the processes we use to plan and schedule a book, from start to finish, including everything from booking a cover designer to working with your editor. We show how easy it is to get your writing done, when you know exactly how much you have to write and by when. Join us for another information packed episode... 

For many of us, the thought of overcoming the technology barriers to self-publishing can be overwhelming and cause us to delay (or not try) publishing. Many authors who've have likely heard publishers talking about the all-important "meta data" and "algorithms" like they're the bogeymen. Something to be avoided - and best done by someone else! WE GET IT. WE'VE BEEN THERE! But if we can do this, trust us, YOU can too!

It's super easy to be overwhelmed by all the steps required to self-publish. Whether you're a traditionally published author looking to self-publish now, or a new author straight out of the blocks, we break down the seven simple steps to self-publishing.

How much can you expect to earn when you start self-publishing? What should you publish for guaranteed success? We answer these questions and more in this episode ...

Today we're joined by fellow Kiwi romance author - and one of the SPA Girls' star pupils from their self-publishing workshops - ALEXA RIVERS. Alexa has written and published nine small town romance to date and has really nailed her plotting process, starting with a character. If you've been struggling to find a way to plot and love the idea of starting with those characters who are burning a hole inside your head, this is the episode for you!

Are your readers staying for the next book? This week's podcast is all about read-through - ie what percentage of readers read from the first book in your series to the next, and onwards. Learn all about what it means, why it matters and how to increase your read through in this information-packed episode!

Have you already listed your goals or resolutions for the upcoming year? Before you start whipping yourself into action, consider your ANSWERS TO THE GOLDEN QUESTIONS FIRST...

Isn't that what we're all after? The ONE RIGHT answer to everything - the BEST newsletter strategy, the RIGHT way to sell books, the ONE secret to making ads work? Well, listen up folks because in this episode we've got the Magic Wand!

Ever wondered why on earth you're spending all this time writing? Ever think to yourself that maybe your writing isn't that great? Ever think this self publishing lark is just too hard? Yeah, so have we. But this episode is all about how to throw away those dumb old negative thoughts, and learn to believe in yourself and your writing! We talk through some of the most common misbeliefs that authors have, and give you some awesome ways to change your thinking, and learn to believe in yourself and most of all, keep going! 

Celebrating the season with a quick recap of our Words For 2020. Hahahahahaha And then onto Important Burning Questions about our Christmas favorites.  Sometimes controversial, always tongue-in-cheek, our "unplugged" conversation will hopefully add some Christmas cheer to your day ...

You've had a great idea for a story - now how do you turn it into a workable outline? This is a "live action" recording where the SPA Girls take a "great" idea - an Elf who hates Christmas - into a workable outline! Probably NSFW, you'll hopefully find this episode informative and a lighthearted break from holiday stress! Don't forget to visit us on facebook and let us know which story you think we should write!

What do you do when you're running out of steam and you're only in the middle of the book? Or you're just running out of steam in general?

Bonus content is an awesome marketing tool that can be used in a variety of ways - from encouraging people to sign up to newsletters, to convincing them to buy the next book in the series, or thanking superfans for their ongoing support. This week we talk about the ways we've used the bonus content we've created for our readers, from bonus scenes and epilogues, to short stories, prequel novellas and everything in between! We talk about what's worked, what hasn't, and what we think is the best option, no matter where you are in your writing career...

Want to make sure you give your first book the best possible chance of success... and then have readers auto-buying the next in your series? Then this is the podcast for you! This week we give you a checklist of elements for a successful first book in a series, before you even start writing a single word! We talk about everything - including the tropes that sell, what back matter to use, what kind of characters readers love and much more in this overview of how to make sure the first book in your series is awesome and automatically sells the next book in your series to your readers! 

Why does Amazon choose someone else's book over yours to show in a search? And how can we make sure to use the best keywords for sales? Well wonder no more! We've got the answers for you in this info-packed episode ...

Today’s podcast is all about reader groups. Are they worthwhile? How they work and why you would want one? Wendy has recently started one, and we discuss how that is working for her, and also talk about some more established reader groups the SPA Girls belong to like, Lucy Score, C N Crawford, and Marie Force.

A good old fashioned craft episode from the SPA Girls this week. Shar, Wendy and Cheryl discuss insider writing secretes from James Scott Bell's book Fiction Attack! They pull out five important secrets that have most impacted them, and discuss what they mean and how they've used them in their writing. From using conflict and suspense, to description, fuzzy POV, cliches and info dumps, they go deep on some of those writing secrets that will take you from average to amazing!