Happy Self Publishing Show

Many first-time authors become overwhelmed with all of the steps involved in the self publishing process and focus solely on Amazon to distribute their books, overlooking all of the other possible platforms. Kevin Tumlinson, bestselling author and Director of Marketing at Draft2Digital, joins us for Episode 40 of the Happy Self Publishing Show to explain how authors can distribute their audiobooks and e-books on alternative platforms, aside from Amazon. Having written over 40 books, Kevin explains how using a publishing aggregator such as Draft2Digital allows authors to upload and distribute their books on outlets worldwide, reaching a larger audience in the process.

How did a first-time self published author manage to get press coverage from the likes of Fox, CBS and NBC? Alan McComas, author of the bestselling book Laidback Lifestyle, joins us to highlight how he effectively used the power of media press releases to promote his book – while also acting as VP of an engineering company, dabbling in real estate as a side business and playing lots of golf! While he didn’t expect his book to receive as much coverage as it did, he shares his insights on how to work the press to get them interested in your content.

As the author of multiple bestselling books including Author Startup and High Performance Paperback, Ray Brehm has positioned himself as an expert who helps entrepreneurs become authors. Having spent over three months in the editing phase of his first book, he is no stranger to procrastination and how authors can become their own bottleneck. He joins us for Episode 38 of the Happy Self Publishing show to explain how the concept of rapid writing can help authors complete their books faster and overcome roadblocks in the self publishing process.

Having been recognized as a networking expert by Inc and Lifehacker, Robbie Samuels recently dropped by our podcast to discuss how authors can leverage the potential of LinkedIn to market their books. As the author of the recently launched Croissants Vs. Bagels, Robbie is an advocate of avoiding wasting time on networking and spending it building valuable relationships instead. He joins us to explain how he successfully used LinkedIn to promote his book before its launch and engage his network of contacts effectively on the platform.

We’ve all heard of the New York Times bestseller list, but what exactly is the WSJ bestseller list and how can self-published authors make it onto it? For episode 36 of the Happy Self Publishing Show, we’re joined by productivity coach Joanna Jast – author of Hack Your Habits and Laser Sharp Focus – the latter of which recently ranked on the WSJ bestseller list. While the general belief is that making it onto these prestigious lists is a privilege reserved for traditionally published authors, Joanna explains how self-published ones can break the mold by using a handful of clever strategies.

When entrepreneurs or coaches write a book, many of them are surprised to find that it quickly acts as a business card on steroids and shoots their sales through the roof. Our client Qat Wanders recently experienced a similar realization after her bestselling book Yoga for You brought in over $30,000 worth of coaching clients within just a month after its release! Readers found her on, Facebook and Twitter and quickly enlisted her savvy know-how to help them overcome chronic pain and more through her tailored yoga techniques. Join us as Qat explains how her book helped attract these clients and how you can mimic the strategies she used to ultimately grow your business.

Piyush Bhatia is the author of Get Your Dream Job and the founder of BM Consultants India, a site dedicated to helping professionals communicate more effectively. He recently hosted a successful launch party for his book, which saw over 150 of India’s senior executives from a range of multiple industries in attendance. He sat down with us to share what went into preparing his event and key details that authors should focus on to make sure that they launch their books with maximal bang. Join us to learn more about Piyush’s top event planning tips, including selecting an overarching theme and contacting noteable speakers to present their thoughts in order to increase the value that your launch can provide.

As the author of the bestselling book 30 Days: Change Your Habits, Change Your life, Marc Reklau knows a thing or two about attracting offers from traditional book publishers. After selling more than 25,000 copies of his book in multiple languages, he was approached by publishers around the world hoping to distribute his book. Join us as he explains how finding success as a self published author can attract publishers who weren’t previously interested in your work.

In this episode, we spoke with Akash Karia to find out how authors can attract speaking opportunities to promote themselves and their work. As the successful author of 23 books, eight of which are consistently on Amazon's bestseller charts, Akash is also a seminar leader and has been a keynote speaker on several international stages including TedX. He believes that all authors should reach a wider audience by becoming speakers and spreading their message through the world. Join us as he explains why becoming a content marketer in this day and age is the single most effective way to become a bestselling author and tune in as he shares his valuable tips on how to make that happen. Akash helps authors communicate more persuasively in public speaking presentations, encourages them to tell better stories by branding their messages and enables them to sell more effectively and increase sales.

As the CEO of Insurgent Publishing, Tom Morkes has helped bestselling authors Dan Norris, Jeff Goins and Jeff Lee Dumas market their books and has run a number of successful book crowdfunding campaigns. After recently raising $12,000 in just 30 days for his latest book, Collaborate, Tom sat down with us to share his tried and tested crowdfunding tips to help authors through each stage of the process. From pre-launching crowdfunding campaigns to making a plan of action once you've hit your target, join us for Episode 31 of the Happy Self Publishing Show.

Surprisingly, only 3% of the authors who start writing a book end up finishing it. The main reason? They don’t set a deadline to complete their projects. Tasks often expand into the time period we allot to them and if time isn’t allotted to writing your book, the task will expand into infinity! We recently sat down with John Lee Dumas, famed podcast host (Entrepreneur on Fire) and author of The Freedom Journal and The Mastery Journal, to learn more about how the writers who have read his books have hugely benefitted from the habit of journaling. Tune in to learn about how the process of journaling and setting S.M.A.R.T (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound) goals can help you complete your book in just 100 days.

While it's challenging enough for adults to write their first book, the feat seems even greater when a pre-teen is the author in question. But with all odds stacked against her - writing a book is exactly what eight year-old Emma Sumner did! As the bestselling author of The Fairies of Waterfall Island, we interviewed Emma and her father Sean Sumner for Episode 29 of the HSP Show to find out which steps children should take to publish their first book. Tune in to learn how Emma took a 150 word book writing challenge and turned it into 20 chapters of her first book with the help of her father, a talented author in his own right.

As the founder of TCK Publishing, Tom Corson-Knowles has written over 20 books and has made it his mission to help his clients earn a full-time income off of theirs. To increase authors' revenue flow, one of the approaches he suggests is to sell the foreign language distribution rights to their books. Join us for episode 28 of the Happy Self Publishing Show, where Tom highlights the key tips and tricks to employ to entice foreign publishers to approach you for your book's distribution rights and have your book sold across international markets. 

Having written over half a million words of fiction spread across multiples genres, Monica Leonelle has also helped thousands (yes, thousands!) of authors plan their books. She is also the voice behind a popular non-fiction series that helps writers put pen to paper faster and become better storytellers. Join us as Monica explains how authors can craft an engaging storyline for their fiction novel by plotting out a roadmap of it ahead of time. Drawing on her extensive previous experience, she highlights how structuring your book before getting started on writing on it can be a more effective strategy for you.

As many author-entrepreneurs know, your book sales typically won’t be your greatest source of income! As such, it’s important to think of different ways that writing a book can ultimately generate profit for your business. In episode 26 of the Happy Self Publishing Show, we spoke with Alison Sigmon to learn about how she used her bestselling book, Delivering Bad News In Good Ways, to start conducting corporate workshops. Join us as Alison shares her tips for developing content, partnering with corporations to get your message across, pitching your skills and leveraging your professional relationships to make your workshop goals become reality.

Caught up in the seemingly impossible task of choosing a title and sub-title for your book? We’ve all been there. Join us for episode 25 of the HSP Show, where bestselling author Ashley Emma explains how she manages to narrow down her selections and come up with a winning frontrunner. Ashley wrote her first novel at age 14, self published it at 16 and has written 6 books since – including the recent Amazon chart-topping Fearless Author. She highlights how seeking out your peers’ opinions is paramount in the title and subtitle selection process, as well as the importance of gaining outside perspective as an author.

In today's episode, we sit down with architect and remodelling expert Jim Molinelli to learn more about how he got his book, Remodel, to the no. 1 bestseller position in both the Kindle and Amazon paperback stores. Join us as Jim shares the clever marketing tactics he employed to ensure that readers were buying paperback copies of his book, despite the fact that he was also selling a less expensive e-book version. He shares his valuable tips for climbing to the top of third party sales platforms using tailored pricing strategies, category positioning and more!

What are lead magnets and why should authors include them in their books? In this episode, we sit down with Nick Loper to find out why they're so important - especially for those selling on third party platforms such as Amazon. Nick is the bestselling author of several books, including the recently released Buy Buttons, and the founder of Side Hustle Nation - a growing community and resource for aspiring and part-time entrepreneurs. Join us as he highlights the best kinds of lead magnets to use in order for authors to create as many leads and e-mail opt-ins as possible.

In this episode, Kylie Ansett explains how creating a mindmap for your book can help you produce your best work. Based in Sydney Australia, Kylie is the bestselling author of two books and the guru behind an online course that teaches new authors how to write their first books. Join us as she explains how a mindmap helps you transfer all of your ideas and thoughts onto paper in such a way that can guide your vision, help validate topics and ultimately structure your book's contents. Using this handy tool is a great way to organize your thoughts and sift through any excess mental clutter - something that authors of all experience levels could benefit from!

In today’s episode, we sit down with the Merrymaker Sisters to discuss whether selling your book exclusively on your site versus via traditional online retailers such as Amazon is a good idea. As the founders of a lifestyle empire that reaches over 1.5 million readers each year, the Merrymaker Sisters recently published their latest cookbook, Get Merry, and have been selling it exclusively to their existing audience on their website. Join us as they highlight the pros and cons of avoiding traditional online retailers and going the DIY route when it comes to making book sales.