Tag: self publishing

• May 8, 2025Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP499 – Interview with Ana Huang, Multi-Million Copy Bestselling Author (Classic Replay)

  Ana Huang is the #1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of fourteen contemporary romances, which have collectively sold over 21 million copies worldwide. Her subgenres range from sports to billionaire and suspense, but all of her books feature her signature blend of steam and swoon.

• November 6, 2024Guest Interview, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP473 – Interview with Cathy Yardley

  This is a fantastic episode for writers at all stages of their careers. Cathy covers writing in your unique voice, writing your truth and how to ROCK YOUR PLOT.

• October 1, 2024Guest Interview, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP468 – Short Romance Success with Lana Love

  Lana talks to us about how she has achieved success in short romance in less than two years using a mix of mindset, research and plain old stubbornness (her words, not ours...). We talk about what she did to level up, including the research she did and the tough decisions she made. It's a fascinating interview we know you'll love! 

• September 25, 2024Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Selling Direct To Readers

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP467 – Anne-Marie Meyer: Building a Multi-Million Author Career

  Sweet Romance Author, Anne-Marie Meyer is an Amazon and Apple Top 100 best seller and a 3x USA Today Bestselling author. With absolute intention Anee-Marie challenges herself to improve on how she sells. From Tik Tok to Direct sales she has hit heady heights, paticularly in the last 12 months. After her Amazon account was shut down for 48 hrs in 2022 for false reasons, she's decided that it would be best to bring her stories directly to her readers hands and it has worked! Listen up for all her tips. You won't be disappointed.

• September 4, 2024Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP464 – Switching Genres and TikTok Success with Alexa Rivers

  When she decided to write a palate cleanser novel in a completely different genre - with a brand new pen name - Alexa Rivers had no idea she would have a hit on her hands. In this interview she talks about why she wrote the book, how she picked the new pen name, the marketing she did, and how a book she wasn't expecting to do much at all... kinda did awesome. :) She also talks about the ups and downs of her journey with TikTok, and gives some great pieces of advice for everyone to use!

• August 7, 2024Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP460 – How to Get Reviews and Find ARC Readers

  If you've been scratching your head over how to get some more reviews on your newly published book, this is the episode for you! We break down how we have each built up and managed our ARC teams, and how we've gone from no reviews to hundreds of reviews. Loads of practical tips in this episode!

• June 12, 2024Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP452 – Book Formatting Made Easy

  Got your final manuscript all ready to go, and wondering how to format it for publication? This is the SPA Girls episode for you! Welcome back to another 20 min SPA Girls mini-tips session, where we break down the basics of self publishing, just for you!

• June 5, 2024Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP451 – Contracts for Authors with Maggie Marr

  If you’ve ever wondered how to deal with contracts and other business issues, this is the podcast for you! Maggie Marr the founder of Maggie Marr Legal PC and a USA Today Best Selling author of over 20 books. A former ICM motion picture literary and subsidiary rights (books to film/tv) agent, Maggie is the co-founder and legal advisor to the not-for-profit Women’s Fiction Writers Association and a member of Women In Film. The firm has negotiated deals with Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, Universal, Warner Bros, Disney. The firm provides services such as entertainment and publishing representation, trademark & copyright, packaging and sales, business legal affairs and corporate, production and distribution legal.

• May 22, 2024Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP449 – 7 Ways To Boost Your Positivity

  Feeling a bit blah about your writing and / or author career? Welcome back to another 15 min SPA Girls mini-tips session. Today’s topic is 7 easy ways to boost your positivity that you can put into action TODAY!

• May 15, 2024Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP448 – Changing From Frontlist to Backlist Focus with Maggie Dallen

  This week we talk to regency romance and young adult author Maggie Dallen, who tells us how she changed her mindset and her author business model, with huge success! Maggie is a prolific author who was writing up to twenty books a year, but she was reaching a point where she wanted to slow down and diversify her writing skills by learning script writing. She realised she needed to find a system that would take advantage of her extensive backlist, and allow her more time for her other writing interests. In this fascinating interview, Maggie talks us through how she did it, what the major challenges were, and how you can do the same thing!  Maggie was a delight to interview, and gave us so much useful advice - you're going to love this one! 

• April 17, 2024Guest Interview, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP444 – Five Steps to Being a Resilient Author with Patricia McLinn

  Being a resilient author means being able to bounce back after experiencing a knock - and we all know that being a self-published author can knock you around sometimes! This week we talk with Patricia McLinn, an author who's been writing for more than 35 years, and who knows a thing or two about how to keep going when the going gets tough. Pat gives us her top five pieces of advice so you can stay focused and keep the positivity flowing when it seems like everything is falling apart around you.

• April 10, 2024Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP443 – Book Marketing and TikTok with Kate Hall 

  Kate Hall is a paranormal romance and non-fiction author who has taken her marketing expertise and used it to kick butt on TikTok. She started Alyne Digital Solutions in an effort to help authors make a sustainable income from their books, and since starting has scaled two of her businesses and several others’ to six figure incomes. As well as discussing facts and figures for TikTok, we’re also delving into marketing for authors, and why you’re probably using the wrong hooks in your social media. A wonderful open and informative discussion that could unlock answers to questions we’re all asking right now!

• March 26, 2024Guest Interview, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls – EP441 – Discovery Writing With Kimboo York

  In this podcast we talk to KimBoo York about her latest book Secrets of Discovery Writing. We dive into how you can successfully use discovery writing when crafting your novel. It's an awesome podcast and one the pantsers among us will really enjoy.

• March 20, 2024Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP440 – Launching a Successful New Pen Name with Melissa Pearl

  Our guest today, Kiwi author Melissa Pearl, has five pen names across multiple genres and has been learning about self publishing since she published her first book in 2011. Since then she's published more than 80 books, and shares with us some real and raw insights into the career of an indie author, including all the highs and the lows. When she launched her latest pen name last year, she made sure she used everything she'd learned over that time to ensure her new pen name was successful right from the start. Melissa generously tells us exactly what she did to create her latest pen name, and every step she took along the way to make it successful. Don't miss this information packed episode! 

• March 13, 2024Guest Interview, Mindset, Health & Writing Life, Self-Publishing Process & Tools, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP439 – Using The Enneagram For Authors with Claire Taylor

  The Enneagram is a personality typing system, where each person falls into one of nine types. Today we're talking with author, educator and fiction strategist, Claire Taylor, about how understanding our enneagram type liberates writers from the "shoulds" and self-judgement, and helps us become more successful as authors.

• March 6, 2024Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity, Guest Interview, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP438 – Overcoming Procrastination – with Kathryn Burnett

  Procrastination takes many forms for writers, and it holds us back from writing, publishing and promoting our work. We discuss how to get out of your own way with our guest today, Kathryn Burnett.

• February 21, 2024Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP436 – Fast Decisions, Big Results

  Ever hesitate over making an important decision because you were trying to figure out what the 'right' thing to do was... and then miss out on an awesome opportunity because you didn't take a leap of faith? Yeah, us too. That's why this episode is all about making good decisions in your author career.  In fact, we're not only advocating making decisions and moving forward, we're also suggesting that a FAST decision is even better than an average speed decision. Research has shown that fast decisions are often higher quality, perhaps proving that our subconscious brain can move faster than our conscious brain... or maybe it's just our intuition is more capable than our overthinking brain? Whatever the reason, it's a powerful reminder that we know more than we think we know...  In this episode you'll learn some ideas and techniques on how to assess decisions, learn when to make fast decisions and hear about some of the decisions we did and didn't make in our careers and what we learned from them.

• February 14, 2024Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – Episode 435 – Interview with Dan Wood from Draft2Digital

  Today we’re interviewing Dan Wood, Chief Operating Officer at Draft2Digital, one of the best known distributors for eBooks, print and audio books. We last spoke to Dan in 2019 and a lot has happened since then! D2D has not only merged with Smashwords to make their reach stronger, they build tools and services that let you focus on writing while they take care of layout, publishing, distribution, print-on-demand paperbacks, and more. If you’re a new author or simply want to level up and expand, Dan has lots of tips to help you, including promotional opportunities and Books2Read, an author promotions powerhouse that includes New Release Notifications, Universal Book Links (UBLs), B2R Author Pages, B2R Book Tabs, and so much more!

• January 30, 2024Guest Interview, Mindset, Health & Writing Life, Self-Publishing Process & Tools, Selling Direct To Readers

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP433 – Selling Direct With Katie Cross

  In this episode we chat to YA Fantasy author Katie Cross. She has so much passion and enthusiasm for what she does, and loves her readers!  We talk about direct sales and how to relate to your readers, and these are just two of the topics we covered. It's action packed and full of information!

• January 24, 2024Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP432 – What To Do When You’ve Finished The Book

  You are your own publishing house when you self-publish. There’s lots to do, and lots to think about, especially the first few times you publish a book. That’s why we’ve created this helpful, back-to-basics SPA Girls Podcast episode – to help you go from rough manuscript to published book, with our notes on what you need to plan for and schedule, and how to figure out what you’re going to need to actually do to get your book published on all the platforms. We haven’t given a specific order for these tasks to be done in – we know too many successful authors who get different aspects of the checklist done at different times. There are also tasks that can be finished quickly and others that will take time. The important thing is to know what you need to do, to work out a schedule that suits you and your life, and then to actually do the tasks! To help out, we’ve also created a handy checklist for you to download; just click the links in the show notes to find it, or head to the show notes for the episode on our website!

• January 3, 2024Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity, Mindset, Health & Writing Life, Self-Publishing Process & Tools, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls EP – 429 – How To Create Your Author Business Plan

  Today we discuss business plans. Need help creating yours? It doesn't need to be complicated, just download our simple SPA Girls template in the show notes.

• December 20, 2023Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP427 – Our 12 Christmas Wishes for you!

  We’re celebrating you, our wonderful listeners, in the SPA today by sharing our 12 Christmas Wishes for you and your self-publishing journey. We want you to know how special to us. We’re so proud of this journey we’ve all embarked on and with what everyone has achieved. No matter where you are in the publishing process, it really is time to celebrate! May your holiday be filled with love, joy, good food, fun, books and time to relax and recharge yourself.

• December 12, 2023Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP426 – How To Launch A Successful Series with Helen B. Scheuerer

  Are you dreaming of an easy approach to create successful book releases? Listen up, because we’re joined again by the bestselling fantasy author, Helen Scheuerer, who shares all the secrets of a Successful Series Launch, including:

• December 5, 2023Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP425 – Book Launch Strategies

  Congratulations! You’ve finished your first book (or series) and are ready to hit the publish button! So what can you do to get your book noticed in sea of other new books, and how can you find the right readers for you? The SPA Girls are here to help!

• November 28, 2023Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP424 – BookFunnel Tips for Authors

  Most authors know what BookFunnel is these days (just in case: it's a platform that helps you deliver reader magnets, ARC copies, audio files, and so much more to your readers) but do we all know how to use it the best we can? I'm pretty sure the answer is no! That's why we spent this episode with Damon Courtney, creator and CEO of BookFunnel, going over all the functions, from the innovative ways that successful authors are using this platform to deliver ebook files, to using features like the one-on-one author swap tool, the group promo tool, certified mail, and the direct email integrations, to name a few. Because Damon is the creator of the platform, he knows every single thing about it, which means this episode is packed full of all the information you'll ever need to make BookFunnel work for you!

• November 22, 2023Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP423 – Turn Setbacks Into Success

  Bumps on the publishing path are unwelcome yet inevitable. So how can we reset ourselves when the wobbles and disappointment set in? Today we’ve got a SPA Girls 6-Step Guide to turning those setbacks into success!

• November 8, 2023Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP421 – Book Marketing With Carrie Elks

  This week we talk to contemporary romance author, Carrie Elks about amping up your book marketing. It's a fantastic and informative interview packed with great tips and advice that you won't want to miss!

• November 1, 2023Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP420 – Why Forward Planning is Vital for Authors

  This week we talk about the forward planning we all do for our author careers. Because we're all so different here in the SPA, we all plan differently, and have different goals. But that means there will be nuggets of gold for everyone in this episode! We go through what it means to forward plan in your author business, why it's important, what we think about when we do our planning, and how to actually get it down in a format that works for you.

• October 24, 2023Guest Interview, Mindset, Health & Writing Life, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP419 – The Best Mindset for Organisation and Productivity with Sarra Cannon

  Self-publishing since 2010, Amazon top 100 best-selling Amazon author with 1 million books sold, Sarra writes magical contemporary fantasy novels with both teen and college aged characters (and lots of twists you'll never see coming). Do you feel like a hamster on a wheel? Sarra talks to us about her solution to planning without all the heartache and leading us to be more joyful. “When we sit down to plan we see the perfect scenario. Then Life gets in the way.”

• October 5, 2023Guest Interview, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP416 – Emotional Wounds with Angela Ackerman

  This week we chatted with Angela Ackerman, one of the authors of the classic writing book, The Emotion Thesaurus.  If you've never picked up one of the amazing thesauruses by Angela Ackerman and her co-writer, Becca Puglisi, you're missing out! Created especially for writers, the ten different thesauruses will help you add emotion, be more creative, and make your book sing!  In this particular episode (aside from Trudi and the other SPA Girls singing the praises of Angela's books) we talk to Angela about emotional wounds - what that means, why it's important for our characters and how we can add emotional wounds into our writing and give our characters more depth.

• September 27, 2023Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP415 – How To Get Unstuck

  There are many ways we get stuck as authors. Some ways you can get stuck is in the writing, editing, time management and making decisions areas. Getting unstuck is much harder and yet easier than we think. Letting go of perceptions of our writing or our characters helped Trudi a great deal when she put off writing the last book in a series - for years! Cheryl had to get past the fear of getting edits back and find a way to embrace the process to get them done. For Shar, it’s being done with the book and accepting it. No one wants to put up sub-standard work and we all do our very best to make sure that happens, but agonizing over a book doesn’t move you forward. We discuss how to do these things while facing fears and preconceptions, as well as the overwhelm of too many ideas and choices.

• September 13, 2023Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Mindset, Health & Writing Life, Self-Publishing Process & Tools, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP 413- Back Engineering a Bestseller

  Today’s topic was prompted by a commenter on youtube who asked us about reverse engineering bestsellers. What makes a book, be it your second one published or your tenth, sell more than others.  We believe there are many variables to that. Timing, tropes, the first 10% of how a book starts. The cover, blurb, and other popular tv or books that may have similar aspects.  There are many things to consider, and today we take a dive into why a book can launch a career!

• September 7, 2023Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP412 – Being Successful as a Hybrid Author with Katlyn Duncan

  This week we talk to fiction and non-fiction author Katlyn Duncan, who wrote the non-fiction books The Successful Hybrid Author (all about being a hybrid author) and Take Back Your Book (all about how to get your rights back after being traditionally published). She shares her path to becoming a hybrid author, but also what you need to know about being hybrid, how it works, the pros and cons of traditional publishing versus indie publishing versus hybrid publishing, and how to get your rights back if you want to take up indie publishing.

• July 19, 2023Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls – EP405 – Hotwire Your Publishing Plan For The Holidays

  We know there are still 5.5 months to go until the end of the year! But!! We think it’s important to start getting organized for the final push. Ads, blurbs, covers. In the SPA today we talk about the things you need to focus on!

• July 12, 2023Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP404 – Interview with Ana Huang

  This week we go in-depth with USA Today, international and #1 Amazon bestselling author of new adult and contemporary romance, Ana Huang. Aside from being very successful (check out her Twisted series!) Ana is a super smart and hardworking author with a tonne of great advice that she generously shared with us in this information-packed episode. Check it out now!

• July 5, 2023Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – Ep403 – How Not To Fail at Self-publishing

  We’re looking at failure and putting a different slant on it. By changing the way you think of failing at a certain thing and thinking of it as simply a part of learning. You are future proofing the way you react to any result. Fail = First Attempt In Learning. Don’t measure yourself by how others are doing. They had their own journey and would have failed at something along the way. Successful people use those moments to push through, pivot, or try a new iteration. Learning is a part of the process. Letting go of a perception is hard, we get that. However, you shouldn’t let that outcome define you. Don’t dwell on it. Instead, find a way to deal with it and to stop the negative talk. A way that moves you forward.

• June 21, 2023Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP401 – Lynn Raye Harris, Let’s Talk Series!

  Today we talk to the amazingly talented author Lynn Raye Harris about series. Everything from multiple connected to branding. This is a must listen podcast!

• June 14, 2023Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP400 – Why On Earth Are We Still Here?

  It's celebration time! We've reached another milestone here in the SPA - FOUR HUNDRED EPISODES!  And that's 400 weekly episodes with no repeats, no "best of"s, and no stopping during the eight years we've been doing this. Phew! *wipes brow*  This episode we're looking back on that time, trying to figure out why we're still here, and what we've learned along the way. Go behind the scenes with us as we discuss some of what we've learned, advice we wish we'd been given, and try to give you inspiration that will get you writing and publishing! 

• June 7, 2023Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP399 – Diversification with Rachael Herron

  How can a writer diversify their income? In this episode Rachael Herron shares her advice for maximizing your income as a writer!

• May 23, 2023Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP397 – Marketing Audiobooks with Rebecca Hefner

  USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Hefner is passionate about marketing audio books wide. After several years of struggling early on, her audiobook sales now surpass her ebook sales most months. As Rebecca says, “I had an excruciating learning curve with wide audio and want to save other authors from this torture!” She shares her best practices and tips for wide audiobook success in this must-listen episode.

• May 17, 2023Guest Interview, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP396 – The Secrets of Story with Matt Bird

  If you've been working on amping up your characters and writing a more compelling novel, this is the episode for you. We talk to Matt Bird - the Amazon bestselling author of The Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers and The Secrets of Character: Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love - about characters and other secrets involved in writing an awesome story your readers will love. Matt talks to us about what readers expect from characters and how to ensure they connect and fall in love with your characters early in your novel. He also gives practical examples of techniques that will engage your readers by helping you create flawed, vulnerable and compelling characters. We loved having Matt in the SPA and we know you'll enjoy this episode too!

• May 10, 2023Guest Interview, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP395 – Conquer your Author Career with Erin Marcus

  Get ready to be encouraged! Erin Marcus is a business coach who helps authors take charge of their career and get results. 

• May 3, 2023Guest Interview, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP394 – Career Sustainability with Brenna Aubrey

  From mindset and productivity, to branding, social media and your writing community – we cover the gamut of how to sustain your author career long term.

• April 25, 2023Self-Publishing Process & Tools, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast  – EP393 – Genre Expectations

  Today we’re covering reader expectations for romance and it’s subgenres and mystery. Let us help you define where your book should sit on the virtual book shelves!

• April 19, 2023Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP392 – Translations with Skye MacKinnon

  Skye MacKinnon is a USA Today and International Bestselling Author whose books are filled with strong heroines who don't have to choose. She embraces her Scottishness with fantastical Scottish settings and a dash of mythology, no matter if she's writing about aliens in kilts, Celtic gods, cat shifters, or the streets of Edinburgh. She's also doing great with German translations and this week in the SPA she breaks down everything she's been doing, including how to get started with a translator, what to watch out for, how and where to load your translated book, and how to market them once they're up!

• April 12, 2023Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP391 – How to Successfully Publish Wide with Erin Wright

  USA today bestselling author of Western Romance, Erin Wright, has worked every job under the sun, including library director, barista, teacher, website designer, and ranch hand, helping brand cattle, before settling into the career she’s always dreamed about: Author.  Despite starting out in KU in 2016, she went wide on all platforms in 2017 when she discovered she couldn’t get her books in libraries if she was exclusive to Amazon. She started the Wide for the Win Facebook group in 2019, to help other authors find information about being wide, and now the group has grown to a community of 14,390.  Erin breaks it down and lists the reasons why she made this decision. She uses serial apps, website direct sales, multi-author promotions, as well as many platforms that we had never heard of. If you are keen to diversify and find more ways to reach readers, this is the episode for you.

• March 29, 2023Guest Interview, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP389 – Small Town Romance with Kait Nolan

  Kait is a USA Today best selling, RITA® Award-winning Mississippi author of smart, sassy, small town Southern romance. She calls everyone sugar, honey, or darlin', and can wield a 'Bless your heart' like a Snuggie or a saber, depending on requirements.

• March 14, 2023Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP387 – TikTok For Authors With Brighton Walsh

  Award-winning USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brighton Walsh spent a decade as a professional photographer before taking her storytelling in a different direction and reconnecting with her first love—writing. After getting a publishing deal Brighton went on to become a hybrid author and is now mainly indie. She started on TikTok in January 2022 and used mainly page flips back then and went viral immediately. She has since developed her own brand of TIKTOKing which continues to impress. Today she brings you plenty of tips and tricks to start you off on the right foot.

• March 1, 2023Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP385 – How to Write a Compelling Hero

  Alpha, Beta, Tortured or Bad Boy? How do you like your heroes? This week Cheryl, Wendy and Shar discuss how to write a great hero (in their opinion) complete with controversial examples! In particular we cover: Character Connection Creating Conflict from Character Main Characters Should Be Equals Characters Should Have Complementary Strengths  Hero should Show Vulnerability Different hero types including Alpha, Beta, Bad Boy, Tortured and Playboy Don't miss out on our take on writing a great hero! 

• February 15, 2023Self-Publishing Process & Tools, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP383 – Our Valentine To Writers

  Who says Valentine’s Day has to be about couples? We think it should be about all kinds of love and this year we’re promoting a little self-love. Go on, you deserve it! Treat yourself to a craft course or something else you would enjoy – find a course and do it! Do something awesome for your body – manicure, pedicure, massage, facial. Regular exercise – walk, run, bike, swim, yoga, pilates, sport. Combat stress – read, listen to music, have a bath, meditate - try Paul Mckenna and Youtube videos. Breathing exercises – breathe in for seven, hold for seven, out for seven. Eat healthy and drink more water. Try something different – puzzles, a new hobby like knitting, crochet or miniatures.  Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

• January 25, 2023Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP380 – Facebook Ads with Mark Dawson

  If there’s one person in the self publishing world who’s considered a bit of an expert at advertising… it’s Mark Dawson. This week Mark joins us in the SPA to talk about Facebook ads – how to set them up, what to do if they’re not working, and some of his best tips and advice to get them running well for you. He’s a genuine guy, and he still does all his own ads – which means he knows exactly what works and what doesn’t! Join us for another awesome podcast in the SPA.

• January 17, 2023Guest Interview, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP379 – How To Make a Trailer with Bookbrush

  Kathleen Sweeney is Bookbrush’s Customer Service Manager & Marketing Lead. She brings over 17 years of client service experience, business assurance, strategy and problem solving to Book Brush. Kathleen loves creating images and is happy to share her knowledge. We’re talking trailers for TiK Tok Instagram and other social media, as well as QR codes and where to use them. And so much more!

• January 4, 2023Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP377 – New Year New You

  Happy New Year from the SPA Girls !! In this episode we talk about what goals and plans we have for 2023, Rom Com style using Billy Mernit's book, Writing The Romantic Comedy. We work through his story beats. Set Up. Catalyst. Turning Point. Midpoint. Second Turning Point. Crisis Climax. Resolution. The SPA Girls open a vein and talk about what we want to impliment and change in 2023. (there will be no fries with this, ignore Trudi) The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon!

• December 29, 2022Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP376 – Top Tips from 2022

  This is an awesome episode just for you! We went through all of our episodes from 2022, and picked out the best pieces of advice, the most actionable tips, and the things we definitely think you should be doing for your writing career in 2023 and gave them to you here in one easy episode. You're welcome. :)

• December 21, 2022Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP375 – Celebrations And Things We’re Grateful For

  The Spa Girls wish you a wonderful Christmas and today we’re sharing our celebrations and things we’re grateful for. From Shar’s first taste of travel in three years and reaching 1000 subscribers on Youtube, all Wendy’s historical books hitting the top in that category and doing German translations, Cheryl achieving her goal of four books for 2022 and opening a store, Trudi finally finished a series and found a course that resonated more than she could have hoped for, there is plenty celebrate. The grateful list was long and included our guests who keep things real, listeners old and new who make us want to continue, doing what we love, family and author friends who support and get us, and on to entrepreneurs who build products and supply services which make our lives easier – we thank you all. Listen in to for a more comprehensive list and maybe there are some things that resonate with you too. Take care and make sure to recharge over the season.

• December 7, 2022Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Mindset, Health & Writing Life, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP373 – Lightbulb Moments of Writing Advice

  Lightbulb moments about writing and publishing that have turned you from gloomy to galloping along - have you had them? We have and today we're sharing the nitty gritty self publishing and writing tips that positively impacted our craft and careers - plus, of course, the mentors who've given us great advice.

• November 30, 2022Guest Interview, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP372 – SciFi Romance with Honey Phillips

  Join us for another deep dive into an intriguing genre that's doing well for indie authors. USA Today bestselling author Honey Phillips joins us in the SPA to talk about Science Fiction Romance - what it is, what readers are looking for, and how to make sure they get it! Honey was a delight to interview and there are definitely a few gems in here for everyone, whether you write in this genre or not!

• November 9, 2022Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP369 – Make Luck Through Belief

  Today in the SPA we talk about not relying on luck to build your career. We believe you can make your own luck, but don’t wait for it to happen! Ron Weasley (or not, we’re not really sure) says believing in yourself is 100% more powerful than luck! Overnight success may happen for some, but if you dig deeper often, what appears to be a lucky break is actually from years of hard work to get to that point.

• November 2, 2022Guest Interview, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girl Podcast – EP 368 – Monster Romance With Lillian Lark

  In this fun episode with Lillian Lark, we learn about monster romance - what it is, how it's defined, who's writing it well, and how to write one for yourself! Not only is Lillian doing well in the genre of monster romance, she's also doing amazing things on TikTok, so we were able to quiz her on her tricks and techniques for the social media platform as well.

• October 26, 2022Self-Publishing Process & Tools, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP367 – How To Self Edit Your Second Draft

  There are many types of editing and today we're discussing how the SPA Girls approach a second draft. Plus, don't miss out on the Second Draft Checklist, an amalgamation of all our processes in one handy spot.

• October 18, 2022Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP366 – How To Recover When You Screw Up

  This episode sees the SPA Girls sharing their own Big Oops and how they recovered / learned from them. Inspiration plus for indies at all stages of their careers :)

• October 12, 2022Guest Interview, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast  – EP365 – Write To Riches with Renee Rose

  In this episode we talk to the amazing Renee Rose about her new release Write To Riches!  15-time USA Today bestselling romance author Renee talks to us about the power of abundance mindset, manifesting your desires, and attracting wealth. She's an amazingly inspirational speaker and this is one episode you don't want to miss!

• October 5, 2022Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP364 – Superfans with Steffanie Holmes

  Ever wondered how authors create a reader base full of raving superfans... and how you could do it too?? Well, wonder no more! This week we have bestselling paranormal and contemporary romance author Steffanie Holmes on the show to talk about how to create superfans for your books. Steff talks about the methods she's used to create stronger connections with her readers, including having a strong author brand, newsletters, interconnected stories, and so much more! We love having Steff in the SPA, and she's super smart with her marketing, so this is an episode you don't want to miss!

• September 27, 2022Guest Interview, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP363 – World-building with Nalini Singh

  A long-time friend of the SPA Girls, multi NYT Bestseller, Nalini Singh, is here to talk about world-building, and if anyone knows how to do this–it’s Nalini!

• September 14, 2022Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP361 – Mia Brody and Instalove Short Romance

  This week we talk to the amazing Mia Brody all about how she makes a fulltime living writing instalove short romances. It's an amazingly informative episode with plenty of wow moments, that you won't want to miss!

• September 7, 2022Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP360 – How To Find What Works For You

  One size doesn't fit all - we've all heard that saying, but how do you know what DOES work for you? In this episode, we discuss how to identify what best works for you in three areas: - Your Writing Process - Your Publishing Strategy - Your Marketing Strategy and share tips and resources that we've learned along the way.

• August 31, 2022Guest Interview, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP 359 – Film & TV Options for Authors with Michele Scott

  It was our great pleasure to interview Michele Scott, a NYT, Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestselling author of over forty novels and the CEO/owner of equestrian sports medicine company Professional’s Choice, Inc. Michele has written in various genres including thrillers, mysteries, young adult mysteries, fantasy, and women’s fiction. Her thriller Daddy’s Home from her Holly Jennings’ Thriller series written under her pen name of AK Alexander has sold over one million copies and was the #1 bestselling book in the UK Amazon. Her thriller Mommy, May I? was number 2 on the Amazon list. Her Wine Lover's Mysteries are currently optioned, and a movie version is projected to begin filming this year.

• August 17, 2022Guest Interview, Self-Publishing Process & Tools, Selling Direct To Readers

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP357 – Direct Selling with Morgana Best

  Do you want to have an author store and don't know where to start? USA Today bestselling author Morgana Best takes us through the process of setting up your store and best practices. This is an episode you won't want to miss!

• August 10, 2022Self-Publishing Process & Tools, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP356 – Running With Your Ideas

  This week we talk about how to find new ideas, and how to use those ideas in new ways. How to find them in the everyday hustle and bustle of our lives, and how to turn them on their heads to create something intriguing and interesting to our readers.  We go through a series of story starters, of intriguing kernels that you can use to create an awesome story that your readers will love to read... 

• August 2, 2022Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP355 – Six Figure Amish Romance and Cozy Mystery Author Samantha Price

  Samantha Price is a USA Today bestselling author of Amish romance books and cozy mysteries. She was raised Brethren and has a deep affinity for the Amish way of life, which she has explored extensively with over a decade of research.  Focused and organized, Samantha's the results speak for themselves, but it will amaze you how prolific she is and how she built her career in a relatively small niche. Listen in to the episode for all the details of how understanding that niche inside and out made her such a popular and successful author.

• July 13, 2022Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP352 – Interview with Dave Chesson from Kindlepreneur

  Dave Chesson joins us in the SPA to chat about some of the awesome apps that he's designed for authors on the Kindleprenuer website.  Dave is a smart guy, and he knows his stuff when it comes to self publishing, so the apps are all super useful and on-point. This includes the free apps, such as the Book Description Generator and the Hashtag Generator (if you've ever struggled with finding good hashtags on any of the socials, that's the app for you!) and his two powerful paid apps, Publisher Rocket and newbie Atticus.  Join us for Dave's insider tips and tricks on how to get the best use out of the apps, and hear some of his best insights into marketing for indies.

• July 5, 2022Guest Interview, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP351 – The Calm Entrepreneur, Corinne O’Flynn

  When you feel the frantic need to achieve and you don’t, it’s easy to get stuck or suffer burnout. If that’s happened to you, then Corinne O'Flynn has some ideas to get you through. The Calm Entrepreneur was born out of a series of aha moments over the past several years. It's about getting back to basics and re-assessing and re-securing the foundational practices. We know you'll love this awesome episode with Corinne!

• June 16, 2022Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP348 – Millionaire Author Mindset with Lee Savino

  USA Today best-selling author Lee Savino is a bubble of energy, and this week's podcast with her left us all feeling motivated and inspired. We know you'll love this episode too! Lee talked to us about how the mindset of an indie author is vitally important, more important than any other aspect of writing and publishing, including all the tactics and systems we hear about all the time. If you can get your mindset right, you can achieve anything. We talk with Lee about all the mindset changes she had to make, and as well as her tips and tricks around mindset, all of which helped her to become a successful, million-dollars-a-year indie author.

• June 7, 2022Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP347 – The Power Of Writing Sprints

  Are you struggling to get your words down each day? Why not give writing sprints a try? You can do them alone, however, you might find they work better with others like we did. Listen to the podcast for more tips regarding: • training yourself • how to set up a sprint group • the power of structure • what length of sprint? • top of the hour sprints • tracking

• June 1, 2022Guest Interview, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP346 – Interview with Julia Roberts, Creativity Coach

  Today we're joined by Julia Roberts, MSc, writer, creativity coach, and soon-to-be Ted Talker. Julia is going to talk us through procrastination and the tools we can use to manage it. Goodness knows we all need this help!

• May 25, 2022Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP345 – How To Write A Successful Series

  Do you want to learn how to design a series that will hook and keep readers, AND set you up for long term success? Helen Scheuerer joins us today to tell all!

• May 18, 2022Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP344 – Managing Book Projects

  This week, in answer to a listener question, we talk about how we manage the process of writing a book. How many do we write at one time? Do we work on multiple projects at different stages, or just write and edit one book at a time? What do we do to ensure we stay on track and don't procrastinate? 

• May 10, 2022Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP343 – Interview with Asa Maria Bradley

  Bestselling Author Asa Maria Bradley suggests collaboration as a way to get creative again. Growing up in Sweden surrounded by archaeology and history steeped in Norse Mythology, inspired her sexy and paranormal romance series. She also writes urban fantasy about empowered heroines who kick ass while saving the world. Her work has received a double nomination for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA contest, a Reviewers Choice Award nomination, a Holt Medallion win, and Bookseller’s Best Award win. The last couple of years were rough on Asa’s creativity, and almost by chance she joined a bunch of collaboration projects. With different strategies and aims, working with other writers gave her the creative spark needed to enjoy writing again. Besides providing accountability, the projects validated and inspired her work. Today she shares the challenges and rewards that she experienced from writing for and promoting several collaborations.

• April 20, 2022Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP340 – Successful First Drafts

  Hit the ground running with this episode all about how to successfully finish the first draft of your novel! We talk about how we stay motivated, what you need to know before you can start, how we keep going when we get to the saggy middle, what we plan beforehand, and what we leave to figure out as we go. If you've been struggling to get started on your first draft, or you're wallowing somewhere in the middle, this is the episode for you!

• April 12, 2022Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP339 – Becoming a Full Time Writer

  Do you want to be a full-time author? Today we discuss how we transitioned to writing full-time, including: • how we approached the financial and business planning side • balancing the creative and business sides of the job • mindset tips and corrections along the way • our expectations versus reality • courage and resourcefulness Make a plan, understand your process, know how much you need to earn and adopt the right mindset to ensure you’ll be ahead of the game.

• March 30, 2022Guest Interview, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP 337 – Creating Audio Books

  In the Spa this week we talked to the talented Naomi Barton. With more people listening to audio books now, there has never been a better time to learn about this side of our industry. Naomi has produced audio books for our very own Cheryl, under CA Phipps, her cozy mystery pen name. We talk about processes, cost, and the industry. You won’t want to miss this one! 

• March 23, 2022Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP336 – PR for Authors with Lilian Sue

  This week we talk to long-time PR coach and publicist Lilian Sue about how authors can successfully use PR to help with their author business. Her aim is to help authors fulfill their potential and become global industry leaders by focusing on how to build a healthy PR mindset above any strategy. We talk about authors can develop strong and healthy PR mindsets (by busting down fear and imposter syndrome) and how to use the right tools, knowledge, and resources to fulfill their goals. It's another awesome episode!

• March 15, 2022Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity, Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP 335 – Romance Your Goals with Zoe York

  Today we welcome back for a record 3rd time, Zoe York, to talk about Romancing Your Goals. Like so many authors it was hard to read and write during 2020 which was the last time Zoe was with us. Yet, her latest book Romancing Your Goals was written during the pandemic and highlights how to treat your business and is full of wonderful tips to build a marketable genre fiction series. Join us to find out more about Romancing your Goals!

• March 2, 2022Guest Interview, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP333 – MM Romance With Jay Hogan

  Jay Hogan writes character driven mm romances with lots of humour, a good dose of reality and a splash of angst.

• February 23, 2022Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP332 – TikTok Tips with AK Mulford

  This week we talk to fantasy author AK Mulford about how she got started on TikTok! We cover TikTok for authors in depth: how to start, who to follow, how to get your follower count up, best length of videos, what to post, how to create the videos, hashtags, sounds, dealing with comments, batching, duets, stitching, etiquette plus differences from other social media platforms. And most importantly: does it sell books? If you've ever considered jumping on TikTok, this is the episode for you! 

• January 27, 2022Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP328 – All About Preorders

  Confused about preorders? Wondering if you should start using them? Wondering if you should stop using them? This is the episode for you! We talk about what preorders are and how they work, how we use them successfully, and when we think you shouldn't use preorders.

• December 30, 2021Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP324 – Recharging For Authors

  Happy New Year people! It's a crazy time of year, and this episode is all about why you need to take time out, recharge your batteries and come back in the new year ten times more productive and energised!!!

• December 22, 2021Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP323 – Christmas Special 2021

  Despite 2021’s best efforts we’ve managed to do some great work this year and had some good times. From launching as planned when health or life got in the way, to self-improvement on many levels, we’ve hit the markers. Maybe not on time or in an effortless ballet-like movement, but we’re taking the wins and so should you! SPAGirls’ favourite moment: We spent 8 hours together on a train trip to conference where we ran a workshop, plus Wendy and Cheryl hosted a panel. Being with friends and other fellow writers was a tonic that needs to be bottled! Listen in for: Our favourite moments of the year. Apologies as Wendy tells us dad jokes! Christmas recipes we love! SPA Girls Podcast - www.spagirlspodcast.com

• December 15, 2021Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP322 – Uncommon Writing Advice

  We’ve all heard the conventional wisdom for fiction writers – but is it actually appropriate for self-publishing today?  We break down five pieces of uncommon advice that have stood us in good stead and why we think they’ll work for you too ...

• November 24, 2021Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP319 – Reader Reach with Written Word Media

  It’s no secret that we use Written Word Media for ads and while we don’t have affiliate links, we can’t think of a reason not to try Freebooksy and Bargainbooksy. But what would you say to them running Facebook ads for you? Today we talk to Clayton Noblit, Senior Marketing Manager, along with Grant Shepherd, Ad Fulfilment Manager at Written Word Media about their new advertising offering, Reader Reach. Reader Reach is a data-driven all-in-one ad solution that allows authors to reach thousands of readers on Facebook as efficiently as possible. Learning how to build ad images, audience research, or writing ad copy, the setting up and running ads can be time-consuming, costly, and stressful. Reader Reach does all the heavy lifting for you. The Reader Reach team handles everything, from ad creative and copy to audience targeting and bidding. Their goal is to help you find the right audience for your book, and let you focus on what matters most: writing your next book!

• November 11, 2021Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP317 – StoryOrigin

  Evan Gow is the indie developer of StoryOrigin, a marketing tool and community of authors that work together to find reviewers, build mailing lists, increase sales, and stay on top of deadlines.

• November 3, 2021Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP316 – Interview with Nicholas Erik

  Wondering how to get started with Facebook ads, but not sure where to start? Join us for today's podcast with Facebook ads guru, Nicholas Erik! Nicholas is a science fiction author with more than 20 books to his name. He's also written books for authors including The Ultimate Guide to Book Marketing and The Ultimate Guide to Productivity, as well as running courses about Facebook Ads, Amazon Ads and BookBub Ads for authors. He was awesome to talk to and gave a huge amount of useful information for authors - this is one of those episodes you really don't want to miss!

• October 27, 2021Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP315 – Interview with Theodora Taylor

  After logging time as a music journalist, playwright, and radio writer, Theodora Taylor fell in love with penning hot books with heart. Since deciding to become an author, she’s published 54 books in a range of genres—but with one thing in common—universal fantasies.  She's here to tell us what they are, and how you can use them to get your books on the bestseller lists!

• September 29, 2021Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP311 – Top Ten Takeaways for 2021

  This episode we're sharing the key things that have moved our writing careers, and creativity, forward so far in 2021. It's a typical "SPA Girls on the couch" episode with some raw honesty and bad humor thrown into the mix. We cover a lot of ground, so grab a cuppa and get comfortable.

• September 8, 2021Guest Interview, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP308 – Interview with Virginia Milner from Kindle Vella

  If you've been considering taking the plunge into Amazon's new serials platform, Kindle Vella (and yes, Wendy asked if they'd named it after her), then this is the episode for you! We talked to Virginia Milner, the principal product manager for Kindle Direct Publishing, and leader of the Kindle Vella project, all about the new platform. She explained how Kindle Vella - which launched in July 2021 to readers - works, how authors are already using it to their advantage, and the possible ways that Kindle Vella could be used by authors in the future to broaden their readership, and sell more books.  It was an awesome episode, and we really enjoyed having Virginia on the show to explain it all first hand!

• August 18, 2021Guest Interview, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP305 – Talking Police Equipment For Fiction Authors

  We talk to Veteran Police Detective Adam Richardson about Police equipment for fiction authors today. Adam spent seventeen years of his almost 25-year law enforcement career as a detective.

• August 12, 2021Guest Interview, Mindset, Health & Writing Life, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP304 – Interview with Rachael Herron

  International bestselling author Rachael Herron joins us in the SPA today to talk to us about her writing journey, how she has created a career with multiple genres, how she deals with procrastination and blocks in her writing, and the main differences she sees between having books traditionally published and being an indie. It's an awesome interview, and we loved having Rachael in the SPA! 

• July 21, 2021Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP301 – 50 Shades Of Writing: Does Size Matter?

  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!

• July 14, 2021Self-Publishing Process & Tools, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP300 – Pride and Perseverance

  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! 

• July 7, 2021Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP299 – Book Marketing On A Shoestring

  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.

• June 8, 2021Guest Interview, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP295 – How To Build Your Author Village – with Celeste Barclay

  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. Celeste 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.

• May 19, 2021Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP292 – Wide vs Exclusive

  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... 

• May 10, 2021Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP291 – 9 Writing Tools We Love!

  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. 😉

• May 5, 2021Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP290 – Dealing with Edits and Critiques

  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. 

• April 14, 2021Self-Publishing Process & Tools, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP287 – Plotting for Pantsers

  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!

• March 24, 2021Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP284 – Lucy Score talks Reader Groups, Releases and Relationships

  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!

• February 24, 2021Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP280 – Scheduling Like A Superstar

  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... 

• January 20, 2021Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP275 – Read Through on a Series

  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!

• December 2, 2020Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP268 – How to Use Bonus Content to Sell Books

  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...

• November 25, 2020Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP267 – Get Your First Book Right

  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! 

• November 11, 2020Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP265 – Reader Groups

  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.

• October 28, 2020Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP263 – Listener Questions: Motivation, Time Management, Local Market

  In this episode we’re answering listener questions - a couple around the change of life many are experiencing right now. We have a few suggestions that helped us through switching to full time writing and the fickle motivation issue. Then we discuss how to tackle being visible in your local market. If you’ve had to deal with these things or are going through them now, please tell us about it on our Facebook page or comment on this post.  Keen to join the SPA Girls in a live workshop? Join our mailing list here and we’ll let you know the minute we have workshop bookings open. https://selfpublishingworkshop.co.nz/index.html Come say hi on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SPAGirlsPodcast/ and Twitter @spagirlspodcast.

• October 7, 2020Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP260 – Interview with Danielle Romero

  This week we have an intriguing chat with author Danielle Romero (Danielle Annett), who has recently switched genres from Urban Fantasy to Contemporary Romance, with some amazing results. She talks us through the decision to change genres, and what she did to make it a success, including some of the big decisions she had to make, such as whether to create a new pen name, how to market it, and what kind of social media/website and newsletter presence she wanted to have with the new genre/name. 

• September 30, 2020Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP259 – Email Advertising Lists

  This week we look at the major email advertising sites we use, as well as some of the smaller, and talk about our success, or lack of it, with each. We also talk about how to prepare for advertising during the upcoming holiday season.

• August 18, 2020Guest Interview, Mindset, Health & Writing Life, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP253 – Maximize Your Mindset with Amira Alvarez

  Amira Alvarez is the founder and CEO of The Unstoppable Woman, a global coaching company helping entrepreneurs, empire builders, athletes, creatives, and rising stars in all fields achieve their dreams and goals in record time. Today we're going to talk to Amira specifically on how we can find focus in this chaotic time, and be productive without burning ourselves out.

• August 12, 2020Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP252 – Uncomplicate Your Publishing

  One thing we really believe in here at the SPA is that simple is better. There's so much noise on the internet, and so many different things that we're told that we "have" to do to be successful as self publishers, it can get confusing and overwhelming. So we decided to talk about ways to keep things simple in your publishing career, to prove that it doesn't have to be complicated to be amazing. With that in mind, this week we talk about our own experiences of keeping things simple, and how it worked out for us. We also give our tips on ways that you can simplify what you're doing, whilst also amplifying your career...

• August 5, 2020Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – Ep251 – Alana Terry, Facebook Ads for Authors

  Alana Terry is a 6-figure, USA Today bestseller with more than forty published Christian suspense novels. She hosts the Successful Writer Podcast which is a  fabulous marketing-focused podcast for indie authors of any genre. Alana has also created several highly regarded courses to help authors reach their dreams of achieving creative and commercial success. Today we're going to talk with Alana about how she uses advertising to grow her readership and how authors can navigate the sometimes confusing waters of Amazon ads and Facebook ads!

• June 24, 2020Guest Interview, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP 245 – Interview with Urban Fantasy author Keri Arthur

  In this podcast, we speak to the wonderfully talented and successful Urban Fantasy author Keri Arthur. She talks to us about transitioning from traditional publishing to self-publishing and shares tips and processes from her writing journey.

• May 27, 2020Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP241 – Power Words

  In this episode we talk about power words: those TAKE ACTION words you use in your ads, your blurbs and your writing to get readers to take action - ie BUY your book /READ MORE.

• May 20, 2020Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP240 – BETA Readers, ARCs and Reviews

  Have you been told you need more reviews, but you don't know how to get them? Are you wanting to find some BETA readers, but can't figure out where they lurk? Ever wondered who you send an ARC to, and what you get in return?  This is the episode for you! We go through each topic, explaining the terms, telling you how to find more of them, and why they're all so important to us as writers. 

• May 13, 2020Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP239 – How to Be Creative When You Don’t Feel Like It

  Sometimes the muse has left the building. Or you’re tired. Or something happens that you weren’t expecting. Yeah, like a pandemic. That’ll do it! There are probably very few people who haven’t felt the panic or sense of doom and gloom in some small way, and others far worse than the SPAGirls. It’s fair to say that we all took a moment (read a week or three) to get our heads back in the game, and even if you didn’t, that’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up about anything you didn’t do or won’t do if that is the case because it won’t change anything or make you feel better. However, if you’re like us, you’ll be ready to get back in the game. Writing is our livelihood, and we’re doing okay, so we thought we’d give you a few things that helped us.

• April 15, 2020Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP235 – Interview with Alessandra Torre

  We're joined in this episode by NYT Bestseller, the fabulous Alessandra Torre, to talk All Things Goodreads. Some authors are wary of Goodreads due to harsh reviews, but there are good reasons to use this platform and in this episode, Alessandra explains why.

• March 25, 2020Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP232 – Interview with Lucy Score

  If you've been wondering about how to make the most of being in KU...this is the episode for you!  Lucy Score is the bestselling author of romantic comedy and contemporary romance novels and she's been doing super well in KU. We asked her to be on the show to tell you how to make the most of being exclusive to Amazon as well!   Lucy is smart and savvy, and gave us some fantastic tips, so be sure you have a pen and notepad with you as you listen to this one! She also has one of the best author taglines we've seen to date: "Writing romance so steamy, her family can't look her in the eye!"

• March 18, 2020Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – Ep 231 – What And Where To Post On Social Media

  IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND WHY YOU'RE POSTING ON SM:  Have a specific goal, and know why you want to achieve it. Just doing it because everyone else is doing it is a terrible reason. You won't be motivated to continue and you won't know what kind of content to put up, and you won't achieve anything.  Listen to this podcast, www.spagirlspodcast.com, where we give you some ideas and explain what platforms are available and what their focus is.

• February 19, 2020Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity, Guest Interview

  SPA Girls Podcast – Ep 227 – Elana Johnson Part One – Productivity

  Ever wondered how you could get more writing time in your day? Today in the SPA, we talk to uber-productive USA Today bestselling author Elana Johnson, about what she does to get her writing goals completed. She writes adult contemporary beach romance and christian cowboy romance under two different pen names and is currently publishing at least one book a month. And just so you know that her work ethic is paying off... in January 2020 Elana hit a 6 figure month for the first time. Join us for another excellent interview with a top indie author!

• January 8, 2020Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP221 – Reviving Your Backlist With Laurelin Paige

  This week we talk with NYT Bestseller and marketing superstar, Laurelin Paige, about how we can revive and reinvigorate our backlists. Even if you're still building your publishing empire, this is a must-listen for Laurelin's marketing genius! Click read more for our show notes with Top Tips!

• January 1, 2020Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP220 – Our Goals for 2020

  Happy New Year! This episode is a round-up of the goals and visions that we, the SPA Girls, have for 2020. It's gonna be a big year! It's the year of opening ourselves up to all the opportunities out there, being efficient, and focusing on the daily wins. We talk about having the right mindset for achieving your goals, how we're going to make everything happen for us, and how you can make it happen for you too!

• December 25, 2019Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – Episode 219 – Christmas and Our Favourite Guests of 2019

  Let’s clear the air! All our lovely guests are special and they resonate in different ways with each of us. But, if we had to choose . . . Here they are, the ones who made us really think about what we do. The ones who push us to do better. And the ones who inspire us. We thank them all. And thank you for being here and giving us an added encouragement to do this thing we love. Merry Christmas!

• December 11, 2019Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP217 – All About BookBrush

  Today we interview Kathleen Sweeney, Customer Services Manager and Marketing Lead at BrookBrush, an online platform designed to help authors with all their image creation needs. Kathleen helps us delve into what we as writers can get out of BookBrush, and all the features that we can use to create amazing social media and advertising images. She explains the platform, how it works, what options are available and some of her favourite tips to create the right images for your needs. Kathleen also tells us they're always evolving and working on new and exciting things to help us create those wonderful graphics. "As someone who can be at times technologically challenged, I find BookBrush easy to navigate and am always pleasantly surprised at the quality of the graphics I'm able to produce in a short space of time." - Wendy xx

• December 4, 2019Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP216 – Sharpen Up Your Author Career

  It's that time of year when we start looking back on the year, wondering how it all flew by so fast, and thinking about what we can do for the coming year.  This week we're talking about another lesson we learned at the Romance Author Mastermind (RAM) - making sure that you've crossed the t's and dotted the i's on all areas in your author career, from your backlist to your website and everywhere in between. It's about making sure everything is as tight and sharp as you can make it, and it turns out that it's a vital part of your business. If you want to learn how to sharpen up your author career, this is a must listen episode! 

• November 27, 2019Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP215 – Taking Risks and Being Brave

  If you're anything like the rest of us in the SPA, you're quite happy in your writing cave. You don't really want to leave the comfort of your keyboard. But this episode is all about why you really should take risks, be brave, and learn how to say yes to some of the really scary things in the self publishing industry. We're just recently back from the wonderful Romance Author Mastermind conference put on by Skye Warren, so we use examples from information we learned at this amazing event to help us illustrate our points for this podcast. Another episode full of tips and tidbits that will help your self publishing career!

• October 31, 2019Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP211 – Self Care Isn’t Selfish

  If you don’t take care of yourself, odds are no one else will. So what does it take to make sure you’re firing on all cylinders? We’ve all got our own take on self-care and yet there are plenty of similarities. This episode we talk about the ways that we take care of ourselves, and what you can do to make sure you're doing the same!

• October 15, 2019Guest Interview, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP209 – Editing with Anne Victory

  Confused about the editing process? Today we talk with talented editor Anne Victory, founder of Victory Editing. Anne has always been a stickler for grammar, and at every job she was “volunteered” (or volun-told) to either write or proofread everything from menus to game manuals to advertising copy. That business writing and editing experience came in handy when she started to work in fiction. She enjoys reading, and polishing the written word. Common wisdom says do what you love and you’ll live a long and happy life. With her background in English literature, grammar, and library science, it was a fairly easy decision to work with authors. We discuss what it takes to work with an editor. What you need to think about when you are editing your manuscript and much more.

• October 2, 2019Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP207 – Meeting Reader Expectations

  Ah, readers... They're elusive. Magical. Confusing.  But we all want them.  This episode, we break down the topic of reader expectations, discussing what they are, what it means for you the author, and how to make sure you are fulfilling your readers' expectations.   Why do readers love certain books? What makes them pick one book over another? And more importantly, how do you make sure your book is the one that readers gravitate towards...?  It's all covered in this week's episode of the SPA Girls Podcast! 

• September 18, 2019Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP205 – Why Is My Series Not Selling?

  Are your sales getting you down?  Do you wish your series was selling better?  Can you resuscitate it or is it DOA? This episode we talk through some of the possible reasons that your book or series might not be selling.  From cover, editing and blurb writing, to content, tropes, meeting reader expectations, and much, much more.  We attempt to help you troubleshoot what might be wrong, and what you can do to amp it up, make it work, and sell more books! 

• September 4, 2019Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls – EP203 – How to Fail to Succeed

  Do you feel like your writing career is filled with mistakes? Failures? Problems?  Good! That means you're putting yourself out there, trying new things, and moving in a positive direction in your writing career. If you're not doing any of the above...start right now!  Why, you ask, in horror?  Because having a pile of failures next to your name means that you're getting out there and doing things in your author business. If you talk to the most successful entrepreneurs in the world, they'll all tell you stories of the times they failed, the businesses that didn't quite go as expected, and the problems they had to overcome. And that's okay, because learning how to fail is integral to succeeding. It teaches us resilience, determination, and persistence. It shows us that we're human, and that it's okay to make mistakes, as long as we keep going.  On the flip side, if you aren't doing anything, you won't fail. Guaranteed.  Which would you prefer? 

• August 14, 2019Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP200 – What We’ve Learned From Our Amazing Guests

  Here it is. Our 200th Episode! Yay! Who'd have thought that we'd ever make it this far?? First of all, we'd like to say thank you to everyone who listens to the show, we appreciate you all! It's been an amazing few years, and we've loved every minute of it. This week is a celebration episode, where we look back over those 200 episodes, and talk about the common traits of all the successful self publishers we've spoken to. From the humbleness of Bella Andre and the flexible nature of Serena Woods, to the smart work ethic of Skye Warren and the focus of Kathryn Le Veque, we cover it all. We will give you the ultimate list of self publishing traits that will help you rise to the top of the Indie pile! Don't miss it!

• July 9, 2019Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP195 – The Magic Pill For Authors

  We all want a magic wand to be waved over us, or to swallow a pill and instantly be amazing authors. But that's just not possible. Learning to write takes time and hard work. There's no way around it. This week's guest, fantasy author Laura Van Arendonk-Baugh, talks about our expectations as authors, and why we think we're going to be amazing right from the moment we first pick up a pen (or put fingers to the keyboard). And she should know. She's a behavioural scientist who works with problem animals and she loves to break down and assess the how and why of our behaviour. She talks about why we expect so much of ourselves, how society views talent versus skill, and gives some mind-blowing tips on how to trick your brain into doing exactly what you want, i.e. get the writing done! She also talks about how to deal with things like fear of failure, our writing not being as good as we want it to be, and how to keep going despite the barriers we put up.

• July 3, 2019Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP194 – A Day In The Life Of A Writer

  Ever wondered how the SPA Girls spend their days?  Imagining champagne and caviar at fancy hotels?  This is the episode where you find out for sure...  We talk through how we spend our days; from when we get up, how many hours we work, how many words we write, and how much marketing we do. We talk about our distractions, how we structure our days and the challenges of working from home.  Before you ask, this was a reader question, so we're not just doing it because we like to talk about ourselves... :) 

• June 26, 2019Self-Publishing Process & Tools, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP193 – Keeping It Simple

  There's so much advice out there in Self-Publishing-Land. We're told you have to do this, and you have to do that, and you have to do the next thing to be a success in self publishing.  There's so much conflicting advice that it can actually do your head in...  This week, we go through some of the things that you can do to keep your self publishing career on track. How to keep it simple and not get caught up in ALL THE THINGS...  Keeping it simple is about not sweating the little things, keeping yourself focused on the writing, and getting the book finished! 

• June 12, 2019Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity, Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP191 – Seven-Figure Success With Skye Warren

  Ever thought that if only you had more time in your day, you'd be successful? Rich? How you'd get all your writing done?  Well, this is the podcast for you!  When romance author Skye Warren went from being able to work all hours of the day to only being able to manage two hours every day, she had to figure out how to keep money from her writing coming in. And fast. She had a mortgage and other bills to pay.  What she learned was that by focusing her efforts, she was able to concentrate on the small percentage of actions that made her the most money - writing and facebook ads.  This is the story of how Skye went from struggling to earn five figures while working all day, to earning over a million dollars a year working only four hours a day.  This is part one of two parts you don't want to miss! 

• May 29, 2019Guest Interview, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP189 – Pantsing with Patricia McLinn

  If you're a writer who hates to outline, you'll love this week's podcast! We talk to Patricia McLinn, a mystery and romance author who is also a pantser who writes out of sequence. She's here to tell you that it doesn't matter how you write it, as long as it comes together in the end! Patricia worked at the Washington Post for more than 20 years, is a past president of NINC, and has published more than 50 novels (at least that's how many we could count on her website...) so she's an experienced writer and editor who knows what she's talking about. She talks about how she writes first and subsequent drafts, her techniques for ensuring she has the right structure, and how her characters talk to her until she writes their stories... Are you worried that you can't outline, and that you're not following the latest advice on how to write faster, better or smarter? Join us to hear Patricia's take on how to succeed as someone who writes by the seat of their pants and still keeps producing many, many books.

• April 17, 2019Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP183 -Facebook Ads with Maria Luis (Part Two)

  Are your Facebook ads as successful as you want them to be? Do you wish you could make the kind of ads you've heard other authors boasting about? This is the episode for you! This week we delve back into Facebook Ads with Amazon Bestselling Author and all around lovely lady Maria Luis... She takes what she talked about last week, and adds to it, giving us the lowdown on how to make an ad convert into sales. Maria is super knowledgeable and informative, and gives us some amazing tips and insider advice on how to create and run successful Facebook Ads. If you've been wondering about Facebook ads, or trying to figure out how to make ads that convert, this is the episode for you!

• April 10, 2019Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP182 – Facebook Ads with Maria Luis (Part One)

  Not sure about how Facebook Ads work? Need to learn the basics? Join the SPA Girls as bestselling author Maria Luis breaks down Facebook Ads for us, from the beginning steps, to how to choose the best images; plus what to do, and what not to do, and everything in between!  This is the first part of a two part series on Facebook Ads from an author who has been successfully running her own ads for the last two years. It features loads of tips and advice for running ads, how to tell if it's a good ad, and how to scale up once you've got an ad that's working for you.  If you've been thinking about trying out Facebook ads, or have previously tried them only to be disappointed, then this is the episode for you! 

• April 3, 2019Guest Interview, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP181 – Learn Dictation With Kilby Blades

  If you've ever thought you'd like to try dictation, this is the episode for you. We talk to award winning indie author Kilby Blades about how she amped up her writing rates by learning dictation.  It's the ultimate skill - being able to use that time in the car, on walks, or even as you're doing the dishes to keep writing.  The SPA Girls were all enthralled as we pumped Kilby for information, and she didn't disappoint! Learn about her methods, her tips and tricks and just what you need to do to become a dictation expert. 

• March 20, 2019Guest Interview, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP179 – Interview with Tara Cremin from Kobo

  This week we talk to Tara Cremin, Author Experience Manager from Kobo Writing Life. It's always great to chat to someone from each of the platforms for the real insider information, and Tara doesn't disappoint! For those of you who've never loaded a book to Kobo, Tara talks us through the process and why you should load direct instead of through one of the other aggregators. She also gives us the down-low on boxed sets, pricing, and promotions through Kobo, and how to make sure you get the best results. Then she talks about some of the exciting new opportunities, including their brand new audiobook service, which is super exciting! "We're just a bunch of book-nerds," was our favourite quote from the interview, and sums up Kobo quite nicely, we think. :)

• March 12, 2019Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP178 – Newsletter Strategies with Larissa Reynolds, Part 2

  What's the one objection you have to overcome to get readers to buy your book? That question is the cliffhanger that Larissa Reynolds left us on in part 1. And now, here it is! The episode where you get to find out the answer... In this second episode about newsletters, Larissa Reynolds talks to us about how to sell your books consistently via your list. She's been writing newsletters for more than 20 years, and says it's about more than just sending regular emails. It's about knowing your readers, and making sure you're approaching them in the right way. She talks to us about how to get the right mindset with regards to your newsletter, how to focus the newsletter in the right direction, and how to ensure you're connecting with your readers so they want to go out and buy your books.

• January 23, 2019Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP171 – Interview With Serenity Woods

  We are delighted to welcome romance author, Serenity Woods, to the SPA today. Serenity shares her self-publishing journey with us - the highs and the lows - from her modest start with a publishing a novella, to her success selling wide. She also very honestly talks about her decision behind moving to Amazon exclusively and the strategies for maximizing KU sales

• January 15, 2019Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP170 – Get Your Head In The Game

  Are you motivated or disillusioned by all the "end of year earnings" screenshots some authors post? For some of us, it's incredibly inspiring; others find it a distraction or even a bit depressing! There is no "right" answer - the trick is understanding yourself and this week we talk about the things you CAN control and why you should feel super positive about that!

• December 19, 2018Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP166 – Retrospective Of The Best Of 2018

  Merry Christmas from the SPA Girls! We hope you all have the best of everything this festive season, and that you get to spend the big day with the people you love. (And failing that, some chocolate and a good book.)  In the spirit of giving, we've created an episode full of tips and tricks, advice, with the best of 2018 crammed into one small (ish) episode. (Okay, not so small). Join us for a retrospective of 2018 to find out what we did right, what we did wrong, and how you can learn from us to help you make 2019 the best year yet! 

• November 21, 2018Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP162 – How To Launch Like A Pro

  In response to a few recent questions we've been asked on this topic, we decided to talk through the basics of launch strategies for first-time or early career authors, or for authors starting off a new series or pen name.  It's sometimes difficult to know what you should do when you're launching a new book. We all want to make sure our book babies do as well as they possibly can when we launch, but there's also a whole lot of often contradictory advice out there on the best way to do it.  This episode is about distilling the best of the best launch advice out there for authors, so that you can make the right decisions about your launch strategy. Go forth and conquer! 

• September 19, 2018Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP153 – From Cookie Cutter To Kapow: Bringing Your Characters To Life

  Name your favourite character from any book you've ever read. What did you like best about that character? Was it how they acted? Was it their personality, or because they stood up for something they believed in? Those are the kinds of questions you should be asking when you're designing the characters for your next book. This week our topic is how to create characters that your readers will love, and with that in mind we dissect what makes a good character and how you can create characters for your stories that will take your novel to the next level. We delve into what characteristics are important, how to create tension between the hero and heroine using their personalities and flaws, and how you can use your character's traits to move the story forward and follow the arc of the plot. We also talk about how to help your readers to get to know your characters, how to pull them into the story by making them feel like they know your characters really well, and how to make readers cry. (Mawaahahaha....)

• September 12, 2018Guest Interview, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP152 – Interview with Tina Dietz About Audiobooks

  This week we have the fabulous Tina Dietz, an expert in the area of audio, podcasting and audiobooks, who talks to us about the ways we can be using audio in our writing careers.  She gives us the low down on audiobooks, how to get them recorded, how they fit into the marketing of your other book formats, and how to promote/market them to your audience.  She also talks about the expanding audiobook industry and why we should all be considering adding audiobooks to our inventory of books.  Tina gave us some amazing ideas for how to promote audiobooks, or even just using audio to promote your print or ebook versions of your book. She's a very smart marketer, with a strong grasp of the audio market, and this is a must-listen episode for anyone who's thinking of getting into audiobooks, or who already has audiobooks on sale. Or in fact anyone who thinks they could use audio in any way to help with the marketing of their books. :) 

• September 5, 2018Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP151 – Interview With Grace Burrowes

  This week we have the delightful Grace Burrowes on the show, chatting to Cheryl and Wendy about her career, why she started writing, how she stays authentic, and why she uses blogging to connect to readers. A New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Grace says she's a recovering child welfare attorney, who for years turned to the reliable HEA of romance novels to balance out the stress in her life as a litigator.  This is a delightful interview with a smart, savvy author who is very open about her writing, her world view, and her career. 

• August 29, 2018Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP150 – Should I Prune My Mailing List?

  The recent kerfuffles with MailerLite raised an interesting point for those of us in the SPA - should we be pruning our mailing lists, and if so, how do we go about doing that?  This week we talk about mailing list health, what it actually means, and how to make sure your mailing list is the best it can be. This includes everything from when to cull people from your list, how to try to re-engage with people who don't seem to be engaging, how to ensure you have the best quality list you can have, and how to increase your email deliverability.  If you're worried about your list, or thinking you might need to cut some people, hopefully this episode will give you something to help you make the changes you need to make. :) 

• August 8, 2018Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP147 – Top Ten Traits for Self-Publishing Success

  This week we talk about the top ten traits we believe you need to have to be a successful self-published author.  These include, among other things, having a thick skin, being willing to take risks and staying focused. They're not always easy, and some involve practice and mindfulness, but if you manage to get everything on this list right, we believe you'll be on the road to success.   It might seen weird to talk about stuff like this being super important over things like knowing how to put a book up on Amazon or how to market your book, but in fact a lot of what's involved with being successful in self publishing - in fact in any business - is to do with getting your head straight and your priorities focused.  With this in mind, we give you some tips on how to develop and attain some of these skills and traits, what to do when you fall off the wagon, and how to get around it if you really just can't manage to develop that thick skin... 

• August 1, 2018Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity, Guest Interview

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP146 – Interview with Becca Syme on Writing Better Faster

  We had a fantastic guest this week in the form of Becca Syme, Cosy Mystery author, writing coach, teacher of the Write Better-Faster course, and podcaster at the Smarty Pants Marketing podcast.  Becca talks to us about how we can all write better-faster in our writing careers, using our own unique skills to improve your chances of success. It's not about tips and techniques for getting more words per hour - it's about understanding who you are as a writer, your strengths within that, and using those talents in the best way to ensure you are successful.  Aside from the fact the she was great fun, the most important takeaway we had from our conversation with Becca is that you don't have to do everything exactly the same way as other people are doing it to be successful. In fact if it's the wrong methodology for you, then you're more likely to fail and feel bad about it, and that creates the opposite outcome from what you were trying to achieve. If you understand who you are, how you think things through and understand the world, then you can use that to create a system that will work for you and totally kick butt!  She was a fabulous guest and very thought provoking in terms of our own systems and thought processes, and we know you'll feel the same way. 

• July 25, 2018Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP145 – Newsletter Ninja Tammi Labrecque

  This week we're joined by the Newsletter Ninja, Tammi Labrecque (of IndiePubIntensive.com), who talks to us about creating an amazing author newsletter that will help amp up your writing career.  She talks about why every author needs a newsletter, and how to turn the people who sign up for your list into super-fans who will buy every book you write. Tammi also gives us a whole heap of tips on what kind of content to put into your newsletter, how to find the perfect subscribers for your books, and when to cut subscribers from your list.  It's another tip-packed episode that you'll want to listen to carefully. I know Shar took heaps of notes (She even broke out the shorthand...) and you will too! 

• July 18, 2018Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP144 – Looking After Your Creative Health

  This week we talk about our own creative health, where we are at, and how we are attempting to ensure our creativity wells don't try up. We use examples from our own writing lives, and give a whole bunch of suggestions for how you, too, can plan and execute your own creative health plans to ensure that you can keep writing, despite the other stresses in your lives.  As Shar says, it's about keeping your muse massaged and your creative health tank topped up, and of course, the writing flowing... 

• July 4, 2018Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP142 – Personal Branding for Authors with Lauren Clemett

  This week we were privileged to have personal branding expert Lauren Clemett with us to discuss how to create your personal author brand, and why it's so important. Based in Australia, Lauren has a wealth of experience with advertising, marketing and branding from a distinguished career in England, New Zealand and Australia. She now helps entrepreneurs understand their personal brand, and how they can use that to amp up their business, and find the right clients. For us, she talks about how to create a personal brand for you the author, and how to figure out who your readers are, and why they should love you! (Hint: it's all about them)  If the thought of branding gives you hives, then you need to sit down and have a listen to this episode! Lauren takes us through the basics, explains how to create a brand that represents you and your books, and talks about the ways that you can use this information to amp up your books and your author business.  This is another tip-packed episode, so make sure you have your note book handy! 

• June 28, 2018Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP141 – Ten FREE Online Tools for Authors

  Looking for some new online tools to help you in your publishing journey? Curious about what online time-savers other authors have, and how they use them to make their careers work better, faster, smarter? Is your budget creaking at the seams? Don't worry, we're here to help!  This week we give you Ten FREE Online Tools and Websites that you can use to upskill, inform and educate yourself in your self publishing journey. Every single tool we give you is something that we've used ourselves, and that we can personally recommend to you.  We were also slightly nutty this week, so be prepared for some craziness!! 

• June 20, 2018Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP140 – Tempting Tag Lines and Heart-stopping Hooks

  Ever tried to distill your book down into the ultimate one-sentence tagline that will sell it to everyone you know? Yeah, so have we. It's a nightmare, right? In this episode of the SPA Girls Podcast we break down hooks - what they are, why they're important, and how to actually find one in your story. To make it just that little bit easier for you, we use examples from actual books, and then use those examples to understand hooks just that little bit better. Then we talk about how to craft a hook that will be so intriguing and memorable for your readers, they'll immediately one-click your book on Amazon (or Kobo, or Nook).  Then we use a sneaky five-step process to create a tagline from your hook that you can use in the elevator, by the pool or on the street - basically every time someone asks you about your latest book! As an added bonus you can also use that tagline in all your blurbs, advertising and promotion - whenever you need readers to get an instant grasp on your book and why they'd want to read it. Sorted. :) 

• June 5, 2018Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP138 – Getting Your Motivation Back

  This week we talk about how to get yourself motivated again after life gets in the way. It could be illness, personal issues, a holiday, an injury or even just your own negative self talk. Whatever it is that has stopped you from doing the amount of writing you want to do, we're here to bust those barriers down and find ways to get you back on track. We've all experienced it at some point in our lives; that feeling that you're wading through the quicksand, your body and mind not working as quickly as you want them to. It can feel almost impossible some days to get out of that quicksand, but we're here to help. This episode is all about the ways we've managed to get back into healthy, happy writing routines after problems in our lives, and what you can do to do the same. We've got options for different types of writers, because we're all different and what works for one person won't necessarily work for another.  The beginning of this conversation was a series of tweets by author Courtney Milan, who talked about how she got herself back into the writing groove after her writing mojo took a dive, by being more aware of how she was 'training' herself to write, and making writing fun again. Let's all make writing FUN!

• May 23, 2018Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP136 – Dealing with Misinformation and Change in Self Publishing

  This week in the SPA we talk about how to handle changes in the Indie Publishing environment without freaking out, including where to find the information you might need about any new changes, and how to figure out if the information you're reading on Twitter is the real deal.  Whenever a new change is made at Amazon, or a new law is passed somewhere or someone figures out a new way to do something, a certain percentage of people will freak out about it. Sometimes they even have a point. But what we in the SPA are saying is that it's important to actually calmly research the changes, via blogs, FB groups, or your author network, before you start to make changes to your business, or before you start posting online, or taking certain actions. We also give a whole bunch of places that you can go to find more information about the latest news in Indie Publishing, so that you can have the information at your fingertips when you need it.  This is an episode about critical thinking for authors, and how to keep your head when nobody else seems to be... :) 

• May 16, 2018Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP135 – Interview with Maria Luis

  We were lucky enough to have contemporary romance author Maria Luis talking to us this week. She's super marketing-savvy, and talked on a range of topics, from how her launches have changed as she's learned more about the industry, to what kind of advertising she's been doing and her pricing strategy.  She's done some great reader engagement activities, including a serial on her website where she allows her readers to vote on what's going to happen next, and she talks about that, as well as diving deep into her techniques for Amazon Ads and Facebook Ads.  You'll want to break out the notebooks this week, I know we sure did!!

• April 18, 2018Guest Interview

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP131 – Interview with Ricardo Fayet from Reedsy

  This week we talk to Ricardo Fayet, one of the founders of Reedsy, a curated site for matching authors and publishers to industry professionals like editors, designers, marketing professionals, or website designers. He explains to us how the site works, what kind of services indie authors can find on Reedsy, and how to find the best person to work with you. Reedsy is highly curated - they only accept around 3% of the industry professionals who apply to be listed - so they're confident in the quality of the service providers on their site. And that's nice to know when you're planning to spend your hard-earned money on getting your baby (ie your book) published. :) It's a fascinating interview - as well as demystifying Reedsy for us, Ricardo also gives some tips for authors that he's picked up from the many indie conferences he's attended, and talks about some of the changes he's seen since Reedsy first started in 2014.

• March 28, 2018Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP128 – Interview with Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant

  This week Trudi Jaye talks to Indie publishing personalities Johnny B. Truant and Sean Platt from the Story Studio Podcast (previously the Self Publishing Podcast) about their experiences in self publishing in the last few years, from the early days when they didn't know as much about writing or marketing their books to their experiences with non fiction and creating the Smarter Artist community of authors.   They also talk about why we should call ourselves simply publishers instead of self publishers (ie our aim should be to be indistinguishable from traditionally published books), how to find people to help you achieve your publishing dreams (instead of trying to do it all yourself), and why readers are the most important part of an author's career (of course!). It's a fun episode with loads of takeaways that you'll be able to use in your own writing journey. 

• March 21, 2018Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP127 – Industry Insiders Episode – Damon Courtney and Chrissy Munroe

  This week Damon Courtney, founder of BookFunnel, and Chrissy Munroe, Senior Manager Author Performance at Kobo, sit down with Trudi Jaye to discuss the Indie publishing market: what's hot, what's coming soon, and what they both see in their crystal balls for the future. It's a great opportunity to hear some really useful tips and insider knowledge from two people who know the market and what's working for other indies. It was a huge privilege to have them both on the show! NOTE: We've discovered that the recording cuts off just before the end. It's still a great interview, and there's not much missing. So please still listen. :) 

• March 15, 2018Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP126 – Smarter Artist Summit 2018 Debrief

  This week we have extra-special guest Jami Albright on to talk about the 2018 Smarter Artist Summit, which she attended along with SPA Girl host Trudi Jaye.  Trudi and Jami talk about their highlights of the summit including listening to presentations from Michael Anderle, Michelle Spiva, Honoree Corder, as well as getting to meet the huge array of smart and savvy self publishing people who all gather every year to network, connect and learn.  They also talk about the presentation by BookBub representatives Carlyn and Julianne, getting to interview Michael Anderle, chatting to other self publishers, and basically just getting to immerse themselves in self publishing for a couple of days.  Join us as Jami Albright and Trudi Jaye break down their experiences at the 2018 Smarter Artist Summit and find out the big epiphany moments they had from the many presentations over the two days of the summit. 

• February 14, 2018Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP121 – Interview with Scott King

  This week we had the pleasure of chatting to Scott King, author of non-fiction writing books The 5 Day Novel, Finish the Script! and his latest, Outline Your Novel.  Scott has a background in teaching writing, film and scriptwriting at a college level, and has published multiple books in a variety of genres, so he's perfectly placed to write and talk about writing to other authors. He's also brilliant at breaking down information and making it understandable, and there were several 'a-ha!' moments during this interview where Scott explained something we might have intuitively known, but couldn't have put into words. We talked to him about outlining, sub-plots, writing a book in five days, and where to start if you're a newbie. He's a smart, articulate guest who we know will inspire you to get out there and write! 

• February 7, 2018Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP120 – Should You Use a Pen Name?

  This week our topic is whether or not to use a pen name. Choosing the name to represent your writing career might seem like a simple decision, but there's actually a whole host of things to think about when you consider what name to use - from marketing, to reader expectations and even cover dimensions - and it's not just which name sounds the nicest.  Authors have always had pen names and in the Indie environment, it's not uncommon for an author to be managing several. We discuss our own decisions regarding pen names, why we chose the names we did, and the things we had to think about before we made the final decision. From websites to domain names, choosing the right gender for your genre, and even a couple of rants from Shar thrown in for free, this is another thought-provoking episode. 

• January 31, 2018Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP119 – Interview with NYT Bestselling Author Nalini Singh

  This week we were lucky enough to convince the lovely Nalini Singh to come on the show. A fellow Kiwi, Nalini is also a very smart, savvy author who's been on the NYT Bestseller list an incredible 27 times, and has hordes of ravenous fans the world over. Nalini is also the kind of pioneering author who knew that she would need to do more than simply write great books (you know, cause that's easy, right?)  if she was going to make this writing malarky her career. She knew she would need to connect with her readers and give them something more. With this in mind, she started a popular blog when she first set out to conquer the writing world, and then created a massive organically grown newsletter when the time was right, and finally conquered Facebook, where her current page has over 70,000 readers regularly interacting with her. She gives us the low down on how she's created such a strong reader connection, the kind of content she thinks is vital for authors to give their readers and her secret sauce for interacting with all kinds of people. This one is a little long, but it's well worth the listen for the various wise gems of knowledge that Nalini drops on us throughout the show. (I did say she's a smart cookie, didn't I?)

• January 19, 2018Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP117 – Dealing with Negativity and Naysayers

  Do you have one of those people in your life? Someone who thinks the glass is always half empty and wants to bring you down the whole time? Negative Nellys and Doubtful Dougs are around us all the time, and this week we talk a little about ways to deal with the negativity in our lives. If you're going to achieve everything you want to this year, you need to have some strategies to deal with the negativity and turn it around into something more positive. 

• January 10, 2018Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP116 – Tough Mindset Questions for 2018

  Are you all set to achieve everything you really want to achieve in 2018? If you're still not sure, this episode will help! We ask three really great questions around our mindset as self publishing authors for 2018, and try to answer them as honestly as we can. There are some home truths, some deep and meaningfuls, and some nearly-tears (we don't do real tears, we're too tough...!!) as we try to unravel what's going to make 2018 great for the SPA Girls.  It might seem simple, but the questions actually made us think quite a bit about what we really want to achieve this year, and what we need to let go of to succeed. Come prepared to put your thinking caps on, to delve deep and to be honest about what you really want as an author this year... 

• December 20, 2017Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP113 – Twelve Top Tips for 2018 – Christmas Episode

  This week we decided to do a trendy new concept (cause that's what we are, totally trendy): a reverse advent calendar. Basically instead of getting gifts at Christmas, we wanted to give YOU a gift for each of the 12 days of Christmas. So.... With this in mind, our Christmas episode is our Twelve Top Tips for 2018. Essentially we've compiled our best advice for resources to use, marketing advice to amp up your sales, and our favourite people to get advice from who will give you what you need to succeed in 2018. It's one of those episodes that's packed full of advice, as well as that SPA Girls brand of certified crazy that keeps us going in this mixed up world... (Yes, I'm a little tipsy as I write this. Just had the neighbours over for a few Christmas drinks). If you're keen for a laugh, and to learn a few things about rocking it in self publishing, join us for our Christmas Special Episode of the SPA Girls Podcast.

• November 8, 2017Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP107 – Interview with Dave Chesson, King of Keywords

  This week we talk to bestselling self-published author Dave Chesson, otherwise known (mainly by the SPA Girls) as the King of Keywords.  He's the genius behind the Kindlepreneur.com blog, which provides loads of step-by-step information for self published authors, and he's also the creator of the fabulous app KDP Rocket, a tool you can use to do research into your next book topic, find keywords and categories for your current book, and to create a massive list of keywords for Amazon Ads. Among his many talents (which include being a nuclear engineer!!) Dave is a total self-confessed data geek, which means he loves diving into the analytics surrounding Amazon and selling books. Which was great for the SPA Girls, because he was happy to chat to us about keywords, categories and selling more books on Amazon. Yay!

• November 3, 2017Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP106 – Pros and Cons of Kindle Unlimited

  This week we talk about Kindle Unlimited, or KU, as it's commonly known. KU is the exclusive readers' programme for Kindle customers on Amazon, which authors can join as long as they give exclusivity to Amazon. We discuss the pros and cons of going into the KU programme versus going wide on all the different platforms available to self published authors, plus we cover some of the different marketing tactics you might employ, and ways to effectively use the KU platform as an author. It's an information-packed episode, and if you've been wondering whether to join KU, or if you're trying to find ways to use it better, this is an episode you won't want to miss!

• October 11, 2017Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP103 – How To Find An Extra 30 Mins Writing Time Every Day

  This week we delved deep into our writing habits from the last ten years, and brainstormed all the ways that we've managed to squeeze an extra 30 minutes of writing out of our days. We're all busy - work, family, other commitments take our time. But even adding just an extra half hour of writing every day can make a big difference to our monthly totals. It's a trap writers often fall into - the belief that you need several hours of uninterrupted writing time to be able to produce anything worthwhile. It's just not true - even just a half hour can move you significantly forward in your manuscript. Here in the SPA we know that it's about regular, sustained writing over time.  This show is about being mindful, thinking about where you're spending your time every day, and looking for the loopholes where you're losing precious time you could be using for writing. :) 

• October 4, 2017Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP102 – Maximising Book Sales At Christmas

  This week we tackle Christmas. Not literally. I mean we're not going after Santa or anything. No knocking him to the ground, and sitting on him til he gives us presents. That would be weird, right?  No, this week we're talking about what self-published authors should be doing over the Christmas period to promote their books to the hoards of eager Yuletide book buyers. It's a prime book buying time of year, and no one wants to miss out, right? In order to do the best research for our eager listeners, we talked to several other authors (in forums and people we know) for their advice on this topic, as well as using our own experiences. We even discovered a few tips that we didn't know about and are planning to use this year for ourselves!  If you've been wondering what you should do to promote your books this Christmas, you need to listen to this episode! 

• September 27, 2017Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP101 – Interview with Katie Cross

  This week we talk to fantasy and young adult author Katie Cross about being a military wife, learning to be a nap-time authorpreneur, and making every moment count. She also gives us some amazing productivity tips for authors who are trying to squeeze their writing career into already busy lives. Katie impressed us right from the start of the interview when she talked about having done some writing before we got on the call. My paraphrasing summary of her words: "It was a choice between going on Facebook for ten minutes, or doing some writing. I decided to do some writing, and managed to get almost a thousand words done in that time." It's always good to be reminded of the things that we can achieve if we pay a little more attention to what we're doing, and how we choose to spend our time!  It's a great interview, Katie is hilarious, and we loved chatting to her. (And we're totally impressed by everything she's able to achieve in her day!)

• September 20, 2017Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP100 – OMG I CAN’T BELIEVE WE MADE IT TO 100!

  This is a very special episode of the SPA Girls Podcast - our 100th episode! Who'd have thought when we nervously started our first episode that we'd make it this far?? We talk through everything we've learned about self publishing and writing over the last couple of years, give some of the top self publishing tips that we've gleaned, the advice we've been given by our guests, and what's in store for the future of the SPA Girls... Listen in for some laugh-out-loud moments as we celebrate the last 100 episodes of the SPA Girls Podcast. :) 

• September 6, 2017Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP98 – Top tips from RWA 2017

  This week Shar and Trudi interview Wendy and Cheryl about their trip to Orlando for the Romance Writers of America 2017 conference. They give tips on surviving a conference with 2,000 other people, plus talk about what they learned from meeting self publishing gurus like Mark Dawson, Roxanne St Claire, and Kristen Painter. They also give up the best writing tips, the most-secret self-publishing tricks, and how to network like a ninja just for you. This is another tip packed episode, where Shar and I attempt to get over our abandonment issues by pumping them for as much information as possible...! :) 

• August 14, 2017Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP95 – Interview with Brian Meeks

  This week we have a fantastic interview with the delightful Brian Meeks, who talked to us about creating and making money on Amazon Ads. Brian recently published a book on how to master Amazon ads, and runs a very successful Facebook group on the same topic. He was kind enough to break it all down to the simple version for us, and run through the basics of creating and running a successful Amazon ad. If you've never been on the inside of an Amazon ad, this episode will give you enough information to get you clicking over to the Amazon Marketing Services website. If you're a bit more experienced, don't worry, the insights on copywriting and the tips for creating successful ads will be enough to keep you listening. We learned so much from talking to Brian, and we know you will too. :) 

• August 10, 2017Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP94 – Interview with Monica Leonelle

  In this week's interview Shar and Trudi have to soldier on in rainy old New Zealand while Wendy and Cher continue swanning about in Orlando. Happily we managed to score a fantastic interview with the lovely Monica Leonelle who chatted to us about marketing for indie authors, and the lessons she's learned since starting out. Knowing what to write about in your newsletter or on Facebook, or even how to connect with your readers can be a big problem for writers. (I know I struggle with it!) Monica took us through some of the psychological triggers that she's come across over her years as a marketer and copywriter, and explains how you can sprinkle them into your marketing content to make it more compelling and persuasive to the reader.  This interview is filled to the brim with fantastic tips on how to amp up your connection to your readers, find new super-fans, and generally improve your ability to promote your books. Yay!  Note: There is a small echo problem in the first five minutes of this recording - but don't give up, it gets better. And you won't want to miss this content!

• August 3, 2017Guest Interview

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP93 – Interview with Roxanne St. Claire

  Cheryl and Wendy are still at RWA in Orlando, and this time they managed to score an interview with the wonderful Roxanne St. Claire, an uber-successful Indie author who opens up about her writing and how she's been able to create such a successful career. Roxanne started out in traditional publishing, where she learned all about the publishing process, before she made the decision to move into self publishing. These days she's fully self published, with 17 self published books under her belt to add to 30+ traditionally published books. Roxanne talks with Wendy and Cheryl about the benefits of self publishing, how she's been able to use her marketing savvy to move her career ahead, what to think about when creating series that your readers will love, and how to stand out from the crowd. This is another don't-miss episode, with multiple insights to help your writing career.

• August 1, 2017Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls – EP92 – Interview with Mark Dawson

  Before I say anything else, let me get this out of the way... Sqeeeeeee! We interviewed Mark Dawson! OMG! *coughs* Right. Now back to the regularly scheduled blurb about this episode... This week we have a very special episode all the way from the Romance Writers of America conference where Cheryl and Wendy just spent the week schmoozing and mingling with romance writers from all over the world. They were lucky enough to tie down...er...interview a couple of great Indie authors while they were there, and this Mark Dawson interview is the first of our RWA special episodes this week. Mark was, according to Wendy and Cher, a lovely, gracious interviewee, and despite being completely starstruck, they managed to squeeze out a fantastic episode full of great advice, tips and insider information from the great man himself. :)

• July 25, 2017Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity

  SPA Girls – EP91 – How to Keep Your Focus

  This week we talk about the best ways to find and keep your focus. We've talked about it in general terms before, so this time we aimed in on the mental stuff around focus, and how to avoid self sabotage in your writing career. This episode was all about crawling into our brains to understand why we do things that make us lose our focus, take us out of our 'zone' and destroy our productivity.  We talked about self awareness, ie knowing what's going on inside your head that's letting your focus go, as well as the overstimulation and desensitisation that exists in the technological world we live in, and then finally dun...dun...dun...the deathbed test. Listen in to find out what that means... :) 

• July 18, 2017Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls – EP90 – Author Overwhelm Book Launch!

  This week we're launching our brand new book: Kick Author Overwhelm in the B*tt!  Instead of forcing you to listen to our overwhelm stories yet again, we invited three very talented self-published authors to talk to us about their writing careers and how they've faced and overcome Author Overwhelm in their own lives.  This week we're launching our brand new book: Kick Author Overwhelm in the B*tt!  Instead of forcing you to listen to our overwhelm stories yet again (we figured we'd talked that topic to death...), we invited three very talented self-published authors to talk to us about their writing careers and how they've faced and overcome author overwhelm in their lives.  Louisa George, Toni Kenyon and Karina Bliss kindly agreed to join us for this very special episode of the SPA Girls Podcast and opened up to us about their experiences of author overwhelm. They talk honestly about their writing, their cheerleaders, their challenges and the tricks and tips they have for helping to keep their focus on the writing and away from the overwhelm. We had heaps of fun talking to three very funny, smart and accomplished authors, and we're sure you're going to enjoy hearing their stories too. :) 

• July 11, 2017Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP89 – Behind the Scenes with the SPA Girls Podcasters

  This week we decided to go a little bit behind the scenes on the SPA Girls side of things. Instead of talking about our fiction books, we talk about how the SPA Girls came about, what we were trying to achieve when we decided to start the podcast, why we're doing what we're doing and what we were hoping to achieve. We also talk about our branding, our mission statement, and why we decided to publish the Author Overwhelm book, having been podcasting now for 89 episodes! :)

• June 13, 2017Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP85 – How to Write Faster

  This week we talked about ways to speed up the production of your books, from getting your head in the right space from the get-go, to planning, scheduling and lastly ways to make sure you plain-old write faster. It's a great episode because it yet again demonstrates how we're all different and things that will work for one, won't necessarily work for another. But what we are able to do is offer a whole bunch of ideas and suggestions for practical ways that you can amp up your writing schedule. You don't have to try them all, but it will give you something to think about as you write your next book. :)

• May 11, 2017Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP80 – Busting Self Publishing Myths

  We’re out to lunch today, recording in a café (so enjoy the ambience of the coffee machine in the background!) where we discuss all those myths about writing and publishing. Some we’ve fallen prey to; some we’ve debunked through experience. You need to know everything about your story and characters before you can start writing. There’s a lot more you need to be doing as a self publisher. You’ll never “make it” without a big platform or great contacts. Sound familiar? Yeah, we’ve all heard them. And a lot more besides! But there is more than one path to writing success, and there’s no such thing as a magic bullet or “secret sauce” – so join us in the café and let’s do some mythbusting together!

• April 27, 2017Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP79 – How To Write Dazzling Dialogue

  Writing dialogue is a very difficult skill to master, but this week we try to unravel some of the secrets around how to create dazzling dialogue for your characters. More than just a transcription of what people actually say, dialogue can be witty, fast paced and give insights into your characters... or it can be stilted, awkward and boring. Which would you rather have? Listen in to this episode for our take on the best ways to create dialogue that will make your manuscript sing!

• April 21, 2017Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP78 – How To End With A BANG!

  We did beginnings last week, so we thought we'd pay tribute to endings this time around... :) Many authors rush through the ending of their book, because by the time they get there, they're sick of the whole concept... But your ending is what will lead readers onto your next book, so you need to spend as much time on your ending as your beginning! If you write a fizzer that ends too quickly or doesn't deliver on your promises throughout the story, you're not going to get lifetime readers who follow your every move. With this in mind, we talk about chapter endings, and endings for the whole book. We give some ideas on what we do to make sure our endings are as good as we can make them, and give a few tips and tricks on creating the best ending you can!

• April 14, 2017Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP77 – Great Beginnings for Authors

  Easter is here, a time for new beginnings, so we thought we'd talk about the beginning of your book. It's always been important, but we would argue that in the days of ebooks for less than the cost of a coffee, creating a kick-ass beginning that will hook your readers into your book is VITAL! We read out a few of our favourite beginnings, plus some that are less beloved, and talk through what makes them great (or not). There are also some suggestions for the different types of beginnings you might want to try, and how to link it in to the rest of your story. If you're wondering whether the beginning of your book is as good as it can be, listen to this episode for some of the tips and tricks that we use.

• April 6, 2017Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP76 – First Quarter Goals

  This week we sit down and talk through our self publishing goals for the first quarter, and how we've been going with our writing. It's a bit of a mixed bag, with some of us having achieved our goals and others not so much. But there's always something to learn from our highs and lows, especially how to recalibrate your writing and marketing goals when things happen outside of your control, and how to keep yourself going when times get tough!

• March 22, 2017Self-Publishing Process & Tools, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP74 – Formatting Tips and Tricks

  This week we tackle the topic of formatting your ebooks. We talk about the difference between outsourcing the formatting and doing it yourself, and the pros and cons of each option. Then we talk about what we've done in the past and how we do it now, what we think are the best practices, the programs that we recommend, and why we like them. If you're about to start formatting, or even considering a change to the way you're currently doing it, this is a great episode to listen to!

• March 2, 2017Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP71 – 10 Marketing Tips for Beginners

  This week we talk through the basic marketing principles that you need to make sure you've got in place for promoting your books. Think of it as a 101 class in marketing, just for you. :) We talk through tips like ensuring consistency of brand, having the right kind of bio and blurb, and being professional.

• February 21, 2017Goal Setting, Planning & Productivity

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP70 – Productivity Hacks for Writers

  This week we give some of our best writer productivity hacks - ie a big ole list of tips to increase your productivity, based on things that we do each week to help us write more! From exercise tips and the best writing apps to use, to setting routines and ways to stay in the flow, we give you the best tips that we could find to help keep you writing!

• February 2, 2017Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP67 – Common Writing Mistakes and How to Fix Them

  Wendy, Cheryl and Trudi talk through some common writing mistakes and give suggestions for how to avoid making them yourself. Based around Jack Bickham's book, The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes, we talk on topics from not making excuses, lecturing your readers, dropping alligators through the transom (don't worry, we figure that one out), stopping too soon, giving up and not just sitting there.

• January 27, 2017Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP66 – The Book of Your Heart Vs Writing to Market

  This week we talk about writing the book of your heart versus writing a book to market. What do these terms mean, and why should they matter to you? Writing the book of your heart means writing what you love, the book you've been dreaming about for your entire life, with the characters who feel like they're your best friends and the storyline that is going to rock the world. You know, that book. Writing to market is about researching the genres that are selling, finding out what the most popular tropes are and finding a storyline that you feel fits into the research you've been doing, and then writing that book. It could be a book you love, but that isn't always the case.

• January 18, 2017Guest Interview

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP65 – Interview with Zoe York

  This week we were lucky enough to talk to Zoe York, USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance, and all around lovely lady. She gave us some fantastic tips on writing in series, including craft considerations, marketing ideas, and some best practice tips for making it work. Zoe really knows her stuff, so it's yet another don't-miss episode!

• December 24, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP62 – Christmas 2016 Special Episode

  This week we come to you live from our local cafe as we eat, drink and be merry, and discuss the highs and lows of self publishing in 2016. We call it our Hit, Miss and Maybe list, and we talk through the things that worked, the things that definitely didn't work, and the things we might try again to see if they work better a second time. It's a great episode, we give some of our top tips from the last 12 months, and spread a little Christmas cheer! Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year! xx

• December 21, 2016Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP61 – Interview with Joanna Penn

  This week we had the honour of interviewing the one and only... Joanna Penn! She's a best-selling author, an international speaker, a podcaster, and a trainer, and one of our role models in this industry. We were super-excited to have her on the show, and she didn't disappoint. She gave us a huge amount of self publishing advice in this information-packed episode - making it an episode that you don't want to miss!

• December 7, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP59 – Answering Listener Questions

  This week Wendy, Cheryl and Shar tackled some of the questions we've been getting from eager listeners to the show. The team were without me (Trudi) because I was off celebrating my 10th wedding anniversary, but it's good to know that they can manage to pull together a show without me... :) The topics covered included how to keeping writing when you have a family, how to find the right editor, and what to do if you hate social media (hint: it's not throwing out your computer).

• December 1, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP58 – Writing for a Kindle World

  This week it was just Shar, Cheryl and Trudi, and we talked about writing and publishing a book in an Amazon Kindle World. Cheryl has just published her second book in the Laguna Beach Kindle World and she gives us the inside story on how it works - plus the benefits and the issues around writing in a Kindle World.

• November 17, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP56 – Top Ten Mistakes Self Publishers Make

  I don't actually know how many mistakes we covered in this episode, but I thought that title sounded great. :) But we definitely do go in-depth on all the terrible, dastardly, embarrassing mistakes that we've made in the process of self publishing our books. From not getting our books properly edited and rushing through the process of publishing and putting our books up before we should have, to not being organised enough, to not knowing and understanding our genres - we've done it all! Don't make the same mistakes that we have - listen to this episode and find out how to avoid them all!

• November 9, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP55 – Launching a Non-Fiction Book

  This week we talk about the launch of a project dear to our hearts - our new non-fiction book about author overwhelm. We've been working on this project for a while, and we're really excited about bringing it to you. It's something we've all experienced, and we don't think people talk about it enough, so we've decided to put it out there in book form! This episode we talk about the book, what it involves, and what we're going to do over the next three months before the launch to try and make it a success. One of the big aspects to this launch process is the expansion of our mailing list. We made a goal of getting 1,000 people onto our mailing list by end of February 2017, and we brainstorm some of the techniques we're planning to use to get our numbers up. Join us on the journey, and go sign up to our mailing list!

• November 1, 2016Guest Interview

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP54 – Writing Advice From the Trenches

  This week the SPA Girls chat to three experienced authors - two Indie authors, and one traditionally published author - about their writing tips, their favourite technology as a writer, and why they all say you need to find your writing tribe to succeed. Join us as we get the inside story from contemporary romance author Talia Hunter, pacific billionaire romance author Toni Kenyon, and author of 35 Harlequin romances Yvonne Lindsay in this hilarious, informative, and insightful episode into the life of an author. If you don't come away from listening to this episode with a grin on your face, I'll eat my hat.

• October 25, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP53 – How to Do a Successful Book Launch

  This week we're all back! The SPA Girls are reunited again, and we're on fire with useful and relevant information for you as a self published author. We talk about launching your latest book into the marketplace, and the do's and don'ts, plus tips and tricks that you might want to try out when you're publishing your novel to get some of those golden sales... From when to put the books up, what to price them at, what kind of advertising to do, and when to use your social media and your mailing list, we cover it all in this episode for you. Just listen and take loads of notes! :)

• October 10, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools, Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP51 – Characters Your Readers Will Love

  This week we crawled out from our sick beds to provide you with this delayed episode of the SPA Girls Podcast. We managed to talk semi-coherently about creating amazing characters that your readers will love. As far as we're concerned, it's all about creating characters with flaws, who your readers can relate to and fall in love with through the course of the story. We gave away all our secrets, so that you can learn to write the best characters you possibly can.

• September 22, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP50 – Celebrating a Half-Century of Episodes

  This week we celebrate the 50th episode of the SPA Girls Podcast! We're pleased as punch that we made it this far, and we hope we'll make it to another 50! We talked about what's changed for us in the last year, where we are at in our careers, and the highs and the lows of a year in self publishing. A kind of retrospective on what we've learned, what we've seen, and what we think about it all.

• September 19, 2016Guest Interview

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP49 – Interview with Tracey Alvarez

  This week we're still without the lovely Cheryl, so we decided to do another interview, this time with Tracey Alvarez, who lives in Wellington, New Zealand and writes contemporary romance based in New Zealand. I (Trudi Jaye) met Tracey in person at RWA in San Diego this year, and had a great time hanging out with her and Talia Hunter. As you'll see from the interview, Tracey is also a very knowledgeable indie author, with heaps of pro tips to share. This is another 'don't-miss' episode!

• September 10, 2016Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP48 – Interview with Steffanie Holmes

  This week we interview paranormal romance author Steff Green, who writes as Steffanie Holmes and fantasy as SC Green. Steff was a speaker at the recent RWNZ conference and we were keen to get her on the podcast to give us the inside information on her self publishing career. She was a fantastic guest, and talked to us about her journey toward self publishing, and some of the ways that she's been able to make self publishing work for her, including topics like box sets, writing in series, and cliffhangers.

• September 5, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP47 – Advertising for Authors

  This week we're without the delightful Cheryl, the light of our lives. It's a bit chaotic, but the three remaining SPA Girls managed to talk about the advertising that we've done recently and how it worked. We talked about the mailing lists that we've advertised with - think Book Bub, Ereader News Today, Freebooksy, Bargainbooksy, and Robin Reads - how we organised it, when we booked them for, and the results that we had. We also talk briefly about Amazon ads, and how you might use those kinds of ads in your promotional routine. We hope it helps you get an idea of the kind of advertising promotion that you might choose to do for your next launch or advertising schedule.

• August 19, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP45 – RWNZ conference indepth

  This week we had a huge amount of fun talking about the RWNZ conference that we just had here in New Zealand. With an all-star international line up including Hollywood Script Consultant Michael Hauge, multi-award winning author Heather Graham, Australian Superstar Rachel Bailey, Scriptwriting Extraordinaire Kathryn Burnett, Self-Publishing Gurus Leeanna Morgan and Steff Green plus many more, we had a whole heap to discuss. We break down Michael Hauge's amazing story structure ideas, discuss regency dancing, and talk about why conferences are so amazing. It's a fun episode, and we hope you enjoy it! :)

• August 15, 2016Guest Interview, Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls – EP44 – Conference episode with Leeanna Morgan

  This week we bring you a special episode direct from the Romance Writers of New Zealand conference in Auckland, New Zealand. Wendy Vella and Trudi Jaye snuck out of the workshops, grabbed the incredibly talented Leanna Morgan along the way and hid out in one of the conference rooms, making her spill her guts on her self publishing career. And boy, does she deliver. This is a must listen episode for our listeners - Leanna knows what she's talking about. :)

• August 4, 2016Guest Interview, Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  BONUS EPISODE – Trudi Jaye and Talia Hunter at RWA

  This is a special bonus episode of the SPA Girls Podcast, hosted by Trudi Jaye and Talia Hunter and recorded live at RWA in San Diego. We recorded this little snippet on our last day in an attempt to give SPA Girls listeners a sense of what it was like to attend the conference. At the start of the recording we're joined by Allyson, a Harlequin editor that we harangued into joining us in the recording. :) We talk about some of the workshops that we attended, the people we met, and what we learned while we were there. I hope you enjoy it!

• August 4, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP43 – Great Covers And How To Get One

  This week we talk about covers for ebooks. We've mentioned self publishing covers in passing on previous episodes, but this week we put the microscope to the topic and try to work out what makes them great. We talk about our experiences on our own covers, the changes we've made along the way, and why we've made them. We also discuss how to work with a designer, how to decide what you should put on your cover, and what your readers want from your cover. And finally, we talk about the idea that sometimes the cover you love isn't the one that's going to sell your book, and you need to put aside your fragile writer's ego, and go for the one that's most suitable to the type of book you've written.

• July 25, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP42 – Surviving Writers Conferences

  This week we talk about our experiences (all family-friendly) at writers conferences and give tips on how to get the most out of conferences (aka overcome the sudden urge to hide behind a large pot plant and not talk to anybody). In a cunning plot twist, we got confused at the intro and said this was episode 41 (instead of 42). Our excuse? Too much heat in the SPA!

• July 19, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP 41 – Content For Your Facebook Page

  This week's episode talks about what to post on your Author Facebook page to keep fans engaged and coming back for more! We've all experimented with different kinds of posts - from thoughtful quotes through to "let it all hang out" videos, and have been surprised at what's worked best! Facebook can be an author's friend, but it's also a beast that needs constant feeding. Hopefully you'll get some "feeding tips" from us this week!

• June 28, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP39 – Finding Focus as an Author

  This week we decided to bring back the challenge episodes. It's the middle of winter here in New Zealand - it's cold and wet and dreary, and we're all feeling a little frustrated with where we're at. So we decided to talk about finding our focus again and pushing forward in our writing careers. We all talk through the issues that we're each having, from changing family schedules, to slipping in our usual writing and marketing routines or recovering from illness. And then we talk through the plans we have to solve some of these issues and get ourselves back on the track that we're aiming for.

• June 24, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP38 – Writing Good Sex Scenes

  This week we decided to talk about Wendy's favourite subject - sex! :) Just kidding, it's the favourite topic of all the SPA Girls... When you're writing romance, there will generally be some form the physical activity that happens when people fall in love. ie Sex. The different genres have different heat levels, and it's partially about knowing the conventions of your genre, but also about knowing what you're comfortable with personally. This week we talked through what each of us personally is comfortable with, what we like when we read other romance books, and how to write a sex scene that will knock the socks off your readers. I hope you enjoy it! FAIR WARNING: The language in this episode is a little grittier than we normally go for, sorry about that. If you're not keen on bad language and talk of genitalia, you might want to skip this episode (we're pretty tame, really, but just in case...).

• June 14, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP37 – Intro to Twitter

  In episode 37 we were all together in person again and we talked about Twitter. It's probably the second most popular social media platform after Facebook, and it's definitely one worth investigating. We give some basics on the platform, how to get started, what some of the jargon means, and a few tips on the best ways to build up an audience and connect with others on the platform. It's probably more of a networking opportunity than somewhere that you will make a huge number of books sales, but it's a fun way to connect with readers, authors, publishers and other industry folk.

• June 8, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP36 – Help! What Do I Write in My Newsletter?!

  This week is episode number 36 and we decided to talk a little more indepth about the kind of content you might provide in your newsletter for your subscribers. They've signed up to your list, now what? It's all very well being told that you need to write to your email subscribers regularly - but what on Earth do you write to them about? Your latest doctor's appointment? Which politicians you hate most? NO! That'll just get you a nice high UNSUBSCRIBE rate. This week we give you a whole bunch of ideas on the best way to connect with your readers, how to keep them engaged and interested in you and your books, and how to figure out what they will be most interested in reading about. Enjoy!

• May 18, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP33 – Getting Your Newsletter Started

  Welcome to another episode of the infamous SPA Girls Podcast, where we break down the journey to self publishing one step at a time. This week we talked about newsletters - what they are, why you should have one, and how to go about getting one sorted. Setting up an email newsletter is often quoted as being the number one top priority for a self published author - it gives a direct line between you and your readers, which can be invaluable.

• May 11, 2016Marketing, Advertising & Sales

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP32 – Getting The Price Right

  In this week's episode we tackle the always-changing topic of pricing in self publishing. It's a biggie, and it's sometimes hard to distill this one down, especially because most people who are new to self publishing just want those who are older and wiser (haha) to just say - "You must do it this way!" Unfortunately there is no "one true path" for pricing, especially given the vast array of differing goals and aims of authors, and the constantly changing nature of the industry. What worked two years ago won't necessarily work now. We suggest that you research the price of other books similar to your own (in genre, length etc), and then determine what your overall strategy is for the launch (eg discoverability vs sales), before you decide what to price your book at. The main thing to remember is that you can always change it later if you decide you've done it wrong. That's the best thing about self publishing, you can test and experiment to find out what works best for you!

• May 4, 2016Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP31 – Self Editing for Self Publishers

  This week, in lucky number 31, we talk about self editing - what we all do, the kind of techniques and strategies that we use to make sure we don't make mistakes in our work, and how we work in with professional editors to make sure we catch as many of the mistakes in our work that we can. And that's a very valid point - no matter how good you think you are, you will ALWAYS miss something in your own work, which is why it's vital to get outside people looking at your work as well as editing it yourself. Don't miss another fascinating episode of the SPA Girls!

• April 28, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP30 – Self Publishing Resources

  This week we talk about our favourite self publishing resources to help make your writing life just a bit easier. From writing tools like Scrivener and writeordie.com to editing support with grammarly.com or the best courses on Udemy and CreativeLive.com, we've packed this episode full of information for self publishers!

• April 14, 2016Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP28 – Where Do Ideas Come From?

  This week we thought we'd take a quick detour into ideas-land to answer the most common question that writers get - where do your ideas come from? If you're feeling lost or lacking in inspiration, just pinch a few of our ideas for gathering new stories and get going!

• March 22, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP27 – Self Publishing Trends

  This week we're without the delightful Wendy Vella (who is off on a romantic holiday in an exotic location for her daughter's wedding), but we managed to put an exciting episode together anyway. We're talking about some of the more recent self-publishing trends that we've noticed (and some that aren't so recent, but are still relevant) and how you might be able to use them to your advantage.

• March 6, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP25 – All About Amazon – PART TWO

  It's episode number 25, and we're talking about Amazon again this week. It's the second in our two-part Amazon special, and this episode we walk you through the process of loading a book onto Amazon.com. We go through each of the sections and tell you what we do/answer for each one. If you've never put a book up on Amazon (or even if you have) this should help you as you as you go through the process. We give tips and advice on the best way to answer the various sections, how to find the best keywords, and what categories you should be in. It's an information packed episode, so be sure to take notes!

• February 28, 2016Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP24 – All About Amazon

  It's the episode you've all been waiting for... This week, in lucky episode 24 (I love that number, it's my date of birth), we talk all about the retail site Amazon. It's the first of two episodes on Amazon, and this week we start by giving a bit of an overview of Amazon's history, what they do, and how they came to be such a powerhouse retail site. Then we talk about Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) where indie authors load up their books, the pros and cons of KDP Select, talk about Kindle Unlimited (KU), and how to use Author Central.

• January 25, 2016Guest Interview

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP019 – Interview with Trudi Jaye

  This week we're up to episode 19, and it's an interview with paranormal romance author Trudi Jaye, yet another member of the SPA Girls.

• December 25, 2015Mindset, Health & Writing Life

  SPA Girls Podcast – Christmas 2015 episode

  It's our Christmas episode, and we're hanging out at our favourite restaurant, chatting about our year, and talking about what we hope to achieve in 2016. Join us for this celebration of all the goodness in 2015, and the greatness that will be 2016!

• December 22, 2015Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP014 – Websites for Authors

  This week we talked about author websites and why it's vital for self publishing authors to have one, despite the naysayers (mostly from traditional publishers who don't see the point). We talk about what you should include on your website, the kind of content you should be writing, and the style of writing you should use on the web. We also talk a little bit about the technical aspects of setting up a website.

• December 15, 2015Guest Interview

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP013 – Author Interview with Cheryl Phipps

  This week was lucky thirteen, so we decided to do an interview... with one of our own. The lovely Cheryl Phipps talks about her writing journey, from right back when the kids were little, to now, with eight books published, and more on the way! Cheryl's the wise member of the group, so be sure to listen in and get some self-publishing and writing gems!

• November 30, 2015Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP011 – All About Covers

  Welcome to the 11th episode of the SPA Girls Podcast! This week we're talking covers. It's a massive subject, and we've tried to cover the basics in this show. Having a really good cover in this crowded marketplace is a must-do. Not just a good cover, but the right cover for your book, and your genre. This will take time and research on your part, but it's time well spent in your self publishing journey. Basically, in a nutshell - don't try to do it by yourself! Hire a professional cover designer (not your next door neighbour's kid) who knows and understands the industry to create a cover for you.

• November 22, 2015Writing Craft & Editing

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP010 – Editing for Indies

  Thanks for joining us for episode number 10 of the SPA Girls Podcast! We made it to double digits! This week we talk about a really important topic for self published authors - editing. What it is, why it's important, the kinds of mistakes we've made along the way and who you can get to help you through the process. Don't miss this vital episode!

• November 8, 2015Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP08 – Finding Your Tribe

  For the eighth episode of the SPA Girls podcast we talk about finding your tribe. But what if you're shy? No problem! We give ideas, advice and actual resources for a wide range of places you can go to meet other authors and discuss writing and self publishing.

• October 2, 2015Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP04 – Facebook For Beginners

  Love it or hate it, facebook is THE place to be for romance authors wanting to extend their platform and talk to new readers. We talk about why you should be on there, the difference between a profile and a page, and get the hard word on the do's and don'ts of facebook.

• October 2, 2015Guest Interview, Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP03 – Interview With Author Wendy Vella

  This week we have an interview with one of our own - SPA Girl member Wendy Vella. Wendy has been self publishing since 2013, and she now has 14 titles and has been included in three box sets. She's sold over 100,000 copies of her books, and at the beginning of this year took the plunge and went full time as an indie author. We interview her on her road to success, where and when she writes, and what it took to make it all happen.

• October 2, 2015Self-Publishing Process & Tools

  SPA Girls Podcast – EP01 – Introducing The SPA Girls

  We're four New Zealand-based romance authors, who are trying out self publishing online through stores like Amazon, Kobo and iBooks, and we want to give you a few of the tips, tricks and tales of the things we've learned along the way. Designed with the newbie in mind, we take you from the very beginning, answering those questions you were too embarrassed to ask - basically helping you to avoid the mistakes and pitfalls that we (sometimes) fell into. Thanks for joining us!