Everybody Hates Self-Publishing

In this episode, Carrie Rollwagen interviews Elisa Munoz, former book buyer at a big box bookstore. They talk about why it's almost impossible for self-published authors to get their books into big box stores, how to approach a book buyer, and which genres perform best in corporate bookstores.

In this episode, Carrie Rollwagen gives tips for taking better selfies, including: how to find better lighting, how to get better at turning the camera on yourself, and how to deal with feeling bad about self-promotion. Self-published authors and published authors alike need to know how to self-promote on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat — in this podcast, self-published author Carrie Rollwagen gives ideas on what to do (and what not to do).

In this episode, Carrie Rollwagen interviews Cary Norton, the Birmingham area photographer who took Carrie's press photos for The Localist book. They talk about how to hire a photographer, how to properly credit a photographer, what photo styling will make the best author photos, and they discuss Cary Norton's tin type photo project, Gus Dugger.

In this episode, Carrie Rollwagen interviews Sarah Cook, freelance journalist for publications like Birmingham Magazine and Social Media Manager for Iron Tribe Fitness. We talk about best practices for press releases, what to include in your press kit, and what to say (and what not to say) when emailing a journalist about your self-published book.

In this episode, Carrie Rollwagen talks about her writing process, including writing rituals, the magic of deadlines, the importance of grammar and most important writing tool of all — hard work. Carrie brings her experience copywriting, copyediting, writing journalistic pieces, working as a freelance writer and self-publishing The Localist book to the conversation.

In this bonus episode, Carrie Rollwagen continues her conversation with writer and editor Josh Miller (from Taste of the South and Southern Cast Iron magazines). In this bonus episode, Josh turns the tables on Carrie and asks her questions about self-publishing — including whether or not she made money with her book, The Localist. They also talk about Twilight, erotic ebooks and Fifty Shades of Grey.

In this episode, writer Carrie Rollwagen interviews Josh Miller, a writer and editor at two magazines: Taste of the South and Southern Cast Iron by Hoffman Media. They talk about how to get and keep inspiration, the mechanics of writing, whether grammar matters and who taught who to use a semicolon.

In this episode, Carrie Rollwagen interviews Susan Rollwagen, her mother and copyeditor of The Localist book. They talk about the difference between a content editor and a copyeditor, how to give a take edits and criticism, and which parts of The Localist Susan took issue with.

In this episode, Carrie Rollwagen talks about what budget you should plan for your self-published book and how to make the money, including how to start a side hustle and how to work your crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter to self-publish your own book.