In this week's episode of If I'm Being Honest, we sit down with USA Today bestselling author Russell Nohelty, founder of Hapitalist, to have a frank, unfiltered conversation about why writers and authors should start thinking outside the box when it comes to their careers. It starts with analyzing your publishing pathways, defining independence, and discovering that optionality is the real superpower in modern book publishing.

We get specific about the stuff that actually protects a long-term writing career: defining your non negotiables, spotting predatory publishing contracts, and insisting on basics like rights reversion and assignment clauses. Then we zoom out to the question most author marketing advice avoids: what does “enough” mean? Russell walks us through a simple exercise that exposes what many writers are really chasing, not fame, but time, peace, agency, and the ability to choose what you make next.

We also tackle the hard math behind “one book success,” why ads often require a deeper catalog, and what to do if you do not want to write a 10-book series. We talk signature series strategy, market expectations, and practical alternatives like speaking, partnerships, and building an ecosystem around nonfiction. The thread that ties it together is radical acceptance: tell the truth about what you want, what you can do, and what the market rewards, then build a strategy where joy sits at the center.

If you want a clearer, calmer approach to self-publishing, traditional publishing, and building a sustainable author platform, hit play, then subscribe, share this with a writer friend, and leave a review with your definition of “enough.”

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A literary agent tells you your book is “interesting” but they don’t know where it belongs on a shelf. Do you revise it into something safer, or do you publish the thing you actually meant to write? Host Sayde Walker sits down with Lauren Domagas, author and independent publisher of Songs for Mahalia, to unpack the moment traditional publishing uncertainty became a clear invitation to self-publish with confidence.

We talk about what Lauren learned pitching at the San Francisco Writers Conference, why short story collections and cross-genre work can be tough for traditional publishing teams to market, and how indie publishing lets you keep creative control without sacrificing professionalism. Lauren shares what surprised her most about the process: how much she loved shaping the full reader experience, from editing and interior layout to book cover design and building the behind-the-scenes author business through print-on-demand distribution, Amazon KDP, and IngramSpark. 

Then we get into the part most authors dread: book marketing. Lauren breaks down a local-first strategy built on in-person events, vendor tables, and genuine conversations that turn browsers into buyers. We dig into practical tactics like using a free sticker to grow a newsletter, thinking in funnels, cold emailing event organizers, and walking into a local bookstore to pitch as a local author. You’ll also hear why library requests matter, how to meet bookstore standards, and how selling face to face can reveal your real target audience faster than online sales dashboards. 

If you’re navigating self-publishing, author platform growth, and book promotion that feels sustainable, this conversation is packed with grounded, repeatable ideas. Subscribe for more straight talk on book publishing and promotions, share this with an author friend, and leave a review so more writers can find the show.

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Most authors don’t lose momentum because they “aren’t good at marketing.” They lose momentum because they spend everything getting the book finished, then realize they can’t afford the work that helps readers discover it. We’re Joel Pitney and Sayde Walker, and we’re walking you through the five book launch budgeting principles we’ve used for years to help authors stop guessing and start planning with clarity.

We talk about budgeting for the entire book publishing process, not just the fun parts. That means the real costs of writing support, developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading, plus the publishing essentials like cover design, interior formatting for print and ebooks, and distribution setup. Then we get honest about the marketing side: author platform building, promotion, time, energy, and strategy that needs to start early and stay consistent.

We also dig into a question every self-published author faces: what should you DIY and what should you pay experts to handle? We share a grounded way to decide, especially when your budget is limited. And we address the hard expectation shift that can save your sanity: you probably won’t make your money back right away on a first book, so plan for the long game. Finally, we explain our “33% for marketing” rule, not as a magic formula, but as a guardrail that forces you to fund discovery, not just production.

If you want a book launch budget that actually supports sales over time, listen through and take notes. Subscribe, share this with an author friend, and leave a review so more writers can find the show.

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“Global distribution” is one of the most persuasive phrases in publishing, and also one of the most misunderstood. We hear authors assume it means bookstore placement, airport shelves, and steady sales. The truth is that distribution can be passive, it can be active, and it can mean totally different things depending on whether you are working with a traditional publisher, self-publishing through print on demand, or paying a hybrid publisher.

We walk through a simple framework that clears up the confusion: distribution has three layers. First is printing, whether that is an offset print run or print on demand. Second is fulfillment, meaning warehousing and shipping when orders come in. Third is active sales, where sales reps pitch retailers like Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and other accounts. That third layer is the one most authors picture, but it is the least guaranteed and usually depends on proven demand, preorders, platform, and a credible PR and marketing plan.

From there, we compare how self-publishing distribution works through Amazon KDP and IngramSpark, why “being in the database” is not the same as discoverability, and how hybrid publishing often markets “traditional distribution” while still requiring authors to pay for editing, design, and sometimes even the entire print run. We also share the exact questions to ask any company so you can spot slippery answers and set realistic expectations about book marketing, bookstore sales, and what you are actually buying.

If this helped you think more clearly about your publishing path, subscribe, share the episode with an author friend, and leave a review so more writers can find it. What is the most confusing distribution claim you have heard?

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Publishing is changing faster than most writers were taught to expect, and that shift can feel either terrifying or freeing depending on how you approach it. I sit down with legendary literary agent and San Francisco Writers Conference founder Michael Larson, author of How to Write a Book Proposal, to talk about what actually works for writers right now, and what will matter even more in the future. His take is refreshingly practical: this is the best time ever to be a writer, but only if you commit to both craft and readers. 

We get into why big traditional publishers can be a tough fit for new authors, why mission-driven independent presses are reshaping the literary landscape, and why self-publishing and creator ownership keep gaining ground. Michael explains the real advantage authors have today: controlling your rights, your website, your content, and your email list so you can build a direct relationship with the people who buy and share your work. We also talk about the “three books” (or five) mindset, how a backlist becomes an asset, and why a book that truly delivers can become unstoppable in the age of online discovery. 

You’ll also hear Michael’s “superpowers” for writing success: loving the work, setting clear goals, mastering craft, becoming visible in ways you can sustain, collaborating with early readers, thinking like a business without sacrificing your values, staying balanced, and finding joy in the long journey. If you’re working on a book proposal, weighing traditional publishing vs self-publishing, or trying to grow a real author platform, you’ll leave with a clearer plan and a stronger sense of what to prioritize. 

If you found this helpful, subscribe, share it with a writer friend, and leave a review so more authors can find the show. What part of building your writing career are you focusing on next?

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“Distribution” might be the single most misunderstood word in book publishing, and that confusion costs authors real money. We sit down with Brooke Warner, publisher of She Writes Press and host of the Memoir Nation podcast, to explain what legitimate hybrid publishing looks like and why it emerged as a needed alternative to both traditional publishing and DIY self-publishing.

We start with Brooke’s path through traditional indie publishing and the industry shift she watched firsthand: acquisitions moving away from “we love the writing” toward “who is the author and what platform do they have?” From there, we trace how She Writes Press grew into a writing-first hybrid publisher and what “author-subsidized” actually means, including why royalties work differently when authors invest in production.

Then we get highly practical about book distribution. Brooke breaks down fulfillment versus true traditional distribution, the push effect of sales reps, how Amazon and wholesalers place orders, why bookstores and libraries matter, and the financial reality of commissions and returns. We also cover the modern landscape of hybrid publishers, including the rise of predatory publishing, and share concrete vetting steps like talking to authors you find yourself, examining book quality, and using the IBPA hybrid criteria checklist to verify claims.

If you care about publishing transparency, listen, subscribe, and share this with a writer friend.

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Most authors spend a lot of time thinking about what they want to write. Far fewer spend time thinking about why they're writing it in the first place. Yet that single question influences almost every publishing decision you'll make—from the path you choose to publish, to how you market your book, to how you define success once it's out in the world.

In this episode of If I'm Being Honest, we explore the motivations that drive people to write books and why understanding your "why" can save you time, money, and frustration. We discuss the realities of writing for profit, including the economics of book sales, royalties, and production costs. We also look at legacy projects—memoirs, family histories, and personal stories written to preserve experiences and pass them on to future generations.

We tackle a motivation that many authors feel but few openly discuss: recognition. Whether you dream of seeing your book on a shelf, earning industry credibility, or simply proving something to yourself, your goals matter—and they should influence your publishing strategy. We also explore books written to create impact, support a cause, build a business, attract clients, increase speaking opportunities, or establish authority within a field.

For fiction writers and career authors, we discuss the long game of building a readership and creating a body of work that grows over time. And for those who simply love writing, we make the case that creating and sharing your work as art is a worthy goal all on its own.

If you're writing a book—or thinking about writing one—this conversation will help you clarify your goals, make smarter publishing decisions, and create a definition of success that actually aligns with what matters most to you.

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What happens when a successful podcast becomes a bestselling book?

In this episode, I sit down with Jared Maher, lead producer at The Lever and co-author of The Master Plan, to unpack the journey from investigative podcast to independently published book. We explore how years of reporting, research, and storytelling were transformed into a long-form product that could reach readers in a completely different way.

Jared shares the behind-the-scenes decisions that shaped the book's launch, including why the team chose a DIY publishing approach, how they leveraged an existing audience, and what they learned about turning listeners into readers. We dive into the realities of self-publishing, including presales, print-on-demand production, distribution through IngramSpark, Amazon KDP strategy, direct sales through Shopify, and the importance of owning your customer relationships.

We also discuss what creators often get wrong about book launches, how a built-in audience changes everything, and why their most important metric is not just book revenue but membership conversion in a reader-supported business model. Whether you're a first-time author, an entrepreneur writing a book to grow your business, or a content creator considering a publishing project, this conversation offers practical lessons you can apply immediately.  

If you're interested in self-publishing, book marketing, audience growth, podcast-to-book strategy, and building sustainable revenue beyond launch week, this episode is packed with insights.

Subscribe for more straight talk about book publishing and promotion, share this episode with an author who could benefit from it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

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The hardest part of writing a book is rarely “coming up with ideas.” It’s the thousand tiny moments that break your focus: hunting for a detail you wrote weeks ago, second-guessing whether you already told that story, losing track of character threads, or getting pulled into email while you search across messy folders. That’s where my conversation with Jay Rosencrantz, founder of Plotdrive, gets interesting fast.

We talk about Plotdrive as a clean writing studio that blends the simplicity of a word processor with the organization writers expect from serious book writing software. Your draft stays front and center, while a simple sidebar holds folders and documents for foundations, character notes, locations, drafts, and edits. The AI layer is optional and controlled: you can toggle context on or off per document, so the model only sees what you want it to see. Jay also explains how Plotdrive connects to multiple large language models, including GPT, Claude, and Gemini, so you can choose the best tool for brainstorming, structure, or revision.

The big takeaway isn’t “let AI write your book.” It’s using AI for writers as a block-breaking partner that reduces friction and keeps you in flow. We dig into Co-Writer as a coach and developmental editor, how LLMs can help with structure and tropes for fiction, and how nonfiction authors can use natural language to check redundancy and consistency without derailing a writing session. We also get real about the fear and ethics around AI, and why the healthiest frame might be support over replacement.

If you’re curious about a Scrivener alternative, a Google Docs alternative, or just a better way to finish the draft you keep restarting, listen now and tell us what part of the process blocks you most. Subscribe, share this with a writer friend, and leave a review so more authors can find the show.

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You can hire help for book promotion, but you cannot outsource the one thing that actually sells books: an author who shows up, believes in the work, and leads the marketing. We see the same trap over and over, across self-publishing and traditional publishing. Writers assume a publisher, a PR firm, or a marketing company will take it from here, and then they feel stuck when nothing moves. We break that myth down and replace it with a simple, realistic approach you can run yourself.

We start with the most overlooked lever in book marketing: your existing network. Friends, family, coworkers, and community connections are not “beneath” a serious launch, they are how serious launches begin. We talk about building early traction, asking for reviews, and using one opportunity to create the next by ending conversations with a powerful question: “Who else should I talk to?” That grassroots momentum is often what makes later media, partnerships, and bigger visibility possible.

From there, we dig into author platform building in a way that does not require you to become someone you are not. “Platform” can be a newsletter, Substack, blog, podcast, or video, as long as it is consistent content for a clear target audience and it is something you can sustain. We also cover why you should start slow, stop comparing your first posts to someone else’s fifth year, and avoid giving up before the compounding effect has time to kick in.

Finally, we get honest about spending money on marketing. Ads and promotions work best after you have soil, not before: a basic platform, some proof like reviews, and a next step for readers. That might be a second book, a series, a course, consulting, or a clear way to stay connected. If you want a smarter book launch strategy and a long-term plan for book sales, hit play, then subscribe, share this with an author friend, and leave us a review.

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