In this episode, Lauren finally gets to explain the intricacies and impact of fanfiction to Matt. Listen now for a slightly chaotic dive into fanfiction origins, the evolution of fanfiction as we know it today, the legal gray area of  transformative works, and how fanfiction has impacted modern publishing. 

Watch this episode on YouTube.

Dive Deeper

💡 About the OTW | Organization for Transformative Works 

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #33 | Books You Can Create Using Your Existing Content
• Ep #65 | How to Copyright the Copy That You Wrote

💡 Read This Blog Post

• What Is Fanfiction and Why Does It Matter?
  
  

🎙️[The Only Sound Bite That Matters] 🎙️

Lauren: It is absolutely an undeniable fact that fanfiction is having a direct influence and impact on modern publishing.
Matt: I agree with that.
Lauren: Whether that's trad pub or indie pub. 
Matt: Yeah, I mean now, you know, after talking through this, I agree with that. 

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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In this episode, Lauren & Matt explore how indie authors and content entrepreneurs can use partnerships and collaborations to grow their audience, establish authority, and build long-term relationships that outlast any algorithm. We break down strategies for how to identify the right partners, pitch yourself, and make the most of a mutually beneficial collaboration. 

Watch this episode on YouTube!

Dive Deeper

💡 Explore These Resources

• Sponsor Magnet by Justin Moore
• SparkToro
• BuzzSumo

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #13 | Earning Free Publicity for Your Book
• Ep #46 | How to Maximize ROI on In-Person Events
• Ep #68 | Maximizing Your Chances of Discoverability in Generative AI Search

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• How to Pitch Your Book for Earned Promotion
• How to Grow Your Author Network
• Your Guide to Blog Tours and At-Home Marketing

💡 Watch This Webinar

• How To Reach a Wider Audience By Working With Micro-Influencers
  
  
  

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [2:22] “I think it's even more critical right now that people understand the importance of them, but also how to do it. Because right now everything is white noise.”

🎙️ [10:10] “That level of authority and recognition, I think, is really important and that's a great benefit of collaborating with other creators and authors.” 

🎙️️ [27:31] “Nothing can ruin a potential friendship or partnership a relationship faster than not delivering on something that the other deems important.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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In this episode, Matt & Lauren review how to publish your book in 7 steps! Check out these resources to help with each one: 

💡 Step 1: Brainstorm Your Book Idea → [6:06]

• Listen to: Ep #32 | 5 Things to Know Before You Start Publishing
• Read: Turning Your Content Into a Book

💡 Step 2: Write & Organize Your Book → [9:46]

• Listen to: Ep #38 | 5+ Tools to Help You Draft, Publish, and Sell Your Book
• Listen to: Ep #67 | Turning Your Blog Into A Book

💡 Step 3: Edit & Revise Your Book → [18:33]

• Listen to: Ep #20 | Do You Need to Hire Professional Editors for Your Book?
• Read: EFA Editorial Guide

💡 Step 4: Format Your Book → [27:40]

• Read: 5 Visual Indicators Your Book is Self-Published
• Watch: Book Formatting Lulu U Playlist

💡 Step 5: Design Your Book Cover → [34:28]

• Listen to: Ep #21 | Getting Your Book Design Right
• Watch: Cover Design Lulu U Playlist

💡 Step 6: Proof & Prepare Your Book → [47:17]

• Listen to: Ep #59 | Mastering Book Metadata to Maximize Market Reach
• Read: Get a Proof Copy

💡 Step 7: Finalize & Publish Your Book → [50:00]

• Ep #10 | Marketing Your Book Pre-Launch, At-Launch, and Post-Launch
• Ep #57 | How to Use a Preorder Campaign to Boost Your Book Launch

Watch this episode on YouTube!

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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In this episode Lauren is joined by Lulu’s Senior Marketing Manager, blog writer, and master of copy, Paul Hobday. Paul responds to episode #53,  How to Create A Writing Habit That Actually Sticks, and offers practical advice for aspiring writers ready to level up their writing habit into a purposeful writing practice. 

Watch this episode on YouTube!

Dive Deeper

Audible Expands Catalog with AI Narration and Translation for Publishers  

💡 Listen to This Episode

• Ep #53 | How to Create A Writing Habit That Actually Sticks

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• Organization and Note-Taking With Obsidian [Product Review]
• Atticus Review: The All-in-One Writing and Formatting Tool for Indie Authors
• Writing with AI: Using Sudowrite for Serial Fiction

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [6:05] “The way you structured the conversation that you had about habits was around planning, goal setting, timing, repetition. And while those are all things that you should be thinking about, the actual writing habit should start becoming thoughtless. And it just becomes a thing you do so that you can then have a bigger goal.”

🎙️ [18:37] “But my point with that is: editing is writing… Taking the words that you've already written and making them words that you actually want someone to read is still writing. And I think there's a lot of important value in that.”

🎙️ [39:06] “It's all about like, knowing yourself well enough to know what you need to control in order to create the environment that you need to get your writing done.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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In this episode Matt & Lauren debate the value and staying power of audiobooks, especially for indie authors. We take a look at market trends for audiobooks worldwide, different ways for authors and creators to produce and distribute their own audiobooks, and the pros and cons of creating audiobook versions of your books. 

Watch this episode on YouTube!

Dive Deeper

💡 Data on Audiobooks 

• Audio Publishers Association | Research Surveys Press Release
• Statista.com | Statista Market Forecast 
• Overdrive | Audiobook Stats That Speak Volumes

💡 Audiobook Distribution Platforms

• Findaway Voices Transition to INaudio
• Spotify x ElevenLabs
• Audiobrary 
• BookFunnel 

💡 Audiobook Tools & News

• [Announced After Recording]: Audible Expands Catalog with AI Narration and Translation for Publishers 
• Dave Chesson | Audiobook Narrators
• Brandon Sanderson | Regarding Audible
• Eleven Labs | AI Toolkit for Publishers

💡Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #35 | Designing the Right Go-to-Market Strategy for Your Book
• Ep #56 | The Indie Author's Guide to Going Wide With Your Book Distribution

💡 Read This Blog Post

• Why Multiple Book Formats Matter

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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In this episode Lauren & Matt explore the design options available for print books. We review the distinctions between trim sizes, binding types, paper types, ink quality, and cover finish, and popular choices for different product types. 

Watch the episode on YouTube for visual examples! 

Dive Deeper

Watch The Life of a Book 

💡 Explore These Resources

• Pricing Calculator
• Resources Page

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #35 | Designing the Right Go-to-Market Strategy for Your Book
• Ep #43 | Make Your Self-Published Books Stand Out with Custom Details

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• The Anatomy of a Book
• How Books Are Made: From PDF to Printed & Bound
• 5 Visual Indicators Your Book Is Self-Published
  
  

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [3:24] “The hope is that maybe after this episode, you'll be a much more educated person when it comes to the fundamentals of print and print books and print on demand.”

🎙️ [31:58] “Understanding those things, what value they might add to your end user, you know, in your project versus just satisfying your need to see something super crazy and frilly and whatever, that's really important before choosing what you ultimately go to market with.” 

🎙️ [42:22] “So again, it all comes down to functionality and keeping in mind how you want your readers and buyers to use these things.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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In this episode, Matt & Lauren talk through what you need to know about licensing your book rights with foreign publishers. We debate the merit of reaching out to new markets, what that process looks like, and how to use an agency like DropCap to secure international rights deals. 

Watch this episode on YouTube!

Dive Deeper

💡 Explore These Resources

• DropCap Marketplace
• DropCap Blog
• Jericho Writers | Book Translation Rights: Everything You Need To Know
• Dave Chesson | How to Get Your Book Translated 

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #56 | The Indie Author's Guide to Going Wide With Your Book Distribution
• Ep #65 | How to Copyright the Copy That You Wrote

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• Licensing Your Foreign Book Rights with DropCap Marketplace
• Copyright Law Basics For Authors

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [6:31] “There are so many differences that we don't really think about domestically versus internationally in terms of what is trending in different markets.”

🎙️ [29:00] “They've really simplified, and I think made this accessible, to such a large group of people that otherwise, as we've just been talking about, would have some pretty daunting barriers to entry.”

🎙️ [38:43] “The end result is that you are essentially allowing, granting permission to foreign publishers and distributors the ability to publish and sell your book in different languages or versions in countries outside of your home country.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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We’ve mentioned, once or twice, the value of selling direct. But how does it actually work? In this episode, Lauren & Matt walk through the direct sales cycle and answer some common questions, including: 

• How do transactions work? 
• Who handles customer issues? 
• What am I supposed to do with my customer data?

Watch this episode on YouTube!

Dive Deeper

💡 Check Out These Resources

• Joanna Penn’s Store FAQs
• Lulu Direct Knowledge Base
• Lulu’s Pricing Calculator
• Lulu Direct

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #22 | Using Customer Data to Grow Your Business
• Ep #31 | Your 7-Step Guide to Building an Online Bookstore
• Ep #39 | Pain Point Solutions for Your Ecommerce Store

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• Customer Service and Your Ecommerce Business
• Setting Up and Managing Shipping Options in Lulu Direct
• 5 Tax Tips for Authors: A Tax Guide for Independent Creators

💡 Watch These Videos

• Webinar | Lulu Direct Best Practices + Q&A 
• Playlist | Selling Books Through Your Website
• Shopify, WooCommerce, and Wix Playlists
  
  

🎙️ [30:59] “To me, there's only two reasons to sell direct. It's one, to maximize your profits. You're literally cutting out all th

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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In 2023, Lulu bought Content Entrepreneur Expo, an event for content creators and content entrepreneurs. In this episode, Matt & Lauren share an inside look into why we got involved in CEX, what we’ve learned about events after owning one, and why we think content creators, entrepreneurs, and authors should join us in Cleveland this August! 

Watch this episode on YouTube!

Dive Deeper

💡 Learn More About The Tilt

💡 Check Out Content Marketing Institute 

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #6 | Why We Love Attending Conferences (and Why You Should Too)
• Ep #23 | How to Survive (and Thrive) at Conferences and Events
• Ep #46 | How to Maximize ROI on In-Person Events

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• Should You Attend Content Entrepreneur Expo?
• Maximize Your Time at In-Person Events
• Why Creator Events Are a Must for Creators & Entrepreneurs

💡 Watch These Videos

• Get Ready For CEX 2025! 
• See These Sessions from CEX 2023
  
  

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [3:50] “I would say from the moment we got there…I think we just kind of knew like, oh, this is something really different and really cool. And this is where we need to be.”

🎙️ [11:12] “There's an identity of a creator. There's an identity of an entrepreneur. There's an identity of an author. In my head, they're all three the same. Or should be. And I think that's what we've been trying to do, now that we've come into this space, is show that there is…if there was a venn diagram of those three identities, there is overlap right in the middle. And I think that's content entrepreneur.”

🎙️ [49:13] “We want people who are leaving the event somewhat sad, but also somewhat excited to come back next year. Like sad that it's over, but can't wait for next year.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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In this episode, Lauren & Matt dig into what discoverability looks like in a world where generative AI is changing how readers find books online. We look at what generative AI looks at when choosing what to cite or recommend, and share practical tips to help authors & creators appear in AI search results and, more importantly, to build lasting audience connections.

Watch this episode on YouTube!

💡 Check Out These Resources

• SparkToro | 2024 Zero-Click Search Study 
• Search Engine Journal | Meet the 7 Most Popular Search Engines in the World 
• Google’s Rich Results Test
• Joe Lazer on Generative AI Hallucinations 

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #59 | Mastering Book Metadata to Maximize Market Reach
• Ep #60 | Book Publicity Simplified with Sarah Franklin
• Ep #66 | How Authors Can Use Long-Form Video to Build Their Brand

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• Discoverability in the Age of AI Search
• Going Wide to Diversify Your Book Sales

💡 Watch These Videos

• How to Build a Community of True Fans
• Playlist | Audience Building
  
  
  

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [8:00] “Hopefully we'll be able to help you understand a little bit better how these search results, these zero click search results, are being generated, how you can try and make sure that you're in there.”

🎙️ [17:39] “One thing that people should understand is that it still hallucinates pretty regularly… They can't all be right. They can’t all be accurate. And they can't all have good intentions.”

🎙️ [40:09] “If I’ve said it three times in this episode

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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