SPA Girls Podcast

The decision to self publish her first historical women’s fiction novel – after a career writing romance – turned out to be a lucrative one for today’s guest, Kindle #1 bestselling historical women’s fiction author, Soraya Lane. The same year she self-published the novel – one that her agent told Soraya she couldn’t sell – she picked up a publishing deal (for the same book) with Amazon, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Fast forward 10 years and Soraya now writes for two different traditional publishing houses – one of them still Amazon – she’s sold more than a million copies of her books and her work has been translated into more than 21 languages around the world. This week we talk about her journey into writing, what she’s learned about writing historical fiction and how translations have transformed her career.

About Soraya:
Soraya M. Lane graduated with a law degree before realizing that law wasn’t the career for her and that her future was in writing. She is the author of historical and contemporary women’s fiction, and her novel Wives of War was an Amazon Charts bestseller.

Soraya lives on a small farm in her native New Zealand with her husband, their two young sons and a collection of four-legged friends. When she’s not writing, she loves to be outside playing make-believe with her children or snuggled up inside reading.

Soraya is the Amazon Charts & #1 Kindle bestselling author of The Secret Midwife and The Lost Daughters series, with over 1 million copies of her historical women’s fiction novels sold!

For more information about Soraya and her books, visit http://www.sorayalane.com or http://www.facebook.com/SorayaLaneAuthor , or follow her on Twitter @‌Soraya_Lane

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Nat Connors of Kindletrends returns to the SPA with a new analysis tool for indie authors – an interactive infographic to help us make sense of the book categories on the Kindle Store. Knowing where your book (or story idea before you’ve written it) fits into the market, and how it stacks up against the packaging (cover, pricing, categories etc), for the current top sellers in your specific genre is really important. It allows you to directly target the right readers and sell more books.

‌Forget confusing tech stuff, Nat’s going to break down the UF and Small Town Romance markets in easy -to-understand ways!

We highly recommend you watch the recording of this episode on our YouTube channel where you can see Nat’s screen sharing the reports watch here: https://youtu.be/n3ttp8HXy4U

View SMALL TOWN ROMANCE example here: https://kindletrends.com/static/smalltown/

View URBAN FANTASY example here: https://kindletrends.com/static/uf/

‌BONUS OFFER: SPA Girls listeners/viewers …

sign up to kindletrends.com, use the coupon code SPA and save $5/month making your subscription just $10 / month forever!

Nat’s Links:
https://kindletrends.com/​
https://www.facebook.com/Kindletrends
https://x.com/kindletrends​
https://www.youtube.com/@kindletrends​

Kindletrends free resources for authors:

Also Boughts Downloader Chrome Extension: 

Download Also Boughts And Top 100s Chrome Extension
Kindle Power Search: 

How to use Kindle Power Search
List of categories on the Amazon Store: 

List of All Categories in the Kindle Store

Wondering how long it’s gonna be until you’ll make enough to quit the day job?

Listen to this SPA Girls Minisode all about how long it will take you to make your first $1,000 dollars in self publishing! Full of great tips, sage advice and some vulnerable moments from our own self publishing careers.

If earning money from your writing is your goal, there are certain things you can do to make this happen faster. Work out how much money you’ve spent on editing, covers, formatting (can be done cost effectively and don’t let lack of $ put you off publishing)!

Previously we’ve said a great goal is to make your costs on publishing book back after 6 – 12 months but this is dependent on book, release schedule etc. It is possible to earn full time from bigger books and 2 releases/ year (See SPA Girls Podcast EP 282 with Helen Scheuerer )

It’s also possible to build to $1,000 in three months by publishing shorts. Both have been done by our guests. Many authors reach 1k with one book in first few weeks. Other authors might take 2, 3 or 5 books over a longer period. Still others might labour for years and never reach 1k/month. It depends on genre, tropes, state of the market, length, voice, cover, marketing effort. BUT IT IS POSSIBLE! See Fallyn Briggs episode (http://selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep297-fallyn-briggs-writing-to-trend-v-writing-to-market/ )

It’s not about how many books you have – you have to write what people want to read!

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

First published in 2014, romance author Clare Connelly hit success from her very first self-published book. Now with over 120 books published, she talks to us this episode about the pros and cons of hybrid publishing, balancing writing life with a young family, how to be focussed and productive plus the mindset new writers and self publishers MUST have!

*** CONTEST CLOSED – THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED ***

ABOUT CLARE: Clare Connelly is the bestselling author of more than one hundred angsty, passionate romance novels. Having self-published her first book in 2014, by the end of that year, she was an Amazon All-Star in the US and UK and has since sold millions of copies of her books. She continues to self-publish and also writes her trademark romances for Harlequin and Tule.

Clare has lived and breathed romance for as long as she could remember. As a child, she adored fairy tales and Disney movies, as a teen it was all about romance novels: anything from Mills & Boon (which she consumed voraciously) to Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer and Jilly Cooper.

In 2023, alongside three other bestselling romance writers, Clare launched the How to Write Academy, a one-stop shop for aspiring genre writers. Clare met her own real life hero at the tender age of eighteen. Clare lives near the sea in South Australia. When she isn’t running kids to after school sports activities, listening to political podcasts or experimenting with French recipes, she’s writing, thinking about writing, or wishing she were writing.

Find Clare at: www.clareconnelly.co.uk

How To Write Academy: www.howtowriteacademy.com

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis. All the info is at   / spagirlspodcast  

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodca… for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info 😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Wondering how long it’s gonna be until you’ll make enough to quit the day job?

Listen to this SPA Girls Minisode all about how long it will take you to make your first $1,000 dollars in self publishing! Full of great tips, sage advice and some vulnerable moments from our own self publishing careers, this is an awesome, must-listen mini-sode, just for you. 🙂 

Show Notes

Fallen Briggs Episode 297 on Writing to Trend Versus Writing to Market.

Steffanie Holmes (Episode 164) on Writing Reverse Harem.

Emilia Rose Episode 358 on Earning Six Figures through Subscriptions.

Explore Reem.

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Writing great books with emotional impact is key to building your readership. Today we discuss craft tips that will help you attract new readers, build your fanbase and sell more books!

Resources mentioned:
Lisa Cron on the SPA Girls Podcast EP249

Sacha Black on crafting great characters EP422

Writing For Emotional Impact by Karl Iglesias

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Want to make the leap to full time author? How do you know when it’s the right time to make that leap? Going from hobbiest to full time writer has been a different journey for all of us. Today we discuss:

and lots more!

Resources mentioned:

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

SPA Girls Podcast E249 – story coach, Lisa Cron

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! 

SHOW NOTES:

What is formatting?

It’s creating a file of your book so it’s delivered to readers smoothly, that it looks professional, meets the requirements of the publishing platforms and is accessible for readers with disabilities.

What you need:

Epub for digital / PDF for print.

Book cover.

Know where you’re publishing it

Wide versus exclusive to Amazon? Make the decision.

Final file should include:

Front and back matter

Front matter can include any (or all) of the following:

Back matter can include:

Create the file using one of these options:

You can, of course, hire a professional to do this (if it’s a one-off project, or a complex layout with a lot of illustrations, that’s definitely a good option). However, investing the time into doing it yourself will pay dividends in the long run!

We recommend and use Atticus and Vellum!

Atticus Link

Vellum Link (affiliate link)

Other places to gather more information:

David Gaughran – https://davidgaughran.com/how-to-format-ebooks-for-free-ebook-formatting/

Reedsy – https://blog.reedsy.com/how-to-format-a-book

Kindlepreneur – https://kindlepreneur.com/how-to-format-a-book

SPA Girls Podcast: EP432 What to Do when you’ve finished the book http://selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/?s=432

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

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.

Find Maggie at maggiemarr.net

SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Branding, Marketing Books and Going All In with Small Town Romance

USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author Melanie Harlow writes sweet, sexy, feel-good romance. She is a powerhouse of publishing, starting in 2013 with historical romance to today where she focuses on small town contemporary romance.

In this incredible conversation, Melanie details her approach to:

How She Changed Her Approach To Publishing Commercially

“I think about marketing before I write the book – it’s baked in.” ~ Melanie Harlow, SPA Girls Podcast EP450

About Melanie:

USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author Melanie Harlow writes sweet, sexy, feel-good romance. She likes her martinis dry, her heels high, and her history with the naughty bits left in. If she’s not writing or reading, she’s probably at Orangetheory or watching Schitt’s Creek again. She lifts her glass to readers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit.

She is represented by Rebecca Friedman of Friedman Literary.

find Melanie at: melanieharlow.com

Resources Mentioned:

Elana Johnson’s Writing Killer Cover Copy

Elana Johnson’s SPA Girls Podcast Episode #227 and #228

SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!