SPA Girls Podcast

Business Planning for authors isn’t too often discussed, but the minute you go from hobbyist writer to publishing-for-profit, congratulations! You’re now a business entrepreneur.

So what is a business plan? It’s the foundation of your business, a road map of your business structure, future projects, markets, earnings and expenses.

It sounds more complicated than it needs to be. With that in mind, we’ve put together a simple SPA Girls Business Plan template you can download for free from http://selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/businessplan/

Completing this as you’re recovering from the holiday season could be just the ticket to kicking off your new year with a clear mind and solid goals.

💗 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 questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!

www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

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

😊Watch the recording on our YouTube Channel @spagirlspodcast

Want to set yourself up for an awesome 2024? Then this is the SPA Girls podcast episode for you. We go through our top eight tips to help amp up your career and kickstart your year! 

From looking at the data and knowing what you want, to getting your newsletter humming and revamping blurbs, we give you all our best advice for 2024. 

SHOWNOTES: 

Our Top Eight Tips:  

1. Know what you want 

2. Reverse Engineer 

3. Fine Tune Your Processes 

4. Check Look Insides 

5. Get Your Newsletter Humming 

6. Revamp Blurbs 

7. Reassess Your Keywords & Categories 

8 Keep Moving Forward!

Resources mentioned:

SPA Girls Podcast with Laurelin Paige (#221)

Amazon Categories with Alex Newton from K-Lytics

Dave Chesson with the SPA Girls

💗 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 http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

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

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. 🥰

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:

Helen is a rare “three timer” guest on the SPA Girls Podcast. Previously she was on EP#282 A Full Time Income From One Book A Year and EP#345 How To Write A Successful Series

Helen’s latest non-fiction book for writers, How to Launch A Successful Series, has just been released and can be found on all bookstores in ebook and print.

Introducing the ultimate guide to revolutionising your book series launches: How To Launch A Successful Series! This must-read resource will equip you with the tools and knowledge to conquer the world of book launches. Inside, you’ll learn invaluable lessons, including:

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About Helen:

Helen B. Scheuerer is the bestselling fantasy author of the series, The Oremere Chronicles, Curse of the Cyren Queen and The Legends of Thezmarr.

Her work has been highly praised for its strong, flawed female characters and its action-packed plots. She also publishes advice for authors with her nonfiction series, Books For Career Authors.

Helen’s love of writing and books led her to pursue a creative writing degree and a Masters of Publishing. She has been a full-time author since 2018 and now lives amidst the mountains in New Zealand where she is constantly dreaming up new stories.

www.HelenScheuerer.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 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 http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

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

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 the sea of other new books, and how can you find the right readers for you?

In this episode, we’re getting down and dirty with practical suggestions for you to create your own successful launch plan, even if you have no existing fans / mailing list / backlist!

If you’re releasing rapidly, we recommend listening to our podcast with Elana Johnson

(http://selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep228-interview-with-elana-johnson-part-two/

For bonus content information we recommend listening to our podcast EP 268

http://selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep268-how-to-use-bonus-content-to-sell-books/

 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 questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!

www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

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

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!

Grab your pen and paper, and take notes, because this episode is all gold!

Don’t forget our special SPA Girls Listeners link for $50 off an annual plan for your first year! : https://bookfunnel.com/spa-girls-podcast-2023/ but hurry – offer expires Jan 31, 2024

SHOW NOTES:

About Damon Courtney:

Damon Courtney is the creator and CEO of BookFunnel, an ebook and audiobook delivery service for authors and publishers. As a lifelong software engineer, Damon is an expert in just about everything technical and can offer unique insight on publishing as it relates to software and technology. He is also the self-published author of his very own Fantasy trilogy and continues to spin stories in his head that he hopes to some day get around to writing.

Click this link to go to BookFunnel.

💗 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 http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

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

Bumps on the publishing path are unwelcome yet inevitable and they can affect us in a variety of ways. 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:

(For an explanation of these and how to use them, you need to listen or watch the episode!)

Side characters – how do you make them memorable, but not over-take the spotlight? And what purpose do they serve in the story?

This episode, the awesome author and educator, Sacha Black, gives us the scoop on developing incredible side characters that will take your story from blah to bleepin’ amazing. She takes us through three different types of side character and how to create juxtapositions that SELL BOOKS.

Sacha says: “If your book is a body, then your protagonist is the heart, the theme is the soul and your side characters are the arteries feeding your protagonist-heart.

Side characters are the arteries in a protagonist-heart, they are new perspectives and viewpoints, conflict generators, and subplot fulfillers.”

About Sacha Black:

Sacha Black is a best selling and competition winning author, rebel podcaster, and professional speaker.

She has five obsessions; words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules.

Sacha writes educational nonfiction books for writers and sapphic books for Young Adults. She also writes under a super secret pen name.

When she’s not writing, she can be found laughing inappropriately loud, sniffing musty old books, fangirling film and TV soundtracks, or thinking up new ways to break the rules.

She lives in Cambridgeshire, England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son.

www.sachablack.co.uk

Sacha’s podcast, The Rebel Author

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 http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

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

This week we talk to 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!

Carrie writes contemporary romance with a sizzling edge. Her first book, Fix You, has been translated into eight languages and made a surprise appearance on Big Brother in Brazil. Luckily for her, it wasn’t voted out. Carrie lives with her husband, two lovely children and a larger-than-life black pug called Plato. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found baking, drinking an occasional (!) glass of wine, or chatting on social media.

Find her at: carrieelks.com

Resources mentioned in podcast:

Skye Warren’s Ad course: https://www.authoradsintensive.com/

TikTok Sells Books Course: https://tiktoksellsbooks.com/

Theodora Taylor’s Universal Fantasies http://selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep315-interview-with-theodora-taylor/

Plottr

Becca Syme https://betterfasteracademy.com/

NINC https://ninc.com/

RAM (Romance Author Mastermind) https://romanceauthormastermind.com/

Brighton Walsh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2lueij-iRU

Plottr https://plottr.com/?ref=367

 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 questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!

www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

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

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.

No two people do it the same, and it has to be something that works for you and your goals. It’s all very well doing the planning, but it has to be done in such a way that you’ll take action on it as well!

What we are all in agreement on is that if you don’t do any forward planning at all, it will be that much more difficult to achieve your dreams!

PS – This is also the episode where Wendy finally reveals her Cliffton Strengths. For anyone who has heard Wendy moan about the Clifton Strengths and how much she dislikes them, you’ll understand how big a moment this is! (And believe me, her top five totally fits who she is!) This episode is worth a listen, just for that moment alone!

SHOW NOTES:

Forward planning / noun. 1. the process of making plans to take into account what is likely to happen or be needed in the future. “with a bit of forward planning, this party can be fun for all ages” taking into account future circumstances or requirements when you make a plan.

Links mentioned:

Skye Warren working 4 hours/day Parts 1 & 2

Sarra Cannon on the SPA Girls

💗 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 http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast