SPA Girls Podcast

This week we have an intriguing chat with author Danielle Annett aka Danielle Romero, who has recently switched genres from Urban Fantasy to Contemporary Romance, with some amazing results.

She talks us through the decision to change genres, and what she did to make it a success, including some of the big decisions she had to make, such as whether to create a new pen name, how to market it, and what kind of social media/website and newsletter presence she wanted to have with the new genre/name. 

Danielle is also an organisational superstar, and we talk a little bit about how she organises all the various segments in her life so successfully! We loved chatting to her, and we’re sure you’re going to enjoy listening to this episode. 🙂 

Danielle’s Bio:

Danielle Romero is a 🔥 Snarky AF 🃏 Latinx Author 👩🏻‍💻 Mom of 3 👩🏻 👦🏻 👶🏻 and proclaims that she 📚 writes HOT books 📚 She’s loud, proud, and a classic ENTJ. She uses the word ‘hella’ a lot when she talks and blames it on her NorCal roots. Born and raised in the San Francisco bay area she now lives in Spokane, WA with her little fam, an asshole parrot, and her dog who decided (even though she picked him) to prefer her husband’s attention.

Danielle Annett is a USA Today Bestselling Author of Urban Fantasy and most recently Contemporary Romance under the pen name Daniela Romero.

(She started out as a book blogger, and then decided to write her own books.)

She likes to write about kick butt heroines in volatile settings and apologizes in advance for all of the cliffhangers in your future. She can’t help herself. But she promises that they’ll all be worth it in the end.

LINKS:

Danielle’s author website

Danielle’s Coffee & Characters: http://www.coffeeandcharacters.com/

Becca Syme’s courses: https://betterfasteracademy.com/
Sara Cannon’s Heartbreathings: https://heartbreathings.com/

What’s working for us. Plus, How to prepare your holiday season Advertising.

Christmas is coming whether we like it or not and starting now, as far as advertising is concerned, you need to get your ducks in a row. Spaces will already be dwindling as authors lock in their ads and if you want to have any decent ones, take our advice and get to it today.

This week we look at the major sites we use, as well as some of the smaller, and talk about our success, or lack of it, with each. The most important thing, which we will always stress, is that what works for one person might not be as successful for another, and often it’s hard to appreciate why.

Cheryl – I’ve only had two Bookbubs and they were for International only. International is fine but nowhere near the scale of the US platform. While I still apply, I don’t consider it a major in any of my advertising. Obviously, if I got the BIG one I’d be more than delighted!

My major ad spend is on Written Word Media who host Freebooksy and Bargain Booksy. I choose to use Freebooksy via their series promotions. It is more expensive than promoting 1 book but the rewards are much better as I get the read-through. Sales are more lucrative the more books you have in the series, and you must have at least 3 books.

I also use ENT (ereader news today), Robin Reads and Fussy Librarian regularly. For other promo sites to prop up my bigger ones I use, Books butterfly, Red Feather Romance and Booksends. There are many others but for me they simply aren’t worth the investment.

Wendy – I’m lucky enough to get a Bookbub most months for my Historical Romance. This has been a game changer! I rarely get them for my contemporary Romance but always apply because you never know if this might the time they choose you.

ENT and Robin reads are my next 2 sites I use frequently and I’ll change up the lesser ones each month and fit them around the bigger ones.

You should work out your budget first and this will dictate which sites you should apply to.

Listen to the podcast for the rest of the discussion and other suggestions at http://selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com

David Gaughran and Nikolas Erik have a more in depth look at all the sites and their costs.

https://davidgaughran.com/best-promo-sites-books/

Keen to join the SPA Girls in a live workshop? Join our mailing list here and we’ll let you know the minute we have workshop bookings open. https://selfpublishingworkshop.co.nz/index.html

Come say hi on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SPAGirlsPodcast/ and Twitter @spagirlspodcast.

This episode is a DOOZY! We’re thrilled to interview author and marketing expert, Holly Mortimer. Holly is the owner of the consulting firm, The Socialvert, and runs a successful membership base and mastermind for romance writers, The Socialvert Society. Her mission is to teach romance writers how to use digital marketing and email list building to increase their sales and cultivate a loyal fan base.

We talk all things email marketing with Holly, and get you some ‘next level’ tips that’ll have your author newsletter nailed!

About Holly Mortimer:

Holly Mortimer is a self-published author of contemporary romance and sexy women’s fiction. She’s turned her passion for travel into a romance brand that travels the world discovering romance inside small tourism towns in the UK, Europe and North America.

Based in the theatre city of Stratford, Ontario, she has self-published eight novels and is currently working on her ninth, a new sexy women’s fiction trilogy following three forty-something women as they explore their own second-chances at finding true love and personal growth.
She graduated from college with a diploma in Music Business, and spent many of years working in Nashville, TN, and then Toronto promoting up and coming singer/songwriters. It was on the road with these artists where she found her true love, writing.

Combining her love of writing and marketing, she is the owner of the consulting firm, The Socialvert and runs a successful membership base and mastermind for romance writers, The Socialvert Society. Her mission is to teach romance writers how to use digital marketing and email list building to increase their sales and cultivate a loyal fan base.

Links:

For Holly’s books:
https://hollymortimer.com/
For Holly’s author services and courses:
https://thesocialvert.com/

Visit the SPA Girls on facebook at: www.facebook.com/SPAGirlsPodcast

Watch the live recording of this episode on our SPA Girls YouTube channel

Today we’re interviewing author Connie B. Dowell about juggling family responsibilities, pandemic postponements, and upheaval, with the responsibilities of being a working writer.

Connie B. Dowell is an author of historical and cozy mysteries and nonfiction for writers. She is the host of the Book Echoes podcast for authors. After having two kids in less than two years, Connie developed a passion for time management and loves to chat author productivity and work-life balance. A former university writing center coordinator, she loves teaching other writers and guiding them toward success.

Connie’s author website: http://conniebdowell.com/
Connie’s coaching website: http://bookechoes.com/

You’ll find all the show notes and SPA Girls podcast episodes at: www.spagirlspodcast.com

Make sure you’re signed up to our weekly self-publishing tips newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bGkz8L

Come say hi on Facebook and Twitter @spagirlspodcast  

In response to a listener question, this week we attempt to answer the question: Knowing what you know now, if you were starting out in publishing today, would you go straight to self publishing, or would you try out traditional publishing first?

It’s a hard question, because we’re not starting out now, we do know an awful lot more than we did when we first started and when we started (7-8 years ago) everything was different.

And also, we all clearly believe in self publishing over traditional…! 

But… in the interests of helping our listeners make these kinds of decisions, we decided to give you the pros and cons of traditional vs self publishing.

It’s a little skewed, we admit that. But we did our best… 🙂 So join us for another great episode!!

This episode we discuss our (very!) different newsletter strategies: what provider we use and why, how we build our lists, our content, how frequently we email subscribers and what tips have worked for us.

We also cover where to start for newbies – ie, keep it simple and doable!

Resources mentioned:

Our interview with Larissa Reynolds (two parts): http://selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep177-successful-newsletter-strategies-with-larissa-reynolds/

Our interview with Maria Luis (two parts): http://selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep182-facebook-ads-with-maria-luis/

Our interview with David Gaughran: http://selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep225-amazon-decoded/

Our interview with Tammi Labrecque : http://selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep145-newsletter-ninja-tammi-labrecque/

Tammi’s book: Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert
Tammi L. Labrecque https://amzn.to/2Q9wZD5

Today we’re joined by fabulous Alaskan author, Tamsin Ley, who is seeing great success writing SciFi Romance! We talk about Tamsin’s writing journey, marketing strategies, paranormal romance quirks and her advice for self-publishers.

You can find Tamsin at: TamsinLey.com

About Tamsin

Tamsin Ley builds worlds full of sexy heroes who don’t know they need a mate – that is, until they meet the woman they can’t resist. The romance is sizzling hot, a surprise twist waits around every corner, and the stories will never leave you hanging (although you may still crave more!)

Wine-lover, beer-brewer, foodie, serious gardener, and secret zombie prepper, Tamsin lives in Alaska with her husband of twenty something years. In the long days of summer you can find her in the great outdoors, but when the long winter nights set in, she’ll be at the keyboard creating imaginary worlds.

Resources mentioned:
Susan Kaye Quinn’s website
Indies Together Facebook group for authors

Come visit the SPA Girls on facebook

Watch the live recording of this podcast on the SPA Girls Youtube channel

Amira Alvarez is the founder and CEO of The Unstoppable Woman, a global coaching company helping entrepreneurs, empire builders, athletes, creatives, and rising stars in all fields achieve their dreams and goals in record time. As someone who has made a quantum leap (going from barely making 6-figures to making $700k in one year, then onto 7-figures) and has lived to tell about it, she knows exactly what tactical strategies and mindset shifts are required to get out of your own way, live life on your own terms, and master the art of achieving any goal you set your mind to.

Today we’re going to talk to Amira specifically on how we can find focus in this chaotic time, and be productive without burning ourselves out.

Learn more at: https://www.TheUnstoppableWoman.com
Free Resources: https://theunstoppablewoman.com/freestuff
The Unstoppable Woman Podcast: https://theunstoppablewoman.com/listen/
website: TheUnstoppableWoman.com

One thing we really believe in here at the SPA is that simple is better.

There’s so much noise on the internet, and so many different things that we’re told that we “have” to do to be successful as self publishers, it can get confusing and overwhelming. So we decided to talk about ways to keep things simple in your publishing career, to prove that it doesn’t have to be complicated to be amazing.

With that in mind, this week we talk about our own experiences of keeping things simple, and how it worked out for us. We also give our tips on ways that you can simplify what you’re doing, whilst also amplifying your career…

Alana Terry is a 6-figure, USA Today bestseller with more than forty published Christian suspense novels. She hosts the Successful Writer Podcast which is a  fabulous marketing-focused podcast for indie authors of any genre. Alana has also created several highly regarded courses to help authors reach their dreams of achieving creative and commercial success.

Today we’re going to talk with Alana about how she uses advertising to grow her readership and how authors can navigate the sometimes confusing waters of Amazon ads and Facebook ads!

Alana tells us how she got into writing and then we dive into demystifying Facebook Ads in particular.

We discuss how you begin including which graphics and text work best.

Also how much you’ll need to budget for.

Then we move on to what to look for when checking your ads and how to know when and ad is working.

Sometimes what you see is not what you get and that’s the case when you factor in advertising one book from a series. Readthrough is so important when calculating return on investment. (ROI)!

Naturally we’re interested in any tricks we might use plus we weed out a few myths.

You can find Alana’s website at www.AlanaTerry.com

Her courses for authors are here: https://successfulwriter.podia.com/

Her course Smart Business for Authors, can be found here: https://your-author-engine.teachable.com/

Watch the recording of this episode on our You Tube Channel