In this episode, Mark chats with Andrea Pearson, an author, a marketing guru and a mother. We talk about how she balances all three roles, about the tools she uses, her latest fiction, how she manages to get so much writing done as well as some of her personal takeways from the recent WMG Business Master Class workshop she had attended.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update about the status of some of his recent November goals, which include the print version of his two recent non-fiction books about writing and publishing (The 7 P's of Publishing Success & Killing It On Kobo).

Mark also shares a word about the podcast's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .

During the interview Mark and Andrea discuss:

• The genesis of the Self-Publish Strong podcast where Andrea and her husband Nolan discuss movies in a way that writers can learn from
• The motivational marketing or publishing tips/quotes provided in each and every episode of the podcast
• The balanced blend between comedy and instruction that the two balance in their episodes
• Andrea's desire to help people and how that led to various tools and resources within her Self Publish Strong brand
• The fiction Andrea writes, including a new urban fantasy book which is her latest release (The Shade Amulet)
• How having children has helped Andrea become more structured and write more books
• The software that Andrea uses for dictating her novels (and the high volume of works she can create in an hour of dictation)
• Additional take-aways Andrea reflects upon from the recent WMG Publishing workshop
• The work that Andrea's virtual assistant does for her vs the work she does herself
• How hiring a virtual assistant paid for itself because of how it cleared up Andrea more time to publish more books
• Marketing advice for authors who are just beginning

After the interview, Mark reflects upon one of the things Andrea said regarding the needless stress authors often place on themselves when looking at their lack of sales, or, conversely, a great sales trend - particularly when that time could be better spent working on the next book.

Links of Interest:

• Andrea's Author Website
  • Andrea's Books
• Andrea's Self Publishing Strong Website
• Episode 38 of the Self Publishing Strong Website (Takeaways from the Vegas WMG Business Master Class)
• Findaway Voices
• The 7 P's of Publishing Success
• Killing It On Kobo
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Stark Reflections Survey

USA Today bestselling author Andrea Pearson has been a leader in the indie author arena since early 2011, with 50+ books under her belt and over a hundred articles published on professional blogs and websites. She hosts the popular Self-Publish Strong podcast that focuses on both publishing and craft, and she offers multiple online courses that surround her favorite topic: marketing.

Andrea was executive director for Indie Author Hub for a year and a half, and she is frequently invited to teach reader engagement through advanced newsletter marketing tactics and successful promotional campaigns at conferences and workshops. Andrea has been interviewed on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing podcast, the Rocking Self-Publishing podcast, and the Author Hangout. She has guest posted on JA Konrath's A Newbie's Guide to Publishing blog, and her tips have been mentioned several times on the Sell More Books Show.