In this episode Mark interviews Evan Gow, founder of StoryOrigin, about the platform and the many tools and offerings it has for authors.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares the two winners of the book TAKING THE SHORT TACK: Creating Income and Connecting with Readers Using Short Fiction written by Mark and Matty Dalrymple. One winner was randomly selected from those who left comments on Episode 116, and the other was select from among the patrons of the podcast.

Mark then shares a word from this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices...

You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

He then shares a personal update that includes writing projects, revised book covers, and the cancellation of the London Book Fair.

In their conversation, Evan and Mark discuss:

• The origin of StoryOrigin, which started in high school and then a college entrepreneur program called "Three Day Startup" in Austin, Texas
• How Evan determined the different needs and desires of indie authors in order to build his suite of what StoryOrigin offers them
• The confusing term "newsletter swap" and an explanation of what one actually is
• The transparency that is available for authors who are wanting to collaborate on newsletter swaps or group promotions
• The strategy for beginning authors to start by creating a reader magnet, and what a reader magnet might be - Using StoryOrigin for distribution of promo codes from Audible US, UK and Findaway Voices
• The ability to make an informed decision regarding potential reviewers who are requesting codes to review your book after receiving a free download code
• Some of the things authors were quick to adopt that Evan was surprised by
• The goal-tracking tools within StoryOrigin
• The open and free beta that StoryOrigin is currently in, as well as the transparent plans Evan has for charging authors for these tools

After the interview, Mark reflects on a couple of things that Evan had mentioned in the interview.

Links of Interest:

• StoryOrigin
• Findaway Voices
• Episode 116 - Taking the Short Tack with Matty Dalrymple
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

Evan Gow is the indie developer of StoryOrigin, a marketing tool and community of authors that work together to build their mailing lists, increase sales, find reviewers, and stay on top of deadlines.

The music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0