Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Chelle Honiker and Chrishaun Keller Hanna of Indie Author Magazine.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update and a word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by 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.

In their conversion Chelle, Chrishaun, and Mark talk about:

• Their backgrounds as writers, creatives, geeks, and entrepreneurs
• Chrishan's "Organzied chaos with style" line and how she has honed and refined her "pitch" over time at cons
• How writing feels like one dimension of a way that you can tell a story
• Learning about not being cut out for working FOR other people
• An aborted attempt at becoming a digital nomad (due to the global covid lockdowns)
• How an accountability partner/mastermind group led to the origin of Indie Author Magazine
• The desire to create an unbiased source of trusted information for indie authors
• The magazine being produced as a monthly digital and a print quarterly
• How the skill-set for the magazine was based on internal skills, talents, and experience from the team
• The range of topics and features planned to be covered and updated in each issue
• The "Indie Annie" column in order to answer questions submitted by readers
• How authors can get ahold of the magazine online or via the app
• The way they manage to fit managing this magazine while maintaining their writing commitments
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the power of priorities, partnership, and collaboration.

Links of Interest:

• Indie Author Magazine
• The Relaxed Author
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City

The mission of Indie Author Magazine is to inform, educate, and inspire authors at every stage of their careers.

Our vision is to be the trusted industry leader for reliable resources and information for indie authors by providing unbiased, well-researched, and articulate content in a timely manner, in the most engaging format possible.

The introductory, end, and bumper 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

Mark interviews Honorée Corder, an executive and strategic book and publishing coach, TEDx speaker, and the author of more than 50 books including You Must Write a Book.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, some recent comments and a word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by 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.

In their conversion Mark and Honorée talk about:

• The way Honorée's business got its start after a discussion with Mark Victor Hansen, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series
• Collaborating with businesses that want to use her books to promote/market their own business and how that has created a win/win/win situation
• Purposefully writing and marketing books to targeted potential clients with bulk discount rates in mind
• How people will throw out business cards but are far less likely to throw out a book
• Researching how to make the process of custom back covers for the same front, spine, and interior with a designer and a printer
• Ideas for how authors can leverage this type of marketing by offering a potential client a pile of books to give away to their clients
• Adapting an abundance mindset versus a scarcity mindset
• The mental hurdles that writers have to overcome in order to face prosperity
• What makes the difference between a hobbyist and a professional
• Commitment versus interest
• The question of "whether or not the person I am tomorrow will be proud of the person I am today"
• The importance of having downtime, quiet time, and opportunities for recharging our creativity
• How having a schedule can set you free from not worrying about something that's on your plate
• The basic principlee behind "The Miracle Morning" (Hal Elrod) and "The Miracle Morning for Writers" (Hal Elrod and Honorée)
• How, for the most part, you can find 15 minutes in different parts of your day
• A few things she didn't expect before beginning this journey
• How writing from a really raw place allowed Honorée to see that the more authentic she has been in her writing, the more readers have liked it and it has helped people
• And more

After the interview, Mark reflects on some of the things that this chat inspired in him, including an idea that sprung from the conversation.

Links of Interest:

• Honorée Corder's website
• BookBub Blog Post - Chirp Follow Buttons
• Episode 197 - The Darkness Within
• Episode 196 - Haunted Walks & Talks with Jim Dean
• The Relaxed Author
• Planes, Trains & Automobiles
  • Mark Lip Sync Scene from Planes, Trains & Automobiles
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City

The introductory, end, and bumper 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

In this solo episode, Mark talks openly about the anxiety, frustration, and darkness that took over as he was trying to prepare for this week's episode.

It's an unscripted talk through the things circling his mind, and how he is trying to deal with them.

Prior to his introspective rambling, he pauses to share a word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by 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.

It's not uncommon for writers and creative people to feel a darkness begin to descend over their emotions, to dance and mingle with anxiety and an overwhelming sense of exhaustion.

Mark tries to talk through those feelings and how he is trying to face them.

He does talk about a book he is currently listening to as a re-read: Neil Peart's Traveling Music: The Soundtrack to my Life and Times and the "end of day" treat that has become as part of a mental health/physical activity regimen.

Links of Interest:

• Mental Health Services Canada
• Depression Hotline
• Mental Help Dot Net
• Suicide Prevention Helpline
• The Relaxed Author
• The Relaxed Author Survey (Only Open until July 1, 2021)
• Best Book Ever Podcast
  • Season 1 Ep 9 - Mark talking about EARTH ABIDES
• Neil Peart - Traveling Music
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City

The introductory, end, and bumper 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

Mark interviews Jim Dean, Creative Director of Haunted Walks, Inc.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor . . .

This episode is sponsored by 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.

In their conversation, Jim and Mark talk about:

• How Glen Shackleton came to found the company via the first haunted walks in Kingston, Ontario in 1995
• The early days of the haunted walks and how people reacted to the idea
• Expanding out into Ottawa and Toronto as well as other nearby locations
• How ghost stories are a great way to share local history and the local experience in an entertaining format
• "We create and share extraordinary experiences"
• How in "normal" or "pre-pandemic" times, tens of thousands of students would come to Ottawa and go on the ghost walks
• The level of improv that is often required of the tour guides who have to incorporate the scripts into real-life interactive experiences
• Dealing with the pandemic after just coming off their most successful year and the most trying day of having to lay off almost all of the company's one hundred staff members
• The "home and bored" haunted packs that they started selling early in the pandemic
• Asking the question of what Halloween was going to look like in the fall of 2020
• The "Save Halloween" Kickstarter Project they launched, which didn't succeed, but led to some other ideas that worked for them, such as the virtual haunted campfires
• The virtual DIY audio experience that is "The Haunting at Home"
• How virtual events have opened Haunted Walks, Inc. up to an international audience and customer base
• Hosting the Haunted Walks Podcast and the types of stories that Jim covers on it
• Jim's memories of how, in school, when the old movie projector got rolled out and the lights went down and the film came on, the room became an entirely different place
• How the stories are crafted for the tours and how they evolve over time
• The special "Fact or Fiction" tours that they sometimes do
• A couple of unexplainable things that happened on a few of the tours and that Jim experienced
• And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on his appreciate for Haunted Walks, Inc. and the ways they have helped him personally and as a writer. He then talks about the important of multiple product lines and revenue streams derived from a single source of passion.

Links of Interest:

• The Haunted Walk Website
  • Ghost Tours
  • Online Experiences
• Haunted Talks Podcast
• Episode 195 - Help! I'm An Author With Mal Cooper
• Episode 194 - Eric Bryan Moore on Audiobook Narration and Pocket Pulp Podcast
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City

For 18 years, Jim Dean has been the Creative Director of Haunted Walks, Inc, which runs ghost tours and other paranormal adventures in Kingston, Ottawa, and Toronto, Ontario. He is also the host of the company's popular Haunted Talks podcast which explores dark history and ghost stories from around the world.

The introductory, end, and bumper 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

Mark interviews author Malorie Cooper about her writing and the "Help! I'm An Author" that Mal writes with her wife Jill Cooper.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by 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.

In their conversation, Mal and Mark talk about:

• How long it has been since they saw one another at a conference (November 2019), and how long it has been since in person writer gatherings
• The fact that Malorie is an extrovert by nature and enjoys hanging out with other authors, whether in person (when possible) or via virtual hangouts
• The daily five hour springs that Malorie hosts (23 minute springs and 7 minute breaks) which usually involves about 15 authors
• The music playlist that Malorie has defaulted to most recently
• The fact that your writing speed and process doesn't necessarily follow a linear path
• How Malorie deals with continuity in different books/series
• Tips for how to keep track of details when writing a long series - which includes NOT being too specific about many details, like eye color, etc.
• What inspired Malorie and her wife Jill to start writing the HELP! books for writers
• How Facebook ad procedures have changed over the years
• Some of the other titles in the Help! I'm An Author series
• The fact that Malorie was a CTO in a previous career and how that impacted the SEO involved in deciding the book titles
• Multiple experiments Malorie did with various rapid-release models
• Why consistency is far more important that a rapid release schedule
• How Malorie works on different co-authored projects
• The major burn-out and much needed break from writing back in 2019 that Malorie had to take
• That one month (August 2018) where Malorie wrote 200,000 words despite taking a week-long vacation at Disney
• How Malorie does her best work and fastest work at the last minute
• Deciding to not release the Help! My Marketing Plan Sucks book at the beginning of the pandemic and how that ended up splitting off into multiple more specific platform marketing titles
• How Malorie invests her time when attending a writer's conference
• The video content that Mal and Jill are working on creating
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the powerful energy that Mal gives off, which he finds inspiring, as well as the mention of getting the best work done quickly and at the last minute.

Links of Interest:

• The Writing Wives Website
• M.D. Cooper's Aeon 14
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City

Malorie Cooper likes to think of herself as a dreamer and a wanderer, yet her feet are firmly grounded in reality.

A twenty-year software development veteran, Malorie eventually climbed the ladder to the position of software architect and CTO, where she gained a wealth of experience managing complex systems and large groups of people. Her experiences there translated well into the realm of science fiction, and when her novels took off, she was primed and ready to make the jump into a career as a full-time author. Since then, she has sold nearly a million books. In addition to writing her bestselling science fiction series, she has written a book entitled "Help! My Facebook Ads Suck" and regularly presents on advertising and productivity at author conventions.

She shares her home with a brilliant young girl, her wonderful wife (who also writes), a cat that chirps at birds, a never-ending list of things she would like to build, and ideas…

The introductory, end, and bumper 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

In this episode, Mark interviews audiobook narrator Eric Bryan Moore about his work as a voice actor and his new podcast Pocket Pulp.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from this episode's sponsor...

This episode is sponsored by 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.

In their conversation, Eric and Mark talk about:

• The interesting nature of getting to talk to one another after having previously worked together as author and narrator
• How listening to audiobooks while he was living in Brazil and wondering what he would do led back to his background in acting and a career in audiobooks
• The original studio Eric used to have to use before having a home setup to record audiobooks
• How a unique moment in reading aloud in an English class inspired the teacher to introduce Eric to the theater group
• Studying writing as a way to help him better understand the work he was doing as a narrator
• Auditioning a lot and getting 12 rejections before landing his first narrating gig
• The ratio of about 1 in every 10 books that a narrator works on under the ACX royalty share program that actually earns money for the narrator
• Eric's romance narrator pseudonym of D.C. Cole
• The idea of how audiobook listeners might cross-over to discover new writers because of a narrator they enjoy listening to
• How most of Eric's work has been working with small publishers and indie authors
• The problem with being a narrator is that you don't get to read for fun anymore (ie, no downtime for pleasure reading)
• How Eric's work is a combination of repeat clients and doing the occasional audition
• Eric's going rate of $250 / finished hour which is the minimum rate for SAG-AFTRA
• The way that a program like Voices Share at Findaway Voices works
• The additional costs that Eric has to pay someone else to outsource as a narrator (which eats into his existing per/hour fees
• The new podcast that Eric launched called POCKET PULP
• How writers can submit stories to Eric's podcast, and the fact they get the audio file in return which they can use however they want
• The potential things that this weekly podcast can lead to
• And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the opportunity that exists for writers as well as the unique way Eric is leveraging this new podcast to build up his brand within the specific community where he's hoping to reach more people.

Links of Interest:

• Eric Bryan Moore's Website
• Pocket Pulp Podcast
• Pocket Pulp Podcast on YouTube
• Episode 7 - "Spirits" by Mark Leslie
  • YouTube link for "Spirits"
• Mark's Books Narrated by Eric
  • Active Reader: And Other Cautionary Tales from the Book World
  • A Murder of Scarecrows
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City

Originally a stage actor and Shakespeare fanatic from California, Eric Bryan Moore bounced around the globe for a number of years, including having lived in Japan for six of them, before finally settling down in São Paulo, Brazil. After starting a family, he decided to put his acting degree back to use and kicked off a career in audiobook narration in 2016. He narrates from his home studio and enjoys reading Fantasy, Science Fiction, Thrillers, Mysteries, and Horror. When he's not recording, Eric is busy playing with his daughter, trying to win his fantasy football league, playing chess online, reading for fun, and learning how to make the perfect caipirinha!

The introductory, end, and bumper 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

In this episode Mark interviews author Susan Faw who is also the owner and founder of Dragon's Lair Artist Emporium, a physical bookstore in Norther Ontario that showcases books from indie authors.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by 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.

In their conversation, Mark and Susan talk about:

• Susan's first meeting with group of authors at a library session with the Stratford Writer's Group in about 2012
• How long it took Susan to write her first book
• The actual work-related impetus of Susan writing her first novel
• Making the move to Northern Ontario from the Niagara region in Southern Ontario
• The population of the community Susan is in, which is about 6000 people
• How Susan is keeping busy on the writing side of things with a series she is writing
• The back story of creating Dragon's Lair Emporium
• The grant for Northern Ontario women that Susan used to create the store's website
• Opening the bookstore and then having to shut it down after 6 days due to a Provincial enforced shutdown due to Covid
• Just how eager customers are to get into the store
• Collaborative partnerships with the local high school
• How, at this point in time, Susan is getting most of her stock from Ingram
• Pricing setup advice and Susan's ability to see it from both the author and bookseller side
• The fact that Susan is not doing returns, which is typical modus operandi for a bookstore
• Coming up with creative ways to market books rather than just buying giant piles of books where half of them can be returned
• A reminder that if an author sets a 55% discount via Ingram Spark, the bookstore actually sees 40%
• Realizing that specific people who are only interested in discounted prices might not actually be your customer
• The forms where authors can submit their books for consideration to be carried in the bookstore
• What authors can do to help support the bookstore that is supporting indie authored books
• And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the unique customers for print books in local physical bookstores, as contrasted to online shoppers on Amazon. He also reminds authors to consider their own books from the bookstore owner's perspective.

Links of Interest:

• Susan Faw's Author Website
• Dragon's Lair Artist Emporium Website
• EP 191 - Insights from the Immersive Media and Books 2020 Consumer Survey
• The Creative Penn Episode 551 - The Challenges of a First Novel
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Mark's Tavern YouTube Episodes
  • Pilot Episode (6 Min 39 Seconds)
  • Short: Dad Jokes Matter (1 Min 37 Seconds)
  • Short: Tension (1 Min 31 Seconds)
  • Short: Mister Bright Side (3 Mins 47 Seconds)
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City

Susan Faw is a Canadian author of young adult fantasy and dystopian fiction. Her debut novel, Seer of Souls was awarded first place for the best young adult mythology of 2016, Chanticleer Reviews, and the grand prize of the Dante Rossetti for best young adult fiction of 2016, Chanticleer Reviews.

Dragon's Lair Artist Emporium is the brain child of owner Susan Faw. Frustrated with the lack of venues available to independent authors, she a book store dedicated to authors worldwide, who have chosen a self-publishing career.

Dragon's Lair Artist Emporium knows that there are many wonderful books deserving to be seen, and to be read. Dragon's Lair was born to give the independently published author what they have long been denied - space on a physical store shelf. Not only is this space for them, but their business model is built around showcasing the amazing, unrepresented talent that exists in the indie publishing sphere.

In this episode, recorded from a live video chat, Mark interviews James Kademan, owner of Calls On Call, a shared receptionist service, Draw In Customers Business Coaching, and the author of The BOLD Business Book.

This episode is sponsored by 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.

In this live chat, Mark and James talk about:

• James' background as an entreupreneur, which started in 2006
• The multiple businesses that James has created, and the numerous mistakes he has made along the way in order to find success
• The infinite number of ideas that you have compared to the actual implementation
• How most entrepreneurs, like most authors, can be overly optimistic
• The implementation of "Whatever Blooms" an automated online flower-ordering business to save people time
• Riding the "hope train" and the comfort in complacency
• James' decision to self-publish THE BOLD BUSINESS BOOK
• Releasing the book in hardcover, paperback, eBook, and Audiobook
• How James never anticipated that you have to practically "claw your way" to get people to leave reviews for your book
• The way that people often don't value time
• The importance of "done" and finishing something
• How important "inbox zero" is for email management
• And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the value of getting work done and how he is adapting the "Inbox Zero" strategy.

He also shares some info about a free workshop he is doing with James at When Words Collide in August 2021, as well as the full day workshop...

Authoring Boot Camp Basic Training (Full Day Workshop)

Want to take your author career to the next level?

Business Coach James Kademan and Author Consultant Mark Leslie Lefebvre team up to help authors define and achieve their goals, from shaping-up their writing practice and effective scheduling, to publishing and marketing strategies, Mark and James unpack Authoring and help authors understand how they can create their own plan.

Author Sarah Kades Graham joins as moderator, as well as prototype—hear how the Authoring Boot Camp has changed her career!

Links of Interest:

• Draw in Customers Business Coaching
• Calls on Call
• James' Business Books
• "Inbox Zero" YouTube Video
• When Words Collide
• Full Day Authoring Boot Camp Workshop
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City

James Kademan has been an entrepreneur since 2006. He owns several businesses, including Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service for those ready to outsource, and Draw In Customers Business Coaching where he helps entrepreneurs achieve more time, more money and more fun, while enjoying what they do. James is the author of The BOLD Business Book, A Strategy Guide to Start, Run, and Love Your Soon to Be BOLD Business. He is a Certified Business Coach and Professional Speaker and continues to release blogs, podcasts and videos at his website www.drawincustomers.com.

The introductory, end, and bumper 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

Mark interviews Dr. Rachel Noorda and Dr. Kathi Inman Berens about the Immersive Media & Books 2020 Consumer Survey conducted by the Panorama Project and Portland State University.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from this episode's sponsor (which includes a sample from the first narrator that Mark ever used through 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.

Mark then shares comments from recent episodes and also a personal update.

In his discussion with Dr. Noorda and Dr. Berens, the three discuss:

• Dr. Rachel Noorda's background at Portland State University directing the Masters book publishing program there and her route into the academic world
• The student-run press that publishes several trade books every year, giving the students a hands-on experience in publishing
• Dr. Kathi Inman Berens' undergrad work within publishing and her later long-term academic experience within open access publishing, digital pedagogy and related projects
• How there isn't a lot of book publishing research out there that's not proprietary in nature
• The origin and evolution of The Panorama Project
• Behaviors related to "engagement" with books that don't necessarily include buying or reading them
• How the survey was made up of people who "engaged with a book" at least once in the past 12 months
• An OverDrive study and a 2019 PEW research study and that both estimate between 75% and 85% of people have engaged with a book in the previous year
• How books are a very durable 500-year success story, according to Dr. Berens, that people have incredibly powerful feelings and emotions about
• Some of the research that revealed surprising results
• How the stats show that the suspected "show-rooming" of bricks and mortar stores that result in online (ie, Amazon) purchases is actually more of a 50/50 split. Sometimes people find books in bookstores and buy those same books online. Other times, people find the books online then buy them in bookstores. It's a two-way street
• How, while the biggest single realm of book discoverability (20%) is from friends, that 80% of the time people are finding books from a multitude of other means
• The difficulty of measuring or finding the typical 6 touch points a person needs to have with a book before they decide to purchase/read it
• All of the things that happen in purchasing behavior that we (as authors and publishers, and even as consumers) are not aware of
• How the Immersive Media report does have a specific section for authors
• The high relevance of "genre" and "favorite author" when it comes to deciding to buy a book
• How readers are often expecting some kind of "online access" to authors
• The "literary citizenship" that Jane Friedman talks about in her book THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WRITER
• And more...

After the interview Mark shares a couple of reflections about the conversation and then thanks Patrons.

Links of Interest:

• The Panorama Project
• Immersive Media & Books 2020 Consumer Survey
  • The March 2021 Webinar
• EP 187 - Business-Minded Creative Marketing with Diana Wink
• EP 188- A Gritty & Real Adoption and Publishing Story with Denise Massar
• EP 189 - From Stage to Page and Back to Stage with Rod Carley
• EP 190 - The Episode Where Shit Went Down with Sweary Historian James Fell
• The Write Stuff Storybundle (Until May 25, 2021)
• Eric Bryan Moore's Website
  • Pocket Pulp Episode 7 - Spirits by Mark Leslie
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City

Dr. Rachel Noorda is Director of Publishing and Assistant Professor of English at Portland State University. Dr. Noorda holds a PhD degree in Publishing Studies from the University of Stirling and has published peer-reviewed research on various book publishing projects including book subscription boxes, independent publisher mission statements, the Portland Book Festival, and online book blurbs. She is currently writing a book (contracted with Cambridge University Press) about entrepreneurship in twenty-first century US book publishing. She has been very involved with the industry, including analyzing data and writing industry reports for PubWest, the Independent Book Publishers Association, the Book Industry Study Group, Literary Arts, and Publishing Scotland.

Dr. Kathi Inman Berens, Associate Professor of English at Portland State University, has published peer-reviewed research about digital humanities, book publishing, and digital literature. A Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, Dr. Berens conducted grant-supported research for IBM when she was faculty and a Fellow of the Annenberg Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California. Dr. Berens studies immersive environments and transmedia experiences, consulting with Portland companies on VR medical therapies, immersive storytelling, and mobile web interface design. In her book publishing consulting and scholarship, two years of survey work provide foundational data for insights about consumer behavior at the Portland Book Festival. She is advisory council for arts non-profits Literary Arts, NW Film Center, and Oregon Storyboard.

The introductory, end, and bumper 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

In this episode Mark interviews James Fell, Sweary Historian, about his latest book On This Day in History, Sh!t Went Down.

Warning to listeners: In this episode, adult language goes down. A lot. If you are offended by swearing and adult language, please do NOT listen to this episode.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments, from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

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

During their conversation, Mark and James discuss:

• His experience writing as a freelance investigative journalist within the diet and fitness industry for the LA Times and Chicago Tribune
• How James' literary agent compared his previous book The Holy Shit Moment as a combination of Malcolm Gladwell's Blink with Jen Sincero's You Are a Badass
• The way that The Holy Shit Moment was a book with a bit of a scientific analysis on "how shit works" and learning that you can't make those "holy shit" moments happen, but you can set up the groundwork for making it more likely to occur
• The way that the book The Holy Shit Moment flopped and what that meant for James' career despite all the media attention and support
• Being in a tough and tight headspace where he wasn't sure what was going to happen with his career, with a book flop, Trump looking like he was going to be re-elected, a Covid-19 pandemic lockdown
• The way that exercise can be an important part of paving the way for an epiphany moment
• The long bike-ride James was on that led to the idea for this new book and shift to his writing focus over to history
• The idea of the "this day in history" posts to share to Facebook
• How the 2nd post about May West "blew up" on social media (5 million views within a month) and prompted people to suggest he should convert these types of posts into a book
• The way James would decide on what to write for any specific day
• The more than 1000 variations of the word "Fuck" that appears in the On This Day in History Shit Went Down
• A future book that James has been working on called Greedy Sexist Religious Bigots Who Hate Science
• The move James made to Patreon with his daily history post content and his weariness about whether or not it would work. But how, within a few hours, he was already well into a few thousand dollars
• How, within 3 months, James was in the top 30 of all writers on Patreon
• Moving over to Substack and how they encourage people to provide content for free to create an audience, while also having some content behind a paywall
• The deep and meaningful connection that people can feel towards writers they respect and admire
• The generosity shown to sci-fi author John Varley via a health crisis and GoFundMe campaign
• How, even though people can read the entire content of the book for free, sales of On This Day In History Shit Went Down are exploding
• The print book significantly outpacing the eBook sales on this title despite doing no advertising or marketing outside of sharing free content from the book on social media
• The importance of a blatant and direct CALL TO ACTION to "get the book
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the change in writing focus James took as well as his fully embracing both traditional publishing and indie publishing options to fully leverage his IP to his greatest benefit, as well as his combination of nimble indie author marketing tactics combined with a progressive business-oriented approach.

Mark then thanks Patrons of the podcast offering them one of two opportunities to win one of two free download codes for an awesome new writing bundle from Storybundle called "The Right Stuff Storybundle" (which is only available until May 25, 2021.

Links of Interest:

• James Fell's Website
  • Body for Wife / Books
  • On This Day in History Shit Went Down
  • James Fell Facebook Page
  • James Fell on Substack
• Episode 60 - The Holy Shit Moment and Other Sudden Insights with James Fell
• Episode 2 - Living the Healthy Writer Life with Joanna Penn
• Episode 138 - Cash Flow for Creators with Michael W Lucas
• Episode 148 - A Voice Double Conversation with Joanna Penn
• The Write Stuff Storybundle (Until May 25, 2021)
• Kevin Closs Music
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City

About James Fell

My name is James and I say "fuck" a lot.

It is possible for me to not swear. I was a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune for many years. I think the LA Times let me get away with "hell" twice. I've also been a columnist for Chatelaine and AskMen, and written for TIME Magazine, the Guardian, NPR, Women's Health, Men's Health, and many others. You can see a sample of my published articles here. Additionally, I've had countless radio and TV appearances and never uttered a profane word a single time. Go me.

I began as a health and fitness writer and have published two books. The first is Lose it Right: A Brutally Honest 3-Stage Program to Help You Get Fit and Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind published by Random House Canada in 2014. The second is about the science of the life-changing epiphany titled The Holy Sh!t Moment: How Lasting Change Can Happen in an Instant published by St. Martin's Press in 2019. Yes, I wrote a book with a swearword in the title. Both are heavy on the science, containing no bullshit.

I also have a popular blog that has millions of readers where I have written on a wide variety of subjects that include fitness, diet, and motivation, but certainly isn't limited to that. The blog is very sweary. Here is my recipe for "motherfucking lasagna."

Covid-19 changed my career arc.

The introductory, end, and bumper 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