Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Actor, producer, audiobook narrator, and singer Sarah Beth Goer.

Prior to the interview Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a few words about 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 Sarah talk about:

• The fact that this is Sarah's first appearance as a podcast guest
• Working with Erin Wright on releasing her romance novels in audiobook
• How and when Sarah got started in audiobook narration
• The reality of trying to be an actor in LA - including the difficulty of even getting an audition
• Sarah's determination to get at least 200 rejections before giving up on this pursuit
• The importance of understanding your goal of having your books in audio
• Other suggestions to authors on strategies for determining whether or not its worth investing on audiobooks
• What Sarah wants every author to know about licensing their audio rights to a publisher
• The original of where Sarah got the "bug" for acting
• Determining that she really had to do acting for her soul
• Coming to terms with the doors that are open for you and the doors that are closed for you, and walking through the doors that are open instead of banging your head on the doors that are closed
• How audiobooks are an actor's medium - where an actor can't be limited or typecast by how they look, for example
• The comparison of a one-hander, a play performed by a single actor with being a single narrator of an audiobook
• Why Sarah highly recommends the audiobook for Charlotte's Web
• The converted and sound-proofed/sound-dampened closet that Sarah records in within her home
• How Mark met Sarah while looking for narrators for the audiobook for his Obsessions anthology
• The way Sarah gets new clients - Different genres that Sarah likes to work on as an audiobook narrator and what she looks for in a collaborative writing partner
• The deeply satisfying experience of creating the feature film THREE ROADS
• The resonance of a specific scene in the film that was created in an ad hoc fashion of collaboration between the actors ad libbing with suggestions from the director
• Sarah's penchant for ad lib film creation, but why they didn't use that for THREE ROADS (other than a few short scenes)
• Behind the scenes of the "little details" put into a feature film, such as the "scene within a scene" of a fictional movie two of the characters are watching
• The mind-boggling realization that every single thing seen on a television show or movie was painstakingly created, designed, or placed by someone responsible for that
• The challenging reality of the fact that the cost to just distribute this film and would most likely far outweigh the funds that would be earned off of it
• The cross-training of working on multiple collaborative and creative projects
• And more

After the interview Mark shares a reflection about Sarah's conviction to stick it out until she tried 200 times, as well as the need for disruption in the film industry.

Mark also welcomes new Patron, Kevin Partner.

Links of Interest:

• Sarah Beth Goer's Website
  • Sarah on Twitter
• Wonder Woman Productions
• Pink Flamingo Productions
• Lyric Audiobooks
• Episode 157 - A Conversation with Jeff Elkins, The Dialogue Doctor
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
  • This Time Around (Book 0)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
  • Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
• Findaway Voices
• Books2Read
• Draft2Digital
• Wide for the Win Submission Form
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

Sarah Beth Goer is a member of acting unions SAG-AFTRA and AEA. Her feature film THREE ROADS, which she co-wrote, starred in, and produced, won BEST WRITERS at the LA Femme International Film Festival in 2019.

Sarah is also an audiobook narrator with over 100 titles under her belt. Notable works include Harper title The Unteachables (named in January 2019 an Apple Books Must-Listen), Disney Hyperion title The Devouring Gray (which placed on Barnes & Nobel's 20 most anticipated YA debuts of 2019), and Night Music – which Audiofile Magazine called "an exquisite listen," deeming Goer's performance "dynamic," and "noteworthy" as she "successfully capture[d] the raw emotions of first love muddled by racism and greed."

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 Kate Tilton about the work she does supporting and helping authors be successful.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares shares comments from recent episodes and social media, offers a personal update, and says a word about 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 Kate talk about:

• Meeting for the first time at the basement in the Javitz Center in New York at Book Expo America
• How Kate got into the book business
• The way that interacting in social media led to Kate falling into the role of author assistant
• Kate starting in the book business when she was still in high school and always being an "old soul" her entire life
• The fact that Kate has always been a "How" person who likes to figure out processes and how to make things work
• The challenges of "re-identifying yourself" within an industry
• How Kate helps authors make decisions within publishing based on what's best for the author and what's best for each book
• The important role Kate plays in terms of keeping her author clients accountable
• The value of focusing on humans and relationships and connection for a broader perspective of marketing
• The mistake that most authors make in thinking of social media as a marketing or sales platform
• The way that Kate's own use of social media has changed over the years
• Questioning certain "givens" of business such as "you have to keep increasing the incoming revenue"
• The importance of having someone as a "thought-partner" in the business of writing and publishing
• How two different people collaborating can come up with ideas and processes that are far better than they ever would on their own
• Advice that Kate would give to her younger self

After the interview, Mark reflects on accountability and the human connection element of social media, particularly as it relates to how he and Kate have stayed connected over the years.

Links of Interest:

• Kate Tilton's Website
• Kate Tilton on Social Media:
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
• Episode 157 - A Conversation with Jeff Elkins, The Dialogue Doctor
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
  • This Time Around (Book 0)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
  • Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
• Findaway Voices
• Books2Read
• Draft2Digital
• Wide for the Win Submission Form
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

Kate Tilton works with authors of all publication paths, from New York Times and USA Today bestsellers, award winners, and six-figure authors, to pre-publication authors, to authors somewhere in the middle. By standing beside authors as a partner, Kate turns scary and overwhelming things like marketing and finding an audience into tools that can be used to make an author's dream a reality. She achieves this mission with one-on-one partnerships with authors, free resources available on her website, and so much more.

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 chats with Jeff Elkins, The Dialogue Doctor, about the importance of solid dialogue for characterization, moving a plot along, and creating a bestselling novel.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares shares comments from recent episodes, welcomes new Patron, Macy Dixon, offers a personal update, and says a word about 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 Jeff talk about:

• What good dialogue is going to do for your book
• The fundamental way that two people connect with one another, which is usually through conversation
• The reader engagement that comes for characters because of solid dialogue
• How Jeff filled a gap in the writing craft realm by focusing on dialogue
• Jeff's background writing conversation simulations and how that lead to his expertise in dialogue
• The way a person changes the way they speak when in different moods, anxious situations, circumstances
• Being intention with our dialogue when writing
• Peter Parker's dialogue as a shy nerd and behind the mask of Spider-man
• The concept of "putting the character in your mouth"
• The term "mono-mouth" used to describe multiple characters speaking in the exact same voice (the writer)
• Jeff's research on bestsellers and how many of them usually have less than four paragraphs between passages of dialogue
• How both John Grisham novels and Pride and Prejudice both have about 70% dialogue in them
• If your plot and the twists and turns are the bones, then dialogue is the muscle
• The value of taking out the "summaries" in your fiction rather than SHOWING that scene
• An example of a brilliant character reveal through dialogue in Toni Morrison's novel BELOVED
• The free download authors can get at Jeff's website on the five biggest mistakes authors often make in dialogue
• What you can get for signing up for Jeff's newsletter
• The services that Jeff offers for authors
• A new program/offering that Jeff is launching
• Jeff's new podcast where he shares ongoing dialogue sessions, advice, and tips

After the interview, Mark shares an offer from Jeff (the ability to get a 1 hour $99 booking for $75 by mentioning the Stark Reflections Podcast), and Mark shares a few reflections about things Jeff made him think about.

Links of Interest:

• Jeff's Author Website
• Jeff's Dialogue Doctor Website
  • The 20-week experience Jeff is launching
• Jeff's Dialogue Doctor YouTube Channel
• Jeff Elkins on Facebook
• Jeff Elkins on Twitter
• Episode 156 - The Stark Reality Facing Authors
• Episode 118 - Wish I'd Known Then with Jami Albright and Sara Rosett
• Mark Leslie Lefebvre on Thinking Outside the eBook (guest on the Wish I'd Known Then for Writers Podcast)
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
  • This Time Around (Book 0)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
  • Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
• Findaway Voices
• Books2Read
• Draft2Digital
• Wide for the Win Submission Form
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

Jeff Elkins writes stories with engaging and diverse characters that help people escape the stress of the real world. He has published eleven novels and hundreds of short stories and lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife and five kids. A graduate of Baylor University and Truett Seminary, Jeff has been writing dialogue simulation for several years and has recently adapted this knowledge, and his writing experience, into a fantastic, and much-needed service for authors called The Dialogue Doctor.

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 shares the content that is normally reserved for patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast in a "Stark Reflections on Other Podcasts" episode.

In this episode, he shares clips from two other podcasts that he listens to, then reflects upon the things discussed.

In this particular case, both episodes include the stark reality facing authors.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares a personal update as well as 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.

In the main segment for the episode Mark reflects upon clips from:

• Sell More Books Show Episode 330
• The Career Author Podcast Episode 144

Links of Interest:

• Sell More Books Show Episode 330 - Clear Strategy, Full Data Sets, Can't Lose
• The Career Author Podcast Episode 144 - Technology & Publishing
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
  • This Time Around (Book 0)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
  • Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
• Findaway Voices
• Books2Read
• Draft2Digital
• Wide for the Win Submission Form
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

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

Rebel Author Takeover Special Episode!

In this episode Sacha Black, host of The Rebel Author Podcast, takes over the Stark Reflections Podcast, renaming it the Rebel Reflections Podcast as part of celebrating the 1st anniversary of her podcast (Sept 25, 2020).

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SACHA!!!!

Prior to the takeover, Sacha temporarily hands control back over to Mark, who reads comments from recent episodes, shares a personal update, and also a work from this episode's two sponsors....

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

A motivational show for all the creatives out there with an inner rebel. Listen for interviews, industry news, tips, tricks and tools to help you take your creative business to the next level. Learn more about the Rebel Author Podcast.

In this episode Sacha poses the questions on the following topics which both Mark and Sacha answer:

• Favorite rebel in history
• Favorite literary rebel
• What have you learned since you started podcasting?
• What have you learned about yourself since starting podcasting?
• What's your favorite thing about podcasting?
• Why do you think Rebellion is important?
• What kind of rebel are you?
• A DAD JOKE...

Links of Interest:

• The Rebel Author Podcast
• Episode 133 - Anatomy of a Rebel with Sacha Black
• Episode 154 - Memories of and Reflections on T S Paul
• Episode 144 - 10 Tips for Winning with Wide Publishing
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
  • This Time Around (Book 0)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
  • Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
• Findaway Voices
• Books2Read
• Draft2Digital
• Wide for the Win Submission Form
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

Sacha Black is an author, rebel podcaster, speaker and developmental editor.

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

Sacha writes books about people with magical powers and other books about the art of writing.

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 Hertfordshire, England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son.

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

This week the indie author community felt the loss of author T S Paul.

In this episode, Mark shares a few reflections on Scott as well as some highlight clips from an interview video that he recorded as well as Scott's appearance back in episode 13 of this podcast.

T S Paul is the author of Science Fiction, Space Opera, Military, Cookbooks, and Paranormal Fiction.

Links of Interest:

• T S Paul's Blog
• T S Paul's Facebook Page
• T S Paul Instagram
• T S Paul's Fergus The Unicorn's Facebook Page
• T S Paul's Fergus The Unicorn on Twitter
• Episode 13 - Going your own way with T S Paul
• Mark's Feed The Obsession Kickstarter
• YouTube Chat with T S Paul
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
  • This Time Around (Book 0)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
  • Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
• Findaway Voices
• Books2Read
• Draft2Digital
• Wide for the Win Submission Form
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

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 "thanks for the inspiration" episode, Mark reflects on how Ron Roberts from Levack, Ontario was an important mentor who inspired him in his reading and his writing life.

Links of Interest:

• Tomes of Terror
• Levack, Ontario (Onaping Falls)
• Rush: Grace Under Pressure
• Mark's Feed The Obsession Kickstarter
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
  • This Time Around (Book 0)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
  • Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
• Findaway Voices
• Books2Read
• Draft2Digital
• Wide for the Win Submission Form
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

Thanks for the Inspiration is a type of show that appears from time to time in the regular schedule for this podcast.

As writers, we often absorb elements from the world, the places, and the people around us. We observe, we ask questions, we speculative, we listen, we watch, we feel, and we write so much of that down which gets re-integrated, like some sort of sausage creation, into the stories and words and worlds we share with our readers.

Thanks for the Inspiration episodes are an attempt to acknowledge and say thanks to the people, places, and things that have helped to either feed the muse, or perhaps just to feed the very soul and makeup of the writer behind that writing.

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 cartoonist Leigh Rubin of Rubes® the internationally syndicated single-panel cartoon that he has been creating since November 1984.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a few comments from recent episodes and Twitter, and the says a word about 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.

In his personal update, Mark shares:

• What he is doing on the Obsessions anthology project
• A forthcoming $0.99 price-drop promo for Stowe Away, the latest release in his Canadian Werewolf series.
• How he "met" Leigh after creating a short dad joke video entitled "Dramatic Exit" inspired by one of his Rubes® cartoons.

In their conversation, Mark and Leigh talk about:

• The two things that Leigh excelled at in Kindergaten. Napping and cartooning.
• Pushing the boundaries in his cartoons from those earliest days.
• The encouragement received from his third grade teacher, Mrs. Mullin.
• The two kinds of people an artist usually remembers: the people who encourage you, and the people who don't
• How seeing a line of greeting cards from Sandra Boynton were part of the inspiration for Leigh to start his own greeting card company
• All of the work "hitting the street" involved in selling greeting cards, including buying space in industry trade shows, having racks built, and making numerous sales calls
• Learning about industry practices such as retail slotting fees for prime merchandising space in a store
• The powerful and positive impression made from a series of terrible musical puns that Leigh drew up, and how that led to Leigh's first book, which migrated into three volumes called: Notable Quotes, Encore, and Amusing Arrangements
• Selling more than 40,000 copies of his books without having a major publisher or distributor for them
• The evolution of greeting cards to books, books to a book signing, and a book signing to a daily cartoon gig at a local publisher, which eventually led to being a syndicated cartoonist
• Working through numerous and consistent rejections with the queries that Leigh continued to send out, until finally picking up 150 different newspapers to start carrying his cartoons
• Why Leigh investigated the college newspaper scene, and the benefit and down-side of that market
• Discovering Creators Syndicate and the initial nice personal rejection Leigh received from them
• Leigh's view that not all rejections are a bad thing
• The pilot episode of a television show that Leigh created with Ryan Johnson (a movie and television show break-away prop maker) called Drawing Inspiration which is a behind-the-scenes look at their weird jobs that depend entirely on creativity
• How, once the daily blank cartoon sheet is taped down to Leigh's desk, a cartoon must appear, whether it takes 10 minutes or 5 hours.
• The cancellation of so many events, and migrating into a virtual event, which Leigh had just done the evening before this interview (link in show notes)
• How two different cartoonists adapted the same topic/theme into different cartoons (as demonstrated on the aforementioned virtual event)
• The importance of leaving something to the reader's imagination in humor
• Why big brands should support artists instead of only sports stars because they are constantly running marathons
• And more . . .

After the interview, Mark reflects Leigh's discipiline of sitting at the empty page for 5 minutes or 5 hours, whatever it takes, the persistence he showed in the fact of rejection, and looking for specific niche markets to break into with his work.

Mark also shares the opportunity for people who comment on the episode show notes at starkreflections.ca to win one of Leigh's signed books.

Links of Interest:

• Leigh Rubin's Website
  • Rubes Cartoons Facebook
  • Rubes Cartoons Instagram
  • Rubes Cartoons Twitter
• Drawing Inspiration - Pilot Episode
• When Cartoon Worlds Collide
• Dramatic Exit - Short Dad Joke Film inspired by Leigh's cartoon
• Episode 151 - Wellness, Well Played with Jennifer Buchanan
• Mark's Feed The Obsession Kickstarter
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
  • This Time Around (Book 0)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
  • Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
• Findaway Voices
• Books2Read
• Draft2Digital
• Wide for the Win Submission Form
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

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 Jennifer Buchanan, President and founder of JB Music Therapy about the role music has played in her life, as well as the life-altering moment that inspired the creation of her company which uses music to help others.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, including who the winners are of Michael Arterberry's book from Episode 147, as well as 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.

In his personal update, Mark shares:

• Info about a couple of episodes he shared for patrons of the show (a reflections on other podcasts where he shares a clip from and talks about Episode 190 of The Writer's Well with Rachael Herron and J. Thorn (both have been guests on previous episodes of this podcast)
• An update on the progress made from his recent booklaunch, with the push on the free "first book" in series and the slowly growing sales of the next two books in his Canadian Werewolf series.
• How Amazon screwed up the great track record for the downloads of the price-matched free first in series title
• Having had success in getting more than 7000 words written in the past week (after a previous extended dry spell of writing) - this writing is for Lover's Moon, another title in the Canadian Werewolf series.
• An update on the Obsessions Kickstarter that has reached 153% of its funding goal and is almost halfway to the first stretch goal.

During their conversation, Mark and Jennifer discuss:

• Jennifer's introduction to music and which instrument she prefers as the most beautiful instrument
• The experience of hearing the same song via different singers and the uniqueness of the emotional resonance in the listener
• The underlying biological impact music can have on us
• The human to human connection that music can bring
• Understanding that there is some music out there that is specific to you, and might not resonate the same way with others
• The backstory of Jennifer's music therapy business and how it ties back in to a life-altering moment with her grandfather
• How, when she was a child, Jennifer was the kind of kid who loved doing special projects
• The age range of Jennifer's clients and the kinds of therapies that are popular with clients
• An annual music festival a friend of Jennifer's runs called Farmstock, and how it had to change significantly due to the Covid-19 pandemic
• Jennifer's advice about the creation of a life playlist
• Wellness Incorporated, Jennifer's most recent book and how it became a bridge between being a music therapist and having to be an entrepreneur
• Getting an MBA a couple of decades after starting her business
• And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on the way music can bring people together and find strong bonds of commonality. He also reflects on the concept of a biographical playlist, and suggests writers might consider the theme music that might play when a character walks into a scene as an interesting exercise for writers.

Links of Interest:

• Jennifer Buchanan's Website
• Jennifer's Social Media
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
• JB Music Therapy
• JB Music Social Media:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
• Episode 150 -Anatomy of a Book Launch
• Episode 149 - Killing it on Kickstarter with Russell Nohelty
• Episode 147 - Master Encourager Michael Arterberry
• Mark's Feed The Obsession Kickstarter
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
  • This Time Around (Book 0)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
  • Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
• Findaway Voices
• Books2Read
• Draft2Digital
• Wide for the Win Submission Form
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

Jennifer Buchanan is an award-winning author and clinician.

Described as inspirational, engaging, and thought-provoking, Jennifer's keynotes provide practical strategies, grounded in global research and case studies, that help foster improved well-being within ourselves, our workplaces, and throughout our community.

Jennifer's company JB Music Therapy has been instrumental in the implementation of hundreds of music therapy programs throughout Canada for almost 30 years and has been thrice nominated for the Community Impact Award by the Chamber of Commerce. Jennifer is the recipient of the two most prestigious Canadian music therapy lifetime service awards: the Franni Award and the Norma Sharpe Award.

She has served as the President for the Canadian Association of Music Therapists for 5 years and has been an invited keynote speaker at national and international conventions speaking on music therapy and health entrepreneurship to a wide variety of education, healthcare, government, small business, and corporate audiences.

As an author of two award-winning books – 'Tune In' and 'Wellness Incorporated' she has appeared as a guest on numerous news and current affairs programs including Fox News Health, NBC, CBS, CBC Radio, CBC Television, CTV, Global TV, and has been featured in publications such as The Guardian, The Huffington Post, Chatelaine Magazine and Canadian Living (read articles and view videos here)

In addition to her Music Therapy education Jennifer has her Executive MBA specializing in social entrepreneurship from the University of Fredricton.

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 shares the details of a recent book launch, including the series re-branding, the promotion efforts taken in the metadata, the third party promotion sites used, and also shares the good, the bad, and the ugly of the results.

Prior to his personal update and the main content, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and 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.

In his personal update, Mark shares details about the Kickstarter that he launched on August 25, 2020 called Feed the Obsession, as well as the advice he took from Russell Nohelty (Episode 149's guest), and what advice he didn't employ. Mark's Kickstarter funded in less than 48 hours, and he is now working on the stretch goals.

In his anatomy of a book launch, AKA anatomy of a series re-launch, Mark shares information in the following areas:

• A Brief history of the stories/books in the "Canadian Werewolf" series
• Why he went with the re-branding and new covers
• The actual launch - and multi-product approach he took to release all titles in eBook, Trade Paperback, Hardcover, and Audiobook
• The Launch related promotions he purchased (including sites like Freebooksy, Fussy Librarian, and others)
• Goals and disclaimers about his expectations for the promo and short-term VS long-term
• Results so far (1 week and 2 days in)
• Other promotional activities such as a virtual book launch, sending out press releases, and one-sheets to libraries

Links of Interest:

• Episode 149 - Killing it on Kickstarter with Russell Nohelty
• Mark's Feed The Obsession Kickstarter
• Space 1975 Kickstarter (Robert Jeschonek)
• Mark's Virtual Book Launch for Stowe Away (YouTube)
• Video Trailer for Stowe Away (YouTube)
• This Time Around: A Canadian Werewolf Story - Teaser (YouTube)
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Series
  • This Time Around (Book 0)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York (Book 1)
  • Stowe Away (Book 1.5)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles (Book 2)
• 927 Rock Sudbury - This Werewolf is a Super Hero
• Sudbury Star: Author reflects on how Sudbury shaped his latest book
• Findaway Voices
• Wide for the Win Submission Form
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

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