Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this solo episode, Mark reads from an article that he recently shared on the Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing Substack page.

This is be Part 2 of a two-part series of episodes. (See Part 1)

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

This episode is sponsored by The 7 P's of Publishing Success by Mark Leslie Lefebvre, which you can download in eBook and/or Audiobook format for free at this link.

Links of Interest:

• Article: The Myth of "Upload Your Book And They Will Come": Why PATIENCE AND PRACTICE matter just as much for self-published authors
• Article: When Your Writing Gets Rejected "A Gazillion" Times: Why PATIENCE and PRACTICE are two of the hallmarks of publishing success
• EP 446 - The Future of Hybrid Publishing with J.D. Barker
• EP 445 - Overcoming The Self Sabotage From Buried Trauma with Andrea Torrey Balsara
• Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%)
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Mark's YouTube channel
• ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)
• Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
• An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• 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
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
  • Only Monsters in the Building
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
• Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
• I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises

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 reads from an article that he recently shared on the Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing Substack page.

This will be Part 1 of a two-part series of episodes.

Prior to the main content of this episode, Mark shares a personal update, a comment from a recent episode, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by The 7 P's of Publishing Success by Mark Leslie Lefebvre, which you can download in eBook and/or Audiobook format for free at this link.

Links of Interest:

• Article: When Your Writing Gets Rejected "A Gazillion" Times: Why PATIENCE and PRACTICE are two of the hallmarks of publishing success
• EP 445 - Overcoming The Self Sabotage From Buried Trauma with Andrea Torrey Balsara
• Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%)
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Mark's YouTube channel
• ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)
• Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
• An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• 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
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
  • Only Monsters in the Building
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
• Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
• I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises

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 J.D. Barker about his writing and publishing journey and his many collaborations over the years, including with James Patterson, and the unique publishing and distribution collaboration with Simon & Schuster that combines the best of the self-publishing and the traditional publishing worlds.

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

This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report.

In their interview, Mark and J.D. talk about:

• How JD was always interested in writing including a little business endeavor he had when he was youngBeing told by his mother that writing is a fantastic hobby, but you have to get a "real job" - and following her advice
• The main day job he had, which he hated, and coming home at night to write
• How the first two decades he'd been writing he did ghost writing and did book-doctor sort of work
• Having written six different books that hit the New York Times bestseller list but had other people's names on the cover
• JD's wife coming up with a plan to get him to writing for himself
• How putting his feet to the coals was what JD really needed
• What it was like writing on his own
• The value that JD recognizes in the 20 years of writing other peoples' books
• Having Asperger's which often involves mimicking other people (which JD could do on paper, continuing to write in another person's voice)
• How ghostwriting for celebrities/NYT Bestselling authors can be very lucrative
• What it was like co-authoring with James Patterson
• Being the only guy who has ever gotten James Patterson to "pants" a novel, but how Patterson convinced him to outline, which he now does for certain projects
• What a typical work-day looks like for JD
• Making a change in terms of what time of day JD does interviews
• Working with a virtual assistant and the various PR agencies JD works with
• Switching over to paying for PR a la carte rather than a monthly retainer
• Selling more than half a million copies of his first self-published book, which caught the attention of agents
• That "taste" of being an indie author which mean a loss of freedom
• Creating his own unique path within publishing that's a blend of self-publishing and traditional publishing models
• The imprint JD has with Simon & Schuster - Hampton Creek Press
• How JD has done a number of recent co-authored titles under his imprint by paying the co-authors up front in a work-for-hire manner, which removes the complexity of paying royalties
• The way JD can pay it forward by helping the mentor the co-authors that he is working on
• Why JD gave away a skid of hardcover books at Reader Nation in Vegas
• Advice JD has about authors who are constantly "chasing each other"
• The unique marketing JD created for his book SOMETHING I KEEP UPSTAIRS that involved an overnight stay in a real haunted house
• What James Patterson did to get his book ALONG CAME A SPIDER onto the New York Times bestseller list
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on a few of the things from the conversation that have inspired him in different ways.

Links of Interest:

• J.D. Barker's Website
• EP 445 - Overcoming The Self Sabotage From Buried Trauma with Andrea Torrey Balsara
• Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%)
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Mark's YouTube channel
• ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)
• Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
• An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• 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
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
  • Only Monsters in the Building
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
• Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
• I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises

J.D. Barker (Jonathan Dylan Barker) is an international bestselling American author whose work has been broadly described as suspense thrillers, often incorporating elements of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural.

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 Meaghan Smith about the new children's book IT SNOWED that she wrote and illustrated, which was inspired by her popular holiday song of the same name. This Juno-Award winning singer-songwriter shares her many creative passions for music, writing, and art.

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

This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report.

In their interview, Mark and Meaghan talk about:

• The origin of Meaghan's song "It Snowed" and how quickly it came together once the inspiration struck her on wanting a seasonal holiday song for people who might not celebrate Christmas
• One of Meaghan's favorite things about the snow
• How this song has gone on to become one of her most popular songs and now it's a picture book
• Studying animation at Sheridan College and the ongoing art that Meaghan has been creating all of her life
• The voice recording for an animation project in a studio in college that led to others recognizing her singing voice and an eventual career as a musician
• Meghan's experience in "if you just show up" and try something, things can have a way of working out
• Painting in the hotel rooms and green rooms while traveling as a musician as a way to alleviate her anxiety
• The additional stationery line that Meghan has which includes greeting cards
• How the manager of Woozles bookstore in Halifax asked Meaghan if she ever considered writing a book
• Getting better at accepting things without needing them to be perfect
• The "grumpy little cat" who is present throughout Meaghan's IT SNOWED book
• How snow can be such an interesting substance and the way Meaghan wanted to capture all the magic of it in her book
• How the book follows the lyrics of Meaghan's song, but also goes through the entire day for the kids in the story
• The way snow can make us all feel like kids again
• Meghan's current bread-and-butter writing custom songs for people
• The Christmas concert Meaghan is doing Dec 19th and 20th in Halifax
• The second book Meaghan is working on for Nimbus based on a song she wrote for her baby when he was still inside her body
• How Meaghan divides up her work day and the various creative forms of expression that she exercises
• And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on Meaghan's multiple creative outlets and the various ways that authors, artists, poets, musicians can give a gift to the world born from their inspiration and passion.

Links of Interest:

• Meaghan Smith (Website)
• It Snowed (Picture Book)
• Meaghan Smith: The Holiday Show (2025 - Halifax, NS)
  • Friday Night Tickets (Fri Dec 19, 2025)
  • Saturday Matinee Tickets (Sat Dec 20, 2025)
• Meaghan's OUR SONG
  • "Wonder Woman" - An example of an OUR SONG written and performed by Meaghan Smith and Jason Mingo inspired by Liz Anderson
• Woozles Bookstore (Halifax, NS)
• EP 146 - Finding Yourself in Our Song by Meaghan Smith
• Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%)
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Mark's YouTube channel
• ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)
• Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
• An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• 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
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
  • Only Monsters in the Building
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
• Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
• I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises

Meaghan Smith is a JUNO Award-winning musician, visual artist, and storyteller whose creative life bridges the worlds of music and fine art.

Born in London, Ontario—known as The Forest City—Meaghan grew up drawing and exploring the woods and fields near her home. Her love of art led her to study classical animation at Sheridan College, later working as a storyboard artist before shifting her focus to music. That leap brought her to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she now lives with her husBand, producer and songwriter Jason Mingo, and their two sons.

Over the past 20 years, Meaghan has built a multifaceted creative career. As a musician signed to Warner Brothers Records, she toured internationally, sharing stages with artists such as Sarah McLachlan, Tracy Chapman, Ron Sexsmith, and k.d. lang. Her debut album The Cricket's Orchestra earned her the 2011 JUNO Award for Best New Artist, multiple East Coast Music Awards, and a Polaris Prize nomination. Her song Mirror, from her sophomore album Have a Heart, was a semifinalist in the International Songwriting Competition.

Today, Meaghan continues to release collections of music characterized by her sweetly smoky vocals and vintage pop sensibility. Her songs have appeared widely across film and television—on platforms ranging from Netflix to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Through her company Our Song, she and Jason write and produce custom songs for individuals and special occasions, helping others tell their stories through music.

While her music career flourished, Meaghan also found her way back to visual art. On tour, she began painting tiny oil portraits of the forest animals she missed from home—foxes in fedoras, bears in flower crowns, fish in monocles—each one nestled in a miniature vintage frame she found in antique shops along the way. What began as a creative escape in hotel rooms and green rooms evolved into her acclaimed Miniature Art Show, with over 500 original paintings sold worldwide and exhibits in galleries such as Galerie d'Art Charlevoix in Quebec.

Using oils on heavyweight paper, Meaghan's paintings capture the personality and soul of her subjects with vivid detail and a playful sense of nostalgia. Her art celebrates the small wonders of the natural world and invites viewers to see beauty in the quiet, whimsical corners of life.

In addition to her paintings, Meaghan owns and operates M. Kind Papersmith, a small stationery studio based out of her home in Halifax. The line focuses on locally printed, hand-folded greeting cards designed to help people stay in touch and spread a little kindness through the mail. Each card reflects her signature warmth and attention to detail, combining her love of illustration with her belief that connection matters.

Meaghan recently signed a publishing deal with Nimbus Publishing, the renowned East Coast publisher, for her holiday hit It Snowed. Having created the illustrations herself in coloured pencil, she now proudly adds published author and illustrator to her creative credits. Though she has illustrated works for other authors, It Snowed marks the first book she has both written and illustrated from her own material.

Alongside her art and music, Meaghan leads Creativity Through Songwriting Workshops, coaching others to unlock their creative potential through the songwriting process.

Now based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Meaghan continues to paint, write, and make music—working to incorporate creativity, family, and an ever-evolving artistic life that celebrates imagination in all its forms.

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 Andrea Torrey Balsara about her writing, her passion in inspiring joy through storytelling and energy healing, trauma, creativity and much more.

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

I THINK IT'S A SIGN THAT THE PUN ALSO RISES is available now in hardcover, mass market sized paperback, and audiobook.

In the interview Mark and Andrea talk about:

• The very serious and troubling trauma Andrea had been living with for most of her life without realizing it and how it prevented her from trying to focus and work on
• The sabotage that kept creeping up from her subconscious
• Being told the importance of writing her own stories, which led to taking some writing classes
• How writing became a way for Andrea to express things that she was not otherwise able to express and the way it led her into a space where she could become fully creative
• When the memory of the terrible trauma came back to Andrea and struggling with wondering if it really truly happened
• How it's almost easiest to allow yourself to go crazy than to think that you "were evil" or just making this all up
• Not avoiding the darkness in her Young Adult books
• The love that Andrea has for the teenage girl that she was
• How hard it is for a person hurting and going through such trauma just taking that next step
• Finding herself within the character of a story of hope and finding the light in the darkness
• Recognizing that yes, horrible things happen in this world, but many gifts are also given to help get through it
• The "heroes journey" of making one's life satisfying saying "this is not where my story ends"
• Andrea's novel THE GREAT AND THE SMALL and how it explores what it takes to enable the rise of dictatorship via very small personal compromises that a person can make along the way
• The value in looking for the light, looking for the hope, and the importance of people being the change in Andrea's novel
• Believing in the capacity and the necessity to unite, and that the search for truth is a human right and responsibility that lies within each of us
• The "10 Steps to Inner Peace" that helped Andrea through the darkness (and which is available for anyone to read via a download on her website
• How evil itself isn't a thing, it's the absence of love
• The way that we can be that "leaven" in the bread
• The studies that have shown that sending love to a plant can help it thrive (and vice-versa when sending negative energy)
• And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on a few elements of the Andrea's message that resonated with him.

Links of Interest:

• Andrea Torrey Balsara's Website
  • Instagram
  • Link to Andrea's TEN STEPS TO INNER PEACE PDF download
• Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link)
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Mark's YouTube channel
• ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)
• Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
• An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• 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
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
  • Only Monsters in the Building
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
• Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
• I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises

Andrea Torrey Balsara is an award-winning children's and young adult author/illustrator, as well as an energy medicine practitioner and mental wellness and creativity coach. Her passion is to inspire joy through storytelling and energy healing, helping people-of-all-ages to walk "the Hero's Journey" in real life. She writes and illustrates for young children under her full name, Andrea Torrey Balsara, and for young adults under A.T. Balsara.

Andrea is also a painter, an avid amateur explorer of quantum physics, and a keen environmentalist. She advocates for the humane treatment of animals and regularly volunteers at a donkey sanctuary where she uses energy medicine to help previously neglected and abused animals regain their health and vitality.

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 Florin Bulgarov, co-founder of Manuscript Report.

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

This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report.

In their interview, Mark and Florin talk about:

• Florin's background with a PhD in A.I. and how he ended up evolving into creating the toolset of Manuscript Report
• How Manuscript Report was initially created as an assessment tool for publishers when going through their slush piles
• What assets Manuscript Report offers for authors to use in their marketing strategy approaches
• The additional assets from the reports including the visual pie-chart of the genre split/breakdown as well as the themes and the tropes associated from the manuscript
• The social media posts, blog posts, and book bible assets that authors can request in a higher level report
• The fact that Manuscript Report does not store the manuscript and does not train any AI on their manuscript. Within 30 days all traces of the author's manuscript is deleted from their servers
• How the system is optimized to run for one book at a time and the 1 million word limit on manuscripts run into Manuscript Report
• The "Narrative Crossroads" suggestions that an author might be able to use in a quick pitch/log line for the book
• An author who did A/B testing with her own written ads and the Manuscript Report ads and was able to reduce her cost by half and increase her sales by 60%
• An example of a report using Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray
• How Manuscript Report is a Swiss Army Knife for marketing
• And more...

Links of Interest:

• YouTube Video of Interview (with visual walk-thru)
• EP 443 - Strategies for Short Fiction
• EP 442 - Writer You Still Need to Quit with Becca Syme
• EP 441 - A Bookstore for Indie Authors with Donovan Scherer
• EP 438 - A Personal Conversation with Malorie Cooper
• EP 437 - Nerding Out Over History, Science, and Maps with Malorie Cooper
• EP 429 - A Post-Mortem on Co-Hosting the 2025 Aurora Awards with Liz May Anderson
• Draft2Digital Self-Publishing Insiders: What to Quit, What to Keep, and What to Question with Becca Syme (YouTube)
• Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link)
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Mark's YouTube channel
• ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)
• Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
• An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• 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
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
  • Only Monsters in the Building
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
• Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

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 bonus episode of the Stark Reflections Podcast is a recording of a Nov 10, 2025 live chat that Mark did with Matty Dalrymple and Angelique Fawns talking about strategies for short fiction.

The conversation was based on content from Mark and Matty's 2nd Edition release of Taking the Short Tack: Creating Income & Connecting with Readers Using Short Fiction and Angelique's Writing and Selling Short Stories with Angelique Fawns Substack.

Links of Interest:

• Strategies for Short Fiction (YouTube)
• Author Level Up - Michael La Ronn's YouTube Channel
• EP 440 - Behind the Scenes of the Podcast Guest Playbook with Matty Dalrymple
• EP 382 - From Page to Platform with Matty Dalrymple and M.L. Ronn
• EP 306 - Finding Short Fiction Markets with Angelique Fawns
• Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link)
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Mark's YouTube channel
• ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)
• Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
• An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• 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
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
  • Only Monsters in the Building
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
• Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

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 Becca Syme about her latest project, about the journey she has been on since she launched her first Dear Writer, You Need to Quit book, and the various fiction titles she has written.

Prior to the interview, Mark explains that he is at Author Nation in Vegas and that his introduction and post interview reflection were generated by ElevenLabs. Then his digital voice clone from ElevenLabs shares a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK5 at checkout and save $5.00 off your own personalized report.

In their interview, Mark and Becca talk about:

• How it has been an extremely long year since Becca was last on the Stark Reflections Podcast
• Becca's long-time aversion to marketing and how she has decided to approach it
• The Kickstarter that Becca has launched and the various prizes she is offering for each of the tour stops
• The prize that Stark Reflections listeners can win just by listening and entering their name
• How Becca is trying to make each stop on the podcast guest tour different by focusing on different tips and ideas with every episode
• Mark's idea on how he deals with Kickstarters where international shipping isn't an option
• The limited number of vinyl albums that will be available through Becca's Kickstarter
• How the publishing industry has changed dramatically since 2017 when Becca's first "Dear Writer, You Need to Quit" book came out
• The cheeky thought that Becca was considering for her latest book with using the popular F-word expletive
• How long Becca's Kickstarter will be running
• Trying to spend more time on her fiction writing, but struggling with how much she loves collaborating with and helping other writers
• The positive impact of dating another writer where they can motivate one another to get more writing done
• How Becca had never intended to build a business as a coach and a non-fiction writer
• The two other pen names that Becca writes under for different series and genres. Mystery written as R.L. Syme. Paranormal Romance (written with a co-author) written as Cameron Reece. Urban fantasy under the name: Macy Dixon
• The recent "work vacation" that Becca took which helped enable some solid research for her writing
• Becca's reminder that under different pen names and genres, a writer will usually have a uniquely different voice
• The specific playlists that Becca has for each one of her pen names and genres and the very separate personas she embraces when writing each
• The comment Mark made that led Becca over to checking out his Clifton Strengths to confirm her suspicion
• How Becca is a real "sense of place" writer who connects emotionally with the physical space and the connection to the earth, the mountains, etc

After the interview, Mark reflects on the idea of wanting to help writers, and how that often leads to one's own writing taking a back seat.

Links of Interest:

• Becca Syme's Better-Faster Academy
• Better-Faster Academcy LINKS
  • Better Faster Academy TOUR STOP GAME - Enter that you listened to Becca's interview on the Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing Podcast
• Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link)
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Mark's YouTube channel
• ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)
• Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
• An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• 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
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
  • Only Monsters in the Building
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
• Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Becca Syme (MATL) is a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and has individually coached more than 6000 authors at all levels. She is the author of the Quitbooks for Writers series and the popular Write Better-Faster course, and the host of the Quitcast for Writers podcast and YouTube channel. She also writes mystery novels and lives on one of the thousand lakes in Minnesota.

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 artist, author, and indie bookstore owner Donovan Scherer about his writing, his art, and his store in downtown Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Prior to the interview, Mark welcomes new patrons, shares recent comments, a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK5 at checkout and save $5.00 off your own personalized report.

In their interview, Mark and Donovan talk about:

• Donovan background as an illustrator creating various characters, and then eventually moving on to writing middle grade chapter books
• Never really learning about how to sell books online, but rather through in person events like comic book conventions
• The popularity of the ZomBeans (zombies) Donovan has drawn, including unique caricatures of his patrons
• The idea of working on a "talking flowchart" to help understand what people gravitate towards
• How Donovan has been doing local markets for 15 years -- since 2010
• The regular festivals Donovan has started running in the parking lot across the street from his store
• Acquiring the Studio Moonfall 400 square foot store in 2019
• What Donovan carries in his store
• How Donovan acquired ten pallets of books from a library that was wanting to move them
• Half of what Donovan sells in his own store being his own work -- meaning that his average margin is much higher than most other bookstores
• The CUT THE LINE promo where authors can get their books featured in the store and via the store's socials by providing 8 copies of their book to Studio Moonfall
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the incredible effort and unique approach to creating his own store in order to ensure his work was available in a brick and mortar space. He also talks about the various margins that are typical for bookstores and how Donovan has navigated that with some ingenius moves.

Mark also shares a special offer for patrons related to the CUT THE LINE promotion Donovan has in place.

Links of Interest:

• Donovan Scherer: Adventures in Art & Madness
• Studio Moonfall
  • Author Submissions Page
• EP 440 - Behind the Scenes of the Podcast Guest Playbook with Matty Dalrymple
• Mark's Substack Article: When the Math for an Author Event Doesn't Add Up
• Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link)
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)
• Mark's YouTube channel
• Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
• An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• 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
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
  • Only Monsters in the Building
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
• Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Donovan Scherer is an author and illustrator creating worlds of adventure with a sense of humor and a little bit of dread that everything will go terribly, terribly wrong.

In 2009, he started the Fear & Sunshine series of middle-grade illustrated novels and began his work in book publishing. Along with developing more of his own series across novels, comics, video games, and animation, he also works with independent authors to help bring their stories to life.

In 2019, he opened the Studio Moonfall in downtown Kenosha, Wisconsin - an art studio and bookstore featuring his endlessly increasing body of work and highlighting other local and independent authors and artists.

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 talks with Matty Dalrymple, co-author of the book The Podcast Guest Playbook which was released earlier in 2025.

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

This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK5 at checkout and save $5.00 off your own personalized report.

In their interview, Mark and Matty talk about:

• Something that Stark Reflections listeners might not know about Matty related to getting her private pilot license
• Having worked aviation into at least two of her novels
• The phrase that goes along with the very intentional passing of the manuscript from one co-author to another
• How long Matty has been running The Indy Author Podcast
• The genesis of the book PODCASTING GUEST PLAYBOOK that Matty and Mark co-authored
• The underlying importance of connections that can happen through direct conversation between two people, but also among people who listen to that conversation (such as in a podcast)
• An anecdote from meeting an author at ALA (American Library Association) who thought they'd met Mark in person before because they'd heard him as a guest on someone else's podcast
• Wanting it to be a mutually beneficial relationship when making those connections
• A reminder about the old Storygraph tool that showed a visual representation of how books were linked (Back in 2007 this was a visual search tool where book covers appeared as thumbnails and "connections" between books (via "customers who bought this also bought this") were drawn as lines.
• Some of the unique connections that happened when both Mark and Matty were at ALA in Philadelphia in the summer of 2025
• An example of how Damon Courtney of Bookfunnel is a great podcast guest who is more interested in providing value to all listeners rather than someone who is solely trying to sell his product
• How indirect opportunities can be better than a sudden spike in book sales
• The offer that Matty has for authors to help do a short interview for them to demonstrate their skills as a interview guest
• A special offer for patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast to get a free coaching session from Matty with her pod-pro coaching
• An example of a guest who was very reluctant to provide valuable information in an interview (ie, being far more interested in selling something)
• The value of having a service mindset over a selling mindset
• Making sure that you're pitching to the right podcast in the right way at the right time
• Advice Matty would offer to authors
• And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on a few different things, including the rise of the sophistication of the spammy author connection and service requests that arrive in his email a half dozen times a day.

Links of Interest:

• The Indy Author
• The Podcast Guest Playbook
• Matty's POD PRO Consulting (Patron link to access offer)
• EP 439 - Rambling Reflections from the Road to Can-Con
• Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link)
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Mark's YouTube channel
• Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
• An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• 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
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
  • Only Monsters in the Building
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
• Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

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