The Heidi Thorne Show

Publishing companies, publishers, and self publishing platforms all kind of sound similar. But they couldn't be more different! I explain the differences in these publishing organizations.

Blog: Publishing Companies versus Publishers http://hub.me/ap0FT

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/bpA92vnjkbk

Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):

0:15 Why authors have questions about publishing companies

1:18 What are publishing companies?

5:05 Are publishing companies just scams?

6:00 What are publishers?

6:58 What are hybrid publishers?

8:27 What are self publishing platforms?

10:00 How to connect with Heidi

What self published authors need to now about adding trigger warnings to books and other content.

Blog: What are Trigger Warnings for Books? http://hub.me/aoZX6

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/O5OWQjpqi50

Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):

0:15 Trigger warning for my discussion of trigger warnings

0:40 The book report that almost made me throw up

3:28 What exactly is a trigger warning?

5:25 What about content for adults?

6:06 The YA problem

6:53 What about diversity and inclusion issues?

7:57 Where should a trigger warning go?

8:20 Do trigger warnings turn off readers?

9:13 Creative freedom and responsibility

9:32 How to connect with Heidi

As authors, we have to be very careful about “aging” our audiences. And this goes in both directions of the age spectrum. So let’s talk about a few of the pitfalls to avoid in age classifications for your readers.

Blog: Avoiding Age Bias in Self Publishing http://hub.me/aoZ6G

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/SaV4KXMsjb4

Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):

0:16 Am I a "senior?"

1:35 Myth 1: Older Readers Like Print Books

2:42 Myth 2: Seniors are Electronically Challenged

5:45 Myth 3: Children’s Books are Picture Books

7:29 What does this mean for authors?

8:13 How to connect with Heidi

Bad book marketing isn't the only reason for low book sales. Book reading trends also play a part. Find out how.

Blog: Book Reading Trends Authors Need to Know http://hub.me/aoXnr

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/bfBn61ALwoU

Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):

0:14 Low book sales might not be just due to bad book marketing

0:37 eBook reading is growing... maybe and slowly

3:05 People are reading less books

3:54 Availability of book substitutes

6:13 What exactly is a "book?"

7:54 What does this all mean for authors?

8:42 How to connect with Heidi

Amazon Best Seller Rank (BSR) is a confusing (and largely useless) measure of your book's success. I explain what Amazon BSR means for authors.

Blog: Amazon Best Seller Rank Explained for Authors http://hub.me/aoXnq

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/Ytlcc2K--X0

Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):

0:16 Authors' confusion about Amazon BSR

0:48 Amazon Author Central

1:39 Amazon Best Seller Rank explanation

5:10 Different book format, different sales rank

5:56 Amazon Historical Sales Rank

6:52 Categories Sales Rank

8:40 How could your book rank in a category you didn't choose?

11:44 Top 100 Sales Rank

13:17 NPD Bookscan

14:58 "Only 2 Books Left" issue

18:13 How to connect with Heidi

#booktok is a hashtag community on the TikTok social media platform that is dedicated to conversations about books and book-related topics. Learn how it's influencing book sales.

Blog: What is #Booktok? http://hub.me/aoWSj

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/4G09zgnZKoA

Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):

0:16 TikTok isn't just for kids and dance videos

0:54 What do people do on #booktok?

1:12 Why the publishing industry is paying attention to #booktok

4:02 #booktok backlist bump

4:38 How influencers could ruin #booktok

6:30 How does #booktok affect self publishing?

7:32 How to connect with Heidi

Writing poetry is challenging. Selling it is even tougher. I discuss marketing your self published poetry.

Blog: Self Publishing Your Poetry http://hub.me/aoWcW

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/Z_83xCXz970

Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):

0:50 Why is selling poetry so hard?

3:06 Poetry and SEO

4:19 Rise of Instagram poets and Instapoetry

6:29 Using Instagram to expose your poetry writing weaknesses

8:07 Poetry marketing tips for Amazon

9:08 Other outlets for your poetry

10:09 My first poetry book (but maybe not my last?)

11:17 How to connect with Heidi

NFTs (non-fungible tokens), which are bought and sold with blockchain technology, are getting a lot of hype and attention for monetization of creative work, including writing. I explain what NFTs are (and are not), and how they relate (or not) to self publishing.

Blog: NFTs Explained for Self Publishing http://hub.me/aoVul

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/dlBeoG6swNg

Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):

0:28 What NFTs are (and are not)

4:59 Why are creators are excited by NFTs

5:52 Legal challenges and issues with NFTs

8:16 NFTs and climate issues

11:37 NFTs and self publishing

14:34 How to connect with Heidi

Zestworld is a new monetization platform for comic creators and authors. It has additional features and benefits not offered on standard self publishing platforms such as KDP. I share what we know so far about it.

Blog: What is Zestworld? http://hub.me/aoUDt

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/w85OrVpkHwc

Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):

0:26 Zestworld is coming!

1:12 The Superman IP Saga

3:14 What's different about Zestworld?

6:55 What's the problem with these monetization platforms?

10:30 How to connect with Heidi

My author friend and YouTuber, @Barrett Laurie, asked how often you should do a clean up on your email subscriber list. Let’s talk about what an email list cleanup is, why you might want to do it, and how and when to do it.

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/-VFQbvZ32xA

Timestamp show notes (click timestamp to view segment on YouTube):

0:30 What is an email list cleaup (or scrubbing)?

0:42 Why should you cleanup your email list?

2:07 How to do an email list cleanup

4:42 When should you do an email list cleanup?

7:03 How I lost almost 90% of my email subscribers through email list cleanups

11:03 How to connect with Heidi