The Novel Writing Podcast

Greg Keogh, co-founder of the direct sales platform Curios, comes back to share what's new in the platform and what's coming. Curios has undergone some serious improvements since episode 186. 

Listen in to hear more about the Curios roadmap, including:

• Affiliate marketing like you've never seen it
• Print on demand partnership with BookVault
• In depth analytics
• Review system
• And more!

Curious about the Curios Creator Fund? We ran out of time to get the update on the interview, but here it is:

The fund is topped up! While it pays out lower in the beginning, there are a lot more tiers to scale up your earnings. It's now more accessible and frequent for creators to earn more than in previous rounds. 

The creator fund is the Curios marketing budget to encourage word of mouth and rewarding creators for their hard work creating. 

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Here's part 2 of my conversation with Seth Ring on author business practices. 

What is the most important thing for a new author to focus on? When should authors diversify, whether it's income streams or genre?

Seth has some controversial opinions, which is part of why I love talking to him!

Find Seth's work at sethring.com

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Dave Chesson, author and founder of Kindlepreneur, brings a high-level overview of the different tools in the Kindlepreneur suite.

From the bestseller rank calculator to their formatting tool (Atticus), Kindlepreneur is a one-stop-shop for indies looking to improve marketing, craft, and rankings.

Find all the Kindlepreneur tools at https://kindlepreneur.com/tools/

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

What are proofreaders, and what do they do for indie authors? What should you expect if you hire these professionals?

This episode covers what proofreaders do, don't do, and whether you should hire one for your novel.

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Seth Ring is back in a new two-parter to drop some truth bombs about why it's so important for authors, whether you're indie or trad, to think about the business side of writing.

Are you a personal brand or a product brand? What's the most important business task you can focus on as a writer? What's the difference between a writer and an author, anyway?

My favorite mic-drop from this episode is, "Without work, and without new work, your business is not going to work."

Part 2 will be out in a few weeks!

Find Seth's work at sethring.com

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

What are copyeditors or line editors, and what do they do for indie authors? 

What should you expect if you hire these professionals?

This episode covers what copy/line editors do, don't do, and whether you should hire one for your novel.

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Do you really need a developmental editor? If you hire one, what should you expect from them?

There are some cases where you can get away with not hiring dev editors, but they don't apply to every writer.

For a spicy take on the necessity of dev editors, check out this video by Seth Ring: https://youtu.be/m-H_BxBM2kY

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Author Nation 2025 was my 3rd time at an author conference, and this year I went looking for audio narration solutions (among other things). 

This episode covers my thoughts on the conference, favorite sessions, and whether it's worth it (especially for new authors). 

Will you be going to this year's con? If so, I'll see you in November!

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

I'm back! Listen in for an update on:

- Why you haven't heard a new episode for a bit
- What I've been doing for the last 3 months
- My goals for 2026
- What to expect going forward

This year is full of goals and ambition, so let's get rocking!

Listen to The Christian Readers Podcast.

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Seth Ring, a prolific fantasy and litRPG author, shares his process for dictating 10-12 books a year.

Since backlist is key for the successful indie author, the faster you can build your backlist, the sooner your career will take off.

Seth describes what it takes to go from typing to dictating and what to expect if you've never dictated before.

Seth's Website: https://sethring.com/
Seth's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SethRingWrites
Seth's Video on Becoming a Full-Time Author: https://youtu.be/DLhzZme6omY
Seth's AI Transcription Software: https://bookscribe.ai/

Send us Fan Mail

What to do next…

• Read transcripts & access interview recordings on Substack
• Apply for Author Coaching with Colleen
• Take the 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge for FREE 
• Sell your eBooks direct with Curios (keep 100% of sales) - Affiliate Link
• Read Colleen's clean YA portal fantasy series (The Chronicles of Talahm)
• Read Halie's YA fantasy series (Secrets of the Tally)
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts