Ever read a book where the world just felt off? Straight-line rivers, cities in places that make no sense, characters crossing a kingdom in an afternoon? Your readers feel it too — and it might be costing you read-through.

This week on The Pint and Portal Author Podcast, we're chatting about an often overlooked craft problem, because your readers might care more than you think. I sit down with author, illustrator, and mapmaker Adam Bassett to break down the world-building details that make a setting feel real and lived-in. More importantly, we chat about the small, fixable mistakes that pull readers out of the story.

We get into map design, climate, travel time, and why the geography of your world should be shaped by the story you're telling. Whether you're drafting your first novel or sharpening the setting in your current work-in-progress, this one's packed with practical, low-effort ways to level up your world-building.

Adam is the author of the cyberpunk collection Digital Extremities, the post-apocalyptic fantasy Copper Skin, Oaken Lungs, and the new reference book An Author's Guide to Setting Design: Worldbuilding & Cartography. His newest release is a guidebook for authors and game masters featuring 100+ illustrated real and fictional maps.

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New here? I'm Herman Steuernagel, author and host. The Pint and Portal is where I corner working authors and get them to share the strategies that actually helped them build a career. If you've found any value in these episodes, please hit that like button and — more importantly — pull up a chair and hit subscribe

Please support the show and visit our sponsors. You can find them all at https://www.pintandportal.com/deals

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⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:00 – Intro: don't let world-building overtake your story01:45 – Meet Adam & his new book on setting design04:00 – Matching your map's style to your story05:18 – How Adam fell in love with maps10:07 – What authors get wrong about world-building12:39 – How landscape shapes culture, economics & stor21:25 – Climate: escaping the "generic temperate Europe" trap28:20 – Mountains, volcanoes & why terrain isn't random32:15 – Travel time: how far should things really be?42:11 – City history & making characters feel real46:21 – Where to find Adam & his book46:21 – Where to find Adam & his book

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📚 GET ADAM'S BOOKS & CONNECT
An Author's Guide to Setting Design (eBook): https://books2read.com/agsd
Sprayed-edges pre-order (The Crafty Bookstore): https://www.thecraftybookstore.com/product-page/an-authors-guide-to-setting-design
Digital Extremities: https://books2read.com/digital-extremities
Copper Skin, Oaken Lungs: https://books2read.com/copper-ash1
Website: https://www.adamcbassett.com
Newsletter: https://adamcbassett.substack.com
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/adamcbassett.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/adamcbassett

How do you build an author career that survives every algorithm change, platform shake-up, and market shift? Fantasy author Katharine Wibell has spent 10 years doing exactly that. Publishing 25+ works across YA, new adult, and adult fantasy without ever betting everything on a single platform.

In this episode, Katharine breaks down her "piece of every pie" marketing strategy: spreading her reach across social media, crowdfunding, live events, and new platforms so that no single channel controls her career.

We talk about the branding mistake she made early on, why she markets herself as an author brand instead of one book, how she turned 16 novellas into box sets and special editions, and what she's learned running five Kickstarter campaigns; including her first five-figure launch.

This conversation is full of practical, honest advice on building a resilient author platform.

If you get value from the show, please hit like and subscribe, it genuinely helps the podcast reach more authors trying to build their careers.

00:00 — Intro & meet Katharine Wibell

02:46 — 10 years, 25+ books: her backlist and journey

05:34 — From painter to author: how COVID shifted her focus

08:52 — The branding mistake: market your name, not one book

11:10 — Writing across multiple genres (and what it really costs)

15:57 — Matching books to the right platforms and readers

18:59 — Making novellas work: box sets & special editions

23:51 — The "piece of every pie" strategy & surviving algorithm changes

28:30 — Inside her Kickstarter campaigns & the collector reader

35:41 — Advice for new authors: start small, market early, reach out

Links

Katharine Wibell

Website: Katharine Wibell Books

Current Kickstarter for FLEET: Fleet Deluxe Special Edition

The Podcast

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Book marketing broke him, so he rebuilt. In this episode, I down with author and SFFAddicts podcaster Adrian M Gibson to talk about what it actually takes to build a sustainable author career after burnout.

After launching his debut Mushroom Blues into thousands of sales, awards attention, and a grueling year-long SPFBO run, Adrian hit a wall. This conversation is about the way back: how he rebuilt a writing routine around two young kids, time-boxed social media, funded a $50K Kickstarter, and fell back in love with the craft while writing his new release, A Murder Most Fungal.

If you're a writer trying to turn your books into a long-term career without burning out, this one's for you. We dig into practical author-career strategy, sustainable writing habits, the genre-blending "training wheels" trick that hooks any reader, worldbuilding across a shared timeline, and how food and culture shape great fiction.

🍄 Adrian's new book, A Murder Most Fungal, is out now. A Michelin-star tragedy in six courses. Links below.

Get Adrian's books
A Murder Most Fungal — Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Most-Fungal-Fungalverse-Hofmann-ebook/dp/B0GSW6DKM4
A Murder Most Fungal — Signed hardcovers (The Broken Binding): https://www.thebrokenbinding.co.uk/product-page/a-murder-most-fungal-adrian-m-gibson
Mushroom Blues — Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mushroom-Blues-Hofmann-Report-Book-ebook/dp/B0CTCF9TCF
Adrian's website: https://www.adrianmgibson.com
SFF Addicts Podcast: https://www.adrianmgibson.com/sff-addicts
Follow Adrian on X: https://x.com/adrianmgibson

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Timestamps
0:00 My kids are my writing sprint partners
1:19 Welcome + what to expect this episode
5:16 Meet Adrian M Gibson
7:00 Two wild years: awards, a $50K Kickstarter & a new publishing role
13:39 Building a writing routine around two young kids
20:19 Book marketing broke me: burnout & SPFBO pressure
23:28 Falling back in love with writing (sustainably)
26:11 Inside A Murder Most Fungal: a fungal chef & a murder
33:30 Worldbuilding across a shared timeline
43:27 The training wheels trick to hook any reader
51:41 Food, Anthony Bourdain & connecting through cuisine
1:14:14 Release date & where to get the book

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Support the show
Subscribe & follow The Pint & Portal Author Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pintandportal
Interdimensional Drink Master Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hermansteuernagel/interdimensional-drink-master/
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Most authors sell one book at a time. Andy Peloquin built a machine where every book sells every other book. With around 45 titles across six interconnected series, he's turned his backlist into a self-sustaining author business — where a new reader who starts with Darkblade or Queen of Thieves has to read five of his six series to get the full picture of his world.

In this episode we get into the actual strategy behind a full-time indie fantasy career: building an interconnected universe, why book one has to carry everything, rebooting a series so it outsells the original, driving direct sales through his website and newsletter, filling the "holes" in his catalog for different readers, and the three pillars he says every author business is built on — newsletter, social media, and branding.

If you've got a few books out and you're trying to turn writing into a real business, this one's for you.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 - Intro: why book one is everything
00:08:36 - Meet Andy Peloquin: 45 books & going full-time
00:13:45 - What worked in 2018 vs. 2026
00:15:41 - Cover design & branding that actually sells
00:18:51 - The interconnected universe: every book sells every other book
00:28:00 - Rebooting a series that outsold the original
00:41:11 - Direct sales & the newsletter that prints readers
00:50:28 - Filling the holes in your backlist
00:52:15 - How he writes so fast (process & word counts)
00:58:35 - The 3 pillars of an author empire

🔗 FIND ANDY PELOQUIN
Website: https://andypeloquin.com
All socials (IG/TikTok/etc.): https://linktr.ee/andypeloquinauthor
New novella A Mother's Love → available direct on his website

📚 MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Newsletter Ninja by Tammy Labrecque: https://books2read.com/u/388lvw
Stallion Express (Canada → US media mail shipping): https://ship.stallion.ca/register/Qr3Wy5

🍺 THE PINT & PORTAL AUTHOR PODCAST
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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pint-and-portal-author-podcast/id1697315896
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pintandportalpodcast/

👉 Subscribe for bi-weekly conversations with authors who've built real careers.

#indieauthor #selfpublishing #authortube #bookmarketing #writingcommunity #fantasyauthor #authorbusiness #writinglife

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Michael Michel spent over 20 years building a fantasy world before publishing his first novel. When he finally did, it wasn't ads or algorithms that moved the needle. It was people.

In this conversation, Michael breaks down how authentic relationships got him invited on writing retreats with some of the biggest names in indie fantasy, landed him spots in anthologies alongside Robin Hobb and Christopher Paolini, and helped him execute a relaunch that outperformed two years of grinding in just a few months.

We also dig into whether newsletter swaps and giveaways are losing their punch, why Amazon's algorithm shift means organic social media matters more than ever, and how Michael is approaching his upcoming Kickstarter special edition featuring cover art by Jeff Brown.

This one's packed with actionable perspective, especially if you're the kind of person who'd rather build real friendships than run Facebook ads.

Michael's final piece of advice has nothing to do with marketing. It's about acceptance and it might be the most important thing you hear all week.

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with authors who are building careers on their own terms.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 – The one strategy that will never change
00:43 – Meet Michael Michel
02:27 – From Warhammer tournaments at age 7 to building a fantasy world
06:25 – First launch: what worked and what stalled
09:38 – Why no one really has the answers (and what IS in your control)
20:31 – Instagram research strategy for finding your exact readers
28:27 – Beating the indie echo chamber with multiple product formats
40:20 – The Kickstarter special edition breakdown (Jeff Brown, interior art, the works)
49:13 – Michael's final advice: the power of acceptance

🔗 CONNECT WITH MICHAEL MICHEL:
Instagram: @michaelmichelauthor
Kickstarter: The Price of Power Deluxe Edition

⭐ Support our Sponsors
Great offers on author related tools and services: pintandportal.com/deals

He built a platform, formed a readership and booked 20+ podcast stops for his debut novel before it was even finished. Here's exactly how he did it.

Michael Vadney built his entire author platform from scratch with no book, no audience, and no connections. By launch day, he had a full virtual book tour lined up and a community behind him. In this episode, we break down the strategy debut authors can steal to make sure their first release doesn't disappear into the void.

Michael is the host of the Author Adjacent podcast and author of Crown Fall, a new adult noble dark fantasy.

Timestamps:
0:00 - Why most debut launches fail
2:26 - Meet Michael Vadney
10:06 - The "platform before book" strategy
12:27 - Why he chose podcasting over TikTok
17:50 - The 5am routine that makes it all work
27:22 - Why he pushed back his launch
43:57 - What "noble dark" fantasy means
53:57 - How to handle negative reviews as a debut author

Connect with Michael:
Author Adjacent - https://www.youtube.com/@AuthorAdjacent
Website - michaelvadney.com

Subscribe for (semi) weekly conversations with authors about how they actually build careers from their writing.

#authormarketing #debutauthor #booklaunch #authortube #indieauthor

38 flights last year. Zero day job. How Andrew Buckley built an author career by thinking outside the box — and like a business.

If you're an author still grinding away, waiting for royalties to pay your bills, you need to hear what Andrew Buckley figured out.

After a decade of writing as a side hustle while working 40+ hour weeks, Andrew quit his job in 2022 — and within TWO MONTHS, he had replaced his entire monthly salary. From speaking, teaching, and building a multi-stream author business most writers don't even know is possible.

In this episode, we go deep on:

• How a single accidental school visit turned into a full-time speaking career
• Why "talking about writing" sometimes pays better than writing itself
• The exact audiences (beyond writing conferences) that pay authors to show up
• How he went from beet-red, palpitating introvert to chasing crowds of 700+
• Why book sales spike EVERY time he speaks
• The hybrid traditional + self-pub strategy he's using in 2026
• What most authors get WRONG about marketing in the AI era

If you've ever felt like writing more books isn't moving the needle, this conversation will completely change how you think about building an author career.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 — "I replaced my salary in 2 months"
01:16 — Meet Andrew Buckley
09:36 — A decade of side hustle before going full-time
14:41 — The pandemic pivot + quitting the day job
17:00 — How the speaking career started (by accident)25:14 — How to land your first paid speaking gigs
36:24 — Introvert to stage-chaser: the transformation
49:36 — Multiple income streams beyond book sales

🔗 FIND ANDREW BUCKLEY

Website: andrewbuckleyauthor.com
Instagram: @andrewbuckleyauthor
Story Centric Podcast: Listen here

🚨 Author Discounts & Promos

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Herman's Author Site

Welcome to The Pint and Portal Author Podcast — where I sit across the table from authors who've built real careers and get them to share the strategies that actually worked.

#AuthorLife #WritingCommunity #SelfPublishing #IndieAuthor #WritingPodcast #AuthorIncome #AndrewBuckley #PintAndPortal

Are you wondering how to build your author career from zero to full-time?

Aaron Hall lost his job 3 weeks after buying his first home. Instead of panicking, he went all-in on his author career. 18 months later, he's a full-time indie author making a living from book sales, mostly paperbacks and audiobooks.

In this episode, Aaron shares the exact social media strategy that took him from selling 100 books a month to over 2,000, how one viral video changed everything, why he prices his paperbacks at $19.99, and the advice he got from Zach (S.D.A. Monte) that forced him to take content seriously.

Whether you're trying to go full-time or just want to sell more books, this one's packed with actionable stuff.

🔗 Publisher Rocket: https://publisherrocket.cartknox.com/buy-rocket?aff=442
🔗 Aaron's Official Store: https://www.aaronnhall.com/
🔗 The Legend of Uh on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4nbHcwN

⭐ Help support the show by checking out our sponsors ⭐
Point and Portal: https://www.pintandportal.com/deals

Also be sure to check out the Kickstarter for Flour & Forge:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hermansteuernagel/flour-and-forge-a-cozy-fantasy-special-edition-book?ref=2mjoxt

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Why you should never underprice your indie books
2:40 – Aaron's background & publishing journey
8:38 – Getting laid off 3 weeks after buying a home
12:54 – The social media strategy that changed everything
21:18 – The viral video that blew up sales overnight
27:48 – How often you actually need to post (less than you think)
33:00 – Where his revenue actually comes from
37:35 – Why his paperbacks outsell ebooks 3 to 1
45:34 – Avoiding burnout as a full-time author
50:57 – Best advice: diversify everything

Most indie authors treat Amazon like the only bookstore that exists. But what if that one income stream disappeared tomorrow?

Mark Leslie Lefebvre has been in the publishing industry for over 30 years — as a bookseller, a digital publishing advocate, the creator of Kobo Writing Life, and a representative for Draft2Digital. He literally wrote the book on going wide (Wide for the Win), and in this conversation he breaks down the strategies that wide authors are using to grow sales on platforms most of us have been ignoring.

We talk about why Kobo, Apple, and Barnes & Noble reward different behavior than Amazon, how to use built-in promo tools most authors don't even know exist, and why thinking long-term is the key to building an author business that can't be killed by one algorithm change.

Whether you're wide-curious or already distributing everywhere, there are actionable strategies in here you can put to work this week.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 — Marketing isn't selling — it's storytelling
00:04:17 — Mark's background & why wide publishing matters
00:10:28 — What does "wide" actually mean?
00:18:32 — The Draft2Digital controversy explained
00:29:00 — How to boost sales on non-Amazon platforms
00:31:16 — Promo forms you didn't know existed (D2D, Kobo, B&N)
00:33:27 — Coupon codes, BookBub ads & promo stacking strategies
00:42:05 — Why storytelling is the best marketing strategy

📚 LINKS & RESOURCES
Wide for the Win community
Wide for the Win (book)
D2D Promo Form
Books2Read (free universal book links)
Kobo Writing Life
BookFunnel
David Gaughran
Draft2Digital
Mark's Substack
Canadian Werewolf Series

🍺 SUPPORT THE SHOW
Flour & Forge Special Edition Kickstarter
See ALL of our sponsors and promotions
My website & book links

🎧 Mentioned in this episode:
Katie Cross on Direct Sales (previous episode)

If you're an indie author building your business, subscribe for weekly conversations with authors who are making it work.