The Pint and Portal Author Podcast

Brady Hunsaker works a full-time job, writes for two hours before he leaves for the office, and earns six figures from his fantasy books. He published his first book in 2023, has sold around 80,000 copies since, and now runs six-figure Kickstarter campaigns for his deluxe editions.

We get into the book marketing strategy behind those sales. Brady explains why he stopped caring about followers and started measuring posts by whether they sell books, how he runs separate TikTok accounts for different kinds of content, and why he pitches the world of a fantasy novel instead of the characters. He tests a book idea on social media before he writes it. One of those videos reached 300,000 views, so he wrote the book.

We also talk about the business side of being an indie author. Brady breaks down where his income comes from across Kickstarter, direct sales from his own store and Kindle Unlimited, what he spends to produce a special edition, and when it made sense to hand fulfillment to someone else. He walks through how he drafts a novel in about two months without a second draft, and the daily schedule that fits writing, marketing and a family around a day job.

Find Brady Hunsaker

• Website: https://bradyhunsaker.com
• Shop: https://shop.bradyhunsaker.com
• Depths of Vanalf: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DRDYL2C6?tag=hermansteuern-20
• All books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BRL74ZDJ?tag=hermansteuern-20
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/bradyhunsaker
• TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@bradyhunsaker
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BradyHunsaker

Mentioned in This Episode

• Jeff Brown Graphics (cover art): https://www.jeffbrowngraphics.com
• Merrick Books (special editions and fulfillment): https://www.merrick-books.com

Time Stamps

• 00:00 Sales over followers
• 00:43 Meet Brady Hunsaker
• 03:30 Why he chose self-publishing
• 07:28 A thousand sales on day one
• 09:47 A second TikTok account and a new pitch
• 14:17 Posting every day for sales
• 16:38 Covers, audio and Kindle Unlimited
• 19:03 Six-figure Kickstarters and where the money comes from
• 26:32 Writing fast around a full-time job
• 36:38 His number one piece of advice

Support the Show

• Back my next Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hermansteuernagel/interdimensional-drink-master?ref=72j627
• The Pint & Portal Author Podcast: https://pintandportal.com
• My books, newsletter and socials: https://www.hermansteuernagel.com/links

Tools I Actually Use

• All deals: https://www.pintandportal.com/deals
• Publisher Champ, 10% off: https://www.publisherchamp.com/referral/42246/
• Publisher Rocket: https://publisherrocket.cartknox.com/buy-rocket?aff=442
• Wise, first transfer up to $800 CAD free: https://wise.prf.hn/l/RlANJvG/
• Envato: https://1.envato.market/c/7700687/298927/4662
• Stallion Express: https://ship.stallion.ca/register/Qr3Wy5
• Riverside: https://riverside.com/?via=herman-steuernagel

Theme song: Power Rock Intro 7 by AndrewVovchynaC, licensed via Envato. Some links may be affiliate links. Using them costs you nothing extra and helps support the show. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

© Herman Steuernagel, The Pint & Portal Podcast

Eighteen authors, seventeen original urban fantasy stories, one Kickstarter anthology. Daniel Coolbaugh and Ben Schenkman built Arcane Awakenings by pooling their audiences instead of launching alone. A business to consumer author entrepreneur success story. They set a funding goal that covered only the base book and saved the bells and whistles for stretch goals. We recorded this live in May, during pre-launch. The campaign went live on September 15 and funded in under 34 hours.

We get into how the anthology came together. They widened a Halloween theme into origin stories about the emergence of magic so more authors could say yes, and recruited from a shortlist of about two dozen. They asked for 8,000 to 10,000 words per story, and we talk about how fantasy authors treat a word limit. The cover is a single illustrated piece from Miblart that pulls in elements from all 17 stories. Ben explains why they kept the price fair to readers rather than paying for a big-name artist. Daniel walks through the one-year exclusivity deal that lets every author take their story back afterwards.

Daniel also shares the rule he applies to every project: never waste words. Launch book one, book two and book three separately, then an omnibus, and you have four products instead of one. His own anthology story is a prequel to his Nathaniel Wither: Monster Hunter series, so it sends new readers straight to his books. Ben talks about his three urban fantasy series, publishing through Caffeinated Terrier Press, and narrating his own audiobooks.

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FIND DANIEL COOLBAUGH
Arcane Awakenings on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arcaneawakenings/arcane-awakenings
Website: https://authordanielcoolbaugh.wordpress.com
The Fantasy and Sci-fi Fanatic's Podcast: https://thefantasyandscififanaticspod.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_danielcoolbaugh

FIND BEN SCHENKMAN
Website: https://benschenkman.com
My Brother's Keeper: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GKHWPBKT?tag=hermansteuern-20

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Time Stamps
00:00 Books are expensive
01:24 Welcome and what's changing in November
06:47 Meet Ben Schenkman and Daniel Coolbaugh
14:44 Building an urban fantasy anthology
24:34 Why Kickstarter
30:24 One cover for 17 stories
34:45 Keeping the cost fair to readers
41:21 Getting more than one product from a story
47:32 Reward tiers and the pre-launch push
53:58 Where to find Ben and Daniel

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SUPPORT MY NEXT KICKSTARTER
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hermansteuernagel/interdimensional-drink-master?ref=72j627

THE PINT & PORTAL AUTHOR PODCAST
https://pintandportal.com

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TOOLS I ACTUALLY USE
All deals: https://www.pintandportal.com/deals
Publisher Champ, every sales dashboard in one place, 10% off: https://www.publisherchamp.com/referral/42246/

Publisher Rocket, keyword and category research: https://publisherrocket.cartknox.com/buy-rocket?aff=442
Wise, international payments, first transfer up to $800 CAD free: https://wise.prf.hn/l/RlANJvG/

Envato: https://1.envato.market/c/7700687/298927/4662

Stallion Express, discount shipping from Canada: https://ship.stallion.ca/register/Qr3Wy5

Riverside, what I record the show on: https://riverside.com/?via=herman-steuernagel

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MY BOOKS, NEWSLETTER & SOCIALS
https://www.hermansteuernagel.com/links

MEDIA CREDITS
Theme song: Power Rock Intro 7 by AndrewVovchynaC, licensed via Envato. Stock video licensed via Envato.

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Some links may be affiliate links. Using them costs you nothing extra and helps support the show. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

© Herman Steuernagel, The Pint & Portal Podcast

Melissa Storm built a seven-figure career without writing to market.
Learn how she finds the right author marketing strategy.

Her first novel got a stack of rejections from literary agents, and she cried over every one. Fifteen years later she has over a hundred books across multiple pen names. Plus she's a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.

We discuss the realities of self-publishing today, including why she treats direct sales as ads on hard mode. Whether you are struggling with Facebook ads or trying to build an ecosystem for your pen names, Melissa shares how to adapt your book marketing to fit your personality.

She calls it a seven-figure career, and she'll also tell you she can't write to market to save her life. In addition, she runs Novel Publicity and runs Kickstarter campaigns that teach Facebook ads for authors.

We also talk about how Meta's AI is changing Facebook ads and how she sees authors adapting.

Back her Facebook Ads for Authors Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/melstorm/shopify-ads
Creator page: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/melstorm

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FIND MELISSA STORM
On Amazon: On Amazon: https://link.amazon/B06yoYJRD
Website: https://www.melstorm.com
Novel Publicity: https://www.novelpublicity.com
Book Marketing with Melissa (Substack): https://marketwithmelissa.substack.com
Molly Fitz: https://mollymysteries.com
Luna Ryder: https://lunarauthor.com

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Author Marketing Archetype quiz: https://www.novelpublicity.com/quiz/

Luna Ryder's books, including When Life Gives You Legends: https://lunarauthor.com/books/
Cal Newport: https://link.amazon/B06Bb14Cz

📘 SUPPORT MY NEXT KICKSTARTER
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hermansteuernagel/interdimensional-drink-master?ref=72j627

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Time Stamps
00:00 Intro
02:21 Hundreds of books and dozens of pen names
14:57 From agent rejections to a marketing business
22:33 If your heart's not in it, readers can tell
25:27 Matching your marketing to your personality
34:41 Why selling direct is ads on hard mode
45:12 The sunk cost fallacy and knowing when to quit
54:20 Running courses on Kickstarter
1:01:45 AI and the future of Facebook ads
1:08:47 Her number one piece of advice

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🎧 LISTEN TO THE PODCAST
Website: https://pintandportal.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3UGMgBmH0YQJBdT6Mw9MxK
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-pint-and-portal-author-podcast/id1697315896
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/2c6a0d11-a60b-418a-a568-580bef9c904d/the-pint-and-portal-author-podcast

🛠️ TOOLS I USE
All deals in one place: https://www.pintandportal.com/deals
Publisher Champ — all your sales dashboards in one place, 10% off: https://www.publisherchamp.com/referral/42246/
Publisher Rocket — keyword and category research for Amazon: https://publisherrocket.cartknox.com/buy-rocket?aff=442
Wise — international payments, first transfer up to $800 CAD free: https://wise.prf.hn/l/RlANJvG/
Envato: https://1.envato.market/c/7700687/298927/4662
Stallion Express — discount shipping from Canada: https://ship.stallion.ca/register/Qr3Wy5
Riverside — what I record the show on: https://riverside.com/?via=herman-steuernagel

📚 MY BOOKS & NEWSLETTER
All my books and links: https://www.hermansteuernagel.com/links

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MEDIA CREDITS
🎵 Theme song — Commercial Rock by StudioKolomna
https://app.envato.com/music/96865697-95b3-4554-866e-6d4ad66a575e

Some links may be affiliate links. Using them costs you nothing extra and helps support the show.
© Herman Steuernagel — The Pint & Portal Podcast

What if you broke all the rules they tell you for building an indie author career?

Maggie Beeler doesn't run ads. She doesn't post on social media. She barely sells on Amazon. She built her author business by attending 30 to 45 events a year, setting up a table at everything from craft fairs, markets, bars and bookstores to niche events. Why don't most indie authors do the same? According to Beeler it's because "A lot of indie authors have this precious mindset where they think that their books are just going to sell themselves. And that is not the case."

In this episode, Maggie breaks down how she picks events worth paying for, what to say to someone walking past your table, why she scaled her display down instead of up, and how to pitch a book in fifteen seconds to a person who has never heard of you.

We also get into Tropetails, the cocktail and mocktail book for bookworms that she turned into a genre-inspired drink mix brand, now stocked in roughly 100 retailers. Plus, what you actually have to put in a bookstore's hands to make them say yes to stocking your book.

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NEVER MISS AN EPISODE
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pintandportal

My Kickstarter campaigns: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/hermansteuernagel/created

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FIND MAGGIE BEELER
Website: https://margaretcbeeler.com
Tropetails: https://tropetails.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/margaretcbeeler/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@margaretcbeeler

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THE PINT & PORTAL AUTHOR PODCAST
Website: https://pintandportal.com
Support the show: https://www.pintandportal.com/deals

SUPPORT MY NEXT KICKSTARTER
The Bartender Between Worlds: Illustrated Special Edition

HERMAN'S BOOKS & NEWSLETTER
https://hermansteuernagel.com

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Time Stamps
00:00 Your books are not going to sell themselves
06:48 Nine years to finish the first book
12:51 Why she only sells in person
16:29 Finding events worth paying for
21:45 Working the table without being weird about it
34:03 Pitch the tropes, not the plot
36:54 Tropetails: turning a book into a product line
41:57 Getting into 100 retailers
58:05 Selling in person in the age of AI
1:01:47 Her number one piece of advice

---👉 NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/@pintandportal?sub_confirmation=1🛠️ TOOLS I ACTUALLY USEAll deals in one place: https://www.pintandportal.com/dealsPublisher Champ — every sales dashboard in one place, Get 10% off your subscription:https://www.publisherchamp.com/referral/42246/Publisher Rocket — keyword and category research to optimize your Amazon listing for both ads and organic sales: https://publisherrocket.cartknox.com/buy-rocket?aff=442Wise — how I handle international payments. Your first transfer up to $800 CAD free:https://wise.prf.hn/l/RlANJvG/Riverside — what I record the show on. Premium remote recording:https://riverside.com/?via=herman-steuernagel📚 MY BOOKS & NEWSLETTERAll my books and links: https://www.hermansteuernagel.com/linksInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/hermansteuernagelFacebook (the podcast): https://www.facebook.com/pintandportalpodcastFacebook (my books): https://www.facebook.com/hermansteuernagelwritesTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hermansteuernagelwrites━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━MEDIA CREDITS🎵 Theme song — Commercial Rock by StudioKolomnahttps://app.envato.com/music/96865697-95b3-4554-866e-6d4ad66a575eSome links may be affiliate links. Using them costs you nothing extra and helps support the show.© Herman Steuernagel — The Pint & Portal Podcast

E.A. Winters went from $0 to six figures and left a ten-year counseling career behind — but she's blunt about why most authors never get there: "Most people want to spend hobby energy on it and get career revenue from it. That is not a thing that will happen."

In this episode, Erin breaks down the difference between the author hat and the publisher hat, why she stacks a series before launching it, how she went from writing in naps and after bedtime to 12 books and a full-time income, and what she looks for in a writer that tells her whether they'll make it.

We also get into the Level Up Conference she co-founded with Seth Ring for authors who've outgrown the beginner track, and her new LitRPG series set in a world where XP is reaped, taxed, and sold back to the people.

Check out my previous episode with E.A. Winters (Episode 7): https://youtu.be/uEiUuO2cI1I

FIND E.A. WINTERS

Website & newsletter: https://www.eawinters.com
For Authors resource page: https://www.eawinters.com/forauthors
Amazon: E.A. Winters on Amazon
TikTok: @eawinters
Instagram: @e.a.winters
Facebook: eawintersnovels

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Monster Makers (Book 1, out September 15): preorder on Amazon
Blood and Flame Saga Special Edition on Kickstarter


Level Up Conference for Authors: https://luca.vip

THE PINT & PORTAL AUTHOR PODCAST

Website: https://www.pintandportal.com
Support the show: https://www.pintandportal.com/deals

HERMAN'S BOOKS & NEWSLETTER

Books and newsletter: https://www.hermansteuernagel.com
My Kickstarter campaigns: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/hermansteuernagel/created
Instagram: @hermansteuernagel
Facebook: hermansteuernagelwrites

TIME STAMPS

00:00 From counselor to full-time fantasy author
09:22 The author hat vs. the publisher hat
15:55 Getting in rooms with people ahead of you
19:02 The levers that actually moved the needle
21:31 Preorder and release strategy
26:24 Building a conference for authors past the basics
39:50 Why fast success can be a trap
41:18 Her number one piece of advice
43:12 Monster Makers, LitRPG, and the Kickstarter
---👉 NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/@pintandportal?sub_confirmation=1🛠️ TOOLS I ACTUALLY USEAll deals in one place: https://www.pintandportal.com/dealsPublisher Champ — every sales dashboard in one place, so you stop clicking between Amazon, Kobo, D2D and the rest to build your own spreadsheet. 10% off your subscription:https://www.publisherchamp.com/referral/42246/Publisher Rocket — keyword and category research to optimize your Amazon listing for both ads and organic sales: https://publisherrocket.cartknox.com/buy-rocket?aff=442Wise — how I handle international payments. Your first transfer up to $800 CAD free:https://wise.prf.hn/l/RlANJvG/Riverside — what I record the show on. Premium remote recording:https://riverside.com/?via=herman-steuernagel📚 MY BOOKS & NEWSLETTERAll my books and links: https://www.hermansteuernagel.com/linksMy Kickstarter campaigns: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/hermansteuernagel/createdInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/hermansteuernagelFacebook (the podcast): https://www.facebook.com/pintandportalpodcastFacebook (my books): https://www.facebook.com/hermansteuernagelwritesTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hermansteuernagelwrites━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━MEDIA CREDITS🎵 Theme song — Commercial Rock by StudioKolomnahttps://app.envato.com/music/96865697-95b3-4554-866e-6d4ad66a575eSome links may be affiliate links. Using them costs you nothing extra and helps support the show.© Herman Steuernagel — The Pint & Portal Podcast

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

Help support the show — please check out all of our sponsor links: pintandportal.com/deals

Subscribe on YouTube

Follow on your podcast app

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/
Publisher Champ (10% off): https://www.publisherchamp.com/referral/42246/
Publisher Rocket: https://publisherrocket.cartknox.com/buy-rocket?aff=442
All Deals: https://pintandportal.com/deals/

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

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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

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