The Publisher And The Writer

Meet a debut author juggling kids, writing, Instagram and success. Leesa Ronald's debut romcom Special Delivery was published in December 2024 and has already been reprinted. Success! Leesa has also signed a further two-book deal with Allen & Unwin, her second romcom will hit bookshelves towards the end of 2025.00:00 Introduction

01:10 Jane asks Leesa about her lived experience as an author. Leesa explains how she was fortunate to land up with Allen & Unwin and the rhythm of her interactions with her publisher.

04:00 Interactions with various people at the publishers and getting used to response times.

05:30 Finding the publisher, ASA Literary Speed Dating and getting a contact at A&U.

07:45 Knowing your genre. Leesa started reading romcoms about 18 months before she started writing one. Writing the book in the midst of being pregnant and having third child.

09:21 Understanding the contract, where Leesa got advice.

10:20 The titles changes and draft front cover.

13:00 Deciding to just write and let the publishers look after the publishing. Feedback on the book so far, reviews etc

14:15 Leesa on her social media strategy and advice she got.

17.20 Writing the book, first the plot of the book, and then how Leesa got started. Not much of a plotter in first book but currently writing second book and doing more plotting.

20:20 With job and three kids, Leesa tends to write at night, some early morning.

21:30 Special Delivery did not have a huge amount of editing to be done.

22:20 Leesa didn't do writing courses before she wrote the first book, but has always worked as a writer of magazine and now corporate communications. Trying to write the type of book I wanted to read. Did do a 6-week course before book 2, what was useful in that.

25:20 Meeting other writers and the romcom community. The Romance Writers of Australian Conferenece.

28: 10 The audiobook production process.

29:00 Thanks and farewells

Leesa Ronald's website is here.

Leesa Ronald is on Instagram here. 

Mhairi McFarlane

Emily Henry

Kelly Rimmer

Romance Writers of Australia

Jane Curry Links

• Jane Curry Advisory: www.janecurryadvisory.com
• Ventura Press: www.venturapress.com.au
• www.instagram.com/venturapress__

Seana Smith Links

• Seana Smith website: www.seanasmith.com
• www.instagram.com/seanasmith

Going Under Audiobook: Going Under on Audible, narrated by Seana Smith, click here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode of The Publisher & The Writer, we answer questions on a variety of writing and publishing topics.

00:47 Jane’s trip to London, with a stop at the huge Waterstones bookshopat Piccadilly. Seeing how genre fiction is laid out and how much it dominates the fiction floor.

02:40 The fantasy section being close to children’s section and issues that causes. Sex in fantasy is pretty full on so parents are helped to appreciate topics in young adult books. Reading Fourth Wing, and how author writes for those who feel they don’t fit in.

05:00 Who’s reading books. That Waterstones is a citadel. The joy of bookshops that stay open late.

08:00 Fonts and colours in vogue now.

09:00 Meetings with old friends and the changes sweeping through publishing, the power of digital publishing.

09:50 What is print on demand and who is using it. A primer. Change your religion! It means a virtual warehouse.

13:00 How spammy publishing companies claim to get your books into bookshops but anyone can do it via Ingram.

13:50 Amazon has the algorithm, and promotion. Promoting digitally and fulfilling demand digitally. Upsides and downsides of Amazon.

15:50 Best to upload to both Amazon and to Ingram.

16:30 Question about promotional blurbs on book cover, how to get them.

19:15 Question about writing courses, advice on value for money. Join the local writer’s’ centre.

21:20 Writing courses or mentors first? BBC Maestro course.

23:00 Memoir writing groups, Jenny Valentish as mentor and teacher.

23:30 How to start a career in publishing and is it a good place to work if you’d like to be a writer? Other careers that work well for writers.

26:30 Latest books we have been reading.

• Nina Stubbs Went To London, Took The Dog
• Robyn Cadwallader The Fire And The Rose
• Fiona McFarlane Highway 13

29:00 Send your FAQs to Seana Smith via Instagram or website, see below.

Websites mentioned:

Ingram Content

Amazon KDP

BBC Maestro

Jane Curry Links

• Jane Curry Advisory: www.janecurryadvisory.com
• Ventura Press: www.venturapress.com.au
• www.instagram.com/venturapress__
• www.instagram.com/janecurry1

Seana Smith Links

• Seana Smith website: www.seanasmith.com
• www.instagram.com/seanasmith

Buy Going Under

In Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

Audiobook: Going Under on Audible, narrated by Seana Smith, click here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Publisher and the Writer podcast, Seana Smith interviews Lynne Johnson, former lawyer and current author of the indie published crime novel 'The Bait Trap.' They cover Lynne's initial interest in crime writing, her experiences with online creative writing courses, the challenges and strategies of self-publishing, her marketing efforts, and the supportive community she found in the process. The episode also touches on her upcoming second novel and the valuable insights she's gained from her writing and publishing experiences.

00:00 Introduction

00:27 Meet the Hosts

01:21 Interview with Lynne Johnson, lawyer turned crime novelist

02:45 Crime fiction's appeal as reader and writer

04:18 Writing courses and classes, editing the novel

08:49 Pitching to agents and publishers

12:13 Choosing indie publishing means being the CEO, the cover, the preparation, finding the right professionals and then marketing and reviews

19:49 The Bait Trap: plot and characters

22:28 Research and realism in crime

23:43 Quick outline of the next novel and the plan for that one

28:21 Conclusion and contact information

Websites mentioned:

https://www.lynnejohnsonauthor.com

https://www.lauraboon.com/book-editing-services

Jane Curry Links

• Jane Curry Advisory: www.janecurryadvisory.com
• Ventura Press: www.venturapress.com.au
• www.instagram.com/venturapress__
• www.instagram.com/janecurry1

Seana Smith Links

• Seana Smith website: www.seanasmith.com
• www.instagram.com/seanasmith
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatdidyoureadtoday/

BUY GOING UNDER

In Australia: Going Under is available in bookshops and online stores in Australia and on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

In the USA: https://www.amazon.com/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

In the UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

Going Under Audiobook: Going Under on Audible, narrated by Seana Smith, click here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are back for 2025. In this episode we cover a lot of ground, with insights into the writing and publishing journey of successful authors, plus Aussie publishing news and a catchup on how 2025 has started for Seana's writing and for Ventura Press.

Join Jane Curry and Seana Smith for a candid insight into how to write and to publish your book.

00:00 Introduction and Ventura Press author Katherine Johnson's wins inaugural HarperCollins Australian Fiction Prize.

01:24 Katherine Johnson's publishing journey and the impact of literary prizes for authors.

05:53 Australian publishing news: Text Publishing sold to Penguin Random House.

06:20 Th challenges of third-party distribution.

11:21 Independent and Ventura's position in the market.

14:00 Commercial fiction and why we love it.

16:18 Current trends in memoir.

17:46 Promoting 'Going Under' in 2025, ongoing promotion mode and not needing the sugar hit of huge sales immediately

20:20 Simon and Schuster sales conference, coming up. Ventura Press upcoming books and sales strategies.

23:13 Seana's current writing endeavours.

24:35 Seana and Jane's recent reads and book recommendations

• Richard Charkin My Back Pages Marble Hill Publishers 2023
• All Fours by Miranda July
• We Are The Stars by Gina Chick
• Swimming Sydney by Chris Baker
• Trespass by Louise Kennedy

28:33 Farewell!

Seana Smith Links

• Seana Smith website: www.seanasmith.com
• Seana Smith Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanasmith/

Jane Curry Links

• Jane Curry Advisory: www.janecurryadvisory.com
• Ventura Press: www.venturapress.com.au

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In this extra episode, concluding our first 10-part series, we catch up with Jane who has just got back from the Frankfurt Book Fair and we explore the collapse of Shawline, a vanity publisher.

01.09 Frankfurt. Ventura part of the Australian Publishers Association stand in Hall 6. It's the most enormous gathering of intellectual property purveyors. It's a wholesale market, publishers doing business with publishers.

02.58 Lots of young rights agents work hard, whilst MDs look important. It's a microcosm of the whole industry.

05.00 Which of Ventura's book got interest. Who else was there. What usually happens is that English-speaking publishers buy foreign rights and translate the books. That is changing, more books being translated into English. The Australian rights agents.

08.16 How translation rights work. What sort of royalties publishers and authors receive. Why the German market is important. Which Australian publishing companies have UK cousins. Why translations come out later than English language editions.

13.09 The collapse of Shawline, leaving 600 authors in the lurch. The difficulties of managing fringe publishers and worse, predatory publishers. Why to use the ASA's Authors Legal. There's a lot of malpractice out there

16.20 Proper publishers have distribution into bookshops. Others may say they distribute but it's all digital. Companies not being honest about how few books writers are likely to sell. On the other hand, a publishing services company can be good e.g. Publish Central.

18.37 Is it likely the Shawline authors will get their files back so they upload them by themselves? Never pay full cost upfront for anything!

20.05 Listeners questions: What is NaNoWriMo? Does a non published author need an author website and social media presence?

23:59 What are we reading? Jane had 74 manuscripts submitted when she was away so she is reading them. Good and bad examples. Seana has read Charlotte Wood's Stone Yard Devotional and Elizabeth Strout's latest book Tell Me Everything.

25.53 Where to find us and farewell.

• Frankfurt Book Fair
• Shawline Group enters liquidation - ASA article
• Publish Central
• NaNoWriMo
• Charlotte Wood's Stone Yard Devotional
• Elizabeth Strout's Tell Me Everything

Jane Curry Links

• Jane Curry Advisory: www.janecurryadvisory.com
• Ventura Press: www.venturapress.com.au

Seana Smith Links

• Seana Smith website: www.seanasmith.com
• Sober Journeys website: wwwsoberjourneys.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane and Seana answer readers’ questions.

• Why Jane set up Jane Curry Advisory
• The Frankfurt Book Fair - what happens there and why Jane is a regular visitor
• Why the book fair was established in Frankfurt
• How Jane will approach publishers at Frankfurt about Seana’s memoir Going Under
• London Book Fair
• What are bestseller numbers in Australia compared to the UK
• Are all books sold in Australia printed here?
• When does Seana write? Seana’s writing tips
• Why is café writing so popular and effective!)
• Recommended writing groups
• Jenny Valentish memoir structure workshop
• Writing ecosystems in UK, USA, Scotland, Ireland, Australia
• Making publishing more equitable
• Big W as part of the Australian book business
• Commissioning writers versus manuscripts being sent to publishers
• Self-published writers being picked up by traditional publishing
• Print on demand
• The rise of the audiobook

Links

https://www.valentish.net/

In Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

In the USA: https://www.amazon.com/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

In the UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

Going Under Audiobook: Going Under on Audible, narrated by Seana Smith, click here.

Going Under on Spotify: Listen to Going Under on Spotify here.

Jane Curry Links

• Jane Curry Advisory: www.janecurryadvisory.com
• Ventura Press: www.venturapress.com.au
• www.instagram.com/venturapress__

Seana Smith Links

• Seana Smith website: www.seanasmith.com
• Sober Journeys website: wwwsoberjourneys.com
• www.instagram.com/seanasmith
• www.instagram.com/sober_journeys
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatdidyoureadtoday/

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/swoop/blue-sea

License code: JIDFICQZAHSVHXUS

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane Curry and Seana Smith take a deeper dive into self-publishing, using Seana's self-published books as examples.

• Seana’s first self published book, made the mistake of not researching what people want to read. Did not sell at all well. And was pulled. 
• So the next project was better researched and planned, Wildly Weird But Totally True: Australia.
• Commissioned a cover, and layout, which didn’t work well.
• Learning curve, it started selling when I began running adverts on Amazon.
• All the ways Amazon earns money; printing books, sales commission, advertising, Kindle downloads.
• Ingram also does print on demand, how Amazon interacts with them. 
• Once books start selling on Amazon, Amazon helps you sell more. 
• Amazon advertising, pay per click, but impressions are not paid for.
• The joy of checking daily sales.
• Jane’s now running advertising for some of her books via Simon and Shuster. Leaning int o the algorithm.
• Next came Wildly Weird But Totally True: Animals but it has not sold well, probably because there is a lot of competition in that area.  
• But remember, there are many books on Amazon that sell no copies.

Find full show notes on the website.

In Australia: Going Under is available in bookshops and online stores in Australia and on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

In the USA: https://www.amazon.com/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

In the UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

Going Under Audiobook: Going Under on Audible, narrated by Seana Smith, click here.

Going Under on Spotify: Listen to Going Under on Spotify here.

Jane Curry Links

• Jane Curry Advisory: www.janecurryadvisory.com
• Ventura Press: www.venturapress.com.au

Seana Smith Links

• Seana Smith website: www.seanasmith.com
• Sober Journeys website: wwwsoberjourneys.com
• www.instagram.com/seanasmith
• www.instagram.com/sober_journeys
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatdidyoureadtoday/
• 
  

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/swoop/blue-sea

License code: JIDFICQZAHSVHXUS

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Keeping up with publishing company changes is essential for writers. In this extra episode within series 1, jane and Seana chat about some recent changes in Australian publishing, and about how to stay up to date in the English-speaking world.

• Ventura Press news, Instagram disaster and 10 manuscripts coming in every day
• Australian publishing news, Affirm has been bought by Simon & Schuster
• Simon and Shuster is owned by KKR
• How it will work, Affirm is keeping its sales team.
• Writers will still approach Affirm directly not via Simon & Shuster
• Hardie Grant have bought Pantera Press
• Background of Hardie Grant and why Pantera is a good buy for them
• Pantera's founders are not staying with the new owners
• Hardie Grant's businesses which complement the publishing
• Build to sell - this often happens with independent companies
• Australian book market going well but still American fiction dominates
• Knowledge is power, helps authors to pitch well... which not all do
• Aspiring writers do well to understand the business of publishing
• List of trade publishers around the world and why to read them

Death At The Sign of The Rook - Kate Atkinson

The Vagus Nerve Reset - Anna Ferguson

The Burrow - Melanie Cheng

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fyfe - Anna Johnston

Special Delivery - Leesa Ronald (to be published Dec 2024)

Intermezzo - Sally Rooney

Stoneyard Devotional - Charlotte Wood

https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au

https://www.publishersweekly.com

https://www.thebookseller.com

https://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com

Jane Curry Links

• Jane Curry Advisory: www.janecurryadvisory.com
• Ventura Press: www.venturapress.com.au
• www.instagram.com/venturapress__
• www.instagram.com/janecurry1

Seana Smith Links

• Seana Smith website: www.seanasmith.com
• Sober Journeys website: wwwsoberjourneys.com
• www.instagram.com/seanasmith
• www.instagram.com/sober_journeys
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatdidyoureadtoday/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

These are exciting times for self-publishers which has really come in from the cold.

• People have always self-published, Beatrix Potter and the Bronte sisters did versions of it
• In the digital world you can create demand and fulfill it entirely online. 
• Print on demand (POD) explained.
• Ebooks, still dominated by Amazon and Kindle, are devoured by readers, especially romance and crime genres.
• Now is the time for self publishing to have its moment. The advantages for readers as well as author.
• The democratisation of the publishing process. Publishers and bookshops are a closed world to the non-traditionally published. They are the gatekeepers, but self publishing changes all that.
• Example: Lisa Genova’s Still Alice was originally self published.

Read more on the show notes over on The Publisher & The Writer podcast: https://thepublisherandthewriter.com/how-to-self-publish-1

In Australia: Going Under is available in bookshops and online stores in Australia and on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

In the USA: https://www.amazon.com/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

In the UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

Going Under Audiobook: Going Under on Audible, narrated by Seana Smith, click here.

Going Under on Spotify: Listen to Going Under on Spotify here.

Jane Curry Links

• Jane Curry Advisory: www.janecurryadvisory.com
• Ventura Press: www.venturapress.com.au
• www.instagram.com/venturapress__
• www.instagram.com/janecurry1

Seana Smith Links

• Seana Smith website: www.seanasmith.com
• Sober Journeys website: wwwsoberjourneys.com
• www.instagram.com/seanasmith
• www.instagram.com/sober_journeys
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatdidyoureadtoday/

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/swoop/blue-sea

License code: JIDFICQZAHSVHXUS

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

• Signing a contract can be a cause for celebration, but there may be regrets later.
• As a publisher you often only return to them when something has gone wrong and you need to get out of the contract. 
• The contract is a legal document, but connection and communication are what make the author-publisher relationship work. 
• There is often a power imbalance.
• Rights in contracts; what is the publisher being assigned by the writer; ANZ rights, English-speaking rights, Commonwealth rights.
• Format rights, book, ebook, audiobook, extracts, film and TV and translation rights. The different sizes of books, and hardback and softback.
• Many companies now create their own audiobooks, but others sell those rights on. 
• Length of contracts, some have finiste terms, most remain whilst a book is in print.
• Sunset clauses.
• Royalties are usually 10% of RRP, but that can be altered for books that sell in big numbers, these are called rises.
• Pros and cons of advances, and how often advances are earned out. Why we prefer lower or no advances.
• Beware of contracts from companies that help writers self publish. Can be grossly unfair.
• Discussion about ebook royalties, usually 25% of net receipts. 
• Royalties stay at 10% of RRP even when bookshops do deep discounts.
• Bulk book orders sometimes paid at 25% of net receipts; the pros of being entrepreneurial as a publisher.

In Australia: Going Under is available in bookshops and online stores in Australia and on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

In the USA: https://www.amazon.com/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

In the UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Going-Under-memoir-secrets-addiction/dp/0645497231/

Going Under Audiobook: Going Under on Audible, narrated by Seana Smith, click here.

Going Under on Spotify: Listen to Going Under on Spotify here.

Jane Curry Links

• Jane Curry Advisory: www.janecurryadvisory.com
• Ventura Press: www.venturapress.com.au
• www.instagram.com/venturapress__

Seana Smith Links

• Seana Smith website: www.seanasmith.com
• Sober Journeys website: wwwsoberjourneys.com

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/swoop/blue-sea License code: JIDFICQZAHSVHXUS

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.