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Amy Suto is a seven-figure freelance writer, memoir ghostwriter, bestselling author, and founder of the top Substack newsletter Make Writing Your Job. Starting as a Hollywood TV writer working for minimum wage as an assistant, Amy discovered that freelancing could outpace traditional entertainment industry earnings. She's flown to countries like Austria to work with clients on their memoirs, ghostwritten for Olympians and NBA players, and built a thriving writing business with three income pillars: self-publishing, paid newsletters, and freelance writing. Her upcoming book Write for Money and Power (launching January 12, 2026) provides the mindset operating system writers need to build six and seven-figure writing careers.
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Dave King is a professional fiction editor with over 35 years of experience and co-author of the bestselling writing manual Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, which has sold over 200,000 copies and been adopted as a textbook worldwide. With translations into Italian, Taiwanese, Japanese, and Korean, the book maintains its position in Amazon's top 10 fiction writing manuals. Dave apprenticed under Renni Browne, a former editor for William Morrow and Stein and Day, learning the craft through hands-on manuscript work. Today, he helps authors at all levels refine their manuscripts through his unique 50-page collaborative editing process that trains writers to become their own best editors.
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Louise Harris is the founder and president of Last Research and Editing, a comprehensive editing service specializing in both fiction and nonfiction books. With a journalism degree from the University of Maryland, Louise discovered early in her career that she's better at editing others' work than writing her own—a realization that shaped her 20+ year editing career. Known for her old-school approach of printing manuscripts and using colored pens (green at Christmas, pink at Easter), Louise provides everything from developmental editing and book coaching to copy editing, line editing, proofreading, and her unique book compilation service that transforms blog posts into published books.
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Lucy McCarraher is the founder of Rethink Press (a hybrid publisher specializing in business books) and BookMagic AI (an AI-assisted writing platform). Over 12 years, she has mentored over 2,000 entrepreneurs and business leaders through the book-writing process, making her the UK's most experienced business book mentor. Lucy's background spans theatre publishing in Australia, creating "video books" with celebrities like Prue Leith and Alan Titchmarsh, and pioneering work-life balance consulting. She has authored 13 books herself and developed a systematic process for helping non-writers transform their expertise into published books. Her philosophy: books should be "undercover sales agents," not marketing brochures—providing real value while building authority and credibility.
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Barbara Boyd is a certified book coach through Author Accelerator who has guided over 100 authors through the nonfiction writing process. With expertise in helping experts transform their knowledge into published books, Barbara specializes in the strategic foundation work that makes writing easier—from defining target audiences to creating actionable outlines. Her approach centers on the "Venn diagram of book concepts," ensuring that an author's idea, audience, and objectives align before writing begins. Barbara works with business owners, consultants, wellness professionals, and other experts who want to codify their frameworks, broaden their reach, and establish industry authority through well-crafted nonfiction books.
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Evan Gow is the founder and indie developer of StoryOrigin, an all-in-one platform designed to help authors manage their book marketing infrastructure. After writing short stories in high school and working in tech and entrepreneurship, Evan returned to his passion for writing while building tools for the author community. Frustrated by authors juggling eight different services and five spreadsheets just to manage their marketing, Evan created StoryOrigin to consolidate everything authors need—from growing mailing lists and finding reviewers to arranging newsletter swaps and building websites—into one cohesive platform. His philosophy is simple: reduce context switching, simplify workflows, and help authors at every stage of their career.
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Dale L. Roberts is an award-winning author and self-publishing educator with over a decade of experience in the indie publishing industry. He's the author of "Wide Publishing for Authors," a comprehensive guide that helps authors break free from Amazon-only publishing and expand their reach across multiple platforms. Dale is known for his conversational writing style and practical, actionable advice that comes from real-world experience managing his own wide publishing business. Through his website SelfPublishingWithDale.com, he provides resources, tutorials, and direct support to help authors navigate the complex world of multi-platform publishing while maximizing their royalties and reader reach.
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Rodney Miles is the author of the Book Dude's Guide to Self-Publishing series and a self-publishing consultant who has worked on over 300 book projects. With a lifelong love of books that started with his mother reading at red lights, Rodney transitioned from business ownership to professional writing after the Florida real estate market collapsed. Starting at just a penny per word on platforms like Elance (now Upwork), he quickly progressed to ghostwriting, editing, and managing writing departments. Over 14-15 years, he has mastered every aspect of self-publishing, from ebooks and paperbacks to hardcovers. Now specializing in custom publishing projects, Rodney believes that everyone has a story worth telling and should contribute to what he calls "the great library" of human knowledge.
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Alexa Nazzaro is the founder of Axel Author Group, a publishing services company with the memorable tagline "we won't let you publish crap." With a background in writing and business communications, Alexa transitioned into author services after helping a client with an ebook project. Her passion for the creative process led her to support authors across various genres, offering everything from editing and formatting to comprehensive launch strategies. While running her publishing services company, Alexa also works on her own fiction writing, giving her unique insight into both sides of the author journey—as both a service provider and a working writer.
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Matt Briel is the Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Lulu.com, a self-publishing platform that has been a leader in print-on-demand technology since 2002. Founded by tech entrepreneur Bob Young, Lulu specializes in direct sales solutions and offers unique publishing options that major distributors don't provide—most notably spiral bound (coil bound) books. With global print networks across the US, UK, France, Australia, and other markets, Lulu enables authors to sell books directly through Shopify integrations while maintaining the flexibility to offer multiple formats and trim sizes. Matt brings extensive knowledge of alternative publishing formats and direct-to-consumer strategies for self-published authors.
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From the publisher's feed
Welcome to The Publishing Performance Show, the quintessential podcast for both budding and veteran self-published authors! Join your host, Teddy, as he sits down with with successful indie authors…
Immerse yourself in a trove of valuable insights and actionable advice on writing, essential tools, and practical tips to elevate your self-publishing prowess. Whether you’re just beginning your literary voyage or seeking to refine your craft, this show brims with wisdom and inspiration to help you thrive in the self-publishing realm.
Each episode promises listeners at least one actionable tip for their self-published books and a must-read recommendation from our esteemed guests.
Tune in for an inspiring, informative, and thoroughly enjoyable exploration of the indie author experience!

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