The Written Word Podcast

What does it actually take to go from two people at your convention booth to 14 million copies sold and a TV deal with the creator of Family Guy? In this episode, Ricci Wolman and Ferol Vernon do a deep dive into the rise of Matt Dinniman, the indie author behind the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, a litRPG book that no traditional publisher would have signed and that is now hitting the Amazon and New York Times bestseller lists. This is the first in a new case study series on indie authors who made it big. The lessons in this episode apply to every author, regardless of genre.

What you’ll learn:

• How Matt started as an illustrator selling cat and dog portraits on Etsy, and why that creative foundation mattered
• Why he shelved Dungeon Crawler Carl in 2009, rediscovered it in 2019, and published on Royal Road before Amazon, and what that unconventional launch path taught him
• The audiobook narrator connection that first ignited word of mouth (and how it happened through gaming culture, not publishing)
• The Tipping Point framework: why starting in a small, hungry, underserved community is a faster path to critical mass than going broad
• The Kickstarter strategy that charged $777 to live and $666 to die, and why the financial model mattered less than the story it created
• How Matt used Patreon not just for revenue but as a collaborative creative process, and why the showrunner of his TV series was a Patreon subscriber before they ever met
• Why he sold only his print rights to Random House (keeping ebook rights entirely), and what that says about the new power of indie publishing
• The "village" theory of audience building: why depth of community beats breadth of reach in the early stages
• Why human connection is now the single biggest competitive advantage authors have in an AI-saturated world
• The 7-year overnight success myth, and what it means for authors grinding right now

More case studies coming: Ricci and Ferol already have the next one in the works. Each author's path is different, and that's exactly the point.

Want to learn more ways to reach readers? Visit writtenwordmedia.com for author resources, book promotion tools, and more.

The Written Word Podcast is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.

© 2026 Written Word Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

This episode is a milestone; the Written Word Media Podcast just hit 10,000 downloads. To celebrate, Ricci Wolman and Ferol Vernon are answering three of the most common questions listeners have sent in: what DRM actually is and whether you need it, when the best time to launch a book really is, and how to get more KENP reads if you're in Kindle Unlimited.

What you’ll learn:

• What DRM (Digital Rights Management) is, the difference between hard DRM, soft DRM, and no DRM, and Amazon's new policy change that lets you update your settings midstream
• Why ALLi (Alliance of Independent Authors) recommends against DRM for most indie authors, and the key philosophical question to ask yourself before deciding
• Why hard DRM is largely an illusion of protection (and what that means for your decision)
• What WWM's data from thousands of book launches actually shows about the best day and season to launch, and why the answer is probably not what you're hoping for
• The one exception to the "any day works" rule (genre-specific seasonality)
• Why your marketing plan matters 100x more than your launch date
• How running a promo (including a FreeBooksy free promo) drives KENP reads, not just downloads
• Why there's a lag between a promotion and when you see the KU reads hit your dashboard
• How WWM's promo emails call out "free on Kindle Unlimited" to prime KU readers before they hit the Amazon page

Plus: listener questions are how WWM products get built. Subscriber Surge Giveaways exist because authors asked for help building their email lists.

Want to learn more ways to reach readers? Visit writtenwordmedia.com for author resources, book promotion tools, and more.

The Written Word Podcast is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.

© 2026 Written Word Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Your email list is your most valuable asset as an author, but how do you actually grow it beyond people who already know you? The answer is a lead magnet: free content you offer in exchange for an email address. In this episode, Ricci Wolman and Ferol Vernon break down the full system: what to give away, where to host it, how to deliver it, and how to drive traffic.

What you’ll learn:

• The difference between a lead magnet and a reader magnet, and why you need both (one reaches strangers, one converts existing readers)
• What to give away: chapter, novella, or full book, and why novellas hit the sweet spot for most authors
• The KDP Select caveat: why giving away a full book can violate exclusivity terms and what to do instead
• The 4 components of a working lead magnet system: content, landing page, delivery, and traffic
• The best tool for author-specific lead magnet delivery, and why BookFunnel handles customer service so you don't have to
• How to use Meta ads (Facebook and Instagram) to drive lead magnet sign-ups starting at $5/day
• Free traffic options: newsletter swaps and group promos, plus their real limitations
• The biggest mistake authors make after running a successful lead magnet campaign (and it's not the ad)
• What your landing page actually needs to say (spoiler: very little — keep it simple)
• A preview of WWM's new Reader Reach Lead Magnet product (coming soon!)

Also: the Pacific Northwest trip recap, three new national parks checked off, and Ricci's first marmot sighting.

Want to learn more ways to reach readers? Visit writtenwordmedia.com for author resources, book promotion tools, and more.

The Written Word Podcast is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.

© 2026 Written Word Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Amazon A+ content is free, it's available to every KDP author regardless of exclusivity, and it can increase your conversion rate by up to 20%. Most bestselling books on Amazon already have it. If yours doesn't, this episode will change that. Ricci Wolman and Ferol Vernon walk through exactly what A+ content is, why it matters, and how to set it up, step by step, in under 30 minutes.

Also: Ricci's solo owl has become a family. There is a mated pair and a fledgling. The owl vsaga continues. 🦉

What you’ll learn:

• What Amazon A+ content actually is, and why it shows up in the middle of every New York Times bestseller's page
• Why A+ content is worth your time: Amazon's own data cites 8–20% conversion lift, and a higher conversion rate makes every future ad dollar go further
• How A+ content feeds the Amazon AI (Rufus), and why the images, colors, and alt text you upload are being read as metadata
• Where to find A+ content inside your KDP account (it's not where you'd expect)
• The three-module template that 80% of traditional publishers use: hero banner, three image blocks, and a comparison chart
• Words before pictures: how to write the copy for your modules (20 words max per block) and use Gemini to brainstorm if you're stuck
• How to create the image assets in Canva (plus a WWM template with correct dimensions, or use Gemini's image tool as an alternative
• The content rules you must follow: editorial reviews only, no customer reviews, no price mentions, no hyperbole unless named
• How to apply one set of A+ content across an entire series, so one setup covers every book
• Approval timeline (up to 7 days, often faster) and what to do if you're still stuck

Show notes include a step-by-step blog post with screenshots, Canva templates with correct image dimensions, and module names, so you can follow along even without the video.

Want to learn more ways to reach readers? Visit writtenwordmedia.com for author resources, book promotion tools, and more.

The Written Word Podcast is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.

© 2026 Written Word Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Nearly every author thinks their book would make a great movie. But how does a book actually get from the page to the screen, and what do you need to know before you sign anything? In this episode, Ferol sits down with Maggie Marr, entertainment attorney, former ICM motion picture literary agent, and author of over 20 books, for a frank inside look at how Hollywood works and how indie authors can position themselves to get there.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How development executives find books, and why your reader platform matters more than your publisher
• What an option agreement actually means, what it costs, and what you give up during the option period
• Whether indie authors are at a disadvantage with Hollywood (the answer may surprise you)
• Rightscenter: the free tool authors can use to make their film and TV rights discoverable to studios and streamers
• The red flags that identify a scam "Hollywood inquiry", including the long con Maggie has seen play out in real time
• What a realistic film and TV deal looks like: purchase prices from $11K to $2M, EP credits, per-episode royalties, and why back-end participation is almost never worth waiting for
• How to get creative control as an author, and why asking for final cut is a deal-killer
• The contract clauses that haunt authors: perpetual attachments, shopping agreement traps, and development materials that survive an expired option
• What genres are hot in Hollywood right now: domestic thrillers, romanticy, and the emerging dystopian wave
• The three-item punch list every author should complete before lightning strikes

Maggie also discusses her book Books To Film & TV: What Every Author Needs To Know, a practical guide to how books move into the film and TV space.

Want to learn more ways to reach readers? Visit writtenwordmedia.com for author resources, book promotion tools, and more.

The Written Word Podcast is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.

© 2026 Written Word Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Spotify has over 600 million users, and most of them don't yet know they have access to audiobooks. In this episode, Ferol sits down with Will Dages, Head of Product at Spotify, to break down everything indie authors need to know about getting their audiobook discovered, promoted, and created on Spotify's platform.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Spotify's audiobook model works: the 15-hour monthly listening allotment, the pro-rata payout pool, and how a la carte sales compare
• How Spotify uses taste signals from music and podcast listening to surface audiobooks to readers who've never tried the format
• Why do short books and children's content now have a competitive advantage on Spotify that they don't have on credit-based models
• The metadata practices that actually improve discoverability, and the keyword-stuffing mistake that actively hurts you
• The free tools inside Spotify for Authors: promo cards, 100 redemption codes per book, and weekly demographic listening reports
• Spotify's new AI narration tool (in partnership with ElevenLabs): free for up to five books, ten curated voices, custom pronunciations
• How human narrators vs. AI narration differ, and why Will believes AI opens the door rather than closes it
• Page Match: the feature that syncs your physical book with the Spotify audiobook, and the 55% reading uplift and 2x completion rate it's already driving
• The Bookshop.org integration: how Spotify is now linking physical book purchases directly from audiobook pages
• Follow Along: the new feature that displays visual content (images, text threads) synced to the audio

Will's closing advice for every author: it's never too late to get into audiobooks. The market is still in massive growth mode.

Want to learn more ways to reach readers? Visit writtenwordmedia.com for author resources, book promotion tools, and more.

The Written Word Podcast is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.

© 2026 Written Word Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Every indie author eventually needs help: a cover designer, an editor, a website builder, a marketing assistant. But hiring the wrong freelancer (or being a difficult client yourself) can cost you time, money, and a cover you hate. In this episode, Ricci Wolman sits down with Maari Casey, CEO of Uncompany, to break down exactly how to find, hire, brief, and manage freelancers, from the first Google search to the signed contract to navigating a missed deadline.

What you’ll learn:

• How to write a scope of work tight enough to find the right freelancer, and the one "start at the end" trick that cuts the guesswork
• Where to find freelancers: Reedsy (built for authors), Fiverr, Upwork, and curated agencies, and when each makes sense
• How to set your budget and why you should always go in a little lower than your real number
• What the standard revision rounds look like for design vs. editing, and why two to three is the magic number
• The three questions to ask in every freelancer interview (and the red flags that should end the conversation)
• What should be in every contract: payment terms, revision rounds, timeline, and the ownership clause that authors always forget
• How to give feedback when the first draft is nothing like what you wanted (without blowing up the relationship)
• Why telling your designer what you hate is more useful than showing them what you love
• The one thing clients do that makes good freelancers not want to work with them again
• How to handle a missed deadline or a freelancer who goes silent

Maari also shares the Uncompany blog's free templates for scopes, briefs, and conflict management, built specifically for people navigating freelance relationships.

Want to learn more ways to reach readers? Visit writtenwordmedia.com for author resources, book promotion tools, and more.

The Written Word Podcast is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.

© 2026 Written Word Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Is the indie author market actually as tough as the forums make it sound? Written Word Media surveyed nearly 600 authors at the midpoint of 2026, and the data tells a more nuanced story than the doom-and-gloom. In this episode, Ricci and Ferol break down the survey findings and identify the five things that optimistic, growing authors are doing differently.

What you’ll learn:

• The headline sentiment data: how many authors report growing vs. declining businesses halfway through 2026
• Why the authors whose businesses are thriving are writing more (not less) and the psychological reason that strategy works
• Why author newsletters are still the top owned-channel investment among the optimistic group (and how Written Word Media's Subscriber Surge Giveaways can help you build yours)
• Which paid ad platforms are still delivering (Amazon ads and Meta), and why the optimistic authors haven't abandoned them
• The catalog monetization plays winning authors are making: box sets, translations (AI-assisted), and human-narrated audiobooks
• How growing authors are using AI as a workflow tool, and how that attitude differs sharply from authors who are struggling
• Why KDP Select vs. wide turns out to be statistically irrelevant to business optimism (46% vs. 47%)
• What changed between the end-of-year survey and the mid-year survey: algorithm anxiety is way up, and AI went from background noise to center stage

Also covered: Ricci's quote-on-the-wall take on optimism vs. pessimism, and why data says there's a real reason for both.

Want to learn more ways to reach readers? Visit writtenwordmedia.com for author resources, book promotion tools, and more.

The Written Word Podcast is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.

© 2026 Written Word Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

What does a CEO who's run social media campaigns for Nike, IKEA, Samsung, and Crocs think authors should be doing on social right now? In this episode, Ferol sits down with Jim Tobin, CEO of Ignite Social Media, founder of influencer marketing agency Carusele, and a two-time published author, for a frank, tactical conversation about what's actually working in social media today and how indie authors can apply it.

What you’ll learn:

• Why social discovery has overtaken Google search, and what that means for how readers find books in 2026
• The three-second hook rule: how to stop the scroll before the algorithm even decides to show your content
• Why negative hooks outperform positive hooks (and how to use this without being clickbait)
• The Organish® strategy: how to put $5–$25 behind your content to reach 5–20x more people, and why this beats influencer outreach on a small budget
• The carousel comeback: why image carousels are now outperforming Reels on Instagram and LinkedIn
• How to approach BookTok influencers with zero budget, and what to say (and not say) when you do have a few hundred dollars
• Why lo-fi, behind-the-scenes content is beating polished production right now
• How to think about pre-launch vs. post-launch content, and why "mystery posts" are a waste of your audience's attention
• The 30-minutes-a-week social strategy: where to spend your time if that's all you have
• •Stampede Social: the tool that lets you DM a link to anyone who comments a keyword on your post
• The biggest mistake Jim sees on social, and it's not what you think

Jim also covers TikTok Shops, cross-platform content strategy, using trending audio, and how to connect your social presence to your email list.

Want to learn more ways to reach readers? Visit writtenwordmedia.com for author resources, book promotion tools, and more.

The Written Word Podcast is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.

© 2026 Written Word Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Podcasts build the kind of trust with listeners that almost no other marketing channel can match, and authors are uniquely positioned to leverage that. In this episode, Ricci Wolman and Ferol Vernon draw on nearly a year of hosting the Written Word Media Podcast to break down how authors can use podcasting as a genuine reader-building tool, whether that means guesting on other shows or launching their own.

What you’ll learn:

• The psychology behind why podcast listeners trust hosts so deeply, and why that trust transfers directly to book sales (parasocial relationships explained)
• Why an imperfect, stumbling podcast appearance is often more powerful than a polished blog post
• How to find the right shows to pitch as a guest, and the filter every author needs to apply before reaching out
• Exactly what to include in your guest pitch email to get a "yes" from a host (hint: it's not "I'd love to talk about my book")
• How to prep for a guest appearance: questions in advance, bio tips, gear basics, and the sign-off strategy that turns listeners into readers
• How to decide whether to start your own podcast, and the commitment level that separates the 5% who stick with it from everyone else
• The frequency mistake Ricci and Ferol almost made (and what their launch producer talked them out of)
• Why podcasting, like publishing a book, is a long game, and what realistic traction timelines actually look like

Also in this episode: Ricci's woodland owl update. 🦉 She's seen it three times now (a photo may or may not appear in the show notes).

Want to learn more ways to reach readers? Visit writtenwordmedia.com for author resources, book promotion tools, and more.

The Written Word Podcast is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.

© 2026 Written Word Media, Inc. All rights reserved.