Your Breakout Book

As an author, you’ve probably heard people tell you, “Wow, you’ve written a book? I could never do that.” The idea of creating something so big out of nothing, writing and revising for months, and eventually putting it out in the world, feels overwhelming to most. Some may say it seems incomprehensible.So how do you do it?Chances are, you have a system.It may not be a formal system. You may not utilize all the fancy tools like Scrivener or Plottr to craft your novels. In fact, you may not eve...

Historically, the intersection of art and money was infrequent and in poor taste. If you were an artist, you were expected to solely focus on your craft and not worry about compensation or financial security. Hence the stereotype of the starving artist.Today’s world is different. There is far less stigma around artists discussing money or expecting compensation for their work. In fact, there are entire communities of working artists and creative entrepreneurs, where the sole purpose is to dis...

You’ve written a book, that’s step one. Step two? Get that book into the hands of thousands of readers. That means, you have to promote.But you didn’t become an author because you love marketing and publicity. You became an author because you love to tell stories. And now the thought of having to promote your book feels confusing and overwhelming. Perhaps that’s why you’re listening to this podcast?In my experience, it isn’t always the actual promotion that overwhelms people; it’s all the pro...

Albert Einstein famously said, “Everything must be made as simple as possible. But not simpler.” When I think about that quote, I visualize stripping away aspects of my life and business until everything is clear and straightforward, stopping before I strip away the things that make my life and business great.This, is systematizing.Much of what we do in our daily lives, whether it’s responding to emails, creating content, or meal-prepping, can be simplified and streamlined using systems...

Today is the last day of our April theme: Writing for readers. All month long, we’ve been exploring how authors like you can leverage their writing skills to secure more readers for their books. But this podcast isn’t the only place we’ve been exploring writing for readers, this has also been an ongoing discussion in the Your Breakout Book community. All month, members have been re-purposing old blog posts for new newsletters, pitching book excerpts to websites, and placing guest articles wit...

All month long, we’ve been exploring how authors like you can leverage their writing skills to secure more readers for their books. Today’s we’re looking at a different aspect of writing for readers: freelancing and podcasting.Now, you may not think of podcasting as writing, but for many of us, our episodes are scripted and outlined, and we spend just as much time writing the content as we do reading it into a mic. You also heard in the first episode of the month how my freelance writing...

For today’s guest, Ellen Byron, writing frequently and on a deadline is not a challenge. She began her career as a playwright before moving to LA and transitioning to sitcom writing. As she says in this interview, there was no time to be precious with words or to not be inspired. If you weren’t contributing to the team, there was a line of writers waiting to take your seat.Now, as a multi-published author of three cozy mystery series, Ellen is putting her writing skills to use to reach new re...

For most authors, email marketing is a four letter word. They cringe at the idea of growing an email list and writing a newsletter, thinking they’d be treated as spam and wondering who would be interested in what they would have to say.Perhaps I’m describing you?But the fact is, email marketing is the most powerful tool in your book promotion toolbox. Unlike social media, you own your newsletter list and aren’t reliant on algorithms to deliver your content. Plus, email marketing utilizes your...

Did you know that when I started Kaye Publicity in 2009, I had zero PR experience? If’ I’m being honest, I don’t think I fully grasped the difference between publicity and marketing, or what the broader public relations umbrella looked like.So how did I launch a successful book PR agency with zero experience? I relied on my writing skills.All month long, we’re exploring how authors can put their writing skills to use in their book promotion, and why storytelling is the most powerful tool for ...

This month’s theme is Writing for Readers. So many authors complain and lament about all the promotional responsibilities falling on their shoulders, throwing up their hands and saying, “But I’m not a marketer! I’m just a writer!”What many authors don’t realize is their skills as a writer can be their greatest asset as a marketer.Any type of promotion begins with storytelling. For books, you tell the story of how your book came to exist, what inspired you to write it, and why it’s important. ...