Episodes
How do you build superfans and a sustainable income through patreon*, kickstarter, subscriptions and serial works? Bestselling author Tao Wong joins us this episode to reveal all the secrets of keeping readers begging for more (cliff-hangers anyone ?!), building a thriving community of superfans and, most importantly, diversifying your income streams.
Published 04/30/24
How the heck do you build a reader newsletter list when you're first starting out? We're back with another SPA Girls minisode, to get your author career rocking. Listen up for how we built our own reader newsletters and what tools and services we recommend.
Published 04/23/24
Published 04/23/24
Being a resilient author means being able to bounce back after experiencing a knock - and we all know that being a self-published author can knock you around sometimes! This week we talk with Patricia McLinn, an author who's been writing for more than 35 years, and who knows a thing or two about how to keep going when the going gets tough. Pat gives us her top five pieces of advice so you can stay focused and keep the positivity flowing when it seems like everything is falling apart around you.
Published 04/17/24
Kate Hall is a paranormal romance and non-fiction author who has taken her marketing expertise and used it to kick butt on TikTok. She started Alyne Digital Solutions in an effort to help authors make a sustainable income from their books, and since starting has scaled two of her businesses and several others’ to six figure incomes. As well as discussing facts and figures for TikTok, we’re also delving into marketing for authors, and why you’re probably using the wrong hooks in your social...
Published 04/10/24
This week we're covering two burning topics: what are the worst mistakes newbies are making, and how to write chapter endings that keep readers reading!
Published 04/03/24
In this podcast we talk to KimBoo York about her latest book Secrets of Discovery Writing. We dive into how you can successfully use discovery writing when crafting your novel. It's an awesome podcast and one the pantsers among us will really enjoy.
Published 03/26/24
Our guest today, Kiwi author Melissa Pearl, has five pen names across multiple genres and has been learning about self publishing since she published her first book in 2011. Since then she's published more than 80 books, and shares with us some real and raw insights into the career of an indie author, including all the highs and the lows. When she launched her latest pen name last year, she made sure she used everything she'd learned over that time to ensure her new pen name was successful...
Published 03/20/24
The Enneagram is a personality typing system, where each person falls into one of nine types. Today we're talking with author, educator and fiction strategist, Claire Taylor, about how understanding our enneagram type liberates writers from the "shoulds" and self-judgement, and helps us become more successful as authors.
Published 03/13/24
Procrastination takes many forms for writers, and it holds us back from writing, publishing and promoting our work. We discuss how to get out of your own way with our guest today, Kathryn Burnett.
Published 03/05/24
Creating and running Facebook ads has gotten a lot easier! Wondering how to delve into facebook advertising or had poor experiences in the past and wondering where you went wrong? This episode is for you!
Published 02/27/24
Ever hesitate over making an important decision because you were trying to figure out what the 'right' thing to do was... and then miss out on an awesome opportunity because you didn't take a leap of faith? Yeah, us too. That's why this episode is all about making good decisions in your author career.  In fact, we're not only advocating making decisions and moving forward, we're also suggesting that a FAST decision is even better than an average speed decision. Research has shown that fast...
Published 02/21/24
Today we’re interviewing Dan Wood, Chief Operating Officer at Draft2Digital, one of the best known distributors for eBooks, print and audio books. We last spoke to Dan in 2019 and a lot has happened since then! D2D has not only merged with Smashwords to make their reach stronger, they build tools and services that let you focus on writing while they take care of layout, publishing, distribution, print-on-demand paperbacks, and more. If you’re a new author or simply want to level up...
Published 02/13/24
Your brain is a liar! Heather Hildenbrand is a bestselling author and business coach for creatives. This episode she demystifies how our results are determined by our beliefs first, and our efforts, second. Listen up for amazing (and do-able!) mindset tips for authors and how to overcome our blocks with less woo and more “do”!
Published 02/06/24
In this episode we chat to YA Fantasy author Katie Cross. She has so much passion and enthusiasm for what she does, and loves her readers!  We talk about direct sales and how to relate to your readers, and these are just two of the topics we covered. It's action packed and full of information!
Published 01/30/24
You are your own publishing house when you self-publish. There’s lots to do, and lots to think about, especially the first few times you publish a book. That’s why we’ve created this helpful, back-to-basics SPA Girls Podcast episode – to help you go from rough manuscript to published book, with our notes on what you need to plan for and schedule, and how to figure out what you’re going to need to actually do to get your book published on all the platforms. We haven’t given a specific...
Published 01/24/24
This episode, we’re joined again by the effervescent Kathleen Sweeney from Bookbrush. She's is going to update us on best practices, new additions to Book Brush software and added service options that can save authors time and stress producing graphics.
Published 01/17/24
Inspired by Dr Michael Moseley’s JUST ONE THING we use his framework to give practical tips for uncomplicating your writing and author business life.
Published 01/10/24
Today we discuss business plans. Need help creating yours? It doesn't need to be complicated, just download our simple SPA Girls template in the show notes.
Published 01/02/24
Want to set yourself up for an awesome 2024? Then this is the SPA Girls podcast episode for you. We go through our top eight tips to help amp up your career and kickstart your year!
Published 12/27/23
We’re celebrating you, our wonderful listeners, in the SPA today by sharing our 12 Christmas Wishes for you and your self-publishing journey. We want you to know how special to us. We’re so proud of this journey we’ve all embarked on and with what everyone has achieved. No matter where you are in the publishing process, it really is time to celebrate! May your holiday be filled with love, joy, good food, fun, books and time to relax and recharge yourself.
Published 12/19/23
Are you dreaming of an easy approach to create successful book releases? Listen up, because we’re joined again by the bestselling fantasy author, Helen Scheuerer, who shares all the secrets of a Successful Series Launch, including:
Published 12/12/23
Congratulations! You’ve finished your first book (or series) and are ready to hit the publish button! So what can you do to get your book noticed in sea of other new books, and how can you find the right readers for you? The SPA Girls are here to help!
Published 12/05/23
Most authors know what BookFunnel is these days (just in case: it's a platform that helps you deliver reader magnets, ARC copies, audio files, and so much more to your readers) but do we all know how to use it the best we can? I'm pretty sure the answer is no! That's why we spent this episode with Damon Courtney, creator and CEO of BookFunnel, going over all the functions, from the innovative ways that successful authors are using this platform to deliver ebook files, to using features like...
Published 11/28/23
Bumps on the publishing path are unwelcome yet inevitable. So how can we reset ourselves when the wobbles and disappointment set in? Today we’ve got a SPA Girls 6-Step Guide to turning those setbacks into success!
Published 11/22/23