Self Publishing Insiders

Our followers are in charge for this week's "Ask Us Anything" (AUA) edition of Self Publishing Insiders. All topics were welcome! Be sure to join us live next time we do an AUA! //Draft2Digital is where you start your Indie Author Career//   Looking for your path to self-publishing success? Draft2Digital is the leading ebook publisher and distributor worldwide. We’ll convert your manuscript, distr...

Today we celebrate humor and creativity with accomplished author and cartoonist, Leigh Rubin. An author of more than 20 books, 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of Leigh's internationally syndicated cartoon, Rubes®, which is distributed by Creators Syndicate to hundreds of newspapers and media outlets worldwide. His work has been featured in film, television, and advertising. In 2018 Leigh began ser...

An award-winning writer and former newspaper reporter, Elizabeth Andre currently writes cozy paranormal mystery, science fiction, young adult and lesbian romance. Elizabeth began publishing lesbian fiction in 2014 and joins us today to discuss why self-publishing is such a great option for the genre. //Draft2Digital is where you start your Indie Author Career//   Looking for your path to self-publ...

Publishing and distributing your self-published books is the easy part. Reaching readers is still the challenge. Today we speak with Stephanie Chandler, the founder and CEO of the Nonfiction Authors Association. Stephanie began building her email newsletter list and experimenting with self-publishing before D2D or even Smashwords existed! If you're interested in how to successfully market and laun...

Have you ever watched a master at work? The best carpenters, musicians, chefs--and even authors--just seem to have a different way using their tools than the rest of us mere mortals. Fortunately for authors, ProWritingAid is a battle-tested writing tool that's helped some of today's bestselling authors smooth the rough edges of their works-in-progress so they can publish with confidence. Today we...

Conferences are vital for author careers. The good ones not only provide stellar learning opportunities from the industry's best and brightest minds, they also provide a sense of community and belonging. In today's episode we'll catch up with D2D's own Mark Leslie Lefebvre and Nick Thacker as they attend the renowned Superstars Writing Seminars event in Colorado Springs. Knowing these guys, they'r...

Bestselling books have well-structured plots, compelling characters, and engaging settings that tell a great story. The other element bestselling books have in common is masterful editing. Today we welcome Kristina Stanley back to the show. An award-winning author and fiction editor, Kristina is also the founder and CEO of Fictionary, an innovative tool that's designed to help authors hone their c...

Jeaniene Frost is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of fantasy romance. She's known for the Night Huntress series, the Night Prince series, the Night Rebel series, and the Broken Destiny series. Today we'll talk about Jeaniene's latest work, Both Feet in the Grave, and her decision to self-publish after over a dozen years as a traditionally published author. //Draft2Digital is wher...

If you're curious about how the revamped USA Today Best-Seller Booklist works, or why it went on hiatus, or why the renewed focus on indie bookstores, this is the episode for you. Erik Bursch, the SVP of Consumer Product and Engineering at Gannett/USA Today, joins us live to give the inside scoop and answer your questions.  //Draft2Digital is where you start your Indie Author Career//   Looking fo...

Have you ever wished you could connect with other like-minded, creative people to share your ideas or ask questions without fear of judgement or humiliation? Enter Torrey C. Butler of Scribble. An award-winning author, Torrey launched the Scribble app as a safe space where authors can express their ideas, understand where to start, and ultimately work toward publishing their work.  //Draft2Digital...

Wulf Moon has been called the guru of aspiring writers. His award-winning Super Secrets of Writing have helped countless writers launch careers, become #1 bestsellers in top fiction categories, and win coveted international awards. Now, all of these transformational secrets have been captured in his latest nonfiction book, How to Write a Howling Good Story. //Draft2Digital is where you start your...

David Sherrer is the marketing director and the "husband half" of the remarkable wife-and-husband publishing team at Chenoweth Press. David's wife Lydia is a USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy. David manages the marketing and fulfillment of physical sales as well as sales at various conventions. David is also a game designer and created created a unique card game based on his wife's boo...

Did you know the Smashwords store pays indie authors the industry's highest royalties? Did you the Smashwords store is about to celebrate its 7th consecutive year of sales growth? And did you know the 7th Annual Smashwords End of Year Sale was another record breaking Smashwords Sale? Join us as Mark Coker and Mark Lefebvre explain how YOU can use Smashwords sales to reach new readers and sell more...

We've assembled a dream team of industry luminaries to unravel the key trends and issues that will shape publishing in 2024 and likely impact your author business. Join us as we welcome Mark Coker, chief strategy officer, D2D; Jane Friedman, founder & editor of publishing newsletter The Hot Sheet; Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn Podcast; Dale Roberts of the Self Publishing with Dale Podcast; and...

Did you catch all the news coming out of the D2D camp in 2023? There was a lot to take in: New distribution partnerships, another acquisition, and some pretty nifty milestones to name just a few. We'll recap the year for you and answer all your questions. Join us!  //Draft2Digital is where you start your Indie Author Career//   Looking for your path to self-publishing success? Draft2Digital is the...

"Writing books is easy!" said no one, ever. In today's world of a 24-hour news cycle, non-stop distractions, career and family obligations, is maintaining a sense of joy and balance even realistic? Enter Sarra Cannon. Sarra's the author of 28 YA and NA novels, with over a million books sold. As the host of the wildly popular Heart Breathings YouTube channel, she's also passionate about sharing her...

It's not uncommon for long-time Draft2Digital authors to tell us that they just learned about a feature we've been offering for years. We aim to put an end to that, and we guarantee you'll learn something new! Our own Mark Leslie Lefebvre dives deep, on Thanksgiving no less, to reveal useful D2D features you may not know are at your fingertips. //Draft2Digital is where you start your Indie Author...

Author Nation represents the evolution, and future, of indie author conferences. Carrying the torch from 20Books Vegas, long regarded as the premier indie author event, Author Nation promises to take the indie author learning experience to the next level. And who better to have on board than Chelle Honiker, the publisher of Indie Author Magazine and now program manager at Author Nation.  //Draft2D...

Have you ever wondered how some YouTube channels just seem to pop? And why do some YouTube hosts seem to have the "it" factor, while authors just seem sort of, well, "meh." Today we'll chat with author and self-publishing coach M.K. Williams about her publishing journey--and how she made YouTube work for her (and others!).  //Draft2Digital is where you start your Indie Author Career//   Looking fo...

A book marketer since 2007, Elizabeth Ann West started her own author education school in 2018. She has since helped hundreds of authors from a variety of genres publish more profitably. Today Elizabeth is the CEO of the Future Fiction Academy. Join us as we discuss how embracing technology, and AI in particular, can help authors turbocharge their productivity.   //Draft2Digital is where you start...

From time to time D2D hosts an "Ask Us Anything" (AUA) episode where YOU get to run the show. Lately we've been hosting AUAs centered around specific topics like book marketing, or D2D Print, or Wide for the Win strategies. This time we're opening it up to all topics. So if you've got a burning question for us, now's the time!  //Draft2Digital is where you start your Indie Author Career//   Lookin...

Monica Leonelle is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her book publishing and business expertise at TheWorldNeedsYourPassion.com . Her nonfiction books have sold over 70,000 copies and helped thousands of writers write faster, become better storytellers, and find their way to success with wide and direct sales. Today we'll discuss the future of publishing and where Wide fits in. //Draft...

The annual Novelists, Inc. (NINC) conference is a unique experience that brings together multi-published, professional authors who publish traditionally, independently, or both. Conference speakers are handpicked from the upper echelons of the industry, and networking opportunities are unmatched. Join D2D and fellow industry luminaries and conference organizers as we recap what we learned at this...

Stu Grant has been working in the publishing industry for over 8 years- largely with the team at Self Publishing Formula and is currently the highest rated Author Website designer on Reedsy (maybe even the world!) with his company Digital Authors Toolkit. Curious about what makes an author website world class? Tune in to find out. //Draft2Digital is where you start your Indie Author Career//   Loo...

Draft2Digital's own Mark Leslie Lefebvre, the man who literally wrote the book on distributing your books Wide for the Win, and Megan Spann, our queen of promotions, will be on hand to talk strategy and answer your questions. //Draft2Digital is where you start your Indie Author Career//   Looking for your path to self-publishing success? Draft2Digital is the leading ebook publisher and distributor...