The Publisher And The Writer

Meet a debut author juggling kids, writing, Instagram and success. Leesa Ronald's debut romcom Special Delivery was published in December 2024 and has already been reprinted. Success! Leesa has also signed a further two-book deal with Allen & Unwin, her second romcom will hit bookshelves towards the end of 2025.00:00 Introduction 01:10 Jane asks Leesa about her lived experience as an author. L...

In this week’s episode of The Publisher & The Writer, we answer questions on a variety of writing and publishing topics. 00:47 Jane’s trip to London, with a stop at the huge Waterstones bookshopat Piccadilly. Seeing how genre fiction is laid out and how much it dominates the fiction floor. 02:40 The fantasy section being close to children’s section and issues that causes. Sex in fantasy is pre...

In this episode of the Publisher and the Writer podcast, Seana Smith interviews Lynne Johnson, former lawyer and current author of the indie published crime novel 'The Bait Trap.' They cover Lynne's initial interest in crime writing, her experiences with online creative writing courses, the challenges and strategies of self-publishing, her marketing efforts, and the supportive community she found...

We are back for 2025. In this episode we cover a lot of ground, with insights into the writing and publishing journey of successful authors, plus Aussie publishing news and a catchup on how 2025 has started for Seana's writing and for Ventura Press. Join Jane Curry and Seana Smith for a candid insight into how to write and to publish your book. 00:00 Introduction and Ventura Press author Kath...

In this extra episode, concluding our first 10-part series, we catch up with Jane who has just got back from the Frankfurt Book Fair and we explore the collapse of Shawline, a vanity publisher. 01.09 Frankfurt. Ventura part of the Australian Publishers Association stand in Hall 6. It's the most enormous gathering of intellectual property purveyors. It's a wholesale market, publishers doing busines...

Jane and Seana answer readers’ questions. Why Jane set up Jane Curry Advisory The Frankfurt Book Fair - what happens there and why Jane is a regular visitor Why the book fair was established in Frankfurt How Jane will approach publishers at Frankfurt about Seana’s memoir Going Under London Book Fair What are bestseller numbers in Australia compared to the UK Are all books sold in Australia printed...

Jane Curry and Seana Smith take a deeper dive into self-publishing, using Seana's self-published books as examples. Seana’s first self published book, made the mistake of not researching what people want to read. Did not sell at all well. And was pulled.  So the next project was better researched and planned, Wildly Weird But Totally True: Australia. Commissioned a cover, and layout, which di...

Keeping up with publishing company changes is essential for writers. In this extra episode within series 1, jane and Seana chat about some recent changes in Australian publishing, and about how to stay up to date in the English-speaking world. Ventura Press news, Instagram disaster and 10 manuscripts coming in every day Australian publishing news, Affirm has been bought by Simon & Schuster Sim...

These are exciting times for self-publishers which has really come in from the cold. People have always self-published, Beatrix Potter and the Bronte sisters did versions of it In the digital world you can create demand and fulfill it entirely online.  Print on demand (POD) explained. Ebooks, still dominated by Amazon and Kindle, are devoured by readers, especially romance and crime genr...

Signing a contract can be a cause for celebration, but there may be regrets later. As a publisher you often only return to them when something has gone wrong and you need to get out of the contract.  The contract is a legal document, but connection and communication are what make the author-publisher relationship work.  There is often a power imbalance. Rights in contracts; what is the p...

Editing books is the topic of this podcast, and it’s a vast one. Jane explains the three major types of editing:  The structural edit The line edit aka copy edit Proofreading  This is a deep dive on best practices, working with the right editor, the editor’s skill set. You will learn what to expect from an editor and how to ensure that you and your editor work well together.  We als...

This episode explores and explains the two parts of selling books. Selling in covers publishers and distributors selling books into bookshops in advance of publiscation. Selling through covers the books actually being sold into the hands of readers via bookshops.  The importance of the month of publication, once that is set it cannot move.  Everything works backwards from the publication...

Quick chat about what we’ve been up to in our daily writing and publishing work. The prequel to writing is reading great books, and learning from them. Deciding what to write, asking yourself what you love to read.  Finding out what is popular and what might sell, the joys of loitering in bookshops. The importance of understanding genres in fiction especially. Know your genre! Literary fictio...

In this episode, we discuss a range of topics pertinent to aspiring authors, from differentiating between types of publishing (trade, educational, and self-publishing) to the process and challenges of handling unsolicited manuscripts. Jane shares insights into the evolving landscape of publishing, the digital transformation, and offers practical advice for writers seeking to get their manuscripts...

In this episode we take a tour of the publishing landscape in the English speaking world. Check out the biggest to the smallest traditional publishers to see where your book might fit in.  We discuss the following publishing companies, with stories of how they operate, which ones use their own sales representatives and which use distribution companies.  Examples of books and publishing w...

Meet the co-hosts, Jane Curry of Jane Curry Advisory and Ventura Press, and Seana Smith, her latest book is the memoir ‘Going Under.’ We chat about: What we’ve been doing lately in our publishing and writing lives. Jane on her love of books with purpose. Jane Curry Advisory ‘I’ve always been a bit of an evangelist.’ Being on the idside and the outside of publishing.  Seana on factual writing...

Check out the trailer for the new podcast from Jane Curry and Seana Smith. Join The Publisher & The Writer for our first series of 10 episodes. We'll demystify the writing and publishing business and support you on your creative journey. Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mark-july/today-is-the-day License code: K79OEY7K6QBX2TDR Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...