Episode 270: 6 TikTok Marketing Lessons For Writers

In this week's episode, we take a look at six marketing lessons writers can learn from TikTok. I also answer questions about my new book BLADE OF FLAMES. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Shield of Storms, Book #1 in the Shield War series, (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills) at my Payhip store: FALLSHIELD50 The coupon code is valid through October 6, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook this fall, we’ve got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 270 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is September 26th, 2025, and today we are looking at six trends from TikTok that help with marketing books (even if you're not on TikTok). We'll also answer some questions about my new book, Blade of Flames. Before we get to our main topics, we will do Coupon of the Week and a progress update on my current writing projects. So let's start off with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Shield of Storms, Book One in the Shield War series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store and that is FALLSHIELD50. And as always, the coupon code and the links to my store will be available in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through October 6, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook to listen to this fall, we have got you covered. Now here is where I'm at with my current writing projects. As I mentioned last week, Blade of Flames is now out and you get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Apple Books, Smashwords, and My Payhip store. Now that it is out and published, my new main project is I'm finally returning to the Nadia series. I am 50,000 words into Cloak of Worlds, which I believe puts me on chapter 10 of 28, though I'll probably split up some of the longer chapters in editing to make them punchier. So hopefully that will be out in October, probably towards the end of October (if all goes well). My secondary project is now Blade of Shadows, which will be the sequel to Blade of Flames and the second book in my Blades of Ruin epic fantasy series. And as of this recording, I'm about 4,000 words into it and I'm hoping that'll be out towards the end of November, maybe right before or right after Thanksgiving, depending on how the next couple of weeks go. In audiobook news, Shield of Power is now finally out at all audiobook stores: Audible, Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Kobo, Chirp, Spotify, and all the others. You can listen to that on a platform of your choosing. Recording is almost done on Ghost in the Siege and I should have some audiobook files to proof for that soon. So that is where I'm at with my current writing, audiobook, and publishing projects. Now, Blade of Flames is the first book in a new epic fantasy series with the first new protagonist I've had since I wrote Rivah in Half-Elven Thief back in 2023. So as you might expect, it has generated more than the usual amount of reader questions. So for convenience, I will answer them all right here on the show. Question #1: Is Blade of Flame set in the world of Andomhaim/Owyllain (from Frostborn Sevenfold Sword, Dragontiarna, Dragonskull, and The Shield War)? Yes, it is set in Owyllain, specifically in the Year of Our Lord 1588, so 88 years after the end of The Shield War. Question #2: Is Ridmark the main character? No, the main character is named Talembur. I've written 43 books with Ridmark as either the protagonist or one of the protagonists, and across those books, Ridmark has gone from an angry young man to a grandfather, so it was time to do something different. The poor man deserves a break after 43 books. Question #3: Is Talembur secretly Ridmark in disguise? No. Question #4: Is Talembur secretly…(various character theories)? No, Talembur's a new character. Question #5: Do you need to read any other books before starting Blade of Flames? No. That was one of my intentions in writing it. You can read Blade of Flames without having bred any of the other Andomhaim books, since all the major characters in Blade of Flames are new and we're in a part of Owyllain we've never visited before. Question #6: Are there any recurring characters in Blade of Flames? Exactly one and that character only has, like three lines. Well, two (technically, depending on how you look at it). Question #7: Will other recurring characters return in future Blades of Ruin books? Yes, but we shall have to read and find out after I write them. Question #8: The opening is very similar to Frostborn: The Gray Knight, isn't it? Yes, for reasons that will become clear. Without any spoilers, let's say that this similarity is a significant plot point. Question #9: Is there a dog in this book? Yes. People like dogs, so there is a dog in the book. Question #10: Does the dog die? He does not. Question #11: Seriously, truly, does the dog die? I promise the dog does not die. Question #12: How many Blades of Ruin books will ...