Many authors say reader magnets don’t work anymore. But when done right, a good reader magnet can grow your email list from zero to thousands of subscribers before your first book even launches.

In this episode, you’ll hear from author, podcaster, and producer of the Novel Marketing podcast, Laurie Christine, who built an email list of thousands using various reader magnet strategies, all while writing for Christian moms and middle-grade boys.

You’ll discover:

• How many reader magnets you actually need
• The surprising promotion strategy that yielded more than 500 solid subscribers
• How to create reader magnets that attract buyers, not just freebie seekers
• A tool to help you discover which reader magnets may work for you

You’ll also learn how you can use reader magnets to refine your message, craft, and audience before publishing your first book.

Listen in or read the blog version to learn techniques for building (or growing) an email list regardless of where you are in your writing journey.

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Do you ever wish you had a team of writing, publishing, or marketing professionals to consult? Do you wish you had an assistant to help with the business and marketing side of writing?

What if you could have both for less than the cost of a couple of lattes?

In this week’s episode, you’ll hear about the newest additions to the Novel Marketing Patron Toolbox, a growing suite of practical tools designed specifically for authors like you.

Inside this episode, you’ll discover:

• New editing tools that can help you at each stage of the editing process
• New business tools to help you create an overall strategy and analyze results
• New book promotion tools to help you connect with new readers
• And many more

Whether you’re producing an audiobook, building a fictional world, planning classroom resources, or have questions for an agent or a CPA, these tools are designed to save you time, sharpen your strategy, and give you a head start before working with real human professionals.

Listen in or read the blog version to learn more.

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Is your writing a hobby or a profession? The answer to that question changes everything.

Many authors claim to be professionals but act like hobbyists. They write what they want instead of what readers will pay for. They try to fit a finished book into a genre instead of studying the genre first. They publish without a marketing plan or budget and are shocked by low sales and few reviews.

They expect professional results from a hobbyist approach.

If that sounds familiar, there’s good news. You can choose the professional path.

In this week’s episode, you’ll hear from author and podcaster Joanna Penn, who hosts the longest-running indie publishing podcast.

You’ll discover:

• How to build a sustainable author career in an era of AI
• Which marketing activities you should choose and which to ignore
• Business principles that apply to your writing career
• How to use AI to do the business tasks you dislike so you have more time for creativity and storytelling

To learn how to build a sustainable author business in an era of rapid change, listen in or read the blog version.

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If your book isn’t selling, it may not be your writing.

It may be your metadata.

In this week’s episode of the Novel Marketing Podcast, you’ll hear from Dave Chesson, creator of Publisher Rocket, and learn about the hidden engine behind book sales on Amazon.

Even if your book is well-written and professionally edited, Amazon doesn’t read your book. It reads your metadata. And if your metadata is unclear, inconsistent, or confusing, Amazon won’t show your book to readers, even if it’s amazing.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• What your book’s metadata is
• Where you can manage it (and make it most effective!)
• How to include the most effective elements and language in your metadata
• And common metadata mistakes to avoid

If you want your book to show up in search results, convert better when readers click, and avoid the dark recesses of the “miscellaneous shelf,” listen in or read the blog version.

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Many authors assume book formatting is complicated, expensive, or something only professionals can handle.

In ​this week’s episode​, I talk with Bryan Canter about why that assumption is outdated, and how tools like Vellum have changed what authors can do. If you’ve ever wondered whether you need to pay a pro or learn to format your book’s interior yourself, this conversation will give you clarity.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• When you should format the book or reader magnet and when you should hire a pro
• How Vellum can prevent common design mistakes
• How you can update back matter, fix typos, add reader magnets as needed

​Listen to the episode​ or ​read the blog version​ to see how Vellum can save you money, time, and headache when formatting your next book or reader magnet.

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American Taxes, pay too little and you go to jail. Pay too much and you lose the money you need to reach more readers with advertising and promotion. If your records feel like a mess of Amazon deposits, Ingram payments, Kickstarter funds, affiliate income, coaching fees and dozens of random expenses you’re not alone.

In this week’s episode, you’ll hear from a CPA who works specifically with authors, about how to handle bookkeeping and taxes with confidence. Seth Norris welcome to the Novel Marketing Podcast!

• You’ll learn:
  A simple bookkeeping rhythm that prevents tax-time chaos.
  How the IRS decides if your writing is a business or a hobby.
  The most common mistake that costs authors the most money.

Discover how to simplify your approach and how to avoid paying more taxes than you actually owe.

If you want to keep more money for advertising, marketing, or feeding your family, stop treating taxes like a deadline of doom. Instead, listen in or read the blog version.

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Do you ever feel like your book is taking forever to write?

Maybe you’ve been working on the same manuscript for years, and then you look up and see other authors publishing a book a year, or more. How do they do it?

In this week’s episode, I ask Jerry B. Jenkins that very question. He has sold more than 73 million books, including his mega-bestselling Left Behind series, and he breaks down the habits and mindset that helped him produce quality work on deadline for decades.

You’ll discover:

• A practical way to establish a writing schedule
• The counterintuitive way to combat procrastination
• One way to silence your inner editor without eliminating it completely

If you’re ready to get out of your own way, build a sustainable writing rhythm, and finish what you start, you’ll want to hear this one.

Listen in or read the blog version to discover how you can finish your book and write better books for the rest of your writing career.

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Most authors begin writing as a solitary pursuit and soon realize they don’t know other writers or industry professionals who can help them grow. So how do you go from a solitary outsider to a connected insider who knows designers, editors, marketers, and more?

In this week’s episode, we talk with Dale L. Roberts, an award-winning indie author and host of Self-Publishing with Dale, about how genuine networking can strengthen your career and relationships.

In this interview, you’ll discover:

• How to reframe your mindset about networking (it shouldn’t feel sleazy)
• How to follow up after conferences and events without feeling awkward
• Simple habits for remembering names and details so people feel seen and valued
• When (and how) to make introductions inside your network

If you’ve ever wondered how successful authors seem to know so many industry experts, this conversation will give you practical, real-world networking tips to help you build and facilitate mutually beneficial publishing connections.

Listen in or read the blog version to discover 12 tips to help you connect generously, authentically, and for the long haul.

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