Read Me A Nightmare Podcast Por Angelique Fawns arte de portada

Read Me A Nightmare

Read Me A Nightmare

De: Angelique Fawns
Escúchala gratis

Season 2 of "Read Me A Nightmare" shifts its focus to conversations with writers, editors, and creators working in and around dark fiction — about craft, career, and the realities of making stories in the world.Visit www.fawns.ca to learn more. Please --if you enjoy the episode, leave a review!

angeliquemfawns.substack.comAngelique Fawns Arte Historia y Crítica Literaria
Episodios
  • Indie Book Selling Strategies with Cindy Gunderson

    Indie Book Selling Strategies with Cindy Gunderson
    Mar 1 2026
    Okay, my fellow writers and readers,You are in for a treat. This remarkable woman is one of a kind. She’s authentic, friendly, and gave me so much actionable advice.And inspiration.And hope.Cindy has managed to create a thriving business without losing her sense of humor or fun. Her latest a-ah moment? She’s giving away her audiobooks for free on YouTube.FOR FREE. (Check it out)Though it’s completely counterintuitive, this is driving more sales for her. (Listen to learn more.) If you like YouTube, here is our interview in video form.And can you believe she initially grew her business to gangbuster numbers by using free social media marketing?Yup.I was lucky to meet Cindy at Superstars last year. (If you wonder about the benefits of cons, the connections and people you meet are worth every penny.)Here’s her official bio:Cindy Gunderson is a voice actress, content creator, and award-winning author. Since she has commitment issues, she writes sci-fi and fantasy, plus contemporary romance and women’s fiction under the pen name Cynthia Gunderson.After 25+ years of performing, voiceover and commercial work, instructing piano and vocal performance, and directing children’s theater, she turned to audiobook narration and production. She’s narrated, mastered, and produced over fifty-five audiobooks since 2020 in her home studio and has created a massive audio listener following/community on TikTok, YouTube, and other various audiobook platforms.Cindy’s first novel, Tier 1, was awarded First Place in Science Fiction at the 2021 CIPPA EVVY Awards, and her women’s fiction novel, Yes, And, was honored with the Indie Author Award’s first place prize for best adult novel in the state of Colorado, 2023.Let’s get real here. All we have to do is look at her titles and cover art to be drawn in.How clever is that title? You can listen to it here.Or this one:(Listen to it here)Okay, I could do this all day. So go ahead and click play on the podcast (link at top) or our YouTube interview. Here are some highlights below.If you want to learn more about Cindy,Her website is here: https://cindygundersonaudio.comMost of my content is free, but there is another tier for those who want to take their short story writing to the next level. AF: How many books did it take until you started to see some traction in your career?CG: It took me until I had 12 books out before I was making some money, and over 40 before I hit six figures. AF: Let’s talk about the day-to-day. Writing full-time is hard. What’s your routine—CG: I’m still figuring it out. Life variables change—kids’ schedules, my husband’s schedule—so what works one year doesn’t work the next. I’ve leaned into curiosity. My favorite phrase is, “I don’t have to do it forever.” I’ll try a routine, and if I hate it, I change it.AF: So what are your productivity goals?CG: What got me to six figures isn’t what will get me to the next level. I maxed out what I could do alone, so now I have two assistants, and we’re moving toward expanding the business. AF: What are they doing for you?CG: One is international—she helps with audio editing and content creation. The other does formatting, promo submissions, admin, Shopify tasks, and she’ll be helping more with book maintenance and my YouTube channel. Delegation is a whole skill set.AF: I heard you say it took five years to get to six figures—was that right?CG: Almost four years.AF: And is that gross or net?CG: Gross. Net depends on ad spend. The first year I hit six figures, I barely spent on ads because social media drove sales. That changed in the last 6–8 months—TikTok slowed down, platforms shifted—so I leaned harder into paid ads.AF: I love your social media posts where you pretend to be thinking like one of your main characters. Do those actually drive sales?CG: Yep. They used to drive more on TikTok than they do now, but they still work. My strategy shifted: social media used to be my sales strategy; now it’s connection, reader retention, superfans. Paid ads are more of a straight sales engine. And honestly, all the pieces work together—social, ads, Amazon, Meta, YouTube—you don’t always know which one “caused” the sale. Once I stopped trying to control it perfectly, it worked better.AF: When you say paid ads, what do you mean?CG: Mostly Facebook and Amazon right now. I also do promos by discounting—Chirp deals, Barnes & Noble promos. BookBub deals were okay for me, but expensive and stressful, so I don’t submit much anymore. Audio promos have been huge for me.AF: Where do most of your sales come from? Are you in KU?CG: I was wide for ebooks and doing Draft2Digital, but when social sales slowed, I talked to others and tried going back into KU. It was a huge boost. My audio is still wide, though. AF: Which audio platforms?CG: Audible, Chirp, Nook, Kobo, audiobooks.com—everywhere. And also free on YouTube.AF: Doesn’t free hurt paid?CG: Not in my ...
    Más Menos
    31 m
  • From Expertise to Authority

    From Expertise to Authority
    Feb 15 2026
    Learn more about Matty at The Indy AuthorPrefer to watch? I really enjoyed this conversation with Matty and though her new ventures focuses on helping entrepreneurs and those approaching retirement establish the next phase of their career, her advice works perfectly for authors hoping to grow their platforms.Like me! When I find an author who has managed to make this a full-time gig, I am all ears!!!If you’d rather focus on short stories— which is the main thrust of this platform, and where I am BUILDING authority — check out this podcast with my mentor, Mark Leslie Lefebvre and Matty Dalrymple where we talk about short story strategies.Now back to building authority from expertise!Here are some of the highlights from my chat with Matty:Angelique: Your project is called From Expertise to Authority. What’s the difference between those two?Matty: Expertise is what you know. Authority is when other people recognize you as someone to listen to on that topic. A lot of people—especially later-career professionals—have deep expertise, but they haven’t built the visibility, relationships, and platforms that turn that into authority. Authority isn’t just knowledge. It’s knowledge plus reach plus trust.Angelique: You work with a lot of experienced professionals, not just new writers. What are they usually trying to figure out?Matty: Many of them already have a book out. They’re retired or transitioning careers and want to stay engaged, share what they know, and be seen as leaders in a new or adjacent field. Their question isn’t “How do I publish?” It’s “How do I become known as a go-to voice in this space?” That’s the shift from simply having written something to building authority around a topic.Angelique: You emphasize starting simply. Why is that so important?Matty: Because it’s much easier to add than to take away. If you launch with a complicated system—paid tools, elaborate production, lots of deliverables—you can trap yourself in work that isn’t sustainable. I learned this with transcripts for my podcast. I started offering heavily edited transcripts, and when I had to stop for time reasons, it felt like I was taking something away from my audience. If I’d never offered them, no one would have missed them. Start lean. Build only what proves useful.Angelique: You talk about the three steps to building authority. Can you walk us through them?Matty: Sure.* Showing Expertise– This is where you share what you know. Written content is powerful here: newsletters, articles, posts that demonstrate your knowledge. You’re showing people your thinking.* Growing Connections and Trust – Now people get to know you. Your voice. Your perspective. This often happens through podcasts, interviews, and conversations where your human presence comes through.* Being an Authority – This is where people pay for access to your expertise. Courses, consulting, editorial services, coaching, client work. You’re not just sharing knowledge—you’re applying mastery to help others directly.Angelique: For someone with a strong niche—like mine in paid, no-fee short fiction markets—how do they grow without going broader?Matty: You don’t necessarily have to widen the niche. Instead, deepen your relationship layers. You’re already doing expertise-based work through written guidance. You’re building personality-based connections through conversations like this. The next step is exploring authority-based offerings—paid newsletters, consulting, editorial feedback, submission strategy help. That lets you be deeply meaningful to a specific audience rather than vaguely useful to a huge one.Angelique: You’re big on repurposing content. How does that fit into building authority?Matty: It’s essential. Every piece of content should do multiple jobs. An article can also be a podcast episode if you read it aloud. That article might become a chapter in a future book. An interview becomes both relationship-building and source material for your ideas. When you think holistically, you’re not creating ten separate things—you’re creating one idea that moves through multiple formats. That’s how you grow authority without burning out.Angelique: Let’s talk platforms. Why do you like newsletter ecosystems like Substack for this stage?Matty: Because you own the relationship. You have the email addresses. If a social platform changes or disappears, you can take your audience with you. It’s also low-cost, which matters when you’re in the building phase and not expecting immediate profit. It lets you experiment without heavy financial pressure.Angelique: How do in-person events factor into authority building?Matty: They’re powerful for two reasons. First, you observe your audience—what resonates, what doesn’t, what problems people actually talk about. Second, you build real relationships. You meet peers, speakers, organizers. Those connections lead to invitations, collaborations...
    Más Menos
    31 m
  • Selling your Novel with Cherry Weiner

    Selling your Novel with Cherry Weiner
    Feb 8 2026
    Join my chat with Cherry Weiner as we go over…📝 How our editing process works📖 What the big publishers are looking for🧭 How long it REALLY takes to go from book deal → bookstore shelf💡 Smart moves that help authors build lasting careersI finished my first novel, City Lights to Country Nights, last February and signed with Cherry Weiner at Superstars 2025 last year. (This year’s con starts Feb 4 in Colorado, but I am missing it this year.)The only way to query Cherry is to meet her in person, and she signed a few of us from last year’s convention! It’s been a year of trying to sell my book, and here’s your chance to eavesdrop on our conversation as Cherry talks about me through the realities of the publishing world and the best way forward to success for an author.Join the next tier and read my cold email to Cherry before the con and the winning query letter!AF: A lot of writers imagine you write a book, get an agent, sell it, and a few months later it’s in stores. What’s the real timeline from book sale to publication?CW: Much longer than people think. First, editors can take months just to read submissions — three, six, sometimes nine months. If they love it, they still have to take it to an acquisitions meeting where sales, legal, and other editors weigh in. If it passes, we negotiate the deal, which can take a week or even months. Then, contracts take weeks to process. After the manuscript is accepted, publication is often scheduled up to 24 months later because publishers buy books years in advance.AF: I didn’t know about the acquisitions meeting. Does this mean an editor can love your book and still reject it?CW: Absolutely. An editor can be passionate about a book, but if the acquisitions committee says no, the deal is dead. Publishing decisions are business decisions as much as creative ones.AF: How has publishing changed since you started?CW: It’s much harder now. I used to be able to sell a book on three chapters and an outline. Today, especially for new authors, I need a complete, polished manuscript before submitting. Publishers are taking fewer risks.AF: How many major publishers are we really talking about now?CW: Very few. There are about four or five major houses left, plus some big independents. And many imprints under the same umbrella consult together, so if one says no, that often closes doors within that house.AF: What does a manuscript need today for you to say yes?CW: I have to feel like I’m not reading — I’m there in the story. If I can put it down easily, it’s a no. It has to pull me in completely and make me want to turn the page.AF: What’s a common character mistake you see?CW: Weak protagonists. Today’s readers and editors want strong, capable main characters — especially women. Not “wet noodles.” Growth is great, but they need strength from the start. (Authorial note: Cherry originally thought the main character in my cowboy romance was a “wet noodle” and was going to say no. But I convinced her to let me take another crack at it. And hired Bruce McAllister to help me. DM me if you want to learn more about hiring Bruce.)AF: Do editors still buy series from new authors?CW: Not the way they used to. I try to pitch series, but most editors will buy one book first and wait to see how it performs before committing to more.AF: How long will you keep submitting a book before giving up?CW: I keep going as long as I believe in the author and we have options. Sometimes we pause and try another project. I once worked with an author for six years before selling the right book — but it was in the genre she truly loved writing.(Authorial note: This eased my mind greatly. I was panicking about my book not being sold after a year of being pitched to editors. Cherry won’t give up on me if I don’t give up on writing. I am considering creating book #2 in this world. After I complete a million other projects, of course. Squirrel anyone?)AF: How important is an author’s platform now?CW: Very. One of the first things editors ask is about social media and audience. Discoverability is a huge issue, and having a following helps prove there’s a readership.AF: When does it make sense to use a pen name?CW: If you’re switching genres and don’t want to confuse readers, or if previous sales were weak. Editors can see sales history, so sometimes a fresh start with a new name helps.AF: What makes a great agent–author relationship?CW: Trust, honesty, and communication. It’s like a business marriage. You’re trusting me with your work, so transparency is essential.AF: What’s your best advice for writers pitching agents or editors?CW: Be natural. Don’t read a script. Put your best foot forward — and ideally, have a complete manuscript ready.Curious how I found my agent? Read my cold email and the winning query letter.Cherry Weiner only takes queries from authors she meets in person. I knew she was going to be attending Superstars ...
    Más Menos
    37 m
Todavía no hay opiniones