Hey, all! Just a quick note to let you know that Joanna Penn interviewed me for her popular and long-lived author-prenuer podcast, The Creative Penn. If you want to hear two full-time indie authors talk about the biz, stop by for a listen. She also has a transcript of the show up on her site, if you prefer to read.
If you’re an author and looking for more information on self-publishing and marketing, I’m also on the Science Fiction & Fantasy Marketing Podcast every week, interviewing authors and sharing what’s working out there. Come visit us too! 🙂
Readers, Dragon Blood 7, Soulblade, is either out now or will be in a few hours, so check your favorite store. Also, stop by the blog in a few days for a bonus scene.
Thanks, and enjoy the holidays!
Oh yay! you and Joanna are among my very favorite full-time indie authors to hear from!
And I had no idea about the podcast. I am just jumping on the podcast bandwagon right now, but I’m adding yours to my must-listen list.
Thanks!
Janice
Thanks, Janice!
You! On The Creative Penn! I shout for joy!!! So awesome. I live for your posts! Your works and your blog are always a source of inspiration to writers everywhere ?
Thank you, Ann! Glad you’re finding the podcasts and blog posts helpful. 🙂
Hi Lindsay! I saw you have a couple of audio books on Audible, and your pen name also has an audio book, and I’m wondering how profitable you have found them compared to paperback sales? I’m not actually an author but I have an author friend I help out a lot, and I am trying to convince her to look into audiobooks. Her paperback sales aren’t that great so it is proving to be really hard to convince her to plunk down the money for producing an audiobook. 🙁 Do you find that you can make enough on the audiobooks to make it worth the investment, even on your pen name? (Her book rankings are closer to your pen name then your “real” name.)
Heya, Sarah! I’m doing the Rust & Relics audiobooks on my own through ACX. (Someone else handled the first three Emperor’s Edge ones, and Podium Publishing is doing Dragon Blood. Tantor did the pen name book, and I don’t think it’s sold much.) I believe Torrent (R&R1) will earn out by next summer (in about a year). Considering that’s not a big seller for me, I think that’s fine. I figure you can keep earning money from them for years to come.
If you have a series that sells moderately well on Amazon, then it’s probably worth checking out. I’ve heard of a few authors who have had an audiobook hit even if the sales were modest in ebook form, but usually it’s pretty closely tied. I’d be hesitant to make the investment on a book or series that isn’t selling much. You can, however, try putting it up on ACX and seeing if any narrators will bite on a royalty-split option. If you do that, you’re not out any money up front.
Hope that rambling helps. Good luck!
That was very helpful information, thank you very much! And also congrats on getting new covers created for your Emperor’s Edge series (I heard it on the sffmarketing podcast, haha). Can’t wait to see them! The first book in that series was the first book of yours I read, and it made me laugh so hard I cried!
Thanks, Sarah! Yes, trying to finally get all of my covers up to snuff, so that they look awesomely fantasy-esque. 🙂
Lindsay, loved the interview (especially the comments about WoW) and your down to earth marketing tips.
Super pumped to have also found your blog, and my wife was looking for a new book, so she’s checking out Blade’s Edge.
Thanks for listening, Wesley! Haha, gaming was a huge time sink for me, but I still miss it a bit. 😉 I hope your wife enjoys Blade’s Edge!