Podcasts Episodes

In this episode, I talk with former bookseller Michelle Phillips of Church Street Coffee & Books about how self-published authors often botch their bookstore pitches. We also talk about how to make the best of your book signing and tone down the awkwardness of a signing or meeting.

In this episode, I share my experience as a website copywriter with tips for how to create an author website, including which pages your website should include, where to link your books for sales, and how to process payments.

In this episode, I interview photographer Kelly Cummings about how to design a social media campaign for your self-published book and book tour. We discuss how to use hashtags, how to deal with Instagram changes and how to spin a lackluster book signing into social media gold.

In this episode, I interview Jonathan Walls, the web designer and developer who built the website for The Localist. We talk about whether you should hire a web developer to design your author website or use a template, when to install Google Analytics, the pros and cons of WordPres and Squarespace, and which pages and functionality your book’s website will need.

In this episode, I talk about how to network to promote your self-published book, including tips for a short and sweet elevator pitch, ideas for how to drive people to your website, and how to meet people who’ll care about your book.

In this episode, I interview Mollie Hawkins, freelance writer and former librarian. We talk about why it’s difficult to get your self-published book onto library shelves and the best ways to butter up library staff and librarians in hopes of getting your book into a library catalog.

In this bonus episode, book buyer Elisa Munoz and I continue our conversation. In this episode, we talk more about The Localist book tour, discussing how to get book signings in brick and mortar bookstores, how to approach book industry people for favors, and what to expect from a book signing.

In this episode, I interview Elisa Munoz, former book buyer at a big box bookstore. We talk about why it’s almost impossible for self-published authors to get their books into big box stores, how to approach a book buyer, and which genres perform best in corporate bookstores.

In this episode, I give tips for taking better selfies, including: how to find better lighting, how to get better at turning the camera on yourself, and how to deal with feeling bad about self-promotion — because self-published authors and published authors alike need to know how to self-promote on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat.

In this episode, I interview Cary Norton, the Birmingham area photographer who took my press photos for The Localist book. We talk about how to hire a photographer, how to properly credit a photographer, what photo styling will make the best author photos, and we discuss Cary Norton’s tin type photo project, Gus Dugger.