Podcasts Episodes

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.

In this episode, I interview Sarah Cook, freelance journalist for publications like Birmingham Magazine and Social Media Manager for Iron Tribe Fitness. We talk about best practices for press releases, what to include in your press kit, and what to say (and what not to say) when emailing a journalist about your self-published book.

In this episode, I talk about my writing process, including writing rituals, the magic of deadlines, the importance of grammar and most important writing tool of all — hard work.

In this bonus episode, I continue my conversation with writer and editor Josh Miller (from Taste of the South and Southern Cast Iron magazines). In this bonus episode, Josh turns the tables on me and asks questions about self-publishing — including whether or not I made money with my book, The Localist. We also talk about Twilight, erotic ebooks and Fifty Shades of Grey.

In this episode, I interview Josh Miller, a writer and editor at two magazines: Taste of the South and Southern Cast Iron by Hoffman Media. We talk about how to get and keep inspiration, the mechanics of writing, whether grammar matters and who taught who to use a semicolon.

In this episode, I interview Susan Rollwagen, my mom and copyeditor of The Localist book. We talk about the difference between a content editor and a copyeditor, how to give a take edits and criticism, and which parts of The Localist Mom took issue with.

In this episode, I talk about what budget you should plan for your self-published book and how to make the money, including how to start a side hustle and how to work your crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter to self-publish your own book.