Novel Idea to Podcast: How to Sell More Books Through Podcasting

To Susan, for showing me the possible!

Prologue

I can't be sure why you purchased this book, but I can guess. There's something happening here; a reason you and I are together. Our paths haven't crossed on accident.

Most likely, you have at least one book and a thousand other stories burning inside you, and you're looking to share them with the world. Many of you are published. Some of you may even have several titles to your name. And, like all authors, you want to expand your fan base and (yes, it's okay to admit this) sell more books. Maybe you write for the love of sharing your knowledge or stories and this isn't about the financial aspect.

But you're not sure where to find them. The market is flooded. Everyone and their brother's cousin's niece's aunt is publishing. Blogs are dead. What's a writer to do?

This book will help with that.

Your motivations are yours, they're as diverse as the number of writers holding Novel Idea to Podcastright now. And that's awesome because within these pages I have a solution to help you build a following that isn't seen outside popular or proficient authors.

Aimed at those of you who have published (but extremely useful  to those of you with even a draft manuscript at this point) who arelooking for growth opportunities without making Amazon or Facebook rich(er), the tips, tools, and tactics I've provided will jumpstart your podcasting journey. You have a book (or many books) inside you, and you want to find ways to get them in the hands of as many fans as possible. This business side of book publishingcan be intimidating and exhausting (sometimes, even downright depressing). You understand this as well as any independent author out there. Navigating the landscape of publishing in this day in age is challenging, especially when you do not have deep pockets. Publicizing is draining. Marketing yourself feels gross. Maybe that series of 10,000 tweets didn't move the needle like you thought it would and you're lost as to what to do next. You might be sick and tired of trying to scour the internet forbloggers in your genre who willreview your novel. Regardless of your reasoning, Ihopeit will provide you with enough tips to keep you busy for the next few months as you discover a new audience.

Novel Idea to Podcastis for nonfiction and fiction authors alike. My eight years in podcasting will serve you well. I interviewed several established podcast expertsand they provided invaluable insight. The tips, tools, and techniques shared here willpush you along your journey and help you find the fast track to delivering your brand to a whole new audience.

One of the biggest challenges I've discovered within the writing community is the lack of belief we seem to hold dear, to protect at all costs. We're sitting on top of a gold mine in the form of story, whether you're creatingfiction or nonfiction. The ideas in your head, your intellectual property, are unique and impossible to replicate. And in the digital age we're fortunate to live in, you have a wealth of opportunities that past generations would envy. Sure, it may never make us a six-figure salary. Most of us will remain strangers to the New York Times bestsellers list. But that may not be our aim either. All weask for is a fair chance to share our books with the world, to have readers find them, and see where it goes from there. But that's difficult to do.

In today's world almost anyone can become a published author. Long gone are the days when someone could throw a file on the internet and a book magically appears (well, that still exists, but readers don't tolerate substandard books like we did during the early days of independent publishing). As the marketplace has matured, so has the audience. And that's a good thing for all of us. It helps us separate the wheat from the shaft, lifting those who spend more time in the craft as they work to uncover opportunities. But the popularity of taking control of your own author journey is realizing a convergence. Increasingly, people are publishing their books. Some of these authors are established andhave discovered the power of independentpublishing. By doing so, they're beginning to crowd out new writers who don't have a house—big or small—behind them (and those big names cast a very large shadow).

So how do you stand out?

That's the conundrum. There just doesn't seem to be a realistic and economical way forward for a lot of us, but especially if we're new, operating on thin budgets.

That's where this (intentionally short—hey, you just want to get to podcasting, after all, don't you?) book comes in.

Podcasting is a popular medium that is still very early in its life-cycle. Since it's too late for you to jump in at the beginning (assuming you haven't), there is no better time to jump than now. Beyond interacting with people, on a new platform, you can leveragethis medium to promote yourself and your work (your brand), whether it's nonfiction or fiction (and, no, not in that salesy way).

Some of you are convincedyou couldn't podcast (shut up, inside voice, I can!). Many excuses are filling your head. You are sure that this just isn't something you can do.

And I'm here to tell you you're wrong.

This book is the start of a wonderful journey. I will share over eight years of podcasting experience. After thousands of interactions with fellow creative's and fans alike, this insight will help you launch your own podcast career so you can ultimately sell more books.

Before we do any of this, it's essential to understand this is something within your ability.

Don't worry about the technical aspects of the medium right now.

Don't worry aboutbeing unfamiliar with how to make apodcast or even where to start.

Don't worry you didn't know there was media called podcasts.

We will walk through all of that together. All you need to do is bring a positive attitude, a willingness to learn, the ability to apply lessons learned, and the conviction to do the exercises at the end of each chapter. Do that and you may soon podcast your way to a new fan base (and potential book sales) you didn't realize existed.

The wonderful thing about all of this is that there are no (okay, that's a concrete term, but there are few) barriers to entry. In the modern world there will always be financial commitments and time to gain technical know-how (no, I will not say you need to be an expert). That never goes away. But the responsible creative, the person driven to grow or expand a fan base, will take a realistic viewpoint of what it takes to podcast.

This is your chance. Don't let it pass you by.

In the chapters that follow I will provide detailed explanations on how you can launch and growthose fans who will not only buy your books, but many will become cheerleaders for you, convincing their friends you're the next Stephen King.

But, before you go any further, you need to have the correct mindset. Look at podcasting as a loss leader. You're not joining this community to make thousands of dollars in advertising revenue. This is about selling books, and podcasting can help you do that. Come with an excellent work ethic and a dose of patience and, within the next few months, it's possible the podcast you're about to create will be downloaded in hundreds of countries around the world.

You have the right attitude and I'll do the rest.

Let's get to work.

CHAPTER 1

If you're reading this book now, I imagine you identify as a writer. You might also struggle to find an audience for your books, whether it's a collection of poems, short stories, nonfiction or novels. And I'm here to give you the good news. Never have wehad such a breadth of possible readers, nor such uninhibited access to them. But the writer must consider every potential avenue to reaching new fans.

Far too many authors think blogging is the only thing they can do to find an audience. A noisy segment(usually those without full-time jobs) says you must write a book a month. Others will take to social media as if their lives depended on it (I'll try my best to not discuss those writers who use it like old school used car salespeople leveragedearly cable television late night air time). But, if not those, then what? Where is an authorto find their audience? New writers have none of which to speak, jaded members of our community will tell you. And, how do you even build one?

There are ways to spread word of books, and many of those are writer-friendly. There are avenues to publish your writing: websites where you can give away portions, if not all, of your book for free to build readerships. Blogs, your own website, Facebook tour events, newsletters (and the associated, and questionable/illegal, sharing practice) round out the options.

Those marketplaces are flooded with writers doing the same thing. How many of them are standing apart from the crowd, unique andinnovative? Few. Creatives who swim to the top of the muck get there after an overwhelming expression of effort and luck. In a world of noise,so few stand out so that someone besides immediate family and friends will know you've written a book. But an avenue exists that is growing, a space where you can not only have a voice, but one that will be heard—metaphorically and literally.

Of course, I'm talking about podcasting.

Maybe you picked up this book because you're unfamiliar with podcasting. You may be a podcast fan but don't have the slightest clue how to get into the medium, how to make one, and why you should even bother. Maybe you're just a desperate author, looking for any half-reasonable method to drive more traffic to your books without spending the kid's allowance. The best decision you made today was to decide to act, to open the curtain, and warm up the mic (if you don't have one yet, that's okay, that's covered). Whatever metaphor you want to use, I'm here to help you understand not only why you need a podcast and how to start one, but how to use your show as an effective marketing tool to sell more books.

***

This can be intimidating. Some of what I'll mention here may sound foreign. But I guarantee you, with time at your computer, this book, a dash of patience, and the desire to launch yourself into a new marketplace, you'll soon be on your way toward carving out a niche for yourself, your brand, and your books.

You'll be able to draw on my eight years of podcasting experience, plus the experiences of several other experts in podcasting and sound design and engineering.

At the end of each chapter I will give you an exercise to complete. These exercises come from a decade in teaching adult learners new life skills. I encourage you to not skip past them even if you've dabbled in the topic or believe you know enough (whatever that is). Each onebuilds on the ones before it. By the end of this book you willbe armed with enough practical knowledge to begin your path toward podcasting and sharing your story with the world.

CHAPTER 2

Who am I to talk about this? Aquick look on Amazon will not reveal an extensive library of novels under my name. In fact, as of the writing of this book, I have one novel, this nonfiction, a horror anthology on pre-order, one short story, and two scripts from my podcasts. My second novel will just be undergoing its next round of editing by the time Ipublished Novel Idea to Podcast. How can I speak of these things as if I know what I'm talking about, and why would I waste your time with my thoughts and opinions?

After nearly a decade of podcasting and approaching a million downloads(without the benefit of network money or popular movement/demographics), I have full faith that my experience, coupled with my instructional background will provide you with a learning and development opportunity that will help you achieve your goals. I enjoy podcasting, but my life's ambition was always to get published. I built my brand via podcasting first. That was deliberate. The plan was to leverage my audience on that medium to launch my writing career. 2018 was the year I planned topublish. Goal achieved.

Three times.

My new plan is to publishthree times in 2019 and only release two audio drama seasons. My first novel (the one with the longest historical data chain for statistical significance) far outperforms other authors I know who went the small press or independent publishing route. And the reason is, I've got