Your inbox says someone “discovered” your book and wants to make you a bestseller. The flattery feels good, the promise feels big, and the risk is real. We sit down with publishing consultant and community builder Alexa Bigwarfe, founder of Write|Publish|Sell and the Women in Publishing Summit, to talk straight about what authors actually face right now in self-publishing, hybrid publishing, and book marketing.

We start where most people skip ahead: defining your why. Whether you are writing for healing, impact, credibility, income, or pure joy, your goal determines the publishing path, the timeline, and how much you should invest. From there we unpack the gray areas that trip writers up, including the difference between legitimate hybrid presses, boutique partners, and vanity press traps, plus the wave of AI-generated DMs and emails that target authors with generic praise and expensive offers. The throughline is simple: education beats hype, and community makes it easier to spot what is real.

Then we get practical about what is working: authentic connection with readers, email lists, word of mouth, strategic review-building, and the power of a backlist for authors who want to earn a living. We also get blunt about quality, because you cannot market a book that is not professionally edited, properly designed, and aligned with reader expectations.

If this helped, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a writer friend. What is the sketchiest “promotion” pitch you have received lately?

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Your best marketing idea can still fail for one boring reason: readers can’t easily get the book onto their device. That’s where BookFunnel shines, and that’s why I sat down with Jack Shilkaitis, BookFunnel’s lead author support specialist and a prolific sci-fi author, to talk straight about what actually works when you’re trying to grow as a writer.

We break down the core BookFunnel tools authors use to build a real reader funnel: fast landing pages, email list integrations, universal book links, ARC delivery for review teams, and the behind-the-scenes reader support that helps people through Send to Kindle and other common tech snags. Then we get into the part most authors struggle with: traffic. Jack explains how BookFunnel group promotions create genre-targeted discovery by tapping into other authors’ newsletters, so you’re reaching engaged readers rather than shouting into the void.

From there, we zoom out into strategy. We talk Kindle Unlimited versus wide publishing, why bonus chapters can act like “mini reader magnets” inside your books, and how direct sales with Shopify changes the math because you finally own the customer relationship. Jack also shares an honest take on priorities: writing the next book often fuels better marketing momentum, and the obsession with a flawless launch can lead to unrealistic expectations when what you really need is a system you can repeat and improve over time.

If you want practical author marketing advice, email list growth tactics, and a clearer path to direct-to-reader selling, hit play. Subscribe, share this with an author friend, and leave a review so more writers can find the show.

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Print-on-demand made self-publishing feel instant, but “instant” is not the same as “best.” We sit down with Dave Sheets, a 30-year book industry pro and the founder of Indie Author Book Services, to get honest about what actually changes when an author moves from print on demand to short-run or offset printing. We dig into the real-world differences that matter: unit cost, profit margin, and the kind of print quality problems that can quietly wreck a reader’s trust.

Then we zoom out to the bigger play: distribution and ownership. If every sale runs through Amazon, you may gain reach, but you lose something priceless, your customer data. We talk through why direct-to-consumer book sales on your own website are the lifeblood of an indie author in 2025, plus a simple crawl-walk-run plan to handle fulfillment without getting overwhelmed. We also cover smart ways to incentivize buyers to purchase direct, from downloads to bonus formats, so you can build an email list you can actually use for book two, three, and beyond.

We also tackle AI in publishing, including where tools like ChatGPT help with ideas and short-form writing, and why AI still falls short on long-form books that need voice, empathy, and lived detail. And we bust a few stubborn publishing myths, like “traditional publishing is always better” and “bookstores are the holy grail,” while exploring special markets opportunities where bulk orders and partnerships can dwarf retail results.

If you care about self-publishing, book printing, offset vs POD, direct sales strategy, and building a real author business, hit play, subscribe, share this with a writer friend, and leave a review.

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