On this week’s episode, Zach and J. reflect on some of their big takeaways from the great talks at Sell More Books Show Summit 2018, which was last weekend in Chicago. Listen to learn:
- Why cargo shorts are great
- The importance of face-to-face gatherings with likeminded people and how much the guys loved the Sell More Books Show Summit 2018
- What a flagship series is and how one of these series can serve as the foundation for your author career
- Why chasing trends is a bad idea for authors
- How to know when you have a flagship series on your hands
- The strategic approach you can use to deliberately build a flagship series
- Different product levels for authors and the novelist’s dilemma
- Merchandise and other extras you can offer to fans
- The importance of building the correct sequence in a product funnel and what product funnels look like for authors
- Why patience is the most important virtue for anyone looking to build a successful author career
- How Unresolved Sexual Tension or UST can keep your readers going from one book to the next
- J. and Zach announce Night of the Writing Dead, a worldbuilding summit and undead writers’ retreat in Pittsburgh
The Career Author Podcast is a podcast where co-authors J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon share their struggles and successes as full-time authors, advice for improving your writing craft, and honest discussions of what it takes to build a successful career as an author.
Special thanks to Jim Kukral and Bryan Cohen for co-hosting SMBSS 2018 with us, and to the awesome summit sponsors: Kobo, Draft2Digital, BookFunnel, and Vellum
Thanks to our newest patrons: Barbara Kamm, David Powell, Michael Coon, Barbara McCollough, Joshua Harkin, and P.T. Hylton
Get exclusive bonus content by supporting The Career Author Podcast on Patreon at www.patreon.com/thecareerauthor
Links:
Night of the Writing Dead – http://www.nightofthewritingdead.com Authors on a Train – http://www.authorsonatrain.com