Kobo Writing Life Podcast

Superstar New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Meredith Wild, talks about her unique experience as being both an indie author and independent publisher. Meredith talks about the early days of starting her own boutique publisher Waterhouse Press, and why she wanted to start her own "untraditional" publishing company. Meredith also discusses battling her doubts as being a relatively new writer in the romance realm and how Waterhouse Press approached marketing in their first few years. Never miss an episode: subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast on Apple, Spotify, or Stitcher. Start self-publishing today with KWL. Join the platform that's fast, free, easy. We put authors first. www.kobo.com/writinglife

Book cover designer Stuart Bache joins us on the podcast this week debunking our theory that authors should not design their own covers. Stuart talks to us about his journey into cover design and how he started his business Books Covered. He sheds some light into his process working with authors directly and the information he needs from an author to design their cover. Stuart also tells listeners tips they can utilize when designing their own cover. Never miss an episode: subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast on Apple, Spotify, or Stitcher. Start self-publishing today with KWL. Join the platform that's fast, free, easy. We put authors first. www.kobo.com/writinglife

Lauren Layne, New York Times bestselling author and branding superstar, shares her secrets on cultivating an author brand and mastering trickier social media platforms, specifically Instagram and Pinterest. Lauren demystifies author branding and explains how authors can find their own aesthetic. She also discusses why she chose to limit her social media presence to two platforms and how she has made these platforms work for her. We also discuss the evolution of her newsletter and how it has changed throughout the years. Never miss an episode: subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast on Apple, Spotify, or Stitcher. Start self-publishing today with KWL. Join the platform that's fast, free, easy. We put authors first. www.kobo.com/writinglife

Damon Suede, a chart-topping M/M romance author, will change the way you think about craft and characters. Damon gives listeners tips from his books Verbalize and Your A Game, such as thinking about characters in the term of budgeting a blockbuster film and why every character should be driven by a specific word. He also talks about sex, romance, and exploring different types of relationships. Warning: this episode contains explicit content!

Breakout star in Italy, France, and Germany, Brenna Aubrey gives listeners tips on translations. She advises on how to decide if translations are right for you, how much money an author should budget for translations, picking which market to target and selecting which backlist titles to translate. Brenna also discusses how she fell into her niche (writing "geek romance") and why ultimately, she decided on self-publishing rather than traditional. Start self-publishing today with KWL. Join the platform that's fast, free, easy. www.kobo.com/writinglife

How to be a career author: USA Today bestselling powerhouse Nana Malone shares the writing and marketing process you need to stay motivated and inspired for the next 10 years and more. Nana also talks about how the royal wedding between Meghan and Harry affected her Royals Undercover series and why she loves the romance genre. Start self-publishing today with KWL. Join the platform that's fast, free, easy. www.kobo.com/writinglife

How a virtual assistant can transform your publishing business and create more time for what you love most: writing. Veteran VA to superstar authors and CMO of Book+Main, Melissa Saneholtz, tells listeners how she got her start as an author virtual assistant and what a VA can do for an author, and how to find one that's right for you. Start self-publishing today with KWL. Join the platform that's fast, free, easy. www.kobo.com/writinglife

Empower more people to read your books. This behind-the-scenes at Kobo episode features Senior QA Analyst Wendy Reid, talking about the importance of EPUB accessibility, and specific features you can include in your eBooks to make them more accessible. Wendy also discusses her role in launching audiobooks for Kobo and how specifications for audiobooks do not exist (yet). Start self-publishing today with KWL. Join the platform that's fast, free, easy. www.kobo.com/writinglife

In this episode we bring you a Kobo in Conversation with author Ben Macintyre about his latest book, The Spy and the Traitor. Ben was interviewed by the Globe and Mail's Doug Saunders where they discuss the spy Oleg Gordievsky, the Russian whose secret work helped hasten the end of the Cold War.

In this episode, Cristina sits down with author and podcast producer Amanda Cupido to talk about her book Let's Talk Podcasting: The Essential Guide to Doing it Right. Amanda talks about how she got into podcasts, the difference between podcasts and older media such as radio, and she discusses the underrepresented voices in the podcasting community. Amanda also shares her tips for starting your own podcast and the most common roadblock aspiring podcasters encounter.

In this episode, Rene sits down with the cast and crew of the recent film The House with a Clock in its Walls to learn about their experience working on the movie and their favourite books. Rene chats to director Eli Roth about his experience directing a fantasy/horror movie geared towards a family audience, actor Owen Vaccaro about working with successful actors Cate Blanchett and Jack Black and music composer Nathan Barr, about incorporating old school horror-flick sounds into the movie's score. Start self-publishing today with KWL. Join the platform that's fast, free, easy. www.kobo.com/writinglife

In this episode, Chrissy chats to Ricci Wolman the founder and CEO of Written Word Media. Ricci talks about why she created Written Word Media, the services she offers authors and she tells listeners about her newest site, Reading Stacks. Ricci discusses the different types of information they are able to gather from their readers and how authors can use this information for promotional opportunities. Ricci also reflects on the marketing changes that have occurred in 2018.

In this episode, Steph and Laura chat to author Signe Pike about her novel The Lost Queen. Signe talks to us about her time as an acquisitions editor, her top tips for writers struggling to write their first draft and the challenges writing non-fiction versus fiction. Signe discusses her inspiration behind The Lost Queen, the research that went into the novel and the process of selling her television rights. Signe also gives listeners a hint about what to expect in the second book of her series.

In this episode, Steph and Mickie sit down with Damon and Nicola from pop gospel band, Bishop Blue. Bishop Blue, also known as Novel Songwriters, create original music for authors. They tell our listeners about the creative process behind bringing a story to life through music, how they got their start creating music for authors and why commissioning a song might be the right choice for you.

In this week's episode, Rene sits down with Professor Dr. Lee Airton to talk about Airton's new book, Gender: Your Guide: A Gender-Friendly Primer on What to Know, What to Say, and What to Do in the New Gender Culture. Dr. Airton talks about their wish to expand the conversation around the ways gender doesn't work for people who are transgender, the difference between transgender and transgendered, and that it is okay to make mistakes as we learn to navigate and use new terminology around gender identity!

International bestseller Adam Croft explains the mindset shift that transformed his publishing from side hobby to full-time dream job. He gives specific advice for succeeding "wide," increasing your global reach, and his latest nonfiction book, The Indie Author Mindset.

In this episode, author Sarah Winman drops by Kobo's headquarters in Toronto to talk to Chrissy about her latest release, Tin Man. Sarah talks to us about the inspiration behind her novel, why it took her ten years to write the book and she also discusses the significance of the title of the novel.

In this episode, Stephanie and Marina sit down with New York Times best-selling author Courtney Summers. We talk to Courtney about her new novel Sadie and her inspiration for including a podcast in her narrative. Courtney also discusses murder podcasts that inspired her and gives advice to new writers. We also discuss some of our favourite tv shows and movies of the summer. SPOILER WARNING! There are some Sadie spoilers in this episode.

In this episode, Stephanie sits down with New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Eve Langlais. Eve talks to us about being a hybrid author, why she loves writing romance novels and how she balances being creative while simultaneously working on the business side of publishing. Eve also chats about why she created the conference Romancing the Capital and gives tips for authors and readers nervous about attending their first conference.

In this episode, Stephanie and Laura sit down with New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shayla Black. Shayla chats to us about celebrating 20 years in publishing, how she got her start in indie publishing and how she manages to balance the business side of writing. Shayla also talks about staying authentic online and why being true to yourself is the most important aspect of social media.

This episode was recorded live at our first-ever indie author library night at Kobo HQ. Chrissy Munroe interviewed Maria Cipriano and Beth Godlewski from Toronto Public Library to discuss how they curate the library catalogue and give advice on best practices for indie authors.

In this episode, Chrissy chats with Kobo's VP of Product and Devices, Ramesh Mantha, to learn all about Kobo's newest eReader Forma. Ramesh gives listeners a peek into the work that goes into creating new devices at Kobo. He talks about the features of Forma, specifically the focus on physical comfort, and the readings stats that influenced the design of Forma. Ramesh also talks about digital reading and how print and eBooks fit in the reading landscape today.

In this episode, we sit down with the European Manager of Kobo Writing Life, Camille Mofidi. Camille shares her thoughts on why authors should go global, the questions they need to ask themselves before going global and why they should consider translations. She also gives listeners tips on translations, metadata, pricing, countries they should consider publishing to and how authors can reach these potential new markets.

In this week's episode, Chrissy sits down with Australian author Sasha Cottman. Sasha talks to us about her first-year being independently published, how she is able to balance paying her bills and having fun writing, and where she looks for inspiration and knowledge about indie publishing. She also talks to us about where she finds inspiration for her historical romance novels and where Australia fits in the indie publishing landscape.

In this week's episode we bring you not one but two interviews! First, Rene d'Entremont, the director of PR here at Kobo, sits down with New York Times best-selling author Lauren Weisberger. Rene asks her about her new book When Life Gives You Lululemons and discusses her writing process. Secondly, Stephanie sits down with aspiring author Mackenzie Belcastro. Mackenzie tells listeners how she stays motivated as she learns her writing style, how she connects with other aspiring writers and how she manages to write full-time without having a 9 to 5 job.

In this episode Chrissy interviews award-winning and bestselling author, Kevin Tumlinson. Kevin talks to us about overcoming the stigma of self-publishing and how marketing sophistication and budgets have increased over the last ten years. He gives listeners his top tips for aspiring and established authors. Kevin also chats to us about his own podcast the Wordslinger Podcast and how he started working with Draft2Digital.

Join Steph and Joni as they sit down with Sean Pratt, an audiobook narrator who has recorded over 975 audiobooks. Sean chats to us about his experience being a narrator for 23 years and the physical and mental work that goes into producing an audiobook. Sean outlines how authors can create an audiobook themselves and the services he offers as a coach for authors wanting to narrate their own work. Sean also speculates on why audiobooks have exploded in popularity in the last couple years.

In this episode, Chrissy chats with authors Rachael Herron and J. Thorn from the Writer's Well podcast (formerly The Petal to the Medal podcast). Rachael and J. discuss their writing and revision processes and how they got into self-publishing. J. talks to us about the conception for his Author on a Train event and why he loves to collaborate. Rachael and J. also give us tips on battling self-doubt and how to stay motivated when you are 30 revisions deep on a title.

In this episode, Chrissy chats to Scott Bintz, the founder of RealTruck.com, a 100-million-dollar e-commerce store from North Dakota. Recently, Scott became a rookie author publishing his first book Principles to Fortune: Crafting a Culture to Massively Grow a Business. He discusses his guiding principles in the workplace and how these fundamental values led to his success today. He also explains how these core values can be adapted by anyone, anywhere.

Join Chrissy as she sits down with EPUB experts Simon Collinson and Ben Dugas from Kobo. They teach us everything we need to know about eBook files. They explain the different types of EPUB files, the tools available to authors to make their own EPUBs and common errors to watch out when creating your own file. The also discuss the future of eBooks and accessibility.

In this episode, Chrissy and Stephanie chat with #1 New York Times best-selling author, Lauren Blakely. Lauren talks about her tips and tricks for marketing, her philosophy on writing and why it is important to be authentic on social media. She also examines a mistake she believes to have made with her publishing schedule last year. Lauren also gives listeners some great recommendations for readers curious about the romance genre.

In this episode, Chrissy and Steph sit down with Adam Sockel and Jill Grunenwald from Overdrive. They give us the low-down on all things Overdrive: what their roles are within the company, what is their favourite part about working at Overdrive, and share ways authors can reach librarians and library readers. They also talk about their own podcast, Professional Book Nerds, and gives us some great recommendations to add to your summer reading list.

Join Chrissy and Stephanie as they sit down with Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant, the masterminds behind Sterling & Stone. They discuss what goes on behind the scenes running Sterling & Stone, the top conversion elements every author should know, and why they decide to keep publishing wide. They also talk about their Smarter Artist Summit.

In this episode, Stephanie and Joni interview author Katja Meier about her memoir Across the Big Blue Sea. Katja discusses her inspiration for writing a memoir and why she ultimately decided to self-publish her book. She also talks about the power of social media and the problems she encountered using Instagram to promote her work.

Actress, producer, TV host, business owner and newly minted author Vivica Fox sits down with Rene at Kobo HQ in Toronto to talk about her new memoir, Every Day I'm Hustling

In this episode, Stephanie and Cristina sit down with Sarah Wendell of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Sarah is a writer, blogger and podcaster and chats to us about running her successful romance book blog and podcast. She delves into the workshops she runs on topics such as "Digital Promotion" and "How to Put a Review in Your Rearview Mirror" and, of course, we ask for her romance recommendations.

In this episode, Chrissy Munroe interviews award-winning author and creative writing instructor, Maxwell Alexander Drake. Drake, best known for his fantasy series, The Genesis of Oblivion Saga, chats to us about his writing career, the creation of DrakeU and how he generated a reputation for giving brutal writing advice to aspiring authors. He also discusses being in rebuild mode at this stage in his career and what he is working on next.

In this episode, Stephanie McGrath interviews popular YouTuber Ariel Bissett. Ariel gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look into the life of a BookTuber and the community behind it. She offers advice on getting your book into the hands of YouTubers, tips for aspiring vloggers and podcasters, and also gives us the low-down on YouTube sponsorships.

Bestselling romance author Julia Kent came to Kobo HQ and chatted to Chrissy Munroe about her incredibly successful publishing and writing career.

Join Chrissy Munroe as she interviews best-selling science-fiction author, Kevin J. Anderson. KJA gives listeners a peek into his life as he juggles writing, editing, and running his own publishing company, Wordfire Press. All while working towards completing his Master's degree.

In this episode, co-host Stephanie McGrath interviews USA Today Bestselling and RITA award winning author Sarina Bowen. We ask her about running a successful publishing business, collaborating with other authors and important lessons she's learned about craft through the years. We are also joined by two Sarina fans, Laura Granger and Cristina Mendes, as we discuss Sarina's post on the KWL blog, "Romance Writer's Don't Need Your Love-They're Too Busy Making Bank". We also learn more about her latest release, Brooklynaire.

Joni Di Placido interviews Charlotte Leonetti, a high school senior who wrote and self-published her YA novel Heartshire High. Her novel is a modern-day retelling of Alice In Wonderland and Charlotte describes it as a book for teens, by a teen. What's it like to publish a debut novel while a senior in high school?

For our 100th episode, we decided to give our listeners a behind the scenes look into Kobo Writing Life and the magic that goes into publishing a new title on Kobo. We follow Sarah Woodbury's upcoming release The Favored Son, as it makes its way onto the Kobo store and into the libraries of our customers. We also introduce an exciting edition to the KWL podcast, Chrissy Munroe's newest co-host, Stephanie McGrath!

Launched in 2012, BookBub has become the essential marketing platform for authors and publishers to promote their eBooks to millions of power readers around the world. We jumped at the chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at BookBub, how they select eBooks for their daily emails, and what you can do as an author to make the most of this incredible marketing tool. You don't want to miss a minute of this conversation between Christine Munroe and BookBub's Carlyn Robertson.

Rachel Amphlett, bestselling crime and thriller writer from Brisbane, Australia, was at Kobo HQ earlier this fall as part of an international author tour. Rachel spoke to Mark Lefebvre about: Rachel's re-introduction to writing after a long lapse and the underlying concept for a story that just wouldn't let go The wonderfully inspirational Christmas gift from Rachel's husband Nick and his keen words of advice on how to deal with that story (which became the novel WHITE GOLD) The Italian publisher who approached her wanting to purchase Italian language rights to that first published novel The mindset shift that requires discipline on a daily basis in order to hit the daily word count first thing before all the other business and marketing tasks take hold The necessary step of turning off the wifi and putting her phone in another room when it is time to be serious and get down to writing The Gantt chart Rachel uses to outline and stick to her twelve month pre-planned publishing schedule Her latest book, the November 2017 release HELL TO PAY and how it wraps up an underlying sub-plot that had been developing over the previous three novels in the series How emails and feedback from readers around the world have helped Rachel to "up" her game when writing the books in her two series The decision Rachel has made to use British English versus American English for different books depending on where they are set How Rachel's Canadian audience on Kobo was established well before any of her other international audiences started to grow How being in Kobo Plus in the Netherlands and Belgium have helped Rachel sell more books in those territories than ever before Her advice for beginning writers, which include "don't give up" and "do your homework" Nick's advice for the spouses of writers

Mark Lefebvre interviews James Alan Gardner and Spider Robinson, co-editors of the Tesseracts Twenty: Compostela anthology. Compostela means "field of stars" and is most commonly known from the Santiago de Compostela, which, for more than 1,000 years, has attracted pilgrims to walk to the cathedral that holds St. James the apostle's relics. The stories in this anthology in their own way tell the tale of futuristic travelers who journey into the dark outer (or inner) reaches of space, searching for their own connections to the past, present and future relics of their time.

It's day 8 of National Novel Writing Month - perfect timing to listen to some excellent inspiration from Grant Faulkner, Executive Director of NaNoWriMo. He just published a nonfiction book, Pep Talks for Writers, and Christine Munroe chatted with him about how to stay dedicated to daily creativity, in November and beyond. https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/pep-talks-for-writers

KWL Director Mark Lefebvre interviews bestselling author M.L. Buchman ("Matt") about his non-fiction title specifically targeted for writers and other creators, Estate Planning for Authors: Your Final Letter (and why you need to write it now), a step by step guide on how authors can make sure their legacy remains profitable for decades for their heirs after they are gone. During the interview, Mark and Matt discuss: The approximate 120 titles that Matt has written (about half full length books, the other half short stories) in the past several years The 20 "sweet romance" versions of his romance titles that were re-drafted to remove the adult situations and adult words for a more "wholesome" audience. Described as: "This "Sweet Version" is the exact same story as the original, with no foul language and the bedroom door—even when there isn't one—tastefully closed." How Kristine Kathryn Rusch, after hearing Matt state that he couldn't write short, commissioned him to write a short story for an anthology she was editing (Fiction River: Christmas Ghosts) – showing the power that a good editor can have a pulling excellence out of a writer The way that the short fiction Matt writes can help funnel readers into the various series novels he has written The free short stories that Matt posts to his website for free on the 15th of every month (called "the Ides of Matt") and how he uses that to earn money (both the individual short stories available on all retailer websites as well as in compendium editions later on) How Matt's book on estate planning came out of the fact that his wife and child were terrified about how they might manage his IP should something happen to him A will might control who gets what, but it doesn't usually include instructions on how to manager that person's IP (Intellectual property) The examples of estates that were not necessarily handled well as well as examples of estates that were managed spectacularly (how Priscilla Presley turned a near-bankrupt Elvis estate into a multi billion dollar legacy The 14 page letter that explains, "in English" (ie, explaining publishing industry concepts that most non-publishing people don't understand) how to manage the various elements of an estate, particular one that includes assets from an author publishing digitally How this process and the "final letter" works not only for writers, but for anybody who has an IP that can be passed along to heirs After the interview, Mark reiterates the importance of thinking about the future and about the long term and reminds authors the importance of putting a plan in place to ensure that their heirs are equipped to properly manage their IP when they are no longer around. He then reminds writers of the forthcoming NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and encourages writers to take advantage of such "global" activities where writers can mutually support and cheer one another on to get that first draft of a novel written in a 30 day period. Links of Interest M.L. Buchman's books on Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/search?query=M.L.%20Buchman&fcsearchfield=Author M.L. Buchman's website: http://www.mlbuchman.com/ M.L. Buchman on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mlbuchman M.L. Buchman on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mlbuchman NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) Bestselling author M.L. Buchman started the first of over 50 novels and as many short stories while flying from South Korea to ride across the Australian Outback. All part of a solo around-the-world bicycle trip (a mid-life crisis on wheels) that ultimately launched his writing career. His true love in military romantic suspense, with contemporary romance, thrillers, and SF all vying for second place. If you enjoy this podcast and would like to automatically download episodes as they go live – even before the show notes are posted to the Kobo Writing Life website – subscribe to the RSS feed via your favourite pod-capturing platform (such as iTunes) using this link: RSS feed for Kobo Writing Life Podcast.

Heather Tucker, author of The Clay Girl, had an entire career as a nurse, teacher, bereavement counselor, and professional writer, before she discovered that "playing with words is more fun than working with them." What is it like to publish a debut novel at age 62? She kept an emotional journal from a young age to age 50. She was going on a big trip to Asia and taped a note on the boxes that said, "If the plane goes down, do not read. Burn these." Then she decided to take them outdoors up North and burn them herself. She didn't lose her stories, she opened them up and set them into the universe, freed herself to pull them back and rework them in a new way Now she does positive journaling, putting actual pen to paper, drawing and painting. If her plane goes down now, she has boxes of writing and journals that she does want to share Her first books as a kid were the Junior Classics Collier's Encyclopedia set. She felt intimidated by reading, until her grade 2 teacher gave her a copy of Pippi Longstocking. After that she was obsessed with waiting for the Bookmobile to come and bring new stories How do you get started writing fiction at age 50? She joined a local writing group that has become her "tribe." She reapplied to school for creative writing, and crashed the registration system because her student number was so outdated. Michael Redhill taught one of her courses. One day after class she told him she was afraid she'd waited too long to start writing. He replied, "It's never too late to start writing. Some start too early, but it's never too late." Now she feels she's not late to the writing party, she just was conducting 50 years of research before she got started. For any baby boomers considering starting to write fiction, it's NOT too late. "You are the people with stories to tell. You've gathered stories through whatever your life experience has been." How she deals with negative feedback. She has to fight the urge to explain and defend her story. But she's trying to hear the criticism and improve for the sequel How she found her publisher, ECW Press: a mix of serendipity and luck. She didn't set out to be a published author, she just wanted to write for fun What it means to her to be a Canadian author, and for The Clay Girl to be considered "CanLit" One of the most interesting part of the publishing process has been learning that readers are particular about HOW they want to read – eBooks, large-print, library, audio. Authors need to provide every format so that customers can keep discovering wonderful books in the form and location they want When she started writing fiction, she would wake up at 2am and "give the best hours of my day" to writing before she went to her day job You can make connections and have experiences no matter where you live and what you do. As long as you're experiencing (and not just observing), you're gathering stories to inform your writing "There's enough despair already in the world. I want to leave behind a legacy of hope." www.heathertucker.ca

Episode 93 includes a series of short interviews that KWL Director, Mark Lefebvre conducted at the 2017 When Words Collide conference in Calgary, Alberta. Mark speaks with authors Robert J. Sawyer and C.C. Humphreys as well as marketing consultant Mickey Mikkelson about digital publishing, global eBook pricing, author promotion strategies and successful author readings. Robert J. Sawyer Robert J. Sawyer — called "the dean of Canadian science fiction" by The Ottawa Citizen and "just about the best science-fiction writer out there these days" by The Denver Rocky Mountain News — is one of only eight writers in history (and the only Canadian) to win all three of the science-fiction field's top honors (the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award and The John W. Campbell Memorial Award) for best novel of the year. Rob talks about how he sold the North American rights for his twenty-third novel, Quantum Night, to Penguin Random House, but retained the rest of world rights and took advantage of Kobo Writing Life to publish the international eBook edition of the book. (Link to the book in UK used) He shares the wisdom of lower eBook prices, comparing his own global sales of the title at $4.99 USD version the $18.99 price point that Penguin Random House set. WATCH THE FULL VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH ROB Mickey Mikkelson (Creative Edge Publicity) Creative Edge Publicity specializes in arranging events such as book signings, library or school presentations, or any event related to the arts in general. They represent many book events including When Words Collide and have a strong belief and advocate for the independent and traditional artist. In his role at Creative Edge supporting authors with their marketing efforts, Mickey shares some of the things his company does helping both traditionally published and self-published authors. Mickey offers advice on what authors should consider before approaching a marketing team for support for their efforts and the fact that there is always a unique approach for each individual author. WATCH THE FULL VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH MICKEY C.C. Humphreys Chris (C.C.) Humphreys has acted all over the world and appeared on stages ranging from London's West End to Hollywood's Twentieth Century Fox. He has written ten historical novels, including the most recent Plague and Fire. Tales of religious fundamentalist serial killers set against the wild events of 1665 to 1666, London, Plague won Canada's Crime Writers' Association Best Crime Novel Award, the Arthur Ellis in 2015. In the Summer of 2016, both novels spent five weeks in the Globe and Mail Top Ten Bestseller list. Along with being a bestselling author, Chris is also a stage, film and television actor, who shares some tips for writers on doing public readings of their work. He suggests that an author's goal in doing a reading should be to really engage with that audience and also to remember that the audience is there to "love" and cheer for the author's success. He also suggests selecting a passage that is active and character driven as well as modulating the tone of their voice throughout the reading. WATCH THE FULL VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS Mark then talks about the concept of authors taking full advantage of both traditional publishing and independent publishing opportunities, going into a full breakdown of the revenues earned from a single short story of less than 900 words. "Almost" the story in question, appeared in several self-published collections but also is contained in Bumps in the Night, One Hand Screaming and the Crimes, Capers & Rule-Breakers Bundle. but he also sold non-exclusive reprint rights to the story to McGraw-Hill Ryerson for their iLit program. Based on the fact that the professional rate for a short fiction rates is typically somewhere in the $0.05 to $0.6 per word range for most writers, Mark calculates what the per word earnings for this story have been, landing somewhere between $0.40 and $1.15 per word depending on the various income streams for that story. Ultimately, a story whose original pro fiction rate sale would have been approximately $44.00 ended up earning more than $1000. Of course, this is only a single short story, but as part of a larger strategy with plenty of other assets in play, consider how that might add up for authors who take full advantage of exploiting their rights and exploring all options available for earning money on their writing. (See the original blog details here) Links of Interest: Robert J. Sawyer's eBooks on Kobo Robert J. Sawyer's audiobooks on Kobo (Listen for FREE with Kobo Audiobooks trial) Robert J. Sawyer's website (SFWriter.com) C.C. Humphrey's eBooks on Kobo C.C. Humphrey's website Creative Edge Publicity website When Words Collide Website If you enjoy this podcast and would like to automatically download episodes as they go live – even before the show notes are posted to the Kobo Writing Life website – subscribe to the RSS feed via your favourite pod-capturing platform (such as iT