SPA Girls Podcast – EP141 – Ten FREE Online Tools for Authors
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Looking for some new online tools to help you in your publishing journey? Curious about what online time-savers other authors have, and how they use them to make their careers work better, faster, smarter? Is your budget creaking at the seams? Don’t worry, we’re here to help!
This week we give you Ten FREE Online Tools and Websites that you can use to upskill, inform and educate yourself in your self-publishing journey. Every single tool we give you is something that we’ve used ourselves, and that we can personally recommend to you.
We were also slightly nutty this week, so be prepared for some craziness!!
- A soft Murmur – Free ambient music or sounds – https://asoftmurmur.com (Shar’s pic)
- 2. Dave Chesson/AMS ads course https://kindlepreneur.com/who-is-dave-chesson/
Free Course – https://udemycoupon.learnviral.com/coupon/free-amazon-book-advertisement-ams/
(We all love Dave!)
- Romance Divas – Forum – https://romancedivas.com (Apply for membership and make sure you contribute. They don’t appreciate lurking but these ladies know their stuff.)
- Pixlr- Free Fonts/Free Graphics – https://pixlr.com
- Picmonkey – photo editor – https://www.picmonkey.com
- DIY Book Design – Free online book mockup maker for ads – http://diybookcovers.com/3Dmockups/ (Seriously easy and Cheryl’s Favourite)
- Cover Vault – Free Book mock-ups – https://covervault.com
- Jami Gold – Free Beat sheets/Structure/Spreadsheets – https://jamigold.com/for-writers/ (A good writers resource site)
- Kristen Lamb – Marketing Vault/Social media – https://authorkristenlamb.com
- K-Lytics – Information on genres and a free monthly email – http://k-lytics.com(Amazon) (If you like facts and figures)
- Bonus: KanBan – Free tool for organising your to-do list – https://kanbanflow.com/pricing
Episodes 100 – 200 List
200 What we’ve learned so far…
199 Interview with Adam Croft – Mindset and Marketing
198 Find Your Sparkle – with Julie Schooler
197 Hack Your Muse – with Kelly McClymer
196 Public Speaking For Authors – with Alena Van Arendonk
195 The Magic Pill – with Laura Van Arendonk-Baugh
194 A Day In The Life Of A Writer
193 Keep It Simple
192 Interview with Skye Warren: Money Mindset and Facebook Ads
For Authors (Part Two)
191 Interview with Skye Warren: Time Management & Advertising
For Authors (Part One)
190 Dragon Wrangling with Scott Baker: secrets for
Successful dictation
189 Interview with Patricia McLinn: Writing by the seat of
Your pants
188 Interview with Morgana Best: Writing & Marketing
Cozy Mysteries
187 Interview with Geoff Symon: Wounds & Crime Scenes
186 Interview with Natasha Bajema, WMD for Authors
185 The Writer’s Detective with Adam Richardson
183 Facebook Advertising with Maria Luis ~ Part Two
182 Facebook Advertising with Maria Luis ~ Part One
181 Learn dictation with Kilby Blades
180 Interview with Brian Meeks, Mastering Book Descriptions
179 Interview with Tara Cremin, Kobo Writing Life
178 Interview with Larissa Reynolds – Newsletters Part Two
177 Interview with Larissa Reynolds – Newsletters Part One
175 Wrangling Facebook: How To Make It Work For You
174 How To Write A Regency Romance
173 How Do You Identify Your Writing Weaknesses?
172 Interview With Dan Wood, D2D
171 Interview With Serenity Woods
169 5 Goals You Need To Make In 2019
168 Jumpstart Your 2019 Marketing with 31 Quick To Dos for Jan.
167 Scheduling For Writing Success
166 Our 2018 Roundup
165 He Said, She Said: Creating Dazzling Dialogue
164 Interview with Steffanie Holmes: Reverse Harem
163 Interview with YA author Kelly St Clare
160 Amazon Excl v Wide – things to consider and how to market
159 Interview With Kathryn LeVeque
158 Some Like It Hot – Or Not. Heat Levels In Romance
157 Interview With Louisa George
156 The Kindness Factor: Helping You Achieve More and Stress Less
155 Editing
153 Characters: From Cookie Cutter to Kapow
152 Interview with Tina Dietz: Audiobooks
151 Interview with Grace Burrowes
150 Should You Prune Your Mailing List?
149 RWNZ18 Interview with Damon Suede & Geoff Symon
148 Interview with indie superstar, Bella Andre
147 Top Ten Traits for Success
146 Write Better Faster with Becca Syme
145 Newsletter Ninja Tammi LaBrecque
144 Looking After Your Creative Health
143 Interview with Carlyn Robertson from Bookbub
142 Personal Branding For Authors with Lauren Clemett
141 Ten Free Online Tools For Authors
140 Tempting Taglines & Heartstopping Hooks
139 Findaway Voices with Kelly Lytle
138 Get Your Writing Mojo Back
137 Interview with Toni Kenyon: facebook live & serials
136 Dealing with misinformation and change in Sp-ing
134 Interview with Kevin Tumlinson, Draft2Digital
133 Interview with Sara Rosett
132 Organization For Authors – how to keep track of your
research and book details without losing your mind
131 Interview with Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy
130 Critical Care: Leveraging feedback for success
129 Brand You
128 SAS Special: Interview with Johnny B. Truant & Sean Platt
127 Industry Insiders with Damon J. Courtney of Bookfunnel
& Christine Monroe of Kobo
126 SAS Debrief with Jami Albright
125 SAS Special: Interview with Michelle Spiva
124 SAS Special : Interview With Michael Anderle
123 Sports Psychology for Authors – Interview With Nate Vella
122 Using Sub Plots To Amp Up Your Writing
121 Interview with Scott King: Outlining Your Novel
120 Pen-names Pros, Cons and Possibilities
119 Reader Engagement with Nalini Singh
118 Writing the Small Town Setting
117 Handling Negativity and Naysayers
116 Tough Mindset Questions For 2018
115 Interview With Nicola Davidson: Sex and Sensibility
114 Tropealicious
112 Interview With Honoree Corder & Ben Hale: Write Like A Boss
111 Ten Health Hacks For Writers
110 Interview with Kathryn Burnett: Your Writing Audit For Future Success
109 Interview with Melissa Storm: What Readers Want
108 Interview With Zoe Dawson: Writing Across Genres
107 Interview With Dave Chesson, The Keyword King
106 Pros and Cons of Kindle Unlimited
105 Why YOU should do Nanowrimo
104 Ten Truths For New Self Publishers
103 Find 30 Minutes A Day EXTRA!
102 Your Christmas Presence: Maximizing the Holiday Season for Authors
101 The Writing Life: Interview with Katie Cross
100 100 Episodes! Retrospective with funny moments; changing AO title
SPA Girls Podcast – EP305 – Talking Police Equipment For Fiction Authors
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This is our second podcast with Veteran Police Detective Adam Richardson, who spent seventeen years of his almost 25-year law enforcement career as a detective.
Today we talk to Adam about the police duty belt (gun belt), and what they carry on it. Adam goes into detail about each item and explains their use and when it would be needed. So strap in (see what I did there) for an amazingly informative podcast.
Adam hosts The Writer’s Detective Bureau podcast where he answers questions about criminal investigation and police work posed by crime-fiction authors and screenwriters writing crime-related stories.
Adam has also developed a crime fiction Guns Course for everything crime fiction authors need to know about firearms and ammunition.
LINKS MENTIONED:
Adam’s course: crimefictionguns.com COUPON CODE “SPA” for 10% off
Book “THE TALENT CODE by Daniel Coyle https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Code-Greatness-Born-Grown/dp/055380684X
Learn more from Adam at:
where you can sign up to his All-Points Bulletin for writers.
To submit a question for Adam, visit
Don’t miss his facebook group:
Adam’s podcast Writer’s Detective Bureau:
Writer’s Detective Bureau on Apple Podcasts
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SPA Girls Podcast – EP247 – What Advertising Is Working For Us
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This week we discuss what advertising is actually working for our romance, urban fantasy and cozy mystery books. From facebook to series promotions, we’ve picked up some helpfully tips and strategies for getting the most bang of your advertising buck!
Trudi’s notes on Facebook Ads:
– need more than one book to make it work. (at least to make a profit, if your goals are to get eyes on your book, or get a rank, that might be different.) My new series ads aren’t making me money, because there’s only one book. That’s why I’m frantically writing the next books in the series.
– baby steps and you need to have patience. Small iterations win the day. Don’t freak out and give up (like I have in the past) and say they don’t work. Because they work for some people, so why not you too?
– Set a budget, make a plan, check every day, but not for long. (data rules the world)
– don’t spend all your time on your image, it’s a waste of time. (not a complete waste of time, it’s just that the ad image that wins in a test isn’t always the one you think is the best image.)
– Don’t forget to iterate your Amazon page. (this is super important. It doesn’t matter if you have a kick ass ad, if they’re not buying because you’ve got a lame Amazon page, then it’s a waste of time)
– Read through is really important for ads
– Test everything, including the buttons. (with or without, different ones etc). This can add 5-10% to your conversion, and every little bit helps.
– Different things work for different genres. What works for one author might not work exactly the same way for you, but that’s okay. Test until you find what works for you
Cheryl’s Notes on Series Promotion through Written Word Media:
Book One Free
Book Two 99cents
Book Three 2.99
Book Four full price
Cheryl also discusses how she’s approach promo stacking and using Bookbub ads and new release promo.
Wendy’s notes on facebook and fear:
FB – doing a budget beginning of each month. Allocate how much to spent on -backlist, -new release etc, -email newsletter signups. Break down each book etc
FB- get in and just do it!
Wendy also discusses rebranding an entire series, and getting traction without a bookbub; using other platforms and 5 free days promo.
As promised, here are Wendy’s before her rebranding makeover:
And July 2020 rebranding for the Lake Howling series:
Wendy’s updated blurb example for A PROMISE OF HOME , book one in the Lake Howling series….
Original Version:
When Branna O’Donnell heads back to Lake Howling, Oregon, she’s not sure what to expect. It’s a place that holds plenty of memories, both good and bad, but Branna is determined to find some peace there from the demons of her past. However, she soon realizes that living in a small town again comes with complications, and one of them is named Jake McBride.
Once the town golden boy, Dr. McBride has returned from Iraq angry and, like her, shouldering a few emotional scars. They strike sparks off each other from the outset, and Branna knows that if she gives in to the attraction between them it’s going to result in a world of pain. The problem is she’s not sure how to walk away.
Updated blurb:
Reclusive. Grumpy. Irresistible.
Dr Jake McBride loves two things in life. His people, and chicken cheesy-crust pies. Returning from Iraq, he’s done with medicine and strangers… in fact life. He knows all about trauma, and plans on dealing with his, his own way. His needs are simple, solitude and working on his new career as the town recluse. The only problem with that… well two actually, are the interfering towns folk of Lake Howling, and Branna O’Donnell. He’s damn sure that her return means nothing to him… until it does!
His first mistake was kissing her. His second was doing it again.
Branna O’Donnell is burnt out and needs a place to stop running. Strange how that place is back where she’d once been happy. Settling in to small town life again comes with complications and the biggest has a serious attitude. Once the town golden boy, Jake McBride now wears a permanent snarl, not that anyone but her seems to notice the sexy doctor has changed.
Sharing a bed complicates things but no way is Jake leaving Branna alone until they find who is threatening her, and even then he’s not sure he’ll be able to walk away. He can feel himself changing, and it’s all on her, but when her past comes calling with it comes the realization that more than lust is involved. He’s not sure he can be her hero but he knows he wants to try.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
SPA Girls Podcast Episode #225 – David Gaughran’s Amazon Decoded
SPA Girls Podcast Episodes #182 and #183 Facebook Ads with Maria Luis
SPA Girls Podcast Episodes #191 and 192 with SKYE WARREN
SPA Girls Podcast Episode #92 with Mark Dawson
SPA Girls Podcast Episode 202 : Bookbub Ads with Melissa Storm
Books:
BookBub Ads Expert: A Marketing Guide to Author Discovery David Gaughran
Help My Facebook Ads Suck by Mal Cooper
SPA Girls Podcast – EP185 – Interview with the Writer’s Detective, Adam Richardson
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It’s the start of Mystery May, and we have a doozy to start you off!
The SPA Girls spent time with Adam Richardson, an American cop who helps authors and screenwriters with their crime-fiction questions through his website and podcast called the Writer’s Detective Bureau. He knows his stuff – Adam spent seventeen years of his 20+ year law enforcement career as a detective – and he was able to answer all our silly/strange/just-plain-dumb questions about being a cop in the US.
We talk about everything from what writers need to know about law enforcement in the US, how the police and sheriff departments’ work, how detectives approach a crime scene and deal with witnesses and suspects, and a myriad of other interesting details.
Whether you write romance with a mystery subplot, or are a fully fledged suspense or mystery writer, this episode is for you.
Learn more from Adam at: https://www.writersdetective.com where you can sign up to his All Points Bulletin for writers.
Don’t miss his facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WRITERSDETECTIVE/
Adam’s podcast Writer’s Detective Bureau: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/writers-detective-bureau/id1418826910?mt=2
