The Self Publishing Show

Join James Blatch has he navigates the fast changing world of indie publishing. With the biggest guests in the industry and tips on how to stay ahead of the crowd.

The Self Publishing Show is a business podcast hosted by James Blatch, with 465 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

James Blatch hosts The Self Publishing Show, a business show with 465 episodes published.

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  Episode #467

  SPS-467: Amazon KDP Is Changing – Are You Ready?

  Oct 1, 202651 min

  This week on The Self-Publishing Show, it's launch day for Cissy Mecca's latest medieval romance, while James Blatch is getting serious about his own writing again, with a preorder underway and book two already taking shape. The main discussion focuses on two significant developments at Amazon KDP. James and Cissy look at the new limits on the number of titles authors can upload each week and reports that Amazon may no longer be honouring permafree price matching. They discuss why these changes may be happening, how they could affect different types of indie authors, and why adapting to changes outside your control is simply part of running an author business. There's also news from SPS Live London 2027, with Isabelle Knight and A.P. Beswick announced as the latest speakers, plus details of ProWritingAid's Novel November, the Orlando writing retreat and a very big SPS announcement coming next week. Key Talking Points Cissy's launch day and the next book already on preorder Amazon KDP's new weekly publishing limits What the KDP changes could mean for rapid-release authors and translations Reports of changes to Amazon's permafree price matching Adapting your author business when platforms change the rules ProWritingAid's Novel November writing challenge Isabelle Knight and A.P. Beswick announced for SPS Live London 2027 Writing routines, deadlines, editors and accountability The Orlando writing retreat and the value of author communities A major SPS announcement coming next week Links & Resources Mentioned ProWritingAid: https://prowritingaid.com Discount code: IWC15 Orlando retreat waitlist - indiewritersclub.com/orlando Cissy's New Series: https://www.amazon.com/Ruthless-But-Her-Captive-Medieval-ebook/dp/B0HDN38GS6 James' new A+: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spider-espionage-thriller-Espionage-Thrillers-ebook/dp/B0HJQBSTGD/ PWA's Nov-Nov: https://prowritingaid.com/novel-november Meta Link Workaround: https://youtu.be/frjsqfhKruI?si=cKvwPiYc-yk9_2Ym For the FB messages: Log into business page Go to: https://business.facebook.com/latest/inbox/automated_responses Select "custom keywords" automation

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  Episode #466

  SPS-466: Has Digital Narration Come of Age?

  Sep 24, 202647 min

  This week on The Self-Publishing Show, James Blatch and Cissy Mecca catch up from opposite sides of Europe, with Cissy joining from Sicily as she prepares for the September 29th launch of her new book. James shares news from Learn Self-Publishing, including plans for a brand-new course, Self-Publishing Pathway, which will replace Launchpad and be built from the ground up for today's publishing landscape. He also reveals details of the Orlando writing retreat taking place in March and teases a major industry announcement coming on October 8th. The main discussion turns to AI audio, as James shares his latest experience using ElevenLabs to create an audiobook version of his novella Desert Venom. They look at how much AI narration has improved, where AI-narrated audiobooks can currently be distributed, and the cost and practical considerations for indie authors. Cissy also gives an update on her upcoming book launch, including ARC readers, Meta preorder ads, Amazon Ads and her new Vanguard reader group. She shares how she's using Claude and ChatGPT to analyse years of sales, newsletter and BookBub data to help shape a more data-driven launch strategy. Key Talking Points The new Self-Publishing Pathway course and the future of Launchpad The Orlando writing retreat in March A major Learn Self-Publishing announcement coming October 8th James's experience creating an AI-narrated audiobook with ElevenLabs Where authors can distribute AI-narrated audiobooks Human narration versus AI narration and the cost of producing audio Cissy's September 29th book launch and ARC reader strategy Meta preorder ads, Amazon Ads and the new Vanguard reader group Using Claude and ChatGPT to analyse historical sales and marketing data Links & Resources Mentioned ProWritingAid: https://prowritingaid.com Discount code: IWC15 SPS Patreon / Support: https://learnselfpublishing.com/support Orlando Writing Retreat Waitlist: https://indiewritersclub.com/orlando ElevenLabs: https://elevenlabs.io

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  Episode #465

  SPS-465: Does BookBub Still Work?

  Sep 17, 202644 min

  This week on The Self-Publishing Show, James Blatch is joined by author Skye McKinnon to dig into the numbers behind BookBub Featured Deals and ask whether they still offer authors the same value they once did. Skye shares data from 28 BookBub deals, showing how the additional sales generated by her 99-cent promotions have fallen significantly over the years. They discuss whether the cost still stacks up, the results from free promotions, and whether combining several smaller newsletter promotions could offer better value. The conversation also turns to Skye's recent success with Instagram and Facebook Reels. After experimenting with short-form content using Author Scale, she saw older books that had barely been selling suddenly take off, with some reels reaching hundreds of thousands of views. James also shares a few thoughts on using AI, including where tools such as Claude can be useful for analysing author business data – and where authors should be more cautious about relying on their answers. Key Talking Points Skye McKinnon's findings from 28 BookBub Featured Deals Whether BookBub promotions still offer good value for authors Free versus 99-cent promotions and the importance of sell-through Stacking smaller newsletter promotions as an alternative to BookBub Skye's success using Instagram and Facebook Reels to revive older books Using Author Scale to create short-form book content Repurposing successful organic content for paid advertising Using AI to analyse author business and advertising data Links & Resources Mentioned ProWritingAid: https://prowritingaid.com Discount code: IWC15 SPS Patreon / Support: https://learnselfpublishing.com/support BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com SPS LIVE 2027 tickets are now available: https://www.learnselfpublishing.com/spslive

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  Episode #464

  SPS-464: Romance Tropes That Work For Everyone

  Sep 10, 202640 min

  This week on The Self-Publishing Show, James Blatch and Cissy Mecca are together in Pennsylvania after celebrating the wedding of their friends Lucy Score and Tim. James even had the honour of officiating the ceremony. There's also exciting news for Lucy Score fans: Things We Never Got Over is heading to the screen, with filming for the Amazon Prime series, titled Runaway, about to begin in Vancouver. Inspired by Lucy and Tim's own friends-to-lovers story, James and Cissy dive into romance tropes and why they work. Cissy runs through some of the most popular tropes with readers right now, from enemies to lovers and forced proximity to fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, second chance and fated mates. They look at how tropes create conflict and reader expectations, how authors can combine several tropes in one book, and why the same relationship dynamics can be useful well beyond romance. Key Talking Points Why building an audience and strong author business matters before a breakout moment arrives Why tropes have become such a powerful part of romance marketing How BookTok has helped make readers increasingly trope-aware Enemies to lovers and why it remains such a popular trope Forced proximity and the "one bed" microtrope Combining multiple tropes to build conflict and tension Fake dating and arranged relationship scenarios Grumpy/sunshine and opposites attract Friends to lovers and second-chance romance Protective and morally grey heroes Fated mates Using romance-style relationship dynamics in thrillers, crime, fantasy and science fiction Why successful tropes still need believable characters, conflict and emotional development A preview of next week's discussion on book promotions and BookBub Featured Deal performance Links & Resources Mentioned ProWritingAid: https://prowritingaid.com Discount code: IWC15 SPS Live 2027 TICKETS are now available here is the link for more information: https://www.learnselfpublishing.com/spslive

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  Episode #463

  SPS-463: Big News From KDP

  Sep 3, 202644 min

  This week on The Self-Publishing Show, James Blatch and Cissy Mecca have a packed episode of indie publishing news, starting with a significant change to Amazon's preorder rules. Authors can now set up preorders up to 18 months in advance and postpone them twice without penalty – enough to tempt even preorder-phobic James into considering one for his next book. They also discuss a legal case involving Amazon Ads, Cissy's plans to test a Goodreads giveaway for her upcoming release, and the opportunities for indie authors in the Italian market following James's conversation with the team behind Indieverse in Milan. Later, Cissy shares an experiment using ChatGPT and Claude to create an interactive, visual experience around the world of her historical romance series. This leads into a wider conversation about AI, reader-facing marketing and the pressure some romance authors feel around using AI in their businesses. Key Talking Points Amazon's new 18-month preorder window Authors can now postpone a preorder twice without penalty James considers setting up a preorder for his next book The North Carolina Attorney General's case involving Amazon Ads Cissy's Goodreads giveaway experiment for her September launch Goodreads Giveaway Month and whether giveaways are worth testing Tracking launch data with Claude The Indieverse conference in Milan and the Italian indie publishing market Opportunities for English-language indie authors publishing in Italian An upcoming SPS conversation about the Italian market Cissy's AI-created interactive world-building experience for readers Using ChatGPT to create historical inspiration images Using Claude to build interactive marketing experiences AI as a tool for launch preparation, data and book marketing The debate around reader-facing AI use in romance Authors deciding their own boundaries and approach to AI Links & Resources Mentioned ProWritingAid: https://prowritingaid.com Indie Writers Club / SPS Support: https://learnselfpublishing.com/support Down Under Mystery Club: https://ajblythe.com/podcast Cissy's: Walk the Border Password: vivian

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