This is a podcast for authors by authors! (And also readers who want the scoop on what authors are REALLY thinking.) Join Valerie Biel and T.K. (Tracey) Sheffield as we share topics to help our fellow writers as well as fun tidbits on what we’re reading and where we’re roaming. Our inaugural year, 2024, had 10 episodes on topics like agent searching (episode 1), indie vs traditional publishing (episode 4), book launch basics (this episode), helpful writing conferences (episode 2), why we write what we write (episode 3) and our last episode listing our angels and assets of 2024.
In 2025, we are focusing on the process of indie/self publishing. We’ll walk through getting started, along with how to approach the tasks indie publishing requires—reviews, editing, formatting, cover design, marketing and more!! (And take a deep dive into defining hybrid publishing.)
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ABOUT US—YOUR PODCAST HOSTS:
Valerie Biel is the author of the award-winning Circle of Nine series and mystery-suspense novel, Beyond the Cemetery Gate, and middle-grade novel, Haven. She’s also a publicity professional who aids other authors with their book launches and marketing. You can find her here on Substack at Reading, Writing, & Roaming or at ValerieBiel.com.
Tracey writes stories for readers who want to laugh and escape. She is the author of the award-winning Backyard Model comic culinary cozy mysteries, and other books. She is found at her website, T.K. Sheffield Writes, and her Instagram, The Backyard Model.
ABOUT SEASON TWO: EPISODE 6
In this episode, as usual, we talk about what we’ve been reading, where we’ve been roaming, and what we’re writing. At 17:45, we dive into the metadata topic — finding comp titles for your book, and then using that research to help inform your choices for categories and keywords, along with how book descriptions, titles/subtitles and more play into creating the best metadata to make your book findable by readers.
Here are the resources that we mention:
Our most popular podcast of 2024: Traditional vs Independent Publishing
FOR INDIE PUBLISHING ADVICE / ASSISTANCE:
Val’s Substack — Full of indie publishing advice
Quick List for Where to Find Comp Titles:
Look for books in the same genre that have similar themes / plots
Look at bestsellers list for those books you initially identified — use Amazon but use incognito or in private browsing to get pure results.
Use libraries or bookstores to browse for books.
Use Literature Map. This can help you find additional authors related to the name you type in.
Perhaps — depending on how you feel about AI — use systems like ChatGPT or Grok to give you lists of similar authors. BUT always check this information yourself. AI makes mistakes and invents things sometimes. Even Amazon has an AI shopping assistant now called Rufus. We haven’t yet tested that to see how it works.
The powerhouse tool that both T.K. and I use to research categories and keywords is Kindlepreneur’s Publisher Rocket program. Highly recommended! Click the button see what that’s all about. It’s an ingenious system that helps you position your book to be as competitive as possible on Amazon.
(Note: this is an affiliate link for me, which means at no additional cost, I receive a bonus if someone purchases the product using that link.)
Send Us Your Questions & Share Your Reviews in the Comments!
Don’t hesitate to comment below if you have questions about any of the topics we’ve covered. We’re happy to answer questions directly to you via email and in subsequent episodes to help everyone!
Wishing you all a productive summer! See you in September! - Valerie & T.K.
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