✨ CLICK HERE TO GET INSTANT ACCESS TO MY FREE SELF-PUBLISHING STARTER KIT! ✨

Book Writing & Publishing

{The Blog}

Ep 139: How Indie Authors Can Shield Their Book from Copyright Infringement

If just reading that list makes you want to hide under your desk with a bottle of...something...you’re not alone.

Indie authors are being forced to navigate a landscape that feels murkier by the day, and most of us didn’t exactly sign up to become copyright attorneys.

Unfortunately, the “poor man’s copyright” trick (mailing yourself a sealed copy of your manuscript) I used to suggest won’t do a thing to protect you in 2025.

What does matter? Understanding when and how to formally register your copyright, what that three-month filing window really means, and how to handle it when you discover your book has been pirated.

In this episode, I break down:

👉 Whether copyright registration is worth the time and money for indie authors \

👉 What to do (and what not to do) if your book shows up on LibGen or other shady sites

👉 The difference between healthy protection and exhausting paranoia

I’ll show you how to balance protecti...

Ep 138: How to Choose Best Kindle Keywords for Your Book (Guide for Indie Authors) (2025)

There are more than 42 million books on Amazon right now. So how in the world do you help your book stand out? One word: keywords.

Think of keywords as Amazon’s GPS. They tell the algorithm exactly where your book belongs and who should see it. However, Amazon only gives you seven keyword boxes to work with. Seven! Which means every slot has to pull its weight.

In this episode, I walk you through how to make those keywords work harder for you. We cover:

Why those “optional” keyword boxes are actually non-negotiable if you want readers to find you.
The difference between broad, hopelessly crowded terms (like romance or personal growth) and the kind of long-tail keywords that actually connect you to the right readers.
Simple (and sometimes free) ways to research what your audience is really typing into Amazon.
Paid (but not ghastly expensive) tools that can save you time if you want to dig deeper.
How to maximize all 50 characters in each slot.
The big no-nos: other autho

Ep 137: Amazon Ads for Authors Made Simple - FAQs

Amazon ads don’t have to be complicated (or eat up your entire marketing budget) to actually sell books. In this episode, I’m sharing my approach to making Amazon ads simple(r) without endless spreadsheets, confusing dashboards, or the kind of budget that makes you wonder if you should’ve stuck with free bookmarks.

Common Questions Tackled:

✅ Do I really need to spend $50–$100 a day like people recommend for Meta ads? Or can I start with $2–$3 and still see results?

✅ How do I actually know if my ads are working?

✅ Everyone says to use 300+ keywords. Do I actually need that many? (No, you don't.)

✅ Should I even bother with ads if my book listing isn’t fully optimized yet?

✅ How often am I supposed to tweak campaigns?

✅ What’s more important: impressions and clicks, or actual conversions (aka sales)?

✅ Can I determine the exact words people are typing into Amazon when they find my book?

If you’ve been curious about trying Amazon ads but feel completely overwhelmed by th...

How to Update Your Book Subtitle for Better Amazon Discoverability

As an indie author, your book’s subtitle is one of the most powerful tools to boost your Amazon discoverability and attract the right readers. But many authors understandably hesitate to update their subtitles because they worry about conflicts with their book cover or don't want to confuse their audience.

Also, a subtitle that's keyword rich but sterile? That might attract eyeballs, but it doesn't always convert them into readers.

However, you can safely tweak your subtitle metadata on Amazon (and keep it true to the book's overall tone and style) to improve search rankings, click-through rates, and conversion rates without changing your cover design or risking listing problems.

In this post, I'll walk you through safe subtitle update strategies designed specifically for indie authors who want to:

✅ Improve keyword targeting in Amazon’s search algorithm

✅ Increase reader interest with emotional hooks and benefits

✅ Avoid cover-listing mismatches that cause

...

Ep 136: Writing a Novel While Raising Kids with Jill Beissel

Writers dream of the day they’ll hold their finished book, but few warn you about how intense the editing phase can be. In this episode, debut novelist Jill Beissel gets real about the messy, magical process of turning a rough draft into a polished novel readers will love.

Jill’s upcoming book, Glitter and Gold (out October 7!), went through what she calls “color-coded chaos”—a DIY system using highlighters, sticky notes, and sheer persistence to untangle plot issues and deepen character arcs.

She also shares what it’s like to write while raising two young kids and working full-time. Some nights she wrote 500 words, others just 50, but she kept showing up. Her writing sprints, “progress over perfection” mindset, and decision to celebrate any words written (instead of beating herself up for what she didn’t write) are what more of us need to hear.

We talk about dual timelines, beta readers, and why sometimes, the bravest thing a writer can do is shelve a manuscript after 100+ re...

Ep 135: Q&A: Kirkus Reviews, Writing with AI, and Bestseller Status

Ever feel like everyone has some secret book marketing hack? Most of those “shortcuts” are just expensive detours.

In this episode, I’m calling out three distractions that keep indie authors spinning their wheels. First up: Kirkus Reviews. Are they legit? Yes. Are they worth the price for most self-published authors? Maybe. But if you're hoping a $400 review is going to move thousands of copies, well, it probably won't.

Then we dive into the Amazon Bestseller badge obsession.

Finally, we'll talk about AI. As someone who edits A LOT of manuscripts, I can spot AI-generated content from a mile away. So can readers. In publishing, the long game truly is the shortcut.

🎉 NOW OPEN!

Amazon Ads for Indie Authors

Learn how to run Amazon ads that actually work—even if you’ve never touched an ad platform in your life.

👉 CLICK HERE TO JOIN >>

Wanting to get out of your own way so you can write the damn book already?

👉 CLICK HERE to write the first draft of your nonfictio...

Ep 134: Crafting Complex Narratives with Lauren Oliver

If you’re the kind of person who devours psychological thrillers but also wants to be emotionally sucker-punched (in the best way), Lauren Oliver’s What Happened to Lucy Vale needs to be on your radar.

In this episode, Lauren takes us behind the scenes of what might be her most structurally daring novel to date. Set in a small Indiana town with a possibly-haunted house at its core, Lucy Vale unspools two eerie mysteries—one set in the past, one unraveling in real time—using both traditional storytelling and a collective “we” voice (think The Virgin Suicides meets Reddit sleuth thread).

This book took years to write, and when you hear how the pieces click into place, you’ll understand why.

Through this book, she challenges us to ask: What if we’re not always the hero in someone else’s story?

We also dive into Lauren’s writing journey, which is less “neat staircase to the top” and more “rollercoaster meets overgrown hiking trail.” She talks honestly about the pressure to st...

Ep 133: Living Proof with Tiffany Graham Charkosky

In this episode, I sit down with Tiffany Graham Charkosky to talk about her forthcoming memoir, Living Proof (October 21, Little A), a book written and shaped over years of writing and rewriting.

At just 11 years old, Tiffany lost her mother. For decades, she believed it was an unexplainable tragedy, until a DNA test unearthed information that changed everything. That discovery didn’t just reshape her understanding of her mother’s death; it also made her question what she might unknowingly pass on to her own children.

INSIDE THE EPISODE

The emotional (and editorial) decision-making around what belongs in a book
How long it took for her story to find its true shape (and why)
The surprising speed of her publishing deal once it all came together
How do we process loss as kids versus adults? And what happens when new information forces us to reinterpret our past?

Tiffany’s story is as deeply personal as it is universally relatable.

ABOUT TIFFANY

Tiffany Graham Char...

Ep 132: What Nobody Tells You About Making Your Book "Take Off"

If you’ve been chasing the magical marketing strategy that will finally make your book “take off,” welcome to the club. In this episode, I’m addressing the question nearly every author eventually asks: What does it actually take to make a book successful?

Spoiler: there’s no guaranteed formula. Even authors with six-figure advances, NYT bestsellers, or celebrity blurbs still worry their latest book won’t sell.

So what are we really buying when we shell out thousands for a publicist? Often, it’s access and visibility, not actual sales. You can land your book in front of all the right people, and still... crickets. Why? Because readers are human. Think about how long you’ve let a book sit in your online cart before clicking “buy,” even if you really wanted to read it.

Success usually requires a mix of good writing, staying power, and yes, a little luck. But maybe it’s time we stop defining success only by sales numbers. What if it’s about writing something you’re proud of? Or c...

Ep 131: The Paper Palace and Beyond with Miranda Cowley Heller

Miranda Cowley Heller's father was a book editor; her grandfather edited Jack Kerouac and was friends with Hemingway. That legacy, while inspiring, left her frozen when it came to pursuing her own writing.

Instead, she built a thriving career in publishing and TV, eventually heading up drama series at HBO. Then, in her 50s, she wrote the novel she’d been carrying around for years, The Paper Palace, which became a New York Times #1 bestseller and a Reese’s Book Club pick.

Now, she's returned to her first creative love—poetry—with a stunning new collection: The Deep Water Knows. “Poetry is almost like putting snapshots of your soul into the world,” she tells me.

In this episode, Miranda gets real about the myth of getting wiser with age, the vulnerability of releasing creative work into the world, and why your voice is never too late to matter.

ABOUT MIRANDA

Miranda Cowley Heller has worked as senior vice president and head of drama series at HBO, developing and overseeing ...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Ready to Write the Damn Book Already?

Get the first draft of your nonfiction or memoir written in 33 days!

...even if you don't have a cabin in the wilderness, 4 uninterrupted hours a day to write, or confidence that you're a "real" writer.

TELL ME MORE!

SELF-PUBLISHING STARTER KIT

Discover the exact steps to focus on (and mistakes to avoid) so you can self-publish an incredible book that's indistinguishable in quality from a New York Times bestseller.

I NEED THIS!

Need Coaching, Accountability & Community?

The Book Writers Collective provides the coaching, support, and writers' community you need to bring your book to life!

SAY LESS (BUT TELL ME MORE)

Ready to find your crew of avid readers?

Your book is available! Yahoo! Now, you need some (serious) traction. With this course, you'll go from feeling invisible to growing your tribe of loyal, raving readers.

I'M READY!