The Profitable Writer

If you and I were having coffee together, and I asked if you believed in the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus, you’d probably reply, “No, those are nice ideas but they’re not real because they’re myths.” It’s pretty easy for us to distinguish reality from fiction when it comes to figures like Santa Claus. However, it’s not so easy for writers to distinguish fact from fiction when it comes to publishing. That’s why I’m glad my friend Terry Whalin is here to help us dispel publishing myths that can lead you astray. Let me tell you a bit about him. Terry Whalin understands both sides of the editorial desk. A former literary agent, Terry is an Acquisitions Editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 books for traditional publishers and several books have sold over 100,000 copies. Terry has also written for more than 50 magazines. As a frustrated editor in 2004, Terry wrote Book Proposals That Sell: 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success, which has nearly 200 5-star reviews and has helped many authors. Terry is an active member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and lives in Southern California. Today we’re here to talk about another one of his fantastic book, which is 10 Publishing Myths: Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed. These are some of the myths we discuss (you’ll love these!): My publisher will sell and promote my book. Writing a book will make me famous. I can’t call myself a writer unless I publish a book. The editor will fix all my mistakes. Good writers are born, not made. My book will be a NYT bestseller. The life of a writer is glamourous. You can connect with Terry at his website, https://terrywhalin.com, as well as visit https://publishingoffer.com, where you can download the 11th publishing myth. * * * Today’s episode is sponsored by Karen Hunsanger, an incredible editor known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit.

  On today's episode, we dive into three key ways you can demonstrate your credibility to prospective clients. *** Thanks to today's sponsor! Vellum is the go-to book formatting software for indie authors who care about creating beautiful ebooks and print books. Use the link to download Vellum for FREE. 

Most of what we discuss here on the Profitable Writer podcast is centered around nonfiction. That’s what I write, both for myself and for clients, and most of our guests are focused on nonfiction. However, today I’m honored to feature a guest who is here to share tips and advice on writing and marketing historical fiction. Melissa LaShure is the host of the LiteraryScape Podcast, where she discusses and recommends books in the historical Christian romance genre to readers around the world, as well as offering writing tips, tricks, and tools for aspiring authors. She is also the creator of HCRW (Historical Christian Romance Writers), a membership group where authors of historical Christian romance can learn and grow together. You can connect with Melissa at her website: https://literaryscape.com. Our conversation focuses on a variety of topics, including: Her journey as a writer. How to find and target your reader. What makes a historical Christian romance novel memorable. What she’s doing this year to market her fiction. Tips for authors who are just getting started. Although Melissa’s genre is historical Christian romance, the vast majority of her advice will apply to authors writing in a variety of genres. * * * Today’s episode is sponsored by Karen Hunsanger, an incredible editor known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit.

  As a ghostwriter (or someone who wants to be), it's easy to worry about whether you have the right credentials to be perceived as a pro. However, there's a far more important question you must ask first. *** Thanks to today's sponsor! Vellum is the go-to book formatting software for indie authors who care about creating beautiful ebooks and print books. Use the link to download Vellum for FREE. 

We talk a lot about income streams here on the show because there are countless ways to take your book or message and make money from it. A book is only the starting point. Many authors write a book, publish it, and then ask, “Now what?” My guest today is going to help us think about various ways to take your book or message and turn it into dollars. Thomas Umstattd, Jr. is the CEO of Author Media, a professional speaker and nonfiction author, and host of the Novel Marketing Podcast and the Christian Publishing Show. He is a wealth of knowledge on all things related to book marketing, media for authors, author branding, and much more. He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and children. You can connect with Thomas at https://authormedia.com and his personal website. https://www.thomasumstattd.com. In this conversation, Thomas and I discuss: Non-book related ways to monetize your author platform. How to diversify your income stream. The role of Patreon in his business. And more! * * *  Today’s episode is sponsored by Karen Hunsanger, an incredible editor known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit.

The #1 topic people ask me about is ghostwriting. On this episode, we'll dive into ten reasons ghostwriting is a great business for writers. 1. You can work on your own time. 2. Books are pretty straightforward to write.  3. You only need a few projects per year to make a good income. 4. “Ghostwriter” is a compelling term that makes people curious.  5. Ghostwriting is easy to explain to people.    6. Everybody wants a book! 7. You can set your own income.   8. Ghostwriting is not a commodity-based business. 9. You become a trusted confidante to your clients.  10. As a ghostwriter, you can explore your curiosity. *** Thanks to today's sponsor! Vellum is the go-to book formatting software for indie authors who care about creating beautiful ebooks and print books. Use the link to download Vellum for FREE. 

Much of what we do as writers is focused on the here and now. There’s that blog post to write, that client chapter, those emails to answer, that marketing plan to think about, that cover design to approve. All good things, to be sure! It’s easy to lose sight of the forest because we’re so focused on the tree, isn’t it? On today’s episode, I had the honor of sitting down (on Zoom, of course) with two good friends, Ariel Curry and Liz Morrow, to reflect on the long-term journey of building our careers as authors. Ariel Curry is a writer, editor, & book coach at Ariel Curry Editorial with over 10 years of experience in traditional publishing. She lives in Chattanooga, TN, with her husband, foster children, two rescue dogs, a kitten, and a beehive. You can connect with her at https://www.arielcurry.com. Liz Morrow is a traditionally-published ghostwriter for entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and business experts. She specializes in personal and professional development and memoir. When she’s not writing, you can find Liz listening to long-form podcasts, rewatching “The Office” and drinking margaritas with friends. She lives in Greenville, SC with her husband, two children, and goldendoodle. You can connect with her at https://www.wellwrittenco.com. Ariel and Liz have teamed up to create the Hungry Authors brand, which includes an excellent podcast by the same name as well as their upcoming book, Hungry Authors: The Indispensable Guide to Planning, Writing, and Publishing a Nonfiction Book. You can find out more visiting https://hungryauthors.com, and I encourage you to pre-order the Hungry Authors book via the link above, which goes to Bookshop.org. By doing so, you’ll help support indie bookstores. Ariel, Liz, and I wanted to explore the long-term journey of building an author career in this conversation. Some of the topics include: What kinds of things each of us is working on now. Our long-term career goals. How we got started as writers. Some of our challenges right now. How we balance client work vs. our own author brands. How to balance a writing career with parenthood. We actually used this episode on both of our podcasts, so if you’re a listener of Hungry Authors, this conversation might sound familiar! * * * Today’s episode is sponsored by Karen Hunsanger, an incredible editor known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit.

As a writer, your primary job is to communicate. Most of us feel very comfortable communicating our ideas, stories, and other content in a variety of forms. If you write for clients, you probably feel right at home when you write in their style or voice. For some reason, though, many writers struggle when it comes to communicating about themselves! It’s critical that we feel confident and assertive when it comes to talking about our work, our services, our value, and how we can help and serve others with our writing. That’s why I’m excited to bring you this conversation with Lindsey Hughes. Known as the Pitchmaster, Lindsey loves helping people discover their superpower, create compelling content, and feel excited about pitching and networking. She teaches how to pitch like a boss, network like a VIP, and write like an Oscar winner.  In her wide-ranging career as a Hollywood development executive, Lindsey has worked in everything from feature films, television movies, and TV series, to animation and live action. She began her career reading scripts for Robert Zemeckis and Kathryn Bigelow, worked under Michael Eisner at Walt Disney Feature Animation, and developed projects for John H. Williams, producer of the billion-dollar Shrek franchise.  You can connect with Lindsey at her site, https://thepitchmaster.com, where you can also subscribe to her weekly newsletter for actionable creativity and career tips. In this conversation, Lindsey and I talk about ways we can improve our author bio, our branding, and various other means we use to communicate to people how we can serve them. This episode is going to be super valuable to every writer who wants to create more value for their ideas and services—that includes you as well! Lindsey is full of energy and insights, and you’ll come away with lots of great ideas to boost your business profile.  * * * Today’s episode is sponsored by Karen Hunsanger, an incredible editor known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit.  

Dan Miller, founder of 48 Days, discusses building income streams from writing. Topics include career transitions, transforming lives through purposeful work, transitioning to an entrepreneur, leveraging public domain content, the power of podcasting, and building business through community connections.

You can have all the talent in the world as a writer, but if you don’t have good systems to operate and grow your business, it will be tough to be successful over the long haul. That’s why I’m excited to bring you this conversation with Mike Abramowitz. He is a speaker, author, and transformational coach who helps turn your greatest insecurities into your superpowers. Mike Abramowitz has twenty years of direct sales experience training 5000+ sales reps for $17M sold, has nine books in the self-help space (including G.R.A.B. TOMORROW: Your Best Year Ever), and founded PB&J for Tampa Bay (which has provided over 80,000 meals to the homeless). He has scaled his several six-figure businesses and nonprofits to be run without him so he can experience time freedom that he desires. Mike is a busy father and husband who helps other busy entrepreneurs implement systems in their businesses by leveraging automation and delegation to help business operators become business owners and truly experience the financial and time freedom that drew them to entrepreneurship in the first place. He is also the co-host of the Better Than Rich podcast, and he leads a community called Automate, Delegate, Systemize. You can check out his site at https://mikeabramowitz.com. In this conversation, Mike helps us sort out issues we all face as writers who are also business owners and entrepreneurs. We talk about: The benefit of using systems and automation, and how to use them well for social media, podcasting, and other business elements What kinds of things you should delegate Knowing what your time is worth Thoughts on using AI to stay competitive How to hire a VA You can visit https://va.betterthanrich.com and click “schedule free consultation.” When you do, you’ll receive a free 25-page workbook. * * * Today’s episode is sponsored by Karen Hunsanger, an incredible editor known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit.