The Indy Author Podcast

Matty Dalrymple talks with Doug Dorst about RUNNING AT THE CREATIVE RISK, using the book he co-authored with J.J. Abrams, S., as an example. We discuss the power of thinking you have no chance, sacrificing verisimilitude for the reading experience, how having a creative safety net lets you run straight at the risk, the joy of creating a tactile experience, the importance of not turning away from what's strange or complicated, lo-fi options for creating your own outside-the-box book, and the freedom of creating without expectations. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP191 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Doug Dorst is the author of the best-selling novel S., a collaboration with filmmaker JJ Abrams, which was published by Mulholland Books in 2013. His other works include the novel ALIVE IN NECROPOLIS, the story collection THE SURF GURU, and the play MONSTER IN THE DARK, created in collaboration with foolsFURY Theater of San Francisco. He was also a staff writer on the Amazon show Z: THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING. He directs the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Texas State University in San Marcos. Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with THE SENSE OF DEATH; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. Matty also writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage, and shares what she's learned on THE INDY AUTHOR PODCAST. She has written books on the business of short fiction and podcasting for authors; her articles have appeared in "Writer's Digest" magazine. She is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Matty Dalrymple talks with Cliff Beach about WHAT WRITERS CAN LEARN FROM THE MUSIC WORLD, including achieving a transference of feeling with our readers, maintaining a creative hunger, deciding whether you want to be hot or achieve a slow boil, balancing creativity and a business mindset, not waiting for someone to greenlight your idea, and the power of being interested, not just interesting. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP190 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Author and musician Cliff Beach is the host of the Deeper Grooves Podcast and Deeper Grooves on 885 FM. He is the winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize, two World Songwriting Awards, four Global Music Awards, and a California Music Video & Film Award, and has been nominated for many more. His music has been featured on The CW, HBO MAX, and in a BMW spot, and his single "Confident" was featured on Spotify All Funked Up and Funk Drive playlists. Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with THE SENSE OF DEATH; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. Matty also writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage, and shares what she's learned on THE INDY AUTHOR PODCAST. She has written books on the business of short fiction and podcasting for authors; her articles have appeared in "Writer's Digest" magazine. She is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Matty Dalrymple talks with Amy Peele about USING "GLIMMERS AND WHISPERS" TO CARE FOR YOUR WRITER BODY, including the meaning behind "glimmers and whispers," using pleasure bundling as an incentive to move, the value of an accountability partner, hand care for writers, the physical and creative benefits of music, baking movement into different phases of the writing process, and believing that "the creative juice will still be there" if you take break from your desk. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP189 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Amy S. Peele, RN, is the award-winning author of CUT, MATCH, AND HOLD, medical mysteries with a mission and a side of humor, and received the NYC Big Book Award, Chanticleer International Book Awards, IPPY, Independent Press Awards, and more. Before becoming a writer, Amy spent 35 years in the organ transplant field which provides an authentic backdrop to her books. Amy loves to speak, swim, teach chair yoga, meditate, and kill the people she didn't like from work in her mysteries and use their organs—why waste the kill?

Matty Dalrymple talks with Shelby Leigh about MOVING PAST SELF-DOUBT TO PROMOTE YOUR WORK, including getting past the stigma of promotion and marketing; identifying the value to the reader of fiction as well as non-fiction; the importance of understanding your genre; the value of social media for both promotion and market research; protecting yourself emotionally from the impact of unfollows or bad reviews; recognizing that the environment you create on social media is part of your brand; determining your boundaries of what you share; and giving yourself grace. If one of those topics piques your interest, you can easily jump to that section of the interview by clicking on the flagged timestamps below. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP188 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Shelby Leigh is a poet, mental health advocate, and book marketing strategist who has been writing on the internet for over 7 years, amassing a following of more than 500,000. More than 1,700 authors have used Shelby's book marketing courses and guides to improve their confidence with marketing and get more sales. She is also the author of the bestselling book CHANGING WITH THE TIDES. Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with THE SENSE OF DEATH; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. Matty also writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage, and shares what she's learned on THE INDY AUTHOR PODCAST. She has written books on the business of short fiction and podcasting for authors; her articles have appeared in Writer's Digest magazine. She is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Matty Dalrymple talks with Tara Robinett of Draft2Digital about THE POWER OF PRINT, including what print on demand is, and changing players in the POD market; D2D functionality for creating print editions from ebooks, including creating a wraparound print cover from an ebook cover; the importance of avoiding ebook language (like "click here") in your print book; why unlimited revisions aren't viable for print; how to switch a book from KDP Print or IngramSpark to D2D print, including changing vendor of record; and how D2D provides a viable centralized option to trade money for efficiency. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP187 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Tara Robinett is the Director of Publishing Operations for Draft2Digital. She has worked in publishing realm since 1996 for traditional publishers such as Saxon Publishing, and has also worked as a freelance typesetter, editor, and proofreader before becoming the first official employee hired by Draft2Digital in 2013. She currently oversees the Customer Support and Content Review teams. She lives in Tulsa with a menagerie of cats and dogs and kids.

Matty Dalrymple talks with Emma Dhesi about THE POWER OF A BOOK COACH, including the differences between coaching and consulting, and between coaching and editing; the value a coach can bring in terms of providing accountability, guiding you through your own unique writing process, and helping you rediscover the joy of writing; and tips for choosing a coach, including red flags to look out for. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP186 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Emma Dhesi is a book coach and author mentor who specializes in helping beginner authors write their first novel. Through her 1:1 coaching, Emma guides writers through story development and character evolution and provides personalized feedback. For more hands-off help, Emma hosts the podcast Turning Readers into Writers and is the lead author of LAUNCH PAD: THE COUNTDOWN TO WRITING YOUR BOOK. Emma lives in Edinburgh, Scotland with her husband, 3 children and 3 cats.

Matty Dalrymple talks with Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur about AI AS METADATA ASSISTANT AND MUSE, including how effective (or ineffective) AI is in helping authors with keywords, book descriptions, categories, and titles; using AI to create interior images such as maps (and tips for how to do this); using AI image generators to visualize your book description; and the importance of changing how we operate to use AI tools to their fullest. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP185 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Dave Chesson is the guy behind Kindlepreneur.com, a website devoted to teaching authors about book marketing. Recommended by Amazon KDP as the place where you can learn how to "optimize marketing for your books," Kindlepreneur has grown to be one of the largest book marketing websites. Dave's tactics help both fiction and nonfiction authors of all levels get their books discovered by the right readers. Dave is also the creator of Publisher Rocket, a software that helps authors see what's really going on in the book market, and thus pick better keywords and categories to help them sell more books. Dave was previously a guest in Episode 085 - Optimizing Your Keywords.

Matty Dalrymple talks with Greta Boris and Megan Haskell about PLANNING A NOVEL. We discuss brainstorming, including planting the concept seeds, productive daydreaming, and feeding the subconscious; worldbuilding, including how much is too much, giving the characters (and readers) an anchor, and letting world-building inform your plot; standalone or series, including which makes more sense for writers depending on whether they are looking to build an indie career or looking for a traditional publishing deal; and the story bible, including using a story bible to build your fan base. Greta and Megan also discuss their Kickstarter, Foundations of Great Storytelling: Preparing to Write. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP184 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Greta Boris is the USA Today Bestselling author of The Seven Deadly Sins Murders, a psychological suspense series, and The Mortician Murders, a paranormal cozy mystery series. She hails from sunny Southern California where—based on her books, which are all set there—things are darker than you'd expect. Her stories have been called atmospheric and un-put-down-able. Megan Haskell is the award-winning author of The Sanyare Chronicles, an action-packed female-led fantasy adventure. Her other titles include the epic fantasy Forged in Shadow and the upcoming women's contemporary fantasy, Aether Bound. A Southern California transplant, she's living the dream of writing while raising her two daughters in Orange County. Together, Greta and Megan founded The Author Wheel, a website dedicated to helping writers become authors and keep their stories rolling. With over twenty years of writing and publishing experience between them, they've made the mistakes so you don't have to.

Matty Dalrymple talks with Dharma Kelleher about WRITING FROM OR ABOUT THE LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY, including Dharma's experience with traditional publishing and why she went indie; the importance of remembering why you're writing (it's probably not for the money); letting the reader draw the lessons from your book; finding commonality among the differences; the importance of giving your character agency; the danger of tropes becoming words and then damaging actions; tapping into the expertise of sensitivity readers; and the importance of getting a variety of input. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP183 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Dharma Kelleher is a trailblazer in the crime fiction world, known for her thrilling stories that are equal parts heart-pumping action and thought-provoking social commentary. As one of the few openly transgender authors in her genre, Dharma tackles tough issues and shines a light on the underrepresented and marginalized.

Matty Dalrymple talks with Lisa Regan about HOW TO SUCCEED WITH A SUPER-LONG SERIES, including how to plan character development, building your team of characters, the plausibility pact with readers, the pros and cons of a fictional location, keeping readers engaged, and how to maintain your interest as a series author. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP182 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Lisa Regan is the USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Detective Josie Quinn series as well as several other crime fiction titles. She has a bachelor's degree in English and a Master of Education degree from Bloomsburg University. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers Association, and Mystery Writers of America. And she lives outside Philadelphia with her husband, daughter and Boston Terrier named Mr. Phillip. Lisa previously appeared on the podcast in Episode 016 - Drawing Back the Publishing Curtain with Lisa Regan