Fully Booked: The Hidden Gems Author Podcast

Fully Booked EP18: Inkers Con and Writers’ Conferences in 2022

After two years of social distancing, one of the things many of us are most excited about is meeting with our peers at events - and writers are no exception. Writing conferences are back in a big way in 2022, both in person and digitally, including one of the best-known and most-talked-about: Inkers Con. The mind behind Inkers Con is New York Times best-selling author Alessandra Torre, who joined Craig and Roland to discuss the benefit authors can get from writers' conferences in general, and some of the history and details of Inkers Con specifically. Find out how her first conference experience changed the trajectory of her career, and what Inkers Con does differently versus other conferences. Inkers Con Website: https://www.inkerscon.com/ Alessandra Torre https://www.alessandratorre.com/
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Fully Booked EP17: Collaborating in a Shared Fictional Universe

There are plenty of advantages for authors writing within a shared fictional universe, such as expanding their individual audiences, collaborating on new ideas and characters, sharing common costs, etc. But there are many challenges as well. Everyone needs to keep their timelines straight, plan and coordinate major world/story events, and stay on top of all of the other shared details so that they don’t introduce any inconsistencies that will not only affect their own story, but those of their collaborators. Authors Kathy Fawcett (writing as K.M. Fawcett), Jen Talty, and Stacey Wilk have created the Candlewood Falls series, each writing novels that take place in the same small town. Together, they’re a dozen books in and today they’re talking with Fully Booked about everything that’s gone into making this whole thing work so successfully. The Candlewood Falls Series: https://www.amazon.com/Candlewood-Falls/e/B0965TRR8B
Stacey Wilk: http://www.staceywilk.com/
K.M. Fawcett https://kmfawcett.com/
Jen Talty https://jentalty.com/
Hidden Gems Need our help publishing or marketing your book?
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All episode details and links:
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Fully Booked EP16: Breaking Down the Craft of Writing

Writing is often described as a craft, not an art, and the most successful writers are those who constantly hone that craft. To that end, we're excited to welcome Stefan Emunds to this week's episode of Fully Booked to discuss what he learned during his journey to becoming a writer.
After struggling initially to find success with his visionary fiction books, Stefan went back to the drawing board and studied fiction writing from the ground up - identifying the "Eight Crafts" essential for grabbing a reader's attention and getting them invested in your character's journey. In fact, Stefan became so well versed in the subject that he wrote a book about these crafts, and teaches a course about them as well. In this podcast, Craig and Roland ask Stefan to give a high-level explanation of what these "crafts" are and talk about the transformative effect they can have on the stories you tell.
 
Stefan Emunds
The Eight Crafts of Writing: https://www.amazon.com/Eight-Crafts-Writing-Map-Storytelling-ebook/dp/B097N9Q6QH
Website: https://www.eightcrafts.com/
 
Hidden Gems
Need our help publishing or marketing your book? https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/author-services/
All episode details and links: https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/podcast
 

Fully Booked EP15: How can Wide-published Authors Market their Books?

If you publish on Amazon, then you probably think that paid ads are the best way to market your book. When it comes to selling your eBook elsewhere, though, it’s all about newsletters! Wide-publishing expert Erin Wright is back, this time to talk about how to effectively market books that are sold on multiple online storefronts. In fact, even if you aren’t publishing wide, this episode is one you don’t want to miss because it’s packed with all sorts of useful statistics, information and tips about how to get the most out of both the newsletters you advertise on and your own! Erin goes into detail on how to improve your sales, open rates, build reader loyalty, run effective giveaways and so much more. Erin Wright: https://erinwright.net/
Wide for the Win Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wideforthewin
Hidden Gems
Need our help publishing or marketing your book? https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/author-services/
All episode details and links: https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/podcast
 

Fully Booked EP14: Why are Romance Books so popular?

What is it that makes romance such a popular genre among readers? The genre is massive, made up of countless sub-categories that allow for a wide variety of stories to be told, but the most popular of them usually conform to certain tropes or norms that tie the genre together. It’s important for authors to understand what it is that makes romance novels work for readers, and who better to discuss that with than NYT and USA Today bestselling author Krista Lakes.Krista has been writing successful and very popular billionaire romance for years, and she has a plenty of insight into not only that particular category, but in what makes romance stories work in general. Krista Lakeshttp://kristalakes.com/
Hidden Gems Need our help publishing or marketing your book? https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/author-services/
All episode details and links: https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/podcast
 

Fully Booked EP13: Industry issues and news - April, 2022

As a semi-regular ongoing feature of Fully Booked, Hidden Gems will cover news, issues or rumors that affect authors and publishing in general. In the first episode of this series, Craig and Roland discuss three separate issues.
Amazon ads for traditional published authors – In a recent blog post, Roland posted about how Amazon’s ad platform has recently opened up to authors of books that were published by traditional publishers and what it may mean for traditional publishing. There were a few comments on that blog from readers that disagreed with his take, so we discuss the issue and Craig gives his thoughts.
Read and return controversy – Recently, a battle has been waging between authors and some TikTok users that are urging readers to return their eBooks for a refund after having read them. We discuss this issue in detail as well as give our take on both sides of the argument and what, if anything, should be done about it.
Amazon product page changes – Amazon is constantly tinkering with their product pages, making it harder for authors to know where the info is coming from, and thus potentially losing a rich source of advertising information.
LinksOriginal HG Amazon ad blog post with comments:
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/amazon-delivers-blow-traditional-publishers/One article about the read and return issue, and the change.org petition:
https://medium.com/lets-write/this-new-tiktok-trend-is-damaging-your-favorite-authors-47817bd7c1f6https://www.change.org/p/change-amazon-return-policies-for-completed-e-books-protect-authors-from-theftHidden Gems
Need our help publishing or marketing your book? https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/author-services/All episode details and links: https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/podcast

Fully Booked EP12: Bringing your Passion Project to Publication

Despite receiving numerous rejection slips and even a warning from the producers of the James Bond movies themselves, menswear aficionados Peter Brooker and Matt Spaiser nevertheless spent five years bringing their book "From Tailors with Love" to bookshelves worldwide. If you've been working on your own literary passion project and want some inspiration, you'll get a lot from listening to Matt and Pete explain how they navigated the challenges of writing a loving homage to a copyrighted franchise. Peter Brooker https://fromtailorswithlove.co.uk/
Matt Spaiser https://www.bondsuits.com/
Hidden Gems Hidden Gems offers a beta reading service which you can book right here: https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/product/beta-reader-service/
All episode details and links:
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/podcast

Fully Booked EP11: How to Keep the Creative Juices Flowing.

When it comes to sheer productivity, it’s hard to find someone that gets more done than Bradley Charbonneau. He spent years writing every single day, hosting multiple podcasts, running courses and events, and publishing a multitude of books. If there is anyone to look to for advice about breaking down the barriers that are preventing you from writing, it’s him.
This week, Bradley sits down with Fully Booked to go through some of the tactics he’s found to keep those creative juices flowing. It’s a fun and lively discussion with plenty of ideas for not only established authors to try, but even as motivation for those want-to-be writers that have been sitting on the sidelines, dreaming of getting started as they wait for their “someday” to come along.
 
Bradley Charbonneau
https://bradleycharbonneau.com/
 
Hidden Gems
Hidden Gems offers a beta reading service which you can book right here: https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/product/beta-reader-service/
 
All episode details and links:
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/podcast
 

Fully Booked EP10: Making the Case for Publishing Wide

The idea of “Going Wide” refers to making your books available from a variety of sources instead of limiting them to only a single vendor. Many authors agree to exclusivity deals without really understanding what it is they’re giving up, such as allowing their eBooks to be available from libraries, or even being eligible to be included in some of the biggest bestseller lists like those from the New York Times or USA Today. 
 
Erin Wright runs the biggest online Facebook group for authors that publish wide, with over 11,000 members, which is why she’s the go-to expert on the subject. Today, she sits down with Fully Booked to discuss what it means to go wide, what the benefits and options are, who should or shouldn’t do it, and so much more. 
 
Erin Wright:
https://erinwright.net/
 
Wide for the Win Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/wideforthewin
 
 
Hidden Gems
Hidden Gems offers a beta reading service which you can book right here:
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/product/beta-reader-service/
 
All episode details and links:
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/podcast
 
 

Fully Booked EP9: Yes, you need Beta Readers. Here’s why...

Whether you’re a new author or a seasoned pro, it never hurts to have a fresh and unbiased assessment of your story, BEFORE it gets published or into the hands of reviewers. Beta readers familiar with your genre can give valuable feedback on common and expected tropes, plot, characterization, or pacing.
But they can be used even more specifically when needed, such as by choosing readers that fall within the specific demographics of your target audience, or from those with the unique knowledge to comment on how you may have handled any potentially sensitive topics that your story deals with.
Today, Fully Booked talks with authors Helen Yeomans and Lisa M. Lilly, both of whom have used beta readers for years and from a variety of sources. Together, we dive into this topic to give some answers to questions such as who does or doesn’t make a good beta reader, how they work, where they can be found, how many you need, and even thoughts on how to decide which suggestions, if any, should lead to changes in your book.
 
Lisa M. Lilly
https://lisalilly.com/
 
Helen Yeomans
https://www.helenyeomans.com/
 
Hidden Gems
Hidden Gems offers a beta reading service which you can book right here:
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/product/beta-reader-service/
 
All episode details and links:
https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/podcast