Novel Marketing

We’ve arrived! It’s the 500th episode of Novel Marketing.
To celebrate, I’m giving away the MacBook Neo I reviewed a few episodes ago, but I’m also revealing my worst takes and biggest mistakes over the past 500 episodes.
Some of those takes were correct, but when circumstances changed, the advice was no longer good. But sometimes, I was wrong from the start. Gather ‘round and hear the tale of the evolution of the host and his book marketing advice.
Listen in or read the blog to find out which pieces of advice have stood the test of time (and always will) and which pieces you can cast off like a crumpled first draft.
And don’t forget to enter to win the MacBook Neo! You can find links and details on the blog or YouTube.
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Most authors can tell you their royalties but not their net profit per book. They spend money on ads, see sales come in, and assume things are fine. But are they? Sales and profit are not the same thing.
How can you find out if you’re making money or just making sales?
In this week’s episode, you’ll hear from Eiri Theodorou, founder of Publisher Champ, an analytics platform used by over 25,000 authors.
You’ll learn
How one of Amazon’s metrics is somewhat misleading (and how to find the truth)
How you can track real-world marketing (like speaking and interviews) in a dashboard
How to find out if your best-selling book is masking problems with your other books.
If you want to stop guessing about your profitability, listen in or read the blog version. You’ll be able to invest in marketing with more certainty and become truly profitable.
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There’s a culture shift underway that most authors aren’t seeing. Even traditional publishers can’t figure out why their titles are resonating. If your book isn’t selling, it could be a cover or craft problem, but it might be a zeitgeist problem.  
In this week’s episode, you’ll hear from fantasy and LitRPG author Seth Ring. We discuss the biggest cultural shift in storytelling in two decades and what it means for your books.
You’ll discover
What’s become of the morally conflicted anti-hero trope
What readers are tired of and hungry for
A sure-fire way to write a story that resonates for this new zeitgeist
This cultural shift puts authors in a uniquely strategic place. If you want to make an impact with your writing and bring hope and change to the world through stories, it’s your time to shine. Listen in or read the blog version to find out how.
Blog Link: https://www.authormedia.com/the-cultural-zeitgeist-shift-thats-making-indie-authors-rich/
AuthorMedia.social link:  https://authormedia.social/c/novel-marketing/the-cultural-zeitgeist-shift-that-s-making-indie-authors-rich
YouTube Link:
https://youtu.be/zVz0pd-P3TU
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I bought and tested Apple's cheapest laptop so you don't have to.
I stress-tested the MacBook Neo with a 250,000-word document, ran every major writing app, and pushed the machine to its limits. Whether the Neo is right for you depends on what you use your computer to do, because authors do more than just type words into a word processor.

In this week's episode of Novel Marketing, you’ll learn
What you should look for (and ignore) when buying a laptop in 2026
Which laptops I recommend for authors, podcasters, and PC users
Whether the MacBook Neo is the right choice for you as an author
Which laptop I will not recommend in 2026
Listen in or read the blog version to find out which machine is the best bang for your buck and your use cases as an author.
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Your author friends are lying to you about your book cover.
Well, not on purpose. They can’t help it.
When authors are trying to pick a book cover, they often ask their friends which cover they like best. But that strategy doesn’t work because your friends look too closely. They think about your feelings. They vote based on which cover has more votes.
But your cover isn’t for your friends.
It’s for strangers.
In this week’s episode, we unpack why beautiful covers, which are loved by your friends, fail to help your book sell. You’ll hear how one author made his losing ads profitable without rewriting a single word of his book.
In this week’s episode you’ll learn
What makes a cover “good”
How you can get accurate data on what will make readers click to buy
How much you’ll need to spend to get a cover that sells
If your ads aren’t working, it may be time to examine the elements of your cover. Listen in or read the blog version to find out how.  
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