The Biz Book Broadcast

Publishing scams are everywhere right now. And the truly frightening thing? They're catching out really smart people - judges, lawyers, high-powered business owners. People who should know better.

Emily Hitchcock - CEO of Columbus Publishing Lab + hybrid publisher Boyle & Dalton - is back to walk us through exactly what to look for. From dodgy website tells to the cold call that sounds too good to be true.

Plus, what you should expect to actually pay to self-publish your book - because if the price feels wrong in either direction, it probably is.

Look for more in the Red Flags strand - and do check out Emily's earlier shows on publishing scams + why smart people fall for long cons.

Books discussed in this episode:

The Confidence Game - Maria Konnikova

Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens

Emily's Websites: ColumbusPublishingLab.com +  BoyleAndDalton.com 

Emily's Website + Secret Page - Made Just for Us:: columbuspublishinglab.com/liz

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If you’d like my help with your Business go to www.lizscully.com/endlessClients

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And don’t forget to get your reading list of the 10 essential reads for every successful biz owner - these are the books Liz recommends almost on the daily to her strategy + Mastermind clients.

This isn’t your usual list of biz books, these answer the challenges you’ve actually got coming up right now. Helpful, quick to read and very timely.

Click here lizscully.com/reading to get your book list

What makes a story actually land? Oddly, it’s not the big dramatic moments - it’s the really small ones.

Marsha Shandur, of Yes Yes Marsha - our expert on persuasive storytelling - is back to discuss what a picture-book about a little girl missing her mum gets oh so right.

We dig into why action scenes beat narrative every time + why business storytellers skip the thing that makes people actually care. Plus why story short cuts deep connection + why that's so powerful.

Look for more Classics episodes - where we use kids books to answer the business questions nobody's asking.

Books discussed in this episode:

Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle - Nina Lacour (our featured book)

Mommy, Mama, and Me - Lesléa Newman (not our focus for today)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle

Little Gorilla - Ruth Bornstein

The Memoir Project - Marion Roach Smith

How to Lose Everything - Krista Couture

Marsha’s Instagram: @yesyesmarsha

Marsha’s Website + Secret Page - Made Just for Us: yesyesmarsha.com/BizBookBroadcast

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If you’d like my help with your Business go to www.lizscully.com/endlessClients

====

And don’t forget to get your reading list of the 10 essential reads for every successful biz owner - these are the books Liz recommends almost on the daily to her strategy + Mastermind clients.

This isn’t your usual list of biz books, these answer the challenges you’ve actually got coming up right now. Helpful, quick to read and very timely.

Click here lizscully.com/reading to get your book list

The description on the back of a book is doing much more work than first appears. Get it wrong and readers feel genuinely betrayed - there's actual neuroscience behind why.

Biz Book regular Rachel Allen - founder of Bolt from the Blue Copywriting - joins me to uncover what makes a great book description. We discuss the pitfalls that will lose readers + why the person who wrote your favourite book probably didn't write the words on the back cover.

And how one sentence can pull double duty across the Amazon listing, the book sales page + even the author's social media.

Look for more in the Your Biz Needs a Book strand

Books discussed in this episode:

Think Like a Film Crew - Liz Scully

Happy All the Time - Laurie Colwyn

Circe - Madeline Miller

Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

Rachel’s Website:  boltfromthebluecopywriting.com

Rachel’s Instagram: instagram.com/boltfromthebluecopywriting

Rachel's Substack: boltfromtheblue.substack.com

Rachel’s email : hello at boltfromthebluecopywriting.com

====

If you’d like my help with your Business go to www.lizscully.com/endlessClients

====

And don’t forget to get your reading list of the 10 essential reads for every successful biz owner - these are the books Liz recommends almost on the daily to her strategy + Mastermind clients.

This isn’t your usual list of biz books, these answer the challenges you’ve actually got coming up right now. Helpful, quick to read and very timely.

Click here lizscully.com/reading to get your book list

No business books today. Just me, a pile of fiction + strong opinions. (Would you expect anything less of me?)

This is our second speed reviews solo - a quick run through of recent books from the finished pile. We start with a debut novel that everyone loved... except me. So often the way. 

We look at a Glasgow crime series I can't get enough of - and the audio book narrator of dreams. Plus, my fave book of 2026 so far - a razor sharp workplace comedy.

With plethora of other books - including a historical crime novel narrated by someone who quite possibly should narrate everything + a brief appearance of radioactive toothpaste. Who'd have thought. 

Look for more solo shows + the monthly Fiction + History Pop-Ups.

Books discussed in this episode:

Yesteryear - Caro Clare Burke

Seascraper - Benjamin Wood

Word Monkey - Christopher Fowler

The Book of Forgotten Authors - Christopher Fowler

The Cutting Room - Louise Welsh - #1 The Rilke Series

The Second Room - Louise Welsh - #2 The Rilke Series

The Cut Up - Louise Welsh - #3 The Rilke Series

Bookish - Matthew Sweet

Help Wanted - Adelle Waldman

Children of Radium - Jo Dunthorne

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If you’d like my help with your Business go to www.lizscully.com/endlessClients

====

And don’t forget to get your reading list of the 10 essential reads for every successful biz owner - these are the books Liz recommends almost on the daily to her strategy + Mastermind clients.

This isn’t your usual list of biz books, these answer the challenges you’ve actually got coming up right now. Helpful, quick to read and very timely.

Click here lizscully.com/reading to get your book list

It's time for another History Pop-Up with Ron Tester.

We’ve got a mix of assassinated Presidents, smuggled books, a surprise for the beer drinking book nerd + a disagreement about a murder victim. 

Look for more History Pop-Ups where we abandon business books entirely + indulge our other book nerd tendencies.

Books discussed in this episode:

Destiny of the Republic - Candice Millard

The CIA Book Club - Charlie English

Thunderstruck - Eric Larson

The Five - Hallie Rubenhold

Story of a Murder - Hallie Rubenhold <--- this is the Crippen murder

Hitler's People - Richard J. Evans

Beer Stained Pulp - Adam Kimberley

Ron's Website: rontestercoaching.com

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If you’d like my help with your Business go to www.lizscully.com/endlessClients

====

And don’t forget to get your reading list of the 10 essential reads for every successful biz owner - these are the books Liz recommends almost on the daily to her strategy + Mastermind clients.

This isn’t your usual list of biz books, these answer the challenges you’ve actually got coming up right now. Helpful, quick to read and very timely.