Spa Girls Podcast

Love or hate it, dialogue is an essential element to fiction writing. Done well, dialogue can be very powerful. We know and understand the subtext of dialogue without having to be told, and writers can use this to create amazing scenes and tense moments. Done badly, however, dialogue can kick your readers out of the scene, make them frustrated and ultimately stop reading. So how do you make sure your dialogue sings instead of stinks? Easy peasy! Just listen to this episode... :) Today in the SPA we go through what dialogue is, how to use it to your best advantage, we give you some dialogue techniques, talk about ways you can use dialogue to amp up your scene, and work through some of the do's and don't's for creating dialogue that dances on the rooftops!

We've talked about reverse harem a little bit on the show, but this week we decided to get someone on who knows all about it, so we could pick their brains... Mwahahaha... So we convinced USA Today Bestselling paranormal romance author Steffanie Holmes to come on the show and chat about exactly what reverse harem is, how she came to write reverse harem novels, what you need to know about it, and how she so successfully launched her recent series.  Steff is a very smart author, and she's steeped in the reverse harem world, so not only was she was able to give us heaps of useful information for how to write and launch a reverse harem series, but  also insights into her writing style, her processes and ideas for marketing your books. 

The delightful USA Today bestselling author Kelly St Clare talks to the SPA Girls this week about how she moved from being a physiotherapist in a busy clinic to her current career as an Amazon bestselling author of young adult fantasy novels.  Kelly was fascinating because as well as all her fantastic tips on writing, time management and marketing, she was also able to give us some great advice on how to stay healthy as an author.  We all had some epiphany moments in this episode, from Kelly's tips on how she improves her craft with every book, how she makes sure that she is proactive and motivated with her writing, and how she monitors the fine line between passion and health to ensure she stays at her best at all times.  Another great interview with a talented, hardworking and super-smart author doing very well on the international stage! 

In response to a few recent questions we've been asked on this topic, we decided to talk through the basics of launch strategies for first-time or early career authors, or for authors starting off a new series or pen name.  It's sometimes difficult to know what you should do when you're launching a new book. We all want to make sure our book babies do as well as they possibly can when we launch, but there's also a whole lot of often contradictory advice out there on the best way to do it.  This episode is about distilling the best of the best launch advice out there for authors, so that you can make the right decisions about your launch strategy. Go forth and conquer! 

With the holiday season fast approaching, the SPA Girls gathered to talk about their list of 12 Ideas For Christmas Promotion. Between the shopping, the relative wrangling, the wallet-aches and the end-of-year energy slump, it can be hard to manage your author promotion on top of that!  Listen up and we'll (hopefully) ease your stress and you can go into the New Year refreshed and ready to rock your goals! 

It's one of the big questions in the Indie author space, and hotly debated by many on either side. This week we talk about the pros and cons of going wide on all publishing platforms versus going exclusive to Amazon. No one seems to have a definitive answer to whether it's better to do one or the other, and it can seem confusing and overwhelming. So the SPA Girls sat down and worked through what it means to go wide on all the publishing platforms, what you'll get from it that you won't get if you're exclusive, and what you'll be missing out on if you're wide - and then we do the same for the decision to go exclusive with Amazon. If you've been worrying over whether you should go wide on all platforms, or go exclusive to Amazon when you publish your next book, this episode will give you the answers you've been looking for.

This is a powerhouse episode! Be warned - it'll inspire you SO much to knuckle down and get to work, you may not come up for air for days! Kathryn is a force of nature whose incredible work ethic has seen her publish her 93rd book this week ( Bay of Fear (Battle Lords of de Velt Book 3) ). She has been self-publishing since 2012 and talks about how she initially launched her career with an incredible number of already-written manuscripts after being rejected by traditional publishers.

This week we put on our flame retardant suits and discuss how to define the heat level of your story – and why it’s important to know. There is no standard or uniform code to heat levels, so writers and readers can face a few challenges: what one reader may consider “hot,” another might consider “mild” or vice versa. With books there’s no certified ratings system a la the movies.  And to further complicate things, if you’re looking at the hybrid route, publishers and agents also have different ideas about what constitutes a certain level of heat. 

Our fabulous guest this week is award-winning romance author Louisa George. We talk with Louisa about how she balances the demands of being a “hybrid” author, publishing traditionally (Medical Romance and Women’s Fiction with Harlequin Mills & Boon) and self-publishing her romantic comedies.

This week Wendy, Cheryl and Shar talk about “the Kindness Factor” – how we can achieve more but put less pressure on ourselves. Impossible you say?  As we push ourselves to write more, to learn more and to get up to grips with this self-publishing world, there's often an unwanted side effect: a lot of us are really hard on ourselves and we're not enjoying our writer's life. Research shows that the happier you are, the more productive you are, so with that in mind we have our SPA Girls Top Five Kindness Factor Tips. Read on ...

This week we talk about self editing, and how to get your manuscript to the highest possible standard before sending it to your professional editor.  Everyone will have a different style, focus and ideas on the best way to do self editing, and it's the kind of thing that's different for different people. No one does it the same, and that's okay.  But as always, we give a load of tips and advice on how we do it, what works and what doesn't, and why we do things the way we do it. 

This week we talk about the power of four, or how working and interacting with other authors can amp up your author career.  Using our experiences in the SPA, we talk about how having other writers to talk to, offer support, give advice and ideas, and walk the same path gives you a huge boost.  We've all said that none of us would be as far along in our careers if we didn't have the other SPA Girls. And we don't think we're unique. There are thousands of other groups of writers who are helping and supporting each other.  How can you do this too? Our best advice is to find events and conferences for writers near where you are, and meet other authors in person. With this in mind, we also did an impromptu Top Ten Networking Tips for Introverted Writers, with heaps of suggestions for how you can meet and talk to other authors. 

Name your favourite character from any book you've ever read. What did you like best about that character? Was it how they acted? Was it their personality, or because they stood up for something they believed in? Those are the kinds of questions you should be asking when you're designing the characters for your next book. This week our topic is how to create characters that your readers will love, and with that in mind we dissect what makes a good character and how you can create characters for your stories that will take your novel to the next level. We delve into what characteristics are important, how to create tension between the hero and heroine using their personalities and flaws, and how you can use your character's traits to move the story forward and follow the arc of the plot. We also talk about how to help your readers to get to know your characters, how to pull them into the story by making them feel like they know your characters really well, and how to make readers cry. (Mawaahahaha....)

This week we have the fabulous Tina Dietz, an expert in the area of audio, podcasting and audiobooks, who talks to us about the ways we can be using audio in our writing careers.  She gives us the low down on audiobooks, how to get them recorded, how they fit into the marketing of your other book formats, and how to promote/market them to your audience.  She also talks about the expanding audiobook industry and why we should all be considering adding audiobooks to our inventory of books.  Tina gave us some amazing ideas for how to promote audiobooks, or even just using audio to promote your print or ebook versions of your book. She's a very smart marketer, with a strong grasp of the audio market, and this is a must-listen episode for anyone who's thinking of getting into audiobooks, or who already has audiobooks on sale. Or in fact anyone who thinks they could use audio in any way to help with the marketing of their books. :) 

This week we have the delightful Grace Burrowes on the show, chatting to Cheryl and Wendy about her career, why she started writing, how she stays authentic, and why she uses blogging to connect to readers. A New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Grace says she's a recovering child welfare attorney, who for years turned to the reliable HEA of romance novels to balance out the stress in her life as a litigator.  This is a delightful interview with a smart, savvy author who is very open about her writing, her world view, and her career. 

The recent kerfuffles with MailerLite raised an interesting point for those of us in the SPA - should we be pruning our mailing lists, and if so, how do we go about doing that?  This week we talk about mailing list health, what it actually means, and how to make sure your mailing list is the best it can be. This includes everything from when to cull people from your list, how to try to re-engage with people who don't seem to be engaging, how to ensure you have the best quality list you can have, and how to increase your email deliverability.  If you're worried about your list, or thinking you might need to cut some people, hopefully this episode will give you something to help you make the changes you need to make. :) 

This week Wendy and Cher sit down in a fairly noisy cafe with Indie author Damon Suede and his partner, Geoff Symon. The f-bomb went off fairly early in the piece, so if you're offended by swear words... you should still listen, because all the rest of the words out of their mouths are gold... :) Damon published his first novel, Hot Head, in 2011, which has since been named one of 'Top 100 Romance Novels of All Time' on Goodreads. He's currently on the board of directors for Romance Writers of America, and is well known for the way he unbundles characters when writing his books. His partner Geoff Symon is a US federal agent, and has now written three non-fiction books all about how to write forensics for fiction authors. He's full of fantastic information about crime scenes, and because he's lived with a writer all these years, he can translate it in a way that makes sense for authors. Between the two of them, they kept Wendy and Cher on their toes, talking at double speed, and giving off gems of informati

Today's interview is a must-listen interview with... Indie Superstar Bella Andre! We were super excited to be able to chat to Bella, who it turns out is the most lovely, down-to-earth person we've interviewed so far, plus being super inspirational. She was in New Zealand for the Romance Writers of New Zealand conference, and we were able to kidnap and interview her about self-publishing, how she made it as an Indie, and her advice for people aiming to follow in her footsteps...  We had such a great time chatting to her, that we tried to adopt her and convince her to move to New Zealand, but she was a little resistant to the idea... :) 

This week we talk about the top ten traits we believe you need to have to be a successful self-published author.  These include, among other things, having a thick skin, being willing to take risks and staying focused. They're not always easy, and some involve practice and mindfulness, but if you manage to get everything on this list right, we believe you'll be on the road to success.   It might seen weird to talk about stuff like this being super important over things like knowing how to put a book up on Amazon or how to market your book, but in fact a lot of what's involved with being successful in self publishing - in fact in any business - is to do with getting your head straight and your priorities focused.  With this in mind, we give you some tips on how to develop and attain some of these skills and traits, what to do when you fall off the wagon, and how to get around it if you really just can't manage to develop that thick skin... 

We had a fantastic guest this week in the form of Becca Syme, Cosy Mystery author, writing coach, teacher of the Write Better-Faster course, and podcaster at the Smarty Pants Marketing podcast.  Becca talks to us about how we can all write better-faster in our writing careers, using our own unique skills to improve your chances of success. It's not about tips and techniques for getting more words per hour - it's about understanding who you are as a writer, your strengths within that, and using those talents in the best way to ensure you are successful.  Aside from the fact the she was great fun, the most important takeaway we had from our conversation with Becca is that you don't have to do everything exactly the same way as other people are doing it to be successful. In fact if it's the wrong methodology for you, then you're more likely to fail and feel bad about it, and that creates the opposite outcome from what you were trying to achieve. If you understand who you are, how you think things through and u