My life changed when I discovered independent publishing in December 2017.
Since then, I’ve published seven mysteries, one non-fiction book, and have two more in the pipeline. I’ve sold over 5,500 copies and given away 40,000.
And I owe it all to Joanna Penn. The host of the Creative Penn Podcast.
Joanna’s upbeat and informative episodes convinced me to finish my mystery, hire a professional editor, and publish it on multiple platforms. At first, I just wanted to publish it.
Then I caught the writing and publishing bug. And I’ve never looked back.
Now I listen to Joanna every week, plus a range of other indie publishing podcasts.
I’d like to share these podcasts, as well as my favorite episodes of all time.
See also David Kadavy’s great article about self-publishing, particularly if you have any ego hangups about it. Here is a podcast version of the article.
Here’s the list. It’s numbered, but not ranked. The episode titles are self-explanatory.
Traditional, Indie, and Hybrid Publishing
- The Creative Penn: The Rollercoaster Of Traditional And Indie Publishing With Sean Black
- Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast: 138: Trad vs. Indie for New Authors, How Marketing Has Evolved, and Starting Your Own Press with Kevin J. Anderson
- Self-publishing Roundtable: 32: Hugh Howey and Author Earnings [old but worth it!]
Inspiration: Become a Full-Time Author
4. The Author Biz: 68: Zero to $10k Per Month in 90 Days, with Michael Anderle
5. The Author Biz: 111: Staying Persistent on the Path to Self-Publishing Success — with Wayne Stinnett
6. The Creative Penn: Build A Fulltime Writing Career Slowly With Lindsay Buroker
7. The Petal to the Metal [Now the Writer’s Well]: 3: When is the best time to make the jump to “full-time” writer?
6. Rocking Self Publishing: 167 — Diversifying Your Income with Rachael Herron
7. Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast: 176: Launching Well as a New Author, Writing Quickly, and Keeping the Momentum Going [Jasmine Walt]
8. Self Publishing Roundtable: 143 — Interview with prolific author Amanda M. Lee [Wacky and Wonderful interview. Stick with it.]
9. The Self Publishing Show: 93: From Teacher to Writer in One Year — with Cecelia Mecca
Marketing
10. The Creative Penn: Strangers to Superfans. Book Marketing with David Gaughran
11. Self Publishing Journeys: 137: Adam Nicholls [Rapid Release]
12. The Self Publishing Show: 175: What’s Working Right Now: Facebook Ads — with Shayne Silvers
13. The Self Publishing Show: 176: What’s Working Right Now: BookBub Ads — with David Gaughran
14. The Self Publishing Show: 177: What’s Working Right Now: Amazon Ads — with Mark Dawson
Mindset, Productivity, and Routines
15. The Author Biz: 51: Chris Fox on Writing Faster, Mindset and Pitching your Work
16. The Creative Action Takers Podcast: EP5 Michael La Ronn and the cracks in life!
17. The Creative Penn: Successful Author Mindset with Joanna Penn
18. Kevin Tumlinson’s Wordslinger Podcast: 142 — Author Anywhere With Michael La Ronn
19. Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast: 32: Traditional Publishing, Indie Publishing, and Writing More Words Per Day with Rachel Aaron
20. Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast: 130: Better Marketing, More Productivity, and Turning Your Writing Hobby into a Career with Monica Leonelle
21. The Self Publishing Show: 134: A Successful Author Mindset — with Adam Croft
22. The Worried Writer: 3: A Conversation with Julie Cohen
How to Juggle Life and Writing
23. The Author Biz: 84: How to Keep Your Sanity While Trying to Do it All, with Melissa Yuan-Innes
24. The Creative Penn: How To Be A Healthy Writer With Dr. Euan Lawson
25. The Creative Penn: Writing With Depression With Michaelbrent Collings
Craft
26. How Do You Write: 126: Hank Phillipi Ryan on How to Keep Pacing Tight
27. Kevin Tumlinson’s Wordslinger Podcast: Writing Into the Dark with Dean Wesley Smith
28. The Self Publishing Roundtable: 115 — Building Worlds with Chrishaun Keller Hanna
29. SPA Girls Podcast: 191 — Seven-Figure Success With Skye Warren [Special for Pantsers]
The list could be so much longer! Here’s a (relatively) comprehensive list of other indie podcasts you’ll want to check out:
AskAlli: Self-Publishing Advice
The Author Biz [Finished]
Helping Writers Become Authors
The Misfit’s Guide to Writing Romance
The Rocking Self Publishing Podcast [Finished]
Science Fiction & Fantasy Marketing Podcast [Paused]
Self Publishing Roundtable [Finished]
Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing
You can write a book.
You can self publish.
Half the fun is learning how to do it on your own.
Happy listening.
Dr. Rose Ernst was chair and associate professor of political science until she decided to pursue writing and editing full time. She is now an academic editor and consultant who loves to support scholars in sharing their brilliance with the world. Find her at roseernst.net. Sign up for her email list here.
