From Traditional To Indie – USA Today Bestseller Lucy Monroe shares her publishing journey, mindset and marketing wisdom, and business strategy advice – especially useful for rolling with the publishing-world ups and downs!

About Lucy

With more than 12.5 million copies of my books in print worldwide, Lucy Monroe is an award-winning and USA Today bestselling author with over 90 published novels.

After a long and fulfilling career in traditional publishing, she made the leap to indie—and has never looked back. The freedom to write the stories she loves (and that her readers devour!) has been an absolute joy.

Her spicy Syndicate Rules mafia romance series is packed with morally gray alpha heroes, fierce heroines, and all the spice my characters demand. She writew contemporary, historical, and paranormal romance—some with suspense, all with heart, heat, and high emotion.

A voracious reader, and a passionate romance fangirl, Lucy loves chatting books (hers or yours!) on social media. Find her at LucyMonroe.com

https://lucymonroeauthor.substack.com

https://www.facebook.com/LucyMonroe.Romance

Resources mentioned:

Andi Durrant interview on Beyond The Booth
https://youtu.be/OuuGu-ecrBY?si=_kSgZJaTOu6hEHhT

Romance Writers of New Zealand
https://www.romancewriters.co.nz/

Written Word Media https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/

Bookfunnel https://bookfunnel.com/

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

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Every book you write is part of a world and you need to know as much as possible about the world before you start writing—but be prepared to pivot!

So how do you build a fictional world (whether contemporary, paranormal, fantasy, or historical etc) that sets your story up well and captures readers imaginations?

A long-time friend of the SPA Girls, Nalini Singh talked with us about worldbuilding in 2022 and her evergreen craft advice is just as relevant today!

New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series of paranormal romances, Nalini also writes New Zealand-set thrillers, the next one coming out in January 2026, Such A Perfect Family. Her contemporary romances include the Rock Kiss and Hard Play series, the latter of which revolves around a rugby-loving family in Auckland.

Nalini’s books have hit the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller lists numerous times over the past two decades. The first book in her Psy-Changeling series, Slave to Sensation, was named as one of the New York Public Library’s 125 books from the last 125 years that inspire a lifelong love of reading.

Born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand, Nalini was first published in 2003. Her books are both traditionally and indie published and have sold millions of copies worldwide with translations in multiple languages.
Visit Nalini’s website at www.NaliniSingh.com and make sure to sign up for her newsletter to receive a monthly reading goodies especially for subscribers.

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

We’re delighted to welcome Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer, historical fiction author and writing instructor.

We’re diving into how dictation can totally transform the way you write: think faster drafts, more creative flow, and less stress on your body. Sarah has written 13 books solely by speaking words into her smartphone. Once she switched from typing her first drafts to dictating them, she doubled her writing speed.

A tribal member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Sarah also shares her advice on writing Native American characters with truth and respect.

About Sarah

Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer is an award-winning historical fiction author and writing instructor. She’s published 19 books and is also the host of The Confident Fiction Author podcast. She’s been featured on The Creative Penn podcast, Jane Friedman’s blog, Writer’s Digest magazine, and at InkersCon 2025. Plus, of course, the SPA Girls Podcast! 😉She’s also taught over 800 fiction authors how to dictate their novels through her Dictation Bootcamp for Authors and Fictation™ Digital Courses.

Links:

Sarah’s substack “The Five Minute Fictation Club”
https://www.fictioncourses.com/

https://www.sarahelisabethwrites.com/
The Confident Author Podcast https://www.fictioncourses.com/podcast
”Fictation” – the art of dictating your fiction https://www.fictioncourses.com/fictation

Scrivener for IOS app

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

This is a fabulous classic replay of our interview with USA Today Bestseller, Lucy Lennox.
Lucy saw extraordinary success straight out the gate, from when she first published her MM romance, Borrowing Blue, in November 2016. In fact, by her second month of publishing, Lucy was earning five figures per month! Since then, Lucy’s books have soared the bestseller charts consistently and she’s built an incredible career, publishing prolifically (despite a serious health challenge) and building a rabid audience for her sweet and steamy male/male gay romances.

From release strategies, co-writing tips, MM romance tropes to Writing For Your Id and the power of romance beats, Lucy’s honest, no-holds-barred advice will boost your mindset and your business. In fact, we know you’ll come away just as inspired and motivated to get butt-in-chair-hands-on-keyboard we were from talking with Lucy! No matter what genre you write, this podcast is a must-listen, with something for everyone.

About Lucy

Lucy Lennox is the USA Today bestselling author of over fifty gay romance titles including the GoodReads Hall of Fame winner Wilde Love. Born and raised in the southeast USA, she is finally putting good use to that English Lit degree she earned before the turn of the century.  

Lucy enjoys naps, pizza, and procrastinating. She stays up way too late each night reading romance because it’s simply the best.

For more information and to stay updated about future releases, sales and audio news and to grab some free and bonus reads, please sign up for Lucy’s author newsletter, or to stay in the know, join her exciting reader group, Lucy’s Lair on Facebook. 
Lucy’s website: https://www.lucylennox.com/

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

In just a few years, Stacia Stark gone from unknown new pen name to Amazon #1 Bestselling Author of Romantasy. She has also signed a major trad deal with Avon with her trad debut coming out in December 2025.

Stacia is an inspiring guest who breaks down exactly how she approaches hybrid publishing, writing romantasy and meeting spice/story/trope expectations, how to find an agent and what to look out for when targeting a traditional publishing deal.

About Stacia

Stacia Stark is an Amazon #1 bestselling author of romantasy filled with found families, self-reliant heroines, and brooding, grumpy heroes.

Her books have been translated into over 15 languages, her Kingdom of Lies series was nominated twice for Goodreads Choice Awards, and her traditionally published debut We Who Will Die releases with Avon in December 2025.

Originally from New Zealand, Stacia Stark now lives in Chicago, which she adores during the summer and tolerates (or flees) during the winter.

Find her at Home | Stacia Stark

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

All the info is at Get more from SPA Girls Podcast on Patreon

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

This is a classic replay of a very popular episode with USA Today Bestseller, Honey Phillips. Honey joined us in the SPA to talk about Science Fiction Romance – what it is, what are readers looking for, how she got started writing in it, and everything in between. Sci-Fi Romance is a distant cousin to Monster Romance (see episode 368 with Lillian Lark), and there are some similarities between the two genres, but Honey gives us a fascinating breakdown of the main expectations of SciFi Romance readers, and what she does to be so successful in the genre… and it’s not always what you’d expect!

About Honey Phillips

USA Today bestselling author Honey Phillips writes steamy science fiction romance about hot alien warriors and the Earth women they can’t resist. From abductions to invasions, the ride might be rough, but the end always satisfies.

Honey wrote and illustrated her first book at the tender age of five. Her writing has improved since then. Her drawing skills, unfortunately, have not. She loves writing, reading, traveling, cooking, and drinking champagne – not necessarily in that order.

Find her at www.honeyphillips.com!

💖 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much. We love our listeners and our patrons!

Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us; we’d love to see you there!

www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

Planning, Priorities & Publishing
We’re thrilled to welcome back Becca Syme to the SPA to talk about Planning, reducing your Decision Fatigue, the difference between anxiety and intuition, and how to decide what publishing strategies work best for YOU.

As a community, indie publishers are so fortunate to have Becca’s Clifton Strengths work and writer psychology understanding to help us navigate the chaos of publishing and prevent/overcome burnout.

Becca’s upcoming Kickstarter (November 2025) Dear Writer You Still Need To Quit can be found here: https://betterfasteracademy.com/links

If you’re listening to this after her kickstarter campaign has ended you can buy the book on all platforms.

Find Becca’s podcast https://betterfasteracademy.com/podcast/ on all podcast apps and YouTube.

About Becca Syme
Becca Syme holds a master’s degree in transformational leadership and has been a success coach (primarily utilizing the Gallup Strengthsfinder®) for over fifteen years. She’s coached over 5,000 individual authors and creatives through her Write Better-Faster and Strengths for Writers classes & coaching cohorts: six- and seven-figure authors, major award winners, midlisters, and new authors alike.

Becca is a firm believer that an individualized approach is the most effective, so she’s brought on other certified coaches who are also writers, to help coach even more writers to maximize their strengths.
Becca’s website: https://betterfasteracademy.com

Resources mentioned:
Quitcast EP7.32 “Why Can’t I Do It All Just This Once” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWuVBOH4pmM

Values Sort Googlesheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-3UMGc9JqaZRJEdJ8mxZ5vyGxhZB3IYHpD_qRrmmxMQ/edit?gid=913371111#gid=913371111

Becca’s interview with the https://selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep146-interview-with-becca-syme-on-writing-better-faster/ in 2018 on how to write better, faster.

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Writing compelling short romance targeting the timed short reads categories (2 hours or less) is a real skill and this is a classic replay of one of the Queens of instalove / short romance: Mia Brody. No matter what length book you’re writing, there is something in this episode for you, not least of all Mia’s inspiring persistence working with health challenges and her incredible business savvy. She is one of those authors who is incredibly kind and generous in her advice to others, and we’re delighted to replay this episode.

Mia Brody is a romance author who loves big, bearded guys that are gruff on the outside and oh-so gooey on the inside. She writes swoon-worthy small town romances set in the fictional town of Courage County.

She often writes characters that are disabled, chronically ill, or neurodivergent. Her own struggles with muscular dystrophy and anxiety inspire many of her stories. She’s passionate about showing readers that happily ever after is possible for everyone.

Get exclusive bonus scenes, early access to her latest books, and more when you sign up: https://miabrody.com/news/

Resources mentioned: Bookfunnel, Grit by Angela Duckworth, https://www.facebook.com/groups/writinginstalove

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Wondering how to juggle a demanding full-time job with having an author career too? We’re joined today by the fabulous Chloe Archer, who is doing exactly that!

Chloe Archer writes popular queer sci-fi and paranormal rom-coms. And alongside her author career, Chloe also works full-time as a Film Studies Professor, which makes her perfect for this episode!

And if that’s not enough, Chloe is organising Pride in Prose which is an amazing Virtual Retreat in February 2026 for LGBTQ+ Romance Authors and Professionals.

Links mentioned: Pride In Prose Online Retreat https://www.chloearcher.com/pride-in-prose
Tea, Tentacles & Talk https://www.youtube.com/@chloearcheauthor/videos
Cover Designer, Natasha Snow https://natashasnow.com/

About Chloe

Chloe Archer writes queer sci-fi and paranormal rom-coms with laugh out loud humor, zany shenanigans, silly acronyms, and plenty of spice!

She currently calls Minnesota home, but has lived abroad in places like Montreal, Edinburgh, and Tokyo. She’s hoping to relocate to Scotland permanently in the next few years if the stars align.

Chloe is a fur mama to two adorable Yorkies, Jasper and Teddy, and she loves them in a crazy dog mama kind of way. When she isn’t busy writing, she enjoys visiting friends and family, traveling, reading, binge watching movies and TV shows, and practicing her karaoke skills. She does a mean cover of Pat Benatar and Cher, or so she’s been told.

Chloe’s website: www.chloearcher.com

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @‌spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Within five years, USA Today Bestselling romance author, Vanessa Vale, forged two pen names from scratch to seven figures, using the strategies and techniques she discusses in this episode and in her Thrifty Tips for Authors class. The beginnings of this program came when she was banned from Facebook ads, forcing her to develop strong branding and marketing steps that are enduring and withstand the changes and whims of the publishing industry without relying on paid click ads.

This classic replay episode is a must listen for writers of all genres!

Learn more about Vanessa’s course Thrifty Tips For Authors here: https://thriftytipsforauthors.com/courses

About Vanessa Vale

Vanessa Vale is the USA Today bestselling author of sexy romance novels, including her popular Bridgewater historical series and hot contemporary romances. With over one million books sold, Vanessa writes about unapologetic bad boys who don’t just fall in love, they fall hard. Her books are available worldwide in multiple languages in e-book, print and audio.

Her Thrifty Tips for Authors group has over 2500 members (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thriftytipsforauthors )

Vanessa’s Author website: https://vanessavaleauthor.com/

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your questions. Come on in and join us, we’d love to see you there!

www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch the recording on our YouTube Channel @spagirlspodcast

On 2.10.2015 we published our very first SPA Girls Podcast episode and OH THE NERVES! But we persisted and here we are, ten years later, ten years wiser, 520 episodes later and a million magic moments of inspiration, advice, publishing wisdom and fellow author interviews and shenanigans recorded.

So what are our “acorns of wisdom” we’ve learned from these ten years that have stood the test of time and the constantly-changing publishing landscape?

We discuss the importance of:

• Being Yourself
• Building Community
• Riding Industry Shifts
• Dealing with Burnout
• Writing While Chaos Is Happening
• Mindset
• Finding The Joy

Thank you so much for tuning in. We wouldn’t be here without you, and appreciate every listener, subscriber, guest and special shout out to our patreon supporters who have helped us keep producing our weekly show! (pictured below SPA Girls, 2015)