Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

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Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark Leslie Lefebvre

Perspectives and reflections on the writing and publishing life. Mark Leslie Lefebvre, a writer, bookseller, digital publishing advocate and professional speaker and publishing consultant, explores inclusive and collaborate opportunities for writers and book publishing professionals via interviews, discussions and reflections about the industry. (Mark's personal website is www.markleslie.ca)

1 hour 21 minutes

EP 457 - A Show That Makes You Smile with The Patrick Scott Patterson Project
Mark interviews Scott from The Patrick Scott Patterson Project Podcast.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report.

In the interview Mark and Scott talk about:
- How Scott got into the current numerous roles that he is participating in today, including podcasting
- Being inspired by the dreams that his parents had but which they pushed off to the side
- The pro wrestling experience that he did for 10 years
- The importance of deciding to try
- Scott's reasoning behind the Patrick Scott Patterson Project
- How at the end of the day we're all human beings - some folks have just reached for their dreams
- Interviewing notable celebrities on Scott's podcast
- Doing the interviews well in advance and having a good 10 episodes in the can already
- The two year plan that Scott has created for the podcast
- The positivity in Scott's podcast and what he is doing
- All the stressful things Scott was going through around the time of the pandemic
- How Drew Barrymore's new talk show was exactly what Sco
- needed to get through those hard days
- The way that Drew Barrymore makes Scott smile - period!
- How something Barrymore said in one of those episodes really struck with Scott
- The incredible power of doing/saying even the smallest nice thing such as "have a nice day" which can make a huge difference in someone else's life
- How Scott feels better himself when he's being kind to someone
- Meeting Drew Barrymore on her 50th Birthday episode taping after more than 42 years of first seeing her with his mom when he was 7 and they went to see E.T.
- Some of the favorite moments on Scott's podcast
- Advice Scott would offer to writers who haven't yet put their work out into the world
- How Scott first got on Collector's Call because of a fluffy news story from 5 years earlier
- Gary K Wolf's story about how many times his book "Who Wacked Roger Rabbit" was repeatedly rejected over the years. He never gave up, and it's, incidentally his most well-known book. The movie adaptation would never have happened
After the interview Mark reflects on a few things that Scott said about positivity, creating "comfort food" moments, and the importance of having things out there and how it can lead to opportunities.

Links of Interest:
- Patrick Scott Patterson's Website
  - YouTube Channel
- CBC - Cost of Living - How Scholastic Book Fairs Became Tight With Canadian Schools
- Mini Trailer for LOVER'S MOON (Romantic Comedy)
- Full Audio of LOVER'S MOON Read by the Authors (YouTube)
- Patreon Post (Free for anyone to read): I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again!
- Substack article: Eight Years, 452 Episodes, And One Important Lesson
- Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%)
- Buy Mark a Coffee
- Patreon for Stark Reflections
- Mark's YouTube channel
- ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)
- Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
- An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
- The Relaxed Author
  - Buy eBook Direct
  - Buy Audiobook Direct
- Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
- An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
- Wide for the Win
- Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  - This Time Around (Short Story)
  - A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  - Stowe Away (Novella)
  - Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  - Fright Nights, Big City
  - Lover's Moon
  - Hex and the City
  - Only Monsters in the Building
  - Once Bitten (Novella)
- The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
- Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
- Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
- I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises
Patrick Scott Patterson is a Texas-based pop culture personality, video game historian, and podcaster. Over the decades, he's moved from professional wrestling rings to television cameras, working with G4tv to produce the first-ever live arcade world record broadcast. He has appeared in documentaries like Nintendo Quest and on MeTV's Collector's Call. He's spoken at San Diego Comic-Con and SXSW, and runs Hyperspace Arcade Repair out of Denton, Texas, where he keeps vintage arcade machines alive for collectors.

In 2025, Scott launched The Patrick Scott Patterson Project, a podcast about chasing goals and following unexpected paths—inspired by finally meeting his lifelong celebrity crush, Drew Barrymore, which taught him that the dreams we pursue have a way of opening doors we never anticipated.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
25 January 2026, 9:56 pm
24 minutes 1 second

EP 456 - The Published Novelist Saves Schrödinger's Cat!
In this solo episode, Mark reads a new article entitled:

The Published Novelist Saves Schrödinger's Cat! How to Improve the Odds Before You Open the Box—OR—What Writers Can Control While Their Book's Fate Remains Uncertain

Links of Interest:
The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
23 January 2026, 1:46 am
55 minutes 45 seconds

EP 455 - Kobo Insights with Tara Cremin, Director of Kobo Writing Life
Mark interviews Tara Cremin, Director of Kobo Writing Life about Kobo, Kobo Plus, and the self-publishing platform Kobo Writing Life (KWL).

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report.

In their interview, Mark and Tara talk about:
- Tara's background and how she got into the reading/writing world and Kobo
- Kobo's distinct identity as a platform that is exclusively dedicated to READING
- How Kobo is the 2nd largest seller of eReading devices in the world
- Kobo releasing 1 to 2 devices a year and the importance of a distraction-free reading experience
- The Kobo Clara Colour and the Kobo Libra Colour devices
- The option of connecting your Google Drive and OverDrive (AKA Libby) library account to a Kobo device for seamless reading of your personal content and library books
- Being able to add different colours to your highlights when making notes on your Kobo
- Tara's advice for readers who've not yet attempted a "digital reading diet"
- The "forever reading" option that now exists within the Kobo reading experience
- The self-publishing platform Kobo Writing Life and how it's designed to making the publishing process as painless as possible
- What listeners can expect to hear on the Kobo Writing Life Podcast
- Kobo Writing Life's "worst-kept secret" of the marketing tab/tool
- A little bit about how Kobo Plus works for authors
- The growth in revenue of Kobo Plus around the world in the past few years (it's now available in 28 countries)
- Partnering with a publisher in Portugal to create a subscription service
- The importance for authors of always thinking about Kobo in a global sense
- The value that comes with being in front of the most engaged readers
- And more...
After the interview Mark reflects on numerous things about Kobo that authors should consider when thinking about marketing their books (as well as the amazing people who work there)

Links of Interest:
Tara Cremin is the Director of Kobo Writing Life (KWL), Kobo's self-publishing platform. Combining her love for books with a decade of indie publishing expertise, she champions independent authors. Tara is focused on making KWL the most intuitive, author-friendly platform, helping authors reach readers globally. Leading a team of book enthusiasts, she also hosts live events featuring authors and industry experts, sparking engaging conversations and is a regular voice on the Kobo Writing Life Podcast.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
16 January 2026, 5:52 pm
49 minutes 24 seconds

EP 454 - Finding Surprising Success Publishing Kids' Books with Darcy Pattison
Mark interviews award-winning author Darcy Pattison about publishing childrens' books.

In their conversation, Mark and Darcy talk about:
- Darcy's background on getting into being an author of children's book
- The 70 books Darcy has written in the past 13 years
- The number of different illustrators Darcy has worked with over the years
- The Moments in Science picture books Darcy has written with along with the specific illustrator who has worked on a dozen of those titles with her
- The books for authors Darcy is releasing in January 2026 that collect details about the current state of publishing for children's books
- The challenge of doing layout for a children's picture book
- The importance of an author being clear on their own definition of success
- How children's book authors can find the right illustrator and/or designer
- How Darcy fulfills orders online for her books
- Getting her books into education distributors (Follett, etc - Follett can order their books through Ingram)
- The EPIC app and how Darcy earns money from it
- The various reviews Darcy gets, including paid Kirkus reviews (which are important)
- Who you are writing for versus who you are selling to when it comes to kids books
- Fiction VS Non-Fiction
- The importance/difference of being good at illustration versus being good at text (or even layout)
- The challenge of scaling up things like school visits
- The benefit of finding places that will sell a kids' book in bulk
- And more...
After the interview Mark reflects on the unique element of the two audiences for childrens' books, as well as the efficient business mind-set Darcy adopted in her approach to how to grow a more scaleable author business.

Links of Interest:
The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
9 January 2026, 1:37 am
20 minutes 41 seconds

EP 453 - Celebrating Eight Years, 452 Episodes and One Simple Truth
Mark reflects on the anniversary of the first episode of this podcast, which took place on Jan 5, 2018.

Links of Interest:
- EP 001 - New Year, New Reflections
- Substack Article: Eight Years, 452 Episodes, and One Simple Truth
- Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%)
- Buy Mark a Coffee
- Patreon for Stark Reflections
- Mark's YouTube channel
- ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)
- Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
- An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
- The Relaxed Author
  - Buy eBook Direct
  - Buy Audiobook Direct
- Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
- An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
- Wide for the Win
- Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
- The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
- Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
- Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
- I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises
The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
5 January 2026, 7:49 pm
44 minutes 34 seconds

EP 452 - Accounting for Murphy's Law when Setting Realistic Goals
In this solo episode Mark outlines a dozen tips to consider when setting realistic goals.

Links of Interest:
- EP 451 - Tales from the Backburnder: A Pair of Messages to Readers
- Draft2Digital Self Publishing Insiders - Jan 1, 2026 Episode (YouTube)
- Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%)
- Buy Mark a Coffee
- Patreon for Stark Reflections
- Mark's YouTube channel
- ElevenLabs (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link)
- Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
- An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
- The Relaxed Author
  - Buy eBook Direct
  - Buy Audiobook Direct
- Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
- An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
- Wide for the Win
- Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
- The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
- Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
- Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
- I Think It's A Sign That The Pun Also Rises
The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
2 January 2026, 8:04 pm
33 minutes 32 seconds

EP 451 - Messages to Readers
In this solo episode Mark shares a couple of recent messages to readers in the hopes that it inspired other authors with ideas of the types of things that their readers might find interesting.

The two examples are:

1) Mark's introduction to his recent collection of stupid dad jokes (and how that can tie to the use of making the local community the "hero" or "focus"

2) Mark's recent author newsletter with a gift for readers and the story that updates recent changes to an ongoing series he's writing

Links of Interest:
The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
26 December 2025, 12:00 am
55 minutes 15 seconds

EP 450 - The Life of a Mercenary Writer with Jarrett Mazza
Mark interviews Jarrett Mazza about his action/thriller novels and his mercenary-style approach to writing.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report.

In their interview, Mark and Jarrett talk about:
- Jarrett's origins and how he got into writing
- Starting off writing comic books and short stories
- How Jarrett considers himself a "mercenary" writer
- Jarrett's love of fiction within the action genre
- Getting in contact with action/thriller writers that Jarrett enjoyed
- Being published by Rough Edges Press and the changes Jarrett rode when they got bought by another publisher
- Writing every day even if there's nothing to write about
- Jarrett's early AM morning writing routine before the work day begins
- The Doormen series and what it's about (Roadhouse meets John Wick)
- Jarrett's interest in tackling and creating elevated action narratives
- Roadhouse 1989 VS Roadhouse 2024
- Advice Jarrett would give writers
- What Jarrett is working on now
- And more...
After the interview Mark reflects on Jarrett's dedication and commitment to writing, and also some of the advice that he shared.

Links of Interest:
The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
19 December 2025, 12:42 am
46 minutes 47 seconds

EP 449 - The Myth of "Upload Your Book And They Will Come"
In this solo episode, Mark reads from an article that he recently shared on the Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing Substack page.

This is be Part 2 of a two-part series of episodes. (See Part 1)

Prior to the main content of this episode, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by The 7 P's of Publishing Success by Mark Leslie Lefebvre, which you can download in eBook and/or Audiobook format for free at this link.

Links of Interest:
The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
15 December 2025, 6:04 pm
28 minutes 49 seconds

EP 448 - When Your Writing Gets Rejected A Gazillion Times
In this solo episode, Mark reads from an article that he recently shared on the Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing Substack page.

This will be Part 1 of a two-part series of episodes.

Prior to the main content of this episode, Mark shares a personal update, a comment from a recent episode, and a word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by The 7 P's of Publishing Success by Mark Leslie Lefebvre, which you can download in eBook and/or Audiobook format for free at this link.

Links of Interest:
The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
12 December 2025, 1:05 pm
56 minutes 46 seconds

EP 447 - The Future of Hybrid Publishing with J.D. Barker
Mark interviews J.D. Barker about his writing and publishing journey and his many collaborations over the years, including with James Patterson, and the unique publishing and distribution collaboration with Simon & Schuster that combines the best of the self-publishing and the traditional publishing worlds.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report.

In their interview, Mark and J.D. talk about:
- How JD was always interested in writing including a little business endeavor he had when he was youngBeing told by his mother that writing is a fantastic hobby, but you have to get a "real job" - and following her advice
- The main day job he had, which he hated, and coming home at night to write
- How the first two decades he'd been writing he did ghost writing and did book-doctor sort of work
- Having written six different books that hit the New York Times bestseller list but had other people's names on the cover
- JD's wife coming up with a plan to get him to writing for himself
- How putting his feet to the coals was what JD really needed
- What it was like writing on his own
- The value that JD recognizes in the 20 years of writing other peoples' books
- Having Asperger's which often involves mimicking other people (which JD could do on paper, continuing to write in another person's voice)
- How ghostwriting for celebrities/NYT Bestselling authors can be very lucrative
- What it was like co-authoring with James Patterson
- Being the only guy who has ever gotten James Patterson to "pants" a novel, but how Patterson convinced him to outline, which he now does for certain projects
- What a typical work-day looks like for JD
- Making a change in terms of what time of day JD does interviews
- Working with a virtual assistant and the various PR agencies JD works with
- Switching over to paying for PR a la carte rather than a monthly retainer
- Selling more than half a million copies of his first self-published book, which caught the attention of agents
- That "taste" of being an indie author which mean a loss of freedom
- Creating his own unique path within publishing that's a blend of self-publishing and traditional publishing models
- The imprint JD has with Simon & Schuster - Hampton Creek Press
- How JD has done a number of recent co-authored titles under his imprint by paying the co-authors up front in a work-for-hire manner, which removes the complexity of paying royalties
- The way JD can pay it forward by helping the mentor the co-authors that he is working on
- Why JD gave away a skid of hardcover books at Reader Nation in Vegas
- Advice JD has about authors who are constantly "chasing each other"
- The unique marketing JD created for his book SOMETHING I KEEP UPSTAIRS that involved an overnight stay in a real haunted house
- What James Patterson did to get his book ALONG CAME A SPIDER onto the New York Times bestseller list
- And more...
After the interview Mark reflects on a few of the things from the conversation that have inspired him in different ways.

Links of Interest:
J.D. Barker (Jonathan Dylan Barker) is an international bestselling American author whose work has been broadly described as suspense thrillers, often incorporating elements of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
5 December 2025, 9:58 pm
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