Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

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)

49 minutes

EP 360 - Foreign Rights Licensing with Roseanne Cheng of DropCap
Mark interviews Roseanne Cheng, an award-winning author, ghostwriter, and book marketer who is passionate about educating authors and publishers about the power and opportunity of having their books elevated to the international market.

They talk about her writing life, her author mentoring life, and about how DropCap Marketplace is a great bridge between indie authors and the licensing foreign language rights through traditional agencies and book scouts.

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

Learn more about this self-publishing/WIDE-publishing focused cruise.

In their interview Mark and Roseanne talk about:
- Roseanne's background and passion for helping writers
- The first book Roseanne published (The Take Back of Lincoln Junior High) back in 2013 when she was teaching full-time and how it will always have a special place in her heart
- Working with Wise Ink Creative Publishing and the great respect that Roseanne has for the women who run that business
- The various lessons learned with writing and publishing a book and how you can turn the things that you learned (via various mistakes you've made) into positives by helping others on their own journeys
- Taking on the role of Marketing Director at Wise Ink by leveraging her own experiences to help shepherd other writers through the process of releasing a new book
- Working with authors to create their own custom marketing plans based on their goals
- Meeting and connecting with a dear friend, Josie, and teaching one another things they were each good at
- Creating an online school with Josie called Evergreen Authors in about 2019
- How the pandemic ended up helping these courses and various other online teaching and Roseanne's ghostwriting business to really take off
- The genesis of her first book, The Take Back of Lincoln Junior High
- Reading the novel after taking a long break (focusing on the endless work and much sleeplessness of raising small children) and recognizing that it was really good
- How Roseanne's role as a teacher helped prepare her for the work she does in helping authors
- The co-authored book BUZZ: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BOOK MARKETING
- Roseanne's books THE EVERYGREEN AUTHOR: MASTER THE ART OF BOOK MARKETING and PORTABLE MAGIC
- The importance of asking your readers: "Where do you buy books?"
- The WIDE FOR THE WIN message of being in as many places as possibly and opening as many doors as possible and how it really resonated with Roseanne
- Getting involved in the "Rights" side of publishing and the entire distribution network that she had not yet been tapped into
- A story about the first time Roseanne received an email from a foreign publisher who reached out because they were interested in the foreign language rights to her work
- The creation of DropCap Marketplace as a match-making service between indie authors/small publishers and agents and book scouts
- The various other marketing resources available for authors on the DropCap site
- How DropCap marries technology with relationship resources within the industry
- The special coupon code for Stark Reflections listeners. STARK20 - to get 20% off the listing at DropCap marketplace
- And more . . .
After the interview, Mark reflections on Roseanne's passion for helping writers and the importance for indie authors of recognizing where they can DIY and where they might be better off leveraging experts in a particular area of publishing.

Links of Interest:
Roseanne Cheng is an award-winning author, ghostwriter, book marketer, and Director of Business Development DropCap Rights Agency. A lifelong reader and writer, she began her work in book publishing as a Marketing Director for an indie publishing house based in Minneapolis and eventually co-founded Evergreen Authors, an online school teaching authors the business of writing and marketing their creative work. In her current role with DropCap, she has the unique pleasure of matching global rights buyers with titles that have the potential to positively impact their communities. She is passionate about educating authors and publishers about the power and opportunity of having their books elevated to the international market.

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
17 May 2024, 12:36 am
1 hour 12 minutes

EP 359 - Capturing the Flow with Aaron Palmer
Mark interviews author, songwriter, musician, and podcaster Aaron Palmer.

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

Learn more about this self-publishing/WIDE-publishing focused cruise.

In their interview Mark and Aaron talk about:
- Aaron being tested at an early age and it being determined that he had perfect pitch
- Picking up a guitar for the first time around 6th grade
- The first big concert he saw when he was in 5th grade was Van Halen - and he was convinced he wanted to do that
- A time in life when ambitions outweighed abilities
- How playing the guitar came pretty naturally to Aaron
- Being a pretty avid reader when he was growing up, consuming almost anything he could get his hands on
- The writing of Michael Crichton and the very cinematic way he had of writing prose
- Being in college and having a professor suggest he change his major to English
- Beginning to write short fiction shortly after that
- Aaron's podcast Native Tongues and the theme for the show
- Dealing with ADHD and also regularly multi-tasking
- How Aaron works through writing down log lines and concepts that are streaming through his mind to return to later to flesh out
- Finding out that Dave Grohl does something similar
- The initial concept of the podcast first coming out about five years ago, then beginning to develop the ideas for it in about August of 203 for a January 2024 launch
- Starting off with a concept or idea and then later fleshing out the characters and character development
- The idea of spending more time developing characters once you fully understand the world that they're in
- Reaching to the darker, more speculative or fantastical elements in storytelling out of a relatively mundane, safe, and normal existence
- Not taking himself very seriously as a writer or creative person
- Gravitating toward 12-year-old Bacoo rum
- Loving live music in multiple venues and forms
- How Aaron's podcast is helping to tie multiple creative aspects together
- And more . . .
After the interview Mark reflects on capturing the endless flow of ideas that can come to a creative person and the value of putting a creative work out into the world instead of just holding onto it.

Links of Interest:
Aaron Palmer has been described as this generation's Ernest Hemingway. Not because he can write majestic prose, but because he equally loves to drink lots of rum. Aaron enjoys writing screenplays in the horror and thriller genres in which he has an encyclopedic knowledge of. He hosts the podcast Native Tongues, where he talks to writers and musicians about where they came from and how that influenced their voice. He also plays guitar, is into fitness, travel and loves to read. Oh, and he's got a wife and kids he likes.

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 May 2024, 11:16 pm
54 minutes 49 seconds

EP 358 - The Way of the Parable Writer with Donn King
Mark interviews professor, pastor, speaker, and author Donn King about writing, his podcast, and his books THE WAY OF THE THREE-YEAR-OLD WHY and MEDIUM WELL.

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

Learn more about this self-publishing/WIDE-publishing focused cruise.

In their interview Mark and Donn talk about:
- Donn's gradual evolution into becoming a writer with starting work at a newspaper when he was 14 years old
- An experience in sixth grade discovering science fiction novels in the library and realizing reading could be fun when you weren't being forced to do it
- The first sci-fi novel Donn remembers reading: Robert A. Heinlein's HAVE SPACESUIT WILL TRAVEL
- Donn's first foray into writing short fiction in a 3-ring binder with a pencil
- Learning about his non-fiction writing from Bob Burg, co-author of THE GO-GIVER a bestselling business parable book
- How elements from writing good fiction apply when writing a parable
- Drawing upon autobiographical elements even when fictionalizing a parable
- The difference between Writer's Block and The Well Going Dry
- Donn's podcast, The Alignment Show
- The Great Realignment and pausing to step back and consider what really brings value to you
- Donn's book MEDIUM WELL: The Journey From Believing to Believing In
- The beautifully inquisitive nature of 3-Year-Olds in Donn's THE WAY OF THE THREE-YEAR-OLD WHY
- Principal Five - Without emotion, there is no motion
- The challenges of booking live speaking events when caring for family members who require that additional compassion and care
- The reality that none of us have any certainty - we merely live with the illusion of certainty
- The concept of connection before content
- And more . . .
After the interview Mark reflects on a few of the topics that came up in their conversation.

Links of Interest:
Donn King is "The Confidence Cultivator," a professor, pastor, speaker, and author who lives in the mountains of East Tennessee. He also hosts "The Alignment Show," a podcast to support listeners in living their values so they can value their life. His book, "The Way of the Three-Year-Old Why," the first in the Sparklight Chronicles, came out in 2023, with "Medium Well," the second in the series, came out in early 2024

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 May 2024, 10:20 pm
49 minutes 40 seconds

EP 357 - 50 Years of Short Stories with Kevin J. Anderson
In this episode, Mark interviews Kevin J. Anderson about his writing and the new approach he is taking to incorporate Kickstarter into the launch strategies for some of his indie-published titles.

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

Learn more about this self-publishing/WIDE-publishing focused cruise.

In their interview Mark and Kevin talk about:
- How Kickstarter has completely upended (in a good way), Kevin's book release strategies
- Kevin's first novel coming out in 1988 and all the various publishers he has worked with over the years
- The "Perfect Storm" that was brewing in the book industry when indie publishing became a realistic and viable option
- Starting to publish his own books (mostly backlist titles he got the rights back to) in 2009 after founding WordFire Press with his wife Rebecca Moesta
- Kevin's belief that this is the best time to be a writer
- How Kevin does a little bit of everything. He has a New York literary agent, he works with several major publishers, he indie publishes, and he continues to explore new opportunities that digital publishing offer
- The way that Kickstarter didn't just open a new door, it completely blew it down, along with a few walls too
- Dean Wesley Smith's perspective that helped to change Kevin's mind about what Kickstarter was all about
- Kevin's "Adams Family meets The Naked Gun" series of Dan Shamble Zombie PI novels, and the history of how it started off as a series with a major publisher, flopped, then Kevin got the rights back and did something truly stunning with it once he applied Kickstarter
- Kevin's first Dan Shamble Kickstarter which brought in 23 times the intial amount he was asking for, and that it paid him more than 6 times the advance he'd rec'd from a major publisher for the last Dan Shamble book he'd done with them
- The Dragon Business (The Princess Bride meets Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) Kickstarter that brought in 20 times what he'd been asking for
- The Persephone Kickstarter that Kevin did with Writer/Director Jeffrey Morris
- Kevin's latest Kickstarter which is a 7 Volume Set of over 130 of his published short stories published over 50 years
- Writing his first short story when he was 8 years old
- Publishing his very first short story when he was 14
- The personal introductions that he wrote for every one of the stories in this 7 book collection
- The various levels and Kickstarter rewards he is planning for this Kickstarter
- The remarkable fact that, despite having published 180 novels with 58 of them being international bestsellers, no publisher would ever even consider publishing a 7 volume hardcover set of Kevin's complete short stories. That he can do this via Kickstarter is a significant paradigm shift
- How Kickstarter can replace the old "advance" model from traditional publishing
- The special thing Kevin is doing for all the backers of this latest Kickstarter
- The Kickstarter will be going live on April 30th for 3 weeks and 2 days
- And more . . .
After the interview Mark reflects on Kevin's use of short, effective and very clear log lines to describe two of his series.

Links of Interest:
Kevin J. Anderson has published more than 180 books, 58 of which have been national or international bestsellers. He has written numerous novels in the Star Wars, X-Files, and Dune universes, as well as the unique Clockwork Angels steampunk trilogy with legendary Rush drummer Neil Peart. His original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series, the Wake the Dragon and Terra Incognita fantasy trilogies, and humorous Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series and The Dragon Business series.

He has edited numerous anthologies, written comics and games, and the lyrics to two rock CDs. Anderson is the director of the graduate program in Publishing at Western Colorado University, and he and his wife Rebecca Moesta are the publishers or WordFire Press.

He worked on the recent films Dune Part One and Part Two from Legendary Entertainment, as well as the forthcoming Dune TV series from MAX, and other films in development, including Persephone and Karousel.

He has 24 million copies in print in 34 languages. His most recent novels are Bats in the Belfry, Skeleton in the Closet, Persephone, and Princess of Dune (with Brian Herbert).

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 April 2024, 4:00 am
49 minutes 50 seconds

EP 356 - The Midlist Indie Author Mindset with T. Thorn Coyle
Mark interviews T Thorn Coyle about writing, community, and their new book The Midlist Indie Author Mindset.

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

Cruising Writers - 7 Day Western Caribbean Cruise - Feb 22 to Mar 1, 2025

Featured Guest Speakers: Erin Wright and Mark Leslie Lefebvre

More details at: Cruising Writers

In the interview, Mark and Thorn talk about:
- Getting into writing when they were 5 years old - and the variety of types of writing they did
- Thorn jokingly torturing fiction and deciding to write non-fiction until a few characters showed up and knocked on their door
- Writing mostly fantasy-tinged fiction
- How most of Thorn's non-fiction guides have been about spiritual practice, but that this latest one is their first non-fiction business of writing book
- Thorn's author tagline: "Magic is real. And justice is worth fighting for."
- The way that Portland is such a fascinating city and how Thorn can find magic anywhere
- An appreciation of Charles de Lint
- Thorn's forthcoming book: The Midlist Author Mindset
- The massive mindset shift that comes from being curious about business the way one is curious about writing
- Value that came with learning what worked for Thorn, as opposed to things that work for other writers
- The numerous streams of income that Thorn has been developing over the years
- Looking at long-term sustainability by thinking of it like cultivating a garden instead of seeking out short-term dramatic spikes
- Some of the roadblocks that Thorn encountered on the way to establishing the Midlist Author Mindset
- Understanding that for Thorn marketing was about connection with readers
- How asking "Does social media sell books?" is the wrong question to ask
- The Kickstarter for the book and related materials and exclusive content that runs April 16, 2024 to May 7, 2024
- A little bit about Thorn's fiction series books
- Thoughts and current approach to audiobooks
- Thorn's final words of advice that they would want to leave with writers
- And more . . .
After the interview, Mark reflects on the concepts of sustainable, long-term, and burn-out as well as the important question of what is practical for you and your life and goals.

Links of Interest:
T. Thorn Coyle worked in many strange and diverse occupations before settling in to write full time. Buy them a cup of tea and perhaps they’ll tell you about it.

Author of The Witches of Portland, the Seashell Cove Paranormal Cozy Mysteries, the Pride Street Paranormal Cozy Mysteries, The Steel Clan Saga, and The Panther Chronicles, Thorn’s multiple non-fiction books include Sigil Magic for Writers, Artists & Other Creatives, Crafting a Daily Practice, Kissing the Limitless, and Evolutionary Witchcraft. Thorn's work also appears in many anthologies, magazines, and collections.

An interloper to the Pacific Northwest U.S., they pay proper tribute to all the neighborhood cats, and talk to crows, squirrels, and trees.

You can find them at thorncoyle.com.

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
18 April 2024, 10:51 pm
1 hour 1 minute

EP 355 - Scribbling Pen Publishing with Melanie Gilbert and Heather Karn
Mark interviews Melanie Gilbert and Heather Karn about their work writing and publishing together under the Scribbling Pen Publishing brand.

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

Cruising Writers - 7 Day Western Caribbean Cruise - Feb 22 to Mar 1, 2025

Featured Guest Speakers: Erin Wright and Mark Leslie Lefebvre

More details at: Cruising Writers

In the interview, Mark, Melanie, and Heather talk about:
- How Heather got started in writing before Melanie, who started a year later
- Writing independently for a while before they got into mutual support and collaboration
- The two books they've published by doing round-robin style writing a couple of paragraphs at a time
- The plotting VS pantsing struggle that they would sometimes find themselves in
- The thrill of writing a book without knowing who the bad guy was the entire time until the idea of who it was struck both of them at the same time
- The process they use when writing, editing, and re-writing
- How the two of them think of the reader experience when the writer (as related to the Disney Customer Experience training)
- Leveraging the cats that they made to draw people in which is a great ice-breaker getting them to the books
- Thinking about the "writing companions" for the books
- Leveraging crafted book bags in the same way to generate interest - ie "Where did you get that cool book bag?"
- Determing what scented candle or wax melt varieties would go well with the different books
- Something special they did to celebrate the "12 Days of Christmas" that they could provide to all of their fans - cover reveals, sample chapters, recipes, music, other books, etc
- The benefit of personal touches in the newsletter including the fun that started with Griffin the furry manager
- How their cats and dogs are the ones explaining what's going on in their writer newsletters and their website store
- How their main goal isn't to sell books but to ensure that the people who visit their table are having a good time
- And more . . .
After the interview, Mark reflects on the way the sisters leverage conversational items to draw people to their in person table, their focus on creating a genuinely memorable and entertaining experience (rather than focusing on selling books), and providing intriguing entertainment in their newsletter leveraging their pets' perspectives.

Links of Interest:
Melanie Gilbert and Heather Karn in their own words:

We grew up in the lovely state of Michigan. We lived in a small town in the country, one of those towns where everyone knows everyone. When we graduated from high school, we went to the same college along with our triplet sister. Our younger sister joined us a couple years later. We’re all really close and that has influenced how we write characters who are siblings.

Somehow, we both ended up in Wisconsin a few miles from each other (and even our triplet sister). We now live together and it’s a blast! Wisconsin isn’t too different from where we grew up, so it hasn’t been a big change to live here instead of in Michigan. The only down side to being here is the large lake between us and our family (and Melanie’s in-laws). Going around the lake makes traveling longer, but at least we’re not states away from family. Family is really important to us.

Scribbling Pen Publishing was originally Melanie’s idea. Like Melanie’s other idea about writing a co-written book, it took Heather some time to warm up to the idea. Heather is more of a “think it over” personality while Melanie is a “sounds good, let’s do it” personality. Together, we balance each other out.

Working together has been amazing. We each have strengths where the other has a weakness. Together we accomplish more than we did apart. Our brands are so similar, it only made sense to combine the work to share our love of books with the world.

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
11 April 2024, 11:50 pm
58 minutes 29 seconds

EP 354 - Lydia and David Sherrer on Power Couple Publishing
Mark interviews Lydia and David Sherrer about their company Chenoweth Press and the books and games they produce and publish collaboratively.

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

This episode is sponsored by the awesome supporters of this podcast who provide their supprt via Patreon and Buy Me A Coffee.

With special thanks to Nikki Guerlain for the recent huge BUY ME A COFFEE donation.

In the interview, Mark talks to Lydia and David about:
- How Lydia's role as a writing is part of a biological imperitive
- Growing up reading everything in sight and also being into Lord of the Rings by the time she was five years old
- Always telling herself stories and writing some of them down over the years
- Finding out that what she studied in college wasn't a good career fit and then following her father's example of being an entrepreneur
- Publishing her first two books around 2012/2013
- Lydia and David setting a ten-year plan that by then David would be able to quit his full-time job
- David enjoying playing Magic The Gathering card game when he was young
- Getting invited to a gaming store that was in his town and becoming enamored with it
- Opening up his own gaming store when he graduated from highschool
- The technical engineering background that David had and how he applied those skills to ads and marketing
- Getting frustrated with his job at about the time that Lydia was starting to earn good money from her writing
- Deciding that he wanted to turn his gaming hobby into a career by starting with a spreadsheet
- How playing cards are one of the easiest and most flexible mediums to make a game in
- The game Cat Magic taking roughly twenty minutes of calculations and figuring to get the first draft of the game started
- The catch-phrase for Love, Lies, and Magic
- Book 8 in that series releasing March 1, 2024
- How Cat Magic the novel was the best of Lydia's books that had an existing audience for creating the first game of David's game design career
- David's role in being an alpha reader and providing Lydia with early feedback on her writing
- The Kickstarter campaign they ran to get the Cat Magic game off the ground
- The important Give 90% of the time, ask 10% of the time rule with communities you are engaged in
- The years of behind the scenes hard work and constantly giving and sharing with the community that built up the success seen in recent Kickstarters
- 80% of their sales coming from direct sales versus sales from retailers
- Storing 15,000 copies of Lydia's books in their basement
- Hiring a college student to help with some of the menial tasks like packaging up books for direct sale orders
- The various logistics of their shipping operation
- Hiring a nanny to keep their kids close and at home, but allowing them the freedom to get their work done during the day
- Their five-year-old discovering capitalism, entrepreneurship, and wanting to become a part of their business
- Advice that David and Lydia would offer to other couples interested in running a business like this
- And more . . .
After the interview, Mark reflects on the concept of building the kind of life that you want as well as the community-giving focus as an authentic way to connect and offer something of value.

Links of Interest:
Lydia Sherrer is an award-winning and USA Today-bestselling author of snark-filled adventures creating stories you love to love, and hate to leave. She is the author of the bestselling urban fantasy Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus universe of books featuring several series, which have sold over half a million copies world-wide. Most recently she has released the TransDimensional Hunter series with NYT bestselling author John Ringo. Lydia subsists on liberal amounts of dark chocolate and tea, and hates sleep because it keeps her from writing (though she needs it because she has kids to wrangle). Due to the tireless efforts of her game-designer husband and her fuzzy overlords—i.e. cats—she remains sane and even occasionally remembers to leave the house.

David Sherrer is a born storyteller and has been an obsessive gamer ever since he was seduced by Magic the Gathering at the tender age of fourteen. He has alternately owned a gaming store, street performed for a living, and survived eleven years in the soul crushing world of telecommunications. He lucked out by marrying a force of nature who was determined to making living off writing, and has since escaped his 9-5 to become the Marketing Director and Lead Game Designer of Chenoweth Press.

His most fond achievements include being Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006—there’s a story there, just ask him—and that time he made his entire DnD party cry at the end of a campaign. In addition to his work, he wrangles his growing family and a herd of feline supervisors, while secretly plotting how to add to the mountain of board games that he swears to his wife he actually plays.

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 April 2024, 1:54 am
39 minutes 21 seconds

EP 353 - Tao Wong on the Toronto Indie Author Conference
Mark interviews Tao Wong about his writing, LitRPG, entrepreneurship, and the Toronto Indie Author Conference that is coming in May 2024.

Prior to the interview, Mark forgoes the usual brief personal update, or comments, and skips right to this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by the Toronto Indie Author Conference.

The Toronto Indie Author Conference is a two-day event tailored exclusively for Canadian independent authors. Do you dream of transforming your passion for writing into a thriving author business? Don’t miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of Canadian indie publishing’s first author business conference.
www.torontoindieauthorcon.com

In their interview, Mark and Tao talk about:
- How Tao has always been writing and telling stories, and how luck played a bit part in it
- Starting off writing LitRPG when he was living in the Yukon when it was night/dark all the time
- Writing a few novels and stories for fun, but then discovering Kristine Kathryn Rusch's blog about the business of publishing and how authors were beginning to leverage digital publishing to do it themselves
- Learning about indie publishing industry, but not being in a place where he thought he would pursue traditional publishing
- Beginning to put his LitRPG titles up on Amazon in 2017 at a time when it was just starting to become hot (He caught the 2nd wave of Western LitRPG authors)
- Not having to do any marketing in those early days because he was still working a full-time job running a business, but still bringing in a hearty income from his self-published books
- Tao's experience doing marketing in selling board games online
- Flipping between the two hats he wears. 1) The writer hat of getting the book done and 2) the marketer hat of having to sell the things that are written
- Realizing he was a "scenic route" author, according to Becca Syme's author structure talks and courses
- Getting to a point where he started to hire staff to help him with some of the tasks
- Being burnt out from the constant churn in hiring and training staff and them leaving within about two years
- Joking that being an indy author is the "easy mode" of being an entrepreneur because the cost and minimum setup is a lot less than what he had to do for his business before
- Laughing at the cost of a $200 cover design bill because not that long ago, he had a single bill from Canada Post that was over $100,000
- Working with about 5 active co-authors but realizing that he didn't want to be a publisher
- Starting the Toronto Indie Author Conference initially out of spite and to bring something useful to Canadian authors who might not be able to afford to travel so far to several US based conferences
- The importance of not having only 6-figure authors doing the presentations at the Toronto Indie Author Conference
- Some of the speakers who will be at the Toronto Indie Author Confernce and the various topics they'll be covering
- The significant amount of time and energy Tao had to invest into this conference
- The Kobo sponsorship of an accessibility fund for the conference where they'll be giving out 10 to 15 pre-paid seats
- A discount code STARK10 that members can use to get $10 off their ticket registration for the conference
- And more . . .
After the interview Mark reflects on the importance of those people who see gaps and step up to make a difference. It's a common theme from the past several interview episodes. He also reflects on just how easy it can be for authors as entrepreneurs when you factor in just how little an author has to invest when it comes to money, to get started, particularly in a world that has so many great free resources.

Links of Interest:
Tao Wong is a full-time author in the scifi and fantasy genres, writing predominantly in the LitRPG and xianxia sub-genres. A multiple times international Amazon bestseller, he is best known for the System Apocalypse and A Thousand Li universes, with over 40 full-length novels and numerous shorter works published. Tao was a finalist for the Kindle Storyteller UK Award in 2021.

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
29 March 2024, 2:23 am
55 minutes 24 seconds

EP 352 - Being The Hero of Your Own Story With No Margins Agency
Mark interviews Katie Nelson, Mari Dietz, and Brandon Winn about No Margins Agency, which offers stock photography of underrepresented and marginalized people.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update, and then plays a few words about this episode's sponsor.

No Margins Agency offers stock photography of underrepresented and marginalized people, because everyone deserves to be the hero of their own story.

In the interview, Mark, Katie, Mari, and Brandon talk about:
- Katie's background writing when young, then getting back into writing science fiction with queer characters later in life shortly after reading a traditionally published book that disappointed her
- Meeting Mari at a conference in Fort Collins, Colorado and being introduced to Superstars Writing Seminars a little later
- How Mari has wanted to write her whole life, and the way her mom used to type out her poems when she was very young and post them on cupboards and elsewhere in the house
- Stopping writing for a while, but then picking it up again in 2011, with a focus on writing fiction that featured plus-size people
- Brandon feeling isolated during the pandemic along with feeling like his voice and wanting to see characters that were more representative of his own experiences
- Being aghast at what was available in typical stock image sites when searching for "plus size" models for example
- The often overlooked value of having to meet people where they're at, rather than assuming everyone is in the same place. A rising tide can only float all boats if people are in boats to begin with
- How not everyone has a visible marginalization or disability
- Getting in contact with them via [email protected]
- Allowing models to bring and wear things that they are comfortable with and to be free with who they are
- The unofficial mantra of the company being "take up as much space as you want"
- How the galleries on their website is broken down
- One of the biggest challenges is convincing people that they don't have to have the confidence or "look" of a "model" in order to model for No Margins Agency
- Scheduling a photoshoot when they're together in Colorado Springs in Feb 2024 at Superstars Writing Seminars
- How they are starting to do reviews of books by more diverse and marginalized authors
- The way they are managing the overhead costs by doing things like scheduling only a single photo shoot per month
- The value and importance of finding the right community that can be there for you and support you
- And more . . .
After the interview Mark shares a reflection about how this type of supportive community inspires him. He also makes an offer to listeners of the podcast (thanks to the help of those who support this podcast at patreon.com/starkreflections) with some of the services that No Margins Agency provides.

Links of Interest:
No Margins Agency is a company dedicated to helping marginalized people reach their audience, tell their stories, and drive sales.

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
22 March 2024, 6:04 pm
16 minutes 53 seconds

EP 351 - Feverish Sore Throat Reflections
In this brief solo episode Mark reflections on the importance of maintaining a streak - which is something he has done since first launching this podcast in January 2017.

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 March 2024, 9:38 pm
40 minutes 40 seconds

EP 350 - Infinite Resources with Jeff Krehmer
Mark interviews engineer and author Jeff Krehmer about his new book Infinite Resources: How to Sustainably Develop the Arctic, by Supplying Green Hydrogen, Fresh Water, and Healthy Food to the World.

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

Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women's equality. Collectively we can all #InspireInclusion.

Learn more about International Women's Day and find resources at: InternationalWomensDay.com

In the interview, Mark and Jeff talk about:
- Jeff's background in various disciplines, including mechanical engineering, project management, software, computer sales
- Sitting on the vision for this current book project for more than ten years, and how having a heart attack two years ago prompted the idea that he should get that work out into the world
- The basic premise of the book in that the arctic can create a sustainable solution if we leverage it in the right way
- "If global warming is the problem, then shouldn't we be maximizing global cooling?"
- The boiling temperature of different liquids, such as propane
- Some of the coldest temperatures ever recorded on earth
- How the book has numerous possible target audience readers, depending on which of the world's problems they are looking to solve (or the economics they want to reap benefits from)
- What people can do to help
- And more . . .
After the interview Mark reflects on the fact that, in the same way that humans have had an impact on the world, and Jeff is reminding us of the positive impact we can have if we learn and we act, we have an impact on one another. This is a reminder to authors of the powerful impact that they can have with the words they write and share.

Links of Interest:
Jeff Krehmer is a professional mechanical engineer and the author of “Infinite Resources.” He is president and chief engineer at Big Time Engineering Corp.

During his engineering career, Jeff has worked as a salesperson, technical support technician, estimator, project manager, product designer and engineering manager. He has more than a decade of experience designing equipment for the oil and gas sector and is a Certified SolidWorks Professional (CSWP).

Jeff has volunteered with and received awards for his volunteer work with the Canadian Ski Patrol System, Big Brothers, Big Sisters and APEGA, the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.

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
8 March 2024, 3:30 pm
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