Rage Against the Manuscript

A detailed look into exactly what I've done to launch my brand new paranormal, kooky, spooky, ghost romance series, and all of Amazon's shenanigans to derail it. I talk about Tiktok, newsletter magnets, social media, PR boxes, ARCs, and more.

In this episode, I let you in on the 6 key focus areas of my 2023 strategy, including my return to paranormal romance, translations, and building a fandom via bonus content. I hope you find this interesting and useful when thinking about your own strategy! 

This year has been my best year in self-publishing EVER. It's blown me away, and I wanted to share with you all the things that have worked for me (and the things that DID NOT WORK). You'll learn about how I worked less, earned more, went woo woo, and learned to trust my own instincts. 

Right now, I've raised over $26k on Kickstarter to create signed, limited-edition hardcovers of one of my book series. I tell you all about how I planned the campaign, what's worked, and how authors can use Kickstarter as a tool for fandom building.

Interested in my Kickstarter? You can check it out here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/steffmetal/nevermore-bookshop-mysteries-exclusive-hardcovers-swag

Do you have 5 books, or 15, or 50, that aren't pulling their weight? Does your income slide back to nothing between book releases? It's time to get that backlist working for you with these ideas.

Today we are talking money! Specifically, all the millions of ways you can spend it on your self-publishing business, and where I think the smartest investments are.

In this episode, I talk about the belief that there are certain fiction genres where so many authors are writing that it's extra tough to be seen, and how you can carve your own place in the genre fiction landscape. 

You've published your book and it isn't selling the way you hoped – what do you do? Is it time to give up self-publishing altogether? HELL NO. In this episode, I look at why some books flop, what you can learn from them, and how to make them valuable assets in your backlist.

In this episode, I use the example of one of my successful series to show you how I plan a series from idea to finished product. 

In this episode, I break down my 2022 strategy, why I'm doing what I'm doing, and tell you a little about my brand new secret pen name! 

In this episode, I break down exactly what I self-published in 2021, my successes and failures, the things I'm most proud of and where I'd like to make improvements, and show you how my strategy translates into income with a breakdown of my earnings from writing. 

In this episode we look at who are our readers, how they choose books, and how we as self-publishers can use this information to give them more of what they CRAVE.

How do writers earn a liveable income? What are some ways you can increase your income from writing, and how can you do that in a strategic way? I give you my tips from my experience. 

Why unpublish a book and rewrite it? As authors, we all have unfinished series or books we feel didn’t get the chance to shine. I offer some tips for giving those neglected books a second lease on life.

In this week's podcast, I talk about how, and why, to write a book in a month, from draft right through to editing, and how that can become part of a wider strategy. 

This episode is for you if you love writing short, but you don’t know what to do with your stories or how to fit short fiction into your writing career. I've loaded you up with ideas to get strategic about short fiction!

What are the three platforms you can use for advertising your books, and how do you use them to create a strategy that works? We talk FB, AMS, and Bookbub ad strategies. 

Is it better for you to write one series at a time, or jump around between different series as the muse calls? Let’s talk about series strategy, author branding, and the 75% rule.

Other authors aren’t scary – they’ll be your biggest allies and cheerleaders. And you can work together to lift each other up and grow your readership. I’m declaring 2021 the year of working collaboratively. Here are my ideas for collaborations with authors.

Backmatter and frontmatter are some of the most important tools you have to generate sellthrough to other books in your series. This episode takes a look at best practices for adding extra “stuff” to your books.

Let’s take a look at the benefits and drawbacks of being exclusive with Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited programme versus taking your books wide across all platforms.

In this episode, we’re doing a case study! I walk you through how I launched a series into a new sub-genre, exactly what I did for the launch, and how much money I earned. If you want to launch books in different sub-genres, I think you’ll find this useful.

The new year is fast approaching, and it’s time to reflect on what’s working in our author business and what we can change up to have an amazing writing year in 2021.

Christmas is 8 weeks away. I googled it this morning and it terrified me. I thought I’d put together some promotional ideas to help you prep new readers over the holiday period. I’ve organized them via budget, so there are promotional ideas for every type of author within.

In this episode I discuss some of the ways I create the kinds of characters that keep the pages turning and readers guessing. Plus, I give you an exclusive sneak peek into my upcoming project. 

Today’s podcast is a little different – I’m answering your questions! I’ve chosen three questions from members of the RAtM Facebook group. We’re talking about my editing process, categories and keywords on Amazon, and how to balance the creative and business sides of being a writer.

Building and tending your brand is vital if you want a career as an author. So what exactly is your author brand, and what are the common mistakes authors make that can tank their brand?

Worldbuilding is super fun, but it’s also one of the key aspects to creating an engaging novel. I dive deep into some of my favorite fictional worlds, share how I build a world around my characters, and discuss common worldbuilding pitfalls.

Tropes are reader-crack. Readers love and actively search for their favorite tropes, and as a clever author you can use tropes to create stories that attract your ideal readers. In this episode I wax lyrical about tropes and why they’re awesome.

Skeleton drafting is the technique I use to plot intricate, action-packed, emotionally-charged books quickly, and enjoy myself during the process. I explain exactly how to use this technique, why it’s so powerful, and give you some examples from my books.

To celebrate the release of my new book, How to Rock Freelance Writing, I give you a run-down of all the mistakes I’ve made over my freelance career, and how you can use freelancing as part of a sustainable writing career.

Are you considering crowdfunding your book? I love crowdfunding as a tool to help you create an awesome project or provide long-term income security. However, not all crowdfunding platforms and projects are created equal. Learn from my crowdfunding successes and failures.

How do you build an audience of readers when you don’t have a huge marketing budget? How can you compete with the big name authors in your genre? There are heaps of great ways you can approach marketing your books on a teensy budget. Enjoy these marketing tips from a USA TODAY bestselling fiction author.

This is probably THE most common question I'm asked. When you pour your soul into a book and it doesn't sell, you want to know WHY. I offer five key reasons why a book isn't selling, and what you can do about it. 

Do you talk to other writers online? Do you ask for advice and get a million different answers? How do you decide which writing and publishing advice is worth listening to? This week we talk about who's giving advice, how to figure out what to choose, and when you're listening too much.

In 2020, the way we consume content online is completely different from the heyday of blogging. In this podcast I ask the question, “Is blogging dead?” We look at the history of blogging and where blogging is at in 2020, and whether a blog is a good idea for an author growing an audience.

This week's episode is all about being a speed freak! Discover why you should master the skill of writing faster, what to do when you hit the "wall of suckage" and how to stop doing the hard work of writing in the most time-consuming way.

Join USA Today bestselling author Steff Green as she discusses the evolution of her author website from the early days of blogging and how you can get started quickly with a website for your readers. 

In this episode, we're talking mailing lists and author newsletters – what to start, what to say, how often to say it, and why you don't have to worry if you've only got 20 readers.