Tom Wilde is the Head of Partnerships at ProWritingAid, a comprehensive writing toolkit designed for storytellers and creative writers. With a background as an English teacher, Tom brings educational expertise to helping writers understand craft elements like passive voice, sentence structure, and readability. ProWritingAid has evolved from a grammar checker into a full editorial assistant that works with writers across multiple platforms, offering 25 different reports that analyze everything from sticky sentences to character development. The tool integrates with popular writing software like Scrivener, Google Docs, and Microsoft Word, providing both real-time checking and deep manuscript analysis.

In this episode:

• What ProWritingAid is and how it's evolved beyond basic grammar checking
• How the tool integrates with Scrivener, Google Docs, Word, and other writing platforms
• The difference between real-time checking and deep report analysis
• Privacy guarantees: your text is never stored or used for AI training
• The sticky sentences report: identifying when 40% of your words are just padding
• How the all repeats report finds overused words and phrases you can't see
• Readability analysis at the paragraph level to prevent reader drop-off
• AI-powered features: Rephrase, Critique, and Sparks
• How the Critique report analyzes characterization, dialogue, plot, and structure
• Using ChatGPT's API responsibly without storing or sharing user text
• AI Sparks for writer's block: inspiration without replacing your voice
• Changing perspective, tense, or adding sensory detail with AI assistance
• Genre-specific writing goals and benchmarks for different fiction categories
• Writers Week events throughout the year for different genres

Resources mentioned:

• ProWritingAid: https://prowritingaid.com/
• Writers Week events: https://prowritingaid.com/art/1163/learn-with-prowritingaid-this-month.aspx
• Integration with Scrivener, Word, Google Docs: https://prowritingaid.com/integrations
• YouTube channel tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClh8Sjuq-j17zxjfvvxmcIg

Book recommendations:

• Go As A River by Shelley Reed: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Go-River/Shelley-Read/9781954118232
• Fingersmith by Sarah Waters: https://www.amazon.com/Fingersmith-Sarah-Waters/dp/1573229725

Connect with Tom:

• Website: https://prowritingaid.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prowritingaid
• X.com: https://twitter.com/prowritingaid
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prowritingaid.insta/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/prowritingaid
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClh8Sjuq-j17zxjfvvxmcIg

Connect with Teddy Smith:

• @teddyagsmith
• Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
• Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
• Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
• Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/publishing-performance/

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Nick Thacker is a bestselling author of over 45 books across multiple genres, including the 16-book Harvey Bennett thriller series. What makes Nick's story unique is that he never wanted to be a writer—he hated writing in school and only started his first book as a Christmas gift for his father. After working in marketing and web design, Nick applied business principles to his author career and was able to quit his full-time job in 2017. Today, he runs Book Career in a Year, where he teaches authors how to build sustainable writing careers through strategic marketing, email list building, and treating their creative work as a business.

In this episode:

• Why Nick hated writing but became a prolific author anyway
• The "muddy middle" problem and how craft books saved his first manuscript
• How The Enigma Strain made only $80 in its first year but became a bestseller
• Why writing more books is the single best marketing strategy
• The crucial difference between fighting obscurity and making money
• Three marketing buckets every author needs: email, social media, and advertising
• How to build an email list as a fiction writer by giving away entire books
• Why you should make your social media attractive, not promotional
• Why "writing for yourself" is often an excuse to avoid marketing
• Productivity systems that work: the 12 Week Year and EOS (Traction)
• How to find your own writing process instead of copying famous authors
• Step-by-step guide to building a book career in one year
• When to start investing in Facebook and Amazon ads
• The importance of sending readers back to Amazon for algorithmic benefits
  
  

Resources mentioned:

• Book Career in a Year program: https://www.bookcareerinayear.com/
• Scrivener: https://scrivener.app/
• Email marketing platforms
• Amazon KDP: https://kdp.amazon.com/
• Facebook advertising platform: https://www.facebook.com/business/ads
• The 12 Week Year book: https://www.amazon.com/12-Week-Year-Others-Months/dp/1118509234
• Entrepreneur Operating System (EOS): https://www.eosworldwide.com/

Book recommendations:

• Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain: https://www.amazon.com/Techniques-Selling-Writer-Dwight-Swain/dp/0806111917
• Amazonia by James Rollins: https://www.amazon.com/Amazonia-James-Rollins/dp/0061965839

Connect with Nick:

• Website: https://www.nickthacker.com/
• Book Career in a Year Coaching Program: https://www.bookcareerinayear.com/
• Online courses and training: https://www.bookcareerinayear.com/coaching/
• Books by Nick: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B008A2W6XE

Connect with Teddy Smith:

• @teddyagsmith
• Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
• Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
• Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
• Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/publishing-performance/

Support the show

Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/

Ellen Erikson is a publisher with over 30 books in her catalog, including both self-authored titles and public domain editions. She specializes in helping authors understand how to legally republish classic works by adding value through professional formatting, contemporary cover design, and thoughtful annotations. Ellen teaches other publishers how to navigate the complexities of copyright law, Amazon's content guidelines, and competitive research to create profitable public domain book businesses while keeping literary classics accessible to modern readers.

In this episode:

• What public domain books are and how copyright expiration works across different countries
• The 100-year rule for determining if a book is safe to publish
• Why classics from authors like Charles Dickens and Shakespeare remain profitable
• Amazon KDP's specific requirements for differentiating your public domain edition
• Three ways to make your edition unique: translations, illustrations, or annotations
• How to add 5,000-word annotations including author biographies and study guides
• Common copyright mistakes including newer translations and trademarked characters
• The Winnie the Pooh trademark lesson: why some story elements remain protected
• Competitive research strategies for finding underserved classic book niches
• How to identify opportunities where existing editions look outdated or homemade
• Building a recognizable series of classics with cohesive cover design
• Advertising tactics using author names and famous titles as primary keywords
• Where to find free manuscripts: Project Gutenberg and ManyBooks
• Formatting challenges with old digital files and when to outsource
• Royalty rates for public domain books: 35% ebooks, 60% minus print costs for paperbacks
• Page count limitations for KDP hardcovers (500 pages maximum)
• Using Wikipedia to discover an author's lesser-known works with less competition
• Whether audiobook production makes financial sense for public domain titles

Connect with Ellen:

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellenerikson/

Connect with Teddy Smith:

• @teddyagsmith
• Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
• Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
• Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
• Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/publishing-performance/

Support the show

Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/