『The Unfiltered Truth About Indie Publishing with Mark Leslie』のカバーアート

The Unfiltered Truth About Indie Publishing with Mark Leslie

The Unfiltered Truth About Indie Publishing with Mark Leslie

無料で聴く

ポッドキャストの詳細を見る

概要

 Mark is a writer, an editor, a professional speaker, and a book nerd with a passion for craft beer.He’s also an ambassador for the Canadian publishing industry and my mentor.Prefer video? Watch this interview on YOUTUBE. It’s worth your while… I include a clip where I failed to hit record on our 1st attempt at this interview. My expression and shock might be priceless. I met Mark Leslie several years ago when we took the same short story webinar. When he found out about my short story blog, he invited me onto his podcast.Here is my first chat ever with Mr. Leslie:Since then, we’ve become fast friends, and I bump into him all over the continent at writing conferences.All sorts of goodies in this podcast…You can learn more about Mark over at markleslie.caAngelique: You’ve said failure is just a data point and writers shouldn’t be afraid of it. What do you mean by that in publishing?Mark: I’ve been in this industry for a long time, and I’ve failed thousands of times. I’ve screwed up, done the wrong thing, and made mistakes constantly. But if it weren’t for those mistakes, I wouldn’t have learned. Sometimes, if something works accidentally, you think you knew what you were doing, and that can actually teach you the wrong lesson. Failure gives you information. It shows you what didn’t work, and that helps you adjust.Angelique: A lot of writers look for the magic formula. Is there one?Mark: No. There’s no magic bullet. There are good strategies, yes, but every single book is different, even for the same author. Every platform is different. Every reader is different. You can’t just copy what someone else did and expect the same result. You have to learn and adjust it according to what you’re writing, who you’re serving, and how you’re releasing it. A hundred authors can do all the so-called right things, and only a tiny percentage may still hit that perfect timing where everything aligns.Angelique: So writers shouldn’t just chase whatever seems to be working for everyone else?Mark: Exactly. Too many indie authors act like a bunch of ten-year-olds playing soccer, all chasing the ball around. They’re following the latest trend without thinking strategically. You have to think more like Wayne Gretzky, skating to where the puck is going to be. You have to figure out where your puck is, and your puck is going to be different from someone else’s. Most of the time it still won’t work, but every once in a while you’ll get a hit. That’s part of the game.Angelique: Is publishing really that unstable, even when something works?Mark: Absolutely. You can have a good year and still be broke the next year. There’s no guarantee in writing. You have to be able to pivot. I put out maybe three books a year on average, and they don’t all make money. Some books are successful, some do okay, and some are complete duds. So I’m playing the odds. I’m not waiting ten years and hoping one book becomes a blockbuster. I’m producing the books that are meaningful to me and releasing them with passion.Angelique: How important is talent compared to persistence?Mark: Talent matters, but it’s only one part of the equation. Persistence is huge. The writers who don’t quit are the ones who win. You’re going to get bad reviews, rejection, disappointing sales, and things that make you want to stop. But if you quit, that’s the end. You have to keep going.Angelique: How should writers handle negative reviews and readers who don’t connect with the work?Mark: You have to remember that not every reader is your reader. My mother never liked my writing because she was a romance reader and I didn’t write romance. That didn’t mean my books were bad. It just meant she wasn’t the ideal reader for me. The same is true with reviews. Some people are simply not the right audience. That’s okay. What matters is finding the people who do love what you write.Angelique: Why does having a body of work matter so much in publishing?Mark: Because one book rarely gives you enough leverage. When you spend money marketing one book, the math is tough. Maybe people click, maybe a few buy, but the return can be small. When you have more books, even if they’re not all in the same series, a reader who likes one can go looking for the others. That’s where the value of a backlist comes in. If someone discovers you and enjoys your writing, they may go buy more of your books. That’s one of the best reasons to keep building a body of work.Angelique: Does the backlist only matter if you write in series?Mark: Series make it easier, but no, it’s not only about series. If a reader connects with your voice or your storytelling, they may want more from you regardless. I’ve done that myself as a reader. I’ve read one book by an author and immediately gone out and bought everything else they wrote. That’s the power of a body of work.Angelique: For writers with anthologies or story collections, should ...
まだレビューはありません