Looking for a way to sell your books direct to readers? Spicy romance author Emilia Rose built a full-time income on Patreon before she’d even finished college. Then Patreon pulled her account down over her content, more than once. So she and her husband built their own platform for fiction authors. It’s called Ream.

In this episode of The Write Podcast, Emilia shares how she went from writing werewolf romance on Wattpad to publishing more than 30 books wide. She explains why she chose wide publishing over Kindle Unlimited, and how authors can use Ream to sell ebooks, subscriptions, audiobooks and webcomics in one place, for a 10 percent fee. Ream has been open to the public for about three years and now has 20,000 author signups and around 160,000 readers, most of them reading romance.

If you haven’t published yet, Ream lets you share your story chapter by chapter, see exactly where readers stop reading, and build your email list before your book is in any store.

In this episode:

• How Emilia turned Wattpad reads into a full-time author income on Patreon
• Why she publishes wide instead of Kindle Unlimited, and how that saved her business
• What Ream is and how its 10 percent fee compares to other platforms
• Selling ebooks direct with preorders, discounts and your own pricing
• Social reading, where readers comment paragraph by paragraph
• Serialized fiction and writing chapter by chapter with reader feedback
• Ream’s reader discovery tools, from genre pages to Top 50 and Rising lists
• Releasing audiobooks and webcomics alongside your ebooks
• Building your newsletter list from every reader who buys, subscribes or follows
• The top genres on Ream and what’s coming next, including print on demand

Find Ream: reamstories.com

Free training: Learn the three decisions that turn a finished manuscript into a career, and the order most authors get wrong, in my free one-hour training. It runs live every month. You’ll leave knowing which decision to make first for your book.

Claim your seat: serenadepublishing.com/training

Episode descriptionYou’ve finished your manuscript, but when someone asks what genre it is, you say “it’s a romance, but...” and then there’s another but. It’s a bit romance, a bit paranormal, a bit historical, and every category you look at feels a little bit like lying. And you’re worried the wrong reader will pick it up, feel let down, and leave a one-star review that has nothing to do with your story.In this episode, I talk about how Amazon’s smaller shelves actually work, the phone call that changed how I think about the parts of a book that are hard to label, and how to position your book so the right reader finds it and the wrong one keeps walking.In this episode:- How subgenres work on Amazon, and why a smaller shelf can help you- How to find the main genre underneath a book that’s a little bit of everything- Using your categories and keywords so the unusual parts of your book get found- he busload of readers who went looking for a station I made up- Four questions that tell you who your book is for, and who it isn’t for- How your cover, blurb and categories can bring the right reader in and keep the wrong one outFree training: Learn how to set a clear goal for your book, and which decision to make first, in my free one-hour training, The 3 Decisions That Turn a Finished Manuscript Into a Career. It runs live every month.Claim your seat: serenadepublishing.com/training— — — — — — — — — —✍️ Writers: Want help building a real writing career?Join my free weekly email for tips on writing, publishing, and growing your readership.→ www.serenadepublishing.com— — — — — — — — — —👋 About This ChannelHi, I’m Sarah Williams. I help writers turn their books into sustainable careers.Here we talk about:• writing and finishing books• publishing and the book industry• author marketing• building a long-term writing careerWhether you're writing your first book or already publishing, you're welcome here.— — — — — — — — — —🚀 Ready to go deeper?✦ The Author CEO – for writers ready to treat their books like a real business ✦ Author Retreats – immersive strategy and writing retreatsLearn more:www.serenadepublishing.com— — — — — — — — — —📌 Connect With MeInstagram → https://www.instagram.com/serenadepublishingTikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@serenadepublishing

You don’t need a bigger platform to test a new idea. You need five samples and the nerve to ask a question you’re embarrassed you don’t already know the answer to.

Monster romance author Natalie Starkoss joins me to talk about building worlds out of gargoyles and genetically altered hybrids, and the business lesson that came out of nowhere. How sourcing her own candles, keyrings, and custom bookmarks changed what happened at her book table, and lifted her profit at a single event by 23 percent. We get into where to actually source this stuff when you’re starting from zero, the supplier mistake that almost put her off trying again, and why the thing sitting next to your book might matter more than the book itself.

You’ve finished your manuscript, and now there’s a pile of decisions waiting for you. The editor. The cover. The price. Kindle Unlimited or wide. The launch. Ask about any of them in a Facebook group and you’ll get three confident answers, and none of them were built for your book.

In this episode, I talk about why that keeps happening, the Kindle Unlimited decision I got wrong with my first books, and the one thing to work out before you make any of these calls.

In this episode:

- Why so much publishing advice contradicts itself, even when everyone giving it is right

-What happened when I put my first books in Kindle Unlimited, and why I pulled them out

- How the same manuscript can need a different cover, price and launch depending on what you want it to do

- The question to ask about every decision in your pile, from the editor to the launch

Free training: Learn how to set a clear goal for your book, and which decision to make first, in my free one-hour training, The 3 Decisions That Turn a Finished Manuscript Into a Career. It runs live every month.

You’ll leave knowing what you want this book to do and which question to answer first. Grab your seat at serenadepublishing.com/training

✍️ Writers: Want help building a real writing career?Join my free weekly email for tips on writing, publishing, and growing your readership.→ www.serenadepublishing.com— — — — — — — — — —👋 About This ChannelHi, I’m Sarah Williams. I help writers turn their books into sustainable careers.Here we talk about:• writing and finishing books• publishing and the book industry• author marketing• building a long-term writing careerWhether you're writing your first book or already publishing, you're welcome here.— — — — — — — — — —🚀 Ready to go deeper?✦ The Author CEO – for writers ready to treat their books like a real business ✦ Author Retreats – immersive strategy and writing retreatsLearn more:www.serenadepublishing.com— — — — — — — — — —📌 Connect With MeInstagram → https://www.instagram.com/serenadepublishingTikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@serenadepublishing

You finished the manuscript, so why does "am I ready" still feel impossible to answer?

This episode breaks down hobby thinking versus business thinking, three things you can check about your own manuscript today, the unspoken fear of picking the wrong editor or cover designer, and why watching someone else publish a rougher book than yours isn't a talent problem.

In this episode:

● The difference between hobby thinking and business thinking, and why finishing a manuscript doesn't automatically flip the switch

● Three things you already know about your book that turn "am I ready" into a question you can actually answer

● The real fear behind choosing an editor or cover designer, and what it usually turns into instead of action● Why watching someone with a rougher book get a real launch isn't about talent

● Why "stuck" usually isn't a discipline problem, it's a decision made with no real information underneath it

Free live training, next week: The 3 Decisions That Turn a Finished Manuscript Into a Career (Most Authors Get the Order Wrong): www.serenadepublishing.com/training

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✍️ Writers: Want help building a real writing career?Join my free weekly email for tips on writing, publishing, and growing your readership.→ www.serenadepublishing.com— — — — — — — — — —👋 About This ChannelHi, I’m Sarah Williams. I help writers turn their books into sustainable careers.Here we talk about:• writing and finishing books• publishing and the book industry• author marketing• building a long-term writing careerWhether you're writing your first book or already publishing, you're welcome here.— — — — — — — — — —🚀 Ready to go deeper?✦ The Author CEO – for writers ready to treat their books like a real business ✦ Author Retreats – immersive strategy and writing retreatsLearn more:www.serenadepublishing.com— — — — — — — — — —📌 Connect With MeInstagram → https://www.instagram.com/serenadepublishingTikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@serenadepublishing

Ever posted about a book event everywhere you could think of, only to have someone tell you afterward they had no idea it was even happening?

Lauren and Alana from Book World know that feeling well, which is why they are building a directory made just for book events so nobody misses one again.

In this episode, I sit down with the two friends behind Book World, the magazine that started as a newsletter between two people who could not stop talking about books and has grown into a full glossy publication now on its ninth issue. We talk about how their friendship became a business, what it actually takes to put a magazine like this together, some of the authors and narrators they have interviewed along the way, and the two brand new platforms they are building right now, including a bookish events app and a redesigned website built around their own book club and author release calendar.

Bookworld link: https://bookworld.club/

Training link: serenadepublishing.com/training

✍️ Writers: Want help building a real writing career?Join my free weekly email for tips on writing, publishing, and growing your readership.→ www.serenadepublishing.com— — — — — — — — — —👋 About This ChannelHi, I’m Sarah Williams. I help writers turn their books into sustainable careers.Here we talk about:• writing and finishing books• publishing and the book industry• author marketing• building a long-term writing careerWhether you're writing your first book or already publishing, you're welcome here.— — — — — — — — — —🚀 Ready to go deeper?✦ The Author CEO – for writers ready to treat their books like a real business ✦ Author Retreats – immersive strategy and writing retreatsLearn more:www.serenadepublishing.com— — — — — — — — — —📌 Connect With MeInstagram → https://www.instagram.com/serenadepublishingTikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@serenadepublishing

You can publish a book for next to nothing. Uploading to Amazon is free. A premade cover can cost $40. Canva will get you a passable template in an afternoon. None of that means you have an author business.

In this episode of The Write Podcast, Sarah Williams breaks down what it actually costs to build a real, sustainable author business, not just publish a book. She covers what overhead actually means for an author (editing, cover design, running ads properly, business admin), why wearing every hat yourself has a hidden cost paid in time instead of money, and why the biggest investment most authors skip isn't financial at all.

If you're an indie author, a self-published writer, or an author trying to build an actual career from your books, and you've ever wondered why some writers build real businesses while others stall out, this episode names the real difference. It's not talent. It's whether you're running this like the business it is.

Ready to stop guessing and start making these decisions in the right order?

Register for the free live training, The 3 Decisions That Turn a Finished Manuscript Into a Career (Most Authors Get the Order Wrong), at serenadepublishing.com/training

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✍️ Writers: Want help building a real writing career?Join my free weekly email for tips on writing, publishing, and growing your readership.→ www.serenadepublishing.com— — — — — — — — — —👋 About This ChannelHi, I’m Sarah Williams. I help writers turn their books into sustainable careers.Here we talk about:• writing and finishing books• publishing and the book industry• author marketing• building a long-term writing careerWhether you're writing your first book or already publishing, you're welcome here.— — — — — — — — — —🚀 Ready to go deeper?✦ The Author CEO – for writers ready to treat their books like a real business ✦ Author Retreats – immersive strategy and writing retreatsLearn more:www.serenadepublishing.com— — — — — — — — — —📌 Connect With MeInstagram → https://www.instagram.com/serenadepublishingTikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@serenadepublishing

You built the store. Maybe it's beautiful. Maybe it cost more than you want to admit. Now it's just sitting there, waiting for someone to find it.

I sat down with Melissa Storm, a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who's spent over a decade running one of publishing's most trusted ads agencies. She's the person authors turn to when their Facebook ads stop working and nobody can tell them why.

In this episode, you'll learn:

- Why interest-based targeting doesn't work like it used to

- How to tell if you've trained the algorithm on the wrong reader, and how to fix it

- What changes strategically when you sell direct instead of through a retailer

Melissa doesn't do vague advice. She gives you the reason behind the rule, not just the steps.

Connect with Melissa Storm:

Take her free marketing quiz and find her courses at novelpublicity.com.

Her Shopify ads program is only available through her live Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/melstorm/shopify-ads

— — — — — — — — — —✍️ Writers: Want help building a real writing career?Join my free weekly email for tips on writing, publishing, and growing your readership.→ www.serenadepublishing.com— — — — — — — — — —👋 About This ChannelHi, I’m Sarah Williams. I help writers turn their books into sustainable careers.Here we talk about:• writing and finishing books• publishing and the book industry• author marketing• building a long-term writing careerWhether you're writing your first book or already publishing, you're welcome here.— — — — — — — — — —🚀 Ready to go deeper?✦ The Author CEO – for writers ready to treat their books like a real business ✦ Author Retreats – immersive strategy and writing retreatsLearn more:www.serenadepublishing.com— — — — — — — — — —📌 Connect With MeInstagram → https://www.instagram.com/serenadepublishingTikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@serenadepublishing