The Heidi Thorne Show

Spotify Audiobooks: What Self Published Authors Need to Know | Episode 265

In September 2022, Spotify launched audiobooks on their music and podcast platform. How does this affect the audiobook market? Will it impact self published audiobook authors, especially those on Amazon’s ACX and Audible?
YouTube video: https://youtu.be/-U-Q-_lpO5A
Timestamp show notes (click timestamp to view segment on YouTube):
0:13 Spotify adds audiobooks to their music & podcast platform
0:36 How to Spotify audiobooks work?
1:53 Will Spotify audiobooks impact existing audiobook markets?
3:43 ACX and Spotify's audiobook pricing & royalties explained (or exposed)
6:36 Exclusivity issues with ACX and Spotify's Findaway Voices
8:08 Should self published authors switch to Findaway Voices?
11:14 How to connect with Heidi
Udemy course, How to Self Publish an Audio Book:
https://www.udemy.com/course/how-to-self-publish-an-audio-book/?referralCode=75A2310A555CB12AFE4C
You can also listen to The Heidi Thorne Show on your favorite podcast apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Amazon TuneIn Radio. This is Episode 265.

Is It Time to Quit Self Publishing? | Episode 264

All authors, whether traditionally or self published, suffer from a “shall I stay or shall I go” moment at some point. Probably more now as book and content markets become more competitive. Here are some things to consider as you consider continuing your self publishing career. Also, update on my 2022 Thorne Self Publishing Survey.
Take the survey! Anonymous, 10 click-to-answer questions, takes 2-3 minutes. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V7SQFCJ
YouTube video: https://youtu.be/RnNmarIRC3Y
Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):
0:15 Barrett Laurie's video on quitting
1:11 2022 Self Publishing Survey update
2:22 Loving the process or the outcome
3:42 The Never Work a Day in Your Life Fallacy
4:29 The You Can Do It, Too Fallacy
5:28 The If Fallacy
6:17 Being realistic
7:59 Stick or quit?
8:37 How to connect with Heidi
Mentioned in this episode:
Barrett Laurie's Vlog on "Time to Quit" https://youtu.be/XCgArKE249Y
Barrett Laurie's Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/BarrettLaurie
You can also listen to The Heidi Thorne Show on your favorite podcast apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Amazon TuneIn Radio. This is Episode 264.

Why are Your Book Sales Down? | Episode 263

Two authors were complaining about sudden downturns in their book sales. What is happening and why? Could it happen for your book? Can you do anything about it?
Blog: Why are Your Book Sales Down? http://hub.me/apmhU
YouTube video: https://youtu.be/aNOxB9hPX6Y
Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):
0:15 Two authors, same downturn in book sales
0:51 What is happening?
2:34 Could a sudden downturn in book sales happen to you?
3:47 Is there anything you can do?
6:19 How to connect with Heidi
You can also listen to The Heidi Thorne Show on your favorite podcast apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Amazon TuneIn Radio. This is Episode 263.

Ethereum Merge, NFTs, Climate Change, and Self Publishing | Episode 262

In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act was passed in the United States which provided a variety of economy boosting measures and incentives, many of them focused on dealing with climate change. Scheduled for September 2022, The Merge of the Ethereum blockchain will be a game changer in the blockchain and NFT space. In this episode, I discuss issues relating to climate change and self publishing.
YouTube video: https://youtu.be/cpCYWwOcK0A
Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):
0:16 Climate change and can we change it?
1:13 The Merge of Ethereum and Impact on NFTs
3:58 eBooks and audio books as sustainable publishing options
4:27 Print book sustainability issues
5:49 Skip the swag
6:43 The triple bottom line
7:19 How to connect with Heidi
You can also listen to The Heidi Thorne Show on your favorite podcast apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Amazon TuneIn Radio. This is Episode 262.

Why People Don’t Want to Pay for Subscription Content | Episode 261

People who have a relationship with a creator are more likely to become paying and continuing subscribers. But that's not a given. I discuss why people don't want to pay for subscription content on Patreon, YouTube, etc.
Blog: Why People Don't Want to Pay for Subscription Content http://hub.me/apkyS
YouTube video: https://youtu.be/rZ2P3z9s1xc
Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):
0:15 Replying to comment on inflation impact on subscription content
0:53 How many creators can you support?
2:05 It's not about the money
4:07 YouTube Creators woes
6:30 Is Patreon the answer?
7:44 Are we all just buskers now?
10:00 Blame it on TV
12:04 How to connect with Heidi
You can also listen to The Heidi Thorne Show on your favorite podcast apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Amazon TuneIn Radio. This is Episode 261.

This One Stat Should Worry Every Subscription Content Creator | Episode 260

In response to inflation, if consumers realize their money is dripping away month after month for subscriptions, they may have an epiphany moment and start scrutinizing those costs. I discuss the stats that show this is happening, and how this impacts content creators and authors.
YouTube video: https://youtu.be/RSMqqRM3Du4
Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):
0:15 Our retirement reset on subscriptions
1:39 "I'm spending how much on subscriptions?"
2:23 How this impacts authors and content creators
3:28 What should authors and content creators do?
4:16 How to connect with Heidi
You can also listen to The Heidi Thorne Show on your favorite podcast apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Amazon TuneIn Radio. This is Episode 260.

Robot Ghostwriters: What You Need to Know about AI Writing Assistants | Episode 259

An AI writing assistant functions like a robot ghostwriter. You tell the program what you want to write about, along with any stylistic elements and tone you’d prefer. As an author, I’m sure your head is spinning right now with a lot of questions and concerns about how robot ghostwriters like this will impact you and the writing industry.
Blog: AI Writing Assistants: What You Need to Know About Robot Ghostwriters http://hub.me/apiPG
YouTube video: https://youtu.be/fWQZarTfT6s
Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):
0:15 AI writing assistants have arrived
1:03 What does an AI writing assistant do?
2:22 How does an AI writing assistant know how and what to write?
3:50 What about copyrights... and monkey business?
9:10 Will AI writing assistants put human ghostwriters out of business?
10:13 How to connect with Heidi
You can also listen to The Heidi Thorne Show on your favorite podcast apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Amazon TuneIn Radio. This is Episode 259.

Amazon Ads for Traditionally Published Authors | Episode 258

Are Amazon ads worth doing for traditionally published authors? I’m not so sure. Let me explain why, based on my experience from running Amazon ads for my self published books since 2016.
So there’s no confusion, just for this episode, when I talk about authors, I’m specifically referring to traditionally published authors. However, some self published authors may also find this information helpful.
Blog: Amazon Ad Tips for Traditionally Published Authors http://hub.me/aphSx
YouTube video: https://youtu.be/f8SY3amhSpg
Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):
0:15 Amazon opens up ads to traditionally published authors
0:58 The new traditional publishing paradigm
2:10 Amazon ads are not a sure-fire marketing tactic
5:22 Key ad metrics to watch (ACoS and Sales Conversion)
7:22 Why did Amazon open up ads for traditionally published authors?
8:38 How to connect with Heidi
You can also listen to The Heidi Thorne Show on your favorite podcast apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Amazon TuneIn Radio. This is Episode 258.

Do Kindle Free eBook Promotions Increase Sales | Episode 257

One of the reasons self published authors sign up for KDP Select on Kindle Direct Publishing is to do Free Kindle eBook Promotions. I’m not a big fan of free eBook giveaways, whether on Amazon KDP or other platforms. Here’s why.
Blog: Do Kindle Free eBook Promotions Boost Book Sales? http://hub.me/apgQm
YouTube video: https://youtu.be/h5Y1E83Ju_Y
Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):
0:15 Not a fan of Kindle Free eBook Promotions
0:35 Why would you buy a book you got for free?
1:50 Reader magnet potential and problems
2:58 Do lots of free downloads equal a successful free eBook campaign?
4:30 Can free downloads be correlated to book sales?
6:35 How to connect with Heidi
You can also listen to The Heidi Thorne Show on your favorite podcast apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Amazon TuneIn Radio. This is Episode 257.

2022 Self Publishing Survey Invitation | Episode 256

I’ve decided to do another round of my Thorne Self Publishing Survey to see how self published authors are doing in terms of income, motivations, and challenges in 2022. All self published authors (and authors who do both self and traditional publishing) are invited to participate in the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V7SQFCJ It's anonymous, 10 quick click-to-answer questions, and takes about 2 minutes.
I did the first survey in 2016, and planned to do it every two years. The last survey was in 2018. 2020 was supposed to be the next survey. But 2020 was, well, 2020. So I skipped doing it that year, and postponed it to 2022.
I discuss more about the goals and plans for the survey, as well as what's been updated for the 2022 survey. Thank you for your participation!
YouTube video: https://youtu.be/VmWJ4aMjOTU
Timestamp show notes (click on timestamp to view segment on YouTube):
0:16 The 2022 Thorne Self Publishing Survey has launched
1:22 About the 2022 survey
2:26 Updates for the 2022 survey
4:13 2022 survey timeline and deadlines
5:31 How to connect with Heidi and get survey updates
SurveyMonkey survey link (feel free to share, too!) https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V7SQFCJ
If you would like to help support the cost of conducting this year's survey, I have set up a GoFundMe campaign at https://gofund.me/f7e57695