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This podcast episode features bestselling thriller author Jeffery Deaver discussing his outlining process, the role of structure and character descriptions in storytelling, a three-step revision approach, editing tips, and reading manuscripts aloud.
Discusses using deep research and personal connections to add authenticity to crime fiction, and keeping a long-running series fresh across many books. Also covers word-of-mouth book marketing and sustaining a long writing career.
Summarizes a NielsenIQ survey on how metadata, including covers and keywords, affects book discovery and sales. It is an update of a 2012 survey, so it also shows how those trends have changed.
A podcast from two literary agents covering publishing news, recent book deals, and their current reading. They also discuss the role of personal relationships in publishing, along with printing challenges and rising book prices.
An interview episode with indie author Mark Baker, who writes historical fiction, fantasy, and travel memoir. It covers his move from technical writing to independent publishing and his Substack about literature and storytelling.
This Writing Excuses episode explores why readers respond to symmetry in stories, including callbacks, repeated images, and mirrored scenes. It also covers finding symmetry during revision and when breaking a pattern may serve a story better.
Describes the relaunch of Reedsy Discovery, a paid editorial review service for indie authors. It states the program costs $299, charged only when a reviewer picks up the text, and delivers a 350-word review within 30 days.
Explains how Amazon's switch from Kindle Unlimited to Kindle Plus affects authors, including a separate audiobook royalty pool, pay per page listened, and which ACX and Virtual Voice titles qualify.
An episode of a podcast in which literary agent CeCe Lyra and Doubleday Canada editor Bhavna Chauhan review two query letters and opening pages. The description covers comps, genre clarity, tension, interiority, and opening scenes, plus an acquiring editor's view on standout pitches and protagonists.
A Self-Publishing with ALLi episode in which Howard Lovy and writing coach Jacqx Melilli discuss turning life experiences into memoir. Topics include distinguishing memoir from autobiography, selecting memories, and using scenes, dialogue, and sensory detail.
A podcast interview with bestselling thriller author and Hollywood screenwriter T.D. Donnelly about auditing your writing process, balancing the creator and critic, and networking at author conferences as an introvert. It also covers his book Superdraft.
Literary agent Regina Brooks discusses the evolving landscape of literary agenting, including ethics under the Canon of Ethics, the financial realities of agenting, challenges facing publishing, and AI's growing impact.
This Writing Excuses episode discusses why writers often stall around the two-thirds or three-quarter mark of a draft, when a story shifts from raising questions to answering them. It includes a homework exercise on outlining the second half.
This Alliance of Independent Authors post explains which memoirs can qualify for book awards, what judges look for in personal narratives, and how authors can choose suitable competitions.
This Self-Publishing News episode explains a PHP vulnerability affecting WordPress.org sites and WooCommerce and suggests questions to ask your web host. It also covers new platform options, including Spotify podcast memberships and YouTube's planned audiobook offering.
Vanessa Lillie discusses her path to publication, handling rejection, and the business of publishing. The episode also covers creating a propulsive opening, writing complex characters, and using suspense.
Amy Jones discusses sharpening craft, using literary devices, and writing endings that pay off the reader's expectations. She also covers the value of reading prose aloud and the plot, character, and setting topics in her book The Story Book.
This article explains the critical PHP vulnerability disclosed recently and what authors running WordPress websites should check and do. The author notes they are not an IT expert and aims to convey the information accurately.
Selina Brown, founder of the Black British Book Festival, discusses building the festival after starting as an indie author, selling books directly, and the limits of current sales data. The interview covers her publishing path, including a later deal with Penguin.
Ian Rankin discusses writing without an outline, letting characters guide the story, and tracking details across a long series. The conversation also covers building mysteries and treating the first draft as a process of discovery.
This episode covers the mechanics of writing endings, including what to resolve, what to leave open, symmetry with the opening, and how a final line shapes the reader's feeling. It ends with five homework questions for reviewing your own ending.
This news summary reports that Kindle Unlimited has passed $5 billion in author payouts and discusses what this signals about the e-book market. It also covers YouTube's plans to enter the audiobook market.
Hosts critique a listener's upmarket novel, covering specificity in query inciting incidents, tension between obligations and desire, and using comps to position a book. They also review opening pages for interiority and emotionality.
Anna Featherstone and Maria Doyle discuss production and distribution choices for an interactive nonfiction book, including using questions, QR codes, quizzes, and turning visual content into an audiobook. The episode offers ideas for engaging readers.
Amy Suto talks about moving from a starving-artist mindset to running a creator business with several income streams, including freelancing, a paid newsletter, and book royalties. She also explains how to build traction on Substack from zero.
Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black discuss whether AI tools can handle parts of book marketing, such as managing Amazon ads, updating metadata, and producing weekly trend reports. The episode is a member Q&A on this practical question.
The hosts examine the Heroine's Journey as an alternative to the Hero's Journey, discussing its origins and what it offers about character goals and what follows them. They suggest tracking a character's relationship to self, community, or expectations across plot points.
Total print units slipped 0.3% through July 4, 2026, at outlets reporting to Circana BookScan. Adult fiction carried the market; young adult fiction fell 25.6%.
Publishers reported over 750,000 active audiobook titles in 2025, 43% more than in 2024. General fiction had the largest share of revenue, at 27%.
Virtual Voice audiobooks join automatically when the ebook is in KDP Select. Eligible ACX titles can be enrolled from the KDP Bookshelf. Listening is paid per page from the KDP Select Global Fund.
The new model pays 50% for exclusive titles and 30% for non-exclusive ones, on a Member Value base (membership price net of discounts, taxes and fees) rather than list price.
The court granted final approval on July 20, 2026: about $3,000 per work before fees, split among rights holders. Works with disputes or missing payment details are paid in a later round.