EP 425 - Escaping the Self-Publishing Rapid Release Rat Race with Johnny B. Truant

In this episode Mark speaks to author Johnny B. Truant about THE ARTISAN AUTHOR.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor.

This episode's sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to Manuscript Report. Use code MARK5 at checkout and save $5.00 off your own personalized report.

In the interview, Mark and Johnny talk about:

• Johnny's return to this podcast (with neither of them being able to remember how many episodes he'd been on previously). Technically, this is his fourth time. Two previous episodes were interviews, and the other was Johnny's brief guest reflection spot in Episode 300
• Why Johnny's new book THE ARTISAN AUTHOR is a much-anticipated and needed book in the industry
• A definition of what it means to be an artisan author, which is kind of the opposite of being a "rapid release, Kindle-only eBook" author
• The importance of taking away that stress-cycle of having to pump out so many books as a single prescription "how to do it" answer
• Remembering an important thing that, just like there is no single "the way" neither is being an artisan author
• The paradigm shift and mindset change that is required as a fundamental starting point
• How readers outside of the eBook/Kindle-only marketplace aren't as focused on lower price points and are okay with higher prices
• The reality of the publishing landscape in terms of the books being sold and money being earned
• The misinterpretation of the book Johnny and Sean Platt released years ago called WRITE, PUBLISH, REPEAT
• How there are two kinds of writers. The type who approach the business as trying to solve a puzzle and the type who approach it as a way of telling a story that they really want to share
• How a call of "go slow and make art" is not nearly as sexy as a "solution"
• The experience of driving off to meet a couple of long-term fans to sign and sell directly to them
• Connections and humanity being a key element of the artisan author experience
• The value of authentic connection, regardless of whether or not it's in person or online
• That powerful experience Johnny had doing one of his first major live book signing events as an author at Author Nation in Vegas and how that led to doing a lot more in person events
• The ability to adapt to a customer based on their reactions in person
• Look at it as connections, and then if sales happen . . . great!
• Being really generous with your time and attention
• Some of the logistics of doing an in person book signing
• A couple of unexpected and amusing anecdotes from selling books in person
• The Kickstarter that Johnny is doing for this book, which runs July 15 through Aug 14 (johnnybtruant.com/artisan)
• The additional "continuum of education" that Johnny is including in this Kickstarter (Artisan University)
• The importance of authors entering into things with conscious decisions rather than just blindly following the generic advice they've found
• And more . . .

 

After the interview Mark reflects on a few specific points from the discussion.

 

Links of Interest:

• Johnny B. Truant's Website
• The Artisan Author
• EP 424 - .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}