SPA Girls Podcast
Each week the SPA Girls provide information, tips and honest advice on self publishing for indie authors. Hosted by four experienced self-publishing writers, we provide a mix of interviews, craft shows, and marketing information that will help you start your self-publishing journey. Join us today!
Episodes
Within five years, USA Today Bestselling romance author, Vanessa Vale, forged two pen names from scratch to seven figures, using the strategies and techniques she discusses in this episode and in her Thrifty Tips for Authors class. The beginnings of this program came when she was banned from Facebook ads, forcing her to develop strong branding and marketing steps that are enduring and withstand the changes and...
On 2.10.2015 we published our very first SPA Girls Podcast episode and OH THE NERVES! But we persisted and here we are, ten years later, ten years wiser, 520 episodes later and a million magic moments of inspiration, advice, publishing wisdom and fellow author interviews and shenanigans recorded.
So what are our “acorns of wisdom” we’ve learned from these ten years that have stood the test of time and the constantly-changing publis...
Author Business and Marketing Strategist, Olivia Zugay, is here with some wonderful tips on gaining discoverability, improving reader retention and focussing on long-game thinking without overly relying on chaotic social media!
Olivia Zugay is a business and marketing strategist for self-published fiction authors. As the founder of Story Flow Solutions, she helps authors market and sell their books with clari...
Feel like a hamster on a wheel trying to get ALL THE THINGS accomplished but never quite managing to do the important stuff? This is your episode! A classic replay from 2023 that's well worth a relisten!
Self-publishi...
Mark Leslie (Lefebvre) is an author, professional speaker and bookseller with more than thirty years of experience in the publishing and bookselling business. In this episode, he brings a wealth of experience and reassur...
Like most of our guests, NYT Bestseller Michele Scott's success didn’t happen overnight and there were huge ups and downs. She shares her journey towards finding the right agent, having books optioned, marketing plans, upskilling yourself and writing in different genres.
This is a classic replay, well worth a relisten for Michele's fantastic advice to writers of all genres.
Find her at: https://michelescott.com/
It's conference debrief time! We’re here with all our best writer tips and reflections from the recent Romance Writers of New Zealand annual conference!
Links mentioned:
Sadie King talks series planning : https://selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep409-six-figures-with-short-romance-with-sadie-king/
Writing bestselling romance with incredible character chemistry is something that NYT Bestseller Annika Martin excels in. Annika, who also publishes romantic suspense as Carolyn Crane, has seen incredible success writing two books a year (on average) and publishing wide. This is a classic replay episode (originally recorded in 2021) where Annika reveals her plotting and writing process, getting the most "comed...
When the going gets tough, it can be really hard to get (or keep) going. Today's episode has empathetic and practical advice from the incredible Anya Mora about working through life challenges, recovering from burnout, trusting your instincts and dealing with things that often throw us “off course” from our author life.
About Anya
Anya Mora is the bestselling autho...
You're worth it and your work is worth it. 15-time USA Today bestselling romance author Renee Rose is passionate about helping other authors find and maintain an abundance mindset to catapult their careers and create their best future. She employs energetic tools and techniques to help her clients clear resistance and money blocks, access their inner guidance, and tap into their love and appreciation for their...
Wendy, Cheryl and Trudi are off to RARE Melbourne in October 2025 and busy organising ALL the things! So this episode we share all our BEST TIPS (merchandise sourcing, what works, what doesn’t), table set up, what to wear, how to approach reader events, how many books to take (or offer on preorder) and how to calm the nerves / talk to strangers (ha!)
Links mentioned:
Read more
Wondering how to write a great paranormal romance? What's the difference between paranormal and monster romance and what are readers looking for? And how to connect with readers on tiktok and other social media?
This is a replay of a fun episode we recorded a few years ago with the awesome author, Lillian Lark. It's well worth a listen no matter what genre you're writing!
About Lillian Lark:
Read more
Tired of chasing the "Amazon Algorithm"? We’re delighted to welcome Johnny B. Truant to the SPA. Johnny is here to discuss the alternatives to “rapid release / fast publishing” mindset to one of an artisanal author and publisher.
We always try to emphasise there is NO ONE RIGHT WAY to approach your self-publishing business and writing, and we think this conversation...
Keri Arthur is a NYT Bestselling author of urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Initially traditionally published, she is now fully self-published, and in this episode she talks to us about that transition and shares tips and processes from her writing journey.
This is a classic replay, originally recorded in 2020.
About Keri Arth...
USA Today Bestseller, Erin Wright, is the Queen of Publishing Wide and shares with us fantastic advice on: direct sales, AI audio and human narration, AI translations, woo commerce v shopify, kickstarter and platform specific tips.
About Erin Wright
USA Today Bestselling author Erin Wright has worked every job under the sun, including library director, barista, teacher, website designer, and ranch hand helpin...
BEST SELLING ROMANCE AUTHOR JAY HOGAN is a New Zealand author writing mm romance and romantic suspense, primarily set in New Zealand. This is a fantastic episode, well worth a replay, with Jay's unique insights into writing MM romance, marketing, craft and the writing life.
About Jay
Heart, Humour, & Keepin' It Real
Writing To Your Own Beat - with USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author, Sierra Simone
We’re delighted to welcome bestselling author, Sierra Simone, to the SPA today! Our topic is “Writing To Your Own Beat” and Sierra generously shares how she’s leaned into writing forbidden, atmospheric romance that has built a rabid fandom.
This is a MUST listen for writers of all genres.
Resources mentioned:
Becca Syme
This episode with Alaskan author, Tamsin Ley, is one of our most popular and well worth a replay! We talk about Tamsin's writing journey, marketing strategies, paranormal romance quirks and her fantastic advice for all self-publishers.
You can find Tamsin here: https://www.tamsinley.com/
Tamsin Ley builds worlds full of sexy heroes who don't know they need a mate - that is, until they meet the woman they can...
Molly and Stephanie are two writing besties who launched an incredibly successful pen name, Hailey Shore, writing romantic comedy. Romantic Comedy | Hailey Shore Author This episode we dig into how they intentionally set out to create this pen, their advertising and launch strategy, things they’ve learned along the way, and a few snafus too. These two amazing authors are incredibly down to earth and honest and...
USA Today Bestseller, Janie Crouch, shares amazing tips and advice on how she built her readership, launched her romantic suspense, and how she approaches the Business of Authoring and separates it from the creative side of writing. This is a classic replay of a fantastic episode we recorded originally in April 2021.
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.