SPA Girls Podcast

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

July 15, 2025 64 mins

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...

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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...

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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...

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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

Jay ...

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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

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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...

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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...

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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.

Janie's writing journey began in the academic wor...

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Who doesn't want to hand off their least-favorite tasks to a trusted assistant? So how do you go about finding the right person? And what's the cost?

Kevin Tumlinson is an award-winning and bestselling author, known as “the Voice of Publishing” for his work as a podcaster and speaker, helping thousands of authors to start, build, and grow thei...

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We’re celebrating 500 episodes of the SPA Girls - from our baby podcaster days back in 2015 to today, we share some BEHIND THE MICS stories. How we met, why we started and why we’ve last this long (almost ten years so far, publishing an episode weekly). Plus our vision for the future and selfpublishing :)

Thank you so much to all those who've listened, downloaded, watched, reviewed, cheered on, guested and emailed. We truly appreci...

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A SPA Girls Classic Replay. This episode features an interview with the incredible Ana Huang, multi-million copy bestselling author of new adult and contemporary romance! Ana is a super-smart, hardworking author with a tonne of great advice that she generously shared with SPA Girls Podcast listeners in this information-packed episode. 

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What happens when your books don’t sell? When is it time to end a series? Or Pivot to a new penname? Wendy, Cheryl and Shar are here to give their advice and (strong!) opinions on when it’s the right time to pivot and the steps writers should take to make that decision.

We’ve collectively written and published almost 200 books over the past 15 years, so we’ve experienced and witnessed a LOT of author angst, s...

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One of our most popular writing craft episodes deserves a replay: Writing the Black Moment with USA Today Bestseller, Rachel Bailey.

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Jennifer Hilt is a USA Today Bestselling author urban fantasy and non-fiction creator of The Trope Thesaurus series. She joins us this episode to really dig into how to use tropes in your fiction (no matter the genre), practical ways of applying them, how to use them to amp up the emotion and characterisation, and your characters' GMC (goal, motivation and conflict).

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This is a classic replay of one of our most popular advertising episodes, with guest Nicholas Erik, science fiction author and marketing expert. Whilst the facebook ad dashboard will have changed since we recorded this a few years ago, the strategy, tips and best practices discussed are just as relevant today. Well worth a relisten /rewatch!

You can find Nick at htt...

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🎙 Welcome back to the SPA Girls Podcast! Today, we’re diving into one of the most powerful tools in your writer’s toolkit—story structure!

Whether you're a plotter, pantser, or somewhere in between, a strong story structure is the secret sauce that keeps readers turning the pages. In this episode, we’ll dive into chapter “rules”, beats,s...

What ten editing tips should all authors know? We share in this classic replay of our interview with Editorial Consultant, Mary-Theresa Hussey.

Prior to becoming a freelance editorial consultant, Mary-Theresa (known as Matrice) worked at Harlequin for more than 25 years, editing nearly a thousand titles. As editor, senior and executive editor, she read, acquired, re...

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The SPA Girls get down and personal with a Q1 2025 catchup! From surprising successes, unexpected writing tips, hybrid publishing adventures to mindset resets, we Keep It Real in this wild author life.

Links mentioned:

Wendy Vella website , CA Phipps website, Trudi Jaye website

...

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A Classic Replay of an episode we recorded with the fabulous NYT Bestseller, Laurelin Page, a few years ago. Her advice is just as relevant today to invigorate sales on your backlist books.

Laurelin defines a backlist as a book that's more than 12 months old. Top tips she discussed in this podcast CRAMMED with amazing advice:

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Today we welcome back Tara Cremin, Director of Kobo Writing Life (KWL) to chat about exciting new opportunities for authors on Kobo and her very best tips and tricks for selling more books and finding your readers!

Bio: Tara is the Director of Kobo Writing Life (KWL), Kobo’s premier self-publish...

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