How awesome you attended both book fairs! Thanks, as always, for such great info, and for a space to share our book babies!!
My debut novel, Original Works by Katharine Hughes, follows an artist into the throes of addiction. It’s raw and gritty and, ultimately, hopeful. Learn more or snag a copy at https://bykatherinemansfield.com
Thanks for the shout out Kristina. I’m trying to check in on Substack as much as I can while my mother is in her last weeks. So appreciate you and your support of indie authors and me. 🙏🏻
Thank you for this great info. I love the story of the 50 yr. old lady setting up her table with her husband and talking to readers. That’s what I like to do. Just chat with folks. Thanks for your generous offer to help get the word out about our books. Here’s my first memoir (it took 38 years to write 🤓) https://amzn.to/4bRBL14
Hi there, thanks for the inspiring and insightful article!
I self-published my book baby a few years ago now. I've learned a lot since then (about both writing and publishing) but they say you never forget your first, right?
As someone who works within my brand as a book coach, I am seeing the industry shift in what clients need. Many people are reaching out to AI to be their coaches when they have doubt about their books. They are also using AI to help them outline and write. While this is amazing and helpful to get people moving who need the motivation, AI cannot help you write a unique book in your own voice if you don’t know how to feed that voice into AI.
This involves prompts and proper guidance. So before you write a book, hire professionals like myself or Kristina to help you find a voice that becomes something you can market in a way that is authentic and organic. Thanks Kristina for this positive and helpful piece.
Hi Kim, let me repeat that: "They are also using AI to help them outline and write. While this is amazing and helpful to get people moving who need the motivation, AI cannot help you write a unique book in your own voice if you don’t know how to feed that voice into AI.
This involves prompts and proper guidance. So before you write a book, hire professionals like myself or Kristina to help you find a voice that becomes something you can market in a way that is authentic and organic. " Would love to hear more insights from your perspective as a book coach and actionable and tangible tips on how to use AI in the process of writing, editing and publishing the book. Sent you a DM for this.
today I heard from a woman on YouTube and she managed to write a book within 24 hours with AI ^^ I mean that's crazy. Somehow if you have an idea and insights you can pump out lots of books. There was also the Shy Girl scandal or the writers who pulsihed 50+ books on Amazon... so many stories that are interesting to talk about and include in a guest post you could write.
Hi Karsten, wie schön dich hier zu sehen! Wie hast du mich denn gefunden? ich hab das Gefühl, dass mich jetzt immer mehr Deutsche finden.
Ich hab eben gesehen, dass du "demnächst" deinen Newsletter startest, lass uns doch mal auf einen Coffee Chat treffen, ich sende dir eine DM. Deine Zeit ist ja perfekt, da es auch meine ist. GLG, Kristina
Hi Matey, I saw you're a book coach, right? What's your take on indie vs. traditional?
For your Notes journey I recommend StackBuddy.io from Patrick. It's free and analyses the perfect time for you to be on Notes, best performers, gives you inspo, as I saw you're posting but talking into the void. Also use the collab feature (!) to find others in your niche, backling, recommend, collab etc. Hope this helps
On indie vs traditional: It really depends, case by case. Both as an author, I’ve published books through traditional publishers and also self-published them. To those who ultimately decide a book’s success—the readers—it doesn’t really matter that much. What matters is whether the book is seen, whether it’s valuable, whether it captures people’s interest… For some, it’s better to go the traditional route; for others, self-publishing is a better fit. But these are two sides of the same coin, parts of the same journey… :)
Murder in the Gyre: Memoirs of a Mad Scientist Two - grounded near future science fiction cozy murder mystery -
For a decade, brilliant scientist Robin Goodwin has cleaned up ocean pollutants and bred corals to fight climate change with their growing fleet of upcycled tankers. All goes well until, isolated in the North Pacific Gyre by a freak storm, Robin finds a body in a coral tank and is presumed to be the killer. Owner and crew must solve the mystery before the storm ends and authorities arrive to arrest Robin, impound the ship, and cripple the fleet.
Hi Kelly, are you already part of Fleur's Substack Bookstore for indies? I bet this could be cool to keep selling your book and get a nice boost. I'll share your book on Notes now
Thanks Kristina! The Regression Strain is my debut self-published novel, a medical thriller set on a transatlantic cruise: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F9XDK3D5
Hey Kevin, wow, just read your about on Amazon. Being a debut author is exciting!! Are you already connected with my friend Fleur Hull and the Substack Bookstore to keep selling your book? This could be soemething.
Also I'd level up my Substack Notes game if I were you and would put my book everywhere on Substack + build a LinkedIn-Substack Flywheel. All I'm talking about is written in form of a post here in the Club newsletter. I'm in Health too, so Book Rx is nice. I'm in OTC. Shared your book and you'll get a DM from me
Kristina, yep, my novel is in Fleur’s bookstore (free tier). What are the pros and cons of actively promoting my novel on LinkedIn, where I mostly post about things related to academic medicine?
I enjoyed this take on two huge gatherings for our industry and how they compared. As an indie author it's been interesting finding my tribe and then having fun putting my stories out there. It's been fun learning what to do and what not to. I think I even did some things backwards, but it all has been worth the experience. A lot of us will step out and make our own waves our way, so that we figure out our brand and who we are as an artisan author.
I need to update this as I have more things coming, but here are my current books and anthologies. https://altheadamgaard.com/books
Oh Althea, first of all. ALL THE BEST FOR YOUR MOM. Love the cover and blurb draws me in already. I'll share on Notes. Make sure to put your book/s everywhere on Substack, e.g. navigation bar and link to them when you can to keep selling them. I think you#re alread part of Fleur's Bookstore, right? That's always smart to do. In addition, I'd try to really build an audience and hype around your book. Here are many fiction readers hiding in the dark. So Notes is the place where they can find you! StackBuddy.io can help you analyze your notes, find the best time to post and get inspo. Also you can find other fiction writers to collab with. Would be wonderful if you'd add your name to the collab list.
I love that more and more authors are taking control of their own lives and dreams without waiting for permission from traditional publishers! I didn’t want to go the traditional publishing route either so I went hybrid.
Hi Jennifer, how are you doing! Saw you note about little Sheldon. Hugs and prayers, my friend! Love the LinkedIn-Substack Flywheel of the book. Oh and jusr saw you became Amazon bestseller. So I'd add the badge as Everett O'Keefe did in his promo on LinkedIn. How do you like Ignite Press?
How awesome you attended both book fairs! Thanks, as always, for such great info, and for a space to share our book babies!!
My debut novel, Original Works by Katharine Hughes, follows an artist into the throes of addiction. It’s raw and gritty and, ultimately, hopeful. Learn more or snag a copy at https://bykatherinemansfield.com
Thanks for the shout out Kristina. I’m trying to check in on Substack as much as I can while my mother is in her last weeks. So appreciate you and your support of indie authors and me. 🙏🏻
Thank you for this great info. I love the story of the 50 yr. old lady setting up her table with her husband and talking to readers. That’s what I like to do. Just chat with folks. Thanks for your generous offer to help get the word out about our books. Here’s my first memoir (it took 38 years to write 🤓) https://amzn.to/4bRBL14
Enlightening and encouraging. Here's my selfie book. Two more coming eventually. https://a.co/d/0cC3l76T
Hi there, thanks for the inspiring and insightful article!
I self-published my book baby a few years ago now. I've learned a lot since then (about both writing and publishing) but they say you never forget your first, right?
https://greatcreators.ca/product/searching-for-persephone/
As someone who works within my brand as a book coach, I am seeing the industry shift in what clients need. Many people are reaching out to AI to be their coaches when they have doubt about their books. They are also using AI to help them outline and write. While this is amazing and helpful to get people moving who need the motivation, AI cannot help you write a unique book in your own voice if you don’t know how to feed that voice into AI.
This involves prompts and proper guidance. So before you write a book, hire professionals like myself or Kristina to help you find a voice that becomes something you can market in a way that is authentic and organic. Thanks Kristina for this positive and helpful piece.
Hi Kim, let me repeat that: "They are also using AI to help them outline and write. While this is amazing and helpful to get people moving who need the motivation, AI cannot help you write a unique book in your own voice if you don’t know how to feed that voice into AI.
This involves prompts and proper guidance. So before you write a book, hire professionals like myself or Kristina to help you find a voice that becomes something you can market in a way that is authentic and organic. " Would love to hear more insights from your perspective as a book coach and actionable and tangible tips on how to use AI in the process of writing, editing and publishing the book. Sent you a DM for this.
today I heard from a woman on YouTube and she managed to write a book within 24 hours with AI ^^ I mean that's crazy. Somehow if you have an idea and insights you can pump out lots of books. There was also the Shy Girl scandal or the writers who pulsihed 50+ books on Amazon... so many stories that are interesting to talk about and include in a guest post you could write.
Great, thanks!
Hi Karsten, wie schön dich hier zu sehen! Wie hast du mich denn gefunden? ich hab das Gefühl, dass mich jetzt immer mehr Deutsche finden.
Ich hab eben gesehen, dass du "demnächst" deinen Newsletter startest, lass uns doch mal auf einen Coffee Chat treffen, ich sende dir eine DM. Deine Zeit ist ja perfekt, da es auch meine ist. GLG, Kristina
Thank you Kristina for this great piece!
Hi Matey, I saw you're a book coach, right? What's your take on indie vs. traditional?
For your Notes journey I recommend StackBuddy.io from Patrick. It's free and analyses the perfect time for you to be on Notes, best performers, gives you inspo, as I saw you're posting but talking into the void. Also use the collab feature (!) to find others in your niche, backling, recommend, collab etc. Hope this helps
Thank you, Kristina, for the tip!
On indie vs traditional: It really depends, case by case. Both as an author, I’ve published books through traditional publishers and also self-published them. To those who ultimately decide a book’s success—the readers—it doesn’t really matter that much. What matters is whether the book is seen, whether it’s valuable, whether it captures people’s interest… For some, it’s better to go the traditional route; for others, self-publishing is a better fit. But these are two sides of the same coin, parts of the same journey… :)
Thanks for this fascinating report!
https://books2read.com/murderinthegyre
Murder in the Gyre: Memoirs of a Mad Scientist Two - grounded near future science fiction cozy murder mystery -
For a decade, brilliant scientist Robin Goodwin has cleaned up ocean pollutants and bred corals to fight climate change with their growing fleet of upcycled tankers. All goes well until, isolated in the North Pacific Gyre by a freak storm, Robin finds a body in a coral tank and is presumed to be the killer. Owner and crew must solve the mystery before the storm ends and authorities arrive to arrest Robin, impound the ship, and cripple the fleet.
Hi Kelly, are you already part of Fleur's Substack Bookstore for indies? I bet this could be cool to keep selling your book and get a nice boost. I'll share your book on Notes now
https://substack.com/profile/25243634-kristina-god-mba/note/c-234313875
Thanks Kristina! The Regression Strain is my debut self-published novel, a medical thriller set on a transatlantic cruise: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F9XDK3D5
Oh my goodness, what a neat premise! My sister is an NP and loves thrillers, sending her your book!!!
Thanks, Katherine!
Hey Kevin, wow, just read your about on Amazon. Being a debut author is exciting!! Are you already connected with my friend Fleur Hull and the Substack Bookstore to keep selling your book? This could be soemething.
Also I'd level up my Substack Notes game if I were you and would put my book everywhere on Substack + build a LinkedIn-Substack Flywheel. All I'm talking about is written in form of a post here in the Club newsletter. I'm in Health too, so Book Rx is nice. I'm in OTC. Shared your book and you'll get a DM from me
Kristina, yep, my novel is in Fleur’s bookstore (free tier). What are the pros and cons of actively promoting my novel on LinkedIn, where I mostly post about things related to academic medicine?
https://substack.com/profile/25243634-kristina-god-mba/note/c-234314508
I enjoyed this take on two huge gatherings for our industry and how they compared. As an indie author it's been interesting finding my tribe and then having fun putting my stories out there. It's been fun learning what to do and what not to. I think I even did some things backwards, but it all has been worth the experience. A lot of us will step out and make our own waves our way, so that we figure out our brand and who we are as an artisan author.
I need to update this as I have more things coming, but here are my current books and anthologies. https://altheadamgaard.com/books
Oh Althea, first of all. ALL THE BEST FOR YOUR MOM. Love the cover and blurb draws me in already. I'll share on Notes. Make sure to put your book/s everywhere on Substack, e.g. navigation bar and link to them when you can to keep selling them. I think you#re alread part of Fleur's Bookstore, right? That's always smart to do. In addition, I'd try to really build an audience and hype around your book. Here are many fiction readers hiding in the dark. So Notes is the place where they can find you! StackBuddy.io can help you analyze your notes, find the best time to post and get inspo. Also you can find other fiction writers to collab with. Would be wonderful if you'd add your name to the collab list.
I love that more and more authors are taking control of their own lives and dreams without waiting for permission from traditional publishers! I didn’t want to go the traditional publishing route either so I went hybrid.
My book, From Gutted to Glorious, was published in October of 2025. You can check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/Gutted-Glorious-Transform-Grief-Rediscover/dp/B0FY3DBXQZ/ref=sr_1_1?
Hi Jennifer, how are you doing! Saw you note about little Sheldon. Hugs and prayers, my friend! Love the LinkedIn-Substack Flywheel of the book. Oh and jusr saw you became Amazon bestseller. So I'd add the badge as Everett O'Keefe did in his promo on LinkedIn. How do you like Ignite Press?
Re-stacked your story: https://substack.com/@kristinagod/note/c-234322416