The good news — if you’re a fan of my blogging, which I haven’t done in quite a while — is that I’m back to it! I’m once again writing the “epic posts” that we all know and love, but I’m writing them on my new website at RealmAndSands.com. 

I promise that the new posts awesome. Go here to read them. 

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The show opens with Johnny telling the story of adding Dave to his Christmas card list this year, which turned into a discussion about gift giving obligations.

Then, someone made the mistake of sending Dave a Christmas gift this year. And not just someone, but his best friend. His friend who knows him better than almost anyone.

What could possibly go wrong?

If you need to ask, you’re new to the show. And this is a great introduction to the complicated person that is Dave.

Enjoy a very special Christmas episode of Better Off Undead.

Or REALLY enjoy the video below:

If you would like join in the discussion and leave a comment go to www.BetterOffUndeadShow.com

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Because this is our last show of 2013 (and we’ll be skipping next week’s show so that we can sleep and see our families after ending this year at an insane pace), we wanted to use it to wrap up some of the things we’ve learned.

It’s kind of a hodge-podge this week, because “what we learned” spans the gamut, but a few highlights were:

1. Producing a ton was the right choice for 2013 (for us), but now that we have a ton of stuff, we need to turn to promoting it next year.

2. We made some choices with funnel-starters (primarily with the free introductory story Vengeance that leads into the full novel Namaste) that weren’t terribly wise in retrospect. You’ll hear the story of how we changed Vengeance to what you see today (instead of seeing its old name and cover, for Namaste: Prelude) and why we did it.

3. Season 2 production on our works next year is, we hope, where the big rewards lie.

4. Our somewhat spontaneous decision to write our definitive self-publishing guide Write. Publish. Repeat. (which you should read if you haven’t already; look at those reviews!) was the best “growth-hacker” move we made all year.

And a bunch more.

Happy holidays everyone, and we’ll see you in 2014!

You can get the video version here:

If you would like join in the discussion and leave a comment go to www.selfpublishingpodcast.com

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On today’s show, Dave is being forced to clean his garage for his wife before her cousin comes in to help. You see, Dave doesn’t want people to know he’s a bit of a hoarder.

Which turned into a conversation about Sean’s mom being an even worse hoarder.

How bad?

You can see her junk from space!

Watch the video below. Though, be warned, this might be our worst show ever.

If you would like join in the discussion and leave a comment go to www.BetterOffUndeadShow.com

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This week’s guest was Amy Schmittauer, who had some awesome ideas and suggestions for writers looking to expand their reach with the use of YouTube. We talked about a variety of approaches, from using videos to bond with existing readers and deepen that connection with true fans to using YouTube for lead-gen.

We also talked about when to create multiple YouTube channels, what to do about trolls (Amy seems to take them on directly and make friends, an approach whose simple efficacy punched us in the face), when to split videos up in order to get more search engine traffic, how to piggyback on popular topics, and more.

Here’s where you can check out more about Amy and what she does:

• Her prime YouTube channel, Sexy Savvy Social
• Her personal vlog entries, so you can get a feel for that approach
• Her iPhone videos channel, which we also mentioned, for a third style
• And of course, Amy’s business Vlog Boss Studios

We’re looking to expand into YouTube more in 2014 with the awesome stuff Amy told us about!

You can view the video version here:

If you would like join in the discussion and leave a comment go to www.selfpublishingpodcast.com

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Dave has been resistant to the idea of getting a smart phone for years. Fortunately for us, he finally cracked and bought one.

But did he get an iPhone like Sean suggested?

Of course not.

He got a Windows Phone.

What could possibly go wrong?

Find out in this episode.

Also in this episode, a suggestion for renaming this show to “Better Off UnDave.”

Check out the YouTube video here:

If you would like join in the discussion and leave a comment go to www.BetterOffUndeadShow.com

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We started this week’s show by talking about how awesome all of you are. Seriously. Our listeners (and readers) are the best.

We recorded this episode the day after the launch of our new book, Write. Publish. Repeat: The No-Luck-Required Guide to Self-Publishing Success, and not only did the book do phenomenally well (went as high as #62 on the overall Kindle store list and stayed in the Top 100 for days), but the excitement and kudos from all of you were amazing, so thank you.

This show was a mess otherwise, though — partially because Sean and I were giddy and sleep-deprived. So we talked about a lot of stuff too scattered to detail here, much having to do with launching, what worked and what didn’t, etc. We also talked about when you shouldn’t follow our advice and the time the gas station Dave worked at caught on fire. Because that’s relevant.

You can view the video version here:

If you would like join in the discussion and leave a comment go to www.selfpublishingpodcast.com

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First things first: our comprehensive self-publishing guide Write. Publish. Repeat: The No-Luck-Required Guide to Self-Publishing Success is now available! (That’s the Amazon link. It’s also on the other stores, as well as in print.) This book is as good as we could make it, folks. As of right now, it’s pretty much everything we know about how to build a business in the indie publishing world.

For the first two days — December 5th and 6th — Write. Publish. Repeat. will be on sale for half price ($2.99 instead of $5.99). During that same time, it will also come with a bonus book: Sean’s Writing Online, which is the freelancing companion to the new book.

We’d like to ask you all a favor. If you enjoy this podcast and have gotten something out of it, PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD. Twitter, Facebook, your blogs, your email list, your crazy grandmother, whatever… please tell folks you know about Write. Publish. Repeat.

Anyway, be sure to get your copy of Write. Publish. Repeat. now, before the price goes up and the bonus goes away.

On today’s show, we talked about positioning your book. We talk about our reasons for changing the name of Chupacabra Outlaw to it’s new name of Cursed, then tell the story about how Write. Publish. Repeat. might have been named The Fiction Formula … and why. It’s mainly for fiction writers (though we specifically added a lot for nonfiction writers too), and there was nothing about that in the title. So we had a dilemma.

We’ll also talk about why we DID decide to use the name The Fiction Formula later, as a way of having our cake and eating it too.

You can view the video version here:

If you would like join in the discussion and leave a comment go to www.selfpublishingpodcast.com

I did something really cool this year. I created a full-time, could-support-my-family-on-nothing-else income from writing books. Telling stories for a living. Something I never thought was possible, and which I’d only barely dabbled in the year before.

Today, my writing partner Sean Platt and I published what we feel is the definitive self-publishing guide, called Write. Publish. Repeat: The No-Luck-Required Guide to Self-Publishing Success. It’s the how-to manual detailing how we did it — not through some sort of internet trickery or BS “gold rush” mentality, but by creating a solid, sensible, sustainable business that treats our books like products.

For today and tomorrow, it’s HALF PRICE. During that same time, it also comes with a bonus book: Sean’s book Writing Online, which is the freelancer’s companion piece to this book.

Here’s the product description:

Get it here:

Amazon US
Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble Nook
Kobo

In 2013, Johnny B. Truant and Sean Platt published 1.5 million words and made their full-time livings as indie authors. In Write. Publish. Repeat., they tell you exactly how they did it: how they created over 15 independent franchises across 50+ published works, how they turned their art into a logical, sustainable business, and how any independent author can do the same to build a sustainable, profitable career with their writing.

Write. Publish. Repeat. explains the current self-publishing landscape and covers the truths and myths about what it means to be an indie author now and in the foreseeable future. It explains how to create books your readers will love and will want to return to again and again. Write. Publish. Repeat. details expert methods for building story worlds, characters, and plots, understanding your market (right down to your ideal reader), using the best tools possible to capture your draft, and explains proven best practices for editing. The book also discusses covers, titles, formatting, pricing, and publishing to multiple platforms, plus a bit on getting your books into print (and why that might not be a good idea!). But most importantly, Write. Publish. Repeat. details the psychology-driven marketing plan that Sean and Johnny built to shape their stories into “products” that readers couldn’t help but be drawn into — thus almost automatically generating sales — and explores ways that smart, business-minded writers can do the same to future-proof their careers.

This book is not a formula with an easy path to follow. It is a guidebook that will help you build a successful indie publishing career, no matter what type of writer you are … so long as you’re the type who’s willing to do the work.

Yes, we published a lot of words… but more importantly, we created 12 product lines. 12 product funnels that are based around solid sales and business strategies that haven’t changed for as long as book sales have been around, regardless of the medium: Write the best books you can. Package them as professionally and appealingly as you can. Make people want to get the next book, and show them how to do it in a way that benefits you both. Connect with your readers, and treat them like gold. And so on.

And I have to say, the best thing about this book launch isn’t even the sales. Those are great, and necessary, and I need and want them… but most of the juice has come from the excitement. People keep tweeting and emailing us and saying how inspired they are and how NEEDED they feel this book is. It’s a serious charge, and makes me think I’m serving my purpose in the world.

Here’s a few:

It’s tough to find more honest and straight-forward 
marketing advice than what you’ll get from these indie authors.
– Jane Friedman, former publisher of Writer’s Digest

The most important book on self-publishing I’ve ever read.
– Karol Gajda

Consider it the most valuable guide book to publishing success.
– Jim Kukral, Author Marketing Club

EVERYTHING that we could think to include is in this book. It’s A to Z. We talk about the new realities of the self-publishing marketplace, pre-production, writing and editing, post-production to get your books ready to sell, creating marketing funnels, building and engaging with a reader list, finding your true fans (and letting others go), and much more.

Anyway, if you’re a writer and would like to actually build a business from your writing (instead of floundering around in a hobby), we wrote this book for you.

But be sure to grab it now, while it’s half price and comes with the bonus book.

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Ever on top of things, we FINALLY got to talking about the Breaking Bad finale. Find out what we thought.

First, though, because nothing says Christmas like Dave, our resident goth in a tree regaled us with a reading of his son’s Christmas list.

The guys then talked about some other Christmas-related stuff.

Then we talked Breaking Bad, so if you’ve not yet seen the finale, you’ll want to avoid the last bit of the show.

Until next week…

Check out the video below:

If you would like join in the discussion and leave a comment go to www.BetterOffUndeadShow.com