Show Notes
This week on The Self-Publishing Show, James Blatch and Cissy Mecca reflect on The Self Publishing Show Live 2026 and discuss what happens after the excitement of a conference ends. They explore the importance of reviewing progress at the halfway point of the year, assessing business goals, and deciding what to focus on for the remainder of 2026. The conversation covers productivity, TikTok marketing, author accountability, using data to make better decisions, and feedback from SPS Live attendees. James also shares plans being considered for future SPS Live events, including more hands-on workshops and potentially expanding the conference format. Key Talking Points Why a mid-year business review is essential for authors Assessing goals, progress, and priorities for the second half of the year Using data and metrics to make smarter publishing decisions TikTok marketing and deciding where to focus your time The challenge of balancing creativity with business planning SPS Live attendee feedback and highlights from the event The possibility of adding a third day to SPS Live Ideas for future hands-on workshop and implementation sessions The value of accountability and sharing plans with other authors Avoiding overwhelm by focusing on a small number of key objectives Homework: James & Cissy's Mid-Year Author Check-In Questions: What number are you proudest of from the first half of 2026? What did you stop doing, and was it the right decision? What is your Q3 pivot — what are you going to do differently? Links & Resources Mentioned ProWritingAid: https://prowritingaid.com SPS Live Digital Ticket & Replay Access: https://learnselfpublishing.com/digital Cissy Mecca Romance: https://meccaromance.com Two Authors' Podcast: https://youtu.be/QhYcucRQeBw?si=yPfqRHW_P4INK1RI
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This week on The Self-Publishing Show, James Blatch and Cissy Mecca tackle a growing concern for indie authors: is the flood of AI-generated books making it harder for genuine authors to get noticed and earn a living? James shares some worrying findings from research into AI-written books, alongside data from Alex Newton showing how AI-generated titles are making their way into competitive Amazon categories. They discuss what this means for authors, the potential impact on Kindle Unlimited earnings, and why building a loyal readership and maintaining a strong newsletter could be more important than ever. Cissy also shares a clever and affordable way to create special edition paperbacks using IngramSpark, plus a fresh approach to newsletter swaps after analysing the marketing habits of successful romance authors. There's also an update on latest on SPS Live USA ticket sales, and news of another speaker joining the Fort Worth line-up. Key Talking Points The growing number of AI-generated books and their impact on indie publishing Alex Newton's findings on AI-written books in competitive Amazon categories Concerns about manipulated rankings, page reads and Kindle Unlimited earnings Why building your own audience and email list matters more than ever Cissy's affordable special edition paperback hack using IngramSpark Bringing back newsletter swaps to reach new readers Using AI to improve reader freebies, websites and newsletter marketing SPS Live USA ticket updates and Mark Recklau joining the speaker line-up Links & Resources Mentioned ProWritingAid: https://prowritingaid.com Discount code: IWC15 SPS Patreon: https://learnselfpublishing.com/support SPS Live 2027 USA: https://learnselfpublishing.com/spsliveusa SPS Live 2027 LONDON: https://www.learnselfpublishing.com/spslive
This week on The Self-Publishing Show, James Blatch and Cissy Mecca are joined by Stuart Grant to talk about author discoverability in the age of AI and why your author website might be more important than ever. Stuart explains how the way readers search for books and authors is changing, and what authors can do to make sure they're being found and recommended by tools such as ChatGPT. They discuss the difference between traditional SEO and the newer GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation), the importance of keeping your online information consistent, and some surprisingly simple ways to improve your website's visibility. James and Cissy also share their own experiences of updating their websites using AI, and Stuart offers listeners a free author website audit to help identify what's missing. Plus, there's an update on SPS Live USA, including ticket prices, Founders tickets and when tickets will go on sale. Key Talking Points Author discoverability and how AI is changing the way readers find books SEO versus GEO and what authors need to know Why your author website is central to your online presence Using schema markup to help search engines and AI understand your website How ChatGPT and Claude can help with website optimisation The importance of FAQs, blogging and consistent author information Stuart Grant's free website audit for SPS listeners SPS Live USA ticket prices and early access for Patreon supporters Links & Resources Mentioned ProWritingAid: https://prowritingaid.com Discount code: IWC15 Free Author Website Audit: https://learnselfpublishing.com/audit SPS Patreon / Support: https://learnselfpublishing.com/support SPS Live USA Waitlist: https://learnselfpublishing.com/spsliveusa SPS Live Digital Recordings: https://learnselfpublishing.com/digital Stuart Grant – http://digitalauthorstoolkit.com https://reedsy.com/stuart-grant On social media @stuartgrantuk on all platforms
Big news this week – The Self-Publishing Show Live is coming to the USA! James Blatch and Cissy Mecca reveal the plans for the first SPS Live USA, taking place at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden in Texas on April 29th and 30th, 2027. The first year will be deliberately small, with just 200 places available, and the first 100 people on the waitlist will have the chance to secure special Founders tickets. They also reveal the first two speakers: bestselling romance author Lucy Score and Hollywood screenwriter Tom Donnelly. James talks through why Fort Worth was chosen, plans for keeping the event affordable and what they want to bring across from the London conference. Elsewhere, James and Cissy discuss the latest controversy surrounding RARE London 2027 and the large number of authors withdrawing from the event. James also shares an update on his Etsy experiment, including what happened when he promoted his Cold War book package directly to his mailing list and why bringing your own traffic to a new sales platform can make such a difference. Key Talking Points SPS Live USA officially announced for April 29th–30th, 2027 Fort Worth Botanic Garden confirmed as the venue The event will be limited to 200 attendees in its first year The first 100 people on the waitlist will be offered Founders tickets Lucy Score and Tom Donnelly announced as the first speakers Why SPS Live USA will avoid traditional hotel room blocks The latest controversy surrounding RARE London 2027 James's Etsy experiment and selling books as gift packages Why driving your own traffic to a new platform can help generate sales Avoiding "shiny new object" syndrome and focusing on what's already working Links & Resources Mentioned ProWritingAid: https://prowritingaid.com Discount code: IWC15 SPS Live USA Waitlist: https://learnselfpublishing.com/spsliveusa SPS Patreon / Support: https://learnselfpublishing.com/support
This week on The Self-Publishing Show, it's launch day for Cissy Mecca's latest medieval romance, while James Blatch is getting serious about his own writing again, with a preorder underway and book two already taking shape. The main discussion focuses on two significant developments at Amazon KDP. James and Cissy look at the new limits on the number of titles authors can upload each week and reports that Amazon may no longer be honouring permafree price matching. They discuss why these changes may be happening, how they could affect different types of indie authors, and why adapting to changes outside your control is simply part of running an author business. There's also news from SPS Live London 2027, with Isabelle Knight and A.P. Beswick announced as the latest speakers, plus details of ProWritingAid's Novel November, the Orlando writing retreat and a very big SPS announcement coming next week. Key Talking Points Cissy's launch day and the next book already on preorder Amazon KDP's new weekly publishing limits What the KDP changes could mean for rapid-release authors and translations Reports of changes to Amazon's permafree price matching Adapting your author business when platforms change the rules ProWritingAid's Novel November writing challenge Isabelle Knight and A.P. Beswick announced for SPS Live London 2027 Writing routines, deadlines, editors and accountability The Orlando writing retreat and the value of author communities A major SPS announcement coming next week Links & Resources Mentioned ProWritingAid: https://prowritingaid.com Discount code: IWC15 Orlando retreat waitlist - indiewritersclub.com/orlando Cissy's New Series: https://www.amazon.com/Ruthless-But-Her-Captive-Medieval-ebook/dp/B0HDN38GS6 James' new A+: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spider-espionage-thriller-Espionage-Thrillers-ebook/dp/B0HJQBSTGD/ PWA's Nov-Nov: https://prowritingaid.com/novel-november Meta Link Workaround: https://youtu.be/frjsqfhKruI?si=cKvwPiYc-yk9_2Ym For the FB messages: Log into business page Go to: https://business.facebook.com/latest/inbox/automated_responses Select "custom keywords" automation
This week on The Self-Publishing Show, James Blatch and Cissy Mecca catch up from opposite sides of Europe, with Cissy joining from Sicily as she prepares for the September 29th launch of her new book. James shares news from Learn Self-Publishing, including plans for a brand-new course, Self-Publishing Pathway, which will replace Launchpad and be built from the ground up for today's publishing landscape. He also reveals details of the Orlando writing retreat taking place in March and teases a major industry announcement coming on October 8th. The main discussion turns to AI audio, as James shares his latest experience using ElevenLabs to create an audiobook version of his novella Desert Venom. They look at how much AI narration has improved, where AI-narrated audiobooks can currently be distributed, and the cost and practical considerations for indie authors. Cissy also gives an update on her upcoming book launch, including ARC readers, Meta preorder ads, Amazon Ads and her new Vanguard reader group. She shares how she's using Claude and ChatGPT to analyse years of sales, newsletter and BookBub data to help shape a more data-driven launch strategy. Key Talking Points The new Self-Publishing Pathway course and the future of Launchpad The Orlando writing retreat in March A major Learn Self-Publishing announcement coming October 8th James's experience creating an AI-narrated audiobook with ElevenLabs Where authors can distribute AI-narrated audiobooks Human narration versus AI narration and the cost of producing audio Cissy's September 29th book launch and ARC reader strategy Meta preorder ads, Amazon Ads and the new Vanguard reader group Using Claude and ChatGPT to analyse historical sales and marketing data Links & Resources Mentioned ProWritingAid: https://prowritingaid.com Discount code: IWC15 SPS Patreon / Support: https://learnselfpublishing.com/support Orlando Writing Retreat Waitlist: https://indiewritersclub.com/orlando ElevenLabs: https://elevenlabs.io