kevin J Anderson – Science Fiction & Fantasy Marketing Podcast

SFFMP 194: Selling Books and Networking at Conventions and Finding the Balance Between Writing and Marketing with Kevin J. Anderson

August 14, 2018 SFFpodcast Author Interview, Podcast

This week, Kevin J. Anderson joined us from a remote cabin in Colorado where he’s sequestered to do some work (and talk to us, naturally). The internet connection wasn’t the best for the first few minutes, and we had some lag, but things get steadier about ten minutes in. Kevin talked to us about his experience as a new professor directing the Certificate in Publishing program at Western State Colorado University, about the 22 conventions he went to last year, and about why he’s taking more time just to write this year. We also discussed the marketing he does for his books and the other authors he publishes through Wordfire Press.

Here are some of the specifics of what we covered:

Teaching students about publishing in today’s quickly changing environment.
The challenges of working with the slower schedule of traditional publishing.
The challenges of all you have to learn to be successful as an indie author.
Tips for successfully selling at conventions.
Using conventions to meet other authors in your peer group.
Advice for first-time authors interested in going to conventions.
The challenges of keeping backlist titles selling while working on publishing new titles.
What kind of advertising Kevin is regularly doing and finding effective.
Advice to new indie authors on branding and how to find fans.
Books Kevin recommends for speculative fiction writers: Writing the Blockbuster Novel, David Farland’s Million Dollar Outlines, and his own World Building: From Small Towns to Entire Universes.

You can find Kevin on his website, on Facebook, and on Twitter, among other places. If you want to check out some of Kevin’s work, he just published a collection of his short stories called Selected Stories: Science Fiction. He also has a new novel out with Sarah A. Hoyt: Uncharted.

| Open Player in New Window

Click to download the mp3.

Subscribe to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast on iTunes.

Subscribe to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast on YouTube.

Subscribe to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast via RSS.

Like us on Facebook.

conventions, guest author, kevin J Anderson, marketing, networking, selling at conventions, wordfire press

SFFMP 138: Trad vs. Indie for New Authors, How Marketing Has Evolved, and Starting Your Own Press with Kevin J. Anderson

June 27, 2017 SFFpodcast Author Interview, Podcast

Long-time science fiction author and NYT best seller Kevin J. Anderson joined us on the podcast today to talk about his recent projects, how the industry has changed since 1988 when he published his first novel, and what made him decide to start his own press.

Here are a few of the specifics we chatted about:

How Kevin is continuing to learn and try new marketing things, even after almost thirty years of publishing novels.
A project he’s excited about where he’s sharing his new epic fantasy novel, Spine of the Dragon, with newsletter subscribers as he works on it. (If you’re interested in seeing his process and reading the story long before it’s published, you can visit his site to sign up.)
How the landscape has changed over the years, and how it can be tough to make a living as a steady, mid-list author in the traditional publishing scene now.
Kevin’s enthusiasm for dictating his novels as he hikes in the mountains of Colorado (Lindsay would try this while hiking if she wasn’t constantly stopping to whistle for her dogs and telling them to stop chasing squirrels).
Why he thinks more authors should try dictation, since he finds it a very natural way to get the story down.
What it’s like writing in established universes and doing media tie-in novels.
Why Kevin decided to start Wordfire Press to publish his out-of-print books that he had the rights to.
How he ended up taking on a lot of other science fiction and fantasy authors who wanted to breathe new life into their out-of-print titles.
What Kevin has learned about starting a press that might be helpful for other authors thinking of doing the same.