Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 097 - 10 Tips for Marketing and Making Money Off Your Short Fiction

This episode features an interview with Dale L. Roberts, a fitness author, self-publishing advocate and video content creator extraordinaire. The interview is filled with inspiring ideas for creative people that can be applied to your writing journey, as well as ideas for applying that creativity to auditory and visual mediums.

This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices. Mark shares insights about a great built-in pricing tool that Findaway Voices has for authors to use.

You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In his personal update, Mark shares the fact that he finally loaded a media kit to his author website, which appears as a link on his main media, press & contact page.

He also talks about his forthcoming visits to Northern Hearts Romance Writers conference in Toronto and NINC (Novelists, Inc) conference in St Pete, Florida.

In their conversation, Dale and Mark talk about:

• Dale's unlikely story of becoming a writer and how he shouldn't be where he is today
• The first book that Dale wrote and published in 2013 as a "challenge accepted" response to a colleague at work
• How, in the early days, Dale wasn't even familiar with the eBook boom that had been taking place
• The "Do Not Do What Dale Did" advice that comes with sharing that he quit his day job after receiving his first $20 from Amazon for his first book
• How Dale gathered information on how to self-publish back in the early days by searching for free content and information on YouTube and other sites
• The value of investing in some courses as well as a coach, which Dale considers as pivotal for his author business
• The importance of being held accountable by a coach or a mentor
• Why it is helpful to meansure time VS money in expenditures and focusing on the things that make more sense for you to focus on
• How Dale started his YouTube channel as a way to more effectively answer the hundreds of questions filling up his email inbox
• The bare/core minimum you need to start shooting video content and how you don't need it to be sexy, and you don't need it to be perfect
• Being consistent as one of the most important factors in creating and building a video platform on YouTube. And how that's not just a consistent time, consistent amount, and a consistent message
• The importance and value of authenticity
• The parallels between writers creating written content and YouTubers creating video content - including the importance of perseverance
• The built-in schedule that Dale uses for his schedule and how his audience likes Wednesdays and Saturdays
• The importance of understanding who your audience is, what they are coming for, what they enjoy consuming, and then delivering that to them
• The origin and use of the "banana sticker" and how something so simple and fun can build community

After the interview, Mark reflects on three elements that Dale spoke about: Consistency, Persistence, and Authenticity.

Links of Interest:

• Dale's Website: Self-Publishing with Dale
• Self-Publishing with Dale on YouTube
• Dale on Twitter
• Self-Publishing with Dale on Facebook
• Dale on Instagram
• Findaway Voices
• Episode 15 - with Kevin Tumlinson
• Episode 92 - with M.L. Buchman
• Northern Hearts Conference
• NINC Conference
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

Dale L. Roberts i...