Melissa Storm built a seven-figure career without writing to market.
Learn how she finds the right author marketing strategy.
Her first novel got a stack of rejections from literary agents, and she cried over every one. Fifteen years later she has over a hundred books across multiple pen names. Plus she's a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.
We discuss the realities of self-publishing today, including why she treats direct sales as ads on hard mode. Whether you are struggling with Facebook ads or trying to build an ecosystem for your pen names, Melissa shares how to adapt your book marketing to fit your personality.
She calls it a seven-figure career, and she'll also tell you she can't write to market to save her life. In addition, she runs Novel Publicity and runs Kickstarter campaigns that teach Facebook ads for authors.
We also talk about how Meta's AI is changing Facebook ads and how she sees authors adapting.
Back her Facebook Ads for Authors Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/melstorm/shopify-ads
Creator page: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/melstorm
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FIND MELISSA STORM
On Amazon: On Amazon: https://link.amazon/B06yoYJRD Website: https://www.melstorm.com
Novel Publicity: https://www.novelpublicity.com
Book Marketing with Melissa (Substack): https://marketwithmelissa.substack.com
Molly Fitz: https://mollymysteries.com
Luna Ryder: https://lunarauthor.com
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Author Marketing Archetype quiz: https://www.novelpublicity.com/quiz/
Luna Ryder's books, including When Life Gives You Legends: https://lunarauthor.com/books/
Cal Newport: https://link.amazon/B06Bb14Cz
📘 SUPPORT MY NEXT KICKSTARTER
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hermansteuernagel/interdimensional-drink-master?ref=72j627
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Time Stamps
00:00 Intro
02:21 Hundreds of books and dozens of pen names
14:57 From agent rejections to a marketing business
22:33 If your heart's not in it, readers can tell
25:27 Matching your marketing to your personality
34:41 Why selling direct is ads on hard mode
45:12 The sunk cost fallacy and knowing when to quit
54:20 Running courses on Kickstarter
1:01:45 AI and the future of Facebook ads
1:08:47 Her number one piece of advice
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🎧 LISTEN TO THE PODCAST
Website: https://pintandportal.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3UGMgBmH0YQJBdT6Mw9MxK
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-pint-and-portal-author-podcast/id1697315896
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/2c6a0d11-a60b-418a-a568-580bef9c904d/the-pint-and-portal-author-podcast
🛠️ TOOLS I USE
All deals in one place: https://www.pintandportal.com/deals
Publisher Champ — all your sales dashboards in one place, 10% off: https://www.publisherchamp.com/referral/42246/
Publisher Rocket — keyword and category research for Amazon: https://publisherrocket.cartknox.com/buy-rocket?aff=442
Wise — international payments, first transfer up to $800 CAD free: https://wise.prf.hn/l/RlANJvG/
Envato: https://1.envato.market/c/7700687/298927/4662
Stallion Express — discount shipping from Canada: https://ship.stallion.ca/register/Qr3Wy5
Riverside — what I record the show on: https://riverside.com/?via=herman-steuernagel
📚 MY BOOKS & NEWSLETTER
All my books and links: https://www.hermansteuernagel.com/links
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MEDIA CREDITS
🎵 Theme song — Commercial Rock by StudioKolomna
https://app.envato.com/music/96865697-95b3-4554-866e-6d4ad66a575e
Some links may be affiliate links. Using them costs you nothing extra and helps support the show.
© Herman Steuernagel — The Pint & Portal Podcast
