Dave Chesson talks about the importance of thinking like a reader, not an author, when picking your keywords (actually, keyphrases), best practices for prioritizing your keywords, a newish feature on the Amazon product page that can help you identify phrases that will resonate with readers, and an exercise that KDP itself endorses that you can use to successfully expand beyond those words and phrases.

Dave Chesson is the guy behind Kindlepreneur.com, a website devoted to teaching authors about book marketing. Recommended by Amazon KDP as the place where you can learn how to “optimize marketing for your books,” Kindlepreneur has grown to be one of the largest book marketing websites. Dave’s tactics help both fiction and nonfiction authors of all levels get their books discovered by the right readers. Dave is also the creator of Publisher Rocket, a software that helps authors see what's really going on in the book market, and thus pick better keywords and categories to help them sell more books.

Kelley Way discusses the legal considerations for use of images for book covers and promotional material, including use of free sites like Unsplash. She discusses the use of music and musical references—a topic of particular interest to me based on an Ann Kinnear Suspense Short I just wrote—and what Creative Commons and public domain material is, and the opportunities it opens for indy authors.

Kelley Way was born and raised in Walnut Creek, California. She graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. in English and a minor in Music, and then attended the UC Davis School of Law. After law school, Kelley did a one-year fellowship at the Pacific Justice Institute, during which time she was approached by her first client, the copyright holder of a New York Times bestselling fantasy series. After the successful resolution of the case, she opened her own law firm. When Kelley is not practicing law, she spends her time reading, knitting, singing, spending time with her family, and learning new languages.

Abe Ogden discusses the six Rs of maximizing the value of your content: repackage, repurpose, revise, repository, rights, and resources. We talk about how the democratization of formats like hardcover books and outlets like branded merchandise open opportunities for the indy author. "If you're going to be developing this content, squeeze it for everything that you possibly can and hit every channel as much as you possibly can." We also discuss the issue of the most constrained resource of an indy author--time--and how to weigh which items on Abe's a la carte list of options you decide to pursue.

With more than 20 years in non-profit publishing and professional experience in editorial, production, acquisitions, and sales and marketing strategy, Abe Ogden is passionate about helping organizations with limited resources but an important mandate to deliver essential content to constituents and beyond. When he’s not polishing a manuscript draft or putting the final touches on a marketing plan, he’s either playing his guitar or tramping through the outdoors and hiking, camping, or fly fishing with his family.

Writer's block--is it fact or fantasy? Does it require inspiration or willpower to overcome? What tips or tricks can get a writer writing again? In this episode, previous guests of The Indy Author Podcast share their perspectives on writer's block, from specific tasks you can perform to break through the block to frank discussions of its emotional and psychological basis. Many thanks to Robert Dugoni, Emma G. Rose, Pauline Wiles, Dale L. Roberts, M.K. Williams, Wade Walton, Jerri Williams, Jeff Elkins, and Julie Duffy for sharing their perspectives.

For more information on my guests, go to https://www.theindyauthor.com/podcast.html and search on the guests' names to find links to their episodes and bios.

Dan Blank of WeGrowMedia shares the central tenets of his concept of human-centered marketing: Give yourself permission to create; understand who you hope to reach; and connect to a person, not an audience. He discusses the pitfalls of counting your success by numbers of Likes and Follows, and how a focus on tools and algorithms can kill the creative spirit. And he shares tips for how introverts can reach out to form lasting bonds with those who will love their work.

Dan Blank is the founder of WeGrowMedia, where he helps writers develop a human-centered approach to marketing and reaching their audience. He is the author of the book Be the Gateway: A Practical Guide to Sharing Your Creative Work and Engaging an Audience. He has worked not only with thousands of writers, but also with companies including Penguin Random House, Sesame Workshop, Hachette Book Group, Writer’s Digest, Library Journal, and many others.