0:47 – My “origin story” becoming a writer in high school and college.

2:55 – The process of originally deciding to pursue traditional publishing, researching the industry, and then deciding to pivot to self-publishing to have full control over my content, distribution methods, and platform-building process.

6:39 – My experiment with building a readership base and launch momentum through a serialized digital and audio release of my first book.

8:41 – My Kickstarter in July 2024, how it was crucial to launching the self-publishing process, and how it benefitted from the disruptive innovation of others before me (Michael Sullivan, Brandon Sanderson, and others).

10:28 – My intentional thought process behind doing a bulk print order instead of the usual self-publishing process of doing print-on-demand.

15:33 – My two biggest fears: (1) readers not giving my book the time of day, and (2) my own lack of discipline in enacting the plans and goals I set for myself.

18:32 – Doors that God has opened for me, including working for LDSPMA and working for BK Authors—and doors for other jobs that God has closed, meaning I stayed (and learned) at LDSPMA longer than I would have otherwise.

22:55 – Doors that have opened for me recently, including stumbling upon Substack and figuring out how to run my Kickstarter campaign.

25:29 – My closing thought: When you are being disruptive in your business, you can’t just be different for the sake of being different. You have to follow the universal laws that govern success.

My author career

2:38 – My author “origin story” (it involves homeschooling)
6:33 – Marketing and distribution plans for The Pyromancer’s Scroll
8:38 – How do authors build a readership?
10:48 – Obstacles to my writing process (spoiler: lack of time is the main one)

Writing clean content

12:03 – How constraints help foster creativity
14:19 – How do I write realistic action scenes in a non-graphic way?
16:19 – Influence of my ancient Near Eastern studies background on my worldbuilding
19:40 – Have I ever had beta readers give feedback that they want it more graphic? (No, actually once the opposite)
21:31 – When is it appropriate to use invented substitutions for curse words?

Publishing paths

24:51 – What I’ve learned about the publishing industry through my role with LDSPMA
29:47 – Why did I make the decision to self-publish?

The need for clean content

34:30 – My argument that clean content is not simply a matter of preference—it’s a moral imperative.
37:18 – My analogy that a media diet full of the vulgar, crude, or profane is as harmful to individuals and society as a nutritional diet full of sugar, fat, and salt.
41:22 – Why does raunchy content sell? Because it’s hormonally addicting.
44:15 – The need to more clearly label and promote clean content

Unless you are writing a book with a co-author or ghostwriter, it probably feels like a very lonely task. But what if you could find a fellowship that provided encouragement and advice?

Our guest today is Jeremy Madsen, Operations Manager for BK Authors an author group affiliated with the award–winning publisher Berrett-Koehler. This group helps authors and publishers bridge the gap to bring better books to market.

Jeremy starts by helping us understand what an author’s group is all about. He explains that these communities, especially when supported by a publisher, can give authors a better awareness of the market and industry. In addition, mentoring is a sharing process that works best when all sides open up. Authors further down the path share advice from experience, while newer authors share information about new skills and tools that didn’t exist five years ago.

Finally, we discuss the timeline of publishers versus authors. Publishers have limited resources, and need to move on to the next project as soon as possible, meaning they are by your side for mere months. The author’s timeline should be further-reaching, amortizing the investment over 5–7 years. Plus Jeremy shares the growing trend of publishers investing into a backlist of older titles, giving nonfiction books an even greater chance to see success over a longer course of years.

Jeremy is deeply involved in both the writing and publishing community and brings unique insights in this episode that few others can provide.

Three Key Takeaways:

• Being part of an author community can be a big morale booster to not be alone on the journey.
• Don’t be afraid to reach out to established authors who have published books in your area of expertise. You’d be surprised how generous many will be with their time and advice.
• A publication date has no bearing on the importance or usefulness of a book. It is a date of reference, not an expiration.

00:00 – How many times did you want to quit or throw it all in the trash?

01:19 – What character would you switch with, and why?

02:01 – What was your process for keeping track of your different characters?

03:12 – Can the pyromancer control his fire when he’s angry?

04:12 – What was the hardest part of the production process?

05:00 – Why is Twigly sitting on sacks of potatoes in that picture?

05:25 – What was the biggest surprise in your writing process?

08:08 – What was your favorite scene to write, and what is your favorite scene in the book?

09:54 – You have a lot of military and political information in your book. Where did you go to get that information to be comfortable writing it?

11:15 – When does the next book come out?

12:40 – Describe your process for making the pictures

13:37 – Do you think the next book will take less time to write?

14:46 – Will you have an audiobook?

15:47 – How many books are in the series, and did you have the whole series outlined before you wrote this book?

17:28 – Why did you choose fire powers for your main character?

18:24 – Why I wrote the book, and my invitation to readers