AI Archives - Sacha Black

228 Publishing Predictions for 2024 and Beyond with Clayton Noblit

Sacha Black — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 05:00:27 +0000

Hello Rebels, welcome to episode 228 of The Rebel Author Podcast. Today, I’m talking to Clayton Noblit all about publishing predictions for indie authors in 2024.

In this episode we cover:

Highlights from Written Word Media’s 2023 author survey
Indie author business structures
What is meant by MVP books
Community building and author branding
AI predictions and how it affects authors
Making your business more sustainable

Prose in the Market Webinar Information:

I am running three session times to try and accommodate as many timezones as I can (more on this below).

“Writing to market” isn’t new. But when teachers talk about it they focus on understanding the market, advertising, brand and pitch. But what about the writing and craft of writing to market? If you’re tired of trying to work out how to deliver what readers want, then this is the workshop for you.

In this session, I’ll explain:

How to deconstruct bestselling books and implement the tools you find
An easy three step methodology for deconstruction
Practical examples of deconstruction and implementation in your own work
Why you’re not using copywriting enough
How to intentionally slip TikTok-able/Marketable scenes into your novels that will hook readers
The craft of tropes
Live deconstruction using examples from those in the session.

You’ll also receive a workbook containing exercises for you to implement all the things you learn during the session.

Session Times and Dates

Friday 9th Feb 2024 at 7pm BST (11am PST, 2pm EST, and 8am Sat 9th Auckland (DST NZDT) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/770172856747?aff=oddtdtcreator
Saturday 10th Feb 4pm BST (8am PST, 11am EST, 5am Sunday11th (DST NZDT) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/770175976077?aff=oddtdtcreator
Saturday 10th Feb 8pm BST (12pm PST, 3pm EST, 9am Sunday 11th (DST NZDT) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/770177631027?aff=oddtdtcreator

FAQ

Will this session be recorded? Will the recording be available for sale?

The session will be recorded. The recording will only be available to ticket-holders. I will not sell the recording. I am only doing these as live sessions. When I teach, I love to see everyone’s reactions and get audience participation. But depending on demand, I may run more of them in the future.

Find out more about Clayton:

Written Word Media

Rebel of the Week is: Beth

If you’d like to be a Rebel of the week please do send in your story, it can be any kind of rebellion. You can email your rebel story to rebelauthorpodcast@gmail.com

1 new patron this week, welcome and thank you to Jesse Read. A big thank you to my existing patrons as well. If you’d like to support the show, and get early access to all the episodes as well as bonus content you can from as little as $2 a month by visiting: www.patreon.com/sachablack

This Show is Sponsored by ProWritingAid

Rebel Discount link

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

The post 228 Publishing Predictions for 2024 and Beyond with Clayton Noblit appeared first on Sacha Black.

224 Author Branding for 2024 with Anna Caig

Sacha Black — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 05:00:57 +0000

Hello Rebels, welcome to episode 224 of The Rebel Author Podcast. Today, I’m talking to Anna Caig all about author branding and marketing.

In this episode we cover:

Creating an author-based marketing plan
Boosting engagement on socials
Finding your author voice, style, and brand
Making yourself more human in the age of AI
Mindset shift for self-promotion

Links I mentioned:

A Game of Hearts and Heists Audiobook

Prose in the Market Webinar Information:

I am running three session times to try and accommodate as many timezones as I can (more on this below).

In this session, I’ll explain:

How to deconstruct bestselling books and implement the tools you find
An easy three step methodology for deconstruction
Practical examples of deconstruction and implementation in your own work
Why you’re not using copywriting enough
How to intentionally slip TikTok-able/Marketable scenes into your novels that will hook readers
The craft of tropes
Live deconstruction using examples from those in the session.

You’ll also receive a workbook containing exercises for you to implement all the things you learn during the session.

Session Times and Dates

Friday 9th Feb 2024 at 7pm BST (11am PST, 2pm EST, and 8am Sat 9th Auckland (DST NZDT) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/770172856747?aff=oddtdtcreator
Saturday 10th Feb 4pm BST (8am PST, 11am EST, 5am Sunday11th (DST NZDT) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/770175976077?aff=oddtdtcreator
Saturday 10th Feb 8pm BST (12pm PST, 3pm EST, 9am Sunday 11th (DST NZDT) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/770177631027?aff=oddtdtcreator

FAQ:

Will this session be recorded? Will the recording be available for sale?

Find out more about Anna:

@AnnaCaig on Instagram and X

Website

Rebel of the Week is: Balou

If you’d like to be a Rebel of the Week please do send in your story, it can be any kind of rebellion. You can email your rebel story to rebelauthorpodcast@gmail.com

1 new patron this week, welcome and thank you to Nicole Hutton. A big thank you to my existing patrons, especially Heather Button for upping their pledge. If you’d like to support the show, and get early access to all the episodes as well as bonus content you can from as little as $2 a month by visiting: www.patreon.com/sachablack

The post 224 Author Branding for 2024 with Anna Caig appeared first on Sacha Black.

211 Writing the Shadow Self with Joanna Penn

Sacha Black — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 05:00:31 +0000

Hello Rebels, welcome to episode 211 of The Rebel Author Podcast. Today, I’m talking to Joanna Penn all about writing the shadow self.

In this episode we cover:

What the shadow is and its importance for writers
Identifying shadow elements
How to know if you’re tapping into the shadows
Capitalizing on your shadow in the age of AI
Shadow in a character’s back story and relationships

This week’s question is: what are you going to complete in the final quarter of the year?

Recommendation of the week is: Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

***this show uses affiliate links

Find out more about Joanna:

Website

Buy Books Direct

Kickstarter for Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words

Twitter/X

Facebook

Instagram

Rebel of the Week is: Moose

If you’d like to be a Rebel of the week please do send in your story, it can be any kind of rebellion. You can email your rebel story to rebelauthorpodcast@gmail.com

1 new patron this week, welcome and thank you to Mandy Oman. A big thank you to my existing patrons as well. If you’d like to support the show, and get early access to all the episodes as well as bonus content you can from as little as $2 a month by visiting: www.patreon.com/sachablack

The post 211 Writing the Shadow Self with Joanna Penn appeared first on Sacha Black.

199 Author Marketing Audit with Joe Solari

Sacha Black — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 05:00:58 +0000

Hello Rebels, welcome to episode 199 of The Rebel Author Podcast. Today, I’m talking to Joe Solari all about author marketing audits and systems.

In this episode we cover:

How to self audit your marketing
The importance of attention in the AI age
Marketing structures for author brand discovery
How to retain readers
Value extraction strategies

This week’s question is: what’s the last book that blew you away?

Recommendation of the week is: The Diplomat (Netflix)

Find out more about Joe:

Courses

Website

Rebel of the Week is: Anonymous

If you’d like to be a Rebel of the week please do send in your story, it can be any kind of rebellion. You can email your rebel story to rebelauthorpodcast@gmail.com

1 new patron this week, welcome and thank you to Mage Prometheus. A big thank you to my existing patrons as well. If you’d like to support the show, and get early access to all the episodes as well as bonus content you can from as little as $2 a month by visiting: www.patreon.com/sachablack

THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY KOBO WRITING LIFE

Visit Kobo Writing Life here, read the Kobo Writing Life blog here, and listen to their podcast here.

The post 199 Author Marketing Audit with Joe Solari appeared first on Sacha Black.

179 Publishing Trends for the Future with Clayton Noblit

Sacha Black — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 05:00:58 +0000

Hello Rebels, welcome to episode 179 of The Rebel Author Podcast. Today, I’m talking to Clayton Noblit about publishing trends and how to prepare for them.

In this episode we cover:

Resources to create publishing trend predictions
New channels coming on stream for authors
How to get into direct sales
Changes that AI will bring
Steps to prepare for upcoming publishing trends

This week’s question is: tell me about something you have that makes your life easier.

Recommendation of the week is: Penny For Your Playlist: A Gen-X Game Girls Novel by Patron Maggie Menae

Amazon UK

Amazon USA

***this show uses affiliate links

Links I mentioned:

WWM Article

AI Guidelines

Find out more about Clayton:

Written Word Media

TikTok

Rebel of the Week is: Christina

If you’d like to be a Rebel of the week please do send in your story, it can be any kind of rebellion. You can email your rebel story to rebelauthorpodcast@gmail.com

No new patrons this week, but a big thank you to my existing patrons. If you’d like to support the show, and get early access to all the episodes as well as bonus content you can from as little as $2 a month by visiting: www.patreon.com/sachablack

This Show is Sponsored by ProWritingAid

Get 20% off using this Rebel Discount link.

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

The post 179 Publishing Trends for the Future with Clayton Noblit appeared first on Sacha Black.

Watch and Wonders – Books, Tech and the Future with @alliepottswrite

Sacha Black — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 08:00:59 +0000

Today I am thrilled to have an epic geek-out with my dear friend and ~~slave driver~~ accountability partner Allie Potts. If you don’t know Allie, she writes both cyberpunk style dystopian fantasy with a genetic engineering bent alongside cosy mysteries and (I hope in the not too distant future, non-fiction).

Allie is also a talented designer of covers, logos and, well, pretty much anything you need.

Today sees the launch of her long awaited sequel in her Project Gene Assist series: The Watch and Wand.

In order to celebrate, I asked Allie to indulge me in a spot of geekery about all things tech and the future.

Without further ado…

Welcome Allie

Sacha: In your book The Watch and Wand, you base the series on the concept that we will be able to integrate technology physically into ourselves. Do you think this is really possible and if yes, how long before we do it?

Allie: Not only is it possible, it is already being done. Take for instance the advances in prosthetics. A man in 2015 became the first to be able to control a robotic arm connected directly to his skeleton using only his mind. Have a look at this.

Bionic eyes aren’t much further behind which take images from an embedded camera and then transmit that data to the brain by way of an implant attached to optic nerves. This is not science fiction and working devices are already being tested by organizations such as the FDA.

Additionally, Elon Musk of Telsa and SpaceX fame, as well as Regina Dugan of Facebook’s R&D group are actively racing to produce brain to computer interfaces.

Sacha: A.I. – Is it the salvation or damnation of man?

Allie: Personally, I believe that the robots have already taken over, as computers are already controlling stock markets, traffic lights, flight patterns, and even the order in which your customer support calls for help are received and humans are still here, so I am not particularly worried at the moment.

The movie “Her” starring Joaquin Phoenix and the voice of Scarlett Johansson as an adaptive operating system shows a [spoiler alert] potential future where virtual machines outgrow us, but rather than destroying the earth as they are not constrained to physical form, they simply move on to the next stage of their evolutionary process.

The problem is we humans are never satisfied with our robotic creations and being the egocentric short-sighted creatures we are, keep trying to make robotics more like ourselves complete with flaws, opinions, and limitations and that’s where the potential danger comes in.

My books, however, do not deal with an independent artificial intelligence, but instead with the concept of transhumanism in which people merge with technology.

Photo by Max LaRochelle on Unsplash

Sacha: If we do integrate ourselves into a kind of hybrid AI – how do you think it will happen? microchips? Genetic manipulation?

Allie: Both. I think it will start with chips and implants, but as the human body naturally, attacks foreign objects it deems threats, biology-based technologies will have the most lasting effect.

Sacha: You talk about nano electronics that are kind of free and in the air – do you believe in free renewable energy?

Allie: I do believe in free renewable energy based upon the work Nicola Telsa did as early in 1901. We might have it today if it weren’t for banker, J.P. Morgan. Check out THIS and THIS.

The invention still works, see here.

In the world of Project Gene Assist, there are nanoelectronics embedded in road surfaces and other building materials that are able to transform power generated by sun, heat, radio waves, or touch into electricity as well as perform certain functions like acting as sensors. I have other self-replicating nanobots which operate in the bloodstream and can manipulate cells.

Sacha: Earth – Flat or globe?

Allie: Globe all the way. I refuse to believe we are a snowglobe floating about in space while every other celestial object we see is round.

Sacha: Are you secretly a cult tech leader?

Allie: Are you interested in joining? Our Kool-Aid is great.

Sacha: Which device or gadget or piece of tech in your books do you love most and why?

Allie: This is a tough question! I love it all, but I am going to say the Wand from the Watch and Wand. I can’t say without giving away spoilers so I’ll leave it at that.

Sacha: BEAN FOR PRESIDENT (for those of you not in the know, Bean is the female lead in the Watch and Wand and I freaking love the character).

I second the nomination

I’ve read Allie’s book and it’s amazing. If this post has sparked your interest in Allie’s book, The Watch and Wand, you can find it here:

AmazonCOM

AmazonUK

The great thing about Allie’s book is that you don’t need to read them in order, both books in her series are standalone.

You can find the first, The Fair and Foul, here:

AmazonCOM

AmazonUK

THE WATCH AND WAND BLURB:

Fifteen years have passed. The future no longer seems as bright. Between a war declared on all but the most basic technology, worldwide economic collapse, and a plague-spurred global panic, governments have collapsed leaving law and order to be defined by those left behind. Stephen knows he should be grateful, but can’t help wishing his life was more than survival.

That was until he met a girl on the run from a group known as the Watch.

Now, caught between rival factions with their own hidden agendas, Stephen has no choice but to go on a mission to reclaim a piece of missing technology.

He is told the device is the key to a better future, but in the new order, one person’s salvation can be another’s total destruction.

MORE ABOUT ALLIE POTTS:

Allie Potts is the author of The Fair & Foul, Project Gene Assist Book One and is celebrating the launch of the second book in the series, The Watch & Wand. Set in a not too distant future, the series takes place at a time when science meets magic and biology merges with technology, and tackles what it means to be human.

Additionally, she is the author of An Uncertain Faith, a Rocky Row Novel, a cozy mystery/women’s literature story written for those who find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place.

When not finding ways to squeeze in 72 hours into a 24 day or chasing after children determined to turn her hair gray before its time, Allie enjoys stories of all kinds. Her favorites, whether they are novels, film, or simply shared aloud with friends, are usually accompanied with a glass of wine or cup of coffee in hand.

A self-professed science geek and book nerd, Allie writes everyday style stories, flash fiction, tips and tricks, and the occasional not-a-review review at www.alliepottswrites.com.

Book links include:

The Watch & Wand – http://authl.it/B07791KJ2Z
The Fair & Foul – http://authl.it/B01678T7CU
An Uncertain Faith – http://authl.it/B00PYYB06A

Social Media Links

Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Google+

The post Watch and Wonders – Books, Tech and the Future with @alliepottswrite appeared first on Sacha Black.