Monica Leonelle is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her book publishing and business expertise at TheWorldNeedsYourBook.com. Her nonfiction series, The Productive Novelist, has sold over 60,000 copies and helped thousands of writers write faster, become better storytellers, and find their way to success.
Before becoming an independent author, Monica led digital marketing efforts at Inc. 100 companies such as Hansen’s Natural and Braintree. She’s been an avid blogger of marketing and business trends since 2007. Her ideas have been featured in AdAge, Forbes, Inc., Newsweek, The Huffington Post, the AMEX OpenForum, GigaOm, Mashable, Social Media Today, and the Christian Science Monitor.
Monica lives in a very, very old, three-story home in St. Louis, MO, with her husband, child, and adorable westie, Mia. Visit TheWorldNeedsYourBook.com to receive free resources and email updates about books, business, marketing, and more.
Book Sales Supercharged
Hi Monica, welcome back to my blog! I’m so glad we finally have a chance to talk about your latest work. Tell us, what is your new series Book Sales Supercharged about?
Book Sales Supercharged is a series that details all the major publishing platforms and tools by shining the spotlight on one of them per book. The series starts with a general book called Get Your Book Selling Wide and continues with a book each about all the major eBook retailers. It then moves into print books, audiobooks, fiction apps, and translations, providing a full look at the five major income streams independent authors are using right now to make money. There are also books about relevant social media and ad platforms such as Facebook and Bookbub.
That sounds absolutely wonderful and much needed! How is Book Sales Supercharged different from everything else out there? What does it add?
There are hundreds of books about how to market a book to Amazon, but zero about how to market a book on, say, Apple Books. As I looked around, I found few books overall about any of the other major eBook retailers, which also sell audiobooks; some even sell print. It seemed like someone needed to get the ball rolling on offering a clear playbook to each of these other retailers and I had a passion for it so I decided to start writing.
From there, I decided to write a comprehensive series about all of these little pockets of publishing that relatively few authors seem to be paying attention to. Most authors at any given time are trying to write a back catalogue and build their readership. You only care about the rest of it when you have a reasonable backlist of titles; that’s when the real money can kick in through these other formats and retailers.
Why did you decide to write Book Sales Supercharged?
In the larger picture, I’m a big fan of authors being everywhere and not tying their work up in exclusivity, which can be harmful to not just their careers but also to the independent publishing industry as a whole. It’s more than a book series to me. It’s a passion for changing the publishing industry for the better and putting more power back into authors’ hands.
I love that. So, who do you think will benefit from Book Sales Supercharged most?
Authors who are taking at least some of their books wide—that is, outside of Kindle Unlimited/KDP Select exclusivity—will benefit most from this book series.
Who else will benefit from your new series?
The series is not just for wide authors; KDP Select authors can benefit from this series too as they can be wide in formats outside of eBook—namely print books, audiobooks, and translations. Even if you are not a wide author, it’s important to look at the publishing industry as a whole.
Get Your Book Selling Wide, the first book in this series, is permanently free in eBook and covers many of the options we, as independent authors, have. It provides a state of the publishing industry as of 2021 and shares everything you need to know to make smart decisions in your author career.
Sounds perfect! You know, I’ve just taken the wide leap myself, so I can’t wait to dig into this series myself. Final question: What is the best writing advice you were ever given?
Persist. Keep going. It’s cliche but it’s made all the difference for me in my career.
That reminds me of this quote I once read: ‘Writing is 3% talent and 97% determination.’ Looking at my own career and those of the writers in my life, I can’t help but agree. Monica, thank you so much for your time. I’m so excited for this new series and I just know it will help so many writers who, like me, are overwhelmed by the process of going wide.
Ready to go wide with your own books? Or just ready to get your book out in the world, period? You can find Monica on her website, Medium, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. She also hosts a podcast and if you want to stay in her loop, I definitely recommend signing up for her newsletter.
