Indie Writers Club
Cara Clare and James Blatch host a weekly light-hearted chat about all things self publishing.
Join the Word Count Club to be a part of the accountability partnership. We'll support each other in getting the words done :)
Send in your questions, comments and talking points to our discord channel.
Episodes
69 episodes
068 - Direct Selling with Etsy
In this week's episode Cara and James are joined by Robin Bennett-Freebairn whose non-fiction gift books are flying off the virtual Etsy shelves. This has big implications for special editions and box sets, especially at this time of year.<...
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Season 2
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Episode 68
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46:35
067 - AI Acceptance & Direct Selling
In part two of a look back at 2025, Cara and James discuss where we are with AI acceptance (spoiler, a dwindling band of holdouts very much exist). We also discuss direct selling as one of the big expansion areas for indies.USEFUL LINKS:...
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Season 2
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Episode 67
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39:00
066 - AI Translations, A10 Algorithm and other stuff
In this episode Jame & Cara start to look back on a fast moving year for indie publishing. They touch on AI Translations, one of the big breakthrough areas, the mythical A10 Amazon Algorithm and plenty of other chat!USEFUL LINKS:...
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Season 2
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Episode 66
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47:37
065 - Building a Direct Empire (with AP Beswick)
We are joined by the multi-talented Adam Beswick (AP Beswick) to talk empire building.Adam has used TikTok to build a loyal following of readers and he now focuses on selling direct to them, using TikTok Shop and TikTok Lives. He's an ev...
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Season 2
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Episode 65
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55:28
064 - Drafting a Novel
It's NovelNovember and we're both drafting a new novel!USEFUL LINKS:Get 15% of annual plans at our sponsor ProWritingAid by using code IWC15https://www.prowritingaid.com
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Season 1
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Episode 64
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41:22
063 - Influencing the Influencers
This week Cara & James touch on the subject of influencers and how to use them. James also talks about the coming AI storm for ads, he reports on AuthorNation and rants about the cost of living!USEFUL LINKS:Get 15% of annual p...
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Season 2
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Episode 63
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35:35
062 - News from AuthorNation Vegas
In this week's episode, James reports from AuthorNation, indie publishing's largest conference. The talk is of new technology, a recent slump in ads effectiveness and the possibility of more seismic changes to come!USEFUL LINKS:Ge...
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Season 2
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Episode 62
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36:34
061 - Author Scams & Ghost Writing
This week we delve into the intriguing world of ghost writing. You might know Cara is/has been, a professional ghost writer and she spills the beans on this industry that takes place largely in the shadows.We also touch on the sudden ep...
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Season 2
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Episode 61
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39:40
060 - How to Create an INCREDIBLE AI Assistant
This week we have a bona fide guest! Cissy Mecca is a close friend and fellow author whose work I'm constantly admiring—she's brilliant at finding innovative ways to streamline our publishing workflow. (And she's an incredible writer, too.)...
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Season 2
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Episode 60
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55:25
059 - Trad Vs Indie - Is There Now a Winner?
We discuss the the state of Trad vs Indie after a couple of comments from notable authors and commentators and come to an interesting conclusion!Also - it's possible Taylor Swift is secretly self-publishing poetry on Amazon KDP! We look ...
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Season 2
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Episode 59
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41:31
058 - The Big Facebook Ads Experiement
Much has happened behind the scenes of the Facebook Ads Manager and so james is setting out a series of tests. spending money on various combinations of Adv+ and manual targeting to see what's working now.James also reveals the finalists...
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Season 2
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Episode 58
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40:53
057 - The New Era of AI Searching
It's Friday! It's the Indie Writers Club!We continue our deep dive into the new era of searching using AI.Even if you are dead set against all things AI - you cannot ignore the fact that readers will be searching for your books us...
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Season 2
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Episode 57
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51:01
056 - Get Your Books Ready for GEO!
The era of keywords and Google searches is coming to an end. Searching through a longer form conversation with an AI is already taking over. That means we need to get our blurbs and book packages ready for the new era.James & Cara d...
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Season 2
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Episode 56
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41:17
055 - Are Facebook Ads Back?
In episode 55, James reports from the Floridian beach where he's attending the annual NINC conference. He and Cara also report some encouraging signs from their Facebook Ads campaigns.USEFUL LINKS:Join our Patreon for e...
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Season 2
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Episode 55
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37:19
054 - Becoming a Full Time Author
Making the switch from hobbyist to full-time author is a dream for many. But it comes with its own challenges. From two of us who have become full time self-employed, we go through some of the pitfalls and areas to think about.USEFUL LIN...
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Season 2
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Episode 54
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50:21
053 - Audio Books for Authors - Part 2
It's part 2 of our discussion about generating income from audio versions of your books. We talk about the AI options among other things, and James has a mini rant about the opposition many authors still face, because they use the latest techno...
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Season 2
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Episode 53
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47:52
052 - Audio Books for Authors - Part 1
We take a two episode dive into audio books. In the first part we discuss the options facing indies, such as wide or exclusive, self produce or collaborate etc.USEFUL LINKS: Join our Patreon for exclusive access including Liv...
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Season 2
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Episode 52
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34:12
051 - How to Plot Your Next Novel
There's no correct way to plot, but here are our suggestions.Mentioned in the pod were my 5 points to note during plotting - see below the links.USEFUL LINKS:Join our Patreon for exclusive access including Live Q&As wit...
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Season 2
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Episode 51
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44:32
050 - News Round Up
Episode 50 is a good time to take stock of the industry and discuss the latest developments that can affect our indie world.Useful links:LSP Launchpad Course waitlist:h...
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47:44
049 - Your First Two Years as an Indie Author
Let's talk about the author platform you need to build. This episode covers those crucial foundation months as you start out.USEFUL LINKS:Join our Patreon for exclusive access including Live Q&As with James & Cara and yo...
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Season 2
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Episode 49
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47:10
048 - Are Facebook Ads Still Number One for Authors?
Welcome to episode 48 of the Indie Writers Club. This week Cara (spicy romance, romance) and James Blatch (thrillers) discuss Facebook (Meta) Ads. For years they have reigned supreme as the goto resource to drive readers to Amazon. But are they...
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Season 2
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Episode 48
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40:44
047 - How to Translate Your Books and Sell in Foreign Markets
In this episode we deep dive into the process and strategy for launching your English language books into global markets. We recommend scribeshadow.com (they are not a sponsor, this is a ge...
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59:43
046 - The Dark Side of AI
I'll confess, I love using AI for various parts of my marketing and editing, but even as an advocate of what AI can do for us writers, even I know there is a dark side.I experienced that recently with an email and in this episode we talk...
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Season 2
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Episode 46
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35:24
045 - How to Use an AI Manuscript Critique
In this episode of the Indie Writers Club, James and Cara discuss various aspects of writing, the use of AI in manuscript critiques, and the impact of translations on indie publishing. They explore the benefits of using tools like ProWritingAid...
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Season 2
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Episode 45
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48:04
044 - Writers Retreat and Conference Report
In this episode, Cara and James reflect on their recent experiences at the first IWC Writers' Retreat and the SPS Live conference. They discuss the networking opportunities, feedback from workshop sessions, and the sense of community am...
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Season 2
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Episode 44
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39:11
