EP 322 - How to Write a Novel with Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy about their new online course on How to Write a Novel.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares and reflects on a brief industry update related to Amazon's recent AI-related change, comments from recent episodes, and word about this episode's sponsor.

Reedsy contains an online listing of vetted professionals from across the industry, including editors, cover designers, and marketing experts. Get $20 off hiring a pro through Reedsy using Mark's Reedsy affiliate link.

In the interview, Mark and Ricardo talk about:

• Ricardo's persona and image being directly attached to Reedsy
• When Reedsy started and what the main idea behind it was, and the value proposition to authors
• How only 3 to 5% of the professionals who apply to be on Reedsy actually make it through
• The Reedsy online writing tool that you can use to write and export professional looking ePub and print-ready PDF files
• Some of the future development plans for the Reedsy writing platform, including collaboration with an editor
• Ricardo's HOW TO MARKET A BOOK, which is free in eBook edition
• The 2nd book he wrote and released in Jan 2023 called AMAZON ADS FOR AUTHORS which is the 2nd book in the Reedsy Guides series
• Some of the reasoning behind why one of the books is free in eBook and the other has a retail price associated with it (hint: it's a marketing tip)
• Important marketing information that Ricardo would want authors to know
• The new Reedsy course that runs 3 months and helps authors work through the first draft of their novel
• The various ongoing cohorts for the course, including one that opens in Sept and another that starts Oct 30th, to co-incide with NaNoWriMo, then the next that'll start in January 2024
• The term "Reedsian" which is used to denote Reedsy employees
• Tom Bromley, the instructor they hired to teach the How to Write a Novel course
• The intial launch price for the course, which is $1000 - and that it'll be going up shortly after the September launch
• Ricardo's previous attempts to try to write a novel and how this course might be one that he himself can benefit from
• Some of the things that surprised Ricardo about Reedsy since it's launch nearly 10 years ago
• How to find Reedsy and Ricardo
• What Ricardo is looking forward to about the future of our industry
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects the overall supportive nature of the publishing industry

Links of Interest:

• Reedsy
  • Reedsy's How to Market a Book Online Course
• Subscriptions for Authors
• Episode 018 - Finding The Right Professional with Ricardo from Reedsy
• Episode 006 - What's Wrong with Indie Publishing (Mark's "10-year-olds playing soccer" analogy)
• Mark's Wide for the Win Update Page
• YouTube Video: OH NO! Is Amazon Anti AI?
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• Best Book Ever Podcast
• Lovers Moon Podcast
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard

Ricardo Fayet is one of the four founders of Reedsy, a marketplace connecting authors to the world's top publishing talent--from editors to cover designers, book marketers, or literary translators. He's the author of two books on marketing for authors, and a regular presenter at several prestigious writers' conferences: NINC, 20BooksVegas, and The Self Publishing Show Live, among others.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0