My least favourite season has finally left the building (for a few months, at least), and spring is back once again. God bless the sun being out when I wake up in the morning, and the later evenings.
Work has been blooming this month, for which I am also very grateful. When I wrote my monthly update in March, I had very little booked in - I can’t believe how full the month was by the end. I worked on some really interesting projects, including:
A marketing plan for an already-published book about an 18th century female outlaw
A marketing accelerator report for an author with two separate identities - one romance, one crime
An Amazon review for an author writing a romance series that hasn’t been doing as well as she’d hoped
A Wordpress website refresh for a literary authors, updating their old Wordpress template (last updated 2012) with something new
Some Facebook ads for an author who runs creative writing classes
Continuing to work with a romance author I’ve been with since 2022
Getting briefed on a publisher project that runs for a few months starting this month
AND finishing up a few projects that kicked off earlier in the year
It’s been very busy and full on, but I have really loved it.
Things I enjoyed:
Lessons by Ian McEwan [aff link]. This book is VERY LONG and sometimes boring. But it’s also beautiful at times, and sad, and interesting. It’s the story of one man’s life, and it felt a little bit like a real life - sometimes you love it, sometimes, not so much. Sometimes you just coast, reacting to what happens, not choosing your path. There is definitely a *lot* to discuss in this book - it’s a great book club read.
Ultra Processed People [aff link]. OOF. I know we all KNOW the world is screwed, but this one really hammers home how corporations are knowingly damaging our bodies, the environment, democracy ETC. Utterly fascinating read, although very upsetting at times. I would say that everyone should read this book (or at least listen to him chatting on a podcast!).
Love is Blind - Sweden. I’ve said before what a fan of this franchise (even if it is very problematic and seems to be getting sued by multiple contestants now). The Swedish series is so pure - no one is on there for the drama, they seem genuinely there for love, but there is still plenty of both elements that make this so much fun to watch.
- about getting to the ‘magic’ number of 10k books sold in your first year was super interesting and full of LOADS of valuable suggestions. Even if 10,000 sales feels like a pie-in-the-sky number (which I know it does for almost everyone I work with!), this is worth listening to.
I listened to my Empowered Author co-conspirator
on The Publishing Rodeo last week, and it is a must listen for authors. (Also, this is a great podcast, if you’ve never listened before. This is my favourite episode)I really loved
’s article What if all the doors are closed? How do we find a window to climb through?I thought this conversation between We Can Do Hard Things and the team behind Standing Together - Israeli and Palestinian activists who are coming together to show what an alternative future for that region could look like, and how people outside of Israel/Palestine can actually help - was phenomenal. Please listen to it, whichever side of this you support.
Articles I’ve read or written
New on Sparks last month:
Life lately - February’s round up / looking ahead to March
10 minute marketing - some great ideas from marketer Hannah Istead
I also wrote a post for
about why you should stop seeing marketing as self-promotion (and what to do instead)
An introduction
Every month or two, I’d love to showcase someone whose content I really love, and whose newsletter I think you should sign up for!
Not Controversial, by
, is a weekly newsletter which discusses stuff we all think of but don't say aloud. I’ve been a subscriber pretty much since she started her list (I think) and her emails are always thoughtful and thought-provoking. I have featured here NUMEROUS times in this newsletter over the years. It’s free to sign up, and you can read some of my favourite articles from Nia below:Ways I can help you this month
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If you have something specific you need help with that isn’t on the list above, do drop me an email. I am always up for working with publishers and authors on bespoke pieces of work.
I have space to work with 2 new clients in April, and plenty of space on the books later on in the year. I would love one of my new clients to be you!
Latest testimonial
“Being an indie author can be isolating and forces you to wear many hats, most of which you’re not qualified for. Having Katie’s expertise and support on hand was an absolute game changer to push my marketing to the next level. I’ve hit all of my first quarter goals -- now roll on the rest of the year!”
CS Duffy, author of Scottish romance series Chances Are
That’s it
If you’ve reached the end of this email, well done you! If I was with you, I would give you a gold star sticker. How was your month last month? What were your wins, what are you struggling with? I’d love to hear from you, either on email or in the Substack comments…
Thank you so much for listening and for the shout-out Katie! I know Todd will be so happy to hear your feedback too :D
You are so generous in your content Katie. Love all of these recommendations.