SPA Girls Podcast - EP543 - Use Brain Science to Hook Readers From the Very First Sentence with Lisa Cron (Classic Replay)
Release Date: 03/12/2026
SPA Girls Podcast - EP546 - Interview with LUCY SCORE: Breaking Out / Advice For New Authors
SPA Girls Podcast
She's back! NYT #1 Bestseller, Lucy Score last joined us back in March 2021 , before launched her into the stratosphere! In this episode, Lucy talks about what her breakout moment actually looked like from the inside, how she's navigated the shift from working author to household name (and instant #1 NYT Bestseller), and what's stayed surprisingly the same. We dig into the practical stuff , including her evolving covers, brand-building, the Riley Thorn series, and advice for emerging authors. Plus the mindset it takes to keep showing up at the page when the pressure (and the audience)...
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SPA Girls Podcast - EP545 - Six Figure Short Romance Success with Sadie King (Classic Replay)
SPA Girls Podcast
Classic replay of an inspiring episode we recorded in August '23 with SADIE KING, a hugely successful author of more than 120 short romances. *** USA Today Bestseller, Sadie King has grown her publishing business from zero to six figures in less than four years, writing short instalove romances. Knowing her reader’s journey is vital to her success. In this episode we discuss Sadie’s: short romance publishing strategy rapid release strategy targeted wordcounts for Amazon Kindle’s 60m, 90m and 2 hour reads categories Techniques for writing short fiction Gaining visibility...
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SPA Girls Podcast - EP544 - How To Harness Trends And Sell More Books
SPA Girls Podcast
From incorporating popular tropes to social media trends, the SPA Girls have a robust discussion around what they're doing to harness trends to reach more readers and sell more books! Links mentioned: Melanie Harlow's Harlot Authors group The Bestseller Code: Anatomy of the Blockbuster Novel by Jodie Archer and Matthew L Jockers Theodora Taylor's Substack Lillian Lark 🔗 CONNECT WITH THE SPA GIRLS: 🌐 Website & free self-publishing resources: 🎧 Subscribe to our weekly episodes on your favourite podcast app — search "SPA Girls Podcast" 💗 This podcast is...
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SPA Girls Podcast - EP543 - Use Brain Science to Hook Readers From the Very First Sentence with Lisa Cron (Classic Replay)
SPA Girls Podcast
Want to hook your readers from the very first sentence? In this classic replay, story coach joins the SPA Girls to talk about using brain science to write riveting novels that keep readers turning pages. Lisa is the author of Wired for Story, Story Genius, and Story or Die — all published by Ten Speed Press. Lisa explains what readers' brains actually crave from a story, why both pantsing and plotting can lead writers astray, and how to build emotional urgency from page one. If you've ever wasted months on pages that go nowhere, this episode will change how you think about story...
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SPA Girls Podcast - EP542 - AI Assistance For Authors with Alessandra Torre
SPA Girls Podcast
AI is a hot discussion point in the author community these days, and we're joined again by bestselling author and educator, , to help us unpack this topic. At the outset, we acknowledge that this is a difficult topic to cover. From feeling fear to excitement and everything in between, authors cannot deny the reality of the new technologies arriving (and the "new language" around it which can be confusing.) So we start by asking how Alessandra approaches AI use from her perspective as an indie author who has written and published more than 35 books over many years, founded Inkers Con and is...
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SPA Girls Podcast - EP541 - Interview with Kaye Kennedy : Launch To Success (Classic Replay)
SPA Girls Podcast
Well worth a re-listen, this episode was originally recorded a few years ago when romance and romantic suspense author, Kaye Kennedy, scaled her author business from zero to a million page reads in just six months. Kaye utilized her business skills to launch in a focussed way that was truly inspiring (then and now). Kaye has continued publishing with incredible success and has also added being an author coach and psychic medium to her impressive resume! See our original show notes here: About Kaye Kaye Kennedy is the author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels featuring...
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SPA Girls Podcast - EP540 - The Inflexion Point for Authors with Nicholas Erik (Part Two)
SPA Girls Podcast
Part Two of Two "Currently .... we're at a unique industry-wide inflection point. Whether you're a new or established author doesn't matter. You have the opportunity to grow your career much faster than under normal circumstances." ~ Nicholas Erik joins us again with fantastic insight into the impact technology is having on the publishing world — right down to us as individual authors. Now this isn't a pro or anti AI episode — it's about understanding how we as authors can adapt to these technology shifts, overcome our pain points through technology, and how the companies we're...
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SPA Girls Podcast - EP539 - Interview with Nicholas Erik Part One - The Inflexion Point For Authors
SPA Girls Podcast
PART ONE OF TWO "Currently .... we're at a unique industry-wide inflection point. Whether you're a new or established author doesn't matter. You have the opportunity to grow your career much faster than under normal circumstances." ~ Nicholas Erik joins us again with fantastic insight into the impact technology is having on the publishing world — right down to us as individual authors. Now this isn't a pro or anti AI episode — it's about understanding how we as authors can adapt to these technology shifts, overcome our pain points through technology, and how the companies we're dealing...
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SPA Girls Podcast - EP538 - Networking For Authors with Celeste Barclay (Classic Replay)
SPA Girls Podcast
A lot of us are introverts and the idea of "networking" gives us chills (and not in a good way). Historical Romance author, Celeste Barclay, recorded this show with us a few years ago. Her advice is just as relevant now, as building your author community will help ride out the ups and downs of this wild self-publishing ride! Celeste Barclay books combine history and heat. She has a created a connected world that brings all her series together, so readers never have to say goodbye to their favorite characters. Before becoming a full-time author, Celeste was a Social Studies and English...
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SPA Girls Podcast - EP537 - Get Your Amazon Strategy Right - with Janet Margot
SPA Girls Podcast
We are delighted to welcome book ads and strategy consultant for authors & publishers, Janet Margot, to talk all things Amazon Strategy for Authors including approaching it with the right mindset. Janet covers best practices for building a solid Amazon strategy for authors, metadata, packaging inside and out, when and how to start Amazon Ads and the “ads advice” she sees that is the opposite of helpful to indies. ”Amazon ads are a feedback loop: what Amazon thinks and what customers think about your book” ~ Janet Margot About Janet Margot Janet doesn't just understand the...
info_outlineWant to hook your readers from the very first sentence? In this classic replay, story coach Lisa Cron joins the SPA Girls to talk about using brain science to write riveting novels that keep readers turning pages. Lisa is the author of Wired for Story, Story Genius, and Story or Die — all published by Ten Speed Press.
Lisa explains what readers' brains actually crave from a story, why both pantsing and plotting can lead writers astray, and how to build emotional urgency from page one. If you've ever wasted months on pages that go nowhere, this episode will change how you think about story structure.
In this episode we discuss:
- What brain science reveals about why readers keep (or stop) turning pages
- Why plotting and pantsing both fail writers — and what to do instead
- How to build a riveting novel from the inside out
- Creating emotional urgency that hooks readers from the first sentence
About Lisa Cron: Lisa Cron is a story coach, UCLA Extension Writers' Program instructor, and former story consultant for Warner Brothers. Find Lisa and her books at wiredforstory.com
🔗 CONNECT WITH THE SPA GIRLS:
🌐 Website & free self-publishing resources: http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com
🎧 Subscribe to our weekly episodes on your favourite podcast app — search "SPA Girls Podcast"
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