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In the final episode of 2018, Mark interviews Science Fiction and Fantasy author Lindsay Buroker, a successful author who has been indie publishing for about eight years.
Dragon Tear 
Prior to the interview, Mark shares a short personal update and
Mark then says a word about this episode’s sponsor, Findaway Voices
In their conversation, Mark and Lindsay talk about:
- The main differences between when Lindsay first started out more than eight years ago releasing her first novel, The Emperor’s Edge (while also producing her first podcast), and today
- The joy of getting to a place where each book’s sales are enough to ensure paying for the cost of production
- The pros and cons of writing in multiple series in different genres
- Reasons why Lindsay released a new series of novels under a fresh and then-unknown pen name in 2014
- Managing three mailing lists for the different reader bases that Lindsay has acquired over the years for different genres and pen names
- Maintaining a very personable persona in the mailing lists and in discussions with her fans
- The benefit of hosting a podcast with two other people for the SF & Fantasy Marketing Podcast, compared with the solo podcast (
Saavy Self-Publishing) that Lindsay created many years earlier - What Lindsay gets out of her guests from being one of the hosts of the SF & Fantasy podcast
- Why she is happy that she didn’t experience a lot of luck early on in her writing success, and, instead, slowly built up her readership over time and how they can become loyal fans
- Lindsay’s one experience writing collaboratively and whether or not she plans on doing that again
- Some of the reasons why, despite her success, Lindsay hasn’t yet hired a personal or virtual assistant
- The early adoption of audiobooks that Lindsay invested in years before most indie authors began creating audiobooks
- What Lindsay would tell her younger self who was just beginning as a writer
After the interview, Mark reflects on the personal connection that Lindsay enjoys and maintains as an important and authentic element of her author journey.
Links of Interest:
- Lindsay Buroker’s Website
- The Creative Penn Podcast Episodes
- Science Fiction & Fantasy Marketing Podcast
- Findaway Voices
- WMG Publishing Anthology Workshop
- RUSH – Hold Your Fire Album Info
- Patreon for Stark Reflections
- Stark Reflections Survey
Lindsay Buroker has early memories of convincing childhood friends, pets, and stuffed animals to play the roles of characters in her worlds, so it’s safe to say she’s been making up stories for a long time. She published her first novel, The Emperor’s Edge, in December of 2010 and has written and published more than 50 novels since then, most under her own name, but a few steamier ones under a pen name.
When she’s not writing, she’s usually hiking with her dogs, practicing yoga, playing tennis, or eating entirely too much dark chocolate (she only does one of those things truly well, and she will let you guess which it is).
She grew up in the Seattle area but has itchy feet and has moved several times over the years. She most recently landed in Bend, Oregon, where she and her dogs now have eighty acres to roam around on. Someday, she may even have a house on that land.
If you’re interested in reading more of her work, you can download The Emperor’s Edge, Star Nomad, and Balanced on the Blade’s Edge for free in your favorite store.
Great interview!