EP 393 - Book Adjacent Strategies with Jody Swannell

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

Mark interviews author Jody Swannell about her writing and the book ajacent activities and strategies she has employed.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and word from this episode's sponsor.

This episode is sponsored by Superstars Writing Seminars: Teaching you the business of being a writer which takes place Feb 6 through 9, 2025 in Colorado Springs, CO.

Use code: MARK1592 to get $100 off your registration.

In the interview Mark and Jody talk about:

• How Jody got started in writing about 20/30 years ago
• Spending at least an hour a week at Chapters big box bookstores back in the day, with dreams of wanting to write a book
• The way that the recent pandemic inspired a lot of people to actually take a shot at some of the things they'd wanted to do for a long time
• The two novels and one novella that Jody has released in the past 3 years
• Jody's interest and writing about Tarot card reading
• Selling books in person at the local markets and how Jody was inspired by seeing local author Richard Stephens there
• Jody's role as a host of a local community radio program (Readers Delight) on CKMS 102.7 FM - Radio Waterloo
• The software and equipment that Jody had to learn how to use in order to host the show as well as the license that needed to be purchased
• The additional work and stress that hosting this show took on Jody
• Some of the things that guests did which made life so challenging for Jody as the host
• The way this show helped Jody connect with so many other local writers
• What creative/writing projects Jody is working on lately
• The success that Jody saw at a recent event (Frightmare in the Falls) by having book-adjacent products.
• Pivoting from Jody Swannell Author/Books to Jody Swannell Bookery
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on a few of the ingenius strategies Jody has used to connect with other writers, to learn more, and to grow her author brand, the importance of giving something up when it's not working/causing too much stress, and things NOT to do when you're a guest on a podcast or radio program.

Links of Interest:

• Jody's LinkTree
  • Swannell Bookery
  • Instagram
• Mark's YouTube channel
• Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
  • How to Access Patreon RSS Feeds
• Apollo Cinema Christmas Vacation Event (Kitchener, ON - Dec 12, 2024)
• Sudbury Indie Cinema / Northern Lights Festival Boreal Christmas Vacation Event (Sudbury, ON - Dec 21, 2024)
• An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
• 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
  • Only Monsters in the Building
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
• Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Jody Swannell is an author from the beautiful Region of Waterloo. Her love of adventure has taken her on incredible trips, such as visiting castles in Scotland, shopping in the West Edmonton Mall, snorkelling in Jamaica, and photographing glaciers during an Alaskan cruise.

Her goal is to keep readers eagerly turning pages while trying to guess what happens next—occasionally adding a splash of romance here and there to spice things up a bit. She loves writing contemporary fiction in thriller, mystery occult, sci-fi and horror genres.

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