Self-Publishing Podcast by SelfPublishingAuthors.com Gurhan Demirkan

It was a great talk with Andrea Hurst!
We first covered important topics related to being a literary agent, then jumped into editing.
Here are the topics that we covered on being a literary agent:
What is your ideal client? What happens if the book doesn’t sell? What is the submission process? What questions do you usually ask the authors, what really do you want to learn about the author? So, you are an editor, and have a team of editors. But I also saw a note on your website that you don't offer literary representation for the authors that you worked with. Can you expand on this a little bit? Is it like this with all the agents or is it just you? Here are the topics that we covered
There are quite a few editors out there, what sets you apart Why should authors come to you? There is line editing, developmental editing, and then some. What types of editing services do you offer? What genres do you work with? I do thank Andrea, as she was a wealth of information and hope to keep in touch!
Here's her website for you to contact her - https://www.andreahurst.com/

This is how a real book comes alive Nancy talks about her book – Cast No Shadow. Nevertheless, it is all about how her books come alive with intensive research on various subjects (prisons, psychopaths, Native Americans, and then some…)
Here are some topics that we covered:
Any particular reason why she wrote this book? How did her story get developed? Did she do any research? When did she start writing this book? How long did it take to finish the first draft? What inspired her to write this book? How did she come up with the characters? Tell us about the theme? For the authors out there, writing and learning, she told us about the structure of your book? Will you be writing a sequel? The background of your editor is kind of related to one of the characters (Native American), did she have any input to the story? You can purchase the book here – https://amzn.to/3kDSrlH

Let’s start with some basic information, like what’s target audience, shall we?
Target audience is actually one of the most important key concepts in marketing and advertising… and it should be the most important factor in your author journey.
Why?
Because it simply refers to the group of people..  readers, in your case, as an author… most likely to be interested in your product or service.. which will be your “books!”
To have your target audience set up correctly, you need to understand the demographics, interests, and behaviors of your readers you’re trying to reach.
So, knowing who your target audience can help you tailor your message effectively and develop better strategies to reach them… as well as writing books that will be “well” within the interest of your readers.
And, by understanding the needs, wants and values of your target audience, you can create a product that appeals to them and achieve maximum success. This is what they call, “writing to market” in author lingo.
Here are the topics that we are going to cover in this episode:
What is your target audience? How to identify your target audience? How to reach your target audience? Different strategies for different audiences. The 7 types of target audiences that every author or marketer should know. Gurhan Demirkan is a founder and a partner of SelfPublishingAuthors.com as well as an international overseas publishing company.
He has been in the book industry for 25+ years, mostly in book marketing and author branding. He resides in the US and works with prominent authors from all over the world, providing turnkey book marketing and promotion.

The world has gone digital, and with it, so has advertising. Social media advertising has become the go-to choice for many authors. It is a great way to reach potential readers.
We are covering the following topics in this episode:
What is Social Media Advertising Benefits of Social Media Advertising Social Media Statistics How to Plan Social Media Advertising Strategy Creating Your Social Media Advertising Plan Best Social Media Advertising Tips Best Social Media Platforms To Advertise Conclusion About Social Media Advertising Gurhan Demirkan is a founder and a partner of SelfPublishingAuthors.com as well as an international overseas publishing company.
He has been in the book industry for 25+ years, mostly in book marketing and author branding. He resides in the US and works with prominent authors from all over the world, providing turnkey book marketing and promotion.

THIS IS HOW REVIEWERS DO IT!
You get the answers from professional reviewers to your questions;
What is the first thing you check or glimpse, when you receive a book to review? 
Does that set a tone or give you an immediate idea of the book?
What is your review process? 
How long does it take to read a book? 
How would you rank the following in the order of importance, when you are rating a book? 
A. Spelling mistakes and grammar errors
B. Plot
C. Strength of the characters
D. The flow of the story (easy to read, easy to follow the story, etc)
E. Originality
Do you look at the other reviews of the book when you are deciding? 
Do you do research on the author?
What does it take to be a five star review? 
When does the book start going towards 3 and less than 3 stars?
When you are writing your recommendation for the book for "what could be better," do you write it to the author or do you write it to the readers?

It was an absolute pleasure talking with Terry!
Not only a multi award winning author, but he is also an idle, teacher, and someone that every author should listen and take lessons from.
Terry reveals his perspective and mindset that the authors should develop to be successful. Goes further explaining how he writes his books and his daily routine, which can (and should) be replicated by many authors, especially the new coming ones.
You can find answers to questions like, how can you improve yourself as an author, what should you with negative comments or reviews, what should you be writing, and talks about many more topics from many years of experience being an author and being involved with prominent organizations like Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA).
Must watch or listen!