New Author Podcast

Jerry Evanoff
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Arts
  • Updated Weekly

First time authors Jerry Evanoff and Rich Kacy take you through their writing, publishing and marketing strategies. You'll get to hear every success and every mistake along the way.

  1. 5d ago

    Eliminating “Just” From My Novel (And Other Banned Words) | Ep 372

    Jerry’s deep in his final revision of book three — up to chapter 10 of 43, hunting down “band words” like just, actually, and glanced that sneak into his prose without him noticing, then running each chapter through a layered process of text-to-speech listening, AI grammar review, and ElevenLabs narration before calling it done. He also gets a rude pricing surprise: the discounted ElevenLabs voice rate he’d been using quadrupled the moment a promotional window ended, meaning the audiobook experiment is going to cost considerably more than planned. On the marketing side, he rebuilds his Facebook ad strategy for an upcoming Kindle Daily Countdown using real conversion data pulled straight from Facebook’s own ad chatbot, narrowing his audience, front-loading the budget, and adding a couple of new interest targets, while also sharing a genuinely great month of paperback sales through Draft2Digital. Rich had an eventful week of his own: watching an honest-to-goodness delivery drone drop a package from ten feet in the air on the same day he was expecting his wife’s new MacBook. He also installed Linux on an old laptop and promptly losing two days to antivirus troubleshooting, an ambitious (and ultimately abandoned) attempt to build an AI photo-organizing agent, a concerning thyroid lab result, a lively book club discussion of a surprise bestseller, and the news that he’s heading into federal jury duty on Monday with absolutely no idea what his week looks like. Also: Kit Kats, Halloween candy by the bagful, and a debate over whether software subscriptions are a dying business model. Contact UsJerry EvanoffEmail: ⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠Website: ⁠https://jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠ Rich KacyEmail: ⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠BlueSky: @RichKacy⁠https://richkacy.substack.com/⁠ Tagswriting process, novel revision, self-publishing, book marketing, Facebook ads, AI narration, Claude AI, indie authors, Linux, book recommendations, library life, productivity, craft advice

  2. Oct 10

    I Let Claude Build My Website While I Watched TV | Ep 371

    Big milestone episode: Jerry officially finishes the latest revision of book three at 61,718 words and 43 chapters, then dives straight into his final draft pass. He also hands Claude Code a five-file plan for his reader-engagement mystery puzzle website and literally just... watches it build the whole thing from the couch, which is somehow both the most normal and most science-fiction moment of his week. The real highlight, though, is his deep dive into AI narration: after discovering wildly different per-voice pricing on ElevenLabs, he finds a cheap, older-sounding “southern” voice he loves, builds full text-to-speech into his writing app, and creates a complete AI-narrated version of chapter one — which he shares a link to in the show notes and is seriously considering selling as a budget alternative to the $5,000 professional narrators he can’t afford. He also admits he’s probably done with his writers’ club after skipping three straight months, walks through a genuinely fascinating session where he fed Facebook’s own ad chatbot data and then had Claude interpret the results to build a sharper October ad campaign, and shares some surprising demographic findings about exactly who’s buying his books. Rich had a quieter week — planting a fall garden, finally getting his new table saw assembled, treating his wife to a new laptop, and delivering a brutally honest, pretty funny review of his disappointing book club pick. He also shares some real excitement about a new in-person author conference opening up in Texas next spring, headlined by a few recognizable indie-publishing names. Jerry's Chapter 1 - AI-Created Audiobook: https://jerryevanoff.com/books/networking-murder Contact UsJerry EvanoffEmail: ⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠Website: ⁠https://jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠ Rich KacyEmail: ⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠BlueSky: @RichKacy⁠https://richkacy.substack.com/⁠ Tagswriting process, novel revision, self-publishing, book marketing, Facebook ads, AI narration, Claude AI, indie authors, audiobooks, book recommendations, author conferences, productivity, golf

  3. Oct 3

    Raccoons, a Blown-Out Knee, and a Table Saw Bought With Inheritance Money | Ep 370

    Good news to open: last week's missing-chapter cliffhanger resolves itself, as Jerry's backup-hunting with Claude paid off and book three is back intact, now sitting at 57,381 words and over 70% through its second edit. He also gets real numbers back from his contractor on that long-gutted upstairs bathroom — a jaw-dropping $25,000 quote that gets an immediate, dad-approved "absolutely not," followed by a cheaper plan-B option that would simply restore the original footprint instead. Between a slow golf foursome, a twelve-and-a-half-hour workday migrating systems for his new job, and three straight Browns wins fueled by a crock-pot beef-and-potatoes good-luck ritual he's now handed off to his dad, Jerry keeps chipping away at his reader-engagement side project: a mystery puzzle he's now calling "Wordle meets Encyclopedia Brown meets Clue," complete with detective rank tiers and streak tracking designed to quietly funnel solvers toward his books. Rich had a rougher, more domestic week — a sudden knee injury that swelled up overnight, a splurge on a weighted blanket and a table saw courtesy of inheritance money, a failed experiment brining catfish, and more frustration with rigid civil-service rules as a coworker situation at the library comes to a head. He also shares two genuinely great book recommendations (Richard Osman's new thriller and his book club's current pick), a newly discovered chef he can't stop reading, and an author friend's wildly successful Kickstarter for a gorgeous limited-edition book. Contact UsJerry EvanoffEmail: ⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠Website: ⁠https://jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠ Rich KacyEmail: ⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠BlueSky: @RichKacy⁠https://richkacy.substack.com/⁠ Tagswriting process, novel revision, self-publishing, book marketing, reader engagement, Claude AI, indie authors, home renovation, book recommendations, library life, fantasy football, productivity, golf

  4. Sep 26

    We Found a Taser at the Library (And No One Will Claim It) | Ep 369

    This one opens with a genuine cliffhanger: right before recording, Jerry discovers chapter one has vanished from his writing app, and spends the whole episode with Claude in another tab hunting through backup files to recover it (you'll have to listen to find out if it worked). From there, Jerry unveils a genuinely clever idea for capturing reader contact info from his 4,800 free-promo downloads — a weekly mystery puzzle inspired by Encyclopedia Brown and Wordle, complete with streaks, shareable results, and an email signup, all coded with help from an AI admin he's named Jack Sterling. He also works through more editing (now up to chapter 17 of 42), a rain-delayed Browns win, a surprisingly lucrative $153 sports betting parlay, a slow-cooker beef stew recipe, his ongoing weekly "clutter bag" decluttering project, and a scheduled contractor visit to quote out that long-gutted upstairs bathroom as he gets more serious about a possible move. Rich had a reading-heavy week finishing his independent author judging assignments — and delivers a genuine, enthusiastic recommendation for a thriller called "The Hunted" that's free on Biblioboard. He also shares one of the stranger library lost-and-found stories in recent memory involving a taser, a roll of peppermint Life Savers, and an unclaimed condom that nobody at the library will own up to. Contact UsJerry EvanoffEmail: ⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠Website: ⁠https://jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠ Rich KacyEmail: ⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠BlueSky: @RichKacy⁠https://richkacy.substack.com/⁠ Tagswriting process, novel revision, self-publishing, book marketing, reader engagement, Claude AI, indie authors, book recommendations, library life, real estate, fantasy football, productivity, golf

  5. Sep 18

    Free Promo Results: 4,900 New Readers and What It Actually Means | Ep 368

    Jerry hits a huge milestone this episode: the full second revision of book three is officially done, powered by an absurd ten-day stretch off work that also included two high school football games, a Top Golf outing in the rain, a casino stop that reminded him why he quit going, and roughly a dozen fantasy football drafts (including a Claude-built auction tracker he's using for real this time). He also shares hard numbers on his free Kindle promo's aftermath — nearly 4,900 downloads translating into real page reads and full-price sales across the series — plus real, specific figures from a realtor visit about what his house could sell for with a few renovations, and his early conversations with a contractor about finally finishing that gutted upstairs bathroom. Along the way: new features rolling out in his homemade writing app (split-screen notes, custom sections, and text-to-speech), an Amazon A+ content update bragging about his bestseller rankings, and an honest admission that he's quietly drifted away from his writers' club after eight years. Rich's stretch was a mix of comfort and chaos — baking croissants from scratch, hitting new personal bests back at the gym, actual progress on his Thelma & Louise-style story, and then a rough patch: a federal jury duty summons, a deep dive into long-term care insurance that he does not recommend doing for fun, a full-blown library staffing crisis, and his wife's new blood pressure and cholesterol diagnosis putting their nightly ice cream habit in jeopardy. Contact UsJerry EvanoffEmail: ⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠Website: ⁠https://jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠ Rich KacyEmail: ⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠BlueSky: @RichKacy⁠https://richkacy.substack.com/⁠ Tagswriting process, novel revision, self-publishing, book marketing, Kindle free promotion, Claude AI, writing tools, indie authors, real estate, fantasy football, career and life updates, productivity, health

  6. Sep 5

    Free Book Giveaway Results: #1 in Multiple Categories with 4,600+ Downloads | Ep 367

    Big marketing episode this week. Jerry runs a full free Kindle promo for book one and shares the play-by-play numbers as they happen: 187 downloads day one, then an explosive 2,500-plus after hitting FreeBooksy's massive email list, eventually landing him at #1 in Private Investigators, #1 in Amateur Sleuth, and #9 overall in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense on Amazon. He walks through real-time strategy conversations with Claude about adjusting Facebook ad bids, pivoting Amazon ads from book one to book two, and building the case for keeping a low-cost ad running for a few weeks after a promo ends to catch tail-end buyers — with actual dollar figures on total spend versus book two sales. He's also kicking off ten days off work packed with golf outings, a house call from a realtor to explore what selling might look like, and no fewer than six separate fantasy football drafts, including another custom Claude-built auction tracker fed with years of league history. Rich had a quieter, more domestic week — some real progress on his Scotland travel narrative, a deep dive into judging duties for his indie author competition, a DIY oven motherboard repair, a return to the gym with his wife, and growing frustration with being chronically short-staffed at the library. Also: mango overload, chocolate lava cake rationing, and a debate over what "Cinny Toasties" are actually called. Contact UsJerry EvanoffEmail: ⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠Website: ⁠https://jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠ Rich KacyEmail: ⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠BlueSky: @RichKacy⁠https://richkacy.substack.com/⁠ Tagswriting process, self-publishing, book marketing, Kindle free promotion, Facebook ads, Amazon ads, Claude AI, indie authors, mystery writing, book reviews, real estate, fantasy football, productivity, career reflection

  7. Aug 28 ·  Bonus

    A Dream Inspired My Next Murder Mystery (And It's a Little Soapy) | Ep 366

    This episode has a little bit of everything. Jerry keeps grinding through the edit of book three, technically hitting his "chapter 11" goal by splitting oversized chapters into smaller ones (a trick he's fully owning at this point). But the real highlight is a genuinely fun creative tangent: a vivid dream sparks the concept for a soap-opera-flavored murder mystery for book four, complete with secret affairs, swingers, a wedding gone wrong, and Jerry himself as the prime suspect — with careful attention to keeping it tonally consistent with his amateur-sleuth series rather than turning graphic. He also books a two-month winter stay in Myrtle Beach, then almost immediately starts wondering out loud whether he should just move there permanently, going as far as calling a realtor the very next day to start exploring what selling his house could look like. Along the way: a free Kindle promo launching September 1st, tweaks to his Facebook ad strategy using AI-generated image variations, a BookBub rejection, and a very excited detour into a long-awaited Star Wars strategy game release. Rich had another writing-light week but brings real texture: genuine frustration with feeling stagnant at his library job after two and a half years, teaching his first Canva video-editing class, prepping a Mary Shelley-themed quarterly bingo night, and weighing in on the growing author uproar over Meta's advertising platform changes. Oh, and they may have just invented chocolate lava cake mango ice cream. Contact UsJerry EvanoffEmail: ⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠Website: ⁠https://jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠ Rich KacyEmail: ⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠BlueSky: @RichKacy⁠https://richkacy.substack.com/⁠ Tagswriting process, novel revision, mystery writing, self-publishing, book marketing, Facebook ads, Kindle free promotion, BookBub, indie authors, career reflection, real estate, Myrtle Beach, productivity, plotting

  8. Aug 22

    Buffalo Wild Wings Trivia, Skechers Deals, and a Slow Writing Week | Ep 365

    Both hosts admit up front this was a light writing week, and honestly, it makes for one of the more entertaining episodes. Jerry's stuck in his familiar Friday-Saturday-Sunday-writing, rest-of-the-week-nothing rut, though he does get real editing done on a tense "trapped on a mountain" chapter he's excited to read to his writers' club. He also goes deep on the strategy behind timing a BookBub submission against a Kindle Daily Countdown for book three's November release, and admits to a genuinely impressive (and borderline unhinged) side project: feeding Claude six years of his fantasy football league's ESPN history to build a live auction draft-tracking app and analyze everyone's bidding tendencies ahead of his 27-year-old league's draft. Rich, meanwhile, had a much stranger week — getting labeled a member of the Gestapo by an irate library patron over a phone-on-speaker incident, dealing with a self-appointed mahjong league enforcer, and, after digging into how Anthropic's new AI watermarking actually works, deciding he's done using AI for his own writing altogether. It's a good, honest conversation about what that watermarking really means for authors going forward. Also covered: a deep dive into what "BW3" actually stands for, a fantastic buy-one-get-one shoe deal, mango smoothies, and Jerry's early planning for a golf-focused winter escape to Myrtle Beach. Contact UsJerry EvanoffEmail: ⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠Website: ⁠https://jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠ Rich KacyEmail: ⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠BlueSky: @RichKacy⁠https://richkacy.substack.com/⁠ Tagswriting process, novel revision, self-publishing, book marketing, BookBub, Kindle Daily Countdown, AI writing tools, Claude AI, AI watermarking, indie authors, library life, golf, productivity, winter travel

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

First time authors Jerry Evanoff and Rich Kacy take you through their writing, publishing and marketing strategies. You'll get to hear every success and every mistake along the way.

Information

  • Creator
    Jerry Evanoff
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    345
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Jerry Evanoff
  • Show Website
    New Author Podcast

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