The Pint and Portal Author Podcast

Herman Steuernagel
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Books
  • Updated Weekly

What are successful authors actually doing? How are they turning this love of writing into a career? What if you were lucky enough to chat with them in a pub one-on-one? That's what I want to find out. Welcome to The Pint and Portal Author Podcast. Where I sit across the table from authors who've built real careers and get them to share proven strategies that have actually worked. I'm looking to build a legacy and learning as I go. I hope you'll join me.

  1. Sep 8

    She Ignores Every Book Selling Rule They Taught You | Maggie Beeler

    What if you broke all the rules they tell you for building an indie author career? Maggie Beeler doesn't run ads. She doesn't post on social media. She barely sells on Amazon. She built her author business by attending 30 to 45 events a year, setting up a table at everything from craft fairs, markets, bars and bookstores to niche events. Why don't most indie authors do the same? According to Beeler it's because "A lot of indie authors have this precious mindset where they think that their books are just going to sell themselves. And that is not the case." In this episode, Maggie breaks down how she picks events worth paying for, what to say to someone walking past your table, why she scaled her display down instead of up, and how to pitch a book in fifteen seconds to a person who has never heard of you. We also get into Tropetails, the cocktail and mocktail book for bookworms that she turned into a genre-inspired drink mix brand, now stocked in roughly 100 retailers. Plus, what you actually have to put in a bookstore's hands to make them say yes to stocking your book. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ NEVER MISS AN EPISODESubscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pintandportal My Kickstarter campaigns: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/hermansteuernagel/created ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ FIND MAGGIE BEELERWebsite: https://margaretcbeeler.comTropetails: https://tropetails.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/margaretcbeeler/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@margaretcbeeler ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ THE PINT & PORTAL AUTHOR PODCASTWebsite: https://pintandportal.comSupport the show: https://www.pintandportal.com/deals SUPPORT MY NEXT KICKSTARTERThe Bartender Between Worlds: Illustrated Special Edition HERMAN'S BOOKS & NEWSLETTERhttps://hermansteuernagel.com ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Time Stamps00:00 Your books are not going to sell themselves06:48 Nine years to finish the first book12:51 Why she only sells in person16:29 Finding events worth paying for21:45 Working the table without being weird about it34:03 Pitch the tropes, not the plot36:54 Tropetails: turning a book into a product line41:57 Getting into 100 retailers58:05 Selling in person in the age of AI1:01:47 Her number one piece of advice ---👉 NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/@pintandportal?sub_confirmation=1🛠️ TOOLS I ACTUALLY USEAll deals in one place: https://www.pintandportal.com/dealsPublisher Champ — every sales dashboard in one place, Get 10% off your subscription:https://www.publisherchamp.com/referral/42246/Publisher Rocket — keyword and category research to optimize your Amazon listing for both ads and organic sales: https://publisherrocket.cartknox.com/buy-rocket?aff=442Wise — how I handle international payments. Your first transfer up to $800 CAD free:https://wise.prf.hn/l/RlANJvG/Riverside — what I record the show on. Premium remote recording:https://riverside.com/?via=herman-steuernagel📚 MY BOOKS & NEWSLETTERAll my books and links: https://www.hermansteuernagel.com/linksInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/hermansteuernagelFacebook (the podcast): https://www.facebook.com/pintandportalpodcastFacebook (my books): https://www.facebook.com/hermansteuernagelwritesTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hermansteuernagelwrites━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━MEDIA CREDITS🎵 Theme song — Commercial Rock by StudioKolomnahttps://app.envato.com/music/96865697-95b3-4554-866e-6d4ad66a575eSome links may be affiliate links. Using them costs you nothing extra and helps support the show.© Herman Steuernagel — The Pint & Portal Podcast

    She Ignores Every Book Selling Rule They Taught You | Maggie Beeler

  2. Aug 25

    Six Figure Author: You're Spending Hobby Energy and Expecting Career Money | E.A. Winters

    E.A. Winters went from $0 to six figures and left a ten-year counseling career behind — but she's blunt about why most authors never get there: "Most people want to spend hobby energy on it and get career revenue from it. That is not a thing that will happen." In this episode, Erin breaks down the difference between the author hat and the publisher hat, why she stacks a series before launching it, how she went from writing in naps and after bedtime to 12 books and a full-time income, and what she looks for in a writer that tells her whether they'll make it. We also get into the Level Up Conference she co-founded with Seth Ring for authors who've outgrown the beginner track, and her new LitRPG series set in a world where XP is reaped, taxed, and sold back to the people. Check out my previous episode with E.A. Winters (Episode 7): https://youtu.be/uEiUuO2cI1I FIND E.A. WINTERS Website & newsletter: https://www.eawinters.comFor Authors resource page: https://www.eawinters.com/forauthorsAmazon: E.A. Winters on AmazonTikTok: @eawintersInstagram: @e.a.wintersFacebook: eawintersnovels MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Monster Makers (Book 1, out September 15): preorder on AmazonBlood and Flame Saga Special Edition on KickstarterLevel Up Conference for Authors: https://luca.vip THE PINT & PORTAL AUTHOR PODCAST Website: https://www.pintandportal.comSupport the show: https://www.pintandportal.com/deals HERMAN'S BOOKS & NEWSLETTER Books and newsletter: https://www.hermansteuernagel.comMy Kickstarter campaigns: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/hermansteuernagel/createdInstagram: @hermansteuernagelFacebook: hermansteuernagelwrites TIME STAMPS 00:00 From counselor to full-time fantasy author09:22 The author hat vs. the publisher hat15:55 Getting in rooms with people ahead of you19:02 The levers that actually moved the needle21:31 Preorder and release strategy26:24 Building a conference for authors past the basics39:50 Why fast success can be a trap41:18 Her number one piece of advice43:12 Monster Makers, LitRPG, and the Kickstarter---👉 NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/@pintandportal?sub_confirmation=1🛠️ TOOLS I ACTUALLY USEAll deals in one place: https://www.pintandportal.com/dealsPublisher Champ — every sales dashboard in one place, so you stop clicking between Amazon, Kobo, D2D and the rest to build your own spreadsheet. 10% off your subscription:https://www.publisherchamp.com/referral/42246/Publisher Rocket — keyword and category research to optimize your Amazon listing for both ads and organic sales: https://publisherrocket.cartknox.com/buy-rocket?aff=442Wise — how I handle international payments. Your first transfer up to $800 CAD free:https://wise.prf.hn/l/RlANJvG/Riverside — what I record the show on. Premium remote recording:https://riverside.com/?via=herman-steuernagel📚 MY BOOKS & NEWSLETTERAll my books and links: https://www.hermansteuernagel.com/linksMy Kickstarter campaigns: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/hermansteuernagel/createdInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/hermansteuernagelFacebook (the podcast): https://www.facebook.com/pintandportalpodcastFacebook (my books): https://www.facebook.com/hermansteuernagelwritesTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hermansteuernagelwrites━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━MEDIA CREDITS🎵 Theme song — Commercial Rock by StudioKolomnahttps://app.envato.com/music/96865697-95b3-4554-866e-6d4ad66a575eSome links may be affiliate links. Using them costs you nothing extra and helps support the show.© Herman Steuernagel — The Pint & Portal Podcast

    Six Figure Author: You're Spending Hobby Energy and Expecting Career Money | E.A. Winters

  3. Aug 14

    Don't Miss These Details That Make Your Story's World Feel Real | Adam Bassett

    Ever read a book where the world just felt off? Straight-line rivers, cities in places that make no sense, characters crossing a kingdom in an afternoon? Your readers feel it too — and it might be costing you read-through. This week on The Pint and Portal Author Podcast, we're chatting about an often overlooked craft problem, because your readers might care more than you think. I sit down with author, illustrator, and mapmaker Adam Bassett to break down the world-building details that make a setting feel real and lived-in. More importantly, we chat about the small, fixable mistakes that pull readers out of the story. We get into map design, climate, travel time, and why the geography of your world should be shaped by the story you're telling. Whether you're drafting your first novel or sharpening the setting in your current work-in-progress, this one's packed with practical, low-effort ways to level up your world-building. Adam is the author of the cyberpunk collection Digital Extremities, the post-apocalyptic fantasy Copper Skin, Oaken Lungs, and the new reference book An Author's Guide to Setting Design: Worldbuilding & Cartography. His newest release is a guidebook for authors and game masters featuring 100+ illustrated real and fictional maps. --- New here? I'm Herman Steuernagel, author and host. The Pint and Portal is where I corner working authors and get them to share the strategies that actually helped them build a career. If you've found any value in these episodes, please hit that like button and — more importantly — pull up a chair and hit subscribe Please support the show and visit our sponsors. You can find them all at https://www.pintandportal.com/deals --- ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 – Intro: don't let world-building overtake your story01:45 – Meet Adam & his new book on setting design04:00 – Matching your map's style to your story05:18 – How Adam fell in love with maps10:07 – What authors get wrong about world-building12:39 – How landscape shapes culture, economics & stor21:25 – Climate: escaping the "generic temperate Europe" trap28:20 – Mountains, volcanoes & why terrain isn't random32:15 – Travel time: how far should things really be?42:11 – City history & making characters feel real46:21 – Where to find Adam & his book46:21 – Where to find Adam & his book --- 📚 GET ADAM'S BOOKS & CONNECT An Author's Guide to Setting Design (eBook): https://books2read.com/agsd Sprayed-edges pre-order (The Crafty Bookstore): https://www.thecraftybookstore.com/product-page/an-authors-guide-to-setting-design Digital Extremities: https://books2read.com/digital-extremities Copper Skin, Oaken Lungs: https://books2read.com/copper-ash1 Website: https://www.adamcbassett.com Newsletter: https://adamcbassett.substack.com Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/adamcbassett.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/adamcbassett

    Don't Miss These Details That Make Your Story's World Feel Real | Adam Bassett

  4. Jul 29

    How to Build an Author Career That Survives Every Algorithm Change | Katharine Wibell

    How do you build an author career that survives every algorithm change, platform shake-up, and market shift? Fantasy author Katharine Wibell has spent 10 years doing exactly that. Publishing 25+ works across YA, new adult, and adult fantasy without ever betting everything on a single platform. In this episode, Katharine breaks down her "piece of every pie" marketing strategy: spreading her reach across social media, crowdfunding, live events, and new platforms so that no single channel controls her career. We talk about the branding mistake she made early on, why she markets herself as an author brand instead of one book, how she turned 16 novellas into box sets and special editions, and what she's learned running five Kickstarter campaigns; including her first five-figure launch. This conversation is full of practical, honest advice on building a resilient author platform. If you get value from the show, please hit like and subscribe, it genuinely helps the podcast reach more authors trying to build their careers. 00:00 — Intro & meet Katharine Wibell 02:46 — 10 years, 25+ books: her backlist and journey 05:34 — From painter to author: how COVID shifted her focus 08:52 — The branding mistake: market your name, not one book 11:10 — Writing across multiple genres (and what it really costs) 15:57 — Matching books to the right platforms and readers 18:59 — Making novellas work: box sets & special editions 23:51 — The "piece of every pie" strategy & surviving algorithm changes 28:30 — Inside her Kickstarter campaigns & the collector reader 35:41 — Advice for new authors: start small, market early, reach out Links Katharine Wibell Website: Katharine Wibell Books Current Kickstarter for FLEET: Fleet Deluxe Special Edition The Podcast Help support the show — please check out all of our sponsor links: pintandportal.com/deals Subscribe on YouTube Follow on your podcast app

    How to Build an Author Career That Survives Every Algorithm Change | Katharine Wibell

  5. Jul 15

    His Debut Novel Broke Him. This is What He Changed | Adrian M. Gibson

    Book marketing broke him, so he rebuilt. In this episode, I down with author and SFFAddicts podcaster Adrian M Gibson to talk about what it actually takes to build a sustainable author career after burnout. After launching his debut Mushroom Blues into thousands of sales, awards attention, and a grueling year-long SPFBO run, Adrian hit a wall. This conversation is about the way back: how he rebuilt a writing routine around two young kids, time-boxed social media, funded a $50K Kickstarter, and fell back in love with the craft while writing his new release, A Murder Most Fungal. If you're a writer trying to turn your books into a long-term career without burning out, this one's for you. We dig into practical author-career strategy, sustainable writing habits, the genre-blending "training wheels" trick that hooks any reader, worldbuilding across a shared timeline, and how food and culture shape great fiction. 🍄 Adrian's new book, A Murder Most Fungal, is out now. A Michelin-star tragedy in six courses. Links below. Get Adrian's books A Murder Most Fungal — Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Most-Fungal-Fungalverse-Hofmann-ebook/dp/B0GSW6DKM4 A Murder Most Fungal — Signed hardcovers (The Broken Binding): https://www.thebrokenbinding.co.uk/product-page/a-murder-most-fungal-adrian-m-gibson Mushroom Blues — Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mushroom-Blues-Hofmann-Report-Book-ebook/dp/B0CTCF9TCF Adrian's website: https://www.adrianmgibson.com SFF Addicts Podcast: https://www.adrianmgibson.com/sff-addicts Follow Adrian on X: https://x.com/adrianmgibson --- Timestamps 0:00 My kids are my writing sprint partners 1:19 Welcome + what to expect this episode 5:16 Meet Adrian M Gibson 7:00 Two wild years: awards, a $50K Kickstarter & a new publishing role 13:39 Building a writing routine around two young kids 20:19 Book marketing broke me: burnout & SPFBO pressure 23:28 Falling back in love with writing (sustainably) 26:11 Inside A Murder Most Fungal: a fungal chef & a murder 33:30 Worldbuilding across a shared timeline 43:27 The training wheels trick to hook any reader 51:41 Food, Anthony Bourdain & connecting through cuisine 1:14:14 Release date & where to get the book --- Support the show Subscribe & follow The Pint & Portal Author Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pintandportal Interdimensional Drink Master Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hermansteuernagel/interdimensional-drink-master/ Publisher Champ (10% off): https://www.publisherchamp.com/referral/42246/ Publisher Rocket: https://publisherrocket.cartknox.com/buy-rocket?aff=442 All Deals: https://pintandportal.com/deals/

    His Debut Novel Broke Him. This is What He Changed | Adrian M. Gibson

  6. Jul 2

    Stop Selling Books. Build an Author Empire. | Andy Peloquin

    Most authors sell one book at a time. Andy Peloquin built a machine where every book sells every other book. With around 45 titles across six interconnected series, he's turned his backlist into a self-sustaining author business — where a new reader who starts with Darkblade or Queen of Thieves has to read five of his six series to get the full picture of his world. In this episode we get into the actual strategy behind a full-time indie fantasy career: building an interconnected universe, why book one has to carry everything, rebooting a series so it outsells the original, driving direct sales through his website and newsletter, filling the "holes" in his catalog for different readers, and the three pillars he says every author business is built on — newsletter, social media, and branding. If you've got a few books out and you're trying to turn writing into a real business, this one's for you. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00:00 - Intro: why book one is everything00:08:36 - Meet Andy Peloquin: 45 books & going full-time00:13:45 - What worked in 2018 vs. 202600:15:41 - Cover design & branding that actually sells00:18:51 - The interconnected universe: every book sells every other book00:28:00 - Rebooting a series that outsold the original00:41:11 - Direct sales & the newsletter that prints readers00:50:28 - Filling the holes in your backlist00:52:15 - How he writes so fast (process & word counts)00:58:35 - The 3 pillars of an author empire 🔗 FIND ANDY PELOQUINWebsite: https://andypeloquin.comAll socials (IG/TikTok/etc.): https://linktr.ee/andypeloquinauthorNew novella A Mother's Love → available direct on his website 📚 MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODENewsletter Ninja by Tammy Labrecque: https://books2read.com/u/388lvwStallion Express (Canada → US media mail shipping): https://ship.stallion.ca/register/Qr3Wy5 🍺 THE PINT & PORTAL AUTHOR PODCASTYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pintandportalSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3UGMgBmH0YQJBdT6Mw9MxKApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pint-and-portal-author-podcast/id1697315896Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pintandportalpodcast/ 👉 Subscribe for bi-weekly conversations with authors who've built real careers. #indieauthor #selfpublishing #authortube #bookmarketing #writingcommunity #fantasyauthor #authorbusiness #writinglife 🚨🚨🚨 SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSFor all of our affiliate links check out our website at: https://www.pintandportal.com/dealsSupport our sponsors

    Stop Selling Books. Build an Author Empire. | Andy Peloquin

  7. Jun 12

    The One Author Strategy That Will Never Stop Working | Michael Michel

    Michael Michel spent over 20 years building a fantasy world before publishing his first novel. When he finally did, it wasn't ads or algorithms that moved the needle. It was people. In this conversation, Michael breaks down how authentic relationships got him invited on writing retreats with some of the biggest names in indie fantasy, landed him spots in anthologies alongside Robin Hobb and Christopher Paolini, and helped him execute a relaunch that outperformed two years of grinding in just a few months. We also dig into whether newsletter swaps and giveaways are losing their punch, why Amazon's algorithm shift means organic social media matters more than ever, and how Michael is approaching his upcoming Kickstarter special edition featuring cover art by Jeff Brown. This one's packed with actionable perspective, especially if you're the kind of person who'd rather build real friendships than run Facebook ads. Michael's final piece of advice has nothing to do with marketing. It's about acceptance and it might be the most important thing you hear all week. 🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with authors who are building careers on their own terms. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:00:00 – The one strategy that will never change00:43 – Meet Michael Michel02:27 – From Warhammer tournaments at age 7 to building a fantasy world06:25 – First launch: what worked and what stalled09:38 – Why no one really has the answers (and what IS in your control)20:31 – Instagram research strategy for finding your exact readers28:27 – Beating the indie echo chamber with multiple product formats40:20 – The Kickstarter special edition breakdown (Jeff Brown, interior art, the works)49:13 – Michael's final advice: the power of acceptance 🔗 CONNECT WITH MICHAEL MICHEL:Instagram: @michaelmichelauthorKickstarter: The Price of Power Deluxe Edition ⭐ Support our SponsorsGreat offers on author related tools and services: pintandportal.com/deals

    The One Author Strategy That Will Never Stop Working | Michael Michel

  8. Jun 2

    The Biggest Mistakes New Authors Make with their Audience

    He built a platform, formed a readership and booked 20+ podcast stops for his debut novel before it was even finished. Here's exactly how he did it. Michael Vadney built his entire author platform from scratch with no book, no audience, and no connections. By launch day, he had a full virtual book tour lined up and a community behind him. In this episode, we break down the strategy debut authors can steal to make sure their first release doesn't disappear into the void. Michael is the host of the Author Adjacent podcast and author of Crown Fall, a new adult noble dark fantasy. Timestamps:0:00 - Why most debut launches fail2:26 - Meet Michael Vadney10:06 - The "platform before book" strategy12:27 - Why he chose podcasting over TikTok17:50 - The 5am routine that makes it all work27:22 - Why he pushed back his launch43:57 - What "noble dark" fantasy means53:57 - How to handle negative reviews as a debut author Connect with Michael:Author Adjacent - https://www.youtube.com/@AuthorAdjacentWebsite - michaelvadney.com Subscribe for (semi) weekly conversations with authors about how they actually build careers from their writing. #authormarketing #debutauthor #booklaunch #authortube #indieauthor

    The Biggest Mistakes New Authors Make with their Audience
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What are successful authors actually doing? How are they turning this love of writing into a career? What if you were lucky enough to chat with them in a pub one-on-one? That's what I want to find out. Welcome to The Pint and Portal Author Podcast. Where I sit across the table from authors who've built real careers and get them to share proven strategies that have actually worked. I'm looking to build a legacy and learning as I go. I hope you'll join me.

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