Robert Moutal is the founder of Cover Design App, an AI-powered tool that helps independent publishers create professional, market-ready book covers using principles from semiotics, color theory, and design psychology. A publishing coach with a master's degree in semiotics and communication, Robert has personally published more than 60–70 books and built Cover Design App to solve the exact problems he saw holding self-publishers back: poor typography, bad stock imagery, and covers that failed to communicate genre at a glance.

In this episode:

• Why book covers have a bigger impact on Amazon sales than most authors realize — and the 3-second rule every self-publisher needs to know
• The most common cover mistakes self-publishers make, including bad stock images, cramming too many elements, and typography errors
• How Cover Design App uses semiotics and psychology — not just aesthetics — to build covers that actually perform
• Color theory for book covers: what each color communicates to readers and why getting it wrong can tank your sales
• How the app's Market Intelligence feature analyzes competitor covers on Amazon to help you stand out within your genre
• The Thumbnail Test: why your cover must be readable at every size Amazon displays it
• A full step-by-step walkthrough of Cover Design App, from market research and design brief to generating variations, iterating, and exporting
• How to create a complete visual package — cover, author photo, A plus content, and Amazon description — in about 20 minutes
• Why A plus content is free advertising space inside your Amazon listing that too many authors are wasting
• How to edit existing designer covers inside the app, translate covers into other languages, and repurpose assets for a series

Resources mentioned:

• Cover Design App: coverdesignapp.com/Teddy (10% off forever with this link)
• Ideogram (AI image generation tool referenced for design): ideogram.ai
• Amazon KDP: kdp.amazon.com
• Fiverr (mentioned for comparison): fiverr.com
• Canva (mentioned as a common tool authors misuse): canva.com

Connect with Robert Moutal:

• Website & app: coverdesignapp.com
• Special discount link for listeners: coverdesignapp.com/Teddy (10% off forever)

Connect with Teddy Smith:
@teddyagsmith
Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com

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Kevin Anderson is the CEO, founder, and editor-in-chief of Kevin Anderson & Associates, one of the publishing industry's most respected ghost writing and editorial firms. With a team of former Big Five acquisitions editors, publishing executives, literary agents, and bestselling authors, his company has helped bring more than 7,000 books to life — producing around 500 titles per year. Their clients range from celebrities and Fortune 500 CEOs to first-time memoir writers with extraordinary stories to tell.

In this episode:

• How ghost writing actually works — and why it's a deeply collaborative process, not just writing from a prompt
• Why skilled ghost writers are nothing like AI: the role of empathy, intuition, and journalistic interview skill
• The types of clients who hire ghost writers: celebrity memoirs, business books, IP-based novels, and personal legacy pieces
• How Kevin Anderson & Associates structures every project, including kick-off meetings, ongoing Zoom interviews, beta testing, and cultural accuracy reviews
• Why defining your publishing goal before you write a single word is the most important first step
• The First Chapter Rule: why getting sign-off on one complete chapter before writing the rest saves enormous time and prevents costly mistakes
• Typical project timelines — from 6-week rush projects to the more standard 8–12 month engagement
• How ghost writing fiction differs from nonfiction, and why novels are actually harder to structure than business books
• What ghost writing costs — from entry-level ($20K+) to high-end ($500K+) — and what drives the price
• How to vet a ghost writer: what credentials to look for and red flags to avoid
• When ghost writing is NOT the right fit — and why a book coach or developmental editor might serve you better
• The inside story on some of Kevin's most fascinating projects, including the Five Nights at Freddy's novels and the Oz Perlman mentalism bestseller

Resources mentioned:

• Kevin Anderson & Associates website: https://kawriting.com
• Reedsy: https://reedsy.com

Connect with Kevin Anderson:

Website: kawriting.com

Connect with Teddy Smith:
@teddyagsmith
Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com

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Michael Stewart is the Community Lead at Sudowrite, an AI creative writing partner designed primarily for fiction writers. His background is in journalism and nonfiction writing, but he discovered his struggle with fiction perfectionism early on—unable to finish first chapters because everything needed to be perfect from the start. Sudowrite helped him accelerate past the "shitty first draft" phase to get to the editing work he loves. Michael works with a community of 16,000+ authors on Sudowrite's Discord server, leads 12 teachers rotating through daily live classes, and helps writers find their unique workflows with AI tools. He's passionate about ensuring authors remain essential to their creative process while using AI to eliminate tedium.

In this episode:

• AI democratizes writing access like personal computers did
• Romance authors accelerating from 6 to 200 books yearly
• Import Novel reads work nine times, builds Story Bible
• Story Bible catalogs characters, settings, synopsis, outline
• Write button generates 150-1,500 words as smart autocomplete
• Stuck locally vs structurally: two types of writing blocks
• Plugins ecosystem for niche workflow needs
• Chat feature more powerful than ChatGPT with full context
• Pedal assist metaphor: eliminate tedium, focus on what you love
• Character cards with Enneagram types and custom traits
• Characters Prompt the Author: role-play scenes through character eyes
• New editing tool in beta highlights passages with custom feedback
• Minimal involvement creates soulless, clichéd fiction
• Authors must remain essential to avoid generic AI writing

Resources mentioned:

• SudoWrite
• Join the SudoWrite Discord
• Book: "Steering the Craft" by Ursula K. Le Guin — for deepening craft skills
• Claude AI
• ChatGPT

Connect with Michael Stewart:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
  
  

Connect with Teddy Smith:
@teddyagsmith
Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com

Support the show

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Madeline Shue is the Publishing Lead at ElevenLabs, an AI audio platform founded in 2022 and based in London with approximately 400 employees worldwide. ElevenLabs builds AI audio models including text-to-speech, speech-to-text, music, and sound effects, bringing these innovations to consumers, creators, and enterprises globally. Madeline works specifically on everything related to authors, publishers, and audiobooks, helping creators who previously lacked resources or ability to reach global audiences share their stories in audio form. She manages the journey from manuscript to production, post-production, and distribution through ElevenLabs' audiobook products and their consumer app, Eleven Reader.

In this episode:

• ElevenLabs history: from 250-word text boxes to full audiobook production
• The first beta tester uploaded entire manuscripts 250 words at a time
• AI audio quality now indistinguishable from human narrators for many books
• 90% of published books don't have audiobook counterparts
• ElevenLabs Creative: new consolidated audiobook hub
• Two production options: Dynamic Narration (free) vs Original Audiobook
• Dynamic Narration: listeners choose from 500+ voices including Michael Caine
• Original Audiobook: full creative control, voice selection, editing capability
• Voice cloning: narrate your book in your own voice
• Audio drama creation: Zephyrus One sci-fi example with music and sound effects
• Judy Garland's voice clone narrating The Wizard of Oz
• 6,000+ voices in the library from real people who earn when voices are used
• Design custom voices with prompts for specific characters
• Voice library filters: trending voices, usage stats, genre collections
• Iconic voices: Albert Einstein, Michael Caine, Robert Reynolds
• Dual POV narration easy for romance with alternating voices
• Pronunciation dictionary for fantasy names, spells, unusual terms
• Direct speech feature: record how you want words pronounced
• Editing typically takes equivalent time to audiobook duration
• Free Dynamic Narration option takes 5-10 minutes to publish
• Quality requirements: proper formatting, no table of contents in audio
• Copyright ownership: you own everything you create with ElevenLabs
• Eleven Reader royalties: 25 cents per hour streamed, 60% on direct sales
• No exclusivity requirements on any platform
• Distribution integrations: Spotify, Findaway, direct MP3 download
• Production costs: $100-200 for full-length books ($10-20 per finished hour)
• Multicast auto-assignment or manual voice selection by highlighting text

Resources mentioned:

• ElevenLabs: elevenlabs.io
• ElevenCreative: https://elevenlabs.io/creative
• Contact: reader@elevenlabs.io

Connect with Madeline Shue and ElevenLabs:

• Email: reader@elevenlabs.io
• Facebook Group: Authors of Eleven Labs
• Website: elevenlabs.io
• Twitter: https://x.com/elevenlabsio

Connect with Teddy Smith:
@teddyagsmith
Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com

Support the show

Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/

Walt Hampton is the Acquisitions Editor and Director of Marketing at Summit Press Publishing, where he reviews incoming manuscripts and helps authors do more than simply publish—he helps them get the book out into the world in a big way. Walt works with entrepreneurs and high-performing professionals to turn their books into keynotes, programs, coaching and consulting offers, and long-term marketing assets—because, as he puts it, it’s not about the book, it’s what you do with the book. In this conversation, Walt breaks down practical strategies for busy writers, including time blocking, reducing interruptions, reverse-engineering your writing sessions, and his six paths to finishing your book (from one-page-a-day all the way to ghostwriting).

In this episode:

• Walt’s dual role: acquisitions (reviewing manuscripts) + marketing (helping authors leverage the book)
• What makes Summit Press different: publishing + continued support long after launch
• Real examples of book leverage: building keynotes and high-ticket programs around the book
• Why publishing success requires long-term momentum (it’s a marathon, not a sprint)
• Time mastery for busy professionals: clarity of “why” + small consistent steps
• Time blocking: scheduling writing like client work (starting with just 1 hour/week)
• Reverse-engineering the process: define thesis/TOC/conclusion so each session has a purpose
• “Write the closing argument first”: drafting the conclusion early to create a destination
• Common time-wasters: phone proximity, alerts, and constant interruption
• Interruption science + attentional residue: why refocusing takes longer than you think
• Simple boundary systems: turning everything off + enrolling assistants/teams to protect focus time
• The “sticky note on the glass door” tactic for open-office interruptions
• Where AI helps (and where it hurts): great for brainstorming/themes + proofreading, bad for “soulless” manuscripts
• Final takeaway: begin imperfectly—editing comes later, but you can’t edit a blank page

Resources mentioned:

• Summit Press Publishers: https://summitpresspublishers.com/
• Brick by Brick
• Journeys on the Edge: Living a Life That Matters
• The Power Principles of Time Mastery: Do Less, Make More, Have Fun

Connect with Walt Hampton / Summit Press:

• Summit Press Publishers: https://summitpresspublishers.com/

Connect with Teddy Smith:

• @teddyagsmith
• Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
• Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
• Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
• Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/publishing-performance/

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Nicholas Keating-Casbarro is the author and creator of the Vitilarium Universe, a far-future sci-fi series following humanity after becoming multi-planetary. With seven books planned, Nicholas crafts character-focused stories exploring themes of power, corruption, government structure, and humanity's potential futures. A former medical professional turned author, Nicholas writes in an omniscient perspective similar to Frank Herbert's style, focusing on meaningful dialogue and immersive action scenes. He's expanded the Vitilarium world beyond books into comic book adaptations for Comic-Con audiences, working with illustrators Francisco Nilo, colorist Chandran Panusamy, and graphic designer Ahmed Gitar. Published through hybrid publisher Atmosphere Press, Nicholas maintains a massive Excel story guide tracking everything from character backstories to planetary exports across seven colonized worlds.

In this episode:

• The Vitilarium Universe: humanity's future as a multi-planetary civilization
• The Alcubierre drive: using exotic material for faster-than-light travel
• Discovering ancient alien ruins on Diorum, the seventh colonized planet
• Using conspiracy theories and "what if" questions for world-building
• Starting world-building with themes, not plot details
• Creating factions before characters (government, gangs, militias, religion)
• The Coalition for Prosperity: naming totalitarian governments ironically
• Writing the tenets of a future religion (with a no-cult disclaimer)
• The question-based method: every answer creates new questions to define
• The massive Excel story guide with unlimited tabs
• Building a survivalist protagonist who survives deadly fauna outside megacities
• Self-editing with story Bible and Book One PDF open for continuity
• Six rounds of proofreading to catch spelling and comma errors
• Working with editor John Smith to fix character motivation issues
• Maps of megacity Kairos and faction sigils for reader immersion
• Weaving world-building through character dialogue, not exposition dumps
• Treating plot holes as opportunities to add new technology or details
• Tools: Excel, Word, coffee, and nicotine (manual approach)
• Google Notebook LM: AI tool for querying your own manuscript
• Adapting books into comic series for Comic-Con crossover audience
• Working with Atmosphere Press hybrid publisher model

Resources mentioned:

• Vitilarium Series website: https://vitaleriumseries.com/
• Inside Vitilarium Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/InsideVitalerium/gift
• Atmosphere Press: https://atmospherepress.com/
• Google Notebook LM: https://notebooklm.google/

Connect with Nicholas Keating-Casbarro:

• Website: https://vitaleriumseries.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vitariumstudio/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vitarium.fb/reels/
• Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/vitalerium-series-official-website

Connect with Teddy Smith:

• @teddyagsmith
• Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
• Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
• Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
• Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/publishing-performance/

Support the show

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Becca Puglisi is an international speaker and bestselling author who has sold over one million copies of her Thesaurus series, with The Emotion Thesaurus being her flagship book. Starting as critique partners on Critique Circle, Becca and co-author Angela Ackerman discovered they both struggled with showing character emotions—Becca's characters were always shrugging and shuffling their feet. This led them to create lists of emotional cues that eventually became blog posts on Writers Helping Writers, then transformed into The Emotion Thesaurus when readers demanded a book version. A former first-grade teacher, Becca brings educational expertise to her workshops and tools, now available through One Stop for Writers, a subscription-based service with character-building tools based on the Thesaurus series content.

In this episode:

• How The Emotion Thesaurus solved the "shrugging and shuffling" problem
• Why every character responds to emotions differently based on personality
• Mining movies, books, and real-life observations for authentic emotions
• Stephen King's skill at creating compelling, realistic antagonists
• The importance of wounding events from backstory shaping current behavior
• Reserved vs demonstrative: the emotional spectrum for your character
• Physical cues, internal thoughts, and visceral sensations in showing emotion
• Hidden emotions: what characters show others vs what readers see
• Emotion escalation and de-escalation to avoid jarring jumps
• Melodrama vs not enough emotion: finding the right balance
• The Emotional Wound Thesaurus for character change arcs
• The Conflict Thesaurus for plotting and creating choice opportunities
• Building characters as mixed bags of positive and negative traits
• The Fear Thesaurus (Spring 2025): how fear drives character behavior and arc
• One Stop for Writers: subscription tools based on Thesaurus content

Resources mentioned:

• Writers Helping Writers blog: writershelpingwriters.org
• One Stop for Writers (subscription service): onestopforwriters.com
• Critique Circle
• The Emotion Thesaurus by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1475004958?&linkCode=ll1&tag=pubperf-20&linkId=400c65572fa1761b41f901ed6233057c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
• The Negative Trait Thesaurus
• The Positive Trait Thesaurus
• The Emotional Wound Thesaurus
• The Setting Thesaurus (multiple books)
• The Conflict Thesaurus (two books)
• The Fear Thesaurus (coming Spring 2025)

Connect with Becca Puglisi:

• Writers Helping Writers blog: writershelpingwriters.org
• One Stop for Writers: onestopforwriters.com

Connect with Teddy Smith:

• @teddyagsmith
• Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
• Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
• Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
• Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/publishing-performance/

Support the show

Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/

Michael Drew is the founder of PromoteABook.com (established 25 years ago) and BookRetreat.com, with a track record of helping 132 consecutive books hit major bestseller lists including The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Success Magazine. Starting his career at age 18 as the #3 salesperson at Executive Excellence (a division of Covey Leadership Center), Michael impressed industry leaders and landed at Bard Press by age 19, where he was tasked with understanding how bestseller lists actually work. His first campaign launched "Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads" by Roy H. Williams to #3 on The New York Times and #1 on Wall Street Journal. Today, 85% of his work focuses on building thought leadership platforms, with 110 clients permanently increasing their gross revenue by $1 million+ per year, 10 clients increasing revenue by $50 million+ per year, and 7 clients increasing revenue by $100 million+ per year through strategic book campaigns.

In this episode:

• Bestseller lists as sophisticated polls, not real sales rankings
• Only 7 of 132 bestselling clients made money from book sales
• 110 clients permanently increased revenue by $1M+ per year using their book strategically
• Brick-and-mortar stores represent 75% of book sales
• The three major lists: New York Times, USA Today, Success Magazine
• Self-publishers cannot hit major bestseller lists (distribution requirements)
• IngramSpark distribution won't work for bestseller campaigns
• Co-op fees: $1-5 per unit for retail shelf placement
• New York Times requirements: 20K print, 10K ebook, 10K through Amazon
• Online media: 350 blogs, 90 podcasts, 90 vlogs, 50K+ social engagement per platform
• Traditional media: 100 TV markets, 100 radio markets, 100 print markets
• Amazon bestseller lists have no real value
• The uncovering: two-day meeting defining outcome, measurement, strategy, tactics
• Book Retreat in Guatemala: write your book in 30 days using 64 blog posts method
• Content repurposing system: blog posts become videos, podcasts, social media, and book

Resources mentioned:

• Promote A Book: https://promoteabook.com/
• Book Retreat in Guatemala: https://bookretreat.com/
• "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind" by T. Harv Eker
• "Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads" by Roy H. Williams (Michael's first campaign)
• "Pendulum: How Past Generations Shape Our Present and Predict Our Future" (co-authored with Roy Williams)
• "Nuts: Southwest Airlines Crazy Recipe for Success" published by Bard Press
• KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing)
• IngramSpark

Connect with Michael Drew:

• Email: michael@promotabook.com

Connect with Teddy Smith:

• @teddyagsmith
• Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
• Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
• Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
• Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/publishing-performance/

Support the show

Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/