Kobo Writing Life Podcast

In this episode, Chrissy chats with Kobo’s VP of Product and Devices, Ramesh Mantha, to learn all about Kobo’s newest eReader Forma. Ramesh gives listeners a peek into the work that goes into creating new devices at Kobo. He talks about the features of Forma, specifically the focus on physical comfort, and the readings stats that influenced the design of Forma. Ramesh also talks about digital reading and how print and eBooks fit in the reading landscape today. 

In this episode, we sit down with the European Manager of Kobo Writing Life, Camille Mofidi. Camille shares her thoughts on why authors should go global, the questions they need to ask themselves before going global and why they should consider translations. She also gives listeners tips on translations, metadata, pricing, countries they should consider publishing to and how authors can reach these potential new markets.

In this week’s episode, Chrissy sits down with Australian author Sasha Cottman. Sasha talks to us about her first-year being independently published, how she is able to balance paying her bills and having fun writing, and where she looks for inspiration and knowledge about indie publishing. She also talks to us about where she finds inspiration for her historical romance novels and where Australia fits in the indie publishing landscape. 

In this week’s episode we bring you not one but two interviews! First, Rene d’Entremont, the director of PR here at Kobo, sits down with New York Times best-selling author Lauren Weisberger. Rene asks her about her new book When Life Gives You Lululemons and discusses her writing process. Secondly, Stephanie sits down with aspiring author Mackenzie Belcastro. Mackenzie tells listeners how she stays motivated as she learns her writing style, how she connects with other aspiring writers and how she manages to write full-time without having a 9 to 5 job.

In this episode Chrissy interviews award-winning and bestselling author, Kevin Tumlinson. Kevin talks to us about overcoming the stigma of self-publishing and how marketing sophistication and budgets have increased over the last ten years. He gives listeners his top tips for aspiring and established authors. Kevin also chats to us about his own podcast the Wordslinger Podcast and how he started working with Draft2Digital.

Join Steph and Joni as they sit down with Sean Pratt, an audiobook narrator who has recorded over 975 audiobooks. Sean chats to us about his experience being a narrator for 23 years and the physical and mental work that goes into producing an audiobook. Sean outlines how authors can create an audiobook themselves and the services he offers as a coach for authors wanting to narrate their own work. Sean also speculates on why audiobooks have exploded in popularity in the last couple years. 

In this episode, Chrissy chats with authors Rachael Herron and J. Thorn from the Writer’s Well podcast (formerly The Petal to the Medal podcast). Rachael and J. discuss their writing and revision processes and how they got into self-publishing. J. talks to us about the conception for his Author on a Train event and why he loves to collaborate. Rachael and J. also give us tips on battling self-doubt and how to stay motivated when you are 30 revisions deep on a title.

In this episode, Chrissy chats to Scott Bintz, the founder of RealTruck.com, a 100-million-dollar e-commerce store from North Dakota. Recently, Scott became a rookie author publishing his first book Principles to Fortune: Crafting a Culture to Massively Grow a Business. He discusses his guiding principles in the workplace and how these fundamental values led to his success today. He also explains how these core values can be adapted by anyone, anywhere.

Join Chrissy as she sits down with EPUB experts Simon Collinson and Ben Dugas from Kobo. They teach us everything we need to know about eBook files. They explain the different types of EPUB files, the tools available to authors to make their own EPUBs and common errors to watch out when creating your own file. The also discuss the future of eBooks and accessibility.

In this episode, Chrissy and Stephanie chat with #1 New York Times best-selling author, Lauren Blakely. Lauren talks about her tips and tricks for marketing, her philosophy on writing and why it is important to be authentic on social media. She also examines a mistake she believes to have made with her publishing schedule last year. Lauren also gives listeners some great recommendations for readers curious about the romance genre.

In this episode, Chrissy and Steph sit down with Adam Sockel and Jill Grunenwald from Overdrive. They give us the low-down on all things Overdrive: what their roles are within the company, what is their favourite part about working at Overdrive, and share ways authors can reach librarians and library readers. They also talk about their own podcast, Professional Book Nerds, and gives us some great recommendations to add to your summer reading list. 

Join Chrissy and Stephanie as they sit down with Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant, the masterminds behind Sterling & Stone. They discuss what goes on behind the scenes running Sterling & Stone, the top conversion elements every author should know, and why they decide to keep publishing wide. They also talk about their Smarter Artist Summit. 

In this episode, Stephanie and Joni interview author Katja Meier about her memoir Across the Big Blue Sea. Katja discusses her inspiration for writing a memoir and why she ultimately decided to self-publish her book. She also talks about the power of social media and the problems she encountered using Instagram to promote her work.

Actress, producer, TV host, business owner and newly minted author Vivica Fox sits down with Rene at Kobo HQ in Toronto to talk about her new memoir, Every Day I'm Hustling

In this episode, Stephanie and Cristina sit down with Sarah Wendell of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Sarah is a writer, blogger and podcaster and chats to us about running her successful romance book blog and podcast. She delves into the workshops she runs on topics such as “Digital Promotion” and “How to Put a Review in Your Rearview Mirror” and, of course, we ask for her romance recommendations.

In this episode, Chrissy Munroe interviews award-winning author and creative writing instructor, Maxwell Alexander Drake. Drake, best known for his fantasy series, The Genesis of Oblivion Saga, chats to us about his writing career, the creation of DrakeU and how he generated a reputation for giving brutal writing advice to aspiring authors. He also discusses being in rebuild mode at this stage in his career and what he is working on next.

In this episode, Stephanie McGrath interviews popular YouTuber Ariel Bissett. Ariel gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look into the life of a BookTuber and the community behind it. She offers advice on getting your book into the hands of YouTubers, tips for aspiring vloggers and podcasters, and also gives us the low-down on YouTube sponsorships.

Bestselling romance author Julia Kent came to Kobo HQ and chatted to Chrissy Munroe about her incredibly successful publishing and writing career.

Join Chrissy Munroe as she interviews best-selling science-fiction author, Kevin J. Anderson. KJA gives listeners a peek into his life as he juggles writing, editing, and running his own publishing company, Wordfire Press. All while working towards completing his Master’s degree.

In this episode, co-host Stephanie McGrath interviews USA Today Bestselling and RITA award winning author Sarina Bowen. We ask her about running a successful publishing business, collaborating with other authors and important lessons she’s learned about craft through the years. We are also joined by two Sarina fans, Laura Granger and Cristina Mendes, as we discuss Sarina’s post on the KWL blog, “Romance Writer’s Don’t Need Your Love-They’re Too Busy Making Bank”. We also learn more about her latest release, Brooklynaire.