Rephonic
Artwork for If I'm Being Honest: Straight Talk About Book Publishing & Promotion

If I'm Being Honest: Straight Talk About Book Publishing & Promotion

Launch My Book
Amazon Ads
Chatgpt
Self-Publishing
Goodreads
Book Cover Design
Trust and Verify
Heather Hendrie
Cavalesso
Traditional Publishing
Book Distribution
Bookseeding
Kindle Unlimited
Pre-Orders
Anchoring Bias
Ghost Writers Conference

If I’m Being Honest is a straight-talk podcast about self-publishing and book marketing—created for authors who want realistic expectations and practical advice.

Hosted by Joel Pitney and Sayde Walker, the show explores what it actually takes to publish, promote, and sell books in today’s crowded marketplace. Featuring interviews with successful authors and industry experts, we dig into the wins,... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes12Founded3 months ago
Number of ListenersCategories
MarketingEducationSelf-ImprovementBusiness

Listen to this Podcast

Artwork for If I'm Being Honest: Straight Talk About Book Publishing & Promotion

Latest Episodes

The hardest part of writing a book is rarely “coming up with ideas.” It’s the thousand tiny moments that break your focus: hunting for a detail you wrote weeks ago, second-guessing whether you already told that story, losing track of character thread... more

YouTube

You can hire help for book promotion, but you cannot outsource the one thing that actually sells books: an author who shows up, believes in the work, and leads the marketing. We see the same trap over and over, across self-publishing and traditional ... more

YouTube

You don’t need a robot to write your book. You need clear feedback, a smarter revision process, and a way to see what your draft is really doing on the page. We’re joined by Becca Brinkmeier, partnerships and project manager at AutoCrit, plus a full-... more

YouTube

Your inbox says someone “discovered” your book and wants to make you a bestseller. The flattery feels good, the promise feels big, and the risk is real. We sit down with publishing consultant and community builder Alexa Bigwarfe, founder of Write|Pub... more

YouTube

Your best marketing idea can still fail for one boring reason: readers can’t easily get the book onto their device. That’s where BookFunnel shines, and that’s why I sat down with Jack Shilkaitis, BookFunnel’s lead author support specialist and a prol... more

YouTube

Print-on-demand made self-publishing feel instant, but “instant” is not the same as “best.” We sit down with Dave Sheets, a 30-year book industry pro and the founder of Indie Author Book Services, to get honest about what actually changes when an aut... more

YouTube

If you’ve been told your book must explode on day one or Amazon will bury it forever, we’re here to take that weight off your shoulders. Joel Pitney and Sayde Walker dig into the launch myths we hear constantly from first-time authors and why they cr... more

YouTube

Most authors think the book is the goal. In reality, it’s the starting point.

In this episode, healthcare executive and clinician Laurinda Calongne shares how she turned her book Still Standing: Leading Well-Being in Crisis into a platform for real ... more

YouTube

Key Facts

Accepts Guests
Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

Similar Podcasts

People also subscribe to these shows.

Author Update
Author UpdateThomas Umstattd Jr.

Recent Guests

Martin Leitner
Founder of Cavalesso, promotes books using a bookseeding approach
Cavalesso
Episode: How to Get Lasting Sales with Martin Leitner
Heather Hendrie
Canadian-based clinical counselor and author of Awfully Hilarious
Author, Awfully Hilarious series
Episode: From Self-Publishing To Bookstore Shelves with Heather Hendrie
Steve Sarner
Director of Author Success at Shelf Life; co-founder of Goodreads
Shelf Life
Episode: How to Lose Money on Amazon Ads and Still Win Big with Steve Sarner

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

How to Get Lasting Sales with Martin Leitner
Q: At what point in the process should first drafts of a manuscript be sent out to readers for beta feedback?
The early testing should begin even with core principles or the first chapter, using three readers to validate opening and setup, and then continue chapter-by-chapter to refine for the target audience.
From Self-Publishing To Bookstore Shelves with Heather Hendrie
Q: What practical tips does Heather offer for aspiring authors?
Heather advises focusing on writing a really good book, starting with small projects to build credibility, engaging with readers, and considering a long-term path such as pursuing a literary agent after gaining experience and publication credits.
From Self-Publishing To Bookstore Shelves with Heather Hendrie
Q: What are the major pros and cons of self-publishing vs. traditional publishing?
She highlights control and cost in self-publishing versus the credibility and distribution network of trade publishing, noting the publisher's risk is shared but the author may lose some agency; overall, distribution and polish were the key advantages of going trad
From Self-Publishing To Bookstore Shelves with Heather Hendrie
Q: How did Heather transition from self-publishing to traditional publishing?
Heather explains that after publishing two self-published books, a connection led to a trade publisher approach; the move was motivated by a desire for wider distribution and a belief in the importance of making their stories accessible to a broader audience.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About This Podcast

Where can I find podcast stats for this podcast?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to this podcast and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does this podcast get?

Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for three million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for this podcast, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.

What are the audience demographics for this podcast?

Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for this podcast, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.

How many subscribers and views does this podcast have?

To see how many followers or subscribers this podcast has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to this podcast?

These podcasts share a similar audience with this podcast:

1. Author Update

How many episodes of this podcast are there?

this podcast launched 3 months ago and published 12 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact this podcast?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for this podcast?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for this podcast from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for this podcast?

Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of this podcast. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.

What guests have appeared on this podcast?

Recent guests on this podcast include:

1. Martin Leitner
2. Heather Hendrie
3. Steve Sarner

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

Find and pitch the right podcasts

We help savvy brands, marketers and PR professionals to find the right podcasts for any topic or niche. Get the data and contacts you need to pitch podcasts at scale and turn listeners into customers.
Try it free for 7 days