Episode 173 – DF Hart on Recovering from Mistakes

Mark interviews D.F. Hart about her journey through indie publishing, the mistakes she has made on that journey and the dramatic results of the decision to do a makeover on her thriller covers.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes as well as a personal update. He also shares a word from this episode’s sponsor.

You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In their conversation, DeAnna and Mark discuss:

Why DeAnna writes under D.F. Hart and Faith HartHer first experience publishing through a vanity press in 2010How that first novel’s idea came to her originally in 1989How March of 2019 was Deanna’s first experience publishing fully indie (as opposed to being done through a vanity press outfit)Reader reaction to the balance between law enforcement work and personal/home life in her main characterHow a supplemental character that Deanna felt sorry for and wanted to see her get a happy ending became the main character for the first book in her romance seriesSome of the other complicated ways the two series cross over with one anotherDeAnna’s grandmother’s advice to learn from the mistakes of others because you can’t possibly make all those mistakes on your ownThe consult that DeAnna booked with Craig over at Hidden Gems and how that led to a discussion that helped her decide to change her coversComing to the realization that, while her covers were pretty, they weren’t right for the genreThe book cover designer that DeAnna hired to re-do her thriller book coversThe increase in sales and reviews/ratings on all the major retailersHow December 2020 was DeAnna’s first four figure month as an author, due to the cover update and the BookBub Feature DealThe uptake in newsletter subscribers and BookBub followers that has happenedThe importance of measuring results, analyzing data, and keeping a finger on the pulse of your businessWhat DeAnna would have told her 2010 selfHow Vanity Press outfits prey on the lack of information of authorsThe importance of celebrating all of your successes along the way

After the interview, Mark reflects on the decision DeAnna had to make to invest more in covers after having already invested in that in the past.

Links of Interest

DeAnna’s WebsiteAuthor Facebook PageD.F. HartBookBubGoodreadsFaith HartBookBubGoodreadsDeAnna’s Article on Hidden GemsRocking Book CoversFindaway VoicesEP 170 – The Genre of Andrew PyperEP 169 – The World Needs Your Book With Monica LeonelleEP 166 – Wording Around with Kathy MacEP 165 – Rude Awakenings from Sleeping RoughEP 162 – Happy Accidents with Joshua PantallarescoEP 138 – Cash Flow for Creators with Michael W. LucasEP 127 – Consistency in Word Count with Blaze WardEP 90 – Craig Martelle on Successful Indie Author Release StrategiesSpace: 1975 AnthologyWide Writer SurveyWide for the Win Submission FormPatreon for Stark Reflections

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0