We’ve been busy lately with wrapping up one project and starting a brand new one. However, we are never too busy to learn new things, and Pip is doing that presently with Nick Stephenson and his course, How to Find Your First 10,000 Readers. This may sound like we’re drinking the marketing guru’s Kool-Aid (mmmmm…fruity) but we are asking hard questions. Nick’s got answers.

00:00 —  Introduction

• All the SEVENS!
• Shameless plug for Happy Hour from the Tower…
• Sonic Boom is encouraging bad behavior at home.
• What are we up to?
  • Podcasting for Dummies, the Third Edition
  • Operation: Endgame
• Listening to Geo again, and still loving that skeptical goofball!
• Where is Tee going to be ON HIS BIRTHDAY? Well, he’s launching Podcasting for Dummies in Phoenix, Arizona!
• Jack Mangan needs to get back into podcasting.

04:50 —  Episode #77: Pip Is Learning New Things

• You can be marketing books for years (like us) and still miss steps.
• When marketing goes bad…
• Pip decided to take a deep dive course in marketing with Nick Stephenson of Your First 10,000 Readers
• Who is Nick Stephenson?
• Who is endorsing nick? Well, Joanna is, for one…
• You can see some of these changes happening here.
• Pip begins to share her newfound knowledge…and channels a Beatnik instead.
• Your website should be doing this. (I didn’t know that!)
• Free really isn’t “free” when you look at it.
• Tee wants to buy Nick a pint based on his sense of humor.
• Nick practices what he preaches.
• A look at how to value your work.
• Pip is learning a HECK of a lot!
• When covers go bad, it’s EPIC.
• Authors can really be cheap.
• With lessons learned and learning from the lessons of others, it’s time to a To-Do List.
• Launching a book? Tee’s got that covered.

23:45 —  The Loot Crate Lookie-Loo!

• Who’s opening THE BOOOOOOXXX?!?!?
• June’s Theme: Alter-Ego (Something Pip and Tee are familiar with.)
  • Tee-shirt: A Classic Transformers shout-out.
  • A Spider-Man Q-fig
  • An Incredible Hulk bowl, perfect for a raging teenage barbarian!
  • A poster book of DC Comics’ New 52 comic book covers
  • Nice Loot Crate pin nod to Spider-Man’s nemesis, the Green Goblin
• We made a dent in our Geeky Prize Giveaway Stash at AwesomeCon, but we’re filling it up again…

28:52 — Writers Off the Clock

• It was a VERY special weekend at the Morris household….
  • Introducing our daughter to ALIENS…
  • She handled The Matrix really well, but it wasn’t the R rating that bothered us.
  • Do you have to show someone Alien before you introduce them to Aliens?
  • Pip will not be writing freehand anytime soon.
  • There is only ONE — DEFINITIVE — VERSION — of Aliens…
  • What the Director’s Cut adds to the Aliens experience.
• Aliens have inspired successful games. One of them scared Phil Rossi!
• After 30 years, the movie is still solid. Masterful storytelling in film.
• Character development in Aliens
• Even the music plays a part.
• The writing question: Why do the sequels and prequels fall so short? Where do you go after Aliens?
• Tee’s one question for Alien: Covenant…

43:51 — The Wrap-Up

• Well, AwesomeCon lived up to the hype!
• Where are we going to be?
  • 30 June-July 2, BlerDCon in Washington D.C. (Sunday only! BRIGHT AND EARLY!!!)
  • 14-16 July, Motor City Steam Con in Detroit, MI (Break out your PJ’s!)
  • 19-20 August, Mechanicsburg Mystery Weekend in Mechanicsburg, PA (Lots to do during this Mystery conference…)
  • 1-4 September, Escape Velocity in Washington, D.C. (A weekend of hardcore geekery with Nick Kelly!)
  • If you have an event and want The Shared Desk to appear there, here’s where to find us…
    • 703.791.1701
    • [email protected]
    • [email protected]
    • …and social media, of course.
• Ah, the glamorous life of writers…

Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or questions for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
We’ll talk about it!
And remember, you can find the show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.