Episode 63: Best Writing Conferences for Authors 2026 (Part 1)

Episode 66: What We’re Focusing on for Q3 as Indie Authors

Join us on Pen & Prosper where JT is coaching Delport to be a six-figure author! A huge thank you to our official sponsor, Vellum [http://tryvellum.com/penandprosper], the formatting software we couldn’t do without! Create ebooks for every platform: Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and more. Each specialized file can guide readers to buy your next book in their favorite store. Completed a series? Combine everything into a box set in just a few steps. Special thanks to our paid subscribers: 🔥 Victoria Tait [https://open.substack.com/users/143604878-victoria-tait?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 @moniquethatcher [https://substack.com/@moniquethatcher] 🩵 🔥 Jenn Mitchell [https://open.substack.com/users/46052394-jenn-mitchell?utm_source=mentions] (founding member) 🩵 🔥 @Connie Henderson 🩵 🔥 Sheena Cundy [https://open.substack.com/users/15868417-sheena-cundy?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 Paula Mason [https://open.substack.com/users/72363584-paula-mason?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 Carmen Radtke [https://open.substack.com/users/39745427-carmen-radtke?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 Siobhan Purcell 🩵 🔥Jen Carter 🩵 🔥 Michelle Hitchens 🩵 🔥 Daisy Graves 🩵 🔥 Sunee le Roux 🩵 🔥 Steven Aitchison 🩵 🔥 Helen Allan 🩵 And a huge THANK YOU to our video editor Elize [https://open.substack.com/users/79309671-elize?utm_source=mentions] van Heerden 🩵🩵🩵 *** Melissa Delport is an award-winning author, copywriter, and lover of the written word. For ten years Melissa owned and operated her own specialized logistics company until she woke up one morning and decided that it was time to put her English degree to good use. She was offered a three-book deal for The Legacy Trilogy and the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, her speculative fiction has been published in both SA and the USA. Melissa lives in Hillcrest with her husband and three teenagers, none of whom take her seriously. She also writes romantic suspense as Lissa Del and contemporary romance as Rachel Rhodes. Visit Melissa online at www.melissadelport.com [http://www.melissadelport.com/] https://www.youtube.com/@Authormelissadelport [https://www.youtube.com/@Authormelissadelport] JT Lawrence is a mid-6-figure author of 35+ books, mother to a menagerie of chaos, voracious reader and coffee drinker, gin fan, yogi, podcast addict, and wild swimmer. Nothing will convince her that magic isn’t real because she makes a living selling her hallucinations. Her urban fantasy adventures have kept people up all night and made her a USA Today bestselling author and Kindle Unlimited All-Star with a hundred and forty million page reads, and counting. www.jt-lawrence.com [http://www.jt-lawrence.com/] https://www.youtube.com/@JTLawrence79 [https://www.youtube.com/@JTLawrence79] A huge thank you to our original sponsor SCRIBESHADOW for giving our viewers a discount coupon for 30% off their first credit purchase. —» Discount coupon code: PENANDPROSPER30 «— Scribeshadow is the perfect partner for indie authors who don’t want to leave money on the table. Scribeshadow uses cutting-edge AI to make novel translation fast, affordable, and super easy. In just minutes, your book can be translated into over 19 languages with high-quality results, ready to reach readers everywhere. This isn’t some faceless tech giant—ScribeShadow is a small, family-run team with indie roots. They’ve been in the trenches, running a small publishing press, so they get the author grind. That’s why they’ve built a tool that’s practical, budget-friendly, and designed with indie authors in mind. Plus, they offer cover creation, audiobook translation, and a simple one-credit system for everything. Best of all? You keep full rights to your work, and your books are never used to train AI. https://app.scribeshadow.com/about [https://app.scribeshadow.com/about] A huge thank you to our new sponsor SCRIBESHADOW for giving our viewers a discount coupon for 30% off their first credit purchase. —» Discount coupon code: PENANDPROSPER30 «— Repurpose.io makes cross-platform posting effortless for creators and authors, saving time on content distribution. Use JT’s affiliate link to streamline your content creation process.https://repurpose.io/end-of-the-year/?fpr=janita61 Join our Word Wars sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14L9U9_Fsp2vWHIF74U8sISDOhNw4J9R0kQy2XhYvTjQ/edit?usp=sharing This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit penandprosper.substack.com/subscribe [https://penandprosper.substack.com/subscribe?utm_campaign=CTA_2&utm_medium=podcast]

Episode 65: Amazon Ads with Rob Watts

Join us on Pen & Prosper where JT is coaching Delport to be a six-figure author! A huge thank you to our official sponsor, Vellum [http://tryvellum.com/penandprosper], the formatting software we couldn’t do without! Create ebooks for every platform: Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and more. Each specialized file can guide readers to buy your next book in their favorite store. Completed a series? Combine everything into a box set in just a few steps. Special thanks to our paid subscribers: 🔥 Victoria Tait [https://open.substack.com/users/143604878-victoria-tait?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 @moniquethatcher [https://substack.com/@moniquethatcher] 🩵 🔥 Jenn Mitchell [https://open.substack.com/users/46052394-jenn-mitchell?utm_source=mentions] (founding member) 🩵 🔥 @Connie Henderson 🩵 🔥 Sheena Cundy [https://open.substack.com/users/15868417-sheena-cundy?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 Paula Mason [https://open.substack.com/users/72363584-paula-mason?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 Carmen Radtke [https://open.substack.com/users/39745427-carmen-radtke?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 Siobhan Purcell 🩵 🔥Jen Carter 🩵 🔥 Michelle Hitchens 🩵 🔥 Daisy Graves 🩵 🔥 Sunee le Roux 🩵 🔥 Steven Aitchison 🩵 🔥 Helen Allan 🩵 And a huge THANK YOU to our video editor Elize [https://open.substack.com/users/79309671-elize?utm_source=mentions] van Heerden 🩵🩵🩵 *** Melissa Delport is an award-winning author, copywriter, and lover of the written word. For ten years Melissa owned and operated her own specialized logistics company until she woke up one morning and decided that it was time to put her English degree to good use. She was offered a three-book deal for The Legacy Trilogy and the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, her speculative fiction has been published in both SA and the USA. Melissa lives in Hillcrest with her husband and three teenagers, none of whom take her seriously. She also writes romantic suspense as Lissa Del and contemporary romance as Rachel Rhodes. Visit Melissa online at www.melissadelport.com [http://www.melissadelport.com/] https://www.youtube.com/@Authormelissadelport [https://www.youtube.com/@Authormelissadelport] JT Lawrence is a mid-6-figure author of 35+ books, mother to a menagerie of chaos, voracious reader and coffee drinker, gin fan, yogi, podcast addict, and wild swimmer. Nothing will convince her that magic isn’t real because she makes a living selling her hallucinations. Her urban fantasy adventures have kept people up all night and made her a USA Today bestselling author and Kindle Unlimited All-Star with a hundred and forty million page reads, and counting. www.jt-lawrence.com [http://www.jt-lawrence.com/] https://www.youtube.com/@JTLawrence79 [https://www.youtube.com/@JTLawrence79] A huge thank you to our original sponsor SCRIBESHADOW for giving our viewers a discount coupon for 30% off their first credit purchase. —» Discount coupon code: PENANDPROSPER30 «— Scribeshadow is the perfect partner for indie authors who don’t want to leave money on the table. Scribeshadow uses cutting-edge AI to make novel translation fast, affordable, and super easy. In just minutes, your book can be translated into over 19 languages with high-quality results, ready to reach readers everywhere. This isn’t some faceless tech giant—ScribeShadow is a small, family-run team with indie roots. They’ve been in the trenches, running a small publishing press, so they get the author grind. That’s why they’ve built a tool that’s practical, budget-friendly, and designed with indie authors in mind. Plus, they offer cover creation, audiobook translation, and a simple one-credit system for everything. Best of all? You keep full rights to your work, and your books are never used to train AI. https://app.scribeshadow.com/about [https://app.scribeshadow.com/about] A huge thank you to our new sponsor SCRIBESHADOW for giving our viewers a discount coupon for 30% off their first credit purchase. —» Discount coupon code: PENANDPROSPER30 «— Repurpose.io makes cross-platform posting effortless for creators and authors, saving time on content distribution. Use JT’s affiliate link to streamline your content creation process.https://repurpose.io/end-of-the-year/?fpr=janita61 Join our Word Wars sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14L9U9_Fsp2vWHIF74U8sISDOhNw4J9R0kQy2XhYvTjQ/edit?usp=sharing This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit penandprosper.substack.com/subscribe [https://penandprosper.substack.com/subscribe?utm_campaign=CTA_2&utm_medium=podcast]

Episode 64: Best Writing Conferences for Authors 2026 (Part 2)

Join us on Pen & Prosper where JT is coaching Delport to be a six-figure author! A huge thank you to our official sponsor, Vellum [http://tryvellum.com/penandprosper], the formatting software we couldn’t do without! Create ebooks for every platform: Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and more. Each specialized file can guide readers to buy your next book in their favorite store. Completed a series? Combine everything into a box set in just a few steps. Special thanks to our paid subscribers: 🔥 Victoria Tait [https://open.substack.com/users/143604878-victoria-tait?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 @moniquethatcher [https://substack.com/@moniquethatcher] 🩵 🔥 Jenn Mitchell [https://open.substack.com/users/46052394-jenn-mitchell?utm_source=mentions] (founding member) 🩵 🔥 @Connie Henderson 🩵 🔥 Sheena Cundy [https://open.substack.com/users/15868417-sheena-cundy?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 Paula Mason [https://open.substack.com/users/72363584-paula-mason?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 Carmen Radtke [https://open.substack.com/users/39745427-carmen-radtke?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 Siobhan Purcell 🩵 🔥Jen Carter 🩵 🔥 Michelle Hitchens 🩵 🔥 Daisy Graves 🩵 🔥 Sunee le Roux 🩵 🔥 Steven Aitchison 🩵 🔥 Helen Allan 🩵 And a huge THANK YOU to our video editor Elize [https://open.substack.com/users/79309671-elize?utm_source=mentions] van Heerden 🩵🩵🩵 *** Melissa Delport is an award-winning author, copywriter, and lover of the written word. For ten years Melissa owned and operated her own specialized logistics company until she woke up one morning and decided that it was time to put her English degree to good use. She was offered a three-book deal for The Legacy Trilogy and the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, her speculative fiction has been published in both SA and the USA. Melissa lives in Hillcrest with her husband and three teenagers, none of whom take her seriously. She also writes romantic suspense as Lissa Del and contemporary romance as Rachel Rhodes. Visit Melissa online at www.melissadelport.com [http://www.melissadelport.com/] https://www.youtube.com/@Authormelissadelport [https://www.youtube.com/@Authormelissadelport] JT Lawrence is a mid-6-figure author of 35+ books, mother to a menagerie of chaos, voracious reader and coffee drinker, gin fan, yogi, podcast addict, and wild swimmer. Nothing will convince her that magic isn’t real because she makes a living selling her hallucinations. Her urban fantasy adventures have kept people up all night and made her a USA Today bestselling author and Kindle Unlimited All-Star with a hundred and forty million page reads, and counting. www.jt-lawrence.com [http://www.jt-lawrence.com/] https://www.youtube.com/@JTLawrence79 [https://www.youtube.com/@JTLawrence79] A huge thank you to our original sponsor SCRIBESHADOW for giving our viewers a discount coupon for 30% off their first credit purchase. —» Discount coupon code: PENANDPROSPER30 «— Scribeshadow is the perfect partner for indie authors who don’t want to leave money on the table. Scribeshadow uses cutting-edge AI to make novel translation fast, affordable, and super easy. In just minutes, your book can be translated into over 19 languages with high-quality results, ready to reach readers everywhere. This isn’t some faceless tech giant—ScribeShadow is a small, family-run team with indie roots. They’ve been in the trenches, running a small publishing press, so they get the author grind. That’s why they’ve built a tool that’s practical, budget-friendly, and designed with indie authors in mind. Plus, they offer cover creation, audiobook translation, and a simple one-credit system for everything. Best of all? You keep full rights to your work, and your books are never used to train AI. https://app.scribeshadow.com/about [https://app.scribeshadow.com/about] A huge thank you to our new sponsor SCRIBESHADOW for giving our viewers a discount coupon for 30% off their first credit purchase. —» Discount coupon code: PENANDPROSPER30 «— Repurpose.io makes cross-platform posting effortless for creators and authors, saving time on content distribution. Use JT’s affiliate link to streamline your content creation process.https://repurpose.io/end-of-the-year/?fpr=janita61 Join our Word Wars sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14L9U9_Fsp2vWHIF74U8sISDOhNw4J9R0kQy2XhYvTjQ/edit?usp=sharing This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit penandprosper.substack.com/subscribe [https://penandprosper.substack.com/subscribe?utm_campaign=CTA_2&utm_medium=podcast]

Episode 63: Best Writing Conferences for Authors 2026 (Part 1)

Join us on Pen & Prosper where JT is coaching Delport to be a six-figure author! A huge thank you to our official sponsor, Vellum [http://tryvellum.com/penandprosper], the formatting software we couldn’t do without! Create ebooks for every platform: Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and more. Each specialized file can guide readers to buy your next book in their favorite store. Completed a series? Combine everything into a box set in just a few steps. Special thanks to our paid subscribers: 🔥 Victoria Tait [https://open.substack.com/users/143604878-victoria-tait?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 @moniquethatcher [https://substack.com/@moniquethatcher] 🩵 🔥 Jenn Mitchell [https://open.substack.com/users/46052394-jenn-mitchell?utm_source=mentions] (founding member) 🩵 🔥 @Connie Henderson 🩵 🔥 Sheena Cundy [https://open.substack.com/users/15868417-sheena-cundy?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 Paula Mason [https://open.substack.com/users/72363584-paula-mason?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 Carmen Radtke [https://open.substack.com/users/39745427-carmen-radtke?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 Siobhan Purcell 🩵 🔥Jen Carter 🩵 🔥 Michelle Hitchens 🩵 🔥 Daisy Graves 🩵 🔥 Sunee le Roux 🩵 🔥 Steven Aitchison 🩵 🔥 Helen Allan 🩵 And a huge THANK YOU to our video editor Elize [https://open.substack.com/users/79309671-elize?utm_source=mentions] van Heerden 🩵🩵🩵 *** Melissa Delport is an award-winning author, copywriter, and lover of the written word. For ten years Melissa owned and operated her own specialized logistics company until she woke up one morning and decided that it was time to put her English degree to good use. She was offered a three-book deal for The Legacy Trilogy and the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, her speculative fiction has been published in both SA and the USA. Melissa lives in Hillcrest with her husband and three teenagers, none of whom take her seriously. She also writes romantic suspense as Lissa Del and contemporary romance as Rachel Rhodes. Visit Melissa online at www.melissadelport.com [http://www.melissadelport.com/] https://www.youtube.com/@Authormelissadelport [https://www.youtube.com/@Authormelissadelport] JT Lawrence is a mid-6-figure author of 35+ books, mother to a menagerie of chaos, voracious reader and coffee drinker, gin fan, yogi, podcast addict, and wild swimmer. Nothing will convince her that magic isn’t real because she makes a living selling her hallucinations. Her urban fantasy adventures have kept people up all night and made her a USA Today bestselling author and Kindle Unlimited All-Star with a hundred and forty million page reads, and counting. www.jt-lawrence.com [http://www.jt-lawrence.com/] https://www.youtube.com/@JTLawrence79 [https://www.youtube.com/@JTLawrence79] A huge thank you to our original sponsor SCRIBESHADOW for giving our viewers a discount coupon for 30% off their first credit purchase. —» Discount coupon code: PENANDPROSPER30 «— Scribeshadow is the perfect partner for indie authors who don’t want to leave money on the table. Scribeshadow uses cutting-edge AI to make novel translation fast, affordable, and super easy. In just minutes, your book can be translated into over 19 languages with high-quality results, ready to reach readers everywhere. This isn’t some faceless tech giant—ScribeShadow is a small, family-run team with indie roots. They’ve been in the trenches, running a small publishing press, so they get the author grind. That’s why they’ve built a tool that’s practical, budget-friendly, and designed with indie authors in mind. Plus, they offer cover creation, audiobook translation, and a simple one-credit system for everything. Best of all? You keep full rights to your work, and your books are never used to train AI. https://app.scribeshadow.com/about [https://app.scribeshadow.com/about] A huge thank you to our new sponsor SCRIBESHADOW for giving our viewers a discount coupon for 30% off their first credit purchase. —» Discount coupon code: PENANDPROSPER30 «— Repurpose.io makes cross-platform posting effortless for creators and authors, saving time on content distribution. Use JT’s affiliate link to streamline your content creation process.https://repurpose.io/end-of-the-year/?fpr=janita61 Join our Word Wars sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14L9U9_Fsp2vWHIF74U8sISDOhNw4J9R0kQy2XhYvTjQ/edit?usp=sharing This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit penandprosper.substack.com/subscribe [https://penandprosper.substack.com/subscribe?utm_campaign=CTA_2&utm_medium=podcast]

Episode 62: Facebook Ads For Authors with Blake Hudson (Part 3)

Join us on Pen & Prosper where JT is coaching Delport to be a six-figure author! A huge thank you to our official sponsor, Vellum [http://tryvellum.com/penandprosper], the formatting software we couldn’t do without! Create ebooks for every platform: Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and more. Each specialized file can guide readers to buy your next book in their favorite store. Completed a series? Combine everything into a box set in just a few steps. Special thanks to our paid subscribers: 🔥 Victoria Tait [https://open.substack.com/users/143604878-victoria-tait?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 @moniquethatcher [https://substack.com/@moniquethatcher] 🩵 🔥 Jenn Mitchell [https://open.substack.com/users/46052394-jenn-mitchell?utm_source=mentions] (founding member) 🩵 🔥 @Connie Henderson 🩵 🔥 Sheena Cundy [https://open.substack.com/users/15868417-sheena-cundy?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 Paula Mason [https://open.substack.com/users/72363584-paula-mason?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 Carmen Radtke [https://open.substack.com/users/39745427-carmen-radtke?utm_source=mentions] 🩵 🔥 Siobhan Purcell 🩵 🔥Jen Carter 🩵 🔥 Michelle Hitchens 🩵 🔥 Daisy Graves 🩵 🔥 Sunee le Roux 🩵 🔥 Helen Alllan 🩵 And a huge THANK YOU to our video editor Elize [https://open.substack.com/users/79309671-elize?utm_source=mentions] van Heerden 🩵🩵🩵 *** Melissa Delport is an award-winning author, copywriter, and lover of the written word. For ten years Melissa owned and operated her own specialized logistics company until she woke up one morning and decided that it was time to put her English degree to good use. She was offered a three-book deal for The Legacy Trilogy and the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, her speculative fiction has been published in both SA and the USA. Melissa lives in Hillcrest with her husband and three teenagers, none of whom take her seriously. She also writes romantic suspense as Lissa Del and contemporary romance as Rachel Rhodes. Visit Melissa online at www.melissadelport.com [http://www.melissadelport.com/] https://www.youtube.com/@Authormelissadelport [https://www.youtube.com/@Authormelissadelport] JT Lawrence is a mid-6-figure author of 35+ books, mother to a menagerie of chaos, voracious reader and coffee drinker, gin fan, yogi, podcast addict, and wild swimmer. Nothing will convince her that magic isn’t real because she makes a living selling her hallucinations. Her urban fantasy adventures have kept people up all night and made her a USA Today bestselling author and Kindle Unlimited All-Star with a hundred and forty million page reads, and counting. www.jt-lawrence.com [http://www.jt-lawrence.com/] https://www.youtube.com/@JTLawrence79 [https://www.youtube.com/@JTLawrence79] A huge thank you to our original sponsor SCRIBESHADOW for giving our viewers a discount coupon for 30% off their first credit purchase. —» Discount coupon code: PENANDPROSPER30 «— Scribeshadow is the perfect partner for indie authors who don’t want to leave money on the table. Scribeshadow uses cutting-edge AI to make novel translation fast, affordable, and super easy. In just minutes, your book can be translated into over 19 languages with high-quality results, ready to reach readers everywhere. This isn’t some faceless tech giant—ScribeShadow is a small, family-run team with indie roots. They’ve been in the trenches, running a small publishing press, so they get the author grind. That’s why they’ve built a tool that’s practical, budget-friendly, and designed with indie authors in mind. Plus, they offer cover creation, audiobook translation, and a simple one-credit system for everything. Best of all? You keep full rights to your work, and your books are never used to train AI. https://app.scribeshadow.com/about [https://app.scribeshadow.com/about] A huge thank you to our new sponsor SCRIBESHADOW for giving our viewers a discount coupon for 30% off their first credit purchase. —» Discount coupon code: PENANDPROSPER30 «— Repurpose.io makes cross-platform posting effortless for creators and authors, saving time on content distribution. Use JT’s affiliate link to streamline your content creation process.https://repurpose.io/end-of-the-year/?fpr=janita61 Join our Word Wars sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14L9U9_Fsp2vWHIF74U8sISDOhNw4J9R0kQy2XhYvTjQ/edit?usp=sharing This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit penandprosper.substack.com/subscribe [https://penandprosper.substack.com/subscribe?utm_campaign=CTA_2&utm_medium=podcast]