Episode 65: On Demystifying Goodreads, Film Options & Being Unstoppable with Alessandra Torre (Equestrian Author Spotlight Podcast)

​Episode 65: Welcome to the Equestrian Author Spotlight podcast! In each episode, you’ll hear inspirational stories from horse book authors including writing advice and marketing tips to help you write your own horse book. If you are an author, aspire to be an author, or simply love horse books then you are in the right place!

In this week's episode, you'll meet Alessandra Torre. She's an award-winning New York Times bestselling author of twenty-four novels and three of her novels have been optioned for film. You'll learn ...​

• ​How to use Goodreads to reach readers. Alessandra busts myths and shares best practices, so authors can harness the power of Goodreads to market their books. 
• Alessandra's thoughts on traditional and independent publishing. She has signed two six-figure publishing deals with industry giants Hachette and Harlequin, yet found her greatest success with independent publishing. Psst ... she's hit the New York Times list seven times, all with indie-published novels.
• What to expect when your book is optioned for film and a behind the scenes look at being on set when her New York Times bestseller Hollywood Dirt was produced as a full-length movie in 2017. 
• Why Alessandra launched Inkers Con. She tells us about this annual conference for authors and what they can learn by attending.    
• ​And MUCH more!

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Watch Alessandra Torre's Interview on YouTube!

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Or listen to the audio only episode.

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About Alessandra Torre

Alessandra Torre is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author of twenty-four novels. Her New York Times bestseller Hollywood Dirt was produced as a full-length movie in 2017. Two more of her books have been optioned for film, and her books have been translated in twelve different languages, in over thirty countries.
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Alessandra signed two six-figure publishing deals with industry giants Hachette and Harlequin, yet found her greatest success with self-publishing, hitting the New York Times list seven times, all with self-published novels.

Alessandra is a popular public speaker and presents frequently to universities, conventions and author groups. She has online classes available and has built a community of over 20,000 aspiring and published authors. In 2019, Alessandra Torre Ink launched Inkers Con - an annual authors conference that broke industry standards by offering content both in-person and digitally. In June of 2021, Inkers Con will return to Dallas, Texas.
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Alessandra is also the CEO of Authors A.I. and BingeBooks. BingeBooks is a community for readers, with a focus on book discovery. Find out more at www.bingebooks.com, or meet Marlowe, an artificial intelligence editor at authors.ai.

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Alessandra Torre Interview Excerpt

Carly: Your New York Times bestseller Hollywood Dirt was produced as a full-length movie in 2017 and two more of your books are optioned for film. How does it make you feel to see your story, your words, your characters being put into into a visual format?

Alessandra: If you ever go through this process, you're going to meet with agents and they're going to act like they're about to make you the biggest thing in the world. It's a lot of promises that typically never come to fruition, but then I got an email out of the blue from a few women who were starting up a movie studio called Passionflix. They wanted to make a movie out of Hollywood Dirt. 

When I chatted with them, they said they wanted to make a movie that's exactly like the book and they wanted me to be involved every step of the way. I was thinking this would never happen. Then they sent me over a contract. I signed it. They sent me money and I took it. They sent me a script that I read and it was exactly like my book in every way. Suddenly, I'm watching audition tapes from actresses and actors.

The whole time I thought it wasn't going to happen, and then they are scouting locations. It wasn't until they sent me the schedule, I booked a flight, we were filming my heroine, and she's saying lines from my book, the lights are on, and the camera's rolling, that I was like, "I think this is actually going to happen." It was best experience of my life!

(Listen into the full podcast interview! Alessandra goes into full detail about her journey into optioning her book for film, and what it was like being on set, behind the scenes, as an advisor during the filming of Hollywood Dirt.)

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Carly: You have an amazing author career. You've signed six-figure publishing deals. You've also embraced independent publishing, so you've got this hybrid model going on. Your books are being made into movies. Do you have any advice for authors who aim for similar success?

Alessandra: First of all, I've gotten really lucky. I came into publishing at a really great time in 2012 and 2013. It was easier to succeed at a time when the market wasn't as saturated. Nowadays, you have to have a great book, you have to have great marketing, and then you have to have some luck. That's just the truth of matter.

I was talking to author Steffanie Holmes the other day and her advice is "don't give up before the miracle." Her miracle was book 28. She was writing, writing, and writing. She could never break above a certain plateau. It didn't matter how many books she had out, she just couldn't get over this earning level, and then book 28 came. It just clicked and that book took off, then her back list took off, and then suddenly she was making three times what she was making for the last four years. She didn't give up and book 28 was the book where it all happened.

It's just trying different things and being in the right place, at the right time, with the right book. You may not have written that right book yet or your book might be six years old, but somebody in California reads it, and it's the right person, and then before you know it your book is the next Forrest Gump, and suddenly everyone in the world knows it.

Don't stop before your miracle.

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Carly: Tell us about Inkers Con and what authors can expect from this annual conference?

Alessandra: At Inkers Con, authors will experience unique workshops and panels in writing, marketing, and business practices - either in person or online - and learn from New York Times bestselling authors and industry experts that will provide focused and applicable knowledge to improve their writing, happiness, and sales.

The Inkers Con curriculum is designed to bring your career to the next tier—whether you are an aspiring, newly published, or advanced author. Explore the newest concepts in publishing, network with peers, and meet with industry and retail leaders to amp up your sales, quality, inspiration, and productivity.

Inkers Con has both digital and in-person access. After attending the Dallas, Texas conference on June 4-6th, attendees will also be able to watch high-definition recordings of all presentations - plus 12 more online-only classes! The online access (which releases one month later) will give you the ability to rewatch the live events as well as experience the new content.

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Carly: Let's talk about Goodreads. Will you talk about some of the myths around Goodreads and help us bust those myths?

Alessandra: First of all, if you aren't familiar with Goodreads, it's a book discovery website where authors and readers can find, discuss, recommend, and share books. It's sole focus is books. If you are a published author, you are already on Goodreads, so your books  can be on the website with you or they can be there without you.

The number one myth about Goodreads is that authors should avoid it. Authors love to tell other authors this. I'm the first person to stand on my soapbox and say that is incorrect. Goodreads is a social media network and it's a book discovery site that is 100% focused on books.

​When someone goes to Facebook, and you're talking about your books on Facebook, they're going to scroll past your book, or when scrolling to your book, they're going to pass cat videos, political stuff, and everything else. Their mindset is on a ton of other things. When they go to Goodreads, they are there for one purpose and that is to find a book, to review a book, or discuss a book with someone else. Why on earth would we not want to be there as an author?

The reason that people say to stay away from Goodreads is because they say it's troll central, meaning it's full of horrible, hateful readers who love to bash your books. First of all, trolls are everywhere. They are on Goodreads, sure, but they are also in every other corner of the internet. 

If you Google your most recent release, I guarantee you that Goodreads is going to be in the top five search results on Google. Goodreads is a huge search engine magnet. People are looking at your profiles and looking at your books, whether you are on that site or not, so you might as well be on that site, have a presence, have control over that content, and then reach those readers through the tools that Goodreads offers.

Another reason that authors stay away from Goodreads is because it's confusing. Goodreads is confusing. I will agree with that. There's a learning curve, but you don't have to be a Goodreads expert to have an impact on the platform.

(Tune in! In the full podcast episode, Alessandra shares a ton of practical advice on how to easily use Goodreads to reach readers. Alessandra busts even more myths and shares best practices, so you can harness the power of Goodreads, too.)

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Connect with Alessandra Torre

Author Website: https://www.alessandratorre.com/
Inkers Con Website: https://www.inkerscon.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlessandraTorre0
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alessandratorre4/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReadAlessandra
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/Alessandra_Torre
BingeBooks: https://bingebooks.com/
Authors A.I.: https://authors.ai/

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Books Mentioned in the Interview

Please note: This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to buy any books featured, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate purchases help with the upkeep of the podcast. Thanks for your help keeping this site running!

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New Author Interviews Each Week!

Make sure you never miss a show by subscribing on YouTube or Apple Podcasts. This podcast is made possible by listeners like you. I appreciate your support! 

​Thank you for joining us this week on the Equestrian Author Spotlight podcast I hope you enjoy these Q&A sessions with wonderful equine authors who love all things horses and writing just like me. 

​If you are an author who writes about horses and would like to be spotlighted please let me know. Visit my contact page to fill out a request. I'd be happy to have you on the show, too.

Want a free guide to secrets of horse book authors? Gallop over to https://www.carlykadecreative.com/wisdom.html and join the Equestrian Author Spotlight email list to have the author advice resource delivered instantly to your inbox.

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About Podcast Host Carly Kade

Carly Kade is an award-winning independent author, horse owner, creativity coach, and the host of the Equestrian Author Spotlight Podcast. She helps fellow writers start, grow, and expand their author careers. Creative writing makes her spurs jingle!

Carly's In the Reins equestrian romance book series was written with horse lovers in mind, no matter which discipline they ride. The horses are as vital to moving the story forward as the human characters are.

These books are perfect for poolside reading, taking to the beach, or settling down with after a day of horseback riding.

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