The Conspire Podcast with Brandy Ange

A quick catch-up episode before we dive back into Season 2 — where I've been all summer (book signings, launching the Conspire Planner Kickstarter, and prepping fall/holiday promos), why I went quiet, and the boundary-setting framework that's helping me stay sane as a self-employed author: thinking of your business year in seasons. We'll talk about how to read your own life context season by season, when to prioritize deep work vs. networking, when your readers are actually looking for you, and how to recognize when you're overextended so you can cut back with intention instead of guilt.
 
Links: 
Conspire Planner Kickstarter 
Realm Makers Vlog
Contact Me to Join Holiday Promos!
My Black Friday Sale will be running the week before and ending on Black Friday so Nov 20-27. Prime Christmas present shopping time! 
 
My Christmas Sale will be running the week between Christmas and New Years, when readers will be spending their Christmas money. Dec 24-31. 
 
 

The Conspire Planner is an author business planner that focuses on making the business side of authorship as fun and creative as the writing side.
ENJOY growing your indie author business with custom tailored author business strategy that works just for you. 
You don't have to struggle alone. This planner is like sitting down with me over a cup of coffee to take everything we cover in the Conspire Conference, or in this podcast and apply it directly to you, your audience, and your books! No matter what genre you write, this planner can help you plot your success!
Check out the Kickstarter and back the project to help us get these planners created to help authors thrive! 

The Conspire Planner is coming August 11th, 2026 to Kickstarter! 
Join the Waiting Room and get access to Early Bird Pricing Secret Links!
Early Bird pricing will save you $10 off single planners, or $50 off the 5 Yr Plan Bundle!
Kickstarter Pre-Launch Page
All the prep for the Kickstarter and my summer signing events have kept me super busy, so unfortunately something had to get put on pause, and it ended up being the podcast, but don't worry I'll be back to our usual schedule in September when things get a little more back to normal! 

Did you choose your distribution channels the same way most authors do — by peer pressure? Everyone says Amazon is where you need to be, and “enroll in KU to make more money”. Or “I can’t believe you never even considered selling direct”. But distribution isn't a checkbox. It's one of the most consequential strategic decisions in your author business — and the platforms are changing the rules whether you're paying attention or not. In this episode, we break down the three core distribution paths (wide, exclusive, and direct), walk through the eight questions you need to answer before you commit to any of them, and use Audible's major royalty overhaul as a live case study in why having a contingency plan isn't paranoia — it's just good operational security. By the end, you'll know exactly which strategy fits your books, your readers, and your business right now. Mission briefing starts now.
 
Links:
Conspire Con 
Conspire Planner 
Publisher Rocket
Conspire Planner Video Sneak Peek
Worksheet PDF

Readers ARE judging your book by its cover. And your blurb. The manuscript is done. Now the real strategy begins. In this episode we cover everything between finished draft and ready-to-distribute — cover design, blurbs, formatting, and editing — and we're not just checking boxes. We're building a packaging system that positions every book you publish as undeniably, unapologetically professional. No more "it looks a little indie." Because the smartest packaging decisions you make today will pay off across your entire backlist.
 
Links:
Conspire Con 
Conspire Planner 
Publisher Rocket (Keywords and Categories *affiliate*) 
Conspire Planner Video Sneak Peek
Worksheet PDF
 
Resources Mentioned:
Editing
Reedsy Marketplace (editors & cover designers): https://reedsy.com
Grammarly: https://grammarly.com
ProWritingAid: https://prowritingaid.com
S2E4 (outsourcing episode): (your own internal link)
Formatting
Vellum (Mac): https://vellum.pub
Atticus (Mac/PC/cross-platform): https://atticus.io
Abode InDesign https://www.adobe.com/products/indesign.html
Cover Design
Reedsy Marketplace (cover designers): https://reedsy.com/design/book-cover-design
99designs: https://99designs.com
Canva: https://canva.com

You have a writing routine. But do you have a writing process? There's a difference — and it might be the reason your drafts take longer than they should, your revision passes feel endless, and your manuscript never quite feels done. In this episode we're going deep on operative instincts: figuring out whether you're a plotter, pantser, or plantser, designing a revision system that's actually strategic, and knowing when to call the draft done before perfectionism costs you your readers. This is the episode that turns how you write into a system that works.
 
Links:
Conspire Con 
Conspire Planner 
Publisher Rocket
Conspire Planner Video Sneak Peek
Worksheet PDF

Every indie author is doing too much. But knowing what to hand off, when to hand it off, and how to pay for it when your royalties aren't cutting it yet? That's where it gets complicated. In this episode of Conspire, we're running a full field audit of your author business — breaking down exactly what to DIY, what to delegate, and what you should never cheap out on no matter where you are in your journey. Plus, how to fund your outsourcing before your book income can carry it. Because building an author business doesn't have to mean doing it all alone — it just means being strategic about when you ask for backup.
 
Links:
Conspire Con 
Conspire Planner 
Publisher Rocket
Worksheet PDF
Reedsy Publishing Services Directory 
Fiverr  
Rover
 

Consider this episode classified information — because if you've ever seen another author's income numbers and immediately felt like you were failing, this is your debrief. We're pulling back the curtain on what authors — indie and traditional — actually earn, why the statistics look scarier than they are, and how to find yourself in the real picture. Plus, we're breaking down the revenue streams that serious authors are building right now, from the non-negotiables to the expansion plays that might genuinely surprise you. Consider this your permission slip to stop spiraling and start strategizing.
📚 SOURCES & RESEARCH NOTES
Authors Guild 2023 Author Income Survey — 5,699 respondents, the largest U.S. author income study to date. Median book income all authors: $2,000/year. Full-time author median total writing income: $20,000/year. Romance author median: $31,725. Mystery/thriller: $10,000. Literary fiction: $5,000.
Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) 2025 Indie Author Income Survey — Median indie income: $13,500 (up 6% YOY). Traditional median: $6,000–$8,000 and declining. Mean vs. median distortion: $82,600 mean vs. $12,749 median due to $11M top earner.
Written Word Media 2025 Indie Author Survey — 1,346 respondents. 20x email list income correlation. Amazon as top revenue source declining from 91% (2023) to 83% (2025). 38% fully in KU, 30% fully wide.
Audio Publishers Association 2024 / Author's Republic 2026 Report — U.S. audiobook revenue $2.22B in 2024, +13% YOY. Projected $13.3B by 2030. AI narration grew 36% YOY, now 23% of new releases.
Note on survey methodology: The ALLi survey skews toward serious, active indie authors — meaning its median likely overrepresents committed career authors compared to the broader population. The Authors Guild survey is broader and includes all publishing types. Both are self-reported. Use in context.
 
Links:
Conspire Con 
Conspire Planner 
Publisher Rocket
Worksheet PDF

Writing routines aren't one-size-fits-all — and the science of why is genuinely fascinating. If you've been struggling with writer's block, inconsistent output, or a creative process that just doesn't seem to fit your life anymore, this episode might be exactly what you've been looking for. In this episode of Conspire, we're going full field operative on the psychology of creative productivity and what it really takes to build a writing routine for authors that actually works. Discover your writer motivation type, learn what your brain actually needs to do its best creative work, and walk away with a practical framework to run your own experiments and create a custom writing practice — backed by real psychology, real research, and one very personal case study.
Psychology sources cited in this episode:
Deci, E.L. & Ryan, R.M. — Self-Determination Theory (autonomy, competence, relatedness as the three core psychological needs driving sustainable motivation)
Pink, D. — Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (autonomy, mastery, and purpose as the architecture of intrinsic motivation)
Csikszentmihalyi, M. — Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (flow state, the conditions that produce it, and its relationship to creative work)
Kellogg, R.T. — The Psychology of Writing (background noise, encoding specificity, environment as retrieval cue, and the cognitive demands of composing)
McEwen, B.S. — research on allostatic load (the cumulative neurological and physiological toll of chronic stress, and how it changes what conditions feel safe and generative)
Baumeister, R.F. et al. — research on decision fatigue and ego depletion (the finite nature of cognitive resources and how pre-task decisions deplete creative capacity)
Fogg, B.J. — Tiny Habits (habit formation, behavioral conditioning, and the role of small consistent triggers in building durable routines)
Ariely, D. & Wertenbroch, K. — research on temptation bundling and self-control strategies (pairing desired rewards with target behaviors to build motivation)
Kaplan, S. — Attention Restoration Theory (diffuse thinking, the restorative function of low-demand environmental stimulation, and the cognitive value of mental rest breaks)
Links:
Conspire Con 
Conspire Planner 
Publisher Rocket
Conspire Podcast S1E6 Mission Possible: Energy Management for Authors
Worksheet PDF

Most authors step into their business without ever getting the briefing — bleeding time and money without knowing why. Not because they aren't working hard enough. Because nobody ever handed them the blueprint.
This episode is that blueprint. We're declassifying the real cost of running an author business — what it actually takes in time, what it actually takes in money, and the planning framework that puts every resource exactly where it needs to go. No more guessing. No more gaps. Just a business that finally works as hard as you do.
Sources Referenced
Gail Matthews, Dominican University — Written Goals Study
Kahneman & Tversky (1979) — Planning Fallacy
Peter Gollwitzer — Implementation Intentions
Richard Thaler — Mental Accounting (Nobel Prize 2017)
Deci & Ryan — Self-Determination Theory
ALLi Indie Author Industry Report — production delay data
Authors Guild 2023 Author Income Survey
Reedsy Author Income Survey — cover and editing ROI data
 
Links:
Conspire Con 
Conspire Planner 
Publisher Rocket
Conspire Podcast S1E6 Mission Possible: Energy Management for Authors
Worksheet PDF