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    The Gatecrashers Podcast

    STORM THE GATES OF PUBLISHING with VP and literary agent Amanda Luedeke and novelist Charis Crowe. Teaming up to talk about both sides of publishing (self-publishing and traditional), Amanda and Charis share their combined twenty years of experience in the industry from both sides of the desk. They offer a glimpse behind the "gates" as they share the realities, opportunities, and difficulties of the publishing world. Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor and Luedeke. In her 10+ year career she's done business with top-tier publishers and independent houses. www.macgregorandluedeke.com Charis Crowe is a marketer, speaker, freelance editor, and longtime aspiring author who for years stood at the gates of traditional publishing only to choose the self-publishing path.
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    Episodes (100)

    156 Things We Learned in 2022

    156 Things We Learned in 2022

    The Gatecrashers reflect on lessons learned in 2022. Aaron Schlegel donation fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/schlegelfamilydonation

    Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. 

    Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.

    153 Query Tips for Authors

    153 Query Tips for Authors

    Things to keep in mind when sending out book queries.

    Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. 

    Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.

    152 Reshaping Your Daily Writing Goals (plus NaNoWriMo encouragement)

    152 Reshaping Your Daily Writing Goals (plus NaNoWriMo encouragement)

    Writing goals are hard. The Gatecrashers discuss tips and tricks to make them less hard.

    Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. 

    Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.

    150 Men in Publishing

    150 Men in Publishing

    Something's rotten in the state of publishing. Women make up most of the work force yet hold fewer high-level positions.

    Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. 

    Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.

    148 Will Robots Narrate Audiobooks?

    148 Will Robots Narrate Audiobooks?

    As AI improve, authors and publishers are wondering when we can expect AI-narrated audiobooks. The Gatecrashers discuss.

    Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. 

    Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.

    147 AI Book Covers

    147 AI Book Covers
    Can computers create good book covers? The Gatecrashers discuss this new technology.

    Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. 

    Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.

    146 I Landed My Own Book Deal

    146 I Landed My Own Book Deal

    Amanda shares how she landed her own book deal and what that process looked like. 

    Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. 

    Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.

    145 Publishing Industry News!

    145 Publishing Industry News!

    Read all about it! The Gatecrashers discuss how recent publishing-related tech news affects authors.

    Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. 

    Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.

    144 How Many Marketing Dollars Do Publishers Spend? Notes from the antitrust trial

    144 How Many Marketing Dollars Do Publishers Spend? Notes from the antitrust trial

    How many marketing dollars per book do publishers spend? The Gatecrashers discuss this and more from the antitrust trial.

    Source: https://mailchi.mp/hotsheetpub/bn-backlist?e=d650b3b0a0

    Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. 

    Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.

    143 Do Agents Only Care About Big Advances? Notes from the anti-trust trial

    143 Do Agents Only Care About Big Advances? Notes from the anti-trust trial

    One takeaway from the big antitrust trial seems to be the thought that agents only care about getting big book advances, and that if they can do that, then they've done their job. Is this true? The Gatecrashers discuss.

    Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. 

    Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.

    142 Is it true that 50% of books sell 12 copies or less?

    142 Is it true that 50% of books sell 12 copies or less?

    It was the tweet heard round the publishing world, but is it true? Do 50% of books sell 12 copies or fewer? The Gatecrashers weigh in. 

    https://twitter.com/aprilhenrybooks/status/1566230658766503937

    Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. 

    Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.

    141 Co-Authoring Tips with Sofia Lapuente and Jarrod Shusterman

    141 Co-Authoring Tips with Sofia Lapuente and Jarrod Shusterman

    New York Times bestselling authors Sofia Lapuente and Jarrod Shusterman give tips for a strong coauthoring relationship.

    Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. 

    Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.

    140 The Art of Bookselling - Interview with Elisa Saphier

    140 The Art of Bookselling - Interview with Elisa Saphier

    Why do bookstores choose to carry one book over another? Why do some books perform better in certain areas of the country? The Gatecrashers sit down with bookstore owner and literary agent Elisa Saphier to discuss the art of bookselling.

    Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. 

    Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.

    139 Bestselling Author Mel Todd

    139 Bestselling Author Mel Todd

    The Gatecrashers interview author Mel Todd, owner of Bad Ash Publishing. Mel is a Bestselling Amazon author in Urban Science Fiction and Urban Fantasy with over 30 titles to her name, plus stories in multiple anthologies. 

    Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. 

    Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.

     

    The LLC resource we mention can be found here:

    https://www.llcuniversity.com/llc-annual-fees-by-state/

     

    Bad Ash publishing and Mel's books can be found here:

    https://badashpublishing.com/

    https://www.amazon.com/Mel-Todd/e/B07CW41H8X/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

    138 Tell the Story You Want to Tell - Interview with Piper Huguley

    138 Tell the Story You Want to Tell - Interview with Piper Huguley

    The Gatecrashers sit down with award-winning novelist Piper Huguley and discuss the importance of fighting to tell the story that you want to tell.

    Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. 

    Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.