The Self Publishing Show

James Blatch, Cissy Mecca
james@selfpublishingformula.com (+1 verified host & producer email)

Booking Overview

A practical indie-publishing show that helps authors and publishing professionals build durable branding, marketing, and audience growth strategies. It regularly brings in recognizable industry and expert voices, making it useful for PR pros who pitch publishing, author branding, and reader-marketing expertise.

Metrics

Episodes: 447

Frequency: Weekly

Rating: 4.7/5.0

Estimated listeners: 1k-10k

Gender skew: Neutral

Location: USA

Instagram: 11.0k followers

30s Ad: 190 - 240, 60s Ad: 232 - 282

Contact Form

Contact form available - Official Form

Host

James Blatch - Indie publishing educator and host of The Self Publishing Show, focused on navigating direct-to-reader publishing realities and staying ahead of changes in the self-publishing industry.

Cissy Mecca - Indie author and publishing practitioner; co-host who contributes practical, behind-the-scenes perspective on author brand building, products/packaging, and marketing decisions in the self-publishi...

Booking Intelligence

Booking Requirements

medium
Typical Credentials:  
Industry-recognized experts and practitioners in indie publishing—especially author branding/PR, marketing, direct-to-reader sales, and domain experts who can provide credibility (e.g., former law enforcement for crime writing). Often includes established authors, specialist PR/branding professionals, and recognized community figures tied to self-publishing education.
Required Achievements:  
Published books or established expertise in a niche genre, Recognized branding/PR work for authors (e.g., branding frameworks or consultancy), Leadership or notable credibility via professional background (e.g., law enforcement experience translating into writing authenticity), Contribution to author education communities or conference/event participation

Recent Guest Discussions

Isabelle Knight - Author Branding And Author Story Positioning; Using Brand Foundations Across Sites, Newsletters, Social, Events, And Publicity; Indie Discoverability Considerations

Patrick O'Donnell - Authenticity In Crime/procedural Writing; How Real Policing Experience Improves Fiction And How Writer Communities Support Accuracy; Indie Publishing Eligibility And Genre Recognition

Recent Topics

Indie Publishing, Author Branding, Marketing, Book Marketing, Direct Sales, Ecommerce, Publishing, Audience Building, Metadata, Copyright

Episodes

Here's the recent few episodes on
The Self Publishing Show
:

SPS-448: A Glimmer of Hope in the Age of AI with James Blatch & Cissy Mecca

May 21, 2026

Episode Summary James and Cissy tackle a "bits and bobs" episode covering the changing indie publishing landscape, with a focus on Amazon's evolving AI-driven algorithms and what authors need to do to stay discoverable. They discuss why clear genre signalling, strong metadata, covers, blurbs, titles, and reader expectation alignment are becoming more important than ever. The conversation also touches on pricing psychology, the value readers place on author access and premium offers and the im...

SPS-447: You Are Your Brand with Isabelle Knight, James Blatch & Cissy Mecca

May 14, 2026

James and Cissy are joined by PR expert Isabelle Knight to discuss why authors are not just selling books, they are also building a brand readers can connect with. Isabelle explains how indie authors can identify their own author story, understand what sets them apart, and use that foundation across websites, newsletters, social media, events, and publicity opportunities. The episode also touches on Amazon's AI categorisation issues, Meta ad frustrations, upcoming romance conferences, and why...

SPS-446: The Boxset Experiment with James Blatch & Cissy Mecca

May 07, 2026

James and Cissy dive into the growing world of direct sales, Etsy stores, and special edition books, exploring how indie authors are expanding beyond Amazon and turning their books into premium gift products. They also discuss the importance of professional branding photography, why readers increasingly connect with authors personally, and the latest Meta AI lawsuit involving pirated books used for training AI models. The episode features a detailed behind-the-scenes look at James's new Cold ...

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