Anna Featherstone
Australian nonfiction author, publishing consultant for the Australian Society of Authors, and non-fiction advisor & podcast host for the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). Author of Look, It's Your Book! and founder of Bold Authors.
3
APPEARANCES
3
PODCASTS
Aug 4, 2026
Anna FeatherstoneGUEST
I think one thing is to get your brand right first because once you have your brand and you understand and you have like a great author photo and a good website, that gives you the confidence that you might need to take some of those other steps.
Anna FeatherstoneGUEST
Marketing, it's definitely if you only have one book, don't invest in ads straightaway because marketing you often will need a few books to be able to get a return on your investment.
Anna FeatherstoneGUEST
Now, this all depends too on are you trying to make money from book sales or are you making money from the consulting that will flow from your book or the other opportunities? Because in that case, there might be a totally different strategy.
Anna FeatherstoneGUEST
It's really working out what are you hoping the book can do for you so then you work out what the investment is, then you can navigate that way.
Anna FeatherstoneGUEST
You might not know how to do it, but if it's all totally outsourced and you don't even check what's coming back to you from an agent, That's when people start tuning out because people can feel it's not authentic.
Andrew GriffithsHOST
So what advice would you offer then to our kind of nonfiction authors about utilising the media as an opportunity and perhaps how to go about it in the shortest possible distance, I guess?
Anna FeatherstoneGUEST
Yeah, so obviously AI can pull it off and AI is getting better all the time and, yes, it can do it.
Anna FeatherstoneGUEST
AI hasn't been in that room when you sat and talked with that person or when you discovered something.
Anna FeatherstoneGUEST
They're the things that now matter because otherwise people can just go and type, an AI search and get an answer.
Anna FeatherstoneGUEST
What people are looking for is, you know, that connection, that extra story.
Megan WalkerHOST
What are maybe like three of the biggest ones that you could clear up for us that this is not... fact give us some myth myth busting
Anna FeatherstoneGUEST
Um, I know there's so much talk about, uh, fiction going, you know, great guns with romantasy and everything, and that sales in nonfiction are, you know, a little bit up and down.
Anna FeatherstoneGUEST
Um, but that's not what I'm finding when nonfiction is done well, um, and marketed well.
18 MINS LATER