The Six Figure Author Experiment Podcast

* Listen on Spotify
* Listen on Apple
* Listen on Youtube
* Listen on Pocketcasts
* Book Launch checklist: https://BookHip.com/BDSWRRT
* Millionaire Author Mastermind Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/millionaireauthormastermind/
* http://hapitalist.com/
* https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/leesavino/sold-to-the-berserkers
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In this episode of The Six Figure Author Experiment, Russell and Lee dive deep into the art and business of adapting a novel into a comic, using Lee’s Sold to the Berserkers as a case study. What starts as a conversation about a spicy, emotionally charged romance quickly evolves into a masterclass on translation between mediums, visual storytelling, and creative strategy.
Russell breaks down one of the most important concepts in comics: the “gutter”. The space between panels where the reader’s brain fills in the action, effectively turning still images into a movie. This becomes the central lens for the entire discussion. Adapting a book is not about copying scenes. It’s about choosing the keyframes that allow the audience to imagine everything else.
Lee reflects on the emotional core of her original work, particularly how romance functions as emotional catharsis and psychological processing, especially for readers navigating fear, vulnerability, and desire. The conversation expands into why romance is often misunderstood, despite being one of the most emotionally impactful genres.
On the business side, the episode offers a surprisingly tactical breakdown of how authors can approach comics as a multi-format asset strategy. From Kickstarter campaigns to special edition illustrated books, art prints, and multiple cover variants, Russell outlines how one creative project can be leveraged across multiple products to maximize return on investment.
The result is both philosophical and practical: a reminder that adapting your work isn’t about preservation. It’s about reinvention, understanding what each medium does best, and building a creative ecosystem where your story can thrive in multiple forms.
Topics Covered:
* The origin of Sold to the Berserkers and its rapid, emotionally driven creation
* Why romance readers crave catharsis: transforming fear into emotionally satisfying outcomes
* The role of “non-con reluctance fantasy” and why it resonates with certain audiences
* Adapting older work for modern audiences and shifting cultural contexts
* The challenge of translating internal, emotional prose into visual storytelling
* Why some scenes work in books but fail visually in comics
* The importance of tone adjustment and softening elements for new mediums
* Understanding audience differences between romance readers and comic fans
* The concept of the “gutter” in comics and why it’s the key to storytelling
* How comics rely on readers to mentally fill in action between panels
* Keyframes vs. exposition: choosing the right moments to depict visually
* Why comics are about triggering imagination, not showing everything
* Common mistakes authors make when adapting books into comics
* Why comics and novels require fundamentally different storytelling approaches
* The limitations of comics: less space for interiority and deep philosophical dialogue
* The strengths of comics: action, visuals, symbolism, and emotional immediacy
* Why adaptation should be treated as a new creative work, not a direct translation
* Examples of adapting comics back into novels and expanding interiority
* The importance of understanding what each medium does best
* Recommendation: Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud as a foundational resource
* Emotional storytelling vs. informational storytelling and why emotion drives engagement
* Romance as “emotional labor processing” and its cultural undervaluation
* How stories help process fear, anger, and emotional complexity
* Why readers must “slow down” when reading comics compared to prose
* The interplay between words and images in effective comic storytelling
* Practical structure: typical comic length (20–32 pages) and panel breakdowns
* The concept of splash pages and how they impact pacing and visual storytelling
* Building a multi-product strategy: comic + illustrated book + art prints
* Reusing art across formats to maximize ROI
* Cover strategies: multiple variants, NSFW vs SFW versions, premium editions
* Budget realities: comic production costs and working with artists
* Using Kickstarter to fund comic projects and validate demand
* Leveraging communities and networks to find collaborators
* The importance of “who you know” in creative production pipelines
* Creating special edition books with integrated illustrations
* Stretch goals and expanding visual content post-launch
* Using one creative project to generate multiple income streams
* Final takeaway: don’t translate your book—reimagine it for the medium you’re in


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.sixfigureauthorexperiment.com

* Listen on Spotify
* Listen on Apple
* Listen on Youtube
* Listen on Pocketcasts
* Book Launch checklist: https://BookHip.com/BDSWRRT
* Millionaire Author Mastermind Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/millionaireauthormastermind/
* http://hapitalist.com/
* https://link.tertulia.com/ykHxfS

In this episode of The Six Figure Author Experiment, Russell and Lee sit down with Lynda Hammes, co-founder of Tertulia, to explore a tool built to solve one of the most exhausting parts of the author business: the messy, expensive, duct-taped-together stack of websites, email tools, direct sales platforms, and assorted software subscriptions. Lynda explains how Tertulia began as a book discovery platform and online bookstore, then expanded into Tertulia for Authors, a streamlined author platform designed to make websites and audience-building dramatically easier.
The conversation centers on a live walkthrough of the Tertulia website builder, showing how quickly an author can generate a site from an ISBN or ASIN and an Instagram handle, then customize colors, branding, books, blog posts, and calls to action. Lynda demonstrates how the platform imports metadata, reviews, retailer links, and book information, then layers in tools for lead magnets, blogs, custom pages, email campaigns, and direct sales. The core promise is simple but powerful: authors should be able to build a polished home base in minutes, not wrestle for weeks with a pile of disconnected tools.
Russell and Lee also dig into a larger issue underneath the tech demo: why so many authors still avoid building a real online home base, even in 2026. The answer is not usually philosophical resistance so much as tool fatigue and intimidation. Tertulia’s pitch is that authors already know they need a website, an email list, and better direct reader relationships. They just do not want to become accidental web developers to get there. That is where the platform is trying to meet them: less friction, fewer subscriptions, and less maintenance over time.
A major thread in the episode is author audience ownership. Lynda notes that one recurring lesson from Tertulia’s work with authors is that social media attention is far less durable than a reader email list, and that email campaigns often outperform social in actual sales. Tertulia’s built-in tools are meant to make that shift easier by combining reader magnets, email capture, newsletter templates, and direct sales in one place. For authors tired of bouncing between MailerLite, BookFunnel, Shopify, and a website builder, this consolidation is a major part of the appeal.
The episode also opens the door to Tertulia’s broader ecosystem beyond author websites. Lynda describes the original Tertulia business as a book discovery and commerce platform, featuring curated recommendations, celebrity book clubs, indie press roundups, and author recommendation content. That context matters because it positions Tertulia not just as a software tool, but as a company thinking seriously about reader discovery, book buying, and the relationship between authors and audiences.
By the end, the episode makes a clear case for what Tertulia is trying to become: not just “another website builder,” but an increasingly complete ecosystem for authors who want to look professional, grow an email list, sell direct, and simplify their business infrastructure without paying for five separate services or spending their creative energy on backend chaos.
Topics Covered:
* What Tertulia is and how it evolved from a bookstore and discovery platform into Tertulia for Authors
* Lynda Hammes’s overview of Tertulia’s mission to simplify the author tech stack
* Why authors still resist building websites, even though they know they need one
* The “Frankenstack” problem: juggling Wix, WordPress, MailerLite, BookFunnel, Shopify, and other disconnected tools
* Live demo of building an author website using only an ISBN/ASIN and Instagram handle
* Importing books, metadata, retailer links, descriptions, and reviews automatically into an author site
* The design process: choosing templates, updating colors, branding, and layout quickly
* How Tertulia handles blogs and custom pages for authors who want more than a static website
* Reader magnets and lead capture built directly into the website platform
* Replacing the BookFunnel + MailerLite + website combo with a more unified toolset
* Email campaigns inside Tertulia, including book-specific newsletter templates for cover reveals, preorders, and more
* Why Tertulia prioritized easy, author-specific email templates before more advanced automation features
* Selling ebooks and audiobooks direct through the site using Stripe checkout
* Tracking direct buyers and audience data inside the platform
* The option to prioritize direct buying while still linking to outside retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble
* Discussion of embedding pixels for ad tracking and direct sales campaigns
* Using Tertulia even if some products are sold elsewhere, such as Shopify or Kickstarter
* Adding books manually when they are not widely distributed or do not yet have standard metadata in major systems
* Review curation and why Tertulia prefers a cleaner “top review” approach instead of dumping in hundreds of raw reviews
* The role of discoverability and how Substack-style discovery compares to bookstore-based discovery
* Tertulia’s roots as a discovery engine for books, with curated recommendations and retail built in
* Author recommendation content and why author-to-reader recommendation paths can be especially powerful
* Tertulia’s celebrity and hosted book club ecosystem, including Bellatrist Book Club
* The Tertulia co-op membership for readers and how it differs from the author-facing subscription
* Pricing for Tertulia for Authors, including the free trial and monthly subscription tiers
* Why onboarding without requiring a credit card lowers friction for authors who just want to test a site first
* Domain transfer and setup options for authors moving over from older platforms
* Future roadmap: automation sequences, author-fulfilled print commerce, and broader fulfillment solutions
* Tertulia’s Friday Zoom office hours and author community support model
* Why the long-term maintenance burden is often worse than the initial website setup itself
* Final takeaway: for many authors, the real value is not “more tech,” but less chaos, fewer subscriptions, and a website they will actually keep updated


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.sixfigureauthorexperiment.com

* Listen on Spotify
* Listen on Apple
* Listen on Youtube
* Listen on Pocketcasts
* Book Launch checklist: https://BookHip.com/BDSWRRT
* Millionaire Author Mastermind Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/millionaireauthormastermind/
* http://hapitalist.com/
In this wide-ranging episode of The Six Figure Author Experiment, Russell and Lee explore the strange intersection of creative chaos, business strategy, and long-term author careers. From Viking werewolf comics and serialized audio deals to squirrel shifter romance and tarot decks for business diagnostics, the conversation centers on one key idea: innovation comes from smashing unlikely things together.
Along the way, they unpack the concept of asymmetric risk — taking creative bets that might fail but could also unlock entirely new audiences. The discussion also dives deep into rights management, creative positioning, and building books as long-term assets, reminding authors that every book can become part of an expanding investment portfolio if they retain control of their rights.
The result is both philosophical and practical: a reminder that in the modern publishing landscape, success often comes from embracing weird ideas, hedging experiments intelligently, and creating work that only you can make.
Topics Covered:
* “Bushwhacking” creativity: cutting new paths by smashing ideas together
* Agility quotient and why adaptability may matter more than emotional intelligence
* From Viking werewolves to erotic comics: turning unexpected mashups into stories
* Translating books into other media: comics, serialized audio, and new formats
* Why books function as long-term creative assets and investment portfolios
* Licensing opportunities authors often overlook (AI audio, streaming, serialized audio)
* The importance of protecting your intellectual property and retaining rights
* Common publishing contract pitfalls: perpetual rights and overly broad licensing
* Narrowband rights strategies for audiobooks and emerging media
* How creators can learn from early career publishing mistakes without getting stuck
* Emotional detachment from failed deals or old publishers
* Asymmetric risk: the relationship between unconventional ideas and breakthrough success
* Why the biggest creative opportunities often come with the highest uncertainty
* Hedging creative bets with proven series or steady income streams
* Testing experimental ideas through Kickstarter, serialization, or niche launches
* Using data and reader feedback to refine experimental series
* Why authors sometimes mistake creative failure for personal failure
* “Containers for money”: different projects attracting different audiences
* Why some books in the same series perform differently than others
* Building reader relationships through newsletters and audience ownership
* Experimentation as a core creative business strategy
* Why weird ideas (squirrel shifters, tarot business decks, bizarre brands) can succeed
* The importance of positioning and finding the right audience
* Trope + voice: combining market expectations with unique creative elements
* Why tropes help readers discover new stories
* Positioning creative work for discoverability without losing originality
* The tension between writing for the market vs writing personal passion projects
* How niche ideas can become major successes if they find the right readers
* Learning to tolerate criticism and dislike when building a public creative brand
* Why being distinctive is increasingly important in an AI-saturated world
* Encouraging imagination and experimentation in creative careers
* Turning books into multiple formats and revenue streams
* The long-term value of building a creative ecosystem around your work
* Final takeaway: success often begins with one weird idea you decide to pursue anyway


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.sixfigureauthorexperiment.com

* Listen on Spotify
* Listen on Apple
* Listen on Youtube
* Listen on Pocketcasts
* Book Launch checklist: https://BookHip.com/BDSWRRT
* Millionaire Author Mastermind Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/millionaireauthormastermind/
* http://hapitalist.com/
In this episode of The Six Figure Author Experiment, Lee and Russell veer delightfully off-road into a “totally new format” conversation that blends tarot, business diagnostics, mindset, guided meditations, nervous system regulation, and delegation. Lee shares her two-year journey toward creating a tarot deck without spending $25K–$30K on art, and how AI helped her extract and match quotes from her own books into card concepts. That rabbit trail turns into a bigger theme: permission. Why creators freeze, hustle, or stall out when the real work is learning to believe you belong in the room. From “capitalist tarot” systems (major arcana as business phases) to talismans and rituals that anchor identity, the conversation lands on a practical delegation framework: start with the projects you will never do, hire for agency, and run 7-day experiments instead of building fragile job roles.
Topics Covered:
* Lee’s new format experiment: building a tarot deck (and why it matters)
* The real cost of a traditional tarot deck: 78 cards + art + printing
* Pivoting from full art to text-based decks: oracle/stuck deck hybrids
* Using AI to extract quotes from your own catalog and match them to cards
* “I can’t hit the trend unless I make the trend” and why creators rebuild systems to understand them
* Building “business tarot”: diagnostics designed for business, not pasted onto it
* Tarot as structured language: major arcana, phases, and shared symbolic meaning
* Tarot as poetry: interpretation as self-revelation, not author intent
* “Beyond the book” expansion: why rituals and repeat-touch objects matter
* Anchors and talismans: poker chips, degrees on walls, and belief as the real ticket in
* Permission economy vs. self-permission: how creators get trained to ask instead of act
* Lee’s guided meditations for authors: relaxing into the solution-state and letting the brain map the path
* Reticular activating system: priming your mind to notice solutions
* Hustle vs. freeze: sympathetic overload, cortisol loops, and “gas + emergency brake” burnout
* Walking as regulation: bilateral movement cues safety and de-escalation
* Play as nervous system reset: “sketch with no outcome,” look up, take a photo, be present
* Delegation as a common creator pain point: burnout + distrust + micromanaging
* Delegation metaphor: if you order coffee without running into the kitchen, you’ve delegated
* Hiring for agency: “extrapolating from known data” as Russell’s key interview test
* The recursive feedback loop: taste, questions, and improving output over time
* The “F*** List”: projects you will never do (perfect first delegation targets)
* Don’t hire for high-context roles too early: community, ads, brand voice, etc.
* Delegate low-hanging fruit first: personal life tasks and modular business tasks
* Delegation stall-out: bicycle → Ferrari transition and tolerating the temporary slowdown
* 7-day experiments over rigid goals: test, review, iterate, replace
* Zone of genius homework: notice flow states, write them down, delegate the rest
* Space creates growth: firing headaches, reclaiming runway, hiring better replacements
* Closing recap: tarot, meditations, delegating, and embracing “good chaos”


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.sixfigureauthorexperiment.com

* Listen on Spotify
* Listen on Apple
* Listen on Youtube
* Listen on Pocketcasts
* Book Launch checklist: https://BookHip.com/BDSWRRT
* Millionaire Author Mastermind Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/millionaireauthormastermind/
* http://hapitalist.com/
In this New Year episode of The Six Figure Author Experiment, Lee Savino and Russell Nolte are joined by David Viergutz, founder of Scare Mail and CEO of Epistolary.com, to talk about a business metric Lee now can’t unsee: AOV (Average Order Value). What begins as a direct-sales strategy conversation quickly turns into a masterclass on premium experiences, fandom-building, and escaping the tired publishing “rat race.” David shares how he went from running ads in the 20 Books / SPS model to building a thriving story-letter empire, why epistolary fiction is story-first or die, and how authors can experiment with higher-priced offers without losing the magic. The through-line: in a world flooded with AI and noise, the advantage is human creativity, bold formats, and products that feel like experiences.
Topics Covered:
* What AOV (Average Order Value) is and why it matters for direct sales
* Thinking like a business owner without losing your author soul
* David’s origin story: list-building, ads, and long-term strategy
* Why niche audiences can still generate massive success
* “Taylor Swift pricing” as a mindset shift for premium offers
* Why experiences sell: readers remember how something made them feel
* The birth of Scare Mail: the mailbox as a storytelling medium
* Epistolary fiction basics: letters, artifacts, rabbit holes, and immersion
* Why some stories should never be “novelized”
* Building a blue ocean: creating a category people can’t comparison-shop
* Why the most online generation craves print and human touch
* How fandom deepens through participation and interactivity
* “Move closer to the customer” as a modern business principle
* Building a cult-level fanbase one person at a time
* The “thousand true fans” concept applied to premium fiction
* Author archetypes and why “aquatic” creators win by reinventing formats
* Premium experiences that scale like books: create once, sell forever
* The customer journey is the same for gum, books, and Teslas (attention is the difference)
* Why Amazon’s rules aren’t the only axis you can play on
* Why KU is not the whole market (and why authors mistake it for the whole audience)
* Pricing power: increasing prices without dips when the experience is unique
* The economics problem: $20 customer acquisition vs. $3.99 products
* Direct sales advantages: owning the customer relationship and reducing noise
* Indie presses and “algorithm rain” strategies that don’t actually market
* The Fire & Ice offer: two versions, premium pricing, and upsells to raise AOV
* Why customers should pay shipping (and why authors often sabotage margins)
* Risk reversal: refunding + buying a competitor’s book as a bold trust play
* Testing product ideas cheaply: MOQ realities and starting with paper-based artifacts
* Story-letter fundamentals: hook the story first, then explain the delivery
* The epistolary rule: if you can’t explain “why letters?” start over
* Artifacts defined: what counts, what works, and what’s lazy filler
* Examples of artifacts: polaroids, recipes, journal entries, QR codes, audio links, word searches, ribbons, puzzles
* Designing artifacts to enhance story, not add envelope weight
* The “scavenger hunt” model: clues, interaction, and layered payoff
* Creativity as competitive advantage in an AI-saturated world
* “Get weird” as strategy: uniqueness creates true blue-ocean differentiation
* Where to find David and how to pitch an epistolary project


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.sixfigureauthorexperiment.com