The Publishing Performance Show

Something a bit different this week. My wife Clare, an author herself, turns the tables and interviews me about BookLingua, the AI book translation service I built for indie authors. We get into why most indie authors never translate their books, where the biggest opportunities are, and how to get a translation that keeps your voice without spending $20,000. 
In this episode: 
- Why pasting your book into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini misses the structure, tone and context that make it a book 
- The real reason most indie authors don't translate: a $12,000 to $20,000 human translation is a big bet on an untested market -
 Spanish, Italian or German? Where the opportunities are, and why Italian romance readers and German non-fiction readers are worth a look 
- How a smaller Amazon marketplace can get you onto page one for keywords you could never afford to bid on in the US or UK 
- What the BookLingua launch pack covers: backend keywords, Amazon ad keywords, newsletters, Facebook groups and a launch timeline 
- How the cultural scan, two translation passes and a professional translator's review keep romance, humour and character voice intact 
- How to prepare your manuscript, including a glossary for invented names and magic spells 
- Pricing, and why you should test one language before translating your whole backlist 
- Whether AI tools are taking work away from professional translators 
Chapters: 
0:00 Welcome to the Publishing Performance Show 
0:53 Clare takes the mic 
1:41 What is BookLingua? 
1:59 Why not just use ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini? 
3:58 Why most indie authors don't translate their books 
7:30 Where to start: Spanish, Italian or German? 
8:48 Why Italian readers love translated romance 
9:40 Why Germany works for non-fiction 12:13 One market or two? Plus the launch pack 
15:15 Can AI keep romance, humour and character voice? 21:47 Human proofreaders 
24:16 How to prepare your manuscript 
26:59 What it costs 
30:25 Final advice: start with one language 
31:30 Is AI taking work from translators? 
32:29 Where to get started 
Resources mentioned: 
- BookLingua: https://booklingua.io (join the mailing list for 20% off your first order, and try the free cultural scan) 
- How much does it cost to translate a book? (video): [YouTube link] 
- Publisher Rocket: publisherrocket.com 
- Written Word Media: writtenwordmedia.com 
- Atticus: atticus.io 
- Vellum: vellum.pub 
Connect with Teddy Smith: 
X: https://x.com/teddyagsmith - @teddyagsmith 
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/teddyagsmith
Instagram - https://instagram.com/teddyagsmith 
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@teddyagsmith
Linkedinhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/teddyagsmith/
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Support the show
Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/

H.J. Chammas is the founder of Authority Publishing, a full-service publishing, promotion, and monetization platform for coaches, consultants, and experts who want to use a book to build their authority and grow their business. After leaving a successful corporate career and becoming financially independent through real estate, H.J. invested $65,000 in a traditional publishing deal that flopped — and used that painful experience to reverse-engineer what actually works. He has since helped authors across the Middle East and beyond turn their books into platforms, leads, and high-ticket client pipelines.
 
In this episode:
• H.J.'s $65,000 publishing mistake — and the mindset shift that turned everything around
• Why chasing royalties is the wrong goal, and what to chase instead
• How to research your audience, competitors, and keywords before writing a single word
• The tools H.J. uses for Amazon research: SEMrush, KDP Rocket, and Helium 10
• What separates an authority book from a generic collection of ideas
• Three approaches to writing your book: ready manuscript, interview-based transcription, or ghost writing
• Why AI-written books are getting flagged on Amazon — and what to use AI for instead
• The right way to launch a book: why big spike launches are vanity publishing in disguise
• How Amazon ads work as a long-term strategy, not a short-term sales tool
• Why social media rarely works for nonfiction authors — and what LinkedIn outreach actually delivers
• The publish, promote, monetize framework: how Authority Publishing works with authors from manuscript to ongoing client acquisition
• What to bring to your first conversation with H.J. — and why clarity on your niche comes before everything else
 
Resources mentioned:
• Authority Publishing: https://authority-publishing.com/
• SEMrush (keyword research): semrush.com
• KDP Rocket / Publisher Rocket: publisherrocket.com
• Helium 10 (Amazon research): helium10.com
• LinkedIn (recommended platform for nonfiction authors): linkedin.com
 
Connect with H.J. Chammas:
• Website: authority-publishing.com
• LinkedIn: H.J. Chammas
• Free book: 

Connect with Teddy Smith:
@teddyagsmith
Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com
Support the show
Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/

Jo Blackwell is a writer, podcaster, researcher, and personal brand builder whose work centers on helping women over 50 rethink aging. After raising four children, navigating perimenopause, and spending 14 years as a professional portrait and brand photographer, Jo founded the Midlife Movement in 2018 to share the latest science on aging — challenging the outdated cultural narratives that tell women their best years are behind them. Her books include Oh Crap, I'm 50, 50 Facing 50 (a BBC-featured photography project), and her most recent release Aging Wonderfully Well. She hosts the Midlife and Beyond podcast and publishes regularly on YouTube and Substack.

In this episode:
How perimenopause and depression led Jo to start writing again — and how a blog became a book and a movement
Why building a personal brand before publishing made a measurable difference in book sales
The "grandmotherly vibe" lesson: why leaning into who you actually are is the most powerful branding strategy
How Jo uses YouTube and Substack as a content loop — and why she stopped trying to make Facebook work
Using audience comments, YouTube polls, and Facebook group data to decide what books to write next
How to overcome the fear of putting yourself out there, especially as an older woman
Practical advice for starting a personal brand after 50: platform selection, content planning, and setting your own boundaries
The right way to use AI in your writing process — as an editor and sounding board, not a content generator
What's inside Aging Wonderfully Well: self-ageism, perimenopause, brain research, and the science of becoming
Why Jo says she's never been happier than in her 60s — and what that means for women who think it's too late to start

Resources mentioned:
Substack (platform for newsletters and audio): substack.com
YouTube (Jo's video platform): youtube.com
Pinterest (used as a visual search engine): pinterest.com
LinkedIn (for collaboration): linkedin.com
Riverside (podcast recording tool): riverside.fm

Book Recommendations:
Aging Wonderfully Well by Jo Blackwell 
Oh Crap, I'm 50: Journey from Fearful to Fabulous by Jo Blackwell

Connect with Jo Blackwell:
Website: joblackwell.co.uk
Youtube :https://www.youtube.com/@JoBlackwell-MidlifeAndBeyond
Podcast: https://joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com/podcast

Connect with Teddy Smith:
@teddyagsmith
Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com

Support the show
Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/

Robert Moutal is the founder of Cover Design App, an AI-powered tool that helps independent publishers create professional, market-ready book covers using principles from semiotics, color theory, and design psychology. A publishing coach with a master's degree in semiotics and communication, Robert has personally published more than 60–70 books and built Cover Design App to solve the exact problems he saw holding self-publishers back: poor typography, bad stock imagery, and covers that failed to communicate genre at a glance.
In this episode:
Why book covers have a bigger impact on Amazon sales than most authors realize — and the 3-second rule every self-publisher needs to know
The most common cover mistakes self-publishers make, including bad stock images, cramming too many elements, and typography errors
How Cover Design App uses semiotics and psychology — not just aesthetics — to build covers that actually perform
Color theory for book covers: what each color communicates to readers and why getting it wrong can tank your sales
How the app's Market Intelligence feature analyzes competitor covers on Amazon to help you stand out within your genre
The Thumbnail Test: why your cover must be readable at every size Amazon displays it
A full step-by-step walkthrough of Cover Design App, from market research and design brief to generating variations, iterating, and exporting
How to create a complete visual package — cover, author photo, A plus content, and Amazon description — in about 20 minutes
Why A plus content is free advertising space inside your Amazon listing that too many authors are wasting
How to edit existing designer covers inside the app, translate covers into other languages, and repurpose assets for a series

Resources mentioned:
Cover Design App: coverdesignapp.com/Teddy (10% off forever with this link)
Ideogram (AI image generation tool referenced for design): ideogram.ai
Amazon KDP: kdp.amazon.com
Fiverr (mentioned for comparison): fiverr.com
Canva (mentioned as a common tool authors misuse): canva.com

Connect with Robert Moutal:
Website & app: coverdesignapp.com
Special discount link for listeners: coverdesignapp.com/Teddy (10% off forever)

Connect with Teddy Smith:
@teddyagsmith
Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com

Support the show
Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/

Kevin Anderson is the CEO, founder, and editor-in-chief of Kevin Anderson & Associates, one of the publishing industry's most respected ghost writing and editorial firms. With a team of former Big Five acquisitions editors, publishing executives, literary agents, and bestselling authors, his company has helped bring more than 7,000 books to life — producing around 500 titles per year. Their clients range from celebrities and Fortune 500 CEOs to first-time memoir writers with extraordinary stories to tell.

In this episode:
How ghost writing actually works — and why it's a deeply collaborative process, not just writing from a prompt
Why skilled ghost writers are nothing like AI: the role of empathy, intuition, and journalistic interview skill
The types of clients who hire ghost writers: celebrity memoirs, business books, IP-based novels, and personal legacy pieces
How Kevin Anderson & Associates structures every project, including kick-off meetings, ongoing Zoom interviews, beta testing, and cultural accuracy reviews
Why defining your publishing goal before you write a single word is the most important first step
The First Chapter Rule: why getting sign-off on one complete chapter before writing the rest saves enormous time and prevents costly mistakes
Typical project timelines — from 6-week rush projects to the more standard 8–12 month engagement
How ghost writing fiction differs from nonfiction, and why novels are actually harder to structure than business books
What ghost writing costs — from entry-level ($20K+) to high-end ($500K+) — and what drives the price
How to vet a ghost writer: what credentials to look for and red flags to avoid
When ghost writing is NOT the right fit — and why a book coach or developmental editor might serve you better
The inside story on some of Kevin's most fascinating projects, including the Five Nights at Freddy's novels and the Oz Perlman mentalism bestseller

Resources mentioned:
Kevin Anderson & Associates website: https://kawriting.com
Reedsy: https://reedsy.com

Connect with Kevin Anderson:
Website: kawriting.com

Connect with Teddy Smith:
@teddyagsmith
Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com
Support the show
Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/