Press Kit

100-WORD BIO
Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with THE SENSE OF DEATH; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. Matty also writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage, and shares what she’s learned on THE INDY AUTHOR PODCAST. She has written books on the business of short fiction and podcasting for authors; her articles have appeared in Writer’s Digest magazine. She is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors.

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Matty loves talking about any topic related to the writing craft and the publishing voyage! Some areas of specialty are ...

Building Your Platform through Podcasting

Among the many options available to writers to build their platforms, podcasting--as a host or as a guest--is one of the fastest growing, and for good reason. “Getting in someone’s head” through audio is one of the most intimate connections you can establish, and a well-planned and well-executed episode or guest appearance can help you build not only a community of listeners but also of fellow writers (not to mention the possibility, as a host, of earning some money). 

Matty Dalrymple, host of "The Indy Author Podcast" and author of The Indy Author's Guide to Podcasting for Authors, shares her learnings on how to use podcasting to grow your author platform. Based on her 5+ years and 180+ episodes of the podcast and capitalizing on her love of the nautical metaphor for the writing craft and the publishing voyage, she offers a step-by-step guide for navigating the podcasting voyage, from the most strategic considerations to the most tactical.

Matty walks participants through a “Captain’s Log” of considerations for optimizing your podcast experience, including:
  • Why podcasting ... and why for authors?
  • Determining your destination/goals (e.g., networking, paying it forward to the author community, learning, earning, etc.)
  • Choosing your topic, format (e.g., solo, interview, panel, live or recorded), medium (audio only, audio and video), venue (virtual or in-person)
  • Choosing your persona and brand
  • Choosing the tech
  • Preparing your space
  • Finding great guests
  • Being a great guest ​

You can see some of the venues where Matty has discussed this topic, including the 2022 Writer's Digest Annual Conference in NYC, here: https://www.theindyauthor.com/podcasting-for-authors.html

Using Short Fiction to Create Income and Connect with Readers

​Based on information shared in her book Taking the Short Tack: Creating Income and Connecting with Readers Using Short Fiction, which she co-authored with Mark Leslie Lefebvre, Matty discusses the opportunities that short fiction offers writers through the traditional short fiction market; via the ever-expanding pool of non-traditional options, such as audio; and how writers who are willing to act as their own gatekeepers can use the tools of independent publishing to get their work into readers' hands. You can see some of the venues where she has discussed this topic, including Joanna Penn's The Creative Penn Podcast, here: https://www.theindyauthor.com/short-fiction.html

Be Your Own Gatekeeper: Indie Publishing Your Short Fiction

Excellent short fiction craft skills are necessary but not sufficient to find placement in the traditional short fiction market—there are many more deserving short stories than there are slots in the trad market to accommodate. But you don’t have to wait and hope that those gatekeepers will find your stories in their enormous slush piles. With an indie mindset, you can not only reach the readers who will love your stories and entice readers to become fans, but also generate income from your short fiction!

Matty Dalrymple, the author of the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels and Suspense Shorts and the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, as well as Taking the Short Tack: Creating Income and Connecting with Readers Using Short Fiction, will discuss:
  • The opportunities available to authors to independently publish their short fiction as standalones, as collections, and in anthologies (and why she chose this path for her own stories)
  • The logistics of publishing short fiction (editing, proofreading, cover design) and how to make it affordable
  • How to maximize the value of your content (as long as you’ve retained the needed rights) by publishing it multiple times, on multiple platforms (especially with the rise of serialization), and in multiple formats (including audio and video)
  • Other income opportunities such as patronage
  • Opportunities to connect with readers by using short fiction as reader magnets or reader funnels, or for social media promotion (especially with flash fiction)
  • Use of short fiction for market research
  • How being an active member of the writing and publishing communities paves the way to short fiction success

Creating a Story Frame

Expanding on her Writer's Digest article, available for download here, and using the metaphor of a boat frame, Matty discusses how writers can build their story more efficiently and provide their reader "passengers" with a water-tight story, using a frame. She also discusses how a frame differs from an outline, and how it can morph seamlessly into manuscript. You can see some of the venues where she has discussed this topic here: https://www.theindyauthor.com/creating-a-story-frame.html

Publishing Tips for Frugal Authors

Authors owe our readers professional-grade work, and we owe it to ourselves to deliver it as cost-effectively as possible. The two most important hallmarks of professional work—a cleanly edited manuscript and a brand-right, attention-getting cover—are also two of the most expensive components of book creation. In this session, author and publisher Matty Dalrymple shares her frugal tips for achieving a high standard of publishing excellence while also holding down costs.

  • Editing – How authors can find and correct “housekeeping issues” like spelling, grammar, continuity, and consistency so that professional editors can focus on more substantive issues.
  • Cover design – How authors, as professional wordsmiths, can partner with visual design pros to achieve greatest cost-efficiency, the flexibility to pivot as cover and genre conventions evolve, and options for creating brand-right marketing and promotional materials.

Matty illustrates the concepts with examples from her own works, including the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels and Suspense Shorts and her nonfiction books for authors.

The Editing portion of the session will bring value to any author seeking to work more productively with their editor.

The Design portion will bring value to independent authors who are managing their cover design, as well as to any author, indie or traditionally published, who wishes to create brand-right images to support their marketing and promotion work.

Pitching for Promotion: Getting the Gig with Podcasters, Bloggers, and Other Promoters

Much is made of the need for writers to know how to pitch to agents and editors, but the need to pitch you and your work doesn’t stop there. Getting the gig with podcasters, bloggers, and others who can promote your work is vital to connecting with the audience who will love your work. And if you take the right approach, the relationships you build with these promoters can pay dividends for both parties long after the podcaster airs your episode or the blogger posts the review of your book.

In this session, Matty Dalrymple, host of The Indy Author Podcast, reviews the eight stages of finding and optimizing these opportunities:

• Considering your approach: Pitch Yourself or Hire a Pro?
• Doing Your Prep
• Laying the Groundwork
• Making It Personal
• Making It Easy
• Being Professional
• Promoting and Repurposing
• Deepening the Connection

This session is for any author looking to partner with promoters to help spread the word about their work.

Indie Publishing in a Nutshell

Matty provides a high level overview of the independent publishing process, players, tools, and resources.

This talk is best for an audience at the very beginning of their publishing voyages.

Matty's Fiction Work

Of course, Matty is always happy to discuss her own fiction work, The Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels and Suspense Shorts and the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, with reader groups or book clubs. Find out more at https://www.mattydalrymple.com/