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and brand photographer, Jo founded the Midlife Movement in 2018 to share the latest science on aging — challenging the outdated cultural narratives that tell women their best years are behind them.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

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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/