LD80: At the Coalface with Cat Connor
New Zealand crime and spy thriller writer Cat Connor joins Mark to explain how she went from traditional publishing to running her own imprint. Her first novel, Killerbyte, sold to a publisher that went bankrupt a week before release. Her next publisher, Rebel, put her early books at the top of the charts, but its sales dropped after the company was sold to American owners. She then led a group of about 35 authors in getting their rights, covers and edited manuscripts back, and she now publishes all 27 of her books through 9mm Press. Cat explains why a new author can self-publish for almost nothing: free ISBNs from KDP or Draft2Digital, no business registration needed, interiors formatted in Apple Pages, and covers built in Canva over KDP’s cover template. She describes her editing chain from beta reader to editor to proofreader, and how she tests an editor before hiring one. She also covers launching at her local library, the marketing that actually sells books (Facebook ads, press releases and an email newsletter), audiobooks narrated by AI voices, and why she doesn’t fear AI copying an author’s voice. Her rule for all of it: it has to be fun, and if it isn’t, pay someone else to do it.
A note on copyright for US listeners: Cat is right that copyright exists once a work is written down, and New Zealand has no registration system at all. In the United States, though, a work has to be registered with the US Copyright Office before you can sue for infringement. Statutory damages and attorney’s fees are only available if you registered before the infringement or within three months of publication. Registration is optional but cheap, and it’s done online. See the Copyright Office’s Copyright Basics (Circular 1) and its registration portal. This is general information, not legal advice.
Cat Connor
ISBNs and distribution
Editing and formatting
Covers
Audiobooks
Marketing and launch
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