• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Live Limitless

Adventure, Business, Travel

  • About Matt
  • Start Here
  • Travel Hacking
  • Blog
  • The List
  • Contact

LL 022: Self-Publishing and Living in Castles with Derek Murphy

by Matt Leave a Comment

In the 22nd episode of the Live Limitless podcast, I chat with Derek Murphy of creativeindie.com.

Derek Murphy Creative Indie I met Derek in a Facebook group for Kindle authors after he volunteered to create a cool marketing image of my book Limitless Travel. Derek is a philosophy major turned book designer and writer with a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature. He launched CreativeIndie.com to help authors and artists turn their passions into full-time businesses. Derek is also a digital nomad who often lives and writes in the locations of his fictional stories. As we recorded this podcast, he was staying in a castle. Although Derek teaches writers how to build profitable businesses from their work, he also writes and publishes young adult novels at UrbanEpics.com.

Derek also has a goal of buying a castle in the future to host writing workshops of his own.

If you’re writing a book, thinking of writing a book, debating whether to self-publish or not, or looking for ways to market your book or online project, this is a GREAT podcast for you!

You can learn more about Derek at CreativeIndie.com.

In this episode, we talk about:
  • How to become a writer,
  • How to self-publish a book,
  • How to blend writing with entrepreneurship,
  • How to launch a book or online business,
  • The average cost of launching a self-published book,
  • How to build a platform,
  • Recommendations for writing your first book,
  • How to live in castles,
  • And MUCH more…

Listen below or download from iTunes by clicking here. (Please note: If you’re reading this from email, you may need to visit the site to listen)

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/livelimitlesspodcast/Derek_Murphy_-_LiveLimitlessPodcast.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | RSS

Listen to Stitcher

If you’re running short on time;

05:00: We talk about Derek’s work as a writer and designer,

06:30: Derek’s audience for book cover design,

07:40: We talk about children’s books and writing in the self-publishing world,

11:20: We talk about Derek’s path to author / entrepreneur,

15:00: Has Derek always been a writer?,

19:00: Why Derek almost always recommends self-publishing,

20:40: We talk about Harry Potter,

23:00: We talk about The Martian,

26:45: We talk about boundaries in creativity,

27:15: We discuss methods and ideas for building a platform,

30:20: We talk about tips for book marketing,

33:55: We discuss ebook / Kindle pricing strategies,

34:20: Derek’s process for writing a book,

40:05: More book marketing tips,

43:20: What you’ll spend on average for launching a book,

49:00: Why incentivized reviews are risky and why reviews are so important,

53:20: After the exclusivity with KDP, is it recommended to branch out to other platforms,

55:35: Recommendations for writing your first book,

59:10: Recommendations on formatting,

1:03:10: We talk about Derek living in the locations of his fictional stories as well as his goals of buying a castle,

1:08:10: Favourite books, etc…

Links from the show

  • Calibre
  • Bookbub
  • Write for market by Chris Fox
  • Amazon KDP
  • Limitless travel
  • Scrivener

***

Did you enjoy this interview with Derek Murphy?

Please leave a review on iTunes and share with your friends. This would mean the world to me.

If you have a question for either of us, leave a message in the comments and we’ll get back to you.

-Matt

Filed Under: Interviews Tagged With: creative indie, how to be a digital nomad, how to build a platform, how to launch a business online, how to launch a successful book, how to make money from writing, how to publish on amazon, how to publish on kindle, how to self publish, how to write a book, tips for writing a book

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Adventure (69)
  • Dream Trips (15)
  • Entrepreneurship (21)
  • Environment (7)
  • Health and Fitness (5)
  • How To (23)
  • Interviews (43)
  • Life (49)
  • Lifestyle Design (33)
  • Limitless Travel (19)
  • New Rich (14)
  • Personal Development (40)
  • Photography (11)
  • The List (11)
  • Travel (104)
  • Travel Guides (18)
  • Travel Hacking (7)
  • Uncategorized (9)

Search

Follow me on the web

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Recent Comments

  • 41 Calgary Restaurants You Need To Try! - Must Do Canada on Why Now is a Great Time to Visit Nepal
  • Matt on Operation Cheerio | Rescuing a Cuban Street Dog
  • Asta on Operation Cheerio | Rescuing a Cuban Street Dog
  • Can You Go Anywhere in the World by Boat? Find Out! on How to Travel the World by Boat
  • Can You Travel Anywhere on a Boat? Explore Options on How to Travel the World by Boat

Footer

About

  • About Matt
  • Contact

Travel Tips

  • Start Here
  • Limitless Travel
  • Travel Hacking

Inspiration

  • Limitless List
  • The Podcast

Courses

  • Your Complete Guide to Canada
  • Canadian Travel Hacking
  • Limitless Travel
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025