About this episode

J. Gabriel Gates shares insights on writing romantasy, indie publishing, and effective marketing strategies.

J. Gabriel Gates — who writes romantasy as G.J. Gates — has a full-time job he loves and a self-funded publishing business. He opens every book launch with a Kickstarter, and that money becomes his entire advertising budget. In this episode of the SPA Girls Podcast (EP568) he walks us through going indie after traditional publishing, writing a genre he’d never touched, and the ten-second video that reached 1.6 million people. Whether you’re changing genres, growing a social account from scratch, or working out where an ad budget is going to come from, this one is practical tips packed in: BookTok and Instagram hooks that convert, why the simplest video wins, Amazon ads to train your also-boughts, feeding Kickstarter money straight into Facebook ads, and how Jacob writes seven days a week around a day job he genuinely loves. About Jacob J. G. Gates (who also writes as J. Gabriel Gates) is the author of fantasy, horror, and sci-fi books, including the Dragons and Aces, the Luck Gods Series, The Lamplighters, The Sleepwalkers, Blood Zero Sky, and more. After receiving his B.A. in theater from Florida State University, Gates moved to Los Angeles, where he acted in a…

People in this episode

Guest: J. Gabriel Gates

Topics covered

• writing
• marketing
• romantasy
• indie publishing
• social media
• Kickstarter
• advertising

Keywords

• romantasy
• indie publishing
• Kickstarter
• advertising budget
• social media marketing
• BookTok
• Instagram

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Kickstarter, Amazon, Facebook

Books & works: Dragons and Aces, Luck Gods Series, The Lamplighters, The Sleepwalkers, Blood Zero Sky

Places: Los Angeles

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• Superdraft – How To Write Better and Faster – with Thomas Dean Donnelly (EP#566) · August 19, 2026 · 1h 4m
• Sell More Books With Every Launch – Series Launch Strategy ft. Helen B. Scheuerer (Classic Replay EP#565) · August 12, 2026 · 47 min
• Should You Change Genres? 5 Key Questions To Help You Make The Leap Successfully (EP#564) · August 5, 2026 · 49 min
• Debunking Publishing Myths & How To Beat Procrastination ft. Rachael Herron (Classic Replay EP#563) · July 29, 2026 · 52 min

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