Hey! I'm Monica Leonelle. This is my consulting page.

I’m a USA TODAY bestseller, author of 40+ books, industry thought leader, MBA, and sales, marketing, and business strategist for authors.

I’m also an intense nerd when it comes to publishing. I’m both big picture and results-oriented and I specialize in retailer algorithms and advertising, direct sales, and going full-time as an author *without* sacrificing your creativity, writing things that make you unhappy, or burning out.

Between my two series, The Productive Novelist and Book Sales Supercharged (the latter which is co-authored with industry superstar Russell Nohelty), I’ve written a master’s degree worth of content on becoming a full-time author. That’s one of the reasons we named our company Writer MBA!

Finally, I’m a 3w2 on the Enneagram, an ENTP on Myers-Briggs, and a Grassland ecosystem. My top five strengths are Strategic, Communication, Futuristic, Activator, Ideation.

Featured in:

Call Options

50 Minutes

You can book a call with me for 50 minutes for $250.

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Why Consult With Monica?

Booking a consultation is a very personal decision. Only you know when it’s the right one for you. Further, there are many people you can book consultations with these days around your writing career. Why choose me?

What I can Offer:

  • Fast Solutions To Your Most Pressing Challenges - If you're tired of digging through courses or free groups and forums for answers to your questions, you can get answers much faster by booking a one-on-one with me. I'm an active user of most platforms and also actively help other authors through books and courses on each platform. While I don't know everything, I have near-encyclopedic knowledge of the publishing industry through constant, hands-on engagement with most of its elements on a daily basis.
  • Broad, Extensive, and Specialized Expertise - Sometimes you can only get an answer to a pressing question by talking to someone in the know. I work with almost all the major platforms and speak to authors at all levels of financial success and longevity within the industry to anonymize real data about what's really working. I also test as much as I can myself across both nonfiction and fiction to find new patterns in the data.
  • Outsider Eyes on Your Business - When you are so close to your own business, you may need a second opinion on something or someone to cut through the complexity of your thoughts. Finding someone you trust, who can be neutral and ask the right questions, can short-circuit any overthinking or spinning you might be dealing with. You are in the day-to-day weeds—but I am not! I can help you think differently about your challenges.
  • Transfer Specialized Skill Sets - Need to learn something quickly so you can do it yourself? I can definitely help you build your skill set in specific areas (mostly wide and direct sales) quickly. You can always study on your own or search for answers yourself, but if you are the type of person who greatly benefits from "tutoring," this can be an opportunity.
  • Streamline Processes - If you're trying to quickly systemize an area of your business so you can get back to writing, I specialize in systemizing marketing and sales processes to help you get back to the things that matter to you.
  • Expand Your Resources and Network - Sometimes you just need an introduction to someone or a piece of data that is hard to get to. I have an extensive network that is hard at work making things happen for the authors who work with me. Instead of building it, why not plug into it?
  • Support During a Transition - Being an entrepreneur means that nothing works forever. Staying an entrepreneur requires the ability to move through transitions with ease and grace. If your business is going through a transition (or another transition), a little support from me can go a long way to making the transition as seamless and painless as possible!
  • Mindset Shifting - One of the best reasons to hire someone is to understand and absorb their mindset and approach to problem solving. If you are struggling with marketing, sales, or business, I am known for thinking about these topics differently and teaching simplified and easy-to-understand approaches to them that work better than almost everything else that is out there.
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“I appreciate your perspective!”

“Thank you so much! I loved talking with you and am so appreciative for your time. You are so good at slicing through the noise and providing a concise, well-presented counter-viewpoint. You encapsulated so well my many months of tinkering and tinkering again with tools. You helped me clarify what direction I need to go in.”

– Laura Morelli, art historian, Yale Ph.D., USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling historical novelist, and regular contributor to National Geographic Traveler

MOnica's Specialities:

Publishing Wide

Retailer sales at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play Books, and more.

Selling Direct

Direct sales through crowdfunding, subscriptions and memberships, landing pages, and website stores.

Marketing and Sales Strategy

Help with marketing and sales funnels, launches, promotional pushes, and evergreen efforts.

Author Ecosystems

Helping you understand your ecosystem (Desert, Grassland, Tundra, Forest, or Aquatic) and going deep into what it means for building your author career. 

Becoming a Full-Time Author

Piecing together a business plan that is tailor-made to work with your strengths, your genre, and your catalog.

Transitioning to New Business Models

Making big changes in your business (e.g. shifting from KU to Wide, shifting from retailers to direct sales, or shifting from one-off sales to subscriptions).

How I Can Help you

So you want to chat with me about something? We can make that happen! I’ve been self-publishing since 2009 and have been helping other authors with publishing since 2015. After mentoring hundreds of authors on various publishing platforms, I have a strong understanding of how to build a sustainable publishing career.

OFFERING BASIC, INTERMEDIATE, ADVANCED, OR EXPERT HELP WITH:

My consulting focuses around being Aggressively Wide (going wide + direct sales). You can book a consult with me for anything from basics to advanced/expert knowledge on any of the following topics:

  • Moving from KU to wide
  • Basic wide questions (direct vs. distributor, getting on various platforms, etc.)
  • Building momentum on wide retailer platforms
  • The ins and outs of retailer algorithms
  • Optimizing your book catalog at any of the Big 5 retailers (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Play Books, Apple Books, Kobo) (recommended: one retailer per call)
  • Launching and optimizing a Kickstarter campaign
  • Creating a subscription or membership
  • Direct sales on your website (landing pages or web stores)
  • Writing awesome email sequences that sell more books
  • Building your audience with cross-promotion
  • Mapping out your marketing and sales funnels
  • Mapping out your launch plan for any platform (I excel at this)
  • Making your efforts (your campaign, your subscription, your launch, etc.) more profitable (keeping more of your money) or more easeful (keeping more of your energy and time)
  • General business strategy (I have an MBA)
  • Going full-time as an author (I have been since 2015)
  • Your author ecosystem (take the quiz here: authorecosystem.com)

OFFERING BASIC and INTERMEDIATE HELP WITH:

I also know some things about a lot of other publishing topics, and you can book a consult with me on any of the following topics if you are looking to get started with them or you are making under a few thousand dollars per month with them (if you are looking for advanced/expert help, I may not the right person for you on these topics):

  • Increasing your print book sales
  • Increasing your audiobook sales
  • Fiction apps (Vella, Radish)
  • Translations (any language)
  • Getting into and making money from bookstores and libraries
  • Wide advertising for any platform (newsletters, Bookbub, Facebook, Amazon)
  • Managing multiple pen names
  • Co-writing

DO NOT BOOK WITH ME FOR:

There are also things that I just won’t consult with you on (just not my jam):

  • Being a successful KU author
  • Getting an agent/getting published
  • Most things to do with traditional publishing
  • Story consulting, reviewing, critiquing, or editing of any kind
  • Most things to do with succeeding through social media (zero interest in TikTok!)
  • Anything to do with generative AI (I’m not anti-AI, and I recommend the gals at Future Fiction Academy instead)
  • Branding, covers, etc.
  • Legal and financial issues like setting up a business, bookkeeping, taxes, copyright, etc. (These are specific to local laws where you live and you need to find someone local to help you)
  • Live events and signings (though I recommend booking with Russell Nohelty instead)
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“Holistic understanding of how to execute campaigns…”

“In a world of everyone calling themselves marketing experts, and with advice being published on blogs every day, Monica will make sure you have a holistic understanding of how to execute your campaigns and come out ahead!”

– Yu-kai Chou, author of Actionable Gamification, winner of “Gamification Guru of the Year Award” for two years, and regular Fortune 500 speaker

What’s Included

One call

One call recording (via Vimeo and/or Dropbox)

Any follow-up resources I decide to give you based on the call (a book, a video, etc.)

Speaker At:
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About My Business(es) and Career

I began publishing my books back in 2009 and started in nonfiction. I published my first fiction book in 2011. From 2011-2014 I wrote fiction exclusively and freelanced for various media startups in Chicago. In 2014, I wrote a billionaire romance series that started making low 4-figures a month with no advertising and decided to go full time.

From 2015 to now I have been a full-time writer making all of my money from my business (though I took time off from publishing for most of 2018-2020 to have a kid).

During all those years I have pivoted, rebuilt, republished, and reinvented many times. I’ve dealt with burnout stints, I’ve built a huge team and torn it all down, I’ve missed deadlines, I’ve canceled books, I’ve struggled to show up, I’ve let people down, and so much more. If you’re not feeling great about yourself or your work, you will find an empathetic and compassionate mentor in me, and I will give you permission to be messy + still successful in a way that you haven’t experienced before.

During all those years I have also built three pen names, one in YA contemporary fantasy and romance, one in spirituality, and the Monica Leonelle pen name which houses around 25 books to help authors pursue their passions. I’ve spoken at most major conferences in this industry, including NINC, RAM, 20Books, InkersCon, Sell More Books Show Summit, and several others. I’ve spoken about my areas of expertise on 30+ industry podcasts. I’ve personally mentored hundreds of authors on various publishing projects and it’s been satisfying to see them get real and tangible results, and usually more money, too. If you want real and sustainable success built on a solid foundation, you will find a mentor who knows how to get real transformation in others.

Additionally, in the last two years I’ve built another business called Writer MBA with my business partner and co-author, Russell Nohelty. We have a membership program where we teach people on a wide but interconnected range of topics…Specifically going wide and direct sales across many different channels.

What About Mindset?

A lot of people have underestimated me or undervalued my work over the years, but several years ago I realized something. Most of my early haters from 7-10 years ago aren’t even actively publishing books anymore! So why did I care so much at the time?

I remind myself of that a lot…That people are often projecting something onto you. And I know this is probably true for you too. Just keep going.

It’s taken me a while to get it through my head, but I’ve learned that perseverance in building your publishing foundation is the best way to move through your fears.

If you have naysayers in your life, if you have imposter syndrome, if you feel like you’re spinning your wheels at publishing, if every time you put yourself out there you get pushback, or if you just want to be in the “cool author club” and wonder why you aren’t…Trust me, I have been in all those dark places before too. Every voice in my head has come to fruition in my reality at one point or another, and I survived and thrived every time anyway. I can help you through all your mindset stuff!

If you’re looking for a mentor who will genuinely cheerlead and champion you in pursuit of your dreams forever and ever, well, here I am!

Ready to go?

Book Your Consult

Booking a consultation with me is a 3-step process. I suggest reviewing these three steps to make sure each one works for you before committing to the process. Once you complete these three steps, consider yourself booked!

Complete these three steps:

  • Make your payment. I offer consults for 50 minutes. Please do not book anything on my calendar until you've purchased a service. Anything without an order number will automatically be cancelled.
  • Book your time slot with the Order # listed. Please note that I may be booked out several months in advance, and I am only available certain times. Also, please actually add the meeting to your calendar. My service sends an invitation, but does not send automated reminders.
  • Fill out the intake form. Please do this when you book! I am happy to show up at the call and ask you all the questions that are on this form if you don't remember to do it, but that eats into your time.

“Excited and motivated to get back to writing…”

“Yay! I was so excited and motivated by your content that I wanted to get back to writing right away. I have so much respect for you as a writer, and I’m happy to note how your suggestions will make the the story spread.”

– Susan Pogorzelski, author of Gold in the Days of Summer, winner of the 2014 International Rubery Book Award for Best Children’s Book

Frequently Asked Questions

I do my best to keep all appointments, but I am a mother to young children who have illnesses and emergencies. If I can’t keep the appointment, I will do my best to reschedule you near your current appointment, and with a little extra time to make up for it.

If you need to reschedule, that’s fine—grab another slot on my calendar and send me an email to cancel your current spot so I can release it. Please reschedule at least 24 hours in advance of your time slot. There is currently no penalty for rescheduling.

Since this is a consult, I am here to answer your questions and help you to the best of my ability! That said, I cannot guarantee results. (It’s illegal to do so.) You are 100% responsible for all of your results from following or not following my advice/mentorship. I’m happy to support you in any way that I can, within the boundaries of our consultation and what comes with it!

There are no refunds for any reason aside from I don’t show up to the call. If you are unable to make your calls, I can offer you credit toward courses or books.

For long-term consulting, I prefer the person to have my courses and books so I can point them to videos and other resources I’ve already created. This makes the consulting time much, much more valuable. Please book an initial session, and then if you want to discuss entering a longer consulting relationship, we can put together a package that gives you the full support you need to get the results you want.

“Put a method to the madness…”

“Monica has always intuitively understood how to create buzz and enthusiasm for a message and she generously shares her secrets of success. She encourages putting a method to the madness in order to gain long-term traction. I highly recommend Monica to anyone who’s looking for a little extra guidance in navigating this confusing and exciting digital landscape.”

– Alexandra Levit, author of Humanity Works and Deep Talent and former New York Times syndicated columnist

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