Meet Janet Margot | Author and Book Strategy Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Janet Margot and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Janet, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I was lucky in that my business idea formed organically out of years working within the publishing and technology space. Being an Amazon employee with a background in publishing, I met many authors along the way who needed help navigating the Amazon platform and, more specifically, Amazon’s book ads space. When I thought about leaving the company, authors were already asking for my one-to-one help.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
In 2020, I founded Book Geeks Media, a consultancy for authors and publishers. A decade at Amazon in book advertising has uniquely positioned me to help book professionals navigate the world’s most important book platform. Amazon doesn’t make their systems easy to understand!
I didn’t start with major empire-building goals – I simply loved sharing my knowledge and working directly with authors. For the first few years, I balanced product management consulting in the book technology space while continuing to develop my author services.
Today, I’m a full-time consultant and part-time author. I’ve written a comprehensive guide on Amazon book ads while also writing fiction and memoir under various pen names. My biggest learning has been that I need to practice what I preach!
While I coach fiction authors on book advertising, my focus with non-fiction authors is helping them build an ecosystem for monetizing their expertise. In today’s content landscape, a book can be the center of your universe or a mechanism to attract coaching clients. For most authors, one revenue stream is simply not enough.
What sets Book Geeks Media apart is my insider knowledge and decades of experience in media, combined with a genuine passion for helping authors succeed in an increasingly complex digital marketplace.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Honestly, I don’t get to LA much since moving to Mexico City, but when I do visit, my go-to spots are all about art, music, and thrifting: I always hit The Getty Museum. Of course, the art is amazing but it’s the unreal views that move me most. Next, it’s Bergamot Station. I love wandering the galleries in the converted train station. I won’t visit LA without thrifting in Echo Park and hunting Silver Lake Flea for vintage. Most of what I find won’t even fit me but sometimes it’s too beautiful to pass on. My guiltiest pleasure is overspending at Amoeba Music in Hollywood. That place is massive and I always walk out with records I didn’t know I needed.
The rest just depends on where I’m staying, who I’m seeing and what’s happening that week – live music and tacos are usually on the bill. Nothing fancy, but it’s my LA!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Colleen Aubrey – now head of AWS who had reached out for me to join the book ads space.
Joanna Penn – for graciously sharing her self-publishing industry content for years before I even had a business idea or realized that I could rightfully earn as an indie author.
Sandy Golinkin, former VP and Publisher of Lucky Magazine who, when I was her executive assistant, allowed me to glean all I could about her thought process, taught me a killer work ethic and planted the seeds for future opportunities.

Website: https://bookgeeksmedia.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetmargot/