The Publishing Performance Show

Kevin Tumlinson - How to Hire a $7.50/Hour Author VA That Actually Understands Your Author Business

Teddy Smith Episode 110

Kevin Tumlinson is a bestselling author and Chief Brand Officer for Author Anchor, a service that connects authors with trained virtual assistants from the Philippines. With extensive experience managing multiple business ventures while maintaining his writing career, Kevin understands the challenges authors face in balancing creative work with business operations. Author Anchor specializes in providing budget-friendly VAs at $7.50/hour who are specifically trained in author-related tasks including social media management, Facebook advertising, Amazon ads, graphic design, and platforms like BookBrush, Vellum, and Kickstarter. Kevin advocates for strategic delegation that increases revenue potential rather than just removing unwanted tasks from an author's plate.


In this episode:

  • Why authors need VAs and what tasks to delegate first
  • The Author Anchor model: $7.50/hour trained VAs from the Philippines
  • How to structure your first VA projects for maximum success
  • The importance of clear communication and process documentation
  • Marketing tasks VAs excel at: social media and Facebook advertising
  • Building trust and working relationships across time zones
  • When to hire additional VAs and scale your author business
  • The economics of VA hiring: only when it increases revenue potential
  • Ethical considerations and win-win economics of international hiring
  • Setting up systems, software access, and payment structures


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