Join us at the Marketing Bootcamp for Authors & Publishing Professionals

When Cher Terais launched her third novel set in Tulum, her readers kept asking the same question: "Can I come with you?" That question turned into a travel agency, a membership club, in-person retreats, and a virtual immersive experience — all built around her Wanderlust Romance novels. In this conversation, Cher walks us through how to build a business alongside your books rather than after them, why she runs everything under a single brand (As Written by Cher Terais), and the unexpected Instagram strategy where she plays her own characters in short dramatic scenes. We also dig into her upcoming Paint, Pour, & Passport: A Night in Morocco virtual event on June 13, the real Morocco retreat coming in April 2027, and the very real lesson that the world is more accessible than most authors give themselves permission to imagine.

Key Takeaways From This Episode

Don't sequence your passions — stack them. Cher's advice: write the books and build the adjacent business at the same time. You don't have to wait for royalties to fund the dream.
Your book is the entrée, not the entrée fee. A novel set in a real place is an invitation for readers to step into that world with you — which is exactly how The Booked Club was born.
One brand, one name, one ecosystem. Running everything as "As Written by Cher Terais" means one social presence, one website, one story to tell — instead of fragmenting your audience across multiple identities.
Test concepts cheap before you build them big. Cher validated The Booked Club with a single Meta-ad webinar — 150 registrants, 7 paid members from a cold audience — before scaling.
Bring the destination home when the destination won't work. When Morocco got logistically tricky, Cher built a virtual immersive experience: shipped tea sets, a Moroccan chef, a local artist, and a live painting ceremony — for $120 a seat.
Feed the algorithm something only you can make. Cher's Instagram micro-dramas where she acts out her own character's backstory are getting massive engagement because no one else can replicate them.
Authenticity beats imitation on every metric that matters. Copying gets views; being yourself gets engagement, sales, and community.
Networking actually matters. Two pivotal moves — the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans and connecting with Victor and Valor — came from intentional networking, not solo grinding.
Older audiences buy. Don't neglect Facebook just because the cool stuff is on TikTok. Established readers have established budgets.

Gifts from Cher:
WIP20 — $20 off the Paint, Pour & Passport experience.
Paint, Pour & Passport: A Night in Morocco

Because some of the members are preparing for travel—my Ultimate Travel Packing Checklist with the community:
Ultimate Travel Packing Checklist

And for anyone who wants to pack lighter and smarter:
Sudoku Packing Method Blog Post

References & Links Mentioned

Cher's website: cherterais.com
The Booked Club (travel membership with wholesale airfare/hotel rates) (aff link)
Paint, Pour, & Passport: A Night in Morocco — June 13, 2025 — paintpourpassport.com
- Use code WIP20 for $20 off
Wanderlust Retreats: Morocco — April 5–11, 2027
Cher's books:
- Bali Blue
- Steel Horses, Leather Rose (July 2025) — first in the Steel and Leather series
- Tulum-set novel (November 2024)
Women in Publishing Marketing Bootcamp — June 12–13 — womeninpublishingsummit.com/events
Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV)
Victor and Valor — pro bono marketing firm for veterans
Cher on social: @cherterais on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube

Cher Terais is a romance author and the founder of As Written by Cher Terais, a creative ecosystem that includes her Wanderlust Romance novels, The Booked Club travel membership, and Wanderlust Retreats. A U.S. military veteran, Cher writes love stories set in destinations around the world — from Bali to Tulum to Paris to South Georgia — and helps her readers turn those destinations into real-life experiences. Her work centers on the idea that you don't have to choose between the life you write about and the life you live: you can do both, at the same time, and call it a business.