Inspiration and information about writing craft and author business. For independent creatives.
When was the last time you updated your author photo? Plus branding, performance tips, and author book bundles
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Hello Creatives, I was recently up at the BookVault factory signing the special hardbacks of The Buried and the Drowned. It's always wonderful to hold my gorgeous print editions and feel proud of the physical book, as well as the content. Look at those sprayed edges! When I self-published my first book in 2007, we didn't have the options we have now, so I'm grateful we can now make beautiful books! Thanks to everyone who backed the Kickstarter. You should now have all ebooks and audiobooks, and the print books are in the post, arriving in the next few weeks. I also had some new author brand photos done for both J.F. Penn and Joanna Penn (see them all here). I'm really happy with the result and am currently updating all my various sites with the new pics. When was the last time you updated your author photos? Are you happy with them? Do they represent who you are or how you want people to perceive you? Reply and let me know! Brand something beautiful: How authors can stand out in a crowded marketHow do you stand out as an author when thousands of books are published every day? What's the difference between having a logo and having a real brand that sells books? Is it possible to maintain your authentic voice while appealing to genre readers who seem more loyal to categories than authors? With Steve Brock In the intro, Baker & Taylor shutting down, holiday promotions for your books, Updating Shopify metadata, Publishing and change. Performance tips for authors, and how to write climate fictionHow can authors write about climate change (or other big topics) without preaching? What happens when your publisher goes under just before your book launch? How do theatre skills translate to better dialogue, readings, and author events? With author and theater director Laura Baggaley. In the intro, Indie presses are in existential crisis; what to do when things are hard; Book marketing with garlic-infused ink, and tips for getting good author brand photos. Click here to listen or read the transcript Want to level up your writing craft and author business?Check out the new Writing Storybundle, available for a limited time. It contains ebooks covering business essentials for writers, professionalism, creating character arcs, world building, tropes, long term success, podcasting, collaboration and co-writing, productivity, pacing — and it also includes my 2nd Edition of How to Write Non-Fiction.
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Joanna Penn, The Creative Penn
Inspiration and information about writing craft and author business. For independent creatives.
Hello Creatives, I was in Oxford last weekend for a university reunion. It was both strange and wonderful to sit across from people I last knew in my twenties and hear what their lives have become. Some have taken paths you might have predicted. Others have gone places no one would have guessed. A creative life rarely runs in a straight line, and I find I’m most drawn to the unexpected stories, the people who started over, who found their work later, who are still figuring it out. Decades in,...
Hello Creatives, One of the most common questions that authors are asked is: "Where do you get your ideas?" Well, for me, it's often about where I travel and what I find there. In 1999, I sailed on a tall ship from Fiji to Vanuatu in the south pacific, and something about that crossing never let me go. I just couldn’t find the right story for it ... until now. Bones of the Deep has finally arrived, with a setting that takes you out on the open ocean, the stolen bones of a merfolk culture, and...
Hello Creatives, Spring flowers are blooming here in Bath and I am looking forward to a lot more time outside in the coming months! I hope you are enjoying the seasons wherever you are in the world. In the meantime, I am almost ready to launch my next Kickstarter for Bones of the Deep, and I'm working hard on finishing my Masters course. We also had a book research trip to Paris which will eventually turn into my next ARKANE thriller, Crown of Thorns. More photos on Facebook/ Instagram...