Inspiration and information about writing craft and author business. For independent creatives.
Redesign your author business to reach more readers and sell more books, teach yourself anything, and what machines can't replace
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Hello Creatives, I'm just back from a week's walking in the Algarve in Portugal, a much-needed break after finishing my Masters dissertation and my little book on writing short stories. Multi-day longer distance walking always helps clear the mind — and the creative cycle begins to turn once more ... I'm working on the 4th Edition of How to Market a Book next, and if you want to sell more print books in-person, check out Mark Leslie Lefebvre's Kickstarter for A Book in Hand: Optimizing Print Book Sales. For craft and business tips, I'm interviewed on Author Voice, Creativity, and Building a Career as an Intuitive Author-Entrepreneur over on the How Women Write Podcast. Redesign your author business for the environment we're in, not the one you wish we were inHow can you redesign your author business for the publishing environment that actually exists, rather than the one you wish you had? And how do you decide which marketing efforts will still bring readers to your books in ten years' time? Tracy Cooper-Posey shares her solar sail theory after more than 25 years as an author. In the intro, reviving your backlist, and treating AI as a medium. Click here to listen or read the transcript Reclaiming your mind: How to teach yourself anythingHow can you teach yourself anything, even when it challenges the way you see the world? And how can you organise what you learn so it turns into books your readers will find? J. Daniel Sawyer shares his self-education toolkit after decades as a largely self-taught author. In the intro, Spotify for Authors has expanded AI-assisted creation of audiobooks, Who is Narrating the Future?, and a fallow season. Click here to listen or read the transcript What machines can't replace: Why AI makes us more humanHow can you use AI to research, edit and handle admin and marketing tasks while still writing every single word yourself? How can you double down on being human and reach readers on a personal level? Anna McPhee shares her perspective as a software engineer, author and creative technologist. Click here to listen or read the transcript
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Joanna Penn, The Creative Penn
Inspiration and information about writing craft and author business. For independent creatives.
Hello Creatives, I've been working hard on the Fourth Edition of How to Market a Book, which will be pretty extensive! (and hopefully out in Dec/Jan). But it gets a little intense at the desk, so yesterday I went to Kew Gardens in London to see the Henry Moore sculpture exhibition for a (much needed) Artist's Date. I love large sculptures as they change as you move around them and the light and shadow is part of the experience. Moore was also frequently inspired by bones, as of course, am I!...
Hello Creatives, We are heading into the last few months of the year, so I hope you are doing well with your creative goals for 2026! I'm just back from an inspiring trip to Los Angeles to attend the Moonshots Live conference, and I also visited the cathedral, and tried my first Waymo, which was fun! I am now focused on How to Market a Book Fourth Edition, so please click here to do my short survey before 7 October. It should be out on my store in December, and everywhere in early 2027....
Hello Creatives, Autumn is in the air here in Bath, and I've been in a flurry of finishing energy with my Masters dissertation (finally) now done. I'm also launching How to Write, Publish and Market Short Stories on my store now and everywhere else from 1 October. More details below. What do you want to achieve before the end of the year? Click reply and let me know. How to Write, Publish and Market Short Stories Write more stories, strengthen your craft, and grow your author career. Short...