Inspiration and information about writing craft and author business. For independent creatives.
Selling books live on social media, Research like an academic, The creative wound, and the shadow in publishing
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Hello Creatives, It's already February, so I hope you are into the creative swing of the year now and are making progress with your book plans for 2026. I've finished my next thriller, Bones of the Deep. It's now with my editor and beta readers and my plan is to do a Kickstarter in April. In the meantime, I am back into my Masters degree in Death, Religion, and Culture, so lots of studying! Selling books live on social media with Adam BeswickCould live selling be the next big opportunity for indie authors? Adam Beswick shares how organic marketing, live streaming, and direct sales are transforming his author career—and how other writers can do the same. In the intro, book marketing principles. Click here to listen or read Research like an academic. Write like an indie. With Melissa AddeyHow can indie authors raise their game through academic-style rigour? How might AI tools fit into a thoughtful research process without replacing the joy of discovery? Melissa Addey explores the intersection of scholarly discipline, creative writing, and the practical realities of building an author career. In the intro, mystery and thriller tropes; The differences between trad and indie in 2026; and the five phases of an author business. Click here to listen or read Writing the Shadow, the creative wound, publishing, and money, with Joanna PennWhat if the most transformative thing you can do for your writing craft and author business is to face what you fear? How can you can find gold in your Shadow in the year ahead? In this episode, I share chapters from Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words. In the intro, curated book boxes, agentic shopping, Claude CoWork, and balancing certainty and uncertainty. Click here to listen or read
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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...