Inspiration and information about writing craft and author business. For independent creatives.
Writing tips to help you be a more Relaxed Author this holiday season, plus different ways of selling direct, and Business for Authors
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Hello Creatives, Just a quick one as we head into the holiday season, and another year ticks away. I hope you have achieved all your creative goals in 2025 and are looking forward to creating even more in 2026! I'm just finishing up my final essay of the term for my Masters in Death, Religion and Culture. Just a little light reading about Hell as you can see from the books above! I'm getting lots of ideas for books to come in 2026, that's for sure! In the meantime, you can find all my fiction and memoir at JFPennBooks.com, including my thriller Gates of Hell, and A Thousand Fiendish Angels, inspired by Dante's Inferno. If you'd like something more Christmassy, then check out my mum's sweet romance (as Penny Appleton), A Summerfield Christmas Wedding. The Relaxed Author Writing TipsHow can you be more relaxed about your writing process? What are some specific ways to take the pressure off your art and help you enjoy the creative journey? With me and Mark Leslie Lefebvre. In the intro, Spotify 2025 audiobook trends, Audible + BookTok, Non-Fiction Authors Guide to SubStack, and OpenAI and Disney. Click here to listen or read the transcript Two Different Approaches to Selling Direct with Sacha BlackWhat does it really take to build a multi-six-figure author business with no advertising? Is running your own warehouse really necessary for direct sales success — or is there a simpler path using print-on-demand that works just as well? In this conversation, Sacha Black and I compare our very different approaches to selling direct, from print on demand to pallets of books, and explore why the right model depends entirely on who you are and what your goals are for your author business. In the intro, Memoir Examples and interviews, Indie Author survey results, and the My Camino Podcast. Click here to listen or read the transcript Business for Authors, Jan 2026 WebinarIf you're ready to level up your author business in 2026, join me for this live webinar (or get the replay) After 25 years of running my own businesses, and a decade as a multi-six-figure author entrepreneur, I've made lots of mistakes, and I also know a few things about running a successful author business, so in January, I'm doing a webinar on Business for Authors so you can reach more readers, and make more money in 2026. It's the same webinar, run on two separate dates, and ticket-holders get access to the video and audio replay as well as the slides and any other resources. More details on the links below. Just let me know if you have any questions. Sat 10 Jan, 11am US Eastern, 8am Pacific, 4pm UK Sat 24 Jan, 11am US Eastern, 8am Pacific, 4pm UK [There is a 25% discount for Patrons so please check Patreon.com/thecreativepenn for special links.] Happy Holidays!I hope you have a wonderful Christmas or holiday season and I'll return in the new year with a look back at whether I achieved my goals in 2025, and a look forward into what might lie ahead for indie authors in 2026. I hope you will join me then.
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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...