Writing is absolutely about the practical step of getting words on the page — but your mindset can make the difference between success and failure, as well as how much you enjoy the author journey. In this interview, Michael La Ronn outlines mental models for writers, facing our fears to break through to creative success, […] The post Mental Models For Writers And The Empowered Indie Author With Michael LaRonn first appeared on The Creative Penn.

How can you use an outline to improve your book before you start the first draft? How can you use it to play with your creative ideas without feeling hemmed in by the process? In this interview, KM Weiland talks about how to outline your novel as well as thoughts on writer's block, filling the […] The post Outlining Your Novel And Filling The Creative Well With K.M. Weiland first appeared on The Creative Penn.

When you've been self-publishing over a decade, it's easy to see how things have changed for indie authors and where the opportunities lie for publishing and marketing our books. In this wide-ranging interview, David Gaughran discusses the shifts in the industry, starting from zero, book marketing tips, and more. In the intro, Audible launches an […] The post Starting From Zero And Success With BookBub Ads With David Gaughran first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Audiobooks are one of the fastest-growing segments in publishing and the expansion of podcasts onto every major platform means there are more ways to market to audio-first consumers (which increasingly includes me!) In this episode, Derek Doepker gives some tips on why audiobooks are so important as a format, self-narration, working with a narrator, plus, […] The post Audiobook Narration, Production And Marketing Tips With Derek Doepker first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Do you want to make your books available to readers in every format, in every online store and library, in every country? If yes, it's time to go wide for the win! In today's episode with Erin Wright, we discuss what ‘going wide' means, why libraries are so important, and tips for publishing wide wherever […] The post Publishing Wide For The Win With Erin Wright first appeared on The Creative Penn.

How can you juggle full-time writing and a family? How can you manage ambition about adventure and travel with a desire to be a 7-figure author? How can you be both creative and a business-person? I talk about all this and more in today's wide-ranging interview with Emily Kimelman. In the introduction, The Authors Guild, […] The post Creativity, Business, And Ambition With Emily Kimelman first appeared on The Creative Penn.

The last decade has seen a dramatic change in the publishing industry as ebooks and digital audio have gone from a side note to a huge part of the reader experience — and a significant part of independent author incomes. In this episode, I talk to Len Edgerly from The Kindle Chronicles Podcast which started […] The post Changes In Ebook Publishing Over The Last Decade And Possible Changes Ahead With Len Edgerly Of The Kindle Chronicles Podcast first appeared on The Creative Penn.

What is narrative non-fiction and how do you write a piece so powerful it is nominated for a Pulitzer? In this interview, Matt Hongoltz-Hetling talks about his process for finding stories worth writing about and how he turns them into award-winning articles. In the intro, I talk about Spotify (possibly) getting into audiobooks and Amazon […] The post How To Write Narrative Non-Fiction With Matt Hongoltz-Hetling first appeared on The Creative Penn.

What happens when you've written award-winning books, get amazing reviews from readers, and your sales still start a downward spiral? You can give up writing — or you can take a step back, review your catalog, figure out a plan and up-skill, then reboot your author career. In this episode, Michaelbrent Collings shares how he […] The post How To Reboot A Flagging Author Career With Michaelbrent Collings first appeared on The Creative Penn.

In mid-2019, I shared 9 Ways That Artificial Intelligence Might Disrupt Authors and Publishing, and one of those possible disruptions concerned voice technologies, which I also wrote about in Audio for Authors. In 2020, we have seen an acceleration of AI with the release of GPT-3 for natural language processing and generation, as well as […] The post AI And Creativity Update: A Voice Double Conversation Featuring Joanna Penn And Mark Leslie Lefebvre first appeared on The Creative Penn.