The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers Joanna Penn

How can you create a high-quality photo book and publish it on Kickstarter? How do you market a beautiful, high-value book? Jeremy Bassetti talks about his photo book project, Hill of the Skull.







In the intro, Slow release book strategies [ALLi]; Seth Godin on how he is using ChatGPT; Consultants using AI worked faster and produced higher quality results [Ethan Mollick]; DALL-E includes text and consistent characters [OpenAI, Examples on X]; More authors suing OpenAI [The Verge].







Plus, Writing the Shadow Kickstarter; Gold cover video; Wing of an Angel Kickstarter; Pics of Norway on Instagram @jfpennauthor













Today's show is sponsored by Ingram Spark, which I use to print and distribute my print-on-demand books to 40,000 retailers including independent bookstores, schools and universities, libraries, and more. It's your content—do more with it through IngramSpark.com.













Jeremy Bassetti is a travel writer, editor, teacher, and author of historical fiction, as well as the host of the Travel Writing World Podcast. His latest project is The Hill of the Skull: A Photobook Memoir, launching on Kickstarter.







You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. 







Show Notes









* Tips for capturing travel experiences for later reference







* Legal and ethical concerns in publishing photos of people







* The multilayered editing process of a photo book







* Sourcing a printer for high-quality books







* Adding different levels and products to a Kickstarter campaign







* Why Kickstarter vs. other publishing methods







* The importance of marketing









You can find Jeremy at JeremyBassetti.com, his podcast at TravelWritingWorld.com,

In this solo episode, I talk about my lessons learned from 12 years as a full-time author entrepreneur. You can read/listen to previous updates at TheCreativePenn.com/timeline.







In the intro, Finding readers [ALLi blog]; Writing the Shadow Kickstarter.













Today's show is sponsored by ProWritingAid, writing and editing software that goes way beyond just grammar and typo checking. With its detailed reports on how to improve your writing and integration with Scrivener, ProWritingAid will help you improve your book before you send it to an editor, agent or publisher. Check it out for free or get 25% off the premium edition at www.ProWritingAid.com/joanna















Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller author as J.F. Penn. She’s also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker.







You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below.







Show Notes









* Memoir is one of the hardest and most rewarding genres







* Disruption is inevitable. If you don't disrupt yourself, you will be disrupted.







* Disrupting my creative process with generative AI tools







* Disrupting my publishing and marketing process with Kickstarter and Shopify







* How much do I rely on Amazon for book sales and total business income?









You can support the podcast on Patreon.com/thecreativepenn and get a lot more behind-the-scenes business and AI insights. You can sign up for my Author Blueprint here.







You can buy my books for authors at www.CreativePennBooks.com and my fiction and memoir at www.JFPennBooks.com.







Sign up for my next Kickstarter here: Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words.













Lessons Learned from 12 Years as an Author Entrepreneur







Twelve years ago, in Sept...

What's the difference between an audio book and an audio drama? What are the steps to write a script and produce it? Joanne Phillips gives her tips.







In the intro, Amazon KDP's new AI content guidelines; AI at the heart of what Amazon does [The Verge]; Writing the Shadow Kickstarter; 1000 Libraries Kickstarter;





















Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, where you can get free ebook formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Get your free Author Marketing Guide at draft2digital.com/penn













Joanne Phillips is the author of 14 books, including romantic comedy, literary fiction, mysteries, and self-help books. She's also the scriptwriter, showrunner, and executive producer for GravyTree Media, specializing in audio drama, with Everyone's Happy out now.







You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. 







Show Notes









* What an audio drama is compared to an audiobook or podcast







* The process of writing and adapting an audio drama







* How to cast voice actors







* Details on creating the raw audio, editing, and adding sound effects







* Time and cost commitment of creating an audio drama







* Incorporating AI tools into the audio production







* Marketing tips for fiction audio









You can find Joanne at GravyTreeMedia.com







Transcript of Interview with Joanne Phillips







Joanna: Joanne Phillips is the author of 14 books, including romantic comedy, literary fiction, mysteries, and self-help books. She's also the scriptwriter, showrunner, and executive producer for GravyTree Media, specializing in audio drama, with Everyone's Happy out now. So welcome to the show, Jo.







Joanne: Hi, Jo. It's great to be here.







Joanna: I'm excited to talk to you about this topic because it's so interesting. But first up—







Tell us a bit more about you and how you got into writing and publishing.







Joanne: So I've always written and made up stories, like most writers, really. I can't remember a time when I wasn't writing and creating narratives. I think it's how I make sense of the world. It's how I escaped, that sounds terrible?!







Joanna: No, not at all.







Joanne: It's how I kept myself company,

How can you expand the possibilities of book cover images with AI? What are some of the controversies and how can authors and designers work together with AI tools to create original design? Book cover designer Damon Freeman discusses his views.







There are lots of links in the show notes below to specific resources, but of course, the AI space moves fast, so always check the Terms and Conditions of any site you want to investigate further. I also mention the free webinar on AI Ads for Authors with Mark Dawson and James Blatch.













Today's show is sponsored by my wonderful patrons who fund my brain so I have time to think about and discuss these futurist topics impacting authors. If you support the show, you also get the extra monthly patron-only Q&A audio — and my tutorial on how I use Midjourney. You can support the show at www.patreon.com/thecreativepenn













Damon Freeman is the founder and creative director of Damonza.com, creating custom book cover design and interior formatting for authors.







You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below.







Show Notes









* Using AI tools as part of the creative process







* How Midjourney works







* Discussion on copyright







* How AI tools are enabling the creation of unique cover images that have been almost impossible before







* If AI will be able to do everything, how will creatives make a living?







* Tips for working with your cover designer and incorporating AI







* Damon has some great articles on AI images in book covers here, and he also mentions James at GoOnWrite who has an article for self-published authors around AI and images here.









You can find Damon at Damonza.com.







Transcript of Interview with Damon Freeman







Joanna: Damon Freeman is the founder and creative director of Damonza.com, creating custom book cover design and interior formatting for authors. So welcome to the show, Damon.







Damon: Thank you, Joanna. Thanks for having me. I appreciate the opportunity to chat. I'm really looking forward to it.







Joanna: Oh, me too. So we're going to talk specifically about AI images as part of the design process today. But first up—







Tell us a bit more about you, your design background, and how you've been working with authors for over a decade.







Damon: I trained as a graphic designer, and I was working in normal graphic design businesses.







I started my own company as a general kind of graphic design...

How might thinking differently help you create clarity in our noisy world? How can you produce a high-quality print book — and successfully fund it on Kickstarter? Holger Nils Pohl discusses these things and more.







In the intro, Copyright in an age of AI [Self Publishing Advice, Monica Leonelle, Ars Technica, The Verge, The Atlantic; Insider; Kathryn Goldman; US Government Copyright Office AI Submission]; Writing the Shadow Kickstarter; Lesbians Who Write; Pretty Links;













Today's show is sponsored by Ingram Spark, which I use to print and distribute my print-on-demand books to 40,000 retailers including independent bookstores, schools and universities, libraries, and more. It's your content—do more with it through IngramSpark.com.













Holger Nils Pohl is a visual strategist, professional speaker, trainer, and coach. He's also the author of multiple books, from business to children's books, as well as the co-creator of an award-winning business board game.







You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below.







Show Notes









* Breaking out of the traditional publishing mindset







* The creative process — distilling ideas into visual images versus words







* Neurodiversity as a creative







* Living authentically and breaking out of ‘masking'







* Challenges of creating a high-quality book







* Return on investment for nonfiction authors on Kickstarter







* Six tips for a successful Kickstarter







* How creatives can create clarity and choose the right direction









You can find Holger at HolgerNilsPohl.com.

How can you stop self-censoring your writing and share the deepest aspects of yourself with your readers? How can you break poetry out of the restraints that many try to put upon it? Stephanie Wytovich talks about these things and more.







In the intro, 5 trends that are shifting the future of publishing with Monica Leonelle & Russell Nohelty; Direct Sales Strategies We Love from 36 Authors from BookBub; JFPennBooks Reading Order; AI Training Permission from Hugh Howey; Eleven Labs for AI voices and VoiceSwitcher with Storytel;







Plus, Kickstarter for Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words; Chuck Palahniuk on James Altucher talking about unmasking shadows; Carl Jung's Red Book, which features in Stone of Fire.













This podcast is sponsored by Written Word Media, which makes book marketing a breeze by offering quick, easy and effective ways for authors to promote their books. You can also subscribe to the Written Word Media email newsletter for book marketing tips.













Stephanie M. Wytovich is a Bram Stoker award-winning poet, as well as a horror novelist and essayist. She's also the poetry editor for Raw Dog Screaming Press and the editor of Writing Poetry in the Dark.







You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below.







Show Notes









* Allowing poetry to break out from fitting in a box







* How to put together a poetry collection







* Balancing writing for therapy and writing for the reader







* Ways to stop ourselves from self-censoring







* Where the darker sides of ourselves come from







* The horror genre and what it encompasses







* Differences between mainstream books and award winners







* Benefits of being involved with a community of writers