The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers

Joanna Penn
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The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers

Information, inspiration and interviews on writing, self-publishing, book marketing and making a living with your writing. If you need help with writing your book, or you want to learn how to navigate the new world of publishing and book marketing, then join Joanna Penn and her guests every Monday. Also covers the business of being a writer and how to make money with your books.

  1. 6 DAYS AGO

    Fair Use, Copyright, And Licensing. AI And The Author Business With Alicia Wright

    How does generative AI relate to fair use when it comes to copyright? What are the possibilities for AI licensing? Alicia Wright shares her thoughts on generative AI for authors. In the intro, Publishing leaders share 9 Bold Predictions for 2025 [BookBub]; OpenAI launches Operator [The Verge]; Bertelsmann (who own Penguin Random House) intends to work with OpenAI to expand and accelerate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the media, services, and education sectors; Death Valley — A Thriller. Today's show is sponsored by my patrons! Join my community and get access to extra videos on writing craft, author business, AI and behind the scenes info, plus an extra Q&A show a month where I answer Patron questions. It's about the same as a black coffee a month! Join the community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Alicia Wright is an intellectual property lawyer for a technology company, and also writes science fiction and mystery as Alicia Ellis. With two degrees in computer science and an MFA in writing popular fiction, she is expertly placed to comment on AI as it applies to writers. 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 as a brainstorming partner and collaborator * AI as fair use because it creates something transformative * Using the right prompts to produce quality outputs from AI * AI is the next technological change in our society * Licensing your IP for training and AI usage — what to look for in contracts * Training the AI systems to include your work in generative searches * Developing your authorial voice and creative confidence * Uitlizing AI agents in your author business You can find Alicia at WriterAlicia.com and on social media @WriterAlicia. Transcript of Interview with Alicia Wright Joanna: Alicia Wright is an intellectual property lawyer for a technology company, and also writes science fiction and mystery as Alicia Ellis. With two degrees in computer science and an MFA in writing popular fiction, she is expertly placed to comment on AI as it applies to writers, which we're talking about today. So welcome to the show, Alicia. Alicia: Thank you so much, Jo. I'm happy to be here. Joanna: Oh, I'm excited to talk to you. So first up—

    56 min

  2. 20 JAN

    Building A Long Term Author Business, Dictation, Kickstarter, and Short Story Collections With Kevin J Anderson

    How can you build a long-term author career with multiple streams of income? How can you use technology for the grunt work and not the fun part of writing? Kevin J Anderson gives his tips. In the intro, has TikTok gone dark? [AP]; BookVault is expanding printing to Australia; GPSR, the EU’s new General Product Safety Regulation [Self-Publishing Advice]; CreatedByHumans.ai launches in partnership with The Authors Guild for AI data licensing [Publishing Perspectives]; Simon & Schuster launches audio-first imprint featuring content from self-published authors [Publishers Weekly]. Plus, 7 Steps for How to Write Non-Fiction [Reedsy Live replay]; Publishing predictions for 2025 [Draft2Digital’s Self-Publishing Insiders]; Creative and life challenges with me and Orna Ross [Self-Publishing with ALLi]; Death Valley – A Thriller, coming in March! Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, self-publishing with support, where you can get free formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Just go to www.draft2digital.com to get started. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn  Kevin J. Anderson is the multi-award-winning and internationally bestselling author of over 190 books across different genres, with over 24 million copies in print across 34 languages. He's also the director of publishing at Western Colorado University, as well as a publisher at WordFire Press, an editor and rock album lyricist, and he's co-written Dune books and worked on the recent Dune movies and TV show. 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 * Adapting throughout a 40-year author career * The importance of having a Plan B when the industry changes

    1h 4m

  3. 13 JAN

    Balancing Creativity With Building A Business, And Author Nation With Joe Solari

    How can you balance creativity with business in order to have a profitable, long-term author career? What were the successes and challenges of the Author Nation conference? Joe Solari shares his perspective. In the intro, the money episode [Ink In Your Veins]; WISE for multi-currency banking; creative planning tips for 2025 [Self~Publishing Advice]; Surprising Trends Authors Can’t Ignore in 2025 [Novel Marketing Podcast]. Plus, an update on Death Valley, A Thriller, and reflections on seeing live theatre vs online & stream/subscription models. This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn  Joe Solari helps authors build great businesses through books, courses, and podcasting, as well as strategy and operations consulting. He's also the managing director of Author Nation, the biggest conference for indie authors in the world. 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 * Maintaining sustainable balance between writing and marketing * Creating an author business that fulfills you * Utilizing your time effectively in 2025 * Navigating social media and business goals * Learning to say no and focusing on what you really want * Author Nation 2024 Highlights * The logisitics of running an author conference * Catering to different experience levels at an author conference You can find Joe at JoeSolari.com and AuthorNation.live. Transcript of Interview with Joe Solari Joanna: Joe Solari helps authors build great businesses through books, courses, and podcasting, as well as strategy and operations consulting. He's also the managing director of Author Nation, the biggest conference for indie authors in the world. So welcome back to the show, Joe. Joe: Thanks for having me on again. I really enjoy the time we get to spend together.

    1h 5m

  4. 6 JAN

    Writing Tips: Craft, Structure, and Voice With Kristen Tate

    Are you curious about the hidden structures that turn ordinary manuscripts into irresistible page-turning stories? Wondering how to shape your characters, scenes, and chapters so readers can’t put your book down? Kristen Tate shares her tips. In the intro, key book publishing paths [Jane Friedman]; sub-rights and why it’s important to understand how many ways your book can make money [Renee Fountain]; the innovation of the indie author community and biggest changes in publishing with Michael Tamblyn [KWL Podcast]; Plus, 10 publishing trends for 2025 [Written Word Media]; Unveiling 2025: Indie authors gear up for AI innovations and craft renaissance [Indie Author Magazine]; How to Write Non-Fiction, Second Edition is out now; and join me for a live webinar: 7 steps to write your non-fiction book in 2025, 15 Jan. 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 writing software, ProWritingAid will help you improve your book before you send it to an editor, agent or publisher. Check it out for free or get 15% off the premium edition at www.ProWritingAid.com/joanna This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn  Kristen Tate is an editor and founder of the Blue Garret, offering editing services and advice for authors. She has a PhD in English from Columbia University, focusing on novels and publishing history. Her latest book is Novel Study: Decoding the Secrets and Structures of Contemporary Fiction. 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 * Most common mistakes authors make with openings * The differences between scenes and chapters * How to plot a page-turner * The continuous development of an author's writing process * Balancing reading for pleasure and reading for research * Inadvertent plagiarism and the boundaries of fair use

    1h 6m

  5. 1 JAN

    My 2025 Creative And Business Goals With Joanna Penn

    Happy New Year 2025! I love January and the opportunity to start afresh. I know it’s arbitrary in some ways, but I measure my life by what I create, and I also measure it in years. At the beginning of each year, I publish an article (and podcast episode) here, which helps keep me accountable. If you’d like to share your goals, please add them in the comments below.  2024 was a year of consolidation as I got my creative house in order and began to shift my creative and business processes. 2025 is going to be a year of personal and business changes as I turn 50 and focus on expanding the J.F. Penn side of things using Leverage as an over-arching theme. More details below. Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of memoir, thrillers, dark fantasy, and horror 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 * Leverage: Make more of what I have * Launch of How to Write Non-Fiction, Second Edition * My 50th year * J.F. Penn bucket list and books: Blood Vintage, the ‘desert book,' ‘ the tallship book,' ‘the gothic cathedral book.' * J.F. Penn short story collection — Kickstarter * Joanna Penn — The Creative Penn Podcast and Patreon Community Leverage: Make more of what I have My over-arching theme for 2025 is Leverage, which can be defined as utilising available resources, assets, tools, and relationships to achieve more. The famous quote by Greek mathematician Archimedes goes: “Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough and I will move the world.” The idea is that you can achieve a lot as an individual — if you use leverage. Here's an overview of some aspects and I go into more detail in the following sections. (a) Leverage the books I've written but not made the most of yet. * Launch How to Write Non-Fiction Second Edition everywhere by end of January 2025 * Work with my US agent, Renee Fountain, to get a book deal for Blood Vintage — or self-publish by the end of 2025 * Get my existing short stories into print. Write an extra two exclusive stories and launch as a Kickstarter Collection and then publish wide. * Get Catacomb in audiobook format (b) Leverage my existing available assets to bring in more income * Do a monthly book marketing plan and organise paid ad campaigns per month for revolving first books in series ...

    24 min

  6. 30/12/2024

    Review Of My 2024 Creative And Business Goals With Joanna Penn

    Another year ends, and once more, it's time to reflect on our creative goals. I hope you can take the time to review your goals and you're welcome to leave a comment below about how the year went. Did you achieve everything you wanted to? Let me know in the comments. It's always interesting looking back at my goals from a year ago, because I don't even look at them in the months between, so sometimes it's a real surprise how much they've changed! You can read my 2024 goals here, and I go through how things went below. Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-winning, 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 * Spear of Destiny, the Gothic cathedral project, and short stories * Award-winning memoir, Pilgrimage * Blood Vintage, and working with a US agent * The Creative Penn Podcast and Patreon Community * Streamline TheCreativePenn website and redo Author Blueprint * How to Write Non-Fiction, Second Edition * Travel, speaking, and in-person events * Financials, health and fitness, and happy cats! J.F. Penn — Spear of Destiny, the Gothic Cathedral project, and short stories I researched, wrote and then did a Kickstarter for Spear of Destiny, ARKANE Thriller #13, before publishing it wide a few months later. I went to Vienna, Nuremberg, and Cologne in January, which was a chilly trip but inspired much of the story. The Kickstarter ran in June 2024 and raised £12,536 from 313 Backers. I made a limited edition hardback with silver foil and a ribbon, and a specific cover for the campaign, which I love! You can buy Spear of Destiny here in all formats on my store, or here everywhere else. The hardback was available in bundle deals with the rest of the series, and I also bit the bullet over audio and had the first three books in the series re-narrated by Veronica Giguere (they had been withdrawn since my rewrites in 2022),

    25 min

  7. 23/12/2024

    Creative Clarity: Focus, Self-Care, And A Little Bit Of Tough Love

    How can you create when there's an overwhelming list of things to do and too many competing priorities? How can you balance self-care with achieving your creative goals. In this episode, I’ll share some tips from previous podcast guests to help you step back, reassess your priorities, and hopefully help you let go of at least some of the things on your list. In the intro, Author branding [Self-Publishing Advice Podcast]; Example prompts if you want to explore your author brand; Google Gemini Advanced with Deep Research; How to Write Non-Fiction Second Edition; Tips for writing non-fiction, I'm on The Biz Book Broadcast with Liz Scully; Q&A on how to write non-fiction [Apex Author]; 7 Steps to Write Your Non-Fiction Book in 2025 — me on Reedsy Live, 15 Jan. This episode is sponsored by Publisher Rocket, which will help you get your book in front of more Amazon readers so you can spend less time marketing and more time writing. I use Publisher Rocket for researching book titles, categories, and keywords — for new books and for updating my backlist. Check it out at www.PublisherRocket.com This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn  Show Notes * (1) Tackle overwhelm by focusing on your ‘circle of influence' — with Mark McGuinness * (2) Be kinder to yourself — with Ellen Bard * (3) Sort out your sleep — with Dr Anne D. Bartolucci * (4) Protect your private creative practice — with Austin Kleon * (5) Overcome Resistance and adopt the attitude of a professional — with Steve Pressfield * (6) Make the most of the limited time you have — with Todd Henry Creative Clarity: Focus, Self-Care, and Letting Go (1) If you’re struggling, focus on your circle of influence Life can be overwhelming with work and family commitments and health concerns, even as the waves of change grow ever higher — with political shifts, technological change with generative AI, financial changes and of course, all the things we have to do as authors, if we want to get our books finished and out into the world, and reaching readers.  It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with everything, especially in difficult times.  In April 2020, back in pandemic times, a href="https://www.thecreativepenn.

    48 min

  8. 16/12/2024

    Book Proposals, Writing Non-Fiction, And Supercommunicators With Charles Duhigg

    How can you write a book proposal that will make a publisher want to buy your book? How can you write a successful non-fiction book that both interests you and attracts a lot of readers? How can you improve your communication in person and online? Charles Duhigg gives his thoughts. In the intro, HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray on audiobooks and AI [TechCrunch]; OpenAI's 12 days including Sora and o1; Google Notebook LM expansion; How Creatives Might Survive and Thrive in a Post-Productivity World [Monica Leonelle]. Plus, How to Write Non-Fiction, Second Edition. Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, self-publishing with support, where you can get free formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Just go to www.draft2digital.com to get started. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn  Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, a reporter at The New Yorker Magazine, and a multi-award-winning author whose book, The Power of Habit, spent three years on the New York Times list. His latest New York Times bestselling book is Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection. 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 * How the writing process differs between books and magazines * Balancing what readers want to read and what you want to write * Research that comes before and after a book proposal * Tips for conducting successful research interviews * The process of organizing research for a nonfiction book * Improving the art of written communication * Dealing with the fear of miscommunication and judgement * The importance of connection in communication You can find Charles at CharlesDuhigg.com. Transcript of Interview with Charles Duhigg Joanna: Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, a reporter at The New Yorker Magazine, and a multi-award-winning author whose book, The Power of Habit,

    54 min
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Information, inspiration and interviews on writing, self-publishing, book marketing and making a living with your writing. If you need help with writing your book, or you want to learn how to navigate the new world of publishing and book marketing, then join Joanna Penn and her guests every Monday. Also covers the business of being a writer and how to make money with your books.

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