Take your author career to the next level.
Create a business plan for your writing: author brand, production, marketing and money, with examples from my own plan. Written and narrated by Joanna Penn.
Are you ready to take your author career to the next level?
You are an author. You turn ideas into reality in the shape of a book. You turn the thoughts in your head into valuable intellectual property assets, and you understand how powerful the written word can be.
Now it’s time to use your words to create a business plan to take your writing career to the next level, whatever that means for your situation.
I’ve been a full-time author-entrepreneur since 2011. In this book, I guide you through the process of creating a business plan that will help you achieve your creative and financial goals.
In each section I give examples from my own plan, with questions for you to answer, templates, resources, and example plans for different kinds of authors.
Who this book is for
This book is for fiction and non-fiction authors, and for those who want to include other products, services and income streams. It works whether you’re just starting out or already have a mature author business. A plan helps at any stage of the journey.
It doesn’t go into detail on how to do the specific topics, like how to self-publish or how to do content marketing. I cover those in my other books for authors. This one is about the plan.
What you’ll learn
The book has four parts plus a chapter on turning the plan into action. Here are the questions it answers.
- What is my business summary, and what does my author brand stand for?
- What do I want to achieve, and who do I want to serve?
- How do I plan my writing, publishing and licensing?
- What products and services could my intellectual property become?
- What is my marketing strategy, and what does my author ecosystem look like?
- What is my money mindset, and what are my revenue streams and costs?
- How do I pay myself now and plan for the future?
- How do I simplify the plan into achievable steps across a timeline?
- What do example business plans look like for different kinds of authors?
Where to buy
Available in ebook, paperback, large print, audiobook (narrated by me), and a spiral-bound companion workbook with all the questions. Buying direct from my store gives you the best price on bundles and supports me directly. Thank you.
What readers say
★★★★★
An excellent book whether you're writing your first book or your fiftieth. Then I read Your Author Business Plan and filled out the questionnaire and template it provides. It opened my eyes to how many things I was doing for my author career that I didn't love.
Lisa M. Lilly
★★★★★
Joanna lays out a no nonsense guide to making a business plan. It has the same elements as any business plan must and goes the extra step to add personal examples.
Dave Bartell
★★★★★
This book is filled with thought-provoking questions, resources and examples for each step, as well as example plans.
Kimberley Shead
About Joanna Penn
I’m an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. I write non-fiction for authors as Joanna Penn, and thrillers, dark fantasy, horror and travel memoir as J.F. Penn.
I’ve hosted The Creative Penn Podcast since 2009, with interviews on writing, publishing, book marketing and making a living with your writing.
I have a Master’s degree in Death, Religion and Culture from the University of Winchester (2026) and a Master’s in Theology from the University of Oxford. I live in Bath, England.
Articles on your author business
Start with the Author Entrepreneur hub, then dip into these.
- Your Author Business Plan extras and templates
- How to make a living with your writing through books and multiple streams of income
- Your book is a valuable intellectual property asset
- What is your definition of success?
- Make a living writing: first principles for author entrepreneurs
- Write books you love. Think global. Consider multiple streams of income.
- Author entrepreneur: increase your revenue
- Productivity tips: outsourcing, automation and virtual assistants for authors
- Recommended books about money and investing
Podcast episodes about planning your author business
I review my own business plan and goals on The Creative Penn Podcast every year, and these episodes go deeper into strategy and planning.
- Lessons learned from 15 years as a full-time author entrepreneur (Joanna Penn)
- How to redesign your author business for the environment that actually exists with Tracy Cooper-Posey
- Plan for success in your indie author business with Adam Beswick
- Build a successful author business for the long term with Joe Solari
- Scaling an author business with Rachel McLean
- Managing your author business over the long term with Tracy Cooper-Posey
- Write for money and power: becoming a creator CEO with Amy Suto
- Time freedom: rethink your work and money with Brian Herriot
Questions about author business plans
Do I really need a business plan as an author?
If you want your writing to earn money, yes, even a simple one. A plan turns vague hopes into decisions about what to write, how to publish, how to market and what to spend. It also tells you what to say no to. Mine is a few pages and I revisit it every year.
What goes in an author business plan?
Four parts: your business summary and author brand, your production plan for writing, publishing and licensing, your marketing strategy and author ecosystem, and your finances. The final chapter turns it into achievable steps on a timeline. The book has questions and a template for each part.
I'm just starting out. Isn't this too early?
No. A plan helps at any stage. If you have one book or none, it stops you wasting money on things that don't matter yet and keeps you focused on finishing and publishing. The example plans include a brand-new author as well as established ones.
Does the book cover how to self-publish or market a book?
No, deliberately. It is about the plan, not the how-to. Successful Self-Publishing, How to Market a Book and How to Make a Living with Your Writing cover those topics in detail, and the plan shows you where each one fits.
What is the companion workbook?
A spiral-bound print workbook with all the questions from the book and space to write your answers, so you can work through your plan on paper. The ebook, paperback and audiobook contain the full text and examples.
Next steps
Get the free Author Blueprint
Join my email list and I will send you my Author Blueprint, with the steps on the author journey from idea to published book and beyond, plus my newsletter with tips on writing, publishing and marketing.
Listen to The Creative Penn Podcast
New episodes every Wednesday, wherever you listen to podcasts: interviews and solo shows on writing, publishing, book marketing and making a living with your writing. Browse the podcast.
Watch on YouTube
Tutorials, interviews and full audiobooks of my non-fiction on The Creative Penn channel.
