The Creative Penn Blog: Helping you write, publish and market your book

Writing, Publishing And Marketing Books For Children With Crystal Swain-Bates

April 12, 2021 by Joanna Penn 4 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:04:56 — 52.8MB)

How can you write a children's story with a message without being preachy? How can you find and work effectively with an illustrator? How can you market your book to kids in schools?

Crystal Swain Bates gives her tips on writing, publishing and marketing books for children, as well as how we can make books and the author community more diverse.

In the intro, how library distribution works for indie authors [ALLi]; Constant change and when your winning bet becomes your losing bet [Spotify A Product Story]; Tarzan Economics; 8 Principles for Pivoting Through Disruption by Will Page; Subscription models and streaming and the impact on indie authors [me and Orna Ross on the Ask ALLi Podcast]; The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow; Google update coming in May 2021 for Page Experience and Core Web Vitals [Search Engine Watch], plus ScribeCount for wide reporting.

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 www.draft2digital.com/penn

Crystal Swain-Bates is the best-selling author of children's books, and the founder of Goldest Karat Publishing, which seeks to fill the racial diversity gap in publishing.

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

Show Notes

The value of making mistakes along the way and learning as you go
Writing a positioning statement for your book
Writing a story with a message — but without preaching or lecturing
How to find and work with illustrators for children’s picture books
The importance of getting your contract right if you want to create merchandise and other products
Using print-on-demand for children's books and which services are best
Marketing children’s books in schools and online
Encouraging diversity in characters, books and in the author community

You can find Crystal Swain-Bates at CrystalSwainBates.com and on Twitter @CSwainBates

Publish Wide, Sell More Books And AI for Voice. Google Play Books With Ryan Dingler

April 9, 2021 by Joanna Penn 4 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 41:56 — 34.4MB)

How can you sell more ebooks and audiobooks on Google Play Books to the global market? How can you optimize your books so they are more likely to be discovered?

How might auto-narrated audiobooks help expand the market? All this and more in today's interview with Ryan Dingler from Google.

Ryan Dingler is a product manager at Google, and also writes about the intersection of technology and business.

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

The difference between Google Books and Google Play Books
How searching and purchasing books works on Android
Market penetration of Android devices and global reach of Google Play Books
Publishing books on Google Play Books and international pricing
Advantages of publishing direct with Google Play Books
The importance of good metadata for marketing books
AI-narrated audiobooks and when they might be available for authors

You can find Google Play Books at play.google.com/store/books and you can publish at Play.google.com/books/publish/u/0/

[You can buy my ebooks and audiobooks on Google Play — non-fiction as Joanna Penn, and fiction as J.F.Penn]

Writing Dialogue And Character Voice With Jeff Elkins

April 5, 2021 by Joanna Penn 4 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:04:44 — 52.6MB)

How can we write authentic and engaging character dialogue? How can we incorporate sub-text that deepens our writing? Jeff Elkins, The Dialogue Doctor explains more in this interview.

In the intro, the new AudibleGate site; scammers using big publisher names [Writer Beware]; Vellum update for Ingram PDF [Vellum software; my tools and tutorials] ; Do BookBub deals on a permafree first in series work multiple times? [BookBub blog]; audio course on financial independence [JD Roth] and my list of money books. Plus, Secrets and Lies Storybundle; and updates on my books, The Wreck of the Unbelievable, and Damien Hirst's ‘green' NFT [FT].

Today's show is sponsored by IngramSpark, who I use to print and distribute my print-on-demand books to 39,000 retailers including independent bookstores, schools and universities, libraries and more. It's your content – do more with it through IngramSpark.com.

Jeff Elkins is the author of 12 thriller and mystery novels, as well as over 100 short stories. He's also a ghostwriter, dialogue editor, and a podcaster at the Dialogue Doctor Podcast.

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

Show Notes

How getting fired started Jeff’s writing career and how he now manages multiple streams of income
The two biggest mistakes writers make with dialogue
Ways to research authentic voices
How to use subtext in dialogue
How dialogue helps readers connect with characters
Making choices about swearing in dialogue based on who your readers are

You can find Jeff Elkins at DialogueDoctor.com and on Twitter @Jffelkins

Fix Your Writing Tics With Chris Banks From ProWriting Aid

April 2, 2021 by Joanna Penn 1 Comment

Podcast: Download (Duration: 39:59 — 32.8MB)

What is your writer's tic and how can you fix it with Pro Writing Aid? Why are commas such an issue for writers? (and my own personal nemesis!)

How can AI tools enhance our creativity and usher in a new abundant future for writers? I discuss all this and more with Chris Banks from Pro Writing Aid.

Chris Banks is the CEO and founder of ProWritingAid, which has over 1.5 million users worldwide.

I use ProWritingAid for all my books at various stages of the editing process and I'm a very happy affiliate! You can get 25% off the premium edition using my link: www.TheCreativePenn.com/prowritingaid

You can also check out my tutorial: How To Use ProWritingAid To Improve Your Writing And Self-Edit Your Book

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

Show Notes

How ProWriting Aid evolved from Chris's desire to improve his own writing
Passive voice, commas, -ing words, and other common writing tics
Integration with Scrivener and checking your writing across large documents
The different types of reports ProWriting Aid generates to support your writing
How AI is used at ProWriting Aid
How the demand for writers may increase because of AI, and help enhance our creativity

You can find Chris Banks at ProWritingAid.com and on Twitter @ProWritingAid

What Can Authors Learn From Digital Changes In The Music Industry? With Tristra Newyear Yeager

March 29, 2021 by Joanna Penn 2 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:07:20 — 54.7MB)

What can authors learn from the digital changes in the music industry? In this interview, Tristra Newyear Yeager talks about the empowerment of the indie musician, multiple streams of income, and the uses of blockchain and AI.

In the intro, I report back on attending SXSW and some other online conferences on lessons learned from the acceleration of digital adoption; what the metaverse might mean [Forbes]; Mark Zuckerberg on the next iteration of VR [The Information]; Facebook's wristband wearable [The Next Web]; creating AI avatars [Exponential Wisdom], and Microsoft's identity platform on Bitcoin’s Blockchain.

Plus, the Secrets and Lies mystery/crime Storybundle (limited time); Businessplan für Autoren (German); and Spotify: A Product Story podcast.

Today's podcast sponsor is Findaway Voices, which gives you access to the world's largest network of audiobook sellers and everything you need to create and sell professional audiobooks. Take back your freedom. Choose your price, choose how you sell, choose how you distribute audio. Check it out at FindawayVoices.com.

Tristra Newyear Yeager is a writer and strategist for music PR firm Rock Paper Scissors. She's the co-host of the Music Tectonics Podcast, which explores the intersection of music and technology. She's also a fantasy novelist as T. Newyear.

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

Show Notes

Digital shifts in the music industry in the last few years
The upside, and downside of the digitization of music
How payouts for streaming works in the music industry
How musical artists responded to the pandemic when the tour economy was decimated
The creative ideas musicians have for merchandise that adds to their streams of income
The effect technology, NFT’s and AI are having on the music industry
How will copyright be affected by technology and will artists benefit or lose out?