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

How To Develop Bestselling Story Ideas With JD Barker

June 22, 2020 by Joanna Penn 2 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:01:00 — 49.6MB)

Do you aspire to write better stories? Do you have the ambition to aim for a career that rivals the biggest names in publishing? Today's interview with JD Barker will inspire you and give you some great tips around writing bestselling stories and building a long-term career.

In the introduction, James Daunt of Waterstones and Barnes & Noble talks about the impact of the pandemic and a possible revival in Nook [The Bookseller], the newly-formed Black Writers Guild calls for sweeping change in UK publishing [The Guardian], Smashwords CEO Mark Coker does a round-up of the impact of the pandemic for indie authors [Smashwords blog], I'm doing a Facebook Live this week, Fri 26 June at 5 pm UK / 12 noon US Eastern on Facebook.com/thecreativepenn.

Today's show is sponsored by my patrons, those wonderful people who support the show with a few dollars a month. Knowing that you enjoy the show and still find it useful keeps me coming back to the mic every week after all these years! If you'd like to support the show and get an extra Q&A audio every month (as well as the backlist), go to www.Patreon.com/thecreativepenn

JD Barker is an award-winning and international bestselling author of thrillers and horror. He is also the co-host of the Writers, Ink Podcast with J. Thorn.

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 below.

Show Notes

Starting out working as a book doctor
Getting career advice from Dean Koontz and co-writing with James Patterson
How to successfully write cross-genre
Choosing strong ideas and improving a story before it’s written – Writers Ink episode.
On approaching our heroes
The current state of the publishing industry
On the business of selling books
What trad publishers are looking for in book length and how our attention spans are changing
The importance of grabbing a reader right off the bat
Using new, untested platforms to market books

You can find JD Barker at JDBarker.com, on Patreon and on Twitter @jdbarker

Writing Tips: How To Self-Edit Your Novel With Kris Spisak

June 15, 2020 by Joanna Penn 11 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 57:22 — 46.7MB)

Writing a first draft is only the initial step in the journey to creating a novel. The next step is editing, and in this interview, Kris Spisak talks about the different kinds of editing, as well as tips for your self-editing process. Plus, I share my insights from my latest edit on Map of the Impossible.

In the introduction, Apple discontinues iBooks Author [MacRumors] but remember, they have the new Authors.Apple.com, a portal to all things publishing on Apple; #publishingpaidme trended on Twitter and the amounts are listed in this spreadsheet; Written Word Media survey on How Readers Pick What to Read Next; Everything you need to know about pre-orders on the 6-Figure Author Podcast.

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

Kris Spisak is a nonfiction author, an editor, podcaster, and international speaker. Today, we're talking about The Novel Editing Workbook, 105 Tricks & Tips for Revising Your Fiction Manuscript.

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 editing really is and the three levels of editing
Tips for making sure your story hangs together properly
Tools for organizing your story
Writing scenes that are page-turners
Tips for writing compelling characters
Adding sensory detail to pull readers into the book
Tips for writing effective dialogue
Common writing issues to watch out for
The editing an author can do themselves, and when they need professional assistance

You can find Kris Spisak at Kris-Spisak.com and on Twitter @KrisSpisak

If you need more help, you can find my list of editors and proofreaders here, and also my tutorial on how to find and work with a professional editor here.

Creativity, Artificial Intelligence, And Time Off With Max Frenzel

June 8, 2020 by Joanna Penn 7 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:06:17 — 53.9MB)

As writers, we use tools every day — from the laptop we write on, to the internet we research with, and the social media sites we use to reach readers. We are used to using digital tools to enhance our author life, but could we really work with artificial intelligence to push our creativity to new levels? I talk to Max Frenzel about AI in today's interview.

In the intro, Bookshop's anti-racist reading list; US bookstores support the protests [Publishers weekly]; and UK initiatives [The Bookseller], Dr. Isioma Okolo's video [Dr. Isi and Rod]; FindawayVoices launches AuthorsDirect; Join the Virtual Thrillerfest if you want to write better thrillers; US Patent Office rules that AI cannot be recognized as an inventor [BBC]; Microsoft lays off human journalists in order to use AI [The Verge]; Natural language model GPT3 released [Venture Beat]; Using AI as a creative tool, Australia won the first AI Eurovision song contest [The Verge]; Race and technology [VentureBeat];

Do you need help with marketing, publicity or advertising? Find a curated list of vetted professionals at the Reedsy marketplace, along with free training on writing, self-publishing and book marketing. Check it out at: www.TheCreativePenn.com/reedsy

Max Frenzel has a Ph.D. in physics and is now an AI researcher on computational creativity in Japan focusing on the creative applications of AI in art, design, and music, as well as how AI will shape the future of work. He's also an author and his latest co-written book is Time Off: A Practical Guide to Building Your Rest Ethic and Finding Success Without the Stress.

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 AI is capable of doing right now in writing and creativity
Dealing with copyright when working with AI
How AI could affect the book ecosystem and where our books fit in it
What the impact of the pandemic might be on AI development
How busy does not necessarily mean productive
What is a ‘rest ethic’ and how can we apply it?
Why mental crop rotation matters for creative people

You can find Max Frenzel at TimeOffBook.com and on Instagram @mffrenzel

How To Take Your Author Career To The Next Level With Mark Dawson

June 1, 2020 by Joanna Penn 2 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 58:13 — 47.4MB)

Are you ready to take your author career to the next level? In this wide-ranging interview, Mark Dawson gives tips on how to level up your books, your email list, and your advertising.

In the intro, good news on book sales from New Zealand post-lockdown [The Guardian], why Joe Rogan's podcast deal with Spotify is such a big deal [BBC], and my ad stacking approach for Map of Shadows.

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

Mark Dawson is the award-winning internationally best-selling author of the John Milton Thriller Series, with over a million books sold, as well as many other books. He runs training courses for authors at Self Publishing Formula and he's also the co-host of The Self Publishing Show.

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

Publishing strategies for new authors
Why advertising is getting easier
Mark’s writing process
Switching genres and tips for launching in a new genre
Why book covers must tell the reader what to expect inside the book
The intricacies of autoresponder email sequences
Tools to track marketing plans and projects
Advertising tips for authors who publish wide
How to calculate read-through wth a free first-in-series

You can find Mark Dawson at MarkJDawson.com and on Twitter @pbackwriter

Writing Tips: How Character Flaws Shape Story With Will Storr

May 25, 2020 by Joanna Penn 6 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 58:30 — 47.6MB)

How can you create characters with unique and interesting flaws that lead into plots that will enliven your stories? In today's interview, Will Storr explains the science of storytelling.

In the intro, German booksellers and the challenges of re-opening [The Bookseller], Facebook launches Shops meaning more opportunities for direct sales [The Verge], Facebook Live replay on writing and publishing QA, plus the most useful tools for authors.

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.

Will Storr is an award-winning writer, the author of five critically acclaimed novels, a prize-winning journalist, an in-demand ghostwriter of bestselling books, and an international speaker on storytelling. Today, we're talking about his fantastic book, The Science of Storytelling.

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 hard work that storytelling is for most writers
How we can use cause and effect in storytelling
Giving characters depth and flaws without being cliched
On creating original characters
Why gossip is fundamental to storytelling
The importance of linking character and plot together
Dealing with character flaws in a series
How TV has changed readers’ expectations of books
Writing without fear of judgment

You can find Will Storr at WillStorr.com and on Twitter @wstorr. You can also check out videos from Will on storytelling here.

« Previous Page

How To Develop Bestselling Story Ideas With JD Barker

Writing Tips: How To Self-Edit Your Novel With Kris Spisak

Creativity, Artificial Intelligence, And Time Off With Max Frenzel

How To Take Your Author Career To The Next Level With Mark Dawson

Writing Tips: How Character Flaws Shape Story With Will Storr

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