From author to author-entrepreneur.
Everything you need to run a business as an author: products, team, customers, sales, marketing, money and strategy. Written and narrated by Joanna Penn.
Are you ready to take the next step in your author journey?
Art for the sake of art is important. Writing for the love of it, or to create something beautiful on the page, is worthwhile and critical to expand the sum of human expression. But this is not a book on creativity or the craft of writing.
My aim is to take the result of your creativity into the realm of actually paying the bills. To take you from being an author to running a business as an author.
I was a business consultant for thirteen years before I gave up my job in September 2011 to become a full-time author-entrepreneur. I implemented financial systems for large corporates across Europe and Asia Pacific.
I have also started businesses of my own, from a scuba dive charter boat in New Zealand to a property portfolio in Australia.
I’ve failed a lot and learned many lessons in my entrepreneurial life, and I share them in this book. I’m an author because it is my passion and my joy, but also because it is a viable business in this age of global and digital opportunity.
Who this book is for
This book is for authors who want to earn a living from their writing and are ready to treat it as a business: understanding rights and products, building a team, finding customers, selling, marketing, managing money and planning for the long term.
It is not for beginners looking for how to write or publish a first book. It assumes you have, or will soon have, books to sell, and want to run the business side professionally.
What you’ll learn
The book has nine parts, from mindset through products, team, customers, sales, marketing and financials to strategy and next steps. Here are the questions it answers.
- What is an author-entrepreneur, what is my definition of success, and should I start a company?
- How do I turn one manuscript into multiple streams of income by exploiting different rights?
- Which business models suit authors, and what do I need to know about contracts, copyright and piracy?
- Who is on my team: editors, agents, translators, designers, narrators, book-keepers and virtual assistants?
- Who are my customers, what do they want, and how do I look after them?
- How do I sell through distributors and direct, and do I need ISBNs and an imprint?
- How do I price my books?
- What is marketing, really, and how do I market the book, the author and to my niche?
- How do I change my mindset about money, increase revenue, manage costs and fund the business?
- What about banking, accounting, tax and estate planning?
- What is my strategy, how do I build a business plan, and how do I go full-time if I choose to?
Listen to a sample of the audiobook
Listen to a sample of the audiobook, narrated by me.
Where to buy
Available in ebook, paperback, large print and audiobook, narrated by me, with a download page of bonus resources. Buying direct from my store gives you the best price on bundles and supports me directly. Thank you.
What readers say
★★★★★
Every author who wants to make a living from their writing should read this book.
Peg Cheng
★★★★★
What I love most about it is she recommends taking a strategic, long-term approach to your author business. You can't just write books and expect to succeed. Instead, you have to treat your book business like any start-up.
Steve Scott
★★★★★
There seems to be a gap out there, where there isn't so much information on the business side of writing. Thankfully, Joanna Penn saw this, and she has the expertise and practical firsthand knowledge to back it up too.
I. C. Robledo
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 the author business
Start with the Author Entrepreneur hub, then dip into these.
- How to make a living with your writing through books and multiple streams of income
- Your book is a valuable intellectual property asset
- 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
- How to sell ebooks and audiobooks direct
- What is your definition of success?
- Productivity tips: outsourcing, automation and virtual assistants for authors
- Recommended books about money and investing
Podcast episodes about the author business
Every September I share lessons learned from another year as a full-time author-entrepreneur, and these interviews cover business models, money and the long game.
- Lessons learned from 15 years as a full-time author entrepreneur (Joanna Penn)
- Lessons learned from 14 years as a full-time author entrepreneur (Joanna Penn)
- Lessons learned from 13 years as an author entrepreneur (Joanna Penn)
- Lessons learned from 6 years as an author entrepreneur (Joanna Penn)
- Patience, ambition and financial independence with MK Williams
- Writing and investing for a long-term indie author career with Lindsay Buroker
- Transitioning from an in-person business to online multiple streams of income with Guy Windsor
- Using tools to automate your author business with Chelle Honiker
- Scaling an author business with Rachel McLean
- Build a successful author business for the long term with Joe Solari
Questions about running an author business
What is an author-entrepreneur?
An author who treats their writing as a business: creating intellectual property, licensing it in many forms, finding and serving customers, and managing money and strategy for the long term. You can still love the craft. The difference is that you also take responsibility for paying the bills.
Do I need to set up a company?
Not at first, and it depends on your country, income and risk. Many authors start as sole traders and incorporate later when the income justifies it. The book walks through the questions to ask, and I share why I set up my own company. Take advice from an accountant where you live.
How can one book become multiple streams of income?
A book is a bundle of rights: ebook, print, audio, translation, film and TV, and more, each licensable separately, by territory and for a term. Add courses, speaking or direct sales and one manuscript can earn in many ways over decades. Part two is about exploiting those rights.
How much does it cost to run an author business?
Editing, cover design, formatting, software, advertising and admin all cost money, and the book covers how to assess costs, fund your start-up phase and decide where spending brings a return. The money chapters also cover revenue, pricing, banking, accounting, tax and estate planning.
Is this the same as Your Author Business Plan?
No. Business for Authors is the wide-angle view of running the whole business. Your Author Business Plan is the shorter, practical workbook for writing your own plan. Many authors read this one first, then use the plan book to put it into action.
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.
