book marketing | The Creative Penn

Warrior Of The Blank Page. Writing, Marketing And Mindset With Steven Pressfield

March 8, 2021 by Joanna Penn 17 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:08:07 — 55.3MB)

How can you write through self-doubt? How can you break through Resistance to write and market your work? How do you decide which book to write next?

Steven Pressfield talks about being a warrior of the blank page, how he deals with Resistance around writing and marketing, as well as self-doubt and other aspects of mindset that we all face on the writer's journey.

In the introduction, the first traditional publisher produces an AI-narrated audiobook with Google Play's beta program [Publishing Perspectives]; Deep fake Tom Cruise [The Guardian]; Hyper-realistic, emotionally expressive and controllable artificial voices [Venture Beat]; Spotify rolls out to 80 new markets and 36 languages [Spotify PR]; Clubhouse for Writers.

Plus, I talk about lessons learned on the Wish I'd Known Then Podcast, and about literary prizes and competitions on the Ask ALLi Podcast; and if you love horror/dark fiction, you can be in to win 6 signed paperbacks in this limited-time promo (8-15 March)

This podcast episode is sponsored by Publisher Rocket, super-useful software that will help you choose the right categories and keywords for your book. It includes Competitor Analysis so you can see what categories other books are in, Keyword and Category search tools, and keyword help for Amazon Ads. Check it out now at www.TheCreativePenn.com/rocket

Steven Pressfield is the international bestselling author of non-fiction books including The War of Art, Turning Pro, and The Lion’s Gate, as well as novels including The Legend of Bagger Vance, Gates of Fire, and Killing Rommel. His latest book is historical thriller, A Man At Arms.

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

Resistance to marketing and how you have to overcome the feeling that you are a ‘bad person' to want to market your books
The virtues of the warrior — and how to be a warrior of the blank page
Researching historical novels … and how much to make up
What is the story really about?
Self-doubt and the mindset of the long-term creative
Why Steve is still blogging and making videos as part of his book marketing. His latest series is on The Warrior Archetype

You can find Steven Pressfield at StevenPressfield.com and on Twitter @SPressfield

YouTube For Authors And Multiple Streams Of Income With Meg LaTorre

November 16, 2020 by Joanna Penn 1 Comment

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:01:59 — 50.4MB)

How can you use video to attract readers to your books — and create multiple streams of income? Meg La Torre gives some tips for video marketing.

In the intro, ACX emails the community apologizing for an incredibly slow production process; but doesn't address the serious issue of returns [Susan May Writer]; ALLi revokes ACX as a recommended self-publishing service; Level up your author business [ALLi]; and Tree of Life, ARKANE 11, is in the final stages of production. Out 9 Dec 2020.

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.

Meg LaTorre is a bestselling science fiction and fantasy author, YouTuber at iWriterly, speaker, and a blogger. She previously worked at a literary agency and has a background in magazine publishing, medical and technical writing, and journalism. Her latest book is The Cyborg Tinkerer.

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

Thoughts on publishing options and what authors get wrong when pitching agents
The difference between AuthorTubers and BookTubers
What works, and doesn’t work, when selling books on YouTube
What kind of personality suits video marketing
Tips for YouTube video titles and graphics
Why consistency matters for feeding the YouTube algorithms
How YouTube can add to an author’s multiple streams of income

You can find Meg LaTorre at iWriterly.com and on YouTube.com/iwriterly and on Twitter @MegLaTorre

How To Write And Market Books Across Multiple Genres With Wendy H Jones

November 2, 2020 by Joanna Penn Leave a Comment

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:03:33 — 51.7MB)

How do you successfully write and market in multiple genres if you're a multi-passionate creator? How do you manage a hybrid career across traditional and independent publishing? Wendy H. Jones talks about her varied writing career and her tips for book marketing.

In the intro, The HotSheet reports from Frankfurt Book Fair with positive news about Kobo audiobooks, why we need to embrace streaming and subscription, and the possibility that book contracts might include podcasts in the future. The new Amazon Author Central, author.amazon.com, is rolling out slowly. Google Play's increase in royalties to 70%. NaNoWriMo. My thoughts on Tim Ferriss's fantastic interview with Yuval Noah Harari, and I also mention Novacene by James Lovelock. Do you enjoy a senior, second chance, sweet romance? Check out A Summerfield Christmas Wedding from Penny Appleton (my Mum's 5th book!)

Today’s show is sponsored by my wonderful patrons who support the podcast with a few dollars a month through patreon.com/thecreativepenn. Patrons get an extra Q&A show every month — bonus audio! — and also 10% off my courses. Thank you, Patrons!

Wendy H. Jones is the award-winning and best-selling author of police procedural novels as well as inspirational non-fiction children's books and useful books for authors. Her latest book is Marketing Matters: Sell More Books.

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

Thoughts on being a hybrid author
On the Scottish literary scene
When to say no to opportunities
Different strategies for marketing fiction vs. non-fiction
On Wendy’s book of motivational exercises based on NLP
How faith plays a part in Wendy’s literary life

You can find Wendy H. Jones at WendyHJones.com and on Twitter @WendyHJones

Starting From Zero And Success With BookBub Ads With David Gaughran

September 28, 2020 by Joanna Penn 11 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:07:23 — 54.7MB)

When you've been self-publishing over a decade, it's easy to see how things have changed for indie authors and where the opportunities lie for publishing and marketing our books. In this wide-ranging interview, David Gaughran discusses the shifts in the industry, starting from zero, book marketing tips, and more.

In the intro, Audible launches an unlimited audio service [The New Publishing Standard]; why this might impact author income [ALLi]; Spotify's impact on music and artists [Freakonomics]; and my thoughts on what you can do to mitigate any revenue drop from subscription services and make the most of the opportunities they bring. Plus, The importance of 1000 True Fans [ALLi Podcast]; Frankenstein in Bath [Books and Travel]

Useful stuff: If you're new to self-publishing, you can also check out Mark's 101 Course with everything you need to know about self-publishing. [Ad] If you want to learn more about podcasting, join me at the Virtual Podcast Movement conference. [Ad]

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.

David Gaughran is the author of non-fiction books for authors and also writes historical adventures as David M Gaughran. He's also an award-winning blogger and campaigner for indie authors against scammers and bad practices in the publishing industry.

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

How self-publishing has changed in the last decade
The importance of knowing what genre you’re writing in
How we all start from zero and sometimes do that a number of times, especially when launching a new pen-name (as both David and I have done!)
The value of being able to pivot as a self-publisher
The importance of feeding Amazon clean data
Why BookBub ads work for those who publish wide
Why testing ads matters

You can find David Gaughran at DavidGaughran.com and on Twitter @DavidGaughran

Book Marketing: How To Share The Ideas And Research Behind Your Novel

July 17, 2020 by Joanna Penn 6 Comments

“Where do you get your ideas?” is one of the most common questions for fiction writers. So how can you answer that question at the same time as allowing readers to get to know you a little better — and market your books?

In this article, I share how I'm doing this for my thriller writer brand under J.F.Penn and you can check out the video below.

(1) Decide on the medium — article, video, or audio

I decided to use video as it is a great way to connect and my fiction readers don't get to see me in person very often. The video also has a transcript with images and links at www.JFPenn.com/ideas. In this way, even though the video was the primary goal, the text enables others to read or check out the images, plus the SEO (search engine optimization) is better with text.

I use audio at my Books and Travel Podcast every few weeks and have done personal episodes on places I have visited. I think that indie authors can sometimes obsess so much over paid ads that they forget content marketing is still a great way to connect with readers, and it gives you something to put in your email newsletter!

(2) Prepare the material

I wrote a script that highlighted my research process and prepared the images for each segment. This was a text document that I could use to read from and I had it open during the recording process. I used that as the basis for the notes under the finished video.

(3) Record and edit the video/audio

I used ECamm Live which has a Record only setting and enables the lovely overlay features. It also has a function for going live on Facebook and YouTube which I have also used for live Q&A videos.

I edited the video in Screenflow for Mac. There are many options for recording and editing video, so find what's best for you or whatever comes as standard on your computer.

As ever, recording video is not a smooth process! It takes many false starts to get a take that you like but that's OK! No one will see those out-takes so you can keep going until you're happy. Allow 10x as much time as your finished video e.g. a 5 min video will take an hour to record, and at least that again to edit, etc. Video is very time consuming but it's worth it so that readers can see your face and your smile and connect with you more personally.

(4) Post and share the video

I uploaded the video on Facebook.com/jfpennauthor first and also shared it on my new Thriller Books and Travel YouTube channel. I posted it on my JFPenn blog with full notes and links and also shared it on social media under all my profiles. It is an evergreen video so I can keep sharing it over time.

Watch the video below or here on YouTube.

Video continues to be an important part of marketing, but I know it can be daunting for many authors. Please do add a comment if you have any questions or feedback.