Should you publish exclusively on Amazon or should you publish your books wide, making them available on every platform, in every country and every format possible? In today's episode, I explain your options and my own choices as an independent author.
In the introduction, The Amazon Conundrum, Lindsay Buroker's thoughts on KU; Draft2Digital announce Reading Lists carousel tool; AI and Creativity with Professor Marcus du Sautoy; You Can't Take My Door [The Next Web]; Google Poem Portraits [Google blog]; AI music and copyright [The Verge]; plus my personal update and how scuba diving has shaped some of my books [Books and Travel podcast]. Plus, join me at The Career Author Summit in Nashville, May 2020.
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.
Joanna Penn (yes, me!) is an award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers under J.F.Penn and also writes non-fiction for authors. She’s also a podcaster and an award-winning creative entrepreneur. Her site, TheCreativePenn.com has been voted in the Top 100 sites for writers by Writer's Digest.
You can listen above or on iTunes or your favorite podcast app, read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.
Show Notes

* What is Amazon ebook exclusivity? KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited
* The benefits and drawbacks of exclusivity on Amazon
* Going wide with print
* Going wide with audio
* Marketing when publishing wide

You can find lots of detail about publishing options here, or in my updated book, Successful Self-Publishing, available as a free ebook on all the usual stores or direct download, as well as print and large print editions.

Exclusivity vs Publishing Wide For Ebooks, Print, And Audio With Joanna Penn

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How can you build a creative, sustainable career as a ‘mid-list' indie author? How can you design a business that works for you and your books over the long term? T. Thorn Coyle explains more in this episode.



In the intro, BookVault bespoke printing options; Harper Collins partners with Eleven Labs for AI-narrated non-English audiobooks [Publishing Perspectives]; AI Publishing Formula Podcast; Brave New Bookshelf Podcast; “I’m not worried about AI, because I got my mojo working.” Stephen King;  






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



This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn 






T. Thorn Coyle is the author of paranormal mystery, urban fantasy, alt history, epic fantasy, as well as nonfiction around magical practice. Their latest book is The Midlist Indie Author Mindset.



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 does it mean to be a mid-list author?



* How being weird can help you connect as more human



* Finding your sense of weird and letting it shine in your work



* Making marketing about connection and finding what works for you



* Marketing for Kickstarter in a short-term promotional window



* Tips for managing multiple Kickstarters per year



* Keeping readers engaged with your newsletter and social media



* Creating a tagline that portrays the message of your author business




You can find Thorn at ThornCoyle.com, and the Kickstarter for The Midlist Indie Author Mindset here.



Transcript of Interview with Thorn Coyle



Joanna: T. Thorn Coyle is the author of paranormal mystery, urban fantasy, alt history, epic fantasy,

The Midlist Indie Author With T. Thorn Coyle


What can authors learn from the adoption of AI into the music industry? What are some of the ways musicians are making money in the fractured creator economy? Tristra Newyear Yeager gives her thoughts in this interview.



In the intro, Draft2Digital announced a retail distribution agreement with Fable [D2D]; Kobo launches a new color e-reader [Rakuten Kobo]; Ultimate guide to subscription models [Self-Publishing Advice]; Independence and interdependence [Self-Publishing Advice]; Becca Syme on getting unstuck [Ink in Your Veins].



Plus, Amazon's new AI board member, Andrew Ng [TechCrunch]; AI for Everyone free course; SEO is Dead [Marketing Against the Grain]; My episode on Generative AI Search for Book Discoverability; Yes, Colossal is real, and Spear of Destiny.







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.



This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn 






Tristra Newyear Yeager is the Chief Strategy Officer for Rock Paper Scissors, which provides PR for music innovators. She's also the author of historical fantasy and scientific romance, and the co-host of the Music Tectonics Podcast, which goes beneath the surface of music and technology.



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 current state of AI for musicians — is Suno the ChatGPT for musicians?

Generative AI Impact On Creativity And Business In the Music Industry With Tristra Newyear Yeager


How can you overcome your fears and make a life change towards your dreams? Or tackle the fears that stop you from writing and publishing your book? Rachael Herron talks about creating despite the fear, and getting unstuck in this interview.



In the intro, Blackberry movie and IP questions; The Copyright Handbook by Steven Fishman; Co-Intelligence: Living and Working With AI by Ethan Mollick; London Screenwriters Festival; Lessons from my screenwriting course (2018); Catacomb on my store, and on other stores; Spear of Destiny Kickstarter.






Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, self-publishing with support, where you can get free formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Just go to www.draft2digital to get started.



You can also Join my community and support the show at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn.






Rachael Herron is the internationally bestselling author of more than two dozen books, including thrillers, feminist romance, memoir, and nonfiction about writing. She's the host of the Ink in Your Veins podcast, and her latest book is Unstuck: An Audacious Hunt for Home and Happiness.



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




* Tackling fear of the unknown when leaving your job, or making a big life change, or becoming a full-time author, based on Eight lessons learned from eight years as a full-time author. 



* Overcoming the fear of the unknown when writing a book and you don't know the outcome



* The writing process when writing memoir vs. fiction



* Fear of judgement when writing memoir



* Writing as flawed and real humans that readers can relate to



* Analogue physical IRL experiences in the digital age



* Different fears that come with launching a Kickstarter




You can find Rachael at RachaelHerron.com and her Kickstarter at RachaelH...

Facing Fears In Writing And Life With Rachael Herron


There are many options for book marketing, so how do you choose the right ones for you? I give my thoughts on the different polarities on the marketing scale to help you figure out what might work for your book, your stage on the author journey, and your lifestyle.



In the intro, Storybundle for writers; Seth Godin on Tim Ferriss; Amazon's investment in Anthropic; Claude 3 direct or Poe.com; Claude prompt library; join me and Joseph Michael for a prompt webinar, 4 April, register here; plus, Spear of Destiny.






Today's show is sponsored by my patrons! Join my community and get access to extra videos on writing craft, author business, AI and behind the scenes info, plus an extra Q&A; show a month where I answer Patron questions. It's about the same as a black coffee a month! Join the community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn







Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thriller, dark fantasy, and memoir as J.F. Penn. She’s also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker.



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. 




* Traditional versus indie publishing



* Short term versus long term



* Income versus brand building



* Paid versus free



* The book versus you as the author



* Stand-alone versus series



* Exclusive versus wide publishing



* Publish fast versus publish slowly



* Write to market versus write first, market later



* Online versus offline. Global versus local



* Introvert versus extrovert



* Digital versus physical



* Data-focused versus intuitive marketing



* Fiction versus non-fiction



* Doing your own marketing versus hiring professionals




Let me know what you think — leave a comment here or message me on X @thecreativepenn



This chapter is from my Author Blueprint, available as a free ebook at TheCreativePenn.com/blueprint or in <a href="https://creativepennbooks.

Different Ways To Market Your Book With Joanna Penn


What mindset shift do you need if you want to sell direct? How can you use Meta and AI tools to amplify your marketing? Matt Holmes gives his tips as well as insights from running my ads for my store, JFPennBooks.com.



In the intro, how to sell more books at live events [BookBub]; Future of publishing and LBF, includes video of our live panel [Orna Ross on SelfPublishingAdvice]; 5 Trends we learned at the Future of Publishing [Kickstart Your Book Sales]; Author business and Author Nation [Wish I'd Known Then]; Amazon de-lists my Companion workbooks, but you can buy the spiral-bound versions and bundles on my store, CreativePennBooks.com.



Plus, Nvidia's Earth2 digital twin development platform for climate science; Moonshots and Mindsets Podcast with Peter Diamandis; Sam Altman on GPT-5 [Lex Fridman] ; Using Claude for Shopify mass upload template [M.C.A. Hogarth]; Plus, join me and Joseph Michael for our AI webinar, 4 April, 8pm UK — register here to join us live or get the replay.  






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







Matthew J. Holmes is a book marketing and direct sales specialist and the business partner of fantasy author, Lori Holmes. Matt has a great newsletter and courses for authors around Facebook ads and direct sales.



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




* A mindset shift when switching from KU to direct sales



* Control of your cash flow and customer base with direct sales



* Email marketing strategies




Tips For Selling And Marketing Direct Using Meta Ads With Matthew J Holmes

The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers

Exclusivity vs Publishing Wide For Ebooks, Print, And Audio With Joanna Penn

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