Gamers love their games, many are addicted and are passionate about the experiences they are immersed in.

I think we'd all love to see more of that addictive behavior around books! In today's show, I interview Nathan Meunier, an author and game journalist, about what we can all learn from gaming.

In the intro I mention The Author's Guild fair contract initiative, the new Kindle for Kids Fire HD device and the interview about KDP Kids ebook creator, Thrillerfest in NYC in July. Plus, talking about Mark Dawson's Facebook Advertising for Authors course.

This podcast episode is sponsored by 99 Designs, where you can get all kinds of designs for your author business including book covers, merchandising, branding and business cards, illustrations and artwork and much more. You can get a Powerpack upgrade which gives your project more chance of getting noticed by going to: 99Designs.com/joanna

Nathan Meunier is an award-winning journalist and freelance writer who covers video games, technology, and geek culture. He's also an indie game developer and has non-fiction books on game journalism as well as indie publishing.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher, watch the video or read the notes and links below.

* Nathan had always been interested in entertainment writing and also writing books, and made the shift from journalism to freelance writing.

* The connections and also the differences between gaming and writing. And the opportunities that might be available in the near future to merge the worlds of books and games. And how he seeks out games for experiences he can't get with movies or books.

* The different types of games available that have narrative structure. And the opportunities available in gaming to make choices about different paths – or branches – in the story.

* The way that gaming companies work with writers, including approaching gaming companies as a freelance writer or being part of a creative team on a contractual basis. For gaming companies, writers can focus on character development, story, narrative, branching paths and world building.

* The parallels between large and small or indie companies that produces games, and the traditional and indie publishing worlds. Larger gaming companies often have a ‘self-publishing' option where they will allow developers to produce a game on their platform. Nathan compares this to Amazon KDP where they provide the platform, the writer provides the content and Amazon takes a cut from the sale.

* On Apps, freemium pricing, layers of micro-transactions and how the different platforms dictate the price people are willing to pay f...

Recently, Forbes ran an article about Mark Dawson with the headline: Amazon pays $450,000 a year to this self-published writer. Today, I interview Mark about how he writes fast, the empowerment of being indie, Facebook advertising and email list marketing.

In the intro I talk about my cycling trip to Croatia which was a much needed rest away from the computer

I've been excited about virtual reality for a while now and today I finally get to do a whole show on it! Rob Morgan explains what VR and augmented reality are, how the technology impacts writers and storytelling as well as discussing what the future might hold for gaming, education, retail and VR socializing.

** Sorry for the delay in posting this! I was cycling through Croatia last week and forgot to schedule!! **

In the intro I talk about finishing my draft of Deviance and also my next non-fiction book, How to make a living with your writing. It's been a big word count month so I talk about how my writing routine has changed. I mention the brilliant Masterclass course with James Patterson – I have so many pages of notes from it. Plus, I talk about some exciting new audiobook developments.

This podcast episode is sponsored by 99 Designs, where you can get all kinds of designs for your author business including book covers, merchandising, branding and business cards, illustrations and artwork and much more. You can get a Powerpack upgrade which gives your project more chance of getting noticed by going to: 99Designs.com/joanna

Rob Morgan is a game writer, narrative designer and voice director. Rob is currently developing stories and writing scripts for upcoming virtual reality titles across multiple genres.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher, watch the video or read the notes and links below.

* How Rob moved into VR and gaming. Rob did literature at University and then moved to a digital agency. He did some work with a Sony augmented book and game – the Wonderbook, which led into a project with JK Rowling – Wonderbook: Book of Spells. Then Rob moved into working on virtual reality projects.

* Defining augmented reality vs virtual reality. VR basically obscures your normal vision and replaces it with a helmet/pair of screens; replacing your normal vision with pixels. It has sound and haptics (touch) and smell are under development. Augmented reality is another layer on the existing world – superimposing onto your vision e.g. directions on top of the road that aren't necessarily seen by other people. This is already here with how we use smartphone apps like maps, Google Glass and more. For authors, doing a map of your fictional characters around a neighbourhood or have monsters pop out as you walk around. There are all sorts of possibilities.

* Virtual reality is on the cusp of being mainstream commercial. The first VR headsets will be for sale in 2015. Some of the options: Oculus Rift (now owned by Facebook), Samsung Gear, Sony Morpheus, Steam VR, Microsoft Hololens … and cheaper smartphone options like

Some of the loveliest authors I know write horror and Michaelbrent Collings is one of them! Today we discuss the boundaries of the horror genre, writing to heal, screenwriting and multiple streams of income. Super fun

It's a crowded marketplace these days and you need a quality book to even have a chance of standing out.

In my opinion, one of the best investments to help your book become the best it can be is professional editing. In today's show, we go through all kinds of questions that authors ask about editing.

In the introduction, I talk about the latest Author Earnings report which shows the impact of agency pricing; I mention Peter Diamandis' post on the world in 2025 and why I'm so excited about global sales.

 

This podcast episode is sponsored by 99 Designs, where you can get all kinds of designs for your author business including book covers, merchandising, branding and business cards, illustrations and artwork and much more. You can get a Powerpack upgrade which gives your project more chance of getting noticed by going to: 99Designs.com/joanna

Jen Blood is the bestselling author of the Erin Solomon thriller series, as well as being a fantastic editor at Adian Editing. (Jen is also my fiction editor. She's brilliant!)

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher, watch the video or read the notes and links below.

* The different types of editing that authors need

* How do people find the right editor for their book

* How can authors edit themselves before engaging a professional?

* How does an editor assess a potential client?

* What are the most common errors for beginning authors? and also for more established authors?

* How does an author cope with the psychological pain of all that red ink?

* Does an author have to apply all the changes that an editor suggested?

* As an author and an editor, how do you separate your creative mind and your editing mind when you wrote the books?

You can find Jen at AdianEditing.com and her fantastic Erin Solomon series and other fiction at JenBlood.com

Transcript of interview with Jen Blood

Joanna: Hi everyone. I'm Joanna Penn from TheCreativePenn.com, and today I'm here with Jen Blood. Hi, Jen.

Jen: Hi, Joanna.

Joanna: It's great to have you on the show. Just a little introduction, Jen is the bestselling author of the Erin Solomon thriller series as well as being a fantastic editor at Adian editing. Jen has been my fiction editor for over a year now and has really improved my writing. Jen, I'm so pleased to have you on the show.

Jen: Yeah, I'm very excited to be here. This is very cool.

Joanna: It is, and of course you normally get to edit me and we don't talk about editing so today we going to get into it.

First of all, tell us a bit more about you and your writing background.

Jen: Sure, basically I started professionally writing about 15 years ago. I have an undergraduate and a graduate degree in creative writing.

Most fiction authors have a dream of seeing their stories on the big screen – but it doesn't have to be a dream.

There are lots of things you can do to ensure your story has a chance of success in film/TV. In this interview, Lucy V. Hay gives us some tips.

In the intro I talk about the IndieRecon videos that you might enjoy, including my session on how to make a living with your writing; David Gaughran's post on Author Solutions; my mega-rebranding, re-titling and re-covering exercise with my first 3 novels and my JFPenn.com site; and a recommendation for The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne.

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.

Kobo’s financial support pays for the hosting and transcription, and if you enjoy the show, you can now support my time on Patreon. Thank you for your support!

Lucy V. Hay is a novelist, script editor, screenwriter, and blogger at Bang2write.com. She's one of the organizers of London Screenwriters’ Festival, and she has books on writing thriller screenplays and drama screenplays.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher, watch the interview on YouTube or read the notes and links below.

* What are the big differences between writing a novel and writing a screenplay?

* What are your options for exploiting your rights around film and TV?

* Producers are always looking for great stories – how do you get their attention?

* Tips on pitching – try to think of it in terms of concept, not all the details of the story

* The difference between a logline and a tagline – and how to construct yours

* What is a treatment? Why you need to think about sales and the audience who will buy the story for adaptation

* The reality of options and the chances of getting a screenplay actually mad...

If you need to nail your novel, Roz Morris can help! In her latest book, and this podcast, she explores plot in detail to help you sort yours out.

In the intro, I talk about the rebranding, retitling and recovering of my first 3 books; how brilliant IndieRecon was and a little about London Book Fair and the latest reports of dire earnings for authors in the UK. Some cool things to check out: Amazon Kindle Textbook Creator now includes video and audio; GetBookReport.com is a great new ‘plugin' for KDP and is free to check out for 30 days; Goodreads has started with audio samples on the site, showing the growing awareness of audio; indie author Mark Dawson gets amazing coverage in Forbes for his fantastic success and I compare this to the latest AuthorSay report from AgentHunter where many authors wouldn't try going indie despite being unhappy with their publishing deals.

This podcast episode is sponsored by 99 Designs, where you can get all kinds of designs for your author business including book covers, merchandising, branding and business cards, illustrations and artwork and much more. You can get a Powerpack upgrade which gives your project more chance of getting noticed by going to: 99Designs.com/joanna

Roz Morris is the bestselling author of over a dozen novels as a ghostwriter and has also written My Memories of a Future Life and Lifeform 3 under her own name. She has a series of books for writers under the Nail Your Novel brand, and the latest is Writing Plots with Drama, Depth and Heart.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher, watch the interview on YouTube here or read the notes and links below.

You can listen to previous shows with Roz as follows: Writing fiction: bring your characters to life; Nailing your novel; and Writing literary fiction.

* What is plot anyway? How does it differ to story? Character vs plot and how your preference will shape the story. How many plots are there really?

A wide-ranging discussion with Tim Grahl about writing book titles that sell, productivity and habits for writers, how to build a platform around you rather than your book, and marketing for introverts. Super fun!

In the intro, I mention the upcoming self-publishing conference, IndieRecon.org, which is a free event with some amazing speakers so make sure you register and check out the schedule. I also talk about my trip to Charleston for PubSense, some of the plans I have underway with my new agent, plus Business for Authors: How to be an Author Entrepreneur, now available in audiobook format.

Tim Grahl is the author of Your First 1000 Copies: A Step by Step Guide to marketing your book and the founder of Out:think, a firm that helps authors make money with online marketing tools.

Launching a book? Get your free copy of Tim's Book Launch Blueprint here.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher, watch the interview on YouTube here or read the notes and links below.

* How Tim started out in the more technical side of the internet and started helping authors with their marketing. He's always been a big reader so working with authors was preferable to big corporates.

* Tips for book titles. Authors are generally too close to the project to make a good decision. Your own fans know you so they aren't the best either. You want to know what title will make someone new click to look at your book further. Tim advises using data to make a decision and talks about using PickFu.com to work out what gets clicked the most. It is unlikely to be what you think. You can do this with titles and sub-titles, which is how Tim ended up with his. You can also use PickFu for book covers as you can use images. [I talk about my own title change based on SEO reasons]. We also talk about fiction book titles – which are very difficult! It's more about genre, reviews and author brand and the eco-system around the book than title.

* On reaching 1000 readers. Most books sell around 250 copies (that includes traditionally published). If you get to 1000 copies, you're doing something well beyond your own network. Measuring goals and moving the goal posts around numbers sold. Celebrating achievements and re-evaluating the next goal. I mention my own success journal that I got from

One of the best ways to stand out as an author is to have some aspect of multimedia in your platform.

With the growth of streaming audio through smart phones and soon to be implemented in cars, it's time to learn how to incorporate audio into your book marketing. Today I interview Viv Oyolu, The Audio Marketing Expert.

In the intro, I mention that I am currently away in the US, speaking in Charleston at Pubsense Summit and then heading down to Savannah. I recommend a book I am finding useful: Better than before: Mastering the habits of our everyday lives by Gretchen Rubin.

This podcast episode is sponsored by 99 Designs, where you can get all kinds of designs for your author business including book covers, merchandising, branding and business cards, illustrations and artwork and much more. You can get a Powerpack upgrade which gives your project more chance of getting noticed by going to: 99Designs.com/joanna

Viv Oyolu is a radio presenter, podcaster and an audio marketing expert. She works with authors, businesses and entrepreneurs to increase online visibility and engagement with audio. Viv is now the author of How to use podcasts to promote your book.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher, watch the interview on YouTube here or read the notes and links below.

* Viv has a marketing background but always wanted to be a radio presenter. Eventually she did make it on air with the Dream Corner show interviewing female entrepreneurs. When the radio station went offline, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She started interviewing guests around London and then online via Skype, starting her own podcasts and specializing in audio especially for book marketing.

* How audio will continue to grow as a medium with the launch of Apple CarPlay and Google Auto and how this will make podcasting more mainstream.

* Why audio enhances an author brand and helps you stand out. Humans connect through voice before words on the page. An audience will connect with you directly when they hear your voice or see your face. It's a very personal aspect to be in someone's ears for hours every month. It facilitates that ‘know, like and trust' aspect which will lead to connection with fans – and ultimately will lead to book sales.

* Audio can also expand the content in your book, and you can go deeper into aspects that you want to talk about more.

OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna PennSometimes one little tip can help you tweak your book pages or your author business to become more successful. I've learned some cool things from Nick Stephenson recently and in today's show, we go through a whole load of things you might find useful. [But remember, the most important thing is still … write more great books!]

In the intro I mention my lessons learned on my 40th birthday, how excited I am about Oculus Rift and the rise of VR, Apple CarPlay and Google Auto for audiobooks and the power of Inbox Pause.

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.

Kobo’s financial support pays for the hosting and transcription, and if you enjoy the show, you can now support my time on Patreon. Thank you for your support!

Nick Stephenson is a bestselling thriller author with the Leopold Blake series. He's also the author of Supercharge Your Kindle Sales and creator of the fantastic Your First 10,000 Readers free video series and course.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher, watch the interview on YouTube here or read the notes and links below.

* How Nick got into writing novels via a law degree, how he moved into marketing and online business and then decided to help authors apply marketing skills to the book business. We talk about longevity and writing until the day we die!

* Tips on sorting out your Kindle categories and keywords. We're aiming for advanced tips here! How to get into browse categories, using keyword phrases instead of keywords, look at books that are similar to yours to discover new sub-categories, the importance of the right categories for getting good reviews, using an Author Q&A in your book description to add value for the customer as well as add additional keyword juice. I also mention a Kboards thread on keyword stuffing that we mention but don't personally recommend.

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Email list building and management. How email marketing has been around internet marketing for many years,