
What do you need in the beginning of your novel so your reader buys your book? Shane Millar shares tips for writing brilliant beginnings, regardless of your genre.



In the intro, trends in what publishers want at Frankfurt Book Fair [Publishing Perspectives] Adobe incorporating AI-generation alongside a Content Authenticity Initiative [Adobe blog]; Bertelsmann-owned venture capital firm BDMI invests in NFT book company, Book.io [Yahoo Finance]; NFTs for books overview [The Future of Publishing]; NFTs and copyright with Kathryn Goldman; NFTs for authors; 



Plus, Writing Career Toolkit Storybundle (limited time); A pilgrim in the path of history [Books and Travel]; Sign up to be notified of my Pilgrimage book; and Your Author Business Plan workshop live sessions. 






Today's show is sponsored by IngramSpark, which I use to print and distribute my print-on-demand books to 40,000 retailers including independent bookstores, schools and universities, libraries, and more. It's your content—do more with it through IngramSpark.com. Use promo code PENN at checkout for 1 free book upload, print, ebook, or both, if uploaded at the same time—until December 31, 2022.







Shane Millar is the author of urban fantasy thrillers and craft guides for writers, as well as a story coach and editor.



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



* How Shane started his indie career with rapid release in 2022 across multiple genres* Why the beginning of a novel it matters so much* Examples of different types of beginnings for different types of novels* The importance of reading for pleasure* How to signal genre to readers so they know the book is for them* How much of a character should be revealed early in a book?* Different writing processes for fiction and non-fiction* How the basics of marketing don’t change and what is working for Shane since he started earlier in 2022, 15 years after Joanna.



You can find Shane Millar at swmillar.com




Writing Beginnings with Shane Millar

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How can you blend ‘work for hire', ghostwriting, and being an indie author into a successful hybrid career writing books for children? Aubre Andrus gives her tips. 



In the intro, Countdown Pages on FindawayVoices by Spotify; the impact of AI narrated audiobooks on Audible [Bloomberg]; Ideas for short fiction anthologies and Kevin J. Anderson's Kickstarter; Penguin Random House launches internal ChatGPT tool for employees [Publishers Lunch]; 2024 is the year AI at work gets real [Microsoft]. 



Plus, reasons for the new theme music, licensed from AudioJungle for 10m downloads (the podcast is up to 9.7 million with the old tune); and planning for my Kickstarter launch for 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 






Aubre Andrus is an award-winning children's author with more than 50 books, as well as being a ghostwriter and former American Girl magazine editor. Her books, The Look Up Series, feature women in STEM careers.



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 background of the American Girl brand



* Pros and cons of work for hire and ghostwriting



* Work for hire best practices to make it worth the money



* Differences in work for hire contracts and payment models



* How to seek out work for hire projects



* Using lessons learned from past projects in your own series



* Creative control over content and marketing a self-published author



* Marketing self-published children's books




You can find Aubre at AubreAndrus.com.



Transcript of Interview with Aubre Andrus



Joanna: Aubre Andrus is an award-winning children's author with more than 50 books,

How Writing Work For Hire Books Led To Becoming An Indie Author With Aubre Andrus


How can you use automation and tools to help you streamline your creative and business processes so you can get back to the writing? Chelle Honiker gives some mindset and practical tips.



In the intro, IBPA guide to publishing models; We need to talk about independence [Self Publishing Advice article; my podcast episode with Orna Ross]; The Financial Times signs a partnership deal with OpenAI [FT]; The Big Leap — Gay Hendricks; AI Tools on Brave New Bookshelf; Spear of Destiny; Stone Hunters by Rod Penn; 






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.



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






Chelle Honiker is the co-founder and publisher of Indie Author Magazine, Indie Author Training, Indie Author Tools, and Direct2Readers.com. She's also an author, speaker, podcaster, and program manager at the Author Nation Conference.



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




* Finding a community with other indie authors



* Blocks that might stop authors from using technology effectively



* How to figure out which tools work best for your creative process and author business



* Moving into new and reinvented processes as technology changes



* Using Zapier to automate your author business



* When to use a tool vs. when to outsource a task



* What to expect in the upcoming Author Nation Conference




You can find Chelle at ChelleHoniker.com, IndieAuthorMagazine.com, IndieAuthorTraining.com, and <a href="https://www.

Using Tools To Automate Your Author Business with Chelle Honiker


How can you connect to readers in a way that is sustainable for you and effective at selling books? How can you choose the best platform when there are so many options? Dan Blank gives his recommendations.



In the intro, TikTok ban signed into law in the USA [The Verge]; No One Buys Books [Elle Griffin]; Please stop bashing book publishing [Publishing Confidential]; The Hotsheet; Books sell, but book doesn't [Seth Godin]. Plus, my new podcast logo; Spear of Destiny finishing energy, artist's date at Salisbury Cathedral.  






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






Dan Blank helps authors develop a human-centered approach to marketing through his book, Be the Gateway: A Practical Guide to Sharing Your Creative Work and Engaging an Audience, as well as his podcast, The Creative Shift, and his coaching and consultancy services at WeGrowMedia.com.



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




* Learning how to feel good about sharing and marketing



* Keeping the human connection while scaling our reach



* Deciding what platform is best for your style of marketing



* Differences between the “daily work” and launch marketing



* Marketing later books in a series



* Advantages of Substack to get your newsletter discovered



* Balancing social engagement with the work of writing books




You can find Dan at WeGrowMedia.com and DanBlank.Substack.com.



Transcript of Interview with Dan Blank



Joanna: Dan Blank helps authors develop a human-centered approach to marketing through his book, Be the Gateway: A Practical Guide to Sharing Your Creative Work and Engaging an Audience, as well as his podcast, The Creative Shift, and his coaching and consultancy services at WeGrowMedia.com. Welcome back to the show, Dan.



Dan: Thank you for having me back. It's always such a pleasure.




Human-Centered Book Marketing With Dan Blank


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

The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers

Writing Beginnings with Shane Millar

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