Disqus - Latest Comments for TheCreativePenn

Re: 2025: The Year I Become An AI-Assisted One-Woman Studio

TheCreativePenn — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 10:32:13 -0000

Fantastic! I am also excited about being AI-assisted + what might happen with agents this year. Fun times ahead! All the best to you and your family, Steph, and I look forward to coming to your session at Author Nation!

Re: SPS-260: Hindsight’s 2020: the Self-Publishing Year in Recap – with Mark Dawson

TheCreativePenn — Fri, 08 Jan 2021 10:22:57 -0000

Hi guys, thanks for sharing those insights!
There is a book coming on Wide for the Win - Mark Leslie Lefebvre is writing it, with Erin's help, and it will be out in March 2021!

Re: The Writer's Well - Conversations about writing from craft to wellness. - J. Thorn and Rachael Herron | Pippa for podcasts

TheCreativePenn — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 09:56:44 -0000

Thanks Catriona :) I'll be doing more of these solo shows - just working on one about scuba diving!

Re: The Writer's Well - Conversations about writing from craft to wellness. - J. Thorn and Rachael Herron | Pippa for podcasts

TheCreativePenn — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 09:53:34 -0000

I change my podcasts up regularly too so it was great to revisit this - and thanks for mentioning my show/s :)
I'm listening to:
Unemployable - with Brian Clark - just re-started after a break with an episode on 7-figure small and an interview with Seth Godin
Exponential Wisdom - with Peter Diamandis, which feeds my futurist side
Making Sense with Sam Harris - brainy discussions - check out the Yuval Noah Harari episode, loved that
Th 21st Century Creative - Mark McGuinness, about creativity and business for creatives - not just writers
The Sell More Books Show - for any news I might have missed
The Tim Ferriss Show - although I probably only listen to 1 in 4 episodes now as it's a little alpha male :)
The Yaro Podcast - online business
What Works - small business - with Tara McMullin
Glambition Radio with Ali Brown - as an antidote to Tim Ferriss this is quite over the top female money show :) Very American in terms of the prosperity movement thing but Ali does some great no-nonsense solo shows sometimes which I like

I'm starting to investigate travel shows as well. Fun times :)

Re: The Writer's Well - Conversations about writing from craft to wellness. - J. Thorn and Rachael Herron | Pippa for podcasts

TheCreativePenn — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 09:48:29 -0000

Thanks for sharing my show :) and yes, switching things out slowly is a good way to do it. I should have outsourced the post-production on the podcast years ago. I just thought it was quicker to do it myself than explain it to others ... Where have I heard that before, J??!

Re: The Writer's Well - Conversations about writing from craft to wellness. - J. Thorn and Rachael Herron | Pippa for podcasts

TheCreativePenn — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 09:46:56 -0000

Cleaners and grocery delivery are a must for me too! It means I have more time and also there are no marital issues around whose responsibility things are!

Re: The Writer's Well - Conversations about writing from craft to wellness. - J. Thorn and Rachael Herron | Pippa for podcasts

TheCreativePenn — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 09:46:16 -0000

I know how this feels only too well :)
Think of working with VAs as a slow transition based on your level of trust and ability to let things go.

Start with the stuff that definitely does not involve you.
Your podcast post-production is a good start. It's not personal and it can be outsourced and thus freeing up more of your time - and that's the key - you need more time to do the value-add stuff.
Rachael said something like "I tried outsourcing it but they didn't do a good job" - yes, that will happen - you have to find someone else and keep trying until you have someone who does it to your standard - or educate them. I make videos when I outsource things on my process, and often people will improve on that over time.
Start with those things and then over time, you learn to let things go and stop being such a control freak.
I am still doing this ... slowly, slowly ...

This interview might help - https://www.thecreativepenn...
It really helped me :)
and also I recently read Work Less, Make More by James Shramko which also has tips on outsourcing. That book is kicking my ass, business and lifestyle-wise.
Basically, you HAVE to do this otherwise you will go nuts :)

Re: Episode 257 – Chirp, Amazon Ads, and the Nebula Controversy

TheCreativePenn — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 07:07:08 -0000

I'm very excited about Chirp and have a number of books on Findaway already - they are fantastic :)
Just one note on ACX exclusivity.
The contract is for 7 years BUT/ you can opt out of it after 1 year if you paid for the production. If you did a royalty share deal, you'll locked in for 7 years, but right now, I'll pulling my older books out of exclusivity so I can put them wide.
You just have to email ACX after the 1 year is up and ask them to move the contract to Non-Exclusive.
Exciting times :)

Re: It’s My 5th Anniversary In Publishing… Here’s Why I Won’t Be Celebrating

TheCreativePenn — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 14:05:33 -0000

I'm sorry to hear things have been hard, Steph. I think focusing on the blog is an excellent step. As you've heard me say many times :) it's always been multiple streams of income for me and my blog and podcast are the backbone of my business.
I hope to still talk to you about Japan at some point. Wishing you all the best for your next steps.

Re: Episode 244 – Slow Publishing, Swallowing Your Pride, and Writing What You Know to Market

TheCreativePenn — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 07:55:40 -0000

Thanks for mentioning my 10 years, Bryan and Jim!
I'm sure you'll make 10 years with the show as well :)
Here's to another karaoke session on day, xx

Re: Episode 180 – Kobo Audiobooks, AMS Advice, and Scammer Crackdowns

TheCreativePenn — Sun, 17 Sep 2017 07:36:52 -0000

You can't do the Kobo direct thing easily yet - apparently it's coming. I used Authors Republic for my non-exclusive so far. I haven't used Findaway.

Re: Episode 180 – Kobo Audiobooks, AMS Advice, and Scammer Crackdowns

TheCreativePenn — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 01:54:09 -0000

An important correction on the audiobook story - you can create your audiobook on ACX as NON-EXCLUSIVE, then you can publish audio elsewhere. As I do for several of my audiobooks - and The Successful Author Mindset is now on Kobo audio as well as Audible etc.
So the key is to go NON-EXCLUSIVE with ACX - yes, lower royalties on Audible, but wider distribution. The file type is exactly the same - mp3.
Thanks guys!

Re: D2D Partners with Findaway Voices to Provide an Alternative to ACX Starting 7/18/2017

TheCreativePenn — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 13:07:49 -0000

Is it for any author in any country? Or just for specific countries? Thanks!

Re: Episode 165 – Charts Backlash, Mobile Reading, and Amazon Ads Experiments (with Amy Teegan)

TheCreativePenn — Wed, 31 May 2017 14:57:08 -0000

and on the US market share thing, I have always focused on selling more to the US because it's the biggest market. I schedule social media in the US time zone for this reason - and most of my traffic and podcast listeners are in the US. Love you guys :)
Most people are surprised to find I'm actually British!

Re: Episode 165 – Charts Backlash, Mobile Reading, and Amazon Ads Experiments (with Amy Teegan)

TheCreativePenn — Wed, 31 May 2017 14:52:49 -0000

also, I am going to that NYC amazon bookstore in July - I reckon they will start opening them in the UK soon :)

Re: Episode 165 – Charts Backlash, Mobile Reading, and Amazon Ads Experiments (with Amy Teegan)

TheCreativePenn — Wed, 31 May 2017 14:52:15 -0000

Thanks for the shout out :) and Amy, I'm glad you know what you want in terms of your author business. I don't want employees or a massive company either!

(1) I did indeed stop doing translations - the books weren't selling well enough - but then we'd tell anyone to always do more than one book in a series and I had first book in a series in 5 different languages. It's also hard to market in multiple languages. I do have non-fiction in French now, as the translator has a platform - but am aiming to license fiction - it's just too hard to market and the digital market isn't that big right now in non-English languages. The indie authors doing well with translation are doing multiple books in specific languages - and focusing on more mature ebook markets like Germany.

(2) my print sales are indeed primarily non-fiction - as are my audio sales. I am doubling down on print and audio for non-fiction

(3) direct sales are all non-fiction through TheCreativePenn.com as it gets traffic - I don't bother with JFPenn as there's not enough traffic to warrant it.

Re: 3 Reasons Authors Shouldn’t Worry About Piracy but How to Protect Yourself Anyway

TheCreativePenn — Thu, 18 May 2017 03:12:52 -0000

I'm glad it was useful :)

Re: 3 Reasons Authors Shouldn’t Worry About Piracy but How to Protect Yourself Anyway

TheCreativePenn — Thu, 18 May 2017 03:12:28 -0000

I'm not an IP attorney, so this is just my opinion :) But there are international copyright treaties that protect across various countries, like the Berne convention. You can google for more info. If you're worried about a particular country, you can register copyright there, e.g. I had a book that went to Indian agents for potential film rights and registered my copyright in India specifically for that situation.

Re: 3 Reasons Authors Shouldn’t Worry About Piracy but How to Protect Yourself Anyway

TheCreativePenn — Thu, 18 May 2017 03:10:03 -0000

I use www.bookfunnel.com which has watermarking for ARCs

Re: 3 Reasons Authors Shouldn’t Worry About Piracy but How to Protect Yourself Anyway

TheCreativePenn — Thu, 18 May 2017 03:09:52 -0000

You'd need to talk to an intellectual property attorney about more detailed things, but they can often protect many forms of expression

Re: 3 Reasons Authors Shouldn’t Worry About Piracy but How to Protect Yourself Anyway

TheCreativePenn — Thu, 18 May 2017 03:08:37 -0000

Great :) Don't let worry distract you from writing!

Re: Episode 133 – Diversity, Business Models, and the October Author Earnings Report

TheCreativePenn — Sun, 23 Oct 2016 15:38:47 -0000

This is a good point - and I publish under a company name too - if my sales are lumped in small press, then we might need a better split. Indie authors with more books and more sales tend to set up imprints.

Re: Episode 133 – Diversity, Business Models, and the October Author Earnings Report

TheCreativePenn — Sun, 23 Oct 2016 15:36:29 -0000

Thanks for the mention, guys!
On the dip in indie sales - I've heard from people who have been publishing for 40+ years that book sales dip in election years, and dip a LOT in contentious election years ... so that might explain the last report and also probably the next one.
I've also seen a LOT of the top indies get picked up by Amazon Publishing - including their backlists, which would move market share from indie to Amazon Publishing.
But also, my own earnings are now 46% Amazon and less than 50% USA based so a lot of indie income is not being counted by Author Earnings. Not sure whether they will start scraping from Kobo, iBooks etc but many more established indies are wide.

Re: Why 2016 is the year for the Arthur C. Clarke Award to embrace self-published works

TheCreativePenn — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 03:28:33 -0000

This is fantastic to hear! Many indie authors are publishing to professional standards, using pro editors (many of them who also freelance for traditional publishers) and pro cover designers. We hold ourselves to a high standard and it's fantastic to see a respected genre prize opening up to indies. Thank you.

Re: Episode 123 – Jet.com, Too Many Books, and Virgin Airlines

TheCreativePenn — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 12:51:51 -0000

I use Selz.com to sell direct - and they have a handy checkbox that says "Don't sell to people in the EU." You can tick that and tell people to email you if they want to purchase. Manual emailed files are not subject to the digital VAT :)