#032: Joanna Penn – Staying ahead of the game, the realities of indie authorship, and prioritizing your health for the long-game.

Joanna Penn is an Award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller author, as well as a writer of non-fiction for authors.

She's written over 30 books and sold over 500,000 books in 84 countries and 5 languages. She's an independent author and also runs a small press, Curl Up Press, with her husband and business partner.

Joanna is also an international professional speaker and award-winning creative entrepreneur. In 2018, she was awarded Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World. Her show, The Creative Penn Podcast, has been downloaded 3.7 million times in 219 countries.

Based now in Bath, Joanna is a travel junkie who also likes hiking, and relaxing with a book and a glass of pinot noir, or a gin & tonic (Hendricks & Fever Tree).

In this episode we go deep into:

How Joanna’s handling herself during the coronavirus lockdown
How Joanna’s writing process and approach to business has changed since she first started writing
Where does Joanna’s information come from to remain ahead of the indie game
Lessons learned from Joanna’s first book
What keeps Joanna accountable to keep delivering on her projects
The struggles of writing while in lockdown
The benefits of routine and creating positive associations in certain places for particular kinds of work
What a typical day looks like for Joanna
The reality of being a full time independent author
How to keep on top of all you need to do
Benefits of working episodically
Being able to learn to be organized
Prioritizing your health and looking after yourself as a writer
Why you should work with experts inside and outside of writing
How Joanna decides which non-fiction too prioritize next
Whether Joanna feels the pressure of being a high profile name in the independent author community
How accolades have affected Joanna’s career and the truth about lists and awards
Getting everything you want, but not at the same time
Genre awards vs bestseller lists
Why Joanna Penn writes

Joanna answers questions from Patrons:

Mark Mclure: How are sales for large-print books going (n/f and fiction)?

This week’s question

What are your highest aspirations with your writing career?

Find out more about Joanna:

https://www.thecreativepenn.com/

https://www.thecreativepenn.com/podcasts/

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