6-Figure Self-Publishing: Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn – Love Your Work, Episode 113

February 19 2018 – 07:30am

joanna penn podcast

Joanna Penn (@thecreativepenn) is one of the leaders in helping self-published, or I should say “indie” authors, find their way. She has been self-publishing since 2009. She’s written 27 books under 3 different pen names, and she earns a multi-six-figure income.

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She writes about writing and running an indie author business at thecreativepenn.com, and she has a podcast called The Creative Penn.

Regular listeners know that I recently self-published for the first time. In the process of self-publishing, I’ve discovered a whole new world.

I used to think that self-publishing would be a step down for me. After all, I had a traditional publisher for my first book. It was nice to have the vote of confidence, and the advance check, from the publisher. And it was nice to have the support on editing, design, and distribution.

But it turns out there’s more and more opportunity in self-publishing. You have full control over your writing, and you’re going to be responsible for your most of your marketing anyway. You actually have more control over that as a self-published author.

There are more six-figure authors than ever. A recent survey from Written Word Media found that, in 2017, the number of authors making $100,000 or more jumped by 70%.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why is “self-published” the wrong term. I keep saying “self-publishing,” and I’ll probably keep saying it, but Joanna prefers the term “indie author.” Why is that?
How can you hit the New York Times’ best-seller list as an indie author? Joanna has done it. She explains why she thinks it’s not such a big deal.
Why have pen names? As I said Joanna publishes under three different names, which I think is a very cool and interesting way to break down creative resistance. But I was surprised to hear why she does it.