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Last month, I had my first virtual book tour. I had about zero expectations going in, but I did have hopes and dreams…

…and the results exceeded those in the extreme.

Which is why I can’t wait to share my results with you, and urge you on to try it for yourself.

A virtual book tour…

One of my writer friends, Lasairiona McMaster, has been on such a roll. Ever since I met her, Las has published five romance books and she has another three up for pre-order.

With every release, she kept posting about her ‘virtual book tour’ and the amazing reviews she got during it.Read More →

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A few months back, I picked up the Advanced Novel Writing with Harry Potter course taught by Clark Chamberlain, and I have been meaning to tell you about how much I’m enjoying it, as soon as I finished it. But then the moving house happened, and Camp NaNoWriMo happened, and new clients happened—you know what it’s like. And I can’t postpone writing about the course any longer, because there’s a ridiculous promo going on right now that I just can’t keep from you.

Why is that?

Because Clark is currently doing a special for Advanced Novel Writing with Harry Potter: Pay What You Want.

That’s right: The course normally retails for $197, but for a very limited time you can pay anything you want and receive this amazing course in its entirety.

The course is professionally recorded and breaks down the secrets behind why the series works so well and sold by the boatload. It’s *really* good stuff, and funny too. And while it discusses Harry Potter, the course is in no way limited to fantasy authors—writers of every genre can learn a lot from what Clark has to offer.

You can find the course here. 

If that doesn’t immediately convince you, allow me to explain why this special is on right now.Read More →

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You all know I’m a fan of Joanna Pen—I said so before—and I recently even became a supporter of The Creative Penn Podcast through Patreon. Because of my monthly pledge, I now have free access to all her e-books and audiobooks, and it’s so worth it. The first book I listened to (which was literally the first book I ever listened to) was Business for Authors: How to be an Author Entrepreneur. I believe it’s the only book she narrated herself, and that was one of the main reasons I wanted to try that one out. Not that there is anything wrong with the narrator she uses now, but Penn’s voice is such a part of my daily life, I can’t help but enjoy listening to it. After all, it’s the voice that made me take my writing seriously. She also writes the way she speaks—I think so, anyway—which makes for an easy listen.

I like big books…

Remember my initial disappointment at the length of The Successful Author Mindset: A Handbook for Surviving the Writer’s Journey? Business for Authors: How to be an Author Entrepreneur is twice as long! I’m sorry, I just like big books… Knowing Penn’s straightforward, cut-to-the-chase writing style, I knew it meant the book offered crazy amounts of information. And that it does. It shouldn’t have surprised me, but it’s such a complete reference book, and it discusses so many scenarios, I’d argue that all serious writers can benefit from it, whether they intend to walk in Penn’s business-minded footsteps or not.Read More →

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Being an introvert isn’t the embarrassing secret it once was—Susan Cain’s Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking did loads to unravel the ‘mystery’ surrounding introverts and demonstrate that the introvert’s way of going about things is something contemporary society is in dire need of. As such, it comes as no surprise that many a book on introversion and how to be an introvert in a world celebrating the extravert have reached the market in the past few years. Being a fan of her work, Joanna Penn’s Public Speaking for Authors, Creatives and other Introverts immediately comes to mind.

Jamie Arpin-Ricci’s The Introvert Writer: Being Your Creative Best By Being Your Truest Self is such a book. Focusing not on the introvert in general but on the introvert writer in particular, Arpin-Ricci tries to provide a view as broad as possible on what being an introvert writer entails. He doesn’t just focus on the introvert writer’s strengths, he also points out the pitfalls of being both an introvert and a writer and how we can overcome these while staying true to ourselves. And with success.

The changing face of publishing

One of the first things Arpin-Ricci acknowledges is that the market as it is today demands writers, especially the self-published ones, to get out there and promote their books by becoming a public figure. We might not like it—and Arpin-Ricci doesn’t argue we need to—but it is what it is. If we want to have a successful writing career Read More →

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Reading The Successful Author Mindset on our way to Dublin!I am a big fan of Joanna Penn. I listen to her podcast The Creative Penn almost religiously, and admire the wild generosity with which she shares her knowledge about the world of indie publishing like nothing else. Naturally, when I heard her talk about her new book The Successful Author Mindset: A Handbook for Surviving the Writer’s Journey, in which she was going to share even more than she already did, I knew I had to get myself a copy.

Open and honest

Joanna Penn is about as honest and open about what it’s like to be a writer as it gets, and the same goes for The Successful Author Mindset: A Handbook for Surviving the Writer’s Journey. I have to admit I was a little disappointed when it arrived because it only had 142 pages (yes, I bought an actual copy), but I soon realised the book is that small because it cuts right to the chase. There’s no beating around the bush, no unnecessary fluff, just Penn being as straightforward as she could possibly be, without being mean about it.

A universal struggle

The book is divided in three parts—Mindset Aspects of Creativity and Writing; Mindset Aspects after Publishing; and Tips for Success on the Author Journey—and in each part, Penn tackles the issues most associated with each of these. Read More →