147 episodes listed below
Craft, publishing, and sustainable author business.
The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers treats writing as both art and livelihood. Episodes move between sentence-level craft, editing, creative confidence, book marketing, direct sales, publishing news, and the emotional realities of long-term creative work.
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The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers is a long-running resource for authors who want to improve their writing while building a viable creative business. Joanna Penn brings a working writer’s perspective to both sides of the desk: the craft of making books and the commercial systems that help those books reach readers. The show is practical first. It talks about self-editing, professional editors, beta readers, sensitivity readers, audio editing, strong sentences, deep character, emotion, and the patience required for difficult books. It also treats publishing as an ecosystem. Recent episodes move through newsletters, direct sales, special editions, library outreach, Kickstarter, BookFunnel promotions, Kindle Unlimited versus wide distribution, London Book Fair, and the changing status of indie authors. The advice tends to favor fit over formulas. A conversation about low-key marketing makes room for authors who do not want to rely on social media or become experts in ads. A discussion of post-traumatic growth and change turns toward shiny-object pressure, neurodivergence in creative industries, and the need to ask whether a new platform actually suits an author business. The craft conversations are just as grounded. Poetry becomes a way to refresh attention to sound and image. Character work is treated as something that can be studied across years of interviews. Conversations with writers such as Anne Lamott, Neal Allen, Matt Cardin, Roz Morris, Alicia Jo Rabins, and Jack Williamson bring in self-doubt, the muse, uncertainty, creative confidence, portfolio careers, slow marketing, and making without permission. The show has a reflective rhythm, with personal notes and publishing news before the main section. It is warm without being vague. It is ambitious without pushing hustle. For writers trying to build a sustainable body of work, it offers steady companionship and concrete next steps.
Made for: For indie authors, aspiring novelists, and working writers who want practical craft guidance alongside realistic publishing and marketing strategy. It especially suits creators building long-term careers outside a single prescribed path.
What sets it apart: The show combines hands-on writing craft with a seasoned indie-author view of publishing tools, marketing, and creative resilience. Its strongest thread is sustainability: choosing practices that fit the writer rather than chasing every trend.
Writing Craft and Creative Business
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Joanna Penn connects writing practice to the marketing, ownership, and career decisions that turn authorship into a sustainable business.
Joanna Penn treats authorship as both creative practice and operating business, pairing publishing commentary with detailed guest conversations.
The messy draft on your desk meets book marketing that doesn't require an extrovert costume.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Joanna Penn and Sarah Rosette discuss newsletters, promotions, and library outreach for reserved authors.
Joanna Penn and Sarah Rosette discuss book marketing that does not depend on social media. Both describe themselves as reserved introverts, and Rosette is candid about what feels comfortable. A street team did not suit her readers or genre.
Joanna Penn and Matt Carden consider the muse, creative silence, and uncertainty in a writing life.
Joanna Penn and Matt Carden talk about the muse, the inner genius, and what a quiet spell in a writer's life might hold. Carden remembers wanting to write from childhood: books enchanted him before he could read them, and he wanted to tell stories of his own.
Ros Morris talks about slow books, finding readers, and the changing options for indie authors.
Joanna Penn and Ros Morris talk about the uneven pace of writing a book and finding its readers. Morris describes the chaos of discovery writing and why some books take a long time.
Joanna Penn and Alicia Jo Rabins discuss creative confidence and starting without a fixed outcome.
Joanna Penn and Alicia Jo Rabins talk about creative confidence, portfolio careers and the freedom to make something before knowing where it will lead.
A reason for authors to pause before chasing the next platform.
Joanna Penn and Jack Williamson talk about change from several angles: post-traumatic growth, creative marketing, and what the music industry can teach authors about technology. Williamson's clearest advice comes when he turns to new platforms.
Pilcher's move from performance to writing opens a conversation about creative identity and rhythm.
Joanna Penn and Lara Bianca Pilcher talk about what happens when an artist can no longer work in a familiar form. Pilcher had worked in dance, singing, and acting, but a visa problem after her move to America left her unable to work legally. She began writing at home.
Rob Walling on bootstrapped SaaS growth, plateaus, and exits — with founders who lived them.
Abbey Ashley's playbook for turning your job skills into a virtual assistant business.
SaaS operators on scaling, pricing and AI, metrics included.
Alex Blumberg interviews guests like Megan Phelps-Roper and Shane McAnally about failure and reinvention.
Joanna Penn shares her predictions and trends for indie authors and the book publishing industry in 2026, along with insights from various experts.
Joanna Penn shares her creative and business goals for 2026, including finishing her master's degree and continuing a slow pivot from author entrepreneurship.
Joanna Penn interviews Darcy Pattison about writing, self-publishing, and marketing children's books, covering challenges, illustrators, printing, and sales.
Joanna Penn interviews Colleen Story about overcoming procrastination for writers, covering types of procrastination and mindset issues.
Joanna Penn opens with Becca Syme's line about the level of uncertainty in the industry and the world, then points to walking, journaling, and other controllable routines.
Joanna Penn discusses self-editing, working with professional editors, beta readers, and knowing when editing is finished, based on chapters from her audiobook.
Joanna Penn opens with Robert Topping's line that "the cost of the book is the time it takes to read it," then uses Toppings Independent Bookshops in Bath to show how physical bookstores think about shelf space, 55% discounts, and returning stock.
Joanna Penn interviews Anne Lamott and Neal Allen about their book 'Good Writing', covering strong sentences, overcoming self-doubt, and building a sustainable writing practice.
Joanna Penn shares 15 actionable tips for writing deep characters, compiled from past episodes of the Creative Pen Podcast.
Roz Morris, a literary fiction author, memoirist, and creator of the Nail Your Novel writing craft series, returns to The Creative Penn Podcast after 15 years to discuss indie publishing's evolution, the emotional architecture of home as a memoir subject, and the craft challenge of converting personal feeling into writing that invites readers in rather than excluding them.
Alicia Jo Rabins, an award-winning writer, musician, filmmaker, and Torah teacher, describes building a portfolio career in which teaching Jewish studies covers 50-70% of her income while performance fees, grants, and donations cover the rest—and she has never held a full-time job.
Jack Williamson links post-traumatic growth to his brother’s death in 2015, his retraining as a psychotherapist, and the writing of five books.
Lara Bianca Pilcher says she threw away a first version after a literary agent and editor dropped her.
Joanna Penn interviews April Rinne about embracing change and uncertainty in life and author business, with updates on KDP royalty changes.