Eight years ago, Sept 2011, I left my day job to become a full-time author-entrepreneur. Every year since I have reflected on the journey and what I learn along the way.
My challenges change and grow along with the business and you will likely be at a different stage, but I hope that you find my lessons learned useful along your own author path.
You can read all my lessons learned from previous years on my timeline so far – and remember, just like everyone else, I started out by writing my first book with no audience! But with time and continued effort, everything is possible.
I have one main lesson this year but it encompasses a lot.
Write, publish, repeat is not enough for me. It's time to fully embrace the multi-passionate creative career.
You can be a happy writer and make a great living by writing fast in the same genre, publishing quickly and focusing on Amazon sales. But it's not for me.
For too long, I've thought that I should focus more, that I should stop spreading myself too thin, that I should double down on one genre and own that niche. I have reread The One Thing several times as well as other books about focus and tried to fit myself into that box.
But in the last year, I have followed my curiosity into new areas like AI + creativity as well as audiobook narration, plus traveling more for book research and for learning new things. Podcasting has become more than ‘marketing,' it has become a way to express myself and share ideas that don't fit into the ‘book' container. I have lots more ideas about how to use podcasting and audio in more creative ways and that's truly exciting.
This time last year, in 2018, I felt like things were stagnating, that I wasn't necessarily growing and changing. The repetition of write, publish, repeat can turn into a job like any other unless you change things up and keep it fresh and find new avenues to challenge you.
I've also learned more about productivity — and how it's less about the To Do list, and more about spending time on the things that you really want to achieve.
I measure my life by what I create … but what I create doesn't have to be just books anymore.
I started writing my first non-fiction book in 2006 and I'm certainly not intending to stop writing or publishing. I love being an author and I have a list of six books that I need to get done in the next year or so with more to come after that. But my creativity and my business span far more.
The Creative Penn Podcast and this blog are part of my body of work. This site is certainly an asset that brings me income every month and as I detail in How to Make a Living with your Writing, it's great to have multiple streams of income generated by the written word.
In the last year, I have really doubled down on audio. I've had voice coaching and moved into the narration of my own audiobooks: Successful Self-Publishing, The Dark Queen, A Thousand Fiendish Angels, Public Speaking for Authors, Creatives and Other Introverts Second Edition (coming 1 Oct), are all self-narrated — and I'll be doing more to come including my two Mapwalker novels.
I also went to Podcast Movement to learn about how podcasting is going to change content marketing and voice search in coming years.
I started BooksAndTravel.page as a way to build a new brand under Jo Frances Penn in a new (but related) niche, as well as write my own travel memoir out loud, plus spend time talking to people about another side of my personality that has little outlet here.
I've also been learning a lot about AI (more detail in 9 Ways that AI will Disrupt Authors and Publishing in the Next 10 Years) and using new tools within my business, like Deepl.com for translation, and Descript.com for audio editing and transcription.
All of this has resulted in a new business plan which, at heart, still revolves around writing books but also focuses on podcasting and audiobooks as well as licensing my rights in different areas.
I still get comments from people who assume that because I don't spend all my time writing, I am not making a living as a writer. Firstly, the job of a writer is not just writing — you will have to market your book regardless of how you choose to publish. Secondly, I have always said that I make a living with my writing, which is slightly different to someone who makes a living with book sales alone or by freelance writing. Every podcast I do starts with writing and ends with transcripted words, every audiobook begins with the written word, every blog post is made of words — and all those words drive my revenue through affiliate sales, book and course sales, podcast sponsorship and Patreon.
In the last year, I've felt a new love for my creative career that has been reinvigorated by my interest in podcasting and audiobooks and AI-assisted creativity. So I am embracing my identity as a multi-passionate creative. I will not focus on one thing. I will continue to write in lots of genres, create all over the place, and love the journey!
My challenge to you: What are you doing right now because you think you should be doing it?
And if you're not feeling excited about your writing life, whatever stage you're at, then what can you do to change things up so you regain that joy?
Please do leave a comment and join the conversation.
Thanks for sharing insights from your journey as an author with us, Joanna. You are an inspiration to many! Best of luck to you with the new steps in your career.
Making a living as a writer is my goal but I also need the creative outlet. Writing in several genres, doing narration for my own and others stories, and other artistic outlets is what has kept me working on my business the last eight years. If I had focused on only one thing, I don’t think I’d still be in this business.
Likewise, Ann 🙂
A really helpful and timely post for me. My husband retires soon and we want to do more travelling, so I’m revising what I do to get a better balance. My technical nonfiction isn’t working efficiently – I give too much away in my newsletter and blog posts, which take a lot of time to produce. That time would be better spent publishing more books and producing online courses.
I also love variety, but I think It’s time to scale down my consultancy work and give more rein to my creative side – my first historical novel will be finished soon, and I have several ideas for narrative nonfiction, plus I’m enjoying editing books for indie authors – even better, all of that can be done from anywhere!
It sounds like you’re making some good changes, Julie — and you know I always recommend more traveling 🙂
Love this. It’s awesome that you are always true to yourself and focus on what satisfies you even if that stretches you in multiple directions.
I too have multiple interests but have often been told I should just focus on one thing. Just the one book, the one blog, the one story. But we are not one dimensional and we should follow our creative desires, and often that means doing and trying different things.
So thank you for your post. It’s the encouragement I need to stop trying to do just the one thing. It’s okay to have multiple streams of creative outlets and projects just like we aim to have multiple streams of income. It’s also okay to feel good about it.
While my writing is not a business, yet, I don’t think it ever will be if I pigeonhole myself. I think this idea of trying to find one focus has prevented me from moving forward with the many things I want to do.
Happy writing and creating, Joanna. I look forward to reading lots more of your work in the future and about all the amazing things that you accomplish.
Now I’m off to accomplish my own creative pursuits.
Thanks Kasia, and so glad that you also continue to find inspiration in multiple creative outlets!
Thank you for sharing this, Joanna! I wrote and published a self help book a few years ago, and this year I published my debut novel, “The Luggage Drop.” My current writing project is contemporary romance. And to be honest, I’ve been wondering if other writers are writing in multiple genres as well or if I’m a lone bird. After reading your story, I don’t feel alone. I feel refreshed and am now determined more than ever to complete that romance novel after all.
Interestingly enough, I’ve noticed that while I’ve been wrestling with self doubt and writers block, my creative energy has manifested itself in getting my website polished and my Facebook author page and Instagram up and running. So even though I’ve been stalling on getting the next book done, I’ve laid the foundation from which to continue to grow from as a writer. It’s like my inner self is knocking on the door loud and clear and is telling me to keep going as a writer.
Thank you for your invaluable insight! I can’t thank you enough!
Stacy King over at https://stacysflutterings.com/
Glad you resonated with this, Stacy! You’re definitely not alone, there are lots of us multi-passionates out there!
Hi Joanna! I interviewed you in November 2013 for my Creating Story blog. You were awesome then, and look where you’ve come to. Passionate and creative in all you do. A kick-ass author/entrepreneur! Thanks for the inspiration.
Thank you 🙂 Yes, I’m still here!
Sounds exhausting! Good luck with diversifying.
Creation makes me come alive, so not exhausting at all. I found it exhausting trying to fit into other people’s ideas of what I should do!
Absolutely bang on target as usual, Joanna. I think having the Patreon gig has really opened my eyes to the possibilities of just being someone who is paid to be creative, regardless of the specific form of output. Having a tribe who are prepared to pay for one’s self-expression on a variety of topics and in multiple ways opens such exciting panoramas.
I think I’ll always have a love of producing hard copy publications – there’s just something about that medium that feels ‘permanent’ – but the immediacy offered by audio and video and other, perhaps as yet even undiscovered media is truly compelling and is fantastic for building relationships with those who consume it.
Glad you’ve discovered the joys of audio and video, Henry – and we can often reach more people by using these different mediums. I will also keep producing books, of course, but the world these days is a creative oyster with so much more potential 🙂
Beautifully said joanna.
Because sure I love writing. I love creating worlds and destroying them.
Even with my nonfiction I love helping to simpify complex psychology for people.
However, books aren’t enough for me. I write because I’m a creative and so I purse all creative avenues and like you I LOVE audio because it’s fun.
And that’s what this writing job is meant to be for all of us because if it isn’t fun or creative.
What’s the point?
That’s why my business model is to go as wide as possible and as bord as possible and just to produce high quality Fun creative products that I love and other people will love. Whether it’s audio, ebooks or online courses or public speaking (next years two new ventures)
So sorry if I went on a little.
Great to hear you’re loving your varied creative life!
Having published (self-published) a five book series of Biblical fiction, then the four follow up novellas for the ‘also-ran’ characters I felt a bit out of place with my non-fiction book. Actually, it was hard to categorize. It was part memoir, part workbook… and documented my journey through the learning curve of being on oxygen therapy 24/7
Some bits were amusing, but all bits were challenging. Being followed by an 18 metre tube at home, and lugging a cylinder or POC when out took some adjusting to.
I am still trying to figure out if I need a separate website for the non-fiction. Had not planned to do more, but now, one year later, see that I need a follow-up.
Great to see you making a success of so much and not being muddled. LOL
Thank you for sharing.
It is tough if you just have one non-fiction book. If you don’t plan to write more, or to build another brand/other streams of income, then don’t bother building another site. It’s a LOT of work 🙂
Beautiful, absolutely beautiful article. Thank you.
The thing I’m focusing on because I feel I should be doing it? Housework. 😀
It’s good to see where your journey has taken you. It makes me more comfortable with where my own journey is taking me. Again, thank you.
I’ve outsourced my cleaning for the last decade. It has freed up so much time 🙂
Hi Joanna. I have a question: what is ai-assisted creativity?
I mean when we can use AI tools to create in different ways. Like there are paintings and music already created with AI tools – see this article for more: https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2019/07/01/ai-disruption-publishing-authors/
and also this one:
https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2019/03/11/ai-and-creativity-with-marcus-du-sautoy/
You’re always so generous in your advice to authors, Joanna. But you also do the hard work of fully embracing your creative life. This takes a lot of courage that I applaud. Thank for leading the way.
Thanks, Robin 🙂 and thanks for all your hard work on behalf of authors at Ingram Spark.
I love a good success story!
My issue is not what I should be doing, more about what I can’t afford. I could, quite possibly, kill any computer in existence just by trying to figure out how to do something on it without help. I did learn that the F in Fdisk does not mean “fix.” I’m that good with gardening, too. Being able to kill anything needing software or soil is a talent most of us don’t want to possess.
Some of us aren’t computer savvy, nor are we great editors. When your salary and what you need to compensate for the things you’re bad at doing, “should” is not as much of a problem as “can’t.”
Joanna,
What a great article to show imaginative authors that they can do more than just write and publish books. I am so thankful that your creative spirit led you to filming the videos showing authors how to set up their website. Your step-by-step guide was a lifesaver to this author. Thank you
Thanks, Carolyn, and glad you found the video useful 🙂
Thanks for the permission to be a multi-passionate creative. I don’t read in one genre so why should I write in one?
Absolutely 🙂