Writing and Publishing: Facebook Live Q&A Replay 3 July 2016 with Joanna Penn

We had another fun Facebook Live session last weekend, so thanks to everyone who came along.

I'm a morning person so doing evening stuff is always difficult, so I thought I would just do 20 minutes, but it turned into another full hour and everyone was very enthusiastic! It turns out that these live streams are useful AND fun, so I will continue to do them.

The video recording is below, with time stamps so you can fast-forward to the questions you’re interested in. Or click here to watch on YouTube.

And I’ll be doing it again on Sunday 24 July 3pm US Eastern / 8pm UK time.

Just come along to Facebook.com/TheCreativePenn at that time and I will be there, answering your live questions!

Time stamps for the video

1:56 – Book launches
5:34 – What would you do differently in your habits if you were just starting as a full-time author?
7:30 – How far down the line were you before your podcast got traction and what helped grow the audience the most?
10:32 – What are your thoughts about “just in time” purchase of ebooks?
12:25 – How important are book trailers and streaming audiobooks?
14:25 – Any tips for finding keywords for books? Click here for an article on keywords.
15:24 – How is your Bookbub beta ad going?
16:52 – How do I market my book? Lots on book marketing here.
18:26 – Any ideas to promote a first in a series if I'm not a proven name?
19:41 – When you write fiction novels do you stop reading other fiction?
20:44 – What are you thoughts on starting one's own publishing company? An interview on companies with Helen Sedwick here.
22:28 – Would you consider publishing books for other people?
24:07 – Finding interior book designers. Lots of book designers here. Lots of formatters here.
25:07 – Where did I buy my mug?
26:09 – What is the best approach to organise co-writing with Scrivener?
27:31 – Perma-what? – Permafree
28:31 – How can I do better when I have lots of books?
29:27 – How long does it take you to write a full-length novel from idea to published?
30:14 – Be as generous as you can but don't let it impact your own creative work
31:07 – Thoughts on promoting your own books in book fairs
32:26 – Do you know any successful authors who write using dictation and are “pantsers”? I mention this interview with Elle Casey.
33:00 – What location/venue is the most beneficial for selling books?
34:35 – Do you recommend removing pictures in an ebook version of a book?
36:16 – How can you get Amazon to bundle parts of a series into one product? See this post on ebook box-sets and bundles.
38:31 – What is your recommended word count for a non-fiction book?
39:28 – What made you decide to sell books from your website in dollars instead of pounds?
40:47 – My experience with Stone of Fire prior to publication.
42:08 – How do you get so much done?
43:08 – Does the perma-free strategy work for books that aren't part of a series eg literary fiction?
46:13 – Long-term strategy for writing
47:28 – What do I think about a book of children’s' poetry or picture books? See this interview with Karen Inglis on children's book publishing.
48:25 – How are you finding working on screenwriting after working on novels?
49:15 – What am I doing next week?
50:31 – Do you have any suggestions for books on improving dialogue. See this interview with James Scott Bell on dialogue.
51:08 – For a mystery series do I need to commit to self-publishing versus traditional?
51:54 – What is your favourite writing advice book? Lots of books on writing here.
52:34 – Is it OK to plan a lot of books in advance?
53:47 – Do I use Smashwords or Draft2Digital? More on how to publish an ebook here.
54:13 – Do you consider research on consumer psychology for book cover design?
55:49 – Where do you find experts to advise on cultural elements of books?
56:35 – Do you think an author should stick to one genre?
57:14 – How do you stay so positive when it feels like nothing is working? Check out The Successful Author Mindset book 🙂

I hope you found this useful!

Come along to the next Facebook Live Q&A on Sunday 24 July at 3pm US Eastern / 8pm UK.

Just turn up at Facebook.com/TheCreativePenn and I’ll be there! You can just type your questions as comments and I’ll answer them live.

If you can’t make it, no worries, I’ll post the replay the week after. If it’s popular again, I’ll make this a semi-regular event. Please do let me know in the comments below if you enjoyed this more casual approach.

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