OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
Five years ago, in September 2011, I left my day job to become a full-time author entrepreneur.
You can read the previous posts here: year 1, year 2, year 3, year 4. Here's my lessons learned from year 5.
(1) I can't do everything myself. I have to work successfully with other people, including my husband!
I've been working with freelancers (editors, cover designers, accountant etc) since I started self-publishing back in 2008, but only in the last year have I really expanded my comfort zone in working with others.
My husband, Jonathan, and I have now managed a whole year of working together. There have been the inevitable wobbly moments for both of us, but with a shared vision and a lot of talking (!) we have tripled the company income in the last 12 months. Not bad at all … and we're still happily married, which is perhaps the more incredible feat. 🙂
We do different things now, although it took me time to hand things over. I'm now Director of Creative and focus on products and content marketing, as well as the accounting and being the face of the business. Jonathan is Director of Strategy and Analytics and is a ‘force multiplier,' putting into action the plans we make together, including implementing things like email, landing pages, video editing and advertising. He likes to stay behind the scenes, but he is just as invested in the business as I am. I'll try to get him to come on the podcast sometime, or we might even write a book about working with your spouse/partner at some point. 🙂
On the fiction front, I've co-written Risen Gods with J. Thorn in the last year, which taught me so much that we put our lessons learned in a book, Co-writing a Book: Collaboration and co-creation for authors. I've also now started co-writing in a more directorial manner with a sweet romance writer, so in the next year, I will have another set of books under a new brand.
Plus, I have my wonderful VA, Alexandra, who helps with the podcast and social media and a ton of other things.
So I'm better at delegating than I was and I've even started talking about my vision to get a COO (Chief Operations Officer) for the business at some point. Not in the next year, but that's something I want to be able to do so I can get off the hamster wheel of constantly being on call at some point!
(2) Health is critical for a long term (happy) creative business
I love my work and I have definitely prioritized working over health for many years. But in 2016, I have made health a priority. I started by mastering dictation, overcoming the excuses I had put up around that.
I now use a standing/sitting varidesk, use a swiss ball as a ‘chair,' and I've had some physio, so my RSI has almost entirely gone.
I did 100km in a weekend, which was really more about the training of long walks in the months prior and making walking a habit.
I've also started yoga as a way to become more centered in my body, rather than just in my head all the time. I find myself skip breathing when I work so even just the breathing exercises have helped me unwind and stress less. I'm a work-in-progress, but I'm on a better path than I was a year ago!
(3) Speeding up growth with paid advertising. “I'd rather spend $1000 to make $1000, than spend $0 to make $0.”
That's a quote from Adam Croft, who used Facebook Ads to hit the top of the UK crime charts and make himself a ton of cash, and then subsequently get a book deal.
But I've been overtaken time and time again by those who invest in paid advertising in order to sell more books, attract more people to their mailing list, and get their business/books noticed. I don't know why I have resisted for so long but the interview with Adam really changed my perspective. I have great books and courses and this is a useful website, so why resist paying for advertising now I have the budget for it?
So this year, I've been using Facebook Ads for growing my list and book marketing, and in the last month, I used ad stacking and paid promotions to hit the USA Today list. More to come on this but it's been a real mindset change.
OK, those are some big shifts for me in the last year. I'm looking forward to year 6 as an author entrepreneur! Thanks for joining me on the journey.
Please do leave your thoughts in the comments below and join the conversation.
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1 2 Next »Thanks again Joanna, I always learn so much from you! Your approach is simple and so understandable and you make it seem so easy, though,we all know it is not. Continued success!
It's one of those 'simple but not easy' things :)Just a little every day and you'll get there!
Hey Joanna,
Your journey has inspired me. I don't comment here often, but I've followed your work for a while. I love how you slowly built this empire.
You have more than a dozen books that sell well, but each individual book hits achievable numbers as opposed to some Malcolm Gladwell type of success many of us writers aspire to.
Thanks for providing realistic insights. With time, any writer who build a solid habit and learns the ropes of business and marketing can succeed.
Off to share!
Yes, I think the multiple books with little streams of income is more likely to be sustainable than attempting to have a massive hit. I aspire to Stephen King success but I know it will take many years to get there - but that's OK, as there's nothing else I'd rather be doing :) All the best with your author journey.
You're an inspiration Joanna! Thanks for sharing.
Well done Joanna! Very inspiring stuff. Keep it up, and here's to an even more successful Year 6 for Team Penn!
X
You are an inspiration to me and I have learnt many valuable lessons from you. I am retiring a year early on January 6th 2017 to become an author entrepreneur and I will be happy to achieve even a fraction of your success. I am in good position and I'm not taking a risk so I won't be out on the street if not much happens. But thanks to you (and others) I am quietly confident that with hard work I can make myself lucky. Thank you Jo.
All the best :)
Hello Joanne I am following you as a fellow author I have a book coming out next month I can't wait
I'm so glad I subscribe to your newsletter because you mentioned the coloring book you produced with your father, and when I looked it up on Amazon, I saw the quote by Paul Klee: "Drawing is taking a line out for a walk," which I love. The Adam Croft quote above is pretty good, too. So thank you. I can't wait for more on Facebook ad stacking.
Very useful - thank you for sharing
Well Done! Especially the dictation - I am working hard on that right now and finding it a challenge - but you have really helped me with lots of advice here and there - thank you for that .
I highly recommend Yoga - I started running around my fields on the farm a while back and it really makes a difference but without the Yoga I couldn't do that as I am way to stiff and 'not bendy' :)
Glad you and Jonathon are working well together - my husband and I have worked together for 30 years and we are very different in how we approach everything - I have to remember that I am not always right and that he is not always wrong :) :)
You've come a long way, Joanna. Your success is well deserved.
I think it's great that you're focusing on health and including your husband in the business. Both very important. And delegating some of your work will ease your mind once you've become used to that.
In 5 years you've created a real business that is more profitable and rewarding every year. That, to me, is the definition of success. Bravo!
Thanks for your support over the years, Marcia. I feel that now I've made it to 5 years, that it is stable and likely to last :)
Thanks Joanna for these updates, the podcast and your books!
Like others here, I'm on step 87 of a 10,000 step journey.
What I appreciate about your advice is that you have actually written successful fiction books and not just "How to Write a Book" books. So, you speak transparently from experience and lessons learned.
What is your opinion of James Patterson's "MasterClass" course? He's obviously a successful author but I wondered if the course content is worth the price. Maybe compare and contrast with your course, How To Write A Novel?
Thanks again,
Dan
Hi Dan - James Patterson is an amazing storyteller and his course is definitely worth doing. It's very different to mine as his is just a casual conversation about what he does, not teaching so much. But I did it and it was the catalyst to me co-writing, so recommended :) My own course is from the perspective of someone who is nearer the beginning, whereas he has 40+ years under his belt and therefore doesn't really apply his comments to the beginner level.