The Creative Penn Podcast For Authors

Podcast episodes are posted every Monday and include interviews, inspiration and information on writing and the business of being an author. There are over 780 episodes so you can search with the Google box below.

Stats from 10 Feb 2025 [Blubrry] — 10,154,481 podcast downloads across 229 countries (61% USA, 12% UK, 5% Australia, 5% Canada, 17% Rest of the World). 94% impactful plays (people listen to at least 75% of the episode).

The Creative Penn Podcast is in the top 1% of podcasts with over 10,000 downloads in the first 7 days of publishing, and 10K-25K downloads per episode. [Buzzsprout global stats show the top 1% of podcasts have 4985 downloads in the first 7 days.]

All the backlist episodes are listed below. You can subscribe on your favorite podcast app including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Android, Stitcher,  YouTube, or RSS.

Thanks to regular corporate sponsors: Kobo Writing Life, Draft2Digital, ProWritingAid, Publisher Rocket, Atticus, Written Word Media, and Findaway Voices.

Thanks to patrons of The Creative Penn Podcast

If you'd like to join my community and support the show every month, you'll get access to my growing list of Patron videos and audio on all aspects of the author business — for the price of a coffee (or two) a month. Join us at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn.

The music used on The Creative Penn Podcast from episode 750 is Upbeat Corporate Creative, commercially licensed from AudioJungle. In episodes prior to 750, the music is by Kevin MacLeod at Incompetech.com. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Podcast episodes with transcripts

797 – Writing Action Adventure Thrillers and Traveling for Book Research with Luke Richardson

796 – Kickstarter for Authors with Oriana Leckert

795 – The Happy Writer with Marissa Meyer

794 – Writing and Selling Short Stories with Douglas Smith

793 – Aristotle for Novelists, and A Strategy For Selling More Books with Douglas Vigliotti

792 – Fair Use, Copyright, and Licensing. AI and the Author Business with Alicia Wright

791 – Building a Long-Term Author Business, Dictation, Kickstarter, and Short Story Collections with Kevin J Anderson

790 – Balancing Creativity with Building a Business, and Author Nation, with Joe Solari

789 – Writing Tips: Craft, Structure, and Voice with Kristen Tate

788 – My 2025 Creative and Business Goals with Joanna (J.F.) Penn

787 – Review of my 2024 Goals with Joanna (J.F.) Penn

786 – Creative Clarity: Focus, Self Care, and a Little Bit of Tough Love

785 – Book Proposals, Writing Non-Fiction, and Supercommunicators with Charles Duhigg

784 – Building a Business Around Non-Fiction Books with Michael Bungay Stanier

783 – Writing the Other and Self-Publishing in South Africa with Ashling McCarthy

782 – The Intuitive Author with Tiffany Yates Martin

781 – Writing Memoir and Dealing with Haters with Natalie Maclean

780 – Dark Tourism and Self-Publishing Premium Print Books with Leon Mcanally

779 – Self-Publishing a Second Edition of a Non-Fiction Book with Gin Stephens

778 – Writing Horror with Boris Bacic

777 – Scaling an Author Business with Rachel McLean

776 – 7 Lessons Learned From Over 10 Million Downloads of The Creative Penn Podcast

775 – Writing Historical Fiction and Non-Fiction with Emily E K Murdoch

774 – Author Mindset, Writing and Marketing Non-Fiction with Ariel Curry

773 – How To Make Readers Laugh. Writing Humour With Dave Cohen

772 – Selling Books In Person At Live Events With Mark Leslie Lefebvre

771 – Pivoting Genres and Growing an Author Business with Sacha Black

770 – Lessons Learned from 13 Years as a Full-Time Author Entrepreneur

769 – Self-Publishing Training Manuals and Focusing On Your True Fans with Guy Windsor

768 – Writing Horror and Selling Direct with David Viergutz

767 – Author Mindset Tips and Publishing in Germany with AD Wilk

766 – A Touch of the Madness: Creativity in Writing and Filmmaking with Larry Kasanoff

#765 – Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Publishing with Thad McIlroy

#764 – Heart. Soul. Pen. Find Your Voice on the Page with Robin Finn

#763 – Pivoting Genres and Writing Historical Fiction with Anna Sayburn Lane

#762 – Writing Emotion with Roz Morris

#761 – Intuitive Discovery Writing and Serial Fiction with KimBoo York

#760 – Preparing Your Manuscript for Pitching or Publication with Renee Fountain

#759 – Turn Words into Wealth with Aurora Winter

#758 – Writing Hard Truths and Tips for Writing Non-Fiction with Efren Delgado

#757 – Collaborative Writing with AI with Rachelle Ayala

#756 – Writing Through Fear with Caroline Donahue

#755 – Click Testing Ideas and Selling Direct with Steve Pieper

#754 – 7 Tips for Writing Action Adventure Thrillers with J.F. Penn

#753 – The Seasons of Writing with Jacqueline Suskin

#752 – Plan for Success in Your Indie Author Business and TikTok Marketing with Adam Beswick

#751 – Outlining Tips and Video Marketing on YouTube with Jenna Moreci

#750 – How Writing Work for Hire Books Led To Becoming An Indie Author with Aubre Andrus

#749 – Using Tools to Automate Your Author Business with Chelle Honiker

#748 – Human-Centered Book Marketing with Dan Blank

#747 – The Midlist Indie Author Mindset with T. Thorn Coyle

#746 – Generative AI Impact on Creativity and Business in the Music Industry with Tristra Newyear Yeager

#745 – Facing Fears in Writing and in Life with Rachael Herron

#744 – Different Ways to Market Your Book with Joanna Penn

#743 – Tips for Selling and Marketing Direct Using Meta Ads With Matthew J Holmes

#742 – Insights on the Enneagram and Sustain Your Author Career with Claire Taylor

#741 – Dealing with Change and Building Resilience as an Author with Becca Syme

#740 – How to Create Beautiful Print Books And Sell Direct with Alex Smith from Bookvault

#739 – Tips on Writing Memoir with J.F. Penn

#738 – The ‘Hard Joy' of Writing with Sharon Fagan McDermott and M.C. Benner-Dixon

#737 – Writing and Producing a Micro-budget Film with Jeffrey Crane Graham

#736 – Your Author Brand with Isabelle Knight

#735 – How to be Successful on Kickstarter with Paddy Finn

#734 – A Creative Approach to Generative AI in Book Cover Design with James Helps

#733 – Direct sales and merchandising with Alex Kava

#732 – Facing Fears, and Writing Unique Characters with Barbara Nickless

#731 – The Next Strategic Step on your Author Journey, and Author Nation with Joe Solari

#730 – My 2024 Creative and Business Goals with Joanna Penn

#729 – Review of my 2023 Creative and Business Goals with Joanna Penn

#728 – The 15-Year Creative and Business Pivot with Joanna Penn

#727 – How Generative AI Search Will Impact Book Discoverability in the Next Decade with Joanna Penn

#726 – Self-Publishing a Cookery Photobook with Jane Dixon-Smith

#725 – Subscriptions and the Creator Economy with Michael Evans

#724 – Starting a Second Career as an Author and Networking Tips with Patrick O'Donnell

#723 – The Mindset and Business of Selling Books Direct with Russell Nohelty

#722 – Pinterest for Book Marketing with Trona Freeman

#721 – Managing Your Author Business for the Long Term with Tracy Cooper-Posey

#720 – Stop Trying To Do Everything with Patricia McLinn

#719 – Writing the Soul of Place with Linda Lappin

#718 – Let Your Dark Horse Run. Writing The Shadow With Joanna Penn

#717 – Writing Faster Without Burning Out with LA Witt

#716 – Adapting to Change with Jessie Kwak

#715 – Writing and Publishing a High Quality Photo Book with Jeremy Bassetti

#714 – Lessons Learned from 12 Years as an Author Entrepreneur

#713 – Writing and Producing Audio Drama with Joanne Phillips

#712 – Using AI Images In Your Book Cover Design Process with Damon Freeman

#711 – Producing Visual, High Quality Books, Thinking Differently and Kickstarter Tips with Holger Nils Pohl

#710 – Writing Poetry in the Dark with Stephanie M. Wytovich

#709 – Build a Successful Author Career for the Long Term with Joe Solari

#708 – Publishing Books for Children and Profitable School Visits with Tonya Duncan Ellis

#707 – How AI Tools Are Useful For Authors with Disabilities and Health Issues with S.J. Pajonas

#706 – The Marketing Mind Shift and the Power of Ad Stacking with Ricci Wolman

#705 – Writing Fast, Collaboration, and Author Mindset with Dan Willcocks

#704 – Writing From Your Shadow Side with Michaelbrent Collings

#703 – Your Publishing Options with Rachael Herron

#702 – Writing Tips from the Movies and TV with John Gaspard

#701 – 9 Ways That AI Will Disrupt Authors and the Publishing Industry in the Next Decade [2023 Update] with Joanna Penn and Nick Thacker

Backlist episodes

Episodes 601 – 700 (Feb 2022 – June 2023)

Episodes 501 – 600 (August 2020 – Jan 2022)

Episodes 401 – 500 (Nov 2018 – August 2020)

Episodes 301 – 400 (Dec 2016 – Oct 2018)

Episodes 201 – 300 (Nov 2014 – Dec 2016)

Episodes 101 – 200 (August 2011 – Nov 2014)

Episodes 1 – 100 (March 2009 – July 2011)