Business for Authors. How to Be an Author Entrepreneur

By: Joanna Penn

Narrated by: Joanna Penn

Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

Everything you need to run your business as an author. This is not a book on creativity or the craft of writing. This is not a book for hobbyists. This is a book that will take your writing into the realm of actually paying the bills. You will learn how to go from being an author to running a business as an author. In the book you will discover:

Part 1: From Author To Entrepreneur: The arc of the author's journey, definition of an author-entrepreneur, deciding on your definition of success and why it's important as well as what you want for your life. Part 2: Products and Services: How you can turn one manuscript into multiple streams of income. Part 3: Employees, Suppliers and Contractors: The team you need to run your business as an author-entrepreneur. Your role as author and what you're committing to in the business. Part 4: Customers: Who are your customers, and what do they want? Part 5: Sales and Distribution: How to sell through distributors and your options, plus all the information you need to sell direct. Part 6: Marketing: Defining and reframing marketing so you feel more comfortable with it as well as key overarching concepts for book-based marketing, author-based marketing, and customer-based marketing. Part 7: Financials: The money mind-set, revenues, and costs of the author business and how to make a profit. Part 8: Strategy and Planning: Developing your business plan and managing your time. The long-term view and the process for becoming a full-time author if you choose that route.

©2014, 2015 Joanna Penn (P)2015 Joanna Penn

a look at writing through the lens of business

Any additional comments?

It's not a book about the craft of writing, how to self-publish a book, or how to market your book once it's out there. It's a broad look at the entire spectrum of the writing, publishing, and managing an author catalog, from a business perspective.

Using business language, Joanna discusses products, services, customers, sales, financials, and business strategies to help authors gain comfort in approaching their writing career as an entrepreneurial business. And how that approach can help you stay focused, motivated, and profitable.

I highly recommend it for writers looking to take that next step.

Perfect summation of the Indie Writers's life.

Would you consider the audio edition of Business for Authors. How to Be an Author Entrepreneur to be better than the print version?

I listen to Joanne's podcast, and I can't imagine getting this info any other way.

I'm giving her performance four stars because she said she's working on improving her audio readings. I love listening to her, but I could see where she could improve. I hope she continues to do the audio.

What did you like best about this story?

She covers the exciting bits of writing, but also the boring bits. She tells us the things we need to know.

Which scene was your favorite?

There wasn't a particular scene, but the part that I enjoyed the most was getting her full origin story. How Joanne made the changes in her life to get her to where she is today. I loved hearing about that.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did listen to it all in one sitting. =)

Valuable Information for Beginning Authors

What did you love best about Business for Authors. How to Be an Author Entrepreneur?

If you are serious about making money as an author or making a living solely as an author, this book will help you get organized and moving toward a career in books.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Business for Authors. How to Be an Author Entrepreneur?

I appreciated the references to resources for cover design, distribution, websites and sales portals.

What does Joanna Penn bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Joanna always sounds like she is smiling.

Amazing: Great read for anyone who writes

This book has everything an author needs. The author covers everything from marketing and selling as well as writing and publishing. It's obvious the author knows what she is talking about. The information is practical and sounds tried and true. I highly recommend it to anyone who writes. The content is applicable for someone just starting out as well as someone like me who has been writing for years. It got me motivated to take a look at what I was doing with my career and helped me make the changes I needed to make.

weaksauce content, annoying delivery

What disappointed you about Business for Authors. How to Be an Author Entrepreneur?

nothing new here. 6+ hours of:

-if you want to build a writing business, treat it like a business.
-hire cheap labor to do the work
-my life is awesome, and i'm wonderful!

Would you ever listen to anything by Joanna Penn again?

no, i would not.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

thick british accent is extremely annoying/distracting. she can't properly pronounce certain words, and she seems to revel in saying those words because she says them a lot. for example, it's "book cover" (with an "r"), not "book cuvahh.'" .

What character would you cut from Business for Authors. How to Be an Author Entrepreneur?

minimize the "joanna penn" character. she should refrain from citing how wonderful, worldly, bubbly, happy, and 'free' she is. made me want to puke--also very distracting.

Any additional comments?

penn should also hire voiceover talent. she's not "it." why she doesn't hire cheap labor for the voiceover stuff like she apparently does for most everything else is beyond me. if she absolutely insists on doing it herself, she should stop trying so hard to sound bubbly and happy. it's obvious that she's trying to smile while speaking through the whole thing--a good approach for short phone interviews for jobs, but very annoying for a 6+ hour audiobook.

furthermore, she should not mention the fact that she rents her furniture instead of buying. it's weird.

Useful Information, and charming reading

I've been following Joanna Penn for some time now and have always found her blog useful. This book was filled with useful and pragmatic information for authors. Joanna's narration was like a nature film, which certainly livened up the more boring sections on tax and accounting. I kind of wished I got the print version as there were sections I'd like to refer back to again, and many many book recommendations I must follow up on. If you haven't already read Steven Pressfield, the you'll find that bit more compelling than I did... But I've practically memorized his work. I am so glad the author read this book herself rah her than hiring out.

Great Book

So insightful!! I really enjoy her writing style as well!! I would definitely get another business book from her.

A great overview of running an author business

Joanna Penn gives a very good overview of how to run a self-published and hybrid author business in this book.

waited my whole life for this book

generous sharing abundance mentality business of art so much thank you gift to the world

Helpful as always!

I've listened to a fee of Ms. Pen's books about writing on audio, and this one was a helpful survey of the business side of things. Thay said, I think she's at her best when she's drilling down into a narrower issue, such as her book specifically dealing with marketing.

Essential advice for authors

Like many indie authors, I soon discovered Joanna Penn. Her podcasts, books, videos and courses are packed with useful advice and tips and this book is no different. Using her own experiences of good and not-so-good choices on the path to author success, Ms Penn not only has a lot of essential advice on running a business as an author, but is able to illustrate the effects of her own decisions from her experience, rather than simply dishing up generic information. With its subtitle ‘How to be an Author Entrepreneur’ this is the perfect book to help new and established authors through the minefield of keeping on top of all the stuff that gets in the way of writing.

I bought both the audio and paperback versions of this as, while listening to Joanna’s voice is very nice, it’s great to have the paperback as a handy reference backup.

Essential Listening!

It was actually lovely to hear Joanna read this book out - especially after listening to so many of her podcast episodes!

The book itself is absolutely essential listening in order to get realistic advice of how to make money sustainably from your books. It not only dispelled some myths I had hung onto, but also opened up new exciting possibilities that I hadn't even considered.

Lots of info

Great audio book for aspiring authors who's aim is to make a full time income working the hours they chose!

the perfect pep talk

I've followed Joanna's work for years. She's my unofficial mentor and her books always teach me something valuable.

Fantastic!

Full of detailed advice on editing, publishing and finance. Uplifting and relatable. Advantages and disadvantages of publishing deals and self publishing are highlighted. The author gives a balanced outlook on the publishing landscape and asks questions to help the reader make lifestyle choices. Highly recommend.

Great book

Always like joanna as a speaker
It's filled with detailed information that would make anyone a business person by the end and it would answer ALL of your business questions.

Even as a person with a background in business studies it still contained useful information.

So please give it a go!