Presentation from Joanna Penn/Independent Author and Entrepreneur@#RtW13

1. Hybrid authors
and the rise of
the author
entrepreneur
with Joanna Penn
@thecreativepenn
Tuesday, 1 October 13

2. J.F.Penn - Author
The Creative Penn Ltd
* Multimedia
courses
* Non-fiction
Over 65,000 copies sold
Represented by Irene
Goodman Agency NYC
* Live workshops/
speaking
* Consulting
Left day-job as IT consultant in Sept 2011.
Tuesday, 1 October 13

3. 2008 ...
Tuesday, 1 October 13

4. Going beyond self-publishing to being
an independent author
* publishing professionally
* publishing globally
* being and loved by
readers and selling books
* running a small business
and making good money!
An entrepreneur creates something
of value out of nothing
Tuesday, 1 October 13

5. Self-publishing ebooks & POD is
now a positive choice for many.
Mainstream in US & (almost) UK
Tuesday, 1 October 13

6. * Quicker time to market. For sale 24 hours
after upload to Amazon, paid 60 days after the
end of the month.
* Higher royalties but it’s not a get-rich-quick
scheme & sales could be lower. 70 - 85% indie
vs ~15% trad. Transparent reporting.
* Total creative control over content & design.
Doesn’t have to be a ‘commercial’ prospect
* Sell by any means, in any global market as
you retain the rights
* Niche markets perfect as you can price higher
* Get into the game! Test the market and then
approach a publisher with evidence of sales.
Jump the slush-pile to agents & publishers
Tuesday, 1 October 13

7. Hybrid Model. It’s not an either-or choice
anymore
Hugh Howey:
Indie author: $150,000 per
month in ebook sales. Sold
print rights only to Simon &
Schuster.
Film rights optioned by
Ridley Scott.
Latest ‘Dust’ debuted in
NY Times bestsellers
* Decide PER PROJECT
which might be the best
route for your book.
Empowerment of the
author as the centre of
the model.
* A third of traditionally
published authors are
interested in selfpublishing their next book,
according to a 2013
survey from Digital Book
World and Writer’s Digest.
Bella Andre: 7 figure print only deal
Tuesday, 1 October 13
7

8. The magic of publishing
Finished, edited
manuscript
Ebook edition:
Scrivener, KDP, Kobo,
Smashwords, ePubli,
BookBaby
Print edition:
Createspace,
LightningSource,
Ingram Spark
Audio edition:
... just starting to take
off
Use of professional editors, designers & formatters
Tuesday, 1 October 13

9. Exploiting audio rights and possibilities
* Use ACX.com to submit book to
marketplace and work with narrators
and producers
* Upfront payment OR/ JV royalty split
* US only right now - I go through a
small press in US - but 2014?
* Audio growth market w/
commuter market and
smart phone saturation &
better bandwidth +
podcast boom + young
market
9
Tuesday, 1 October 13

10. The magic of publishing
Finished, edited
X
manuscript
Ebook edition:
Scrivener, KDP, Kobo,
Smashwords, ePubli,
BookBaby
Print edition:
Createspace,
LightningSource,
Ingram Spark
Country
markets
(territory)
Audio edition:
ACX, Audible, iTunes
Use of professional editors, designers & formatters
Tuesday, 1 October 13

11. English speakers:
USA - 260m
+ Australia, NZ,
India - 125m
South Africa, China ...
Pakistan - 88m
+ more globally ...
Nigeria - 79m
Philippines - 76m
UK - 59m
Canada - 17m
Tuesday, 1 October 13

12. The magic of publishing
Finished, edited
X
manuscript
Ebook edition:
Scrivener, KDP, Kobo,
Smashwords, ePubli,
BookBaby
Print edition:
Createspace,
LightningSource,
Ingram Spark
Audio edition:
ACX, Audible, iTunes
Country
markets
(territory)
X
by language
Use of professional editors, designers & formatters
Tuesday, 1 October 13

13. Translation markets for indie authors
* Growing freelance translation
market. Many ex-trad-pub pros
wanting a better deal + will help
with marketing locally
* Upfront or JV deals for %
royalty
* PubMatch.com for deals
* Freelance IP lawyers for
contracts
* Indies interested in sales,
especially print
Tuesday, 1 October 13

14. What do savvy indies still want from agents/publishers?
* Partnership and working
together - collaborative. Mutual
benefit.
* Print only deals and print
distribution
* Niche market sales &
expertise
* Marketing - to buyers
* Prizes, kudos, prestige
Tuesday, 1 October 13

15. It’s an exciting time to be
in this changing publishing
eco-system!
www.TheCreativePenn.com
Tuesday, 1 October 13
www.JFPenn.com