#joanna penn

[nanowrimo]

What Do You Do After You've Written Your Novel? 6 Tips from Joanna Penn

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Scrivener, a 2022 NaNoWriMo sponsor, is an award-winning writing app that has been enthusiastically adopted by best-selling novelists and novices alike. Today, they’ve partnered with author Joanna Penn to share some tips on what to do after you finish your first draft:

If you've completed this year's NaNoWriMo, congratulations! But finishing a novel is only the first step on a publishing journey. We spoke with Joanna Penn, author of non-fiction books for authors, as well as best-selling thriller author as J. F. Penn. 

Joanna did NaNoWriMo in 2009, and, while she didn't write 50,000 words, or finish her novel, the experience helped her decide where she wanted to go with her fiction, and how she wanted to develop her career as a writer. Joanna offers six tips for writers who have completed their first novel: 

1. Review your work.

"After NaNoWriMo, I spent the next 14 months in the editing process," Joanna said. At the end of NaNoWriMo, "you've got first-draft material, which you need to then shape into the book you want it to be. About 5,000 of the words that I wrote in NaNoWriMo ended up in the book. But this gave me the seed and the confidence for that first novel; I knew I could sit down and write, and have words that then I could edit later."

2. Formulate your goals.

Writers first looking for publication have choices to make. You can go the traditional publishing route, or you can self publish, and there are many variations of each approach. "If you are set on a traditional publishing deal, then you have to start researching agents. If you are interested in being an independent author, then you can look at self publishing options." 

3. Don't quit your day job.

Joanna is a full-time writer, but it took her several years, and several novels, to reach that point. She started writing in 2006, published her first book in 2008, then took a big initial pay cut when she went full time in 2011. "It's very unlikely that the book you write during NaNoWriMo is going to make you a million and get you a movie deal, so keep your day job while you keep writing." 

4. Do you enjoy writing?

Not everyone is cut out for a full-time career as a writer. Completing NaNoWriMo is a big achievement, but you need to really enjoy writing if you want to make it your career. "I think the question to ask yourself is, 'Did I enjoy writing?'" If the answer is "yes," you need to realize that a writing career won't be built around a single novel. "However you want to publish, it's not about one book, it's about more than one book."

5. If you self publish, you'll be running a business.

Successful self-publishing is a lot more than just writing; you also become a business. "To be successful at self publishing, you have to run a business. And many people don't want to run a business. They would rather have a publisher do the work for them."

6. Model your career on authors you like.

A good way to plan your future is to look how authors you like work and promote their books. "Find authors to model who have a career that you're interested in following. And then start looking at how they do marketing. What are you willing to do for the future that you want? Your decisions around publishing and marketing will come from that."

Joanna Penn is author of How to Write a Novel, and writes thrillers as J. F. Penn. 

Kirk McElhearn is the author of Take Control of Scrivener, and host of the podcast Write Now with Scrivener.

Scrivener provides a full range of writing and editing features at your fingertips, and combines all the tools you need to craft your first draft. All NaNoWriMo participants receive a 20% discount on Scrivener’s regular license by entering NANOWRIMO22 into the coupon code text field in the web store through December 7th, 2022. If you want to try out Scrivener first, you can download a free trial that will run through December 7th, 2022.

[rozmorris]

Let nothing stop you finishing your book - interview with Joanna Penn @thecreativepenn

Let nothing stop you finishing your book – interview with Joanna Penn @thecreativepenn

A lot of people start writing books. Right now, ’tis the season for starting all sorts of great things. It’s also the season to vow to finish the book you lost touch with. How can you turn your good intentions into a finished work? We have the knowhow! My friend Joanna Penn has invited me to her Creative Penn podcast to address a problem many of her listeners have asked for help with – how to…

[ianchisnall]

A "Right to Buy Scheme" question from House of Lords

The member of the House of Lords who asked this question was the Bishop of Derby the Rt Revd Libby Lane and the response came from Baroness Joanna Penn, a Government Minister. The two comments which have been received so far suggest the response from Rachel Penn are inadequate that can be seen here and here is the text. Bishop of Derby: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have…

[angela-yuriko-smith]

Weekly Calendar of Authortunities

Have you seen my newsletter? It’s gotten much better, to paraphrase Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother. It’s easy to get better when it went from nothing to something. It has taken me a decade to finally send a newsletter, but I wanted to wait until I had something worth sharing. Now I’m confident I do. One of my favorite jobs as an editorial assistant at a newspaper was keeping track of…

[vimoh]

On AI and the stigmas associated with it. On how writers are going to have to deal with a range of problems because of it, just as artists are. But there is nuance and it's not only about plagiarism or AI generated works.

[chicinsilk]

US Vogue June 1957

Joanna McCormick in a leopard print chiffon dress. By Nettie Rosensteinen, in Bianchini silk. Vaporous organdi hat by Christian Dior. Yellow sapphire and diamond jewelry, by Schlumberger of Tiffany. Beauty note: Revlon Persian Melon lipstick and nail polish. Hairstyle, Americana design.

Joanna McCormick dans une robe de mousseline à imprimé léopard. Par Nettie Rosensteinen, en soie Bianchini. Chapeau vaporeux en organdi par Christian Dior. Bijoux en saphir jaune et diamants, par Schlumberger of Tiffany. Note beauté : rouge à lèvres et le vernis à ongles Persian Melon de Revlon. Coiffure, Americana design.

Photo Irving Penn

vogue archive

[librarycards]

[ID: “because you never dip your feet in the same river twice / you can dive into a swimming pool at the shallow end / without fear of a spinal fracture because you are holy now / that you are made of new materials. ‘Delight’ is a word / I use in the company of thieves. ‘mistaken’ is a word / I use when I catch a glimpse of myself in a store window / or the bumper of a cab. There’s a nice ring to it, all of it, / even the actual bell I’m ringing right now to summon my people / to gather under the pup tent. Thank you for meeting here today. / I hope I can explain my current state in a way / that won’t frighten you.”]

From Comfort Event, by Todd Colby and Joanna Penn Cooper.

[backstreetsbackalright]

Memorable Viewing from 2023

Fallen Leaves (Aki Kaurismäki, 2023)

Rouge (Stanley Kwan, 1987)

The Mission (Johnnie To, 1999)

The Plains (David Easteal, 2022)

Queen of Diamonds (Nina Menkes, 1991)

Night Moves (Arthur Penn, 1975)

The Souvenir, Part II (Joanna Hogg, 2021)

The Woman on the Beach (Jean Renoir, 1947)

Licorice Pizza (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2021)

Hard Labour (Mike Leigh, 1973)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Dos Santos/Kemp/Thompson, 2023)

Girl with Green Eyes (Desmond Davis, 1964)

[deception-united]

Online Writing Resources

YouTube:

Abbie Emmons: A published author. Her videos have great tips and advice for plot and character development.

Hello Future Me: Mostly worldbuilding tips, but very in-depth, with specific examples.

Ellen Brock: A professional freelance editor who provides help with all aspects of writing—outlining, worldbuilding, character writing, plot development, publishing, and generally answering any questions writers may have.

Terrible Writing Advice: Great writing advice, if you can handle the sarcasm.

Podcasts:

Writing Excuses: Albeit fast-paced, the given writing advice is quite useful. There's multiple seasons addressing topics such as story structure, characters, and genres, amongst many others.

The Creative Penn: This podcast is run by author Joanna Penn, who shares the lessons she learned in her own journey and advice for writing and publishing your novel.

I Should Be Writing: Interviews with various authors, and encouragement for aspiring writers.

Story Grid: Outlining methods, writing tips, editing advice, and analysis of various works.

Blogs:

Creativity Portal: Author interviews, creativity generators, writing prompts and templates, and various other writing resources.

Now Novel: Aside from writing tools, this website has multitudes of posts about characters, dialogue, narration, plotting, editing, and story structure, as well as writer motivation.

Helping Writers Become Authors: Tips on dialogue, characterisation, outlining, plot development, structuring, character arcs, and common writing mistakes to avoid.

Almost an Author: This website is great help for aspiring authors, with advice that ranges from genres to motivation for writers to guidance for making writing a career.

Hope this is helpful! I'd love to hear any other resources you use or are familiar with. Happy writing ❤

[scriptwriters-network]

Being a writer is not just about typing. It’s also about surviving the rollercoaster of the creative journey.

Joanna Penn

[loueale]

US Vogue June 1957 : Joanna McCormick by Irving Penn

[realskyrimsimmer]

Writing advice needed!

I see a lot of writers here on tumblr and I am needing some advice. I have been working on a book since early last year however due to lack of motivation to work on it because of my health I have pushed dates for the book to be published. I have books by Joanna Penn that I bought and have skimmed through. Right now I am working on finding historical information from the Iron Age to modern day 2024. The main character is immortal due to being a supernatural creature a werewolf. I have only watched a few shows to learn about The Vikings since the main characters family comes from Norway. I know enough about the Vikings from books I got for Christmas and been reading the books to understand more about them. Can anyone share some links on information from Iron Age to Modern day for me as I have come up empty on finding those links through bing and google.

I'm hoping to have my book published before Christmas this year if my health does improve after seeing important doctors in the coming months. Thank you for the help! Feel free to reblog my post mentions are off because i don't like my blog name being mentioned in blogs that are negative.

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 4.23

Beer Birthdays

Anton Schwartz (1853)

Christian Kazakoff (1971)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Valerie Bertinelli; actor (1960)

John Oliver; comedian (1977)

Max Planck; German physicist (1858)

Sergei Prokofiev; composer (1891)

William Shakespeare; writer, playwright (1564)

Johann Adam Stamm; wagonmaker (1702)

Famous Birthdays

David Birney; actor (1939)

Shirley Temple Black; actor, ambassador (1928)

Blair Brown; actor (1949)

James Buchanan; 15th U.S. President (1791)

Steve Clark; rock musician (1960)

Cow Cow Davenport; jazz pianist (1894)

Sandra Dee; actor (1942)

Joyce DeWitt; actor (1949)

J.P. Donleavy; writer (1926)

Stephen Douglas; politician (1813)

Tony Esposito; Chicago Blackhawks G (1943)

Jim Fixx; jogger, writer (1932)

Boris Godunov; tsar of Muscovy (1598)

Virgil "Gus" Grissom; astronaut (1926)

Halston; fashion designer (1932)

Estelle Harris; actor (1936)

Art Hoppe; writer, columnist (1925)

Jaime King; model, actor (1979)

Joanna Krupa; model (1979)

Lee Majors; actor (1939)

Edwin Markham; writer (1852)

Ngaio Marsh; writer (1899)

Michael Moore; documentary filmmaker (1954)

Roy Orbison; pop singer (1936)

Kal Penn; actor (1977)

Warren Spahn; Boston/Milwaukee Braves P (1921)

J.M.W. Turner; artist (1775)

Herve Villechaize; actor (1943)

[writingvideos]

“Write what you want, then think about business”

[awriterspath]

The Low-Down on Urban Fantasy

Urban fantasy is very much the rising star of the Young Adult genre; Cassandra Clare, in particular, has made a name for herself in this genre. Of course, it’s not just for teenagers… you’ve probably read an urban fantasy novel already, without knowing it! Joanna Penn, herself an Urban Fantasy author, defines it as “magic and weird stuff creeping in at the edges of a world in which magic is not…