How To Make A Living With Your Writing: Books, Blogging and More (Books for Writers) Paperback – July 7, 2015

When searching for a book that would help aid in my quest for knowledge pertaining to self publishing and making money with my writing, I encountered many different books on the market. After searching through a few, I decided that I liked the reviews for Joanna Penn’s “How To Make A Living With Your Writing” the most. The price was perfect, only 7.99, and when on sale it was an even better price of only 4.99! Meaning that anyone can really be proactive even when on a budget. Another feature that caught my interest was Penn’s use of her personal experience as a description of this book to help draw in readers who felt like they could relate to her. Many people can often feel stuck in their jobs, not quite liking the path they head down, often feeling stuck in a never ending rut. It was nice to make that type of connection with the author because it made me feel as an aspiring writer that if she had been able to break away, that maybe I could too. Making the connection between finding a way to balance your own life with writing and happiness, rather than a job you get stuck in, suddenly seemed to become more tangible. This book is presented in a way that if you decide to purchase it, and use its content wisley, that it can impact your everyday life. If this is enough to influence your opinion about this book, here is my small summary that could help either sway or deter your decision to buy.Joanna Penn’s “How To Make A Living With Your Writing” is a wonderfully (short) yet useful book. The length of this book can help many writers who are limited with time gain an overall understanding of the different types of content that goes into making a living off of your own writing. This book starts of with a cute, informative introduction that lets the reader know through Penns experience that “Yes it is possible!” This is where Penn informs the reader of her experience with coming into the world of writing and publishing, and then the context of how she got to where she is now and where she is planning on going. This book could be relevant for any writer who wants to quickly gain a broad form of knowledge pertaining to the different areas of options for success. This includes how to make money with books, which includes publishing options (traditional), or self publishing an ebook, printbook, or audiobook. Penn also covers more options that could “actually” make money with books. Another nice touch is her addition of other ways to make money outside of direct forms of writing and publishing, covering topics like product sales, professional speaking, freelance writing, and much more. This book was very helpful in broadening my knowledge of the options that I have as a writer to publish my own content, and other options that I could also pursue that would aid in my advancements towards success. If looking for a more in depth source, it might be best to search elsewhere. But for an inexpensive, good place to start, this book would be a good fit.

It never ceases to amaze me just how powerful the internet is. I actually discovered this author through one of her guest bloggers. A link came across Twitter and I followed it, simply expecting to read an interesting blog post and continue about my day. Little did I know what (or who) I would stumble upon in the process! This website was filled with information any author at any stage in the business would find invaluable. I was drawn to her no-fluff writing style, as its the same one I prefer to write (and read) in as well. I knew I wouldn't be disappointed by the content of her book. Although, that is the understatement of the year! This book is chocked full of tips for authors to create multiple streams of income. Not only that, but she walks her readers through simple steps of building and publishing a book, where and how to market it, as well as offering numerous resources to aide in all aspects of becoming a published author. In my opinion, the wealth of information found in this book is enough to constitute two or three books; however, she was generous enough to pack it into this one amazing guide.I will definitely be revisiting this book, taking notes, and reading other titles by this author.

Everybody wants to be a writer. Until they try to become one.In short, writing itself is a lot of work, and trying to make any money off of it can be like shouting into a void. But that doesn't stop many of us from dreaming. Joanna Penn is one of the few who has turned the dream into a reality, and has written a series of books, as well as her blog and podcasts, full of tips and tricks on how she did so and how you can too.Of course, the savvy reader can't help but notice that a lot of her success as an author seems to be driven by her success at selling self-help books on how to be successful as an author. But that is part of her point: she has, through hard work and excellent marketing and strategizing, created a virtuous circle in which she makes money from writing books about making money from writing books. She found an ever-popular genre and started contributing high-quality products to it that were strategically advertised and linked to each other. (She also writes fiction, which she says in this book creates about 50% of her income). In this book she breaks down some of the basic possibilities and processes for becoming an self-employed author-entrepreneur.And that's the first of her "First Principles": think of yourself as an entrepreneur who "creates value from ideas." She also has a short but enlightening section on "creating scalable income": that is, things that "you create once and sell over and over again." As she points out, the beauty of creative work like writing is that you put in the time to create something once, and then have the possibility of selling it for as long as you want to keep doing so. These two concepts are extremely useful for authors who want to turn pro.The book also has helpful ideas on deciding what kind of writing you want to do, how to define what "success" means to you, how to shift from working a regular job to writing, and how to be productive as a writer. It's a bit of a grab-bag of ideas, touching lightly on all the basics, and a great resource for people casting around for inspiration or ideas on how to start writing as well as how to start making money from your writing, although not super in-depth.I read it after seeing a webinar with Penn, and she is persuasive and encouraging as both a speaker and a writer. Reading or hearing her will make you feel like you CAN do this, and give you a few pointers for how to get started. The book is very easy and quick to read, positive, and has links to plenty of other resources. Many of those resources are Penn's own other publications, which is where some readers might get a little turned off. The book IS well-written, informative, and engaging, and is probably worth the $4.99 price for aspiring professional authors, if nothing else than for the confidence boost it will give you. It's also...what do you call it...content marketing is the term, I believe. It's designed to market Penn's books and services as well as teach you how to create and market your own, making it an immediate example of how to do what she's showing you what to. Like I said, this may put some readers off, but those may be the readers who need the lessons the book has to offer the most. Like it or not, making a living out of writing means treating it like a business. Overall, a helpful, easy-to-read, and inspiring introduction to the topic that will leave you feeling good about yourself and your chances.

Frau Penn hat keine Fragen offen gelassen. Einer der besten Ratgeber, die ich bisher gelesen habe. Volle Kaufempfehlung.

Joana, parabéns pelo seu trabalho. Sou escritor no Brasil e estou muito feliz por conhecer o seu trabalho, em particular os seus livros sobre escrita e divulgação de ebooks. Obrigado.

Excellent book for those who want to take up writing as a full time business and achieve multiple streams of income.

Update: I have now read this book and the content IS worth the price, apologies for my initial 3 star review Joanna. Yes this book is short but it is also clear, concise, highly readable, practical and full of pointers to further resources. Above all, it is very motivating and should prove to be a big step in my own journey towards writing more.Original review: The 3 star review is not for the content because I returned the book unread as soon as it arrived (criticize me for still reviewing it if you wish…). The low rating is more of a flag to others thinking of buying this book that it is very small, very short and in very big print. It is more of an article than a book and it is, therefore, in my opinion very expensive for what it is and I shall look for similar advice on writing elsewhere.

If you're serious about professional, profitable writing - you must read this book. This is pure, practical knowledge; encouraging work from someone who leads by example. 'How To Make A Living From Your Writing' is a prequel to Joanna Penn's previous book 'Business For Authors' and a compliment to her other excellent instructional publications, 'How To Market A Book' and 'Public Speaking For Authors'.This is a primer for anyone on the cusp of turning pro. It examines your mindset and motivation, then tackles two main streams of revenue - making $ from book sales, and making $ online in alternate ways such as consulting, speaking, and affiliate promotion. This is far more than a theory book. I contains solid, practical direction on not just what to do, but how to do it.A reflection of Joanna herself, this material is genuine, forthright, and truly valuable. I highly recommend it.Garry Rodgers, Vancouver, Canada