I no longer provide one-to-one consultancy or mentoring. Instead I run a small-group, private Go Creative! in Business monthly membership for indie authors who want to focus on reaching more readers and increasing their income, influence and impact–the creative way.
To facilitate personal attention, places are limited in this premium-level membership that offers monthly workshops, a growing suite of resources, dedicated attention, and a proven sequence of success–all for a tiny fraction of consultancy costs. I’d love you to join us.
Creative Business Planning For Authors: The Method
The Go Creative! in Business planning method is not just business as usual. As an indie author, you are running a global, digital, creative business, a business that is powered by passion as much as profit.
Your books and your business are unique because they are expressive of you: your hopes, your dreams, your intentions, your imagination. (And your flaws and failings too!)
Such businesses are a new phenomenon. Born through the power of digital publishing, they are changing how business is done. Yet so much business advice remains mechanical, one-dimensional, and purely data-driven.
As an indie author, any business planning method you adopt must allow for the fact that you are motivated by money and meaning, profits and purpose. It must account for the creative rest and play that are very much of any artist’s creative work. And it must be flexible enough to allow for intuition, spontaneous insights, inspired deviations, and taking the road less traveled.
Creative Business Planning For Authors: The Membership
The Go Creative! in Business membership is managed through Patreon and that’s where you register. It’s based on exercises in my book Creative Self-publishing: ALLi’s Guide to Independent Publishing for Authors and Poets and my Go Creative! in Business book and planners.
The membership offers:
- A small group, member-only, monthly workshop
- Downloadable, printable Go Creative! in Business planning resources
- a closed Go Creative! in Business Facebook group where we map our creative intentions for the week on Mondays–then on Fridays come back to log what we’ve accomplished.
– Resources
Downloadable, printable tools, based on the exercises in my book Creative Self-Publishing and the sequence of success for indie authors. These resources cannot fail you if you follow them.
- Quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily planners
- Creative practices: f-r-e-e-writing and inspiration meditation.
- Intention maps and accomplishment logs
- Creative business planning worksheets, playsheets, practice reminders, habit logs, and more
– Workshops
The workshops run in via Zoom on the last Friday of each month at 5pm UK time.
This is not a large webinar of thousands but a small-group, private workshop on Zoom, where you can ask questions and receive direct advice. You receive personal attention including feedback on your current project.
Worksheets are completed there and then, so you leave with work accomplished and clear guidance on what to do next. Everyone gets a chance to speak and no question goes unanswered.
Replays are freely available in Patreon and the learning is supported by an active Facebook group (see below)
– Facebook Accountability Group
Not unmoderated chatter, but a structured accountability group to map your creative intentions and log your accomplishments weekly, under the three hats an indie author must wear: maker, manager and marketeer. In this group we also discuss what’s arising for members from the monthly workshops.
Creative Business Planning For Authors: Join us
I started this membership because so many indie authors are struggling to integrate the three big skills they need to have–writing, publishing and business–into one successful enterprise.
That’s what it’s designed to facilitate.
It’s not for everyone, as it does take a particular approach to business planning, that centers on ensuring your heart and soul, not just your mind and ego, are embedded in your business intentions. It requires emotional and imaginative as well as mental labor. It encourages you to go deeper and achieve more by doing less.
While the benefits of the membership accumulate across time, it’s set up so you can opt in or out as you need (places permitting)–so why not try it for a month and see how you go?
The membership, including full access to all resources, workshops and the Facebook group costs $25 monthly. Opt out any time.
Joanna Penn, bestselling author, award-winning entrepreneur, and host of The Creative Penn podcast
Mark McGuinness, award-winning poet, creative coach, and host of The 21st Century Creative podcast
