How to Become a Professional Writer With Joanna Penn

About this episode

The episode discusses the differences between treating writing as a hobby versus a profession, featuring insights from Joanna Penn.

Is your writing a hobby or a profession? The answer to that question changes everything. Many authors claim to be professionals but act like hobbyists. They write what they want instead of what readers will pay for. They try to fit a finished book into a genre instead of studying the genre first. They publish without a marketing plan or budget and are shocked by low sales and few reviews. They expect professional results from a hobbyist approach. If that sounds familiar, there’s good news. Yo...

People in this episode

Host: Thomas Umstattd Jr.

Guest: Joanna Penn

Topics covered

• professional writing
• hobby vs profession
• marketing for authors
• genre study
• book publishing

Keywords

• professional writer
• writing career
• author marketing
• genre analysis
• book sales

More episodes of Novel Marketing

• How to Revive a Dead Book With a Promo Stack · June 11, 2026 · 46 min
• Why I'm Giving Away a $249 Course This Month · June 3, 2026 · 9 min
• Announcing the 2027 Novel Marketing Conference · May 27, 2026 · 26 min
• The Four Loves That Drive Book Sales · May 14, 2026 · 1h 17m
• Rules for Book Advertising with David Gaughran · May 6, 2026 · 1h 2m
• My Worst Takes & Mistakes Over 500 Episodes · April 29, 2026 · 46 min