Bestselling author, podcaster, and motivational speaker Joanna Penn joined us for a KWL Facebook Live event recently, where she discussed all things audio from recording her own podcast to narrating, marketing, and editing audiobooks. Joanna also talked about how and why audio content is evolving, and she gave us some great predictions about the future of audiobooks and publishing.  

• Joanna told us about how she made the career change from implementing financial systems to self-publishing, and how her entrepreneurial experience helped her make this change
• She discussed what appeals to her about indie publishing and why she loves the global reach of publishing wide (Joanna has sold books in 144 countries through KWL!)
• Joanna explained why audiobooks, along with other audio entities like podcasts and audio dramas, are starting to see a surge in popularity, and when authors should start considering moving their books into audio
• She also explained the importance of a good narrator, why it’s not always a good idea for authors to narrate their own books, the different narration styles, and how creating audiobooks can actually change your writing style for the better
• Joanna gave us some great tips for marketing your audiobook, and for becoming more comfortable with getting out of your comfort zone and embracing the audio format
• She made some predictions about how the current global climate will affect the future of publishing, and she gave us a glimpse into the future of audio (did you know you can license out your voice?!)

Useful Links:
Joanna’s Website
The Creative Penn Podcast
Audio for Authors
Career Change
Findaway Voices
Descript
DeepZen’s AI Audiobook Press Release

Joanna Penn is an award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers under J.F.Penn and also writes non-fiction for authors. She’s also a podcaster and an award-winning creative entrepreneur. Her site, TheCreativePenn.com has been voted in the Top 100 sites for writers by Writer’s Digest.