The Relaxed Author

Do you want to be a more relaxed author?
There are plenty of books and tips on writing faster, learning more marketing tactics and strategies, trying to maximize your ranking, hitting the top of the charts, juicing the algorithms, and hacking different ad platforms. While these are all important things — which the authors themselves regularly write and talk about — it's also important to recognize that your author journey is a marathon, and not a sprint.

Joanna Penn and Mark Leslie Lefebvre have been in the business long enough to see authors burning out and leaving the writing life because they turned what they love into a hamster wheel of ever more production and marketing tasks they hate. It doesn't have to be this way.

This book is a collection of tips on how to be a more relaxed author — and return to the love that brought you to writing in the first place.

You will discover:

Why the 'relaxed' author?
You are not alone. Why authors are not relaxed.
Part 1: Relaxed Writing
Write what you love
Write at your own pace
Write in a series (if you want to)
Schedule time to fill the creative well and for rest and relaxation
Improve your writing process — but only if it fits with your lifestyle
Part 2: Relaxed Publishing
Make empowered publishing choices
Understand persistence, patience, and partnership
Value your work. You create intellectual property assets.
Publish at your own pace
Publish wide (or don't)
Sell direct to your audience
Don't let piracy and plagiarism derail you
Deal with cancel culture, bad reviews, and haters
Find a community who support your publishing choices
Part 3: Relaxed Marketing
Focus on the basics first
Simplify your author brand and website
Simplify and automate your email
Find one form of marketing you enjoy and can sustain for the long term
Put book 1 in a series free or permafree
Choose social media that suits you — or don't use it at all
Advertise in campaigns
Outsource when you can
Embrace who you are. Double down on being human.
Think global, digital, long-term marketing
Part 4: Relaxed Business
Do you really want to run an author business?
Create multiple streams of income
Eliminate tasks. Say 'no' more.
Organize and improve your processes
Use tools
Find voices you trust and tune out the rest
Learn about money
Look after your physical and mental health
Keep a long-term mindset
If you want to be a more relaxed author, look inside or buy today.