Learn why and how to share your end-of-life wisdom and stories by writing a non-fiction book.
My guest Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers, dark fantasy, and memoir as J.F. Penn. She is also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker. Her most recent publication is the 2nd edition of How to Write Non-Fiction: Turn Your Knowledge Into Words. Today we discuss the challenges of writing non-fiction books about difficult and personal subjects like death and grief. Joanna offers her best tips and encouragement for anyone who wants to write a book but doesn’t know where to begin. Learn more about her work at her website:
This episode includes:
- Types of non-fiction books and how to choose the best format for your subject matter
- Why you don’t have to be an expert or “great” writer to write a book
- Why and how to identify the target market for your writing
- Choosing the best title for your book (and why it’s important)
- The balance between writing what you think people need vs. what people want to read
- The challenge of vulnerability in writing memoir
- Why you need an outside editor or proofreader for your book
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Joanna’s online bookstore: https://creativepennbooks.com/en-us
- My interview on The Creative Penn Podcast: Writing About Death, Dying and Grief
- My interview on Books and Travel Podcast: Memento Mori: How Travel Can Help Us Deal with Death and Grief
- NEW Gift Guides for Caregivers, People Receiving Care, and People Who are Grieving
- Get my two newest books!! Stories from the Dark Night and The Tao of Death
- Get EOLU Podcast Merch here
- Conversations on Death with ChatGPT – Audiobook here; Print Book here
- Leave me a message by email: kwyattmd@comcast.net, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
- Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
- Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
- Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
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- Buy me a coffee
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If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my newest supporters Morgan Everitt and Minda Sanchez. Also thank you to everyone who has bought me a coffee or donated on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.
In this episode I share an interview I did with Joanna Penn on her podcast for authors “The Creative Penn.” We talk about why it’s important for authors to address death and grief in their writing and I’m sharing it with you to illustrate how we can talk about death with other people who don’t necessarily share our knowledge or interest. Learn more about Joanna’s awesome podcast here: 