Gamers love their games, many are addicted and are passionate about the experiences they are immersed in.
I think we'd all love to see more of that addictive behavior around books! In today's show, I interview Nathan Meunier, an author and game journalist, about what we can all learn from gaming.

In the intro I mention The Author's Guild (https://www.authorsguild.org/)fair contract initiative, the new Kindle for Kids Fire HD device (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LOR524M/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00LOR524M&linkCode=as2&tag=hotoenyojo-20&linkId=VPEV4J4O2IWSARWD) and the interview about KDP Kids ebook creator (http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2015/01/19/kindle-kids-book-creator/), Thrillerfest (http://thrillerfest.com/) in NYC in July. Plus, talking about Mark Dawson's Facebook Advertising for Authors course (http://www.TheCreativePenn.com/fb4).

(http://www.thecreativepenn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/99designs-logo-750x200px-300x80.png)This podcast episode is sponsored by 99 Designs (http://www.99designs.com/joanna/), where you can get all kinds of designs for your author business including book covers, merchandising, branding and business cards, illustrations and artwork and much more. You can get a Powerpack upgrade which gives your project more chance of getting noticed by going to: 99Designs.com/joanna (http://www.99designs.com/joanna/)

(http://www.thecreativepenn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/nathan2-197x300.png)Nathan (http://nathanmeunier.com/) Meunier (http://nathanmeunier.com/) is an award-winning journalist and freelance writer who covers video games, technology, and geek culture. He's also an indie game developer and has non-fiction books on game journalism as well as indie publishing.

You can listen above or on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-creative-penn/id309426367) or Stitcher (http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-creative-penn-podcast), watch the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z31-THlGOl8) or read the notes and links below.

* Nathan had always been interested in entertainment writing and also writing books, and made the shift from journalism to freelance writing.

* The connections and also the differences between gaming and writing. And the opportunities that might be available in the near future to merge the worlds of books and games. And how he seeks out games for experiences he can't get with movies or books.

* The different types of games available that have narrative structure. And the opportunities available in gaming to make choices about different paths - or branches - in the story.

* The way that gaming companies work with writers, including approaching gaming companies as a freelance writer or being part of a creative team on a contractual basis. For gaming companies, writers can focus on character development, story, narrative, branching paths and world building.

* The parallels between large and small or indie companies that produces games, and the traditional and indie publishing worlds. Larger gaming companies often have a 'self-publishing' option where they will allow developers to produce a game on their platform. Nathan compares this to Amazon KDP where they provide the platform, the writer provides the content and Amazon takes a cut from the sale.

* On Apps, freemium pricing, layers of micro-transactions and how the different platforms dictate the price people are willing to pay for the app.

* The broadening of the audience for gaming and how different types of games can connect with different types of people.

* On Twine, a free, downloadable program that lets you create your own choose-your-own-adventure style books. Nathan is experimenting with using Twine to combine game development, self-publishing and interactive fiction.

* On collaboration with creative partners. Choosing partners who are a good fit to work with.