The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers

The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers


Pros And Cons Of Indie And Traditional Publishing Plus Virtual Reality With Dean Crawford

October 26, 2015

Dean Crawford won the 'literary lottery' with a fantastic deal with traditional publishing for his first book - but now he is an outspoken indie. In this podcast interview, he explains why and we also delve into some virtual reality fun!

In the intro, I talk about my recent move to Bath, an update on Risen Gods.

The corporate sponsorship for this show pays for hosting and transcription. This podcast episode is sponsored by 99 Designs, 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

Dean Crawford is the international bestselling author of the Warner & Lopez action adventure series as well as the sci-fi Atlantia series and other stand-alone novels.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher, watch the video here or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.

* On Dean's beginnings as a writer and the inspiration that came from an artist relative.

* The shift Dean went through from being a traditionally published author to a hybrid and how that's changed his mindset about publishing.

* On the differences in reporting and payments from a traditional publisher vs. Amazon.

* The power and support of the indie author community.

* What Dean's traditionally published author friends think of his move to indie publishing.

* Dean's prediction about whether more traditionally published authors will enter the indie game.

* Why speed matters for indie authors.

* On the cyclical nature of book trends and how indie publishing can provide books at any time for any trend.

* How Dean educated himself about indie publishing including the resources he used.

* Dean's marketing strategy, why he chooses to be in KDP Select, and why he believes having a catalogue of books matters.

* On writing series so that readers can become involved with the characters and want to know more about them, and creating reader loyalty as a result of that emotional connection.

* The paradox that traditional publishers aren't seeing success with certain genres but indie authors are.

* On virtual reality and the future of entertainment outside gaming.

You can find Dean at DeanCrawfordBooks.com or on Twitter @dcrawfordbooks. If you want to check out Dean's thriller persona, here's an interview with him on my thriller site, JFPenn.com with links to his most recent books.

Transcription of interview with Dean Crawford
Joanna: Hi, everyone, I'm Joanna Penn from thecreativepenn.com, and today I'm here with Dean Crawford. Hi, Dean.

Dean: Hello.

Joanna: It's great to have you on the show. Just a little introduction, Dean is the international best-selling author of the Warner and Lopez action adventure series, which are super, as well as the Sci-Fi Atlantia series and other stand-alone novels.