I'm thrilled to have one of the uber-indies on the show today! Russell Blake is one of the most prolific and successful indie authors and in this show he shares his thoughts on writing fast, maintaining a prolific schedule and staying healthy, plus what it takes to stand out in a crowded market.

In the intro, I mention that Flipkart has closed its doors in India and their audience has been transferred to Kobo [Techcrunch], Amazon has launched a new Kindle Fire Reader's edition plus a Fire for the Chinese market.

If you want to write non-fiction, check out the step by step process at How to Write A Non-Fiction Book.

Check out the new 'BookBub for Authors,' at Goodriter.com where you can get a huge mega-pack of books for authors if you sign up in the next week. I also mention reading 'Stages of a Fiction Writer' by Dean Wesley Smith, plus my new weekly creativity updates at JFPenn.com/now.

This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors.

Russell Blake is the NY Times & USA Today bestselling author of over forty books and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Times, and The Chicago Tribune. He has also co-written two books with Clive Cussler and is regarded as one of the most prolific and successful indie fiction authors.

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

* Russell's writing habits including daily word count, outlining process and using a walking desk.

* Writing genre fiction vs. literary fiction and whether indie authors can make a living writing literary fiction.

* Knowing the genre you write in and aiming to write in the top 10% of that genre.

* The pros and cons of working alongside a well-known writer like Clive Cussler.

* Russell's experience in Kindle Worlds, both as a writer in another author's world, and as a world creator with his Jet series.

* Recommendations for how to improve your odds of success as an indie author, including giving readers what they want, and embracing both the content creation and business sides of this life.

* Plans and predictions for 2016.

You can find Russell's books on all the online stores and his website is RussellBlake.com.

Transcription of interview with Russell Blake
Joanna: Hi, everyone. I am Joanna Penn from TheCreativePenn.com and today I'm here with Russell Blake. Hi, Russell.

Russell: Hi, Joanna. How are you?

Joanna: I'm good. It's so lovely to have you on the show.