J. Penner wrote over 20 books in the dystopian genre, hit burnout, and was ready to walk away from writing entirely. Instead, she made a decision that changed the trajectory of her career — she switched genres, created a new pen name, and started building an audience from scratch in the cozy fantasy space.
With zero existing readership under her new name, she figured out how to generate 900 pre-orders before her debut cozy fantasy novel, A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic, even launched. That book has since been read by over 40,000 readers. And then something happened that she never planned for — a literary agent reached out to her, not the other way around, based on just three sample chapters and the online presence she had built. That led to a traditional publishing deal with Poison Pen Press.
We also dig into what the transition from self-published to traditionally published actually looked like from her perspective, and what that means for indie authors who are worried that self-publishing will close the door on a traditional deal. Spoiler: it didn't. If anything, her indie success is what opened that door.
Whether you're burned out, starting fresh, or just trying to figure out how to get your books in front of more readers, this conversation is full of practical, no-nonsense strategy from someone who has done it from both sides of the publishing world.
Fair warning — what she recommends is not glamorous. But it works.
Find J. Penner: jpennerauthor.com
Death Meets Cute releases April 28th — find it linked below.
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🕐 TIMESTAMPS
00:00 — The strategy that works (and why you'll hate it)
04:22 — From 20 dystopian books to quitting — and starting completely over
07:17 — Looking back at the turning point: did any of this go as planned?
09:39 — The agent who came to her — not the other way around
12:06 — What going from self-published to traditionally published actually looked like
15:03 — "900 pre-orders doesn't just happen" — what she was doing behind the scenes
15:52 — The newsletter hack that built 3,000 subscribers before she had a single book
18:40 — From 200 views to 47,000 — the one change that unlocked TikTok and Instagram
22:50 — How she chose which platforms to invest in (and which to ignore)
23:15 — Why she posts the same thing every day and refuses to reinvent the wheel
30:47 — What she'd tell a burned out author who's ready to quit
42:07 — The one piece of advice she gives every author
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🔗 LINKS
J. Penner's Website: jpennerauthor.com
A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic (Adenashire Series): Amazon
Death Meets Cute (Releases April 28th): Amazon
J. Penner on Instagram: @jpennerauthor
J. Penner on TikTok: @jpennerauthor
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🚨 Please also check out the Kickstarter for the special edition of my book Flour & Forge — Kickstarter Link
