Inside a Prolific Author’s Daily Routine ft. Elana Johnson (Classic Replay EP#553)
SPA Girls PodcastShow Notes
🔁 CLASSIC REPLAY — Originally recorded in 2020 and the advice is just as relevant today.
How does a USA Today bestselling author write 84,000 words in 10 days? In this episode, Elana Johnson — author of over 130 books across three pen names — shares the exact daily routine, outlining methods, and mindset shifts behind her prolific output.
We cover her “intense project / light project” system for always writing two books at once, why she outlines to the midpoint using Romancing the Beat, how she learned to write in 15-minute blocks while teaching elementary school, the steering wheel desk that changed her writing life, why tracking your own patterns for 30–60 days is the single best productivity move you can make, and why she gave herself permission to stop writing in the morning like everyone said she should.
Whether you’re writing your first novel or trying to speed up your backlist, this one is packed with practical takeaways.
#SelfPublishing #WritingProductivity #IndieAuthor
👤 ABOUT ELANA JOHNSON:
USA Today Bestselling Author, Top 10 Kindle Unlimited All-Star Author, and #1 Bestselling Author on Nook and Apple Books, Author Elana Johnson writes clean and wholesome contemporary romance, usually set on the beach or within the vicinity of the beach.
Unfortunately, she lives in a landlocked state and must travel to the beach to get her fix, which her husband gladly accompanies her to do a few times each year.
She also writes contemporary Christian cowboy romance as Liz Isaacson and sweet romantic women’s fiction as Jessie Newton, and all of her books are part of the Feel-Good Fiction Books brand.
🔗 authorelanajohnson.com
🔗 Indie Inspiration Facebook Group
📚 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes (outlining method)
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jamie Davenport (beat sheet)
Vellum (book formatting tool)
BookBub (book promotion)
Steering wheel desk (search on Amazon — Elana’s secret weapon!)
🔗 CONNECT WITH THE SPA GIRLS:
🌐 Website & free self-publishing resources: http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com
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