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Starting a Business Now in Creative Writing Job as Passive Income Idea by Kevin Shawen & Marco Elisei Review: A Concise Self-Publishing Starter Guide
Kevin Shawen and Marco Elisei's independently published guide targets aspiring writer-entrepreneurs who want to turn creative writing into a passive income stream through self-publishing, covering the process from manuscript to digital marketing with a habit-based framework at its core.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Aspiring writers with no prior publishing experience who want a concise, habit-driven entry point into self-publishing and passive income on digital platforms like Amazon.
Worth it if
You are a beginner writer-entrepreneur who wants a fast, accessible orientation to the self-publishing pipeline — from writing to digital marketing — structured around eight actionable habits rather than dense theory.
Skip if
You are an experienced self-publisher seeking advanced guidance on metadata optimisation, advertising strategy, or rights management, or you rely on fillable worksheets and downloadable planning tools to put advice into practice.
What readers & critics say
LuvemBooks' own research, drawing on the Amazon product listing and reader reviews, rates the guide 3.5/5 stars, describing it as "a practical dual-focus guide combining business strategy with habit formation specifically for creative writers seeking entrepreneurial" direction, while noting the absence of fillable worksheets or downloadable templates as a limitation compared to competing titles. Amazon.sa lists a single verified rating of 5 out of 5 stars from one customer, with the product description framing the book as an entry point for writers with no prior publishing experience.
Sources: LuvemBooks, Amazon.saIn This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Book Actually Covers
- The Eight-Habit Framework
- Scope, Audience, and Positioning
- Genuine Strengths
- Limitations Worth Noting
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- Covers the full self-publishing pipeline from writing to digital marketing, giving beginners a single starting reference
- Eight named habits are each tied to a specific business outcome with an accompanying action step, adding practical structure to the motivational content
- Addresses the mindset barriers — particularly overthinking and self-doubt — that can stall new writer-entrepreneurs, integrating psychology with strategy
- Kindle edition supports enhanced typesetting and screen reader compatibility for accessible digital reading
What Doesn't
- Does not include fillable worksheets, budget planners, or downloadable templates, requiring exercise-oriented readers to create their own planning tools
- The concise, beginner-focused scope means experienced self-publishers seeking advanced guidance on advertising, metadata, or rights management will find coverage limited
This self-help business guide positions itself squarely at writers with no prior publishing experience who want to build an income from self-publishing without wading through dense theory.
What the Book Actually Covers
Starting a Business Now in Creative Writing Job as Passive Income Idea: Inspirational Business Author to Being a Writer & Make Money from Home. Stop Overthinking: 8 Power Habits that Change Your Mind by Kevin Shawen, Marco Elisei front cover
Starting a Business Now in Creative Writing Job as Passive Income Idea by Kevin Shawen and Marco Elisei is a self-help business guide, independently published in August 2019, aimed at writers who want to generate passive income through self-publishing. According to the Amazon product description, the book addresses the full A-to-Z of publishing: from the writing process itself through to marketing on digital platforms such as Amazon. A central concern of the guide is helping new authors avoid the most common mistakes made when self-publishing — a focus that gives it a practical, cautionary orientation alongside its motivational pitch. The book's full subtitle, which includes the phrase Stop Overthinking: 8 Power Habits that Change Your Mind, signals that the guide blends entrepreneurial strategy with a mindset-coaching dimension.
“how entrepreneurs are earning a passive income idea in self-publishing without having a prior experience of writing”
The Eight-Habit Framework
The structural backbone of the book is a set of eight named habits, each linked to a specific business outcome for writers. Rather than leaving these habits as abstract principles — a common shortcoming in the self-help genre — the guide pairs each one with a brief action step. This design choice gives the framework a degree of actionable specificity that distinguishes it from titles that traffic primarily in inspiration. The guide also engages with the psychology of overthinking and self-doubt as genuine obstacles to launching a writing business, treating the mental dimension of entrepreneurship as inseparable from its practical mechanics.
Scope, Audience, and Positioning
The book is designed as a concise starter guide rather than an exhaustive manual, and its scope reflects that intent: it is directed at beginner-to-intermediate writers looking to launch a side income from creative work. The Amazon.sa product listing describes the guide's core premise as showing "how entrepreneurs are earning a passive income idea in self-publishing without having a prior experience of writing" — framing the book as an entry point for complete newcomers to the space. It distinguishes itself from more established competitors in the writer-entrepreneur category by prioritising accessibility and brevity over comprehensive coverage, positioning self-publishing on platforms like Amazon as the primary route to market.
Genuine Strengths
The guide's most notable asset is its focus on the specific mechanics of self-publishing on digital retail platforms — territory that many general writing guides leave underserved. By addressing topics such as digital marketing and the strategic considerations behind making a self-published book findable and readable, Shawen and Elisei target a real gap for writers who understand craft but are unfamiliar with publishing as a business. The habit-driven structure also provides a repeatable organisational logic, giving readers a framework to return to rather than a linear read-once-and-set-aside experience. The Kindle edition supports enhanced typesetting and screen reader compatibility, reflecting a format designed for accessibility on digital devices.
Limitations Worth Noting
Readers who learn through structured exercises will find the guide's approach less accommodating than some alternatives. Unlike competing titles in the writer-entrepreneur space, this guide does not include fillable worksheets, budget planners, or downloadable templates — meaning practitioners who prefer hands-on planning tools will need to build their own supplementary materials. The book's concise scope, while a strength for beginners who want a fast orientation, will leave more experienced self-publishers looking for deeper treatment of topics such as metadata optimisation, advertising strategy, or rights management without a full answer. The motivational framing in the marketing copy — including income projections used to generate interest — sets an aspirational tone that readers should weigh against the realities of the self-publishing market.
Frequently Asked Questions
is Starting a Business Now in Creative Writing Job as Passive Income Idea: Inspirational Business Author to Being a Writer by Kevin Shawen, Marco Elisei worth reading
It's worth reading if you're a complete newcomer to self-publishing who wants a fast, accessible orientation rather than a deep-dive manual. Kevin Shawen and Marco Elisei's habit-driven framework gives beginners an actionable starting point, but more experienced self-publishers looking for coverage of metadata optimisation, advertising strategy, or rights management will find the scope too limited.
What is this book actually about
The book walks aspiring writer-entrepreneurs through the full A-to-Z of self-publishing — from the writing process itself to marketing on digital platforms like Amazon — with a central focus on avoiding common mistakes new self-publishers make. Its structural backbone is a set of eight named habits, each paired with a brief action step, and it also tackles the psychology of overthinking and self-doubt as real obstacles to launching a writing business.
Does this book actually work for people with no writing experience
The guide is explicitly framed as an entry point for complete newcomers, with the Amazon product listing describing it as showing 'how entrepreneurs are earning a passive income idea in self-publishing without having a prior experience of writing.' That said, readers should weigh the book's motivational framing and income projections against the real-world realities of the self-publishing market, which the reviewer flags as an important caveat.
Does this book include worksheets or templates
No — this is one of the book's notable limitations. Unlike some competing titles in the writer-entrepreneur space, Shawen and Elisei's guide does not include fillable worksheets, budget planners, or downloadable templates, so readers who prefer hands-on planning tools will need to build their own supplementary materials.
Is this book good for writers who already know the craft but don't understand publishing
Yes, this is arguably the book's sweet spot. The reviewer highlights that the guide's most notable asset is its focus on the specific mechanics of self-publishing on digital retail platforms — territory that many general writing guides leave underserved — making it particularly useful for writers who understand craft but are unfamiliar with publishing as a business.
How is this book different from other self-publishing books
It distinguishes itself from more established competitors by prioritising accessibility and brevity over comprehensive coverage, and by treating the mental dimension of entrepreneurship — specifically overthinking and self-doubt — as inseparable from the practical mechanics of self-publishing. The eight-habit framework also gives it a repeatable organisational logic, so it functions as a reference to return to rather than a linear read-once-and-set-aside experience.
Is this book too basic for someone who has already self-published
Almost certainly yes. The reviewer is clear that the guide is directed at beginner-to-intermediate writers and is designed as a concise starter guide rather than an exhaustive manual, meaning seasoned self-publishers wanting deeper treatment of topics like metadata optimisation or advertising strategy won't find a full answer here.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
- 2
- Further reading
- 3
- 4
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