Anna David's Blog, page 23

Before Publishing a Book, You Need to Know Your Limitations

I didn’t set out to start a company that writes, edits and publishes books for entrepreneurs and other people who want to share their stories.

In fact, after a somewhat horrific experience writing a book for an actor, I vowed to never write another book for someone else again.

(That book ended up becoming the New York Times bestseller but was that worth it when this guy regularly threw his phone at me and called me a “stupid c***” whenever I asked him to talk about something that made him uncomfortable? Still not sure.)

But in 2018, a major sports agent named Darren Prince who wanted to start doing recovery advocacy work came to me and asked if I’d help him tell his story.

I said, regretfully, I could not.

He Was Insistent

There’s a reason that this guy represents people like Magic Johnson and Dennis Rodman…he’s persistent.

And so I asked my friend Kristen McGuiness, also a bestselling author of multiple books who had experience with ghostwriting, if she’d consider writing Darren’s story. She said yes. I told Darren I’d edit it.

Then he said he wanted me to publish it, too.

I told him I didn’t know how to publish books.

That’s okay, he said, with the smile of someone accustomed to people saying yes. He’d pay me to learn.

That book, Aiming High: How a Prominent Sports Agent Hit Bottom at the Top, became a huge hit, launching Darren onto the speaking circuit and netting him so many new clients and opportunities that he had to hire his own team of agents.

Launch Pad Publishing was born. And it would not exist without the amazing Darren Prince. Yes, this is a man who is pretty much single-handedly responsible for the fact that I have a thriving business today.

Since Then, My Attitude Has Done a 180

I now see that having a book is pretty much a necessity in the business world today and that any entrepreneur who doesn’t have one is missing out on the most crucial part of their marketing.

I’m thrilled to be able to help people — those who didn’t spend their formative years trying to pick the perfect word to craft the ideal sentence — release the best quality books they can. I’m thrilled to watch their careers skyrocket once that book is released.

I’m thrilled to have discovered my mission.

So, let me ask you: what’s yours? And if it’s to write a book, do you know your limitations

Here’s What I Mean by Know Your Limitations

Once I determined my place in the writing and publishing game, I learned just how much other people need to do the same.

Here’s what I mean: at Light Hustle, we screen every client, thoroughly. And we pretty much reject any of the ones that come to us insisting that they are great authors who want to write their book but just want us to oversee.

Why are they coming to us if they are great authors? Great authors tend to be people who have been writing their whole lives.

It’s like this: if you saw a massively overweight man wearing a tube top, you might think, “Just because you can wear that doesn’t mean that you should.” Yes, anyone can write a book. But should they?

Here’s what I mean: just because someone has the ability to sit in front of a keyboard and peck out letters that make words that make sentences that make paragraphs that make pages does not mean that those keys will create high-quality material.

If you are a writer — and by that I mean someone who has always read a lot, has been crafting sentences for as long as you can remember and who often feels more at home in front of a screen than anywhere else — you should write a book.

If you’re someone, on the other hand, who thinks you have a great story to tell and want to take a stab at writing, you probably should not.

If you’re someone who thinks, “I speak well so I probably write well, too,” you probably should not.

The Truth Is, You Know If You Should Write a Book

You know if you’re a writer.

If you’re not, deciding to write a book is as crazy as deciding that you should try to operate on someone even though you haven’t had sufficient training.

(If you listened to the Dr. Death podcast, you know how terrifying that can be.)

When people can come to terms with the fact that they’re not writers, they can set themselves up for excellence.

I’m not here to tell you whether you’re a writer or not.

The only one who can tell you is you.

So please be honest with yourself. Don’t let your ego answer. Ask yourself: Would I spend a year writing this out of sheer joy for the act of writing, even if I thought no one would ever read it?

If the answer is yes, go write it. Otherwise, I think you ought to reconsider.

The Would-Be Client That Taught Me This

We had one guy, a rehab owner, who came to us with the seeming intention of working with us.

He kept three of my team members, including me, on the phone for an hour apiece, explaining the originality of his book idea and how it would revolutionize the industry.

He emailed us what he’d written and it was if not illiterate then at least illegible.

I don’t blame him for not being a talented writer. He was, after all, a talented businessman who spent his days owning and operating a rehab.

His having produced the brilliant opus he claimed he had would be as ludicrous as me showing up at his rehab that day and explaining I would like to run it, despite never having learned the ropes of his industry.

It was clear to my whole team that he just wanted to be told that his writing was amazing — all he was waiting for before signing on the proverbial dotted line.

But I told him the truth…that his book was not publishable and that if he wanted to pay us to write and publish his book, we’d have to start from scratch.

We’re good at telling stories, I explained. What we’re not good at is fixing stories that are badly told.

He didn’t respond well.

He told me that he had lots of contacts at the big publishing houses and he would submit there.

I didn’t tell him that roughly three out of every 10,000 book proposals sell.

There’s nothing I can do to help people who don’t know their limitations.

Our favorite clients are the ones who come to us very clear about the fact that they’re not writers. They let us do our thing and we let them do theirs — namely share with us all the experience that has led them to have a story that will make a great book.

It’s not about how interesting your story is. It’s about how it’s told.

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET HERE.

Why Everything You Think You Know About Book Publishing is Wrong

I’ve spent the past couple of months breaking down the major myths when it comes to book publishing but reading is hard (side note: I just read this story about how Gwyneth Paltrow and lots of other people want to look like they read without having to bother with the reading part — um WTF). 

I’m not calling you a Gwyneth, which is the name I’m going to use for non-readers from now on. You’re reading these words after all, aren’t you?

People think they need an amazing story, ridiculous talent and great connections to publish a book. They think that they need to have survived a plane crash that killed everyone else, set a world record or Just Done Some Big Shit in General. They think they need to have the talent of Jonathan Franzen, Jonathan Safran Foer, Jonathan Lethem and every other Jonathan who’s ever put finger to keyboard combined. They think that they need to know the top brass at the top publishing companies or at least a couple of agents.

Total lies.

All you need is a story. 

The Fact That You Only Need a Story is Good News

Why is this good? Because everyone, save some terribly boring people who would never be reading this post, has a story. 

But here’s the rub. Just putting your story or thoughts or experiences into a book isn’t enough. It’s the whole tree falling in the woods thing. If no one reads your book, it’s called a diary.

You have to get out there and share your book.

The House Above Is a Metaphor, Yo

If you’ve built your house correctly (that is, written a great book), it’s on a solid foundation—much like the house above.

Still, it’s up to you to get the world to see it.

You can do that in any way you like but just tweeting out your book link or sending a newsletter to your email list isn’t going to do much. Trust me on this one. After publishing eight books of my own and publishing countless others, I’ll tell you the four ways I believe are most effective: blog posts, podcast appearances, videos and speaking.

Those are, if you will, the windows into your story.

Of course, this is all easier said than done.

Start with Blog Posts

Looking at the to-do list above, it’s clear that the only one you can control is the blog posting one.

Here’s the easiest way to make your book into blog posts: divide your manuscript into 1000 word sections that could make stand-alone pieces. Add titles and images. Post them on Medium as well as on your own blog, if you have one.

Moving Onto Podcasts

Getting on podcasts isn’t as difficult as you might think, provided you have the right approach. Anna Sabino has some great resources about this—just go to her site to download the exact email she used to get booked on over 50 podcasts. But here are a few of my top tips:

Compile a list of podcasts you’d like to go on; be realistic (Joe Rogan, Marc Maron and the other heavyweights are not realistic)
Listen to at least three episodes of the show you’re interested in appearing on before reaching out; get to know who the host is and the gist of the show.
Figure out how to get in touch with the host or booker (some shows make this difficult, some easy; if there’s no contact information readily available, try to connect over social media).
Show your personality in your pitch. Be you; don’t be boring. If you’re a genuine fan of the show, let the host/booker know. If you’ve reviewed the show on Itunes, definitely let them know!
Explain in the fewest number of words possible why you are an ideal guest for the show and what specifically you can talk about that would appeal to that show’s listeners (possibly mention shows you liked which your episode might be similar to); mention, if it’s relevant, other podcasts you’ve been on that this show producer/host may know.
Break down how you would share and promote the episode you’re on (if you have a big social media following or access in some other way to an audience that show doesn’t, mention that).
Offer a copy of your book to the host and also offer to give one away to listeners.
Include a link or links to your work which shows how impressive you are.
If it’s a show where guests offer freebie downloads in conjunction with their appearances (many of the entrepreneur podcasts do this), offer to create one. Also, make it clear that you will share the episode widely with your audience (and perhaps point out why it’s a segment of the population the host or booker might like to reach).


Which Brings Us to Videos

There are two types of videos that are easy and effective ways to promote your book:

Book “Trailer” Videos The easiest way to make promo videos (what we used to call “book trailers”) is to use the Clips app. I can’t edit to save my life but Clips makes it so easy to add text, photos and music that it makes me feel like I can. Here are a few examples of videos I made to promote some of my courses using Clips. Clips is, miraculously, free.

“Expert” Videos The easiest way for you to craft the content of your book into videos that enhance your credibility is with the BIGVU app. It, like Clips, is a God-send. All you have to do is copy content (some version of what you’re releasing as individual blog posts) onto the app and it will feed the words to you as if you’re reading a teleprompter. Afterward, you can add a chyron title, music or whatever else you’d like and then export it to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or your camera. It’s $59.99 a year—a bargain considering what it does.

And Finally, Speaking

Truth talk: it’s not like TEDx bookers aren’t just going to start reaching out to you because you have a book. When I did my three TEDx talks in 2018, it took a ton of hustle. 

But TEDx isn’t the only game in town. You can show up at Toastmasters, BNI or any professional bureau where people speak to start getting practice. Then you can start asking friends who are teachers and business owners if you can come speak to their classes or colleagues.

Whenever you speak, make sure it’s caught on tape and once you have a few different clips, make that into a reel that you submit to other places where you can get paid speaking gigs. Those who want to speak at colleges can apply to NACA while people who hope to speak at conferences can Google conferences in their area and reach out to the organizers.

Of Course, Your Book Promotion Doesn’t End There

There’s way more to do this than crafting blog posts, making a few videos, going on a couple of podcasts and nabbing those speaking gigs. There are actually a slew of other tips and techniques that will make all the time or money (or both) that you spent producing your magnum opus more than worthwhile. 

Since one book can make you an expert, you owe it to yourself to work your book as much as you possibly can. And if I haven’t already made it clear, you owe it to yourself to get your book written and out there.

After all, Gwyneth has and she doesn’t even read!

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET HERE.

Why You Don't Hear From Your Publisher Once Your Book is Out

Last week, I told you that 99 percent of authors don’t hear from their publishers once their book is out.

Seems weird, right?

These are people, after all, who often paid good money to publish your book. They were very encouraging along the way.

So why are they ghosting you?

They’re ghosting you because even more than the entertainment business, even more than our current economy, the publishing business is divided into the haves and the have-nots.

Publishing Houses Know They’ll Lose Money on Most of Their Books

They’re banking on the Glennon Doyle’s and Brené Brown’s to make up for that.

In other words, they’re banking on the fact that they’ll have a few books that will sell millions and that will make up for all those other books they lost money on — books by people who think their lives will change as a result of those books.

I remember a famous-ish writer I met telling me that his publisher didn’t do anything to support him and his book…until the book suddenly, surprisingly, became a hit.

That’s when the publisher support started.

That’s when they put money toward ads and began trying to get him booked on NPR.

Publishers Want the Low-Hanging Fruit

No matter how much they may like a book, they probably won’t do much for it unless the book doesn’t need help. (Think of it as something as crazy as celebrities — that is, those who can most afford to buy expensive clothes — getting sent free clothes.)

If you’re not one of the chosen few, you may get responses from your publishing house in the weeks after your release when you reach out to them…usually that they pitched you to some local radio and are still waiting to hear back.

You turn on Good Morning America and see an author who’s with the same publishing house as you giving an interview.

You seethe.

You vow not to check your Amazon number but then check your Amazon number.

You refresh Amazon.

You cry.

You go out and all anyone does is ask you how your book’s doing.

I know this not only because it happened to me six times but because it’s happened to a good three dozen writers I know.

And I’m one of the lucky ones! I have a book that hit the New York Times bestseller list. My books have received coverage from The Today Show, Cosmo, The Talk and everywhere in between.

But Here’s the Thing: I Made It Happen on My Own

I got myself on The Today Show, got Cosmo to cover my books. My publisher didn’t do anything because they were too busy doing things for the Elizabeth Gilberts.

Why, I couldn’t help but wonder, have a publisher at all when they weren’t doing anything except making me feel irrelevant?

A writer friend, one who’s published four books but now talks about getting his teaching credentials, once said to me, “I feel so sorry for people the week a big publishing house releases their book.”

It sounds hyperbolic to say it’s traumatic but I don’t know what else to call it when you watch your dreams not so much go up in flames but just never catch fire at all.

When you face the fact that your book is two sticks and will remain two sticks, you have two options.

You Can Give Up or You Can Look for Another Way

After years of choosing the former — contemplating trying to get a career in advertising and then spinning my wheels trying to make a living editing websites — I chose the latter.

That’s when I launched a hybrid traditional/self-publishing company that helps people write and publish their books.

That’s when I got to put all those years of slugging it out with traditional publishing to use.

Now I get to help already successful people become bestselling authors and it’s infinitely more satisfying than the time I spent writing my own books for the big publishers.

WANT TO LEARN TO TELL YOUR STORY WELL? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET HERE.

You Don't Have to Be That Talented to Become a Bestselling Author

I’m in myth breakdown mode when it comes to the road to author bestseller-dom. 

Today we’re tackling talent.

There’s a popular meme floating around the web: “Great writing is 3% talent and 97% not getting distracted by the Internet.” It is often accompanied by an image of a person who appears overwhelmed while staring at her computer screen.

I’d like to offer an amendment to that. It’s not as cute-sounding but from what I can see, it’s just as much, if not more, accurate.

“Succeeding as a writer is 3% talent and 97% not giving up year after year.”

Because here’s the thing: the most successful writers I know aren’t the most talented. I know fiercely, skin-tinglingly talented ones who have to pay the rent by working at gossip magazines or worse.

I know not particularly talented ones who rake in accolades, money or both.

It’s not about talent.

It’s about what you do with the talent you have.

And it’s about following the second-most popular adage when it comes to writing: “Writing is rewriting.”

How do I know this? Because I’ve both taken and taught a plethora of writing classes; I even majored in Creative Writing in college. It was, of course, an utterly useless degree but it did teach me one thing: writing can’t be taught.

Here’s what you do when you’re a Creative Writing major:

1) You write stories.

2) You workshop those stories, which means that your teacher and classmates read them and then provide feedback.

3) You rewrite your stories based on that feedback.

At no point do you get lessons on how to write stories because it is presumed, if you choose to major in something as useless as Creative Writing, that you a) are delusional and b) already know how to write short stories.

Most of my fellow students didn’t become writers.

You know who did? Plenty of people I know who didn’t major in Creative Writing.

They are people who’ve spent years and years and years honing their craft, possibly subscribing to the Malcolm Gladwell popularized belief that you have to do something for 10,000 hours to develop mastery over it but probably going well over that allotted time frame.

It’s not about being a gifted writer.

How do I know?

Martin Amis is a gifted writer.

Jennifer Egan is a gifted writer.

Philip Roth was a gifted writer.

I’m not a gifted writer.

I’m quite good in that I have a lot of practice obsessing over words and placing them together in a way that can best articulate my feelings while also sounding both original and clever.

I’m good.

But I’m not gifted.

Despite not being a gifted writer, I’ve had a great career, in some form or function, for the past two decades.

That is because I didn’t give up.

And in doing so, I’ve made the most of the talent I have.

WANT TO LEARN TO TELL YOUR STORY WELL? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET HERE.

You Don't Have to Have Any Connections to Become a Bestseller

Last week I wrote about how you don’t need to be well-connected to become a best-selling author. Today I’m writing about how you don’t need any connections at all.

Here’s the deal: when I sold my first book to HarperCollins, in 2005, I sniffed at self-publishing.

When I sold my second book, I had the same attitude.

And on and on, through my sixth book.

When I ran into people I considered non-writers and they told me they’d published a book, I immediately inquired, “Traditional or…?”

I usually let the sentence trail off into the ether, the word “self-publishing” too anathema for me to even utter.

Then something happened.

Publishing Broke

That first book deal was for $50,000, a number which disappointed me terribly at the time. I knew people who were getting $200 and $300k book deals so I felt terribly disregarded.

Ah, the sweet ignorance of youth.

My final book deal, roughly seven years later, was for $2,000.

Yes, $2,000.

I had been paid $5,000 for a magazine cover story that consisted of interviewing a celebrity for an hour and then shaping the transcript into a 1000-word story and suddenly I was getting less than half of that for a book.

Oh, and those people I knew who were netting six-figure book deals?

They weren’t earning out their advances… not even close. In fact, they were losing their publishing companies so much money that they’d essentially rendered themselves black-listed.

They could never sell another book. Who would make a deal, after all, with a writer who’d lost HarperCollins or St. Martin’s or another of the Big Five mid-six figures?

At the Same Time, Self-Publishing Exploded

Self-published books like The Martian and Still Alice became hit movies.

I watched James Altucher self-publish Choose Yourself and sell 45,000 copies in the first month while my friends with traditionally published books were talking about going back to school and getting teaching credentials.

Speaking of Altucher, he wrote in a blog post called “How to Self-Publish a Bestseller”:

The distinction now is no longer between “traditional publishing” versus “self-publishing.” The distinction now is between PROFESSIONAL versus UNPROFESSIONAL publishing.

My first ten books were done unprofessionally. Even the ones with the big publishing houses.

I couldn’t agree with him more.

Still, getting a deal with a major publishing house isn’t an option for most people; the big ones are rumored to accept roughly 3 out of every 10,000 submitted proposals.

The big publishing houses also take between a year and two years to release a book.

The big publishing houses also choose to support very few of the books they release and thus do very little to help the authors of the books they have not selected.

How do I know this? Because all six times I went with a big publisher, I was one of the authors whose book had not been selected.

It took me a few years to catch onto the fact that the line between traditional and self-publishing had disintegrated so much that they had in fact switched places.

There are no gatekeepers now.

WANT TO LEARN TO TELL YOUR STORY WELL? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET HERE.

Trust Me, You Don't Want a Traditional Book Deal

I’ve written about this a lot lately…and that’s because it’s true. Last week, I focused on how publishing broke about a decade ago.

This isn’t sour grapes stemming from the fact that my last book “advance” didn’t net me enough to cover the cost of the coffee I consumed while writing it.

This is because traditional publishing is a countdown to heartbreak. The call from your agent saying that your book sold is the good part.

It’s all downhill from there.

If You Don’t Believe Me, Consider This

You spend months and months and months crafting this book hoping to get validation from your editor.

If your editor is like most editors in the book business (overworked and underpaid), he or she will probably switch to another publishing house during this time.

If that doesn’t happen, you’ll be working with someone who is, well, overworked and underpaid and that will show in the person’s dealings with you.

It may not show in expected ways.

Here’s how it showed up for me: I do not believe that the man who is credited with having edited my second, third and fourth books ever read them.

“They look great,” was all he ever said to me.

For books two and three, I assumed this was because I was that good.

“My editor didn’t even have any notes!” I remember explaining to a writer friend, who seemed suitably impressed.

Then I briefly dated another writer who shared my editor and I saw the notes he gave and edits he did on that guy’s book.

That guy was a name writer — the one who became the publishing house’s focus whenever he released a book — and, well, in the writer’s words, the editor “pissed all over it.”

This didn’t mean the editor tore it apart; he just made notes on every page, scratching out certain word choices and replacing them with other words — not to make the book better but just to make it different.

He wanted his stamp on a book he knew would hit.

He didn’t care about any others.

When my editor was eventually fired, I heard that they found stacks of unread books in his desk — not unsolicited submissions but books he’d “edited.”

But here’s the thing: the real problem with traditional publishing isn’t that you get slapped with an overworked and underpaid editor who probably won’t care about your book.

The Real Problem is That the Expectations are so High

You have, after all, been at this project for at least two years if you factor in the amount of time you spent writing the proposal.

That means that for two years, people have been talking to you about your book.

You’ve had two years of anticipation.

You’ve had two years of saying, “Yes, it’s being published by Harper’s” or “Simon & Schuster” or insert-name-of-other-publishing-house-you-are-proud-to-be-associated with.

You would never go through this if you didn’t believe, at least somewhere inside, that your book would be a massive hit.

Sure, you’ve doubted yourself through the process but at the same time you’ve been able to picture “New York Times bestselling author” next to your name.

You’ve secretly envisioned rave reviews, pictured yourself discussing your book with Rachel Maddow or Terry Gross or, if things really go your way, Jimmy Fallon.

And then…that doesn’t happen.

I remember the writer Joel Stein once tweeting during one of his book releases something along the lines of, “Having a book come out is just like having a movie come out…except no one cares.”

I would add to that: it’s like having a movie come out — one that you starred in, produced, wrote and directed — with the full expectation that the production company or studio that acquired it would help.

Or if not help, exactly, at least be there.

But you don’t hear from them. 

Or from Rachel Maddow, Terry Gross or Jimmy Fallon.

Instead, you hear from—well, everyone asking you how your book is “doing.” You either tell them the truth—you have no idea—or you lie and say, “Great!” I actually recommend lying because if you tell them that you have no idea—that your editor, on the occasions when he does get back to you, says that he doesn’t know because book sales aren’t actually accurately logged—these people will ask you why the hell you’ve gotten involved in such a ridiculous profession and you may not know what to say.

WANT TO LEARN TO TELL YOUR STORY WELL? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET HERE.

How and Why to Publish a Book

You have a book. Or a book idea. Or just this idea that you should be an author. What now?

The first step is to understand your options. Let’s start with traditional.

How Traditional Publishing Works

If you’re interested in selling a book to a traditional publisher, here’s how it works: you’ll need to find an agent who will submit your 25-60-page book proposal to book publishers. For tips on getting an agent, see the end of this post.

Here’s what you should know going in: even if you’re signed by an agent, it's really, really, really hard to get a publishing deal today; the rough statistic is that two out of every 10,000 book proposals submitted to major publishing houses sell. It also takes a really, really, really long time for a book to see the light of day—usually a year or two between when a publisher acquires your book and when it’s released.

If a publishing company does acquire your book, however, there’s good news: they cover the costs of editing, designing and releasing. In exchange, they own the rights and make all decisions about the cover, title, release date and everything else (with your input, of course). Once they earn back your advance, you then theoretically start earning royalties (the rates vary bit it’s usually been between eight and 25% of the book sales), This is theoretical, however, because only about 25% of books ever earn out their advances.

The Reality of Traditional Publishing

The rewards of traditional publishing are undeni­able—especially if you’re published by one of the Big Five publishers. Your book is legitimized in the eyes of many and your chances of hitting bestseller lists and getting covered by the media are better.

The misconceptions people have about traditional publishing are also undeniable. Everyone I know who tells me they want to be published traditionally gives the same reasons—they want to hit the New York Times bestseller list, they want to be sent on a book tour, they want the support a big publisher provides and they want their books in stores.

Traditional publishing has changed enormously since my agent sold my first book in 2005. While I’d been able to get $50,000 for Party Girl back in the pre-Instagram days when only college students were on Facebook, the only new people publisher are giving book deals to now are those with massive social media followings and email lists.

Traditional publishing doesn’t care how good a story is. It may have never cared. My friends from the traditional publishing world—the friends who had sold big books to major publishers—are either contemplating going back to school, working at celebrity weeklies or embarking on entirely new careers.

Traditional publishing is really destined to only work for the Elizabeth Gilberts, Glennon Doyles and whoever else happens to have a book really hit. As my friend Jennifer Armstrong told me when I had her on my podcast, “There are levels internally that publishers don't tell you about, and when my book hit the first week, it felt like I had unlocked this whole new level in a video game that I didn't know existed. On my previous book,they'd all been very polite, and said things like, ‘Here is another thing someone has written about you. I am passing it on,’ and that was kind of it. Now they were saying, ‘Do you want to have a marketing meeting?’ I’d say, ‘I thought we already had that meeting.’ And they essentially said, ‘Sure, but do you want to have a real meeting?’”

The reality is that most of the writers who pass the Rubicon by getting a deal are going to end up disappointed and broke.

But What About the Bestseller List & Bookstores?

Here's what I can say about the lists: the chance of a book hitting the Times list is minuscule and putting your focus on that is a great way to make your book release experience miserable. (I know because I did it—five times!) The one time I didn’t obsess over a book of mine hitting the list, it did hit the list. And while it’s undeniably cool to be able to dine out on being a New York Times bestselling author (and trust me, I have), focusing on that as a goal is, I think, to miss all the potential joys of the publishing experience.

In terms of a book tour, I personally know almost no one who has been sent on one—and I know a hell of a lot of traditionally published authors. I guarantee Elizabeth Gilbert, Glennon Doyle and all the authors who don’t need book tours are sent on pretty plush ones, but the authors I know who “go” on tour are often paying for and arranging those tours themselves.

What Your Publisher Will and Won’t Do

Look at it like this. Imagine you’re a filmmaker and you get a studio to invest in your movie. Yahoo, you’ve made it! And this isn’t just any old movie but one you wrote and are directing, producing and starring in. And you’re not just starring in it—you’re the only star. The year that you’re shooting, the studio is very supportive. Lots of patting you on the back and giving you advice. Then it’s release day. You’re a bit scared by the fact that, er, nothing seems to be happening. So you reach out to the studio…and don’t hear back. You’re confused. Weren’t you all in this together? Didn’t they give you money so you could all have a hit on your hands?

So surprising is this experience that every time it happened to me, I basically suffered something close to amnesia and therefore had to go through it six times in total before I finally got the memo: my pub­lisher wasn’t going to do anything for me. The reality is that publishers pick a book or two a season to put all their efforts behind—and my books never made the cut. All the major media exposure I got for my books I secured myself. That’s because the chosen ones are the ones that don’t need support. My publisher's indifference to my books wasn’t personal; they were just going for low-hanging fruit.

As for having your book sold in bookstores, HarperCollins paid for each of my books to be in stores for a few weeks. Then the books slowly, with each purchase, dwindled out of the store—never to return. The reality is that most books that aren’t instant bestsellers don’t stay in stores—unless the author jumps in and hustles the book to booksellers him or herself. 

I don’t mean to sound discouraging. I just mean to sound realistic. And there’s a reason that, after six traditionally published books, I wouldn’t go tradi­tional again.

So let’s move on to the other options.

How Self-Publishing Works

Self-publishing isn’t what it used to be back when your great aunt paid a janky publisher to put out your family history and foisted the copies upon every family member over the holidays.

Instead, these days, it’s possible to publish a book yourself that is indistinguish­able from a book pub­lished by, say, HarperCollins. If you’re going to achieve that goal, however, it means that you must strive for excellence at every stage.

The time frame is—well, it’s whatever you want it to be. While I highly recommend taking your time with it, Amazon allows you to replace a book with an updated version at any time so it’s possible to launch a book, re-do it and launch it again. Still, I don’t recommend that. “You only get one chance to make a first impression” is a cliché for a reason.

Excellence at every stage involves hiring the best editors, cover designers, layout designers and everyone else your team requires but if you’re not interested in making that level of time or financial commitment, you can also just go for it. If you want to go ahead and publish your book, here are seven steps to the EASIEST, LEAST EXPENSIVE way to do it.

STEP 1: Go to fiverr.com, search “book layout for Kindle”; hire one of them 
STEP 2: Go to canva.com, click on Create a design
STEP 3: Scroll down the page that comes up, then click on Book Cover under Blogging & eBook 
STEP 4: Select a cover, change the text and go…
STEP 5: Upload the file and cover to Amazon by following these instructions: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200635650
STEP 6: Decide whether or not you want to sell your book exclusively on Amazon (the advantage is that you can make your book free for five days every 90 days and really try to drive sales); if you do choose that, enroll your book in KDP Select.

         Here’s how:

Go to your Bookshelf.
Click on the ellipsis button ("...") under the KINDLE EBOOK ACTIONS menu next to the book you want to enroll.
Choose Enroll in KDP Select.
On the screen that appears, click Enroll in KDP Select.

Baby, you are published!

Of course, you should only do it when you've created something you consider a masterpiece. And that is, of course, a lot of work.

 
 
So Why Do All This Work?

I'm a primary example of what a book can do for a person. The fact is, my books have taken me from girl who couldn't rub two nickels together to woman The Today Show calls when they need an expert. They've helped me to build a company where I work with seven and eight-figure entrepreneurs.

The truth is, my books have given me everything. And I'm certainly not the only one. I'll leave you with this quote from my client Emily Lynn Paulson:  “My book is my business card, not my debit card. I didn’t do a book because I thought it would make me a millionaire. You definitely can make money and I have and it's been great. But I think of it differently. When I think of the things I've invested in, in my life—college, training, coaching programs, all that stuff—I'm not necessarily using those; this is something you can really use.

If you're a realtor, you get a website and pamphlets. I saw the book wasn't the real estate but I'm the real estate. So the book really was marketing my business card. And I understand that it’s really a residual thing. The book is going be out there forever.

The part for me that has paid off the most has been being able to put “author” next to my name—just like putting master's degree or whatever else…you're paying for the credential. This has been a credential I couldn't put a price tag on. People will start paying attention to you and invite you to things without even reading your book. It’s the fact that you've written the book that’s the draw and not necessarily what the book is about.”

You Can Pick Whatever Publishing Route You Want. Here's Why I Choose (My) Self—Self-Publishing, That Is

I don't like to feel frustrated and neglected; it's just not a good look for me. I'm also not great at having other people in charge (there's a reason I've been fired from almost every job I've ever had).

And the reality is that we are in the golden age of self-publishing. I first noticed it when I began to see that traditional publishing was falling apart. That's when I discovered an entrepreneur and author named James Altucher who’d done several books with big publishers. Then he wrote a book called Choose Yourself. He hired independent editors, cover designers and everything else. It sold 45,000 copies in the first week. 

Other names were popping up. Amanda Hocking. Mark Dawson. Nick Stephenson. People were doing the thing I’d long derided—self-publishing—and making not just a killing but also an impact.

I wanted that, too.

But this is my reality. If it's not yours and you're determined to go the traditional publishing route, the first step is to get an agent. Below, as promised, please find...

Recommendations From Top Writers on How They Got Their Agents

Jason Smith, author of The Bitter Taste of Dying

I actually did everything backward and did mostly what they say you shouldn't do. I wrote a ton of stuff for free, which a lot of writers say you shouldn't do. They say you're more valuable than "free." I say that's bullshit. You don't get to determine your own value. That's determined by the demand, so to me, it made sense to build the demand before demanding value. I had the deal with Warner Bros off a free story, that was seen by 100k people, but I still didn't have an agent. Through Warner Bros, I was connected into the world of ICM, and Heather Bushong, the book to film agent. From there, they connected me into the literary side

Jillian Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of the memoirs Everything You Ever Wanted, Some Girls: My Life in a Harem and the novel Pretty

I didn’t re-invent the wheel. I got my first agent through a cold submission! my basic advice is to check the acknowledgments section of books with the same tone/theme/subject etc of yours. Writers always thank their agents first. Ask all the friends you have for intros to their agents. And just do it right and write an amazing query and proposal and don't jump the gun and try to get an agent before you have an EXCELLENT, PERFECT product.

Mark Ebner, New York Times bestselling author of Hollywood Interrupted, among other books

In 2003, I was reading some autobiographical prose from Los Angeles journalist emeritus Marc Cooper. In one of his stories, he was going gonzo with his literary agent, "Big Vig." I asked around, and sure enough, David Vigliano was a major player in the NYC book world. I cold-called him, and asked if he was "Big Vig." He laughed, and became my first (of many) book agents that day.

Amy Spencer, author of The Happy Life Checklist, among other books

I got my agent through a friend short-cut mixed with a little magic. I began in a research-y way: I found similar books to mine that I loved, looked up the agent that each author thanked in the back, and then reached out to a few of them with queries about my (big, 60-page, non-fiction, dating advice book) proposal. One of them wrote back asking to see the proposal, which I sent. At the same time, I'd shown my proposal to a magazine editor friend. She personally loved it and said, "You know, I have an agent friend I'd be happy to put you in touch with." Turns out that agent didn't usually rep the type of book I was proposing, but I figured I may as well take her up on the personal connection anyway, since the agent had agreed to at least take a look. So I sent my proposal to that agent...and the next day got an email from a *different* agent saying she'd seen the proposal on her colleague's desk, grabbed it, read it, and asked if she could represent me! What a little miracle. We got on the phone and connected instantly. I did check in a few times with that original agent I'd sent my proposal to, but she kept putting me off, so I decided to go with the whip smart, persistent, on-top-of-it agent who actually "got" me and wanted to work with me without hesitation. She sold that book for me in two months with multiple offers and I've been with her since through three more books!

Ryan Hampton, author of American Fix

I researched the web. And then reached out to other authors for recommendations. Eventually it led to me finding my agent, who was totally off the map with a boutique agency. My friend had just published a book on addiction and he made the intro. I still had to sell her on the idea though. It’s helpful to have an active social media presence when pitching. I had some big shot agent who was willing to sign me but didn't really seem to have heart (or time) for the project. And I like people who are hungry like me. I literally just Googled "literary agent" and dialed every person—cold called and emailed.

I said, “Hi my name is Ryan Hampton. I've spent the last two years watching my friends die from addiction. I'm sick and tired of reading the same old addiction memoirs. I have a story to tell. And I think if the rest of the world could see what I did through my lens, they would be outraged. I'm writing a book. Not just any book. And it's not my story on how I got sober. I want people to be as outraged as me. I'd love to work with you, but if you aren't interested please let me know now. I'm going to get this published. Thanks." That literally was my pitch.

THIS POST IS AN EDITED VERSION OF A SECTION OF MY UPCOMING BOOK. IF YOU'D LIKE TO JOIN THE ADVANCED READER TEAM FOR THIS BOOK SO YOU CAN GET IT EARLY AND FOR FREE, EMAIL ASSISTANT@ANNADAVID.COM WITH "ADVANCED READER TEAM" IN THE SUBJECT LINE.

You're not sheltering in place; you're an artist in residence [NEWSLETTER 4/2/20]

First off, a confession: I COMPLETELY STOLE THIS SUBJECT LINE FROM SOMEONE ELSE—NAMELY, NATALIE. Who's Natalie, you ask? Why someone who's using this time to write. See above!

As I mentioned last week, a group of us have been gathering on Zoom every dayto chat for a few minutes, write for roughly an hour and then chat a little bit more. I'm so impressed with the people showing up every day and perhaps even more impressed with the new faces that pop up...agreeing to join a group of people you've never met to pour your heart onto a screen requires some gumption. Since publishing a book also requires gumption, it's perfect training.

My point is this: join us if you want! We're having fun. We're getting a lot done. We're chatting about it in the Facebook group (which I'd also encourage you to join). It's all happening every day at 10 am PST and will be happening until I tell you otherwise.

So who are those lovely two people above—and what are they working on? Well, let me tell you...

Natalie Bonfig has a daughter with a genetic disorder called Turner Syndrome. She writes about life after her daughter’s diagnosis and her breakdown as well as parenting, trauma, loss, grief, and life. Her publishing credits include Medium, The Mighty, Thrive Global and Light Hustler and she’s currently working on a book called Everyday Self Care; you can find all of her blog posts at www.everydayself-care.com.

Chris Joseph, meanwhile, is the owner of CAJA Environmental Services, a consulting firm that specializes in the management and preparation of environmental documents.

Chris is also the Founder of the Threadhead Cultural Foundation (TCF), a 501c3 non-profit company formed out of the love for New Orleans and its music, and its musicians. He has served on other non-profit boards, including Friends of the Inyo, The Spannocchia Foundation, and Affordable Living for the Aging, and has been a NatureBridge Southern California Board and Yosemite member for over seven years.

His memoir is about being diagnosed with a deadly form of cancer and overcoming the odds in unconventional ways. 

IF YOU WANT TO MEET THESE LOVELY PEOPLE (MORE PROFILES OF OTHERS FROM THE GROUP WILL BE COMING NEXT WEEK), EMAIL ME BACK WITH A "YES I'M IN!" AND YOU'LL GET ON MY "REMINDERS" LIST.

That's it for now. Keep hands washed and fingers typing!

xxA

PS - Skip to the bottom? Come join me and others for online writing sessions every day at 10 am. You can also join the same folks in the Prepare to Launch Facebook group.

PPS IF YOU HAVEN'T YET GOTTEN MY "TOP 10 QUARANTINE WRITING TIPS," YOU CAN GRAB IT HERE.

Episode 305: Why Book Sales Don't Matter with Matt George

 

Matt George is the kindest man alive.

Don't believe me? Well, consider this. The Peoria, Illinois-based writer, speaker and CEO of the Children’s Home Association of Illinois is the former Executive Director of the Hult Center for Healthy Living and the former President and CEO of Youth Farm, which later merged with Children’s Home in 2007, under his leadership.

In addition to his work at Children’s Home, Matt helps raise funds for local nonprofits, including Neighborhood House, The Hult Center for Healthy Living, Crimestoppers and more.

But I know a lot more than Matt's resume. That's because my company published his #1 bestselling memoir/business book NonProfit Game Plan and so I had a front-row seat on his journey from behind-the-scenes rainmaker to public face. 

In this episode, we discussed how a mentor played a crucial role in this transition, the way his book has changed his entire career and why he doesn't track book sales, among many other topics.

 
CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW TO HEAR THE EPISODE!!

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:

Anna David:                  00:01                So Matt, a pleasure to have you be the very first episode that I record in my studio.

Matt George:                00:07                I love the studio. Can't wait to be there.

Anna David:                  00:10                You're going to be here recording your audio book. The sound I hope is, is Epic. Now, so what is fascinating not, is not just that you are the kindest man that I've ever dealt with. That's fascinating. But how we came to work together and how as a result I had a front row seat as you built your platform and built towards your lodge. So let's talk about, I want to talk about that, but I also want to talk about how you basically decided I'm going to get out there and I'm going to tell my story and you targeted one specific man who told you how to do it. So let's talk about that.

Matt George:                00:49                Okay. Yeah. So, Kevin Harrington original shark on Shark Tank and inventor of the infomercial. I saw him at a conference and the short of it is I tracked him down afterwards. You know, everybody has escape routes. And he had just made a joke about how he goes into hotel rooms and he's waiting for somebody to jump out of the closet or out from under his bed and, and pitch him on something. And I thought that was funny. And so he went out one way at the conference and there was really only one way out. And this conference was in Las Vegas and real long escalators. And so I waited by the escalator and there he comes walking around the corner, and I said to him, Kevin, I'm not here to pitch you. I don't want money. I run a children's home. And what happened in about two seconds, it actually changed my life. He said, I'll call you, give me two hours, I'll call you. And I thought, Oh boy, he's going to blow me off.

                                    01:52                And exactly, two hours later I get a call and he knew all about me. He did his homework on the plane. He pulled nine nineties from my nonprofits. He knew what our budget was. He knew that I worked with NFL coaches. And all these baseball hall of fame guys, and really just was a cool experience. And then he ended the call with what do you want? And I said, I need a mentor. I have a lot of mentors. I truly believe in them. Mentors have actually changed my life and helped put me in the position that I'm in now, but I need somebody on a national or worldwide scale. And he said, well, if you're serious, come down to Florida and come on this date, this time. And we'll see. And so I did. And, he said, you're going to write a book. And I went, you got to be kidding me. And that was back just in March of 2019 and here we are 12 months later. And I launched the book, with a lot of your help in January. And it's just been a ride ever since. So, and he still, he checked on me today. And so he, we probably talked five or six times a week. And it's just, yeah, I mean he's, he wants to make sure that I tell the story and he wants to make sure and see the success of the book. And it's just been such a fun experience

Anna David:                  03:34                That kind of makes me want to cry. I don't know why. It's just not what you would expect at all. And I know him, I know what a nice, genuine guy he is, but I also know how busy he is.

Matt George:                03:48                He's very busy. He's called me before from Dubai. He says, man, I'm sorry, I'm in Switzerland. I'm in China. I'm in. And I'm, he calls me at any time. He texts me if he has an idea, he'll text me at midnight and, I'll look and I'll go, Oh, that is an unbelievable idea. And then I'm one of these guys who implements things. Like if he gives me a contact or an idea, I don't sit and really think about it. I'm like, this is a chance of a lifetime. And I act on it. And it's really helped. And he did tell me, he goes, I'm a busy man. Do not waste my time. I need you to go all in, I'll go all in with you if you go all in with me. And I got to open up for him with a speech kicking off the book in Orlando. And there's more to come.

Anna David:                  04:39                And I will say too, you know, Kevin has referred several people to me and he has never done what he sees. So he referred you to me, you and I spoke. And then Kevin basically called me afterwards and was like, Oh, you're doing this. Yeah, my guy, you got to make it work. And so we moved forward and you really are, you know, what's great about you is that you are determined and you were determined in the kindest way. Because we did a lot. You asked for things and you did it in such a kind way that it actually taught me more about how to do that. How to speak up and say I need this? And so tell me how, how I'm going to get it.

Matt George:                05:29                Yeah, that's funny. I appreciate you saying that. I mean, being a fundraiser at heart. I'm not afraid to make the ask. But here's what's, it's kind of funny. I say this in some of my speeches. I'm probably told no more times in a week than the average person can take. And it never bothers me. I mean, it really doesn't, I just expect it actually, and then I pursue the yeses even if there's only two or three a week, but I probably make 50 asks a week.

Anna David:                  06:05                Yeah. There are some personalities that can do that. I couldn't take it. And I put myself out there a lot, but I couldn't take all the no's.

Matt George:                06:14                You do put yourself out there.

Anna David:                  06:16                Yeah. But it's interesting and I don't want to make it like a male female thing, but you know, I know I have male friends who are just completely fine picking up the call and giving them the phone and hearing no. And maybe I can just do it over email or something like that, but I can't, I can't, my psyche can't take it. My fragile, fragile, self esteem. But, okay. And so let's talk, you went from pretty much thoroughly on Googleable, not entirely, but to having a platform on a national level. Let's talk about how you strategically built that and how would the role that played in the book release?

Matt George:                06:50                Yeah. Well part of it was really just trying to come up with a plan and a plan that actually had some action items tied to it. I mean, I think a lot of times people have goals and, but the goals, you can procrastinate so easily on these goals. And so what I did is I ended up having about 150 to 200 different goals. And one of the first ones was, is to get my hometown involved and bought in before I even went out further. Because if the people who cared for me and knew me didn't support me, then it was going to be really hard to do it in LA or Chicago or Miami or whatever. And so, that was the first step. And so I have a few mentors here that actually helped me with that part of it. Kevin helped. And then I went to our mayor here in Peoria, Illinois. And I said, here's what I'm doing and this is about community. Even though I'm going to be the spokesperson for this, this really is about community. And he said, I'm all in. What do you need? And I took those goals and gave them to him. And so it was everything from his state of the city, which had 850 people here in Peoria tent. I was highlighted, I was featured my book, he let me have a book signing after his, this is his show.

                                    08:16                And so we've got video and we've got pictures doing that. And all my donors and all of the people that tied to the children's home that I run, they were all there and they sat there and said, what an opportunity for children's home, but what an opportunity for our community. And so I'm a true believer no matter how big the community you, where you live. I mean, use LA as an example. It's your job, Anna, to take care of that community. It is a lot of peoples efforts to take care of the communities you're in. And that's the approach that I took. And that's really what kind of steamrolled all these other types of conversations because I just did something, a TV interview in Michigan and you think, well, what do they care? Well, they care because it's community and that compassion piece I think is very important. When you look at Kevin and the shark mentality, you only see that cut throat. I'm there for the dollar's and all of that. But really there is a heart and there is a compassion piece that is huge to business in general.

Anna David:                  09:28                And so when you decided to basically get your city behind your launch, what did you, you went to the Mayor, what else did you do?

Matt George:                09:41                Well, I went to the top 15 corporations in town and I gave them a little sneak peek of what I was doing and I said I needed their back. And so, I had the launch on the 15th of January and that book launch had the CEO of Caterpillar inc and they, we had the CEOs of the hospitals and the CEOs, and these are people why it's important to have the CEOs is because you have that corporate backing and those employees are really tied to boards and the boards are tied to community. And so I knew once had the corporate piece that the bigger thought was then I can go and do the grassroots neighborhood piece. And you know, Kevin told me something that was interesting. And I do this anyway. I'm a true believer that even though, I run an agency, everyone in my opinion needs to win because if I can't raise money for the person next door, which isn't typical, but I do it every weekend I'm doing it tomorrow, that then those kids will hit the street or those cancer survivors aren't going to have some sort of treatment or holistic approach or whatever it may be. It could be the boys and girls club. And they all, all of these groups have to talk because it's the same people in the communities. And so that's where it started. And once we started doing that, I started doing, I got an interview in telling that piece in Michigan, and then Indianapolis, and then I went to Phoenix and then to Vegas and then to Orlando. And it's just starting. I'm doing some keynotes this summer and one of the groups is the thousand people from all over. And it's an accounting firm. It's not a nonprofit because it does, it goes back to people and it goes back to community. And I truly believe that I'll stand by that for the rest of my life, no matter what. I've always felt that.

Anna David:                  11:48                And so what are the actual, if somebody wanted to follow in your stead and take actual steps you're taking, you know, you're having launched this speaking career, do you reach out and send copies of your book? What do you do and how does the book play into it?

Matt George:                12:02                Yeah, so one of the things that I did is I ended up, I purchased 500 copies of my own book and I've already handed them out. What I, what I've done locally is I have helped book signings and I haven't charged what I say is, make donations to the children's home. And so it's really, I've gotten in the hands of people, just in this area, I've probably gotten about a thousand books in people's hands. And so that's just locally. But then when I went to Orlando, I had, it was so funny. I had carry on luggage. I can barely even roll it. And I, it was 100% filled with books. And so the lady next to me that was on the airplane, I started talking to her and she was from Dayton, Ohio. She got a copy and I just started handing out copies, and really what it's, I've had two or three people already email me. I had somebody from Cleveland, Ohio, email me and they want me to hire me to come and talk to their United way there. And so there's, I think there's an approach that you can take. You can take a, I guess a cheaper approach and maybe try to do it by emails and try to worry about book sales. I mean, I don't think I've really even looked at how many books I've sold. I kind of don't care. I just really want to get the word out. And I think getting the word out is the most important thing. I sent press releases to people that probably don't care. Everything that you can think of from a branding standpoint. I left a book in the airport. I was in Las Vegas. I'm sitting in a lounge at the hotel and I handed out books. And then what was funny is I took books with me to dinner and I had one of my daughters with me and I had her carry these books. And so if a celebrity walked by, there was an athlete that walked by and I said, Hey, he's an all pro football player. And I said, champ, I said that I want to show you what I, what I've done my book. He didn't know me. And I said, do you mind holding the book up and everything? And he goes, it's for kids, right?

                                                            And I go, yeah, I run a children's, I run a children's home and you know, then, and then I take that and I post it on Instagram and Facebook and all the other social media that you can, and I really hit it hard. And so it's, I think my LinkedIn has gone from 2000 followers to maybe seven or eight, just in about three or four weeks. And the same with Facebook. I think I'm getting close to tapping out of how many, so called friends you can have. And, but it's those types of things. And then I found lists of people that had done interviews before and I found all these different, so I'm emailing snippets of my book to different markets. So in Indianapolis I found a media list and I ended up sending 12 to 15 emails to that list alone. And I think if you have that goal of doing that once a day, twice a day, and doing something every day to promote yourself and promote the book, in the end I think I've, I love doing these podcasts. I've never done one until about four weeks ago, and I think I've done 10 now. And so it's things like that that are awesome.

Anna David:                  15:51                I mean, I think you are so smart to not worry about the book sales to understand that it is about what you, what you can do in terms of the influence with having a book compared to what? Selling a book and making $5 on each. It's so, I'm so happy when people just organically understand that. But is that something, some having a mentor like Kevin sort of taught you or did you just know that?

Matt George:                16:19                Well, you know, just promoting events that I've done in the past, in my career I've put on 250 plus events and fundraisers and things and so I understand the value of brand, but it was always for the brand of what the cause was or what the mission was. What I figured out with Kevin is that, and you, is that the book is an Avenue to have me be the brand, which in turn my agency, Children's Home actually reaps the benefits from. My dad said something so funny. My dad goes, how many books have you sold? And I go, I haven't even looked. And he goes, well, it's not like you're John Grisham or something. And it's true. I mean, let's be real. My goal isn't to try to sell as many books as Nelson Demill or anything like that. That's not the goal. The goal is to spread the word of what we ended up writing about and what change we can make to better our community.

Anna David:                  17:30                Yeah. I mean, sorry, John Grisham, I think you're helping a lot more people than he is. So, if you had to give your top tips for a launch, three top tips to make a book successful, what would they be? Uh-Oh, Oh, you went away.