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Earlier this year, author Pamela Toler hired me to help her prepare for her upcoming book launch. We began working together 8 months before launch day, and when I said to her, “Many writers may ask why you began working with me so far ahead of book launch,” her reply was:

“I felt I was starting at the last possible minute to ensure I was taking the steps I wanted to, without being in a rush. To be thoughtful about it, and cast a wide net.”

Why did she feel that way? Because she has been down this road before. She had published other books with big publishers, and knew how much work there is to be done, and that she didn’t want to do it alone.

Today I want to take you behind-the-scenes into the work that she and I did. This is the stuff I do day in and day out with authors. Over the past eight years, I have done this hundreds of times with writers. If you are preparing for a book launch of your own, I hope this insiders look will be helpful.

Pamela Toler is an author, speaker, and historian whose next book will be released on February 26, 2019, titled: Women Warriors: An Unexpected History, published by Beacon Press. This is the book launch we worked on.

You Need Collaborators. Even If You are An Introvert. Even If You Have No Money To Invest.

Pamela’s previous books include Mankind: The Story of All Of Us (published by Running Press), Heroines of Mercy Street: The Real Nurses of the Civil War (published by Little, Brown and Company, and The Everything Guide to Understanding Socialism: The political, social, and economic concepts behind this complex theory (published by Adams Media.)

While I work with a lot of self-published authors, I also spend 50% or more of my time with traditionally published authors such as Pamela. I point this out because I think that would surprise new authors or self-published authors. There is this perception that “Once you make it — once you are traditionally published — everything will be handled for you. You can just focus on writing.”

But that isn’t true. Publishers are amazing partners in the process of sharing your book with the world, as I will share below. I think it is important to note that Pamela hired me even though she has an amazing publisher, and even though she has an established career as a published writer.

Professionals need collaborators. Whether you are starting out, or are mid-career, I want to encourage you to develop professional relationships. There are a million ways you can collaborate with people.

Too many writers are mired in hundreds of articles, blog posts, podcasts, webinars, and courses telling them all of these tips about how to develop a platform and launch their book. I mean, this very blog post is one of them. The problem with that is that writers can feel “I am doing the work of being a professional,” while they are totally and completely isolated.

You should have colleagues. This may include:

• Other writers who write in the same genre or topic as you.
• Any other writer, even if they write different things from you.
• Booksellers
• Librarians
• Those who organize literary events, festivals, conferences, readings, etc.
• Readers! People who like to read!
• Editors
• People who support books in any form. Yes, this can include agents, publishers, publicists, marketers, etc.

I speak to professional writers and artists nearly every day. What do they have that others don’t? A creative community. A network of professional colleagues and personal friends who create and support creative work.

How did they get this? They reached out. They showed up. They were curious. They were generous. They were supportive.

None of those things require you to spend even a dime. They just require you to be human.

Prepare For the Work of Being A Published Author

Can an author just write, and never give a thought to platform, marketing, or social media? Yes! I love when people write for the sake of writing.

But… when you publish, you are also participating in the business of publishing. This idea that publishing costs money, and that books don’t magically find their way into readers hands. Asking someone to spend 6-10 hours reading your book is not a small ask.

This is why Pamela said she hired me:

“I wanted a collaborator because I was too close to it. I wanted someone who would ask hard questions. The deadlines you set were useful, otherwise, a lot of important actions would get pushed to the bottom of the list. Collaborators bring different eyes to it.”

She then listed out some more specific reasons. The quotes are from her, and then I add some commentary after each:

• “To maximize opportunity and give the book best possible chance.” The thing that no one wants to tell you is that no one really knows what will ensure your book will be a breakout success. So the real work is to do careful analysis of your ideal audience, how you can reach them, and then put in place a few specific marketing pieces. I dig into that below.
• “Help in managing the stuff that I will have to do.” When I work with an author, I typically create a spreadsheet of all of the possible actions we can take, and from that, we carefully select key items. Even in doing that, there is so much to be done. This is where authors drown. Having someone to help prioritize and manage this is the difference between freaking out and feeling professional.
• “Free up the publisher to do what they do best.” I loooooove the work that publishers do. But the truth is often that they have a finite amount of resources to give to any one book. The more that Pamela can do on her own to support the book, the more that this will clarify and amplify the work that the publisher will do to market it.
• “To feel sane and relaxed.” It’s worth noting that Pamela is incredibly busy preparing for the book launch and attending to the rest of her life. She is swamped. I don’t want to make it seem as though she is in this luxurious position of feel super calm. But… because of the work she and I did, she doesn’t feel pushed over the edge, and isn’t freaking out about missing chances.

The Work We Did

8-months prior to book launch this is the work that Pamela and I focused on:

• Clearly identify the ideal reader for the book. We analyzed what she knew about her audience already, and then dug deeper into where they hang out, and who already reaches them. We created personas for her three core audiences, and then identified what podcasts those people listen to, books they read, blogs they follow, events they go to, etc. Some of this was a brain dump of what Pamela already knew, and some of it was a big expansion. This spreadsheet gives us hundreds of ways to consider how she can connect with ideal readers, yet the entire time, envisions them as an actual person, not some vague set of demographics.
• Get radically clear on her messaging. We analyzed everything about how she talked about the book, herself, and her writing. We rewrote her bio, her social media profiles, and considered how to frame the current book with her previous books, and even her future books.
• Assess her online presence. We identified what needed to be updated, what was missing, and how to ensure each piece was accurate and ready for the new book. Her online presence is now much more clear than it was. During this process we worked through a complete redesign of her website (she also hired a web design firm to create that), and a revamp of her social media channels.
• Create a book launch timeline. We started looking at what to do and when. We went through an exhaustive list of categories and tasks that she could focus on, and then selected what would matter the most to her book. We then broke those tasks down into specific actions, and aligned them to a calendar. This timeline goes from the Fall of 2018 to past the book launch.
• Clearly define key marketing campaigns. There are a few key ideas that were developed as marketing campaigns. I can’t say what they are yet, because they are in development, but something to take from this is to clearly identify one or two ideas that you can totally hit out of the park. That will be generous to others, filled with joy, and that people will want to share.
• Create an editorial calendar. We created a day-by-day, week-by-week editorial calendar that covers her email newsletter, blog, speaking events, and social media channels. What we wanted to consider was how her message develops as she moves towards launch, and how she can share authentic and engaging content without resorting to Tweets that screamed “Buy my book!” We also left a lot of white space in the calendar for her to share thoughts and ideas that can’t be pre-planned.
• Demystify the technical questions. I was on call to help troubleshoot and guide her through any technical questions that came up along the way. This could include website, social media, podcasting, and so much else. There were a number of places where I smoothed over something that would have taken her a long time to find and do.
• Consider post-launch as much as she considered pre-launch. Pamela will be speaking and promoting this book well after launch date. That allowed us to consider how she can set herself up for success in April, May and June, months after the release date for the book. Plenty of authors come away from a book launch exhausted and confused. For Pamela, we want this work to be sustainable and filled with moments of meaningful connection with her readers for months, and years, to come.

Throughout all of this, Pamela was coordinating with her publisher, who are just amazing, by the way.

Update after the launch of the book in March 2019: I woke up one morning this week to this lovely email from her:

Yesterday all my on-line channels went crazy. Lots of people from my past and present weighed in about the book. I feel lucky, and I know I worked hard to make that luck.”

I think a lot of what happened came because over the years I’ve been listening to some things you’ve said and integrated them into the way I work (which in all fairness dovetail nicely with my dad’s management philosophies). It was all summed up for me in this comment on Facebook from a woman who has become a true fan over the last two years:

“My copy should be waiting for me when I get home tonight! I can’t wait. What a delight it’s been to watch this amazing project come to life. I so appreciate Pam letting us tag along on her journey and her transparency on the challenge of taking an idea and give it life through the written word. Thank you, Pam.”

And here is a photo that Pamela shared when she received her own copies of the book:

That moment — not just of being published — but of being read is where the magic happens. When the intention of the author meets the worldview of the reader. When those two things meet, art happens.

If you need help in this process for your own writing, you can learn more about my services here.

Thanks!
-Dan

P.S.: You can find Pamela in the following places:
Her new book: Women Warriors: An Unexpected History
pameladtoler.com
Her blog: History in the Margins
Instagram: @pamelatolerauthor
Twitter: @pdtoler
Facebook

I want to invite you to a free 10-day project to connect in meaningful ways to readers. If you are an introvert who wants to develop an audience for your writing, this project is for you.

Imagine if 10 days from now you:

1. Had a clear sense of who your ideal readers are.
2. Created at least 1 meaningful connection to a reader.
3. Developed a system where you could easily connect to more readers as quickly or slowly as you like.
4. Could use everything you learn to develop an author platform and book marketing strategy that felt authentic and 100% unique to who you are are.

Too many writers waste their time chasing marketing trends that don’t work, and feel pressured into using social media in a way that makes them feel icky.

Let’s do it differently.

I have been developed a new guide called “5 Ways to Immediately Connect With Readers” that provides clear steps to do exactly that. To launch it, I want you to join me in this project so that we can go through it step-by-step, together.

Do you need to have a book or be a published author? No! As long as you write fiction, memoir, or nonfiction of any sort, at any level, this is 100% for you.

How the project works:

• To be a part of it, simply join this private Facebook Group.
• Starting on Oct 30, I will share the first of five steps to connect with readers. You will receive a PDF, access to a video, and assignment.
• Every other day, you will receive a new step in the program.
• Along the way, join in the chat on Facebook to connect to other writers and get feedback and advice from me.

Do you have to do every single step? Nope. But I would love to have you participate in some manner. I love working with writers, and I simply want this resource to be fun and effective.

To participate, join this Facebook Group before October 30th.

Thanks!
-Dan

 

Today I want to share some tips on how to create a website that feels authentic to who you are as a writer or artist:

Step #1: Understand Your Goals

Earlier this year I was having a conversation with a writer in my Creative Shift Mastermind about options for a website homepage. I explained a key choice:

1. You can have your blog posts as your homepage, a listing of your most recent entries. The value here is that you highlight your blog, and it features your most recent content. This is nice because you engage people immediately with your writing.
2. Or, you can have a landing page, which is a homepage that clearly explains who you are and what you create, and tries to lead the reader to take a specific action.

At the time, my homepage had contained mostly my blog posts. I had it this way for more than a decade.

As this writer and I went back and forth, I ended up convincing myself that I was long overdue to change my homepage to a proper landing page. After all, every single day my goal is to help writers forge meaningful connections with readers. Couldn’t I do that more effectively if my homepage provided resources to do this instead of whatever my most recent blog post was?

Step #2: “Good Enough” is a Fine Way to Start

Within 24 hours of that conversation with the writer in my Mastermind, I switched my homepage to a landing page. It felt scary, like I was trying on not just a new outfit, but a whole new style. I was afraid it didn’t fit right, and didn’t suit my personality.

I started with a “good enough” homepage. I described who I was, and how I helped writers. I referenced some recent blog posts too, since I wasn’t fully ready to hide those. Looking back on it now, it looks really simple:

Then I made it better. I think these are some of the essential elements of a good landing page:

• A clear statement of what you do or how you help.
• Something human — a photo of you, or anything that communicates that you are a real person, not a stock website template.
• It should lead to one clear action or resource for the viewer to follow. This is what a lot of people refer to as a “call to action.” Usually it is to purchase your book or join your email list, but it could be many other things.
• Testimonials or reviews of your work.
• A deeper look at why you do what you do. Don’t just sell something, explain why it matters.

This first version was “good enough,” but it felt a little flat. Like you are staring at a menu board of all of these amazing milkshake flavors, and then you choose “vanilla.” I don’t want my creative work to be vanilla.

Step #3: Create a Radical Fake Homepage

I was chatting with my friend Jennie Nash about this, and we created a prompt to break free of the vanilla website. I told her I would send her a document that was radically honest about who I am and what I do.

I ended up calling this my “Radical Fake Homepage.” I used that as a safe prompt in order to create something that felt authentic and engaging. The idea was to be really honest — to not edit myself at all. “Radical.” But keep it safe by calling it “Fake” — I didn’t feel pressure to actually make this the real homepage.

Once I put it down on paper and shared it with her, a question quickly emerged: “Why isn’t this radical page your real page?”

The radical homepage was just so honest about why I love working with writers.

This was in April. Looking back at my archived notes, it seems I began the first version of the Radical Fake Homepage on April 27th. I then created four iterations of that document, and just three days later, I made this fake homepage my real homepage.

The result: it felt like the homepage truly reflected who I am, what drives me, and how my time is spent helping writers.

Step #4: Constant Experimentation and Improvement

I have since gone in, again and again, and updated the homepage. Sometimes I honed it with little edits. But other times, I completely — and dramatically changed it. I tried out new taglines, new images, new colors, new layouts. This is how the homepage looks right now:

I have also been experimenting with the free resource that you receive when you sign up for my newsletter list. One of them has been a “Creative Clarity Workbook.” Another that I am now preparing to launch is called “5 Ways to Immediately Connect With Readers.” (more on that soon.)

With each new change to the homepage, I feel clearer about the work I do and how I can more effectively communicate with writers.

For your writing and creative work, consider how your homepage can most effectively do this in a way that feels authentic to who you are, and create a meaningful connection with readers.

Below are a few links to previous posts I have written about redesigning my website. The advice in these older posts still holds true:

• How to create an effective website
• Lessons From Redesigning My Website
• How I Redesigned My Website

Thanks!

-Dan

I received this letter in the mail recently:

It was from a writer I have been working with, and it was a letter expressing her gratitude for what we have been creating.

To receive a letter like this is, well, a shock. I mean, how often do you go through your mail to discover a letter you didn’t expect, and open it to find four thick paragraphs that do nothing but say nice things about you?

Nowadays, I think we default too much to a “like” on Facebook, or clicking that little heart on Instagram. We justify that it is an adequate expression of “I see you. I appreciate all that you are, and all that you create.”

But how can a “like” button truly express that?

In the work I do, I help writers create meaningful connections with their readers. For this, I help them connect their book to the world, and craft experiences outside of the book.

The ideal is something similar to the letter I received. Where an author and their writing creates a moment that is so impactful that it adds a richness to the reader’s life.

Maybe it reframes how the reader see the world, or it makes them feel understood for the first time. Perhaps it takes them somewhere they never knew they wanted to go, but once they arrived they felt they never wanted to leave.

That is the power of a book. The power of writing. The power that authors wield in their work. And it is the goal for how writers can connect with their audience outside of their books as well.

People tend to call this “platform” or “social media strategy,” but it’s more than that. It is living the life of a writer. To craft one’s identity as someone who, through their writing, truly connects people to new ideas, new stories, and new ways of looking at other human beings.

I spend my days working with writers in my Creative Shift Mastermind, my private clients, and talking to writers in my podcast or in conversations on the phone. Many describe with complete joy, a moment when their writing truly connected with someone.

Today I want to take inspiration from the letter I received, and challenge you to truly connect with someone in a way that will brighten their day.

The letter I received is from Shannon Connery, PhD. Her backstory is incredible. She spent a decade working with public safety personnel and private organizations in the fields of police psychology, trauma debriefing, and threat assessment. What this means is that after the Columbine High School massacre  and the Aurora movie theater shootings, she helped first responders process and deal with what they were experiencing.

Fred Rogers has this wonderful quote:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

Well, Shannon is someone who helps the helpers.

Earlier this year, she quietly challenged herself to better appreciate those around her. She created what she calls “The Gratitude Project.” For 100 days, she sent long thoughtful letters to anyone in her life that she wanted to express gratitude to.

She sent letters to people she hasn’t spoken to in 30 years. To people she met once, but who left a lasting impact on her. She even sent letters to people who harbored deep animosity to her.

She didn’t tell anyone about this project, well, except for me. For the past few months, I’ve been helping her develop her platform in preparation for writing and publishing her first book.

When I asked Shannon what she learned after sending 100 letters, this is what she said:

• She not only felt happier in general, but a sense of calm was created in her life in the few months that she wrote.
• Her memory improved. She was taken aback by the level of detail of people, places and events that she hadn’t thought about in years.
• She was able to use the gratitude letters to let go of anger. She said that when she was upset or angry, she would write a letter of gratitude to the person she was angry at. The anger actually disappeared in many case, and it others, it was lessened to a degree that made it  much more manageable.

Today, I want to encourage you to embark on your own gratitude project. Not just for the possible outcomes that Shannon shared, but because it is a wonderful way to ensure that your writing has a profound effect on the lives of others.

Even though I knew about Shannon’s Gratitude Project, I didn’t expect to receive a letter. When it arrived, I was taken aback. As I opened it, I noticed it was a long typewritten note. I mean, how often does someone send you a long formal letter?

I had completely forgotten about her Gratitude Project as I read it. She and I had recently developed her writing, launched a newsletter, and launched a podcast. In the note she said:

“The fact that in two weeks, people have asked me to talk more about my work, makes me thrilled. The fact that people have listened to my podcast makes me ecstatic. Please know how grateful I am for your guidance. It has brought me to this place and this feeling.”

There are two ways that you can join Shannon in a Gratitude Project of your own:

1. Go big: spend 100 days writing a letter each day to someone in an expression of gratitude.
2. Or, simply find one meaningful way to express to a single person the gratitude that you feel. Put it in writing. Mailing a letter it is ideal, but email works as well.

Then, if you are up for it, share on social media that you did this, and use the hashtag #GratitudeProject.

One thing that Shannon kept telling me is how much response she has received. Each day, someone reacts to her writing. She has been overwhelmed by the gratitude that has been reflected right back at her.

I mean, isn’t that what we all want? For our words to resonate deeply with another human being?

Maybe your next book is months or years away. But today, you can write a letter, and your words will make someone’s day.

You can hear Shannon talk about The Gratitude Project in this podcast episode, and you can find her in the following places:

• http://shannonconnery.com
• Her podcast
• Her newsletter
• Instagram
• Twitter

Thanks!

-Dan