Author: Dan Blank

Today I want to share a case study of a book launch with an author I have been working with — her novel will be released in late October. The other day, she and I were reviewing the book marketing plans we crafted, and the early results so far. Her book has been receiving a lot of support, and this was her reaction: “It shook me a little bit. I never had an experience like this before. I’ve had books do well, but never had this success so fast.”

Okay, let’s dig into the book launch case study…

Mary’s Book Launch Plans

I’ve been working with Mary Carroll Moore who will be releasing her novel A Woman’s Guide to Search & Rescue on October 24th. We are still weeks away from release date, and she said “I’ve met my goals of pre-orders already!”

While she has a rich history with publishing books (14 since the late 1980s!), this is her first book in over a decade, and her first novel since 2009. What that means is that this is her first time publishing into today’s marketplace, which is quite different from how books were marketed years ago.

She says: “I’ve been published forever, and now I’m doing so much myself, it’s amazing how much is out there that you can do. I feel like a kid in a candy store.”

What are the results so far? Here are some:

• Her book is already hitting Amazon bestseller lists in multiple categories.
• On Goodreads, her book has 19 reviews and 22 ratings so far, with a 5.00 star average.
• She has a street team with 60 people who are embracing her book and helping to spread the word.
• She will be a guest on at least 6 podcasts in the coming weeks.
• Her book has been featured on a #bookstagram tour for her cover reveal on Instagram, ensuring the cover is seen by thousands of potential readers.

But, I would also say that a clear result of her marketing efforts is a feeling of validation and joy that Mary has been expressing — knowing that her book is being seen and embraced. This is what so many authors dream of: to not feel alone in this process, and to know that their book has a viable chance to reach readers who will love it.

What else has Mary been working on in the lead up to launch? So much! When I work with a writer, we use a shared spreadsheet template that I have honed over the course of years while working with thousands of writers. Mary’s spreadsheet is filled with specific ideas and plans, and a clear book launch timeline every week through publication. It includes:

• Book giveaways
• Online launch events
• An in-person launch party
• Developing a reader guide for book clubs
• Sharing long and useful posts every week in her Substack newsletter, which she has sent since 2008 on various platforms
• Drafting emails to her network and beyond that will be sent at different points around the book launch
• Developing marketing campaign ideas
  Social media posts, including text, photos, videos, and audio

Do you need to do all of this for your book launch? Nope. Mary’s plan is 100% customized for her book and readers, as well as for her preferences and ethos. We are doing what feels right to Mary, because the experience of how you share your writing is an important part of living. I want it to be filled with meaning and joy, and true connections to actual readers.

Oh, and we are also working on marketing plans for her next book after this one!

Key Messages and Understanding Her Ideal Reader

When I’m working with a writer, one of the first things we do is define their Key Messages, and then create audience personas that describe the writer’s ideal reader.

Working with Mary, this process culminated in one of the oddest ideas I’ve ever encouraged a writer to do for the sake of book marketing. Her book features women pilots, and her mother was a pilot, so I suggested: “You should take flying lessons, then use experience, photos, and videos from that to promote the book.”

A few weeks later, Mary was in a plane taking flying lessons! Here she is in her first lesson inside of a Cessna airplane:

Now, her reasons for taking lessons go much deeper than book promotion. But it was amazing to see how this random marketing idea that I shared turned into a deeply meaningful life experience for her, and one completely aligned to her book. She says:

“My mother flew everything from Spitfires to four-engine B-29’s in World War II as a Women’s Airforce Service Pilot. She promised to teach me, but four kids and two full-time jobs got in the way.”

She shared how the Key Messages exercise not only helped her frame her book marketing, but understand her own writing in new ways:

“Do you have histories you carry with you, which end up in your writing in some form or another? I didn’t realize, when I started writing my novel about women pilots, that I was retrieving memories of my mom’s life, in an attempt to know her better.”

“It wasn’t until the novel went into publication that I saw clearly its purpose in my life, and that clarity came from my publicity coach, Dan Blank, the guru of ‘human-centered marketing.’ Dan asked me in one of our earliest sessions to find the Key Messages in my story—the meaning or message behind the characters and plot. I came up with some lame responses to Dan’s question, he urged me to dig deeper, and I began realizing the novel was about my history, my desire to get to know my elusive, charming mother on paper.”

“Do we all dig into our history to find material for our writing? Dan’s questions about Key Messages were the startle, the wakeup call, I required to see the connection between my ten years with this story and why I spent those years.”

These insights were all extended to identifying her ideal readers, how to engage them with her Key Messages and book, and where to find them. That is what lead to so many of her plans for marketing and launching her book.

Time and time again, we were uncovering not only new ways to promote a book, but new ways of communicating that felt authentic and meaningful to her. As we explored the connective tissue between her longstanding email newsletter, her Key Messages, and her social media, she concluded: “This has changed my whole view of social media.”

Of course, you can learn more about Mary and her book below!

Thanks

-Dan

P.S. You can find Mary on Substack, her website, and Instagram. Her book is available via bookshop.org and Amazon. You can also find it on Goodreads.

Earlier this week I was reading advice that Emma Gannon shared about how to get published, and she included this:

“Know your audience. Close your eyes and imagine them reading it. Who are you writing this for? Think of them, or one person, when you’re writing.”

This is what I spend so much time helping writers get clarity on — knowing who their audience may be, and then building a gateway to reach them through their writing. In so many ways, this feels like the central question my work has addressed for more than a decade. I sit in this studio every day, talking with writers and working through this process (and daydreaming out the window.)

For writers who publish, the work feels complete once it reaches a reader — once your words move someone. Perhaps you are helping them escape to a story, to learn something, to understand others better, or even themselves better through what you share.

• It’s so easy to feel the gap between these things:
• The intention you set as you write, with your words moving from inside of you to the page in front of you.

A vague sense that “an audience” is out there, somewhere.
In 2017 I published my book, Be the Gateway, which outlines the premise I use to help writers and creators understand and reach their audience. It is still as relevant as the day I published it, and I often hear from writers who tell me how much it has shaped their career, and the growth of their readership.

Working with writers every day, I focus on the clear actions that can be taken to understand, reach, and connect with their ideal readers. One action at a time. Over the years, I have developed a comprehensive system for this, where we progress step-by-step from defining the clarity and purpose of one’s writing, to envisioning exactly who will appreciate this work, and then to specific ways to reach them.

We break down this much bigger process to moments that feel refreshing. To know how to describe what you create. To know who will most appreciate that. To understand where to reach these people in the marketplace.

This is a process meant to be filled with clarity and joy. One that uncovers what feels right, so that a writer experiences that magical moment of their intention connecting with what a reader so hopes for.

I want to end by sharing 5 things I have learned about the process of finding your ideal readers, after helping thousands of writers do so over the years:

• Your success depends so much on your own clarity. Invest in your own creative vision. Spend time learning how to describe what you create and why, and how to talk about your writing with others.
• Don’t wait for others to do this work for you. Yes, you can have partners who help you in this process, but rarely will anyone else just make the process automated and simple. Embrace this as a craft — one of learning how to connect the themes you write about to another human being. Really, it’s a beautiful process.
• Develop a system that feels authentic and fruitful to you. I have a methodology that I use with writers I work with, but am always looking for ways to personalize it to each writer’s preferences and style. The idea of a “system” is not meant to confine you, but to make this process feel accessible, and that you have a clear path to follow.
• Recognize and celebrate the readers you do have. It’s not uncommon for a writer to tell me “Oh, I have a very small audience…” and then overlook those people in the search for a larger audience. But you will learn so much by engaging with your existing readership. A nice side benefit: your days are spent in conversation with those who appreciate writing that you love. This is where you will uncover insights about how your writing connects with others, and how you can encourage that to happen more.
• Show up for the work of connecting with readers. I won’t pretend that every day will give you big rewards, but like any craft, attention to it over time brings experiences that are rare and valuable.

This is the work of recognizing your voice as a writer, for developing that voice, for sharing it, and for connecting it with real people in meaningful ways.

Thank you for writing and creating.

-Dan

Nearly every writer who has ever clicked “publish” on a newsletter or social media post, or published a book, has wondered: “Um, who exactly are my readers? And how do I find them?”

I find this question has only gotten more challenging for writers as the online and social media worlds change at a rapid pace. Most writers I speak with have an endless list of things that they are told they “have to” do in order to be successful.

So today I want to consider this question of finding your readers, taking you through what is changing and why, and sharing actions I encourage you to take now. I also want to invite you to my next workshop:

Find the Readers Who Will Love What You Write!

• Live online event on Friday September 8th at 12:30pm ET
• All registrants receive a video recording, so if you can’t make it live, no problem.
• $49

Limited-time coupon code for 20% off for the workshop: wow20off
(This coupon expires on Monday, August 28, and does not apply to upgraded packages.)

Learn more and register for the workshop here.

Okay, let’s dig in:

If You Feel Lost in Finding Your Readers, You Are Not Alone

Earlier this year, I wrote an essay titled, “The (Bizarre) State of Social Media for Writers,” where I said:

“Many established expectations around social media have gone off the rails. A lot of people aren’t sure which network feels right anymore. New networks are popping up all the time. Previously stable and consistent social networks are changing in big ways.”

Recently literary agent Carly Watters talked about what publishers are doing to engage readers via social media. She described this moment for them as “a crisis point.” She says:

“The role of [how publishers] are engaging with people on social media is really at a crisis point right now. In late-stage social media, I think we have a huge problem about reaching readers where they are…This is getting worse for authors because it means they are getting little to no actual marketing support outside of internal verticals.”

Her recommendations were geared specifically towards publishers, and included that they should invest more in social media, podcasts, and streaming services for their authors. Her own focus is on: “As an agent I’m getting even more into adaptation efforts, I’m going to be pushing for podcast tours for my clients, and I’m going to urge my clients to control off shoots of IP like their own podcast RSS feed etc.”

I love the points she is making here. On the one hand, it is a clear look at the reality for what it means to reach readers in a meaningful way. And she points out that it is even difficult at the publisher level.

Her recommendations, to me, are also so empowering for the individual author. Yes, you want great partners — a publisher or literary agent such as Carly — working on your behalf in these areas. But there are so many things that you, as a writer, have a lot of opportunity to pursue on your own. Read on for some examples below.

Sometimes It Feels As Though Nothing Works

I’ve worked full-time with writers for 13 years, and throughout that time I have heard many people say, “I tried ______ marketing strategy for my writing, and it didn’t work.” Recently, Kathleen Schmidt shared an incredible essay titled “Book Publicity: What Works and What Doesn’t.” Here is a summary of some of her conclusions:

• Reviews: “I’d love to write that reviews sell books, but I’d be lying.”
• Radio: “An interview on NPR sells books…Satellite radio, like Sirius XM, has plenty of shows that interview authors. Unfortunately, you don’t see much of a sales bump from any of them.”
• Podcasts: “Podcasts can effectively sell books depending on what the show is and its listenership.”
• Television: “Television is competitive and hard to book.”
• 60 Minutes and CBS Sunday Morning: “They are in the unique position of always jettisoning a book onto bestseller lists. That said, they are SUPER competitive.”
• Morning Show and Celebrity Book Clubs: Kathleen talked about how they begin looking at books 6-9 months before publication.
• Blog Tours: “Blog tours don’t sell books.”
• Newsletters: “I like the idea of them.”
• Trade Reviews: “They aren’t consumer-facing. They don’t sell books but help inform agents, salespeople, and buyers about specific titles. My advice is not to obsess over trade reviews.”
• Magazines: “There aren’t many print magazines, but the ones that have survived don’t sell books.”
• Opinion Pieces: “I am an avid reader of op-eds, but I’ve never bought a book because of one.”
• Personal Essays: “Personal essays are difficult to place.”
• Print vs. Digital: (In terms of marketing and publicity) “The idea that only print matters is antiquated. Digital should come first.”
• Instagram Book Tours: “Instagram doesn’t sell books unless you are an author with a substantial following.”
• Goodreads: “ Just know that a Goodreads giveaway is like throwing ARCs or books out of an airplane to see what happens.”
• TikTok Influencer Campaigns: “It doesn’t sell books.”

The larger conclusion that I take away from this is that there are a multitude of ways that an author can get exposure for themselves and their writing, and that each tactic plays into an overall strategy. And of course, none of this is a complete list of all of the potential options available.

This is also why I believe in the opportunity that writers have in sharing their writing and connecting with their readers.

The Opportunity to Find Your Ideal Readers

What does this mean for the individual writer or creator like you? That the essential ingredients to move forward may include:

• Know Who Your Ideal Readers Are. Don’t rely on vague demographics, and don’t just rely on social media algorithms. Understand your readers as real, complex people.
• Know Who Your Ideal Readers Trust. Sure, this can be big influencers, but it can also be smaller and more accessible communities.
• Know Where Your Ideal Readers Show Up. This could be online or offline. Where are they putting their time and attention each day?
• Know Who Has Your Ideal Reader’s Attention. This could be what podcasts they love, what newsletters they subscribe to, what authors they read, who they follow on Instagram, and so much more.
• Know What Engages Your Ideal Readers. What messages, topics, and narratives will always get them to pause when scrolling? What gets an immediate ‘like’ from them?
• Know How to Frame Your Messaging to Attract and Engage Your Ideal Readers. This is like a signal that helps you know exactly how to engage in ways both big and small: from a social media post, to a podcast pitch.
• Know the Marketplace That Your Ideal Readers Spend Time In. If you are blind to this, how can you navigate it? Understand the ecosystem that your ideal readers spend time in to learn about writing and books they love, and how word-of-mouth marketing actually happens.

All of this helps you develop your own following, and allows readers to engage with you in powerful ways that sustain you instead of drain you.

Again, to me this is empowering. I grew up as an artist, and clearly remember so many times in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s feeling as though I had few ways to reach my ideal audience with my writing, art, and ideas. Everything relied on a gatekeeper accepting my work, and then them taking control of how it is communicated.

But today, you have that control. You have that ability to share your work in powerful ways, be it through a newsletter, essay, podcast, video, and so much else. You have the ability to engage directly with colleagues and influencers, with communities that love writing like yours, and of course, with readers.

When I work with writers, we simplify this process. We do a clear analysis, we focus our attention on what feels authentic to that writer, and how to create meaningful moments with readers.

This is a skill that you can develop — to understand who your ideal readers are, where to find them, and how to engage them. It relies on things that are deeply human — communication and trust — not trends or algorithms.

I dig deep into this in my upcoming workshop: Find the Readers Who Will Love What You Write! You can read more about it and register here. Use discount code wow20off to receive 20% off by Monday.

Thanks!
-Dan

Today I want to share the story of one author who spent 21 days visiting 21 bookstores from coast to coast across the US. This is the map of her trip, with each blue dot representing the numbered stops on her bookstore tour:

Just look at all of these photos she took of amazing bookstores around the country:

This put her into the heart of where readers come in contact with books, and she met with so many booksellers along the way, always asking for their book recommendations.

Often, I hear writers bemoan how so much of what it means to participate in literary communities, nowadays, has moved online. They miss the days of visiting independent bookstores, and being surrounded by physical books. Today I want to highlight the choices we have in how we fill our lives with books and those who celebrate them.

The author is Allison Bruce, who called her project “21 Charming Bookstores in 21 Days.” I watched along as she shared her journey on Instagram, and chatted with her this week about the process.

I was surprised to learn that this trip wasn’t something she strategized months in advance. Rather, the idea came to her at 4am on June 8th of this year. She literally woke up to the idea if visiting 21 charming bookstores. The vision was not only so specific, but it deeply resonated with her. Thirty-three days later, she left on her trip to visit these stores.

What were her goals? She seemed to have four in mind:

• The first, obviously, was the experience of visiting and celebrating indie bookstores across the country.
• Next, she had published her own book last year, and was hoping more indie booksellers would consider carrying it, so she brought some along and asked.
• She wanted to write about her journey and share the process online, so she asked permission to take photos of each store.
• She writes a column where she reviews books, and asked each bookseller for recommendations.

How did she go from the spark of an idea to reality? Each day, she did a bit of work on it. The first day she did a few basic searches online to find beautiful bookstores. A day later, she bought a paper map to envision the trip outside of a screen. She created a spreadsheet and just started planning. She phrased it this way:

“Every day I took a couple more steps forward on this becoming a real thing.”

This is such a powerful reminder that big ideas happen one small step at a time. She wrote each day to stay motivated, capturing her process and recognizing what felt true to her as she developed this idea. She said this gave her courage to keep going, saying: “It felt so clear to me, I kept going back to that.” And now, after the trip, she envisions this writing being a part of her next book.

I asked about the practical questions that I knew would be on the minds of some of my readers. Her answers were surprising, and refreshing.

For being able to take three weeks for the trip, I asked how she justified being away from her normal work and life routine. Her answer was a single word: faith. Belief that this idea would be meaningful to pursue, and she was just going to keep going with it. She also talked about how writing and publishing her own book had been such a long journey, and felt as though this trip was an extension of it. It’s worth noting that her book her book is called Flourish, and this is the subtitle: “How to Experience More Joy, Live with More Intention, and Be True to Yourself.” I work with writers because they believe so passionately in what they write about. Seeing Allison live this has been inspiring!

I asked the question I was afraid to ask, but is a critical one that stops so many of us from pursuing big ideas: wasn’t this expensive? Again, her answer was unexpected. She described how she had this one credit card that earned airline miles for every purchase she made. For years and years, she accrued those miles, including during the pandemic years when so much was purchased online via credit card. She travelled 9,000 miles in three weeks, and applied all her accumulated United miles to save cost.

Was there an opportunity cost here? Yes. She easily could have banked those miles and taken smaller vacations with them for years. But again, this idea just felt right to her, so she pursued it.

For hotels, she described starting to book them, and then when she saw them adding up, she rebooked them at less expensive accommodations. I don’t know the final budget, but it was just amazing to hear how a lot of the practical details worked out to make this whole trip feel so accessible.

I asked if she called ahead to each bookstore, to try to ensure that the owner or manager would be there when she arrived, since one of her goals was to ask them about carrying her book. She didn’t call ahead or make appointments, and her reasoning was this: “I didn’t want to hear the word, ‘no.’” Because hearing a ‘no’ over the phone or email likely would have killed the entire trip before it started.

What were some unexpected lessons from her trip? This:

“I feel I gained strength in this journey, which was not originally in my list of intentions.”

This is the kind of thing I think about a lot. Working with writers and creators, I’m always aware of the bravery that is required. To go deep with the stories you want to tell, whether that is in fiction, memoir, nonfiction, or other forms of creative expression. It is so easy for someone to silence that creative voice inside them. To not take actions to create, to publish, to share. When I consider Allison’s journey and how it left her feeling stronger and more creative, that really resonates.

Allison made the point that so much of the trip happens outside of the bookstores. Some images from her journey:

And of course, she purchased a book every chance she got!

Should you travel to 21 bookstores? All I can say is that Allison did, and it was an experience that mattered to her deeply. Honestly, I can’t remember much of anything specific that I did between July 10th and 30th of this year. But Allison will have those memories and the lessons from them forever.

You get to choose what you write, publish, and share. I simply encourage you to be open to doing so, finding meaningful ways to share your voice with others, and fill your life with those who celebrate writing and creativity.

Thank you to Allison for all of the inspiration! And thanks to you for being here with me.

-Dan

Last week I ran a workshop to help writers share their work via email newsletters. The response was far greater than I expected, with hundreds of people registering. (Thank you to all who supported this event! ) Early in the presentation, I outlined why I feel so excited about writers being able to share with readers via newsletters and other means. I noticed the chat come alive, and received a lot of enthusiastic feedback.

But a lot of writers, artists and creators I speak with are apprehensive about the amount of work that may be involved in sharing. They want to spend as much time as possible writing, so they worry about the time, energy, and focus that may go to anything event vaguely considered “marketing.”

I totally understand and appreciate this.

Why would I ever encourage a writer to spend time sharing what they create? Well, this week I was given a reminder; this is how we used to share our writing:

This is a sample of vintage letterpress type from a print shop that is still in operation. On the right are metal letters and words, which would then be used to print the paper on the left. The printmaker said this would have taken someone 45 minutes to set up, moving between dozens of different cabinets to find all of the correct elements. Let’s take a closer look:

Then this would have been run through a large machine to make prints on paper:

Around the shop were dozens of drawers filled with thousands of letters and words. Each would be a specific font and size. There were even drawers full of spaces — for the space between words — in different sizes.

And of course, for each font and size, you will need multiple versions of each letter in order to print each page. So you have to have a stock of maybe 20 F’s in a certain font and size just to print a specific page.

The print shop is a wonderland of wood and metal:

I visited the shop twice this week, and especially on the second visit, the smell was potent. The printmaker seemed to be either cleaning one of the machines, or inking it at the time.

The 45 minutes it would have taken to lay out that one flyer, did not include the time it would have taken to write or edit it. It also doesn’t solve the distribution problem, delivering the final print to dozens or hundreds of people, likely via paid postage, or horseback.

That “publish” button that we are confronted with on email newsletters and social media? That is akin to horseback delivery from 100+ years ago. It’s funny how much the act of publishing and distribution from back then would be define by smells, be it ink, or manure.

Some people still use old-fashioned tools to create. One artist I follow, Addie Best, creates her own prints:

She illustrates these and then carves them into a block using linocut carving:

Then she prints them through her own printing press:

She individually packages up each sold print and brings them to the post office. This is one batch of 170 orders that she prepared:

And through all of this, she earns a living as an artist. Could she illustrate digitally, then upload the final file to a printer in another state to print and mail for her? Yep. But that isn’t how she does it, at least not right now. Her process is her decision, just as your process is your own.

So often, we can feel overwhelmed by trends, that what we are told we have to follow in order to write, publish, and share our work. But every part of that process is for you to choose the path that works for you. Each option provides different opportunities, and different boundaries. As I’ve said many times in the past, I feel that art thrives on boundaries, so boundaries are good things in this case.

Today, there is so much that is scary about the possibilities for how we create and how we share. The other day, Jane Friedman shared that Amazon and Goodreads were becoming littered with books written using AI, but then adding her name to the cover to give them credibility.

Her post received a lot of attention, and she shared many follow ups on Twitter. I encourage you to follow her work, be it on Twitter, her newsletters, or elsewhere.

Of course, many writers are apprehensive about what the future holds, and this can stifle one’s willingness to write, to publish, to share. We are in an odd place right now because of AI’s potential impact on all creative work. For some, there is a feeling of shock and awe at what AI is capable of. I was watching an interview with Björn Ulvaeus from the band ABBA, who got a sneak peak at AI tools still in development. One of his conclusions is that AI may become the best songwriting partner you ever have. But of course, there are so many risks in the process as well.

Individuals and corporations have no idea what the limits are with AI created writing and art yet, so even the smallest step seems to be pushing boundaries in intentional and unintentional ways. In every moment of this, we are all discovering what the ethics involved are. I see so much talk about how difficult it is to withhold permission from having AI being trained on your creative work.

In some ways, people feel that AI is opening up creativity, making it more accessible to more people. In other ways, we are beginning to see a tidal wave of mediocre copies of other people’s writing and artwork flood the marketplace.

I am reminded of the 1983 film, WarGames. In it, the world is put at risk when national defense is automated by a computer. As the movie progresses, the sheer pace of the possibility of world destruction is amplified exponentially, as we watch a computer simulate thousands of ways it can happen within moments.

For writers and creators, that is how the world may feel now with AI. That it could take you months to create something, and AI can create thousands of paltry ripoffs of it in moments.

At the end of the movie, the computer concludes: “A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.”

How do you navigate this moment as a writer or creator? I believe that always starts with embracing the craft that you love.

The craft of writing.
The craft of publishing
The craft of sharing.

You can also make this process small and meaningful.

My visit to the vintage print shop reminded me that while we live in a world that threatens to disrupt how we create, publish, and share, we also live in a world full of incredible access and possibilities for how we create, publish, and share. I hope your days are filled with the craft that you love.

Thank you.

-Dan