Author: Dan Blank

How will you ensure that you feel a sense of fulfillment in what you create, how you publish, and your ability to share and reach readers this year? Each day, I talk with writers and artists, and study the experiences of creators via interviews, books, and what they share. Going into this year, there is one phrase in my mind that seems to sum up the intention of reaching creative goals:

We find a way.

To me, that is a hopeful phrase. But it is also one that requires intention, work, risk, and experimentation. And when one action fails, we learn important lessons that we keep in mind when we try, try again.

Today, I want to explore this concept of how we “find a way” to the experiences and milestones that we dream of for our writing and how to connect with readers.

Before we dive in, I invite you to join me for a free workshop on Friday January 17th at 12:30pm ET: Creative Clarity: Find More Time, Get More Done, and Live with More Confidence. You can register here.

We Find a Way

Finding a way will look different for each of us, and that is the beauty of it. Every single person reading this is unique. You are unique. As the father of kids who are now 7 and 14, I often consider what I have heard Mister Rogers say thousands of times: “You’ve made this day a special day, by just your being you. There’s no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.”

The more I think about this over the years, the more radical it feels. Not, “You can feel special if you just do this thing.” Not, “You will be special after you reach this milestone.” Not, “I like 97% of you and if you just change that last 3%, then you are perfect.” But: You are unique and I like you just how you are.

This, of course, applies to how we feel about ourselves as writers and creators as well. There are so many ways for you to succeed exactly as who you are, within the boundaries that you set, which help you feel motivated and safe. You can “succeed” however you define it, and do so on your own terms.

“We find a way” means that how you are unique is an asset to your journey as a writer, not a disadvantage. As something we honor, not something we try to overcome.

For the work I help writers with, this has so many goals or milestones we can focus on. For instance, we may find a way to:

• Launch our books
• Establish and grow our platforms
• Create a marketing campaign that truly reaches readers
• Develop a sustainable career as a writer
• Improve our craft
• Forge professional relationships with colleagues
• Truly connect our writing with readers
• … and so much else

This is why I do what I do. To spend my days with writers and creators, honoring who they are and what they create, and finding a way to help them reach readers and flourish out in the world.

One of my most popular posts ever was this: “No one knows what works, but doing stuff works.” This is what it means:

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Something I always come back to is this: no one knows what works.

That is not meant to be depressing, I actually mean it in a very validating and hopeful way. If you feel lost, like it seems that everyone got a memo that you didn’t about the best hacks and tips to find creative success — that isn’t the case. Instead of seeking shortcuts or dancing to TikTok videos that you hate, I encourage you to focus on the foundations of your creative vision. Get radical clarity on what you create and why. Obsess about your messaging. View how you share as a craft. To truly care about that moment when what you create connects with your ideal reader or viewer. And feel good about yourself and your work in the process.

For many years, my friend Jennie Nash and I have had a mastermind call each week to discuss business challenges, creative goals, new ideas, and so much else. We often discuss a specific idea or vexing problem one of us is navigating, and the primary phrase Jennie and I come back to again and again is this:

We don’t know what works, but doing stuff works.

What does that mean? This: keep going. Explore the idea. Launch the thing. Take the risk. Put something out there. Learn from it. Then iterate and try again.

I have seen the problems that crop up when people do the opposite: they stagnate because their idea doesn’t seem perfect. They become mired in uncertainty, so they shelve their creative work. They shy away from taking an action because they aren’t sure it is the exact right one. Then, years pass without creating or sharing.

The “doing stuff works” part of that phrase is meant to be a kick in the pants to live a life full of creating and connecting. To feel alive as a writer and artist.

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A couple weeks ago, Jennie shared about some huge accomplishment she reached in her business, and another she reached in pickleball. Then, she shared about a 2 year ordeal she went through in the background to secure the trademark for her business. It’s easy to look at someone’s accomplishments and not know about the challenges they face behind the scenes.

(Also: Jennie Nash and the good folks at #AmWriting are running “The Blueprint for a Book Challenge,” which starts in 2 days. It’s an incredibly helpful tool. More info here.)

This idea of finding a way is meant to counteract all of the instincts we have to stop creating and stop sharing. For instance, I see so many lists online of what doesn’t work, which include things such as:

• “Social media doesn’t sell books.”
• “Reviews don’t sell books.”
• “Blurbs don’t sell books.”
• “Podcasts don’t sell books.”
• And on and on.

One can even show you hard data proving all of this. Despite that, books sell. And sometimes, social media helps, reviews help, blurbs help, podcasts helps, and so on.

It’s easy to do an analysis and conclude: nothing works. Yet, we find a way. You may feel that you missed all the trends, or that it is impossible to get readers’ attention nowadays. Yet, I guarantee you, in 2 years, there will be writers who starts from nothing, and grow an audience. Five years from now you may look back fondly on 2025, and think, “Gosh, I wish I had started then. I would be so far ahead of these other people today at reaching my goals as a writer.”

Finding a way is not about insider knowledge, having more money, resources, time, or access than others. It is about persistence. It is about seeing failure as learning. It is about trying again.

So much of this starts with clarity — of knowing exactly what to work on and why. Which is why I’m starting the year by offering a free workshop on my Clarity Card process. (Register here!)

What Finding a Way Looks Like

On social media, I have been seeing some wonderful posts where successful writers are being honest about the multitude of things that have gone into their writing reaching readers.

Here is one from Becca Grischow on how her debut novel was a Target holiday selection, released by Penguin this past year. She listed a number of things she did to become an “overnight success,” including:

• “I spent 5 years ghostwriting books for other romance authors and memoirists…”
• “I gradually built a TikTok community beginning in 2021…”
• “I worked a full time job…”
• “I got LUCKY…”

She did so many things! So often someone will look at a list like this and consider, “Okay, how can I surgically do just the one or two things she did that worked best, and ignore the rest? I want the highest return on investment, and only do things that will not waste my time.” That, of course, is logical. But it misses the point.

The thing is, her success took all of this, and likely so much more that she didn’t even list out. This probably includes doing the things that didn’t work in order to get to the things that do work.

I see lots of threads like these online, and find them helpful to understand holistically how finding a way works for different writers. I think it’s easy for one writer to look at another’s success and try to overlay a simple narrative. E.G.:

• It was her craft
• It was luck
• It was social media
• It was a trend
• It was timing
• She had really key relationships
• She’s an extrovert

But usually, it’s a mixture of many things.

On the wall across from my desk in my studio, I have photos of successful creators from a wide range of fields: writers, dancers, musicians, artists, performers, etc. What I consider is: they found a way. To develop their craft. To take a risk. To keep going after a huge setback. To reinvent themselves. To stand up to judgement and trends and truly be themselves.

Be a Great Partner

When I talk with writers who are considering signing with an agent or publisher, or who have already signed and are developing a book launch strategy, I encourage this: be the best partner possible.

In situations like this, some writers instead take a strategy of waiting, of not taking action. They may justify: “I signed with an amazing publisher, they are the experts, I want to wait to see what they do.” Then, the writer does nothing, assuming that a single action (signing with a publisher) will magically make their dreams come true.

What if instead, you viewed this as being a great partner at every step of the process? Someone who takes initiative to consider ways of reaching readers. For instance, let’s say a publicist at your publisher scores your book an appearance on some “best of” list. Some authors do the minimum: which is nothing. Again, they can justify this with logic, “What can I do? I don’t know that many people, so why should I share about that?”

But other writers would try to parlay that success into something more. Perhaps they reach out to some podcasts with that news, and use it as a pitch to feature them and their book. Or perhaps they reconnect with a book club who had previously been on the fence about selecting that author’s book, using this news as social proof of how great of a selection their book would be. So now, that one media hit that your publisher got you, is something you turn into exposure to thousands of more readers via your own efforts.

How does one small success turn into one mid-sized success, and then turn into a big success? We find a way.

I’ve also worked with authors who focused on their platform and book launch sooooo early, that by the time their publisher got involved, they were thrilled by all the author was doing. So the publisher put in a greater effort because they could feel a sense of momentum happening already. Again, the author was a great partner in the process, and that makes everyone’s jobs even easier.

For instance, for a writer I’m working with, we developed an email to encourage her launch team to take action in pre-ordering and reviewing her book. It worked really well. The author then shared the email with her publisher who loved it so much, they decided to send it to all of their authors as a template to use. (Learn more about working with me here!)

I’m reading Cher’s memoir (which is amazing, by the way), and at one point, she shares the story of her first hit song. Industry insiders heard the song before release and had gotten behind it, and it was becoming successful. Yet, she still enlisted every family member and every friend she had to call in to a regional radio station to help make it the most requested song. Not long ago, I shared a similar story in my Substack of Slack calling individual fans directly — one by one — inviting them to his band’s next show.

It would have been easy for Cher to just wait for the record label to make things happen. Or for Slash to assume the venue would pull in all the attendees. But they knew that becoming the best possible partner and doing this legwork would help turn a small success into a bigger success. And now decades later, they tell these stories as signifiers of how they became successful. It wasn’t just talent. It wasn’t just luck. They found a way by using every resource they had.

If you don’t yet have a partner in the publishing process, this advice still applies. I help writers develop the marketing sections of their book proposals, or to develop their platforms as writers before they even query agents or prepare for a book launch. Doing this work early matters.

“We find a way,” is a phrase that helps me cut through the barriers that I perceive stand in the way of creative goals. For whatever you hope to accomplish this year, I hope you find a way to experience that in a manner that feels authentic to who you are.

Please let me know in the comments: what is one thing you would love to find a way to accomplish or experience this year?

Reminder: Join me for a free workshop on Friday January 17th at 12:30pm ET: Creative Clarity: Find More Time, Get More Done, and Live with More Confidence. You can register here.

For my paid subscribers this week, I shared a mini-case study on how to give yourself permission to have total editorial authority in what you write and share. See a preview here, or become a paid subscriber to view the entire 20-minute video, as well as my other weekly mini-case studies for paid subscribers.

Thank you for being here with me.
-Dan

Earlier this week, my mom died. For a while we had been watching her slowly slip away, succumbing to dementia and cancer. Week by week, she was less able to express the magic of who she was. Today I want to share with you a little story of where her spark came from in the early days of her life.

My mom grew up on the Lower East Side of New York City in the 1940s and 50s. This is the street she grew up on, a photo of it from 1980:

Photo by Brian Rose

When you first glance at it, I imagine you may be looking at the dilapidated buildings, or the empty lots filled with rubble. But I would like for you to focus on something that is not in the photo — please pay attention to the large gap between the buildings in the center of the image. That hole where a building once stood. Where a universe once existed. Where now only stories remain.

On this street, one block away, was the building my mother grew up in. Below is a photo of her block from the early 1980s, decades after she left. The entire south side of the street (seen here) was in rubble, as was most of the north side (where her building was.)

Photo by Peter Bennett

Now, we are going to time travel once again. Here is her building in 1940, five years before she was born, I highlighted it in green:

If you zoom in, you can see that there is a “To Let” sign on her building, for which a modern translation would be: “apartment for rent.” I wonder if that is the apartment that my grandparents ended up renting. There were 20 apartments in the building, so it’s a 5% chance, right?

My mom grew up in a tenement apartment, with her sharing a single bedroom with her sister and their parents. The bathroom was in the building’s hallway, not within her apartment, and the bathtub was in the kitchen. They only had three rooms, indicating a very small amount of space, which is why I think so much of her life during that time was experienced in the streets of New York City.

Here she is in a stroller in front of her building:

Then, a year or two later, riding her tricycle, the street teeming with life:

Here she is marveling at a poster advertising the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, likely on the avenue right around the corner from her home:

Here she is just sitting on the sidewalk where so much time was spent with family and friends:

Her father worked a couple blocks south, and here she is visiting him at the bakery he worked at his entire adult life:

She often visited her grandparents who lived several more blocks south. Here she is in front of their building, three generations of women in her family, as well as my great grandfather:

Here she is celebrating a birthday with friends (third from left):

I sometimes think of the holes in our lives that are left when someone we love moves on. Where these magical people once filled our days with special moments, experiences, and connections, there is now something missing.

What replaces these holes are oftentimes the stories we remember, and the stories we tell. Sometimes this keeps memories alive, and other times it keeps a relationship going even after someone is gone.

Many of these stories are lost to time. Which is perhaps one of the reasons I spend my days with writers — those who tell stories, bringing them into the future.

When you look again at the image of the dilapidated block from 1980 that I started this essay with, what do you see now?

Photo by Brian Rose

It’s a moment in time, but one filled with stories from decades before, and decades since. That hole between the buildings was once a thriving community of people’s homes.

What I am sharing here in these images are bookends of my mom’s life. A glimpse at her first days, and a glimpse at her final days. In between was a life filled with moments, experiences, relationships, and stories. Here is a photo of me with mom in early November. When I held out my phone to take a selfie of us, she saw us on the screen and was overjoyed, saying, “Look! It’s me and you!”

Please keep Barbara Blank in your thoughts this week. A little girl from the Lower East Side who dreamed, lived, and is loved.

As always, thank you for being here with me.
-Dan

Today I want to share something I have been obsessing over for months, and use this as a metaphor for how to develop your platform as a writer in a manner that feels authentic, and also deeply engages readers.

Let’s dig in…

Time Capsule Houses

Earlier this year I discovered that people were sharing photos of “time capsule houses” online, and I became enamored with them. What is a time capsule house? It is a home that was decorated decades ago in a different era, and never changed. While there are many beautiful examples, I became focused on houses that were stuck in time from the era I grew up: the 1970s, with all of the garish decor that was in fashion then. This is what feels like home to me. The fact that someone has been living with this interior for 50+ years is amazing:

As I began looking at dozens of these houses, I noticed something: the exterior of the home rarely hinted at the wild interiors. The outside was expected, neatly fitting into a row of similar houses. For example, would you ever think that this very average house:

Hid this amazing interior for half a century?

The interiors are so vibrant, filled with polarizing decisions that evoke a specific character and mood. Why am I writing about this today? Because I firmly believe that you have a unique creative voice, and I encourage you to share this voice.

Too often, we tone down our voices to fit in. We try to smooth out the rough edges and align to what is expected. Spending months researching these time capsule houses had me reflecting on the joy of living in a manner that is uniquely you. And as a writer, not being afraid to full realize your creative voice.

Does that mean you have to be confrontational, or stick out? No. But please don’t be a boring copy of a copy of a copy. Not only does it dim your unique voice, but it also does nothing to allow others to discover the magic of your writing and creative work.

Find a way to do this that feels safe to you. You can mimic these homes if you like, expected on the outside, but vibrant on the inside.

What is amazing to me is how these not only survived, but people were actively living in them like this for decades! Someone experienced this living room exactly like this in 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005, 2015, and right up until recently:

Or this bedroom from the same house:

I mean, imagine walking into this entryway to your home every single day for decades:

Or how about this one:

Or how this ordinary looking house:

…presents guests with a “choose your own adventure” type decision when they enter: the fiery red of the family room, or the calm blues of formal living room:

For me, this research has certainly been a meditation on how wonderful wallpaper and carpeting are:

Don’t you miss flocked wallpaper? This is the coziest hallway ever:

Or how about matching every element of a room to wallpaper:

I was also reminded how carpeting used to be a common thing in kitchens, which I grew up with as well. And in case you are wondering, the owners put this carpeting in every single room of their home. Because, of course they would, right?

The bathrooms tend to be amazing in these houses — places where the homeowners took even bigger risks:

Wouldn’t you want to wake up in this exact room every single day, for 50+ years?

Compare all of this to houses you often see today. In researching this essay, I have spent months looking at houses for sale in the town I grew up in. Occasionally I find a time capsule house, one whose interior was unchanged since 1970. But mostly I find this: stark white interiors. It is house after house after house that looks like this:

Of course, I understand why people do this. Beyond it being in fashion, it’s easier to sell because any potential buyer can easily “decorate” it to their taste in a simple trip to Target or HomeGoods.

As time capsule houses come to the market, they are invariably updated to a plain interior. Here is a fascinating example: this is a house that Tina Turner lived in during the 1970s, whose interior survived until a couple years ago. The bedroom then:

The exact same bedroom today:

I share this with you today to remind you: you are an experience. There is a world inside of you that is shared in your writing and creative work. Your voice is unique in this world.

Are there times when being the plain room is preferred? Of course. But I know that you have something special that you want to share, something that may stand out, and in doing so, deeply connect with readers. Don’t be afraid to go to that place. To share what you are afraid to share, not because it is threatening, but because it embodies who you are more than anything.

You don’t have to fit in. You can ignore trends and best practices.

That doesn’t mean that you have to walk around as a garishly dressed extrovert. But in how you share, I encourage you to make it feel unique to who you are, and your unique voice in this world.

The difficult thing to navigate in this is often our own sense of other people’s expectations. We may fear that others expect us to fit in, and define us in a simple and clear way that we can’t deviate from.

But you are a multifaceted human being and writer. You are more than one thing at once, and you evolve over time. I simply encourage you to recognize that and not hide that.

Be the best version of you can be, however you define that. That is what will engage readers, and what will make your work and how you share it memorable.

Please let me know in the comments: Do you feel that how you share online is fully representative of the creativity inside of you? If not, what is holding you back?

For my paid subscribers this week, I shared a mini-case study on using video to better connect with readers.

Thank you for being here with me.
-Dan

Today I want to discuss how you want to feel as a writer, and ways of reframing “success” so it feels within reach. My view on this extends beyond just how you feel as you craft words, but also in how your work is shared and connects with others in the world. At the end of this post I will also share my holiday gift guide!

Okay, let’s dig in to today’s post…

What Does Success Feel Like?

Too often, the conversation in publishing around “success” focuses on milestones and stark numbers: sales, lists, media hits, subscribers, followers, and so much else. Can these numbers matter? Of course. Do they tell the whole story of the success of a book or writer? Nope, not even close.

What is your experience of being a writer today? I want to consider this in the most practical sense possible — how you feel today, or could feel tomorrow or next week. That timeframe forces us to consider how we can feel using only the resources we have right now, our existing levels of time, energy, and attention.

Sometimes a writer will express their goals to me as relying on an outside force validating their work, and once that happens, only then will they live as they want to as a writer. E.G.: “Oh sure, if I get an agent, sign with a publisher, and became a runaway bestseller, then I would spend hours talking with readers like David Sedaris does.” This conditional view that relies on the actions of others means that they avoid any conversation about writing or reading in their everyday lives. They never ask those they meet about what that person is reading. They rarely mention their own writing when someone asks, “What’s going on?” It’s like a secret they keep.

Or another example: “If my first book does really well, then I will make the commitment to write more often. But in the meantime, I don’t want to spin my wheels, wasting my time.” So they barely write, always looking for validation before they write again.

Today I am asking you to consider how you can bridge the gap between who you are right now, and how you want to feel as a writer. What would the idealized version of what your week can look like not ten years from now, but ten days from now? Can you visualize answers that don’t rely on a gatekeeper or influencer validating you? Below are some questions to consider.

Do you write? My days are filled with conversations with writers, and it’s surprisingly frequent how often someone expresses to me that they don’t write that often Other things seem to get in the way, or they are holding off writing as they wait for something. Of course, I have empathy for the fact that every single person reading this is swamped — potentially overwhelmed by their responsibilities, including work, family, and health.

Given the resources you have right now, what could a possible answer be for “Do you write?” if you feel as though you have little margin in your life? What would it feel like to say, “I write every day?” Or “I write every weekend?” Or whatever your own version of that answer may be.

For those I speak with whose writing is infused in their daily life, I may hear an answer vaguely similar to this: “I write nearly every day. Some days it is for an hour at a time, but that is more rare than I would like. More often, I write for 10 or 20 minutes at a time. This isn’t ideal, but I find I can nearly always find that time, even when work and family responsibilities are overwhelming. Some days I feel the muse and the words flow. Other days, I rely on the routines I’ve established to get words down on the page, even if I’m not particularly inspired in that moment. When I was younger, I felt I could only write if I had the proper amount of time and space to get into the zone. But what I have found is that even writing for 10 minutes a day means that my mind is filled with my craft. I think about ideas and even work on sentences in the back of my mind while doing other things. And oddly, some of the days that I feel least inspired to write, result in my best writing.”

Of course, that may not be the feeling you desire or the lifestyle you want. What would your answer be for how you want to feel about how you write?

Do you feel alone as a writer? Do you worry that you missed the boat? Are you mired in impostor syndrome, with no one to talk about it with? Do you look at other writers with envy? These feelings are very common. The worry I have is when they stifle a writer, trapping them into a mindset that their voice doesn’t matter, and that they can never succeed as others have. So they write less, they share less, they dim their own light.

I encourage you to have colleagues — those in your life who write. When you try to go it alone, in my experience, that reduces your chance for success. Consider it this way: let’s say two people start the year wanting to feel more fit (however they define that.) One person commits to going to the gym every day at 5am by themselves. But the other person challenges a friend to join them, showing up each day to meet their friend and work out together.

Which person do you think will stick with it: the person going solo each day, or the one who is joined by a friend? This isn’t just about the workout itself, the benefit is also in having each other means they can share the sometimes complex feelings about their fitness goals, or even their apprehension about feeling as though they blend in to that gym’s culture. I can certainly remember going to a gym and feeling as though I’m wearing the wrong clothes and doing the wrong things.
In finding a colleague, don’t focus on if they write the same thing as you, but rather if you feel you can really talk with them. When you can do that, you often realize that the struggles you face are common. Knowing that tends to remove their power over you, helping you navigate them more gracefully. Also, the world is just a better place when writers are in your life.

Are conversations about what inspires you a rare thing? Do you feel distant from your ideal readers? Are you able to seek out and create conversations with readers or those who either support writing like yours? So often, we hope to be in situations where these conversations come to us, initiated by others. That is sometimes why we travel to conferences — because it is a self-selecting group of people who are like-minded. But are there actions you can take in your day-to-day life to initiate these kinds of conversations? Simply asking about what people read and why. How would that feel?

Do you feel you don’t have a plan? Do you share and connect infrequently, and always with apprehension? Do you fear someone asking about your writing because you are unsure of how to talk about it? What would it feel like to not be lost at sea, to have a sense of what you should do to share your work, and in the process, set clear boundaries about what you won’t be doing? What if your writing wasn’t some hidden part of your identity, something you reserve for distant strangers who will one day buy your book when it published, yet hide from your friends, family, and colleagues? Again, this may not be you, but it is something I hear about often from writers.

My goal in considering these questions is to bring more fulfillment and joy to the daily process of being a writer and connecting with readers. To feel that you have agency to move those things forward, and that it isn’t some distant dream that never seems it will come true.

Could success for you look the same next week as it would if you become a huge bestseller five years from now? A life filled with writing, colleagues, a keen sense of knowing who you are as a writer, conversations with readers, and confidence that you know how to share in a manner that is both strategic and authentic?

“Deconstructing my idea of success & milestones in this industry”

So often, we focus on these external milestones of validation, such as hitting New York Times Bestseller List. There was a great series of posts on Threads I saw earlier this week that explored how many books one has to sell to hit that list, and how you can hit a certain number of sales, but not make the list because of additional context and the ways numbers for that list are counted. Then Kaylie Smith shared her own experience, and made a huge point about changing her view of success as a writer, from one focused on industry milestones, to instead being focused on reader interactions:

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For some transparency on my own publishing journey as well, for anyone who might be feeling discouraged about the NYT list, I’ve sold over 10k copies in a week more than once & have not hit the NYT list. Genuinely one of the best things that has happened for me with my current book is deconstructing my idea of success & milestones in this industry. Theres SO much that goes into the list that isn’t very transparent, don’t base your career’s worth on it! On the flip side some milestones that have meant the literal world to me that have kept me going even on low days / when this job steals all my sleep:

DMs from readers
Fan art
Readers telling me my book made them want to write a book
Community with other authors
Boosting another authors book / getting asked to do events with them
Blurb requests (even though I haven’t been able to take one on recently because Enchantra tried to KILL ME)
READERS (Readers I Love You)

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I talk to writers all the time about awards they win, where they rank on bestseller lists, sales numbers, and signing contracts for new book deals. Again, all of those things matter. But I love hearing Kaylie’s perspective on what truly means so much to her — the experiences of connecting with readers and writers.

My Holiday Gift Guide

This time of year, I urge you to give your friends and loved ones the one thing they truly need: gratitude. To know that they are not alone, that they matter, and a reminder that they have a unique voice in this world.

It’s easy to consider, “Oh, my friends and family know I love them.” Which is great! But when I talk with people, I am reminded how much impostor syndrome creeps up in nearly everyone; how isolating it can feel to struggle with something alone; and how anxiety and depression can mask themselves to others.

I encourage you to take the risk to send a long note, email, direct message to those you really appreciate. Let them know why they matter to you, and how they inspire you. Don’t make this a greeting card you buy at the store, but rather your own words that shows how their life makes yours so much better. How they — just as they are in this very moment — are special and amazing.

Take the risk to share how you feel about those you care about.

Next Steps…

Please let me know in the comments: how do you want to feel as a writer? Is there a single action you can take to bring you one step closer to that?

For my paid subscribers this week, I shared a video on investing in craft, and how your biggest challenges in 2024 can fuel fulfillment and growth in 2025.

I am booking new clients for 2025. To learn more about how to work with me, you can find details and case studies are here.

Thank you for being here with me.
-Dan

What makes you truly feel alive creatively? I have been reflecting on this question, and looking back on the experiences, moments, and relationships that have made up my year. I am the luckiest person in the world because I spend my days talking with writers and creators — those who believe in their unique creative voice, and take the risk to share it through their writing and art.

Years ago I worked with author Doug Sundheim, and he told me the story of a simple question he asks those he works with, as he helps them find a path toward growth. Here is an excerpt from a 2006 Fast Company article he wrote on the topic:

“Six years ago, while coaching a client, I stumbled upon a very important question. We were talking about the idea of living with “no regrets” when I asked him, “When in your life did you feel most alive?” He reflected for a moment and told me about the summer he overcame his fear of water and learned to sail. When he finished he was grinning ear-to-ear. Subsequently, I have asked hundreds of people the same question and have been struck by the similarity of their answers. In particular I’ve noticed 3 themes. (1) Nearly everyone describes a scenario in which they pushed themselves out of their comfort zone and took risks. (2) The OUTCOME of taking the risk is rarely the main thrust of the story – it’s usually the process of taking them that they remember most fondly. (3) When people finish their story, they’ve often got a big smile on their face.”

I’ve always remembered this because it reminds me of the work that writers do each day. When one writes and shares, they are doing two things at once:

1. Expressing their unique creative voices, which is the most authentic thing we have.
2. Taking a risk in sharing it with others, opening themselves up to judgement, or worse: being ignored.

I have been reviewing the work I have done with each client I’ve collaborated with this year, considering their growth, milestones reached, and the moments that have mattered to them on their journey. I do this for several reasons:

• To consider the outcomes that move the needed to bring fulfillment and joy to writers.
• To improvement my systems and processes to best serve writers and creators next year.
• To honor the writers and creators who inspire me.

Today I’m going to share some of what I have experienced this year working with these writers, and some important lessons I’ve been considering in the process.

This is often what my days look like, talking with writers via phone, Zoom, or the internet:

I’m going to be honest: this was a somewhat overwhelming post to write. I spent hours reviewing the work I have done with writers, quotes they shared with me about the value of our work together, and considering where they are now and where they are going next.

This kind of analysis and reflection can at times fill me with a huge sense of impostor syndrome. I always want to improve my processes and deliver more value to writers. I love this work, and view it as a craft. My intention today is simply to share the reality of why I think this work matters, and how you can find a path to growth and momentum in your writing and goals.

This year I’ve worked with people across genres and topics — fiction, nonfiction, memoir, author/illustrators — and so much else. Some are traditionally published, others hybrid, some self-published, and others are still earlier in their writing career, and have not yet decided on a path. Some aren’t focused on books, but rather growing their Substack, or how to integrate their writing goals with their existing businesses, or vice versa in using their writing as a springboard to launch a business. Some of these writers and creators are seasoned pros, while others are just stepping into the idea of being writers.

Before we begin, a reminder to please join me next Friday December 13th for a free workshop: “The 10 Traits of Writers Who Reach Their Readers.” In this workshop, I’ll share key insights I have learned working directly with writers for all these years, focusing in on the differences between those who truly make progress in reaching their readers vs. those who seem to spin their wheels, stuck in the mud, never reaching their goals. The live Zoom event is Friday December 13th at 1pm ET. If you can’t make it live, a recording will be sent to all who register. You can register here!

Okay, let’s dig in to today’s topic…

Going Deep to Find One’s Voice

One theme that came up again and again with writers I have worked with is the power of going deep to find one’s voice. This applies as much to an experienced writer (someone with multiple books and a solid platform) as with someone who is just starting out.

As we evolve as individuals, so may our voice, or a new phase or season of our work. One of my clients this year had published a book years ago, along with blogs and social media posts. But now she is coming out of a dormant period in her writing, and she said reflected on this change because of our work: “I feel excited, I feel energized.” I mean, isn’t that what we all want?

This is the feeling that comes from clarity in one’s voice, of defining one’s messaging, of identifying the channels to use, and in setting a publishing strategy. And of course, of being in conversation with one’s readers.

To some degree, this can come down to a deep sense of permission. Many writers and creators eschew the idea of sharing and marketing because they worry it somehow means they have “sold out,” or it would present them as “self-involved,” or they worry they don’t have the right credentials. But I see sharing as a wonderful part of the process that completes our visions as writers or creators.

One client described the transformation she went through in our work as: “You are removing the ick factor for marketing. When I get off the phone with you, and it’s one less ick.”

This kind of transformation often this comes across as a feeling, not a metric. To have a sense of finding one’s voice, and a path forward. Another writer put it this way: “Our work has unleashed my imagination – it feels like I have permission to be me.”

But this isn’t just about vibes, it is also about growth and getting serious about the business of publishing. This is how another writer put it: “I feel really good, I feel less anxious and more strategic.” Having a strategy can be a real gamechanger in finding momentum in how one’s writing reaches readers.

Taking the Risk to Publish and Share

In terms of helping writers launch their work, again and again this year I have helped them prepare for book launches or prepare to launch their Substack. It’s common for me to help a writer develop their launch strategy for a book well ahead of publication day, often 12+ months ahead of time. So this year has been fun to see writers launch books who I had worked with earlier in the year, or possibly in 2023 or 2022.

This is where ideas and planning really meet the reality of getting the work done. It’s one thing to write down, “send out my book to influencers,” or “pitch myself as a guest on podcasts,” or “run a giveaway” — and something else entirely to plan that in detail, identify who you hope to work with, make the pitch, and share these things publicly.

Is it scary? Sometimes.

But in that risk is where the magic happens. It’s still amazing to me that people choose to write and publish books at all. It asks so much of you, and often a writer is putting so much of themselves out there for the world to see, judge, or ignore.

But it is also where you are able to honor your values and reach the hearts of readers. I have been working with Jennifer Griffith on her book launch, and she has been sharing about the experience.

Her memoir, Both Sides of Then: Finding Love After Abandonment, is a powerful story of her family. At her book launch event, she brought her mom on stage, saying: “This book is about my mom. The universe tried to knock her down her whole life, and she survived, and I always had a vision people would applaud her. We can you do that now.”

This was the event:

And look how proud Jennifer is of her mom. She told me, “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”

She describes the power of publishing this book: “My book is written to show you the power our mothers and maternal lineage have on the shape of our lives. To also demonstrate that everyone has a story to tell. Every story, no matter how ordinary, has value. Something happens when you write a book; at some point, it is no longer about you. Your story is not your own… The other day, someone asked me, “Why do you think your life is worth a memoir?” “Because I’ve lived,” I responded.”

Multiple readers have told her already: “This is the book I needed to read at this time.” “I needed to feel these things — the loss, the pain, and the hope.”

This is why we take the risk to write, publish, and share.

Having Stamina to Keep Going

What’s fascinating to watch are the writers I worked with years ago, and see how they and their work evolves. Earlier this week I was talking with former client KJ Dell’Antonia. Recently I was cleaning my studio and found early copies of books she had sent me. On the bottom is an early draft of How to Be a Happier Parent (from 2018), and on top is an advanced reader copy of her novel The Chicken Sisters (from 2020), with little drawings on the side that KJ illustrated:

She had a big year in 2024, with Hallmark Channel releasing a TV series based on the book!

Looking at this, it would be easy to think that KJ just moves from success to success, always in an upward trajectory. In talking with writers everyday, I know this isn’t often the case. When we spoke earlier this week, KJ told me about her latest book that she has spent so long working on. Her next step with it? To put it in a box, and move on to writing her next book. After lots of writing, editing, and collaboration with her trusted partners, she decided this book just wasn’t going to work, and it wasn’t going to be salvageable.

This is the part of writer’s journey that you don’t always see. That her biggest wins can be paired with her biggest creative challenges. Yet, she keeps going. In our chat, KJ and I talked about what 2025 had in store for her, of course, filled with ideas and plans.

From Stuck to Momentum

Every writer I work with is unique. It is my goal to meet the writer where they are, and customize my system and our collaboration for their needs.

Sometimes what someone needs is a new idea to help them break out of a rut. A writer I was working with asked me a question and I sent her a video reply with an idea, and she responded: “If I had to sit in front of my keyboard for ten years thinking about that question, I wouldn’t have arrived at your answer. Thank you! Very profound!”

Here are some recent testimonials from writers I’ve worked with:

“Dan was an essential support in my two book launches. I hadn’t published in ten years so I needed an in-depth education on everything from social media to author photos to websites. He’s the best thought partner I’ve ever worked with. I especially appreciated how he let me find my own direction but gave me excellent perimeters to guide my choices. Because of my own experience in marketing I chose to go with his services over a traditional publicist. Best choice I made.” — Mary Carroll Moore

“Working on my first book and being completely new to the industry, I was lost on how to make the transition from unknown amateur writer to professional aspiring author with a public profile and extended reach. My writing coach suggested I work with Dan, and it has been unbelievably helpful for me. He helped me to overcome major mindset challenges that were holding me back, such as imposter syndrome, perfectionism, concerns about running out of content or being “too much” for people. From Dan I learnt the importance of keeping the reader front of mind in whatever I share while staying true to my story and purpose. I now see ideas for inspiration everywhere, and feel excited to share from my heart and my experience with confidence and clarity. I would absolutely recommend anyone who needs help building their author marketing strategy and platform to work with Dan.” — Ruhie Vaidya

“Working with Dan has really helped me gain clarity and professional direction as an author and cartoonist. His focus on authentic connection, individualistic approach, and deep empathy really stood out to me. I’ve always struggled with narrowing down my focus, but Dan helped me clarify my core values, audience, voice, and areas of focus. Initially, I thought I wanted to lead workshops, but through our sessions, I realized comics coaching was a much better fit for me. Together, we created a plan that allows me to pursue this alongside my graphic novel work. Dan’s wisdom and experience in helping writers and artists is truly remarkable, and his passion for supporting others shines through.” — K. Woodman-Maynard

Where to Go From Here

Please let me know in the comments: what is one moment this year that you keep reflecting back on. Yes, this can relate specifically to your writing or creative work, but it can also be a moment outside of it.

Thank you for supporting my work. If you are looking for help in developing your platform, identifying and reaching your readers, or launching a book, I’m booking 2025 clients now! Take a look at this page of my website where I describe my services and share some case studies. If this feels like it may be a good fit, follow the instructions on the page to email me directly, I’ll send you a PDF that shares more details about my process.

Please join me for my free workshop next week: “The 10 Traits of Writers Who Reach Their Readers.”

Earlier this week I shared a 20-minute video for my paid subscribers: Planning For Creative Success: My Process of Being Intentional and Staying Grounded.

Thank you for being here with me.
-Dan