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In my most recent guest post for Writer Unboxed, I explore the value of “willful ignorance,” and the potential to find the time to focus on increasing the QUALITY of your work and relationships, not just muddling up your life with an endless list of to-do’s. From the post:

Making a decision – taking an action – to NOT just follow along with all the standard obligations, the “best practices,” is something many people never do.

Doing so – taking control of your creative resources – immediately differentiates you from others, in a way that gives your books and your stories a unique chance to grow and find readers.

Read the full post here.
Thanks.
-Dan

For a year now, I have been working with Miranda Beverly-Whittemore on the launch of her novel, Bittersweet. It came out two weeks ago, and we are gobsmacked to find out that it debuted at number 20 on the New York Times Best Seller list!

When Miranda and I began working on the Bittersweet launch, we spent hours walking around Book Expo in New York last May discussing it. Here we are in 2013:

This week, we are wandering around Book Expo together again. Here we are yesterday:

In the first photo, she is “my friend (and client) Miranda, who is a writer.” But in the second photo, she is “New York Times Bestselling Author Miranda Beverly-Whittemore.”

Some people I speak to believe that THIS is the point of publishing a book, the idealized end goal; to have that phrase attached to your name. It is a pretty incredible phrase, isn’t it? A reflection of the validation of readers, booksellers, and everyone else who has come in contact with the book and/or Miranda.

To a wider audience of those outside the publishing realm, the phrase “New York Times bestselling author” seems to take what can be perceived as a lonely and tenuous pursuit (“Hi, I’m a writer.”), and put it into a framework that our culture understands and values: “I am popular and money is being created in this process.”

Walking around Book Expo, you of course, cannot help but be reminded that publishing is indeed a BUSINESS:

And that there are measures of success that matter in so many ways. Is “New York Times Bestselling Author” a wondeful validation, an amazing addition to someone’s name? Yes, without a shadow of a doubt, it is. I am so unbelievably happy for Miranda!

Last week, I wrote a post about how pubishing is a team effort, with a singular black hole (the author and the story she created) in the middle. It speaks to the dual nature of this process, whereby so many people have put their passion and expertise into this book to help ensure it reached readers; But at the center of it all is a single person telling a single story.

For my work with Miranda, she and I spent hours and hours walking the floor of BookExpo yesterday talking about the last year, and what comes next. A term came up: “grace,” which I think encapsulates a desire and a fear that many authors can waffle between. That they absolutely seek to achieve and celebrate success, but that they are fearful of “crossing a line,” whereby they do not want to seem overly promotional or constantly gloating at every milestone.

Yes, there is a time in a book launch process where you just “be,” and let things happen. In other words: don’t be running around like a nut trying to spread the word and promote the book. Instead, just simply enjoy that the story is out there, people are reading it, and that this is a time to celebrate and let these things happen.

In approaching the topic of “what else should we be doing? “Miranda & I will be chatting about three things later today:

1. New ways to connect with readers. Note: this is not really about promoting the novel to new readers, but instead about engaging with folks who have already read Bittersweet. In other words: to create new ways to talk with readers, instead of just having them be represented as some sales figure. Oh, and I’ll be honest here, these types of activities do tend to encourage the best type of marketing: WORD OF MOUTH marketing.
2. Thinking mid-term as to how she can keep connections going with readers and those who supported Bittersweet once the “launch period” has run its course. We have no idea when that will be, but we know we need to setup the channels and practices now.
3. Talk about her NEXT book, and the long-term preparation for that.

THE NEXT BOOK?! Yes. Of course. A writer writes. Miranda just announced that:

“I’m so pleased to announce that my favorite editor Christine Kopprasch has acquired my next novel, JUNE. Here’s the official announcement, if you go for that kind of thing: ‘NYT bestselling author of Bittersweet Miranda Beverly-Whittemore’s JUNE, in which an unexpected inheritance from a movie star pulls a young woman into a world of wealth, celebrity, and long-buried secrets.'”

It has been amazing during the past few weeks that, even as Bittersweet is JUST launching, there were so many behind the scenes discussions about the next novel. And to me, this is the center of it all, remembering that Miranda is a writer, and that her crafting these stories is THE center, and the thing that matters most for her to do.

Is she doing some book readings for Bittersweet? Sure. But she is also travelling to Ohio next week to do research on her next novel. That kind of forward-thinking – to create and respect the NEXT story even as the current one is being shared – is the center of it all.

-Dan

Also: you can read more than 130 blog post about the Bittersweet launch here.

“I don’t ever give up” became my personal anthem in those days when I truly believed my career was over.”

This is how Miranda Beverly-Whittemore described the period in her life where she realized her writing career was in serious jeopardy.

When her second book tanked.
When no one wanted to buy the next two books she tried to sell.
When a publisher responded to a query with: “I don’t know if I have it in me to restart a career.”
When doors that had previously seemed ajar were now tightly sealed. And perhaps worse than seeming like an outsider, there could perhaps be a sense that she was old news. Done.

A year ago, I began working with Miranda on the launch of her latest novel, Bittersweet. The book was just released this week, yet it was 12 months ago that we had looooooong conversations about the potential of reaching readers based on who she is as a writer, and the stories she creates.

At the time, her website had a 2007 copyright on it, further indication of how much she had pulled away from being connected to the larger world as “a writer.”

In our conversations, she expressed her core motivation for this year of her life:

To feel she did EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to make this book a success.

After so many months of uncertainty, so many plans and actions, it feels incredible to know the book is out in the world.

And good things have been happening:

• People Magazine prominently featured Bittersweet in a very positive review.
• Entertainment Weekly did the same.
• And that Entertainment Weekly also featured her on their Must List.
• Jodi Picoult just left an amazing Tweet, encouraging people to read Bittersweet
• Miranda has had loads of well wishes from readers and other writers on social media

Last night, she had her official book launch party, held at BookCourt in Brooklyn. Here are some photos:

They have some amazing seats:

To the left is the mother & father of Miranda’s editor, Christine Kopprasch, with Miranda’s mother. You can’t beat parental enthusiasm.

And here is Christine chatting with Miranda’s dad. Is publishing a business? Sure. Is it also an incredibly personal process? OH YES.

I love this photo showing how interconnected everyone is. Miranda is holding her son, who is holding onto David, his dad. (And Miranda’s husband, just to be clear.)

Miranda chatting with the moms.

Here is Miranda’s sister, Kai, & brother-in-law, Rubidium, setting up the book trailer, which Kai directed:

Christine introduces Miranda, talking about how trust is formed in the early interactions between an author and an editor:

An awesome crowd of friends, family, and readers:

Now, I don’t NORMALLY take photos of people’s bags, but seeing this really brought it home to me that Bittersweet is now “out there” for anyone to purchase and read:

Miranda reads from the book and does a Q&A:

Miranda’s marked up copy of Bittersweet, which she read from:

Someone delayed their dinner to attend the party!

Lots of conversation. Much like a wedding, it is always fun to see people from different areas of Miranda’s life meeting and getting to know each other:

Miranda signing:

Miranda & I:

Miranda’s sister Kai chatting with Julia Fierro:

One of those “isn’t this lovely!” moments, with Miranda, her dad, her publicist at Crown, Rachel, and Christine. A mom may be hidden in there somewhere too.

From the experience this month, I have been overwhelmed with two feelings. The first: the awareness and gratefulness of how many people are a part of this process. That “publishing is a team sport,” as I have heard Jason Allen Ashlock say before.

Let’s consider all the people involved in the process for Miranda:

• Her husband and son. Their support, and her husband’s partnership in the process. Regardless of whether he helped with the story at all (I actually have zero idea on this one), they clearly have had many conversations about so many aspects of creating and sharing her work.
• Her agent, Anne.
• Her publisher, Crown.
• Her editor, Christine.
• The amazing marketing team at Crown, including Jay and Jessica.
• Her publicist, Rachel (and her publicist’s team) who is not only passionate, but truly delivers. She’s a magician.
• The cover designer – who creates the “face” of the book to the world.
• All the folks involved in physically making the book, formatting the ebook, distributing the book, and all the folks who support THOSE people in roles that don’t directly touch the book itself, but instead make up the system by which the book flows through.
• Bookstores and libraries.
• Media, reviewers, bloggers, etc.
• Family, from Miranda’s sister who made the book trailer, to her parents and many others.
• Friends – including Miranda’s workout buddies, friends from old jobs, people she knows from the community and her son’s school.
• Me, in helping craft her face to the world, and her ability to connect with readers online.

These people serve so many roles, including emotional support, strategic guidance, as well as helping to shape the story.

John Green talked about how he is often held up as a model for the independent author, forging ahead without a middleman. But he passionately corrected any perception of that nature in this video, where he lists the people who helped create his books, and then says:

“We must strike down the insidious lie that a book is the creation of an individual soul, laboring in isolation.”

Here is Miranda and I last May at BookExpo, when we really began working together on Bittersweet:

In the year since, we have shared more than 130 posts on our “Bittersweet Launch blog,” and of course, the book really began years before that, I believe back in 2010.

And in that time, she has worked incredibly hard, it was just breathtaking to watch. And this brings me to the second thing I have been thinking a lot about. Even though everything above is true, that all these people have been a part of this book, there is the singularity of Miranda, without whom, none of us would be doing any of this.

I actually looked up the word “singularity” in the dictionary, and one definition jumped out at me:

“Singularity: Astronomy. (in general relativity) the mathematical representation of a black hole.”

This one seemed most appropriate; that Miranda is the force that sucked us all into this story, into a world that she created, and into her enthusiasm as a writer.

That it begins and ends with Miranda. And my goodness, all I can really feel this week is gratefulness to her for that.

Thank you Miranda, for creating this world for the rest of us to live in.
-Dan

I’m offering a paid internship this summer, and looking to work with someone who is passionate about helping writers. Details can be found here.

Thanks!
-Dan

“To feel alive.”

That is how a former client, Doug Sundheim, described the reason someone should embrace the idea of risk in their professional lives. This seems to align with the emotions that publishing a book evokes in an author, and would be my interpretation of how Miranda Beverly-Whittemore describes her emotions before her book is released next week:

“I’m feeling a general wash of anxiety when I first wake up every morning.”

What else is she feeling? Oh, a few things:

• excited
• nervous
• guilty
• chagrined
• distracted
• moved and honored

And this: “I’m also prone to burst into tears much more often than usual. Like, about anything.”

Another author, Porochista Khakpour explains her feelings around launching her book (taken from Facebook, with permission):

“Less than one month til publication and I constantly want to ask if something is wrong. There must be something wrong, yes? Is something wrong? It feels like something is wrong. I am lonely, broke, sick, exhausted, and sometimes happy. I still love my second novel. Is this okay? Is it okay to say, hello, I love this book I wrote? Am I kidding? Who am I kidding? I guess I have only a few (lovely) Goodreads reviews and a whole lot of NO Amazon reviews. Is this normal? Am I posting too much about the book? Not enough? I have not sent out a mass emailing–is that okay? Do you want me to? Is that the truth? The Amazon Q+A with a great guest author has not yet appeared on my Amazon page–is this fine? Does Amazon hate me? Some people I know and love have not said a word about my second novel–is this normal? Where is the husband I broke up with too early who could help reread this, who could wash the dishes, walk the dog? Why did I break up with him and him and him etc? How did it go the first time? Is the world different now? Do books exist? Did my first book exist? (Sales would indicate NO.) Do I exist? How much worrying is too much worrying? If I worry myself into a ditch, is there nowhere to go but up? Am I worrying to simply “go up?” What is up? Is it heaven? If I act too happy about photo shoots, am I seeming superficial? If I seem too sullen about photo shoots, am I being ungrateful? If I write this post then will people think I am a failure? Will they walk away from my book because I’ve slimed it in self-doubt? Is this the real me? Who am I? If I don’t write this post, am I just pretending? If I delete this post, am I trying to manipulate your image of me? Am I manipulating my image by participating here? Who do you think you are? Who do you think I am? Please don’t answer that…”

“I am not worried about sales for $. My sales will never make me rich, trust me. But my insecurity with this book is partially rooted in it taking over 2 years of trying to sell it with no success (the first book was sold in a couple months). This one every editor seemed to love and/or be impressed by but ultimately they would freak out about it (or marketing depts freaked out about it) when it came to the final moments. Months of almost-offers would turn into no offers. Part of it was that I had terrible sales with the first book (plus all the great reviews and press in the world, plus awards and awards-lists so maybe it looked even worse to have bad sales.) With this, it would be good to have enough sales so I can publish my third and fourth books but the numbers game is different when it comes to me. I have no delusions of bestseller-dom and all that. That is not even where my head is. This pre-pub experience is just crazy-making even when things are great.”

Some responses from her Facebook friends:

• “I feel like I’m reading my own thoughts and fears as a writer spilled out onto the page in all their naked and vulnerable glory.”
• “It is because you are putting yourself out there, and this can be vulnerable and painful. ”
• “All of this, yes.”
• “I adore you”
• “I absolutely love this! Can so identify.”
• “It is the ultimate expression of the hidden side of the writing life. I found it very human and very moving.”

This week, Miranda, Julia Fierro and I wrapped up a huge book giveaway that featured 24 authors whose books are coming out this spring/summer.

This was a wonderful way to support other writers, and help make 24 people going through a scary process feel as though they weren’t quite so alone. There is a recognition that they have taken an enormous leap, likely feel complex emotions around it, and as Doug may say, “feel alive” because of that process.

I’ve said this before: while there is SO MUCH an author can do to prepare for a successful book launch, they can’t really “plan” for one. So much of this is about trying to create a scenario whereby luck can more likely occur.

Clearly, it is totally and completely insane to write and publish a book. Right? Why would anyone do this? To invest the time and energy; to put yourself out there so completely; to risk yourself professionally and financially to such a huge degree?

It makes no practical sense.

Which is, of course, why writers are endlessly inspiring to me. Why this act of risk is so compelling, because for many writers, they describe their motivation as:

“Because I can’t not write.”

These are the music-makers. I have heard that “everyone wants to write a book,” and have come to believe that, at the very least, there is a compelling human desire to tell stories.

Last year, my wife and I bought a house that needed extensive renovations. We hired so many professionals to give this 100 year old house another 100 years of life. One of the people we hired has an almost magical power to work with his hands, to turn concrete, metal, wood and nails into a home.

He once asked me what I did for a living, and I told him I work with writers. He immediately paused, looked into the distance, and said:

“I always wanted to write a book about a squirrel.”

This blew me away. How immediately and thoughtfully he said it, and how with only the slightest nudge, he revealed something that he had clearly thought a lot about, but you would never know it based on his normal line of work.

That beneath the layers of dried concrete, dust, and oil on his hands, was a storyteller who had not yet put words to paper.

That we – all people – are made of stories. That we look for stories in every corner of our lives. That we, each of us, create stories.

And some of you write them down. And try to share them. And that is totally insane. And I thank you for it.
-Dan