3 secrets
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1 quote

Reader,Just 3 secrets today 🙂 3 Secrets 1. Just make the ask already! A BIG thank you to world-renowned violinist and newsletter reader Anthea Kreston for sharing her story with me. After mentioning to me that she’d toured with Yo-Yo Ma, I asked her if it was worth asking him for a blurb. She wrote back that she wasn’t sure he’d go for it, but that she’d send him a galley and make the ask anyway. “I took your advice and reached out to Yo-Yo and he gave me a terrific quote for the cover!…

Reader,every year a group of friends gets together on Garbage Beach (the locals call it that to keep people away) in San Diego to play a day-long version of the TV show Survivor. Garbage Beach, San Diego If you don’t know the show, feel free to skip to the secrets. Well, 28 people started at 11 on Saturday morning. 12 hours of puzzles, physical endeavors, and complex social schemes later, I had, for the first time ever, made it to the final 3. For those who know the show, it all comes down to…

Reader,It’s summertime! Let’s make this quick so we can all go hit the beach 🙂 3 Secrets1. Bestselling non-fiction authors read more fiction What makes people keep reading is a good story. Fiction writers are the best storytellers in the world. They know how to start a scene you can’t stop reading and keep you excited all the way to the end. When you read their books, you learn their tricks. Then you can use those same tricks to make your true stories just as fun to read. Now more important…

Reader,Apparently y’all didn’t hate last week’s rant. I’ve never heard from so many readers in one week – thank you! I loved every response I got. Based on what I’m personally seeing in the industry, I’m thinking of ranting about whether AI will kill books or not in an upcoming newsletter. Let me know if you’d like that? 3 Secrets1. What AI doesn’t do well (and can’t replace) Stories to teach. Think about a recent memory of yours. Was it something dull and mundane? Or was there something…

Reader, I’m currently on a flight from San Diego, CA to Leesburg, VA to celebrate my adorable niece’s one-year birthday. Happy birthday Elouise 🙂 I just woke up from a quick nap…. (don’t tell my team as I told them I’d be working the whole flight but there’s something about an airplane seat that puts me out before we’re even in the sky) and for some reason the following (hopefully useful) rant popped into my head which I’m going to share with you now. It’s a rant the summarizes the most…

Reader, Today, we’re focusing on the relationship side of being an author. 3 Secrets 1. The Giving Hour The two biggest sales days for Before The Bestseller (so far) came from 2 book marketing influencers endorsing my book in their newsletters (Ricardo Fayet, and Dave Chesson). 300 sales in one day. $0 in ad spend, $0 admin fees paid, $0 in any type of payment to either of them… In fact I made money that day. Yes, no money was exchanged to make it happen… It was paid for with 5 years of…

Reader, Any other serious Catan players out there? A quick shot of how I spent my Saturday with my good friends Kate and Jonathan. 3 Secrets1. Let’s get real about Editorial Reviews For those that are newer to the publishing world, here’s a secret (is it really a secret?): most editorial reviews are written by the author of the book being reviewed. We don’t have to pretend that’s not what’s happening. An author reaches out to a notable friend or colleague and asks for a review. The bigger the…

Reader, “Did you know your book is a favorite in the Marine Corps?” Steven Pressfield had no idea until a friend told him. How did he do it? Steven says it was luck. I say it was the 27 years he spent writing and perfecting his craft before his first hit, The Legend of Bagger Vance, was discovered. Steven gives us a lot of marketing tips, but after our interview it became VERY clear that Steven spent so much time becoming a great writer that it’s really his books that sell themselves. 3…

Reader, Last week, we had Eric Ries of The Lean Startup (2,000,000+ copies sold), on Before The Bestseller. He thinks of book marketing like a startup. 3 Secrets1. Kickstarter can benefit you in more ways than one. Eric’s kickstarter was record breaking. That was over a decade ago. Is kickstarter dead? This author doesn’t think so. If your book is a movement and you have a strong network, Kickstarter is the way to go. Interview with Jayson Gaignard out in September but here are a few notes to…

Reader, The Strathdee cheering squad watching my dad win Gold at the Maryland Pickleball Senior Olympics this weekend. Dad, me, mom, sister and my new niece Eloise 🙂 3 Secrets1. Get mentioned in other people’s books A sneaky way to get a trusted source to recommend your book. What better way to convince a reader your book is worth it than a recommendation from an author they already trust? In fact this is the #1 way I build my bookshelf. This takes time, someone has to read your book, then…

Reader, Thank you for the awesome discussions that came from last week’s newsletter. I want to highlight 2, one on each side of the fence. If you want to catch up on last week’s monologue on how books are now video games you can do so here. Jeremey Madsen is the Operations Manager for BK publishers: My thoughts on your opening question: Responses from an AI chatbot are very different from those of an interactive video game Authors could try making their own custom chatbot, trained on their…

Reader, Today, a question for you: We’ve already begun to see the sales of some books drop off as a result of how people learn about a topic. Prescriptive how-to is losing traction as people can instead get customized instructions on how to do anything (based on our own sales data for how-to books). Why buy a book on composting IF your AI-of-choice can simply walk you through applying knowledge to YOUR specific situation? On the other hand, maybe there’s an opportunity for authors in the…