Play the Dive Bars.

Once a month, I host office hours in my Author Platform Builders membership.

The members are entrepreneurs with a how-to book in their hearts that must grow their audience and reach before working with us to get a traditional publishing deal.

One member, who I’ll call G, wanted to include press and speaking as part of her author platform. (If you want to know what goes into an author platform, click here.) 

In her mind, she was ready for big stages and outlets — like Forbes, Fast Company, a TED Talk. But when G reached out to a publicist, they advised starting with local outlets.

At our office hours, G told me — “I don’t want to do the ‘dive bar’ of speaking engagements.”

But what I told her — and am telling you — is that you do. 

What I see over and over again from entrepreneurs and experts who apply to work with me and my team on their book is that they don’t know enough about who they are trying to reach.

Musicians, comedians, and spoken word artists start out in dive bars because it’s a safe place to learn and more importantly to fail. Small venues of all kinds are an opportunity to learn what’s working and what’s not. 

I say this out of love — but a lot of you are trying to be Taylor Swift in 2022 without recognizing that you’re Taylor Swift in 2006.

The point is, everyone starts somewhere. And there’s nothing wrong with “dive bar” anything.

Every time you show up, whether it’s for an audience of five or 5,000, you learn more about the people you serve. Over time, that begins to build a devoted audience who will want to work with you, follow everything you do, and — most importantly — share your genius with others. 

THAT’s how you build your author platform, get your TED Talk, see your name featured in Forbes and Fast Company and anywhere else you choose . . . and ultimately how your book can become a bestseller. 

So — find your version of a dive bar — and go play a set.