If You’ve Ever Wanted to Lose Weight or Publish a Book . . . (Read This)

I want to lose five pounds. So I headed to Google. There I found the usual: magic solutions (diet pills), effective but unsustainable fixes (keto, Whole30), toxic blame-the-fat-person rhetoric and some basic but boring eat-less-move-more advice. 

I thought, These aren’t solutions. Clearly, there’s no magic pill. So why am I looking for it?

After all, I’ve lost weight — and kept it off — before. I know what works.

For me, that’s lots of fruit, vegetables, dairy, and meat — with very little carbs or extra sugars. 

I can do that, even though it’s not fun, fancy, or a quick fix. 

To lose the weight I want to, and keep it off, I’ll have to adopt this approach for weeks, months, years, perhaps forever. 

Ugh, how annoying. I wish I could weigh less and stay the exact same. 

That’s when the parallel hit me. Earlier this week I had a similar conversation with a potential client who needed to grow their audience before pursuing a book deal. I’ve had hundreds, possibly thousands, of conversations. Here’s how that convo tends to go:

You (the entrepreneur or expert who wants a book deal but who has a small audience) says:

 I want a six-figure book deal. 

And I’m going to tell you — like I always do — about how publishing works, and specifically why building an audience and an author platform is necessary. 

I will say — There is no magic solution. 

However, I know what works.

For most authors, it’s creating content, measuring what lands, and strategically growing their business in a way that supports a traditional book deal and the success of that book when it’s published — years from now. 

You can do that, even though it’s not — fun, fancy, or a quick fix. 

To achieve your goal, you’ll have to build your business, audience, and author platform for weeks, months, years, perhaps forever. 

Usually at this point the potential author thinks: 

Ugh, how annoying. I wish I could get a book deal and stay the exact same. 

But just like me losing weight, that’s not possible. I’m not going to weigh less by eating more, and there’s no magical fairy that bestows you with the energy, editorial content, and the engaged audience that bestselling authors have. We both have to work for it.

It took me a few months of hemming, hawing, and making excuses, but I’ve made the decision to lose those five pounds. I have a plan. I know what I’m going to do. I’m ready to commit, ready to change, and ready to move toward my goal day by day — for however long it takes. 

And when you’re ready to work on your goals, my team and I are here to help.