What You Get From Working With Us (A Case Study)

There’s a lot of bullshit on the Internet, especially when it comes to entrepreneurship. 

If you’re anything like me, you want to know the results you can get — so I want to share what’s happened for our clients in the past year. 

Rae McDaniel —

• Landed the exact literary agent they wanted

• Received a six-figure advance from Grand Central Publishing

Dr. Neeta Bhushan —

• Turned self-publishing success into a traditional book deal with Hay House

• Wrote her book in five months with our help

Jamie Sears —

• Fulfilled a childhood dream by writing her first book with our help

• Has the entire sales team at Penguin Random House ready to make her book a bestseller 

These results are proof that:

• You can get the book deal you want.

• You can get the literary agent you want.

• You can make your dreams come true. 

• And you don’t have to keep searching and researching for help on the next step to take for your book to be a success because I’m right here.

Please, do me a favor. 

Stop stumbling around the Internet, looking for the right way to publish your book.

Because there is no right way — only your way.

Working With Me Is EXPENSIVE — But Worth It.

I charge more than my colleagues. Like, triple more.

I’m going to tell you that upfront, because I want you to unsubscribe if that scares you or feels icky in any way. (It’s cool.)

The reason I charge that much is because my services are worth that much.

You see, a lot of ghostwriters, collaborators, author coaches, and publishing experts out there will take your money without one important step.

Considering whether you CAN get a book deal.

I vet my clients extensively because I want you to be successful. 

In order to work with me and my team on a book proposal, you need to:

• Be an entrepreneur or subject matter expert

• Have an idea for a how-to book that we think is awesome and unique

• Actively be marketing to and building a large, engaged audience online

• Be ready to sell at least 10,000 copies of your book upon publication

• Invest time, energy, and money

That may not sound like a high bar but consider this —

Out of 300 applications (or more) I get annually, we work on 15 proposals.

Compare that to a lot of my colleagues, who will work on any project that comes their way. 

Sure, their fees are lower . . . but so are their success rates.

90% of my clients who finish a proposal with us get a six-figure book deal. 

And when they do, earn at least a 350% return on their investment on working with me. 

I’m writing this email to you right now because I want what’s best for you.

That could be writing a proposal.

That could be building your audience through Author Platform Builders.

Or it could be finding another service provider who will better meet your goals and budget.

But just know — you get what you pay for.

What Would It Look Like If Everything Worked Out?

“If everything worked out, what does that look like?”

That’s the first question I ask my clients.

Sometimes, authors want their books to be New York Times bestsellers so they can use that imprimatur on everything (maybe even their Tinder profile). 

But more often, the answers include beach chairs. 

I work with entrepreneurs, experts and thought leaders who dream big.

These creatives tend to think of publishing a book as a stepping stone.

And I don’t disagree. 

I think that at its best, a book creates what I call the “snowball of awesome” — it helps readers and expands the author’s potential for profit. 

A total win-win.

But to get there, you need a special sauce. 

You need a combination of editorial and marketing that will satisfy your existing fans — many of whom may have bought a more expensive, or custom, service —  while also bringing new people in.

That’s a delicate balancing act. 

I help my clients achieve that feat by reverse-engineering the content of their book. We work from that dream outcome backward, to fit the book into their existing business while also keeping the end goal in mind. 

Want to land on a beach with passive income supporting your excursions?

Cool. Then you probably want your book to feed into an online course where you can. As my client Rachel Rodgers says, work hard once and be done.

Want to make a bigger impact with your revolutionary message?

Awesome. Then you should focus on writing something that will send shock waves into the community you’re trying to change. 

By keeping your end goal in mind, you avoid a common mistake — writing the book that comes easiest or that everyone is saying you should write. 

Instead, by designing your book into your dream business, you avoid trapping yourself in a life or a message that won’t feel right in the future.

You’re Gonna Fail (Sometimes). And That’s OK.

Today, I’m sharing a message from one of my most successful clients, Denise Duffield-Thomas. Denise is the author of three books (most recently Chillpreneur) and the founder of Money Bootcamp. 

Though Denise is talking about entrepreneurship, I think this awesome advice also applies to publishing a book. I laughed out loud when I read this, and hope you find wisdom in it too. 

Hey gorgeous, 

Spoiler alert - you will fail SO much in business.⁠

Some of your launches will SUUUUUUUCK.⁠

Most people won't buy from you.... ever. ⁠

Some days your social media will be crickets. ⁠

You will get refund requests.⁠

You will overdeliver... and they won't be happy. ⁠

And you will lie awake at night worrying about your clients. ⁠

Ok - Denise Downer... what's the good news? ⁠

It's SOOOOO WORTH IT

Being in business is awesome. You can earn your own money.⁠

You can create financial independence for yourself.⁠

You can choose who you work with. 

You can hire other people!⁠

You can use money to create abundance for yourself and your family.⁠

You can be your own boss! ⁠

You can follow any creative dream you think of!⁠

*****⁠

⁠The only skill you need is persistence! ⁠

⁠The only thing you need to work on is your money mindset. ⁠

⁠The rest you can Google! ⁠

⁠Are you okay with failing a bit more today? Hearing a few more no's? ⁠

⁠Fail more today!! ⁠

⁠xx Denise ⁠

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.

The True Outcome of a Book

If you are reading this and have multiple book ideas — I want you to know one thing.

Writing and publishing a book is TOUGH. 

I’ve had clients compare it to childbirth. 

Because I don’t have kids, I compare it to a marathon. (I’ve done five — but based on what my clients say, I suspect writing and publishing a book is tougher than running 26.2 miles.)

Despite the toughness and the challenge, entrepreneurs and experts contact me every day asking for the opportunity to work together. 

That’s because y’all know what I know about books.

Books help. Books are an equal opportunity source of information, guidance, and truth. Books help me everyday and have likely helped you as well — that’s why you are here.

For entrepreneurs and experts, books are low margin and high effort. 

What that means is that when you decide to write and publish a book (or grow your audience in order to get a traditional publishing deal), there’s a lot of effort involved and not a ton of profit.

That’s where the “writing a book won’t make you any money” idea comes from. 

But what that leaves out is the overall effect that writing and publishing a book has on you as a leader and your business as an organization. 

You might not make back as much money on pursuing your goal of becoming a traditionally published author as you would, say, on launching a course or signing a big corporate client. 

But, over time, you will. Exponentially.

A year after publishing her book, a client I worked with on her book proposal went from charging $25,000 for her mastermind to $100,000. 

She quadrupled her price as a result of our work together, but that was just the beginning. 

As a result of working with me and getting a six-figure deal she earned — 

• Her initial six-figure advance (where she got a 700% return on what she paid me)

• The royalties she earned as a result of selling her book (approximately $400,000)

• Growth in her overall business (from approximately $1M to $10M)

For this client — and every client I work with — the challenge of building an audience and author platform, the toughness of writing and publishing a book, and the patience of waiting years for an initial investment to pay off was worth it. 

And she’s going to do it again.
So — my tough challenge to you is to ask one question. 

Are you willing to start?

Two Important Questions Every Author Must Answer

Do you know who you are? 

And why people like, follow, and hire you?

Those may sound like ridiculous questions to ask — especially the first one — but what I’ve seen is that many entrepreneurs can’t answer these questions without rambling. A lot.

In Author Platform Builders this fall I’m hosting a series of one-line pitchfests.

The rules are simple — members of APB say who they are in 30 seconds or less. 

Then our guests — a book editor, a literary agent, a publicist — rate them on a score of 1 to 10.  

Our members did great at the first pitchfest.

So much so that I wondered if we even needed a series!

But then, in the second pitchfest, the rambling started. 

And this is when I was glad of two things —

1. We had a few more sessions to work things out.

2. These clients hadn’t written their books or proposals yet. 

You see, when entrepreneurs don’t have the answers to those two basic questions — who they are and why people love them — it’s hard to build the audience that literary agents and traditional publishers want. 

And, when entrepreneurs don’t have that audience, they lack the clarity needed to write an amazing proposal and a bestselling book.
So, name. Do you know who you are and why people like, follow, and hire you? 

Or could you use some help?

A Tale of Two Entrepreneurs Turned Authors . . .

I want to share the story of two different — yet equally successful — clients.

When N told me how many followers and fans she had, I was blown away. 

She had a wildly successful business, could reach hundreds of thousands of people, and I knew that it would be easy to convince publishers she could sell books. 

But her book idea? Was just OK. Her audience would definitely buy the book, and because of that a publisher would be interested. But that part of working with her didn’t blow me away.

Contrast that with W. 

She had a book idea that I said “hell yes” to immediately. I knew there was a market for her idea and that it was incredibly unique. 

But her audience? It was small but OK. She needed to grow her social media following and her email list. I knew that’s what a literary agent and publisher would say too. And W was ready and willing to do that. 

Both N and W worked with me and my team on their book proposals, secured literary agents, and got six-figure book deals with major publishers. 

Because there’s more than one way to succeed. 

If you want to find your way to a six-figure book deal, apply to see if working with me and my team is right for you.

What People Get Wrong About Influencers

“I don’t want to be an influencer.”

Have you had this thought? Maybe you even said it aloud. 

And if you’re anything like my clients, when you did say it, the word “influencer” sounded bad. Like garbage, or that person you really don’t like from high school. Icky. Sleazy. Slimy. Gross. Gauche. You get the idea.

And while you don’t need to be selling products on Instagram in order to become a bestselling author, you do actually need to drop the judgment around influencer marketing and influencers in general. Because those folks are doing something that you’re not — changing the behavior of their followers. Whether it’s a micro-influencer getting me to try a new athleisure brand or Kim K getting the world to reconsider the death penalty, influencers are influencing their audiences. 

And that’s what we want as authors and entrepreneurs too. 

One of my coaches and teachers, the fantabulous Tracy Litt, has a saying I love. 

All judgment is self-judgment.
What this means is that when you’re judging those influencers online you’re really judging yourself for wanting to be like them. And you’re standing in your own way of becoming the influential bestselling author you can become.

The Best Advice I’ve Gotten About Writing a Book

In 2020 I started working with a coach. In our work together, she mentioned that three things are crucial to entrepreneurial success.

Patience.

Certainty.

Consistency. 

And this is true for book publishing as well. In fact, it’s the best advice I’ve heard for entrepreneurs and experts like you who want to become authors. 

In Author Platform Builders, I share a blueprint for achieving the energy, editorial content, and engaged audience that I see in bestselling authors. This blueprint shows the path our members take to “graduate” and work with us on writing a book proposal (which leads to a book deal). 

Although the timeline varies a lot from member to member, most Author Platform Builders will spend three to five years building their audience, crafting their content, and establishing themselves as leaders in their niches. 

At one time or another, every single Author Platform Builder has complained about that timeline. 

Three to five years is a lot of time to spend on a goal that may or may not happen. (Remember, even when I write a kickass book proposal, there’s no guarantee of success because publishing is subjective.) In fact, a lot of people who apply to work with us decide that it’s going to take too long to build the audience that will make their book successful.

However, for the folks who decide that the timeline is worth it to publish a book that matters, the first shift I see is the three words my coach talks about.

Our Author Platform Builders demonstrate patience about when their dreams will come true.

Successful clients have certainty that their book will be published, and that with my team’s help, they can grow the audience and develop the book proposal to get a “yes” from a literary agent and publisher.

And last but not least, our clients show up with consistency — for themselves and for their future readers. Because they understand that entrepreneurial success, including being the author of a bestselling book — is a long game.

Why Publishers Pay Advances

When I introduce my clients to literary agents, there’s always one question on their mind.

How much of an advance do you think I can get? 

It’s an important question, and not just for bragging rights. 

The advance — the amount of money a traditional publisher pays authors in advance of publication as their share of future profits — is a key difference between getting a book deal and every other type of publishing. 

But here’s the truth. 

The advance isn’t meant for you, the author, to pocket or to buy a new house with. 

Instead, as one literary agent said in a meeting with my client — 

“Publishers are actually paying the advance so you can write the book.” 

That includes paying for help with the manuscript, recouping what you paid to put together the proposal, and maybe promoting the book upon publication.

The advance isn’t a paycheck for a job well done. Nor is it free money.

Instead, it’s more like an advance from your credit card — a little cash prior to the book being published — and sold — to help you out. 

But in order to get that advance, you need to invest first. 

In your results and methodology.

In your author platform and audience.

And in your book proposal. 

Because no one will invest more in your book than you do.

Do You Believe Anything Is Possible For You?

Because I definitely did not. 

For years — decades — I believed that I couldn’t have long hair. After growing it out in high school — and being told that it looked wild, frizzy, and out of control — I cut my hair shorter and shorter and shorter. For most of my time in college, I had a pixie cut. 

But then last year, when everything shut down, I decided to say “fuck it.” 

I let my hair grow. And I realized that I had a belief, deep down, that my hair wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t curly enough or straight enough. I didn’t have enough skill to style it like other women and girls did. My hair, in a small but important way, reflected what I thought about myself. 

I’m not like everyone else.

Maybe . . . I’m not good enough.

But here’s the thing: My hair — now that I’m allowing it to just be — is amazing. 

My hairstylist told me that my waves — which I can blow-dry stick straight or use product to create spiral curves — are the beachy sex hair that other women pay hundreds of dollars to mimic with expensive treatments. As it turns out, my hair is AWESOME and that belief?

Was complete and utter bullshit.

After asking a few friends with long hair for advice, I started slathering conditioner on every time I shower and combing my waves out every night. The small act of treating my hair with kindness and curiosity has added a small but important self-care ritual to my days. 

I will be honest — I still have to quiet my inner critic when my hair looks frizzy. The beliefs and thoughts and messages that hold us back are sneaky, and can be persistent. But we can change these beliefs when and if we choose to. 

In the past year, I’ve had over 250 Zoom calls with would-be authors. In a lot of those conversations, words and sentences have come up that I know are limiting beliefs. Things like:

I don’t have time right now. Maybe I’ll do this later.

Your services are awesome, but I’m not sure I can afford to invest right now.

I’m so busy — I’m not sure it’s the right time to pursue working with you.

Sometimes, these statements are true. But what I want you to know is that often, it just feels true. And guess what? The biggest authors you know once shared those beliefs. What makes the difference in your results is whether you’re willing to question what you believe to be true.

So: I want to know — do you believe anything is possible for you?

Or is something holding you back?

5 Reasons Why Building an Author Platform Is Awesome

At least once a week, entrepreneurial authors complain about having to build an author platform. 

I get it. Building an engaged, authentic audience can be a PITA — a pain in the ass. 

But it can also be awesome — and here’s five reasons why.

1. More visibility = more clients = more revenue.

Building an author platform and audience requires you to share your message and put yourself out there. Whether you send a weekly email, post on social media or write articles for websites like Medium — or do all of the above — that visibility will result in more eyes on your content, more ideal clients in your orbit and more money for yourself and your business. 

2. Sharing your content makes your book better.

I’ve been a professional collaborator and ghostwriter for nearly 10 years, and every entrepreneurial author I’ve worked with has struggled to know exactly what content to put in their book. Sharing your content with your audience and using objective data to figure out what resonates is key to creating a great book that not only sells to your audience, but helps to change their lives too.

3. The better you are at promoting and selling, the more successful your book will be.

The most successful authors I’ve worked with have been expert marketers who knew their audience inside and out. Launching, promoting and selling to your audience over and over again will help you get comfortable pitching your clients and asking for the sale. (As a bonus, you’ll also be much more chill and relaxed about the process, too.)

4. The bigger your audience is, the bigger sales you’ll see.

A lot of entrepreneurial authors assume every single person in their audience will buy their book, whereas established entrepreneurs know that’s not the case. In my experience, only 5 to 10 percent of your audience will buy the book prior to or immediately after its publication. So if you have a small audience — say 5,000 people — that’s only 250 to 500 people. Whereas if you have an audience of 50,000 ... your sales will be much higher. (And by the way, a following of ~50,000 is where you need to be in order to work with me on a proposal.)

5. Your confidence grows along with your audience.

I love seeing my Author Platform Builders take action based on what they learn in the program because I get to see a remarkable transformation. My clients go from feeling anxious and impatient about when their book will come out to feeling confident their book will succeed because there’s so much cool stuff developing outside of their book. And because confidence is totally contagious ... it spreads to your audience, your clients, your overall brand aesthetic and ultimately helps me and my team seal the book deal on your behalf.

Publishers Don’t Want to Steal Your Ideas.

I was on a call recently with a lovely entrepreneur who asked me about some very common assumptions about traditional publishing. The first, I hear all the time. So let’s be clear:

PUBLISHERS DO NOT WANT TO STEAL YOUR IDEAS.

(News flash: They don’t.)

However, her next assumption is thornier because it’s partly true.

Publishers expect you, the author, to market, promote, and sell your own book. 

The fact that authors bear the responsibility to market, promote, and sell their own books is often seen as a bad thing. It’s no coincidence to me that the self-publishing industry perpetuates the idea that sales and marketing is difficult and an undue burden on authors. (Spoiler alert: It’s not.)

Truth is, not every book is the same. 

While it’s true that fiction books and narrative nonfiction books (like memoirs) have historically been supported by publisher-driven marketing and PR, prescriptive nonfiction — the how-to books y’all are writing — have always been driven by the author. 

That’s because you are the experts, the creators, the generators. 

You know who buys books on your topic — not the publisher, who works on thousands of books every day if not every week, month, and year. 

For example, when I worked on a book called The Complete Guide to Wood Finishes at Simon & Schuster I definitely did NOT know who would buy that book. 

I could guess — contractors, carpenters, woodworkers, maybe some flippers or hardcore DIY home restorers — but I didn’t know how to reach that audience. As the editor, I just knew how to make it a good book. It was the author’s responsibility to promote that book to their network of folks who would be interested. Publishing is a team sport — those of us in traditional publishing bring our book expertise, and y’all bring the content and the audience.

My point is that you need to understand what you’re selling whether it’s a coaching program, a course, a 1-on-1 offer . . . or your book. And it’s always been that way. 

Don’t believe anyone that tells you different.

The #1 Thing Authors Forget About Book Publishing

Publishing a book can take a long time. If you have what you need to get a traditional book deal — namely a substantial, engaged audience and proven content — you could have a book in your hands within two years.

But — and this is big — only about 10% of people reading this email have that right now. 

For the majority of the entrepreneurs and experts I work with, that timeline extends to include the process of building an engaged audience and proving out your content. 

Building a substantial, engaged audience and creating content that creates results — otherwise known as an author platform — could take a year. Or three years. Or five years. Maybe a decade.

But here’s the thing — the 10% of entrepreneurs and experts who secure a book deal with my help have done this work, not knowing whether it would pay off or not. 

Those 10% of people who are ready to work with me on a book proposal understand what the 90% who aren’t tend to forget. 

And it’s honestly super simple. Your author platform can and should make you money.

Whether you have 1,000 followers — or 10 — you can make your book deal happen faster while
– doubling your client list
– booking more speaking gigs
– getting more referrals
– increasing your revenue
– having more people see your content 
– and making you more money. 

One Step for Making Your Book Deal Happen

You don’t need a traditional book deal to have a successful, sustainable business. 

That said, you are reading this email so I’m guessing that you want both. Perhaps you even want to grow your business, like so many of my clients do. Or maybe you’re reading this because you feel driven to make a larger impact — also, like so many of my clients do.

But in order to make all of that happen — your book deal, your impact, your thousands of followers on Instagram — you need to change one primary thing.

You need to step out of the referral ghetto. 

That’s when and where your business is doing okay or just enough — to pay your bills, but not to push you forward toward your goals. 

Where you’re doing great work, but only a small circle of people (ahem, your referrals) know about it. 

Where you can pay your bills, but not really afford the luxuries you want — whether that’s a cozy blanket for your couch, a pair of new jeans, or a latte when you’re feeling sleepy after lunch.

Where you talk about writing a 50,000 word book that sells 50,000+ copies but hesitate to write and send one 500-word email. You see, I know how it feels to be in the referral ghetto because I was there. 

I spent years making excuses about why I couldn’t —

• Market my services

• Grow my business 

• Be on social media

• Talk about what I know to be true and have expertise in

• Get everything I want out of my business, leadership, and life 

Until finally, the referrals started slowing up. It became clear to me that my business was going to die . . . along with all of my dreams. And that’s what got me moving. I had no idea how stuck I truly was until I took one step forward.

Here’s the thing. You can stay small — or you can go for it. So what are you going to do?

An Important Question To Ask Yourself

I started running in 2009. 

Five years after I had made a promise to myself that I would run the New York City Marathon. 

It took me another four years — until 2013 — to feel confident signing up for the race itself. 

And even then, I wasn’t sure whether I actually had it within me to run 26.2 miles. I remember training for that race in Central Park and seeing other runners with finisher shirts from the previous year. The back of each shirt had the word “marathoner” on it.

Watching people pass me with “marathoner” on their back, I started to want that shirt so badly. 

I wanted to call myself — and I wanted the world to see — that I was a marathoner. 

I’m guessing I wanted that as much as you want to call yourself a traditionally published author. 

What I didn’t know then was how that shirt, as simple as it was, proved to me that my goal was possible. I would see someone in that shirt and think, It happened for them. Why not me?  

I thought that over, and over, and over again. Eventually I didn’t have an answer about why I couldn’t complete 26.2 miles. Even when training and the race itself got difficult, tough, and painful, I wanted that shirt and the title that came with it. 

So, I’ve got a thought experiment for you. 

The next time you see a competitor or colleague or another entrepreneur online doing something you want to do, think — It happened for them. Why not me?

The Best Tip I Give to Authors at Writers Conferences

If you can’t explain your book in a sentence, you’re screwed. 

(If you’re an entrepreneur, this applies to your business too.)

I could tell you that we all have shorter attention spans, that the iPhone and the 24-hour-news-cycle have killed our ability to focus and listen. 

And while that might be true in some aspects, there’s a bigger, crueler truth.

Very few people care enough to keep listening.

That’s why I try to get good at winnowing down what my clients are writing about. Instead of a page, I try to distill the author’s idea and platform into a paragraph. And then a sentence. And then, finally, a five-second clip. That’s relevant to everyone.

Instead of . . . I’m working with an entrepreneur who has developed a system for living and spending in alignment with our core values, which allows us to generate and save more money leading to holistic, sustainable wealth . . . I say:

I’m working with an entrepreneur who helps you enjoy your life while making more money. 

Of course, that’s a simplification.

And it certainly doesn’t get into the nuances I know about the author’s system, or the practicality of her program, or even who her audience is. 

But that doesn’t matter because that snippet, that first line, that pitch?

Is what catches someone’s interest. 

Then I can dive deeper. 

Or not.

But if I were to come at someone willy nilly with a bunch of random ideas, I promise you: very few people will stick around to try and understand it.

I’ve seen this in action at writers conferences. A well-meaning author will walk up to the pros in attendance and talk in circles. Or apologize constantly about their lack of focus. Neither of which is helpful. 

And though a quick pitch isn’t necessary to get an agent (especially when you work with someone like me) or even a publisher, authors need to get good at distilling their concept down for publicity and marketing. 

Imagine you get to be on the Today show. 

Are Hoda and Jenna going to listen to a five-minute spiel about the intricacies of whatever you’re writing about? Probably not.

But I bet they want to learn how to enjoy their lives while making more money.

3 Lessons from My Failed Business(es)

Like a lot of entrepreneurs, I had a business that failed. 

Your Best Run was a coaching program for runners. It lasted for two years, only made ~$2,000 in revenue, and cost me $30,000. I made a lot of mistakes, but the one I see other folks also making is spending a ton of time focused on the competition.

I can’t recall how many hours I spent on other people’s websites and socials, comparing their content, pricing, and offers to mine. It was a lot. Far too many. Looking back, there are three lessons I took away from my experience and want to share with you that are relevant to building a successful business and getting a six-figure traditional book deal.

I could have done the math. 

Instead of sitting there steaming over my competition going viral, I could have crunched the numbers. How many people were paying to work with them versus simply following passively on Instagram? Was this even a sustainable business? 

I could have tested my content and concept before investing.

A lot of people come to me with results — of their own. Or maybe a small cohort. 

But in order to land a book deal, your advice needs to work at scale. 

For thousands of people. 

A huge mistake I made was going big with a brand launch (and a ton of money invested) instead of doing the work and coaching people for a while . . . which would have made me realize I love running but hate run coaching. (Whoops.) 

I could have looked to other industries for inspiration. 

A few months ago, a client told me that she needed to write a different book. This client was under the impression that everyone in the world knew about her area of expertise, when in reality, she was simply surrounded by folks who were saying the same thing. 

By going outside our industries and niches and subject areas to get inspiration, we step out of our own echo chamber. When we stop obsessing over every little detail of what our competitors are up to, we can hear our own voice. That allows us to be creative and stand out — because usually it’s not what we say that matters, but how we say it.

I also want to note that it wasn’t just Your Best Run that failed. 

This business — Meghan Stevenson Books — came close to failing too. 

Here’s the last mistake I made that has everything to do with me and nothing to do with my competition.

I could have gotten visible and marketed to my audience.

For eight years, I was a solopreneur who relied on referrals. 

But then those stopped coming in. 

I had to choose — was I willing to change, or did I want to give up? 

Today, I’m the proud owner of a business with four employees (including myself) that consistently produces results — at scale — for our clients. 

Don’t make the mistake I did — of waiting eight years to create what you want.

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.