How Publishing, Delusion, and Entrepreneurship Intersect
Plus, spring/summer teaching schedule
I’m Tawny, author of Dry Humping: A Guide to Dating, Relating, and Hooking Up Without the Booze, co-author of The Sobriety Deck, co-host of the Recovery Rocks podcast, and co-founder of the non-alc spirit, (parentheses)
What’s in this Issue:
How authors wear entrepreneurial/marketing/publicity hats
How running an NA drink brand is similar to promoting my book
How you can implement these lessons in my upcoming classes
There’s a lot of overlap between authors and entrepreneurs because authors are entrepreneurs. We have to be. We must also be delusional enough to think our idea for a book is so good that other people (publishers!) should not only read it but give us money in exchange for our words.
The same mentality rings true for getting our NA drink to customers and indie bottleshops. There’s a certain level of delusion required to believe that the drink we spent years developing is worthy of your money and taste buds. But hey, if you’re not your own biggest fan, who will be?
Authors Are Chief Marketing Officers, Too
When it comes to promoting our drink, I oversee all marketing and publicity while hubby oversees operations. Nick and I wear 100 different hats every day, not unlike being an author.
Authors are responsible for our own press, marketing, book tours, websites, newsletters, and posting on every single social media platform all the fucking time—in addition to actually writing the book. Similarly, indie food and drink entrepreneurs are also in charge of our own press, marketing, trade shows, websites, newsletters, and posting on every single social media platform all the fucking time—in addition to actually creating and selling our drink.
The juggle is real, y’all.
If you’re a writer or entrepreneur (or both 🙋🏽♀️!) I have some classes coming up that might be up your alley.
Upcoming Classes
🃏Create + Pitch Your Own Card Deck March 19th 7-9EST. Sign up here.
📚Book Proposal Boot Camp May 20th-June 24th 7-9 EST. Sign up here.
💻DIY PR: Platform, Pitching, and Press Releases, May 14th-June 11th, 7-9ES. Sign up here.
🗞️New Column: Behind the Pitch
My new monthly column is designed to help you get essays published, land media placement for your books/products/expertise, and feel confident while writing the damn email. Catch up on issues one and two.
Every month, I’ll go behind the scenes of my pitching process (including screenshots of my pitches!) while sharing tangible tips to deal with the emotional side of putting yourself out there. My column will look like this and this. Read the official announcement here.
Full access to Behind the Pitch costs $7 per month or $70 per year.
Monthly Topics Include:
Media Placement - Learn how to get quoted as an expert on your topic or get an essay/article published
Podcast Placement - Review my pitch templates to become a podcast guest
Store Placement - Learn how to pitch a physical product (books, card decks, food and beverage, etc.…) to bookstores and specialty stores
The Whole Confidence Thing - Mental health and ADHD-informed tips to boost the confidence needed to write the damn pitch. I’ll also share healthy coping skills for rejection, imposter syndrome, and more.
And more!
try new things,
Tawny
