It’s Different When It’s Your Own Baby

This article was originally published on LinkedIn

I’ve written several press releases for employers. Give me the facts, give me twenty minutes, and I’ll hand you something clean and ready to go.

This week I sat down to write one for my own book; something I’d spent two and a half years building. Every sentence felt like it mattered more than it probably did. Finalizing the press release took most of the morning.

Promotion has been the theme of the last several days.

A local entrepreneur reached out with an idea for a launch party at her event center, complete with a cash bar, a book discussion, and a bourbon tasting I’d probably show up for even if I hadn’t written the book. A bookstore owner asked to stock it and host a signing during a downtown fall event.

People are beginning to express interest. The publication date is drawing near. The book and cover are ready. Amazon is ready. The platform is built and ready. It’s been a lot of “holy crap, this is actually happening” in a short period of time.

I hit the submit button on the press release and waited for their editors to approve it.

Creating Is the Fun Part

Writing the book itself was the fun part. It was a creative outlet from start to finish, and I’d have written Against the Grain whether anyone ever bought a copy or not.

Marketing and promotion have been fun too, but that’s work in a way writing never was. With input and regular feedback from advisors, I built a disciplined plan, executed it, and continually modified it along the way, week by week and platform by platform. Articles, blog posts, podcasts, videos, advance readers, a website, press outreach, social media, and plenty of other things that weren’t on my mind when I started writing the first chapter.

I’ve learned a ton about launching a book, and that alone has been worth the effort. It’s a book launch, yes, but the lessons apply to any product or service. I can take that knowledge with me wherever my career may lead.

I also knew going in that I had a pretty good example of what happens when you skip that part.

My first book, Business is ART, received almost no marketing or promotion from me. I wrote it, published it, and mostly let it sit there. I was proud of the book, but I never really gave it much of a chance to find an audience. And truthfully, I didn’t care because I wrote it primarily as a calling card, or proof of “street creds” for prospective clients.

With my previous book, I wasn’t focused on sales at all.

This time I told myself I wasn’t doing that again. So, I didn’t. And now I’m a week away from finding out what all that work actually accomplished.

Testing the Process

If it works, I’ll have learned something valuable beyond whatever the sales numbers say. I’ll have a much better understanding of which parts of the process actually moved the needle and which ones simply kept me busy.

That’s knowledge I can use again. It might also be useful to someone else trying to launch a book, an idea, a product, or a business.

And if some of it doesn’t work, that’s useful too. I’ll have to look at what I did, what happened, and what I’d do differently next time.

That’s probably the part I’m most nervous about. I know I enjoyed writing the book. Early readers have given me plenty of reasons to believe people will enjoy reading it. What I don’t know yet is whether the disciplined, deliberate approach I chose to launch it will land it with its intended audience.

There was another question running through my head from the beginning.

I was writing a business book built around moonshiners, bootleggers, and people who made a habit of breaking the rules. I also make moonshine myself and don’t exactly hide that fact. I wondered occasionally whether a future employer or client might look at the premise and decide it, or I, wasn’t for them.

I decided I was comfortable with that.

The book reflects how I think about business, leadership, entrepreneurship, and the value of occasionally questioning the rules everyone else takes for granted. If someone reads it and decides we’re probably not a fit, maybe that’s useful information for both of us.

Putting Your Own Name on It

We recorded a podcast episode last week with Kim Bartley as our guest, and she had enough praise for the book to genuinely make me blush. Coming from her, it meant a lot.

At one point we talked about what it actually takes to put something like this out into the world. Not so much the effort to write it. But the chutzpah to put it in front of people. You either have to be sure of yourself, be a little ignorant of how good or bad it actually is, or just not care what people think. Kind of like most karaoke singers.

I’m not sure which one I am most days. Probably some shifting mix of all three, plus the karaoke singer.

I’ve launched products, businesses, technology platforms, and plenty of other things during my career. I’ve advised other people about marketing, strategy, and execution. It’s always easier to be objective when you’re standing a few feet away from it.

This time I’m standing right in the middle of it.

It really is different when it’s your own baby.

What are you working really hard to produce right now? Please share in the comments.