The Reluctant Book Marketer

Notes from the process.* Do it.* Don't beat yourself up.* Say it when you mean it and you know it.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Chris has books. I have books. Buy them to support the podcast. Here's the links:Chris.Jody. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Enjoy this interview with Brittney Deland. She works in advertising and Public Relations, and Chris interviewed her solo. Follow her on Instagram and let us know what in this conversation impacted you most. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Be fairly warned. There's some dude humor in this episode. So sorry. I'll try to keep it more professional most of the time, except when I don't.If you have Apple TV, Severance is great. Listen to it. Here's a link to the show preview.Chris has books. Here they are.Jody has books. Here they are.Love us. Share our show. Help us conquer the world. Lotsa love!Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

In the near future we'll have all kinds of cool links to guests and books and stuff. This week, it's an intro to the updated dual-host format. We love you. Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Monet was nearly blind when he painted his most iconic works. Michael Jordan got cut from his high school basketball team. Joe Biden lost several presidential bids. Donald Trump filed bankruptcy. No one who has achieved greatness ever did so without massive work, constant failure, and weighty self-doubt.My guest on today's episode is Barbara Rudlaff, a first-class artist, a gifted art teacher, and one of my parents.You can find her work on Instagram and on her website. She teaches at Naropa University. Wanna read my work?Find it here. I write lots of fiction, mostly magic-laced (speculative). Luke and Lyle live at the center of my cornerstone series, The Luke In Time Mysteries. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Today, I want to discuss a kind of apostrophe I've heard referred to as The Solomon Principle.If you're not familiar with apostrophe, it is a rhetorical device of addressing an imaginary audience.The Solomon Principle is a form of apostrophe that arises from seeking wisdom above all else, and with this practice, you today, begin a dialogue with you fifty years from today. For my youngest listeners, you could even imagine yourself sixty or seventy years from today.Your goal is to imagine who you will be near the end of your life, when the majority of your accomplishments are behind you, the lion's share of your failures and mistakes are overcome, and all you have left is to share what you've learned with anyone willing to listen.At the same time, you--who you are today--must embody the role of keen listener, seeker of wisdom, humble student.Something I find exciting about this practice is that by its very structure, it enables you to overcome the obstacles inherent in taking advice.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

For those of you who enjoy written publications, this essay is housed on All Things Novel. Feel free to subscribe there and read most weeks something new and entertaining. I don't touch on marketing much over there. It's my art outlet.If you want to support the Audiobook Omnibus. Here's the link.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

My guest on today's episode is Gary Arndt. He's the host of a daily podcast Everything Everywhere.We talk about failing and how it moves you closer to success. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

My guest on today's episode is Steve Pieper. He's the founder of AMMO. If you've always wanted to earn a living as a full-time author, Steve's program is the best pathway I know of, and thousands of authors agree.Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.Check Out David's BooksThe Surface's End is where I started, and it's a fun ride described thusly.“Near the edge of Jonah Whitfield's small farming village lies the Deathlands – a strange desert in the middle of a lush, green landscape. It is strictly forbidden. Jonah often lingers at the border of the Deathlands out of curiosity, hunting wild game where no one else feels safe. When he follows a wounded deer into the desolate expanse, he stumbles upon a hatch to a futuristic underground society. After setting eyes on a beautiful girl whose only wish is to see the surface, Jonah is determined to free her from a prison made of comfort and lies. Will he rescue her, or will he find himself trapped mere miles away from the life he has taken for granted?” Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

This is a pivot within a pivot within a pivot. Same game, new strategy. Maybe I try too many things. Maybe I'm a cautionary tale. You decide. In the meantime, if you'd like a copy of The Luke In Time Mysteries Audio Omnibus, starting at just $1, grab one.With Love,Jody J. Sperling Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Happy New Year, my friends. I hope this podcast has been the gift you needed this year, and if you're in a gift-giving mood and want to reciprocate, grab a copy of The Luke In Time Mysteries Audio Omnibus, starting at just $1. You'll be happy you did.My guest on today's episode is Angie Hanson. She's the author of Chapters of A Resilient Heart. Her story of loss and resilience is inspiring, and the work she's done to overcome profound loss is a lesson for all of us.With Love,Jody J. Sperling Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Merry Christmas my friends. I hope this podcast has been the gift you needed this year, and if you're in a gift-giving mood and want to reciprocate, grab a copy of The Luke In Time Mysteries Audio Omnibus, starting at just $1. You'll be happy you did.Here's a link to the AMMO program if you want to learn from Steve the marketing genius.Here's the link to the podcast that convinced me (brainwashed, some might say) into buying Bitcoin. And here's a link to the cold-storage wallet I'll be buying to keep my Bitcoin safe from Bitcoin Pirates.With Love,Jody J. Sperling Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, I talk with Neil Twa of Voltage about dropshipping, being a CEO of your own business and life, and the balance of family, self-care, and legacy.If Voltage sounds like a good fit for you, learn more here with Neil's free book. Use the discount code HOUSEHOLD at checkout.And if you got excited about the Luke In Time Mysteries Audiobook Omnibus, you can join the project here. Contribute what you want, and you'll get three audiobooks right now. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, I break down all the things digital marketing and conventions to sell books. It's audacious, ludicrous, silly and sincere.Can I reach 8 billion readers? Find out now. If you got excited about the Luke In Time Mysteries Audiobook Omnibus, you can join the project here. Contribute what you want, and you'll get three audiobooks right now. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, I'm talking to E.H. Drake, author of Blood Herring.I encourage you to read her work. She's captain of a vivid imagination.If you got excited about the Luke In Time Mysteries Audiobook Omnibus, you can join the project here. Contribute what you want, and you'll get three audiobooks right now. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, I'm talking to Dr. Shane Simonsen, author of Taming of Apocalypse.I encourage you to read his work. He's a stellar writer.If you got excited about the Luke In Time Mysteries Audiobook Omnibus, you can join the project here. Contribute what you want, and you'll get three audiobooks right now. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, I've got something very special for you. Podcast Host Andy J. Pizza shared the first episode in his True Fan Series. It's number 476, and you can find it here.I encourage you to listen to all of Creative Pep Talk. It's stellar.If you got excited about the Luke In Time Mysteries Audiobook Omnibus, you can join the project here. Contribute what you want, and you'll get three audiobooks right now. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

I have novels. You can get them here.Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.THIS IS THE LINK TO MY SUBSTACK if you're listening elsewhere.Local Events for the WinAn update on where we're going to get books out to the masses. All the things, including diet, effort, and focus.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my podcast, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

I have novels. You can get them here.Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.THIS IS THE LINK TO MY SUBSTACK if you're listening elsewhere.Books. Who Needs ‘em?Curious about building your author brand? In this episode, we explore the value of social media, traditional publishing, and much more with Kathleen Schmidt.She's the founder of Publishing Confidential, and you can subscribe to it right here.Kathleen is a well-respected voice in book publishing with in-depth experience in all aspects of the industry, including as a publicist, literary agent, acquisitions editor, and ghostwriter.Her career encompasses 30 years of creating and directing impactful and strategic global media, marketing, and branding campaigns for politicians, A-List celebrities, athletes, and high-profile personalities.Here's the Brad Listi interview I mentioned with Kathleen.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my podcast, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

I have novels. You can get them here.Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.THIS IS THE LINK TO MY SUBSTACK if you're listening elsewhere.Growth, Adjustments, PlanningCurious about building your author brand? In this episode, we explore how I've grown my Instagram to 740 followers, hit a 3,000-view milestone on my latest reel, and prepped for my showing at Twin Cities Con. I'll share strategies on leveraging social media, boosting in-person book sales, and creating attention-driven marketing for authors eager to connect with readers and expand their reach. Join me for insights on turning your passion into a growing, engaged audience!TRBM is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my podcast, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

I have novels. You can get them here.Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.THIS IS THE LINK TO MY SUBSTACK if you're listening elsewhere.Growth, Pivoting, EffortIf I had to boil this episode down to a single takeaway, I'd say it's about effort. Sometimes our outcomes don't mirror our efforts, and it's on those days we have to commit to the work anyway.I had moments this past week when I wanted to quit, moments when I sat staring at a computer screen because I had no sense of how to meaningfully move forward, and those still moments didn't help me achieve my dreams.It's fine to be still and to pivot, but it's harmful to give in to discouragement. Move forward. Always be fighting to take new territory.TRBM is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my podcast, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

I have novels. You can get them here.Michelle DowdWe look at faith and its impact on marketing. Spoiler: what you believe informs everything you do, and marketing is about translating what you believe into what other people do about you.Michelle Dowd is a journalism professor and contributor to The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, TIME magazine, Alpinist, and other national publications. She was raised on a mountain in the Angeles National Forest where she learned to identify flora and fauna, navigate by the stars, forage for edible plants, and care for the earth. Her memoir, Forager: Field Notes on Surviving a Family Cult, showcases her life growing up on an isolated mountain in California as part of an apocalyptic cult, and how she found her way out of poverty and illness by drawing on the gifts of the wilderness.Follow her journey here on Substack at Forager Fridays.Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.THIS IS THE LINK TO MY SUBSTACK if you're listening elsewhere.TRBM is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my podcast, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

If you prefer video, I recorded this episode on YouTube Live. Want to see more video, let me know. Drop a comment here or there or anywhere and I'll make stronger efforts to continue video. So far, I think my face is the limiting factor. People don't enjoy looking at it.This is week three of using organic social media to grow my reader base. It feels like a success that's gaining momentum.The four-book deal I sold can be found right here.Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.THIS IS THE LINK TO MY SUBSTACK if you're listening elsewhere.TRBM is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my podcast, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Elizabeth Lyons is the author of WRITE THE DAMN BOOK ALREADY, and host of a podcast by the same name.She offers a course for new and emerging authors called PUBLISH THE DAMN BOOK ALREADY, and for all my listeners, she's offering a 25% discount when you use the code AUTHOR25. Check it out here: https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/publishIs AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.THIS IS THE LINK TO MY SUBSTACK if you're listening elsewhere.TRBM is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my podcast, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

No matter how good you are, if you can't figure out how to be everywhere all the time, you can't do amazing things.That's why I've gone all in on using Instagram to promote my novels.In this episode, I'm continuing to look at how I'm driving new follows, likes, shares, and comments on Instagram.I share what's worked, what's failed, and all the in between.Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.THIS IS THE LINK TO MY SUBSTACK if you're listening elsewhere.TRBM is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my podcast, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Let's talk about Instagram. Attention is the currency we trade in. Like it, hate it, just don't doubt it. If you get good at driving attention toward your work, branding will take care of itself and you'll have a real chance to get your work in front of a raving audience of fans. Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.THIS IS THE LINK TO MY SUBSTACK if you're listening elsewhere.TRBM is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my podcast, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.No Single Action Fixes EverythingI'm susceptible to chasing the newest, shiniest things. Maybe you are too. But the problem with new shiny things is that you or I won't be any good at getting the shine out of them, and so if we always chase, we'll never get good at anything, not really.If you want to see real, meaningful, lasting progress in anything, it takes, dedicated, all-in focus.For me, that's going to be social media, organic growth. I have never excelled at social media, and that's going to have to change if I want to reach a wealth of readers.How about you?My BooksAs always, you can check out my books right here or at my website. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.The Magic Bullet Is In A HaystackThe truth about art, about writing, is complex. People are fond of saying, “There's no magic bullet.” But they're either lying to you or they aren't looking closely enough.For example, Powerball and Mega Millions are clear magic bullets. Eventually someone wins. But as they say, “You can't win if you don't play.More importantly, millions play, and very, very, very few win. But someone does win, and that person goes from being broke or at best middle class to being incredibly wealthy—top 1% wealthy.Other magic bullets might include business-building, real estate buying, W-2 work and saving, plus getting promotions. Even Wall Street can be a magic bullet.Everything can be a magic bullet. Some things favor more people, and when it comes to art, your chances of hitting the target are small.My BooksAs always, you can check out my books right here or at my website. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.Darby HarnToday's guest, Darby Harn is the author of multiple novels. You can find his work here, or at his website.Trial and ErrorYou may notice I tried to move away from ads and affiliations, but my short experiment failed and I've seen a clear demand from the audience to promote AMMO, and so we're going back to the tried-and-true format.You can still become a paid subscriber of the podcast, knowing all your contributions go directly back into making this podcast bigger, better, cooler, and awesomer.My BooksAs always, you can check out my books right here or at my website. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.For those of you who want to support the podcast as a paid member but don't listen to the show using Substack, click this link to subscribe.Collaborative Opportunity For Social Media ReachIf you like the sound of collaborating with other artists to reach a broader audience on Instagram, send me a message on any of my socials @jodyjsperling or email me at jodyjsperling@gmail.com.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.For those of you who want to support the podcast as a paid member but don't listen to the show using Substack, click this link to subscribe.Look To People Who Have SucceededThere's no one magic bullet or path to success on Instagram, but there are clues, and when you watch how Ty Allan Jackson has created a following of eager, passionate parents who want to empower their children with financial literacy, you walk away knowing a little more about how to create a lasting message that will have great impact.Ty is the author of two bestselling children's books on financial literacy, that you can buy here.Follow him on Instagram to see what's new in his life.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.For those of you who want to support the podcast as a paid member but don't listen to the show using Substack, click this link to subscribe.Pitch That Book, HoneyJoe Prosit is the author I've seen at the most conventions, and he's writing with genuine discipline. You rarely meet people who go as hard as Joe does, so when he speaks, he speaks with authority.I've read and enjoyed his first collection of short stories, which I'd highly recommend. You can check out all his books on his website or on Amazon.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.For those of you who want to support the podcast as a paid member but don't listen to the show using Substack, click this link to subscribe.Feeling Like Working Is Not RequiredMost days, I walk Lyle. He's a Great Daniff, and at eight-years-old, he's starting to slow down.When we start out, both of us are groggy, sluggish, and a bit moody.For the first mile, I predictably consider if I'll sprint when I get to the park. Maybe today I should skip, I'll think. But I know if I give an inch, the mile will have its way with me.So I get to the park and I sprint, and on the mile walk back home, I'm grateful I worked when I didn't feel like it.The same principle can be used for everything in life. Write because you know future you will be glad you did.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Success is doing what you want to do on your terms. Some people define it slightly differently as doing what I want with who I want when I want.The dictionary defines success in the following ways: noun - a favorable or desired outcome / the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence / the accomplishment of an aim or purpose / the accomplishment of one's goals.At its most basic level, you can view success as hearing my voice. You pulled up your podcast app, found my broadcast, and played this episode. I prefer Spotify. You might prefer Apple or Podbean, but the fact that you are listening to this episode means you had success.This is important, because in the broader sense, we all define success subjectively. Your success would not be your significant other's success or your brother's success or your daughter's success, though you may have shared successes where desires overlap. If fidelity is a marker of success for you, and your significant other value monogamy, you share that success when you limit your romantic interactions to one another, however even within that overlapping success, you'll define success subjectively.You might hold the opinion that viewing images of naked people does not violate monogamy while your significant other might view reading romance novels as acceptable, and in both cases, one of you is finding arousal from projections outside of each other.You might find it romantic when your significant other surprises you with a clean house when you return from work, and your significant other might find a gift of flowers romantic, but if you receive flowers, it might seem like extra work and a waste of money.And before we dive into the broader subject, let's examine one more angle to success. Success is being true to yourself. Yes, that's another way of phrasing the original definition: doing what you want on your terms.The reason it's important to belabor this is because when me get into the murky middle, we're going to have an unbelievable hard time translating information in useful ways so we can orient ourselves to success.To make the point, let me tell you a story:You define success as having intimacy with your significant other, and you know about yourself that it's effective to get you in an intimate mood to receive flowers from your partner, but one day your significant other comes home without flowers and yet tries to romance you by completing a chore around the house.You decide to read a little steamy romance while your significant other is cleaning, because you want to be in the mood, but the book gets you all hot and bothered, and you tease out a blustering curtains so that when it's time for a little pillow talk, you're not really in the mood, but you definitely feel you can help satisfy your significant other's desire because your significant other did something nice for you.Meanwhile, your significant other defines success as bringing you to the curtains blustering moment, but since you already popped, you have to act blustered when in fact you aren't.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.You conclude your bedroom time and tell yourself everything was magical and everyone is happy, but you feel strangely dissatisfied, and your no telepath, but you feel your significant other is perhaps just a little let down too.At that moment, you have choices: redefine success, blame your significant other for failing to meet your needs, or take responsibility for what you did that led to failure.If you choose options one or two, you fit nicely in the majority, and if you're in the majority, you probably doubled down and chose both options. You blamed your significant other, then decided that if they were at fault, you'd have to redefine success so you could get what you want.Maybe this example will ring true to you in another scenario.Let's say you woke up with a dream to be the next Ernest Hemingway. That awakening happened after you read "Hills Like White Elephants."You recognized the power of the story, its subtlety, its character depth, its tension, stakes, and implications, and from that awakening you committed yourself to writing a story that would speak to readers the way that story spoke to you.But when you set out to make that dream a success, you began to realize "Hills Like White Elephants" is deceptively simple.You write a few stories, and they all fall flat. In this choose your own adventure you can blame Hemingway for deceiving you and jettison your goal to be his heir or you can redefine your interpretation of the goal. But either way, you fail to achieve your first vision of success.The third option, one very few people take, is to accept responsibility for your shortcomings and turn back to the page to write more, live more, and improve until you can write that story of yours just the way you dreamed of it.For the sake of the story, let's say you choose to take responsibility, and you keep writing with the goal of becoming Hemingway's heir. You get a handful of publications, and people start to discuss your talent. You land a literary agent by querying hundreds, but when you shop your book, no publishers bite.As you begin to scrape the bottom of the publisher barrel, you recognize that your book, even if it is picked up, will have little visibility and less hype. You can then choose to blame the industry for valuing upmarket work like Twilight, or you can adapt to the market trends and abandon your Hemingway dream.Either way, you compromise success.Or suppose you choose the third road, and you accept responsibility for your failure to get a contract, and you study the niche Hemingway fit in and work like mad to improve your writing so the next volume of stories will wow your audience.If you choose option three again, you're in rarified air, but still you're galaxies removed from Hemingway in a place called the murky middle.In the murky middle, you'll find the path forward harder to see. Blame lurks around every corner as does redefining success. You'll travel both paths accidentally and be forced to double back regularly. You'll find several paths that appear to lead to distant places, but which might actually end up in the same place. What you'll learn is that authors in today's world are held responsible for their own marketing, branding, public relations, and even social engagements, and so, even though you've managed to choose the Hemingway path, this far, you'll be forced to do things that feel like distractions from the success you have so far followed to the letter.But you know that if social media reach can get you a contract with a big publisher, you need to do it. With the same naive optimism by which you entered the battlefield of writing, you'll start an Instagram profile.And with the same dawning dread, you'll realize those posts you thought looked so simple are far harder to create than you thought, bringing you right back to the place of blame or redefining success. You'll doubtless want to blame Hemingway again, saying he never had to use Instagram, and you'll be tempted to redefine success by saying social media just isn't your game so you have to settle for small presses and maybe an adjunct position teaching up-and-coming writers.Or maybe you'll accept responsibility for your failures and learn how to make great reels that reach vast audiences. But even as you develop social media prowess, you have to keep writing, because you're still not Hemingway. Now you have two careers, and here's where it gets wild.Because you've never given up on your dream of being Hemingway's heir, and you've learned how to play the social media game in service of that, you begin to earn brand deals. Coca Cola gives you twenty thousand dollars to promote their soda in your content. Vans sees you wearing their shoes and sponsors your channel.You become an influencer, and you start to think this life might not be bad.Meanwhile, you get that sweet publishing contract you'd been hustling for, but the advance on royalties is a shabby five thousand dollars. Your book hits the bestseller list for a few weeks, and you learn that in eighteen months you'll receive a check in the mail for another ten thousand dollars.Your publisher offers you a six-figure contract if you can write two books in two years, but they retain first right of refusal, and by the way, if your book flops, you will be axed from the publisher and forgotten.This all terrifies you and you realize with dread that when you sit to write, you can't produce because now someone else gets to tell you how success is measured.At the same time, you keep creating social media content and your brand deals are pulling mid six figures that are deposited in your account weekly, but when a reel fails to go viral, you lose sleep because you're so scared you've lost the algorithm.Worst of all, people know your name and face, and the sheer volume of shittalk swirling about how you're a poser and a capitalist pig begins to crush you.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.You decide if you can outsource some of the headaches by hiring an executive assistant you can get back to what matters, but as soon as you do that, you discover with dread that now you're a boss, an influencer, and a writer. Hemingway definitely didn't have to worry about that.Now we could stay here in the murky middle, but if we do, we'll miss something critical, and that's the shining headstone.Yep, you're going to die, and when you do, your headstone will summarize your life. For the purposes of this story, we'll assume no one gets cremated.If you visit Ernest Hemingway's grave, you'll read these words: "Here lies the finest author of all time. He blew his brains out because he hated life more than he loved it."Okay, that's farce. I have no idea what his headstone says, and even if I could look it up, I'm not going to, because the point is salient. Hemingway achieved what you set out to achieve and it gave him no gratification.We could talk mental health all day, but the fact remains: Hemingway's success failed to bring him joy.Imagine if he'd ever chose another adventure. Imagine if he'd redefined success. What if he'd said, accolades mean little, and happiness means everything. Perhaps we'd never have had A MOVABLE FEAST, but instead we'd have grandpa Hemingway, a ninety-two year-old family man who wrote a few works of great note and a shelf full of rip-roaring yarns you love and quickly forget.Maybe grandpa Hemingway is preferable, or maybe we should accept Idaho Hemingway, the self-murdered great.But however you define success, understand it comes with a cost.I decided after six years of dogged pursuit, trying to get a publishing deal at FSG that I needed to adapt my methods. When I decided that, I had to accept that success might look different for me. At the same time, I've kept my eye on inroads to the original goal.While I self-publish my books, I continue to brainstorm ways to attract conventional publishers. I'm in the thick of the murky middle without clear answers on how to make my work pop.I've taken countless wrong turns, given up on numerous book ideas, fielded hundreds of rejections, and questioned my sanity almost daily. My in-laws think me cooky, and if you got my wife to open up, she'd probably say I'm delusional, but I've never abandoned my dream of success, and that's all I have to offer.See, when my headstone is being carved, then you'll be able to say either he did what he set out to do or he didn't do what he set out to do, but unless I quit trying, success is forever pushed out to the never-coming future.And we've travelled this journey together to arrive at this point. At the center of it all, there's just this: You have no control over the moment, the method, the person or people, or the way.Be as clever as you want. Master social media or don't. Smile at your neighbors or the person in front of you in line at Chipotle. Write a personal note to every reader of your books. Attend a hundred networking events, or hole up in your house and watch Netflix. As long as you accept responsibility for your shortcomings and continue working, your success is ensured. Let God or the universe or the oneness of consciousness take care of the details. Keep working.PS:I heard it first from Gary Vee, and it belongs here. You are already somebody. Right now, right here, today, you are someone. Success doesn't validate you or define you.And, from the very same man. Stop complaining, dick! Get to work. You have only yourself to blame. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.My guest on today's episode is Thomas J. Bellezza of The Write Mindset. He's had a storied career in music, writing, and podcasting. You can find him on Instagram and YouTube. Thomas is a three-peat guest here on the podcast because he always brings such incredible value. Buckle up!Jody's BooksI write mysteries, and magical adventures. You can grab copies anywhere books are sold, but I'd prefer you use my website so Jeff Bezos and company don't come between us.Find me here. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

My guest on today's episode is Traci DeForge of Produce Your Podcast. She has a storied career in radio and podcasting. You can find her on Instagram and everywhere else. If you host a podcast and you're looking for professional help to improve your work, Traci would love to talk with you.Jody's BooksI write mysteries, and magical adventures. You can grab copies anywhere books are sold, but I'd prefer you use my website so Jeff Bezos and company don't come between us.Find me here.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

My guests on today's episode are Darius and Carmen Britt of Wealth Nation. They are experts in learning and applying wise money models to our lives so cash is never the reason we fail to achieve our dreams. They're on YouTube here, and have a website here.Jody's BooksI write mysteries, and magical adventures. You can grab copies anywhere books are sold, but I'd prefer you use my website so Jeff Bezos and company don't come between us.Find me here.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

My guest on today's episode is David Joel Stevenson, author of The Surface's End and other novels. His current stomping grounds of Nashville is a perfect fit for a guy who is pursuing music, writing and film all at the same time.Find his website here.This man taught me how to pitch my novel, and you could learn a ton from him about how to talk to strangers about your work, so pay close attention to his process.Jody's BooksI write mysteries, and magical adventures. You can grab copies anywhere books are sold, but I'd prefer you use my website so Jeff Bezos and company don't come between us.Find me here.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Hard work is the lie that robs you of everything worth having, and yet, every person who has something worth having has it because of hard work. This is called a paradox. I can't offer the key to solve the paradox, but I assure you, you don't have to look hard to find it.What you will have to do is accept responsibility. You must accept responsibility for yourself, yet claim no credit for your outcomes. If you are responsible for yourself, aren't you to blame for your behaviors, both the good and the bad? The answer should be yes, but it isn't. This too is a paradox.Did you choose where or to whom you were born? A silly question. And yet, when you were half sperm and half egg, you had to work exceptionally hard to outcompete all the others to find yourself.See, it's tempting to think of ourselves as the obviously active players. We easily identify with the hardworking sperm and neglect to focus on the patient, self-actualized egg even though we are half sperm and half egg.But science tells us the egg is a selective partner in our process. It releases chemical signals through the ovarian fluid that bias for certain sperm partners casting the whole drama of “youness” in a very different light.The hardest working sperm might no more get the egg than the earliest bird gets the worm, because the bird who waits on the rain is partnered with greater forces.Your failures might not be because you are too young, the wrong race, the incorrect political affiliation, the enemy religion, or because you have the wrong amount of money. It might be because so far you lack what's needed to succeed. You may not have met your egg. You may be living through a drought.But just as you might be starting to think the answer is serendipity, luck, uncontrollable, a paradoxical lash flays your back, because a sperm who never swims, can find no egg, and the bird who never hunts can never enjoy the rain.Moreover, the more dedicated the hunt, the more committed the pursuit, the greater the likelihood of treasure--of success, which is why most people will find what they need to succeed through hard work.Still, saying hard work is the key is suggesting that the outcome is predictable and measurable, and success is neither predictable nor measurable.Here again is the truth: Your life will change for the better to the degree that you embrace the joy of doing and deny the high of achieving.Why does joy depend on doing rather than having? I could give you the answer but then you'd have nothing to do, and I would never—by choice—rob you of your joy. Just the opposite. I long that we all live in our joy.It reminds me of the 2016 Chicago Cubs. When they won the World Series that year, I felt pure elation for twenty minutes, perhaps less. The emotional high then flittered away and by the next morning I returned to baseline.Contrast that with the 2016 MLB season, I frequently felt elated watching the #Cubs win and win. They dominated the competition at nearly every level, and the only real slump of the season happened around the All Star Break. Each win felt good, but the growing dominance, the team pulling away, the bats, the gloves, the smiles, it infected me.Then the 2017 season rolled in. We brought in some new talent, lost some old talent, and sat poised to repeat. The 2017 #Cubs started the season so spectacularly. I remember telling Ashley they were the comeback kings. Nothing kept them down, until they failed to pull off that last-inning rally.Once the magic rally run ended, the team disintegrated, losing both its chemistry and its joy. Suddenly, the narrative was all on World Series 2017. Could the team repeat? Could they even make it? What player would have to step up to be the difference-maker. Winning became the bar. What was done was judged, and impossible pressure was put on the doing, because anything less than victory was unimaginable.By the end of the Cubs 2017 regular season, I had a heavy heart. The team won their division, but it felt like a wounded warrior limping off the battlefield, and the playoffs proved that feeling true.Each season since 2017, the Cubs have felt, to my emotions, like failures. I feel like a terrible fan, and I wish I could recapture the feeling I had for the team from childhood on through 2015. I miss saying, and meaning, "There's always next year" when you could look forward to them doing better.My journey as a Cubs fan mirrors the journey we all have in life. It's always best when we're focused on what we are doing and oblivious to where we mean to get.And let's not race past an important part of the journey. There's an old saying, "It takes a village" that has been mostly forgotten in today's culture. For the most part, we don't live village-style lives any longer. Instead, we live in suburbs, cities and walled-off multiplexes, cut off from eachother. Backyard patios and privacy fences have replaced front porches, and because of that, we forget that our neighbors have a cup of sugar when we don't. Our neighbors have wisdom for our children. Our neighbors can hug and high five when we win, and comfort us when we lose, and we in turn can be fans of our neighbors' lives.Though it's popular in today's culture to dis on people who dress in team gear and speak as if they're part of a team, fandom is more powerful than we like to imagine. I never suited up for the Major League squad, but I call the team "we", and you can't convince me I'm not part of them.From the simple economics of gear—my Cubs hat provides funding for the team owner to pay his players—to the collective voice that steers a team's personnel decisions, fans play a massive part in a team's success.Fans are part of the team. Readers are part of the book, viewers are part of the movie. We did this. See, your favorite book is also someone else's favorite book. And if you think about it, you brag about your favorite book whenever you have the opportunity. If you didn't brag about the book, it wouldn't find as many readers. Brag about it enough, and it might find a new level of success. That book wins because you're part of its team.My father took me to Cubs games, making of me a lifelong fan. I gave to my son THE STAND, making of him a lifelong Stephen King fan. The Cubs only exist because of people like my dad and I, and Stephen King only wrote THE STAND because of people like my son and I.Fans matter. Fans matter so much, no good thing can ever achieve success without a fanbase.And consider the alternative.We all know that person who has jaw-dropping talent. Their paintings are so detailed the canvas seems alive. Their stories are so moving they could make Andrew Tate cry in front of a crowd of high-value chicks. And yet, those exceptional talents can't find an audience for their work even when the price to enjoy it is free-ninety-nine.You read that, and you're tempted to say these artists got a bad break, and these artists want you to feel that way. They'll say things like, "The cream rises to the top," or they'll claim the masses are growing dimmer every passing day. They'll say great art doesn't pander, and that is their choice.Everyone can choose to be wrong.Reality is more nuanced. Noise is misleading. "Doing work" is the present tense conjugation of "statistics." "Positivity" and "mindset" are the future-tense of "Doing work".An artist with massive talent who works hard to produce exceptional art may be found by an ideal fan, beginning a chain reaction that results in the artist's discovery by the masses.In another universe, that same artist may never meet the ideal fan and die obscure and poor.A different artist may have moderate talent and massive work ethic may choose to do all his painting on a busy street corner where he is seen by the masses. At some point he may accrue enough minor recognition from the flow of humanity passing his canvases that the news runs a story on him and he gains some little notoriety. After a time, that notoriety could grow into a great fame.Or the same artist in an alternate universe may never have his work covered by the news and labor away in obscurity.A third artist may have laughable limitations in skill, but superhuman powers of human persuasion and charm. This artist will spend little time on his work and much time rubbing elbows with others. He'll benefit from many people assuming their eyes must lack refinement, and he will be presented to all the rich and powerful, going on to enjoy lavish paychecks and gargantuan successes.Or this third artist in some other reality may have the bad luck to face off against a highly-respected and equally persuasive critic who reveals the shitty paintings for what they are, forever ending the chances of that artist's rise to fame.Fans matter. They're part of the team. And players (artists, authors, actors) they matter too: the egg and the sperm.But if now you're tempted to say the outcome is the goal, let's crush that foolishness with the most important truth. Artists one, two, and three, in universes A, B, and C all have the same chances at joy, and you can't ignore the significance of that reality.An easy way to test this is to consider the following: Would you rather have ten million dollars and global fame but feel miserable about your life and exist in poor health, or would you rather have a million dollars and a small, loving fanbase that you enjoyed daily, surrounded by friends and family, laughter, and good health? If in both scenarios, you were happy, which would you prefer to have? If in either scenario you were miserable, what would you rather have?So realize, money and fame are great but joy is the treasure.And where is joy found? It's found in doing. When you recognize where joy is found, it only makes sense to seek it above all else. To the world, this will probably look like you working really, really hard. But to yourself, this will probably look like you having crazy amounts of fun.Beware! You're perilously close to the worst misunderstanding of all, because your fun over a long enough timeframe is extremely likely to deliver you dream outcomes. Fame, fortune, adoration, and if you forget that the present tense of "statistics" is "doing work" you might be tempted to think these two terms are different words all together.That would be a devastating misunderstanding. Because you then will be tempted to conjugate the future tense of "hard work" with "positive outcomes" when in fact the present tense of "positive outcomes" is "who-the-hell-knows".By all means, work hard. Work very hard at something you love doing and you'll always be happy. Along the way, resist caring about the outcomes, though a word of caution.If you only work hard on the things that come naturally to you, you'll be vulnerable to bitterness. Finding fans, building your team is confusing, sometimes humiliating, and always unpredictable, and if you focus on growing the fanbase, you're in clear outcome-seeking territory, but likewise, if you ignore your team, your fans or the lack thereof, you're in clear wish-for-the-best territory. Neither place can sustain joy because they're both based on outcomes.Thankfully, there's a home for joy inside this paradox. Let the place where you are be the map for where you mean to go, and recognize that the place where you are is easiest to see through the eyes of those who see you now. If you lack fans, what are you doing to change that? If you're experiencing negative feedback, what are you doing to change that? Do you need to change that? Is it an opportunity to change course or to change audience or something else entirely?You may find that negative comments reinforce the rightness of your journey, in which case you're showing up for the wrong people. Or you may find that negative comments reveal the gap in your mastery and serve to focus you on skill acquisition.On the other hand, you may be tempted to bask in the warmth of fan adulation, but upon examination see that your fans share a love for a message in your work that represents something you hate. Perhaps, then, you're best served by shifting your message to clarify, or of speaking directly to the misled fans, even though it'll likely harm your outcomes.In either case, you can only find joy by using the map, not by analyzing the best way to positive outcomes. Always ask, am I where I want to be today? If not, how do I shift course. Never ask, is this behavior getting me where I want to go? Because the answer to that question will always betray you, stealing your peace and your joy. Becoming A Household Name is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

C.R. Rice runs The Pop-Up Bookshoppe for authors selling books at comic conventions. I first met her in Oklahoma City at Galaxy Con. Be part of the fun as an in-person seller or remotely. Learn more here: https://wondertwinsevents.com/pop-up-bookshoppe/ In this interview we covered a lot of territory. We talked about: * Collaboration * Ambition * Sales * Marketing * Artistry * Social Media * and of course how chasing our passions and the goal of becoming a household name will empower those around us. Follow Chelsea “C.R.” RiceInstagram, Facebook, Get Her BooksBecoming A Household Namehas been my goal from the beginning. If you want to follow my journey and root for me, or if you find value in my ideas or books, you're in the right place.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Kerry Mann is an authority in the Carnivore community. He transformed his life eating beef, beef, and more beef. If you aren't paying attention to his journey, you're missing out. In this interview we discuss how Kerry has embarked on a wild journey to help heal humanity though the proper human diet. Check out his documentary website at https://healinghumanity.movie/We talked about: * Conviction * Fear * Empowerment * Marriage/Relationship Collaboration * Artistry * Documentary * and of course how chasing our passions and the goal of becoming a household name will empower those around us. Check out Kerry's channel on YouTube, and listen to his podcast anywhere pods are cast.Becoming A Household Namehas been my goal from the beginning. If you want to follow my journey and root for me, or if you find value in my ideas or books, you're in the right place.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

I thought an ad focusing on bananas would go viral. It didn't Here's what I plan to do next.Becoming A Household Namehas been my goal from the beginning. If you want to follow my journey and root for me, or if you find value in my ideas or books, you're in the right place.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, I introduce my new podcast. It's not a rework of TRBM, not a throwback to The Reluctant Book Marketer, not a callback to cre8 collabor8.Becoming A Household Namehas been my goal from the beginning. It must make me thicker than an old fashioned malt that I spent this long trying to back my way into this purpose and goal.How is this podcast different than TRBM? Here I'm going to dive deep into all the things I'm doing in pursuit of my dreams. I'll speak to guests in nutrition, fitness, literature, education, entertainment and much more as well as provide solo episodes about my journey.Is It Still Secretly A Marketing Show?No. I'm no a guru. I'm not a marketing expert. I stink at marketing. I can't figure it out. But what makes that such good news is that I keep trying, and unlike the guys who sell you programs, I'm here for one purpose, to make win you over as readers.Would I take on ad partners if any came knocking? You bet I would! But I'm here to document my journey of becoming a household name, and I'm doing it before I've become a household name.What that means is, if you want the same thing for any of your own reasons, there's a better than average chance something I'm saying or doing will help you along your journey. And that's called sharing the road.Let's travel together.Becoming A Household Name is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Becoming A Household Name at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

William F. Gray is a swiftly rising author. When I met him just a little over a year ago, he had one self-published book with a handful of Amazon reviews. Now he's got three novels on the shelf, a fourth on the way, and hundreds of reviews across his gripping trio of horrors.If you're an author looking to take your writing and marketing professional look no further than William.You can find his novels here.Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.Do You Want To Have Your Self-Published Books In Bookstores?The Self-Published Author Co-Op is the home of a movement. Get a $5.00 lifetime membership to the co-op and you'll receive a road map to preparing your books for brick and mortar bookstore selling.If you ever want to see your books on shelves nationally, but you don't know how to make that a reality, join now, click here.1TRBM is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to TRBM at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Fresh on the heels of The Strawberry Festival in Cabot Arkansas, I attended Galaxy Con in Oklahoma City. It started out rough. Like, rough as in, I thought about quitting the whole writing marketing thing and getting a W2 rough.Why was it so bad, and how did it go from rough to revolutionary. David Joel Stevenson taught me something, and I had the softness to hear and learn. Kudos to me, and kudos to you if you can take this talk and apply it in your life. Learning from others and failing publicly are two enormous challenges you can't succeed without experiencing.Get David's books here.Get Breydon's comics here.Get Werewolf's art here.Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.Do You Want To Have Your Self-Published Books In Bookstores?The Self-Published Author Co-Op is the home of a movement. Get a $5.00 lifetime membership to the co-op and you'll receive a road map to preparing your books for brick and mortar bookstore selling.If you ever want to see your books on shelves nationally, but you don't know how to make that a reality, join now, click here.1TRBM is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to TRBM at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

If you've ever uttered the words, “I've been doing this for twenty years,” that should be an immediate red flag for you. No matter who you are or what you've been doing, experience is not a replacement for expertise. I've seen runners run for years and never challenge themselves, and those runners frequently get smoked by brand new runners who commit to a constant improvement protocol.The same is true in every discipline, so never confuse repetition with mastery. Don't do it.Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.Do You Want To Have Your Self-Published Books In Bookstores?The Self-Published Author Co-Op is the home of a movement. Get a $5.00 lifetime membership to the co-op and you'll receive a road map to preparing your books for brick and mortar bookstore selling.If you ever want to see your books on shelves nationally, but you don't know how to make that a reality, join now, click here.1TRBM is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to TRBM at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

I'm practicing Live on YouTube, so this episode can be found in video format on my channel. In this quick episode, we'll cover the importance of self-discipline and we'll look at the kinds of opportunities most authors are ignoring that might make the difference between a thriving author career and a long, lonely slog.Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.Do You Want To Have Your Self-Published Books In Bookstores?The Self-Published Author Co-Op is the home of a movement. Get a $5.00 lifetime membership to the co-op and you'll receive a road map to preparing your books for brick and mortar bookstore selling.If you ever want to see your books on shelves nationally, but you don't know how to make that a reality, join now, click here.1TRBM is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to TRBM at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

I was laying in bed last night and the thought occurred to me: Everyone loves to sympathize, but next to no one loves to shout out and support.If you want to change, find the people who support, and become the kind of person who supports.Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.THIS IS THE LINK TO MY SUBSTACK if you're listening elsewhere.Do You Want To Have Your Self-Published Books In Bookstores?The Self-Published Author Co-Op is the home of a movement. Get a $5.00 lifetime membership to the co-op and you'll receive a road map to preparing your books for brick and mortar bookstore selling.If you ever want to see your books on shelves nationally, but you don't know how to make that a reality, join now, click here.1TRBM is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to TRBM at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

Hey, all, I love this discussion with Craig Crawford, and you will too. Here's a real debate done with care and respect. Was I too harsh? Weigh in. Drop some comments in the Substack.And grab Craig's books. They're great!Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.Do You Want To Have Your Self-Published Books In Bookstores?The Self-Published Author Co-Op is the home of a movement. Get a $5.00 lifetime membership to the co-op and you'll receive a road map to preparing your books for brick and mortar bookstore selling.If you ever want to see your books on shelves nationally, but you don't know how to make that a reality, join now, click here.1TRBM is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to TRBM at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe

If you aren't willing to give this author journey every bit of yourself, it's time to quit. You're wasting your time and everyone's time around you. Just quit already.Or, if you want to have a million readers and be talked about in classrooms for decades to come, it's time to do the uncomfortable hard things.Is AMMO Write For You?If you're an author with a handful of books published (or you've published nonfiction and have one book with a great program to help clients), AMMO is unlike any other program on the market. You're going to have to work the program to find success, and bestseller status likely won't hit in weeks of joining the program, but for many authors, AMMO is the beginning of a lucrative career that puts books first. Learn more here.THIS IS THE LINK TO MY SUBSTACK if you're listening elsewhere.Have You Been Contemplating Scrivener?I was late to take up Scrivener, but as I am digging deeper into a mystery series with each passing day, I find the need for meticulous detail keeping unavoidable.And you know what? I can't believe I didn't do this sooner. Scrivener is the most amazing detail-keeper-straighter in the world. I like it so much I'm getting a whole podcast episode together devoted to why Scrivener is the best word processor and the only one you need as a novelist. Want to give it a spin?Click here for a free 30-Day Trial.Do You Want To Have Your Self-Published Books In Bookstores?The Self-Published Author Co-Op is the home of a movement. Get a $5.00 lifetime membership to the co-op and you'll receive a road map to preparing your books for brick and mortar bookstore selling.If you ever want to see your books on shelves nationally, but you don't know how to make that a reality, join now, click here.1TRBM is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to TRBM at jodyjsperling.substack.com/subscribe