Many authors make the mistake of writing a book and then trying to find an audience. This is backwards and rarely works. If your book isn’t selling, here’s what to do instead.
- Step #1: Find your Timothy. Your Timothy is an actual human person who represents your target reader.
- Step #2: Start growing an audience of readers like that Timothy. As you get to know these readers, you’ll be ready to write the kind of book they’ve been longing to read. The kind of book that makes them say, “Finally, a book for me.”
- Step #3: Launch your book.
If you follow these three steps, your book is set up for success.
But how do you find your Timothy? How do you grow your audience? And how do you write the kind of book they’ll love?
I asked Josiah DeGraaf, a fantasy author and program director of the Young Writers Workshop, who did exactly this. He found his Timothy, added thousands of subscribers to his mailing list before publishing his first novel, and wrote the book his readers were eager for.
How did you find your Timothy?
Josiah: When I sat down to find my Timothy, I deviated a little from what you normally recommend on the Novel Marketing podcast. I chose three different Timothys. One was from my church, another was someone I met in online reading circles, and the third was an old friend. Together, they represented the kinds of people I wanted to reach and write for in my fiction.
Thomas: I support that approach because it wasn’t too many people and, more importantly, they were real. A fictional Timothy can’t give you feedback. A fictional Timothy can’t tell you when you’re missing the mark with your writing or marketing.
Josiah: Having three real people gave me a concrete visualization. Whenever I wrote a marketing email or worked on my book, I’d think, “How would Sally, Joe, and Richard respond?” I couldn’t do that with dozens of people, but with three real readers, I could. I knew when I was writing something for Richard, or an email Sally would love, or a story Joe was looking for. That visualization kept me grounded.
How did you grow your email list beyond the first three people?
Josiah: I began with the social circles of friends and family and personally reached out to about 120 people I knew in real life. I sent a simple message: “I’m starting an email list for people interested in my writing. Would you like to join?” If they said yes, I added them. That’s how I got my first 100 subscribers.
Not all of them were fantasy readers. My grandparents only read fantasy books with my name on them. But it gave me a place to start. Those people began recommending me to others. When I released short stories or novels, they would say, “This isn’t for me, but my nephew would love it.” That helped grow the list.
How did you write emails that kept readers engaged?
Josiah: Since I was unpublished, I couldn’t share book releases or awards. So I looked for another angle that aligned with both my interests and my readers’ interests. My background was in teaching high school English, so I decided to focus on story analysis.
I’d take stories my audience knew, such as epic fantasy or science fiction stories, and talk about themes, lessons, and what made them powerful. I used the same tools I’d used in the classroom, but I applied them in a more popular way. This gave me content for regular emails, built connections, and established my credibility.
Thomas: You were showing that you had good taste in stories. Readers don’t care to learn about the writing craft; they care about the story. You weren’t teaching writing in your emails because readers don’t want that. In the same way, moviegoers don’t care which kind of camera was used. They just care about the story on screen.
When you analyze stories, share themes, and give reviews, you naturally filter your list. People who don’t share your taste leave, and those who do stay. That primes them to love your book when it releases.
Were any of your readers also authors?
Josiah: No. I had to be conscious of this because my day job involves teaching writers. When I surveyed my list, over half wanted craft advice on plotting, structure, and so on. But I had to resist giving it. If I did, my list would just become one writer talking to other writers. And while writers do buy books, most of us want to reach more than just our fellow authors.
That’s why I chose Timothys who weren’t authors. It kept me focused on actual readers.
Thomas: Unless you’re writing books for authors, you should never have an author as your Timothy. Their feedback is shaped by being a writer, which makes them one step removed from true readers.
Authors are often good at cheering each other on, but aren’t good at buying and reading each other’s books. Building your audience and launch team out of fellow authors is tricky.
Josiah: I also find that what authors want to see in a novel can be very different from what the average reader is looking for. Since authors spend so much time with story, they develop particular tastes. Regular readers rarely care about those same things.
Thomas: A great example of this is the Academy Awards. The movies that appeal to filmmakers are often boring and hardly sell any tickets. The kinds of films Hollywood directors want to watch are very different from the kinds of films regular people in the middle of America want to watch. There used to be more overlap, but now there is less.
How did reader magnets work for you?
Josiah: Once I had a foundational list and knew what to send, I started using reader magnets. Two in particular worked well. The first was a short story collection set in the same world as my novels. I commissioned a cover, put it on my website, and offered it for free in exchange for an email address. That brought in a lot of readers.
I also partnered with other authors and organizations to promote the short story collection. It did fairly well, but I found that outside of my own website, it wasn’t as effective. Short story collections don’t always have a high perceived value with readers unfamiliar with me.
What worked better was creating custom lead magnets for specific audiences. For readers, I offered resources to help them find more stories they would love. For author-focused organizations, I shared insights from my writing journey. Using my nonfiction skills to solve audience-specific problems proved far more effective. I grew my list by about a thousand subscribers through these custom reader magnets.
Thomas: I love this approach of trying multiple reader magnets. Most authors don’t have any at all, so even one can be a game-changer. But too often, authors cling to a single reader magnet forever, and that’s a missed opportunity. There’s no reason to limit yourself. You can easily create multiple magnets and essentially use different bait for different fish.
The magic happens when you make your second reader magnet. You start getting data about which one performs better. Suddenly, you’re creating reader magnets for specific audiences rather than forcing all audiences into one funnel. Shifting your mindset to reader first, then book, then marketing makes everything more effective.
Josiah: That was a big shift for me, too. Early on, I thought I needed the perfect marketing plan or resource. I would polish and polish, only to release it and hear nothing. What I learned is that instead of pouring all my energy into one untested idea, I should put five ideas into the water at once and see which one works.
Once I knew which lead magnet was catching readers, I could refine and polish that one, then promote it more broadly. Casting five lines into the water was far more effective than putting everything into one line with no data.
Thomas: Just as your first book isn’t your best book, your first reader magnet won’t be your best either. The more you create, the better you get. You learn it’s better to create multiple options and test them than to pour everything into one and hope it works. That experience improves all your promotions.
What role did giveaway sites play?
Josiah: I used giveaway sites like AuthorsXP, StoryOrigin swaps, and BookSweeps. BookSweeps was the most effective. I got around 1,200 to 1,300 subscribers by joining a very targeted promotion for Lord of the Rings fans. Since they were in my demographic, it worked well.
I also learned that people who sign up for lots of free books aren’t always eager to buy books. These swaps brought me many subscribers, but they weren’t the highest-quality subscribers. I still saw a positive return, but when I partnered with individual authors and gained only 50 to 100 subscribers, those readers were far more likely to actually buy my book. Smaller, more targeted audiences produced better results.
Thomas: Giveaway and swap sites are great for solving the zero-subscriber problem, but the quality is lower. The best subscribers are people who buy your book and then sign up for your list because they want more. To get those, you need a published book.
For beginners, though, these sites are very useful. People often ask me which ones I recommend. The big four are AuthorsXP, StoryOrigin, BookSweeps, and BookFunnel. I encourage authors to use all of them. Each one is like a different pond. It’s worth casting your line in each pond at least once.
They’re inexpensive, and while not everyone who signs up will be a good subscriber, they give you something to start with. Plus, it’s much easier to arrange a newsletter swap when you have 3,000 subscribers than when you only have 20 family members.
How did you use live events to grow your list?
Josiah: The most effective strategy, though smaller in raw numbers, was hosting live video events. I invited other authors to join me for fireside chats on specific topics that appealed to both of our audiences. Topics included things like reading young adult fiction as adults, exploring litRPG, or comparing different magic systems in fantasy.
To attend, people had to sign up with their email address. The audiences were smaller, but once someone had joined a live discussion with me, they were much more likely to buy my book later. My conversion rates for these events reached as high as 15%, which was much higher than conversions from giveaways or swaps.
This year, I’ve focused more on these events. Even though they bring fewer subscribers, they’re higher quality, more engaged, and more likely to support my books.
Thomas: That makes sense, especially as email marketing costs are rising. Kit raised its prices, and MailerLite reduced its free plan. With higher costs, fewer but better subscribers are more sustainable long term.
What platform are you using for live video events?
Josiah: I’ve had great success using Zoom and bringing people into a Zoom room. At some point, I may switch to StreamYard or another tool to stream onto a webpage, but for my audience size right now, I appreciate the interactivity on Zoom. That’s what I’m using for these chats.
Thomas: So to capture email addresses, you put a form on your website where people sign up to get the Zoom link?
Josiah: Yes. After they sign up, the confirmation email includes the date, time, and Zoom link, plus a reminder on the day of the event. If you do not send reminders, most people forget. You need to send the “we are going live in 15 minutes” email so they remember they signed up.
Thomas: I’ve learned the same thing with Author Update. Occasionally, I forget to send the email, and I can really tell the difference. People can like and subscribe and ring the bell for notifications, but email still brings in about half of the live audience. The email reminders matter.
What offline tactics helped grow your email list?
Josiah: I looked for opportunities at in-person events. I would invite people to sign up for my email list to get the short story collection or whichever reader magnet fit that event. My day job naturally took me to many places where it was easy to include that alongside everything else I was doing. Speaking engagements and in-person events helped grow my list.
How did your newsletter inform the book you wrote?
Thomas: You are growing the list, sending emails, and discussing fiction, tropes, and themes. How did that inform your writing and help you create the kind of book your subscribers wanted to read?
Josiah: It helped in several ways. I learned which emails got strong responses and which got silence. An email that flops is not a verdict on your worth as an author. It is feedback about what your audience is interested in and who your Timothy is. Sometimes it is a writing-quality issue, which is worth checking, but mostly it is a signal from your audience.
Over time, I gathered data on the topics, tropes, themes, and subgenres my readers enjoyed. That informed my story choices. I knew which directions to pursue and which to avoid. There are readers who want other things, but they are not my particular readers.
Thomas: That is always a wake-up call for me. Sometimes, an episode I am unsure about performs best, and an episode I pour my heart into underperforms. A classic example is my episode “Watch this before your next podcast interview.” I thought it would be huge. It did not perform well because my audience is less interested in podcast guesting than I expected. We still use it for guest onboarding, but it was a mismatch.
You only learn this by putting work into the world and watching the response. Many authors write the book they personally want to read and end up with an audience of one. That is fine if your goal is purely artistic expression, but do not judge your success by commercial metrics if sales are not your goal. If you do care about sales, write a book that can sell.
How did you shape the book to fit the readers’ desires?
Josiah: Talking to readers in person was one of the most effective strategies. I watched for the moments when their eyes lit up and when they checked out. For me, it was less about changing the book’s content and more about positioning and presentation. I discovered that subverting the chosen-one trope interested them less than I expected, while the magic system based on musical instruments made them lean in and ask questions.
That guided my edits and my marketing. When I wrote the back cover copy, sales page, and emails, I emphasized what made readers light up rather than what I personally thought was coolest.
Thomas: This strategy comes from Hollywood. Before you write the screenplay, you write the poster or pitch. Authors can do the same by writing the back cover copy first. In the Patron Toolbox, I have pitch tools that build a pitch from your manuscript or from answers about your protagonist, setting, and plot.
Practice pitching your idea and watch people’s faces. If they get more excited and ask questions, you may have something. If they change the subject, it may be a mismatch. Getting that feedback before you write the book is far more efficient than after you spend a year drafting.
Did you write your back cover copy first?
Josiah: Yes. Before drafting, I wrote the back cover copy. I primarily pitched it to other writers to get feedback. If I did it again, I would include more readers, since writer and reader interests can differ. I worked on the copy until I knew people were engaged when they heard it. Only then did I start writing the book.
In the past, I wrote the query or back cover copy at the end and discovered I had a 120,000-word book that was boring to pitch. Reversing the process ensured I had something sellable before I invested all that time.
How did you use Kickstarter?
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/josiahdegraaf/a-study-of-shattered-spells?Thomas: You built your list, refined your pitch, and wrote the book to deliver on the promises readers wanted, but you did not immediately publish. You put your book on Kickstarter. How did that work for you?
Josiah: Kickstarter is a crowdfunding site where you create a page for what you are selling. In my case, it was a book. You present what you are writing or have written, explain what you are looking to release, and set a funding goal to get the book out. If the campaign raises more than your goal, you can add additional rewards for the people who backed your campaign.
For my book, I set an initial goal of $1,000 to publish. If we raised $5,000, backers would get interior art that goes with the book. At $10,000, they would get a special bookmark or sticker. People pledge at different levels and receive rewards based on their pledge. For example, $25 for a paperback or $60 for a special-edition hardcover. It is not simply asking for donations. It is more like preordering the book and the rewards.
Successful campaigns often set a low initial goal, such as $500 or $1,000, so that backers feel confident the project will happen and are motivated to join early. Backing the project right away means supporters will get exclusive rewards that will not be available when the book is later released on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other outlets.
Thomas: Kickstarter is also a way of selling directly and keeping roughly 90% of the revenue while still being able to enroll in Kindle Unlimited later. You are preselling direct without committing to a full e-commerce store, which is complex and costly.
People are also willing to spend more on Kickstarter than on Amazon. Your campaign raised $24,877 from 497 backers, which is a lot for a debut, self-published book. The average pledge was about $50, which is typical. Some campaigns go higher by offering fancy special-edition hardcovers that certain readers will pay hundreds of dollars for.
Fifty dollars is far more than a $5 or $10 Amazon sale, and you keep a much larger share on Kickstarter than the roughly 70% you would get on Amazon. Many indie authors make most of their income on Kickstarter. You nearly made $25,000 up front, which is larger than many traditional advances of $5,000 to $10,000. You still keep lifetime sales revenue, but you do owe those backers their rewards, which include ebooks, paperbacks, and hardcovers. The key is that you receive the money first and deliver later. That model helps you pay for a print run upfront.
Kickstarter also tests demand. If a book struggles to get backers, you know not to print many copies. If you get 5,000 backers, you may need to consider offset printing. Testing prevents underprinting or overprinting.
What relationship benefits does Kickstarter provide?
Josiah: Kickstarter gives me a direct communication channel with readers. When someone buys on Amazon, Amazon ships the book, and the relationship often ends. On Kickstarter, I could send updates during the campaign and unlock new rewards as we hit financial milestones.
After the campaign, the backer survey included a checkbox inviting people to join my email list and receive a free short story collection. Over 50% opted in. Amazon will not do that for you. Kickstarter grew my list and set me up for future releases.
Thomas: If you deliver on your promises, your next Kickstarter should be even more successful. You can message previous backers and invite them to support the next book. Sequels are especially effective because people want the next part of the story more than a prequel.
Learn more about Kickstarter from the following episodes:
- Kickstarter Tips and Tricks With Chris Fox
- How to Build Hype for a Debut Novel
- How Karyne Norton Successfully Kickstarted Her Book in 1 Hour
- How to Run a Kickstarter Campaign for Your Second Book
How did you handle printing and fulfillment?
Thomas: After the campaign, you delivered books and shipped hardcovers and paperbacks. What did you use for fulfillment so you did not have to do everything yourself?
Josiah: I used multiple printers. Bookvault handled many of the special editions with print-on-demand. I waited to see how many copies I needed and then ordered. Because the campaign did so well, I did an offset print run for the paperbacks and used those funds to cover the cost. That gave me inventory for Kickstarter fulfillment and for direct sales on my website and at live events at a lower unit cost than print-on-demand.
For shipping, I used Pirate Ship to generate labels so I didn’t have to bring hundreds of unlabeled packages to the post office. I dropped them off with labels already applied.
Thomas: If you had not done offset printing for paperbacks, Bookvault could have mailed individual copies to each backer. Offset printing has a lower unit cost but requires a large upfront order, often costing tens of thousands of dollars. That is risky unless the order is funded by Kickstarter and backed by real demand. Crowdfunding is stronger proof of demand than social media likes, which rarely translate into sales.
Josiah: Some of my best-performing social posts did not convert, and some modest posts drove strong sales. Likes and purchases are not the same.
Kickstarter also gave me concrete data for the offset run. I knew how many paperbacks backers had ordered, which helped me estimate likely sales over the next five years through future Kickstarters, in-person events, and direct website sales. That gave me confidence to order about 1,000 paperbacks without worrying they would gather dust in my basement.
Thomas: That also helps your next campaign. You can offer a “Books One and Two” reward. You already have Book One in boxes paid for by last year’s money, which makes the new campaign feel more profitable.
There is much more we could cover, but Josiah’s approach of finding a Timothy, learning what that reader wants, growing a list of similar readers, testing the pitch first, writing the book they have been waiting for, and then inviting them to back it brought in about $25,000 for a debut novel. Your results may vary, but this reader-first system reliably brings in thousands across many authors in our community.
If you already wrote a book and are trying to retrofit this system, consider setting that book aside and applying this method to a new book. Many authors find that their first successful book is not the first book they wrote. The ninth commandment of book marketing is “Thou shalt not publish your first book first.” Write for the reader, and the reader will pay for the book.
Were you still able to launch on Amazon after the Kickstarter?
Josiah: I was still able to do the actual book launch. I already had proof of concept and reviews on Goodreads from Kickstarter backers who got the book early. That meant I had more tools and resources to run the launch than if I had been doing everything for the first time on Amazon and other outlets.
Thomas: One interesting effect of a successful Kickstarter is that you often end up with more Goodreads ratings than Amazon reviews, which is the opposite of most authors. You have almost three times more Goodreads reviews than Amazon reviews. The ratings are consistent, but your initial Goodreads reviewers were your superfans, the Kickstarter backers. That is a great way to start.
This does not interfere with our Amazon strategies. You can still choose to go wide or be exclusive with Kindle Unlimited. Kickstarter is flexible, and many authors miss out by skipping it. Their biggest fans end up buying the same basic ebook or print-on-demand edition as casual readers. But superfans want more. They want a signed copy, a limited edition, or their name listed as a supporter. They are willing to pay for those extras, which you cannot offer if you only launch on Amazon.
Some genres are better fits for Kickstarter than others, but the more authors use it, the easier it becomes for everyone. Every time you launch a book on Kickstarter, you are helping the whole writing community.
Connect with Josiah DeGraaf
- Book: A Study of Shattered Spells (affiliate link)
- Learn more at AStudyofShatteredSpells.com if you are interested in magic school fiction told from the teacher’s perspective.
- Josiah’s Website: JosiahDeGraaf.com
- Find Josiah DeGraaf on Instagram, X/Twitter, and Facebook.
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