A few years ago, getting canceled could end your career. But author cancel culture has changed. Now, it can supercharge book sales. But how?
Christine Eriksen knows how. She’s the Minister of Propaganda for Devon Eriksen, an indie author whose debut novel, Theft of Fire (affiliate link), has set the publishing world on fire.
What was your original go-to market strategy for Theft of Fire?
Thomas: Before we get to the drama, what was your original go-to market strategy for Theft of Fire?
Christine: Devon spent his career as a software engineer and then decided to write science fiction that is fun and inspiring. He wanted to write the kind of books he grew up reading that he could no longer find.
So, he watched Brandon Sanderson’s YouTube lectures on writing and wrote a really good book. As he was nearing the end of it, he had a day where he was feeling a bit down, and he said to me, “I know this book is good, and I don’t know if being good is enough.”
Christine: I said, “That’s fair. It probably isn’t enough, but I’m going to make sure people notice your book and have the opportunity to read it for themselves.” That conversation launched my side gig as Devon’s Minister of Propaganda.
The original go-to marketing plan was to write the best book possible and then help readers discover it.
How did you help people discover the book?
Thomas: What were some of the tactics that you tried early on?
Christine: I am known for what I call my “goose posting.” It was a meme I created of a goose honking with an image of Theft of Fire. Whenever people on Twitter talked about science fiction or asked what they should read, I’d post and say, “Here’s this reason you would enjoy Theft of Fire.”
When Devon started, he didn’t have a large Twitter following. He gained followers because he writes thoughtful nonfiction posts that demonstrate he’s a thoughtful guy who can craft interesting posts on topics people are already thinking about. I would reply to commenters, “That is very entertaining and well crafted. You have a way with words. You should read Theft of Fire.”
Thomas: This strategy is very different from how most authors use social media. Typically, authors on X, Facebook, or Instagram talk about their book or their writing, and it’s just not interesting to readers.
Devon talks about politics, culture, and whatever topic is trending that day. On X (formerly Twitter), everyone is talking about the same handful of topics at any given time. A week later, a different celebrity is in the news for some new terrible thing, and there’s a new political controversy is stirring. That’s how the conversation rolls on.
If you want your post to resonate, you need to talk about what everyone else is talking about and do it well. I don’t recommend this strategy for most authors because it’s a very different skill from writing good fiction. But if you can do it, it works. Devon now has around 75,000 followers, yet he never talks about his book.
That’s where you come in. As his Minister of Propaganda, you’re the one promoting his book. Having someone else hype your book is far more effective than doing it yourself.
Christine: I discovered that firsthand. We were out somewhere when someone asked him, “So, what do you do?” He replied, “I’m an author.” I jumped in and said, “And his book is amazing! You should read it.” The person we were talking to suddenly became interested in his book.
It’s much more charming when someone else hypes your book rather than you saying, “My book is amazing, you should read it.”
I can’t get him to talk about his book much. He’s not the type to just do what others tell him anyway. Plus, he’s a GenX software engineer, not a marketing guy.
Thomas: He’s writing on social media, and you’re promoting his book there. One downside of the honking goose tactic is that there’s no good way to track that. You can’t know if somebody bought the book because they saw your honking goose post.
Christine: We also attended a few science fiction conventions. We’re in Chattanooga, so we attended Liberty Con, had a table, and did some networking. I also targeted people by finding software engineers who I knew would enjoy Theft of Fire. I’d say, “Here’s why I think you would enjoy this book.”
Thomas: A friend or family member might buy your book out of politeness, but that doesn’t mean they’ll read it. Many of us have purchased a book by a friend or family member because we wanted to support them, but often the book sits on the shelf, untouched.
And that won’t get you reviews. For authors struggling to get reviews, the issue is sometimes that people simply aren’t starting the book.
Part of writing a good book means creating a book that fits the zeitgeist of what readers want to read. It needs to be similar but different. Theft of Fire isn’t the usual dystopian, end-of-the-world style science fiction. It’s a more optimistic fourth-turning type of book.
If you’re unfamiliar with the turnings, I highly recommend listening to my episode on zeitgeist. Understanding these cultural cycles can help you write a book that aligns with where readers are going rather than where they were. That’s crucial because publishing takes time. Writing with cultural trends in mind helps ensure your book resonates when it finally hits the market.
The audiobook format is king in conservative-leaning science fiction (and all sci-fi). I imagine your readers badgered you to release an audiobook. But producing an audiobook is expensive, especially if you want a fully voiced, high-quality production.
How did you produce the audiobook?
Christine: First, we delayed. Readers kept asking, “When will there be an audiobook?” We held off for a while. Eventually, we saw enough demand to justify the investment. But we were still hesitant.
Many authors put a huge amount of money into an audiobook and only make back half the investment in the next three years. We could afford to take that risk, but why would we want to?
So, we decided to run a Kickstarter for the audiobook. Kickstarter is typically used for high-end collector’s editions with gilded edges and fancy packaging, which you talked about in your trends for 2025 episode.
But we knew Devon had a strong audience, full of enthusiastic supporters. Many of them were engineers or busy professionals who preferred audiobooks. We saw the demand and decided to take the risk.
We also received offers from the usual audiobook production companies, but Devon didn’t like their terms. He wanted more control and wasn’t happy with the royalty split, so he decided to do everything himself. He wanted a recorded, professionally engineered three-person cast, recorded synchronously, with all the bells and whistles. That kind of production is not cheap.
We launched the Kickstarter, which was a huge success, raising about $42,000. That made it one of the top ten audiobook fiction Kickstarter campaigns.
Thomas: The key to crowdfunding is right there in the name.
If you have the crowd of people who genuinely want what you’re offering, the rest is secondary. Page optimization, marketing strategies, and campaign tweaks can help, but only around the edges. If people are eager to support you, if they’re in the “shut up and take my money” mindset, then you only need to launch the page and give them a way to back something they already believe in.
This is where having a political, cultural, or religious motivation behind your fiction can make a huge difference. If this had been just another doom-and-gloom climate-apocalypse narrative, I don’t think Devon would have raised $40,000.
But because the book was optimistic and had a fourth-turning approach, and because readers are desperate for fresh storytelling, they were willing to put their money behind that desire. Their enthusiasm funded the project and helped raise far more than was needed.
Christine: One thing people should consider when planning a crowdfunding campaign is the types of backers they’ll attract. I thought about three groups.
First, there are the retail buyers. These are people who may have heard of Theft of Fire but haven’t read it yet. They just want the audiobook—no extras, just the basic product.
Next, there are the fans. These are people who love Theft of Fire, appreciate what Devon is doing, and are willing to support the project beyond the minimum. They’re asking, “What more can I buy?” They’ll go for extras like signed books and stickers.
Finally, Devon is fortunate to have a group I would call patrons. These are people who believe in his work, have disposable income, and can throw money at things they find valuable.
We designed our pricing tiers and rewards with these groups in mind. Fans could get signed books and stickers, while patrons had higher-end options like dinner with Devon or, at the $10,000 level, the chance to have their company’s name in the next book.
I was shocked when someone bought the $10,000 option. Their purchase came out of the marketing budget for their startup company, and they were thrilled.
Thomas: That’s an easy way to make $10,000. And for your backer, it may qualify as a business expense. That might sound crazy, but if your book is reaching a large audience, it’s not just a business expense for your backer, it can be a smart business expense.
A famous example from the movie industry is E.T. Originally, the filmmakers wanted E.T. to eat M&M’s in a key scene where the boy lures the alien with candy. They approached Mars, the company behind M&M’s, and asked them to pay for the product placement. Mars refused. So, they went to Hershey, which owned Reese’s Pieces, a struggling brand at the time. Hershey agreed, and E.T. catapulted Reese’s Pieces to success, turning it into a household name that sold for decades after the film’s release.
This kind of strategy works only if your book is reaching enough people. If you’re only selling 50 or 200 copies, a business probably won’t see the value. Someone might back your project out of personal loyalty, but that’s different. However, if your book has a large enough audience, it becomes a marketable asset. Companies will want access to your readers in creative and positive ways.
This approach is also more reproducible than relying on a wealthy friend to pledge at a high level. The “feature your business” idea works especially well in certain genres. In contemporary romance, for example, you could set part of the story at a real company instead of inventing a fictional one. In sci-fi, the company could become a futuristic mega-corporation spanning the galaxy.
It wouldn’t work as well in fantasy or historical fiction. A Knight’s Tale famously included a Nike logo at one point, and it just felt out of place. But in the right genre, it can be a brilliant marketing move.
Recording the Audiobook
You posted the book on Kickstarter with an initial goal of $5,000. The plan was to use stretch goals to fund additional features, like synchronous recording.
Synchronous recording means all the narrators are in the studio together, performing as a group rather than recording separately. This creates a more natural, dynamic performance, making the audiobook feel more like a full-cast production. However, it also significantly increases the cost since you need a studio equipped to handle multiple actors at once.
Christine: We actually did synchronous recording, but each voice actor was on headphones in their own studios at the same time. We still had to find a time that worked for everyone, including Devon.
Thomas: That’s much more efficient than putting everyone in a studio together. Plus, there are some audio editing advantages to recording from separate locations.
Kickstarter works by offering rewards. Unlike GoFundMe, where people simply donate money, Kickstarter backers buy a bundle of goodies at different price points.
For example, at $15, backers get the audiobook. One of your higher-tier rewards was a signed USB drive designed to look like a credit card, loaded with the audiobook files. Since audiobooks don’t have a physical component that can be signed, this was a creative way to offer something tangible to fans.
You also used this Kickstarter to sell hardcover copies. Normally, Kickstarter frowns on selling previously published items, but there are exceptions. One example is bundling older books with new ones. If you’re crowdfunding book three in a series, you can offer a box set with books one, two, and three together. That is a smart way to sell your backlist.
One key Kickstarter rule is that every reward tier must include the new product you’re funding, which was your audiobook. You can’t just use Kickstarter as an e-commerce store for older products. However, you can offer additional items later through BackerKit, which functions as a post-campaign add-on store.
You priced your reward levels at common Kickstarter price points—$40, $60, $100—because the average backer tends to spend around $50, plus or minus $20.
This is one of the big advantages of Kickstarter over selling on Amazon. On Amazon, all customers pay the same low price, regardless of how much they’d be willing to contribute. However, on Kickstarter, you can cater to different levels of support. Some backers might go for the $50 reward, while others might opt for the $1,000 or even the $10,000 package.
You had three people back the project at the $1,200 tier, which shows how well you connected with readers who genuinely wanted to support the audiobook. You raised the necessary funds, made your readers happy, and found a way to turn their enthusiasm into real financial support.
Do contests help with sales?
Thomas: New authors often ask me whether they should enter their book into a contest, and if so, which ones? It’s such a frequent topic that I have a list on AuthorMedia.Social of contests I don’t consider scams. That said, I rarely see contests move the needle on sales.
At least, that was the case until this recent controversy. So, tell us about the contest brouhaha and what impact it had on sales.
What happened with the contest where you entered Theft of Fire?
Christine: Devon has been a finalist for the Prometheus Award, the Dragon Award, and the Imaginarium Imadjinn Award. We are very proud of those awards. I don’t submit books to every contest, but sometimes I do submit his books.
I saw a contest called the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition and thought it would be a great fit. It’s a newer contest, not very big or well-known, and could be considered the redheaded stepchild of the more famous Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off.
I submitted Devon’s book. The contest structure involves multiple blogs receiving batches of books, judges narrowing them down through a bracket-style system, and so on.
There was also a small Discord for participants, where I was sharing marketing insights. Most authors there weren’t interested in marketing, which is common, but I kept contributing.
Then, the first round of judging happened, and Devon received the only strong “yes” from his judge in that batch, making him a quarterfinalist. Naturally, I was thrilled.
Before the quarterfinalists were officially announced, one of the eliminated authors started looking into the social media presence of the remaining contestants, including Devon. Because Devon’s Twitter is very political, she became outraged. She posted on Discord something like, Look at this monster with these awful political opinions. Why is he here?
Her posts were deleted, as the contest organizers wanted to keep politics out of it. I respected that decision. The focus was supposed to be on books, not personal views.
Time passed, and Devon officially became a quarterfinalist. But behind the scenes, things were escalating. This same person had been stirring up others, warning them about Devon’s horrible opinions. Some judges even started saying that if he became a semifinalist, they would refuse to read his book.
The irony is that his book isn’t political. He doesn’t believe in using fiction that way. But the outrage continued.
On BlueSky, a platform similar to Twitter but with a highly self-selected user base, people began saying they didn’t feel safe in the contest and wouldn’t participate next year.
In response, the contest organizers released a Code of Conduct. They posted it on Twitter, stating that they welcome people of all beliefs, personal social media activity doesn’t matter, and the only things that would get someone removed were harassment of judges or other contestants.
This led to a bifurcated response.
On Twitter, which is not as hyper-left-leaning as it once was, people saw the Code of Conduct and assumed it was another example of a contest going woke. They saw phrases like diversity, equity, and inclusion and immediately wrote it off. Many had no idea what had sparked the controversy in the first place.
I read the Code of Conduct and thought, “Okay, they’re saying they won’t remove contestants unless they engage in harassment.” That didn’t apply to Devon. He didn’t even know the contest existed. He has no idea who the judges or other contestants are.
My interpretation was that the contest would quietly not progress him to the semifinals, and that would be the end of it. Fair enough. I even tweeted positively about it, saying, “This is very professional. They’re keeping the focus on books.”
But over on BlueSky, the reaction was the opposite. People were furious, saying t, “w dare this contest allow someone with terrible beliefs to continue. Why are they still platforming this person?”
Thomas: It’s a cancel mob. They don’t need to be a large percentage of the population to create chaos. Even in countries experiencing severe mob violence, typically only about five percent or less of the population is actively participating at any given time. In most cases, it’s a fraction of a percent. But it doesn’t take many people to make a lot of noise or cause a lot of damage.
The same principle applies online. A few dozen highly vocal people can create the illusion of a massive backlash. Most people just scroll past, maybe clicking “like” or swiping up without engaging. A slightly larger group might comment here and there. But when a very small percentage of people engage obsessively, it can make it seem like an overwhelming crowd is demanding action when, in reality, it’s just a handful of loud voices dominating the conversation.
Christine: A dozen or so people were braying for Devon’s blood, and because of that, a judge in the competition decided to announce on Twitter that Devon Eriksen was kicked out of the contest for violating the Code of Conduct.
Honestly, that was great. That tweet sparked a firestorm.
As you’ve been saying, the zeitgeist is shifting, and people, authors especially, are getting tired of cancel culture.
So, I went to tell Devon, “Hey, just so you know, you’re out of this contest.” He barely reacted and said, “That’s funny.” Then he wrote a humorous tweet about it, creating a fictional scenario where a little goblin walks up to him and says, “You’re kicked out of a contest!” and he responds, “What? Who are you?”
People loved it. His tweet gained traction, and soon, the post about him being kicked out was flooded with responses from people asking, “Wait, why?” The whole thing started going viral.
Then it gained even more momentum when other authors in the contest saw what happened. Many weren’t necessarily taking a stand for Devon; they weren’t saying they agreed with everything he had ever posted. Instead, their reaction was, “This is unprofessional. I don’t want to be part of a contest that operates this way.” Several of them pulled their books from the competition.
Thomas: And then they started seeing their sales spike.
I started paying attention because people were blowing up my phone about this. Normally, I don’t follow contests or indie publishing drama. Indie authors are always feuding with each other, and honestly, it makes sense. If two indie authors get into a public argument, it can boost sales for both of them. But we don’t usually cover that kind of thing on this podcast. We focus on long-term value topics, not fleeting controversies that will be forgotten in a few weeks.
What stood out to me about this situation was the reaction from other authors. A significant number of them withdrew from the contest. That made this different. It wasn’t just indie drama; it was authors actively distancing themselves from what they saw as an unprofessional situation.
Christine: About a dozen authors withdrew from the contest. Many of them had smaller audiences, but because Devon had a larger Twitter following, he helped amplify their decision. Whenever an author announced they were pulling out, he would retweet them, saying, “Here’s a principled author. Check out their book.”
For these authors, who wouldn’t have gotten much of a boost from this little-known contest, this turned into their best sales days ever. They were suddenly getting exposure and support from readers who saw them taking a stand. People were saying, “Look at this author doing the right thing,” and rallying behind them.
Media outlets like The Daily Wire and Fandom Pulse picked up the story, bringing even more attention. Readers love feeling like they’re part of something, and many saw this as their chance to push back against cancel culture in a small but meaningful way. Some bought the $2.99 ebook. Others grabbed a paperback and donated it to a military library. Copies of these books were showing up in all kinds of unexpected places.
Sales skyrocketed. Books that had been struggling to gain traction shot to number one in their categories.
Ironically, winning this contest would have only resulted in selling a few dozen extra copies. But because of all the attention, these authors gained far more readers than the contest ever could have provided.
Thomas: This vibe shift completely reverses how people react to cancel culture. It used to be that if you could whip up a mob, it would grow until the outrage was trending on Twitter. Soon, everyone would be calling for someone to be canceled, and that person would be forced into hiding, dealing with death threats from crazy people on the internet.
But now the opposite is happening. Other authors are standing in solidarity, not necessarily on the issues, but on principle.
Devon has plenty of controversial opinions on Twitter. He says what he thinks, and like most people with strong opinions, he probably wouldn’t even agree with himself from ten years ago. But that’s not what people are protecting. They’re standing up for the core American principle that allows us to disagree but support the right to speak freely.
Cancel culture challenged that idea. It used to be that if I disagree with you, you shouldn’t be allowed to say it. And then it escalated to, “You should be fired, blacklisted, or arrested for saying it.” In Europe, people are being arrested for speech.
But in America, that’s not how we do things. We tried cancel culture. We tried mob rule. We tried suppressing speech we didn’t like, and it rubbed us the wrong way because that’s not who we are. Now, people are stepping back and realizing we all went a little crazy.
Christine: So now, we’re shifting back to letting people talk. Getting canceled is now one of the best things that can happen to you. Instead of destroying someone’s career, it brings them a wave of new supporters. People who wouldn’t have cared about you otherwise are now buying your book just to push back against the cancel mob. They don’t want the mob running the country, so they actively support those who stand against it.
Some people have even asked me, “Christine, did you orchestrate this?” No, I didn’t. These people sought out Devon’s book on their own.
How should you handle author drama?
Being canceled can benefit you, but if it happens, you have to be careful and intentional about how you handle it. Sometimes, the attention can work in your favor. Other times, trying to capitalize on it can backfire, and it’s better to just let things die down.
Different authors take different approaches. Larry Correia has a strategy of finding the loudest critics, making fun of them, and turning their outrage into sales. Others take the opposite approach by ignoring the whole thing, letting it blow over, and moving on because the people complaining were never going to buy their books anyway.
Whichever approach you take, the key is to be lighthearted and have fun with it.
Most importantly, never apologize. The moment you apologize, they smell blood in the water and attack even harder.
Thomas: An apology is meant to restore a broken relationship. If you have a relationship with someone and have harmed them somehow, a heartfelt apology can help restore that relationship. But if there was no relationship, the apology is just a tool for those who hate you to prove that you’re a bad person.
If you weren’t a bad person, why would you be apologizing? That’s how they see it.
Many people believe that if they just apologize, the outrage will die down. But in reality, that’s the one thing you should never do. Once you apologize, they see it as proof that you were in the wrong, and it only fuels their attacks. So you either ignore it or push back.
I’ve done a whole episode on handling trolls, critics, and haters, covering strategies for what to do when you find yourself in the middle of a controversy.
I’ve been through my share of firestorms over the years, and one of the most useful things to remember is that the internet has an incredibly short attention span. People won’t remember you.
I like to think of it in terms of “Scaramucci.” Anthony Scaramucci was briefly in the Trump administration as communications director. He was there for about ten days, during which time there was a massive media frenzy. His name was everywhere. But now, no one remembers what he did, only that he existed. And that’s the point.
His name has basically become the name for the length of time it takes for the internet to forget. That was a national-level controversy, with late-night comedians making jokes about him. If that only lasted about ten days, imagine how much shorter the lifespan is for a dust-up in your niche or genre.
If you find yourself caught in an online firestorm, one of the best strategies is to step away. Go camping. Put your phone in the car. Walk in the woods. Spend a few days off the grid. When you come back, you might even feel a little sad that no one is talking about you anymore. Sure, they all wanted you to die, but now they don’t even remember who you are. It takes some adjusting, but as the saying goes, “touching grass” can be surprisingly beneficial.
Most people don’t have a Larry Correia personality, where they thrive on negative energy and can turn controversy into sales through sheer force of will. If that’s your style, you can follow his model, but you don’t have to.
For most people, the best strategy is to ignore the firestorm and keep doing what you were doing. That’s what Devon did. You were active in the replies and engaging with the situation, but Devon just kept being Devon. He didn’t acknowledge the controversy much, and in the end, he sold a ton of books.
Christine: Devon only wrote a couple of posts about the whole situation, including the story of the little goblin.
On the other hand, I went into a bit of crisis mode. People kept asking, “What is happening?” I felt the need to step in and explain. Devon, in his very political posts, attacks ideas, not people.
Over the years, we’ve had plenty of opportunities to engage in author drama, but our policy has always been to ignore it. We don’t get involved. But this situation was different because it wasn’t just author drama. It was a contest, and the way they handled things was already making waves by publicly naming him.
I don’t recommend getting involved in author drama. It doesn’t benefit readers in any way. Readers don’t care about behind-the-scenes feuds. They just want good books.
Thomas: These author dust-ups are just tempests in a teapot, as the British say. You stir the teacup, it looks like a raging storm, but in reality, it’s just a cup of tea. I love that metaphor because there’s always something new for people to get upset about.
In the grand scheme of things, most of those issues don’t matter. For every outrage online, thr more important things haare happening in people’sives. Someone just found out a family member is sick. Someone just lost their job. Someone just stubbed their toe. Those are the things people care about. They’re not losing sleep over author drama. They don’t care what some random person on the internet says because they’re too busy dealing with their own lives.
Most of these online outrage cycles don’t make it out of their little bubbles anymore. That’s another major shift in the zeitgeist. In 2020, we were all on Facebook, where a controversy could spread like wildfire. Now, social media is fragmented. Most people have retreated into private Discord servers, niche platforms like BlueSky, where purity spiraling is the norm, and X, where the conversations are completely different.
This fragmentation makes it much harder for hate to spread. You could have an entire Discord server tearing you to pieces, but outside of that bubble, no one knows or cares. Half the population doesn’t even know what Discord is.
I talk more about this in my episode on How to Survive Cancel Culture. Your situation followed my playbook. What’s even more encouraging is that a lot of that playbook isn’t needed anymore. Getting canceled used to hurt sales. Now, it either has no effect or actually helps.
Christine: I had a choice. I could have focused on what people were saying about Devon, pointing out why they were wrong or calling out individuals. But I decided not to acknowledge them. Instead, I highlighted the authors who stood with Devon, sharing their books and encouraging people to check them out.
I’ve been describing this as turning lemons into a lemonade stand. The key is to stay positive. Be honest about the situation, but don’t just give people another thing to be angry about. Give them something to root for.
Just like in fiction, where bad things happen but the good guys overcome, you can create that same narrative in real life. Instead of dwelling on the outrage, shift the focus to the authors who took a stand. Show people that they can support these authors and be part of something bigger.
Thomas: That approach is far more effective than playing the victim. You can complain about mean people, hoping that sympathy will translate into sales, or you can rise above it, stay positive, and show that their words don’t shake you.
Not only is that better for your mental and emotional well-being, but it’s also better for your bank account.
Writing a book is an act of leadership. Being an author is an act of leadership. Readers are drawn to authors who are confident, positive, and have a clear sense of direction. If you can demonstrate those qualities, you’ll be surprised at how little these waves of controversy affect you.
What marketing tactics, besides getting canceled, did you use to help promote Devon’s book?
Christine: I do try to get Devon on various podcasts, but the impact is somewhat limited. Many of the podcasts he appears on are outside the typical book promotion space, like real estate podcasts discussing culture, property rights, and libertarianism. These help get his name out there, but they don’t always translate directly into book sales. Sometimes they do, but it’s not a guarantee.
If you’re going to be on a podcast, one of the best things you can do is get the host a free copy of the book as soon as possible. Conversations are always better when the host has read the book.
You’ve talked about having a media kit, which is something I had in place, but it’s worth emphasizing. A well-prepared media kit makes it easy for hosts to introduce you properly. It should include key details like your website, name, book title, and any other relevant information they’ll need to make the interview seamless.
Thomas: I really like the idea of going on niche podcasts, like real estate podcasts, especially early in your career. A lot of people think they want to be on Joe Rogan’s show, but the truth is, you don’t. At least, not yet.
That’s like saying you want to play in the big leagues before you’ve learned how to hit a 90-mile-an-hour fastball. You need to start by hitting 70 and 80-mile-an-hour pitches first.
One advantage of going on a smaller podcast, like a real estate podcast discussing culture, is that they won’t ambush you with gotcha questions. The hosts will be friendly, ask easy questions, and give you a chance to refine your messaging. If you don’t do a great job, it won’t hurt your relationship with your readers because they’re probably not even listening to that show. It’s a safe way to practice, but it’s still a real podcast. The stakes feel real, but it’s more like playing in the minor leagues. It helps you build the skills you need so you’ll be ready when you finally land a big opportunity, like Rogan (who can launch a book to #1 on Amazon just by featuring it).
This is part of a strategy called “trading up the chain.” You start with small podcasts, then work your way up to medium-sized shows, and eventually land bigger ones. This process is especially important now that so many interviews are remote. Big podcasts want to know that you have a good audio setup, that your camera looks professional, and that you can hold a strong conversation. You can demonstrate all of that on smaller podcasts first.
So don’t despise small beginnings. Don’t look down on smaller podcasts that want to have you on. Don’t be the author who only wants to go on shows so big they don’t want you.
Start small, practice, improve, build your media kit, develop your fluency, and gain confidence. As you get booked on more popular shows, you’ll have more books to sell, and your skills will be keeping pace with your growing reputation.
Christine: Also, you should know how to use the tools you’re working with.
I’m mostly on Twitter, so I understand how to optimize my posts. I know that links should go in a follow-up post for better reach and that posts with images tend to get more likes. Whatever platform or tool you’re using, don’t just dabble in everything; become skilled at the one that works best for you.
Your goal is to make it as easy as possible for readers to go from thinking about checking it out to purchasing it. The shorter that journey, the better. Learn how to use your tools effectively and master the strategies that get the best results.
Thomas: Dos Equis had a character called The Most Interesting Man in the World. In one of their videos, he gave advice on careers. He said, “Find the one thing in the world you do not do well, and then don’t do that thing.”
There’s a lot of wisdom in that. Playing to your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses is key.
You don’t have to be on Twitter. But if you are going to be on Twitter, do it with purpose. Be intentional. Do it well. The same goes for any other marketing tactic. Whatever you choose to focus on, commit to it and do it effectively.
I’ve seen authors succeed with all kinds of different marketing approaches. There’s no single right way. What matters is knowing your strengths, leaning into them, and executing with intention.
Christine: I wish I understood TikTok. I understand it’s great, but I can’t do video content. There are so many tactics out there. Just play to your strengths.
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New February Patrons:
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