The Author Mistake That Keeps Your Books In Cardboard Boxes

Most authors, especially indie authors, write the book first, then go find the readers afterwards.

This sounds logical — until you realize these is the exact same thoughts that made products like Juicero fail.

These products started with entrepreneurs wanting to create what they wanted first (cue: disaster) — not with what the market wanted.

What this famous Seth Godin quote means to you: understand your customers problems fully first, then create the solution (your book) that solves their problem perfectly.

When you have complete clarity on who you audience is (psychographics, demographics), their current perceived problems TODAY (not 2 years ago, when you first did customer research for your business) and what they want, despite the thousand other books on the same exact topic as yours (with traditional publishing dollars behind them), despite all the free Instagram, despite all the free Youtube…

Your ideal audience will practically devour your book.

Now, I’m not saying to write just what the market wants. You have a story, you have a signature method, you have a business that’s basically your baby.

And over the past few years, you’ve seen those things change lives in your business.

What I’m saying is to question why your story will stop someone scrolling on Amazon.

What I’m saying is to ask yourself how will your book, with your signature method inside, catch the attention of the millions of self-help readers in the Business & Money category next to Mel Robbins and Tony Robbins and who else Robbins?

That’s the difference between grinding on the podcast circuit for the next 5 years vs. seeing new customers within 1 week of launch.

Skip upfront market clarity, and you can still end up with a cardboard box of unsold books in your office.

(Just like the 7-figure entrepreneur I met at a Jack Canfield mastermind who spent 5-figures on his book and funnel, only to end up in LinkedIn hell, making post after post after post about his book with an Amazon link as his audience scrolled past.)

The difference between an indie book that gets major publishers competing for distribution rights vs. an indie book that ends up at the bottom of the Amazon graveyard (where books get no visibility & no sales):

Market clarity before writing a single word.

Now, why the heck does any of this matter in the first place?

Yeah, you’ll get more clients, but do you really care about more clients?

I’ll tell you why you care:

My dad spent 20 years grinding in his business. He believed hard work was his only leverage.

I’ll never forget the night he handed my sister and I a copy of Rich Dad Poor Dad, and 2 weeks later, he made sure to ask me what I learned from the book.

The original paperback copy of Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki that my dad gave to me. He wanted to instill a legacy of entrepreneurship and leverage building.

At the time, I didn’t understand why he did that. Looking back, I’m so glad he did.

Because I see it now.

I see how he spent 20 years grinding, until he finally read Rich Dad Poor Dad, and he finally understood that the kind of value creation that allows freedom is about not about hard work, but about leverage.

He learned that lesson when it was almost too late, and he wanted me and my sister to never have to live his mistakes ever again.

When I was in 1st grade, I had a HORRIBLE time with arithmetic (8+8 is not 18 Renee LOL…), and my dad told me THAT NIGHT to get ready Renee, because we were spending 1 hour every night on math until it was no longer hard for me.

When I was in 6th grade, I was getting 20%’s on my math tests. He was running a business at the time, and for 1 full afternoon, he cleared his calendar, sat me down privately, and we spent 6 hours on proportions.

I got a 100% on that test.

That’s how much my dad cared.

Because he knew it wasn’t about the math, or the money, or the business.

It was about the software, the legacy, the lessons he had to ensure he was leaving in his children.

Even when his business was failing, and he was burning out, he ENSURED his children learned from his mistakes.

That’s his legacy.

And that’s ultimately what you’re building your business for, isn’t it?

Do you really care about ideal clients?

Or do you really care about your business becoming a shade tree for your family?

Do you really care about the $100k months?

Or do you really care about your family experiencing ultimate freedom and options?

Do you really care about learning AI and sales?

Or do you really want to live as an example for your kids, so they see how life can feel SO GOOD when they prioritize freedom instead of safety?

Because you don’t want your kids optimizing for safety. You want them optimizing for freedom, options, a LIFE FULLY LIVED.

And a book that calls in your ideal clients on autopilot?

That you wrote to speak EXACTLY to their chronic perceived problems?

That calls in readers who go on to buy a 6-figure package from you (like my friend Amanda did when she read Persuade for Good by The Salesgirls)?

That’s the acorn you plant today that becomes the oak tree that keeps on giving protection & shade for years to come.

A tree you plant today will create protection and provision for your family for your kids, your parents, and your kids’ kids.

Your legacy, fully carried on.

If you’re still thinking about your book, and you haven’t started writing it, you’re in luck.

You’re in the best time to begin the marketing activities you need to write & create a book that lives beyond you.

You will sit down with our team to find the blue ocean where your book becomes the obvious choice. You will get a custom market research report to understand what book your audience is craving, and how to combine your story, signature method, and the market into a book that is unlike any other. You will get a custom launch plan to target the podcasts, Amazon ads, and social media posts needed to speak directly to your audience, and formulate the funnel that will convert readers into customers.

If you have started writing, or if you’re in the editing phase, the 2nd best time is now.

You will get a crystal-clear picture of how to talk about your book, how to test the cover, formulate the title that will lead to conversions, and plan your launch strategy, so your book can find its people, impact more lives, and protect & provide for your family for years to come.

No more grinding. Just leverage.

Book a call with us here to get started.

To your legacy.

Renee