Howdy Modern Authors!

I want to tell you about a number that has become surprisingly important to me.

150.

Not 150,000.
Not 150,000 followers.
Not 150,000 books sold.

Just 150.

Because after working with thousands of authors, we've started noticing something fascinating.

When an author gets roughly 150 or more people meaningfully involved in their book, something often changes.

Engagement starts to feel different.
People begin sharing the book without being asked.
Introductions happen.
Speaking opportunities emerge.
Sales become easier.
People who weren't particularly interested in buying a book suddenly become very interested in supporting one.

It's not universal. And I wouldn't pretend 150 is some scientifically proven threshold.

But we've seen this pattern enough that I think there's something important happening.

At a certain point, your book stops being just your project.

It starts becoming something other people feel connected to.

And that changes almost everything about how you should think about launching it.

Funny enough, for the Super Mentors audiobook launch, I've stopped worrying about a lot of other metrics and focused on that exact number.
And it's made the process so much better, simpler, and more human.

The Taylor Swift Story I Can't Stop Thinking About

By now some of you know I'm a big Taylor Swift fan. Some of that is due to my status as #1 Girl Dad, but a big part of it comes from my interest in her work as a modern creator who really created much of her own success (she earns her place regularly in my class lectures).

There's a story I've heard about Rick Barker, who worked with Taylor Swift as her manager early in her career.

As the story goes, when Taylor was dreaming about going platinum, Barker told her something along the lines of:

If you want to sell 500,000 records, go hug 500,000 people and shake 500,000 hands.

I haven't independently verified the exact exchange (it was told to one of my authors Zain Sandhu when he interviewed Rick), so take the details as an anecdote.

But I love the philosophy.

Because the point wasn't really about shaking half a million hands.

It was about understanding how fans are created.

One person.
One conversation.
One meaningful interaction.
One person who feels like they're part of something.
And then another.
And another.

Until eventually those individual relationships start creating something much bigger.

We look at someone like Taylor Swift today and see stadiums filled with tens of thousands of fans.

But stadiums don't create fans.

Fans fill stadiums.

And those fans weren't created by a single announcement telling people to buy an album.

They were cultivated through years of participation, connection, and shared experiences.

Which brings me back to authors.

Because I think most authors have this entire process backward.

The Traditional Book Launch on Your Publishing Day Is a Terrible Invitation

Think about the typical author journey.

Spend a year writing the book.
Spend another several months editing and publishing it.
Build a website.
Get the cover designed.
Set a publishing launch date.

And then...

SURPRISE! I WROTE A BOOK!

Please buy it.
Please review it.
Please share it.
Please tell your friends.
Please come to my launch event.

And if you're feeling especially ambitious...
Please help me become a bestseller.

Now, look.

There's nothing wrong with asking people to support your book.

But there's something a little strange about spending a year building something privately and then expecting the rest of the world to suddenly become emotionally invested in it.

You spent a year caring about this book.
They found out about it Tuesday.

Those are two very different levels of commitment.

And that's why I think the traditional launch model is fundamentally flawed.

It asks people to become advocates before they've become participants.

People Support What They Help Create

Here's the distinction I've become increasingly convinced matters.

A reader consumes your work.
A buyer purchases your work.
A fan enjoys your work.

A participant has a personal stake in your work.

They contributed a story.
They answered a question.
They joined an early discussion.
They reviewed a chapter.
They attended a workshop.
They introduced you to someone.
They helped shape an example.
They joined a challenge.
They shared their experience.
They helped make the book better.

And because of that...
The book means something different to them.

It isn't simply another product.

It's something they helped bring into the world.

That's a powerful shift.

And I think it's one of the most underappreciated advantages Modern Authors have.

Why 150 People Can Change Everything

Let's go back to that number.

150.

In our work with authors, we've noticed that when participation grows into the neighborhood of 150 meaningful contributors, supporters, or collaborators, the dynamics around a book often change.

Why?

I have a few theories.

First, 150 people create an enormous number of possible connections.

Those people have colleagues.

Clients.
Friends.
Communities.
Podcasts.
Professional associations.
Organizations.
Speaking opportunities.

And relationships you don't know anything about.

You may have 150 participants.

But you don't have access to just 150 people.

You have the possibility of reaching into 150 different networks.

Second, participation creates ownership.

If someone contributed an idea or story to your book, they're much more likely to care about what happens to it.

Not necessarily because they're expecting anything.

Because they were part of the journey.

Third, participation creates social proof before publication.

Imagine launching a book with 150 people who already know about it.

Who've seen it develop.
Who've discussed the ideas.
Who've shared their perspectives.
Who've watched the author wrestle with the material.

That's very different from launching to 150 people who received an email yesterday.

And fourth, something happens to the author.

You stop feeling like you're launching alone.

You're no longer the only person trying to create momentum.

Other people have reasons to participate.

That's when a book can start developing a life beyond the author.

Now, I'd be careful about treating 150 as a hard rule.

One hundred and fifty disengaged names in a spreadsheet won't do much.

And twenty deeply connected participants can sometimes create extraordinary opportunities.

But the broader pattern matters:

Participation creates the conditions for momentum.

And enough participation can make that momentum visible. Now you can see why I'm focused on that 150 number for Super Mentors... it's become a bit of a "confidence of the launch" threshold.

Confidence = more impactful launch

Here's the Metric I Wish More Authors Tracked

Most authors track the wrong numbers.

Followers.
Subscribers.
Impressions.
Preorders.
Book sales.
Amazon rankings.

Nothing wrong with those metrics.

But I think there's another one that deserves a place near the top of the dashboard.

Participation velocity.

How quickly are you bringing new people into meaningful involvement with your book?

Not how many people saw your post.

Not how many people liked your announcement.

How many people actually did something?

This week, how many people:

• Shared a relevant experience?
• Joined a conversation?
• Registered for an event?
• Read an early chapter?
• Made an introduction?
• Invited someone else?
• Agreed to review the book?
• Helped you reach a new community?

That's participation.

And velocity matters because participation should be something you're building continuously.

Not something you suddenly remember to ask for during launch week.

Imagine two authors.

Author A has 25,000 LinkedIn followers.

They spend six months posting about their upcoming book.

They generate a lot of impressions.

But almost nobody is personally involved.

Author B has 2,500 followers.

They spend six months interviewing people, inviting readers into discussions, gathering stories, running small events, and asking supporters to introduce others.

By launch day, 175 people have meaningfully participated.

Who would you rather be?

I'd take Author B in a heartbeat.

Not because their sales are guaranteed.

But because they've built something Author A hasn't.

A group of people with reasons to care.

Participation Isn't Just a Marketing Tactic

This is where I think authors sometimes misunderstand what I'm advocating.

I'm not suggesting you recruit 150 people so you can pressure them into buying your book.

Please don't.

That's just turning your friends into a sales funnel.

And nobody wants that.

Participation actually requires a degree of vulnerability... you're opening yourself up to feedback BEFORE the book is even out in many cases.

So it's not just a marketing thing... I'm suggesting something more interesting.

Make participation part of how you create the book.

Because when you invite people into the process, several things happen.

Your ideas get tested.
Your examples get better.
You discover language that resonates.
You learn which questions people actually care about.
You hear objections you hadn't considered.
You uncover stories you never would have found alone.

And you begin building relationships around the ideas themselves.

The book improves.
The author learns.
The audience becomes more invested.
And the eventual launch has a foundation.

That's not simply marketing.

That's a better way to develop intellectual capital.

The Book Launch Should Be a Moment People Join

This is something I've been thinking about a lot while rebuilding the launch system for Super Mentors.

We're creating a new moment around the book through the audiobook, updated hardcover, live conversations, and opportunities to engage with the ideas.

And I keep coming back to the same distinction.

An announcement says:

“My book is available.”

A launch moment says:

“Something meaningful is happening. Want to be part of it?”

Those are very different invitations.

One asks people to pay attention to you.

The other gives them something to participate in.

A conversation.
An event.
A challenge.
A shared experience.
A community.
An opportunity to help.

The book is still central.

But it's no longer the only thing happening.

The book becomes the hook for participation.

And participation becomes the foundation for everything that follows.

Participation Has to Become Activation

Now, here's where things get really interesting.

Getting someone involved once is great.

But the real opportunity is helping them take a meaningful next step.

Someone shares a story.
You invite them to an event.
They attend.
They introduce a colleague.
That colleague reads the book.
Their organization invites you to speak.
The speaking engagement leads to a workshop.

And suddenly one initial interaction has created an entirely new set of opportunities.

That's not guaranteed, of course.

But it's how relationships compound.

And it's why I've become increasingly interested in the distinction between participation and activation.

Participation is getting someone involved.
Activation is helping that involvement lead somewhere meaningful.

That next step doesn't have to be a sale.

Sometimes it's a conversation.
Sometimes it's a referral.
Sometimes it's a review.
Sometimes it's another invitation.
Sometimes it's simply helping someone apply an idea from the book.

But there should be a thoughtful next step.

Otherwise participation becomes another isolated activity.

And isolated activities rarely compound.

The Four Movements of a Modern Launch

I've started organizing this thinking into four movements.

Participation → Activation → Growth → Sales & Momentum

Not because every author needs some elaborate marketing machine.

But because the sequence matters.

Participation: Give people a reason to care and get involved.
​Activation: Help them take a specific next action.
​Growth: Amplify what is already working through social media, partnerships, advertising, and other channels.
​Sales and momentum: Turn that engagement into book purchases, speaking, workshops, consulting, and future opportunities.

Notice what's different from the traditional model.

We aren't starting with promotion.

We're starting with people.

And we aren't treating the sale as the end of the relationship.

We're treating it as one possible step in a longer journey.

Participation creates attention.
Activation creates movement.
Growth creates reach.
Sales capture value.

That's a much healthier way to think about launching a book.

Start With Ten People, Not Ten Thousand Followers

Here's the practical part.

If you're writing a book right now (or even relaunching it like I'm going to do with the Super Mentors audiobook), I want you to do something simple this weekend.

Forget your follower count.
Forget the bestseller lists.
Forget how many people you hope will buy the book.

Make a list of ten people.

Ten people who have a legitimate reason to care about your idea.

Maybe they're former clients.
Colleagues.
Friends.
Readers.
People you've interviewed.
Experts in your field.
People who've experienced the problem you're writing about.

And invite them into something.

Not a sales pitch.
An actual opportunity to participate.
Ask them a question.
Invite them to a conversation.
Share an early idea.
Request a story.
Ask what you're missing.
Give them a first look.
Invite them to help shape something.
And then pay attention.

Who responds?
What resonates?
What surprises you?
Who introduces someone else?
Who wants to stay involved?

That's the beginning of your participation engine.

Then do it again next week.
And the week after.

Because you don't need 150 participants tomorrow.

You need to start creating participation today.

A Simple Participation Velocity Exercise

Here's a way to make this tangible.

Let's say you're six months from launching your book.

And your goal is to have 150 meaningful participants involved before launch.

That's roughly 25 new participants per month.

Or about six per week.

Six.

Not six thousand.

Six people a week.

Now, of course, not everyone you invite will participate.

So you might need to reach out to 15 or 20 people to generate those six meaningful interactions.

But suddenly the goal looks very different.

Instead of:

How do I get 10,000 people to care about my book?

You're asking:

How do I create six meaningful new participants this week?

Rick Barker didn't tell Taylor to run a marketing campaign to get a million people to buy her records. He said to hug people and shake hands with people. And she did... early in her career, she'd play at any county fair, any church picnic, and any mall.

,She'd shake six hands and hug six people. Then the next time through those dozen people might each invite a couple of friends to see their new friend Taylor... and now it's sixty hands and sixty hugs.

Just start with six.

That's actionable.
That's measurable.
And it's something you can build a habit around.

Over time, those participants may introduce others.

Some will become readers.
Some will become advocates.
Some may create opportunities you never anticipated.
And some will simply make the book better.

All of those outcomes matter.

Stop Waiting for Launch Day to Build Your Audience

Here's the thing I wish every aspiring author understood.

Your audience doesn't magically appear when your book is published.

And a launch announcement isn't going to create relationships that don't already exist.

The best time to build participation isn't thirty days before publication.

It's when you're developing the idea.

When you're interviewing people.
When you're testing frameworks.
When you're gathering stories.
When you're wrestling with the argument.
When you're still figuring out what the book should become.

That's when people can meaningfully contribute.

And that's when you can start building the relationships that will eventually give the book momentum.

Don't wait until the book is finished to give people a reason to care.

Let them care while you're creating it.

Your Book Doesn't Need an Audience. It Needs a Movement.

Okay, maybe movement sounds a little grandiose.

Not every book needs to change civilization.

Some books just need to help a particular group of people solve a meaningful problem.

But the principle is the same.

The most powerful books aren't simply products people purchase.

They're ideas people participate in.

People discuss them.
Challenge them.
Apply them.
Share them.
Introduce them to others.
Bring them into organizations.
Build conversations around them.

And sometimes, long after launch day, those conversations are still creating opportunities.

That's what I want for Modern Authors.

Not merely a successful launch week.

A book that keeps creating reasons for people to participate.

Because I increasingly believe that sales are often the lagging indicator of participation.

You create the involvement first.
You activate the relationships.
You build the moment.
You make it easy for people to take the next step.

And the sales, speaking opportunities, workshops, and introductions become possible outcomes of something much more valuable.

A community of people who care.

So here's the question I'd leave you with:

How many people are participating in your book right now?

Not following you.
Not occasionally liking your posts.
Actually participating.

And perhaps more importantly...

How many new people will you invite to participate next week?

Because maybe the most important number in your next book launch isn't how many people buy the book.

It's how many people feel like they helped bring it into the world.

Happy writing, my friends.

And here's to building books people don't just read...
​but want to be part of.

Eric