Howdy Modern Authors!

I want to tell you about a successful author who decided he had a problem with his publisher.

Not because the publisher wasn't prestigious enough.
Not because he wasn't getting enough attention.
Not because the book wasn't selling.

Because he wanted to give the damn thing away.

And the traditional publishing model wasn't particularly well suited to that idea.

A few years ago, I interviewed David Meltzer.

If you don't know David, he's an entrepreneur, speaker, author, and someone who has built an enormous community around his ideas about success, happiness, and helping others.

And during our conversation, he told me something I've thought about ever since.

His book Game-Time Decision Making had been published by McGraw Hill.

Pretty impressive, right?

Big publisher.
Recognizable name.
The kind of thing authors put in their bios.

But David wasn't particularly interested in the prestige.

He was interested in what the book could actually do.

And when it came to his earlier book, Connected to Goodness, he made a very different decision.

He bought the book back from its publisher.
Republished it himself.
And started giving it away.

Lots of copies.

He told me he'd given away 20,000 books in the previous year alone.

Twenty thousand.

Free. He would even pay the shipping himself.

Now, if you're a traditional publisher, that might sound like an accounting nightmare.

Twenty thousand books distributed without collecting twenty thousand retail payments?

What are we doing here?

But David was playing a different game.

He wasn't trying to maximize the revenue from each book.

He was trying to maximize what happened because someone received one.

And I think that's one of the most important distinctions a Modern Author can understand.

If you're curious how to actually drive more impact and revenue from your book in today's noisy world, this'll be the perfect read for you.

We Keep Confusing the Transaction With the Opportunity

Here's the traditional way we think about a book.

Someone discovers it.
They buy it.
Maybe they read it.
Hopefully they enjoy it.
Perhaps they leave a review.

Success!

Transaction complete.

And look, there's nothing wrong with selling books.

I love selling books.

I especially love selling lots of books.

But for most of the authors I work with (coaches, consultants, speakers, executives, entrepreneurs, experts), the book sale is rarely the most valuable thing that can happen.

Think about it.

Would you rather sell a book to someone who puts it on a shelf and never opens it?
Or give a book to someone who reads it, applies the ideas, shares it with their team, and invites you to speak at their company?

Now, obviously, I'd love to sell the book AND get the speaking engagement.

I'm not allergic to revenue.

But you get the point.

The value of a book isn't limited to the price someone pays for it.

And once you understand that, the entire economics of authorship start to look different.

David Wasn't Giving Away Books. He Was Creating Possibilities.

What I loved about David's thinking was that he saw the book as a container for his ideas.

And every time someone received it, those ideas had another opportunity to spread.

Another person might connect with the message.
Another conversation might begin.
Another relationship might develop.
Another person might introduce the ideas to their community.

That's the game he was playing.

And the book was a remarkably effective way to play it.

Now, David wasn't just giving away books and hoping the universe would send him a check.

He was building a much larger ecosystem.

Free training.
Community.
Speaking.
Advisory relationships.
Consulting.

Other ways for people to engage with his thinking.

During our interview, he described having more than 20,000 people registered for his free Friday training.

Think about the relationship between those things.
The book could introduce someone to David's ideas.
The training could help them experience those ideas.
The community could keep them involved.

And some people would eventually find other ways to work with him.

This is strategic generosity... give people authentic, no-strings-attached value... and the universe will usually pay it back. As David told me, it has... in spades.

The book wasn't the end of the relationship.

It was one way to begin it.

That's what I mean when I say:

The book is the hook.

But a hook only matters if it connects to something.

Most Authors Think Participation Means Having a Launch Team

This is where I think we need to expand the conversation.

Last week, I wrote about Sally Helgesen.

Her publisher offered limited promotional support, so she took responsibility for creating her own momentum.

She was willing to fly to Calgary to speak to sixty women about her book.
Sixty people.
Not sixty thousand.
She showed up, shared her ideas, and built relationships.

David took a different route.

He made his book easier to access so more people could engage with the ideas.

Different approaches.

Same underlying philosophy.

The goal wasn't simply to get people to buy the book.

It was to get people involved.

And that's what I want to dig into today.

Because when I talk about participation, some authors immediately think:

Oh, you mean beta readers.

Or:

You mean a launch team.

Or:

You mean getting people to leave reviews.

Sure.

Those can all be forms of participation.

But that's a pretty limited view.

Participation is much bigger.

And if you understand it properly, it can change how you write, launch, and build a career around your book.

​

Participation Means Giving People a Role in Your Ideas

Here's my working definition.

Participation happens when someone moves from observing your ideas to doing something meaningful with them.

They contribute.
They experience.
They apply.
They discuss.
They share.
They introduce.
They teach.
They help.
They take an action that connects them more deeply to the ideas.

And importantly, that action doesn't always have to benefit you directly.

Sometimes participation means someone uses your framework to make a better decision.

Or has a conversation with their spouse.
Or changes how they lead their team.
Or shares something they learned with a colleague.

You may never even know it happened.

But your ideas are now doing something in the world.

And that's a pretty wonderful outcome.

There Are Four Ways I Think About Participation

I've started thinking about participation across four distinct activities.

And I think every Modern Author should be designing for all four.

1. Contribute: Help Create the Ideas

This is participation before the book is finished.

Someone shares a story.
Answers a question.
Participates in an interview.
Tests a framework.
Reads an early chapter.
Challenges an assumption.
Offers an example.
Helps you understand the problem more clearly.

This is incredibly valuable because the audience isn't simply waiting for the finished product.

They're helping make the thinking better.

And here's the beautiful part.

People who contribute to something often develop a much stronger connection to it.

They remember the conversation.
They recognize their experience in the work.
They feel invested.

Not because you tricked them into becoming promoters.

Because they genuinely participated in creating something meaningful.

2. Experience: Bring the Ideas to Life

This is where the book moves beyond the page.

A workshop.
A live conversation.
A virtual event.
An audiobook listening experience.
A challenge.
A discussion group.
A community gathering.
A training session.

Something people can actually participate in.

This is what Sally was doing in those small rooms.

She wasn't merely explaining that a book existed.
She was creating an experience around its ideas.

And that's a much more compelling invitation.

Think about the difference.

"Please buy my book about mentorship."

Versus:

"Join us for a conversation about the mentors who changed our lives, and how we can become better mentors to others."

One is a transaction.

The other is an experience.

And the book can become a natural part of that experience.

3. Apply: Make the Ideas Useful

This might be my favorite form of participation.

Because it's where intellectual capital becomes real.

Someone reads your book and uses a framework.

They try an exercise.
They change a behavior.
They bring a concept into a meeting.
They use your assessment with their team.
They teach a principle to their employees.
They make a decision differently.

That's participation.

And it matters enormously.

Because people don't become advocates for ideas merely because those ideas sound intelligent.

They become advocates when the ideas help them do something.

That's when the book moves from being interesting to being useful.

And useful ideas have a funny way of traveling.

4. Amplify: Bring Someone Else Into the Conversation

This is the form of participation most authors recognize as marketing.

Someone recommends the book.
Shares a post.
Writes a review.
Invites a friend.
Introduces you to a podcast host.
Connects you with an organization.
Hosts a discussion.
Brings you in to speak.

But notice something.

Amplification is only one of four forms of participation.

And I think many authors make the mistake of starting here.

They haven't invited people to contribute.
They haven't created meaningful experiences.
They haven't helped people apply the ideas.

But they're already asking everyone to share.

That's asking for advocacy before you've created involvement.

And it's a much harder way to build momentum.

This Is Why I'm So Interested in the Number 150

Last week, I mentioned something we've been noticing at Manuscripts.

When authors get roughly 150 or more people meaningfully involved in their books, we often see a different kind of momentum.

More engagement.
More introductions.
More conversations.
More sales opportunities.
More speaking possibilities.

Again, I'm not suggesting 150 is some universal law of publishing.

But I think the underlying mechanism is fascinating.

Imagine 150 people who have each done something meaningful with your book.

Some contributed stories.
Some attended events.
Some tested frameworks.
Some introduced colleagues.
Some reviewed early chapters.
Some participated in workshops.
Some shared the ideas with their communities.

That's not merely a mailing list.

That's 150 different points of connection between your ideas and the world.

And those connections create possibilities.

Some will go nowhere.
Some will create small opportunities.
And a few may open doors you couldn't possibly have anticipated.

That's why I care so much about participation.

It creates more than attention.

It creates relationships, learning, evidence, and potential.

Participation Velocity Is the Metric I'd Watch

Now, here's where this becomes practical.

If participation matters, we should be thinking about how to build it consistently.

That's what I mean by participation velocity.

Not simply the total number of people who have ever engaged with your work.

But how quickly new people are becoming meaningfully involved.

And how effectively those interactions lead to additional participation.

Imagine you're six months from launching your book.

You want 150 meaningful participants.

That's approximately six new participants per week.

Six.
Maybe you invite twenty people.
Six say yes.
Two contribute stories.
Two attend a conversation.
One tests your framework.
One introduces you to a colleague.

Fantastic.

That's a productive week.

Not because you generated a thousand impressions.

Because six actual human beings did something meaningful with your ideas.

And now you have six relationships you can continue developing.

Do that consistently, and something interesting starts happening.

Your book becomes more useful.
Your language gets sharper.
Your relationships deepen.
Your opportunities expand.

And your eventual launch has a foundation.

You're building participation before you need promotion.

Here's Where Most Authors Get This Wrong

They treat participation as a favor.

"Would you mind sharing my book?"
"Could you leave me a review?"
"Can you help me promote my launch?"

And sure, sometimes those are perfectly reasonable requests.

But I think there's a better question.

What would make participating valuable to the person I'm inviting?

That's the shift.

Instead of asking someone to promote your book, invite them into a conversation that matters to them.
Instead of asking them to buy a copy, give them an opportunity to experience the ideas.
Instead of asking them to share a post, ask whether they know someone who could benefit from the work.
Instead of asking them to become a fan, give them a reason to become involved.

The goal isn't to extract attention.

It's to create an exchange of value.

And when you do that well, participation becomes much easier to sustain.

The Book Should Create the Next Conversation

Here's something I've been thinking about while working on the next chapter of Super Mentors.

We're developing new opportunities for people to experience the ideas through the audiobook, updated hardcover, live events, and conversations about mentorship.

And the more I work on it, the more convinced I become that the book itself is only one part of the experience.

Someone might discover the ideas through an event.
Someone else might receive the audiobook.
Another person might attend a workshop.
Someone might introduce the book to their organization.
Someone else might join a discussion about mentoring.

Different entry points.

Different forms of participation.

But all connected to the same underlying ideas.

That's what a Modern Author platform should do.

It shouldn't simply tell people your book exists.

It should make it easy for people to do something meaningful with it.

And then make the next step obvious.

Here's My Challenge for This Week

If you're writing or launching a book, I want you to try a simple exercise.

Write down your book's central idea.
Not the title.
Not the subtitle.

The actual idea you want people to understand.

Then ask yourself four questions.

Contribute: How could someone help me develop or improve this idea?

Experience: How could someone engage with this idea beyond simply reading about it?

Apply: What could someone actually do with this idea in their life or work?

Amplify: How could someone naturally bring another person into the conversation?

Don't overcomplicate it.
You don't need a complicated website.
You don't need a sophisticated CRM.
You don't need an expensive advertising campaign.
You need one meaningful invitation.

Maybe it's a conversation with ten people.
Maybe it's a short workshop.
Maybe it's asking former clients to share experiences.
Maybe it's inviting readers to test a framework.
Maybe it's giving away copies of your book to people who can genuinely benefit from it.

Whatever it is...

Make participation the point.

Not promotion.
Not exposure.
Not vanity metrics.

Participation.

Your Book Is an Invitation, Not a Destination

This is what David Meltzer understood.

The traditional publishing model tends to treat the book as the destination.

Write it.
Publish it.
Sell it.
Collect the revenue.

Move on.

But David saw something different.

He saw the book as a way to get his ideas into more people's lives.

And he was willing to give up control of the traditional transaction to create more opportunities for connection.

That's a very different economic model.

It's also one I think more authors should consider.

Not because everyone should give away 20,000 books.

Not because book sales don't matter.

And certainly not because every author needs to build a massive business around their ideas.

But because the value of a book can extend far beyond the purchase.

A book can start a conversation.
A conversation can create a relationship.
A relationship can lead to participation.

Participation can create opportunities.

And those opportunities can keep expanding long after launch day.

So here's the question I want to leave you with.

If someone gets your book tomorrow, what can they do with it besides read it?

Can they participate in something?
Can they experience the ideas?
Can they apply a framework?
Can they share a story?
Can they join a conversation?
Can they bring someone else into the experience?

Because if the only thing your book asks people to do is turn the next page...

I think you're leaving an enormous amount of opportunity on the table.

Don't just write a book people can buy.
Build an idea people can participate in.

Happy writing, my friends.

And here's to creating books that start something.

Eric