What Publishing a Book Taught Me

I published The Leader's Guide to Unconscious Bias with what most first-time authors would call a dream setup — a Big Five publishing deal, a firm-sponsored book coach and editor, and a global salesforce at FranklinCovey selling my content. I don't say that to brag. I say it because I want to be honest about where my advice comes from, and where it has limits.

Here's what I learned anyway.

Put yourself in the book. All the way in. My editorial team gave me a lot of feedback. Much of it was about pulling back — less personal story, more distance. My readers told me the opposite was true. The parts of me I almost cut were the parts that made the data and practices land. Toni Morrison said it best: "Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize." Readers don't need to see themselves in your exact experience. They need to see your humanity. Don't let anyone advise that out of you.

Your community is your launch. Your friends, your sorority, your book clubs, your old coworkers, the authors who inspired you, the independent bookstores in your city, the Instagram Lives and LinkedIn pages — these are the people who will make your book a bestseller. And bestseller status is largely won or lost in launch week. Start showing up for your community six months before your book drops, and they will show up for you.

Give yourself permission to dial it up or down. A book launch can consume you if you let it. Decide early how much energy you want to invest — and give yourself permission to adjust as you go. Your brilliance fuels the long tail of a book's success. Lean into what gives you energy and ask for/build more of that.