Authors and Community | Jeremy Madsen | 474

Leveraging Thought Leadership

Unless you are writing a book with a co-author or ghostwriter, it probably feels like a very lonely task. But what if you could find a fellowship that provided encouragement and advice? Our guest today is Jeremy Madsen, Operations Manager for BK Authors an author group affiliated with the award–winning publisher Berrett-Koehler. This group helps authors and publishers bridge the gap to bring better books to market. Jeremy starts by helping us understand what an author’s group is all about. He explains that these communities, especially when supported by a publisher, can give authors a better awareness of the market and industry. In addition, mentoring is a sharing process that works best when all sides open up. Authors further down the path share advice from experience, while newer authors share information about new skills and tools that didn’t exist five years ago. Finally, we discuss the timeline of publishers versus authors. Publishers have limited resources, and need to move on to the next project as soon as possible, meaning they are by your side for mere months. The author’s timeline should be further-reaching, amortizing the investment over 5 – 7 years. Plus Jeremy shares the growing trend of publishers investing into a backlist of older titles, giving non-fiction books an even greater chance to see success over a longer course of years. Jeremy is deeply involved in both the writing and publishing community and brings unique insights in this episode that few others can provide. Three Key Takeaways: * Being part of an author community can be big morale booster to not be alone on the journey. * Don’t be afraid to reach out to established authors who have published books in your area of expertise. You’d be surprised how generous many will be with their time and advice. * A publication date has no bearing on the importance or usefulness of a book. It is a date of reference, not an expiration.