“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love.” - Rumi
These words made me think about what draws someone to write a nonfiction book.
You see a problem people overlook. You learn something through experience and wish someone had shared it with you. You challenge an accepted belief because you’ve seen the harm it causes.
The subject gets under your skin. You care enough to spend months, perhaps years, putting your ideas into words.
Then you publish, and the conversation changes.
People ask about your launch, your sales, your reviews, and your social media following. You start measuring your progress in numbers while the reason you wrote the book slips out of view.
Soon, you spend more time wondering how to promote your book than talking about the message inside it.
The message came before the marketing
Most authors didn’t write a book because they wanted to become marketers. They wrote because they had something to say.
Yet book marketing advice can make you feel as though you need to trade your conviction for a content calendar. You follow the prompts, create the posts, and try to keep up. Your message becomes another item on your list.
No wonder you lose interest.
Return to the question that drove you to write. What do you want people to understand? What do you want them to question? What could change if they put your ideas into practice?
Your answers give you something worth talking about, even on the days when you don’t feel like selling a book.
Finishing the book doesn’t finish your job
Here’s the part authors don’t always want to hear.
Publishing gives your message a home. You still need to help people find their way to it.
A book can’t introduce itself to a podcast host, start a conversation at a conference, or explain why its ideas matter to a group facing a problem. You can.
If your book helps families make hard decisions, talk about a question they’re afraid to ask. If it challenges an accepted business practice, explain what needs to change and why. If it offers hope to people who feel stuck, share a story that helps them see a possible next step.
Give people something they can recognize in their own lives. Help them see why the conversation matters.
You don’t need to squeeze “buy my book” into every exchange. You need to bring the ideas inside your book into the world.
Passion isn’t a marketing plan
You can love your subject and still struggle to reach readers.
Passion won’t tell you which podcast to pitch, which organization to approach, or how to explain your book’s value. You need a clear audience and a plan for reaching them.
But a plan can also pull you away from your purpose.
You chase a large audience with little interest in your subject while overlooking twenty people who could use your ideas. You accept an invitation because it offers exposure, without asking whether the audience needs your message. You write a pitch full of polished phrases and leave out the conviction behind your work.
Before you pursue an opportunity, ask yourself whether it brings you closer to the people you wrote the book to help.
Your passion can help you choose where to put your effort. Let it have a voice in those decisions.
You’re allowed to care in public
Some authors hold back because they worry about repeating themselves.
“I’ve talked about this before,” they say. “People must be tired of hearing it.”
You’ve lived with your message for years. A reader might have encountered it over breakfast.
Others missed your post, forgot your conversation, or hadn’t faced the problem when they first heard you speak. Now their circumstances have changed, and your words carry meaning.
Give them another chance to connect.
Tell a different story. Ask a question which makes them pause. Show how an idea from your book applies to a situation they face.
Repetition asks you to find fresh ways into a message you still believe deserves attention. Your conviction gives you a reason to keep going.
The book is out. Is the message?
You didn’t write your book so it could sit on a shelf and wait for readers to discover it.
You wrote it because you saw something worth changing. Someone needs the question you’re willing to ask, the story you’re willing to tell, or the answer you worked so hard to find.
So stop measuring your commitment by how much content you produce. Measure it by whether you’re bringing your message to the people who need it.
Find one room where the conversation has begun. Ask to be part of it. Speak with the same conviction you brought to the page.
Your book may be finished. Your reason for writing it isn’t.
What do you hope your book will help someone change in their life?
Share your answer in the comments. Think back to why you wrote your book and who you wanted to help. I’d love to hear what inspired you.
Today’s article explores why the passion behind your book still matters after publication. Your message needs you to keep sharing it with the people you wrote it to help.
Thursday’s paid companion article helps you turn your passion into a next step. You’ll choose one idea from your book, connect it to a problem your readers face, and find someone who can help you bring it to them.
You’ll also get a sample outreach email you can adapt, so you can make an invitation and start a conversation. grows stronger.