Good Work Is Launched | #276

Today, the paperback went live.

This weekend after some last-minute tweaks to the cover, I saw the final version of the book. I loved it. Here’s my proof copy:

I just grabbed mine and am waiting for it to arrive! I’m also putting in a large “author copies” order to gift to many people over the coming months!

Early sales

Sales have been solid. It’s so cool to get texts from friends around the world who are diving right into the book. Keep them coming!

I’ve been solidly at #1 in the careers section, clearly signaling a shift away from deep work to the good work era:

I’ve sold almost 300 books in the first 300 days too which is epic:

Went Pro On The Audiobook

I’m working with a pro this time for the audiobook. I’m working with Joel at Block House Studio here in Austin. He knows what he’s doing. It’s nice to work with someone that does this for a living.

How I think about launches (and books)

Generally, here is how I think about launching and promoting my book:

• I don’t want to burn out from going too hard doing things I don’t enjoy (Aggressive marketing)

  • Note: See Chapter 9

• I assume the readers I want to reach are smart, curious, and thoughtful

• At first, I think it’s more important to reach those readers, rather than any sort of mass audience.

• I don’t ask for reviews. If people want to leave them, that’s fine but I won’t ask for them

• I try to gift my book to people that have supported my work, supported me, or I think might enjoy it. I expect nothing in return

• I’m being a little more proactive this time about making it easier for others to help me (I see others do this and notice, ooh this is nice).

• I’m optimizing around still being excited to share and talk about the themes in this book ten years from now

• I never ask readers to help me hit any sort of goal that I don’t care deeply about in my soul. I think this messes with karma or whatever you might call it too much

• I will playfully share my actual excitement and surprise at people’s nice comments

• If there is an opportunity to poke fun at the traditional publishing industry, I will take it.

That’s all for now

I’ll likely share a bit more about some of the creative things I did with the book this time tomorrow!

A comment from an early reader: