@Lisa Hurley won two Anthem Awards for her debut book, space to exhale. Congratulations! 👏🏽 👏🏽🎉 Because I served as the book launch marketing lead, she listed me as a team member, so I won two awards too! Thank you, Lisa! I added one to my shelf last night (gold on the right) and realized, I've won multiple awards for every year I've been in business. If y'all knew my story, you'd understand why this means so much... Depression can kick it! This is going to be another amazing year for all of us!

One thing I learned working in Big 5 publishing is this: authors didn’t compete the way people assume. ▪️They shouted each other out. ▪️They showed up to launches. ▪️They talked about more than one book. Readers don’t buy one book in their lifetime. They buy from authors they trust, and trust is built on community. So let’s start there. 👇🏽 Introduce yourself in the comments Share: ▪️Your name ▪️Your genre (memoir, fiction, poetry, business, wellness, etc.) ▪️How others in this group can genuinely support you right now Support could look like: ▪️Leaving a review ▪️Joining your email list ▪️Following you on social ▪️Attending a virtual event ▪️Simply spreading the word ▪️Sharing your book or preorder After you post your intro, add your info to the author networking spreadsheet. You'll be able to quickly reference authors in your genre, who share similar audiences, etc. Feel free to reach out to them for networking/collaborating opportunities. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ixlL8wbsU0q0w1de9IOvDyW84JuLJWcth0YAgROgJ-M/edit?usp=sharing

One of my authors sent me this today, completely amazed. James Clear is still giving away Chapter 1 of Atomic Habits. Not a relaunch. Not a new book. Not a desperate move. A book that’s sold millions of copies. I told her I had the same moment recently. I saw Robert Greene on TikTok and genuinely thought The 48 Laws of Power was a new release. That book came out in the 90s. Here’s the lesson most authors miss: Your book is new to someone every single day. It does not matter: how long ago you published how many copies you’ve sold how “established” you think you are There are still billions of English-speaking people who have never heard of your book. Which means: You still give samples You still talk about why it matters You still explain what the book is about You still market like it’s someone’s first introduction to you Marketing isn’t something you graduate from. The authors who keep selling don’t stop doing “beginner” things. They repeat them consistently, at scale, for new audiences. James Clear doesn’t assume you’ve read Atomic Habits. Robert Greene doesn’t assume you know his work. And you shouldn’t assume your book is “old news.” Your book isn’t old. Your audience is just new. And there always will be more of them.

Show up consistently and watch what happens...

Hear from guest speaker Ashley Alleyne as she shares her framework to help authors sell from any stage. 🔗 https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7348430286?pwd=aktxYnpzUkRhN3dzbnJtOHNtNGR6QT09 Dec 9: 12:30-1:30 CST DESCRIPTION: Speaking is just the beginning—the real money is in what happens after you leave the stage. Most authors speak and never hear from attendees again, leaving thousands of dollars in potential client relationships on the table. In this workshop, you'll discover the complete visibility pipeline system that turns every speaking opportunity into a client acquisition engine. You'll learn: 1 The Strategic Research Phase: What to look for when identifying speaking opportunities that actually align with your ideal client profile and business goals (not just any stage will do) 2 The On-Stage Positioning: Why bringing physical books to every engagement is non-negotiable and how book sales become your most powerful lead generation tool 3 The Audience Capture System: The critical information you need to collect from every attendee and why most speakers miss this crucial step that determines whether you'll see ROI from the gig The Post-Event Relationship Pipeline: How email marketing and social media work together to keep you top-of-mind with attendees long after you leave the stage—and why this is where speaking opportunities convert into consulting contracts. You'll walk away understanding exactly what a complete visibility pipeline looks like, why each component matters, and what's required to turn speaking into a sustainable business development strategy—even from unpaid opportunities. Perfect for: Authors and speakers who want to understand the strategic framework for converting audiences into clients, whether you plan to build this system yourself or partner with someone to execute it for you. BIO: Ashley Alleyne is the Founder and CEO of OTOVA, a premium brand visibility agency that helps established coaches, consultants, authors, and speakers break free from the "Visibility Vacuum." Through her Strategic Visibility Pipeline system, Ashley and her team secure consistent speaking opportunities, build authority through email marketing, and create social media strategies that convert audiences into high-value clients.