What does it look like to be intentional, innovative, and disruptive?
A guest interview on the CreateTED podcast
Last week I had the privilege of appearing on the CreateTED podcast, hosted by a good friend from LDSPMA (and a master of strategic thinking), Ted Finch.
On the interview, we explored ways that I am being intentional and innovative in my approach to self-publishing.
Episode Landmarks
0:47 - My “origin story” becoming a writer in high school and college.
2:55 - The process of originally deciding to pursue traditional publishing, researching the industry, and then deciding to pivot to self-publishing to have full control over my content, distribution methods, and platform-building process.
6:39 - My experiment with building a readership base and launch momentum through a serialized digital and audio release of my first book.
8:41 - My Kickstarter in July 2024, how it was crucial to launching the self-publishing process, and how it benefitted from the disruptive innovation of others before me (Michael Sullivan, Brandon Sanderson, and others).
10:28 - My intentional thought process behind doing a bulk print order instead of the usual self-publishing process of doing print-on-demand.
15:33 - My two biggest fears: (1) readers not giving my book the time of day, and (2) my own lack of discipline in enacting the plans and goals I set for myself.
18:32 - Doors that God has opened for me, including working for LDSPMA and working for BK Authors—and doors for other jobs that God has closed, meaning I stayed (and learned) at LDSPMA longer than I would have otherwise.
22:55 - Doors that have opened for me recently, including stumbling upon Substack and figuring out how to run my Kickstarter campaign.
25:29 - My closing thought: When you are being disruptive in your business, you can’t just be different for the sake of being different. You have to follow the universal laws that govern success.
How can YOU be intentional, innovative, and disruptive in your job, your creative work, or your life choices?
P.S. Speaking of being intentional, thank you to everyone who responded to my reader survey! I am still looking for a few more responses if you have a couple minutes. This data will help me be intentional in how and where I reach my ideal readers.