Most of us spend months, or years, writing our books. Then, when it's finally published, we try to market it... alone. I've learned there's a better way. I'm participating in a multi-author Kindle Flash Sale this week, and one thing has stood out more than anything else: the power of collaboration. Instead of every author shouting, "Buy my book!", we're introducing readers to one another's books, sharing each other's posts, celebrating wins, and expanding everyone's reach. It's a reminder that publishing may be an individual accomplishment, but building an author career doesn't have to be a solo journey. "𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔. 𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆. 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎." If you're considering joining a collaborative promotion in the future, here are a few things I'd look for: 📚 Professional organization and clear communication 📚 Marketing assets that make promotion easy 📚 Authors who genuinely support one another 📚 A campaign that encourages everyone to showcase more than just their own book 📚 A leader who wants everyone to succeed, not just themselves I'm already seeing why these kinds of collaborations matter. Even beyond the sales, they're creating new connections, conversations, and opportunities that wouldn't happen otherwise. If you've participated in a multi-author promotion, anthology, summit, bundle, or flash sale... What worked well? What would you do differently next time? I'd love to hear your experience so we can all learn from one another. (If you're curious, my book The Expectant Author is part of this week's Kindle Flash Sale. You can see how the promotion is structured here: https://kindleflashsale.com/heidi.)

LinkedIn isn't just a job board. It's where books find their people. Here's the flywheel we discussed in yesterday's author mastermind: 🔄 Consistent content → attracts podcast invites 🔄 Podcast appearances → create clips for social 🔄 Social clips → build your audience 🔄 Audience → natural word of mouth 🔄 Word of mouth → long-term sales The catch? You have to stay consistent after launch. Not for one month. For years. James Clear still posts excerpts from Atomic Habits. Morgan Housel still talks about The Psychology of Money. Their best sales come years after release. Play the long game. #BookMarketing #AuthorStrategy #LinkedInForAuthors The replay & notes are in the classroom... link here... Share your takeaways in the comments.

After this week's expert session with Chris Jordan... I looked at my own profile and saw where I was missing big opportunities. 🔥 Updated HEADLINE.... I forgot to tell the world I am an author📚Fixed ✅. Can you believe it?🫣 🔥Added my book link to the FEATURED section- more for credibility than to sell books, but I am open to both. 🔥Tagged industry peers & experts 🔥 4 new connections (followed up with folks I met at the conference, and we are connected... and scheduled for 1:1 ☕ chats) ~Next week ☑️Research competitors ☑️Target/Connect with those posts.... What have you/will you do to tweak your LINKEDIN in the next week? 👇tell us👇

Imagine you've never seen your book before. You land on your Amazon page. Would you click "Buy Now"? Take a fresh look at: Your cover Your book description Your reviews Your categories Your author bio Now ask yourself: What's the strongest part of your book page? And if you could improve just ONE thing this week, what would it be? I just updated my page and it has made a difference.... Will share in the comments below... Sometimes we're too close to our own work to see what readers see. A fresh perspective can make all the difference. Share your answer in the comments—you might inspire another author to improve their page too.

It's a question I've heard for years. The honest answer? Probably not from book royalties alone. But here's what I've learned after decades as an author, publisher, marketer, and entrepreneur... A book can make you rich in ways that have nothing to do with your Amazon royalty statement. A well-positioned book can: 📚 Open doors to speaking engagements. 🤝 Lead to consulting and coaching opportunities. 🎙️ Result in podcast interviews and media coverage. 💼 Build credibility with clients before you ever meet them. 🌎 Expand your influence and leave a legacy that lasts far beyond the final page. For many authors, the greatest return on investment isn't the book itself—it's everything the book makes possible. I explore this idea in my latest article on Medium: "One Book, One Million Dollars? The Truth About Whether a Book Can Make You Rich." https://medium.com/@heidirichardsmooney/one-book-one-million-dollars-the-truth-about-whether-a-book-can-make-you-rich-7077fdd2c25f?sharedUserId=heidirichardsmooney I'd love to hear your thoughts. When writing your book, what has been the biggest return on your investment? Was it book sales... or something you never expected?