Experiences of a New Author| Jeremy Utley | 475

Writing a book can take a year or more, followed by months of planning, strategizing, and launching.  Once the book hits the shelves — What's left? Jeremy Utley is the Director of Executive Educational at Stanford D.school and adjunct professor at Stanford's School of Engineering. Recently Jeremy worked with co-author Perry Klebahn to put their experience into their first book call titled "Ideaflow: The Only Business Metric That Matters." At the time of this recording, Jeremy's book had been on shelves for eight days! Jeremy expresses the gratitude he feels toward those that have come forward to thank him for the book, and the actionable ideas it contains. In addition, he shares surprises he has experienced during recording the audio version of the book. Marketing a book takes a tremendous amount of coordination, even with the resources a publisher offers. The bulk of the work lands on the author's shoulders. Jeremy talks about having to get over being self-conscious about telling people he's an author. He also explains the massive amount of help a launch team can be, in spreading the word about your book, and also in keeping you excited when your personal energy is running low. This episode has some great insights into the experience of a first time author that don't often get shared. Three Key Takeaways: ·         A launch team is comprised of people that are excited and happy to share the word about your book.  They often come up with marketing ideas and help keep the ball rolling. ·         When writing a book, write the book you'd want to read. ·         Don't start your writing journey trying to write a book.  Start with a blog, getting in the habit of writing every day to build your skill and create a wealth of material you can draw from.