Reading this upped a whole new level of admiration for you and James.
My title for this post would be: RADICAL TRANSPARENCY!
Just putting the numbers, the stories, the struggle upfront, makes me appreciate your work.
You put yourself out there, no holds barred.
Thanks for showing us the good, bad and ugly of this business. I know for us it's so much more than that, but seeing one of our own sticking her neck out there shows how coherent you continue to be. Still courageous. STILL FUCKIN REAL.
Thanks Amie, I look forward to read the book and being part of the Inspired Collective. I'm sure in time you will be a bestseller, and you will get the deserved success, because the love from us you already have it!
Keep promoting and pay to send signed copies of your book to tiktokkers! My first book sold 20K copies over two years because we spent months and months (years, actually) just sending her out to BookTokkers (people will do backflips for free signed copies of books). Make lists and reach out to artists and booktok readers (under 50k followers) who review non-fiction and offer a signed copy of your book in exchange for a review! We sent out hundreds of signed copies and had multiple reprints and my book ended up placing on a renowned Texas library list (TAYSHAS). I really don’t think trad pub is caught up with current marketing practices, so debut authors really do still have to much if not most of the work. So happy for you, Amie!!! Congrats on a beautiful book launch!!!
Also, to second everyone else in the comments, thank you for your generosity and transparency in sharing your journey. You’ve been such a bright light as I move from traditional publication with a partner to self-publishing with a new writing partner. I’m so grateful for your content (and I’m currently reading your book btw!!! I’ve got her on Kobo and Kindle lol).
I’m the proud owner of your book which I bought at Readings in Melbourne Australia. It was on the table with other new releases! I wish you were coming to Brisbane, too, as I would have come to celebrate your book but I can’t get to Sydney or Melbourne while you’re there - I’ll be packing to move to Canberra. Had I been in Canberra already, I’d have driven to Sydney for sure! Next time! Enjoy this exciting journey - I’ve been in this path and it is exhilarating and terrifying all at once!
Amie!!! Thank you for sharing so honestly and transparently. It’s beautiful to behold and really paints the picture of what the process is like. It makes it feel more real and multifaceted, and when things feel real they feel more possible. Rooting for you!
I love this transparency and I’m loving my hard cover copy of my book! I’d love to share the story with you of how I got it because to me, it perfectly aligns with your intention of having your book find creatives (and I LOVE that as the goal, vs wanting to be on a best seller list). I recently found your work through a shared or suggested IG post. I kept liking your posts because they spoke straight to me as an artist (🙏🙏) and the algorithm kept showing me more! Because of your persistence in unashamedly sharing your upcoming book, it was in my head and on my radar, although I didn’t pre order it, mainly because of the stack of 400 other books I have and desperately want to read right now! But about a week or two ago, I had to go into Barnes and noble to buy a book gift for a friend, and as I was searching for the book for her, I serendipitously happened to see We Need Your Art on the shelf (not in a high visibility display but just a single copy on a normal shelf). It felt like a true synchronicity that I somehow even saw it in the 7 mins I was in and out of there, and I knew that meant I needed this buy it as a gift for myself. I just share this to say that while part of me may also feel frustrated on your behalf that this much-needed book isn’t on bigger display in B&N, your intention of breathing life into your book baby and sending it on its mission to reach and tug at the creatives who need it is clearly working! Even while working against and within an inherently noisy and overly competitive capitalistic marketplace, it seems to me that your book understands its assignment and is working with the universe to (sometimes subversively and magically) get to who needs it 💜💜
Thank you for your honesty, and for bringing us along on this journey with you! I kept reading to the end, wanting to know all the details, and where you’re off to next, and what the next steps look like.
I don’t think I’ve ever read this kind of share from a newly published author either, so I really love that you decided to gift us this! And so happy to hear how the book sales are going, and the events too! (I felt for you walking into the bookshops on launch day. That surprised me too. Glad your publishers are listening to you, and that you can share this with them.)
Wishing you some ease alongside the joy and the myriad feelings as well. My Feldenkrais practitioner used to ask us, “Can you do this with 3% more ease, and what would that feel like?” (I think the implicit is that ease often feels out of reach, yet if we can allow ourselves just a little of what we need, it can make all the difference.) ❤️
P.S. The community writing calls you held a while back still fire up my soul when I think about them. I’ve felt less alone as a writer and creator, more willing to share with others, and I’m still plugging away at this creative work within me in part because of the community spirit and that space. So thank you! :)
Thank you for your honesty! So much of publishing is so secretive so it’s refreshing to see behind the scenes for those of us who want to publish a book.
It's the best book I've ever read and it just shifted my world! Your words transformed me. You are too good for the NYT bestseller list, Amie! Love you
This just makes me so happy to read, knowing how hard you have worked. Vigorously and consistently ❤️ never steering away. Not that others don’t but I love that it’s you showing everyone it’s possible x
Thanks for sharing with such transparency, I totally agree that it’s a part of what’s missing from publishing . As an ex-trade publishing editor, if a book I’d worked on sold >3K in its first week, from a debut author, I’d consider that a success! ChatGPT doesn’t know what it’s talking about sometimes lol.
"I didn't want a job"// "Let go of the shame for not wanting to work" found me during what I now know was your 100 day challenge and I just am so fucking grateful. I love how transparent you are about everything you do. You have given words to the thing that was plaguing me during a darkness that urged me to give up on this dream of pursuing art. (An excerpt from my journal: Why do I have to be like this? Why do I have to feel so deeply? Why can’t I just get a real job and be happy like so many people do? Over and over I think, maybe it would just be easier to sell my soul again. To live a life without meaning or purpose. It would be easier to shove all of these feelings into the back of my throat so I could swallow them up, shit them out, and never have to see them again.")
I immediately pre-ordered your book and subscribed to your Substack. I learned about your Inspired Collective and am delighted to have joined. While I've only read (and reread) the first chapter of your book--I'm letting myself sit with your words--I know that your entire book is FUCKING MAGICAL. For the first time I wondered how the NYT's Best Seller list worked because I wanted this book on there. As it turns out, it's just another thing steeped in money and (publishing) politics. Fuck Mel Robbins. She may have a book that sells with an "inspiring" message, but she has a brand that is focused on selling things. (Sorry, I really don't care for her.) Your book is finding the people who need it, and it's fucking SAVING our lives. My heart breaks knowing that you didn't get to see your book baby on that first day in a way that you had expected, but I am so glad that you are feeling the love and support from all the people who NEEDED this book. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. 💛
I ADORE your transparency Amie. I also wish I was as super resilient as you. I think I made it to a week or so of the 100 day challenge, and when it comes to selling my own books I just fizzle out. My passion is there, and my self-belief, but it all starts to feel like a crazy competitive game and I hate it 😭
Side note: It’s a big thing with NYT-bestsellers that they buy & give away thousands of their books before launch day. Hard copy and ebooks…🤷♀️
I think I’m loving you more each day Amie x I watched Struthless this morning and he mentioned you… you two are friends of course you are! Magical things are happening. Keep beaming your light you beautiful lighthouse, amazing work 🌺 I want you to sign my book one day , I want to share my amazing news with you, but I have to wait a few months because it’s tender days right now. Peace!Joy! MAGIC ✨ big love 🌺🤗
Your honesty is so beautiful and so brave. You are practicing what you preach and it is amazing. 💜💜💜
Reading this upped a whole new level of admiration for you and James.
My title for this post would be: RADICAL TRANSPARENCY!
Just putting the numbers, the stories, the struggle upfront, makes me appreciate your work.
You put yourself out there, no holds barred.
Thanks for showing us the good, bad and ugly of this business. I know for us it's so much more than that, but seeing one of our own sticking her neck out there shows how coherent you continue to be. Still courageous. STILL FUCKIN REAL.
Thanks Amie, I look forward to read the book and being part of the Inspired Collective. I'm sure in time you will be a bestseller, and you will get the deserved success, because the love from us you already have it!
I f'n love you!
Keep promoting and pay to send signed copies of your book to tiktokkers! My first book sold 20K copies over two years because we spent months and months (years, actually) just sending her out to BookTokkers (people will do backflips for free signed copies of books). Make lists and reach out to artists and booktok readers (under 50k followers) who review non-fiction and offer a signed copy of your book in exchange for a review! We sent out hundreds of signed copies and had multiple reprints and my book ended up placing on a renowned Texas library list (TAYSHAS). I really don’t think trad pub is caught up with current marketing practices, so debut authors really do still have to much if not most of the work. So happy for you, Amie!!! Congrats on a beautiful book launch!!!
Also, to second everyone else in the comments, thank you for your generosity and transparency in sharing your journey. You’ve been such a bright light as I move from traditional publication with a partner to self-publishing with a new writing partner. I’m so grateful for your content (and I’m currently reading your book btw!!! I’ve got her on Kobo and Kindle lol).
I’m the proud owner of your book which I bought at Readings in Melbourne Australia. It was on the table with other new releases! I wish you were coming to Brisbane, too, as I would have come to celebrate your book but I can’t get to Sydney or Melbourne while you’re there - I’ll be packing to move to Canberra. Had I been in Canberra already, I’d have driven to Sydney for sure! Next time! Enjoy this exciting journey - I’ve been in this path and it is exhilarating and terrifying all at once!
Amie!!! Thank you for sharing so honestly and transparently. It’s beautiful to behold and really paints the picture of what the process is like. It makes it feel more real and multifaceted, and when things feel real they feel more possible. Rooting for you!
I love this transparency and I’m loving my hard cover copy of my book! I’d love to share the story with you of how I got it because to me, it perfectly aligns with your intention of having your book find creatives (and I LOVE that as the goal, vs wanting to be on a best seller list). I recently found your work through a shared or suggested IG post. I kept liking your posts because they spoke straight to me as an artist (🙏🙏) and the algorithm kept showing me more! Because of your persistence in unashamedly sharing your upcoming book, it was in my head and on my radar, although I didn’t pre order it, mainly because of the stack of 400 other books I have and desperately want to read right now! But about a week or two ago, I had to go into Barnes and noble to buy a book gift for a friend, and as I was searching for the book for her, I serendipitously happened to see We Need Your Art on the shelf (not in a high visibility display but just a single copy on a normal shelf). It felt like a true synchronicity that I somehow even saw it in the 7 mins I was in and out of there, and I knew that meant I needed this buy it as a gift for myself. I just share this to say that while part of me may also feel frustrated on your behalf that this much-needed book isn’t on bigger display in B&N, your intention of breathing life into your book baby and sending it on its mission to reach and tug at the creatives who need it is clearly working! Even while working against and within an inherently noisy and overly competitive capitalistic marketplace, it seems to me that your book understands its assignment and is working with the universe to (sometimes subversively and magically) get to who needs it 💜💜
Thank you for your honesty, and for bringing us along on this journey with you! I kept reading to the end, wanting to know all the details, and where you’re off to next, and what the next steps look like.
I don’t think I’ve ever read this kind of share from a newly published author either, so I really love that you decided to gift us this! And so happy to hear how the book sales are going, and the events too! (I felt for you walking into the bookshops on launch day. That surprised me too. Glad your publishers are listening to you, and that you can share this with them.)
Wishing you some ease alongside the joy and the myriad feelings as well. My Feldenkrais practitioner used to ask us, “Can you do this with 3% more ease, and what would that feel like?” (I think the implicit is that ease often feels out of reach, yet if we can allow ourselves just a little of what we need, it can make all the difference.) ❤️
P.S. The community writing calls you held a while back still fire up my soul when I think about them. I’ve felt less alone as a writer and creator, more willing to share with others, and I’m still plugging away at this creative work within me in part because of the community spirit and that space. So thank you! :)
Thank you for your honesty! So much of publishing is so secretive so it’s refreshing to see behind the scenes for those of us who want to publish a book.
It's the best book I've ever read and it just shifted my world! Your words transformed me. You are too good for the NYT bestseller list, Amie! Love you
I love your book and so happy I found you here on Substack! Thank you for sharing your journey and lessons (also via the Inspired Collective☺️)
This just makes me so happy to read, knowing how hard you have worked. Vigorously and consistently ❤️ never steering away. Not that others don’t but I love that it’s you showing everyone it’s possible x
Thanks for sharing with such transparency, I totally agree that it’s a part of what’s missing from publishing . As an ex-trade publishing editor, if a book I’d worked on sold >3K in its first week, from a debut author, I’d consider that a success! ChatGPT doesn’t know what it’s talking about sometimes lol.
Dearest Amie,
"I didn't want a job"// "Let go of the shame for not wanting to work" found me during what I now know was your 100 day challenge and I just am so fucking grateful. I love how transparent you are about everything you do. You have given words to the thing that was plaguing me during a darkness that urged me to give up on this dream of pursuing art. (An excerpt from my journal: Why do I have to be like this? Why do I have to feel so deeply? Why can’t I just get a real job and be happy like so many people do? Over and over I think, maybe it would just be easier to sell my soul again. To live a life without meaning or purpose. It would be easier to shove all of these feelings into the back of my throat so I could swallow them up, shit them out, and never have to see them again.")
I immediately pre-ordered your book and subscribed to your Substack. I learned about your Inspired Collective and am delighted to have joined. While I've only read (and reread) the first chapter of your book--I'm letting myself sit with your words--I know that your entire book is FUCKING MAGICAL. For the first time I wondered how the NYT's Best Seller list worked because I wanted this book on there. As it turns out, it's just another thing steeped in money and (publishing) politics. Fuck Mel Robbins. She may have a book that sells with an "inspiring" message, but she has a brand that is focused on selling things. (Sorry, I really don't care for her.) Your book is finding the people who need it, and it's fucking SAVING our lives. My heart breaks knowing that you didn't get to see your book baby on that first day in a way that you had expected, but I am so glad that you are feeling the love and support from all the people who NEEDED this book. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. 💛
With so much love,
Nina
I ADORE your transparency Amie. I also wish I was as super resilient as you. I think I made it to a week or so of the 100 day challenge, and when it comes to selling my own books I just fizzle out. My passion is there, and my self-belief, but it all starts to feel like a crazy competitive game and I hate it 😭
Side note: It’s a big thing with NYT-bestsellers that they buy & give away thousands of their books before launch day. Hard copy and ebooks…🤷♀️
Brilliant work! Thanks for sharing your experience💗 I am one of those who pre ordered your book in Europe. Much love and light to you🤗
I think I’m loving you more each day Amie x I watched Struthless this morning and he mentioned you… you two are friends of course you are! Magical things are happening. Keep beaming your light you beautiful lighthouse, amazing work 🌺 I want you to sign my book one day , I want to share my amazing news with you, but I have to wait a few months because it’s tender days right now. Peace!Joy! MAGIC ✨ big love 🌺🤗
Love Campbell! That video was great. Amie and I actually have a podcast with him which was awesome. From July 2023 I think on our Unpublished podcast!
I will check that out .. today!! Thank you!