Summary

Jack Heimbigner reflects on the lessons learned from publishing his book "Productivity Success," emphasizing the importance of defining personal success, embracing the multifaceted role of an author, and viewing each book as one of many creative projects.

Abstract

A year after publishing his book, Jack Heimbigner shares insights on the realities of being an author. He emphasizes that success should be personally defined, as external benchmarks can lead to a sense of failure despite achieving one's initial goals. Heimbigner also highlights the necessity for authors to take on diverse roles, including marketing and sales, which are crucial for a book's ongoing success. Furthermore, he advises that a book should be seen as a single project within an author's broader portfolio of work, encouraging continuous creation beyond the book itself. These lessons have helped him navigate the challenges of authorship and have set a foundation for his future projects.

Opinions

Heimbigner believes that setting personal benchmarks for success is vital for authors to avoid the disappointment of unmet expectations based on others' achievements.
He acknowledges the difficulty of wearing multiple hats as a self-published author, particularly in marketing and sales, which can significantly impact a book's success.
Heimbigner suggests that a book is just one piece of an author's creative output, and it can serve as a stepping stone for other projects and opportunities.
He stresses the importance of not being discouraged by a single project's performance and instead focusing on the continuous process of creation and growth.
Heimbigner values the support and encouragement from fellow authors, which can be instrumental in overcoming creative slumps and inspiring new endeavors.

What I Have Learned About Publishing a Book

One year later…

Hi, my name is Jack Heimbigner. I am a published author. I write a book called Productivity Success: A Proven Path to Take Control of Work and Find Freedom from Stress. Last year, I published it for the world to see. It was my crowning achievement in life.

Since its launch, I have sold a few hundred copies. It did well on Amazon and I am very proud of the work I accomplished. In fact, whenever I hold that book in my hand, I know it is just the beginning.

However, there have been some very interesting lessons I have learned about writing a book and publishing it. And looking back, after one year, it is important to think about these lessons. And, I think it will be helpful to share them with you too.

Lesson #1: Define Your Success

I felt very early on that the point of me publishing this book was to help people who were struggling with their productivity as I have in the past. And to show myself that I could publish a book.

Those were my two main goals for publishing my first book.

However, as I worked through the process of writing, editing, designing, and formatting something else happened along the way. I started reading about stories of how other people had wild success.

Those stories started to create a false expectation in me that I was going to have wild success. I honestly believed I would sell thousands of copies and this one book was going to change my life. The problem was, I wasn’t working toward thousands of copies sold.

In the end, I accomplished my two goals. My book has been circulated around the company I work for during the day and lots of people have received the help they need with productivity. I also proved to myself that I could publish a book.

But, my expectations of wild success, which were not mine, to begin with, were not met.

It took me a few months and a lot of conversations with my wife to get back on track. I was so discouraged by the “failure” of my first book. Yet, I was reminded that thousands of copies sold weren’t what I was trying to do.

Finally, I could celebrate the success that I had in achieving my goals. Which, I could have done early on as these goals were met right out of the gate.

Define your success and celebrate it when it comes.

Lesson #2: Accept Your Role as an Author

When you self-publish a book, you are in charge of everything. Writing, coordinating outside help for editing and design, marketing, and sales. There is no one else to fall back on for these things. And if you let one slip through the cracks, it's all on you.

This was a major lesson for me in my first book.

I completed the first draft. I found my editor and cover designer. Formatted it myself. And I thought I was ready for the challenge of marketing and selling my book. What I found out was how bad I was at marketing and sales.

My book did well on launch day, though I failed to get people picking it up right away so it missed out on being a #1 New Release. It sold well over the first week. Lots of people supported me picking up their copies, but I really didn’t have a plan after that.

I thought I did, but I clearly did not.

After the first week, sales dropped sharply. And in the end, I have gone months without a sale on the book. Which is normal for self-published authors. Or so I’m told. However, I look back and realize this is because I had no idea what I was doing with creating a marketing and sales plan.

Moving forward, I need to be pointing people toward my book regularly. Not obnoxiously, but it needs to be there to be seen.

When you publish a book, you need to accept all the roles of being an author.

Lesson #3: Your Book is Only One Project

After about six months, I thought my book was it. I was stuck on the fact that maybe, just maybe, I had done all I could. At this point in time, I was in a writing slump. Struggling to get ideas out on the page, feeling down that my book wasn’t selling anymore, and not sure what was next.

I thought I may have peaked, and my peak wasn’t very high.

At this point, I was connecting with some other authors who started sharing about new projects. They reminded me that writing is more than a book or a blog post. That it was a message that we get to share in a lot of different forms.

Sure, I have my book, but my book wasn’t all I have created or would ever create. In fact, it can be a launching point for other things. With some encouragement from others, I started getting back into the groove of writing again.

Once I realized my book was ONE project, I was free to start the next.

This lead to creating an online course, writing more multiple platforms, and a quarterly planner which I use to this day. These other projects have had varying degrees of success, but they are projects that are always building on themselves.

Once I realized that this was only one project, I have been free to work on others that build on the work of my first book.

Final Thought

While I have learned a lot of lessons from publishing my first book, these three stand out the most. They are the ones that I am remembering as I launch out my next project. These lessons are going to set me up for writing success, and to keep my head in the right place.

Most of all, these can help prepare the first time author or encourage as you start your next project too.

So remember, when you are working on your book, these three lessons learned and you will find a little more to celebrate, and a little more enjoyable no matter the success of your book.

And I look forward to hearing what you have learned from publishing your books.

You can pick up a copy of Jack’s book Productivity Success!

***This post has affiliate links, if you decided to purchase any books described in this post, I will get a small percentage of the sale.***