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📚 For any book-lovers, come join me at an upcoming event!

🤓 And for all you project people, here’s an update on how this whole book thing is going…

My debut novel The Brunswick released on May 19. Going into it, I really had no idea what to expect. 

Everyone told me no matter which publishing house a writer is under, they should market their book as if they were on their own. So I went all-in on what I love most: grassroots marketing. 

(If you’ve been reading this email, you’ve been a huge part of that. Here’s the launch page you all really ran with. Thank you!!)

We’re three months in, and I think it’s going really well?!

Evidence:

It’s truly been so much fun.

But this email list is where I love to share the for-real side of launching and running projects, so while my Instagram is full of the high-points, I’ll give you more of the existential-questioning.

My rambling thoughts seem to land in two major categories:

→ I just keep wondering if it’s about to reach its last reader.

I’ll have to wait until my next royalty statement to see what sales actually look like, which I think come every six months? And then I guess I’ll wait another six months to see if sales are increasing or dropping off.

But I just keep wondering if it’s all done.

I guess we all feel this way to an extent with our businesses or projects.

Is this our last good year?

Our last customer?!

I’m realizing I have such a scarcity mindset about this, and I’m trying to guide my brain back into abundance and gratitude instead. There’s truly so much to be thankful for—in awe of, really. Not the least of which is you, who have truly launched this book alongside me. 💛

(I just asked for some AI guidance on having an abundance mindset, and here are the top tips:

Practice Gratitude: Start or end your day by listing three things you appreciate. This trains your brain to focus on what you have rather than what you lack.

Reframe Limiting Beliefs: Catch scarcity thoughts (e.g., "I don't have enough money") and actively replace them with abundant versions (e.g., "I have the skills and resources to increase my earnings").

Embrace Generosity: Share your time, knowledge, or resources. Giving proves to yourself that you have enough to spare, which overrides a hoarding or scarcity mentality.

Celebrate Others: When your peers succeed, celebrate them. It reinforces the belief that there is plenty of success to go around.

Focus on Opportunities: When faced with a roadblock or failure, reframe it as a chance to learn and grow rather than a dead end.)

→ I’m not sure when I should stop.

I learned that in the eyes of traditional publishing, I am officially a backlist author now. This means my publisher is no longer actively marketing The Brunswick and that they’ll start to focus on my next book, knowing that will lead to further sales of my first.

Buttt I’ve personally wanted to take an approach like Theo of Golden did back when that book was self-published, consistently advocating for and connecting with new readers. I don’t want to view myself as backlist just yet!

My goal has been to sell 10,000 copies in the book’s first year, as I’ve been told that’s the tipping point where it really starts to sell itself. (If I’m honest though, I don’t know that the Enneagram Three in me will ever be satisfied with a number. You could always sell more blahblahblah ☠️)

You can see where this gets unhealthy.

Sooo I think I’m going to set limits on my actions for these next few months, like, “Do one thing a day that could help promote the book.” Otherwise, this would be an absolute abyss.

So with all that in mind, here’s the one thing I’m going to do today to move the needle: send this email to you.

Here are some ways you can still jump in on this grassroots marketing train:

I have a big event September 1 in Downtown Norcross, in conversation with Nicole Hannel (remember her from a previous Project Person email?).

Or check out one of my other upcoming events here 🪩

If you’ve read The Brunswick, please leave a review on Goodreads and/or Amazon 🙏These are unbelievably helpful.

You won’t be the last reader… if you tell a friend about it. Text messages, posts on social… these are all so valuable. Thank you!

Shoutout to Chase who posted on his work Slack channel about the book.

And to Sam who included it in her vacation email responder as a rec for what to read at the beach.

And to the gal at a recent book event who bought a copy to donate to her library.

🏆 💛

Thank you thank you for being along for the ride.

-Callie