How to Sell Your Book Before You Even Write a Single Word – With Rodney Washington

Are you locking yourself away for months to finish your book, only to realize no one knows it exists? In this episode of In the Writer’s Chair, host Lana McAra welcomes Rodney Washington, founder of Published and Thriving, to explain why waiting until your book is on Amazon to start marketing is a "Simba moment" that often leads to zero sales.

Rodney breaks down the essential shift from being "just an author" to becoming an authorpreneur—an identity that focuses on building relationships, community, and revenue streams long before the physical book is finished.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The "Simba" Fallacy: Why simply being on Amazon isn't enough to drive sales.
• Building on Rented Land: The danger of relying solely on social media and how to move your audience to an email list you own.
• The Interest Post Strategy: How to test your book idea and find "early adopters" with a simple social media post.
• Monetizing the Journey: How one client made over $5,000 and established recurring income for a book that is still in development.
• The $15 to $15k Story: Why the book is often just the "tangible" piece of a much larger, more profitable "product suite".
• Identity vs. Mindset: Why you need an "identity shift" to see yourself as a business owner who happens to write books.

About Our Guest:

Rodney Washington is the creator of the Authorpreneur Decision workshop series and the Published and Thriving incubator. With over 30 years of experience, he helps entrepreneurial-minded creators transform their expertise into thriving brands and profitable books.

Connect with Rodney Washington:

• Download the Blueprint: Access a preview chapter of his upcoming book, The Authorpreneur Decision, featuring in-depth case studies.
• Join the Community: Connect with the Published Creator School Community for weekly monetization mapping sessions.
• Visit his Website: http://authordecision.com/

Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Vandela Publishing, a traditional publisher with an untraditional model that lets you keep your rights and royalties while providing a full year of marketing support. Visit vendelapublishing.com.