The Career Author Podcast: Episode 148 – ADVANTAGE with Joe Solari

ADVANTAGE with Joe Solari

We’re all looking for an advantage as it gets more challenging to find and retain readers. In a rare interview episode, the guys invite Joe Solari on the show to discuss how you can harness a cumulative advantage in the winner takes all publishing market.

From Amazon.com:

The top 2.5% of high performing authors…

…earn 64% of the book profits.

How do they do it?

We are in the golden age for authors. The gatekeepers are gone. The books and novels that have been buried on your “Bucket List” can be brought to life. Nobody can tell you, “No!”

It’s not even that hard.

Getting the readers, well, that’s where we all need help.

What are the KEY PRINCIPLES?

Joe Solari has experience from 20-years as an entrepreneur and in 2016 began to help authors get to six and seven figures. It became his passion. He understands the engine that drives success.

Are you willing to learn the power of cumulative advantage?

He has shown that not only can cumulative advantage be systematized, but a unique flavor is possible for every author. This professionally researched book contains never before seen data on just how demand works in publishing and how the top authors become best sellers.

Are you ready?

You’ll love this road map to finding readers, because the world is a vast social place and knowing how it works can make all the difference.

The Career Author Podcast is a podcast where co-authors J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon share their struggles and successes as full-time authors, advice for improving your writing craft, and honest discussions of what it takes to build a successful career as an author.

Leave us a comment: What is your question for Joe about cumulative advantage?

Thanks to all of our patrons! 

Podcast sponsored by Kobo Writing Life – https://writinglife.kobobooks.com 

Want to work with us? Get the details at https://thecareerauthor.com/services/

Links:

J.’s Plot a Novel challenge – http://plotanovel.com  

New Dialogue Doctor course – https://dialoguedoctor.com/edit-a-book-with-me/ 

Join us for the final episode on Oct 26, 2020 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada) 

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAoduuprjMqHtA8OLyzdJMVTDI8lC8nE4Qs

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

ADVANTAGE: Harnessing Cumulative Advantage in the Winner Takes All Publishing Market – https://amzn.to/2GuVA3H 

2021 Events – https://thecareerauthor.com/events/ 

Chapter Check service – https://chaptercheck.com/ 

The Career Author YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/thecareerauthor

Three Story Methodhttps://books2read.com/threestorymethod 

Three Story Method Workbookhttps://amzn.to/37SAR1a 

Molten Universe Media – http://www.moltenuniversemedia.com


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10 responses to “The Career Author Podcast: Episode 148 – ADVANTAGE with Joe Solari”

  1. Christopher Wills Avatar

    Wow, this is excellent. Joe is the first person I have heard who has enunciated what I have been looking for as an Indie writer.
    I have studied marketing so I know I can market my way to success. One can sell a fridge to an Eskimo if the price and the marketing is right. But it doesn’t make the product any good and it doesn’t guarantee a resale. Readers buy the emotions the writer puts them on the hero’s journey. They don’t buy the cover, blurb and title. They are marketing tools to create an expectation for the reader but if their experience doesn’t match the expectation there will be no resale, no word-of-mouth, no cumulative advantage, no compound interest.
    Joe also talked about the best type of marketing that was ever created, word-of-mouth marketing. Did you know in the 1980s marketing companies paid influencers who had access to all the right parties etc to word-of-mouth the latest product? I’ve always thought this was a viable route to success but wondered how. Compound interest (cumulative advantage) is how. I’ve already ordered his book. No pressure Joe.
    If Joe’s book gets traction I expect more experts to devote more time to concentrating on good writing rather than almost exclusively on marketing. The winner can only be Indie writing.
    Today is a great reveal as we near the end of your 150 chapter hero’s journey. Good quality stories and good quality writing sells; who’d have thought it?
    Excellent show today.

    1. J. Thorn Avatar
      J. Thorn

      So true. I really think Joe is on to something here.

      If I had a business model based on selling paid ad tactics to authors, I’d be worried about what’s on the horizon. FYI, our guest on Writers, Ink next week believes that trad pub is on the verge of squeezing indies right out of the PPC ad space. The pandemic has shown NYC the value of the ebook, something they’ve ignored until now.

    2. Joe Solari Avatar

      Hey Chris,

      I think you’ll find the answers you’re looking for in the book. I absolutely detest books that are just a pathway drug to a course. I layout my ideas of the virtuous marketing cycle versus the vicious cycle. I see this as 1.0 with room to customize and improve.

  2. Jeff Elkins Avatar

    I feel like Joe has been reading my mind (if my mind were way smarter than it actually is). I just bought the book. My question, as I’m sure everyone’s is, comes back to attention. As we build a tribe, if we are not wading into the normal pools of author play like amazon, how do we build a critical mass of readers?

    1. J. Thorn Avatar
      J. Thorn

      You’re in for a treat. Joe gives you the “how” in this book. It’s not an upsell to his course 🙂

      1. Jeff Elkins Avatar
        Jeff Elkins

        I feel like the whole interview was the application of Godin’s principles that I’ve been looking for someone to articulate. It feels like a Moneyball moment.

        1. Joe Solari Avatar
          Joe Solari

          Thanks for listening Jeff,

          Join the tribe that delights readers, blurs the lines between the real and story world and builds audience round after round.

          or not…

          and be like those other authors that are slaves to the machine god.*

          *see chapter 15 (pages 163-4 on group identity and the use of associative and dissociative identity.

  3. Stephanie Bond Avatar
    Stephanie Bond

    Chiming in to agree–Joe articulated my career philosophy in a way I’ve never been able to. Entertain, entertain, entertain, give your readers a “part” to play in the process by soliciting feedback and asking them to share your stories with reading friends, and taking a long-term view of one’s career. New authors don’t want to hear the “reinvest for the long-haul” tactic–it’s not nearly as exciting as the rapid-release model and the mania of CPC ads, but it IS more sustainable and perhaps the only way to compete with looming A.I story-generators. I see this episode as an extension of Joanna Penn’s advice to “be more human”… and J, the advice to incite readers to word-of-mouth marketing dovetails nicely with your “Chapter 1 as a Marketing Tool” concept. I bought Joe’s book, pronto. Thanks for a great episode, guys! (Methinks Zach went on strike to protest the podcast title change.)

    1. J. Thorn Avatar
      J. Thorn

      Thanks for the validation, Steph. You’re a shining example of cumulative advantage.

    2. Zach Avatar
      Zach

      Haha! My computer decided to finally tell me it needed to be put down. New one arriving today! 🙂 The timing was funny after the announcement.