In a recent podcast, I spoke about working with James Clear and Jefferson Fisher. But there’s another client story that’s still one of my all-time favorites, and its resolution occurred today—nearly ten years after the book came out.
Rightfully, most people want to know what it was like to work with James Clear on Atomic Habits.
In the latest episode of the Hembury Books Podcast, I spoke with host Jessica Mudditt about what I learned from Clear during that time. I also read an email from James Clear that still influences how I tend to structure the nonfiction books I work on.
We cover a lot of ground in a decently short amount of time. My favorite part? Discussing whether authors, even the well-known ones, still suffer from “the wobbles.”
(Mudditt is based in Australia, and I told her that I’m going to incorporate “the wobbles” into my vocabulary. It’s so much better than sheer terror or deep insecurity.)
If you’re interested in hearing more from James as filtered through my memory—plus a little about my work with Jefferson Fisher—please subscribe to the Hembury Books Podcast. You can listen to my episode here or watch it here.
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Although I consistently (and gratefully) receive editing and writing inquiries because of my association with Atomic Habits, my favorite client story began in 2015 and finds its resolution today.
Today’s the release date for Feeding the Mouth That Bites You: Parenting Teenagers into Adulthood by Dr. Ken Wilgus.
Actually, today is the book’s second release date.
Dr. Wilgus achieved what so many authors want to believe can happen: his self-published book sold so well and helped so many people that a publisher took notice and acquired his book. They’ve updated and revised it for a new second edition.
As of this writing, the first edition holds a five-star rating with 499 reviews. This is the version I had the pleasure of helping with, but (as with Atomic Habits), I can truly only take a small credit.
Dr. Wilgus is a well-read, well-educated counselor, but Feeding the Mouth was his first book for a popular audience. When he contacted me, he knew he needed help to escape academese so that he could reach a broad audience.
I read his first draft. It was as dry as a Texas summer. The strategies were insightful and applicable, but they were buried beneath words that were too long and too obtuse. I said as much. He essentially said, “I know. That’s where I need help.”
We began working together. He sent me a video of a recent talk he’d given covering the same material from his book. Much to my delight, I discovered that this professional academic was funny. Like, made-me-audibly-laugh-multiple-times funny. Coincidentally, his funny was a dry funny. He’d speak a word of serious wisdom and then sometimes undercut himself in an aside to the audience. It was fantastic and engaging and precisely what his book needed.
Even though we weren’t in the same room when he realized how he could translate that to his manuscript, I saw the lightbulb go off over his head. I believe that moment truly unlocked his voice and his potential as an author for a broad audience.
The book quickly came together after that. He self-published. He launched the Feeding the Mouth That Bites You Podcast. Because he was providing such expert insight and practical help, his audience grew.
For the nonfiction authors reading this who may want to self-publish in the hopes of a publisher discovering and acquiring your book, take note.
Dr. Wilgus kept growing his audience. No, I don’t believe that was ever his goal. Rather, because he kept showing up and providing practical, helpful advice, his audience grew as a result. He met their felt needs, both within the book and regularly through his podcast. I also imagine that the podcast led to connecting with the right people who would ultimately acquire his book.
When a publisher saw how the book had been performing, how Dr. Wilgus had kept engaging his audience, and how unique his positioning was on this topic, the acquisition must have seemed like a no-brainer. Dr. Wilgus had done the work to make it an easy yes.
If you’re raising a teenager or preparing to do so, I can’t recommend Feeding the Mouth That Bites You highly enough.
And I’m so glad that this book, which is nearing its own teenage years, found its voice a long time ago.
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