I’ve got another Book Blueprint episode for you, today!

Welcome Stephanie Jordan, author and speaker who retired from her 27-year cosmetology career and has written multiple books including The Narcissistic Bride of Christ and her upcoming Legacy Builders.

Stephanie asks how to get people interested in your book. I explain the ideal approach is to start marketing three to six months before your publishing date since you don't need a finished book to market. The critical foundation is knowing your audience, which is why I created my Book Clarity Blueprint, helping authors flesh out their purpose, message, and target reader before investing time and money.

When you publish as an expert without professional editing, readers see errors and lose trust in your credibility, questioning why they should hire your services if you won't invest in a professional book. Remember, damaged reputations are harder to rebuild than the upfront editing investment.

Stephanie shares her nightmare first editor experience where the editor sent scathing emails about hating her book and would have destroyed it if Stephanie hadn't protected her voice. This never should have happened—editors who dislike your genre shouldn't accept projects, and authors can send 500-word samples for free editing to test compatibility before committing.

She asks how long should you promote a book before moving on to the next one? That depends on your goals and whether you have a single book or series. For her situation, I recommend continuing to promote her book at conferences and events matching her "flavor" of Christianity rather than Barnes and Noble. In addition, she should start marketing her new book in May, telling current followers they can pre-order on Amazon, creating natural overlap where fans of the first book discover the second.

Keep writing, keep dreaming, and keep creating. Your book is waiting to be born!

Hey friends and who's your authors? This is Lynn, a Liquidy Smartist, Ghostwriter and book editor here right for you. Thanks for listening to today's book blueprint episode. I'm really excited to have my guests on today because a book blueprint episode is where my guests come on and ask me questions about writing and publishing, which I absolutely love. But before we jump into today's show, I want to give a big welcome back to my returning listeners.

Thanks for joining me again. And another big welcome to my new listeners. Thanks for stopping by and make sure you hit the follow and or subscribe, whether you're watching this on YouTube or listening to this on an audio podcast player. All right, friends. So today I have a great conversation for you. I'm going to be joined by Stephanie Jordan. She is an author, teacher and speaker and retired from her 27 year career as a cosmetologist pursue the call from God in her on her life. She is a widow and has five amazing children.

The family pets are Roscoe the dog and a cat bunny, which is absolutely adorable. I love that. She has a couple of different works out. She, one of her books is a dose of reality, believing in boundaries, the death tsunami, the narcissistic bride of Christ and is soon to be released author and with a collaboration faithful in every season. She has an online e-course called believing in boundaries, an e-course that compliments the book, but it's standalone. She's a poet.

non-fiction author and artist. Stephanie is here with us today to ask about book marketing, which is always a challenge for everybody that I talk to. Stephanie, thanks so much for joining us. I can't wait for you to ask me your book marketing questions today.

Yeah, thanks for having me here. I'm glad to be here with you.

with you. Awesome. So before we jump into you asking me questions, let's find out about the latest book that you are writing. so what is it that you're writing? What genre is it? And do you have a published like kind of date or season in mind?

So I just started my newest book, which will be called Legacy Builders, and I'm hoping to have it out by May, and I'm probably lying to myself.

I know there's always like the one the date that we want to have our book out and the date that we actually have our book out. Well, September is a really popular launch season. So if you missed the May window, September is another really good one.

Yeah, I think usually about a year is what it takes start to finish for me to get it out. So may will be kind of insane to even think about, but big high goals, right? Like, yeah, never know. But my last release was the narcissistic bride of Christ. And I put it out in October of last year in November. I mean, October of 2024. So

That's my newest book that is completed.

Awesome. Great. Well, congratulations on that. That's amazing. And so how you have three books published as a author, correct?

I have four total, but the dose of reality, you can only get through me in person right now. So I usually give it away. I'm going to write a little bit more and revamp it and re put it out underneath my own publishing company. But I did that one back in 2011 with a hybrid publisher, like way forever ago. And so I'm gonna, I'm gonna redo it.

at some point.

Awesome. Yeah, I always recommend people like if you had gone I actually recommend that a lot to people who have gone with like a hybrid or traditional publisher and you're not you don't want to do you want to do the self publishing route if you as long as you rewrite 20 % of your book 20 % is different material you can republish that as a second edition

self publishing it on your own without having to go through a publisher again. So I think that's a really great option to do, especially if you're not happy with the way it turned out or your experience with the publisher that you had before.

Yeah, they ended up closing. And so they don't even exist anymore. And, you know, I was brand new into everything and a big nobody with a big no name, you know, social media wasn't even a thing in 2011, you know, like, it was not huge back then. So there wasn't these big audiences that people have been able to develop and

so it was like hybrid was best choice at that time. And, I'm not sorry that I did it, but I would never do it again. And I don't recommend it.

That makes sense. makes sense. so, yeah, one of the things I don't think BookTube was out in 2010, but like a lot of the book things have more sprung up in the past five years. there was a lot of like, mean, Goodreads was out, but yeah, the self-publishing scene has really blown up in the past five years for sure. Absolutely. All right, let's dive into your marketing questions. So what's your first question you have for me today, Stephanie?

Okay, so after you've done all of this work and you get a book out, how do you get people interested in your book?

Yeah. So there's a few different ways. So one of the things, depending on what you're writing and a lot of people who I write for, edit their book for, they're doing like books that are basically lead magnets for their business. So they're using them as calling cards. And so a lot of these people, a lot of people that I write and edit for have some kind of following on social media. So basically if the person likes you, right? Like they like your style, they like your message, they like your brand.

And then you're like, Hey, I'm coming out with a book is really just like building that book, like interest over time. And I always tell people the best, like, ideally you want to start marketing three months before, like super ideally six months before you plan on publishing it. Cause you don't have to have a finished book to market it, right? You, just need some material from your book. So, and you can talk about little snippets of your book on podcasts. You can talk about like, you know, characters, if you have a fiction book.

You can talk about like why you're writing your book, what problems it solves. So there's a lot of things about your book you can talk about in your marketing campaign without having a finished book. So a lot of some people think like, I have to have my book finished to market it. And you really don't, you don't even have to have like a great rough draft. You just have to know like what you're talking about in your book, your contents of your book. and you know, like who your book is for, that's really important because if you don't know who your book is for,

you shouldn't even have started writing your book because that's a really, really, and you'd be surprised how some people just start writing. And then I asked them like, well, who is your book for? like, well, you know, people who like to read, it's like, no, that's way too general. Yeah, so like, right. Yeah. And you'd surprised how often I get that.

Right, right.

to read.

And that's just like an experience, right? People just don't know what they're doing and they've never written a book before. And they're like, why have a book in my head and I'm inspired to write it, which is fabulous. Like I love that people are passionate about it. But at the same time, before you go through the time, expense and effort of writing a book, you definitely want to know who it's for and what pain points you're solving for people if it's a nonfiction self-help or like, you know, in your case, it's a Christian book. Like what is your message going to be? What's your Christian message going to be?

What flavor of Christians is it going to be? Because we know there's many different flavors of Christian out there. so, yeah. And so, and who is your audience? Is it moms? Is it Christian moms? Is it Christian dads? Is it, you know, like, so who is your audience? So you need to know all those things before you write your book. And so that's really important. And that's one of the reasons why I have what's called a book focused template, which is what people can get, which is what I go through with all my clients. And it literally fleshes out like your purpose, what your message is and all that stuff.

So yeah, to your point is you can, wanted three to six months before you're planning on publishing it, start talking about it by getting on other podcasts and things like that. But just start figuring out like what you're going to talk about about your book.

That's really good. I think that that's really important because it makes you think through a little bit further ahead, right? But you're not in the thick of all of the, my gosh, I have to do this right now so you can plan some things out. So I think that's really good.

Yeah. And then also too, when you're doing that initial like marketing piece, you can see like what works and what doesn't. And then you can just duplicate what works obviously with different content, but in the same kind of vein that you're working with before. So yeah, that's definitely what I would recommend is just to, you know, try to create content from the rough draft that you're creating already.

Yeah, that's good. That's good advice.

All right, so what is your next question for me?

Okay, so do you ever suggest reading your book on social media to get people interested?

I say yes. my opinion on that is, and here's the thing, right? So reading your book, it's not like you're sitting down or reading your book cover to cover. So what I always suggest to people is like to pick a paragraph or two out of a chapter and read it. then, but not just read it be like, okay, that's done. Right. But like read it and say why, what, why you wrote it, what the purpose is that you wrote it, what you were thinking when you wrote it. Like,

Because people like to know that behind the scenes stuff. Like, what was Stephanie thinking when she wrote this? Like, why did she write it? Why did she feel compelled to write it in this way? So I would say yes. I would not read, obviously your entire book, because that's kind of, you know, was a point. But like, maybe read a paragraph out of chapter nine. And then next time maybe you read,

paragraph out of chapter one and then you read a paragraph after chapter 15. It doesn't have to be in order either. It can be whatever you're feeling like, hey, this is what I want to read about this week and read a paragraph or two and then talk about it. And then obviously it depends on what kind of format you're doing. If you're doing longer format or shorter format videos and things like that. But I say yes, read it. And then also too, you can just talk about like you can even read your introduction.

or part of your introduction and talk about like, like people like to listen to authors read their own stuff because it's really interesting on how people interpret their own work and then how the readers interpret it too. So that's always can be an advantage as well.

So I find that part to be one of the critical parts about editing because I hear a lot of people say like, you don't really have to get it edited. And I'm like, no, yes, you do. Because the way you write is not necessarily the way somebody will translate a sentence. And so I have found editing, though I hate it, and it's my least favorite part of book production,

To be so critical because it's really the details of the sentence, right? It's it's a fine details and what you were just saying is like the way that an author reads the writing versus how somebody else may translate it is real and it's that way even with writing as a whole.

Yeah. And there's a few other reasons why editing is so important. And I actually have a couple different episodes on this podcast talking about specific types of editing and things like that. One is there's a type of editing called developmental editing. And the reason why developmental editing is important is because it gives you an overarching, know, like fill in the blank things. like one of my current clients I'm editing her book for right now,

She's from a specific part the United States. In every part of the United States, we have our own little niche words we use in our language that no one else understands in any other part of the United States, sometimes outside of our town, depending on how niche it is. And she's used several of those words, I'm like, I have no idea what that means. And so that's part of editing, right, is to kind of like, is to get outside of your own head, because our brain is really good. And I'm sure you've seen this, Stephanie, at filling in pieces where people are like,

I don't understand this. So that's why you get an editor, not just because of the grammar, right? But because there's going to be certain pieces of your book that people aren't going to understand. And you're not going to think about that because you're in your own head writing it. And so getting a good developmental editor and a good line editor is essential. And here's the other piece on why you want to get an editor. And people who don't get an editor are missing this piece big time is that if you put out a book,

and you have quote unquote self edited it or you just throw it through Grammarly, it's not going, it's going to have errors in it. It's going to have a lot of errors in it. And when you put that book out, if you're publishing as an expert, people are going to read that and they're going to see all those errors. And what's going to happen is you're going to lose credibility with that reader. And they're going to be like, why should I hire them for their services if they're not even going to invest the time and money to put out a professional book, right? Or

Why should I invest in their services if they're not going to be professional about their book and there's all these mistakes, they must make a lot of mistakes in their services. So your reputation, as you know, is super important. And if you don't protect your reputation and it goes bad, it's really hard to get it back. But it's much easier to spend and make the investment on a good editor to put out a professional book that's going to enhance your reputation. Because if you don't get a good editor, unless you're a professional writer,

you're going to have a lot of errors in that book. And even with a professional writer, like I have an editor for my books too. because I know I'm in my own head. And so it's really important to always have a professional editor for your book.

It's funny that you say that because with I love the editor that I've used the last two books. She's fantastic and she does a great job at asking questions. So instead of saying like you need to write it like this, she'll be like what did you mean by this? Which makes me have to read everything I just said.

What think?

Exactly. A good editor is going to ask me lot of questions. And I mean, there are times where an editor has to tell you things like, this is very common. lot of my clients, and people do this. I do the same thing. We make the same mistake over and over again, because we're very repetitive with the same things we do wrong all the time. And so I'll say, you can't use parentheses all the time, or you can't use ellipses all the time.

So those things I will say, but yes, to your point, a good editor is going to ask you a lot of questions, especially if it's a developmental edit. The line edit, they're not going to be asking you as many questions, but a good developmental editor is going to ask you some really good questions that are going make you think. And if the questions make you think, then it's probably not a good editor.

So the first editor that I used I just had to accept that she would have given my book a one-star review. She did not like my book. She sent me a scathing email about it. And actually my brother, he's the doctor of geology. So he's a super analytical scientist bookworm, you know, has written scientific papers and he always does like pre-editing for me.

And when I sent him that email, he was like, you should fire her. He was like, this is like ridiculous. And we were too far into the process at that point for me to fire her. And I just finished it out. But this, was a learning lesson for me on my very first book. And I heard God say in my heart, he said, I gave you this voice because she would have destroyed my book.

because she didn't like the book had I not been able to say, this is my voice. Like you're not able to change my voice. Now, if you think I need to reword something to make it make more sense, or you don't understand what I'm saying, you're welcome to ask that question. And I would like to like work through the process.

Which is what the editor I love does, right? She's like, what are you even talking about here? This doesn't make any sense. I need more detail, you know, or you've gone too broad. This is like, she does a really great job of reigning my brain in where the first editor was just very critical of the work. And so I think, if you're writing and in a new position and you have an editor that

Just take your book, find a new one.

Yeah, yeah, I'm actually gonna have a response to that. We're gonna take a break really right here, but I have a response to that. So just hold on just for a few seconds, Stay tuned, because we're gonna come back with more about book marketing with Stephanie and I in just a second.

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Hey friends and future authors, are back with this episode 61 and I'm super excited to have Stephanie on my podcast today. We're doing a book blueprint episode. Um, and make sure if you have a friend who is looking for assistance with writing the book and this sounds like something they can use, make sure you share this episode with a friend. So Stephanie, right before the break, you talked about an editor that didn't like your book. So first of all, if I'm, I'm an editor,

And if someone sends me their manuscript and it's like, this is not something I to, I just tell them like, this is not my genre, this is not my specialty and that's fine and I'm not going to edit it. So first of all, she should not have ever taken your project. Another thing you can do for people that are listening to avoid kind of that issue is that you can send someone a sample of your work and in the industry standard is to edit 500 words for free.

Some, I see some authors be like, can you edit a chapter for free? That's called a Franken edit. And what some authors try to do is say, I'm free. No, that doesn't work that way. It's going to sound horrible because you have 12 different editors and that's what's called a Franken edit in the industry. And so you definitely don't want to do that. If you do want someone to, if you like their sample though, you can say, hey, can I pay you to edit a chapter? See how that goes.

And if it doesn't go that well, guess what? You haven't made a huge investment of your whole book and or time. Right. And then there's also, of course, the stress because I could tell in your voice, like that was stressing me out. that's your point. Someone should not change your voice. Right. They should make it clear and they should change the wording to make it understandable. But they shouldn't change your voice and tone and style. That's that is what a good editor does not do. They don't change your voice and keep that.

So, and another thing is too, can always send, before you work with somebody, can send them your entire manuscript and say, if an editor has your manuscript and they read it and they say, yes, they should not be arguing with you about your book. Like no one you hire should be arguing with you about your book. That's just so unprofessional on so many levels. I'm so sorry you had that experience.

Like every profession, there's some and there's some really not so great people in editing. All right. So think we have time for one more question, Stephanie, which you got.

All right, so how long do you promote a project before moving on to the next one?

that is a great question. So promoting a project, really depends. It really depends on like what your goal is. And if you have like a trilogy or if you have just this one single book you're trying to promote. for your book that you're trying to promote Stephanie, are you what, like what, what, what is your goal with it?

Well, so I'm doing this more full time. So I would love more like speaking engagements and stuff like that to actually dig into the content of the book with the audiences. I don't have the kind of life where I can do a bunch of teen 90 little signings where three people show up. I'm a widow with five kids. Two of my kids are growing and out of the house, but I still have three at home.

And so, you know, I don't have that kind of life where I can just do all these little tedious little small things. I need bigger chunk of exposure, I guess you would say. But like I'm in this kind of interesting spot is that I'm starting a new book now. But I don't feel like I'm done promoting the narcissistic bride of Christ.

And so I don't really know what type of overlap to do with the promotion of the two or does one get lost in another. And then I have this fateful and every season happening right now, which I'm a co-author with other authors. it's like, where does one stop and one begin? How does that work? What do you think is?

So I would say continue to promote your book that you have now because one of the things is that you start promoting both books now and you're in other ones probably not coming out till like May possibly September people are going to get confused because you're promoting two books at the same time for too long. So I would say continue to promote the current book you have now. I would say one of the best from my experience is one of the best places to promote your book to go signings and just promote your platform is to go to like what I call your industry event.

your book is Christian, and I would say go to Christian conferences, Christian events that have like a lot of people at it that have your flavor Christian. So conferences appeal to you. you got spicy Christian going on, then you want to to conferences where you're going to find more spicy Christians, right? And so that's, that's an awesome place to go. Because I always tell people, you know, Barnes and Noble is great, but like, unless you're like an A-list

author or you're really really popular you're not going to a ton of people showing up at Barnes and Noble. You might get like three to ten people which is fine but like you said it's better ROI for you to go to a bigger event or an event that's going to have a lot of people who are looking for your type of book and so you can find Christian events around your area that you don't have to go and promote your book at these Christian events

whether they're conferences or they're talks or they're workshops or whatever it is. And also too, being a speaker at these Christian events because you already have a book, that's going to be helpful to sell your book and get people to know who you are as an author and follow you on your platform. And then the more people you get to follow you on your platform with this marketing book, and if they like this book, okay. And then if your other one you think is

probably more gonna come out like September because you're really busy. would say start marketing your new book in May and then and then say hey if you like the last book here's my new book you can pre-order on Amazon.

OK, that's.

Good. Awesome. So has this been helpful Stephanie?

Alright, so my friends, you are listening into this episode and you want to visit Stephanie, Stephanie, tell us where people who are listening to this episode can visit you. They want to find out more about you as an author or they want to find out more about what you're working on as far as like your publishing company.

Yes, so you can go to my website www.thestephaniejordan.com. It's under construction right now, so if any links aren't working, they will be soon. We're trying to update and upgrade email because you got to do that every so often. And I'm on all the socials at the Stephanie Jordan and some former fashion. So you can find me there. Feel free to message me if you have any questions and

I try and keep everything updated and kind of like what I'm doing and where I might be speaking at and stuff like that. So.

Sounds good. Well, Stephanie, I'm so glad you joined us today. This has been really great. So friends, thank you for joining us. You know, I love to work with new and repeat authors to get past their mindset writing and publishing hurdles so authors can have a smooth publishing pathway and be confident in self-publishing their nonfiction books. So if you don't know what to do next, go to write4u.me and book your complimentary discovery call. I'm ready to stand by your side and walk you through the publishing process.

Until next week, this is Lyn Aliquidy reminding you to keep writing, keep dreaming, and keep creating. Your book is waiting to be born.