I Wish Every Author Knew This Before They Launch

The Zoom window stuttered for a second, then caught up.

In the middle of explaining her chapter outline, she stopped talking and covered her eyes with her hand. Her breathing changed. Her shoulders shook. She tried to push through but her voice cracked.

I asked if she was alright, but she held up one finger, eyes still down, trying to gather herself without falling apart on camera.

A few long seconds passed before she whispered that she felt embarrassed. She said she was disappointed in herself and ashamed that she was behind. Behind the authors she watched on LinkedIn. Behind the goals she journaled about. Behind the imaginary timeline she believed she was supposed to meet. She kept saying she felt she should be further along by now.

She did not need a pep talk. She needed perspective. And her breakdown is more common than most authors admit.

There is a pattern I see in nearly every author I work with. Right before the book launch season begins, right when the pressure starts to rise, they begin turning on themselves. They think their lack of progress means they are failing. They think the early stage should feel easier. They think they should already be seeing traction or engagement or momentum.

But this stage is not supposed to feel easy. This is the chapter in the story where you grow unseen.

The world will see your book when it blooms, but everything that makes that bloom possible happens now, in the quiet stretch where the work is invisible and the doubts get loud.

Most authors misunderstand the months before launch. They see it as a waiting room. A holding pattern. A stretch of time they simply have to survive until the marketing kicks in.

But this time is not empty. This time is the soil. This is the space where your clarity forms. This is where your voice sharpens. This is where your presence begins to matter.

This is where you stop obsessing over how you compare to other authors and start focusing on who you are becoming as you write, refine, and show up.

The authors who struggle the most are the ones who expect immediate results. They plant their seeds and then stare at the soil every ten seconds waiting for something to happen. They refresh their notifications. They re-read their drafts. They over-analyze every like and comment. They treat every post as a referendum on their worth.

But a book launch is not built on single posts or perfect timing. It is built on the accumulation of consistent presence.

Your audience is not waiting to be impressed. They are waiting to trust you.

And trust is slow. Trust is earned. Trust is the byproduct of showing up without needing applause.

We live in an age where people expect speed. They want the full meal in thirty seconds. They want guaranteed outcomes. They want shortcuts, hacks, systems, and templates that promise fast success.

But writing is slow. Brand building is slow. Developing your message is slow. Creating an ecosystem is slow. Becoming someone worth following is slow.

And that is the good news.

Because in a world obsessed with instant gratification, the people who commit to craft will always rise. Readers can feel when your words were lived, not manufactured. They can feel when you practiced your voice instead of outsourcing it. They can feel when your presence has been earned through time, not shortcuts.

The slower work is becoming more valuable because it is becoming more rare.

Everyone likes to talk about how Alex Hormozi can drop a book and pull in one hundred million dollars in a weekend. They treat it like magic. They treat it like he discovered a secret that no one else has access to.

But they forget the volume. They forget the consistency. They forget the millions of dollars invested. They forget the teams producing content around the clock. They forget he puts out more videos in a week than most people put out in a year.

You do not need that. You do not need a team of thirty. You do not need a Hollywood production quality feed. You do not need to outwork the internet.

You need your rhythm. Your consistency. Your version of output that keeps you learning, practicing, and growing.

If I told you your one hundred first post would change everything, you would gladly create the first hundred without overthinking. The problem is that most people never get past ten because the early work feels invisible.

Invisible is where your voice is built. Invisible is where your confidence forms. Invisible is where you practice without pressure.

This phase is not punishment. This phase is permission. It is where you sharpen the edges of your message.

The 7 Practices That Strengthen Your Platform Before Launch

You can do this on LinkedIn or your preferred platform. Pick one and stick to it.

1. Post two to five thoughtful pieces every week. Reflections, insights, lessons from your writing. These create familiarity. People remember who shows up.

2. Write every day for practice. Even if you never publish it, the daily rhythm strengthens your clarity, your voice, and your confidence.

3. Share one personal or behind-the-scenes story each week. People connect to you before they connect to your book. A small story opens the door.

4. Comment intentionally on ten posts a day. Thoughtful engagement builds visibility, not viral content.

5. Message two readers, peers, or potential audience members a week. Real conversation builds community. This starts small but compounds fast.

6. Teach one thing every week. Break something down. Clarify something. Offer insight. Let people experience your value.

7. Reassess your clarity every month. Who are you writing for. What do they need. What transformation are you offering? The clearer you get, the stronger your content becomes.

These are not glamorous habits, but they are reliable ones. And reliable is what builds trust. Trust is what fuels book sales. Trust is what fills your events and sessions. Trust is what attracts opportunities and collaborators.

You are not just building a book launch. You are building an ecosystem.

After she cried, after she took her breath, after she finally looked up again, she apologized. She said she felt weak for having that moment. She said she hoped it did not make her look unprepared.

I told her the truth. She was not weak. She was honest. She was doing the real work. She was in the phase where nothing is blooming yet, but everything is growing underneath.

One day her book will launch. People will think it came out of nowhere. They will see the bloom and not the roots. They will praise the flower and never think about the soil.

But she will know. And you will too.

This season you are in right now is the season where your voice is built. Where your confidence grows. Where your presence forms. Where your clarity deepens. Where you show up before anyone is watching so that when they are watching, you are ready.

Your book is not the final product. Your ecosystem is. Your voice is. Your clarity is. Your consistency is.

The bloom will come. The admiration will come. The opportunities will come. But only if you do the quiet work now.

This is the time to cultivate your garden. This is the time to commit to the craft. This is the time to build the ecosystem that will carry your work forward long after launch.

You are not behind. You are growing. And the world will feel it when it blooms.

This is the stretch that I believe needs the most support in the marketing realm for authors. If you're in that boat or know someone in this phase who needs support putting the pieces together, I would love to get to know them and support them on the journey. Message me, let's do the damn thing this year!

-Hussein