The Perfect Marketing Strategy.
The hardest part of writing a book isn’t the writing.
It’s showing up when you don’t feel ready.
Most authors think the real fight is between them and the blank page. It’s not. The real fight is between them and the fear that says: Don’t ship until it’s perfect. Don’t share until you look smart. Don’t publish until the world will applaud you.
That fear dresses itself up as professionalism or preparation. But underneath, it’s just fear.
I know because I lived there.
For years, I told myself my art, my writing, and my talks had to be flawless before anyone could see them.
The irony? Nobody cared whether it was flawless or not. They only cared whether it was there.
The day came when I was young to show up and paint a mural. I stopped hiding and started "publishing" my art, everything changed.
People saw it, they loved it and wanted to see more. So I kept creating.
I learned one of the most important lessons of my career: shipping matters more than perfection.
Why most authors burn out before they even begin
Ask any editor or publisher and they’ll tell you the truth. It’s not a lack of talent that stops most authors.
It’s the failure to ship.
They wait until:
They’ve taken one more workshop.
They’ve added one more credential to their bio.
They’ve rewritten their draft for the 24th time.
By the time they finally publish, they’re drained. The energy is gone and they’re already dreaming of moving on to something else.
Fear of not being perfect has stolen more books and more careers than failure ever has.
Lessons from authors who shipped anyway
Marcus Aurelius never intended for Meditations to be published. They were just notes to himself. Imagine if he waited until the words were polished in his mind to journal them out.
We wouldn’t have one of the greatest works of philosophy in history.
Anne Lamott wrote Bird by Bird to help writers frozen by fear. She gave us the concept of “shitty first drafts” because without them, there is no second or third.
Seth Godin has published over 20 books and more than 8,000 blog posts. Not every one is a masterpiece. But he shows up every single day, and that consistency is what built trust with millions of readers.
These authors understood something most never will. You don’t build greatness by waiting until you are great. You build greatness by shipping before you feel ready.
Publishing is not a stage, it is a signal
Publishing is not about performing. It is about sending out a signal.
Every time you publish, you light a small fire. That fire says: I am here. I am doing the work. Pay attention.
If you publish once a year and vanish, the fire goes out. Nobody waits for you. Nobody listens for you.
But when you publish regularly, those small fires add up. A post points to a video. A video points to a newsletter. A newsletter points to a book. Each signal compounds until your presence can’t be ignored.
That is what it means to build a platform. Not a single loud announcement, but the steady rhythm of showing up that makes people turn their heads again and again.
Writers vs authors
Anyone can be an author.
Not everyone is a writer.
Authors publish books. Writers practice a craft.
You don’t need a degree to do this. I don’t. I never studied grammar or literary theory. What I did learn is the one skill that matters: can what I share keep the person in front of me engaged.
That’s why I write like I speak. I cut the fluff. I tell stories. I ship.
Because publishing is what separates thinkers from doers.
Courage beats credentials
I know people with Ivy League degrees who freeze at the thought of posting a single LinkedIn update.
They are paralyzed by what others might think.
Meanwhile, the authors who dare to ship, who publish raw videos, rough newsletters, imperfect work, are the ones who build audiences, attract clients, and grow movements.
Courage beats credentials every single time.
Seneca said it best: We suffer more in imagination than in reality.
Your audience isn’t studying your flaws the way you think. They are too busy living their own lives.
What I’ve learned running a small agency
Running a small agency comes with distractions. There are always shiny projects and new opportunities that look exciting but pull you off course.
I decided the best way to work was with only a few authors at a time so I could give them my full attention. That focus has made us strong.
The one thing I push my team, myself, and the authors I work with to do is simple: ship.
Whether it is a YouTube video, a podcast, a blog post, a newsletter, or a book. Our job is to publish. To hit send when it feels uncomfortable. To record when the lighting isn’t perfect. To release the work because that is the only way to grow.
The real privilege
I am writing this on a flight to Washington D.C. My wife is holding our baby son. On Friday I will be giving a talk to 100 people about resilience and showing up when it is hard.
And I am smiling. thinking about how the 100-plus talks I had to give for free over the past decade and a half in order to receive this fantastic opportunity.
I'm grateful I get to do this work.
Real perspective changes everything.
No Perfect Marketing Strategy
The only strategy that I've seen work is showing up consistently over years and years.
Stop waiting to be perfect. Stop hiding behind credentials and comparisons.
Send the text. Post the video. Publish the newsletter. Share the story.
The world doesn’t need your perfect work. It needs your published work.
The second, the third, and the hundredth will get better.
But none of that happens until you ship the first.
Go big.
If you need help building your author brand message me I would love to support.
-Hussein
