What is Epic
Fail super win about?
It's a book of really raw and inspiring interviews. They talk about the roller
coaster of wins and fails that is the fabric of life for artists, innovators or
entrepreneurs. I wanted to highlight people who are in the trenches now. Each
person contrasted their worst failure and best success. I think the single
take-away that was universal to every story was: Keep going.
What is so unique about how it was created? Well the book itself is crowdsourced, which
is exciting because there's magic there... you don't know what you are going to
get. Much like a documentary film, this style of writing starts with a
curiosity and a hypothesis, but quickly develops a mind of its own. Now the
book and concept have become almost a living work... and as an author I'm just
following where it leads. We thought we should keep the spirit of crowdsourcing
in the marketing, which is how Be In This Book was born... But there is another
aspect of the campaign which is particularly unique to today's creative
markets. It's responsive and interactive. You don't just read the book...
you're part of the book.
What is the rationale for this concept? A: The
process of answering the questions can be transforming for people, especially
because it takes some guts to talk about failure. But failure is part of the
creative process. We wanted people to have access to the stories of peers and
contemporaries, and at the same time be empowered to tell their own. The
project has evolved, and includes a gifting element, now... but the hope is
that creative readers will not only read the book, but contribute to the
project.
Where do you see book publishing heading? Personally, I see it following the footsteps
of the music industry... which some would argue is good and bad. I think it's
remarkable. Personally, I'm a champion of all things DIY, i.e. self-publishing,
digital platforms, grass roots, small batch, human friendly and mobile
friendly. With the power to self-publish inexpensively, the market can get
flooded with product, and it's a wide range of quality. But the old system had
a serious bottleneck. Already, the independent market has responded with aggregators
and technology to help sort and choose from all the options. I think talent
will always be marketable, so after the initial chaos subsides, we'll have a
richer, more authentic voice being heard in the publishing industry–one that's
evenly distributed.
What challenges and rewards attached
themselves to the writing of your book? Oh my. Well, I can say this has been extremely challenging.
Honestly, the writing of the book was enjoyable and probably the simplest part
of it, especially because it's based on interviews. The tough parts were the
formatting and the marketing. I've learned that it's well worth it to pay
someone for formatting unless that's your wheelhouse, and that marketing is an
ongoing process. Going the DIY route, you basically live and breathe the book.
There's not really a "set it and forget it" option. The most
rewarding part has been the response from people who've read the book. People
have really taken time to call or write and let me know that they needed to
read the book, and that it hit home. That is honestly the most awesome feeling,
and I feel like I've done something worth doing.
For more information,
please see: www.beinthisbook.com
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