NAME: Tim Grahl
CLAIM TO FAME: Tim has launched multiple New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post bestsellers for his clients, and launched his own book, Your First 1000 Copies, that hit #1 in all of its categories.
WHERE TO FIND HIM: On Twitter, Amazon, and his website, booklaunch.com

Let’s start with the basics: What time of day do you start writing? And how do you know when it’s time to stop? And how often do those two go according to plan?

I always write as soon as I start working for the day. Now that writing is part of my “job,” I use regular work hours to get it done.

So, my day starts at 5:30 am. I get up, make the kids breakfast, get myself ready, and head out the door at 6:50 am. Then I have about an hour in the car to drop the kids off at school and either get to my office or a coffee shop.

As soon as I sit down, I open up whatever writing project I’m currently working on. I don’t usually start writing immediately — I tend to sidle up to it. So I check Facebook or read a blog post or check my email for five to fifteen minutes — I then take a deep breath, turn on my writing music, and start typing.

I usually go into the writing time with a goal in mind. It’s rarely a word count. Often, it’s the completion of a scene or a chapter of the book. If it’s a blog post or article, I try to burn out the first draft in one sitting even if it’s 3000 words. I usually write ~1500/hr on a first draft, so two hours of writing is significant.

Frequently, I stop when I hit my goal. However, from time to time, I feel like I’m forcing it and the writing isn’t coming. At this point, I do one of two things. If I’m less than a half hour in, I usually switch to a different writing project. I’ll work on a different book or a blog post or anything that gets my mind in a different space. If it’s been over an hour, I’ll just stop for the day.

I try not to put too much pressure on myself. I know if I make a habit of writing, then I’ll get plenty of writing done. One bad day isn’t a big deal. I’d say 90% of the time I start at the time I plan to and reach the goal I had in mind for that day.

What are your basic software tools as a writer? You a Google Docs guy? Word? Typewriter? What?

First off, I spend the time and money to make sure I have a perfect writing environment. I always have the nicest computer and am happy to spend money on new software, even if I try it out and revert back to my old way of doing things. Since I spend so much time writing, I invest the energy and money to make sure I have a finely tuned system. It’s always worth it.

As far as tools, I write my long-form projects (books) in Scrivener. It’s definitely not perfect, but it’s still the best software available. Currently, for short-term works (blog posts, this interview, short stories, etc.) I’m using Bear. I’ve tried all the other apps like WriteRoom, Byword, iA Writer, etc., and they are all lacking in different areas. Bear has everything I’ve ever looked for in a minimalist writing app. I pay the $3/month for the premium service. It’s what I’m writing these interview questions in right now.

You did over 100 episodes with Shawn Coyne for the Story Grid Podcast. Can you give our readers an overview of what the podcast is about, and what have been your main lessons learned so far?

A couple of years ago, I had finished up several projects and was trying to figure out what I wanted to work on next. I’d been writing extremely bad fiction off and on for years, and decided I wanted to actually learn how to write great stories.

This aspiration led me to Shawn Coyne. He’s been a professional editor for over 25 years and cut his teeth on working with big-time bestselling fiction writers. The year before he’d come out with his book on writing titled The Story Grid. We were tangentially connected, so I reached out to him to get some advice. And in our conversation, I pitched him on starting a podcast. The structure of the show would be me asking all my idiot, beginner questions, and he would answer them. We committed to doing ten episodes, but then we never stopped.

So, that’s basically the show: A seasoned storytelling veteran helping me learn how to tell better stories.

We have two rules for the show:

1. I have to be 100% vulnerable. I try to ask any question that I get stuck on, no matter how embarrassing. The show only works if I’m asking the questions that other writers want to ask but aren’t.

2. We never talk about my writing outside of the show. All the feedback he gives me is raw, and the first time I’m hearing it. I’ll send him a scene a day or two before we record the episode over the phone. He gives me feedback, and we never edit anything out. I tell him to never pull punches on me, so some of the episodes are pretty excruciating for me.

My goal for the show is to fill the place for all the other writers out there so they can learn alongside me.

The biggest lessons I’ve learned are much more philosophical than practical. For instance, the more I learn about story structure, the more I understand my own life. Stories resonate with us when they tell deep seeded truths inside of humanity. So the more I understand story, the more I understand my own life.

In a more practical way, learning to tell better stories makes me better at everything I do. I’m better at everything from sales to being a father to writing because I’ve learned how to tell better stories. It applies to everything.

You’ve worked with many bestselling authors on book launches. What were some common traps to avoid when an aspiring author—or even an established one—is thinking about launching their book?

The two biggest mistakes writers make are:

1. Assuming someone else can/will do it for you. Whether it’s your publisher or publicist or social media consultant, it doesn’t matter. It’s your book. Nobody cares about it as much as you do. It’s your job to sell it.

2. Not starting early enough. I started preparing for the launch of my next book two years ago when I first had the idea, and I’m still four months away from the publish date. I frame everything in the light that I will have a book I need to sell, and I think that way constantly.

Again, backing up to a more philosophical view, you have to actually believe that people buying and reading your book is a good thing for them.  So many writers, if you really push them, think that their book isn’t good and don’t actually want people to read it. The way I usually say this is: Writers want to be the author that has sold a bunch of copies but don’t actually want any single person to buy and read the book.

If you don’t actually believe that people spending $5 or $10 or $30 on your book is a good thing for them, then you’re going to fail. Because when push comes to shove and it’s time to actually tell people to buy the book, you’ll back off.

So you have to believe, at your core, that people buying your book is one of the best things they can do with their money. If you don’t believe that, you need to go spend some time meditating or praying or whatever it is you do until you believe it.

What are your go-to recommendations when someone asks you “What are the best ways to market my book?”

The #1 tool for book marketing is still building an email list. Start an account on MailChimp or ConvertKit, and then start getting everyone you come in contact with both online and in person to sign up. It’s by far the most effective tool. I have an article here  that will help you get started.

Speaking of marketing, you’ve talked about how many authors shy away from marketing as they see it as something reserved for extroverts. What is your response to that?

There are a couple of things to think about here.

The first is, your marketing is your responsibility. As I said above, nobody is going to do it for you. So if you decide you’re an introvert and can’t do it, that’s fine. Just know that your book will most likely fail.

The second is to stop coming up with excuses and lying to yourself. I’m cripplingly introverted. If left to my own devices, I will sit alone in my office and never see or talk to anyone. I have an office at a co-working space with hundreds of members where the motto is “We Work Better Together,” and I know about ten people’s names and go most weeks without talking to anyone. Anytime I’m at live events, after an hour or two I will go lock myself in a bathroom stall for fifteen minutes and play games on my phone just to be alone. One time after speaking at an event, I hid behind a couch for an hour to avoid seeing anyone that was in my talk.

And yet, I’m really, really good at marketing. It’s a learned skill like anything else. You can learn how to do it in a way that fits you or you can keep making excuses and launch books that sell a few dozen copies. It’s your call.

What’s the best money/investment you have ever spent or made as a writer?

The best money I’ve spent is to travel to conferences, workshops, and other events where I can meet new people. Most of my career I lived in a tiny town where I wouldn’t meet anyone trying to do the things I was trying to do. Whenever I invested in showing up at places where I could meet interesting people doing interesting things, it ended up being a long-term payoff. Most of my career advancements have been the people I’ve gotten to work with, and most of them came through putting myself in places where I would bump into and meet people.

Talk to us about how your balance being a writer (and book marketer) and being a parent. There’s the Cyril Connolly line about the pram in the hall being an antidote to the writing life. Obviously, you disagree but how do you make it work.

A mentor of mine used to say, “You can tell me whatever you want about what is important to you, but I can take one look at your calendar and checkbook and figure out the truth.”

People say they want to write, but then waste huge amounts of time on things that aren’t actually helping them reach their goals. Too much time checking social media or binge-watching Netflix or reading the New York Times or chatting with coworkers or long lunches or watching TED talks or talking on the phone or researching how to properly roast your own coffee beans or whatever.

If you write an hour a day and just average 600 words an hour, you’ll write well over 200,000 words a year. Do that for ten years, and you’ve got well over 2 million words.

So let’s cut that down. If you write only three days a week and complete 1000 words in each writing session, that’s still 156,000 words a year. That’s a long novel including rewrites. Every year. Spending just three to four hours a week.

I wrote my first book while running a consulting business as the sole income in my household, volunteering in my local community, and homeschooling my kids.

Don’t give me this bullshit that you don’t have time. And using your kids as an excuse is a real asshole move.

You must be ruthlessly honest with yourself about how you spend your time.

There is no balance. There are things you think are worth your time and things that aren’t.

The things you actually think are important get done. Period.

Aside from marketing, what are some common traps that you see aspiring writers repeatedly run into?

Not admitting to themselves that they need to get better at their craft.

Shawn said something a few weeks ago on the podcast that has stuck in my head. He said, “People think they’re ready to be published, but not to be edited.”

What he means is, there are all these writers out pitching their manuscripts to agents and publishers and getting turned down, and they keep blaming the system or the people or whatever, when the truth is, they need to get better at their craft.

If you’re an aspiring writer reading this, you aren’t good enough yet. You need to keep getting better. Even if you have several New York Times Bestsellers under your belt, you still need to get better.

Always push yourself to get better at your craft.

You’ve said that fear is natural for any creator-writer or otherwise. How does an artist overcome fear?

The most powerful thing I’ve learned to do is disconnect emotionally from the outcome.

I don’t really care what you think about my answers to these questions. That’s not my responsibility. My only responsibility is to speak my truth as clearly as I currently can. If it helps you, fine. If not, also fine.

Your response says more about you than it does about me. If you love what I have to say, that’s yours, not mine. If you hate what I have to say, that’s also yours and not mine.

My job is to dance my dance, not to worry about what you think of my dance or to judge the beauty of my dance by anything external.

Whenever I do my creative work, I put everything I can into it (this includes the marketing) but don’t judge the work based on the results. I separate effort from earning. I have a right to my work, but not the results of my work.

My experience with myself and my creative friends is fear is almost always based in something external — sales numbers or Amazon reviews or what my snooty friends will think or if this will get me another book deal or whatever. I try only to be afraid of anything that will keep me from doing the work that is mine.

What does a successful writing day look like for you?

Did I move a project forward?

I learned a while back that working towards goals is counterproductive. If I show up every day and just move something forward a little bit, I’ll eventually reach any goal.

Did I dance my dance today? If so, it goes in the win column.

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