29 Comments
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Chris Stanley's avatar

You know I'm all about short books!

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J.R. Heimbigner's avatar

I see you!

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Kate Brennan's avatar

This is so helpful. I am about to launch a creativity workbook; I will definitely employ these tips. And I had never heard of the Fussy Librarian before.

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J.R. Heimbigner's avatar

yes, fussy librarian is a super great resource. It’s mostly for e-books digital books and it’s really does the best when you’re doing a free book promotion.

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Jamie Northrup's avatar

I'm obsessed with minimalist books (writing and reading!) :)

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J.R. Heimbigner's avatar

me too I’ve always loved reading shorter books, but writing them has been so much fun and so encouraging as I’m seeing people who get a ton out of the work when it’s super focused!

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Lily Pond's avatar

This is very interesting. Thanks for the tips. However, I'm not into writing non-fiction. Would a collection of personal essays work in this format?

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J.R. Heimbigner's avatar

You could do that. I haven't written any fiction really so I'm not sure how much of it applies, but I think it could work.

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Mr . Ma's avatar

Love this 🥰🥰🥰

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J.R. Heimbigner's avatar

Thank you! It's a super exciting idea and very manageable for people who want to write a book and connect with readers!

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Prim's avatar

I'm into short books, and have one on the go now. When you say share first draft as a blog, do you mean put it out there for everyone. Then when the book is complete and edited, put up for sale, to say, substack paid subscribers and Amazon?

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J.R. Heimbigner's avatar

Yep. My first drafts almost always start as blog posts or Substack posts. Right now I am sharing my first draft for my next book behind my paid Substack. The great thing about doing it this way is you drum up excitement for the books and by the time you edit it and publish, the content is cleaned up and sometimes very different thanks to the engagement in the first draft being written in public.

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Prim's avatar

Send to paid subscribers only, and not everyone, correct? Otherwise the en masses followers would get a free 'dirty edit', know the story and why bother buying the polished edition.

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J.R. Heimbigner's avatar

Yep, and typically the paid subscribers tend to provide super helpful feedback. If something doesn’t make sense or they have questions they are a lot more bought in the process.

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Neera Mahajan's avatar

I am a big supporter of short books. Shorter books means, author has done the work to make the book valuable and concise. A famous quote by Blair’s Pascal is “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.”

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J.R. Heimbigner's avatar

That's the goal. Create value. Don't waste time. Give people something helpful, short, and actionable!

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Sharlrita DeLoatch's avatar

I love this!!!!

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Prim's avatar

Brilliant, thanks for the tips

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J.R. Heimbigner's avatar

You bet! Hope they are helpful!

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Johanna Journey's avatar

This is definitely something i am thinking about, because i have a ton of « blog posts » content ready to be shared and that could make a book.

At first, it was designed to be an online course, but maybe i can manage to make it a book / practical guide. The only question is that there are media’s accompanying the texts (audios for meditations and), and i don’t know how to add that in a book..

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Alejandro Martín Gómez's avatar

You can explain a lot in 100 pages! Thanks for sharing this guide. Very helpful!

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Alicia's avatar

This is so interesting. Never heard of the Fussy Librarian before, but I'll definitely try promoting my book there when it's ready.

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P.T.Wolfe's avatar

Hey JR, love the post and the concept. Do you turn your short books into short audibles too?

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Landon Poburan's avatar

I just mapped out the outline for my first minimal book and start on it this week.

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Somy's avatar

J.R. Heimbigner’s take on minimalist books is spot-on! As someone who values impactful, concise content, I love his idea of transforming blog posts into book chapters. It’s a smart, efficient way to share valuable insights and build an audience. Thanks for sharing this, J.R.👍

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Making Numbers Matter's avatar

Thanks. Great insights!

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