How to Ask for Blurbs and Book Update
Plus Ted Lasso and Top Three Fav Podcasts
Book Update
Book is done and I’m in the marketing/promotion phase.
One step is to identify folks who can provide a “blurb.”
It can be intimidating to ask someone you don’t know or don’t know well for a favor that involves reading an advance copy of your book and providing a two-sentence review.
Here’s how I did it (h/t to author Greg Larson, who has been a great resource for marketing and promotion, nevermind he is a fantastic writer).
How To Ask for a Blurb
Identify who you want to ask. They should be published authors and/or people in a field related to your book. My book is about coaching basketball, mindfulness, and Namibia so I asked sports writers and coaches (about ten people in total).
Earlier in the year I interviewed Jen Fry, a former D1 coach who does coaching workshops about mental health. Perfect, right? Here is the DM I sent:
Jen,
I’ve written a book about coaching, and why our traditional model is so f*cked up. It comes out 11/1. Any chance I could send you a PDF of the manuscript and you could provide a “blurb” that I can post on the Amazon page and marketing materials? Oh, and Happy National Coaches Day!!
-Ben
She replied “Oh always! Would love to read it!”
I emailed Jen the PDF, the date I needed the blurb (10/22), and that I would remind her a week ahead of time (I did). Speaking of time…
Ask a month before you need the blurb. This gives you time to put the blurbs together on one page (like I have here) and/or mock up individual blurbs, like this one:
Each time I get a blurb back, I add the quote and source to my Google Doc and mock up a new image.
The week of release, I’ll post one image a day on my various social media.
Send a Thank You :-)
Pro Tip: Having a podcast is a great way to connect with authors and/or people in your field.
Jen’s full blurb reads:
Coaching is about vulnerability. I appreciate the vulnerability that Ben embodied within his story. This book is a must-read for a coach at any level, as it will help you reflect on where you got your coaching style from, how you have implemented it, and most importantly does it center players and empower them or just control them. Coaching has changed within the last decade but coaches continue to use methods they learned from their “old school” coaches. This book is an easy read that helps you better understand yourself through Ben’s story. Well worth it.
I turned it into the following visual:
See, not so difficult.
Ted Lasso Trilogy
Here are three recent posts dedicated to Ted Lasso. They form a sort of trilogy.
If you love the show you’ll love these, which should be consumed in the following order:
Recent Podcast Episodes (and why you should or shouldn’t listen)
Here’s what you missed and whether you should listen…
If you’re interested in social justice, the intersections of race, capitalism and sport, and/or a fun story about Prince, my interview with journalist Dave Zirin is for you.
If you’re from the Mississippi Delta, love high school basketball, or want to learn more about my experience teaching and coaching in the Delta, “Remembering Jasper Johnson” is a “round table” discussion from four players I coached in high school reminiscing about our star player, Big Smooth, who passed away suddenly in July.
If you love Namibia, literary journals, or are a writer trying to lock-down a publishing deal, my conversation with Rémy Ngamije is for you.
Speaking of finding an agent and a publishing deal, Pete Croatto spent five years, from idea to proposal to finding an agent to published author. Pete walks us through each step, in a way that is replicable, saying:
Finding a publishing deal is like falling in love. There is a lot of heartbreak along the way…
Top Three Favorite Podcasts
Yesterday, on Twitter, I posted my Top Three Must-Listen Podcasts (plus two bonus ones).
That’s all for this week.
For Thursday’s podcast I interview author Roland Lazenby. We talk mindfulness, coaching, and a hidden figure who played a key role in the dynasties of the Bulls and Lakers: George Mumford, author of The Mindful Athlete.
Here’s a 30-second preview:
Have a great week :-)
Ben
Twitter
P.S. Speaking of mindfulness and basketball, my book, Zen and the Art of Coaching Basketball: Memoir of a Namibian Odyssey, drops November 1st, as both print and e-book, exclusively on Amazon.
The “big idea” is the way we think about coaching sports is all wrong, coaching doesn’t have to be rooted in anger and intimidation and fear, and tools like meditation can super-charge learning and performance.
Here’s a photo of me coaching the team by not coaching the team.
And here are two blurbs (see what I did there):
You can read the first chapter of Zen and the Art of Coaching Basketball here.
If you haven’t yet, please hit the “Subscribe now” button to stay up-to-date.
And please share this email/post with the coaches, players, and sports fans in your life :-)