I Can Believe In You, But . . .

You have to believe in yourself.

Recently, three members quit Platform Builders Bootcamp.

Each had their own reasons, but ultimately they didn’t believe that the work involved in growing an audience in order to get a book published someday was worth it.

And honestly? I get it. Platform Builders Bootcamp is hard work because building a platform is hard work. And though both Kate (the program director of PBB) and I work hard to deliver the absolute best support, we can’t build an audience for you.

(If we did, we would definitely charge way more money.)

Building an author platform — and for my clients, building a popular business — is tough. And it can take a long time. Years, not months. But for the Platform Builders who do stay and do keep working, the idea of having a book someday — even if it’s several years down the road — is worth the work.

Publishing, in general, is a really tough business. When I used to teach editing at a graduate level, I would tell a story about the assistants I worked with when I was an assistant at Simon & Schuster. There were five of us at the time: me, Sarah, Sara, Lauren and Danielle.

Out of those five, only two stayed in the industry: me and Lauren (who is currently an acquisitions editor). The other three women chose to leave because that’s how hard the industry can be. When the Platform Builders each decided to leave, I wasn’t surprised. Many of my clients in the past and I expect many of my clients in the future will give up on their dreams, too.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it, ever. Publishing a book is hard fucking work.

And I will always believe in you — if you do.

-MS