Authorhood GoalChat with April Davila, Brenda Knight & Rob Lange
On Monday, I hosted my final GoalChat of 2025. New eps resume January 5. As someone who loves and advocates for setting goals, as well as sharing your voice through books, Authorhood seemed like the perfect topic to round out the year.
My guests: April Davila, Sit Write Here; my publisher and friend Brenda Knight, Books that Save Lives; and Rob Lange, The Expert Expert. April focuses on fiction - and taking the stress out of writing, Brenda’s is on publishing, and Rob - as his title suggests - gaining attention and authority for your book,. There was a wide variety of information and inspiration.
When asked what makes an author or book stand out:
Rob: Personality
Brenda: Future-thinking
April: It's the creativity you bring into your story
We all shared some of the experiences and activities that put us on our paths, tips for developing content and your author platform, and more.
Define Authorhood
Brenda: You have written your book - not using AI - and are getting it out there/doing promotion
April: If you write, you are a writer; when you are actually published, when your work is put out there for consumption, you are an author
Rob: Getting your book - or books - out there and enjoying the process
Author Actions, Beyond Writing and Promotion
Brenda: Get networking, get endorsements and beta readers (especially for fiction writers), become friends with your local bookstore ... and libraries. Shoutout to Brenda’s example with the Book Passage and author @Karen Grassle
April: Find a writing group, meet and become friends with fellow writers
Rob: Be able to speak about who you are and what you do
Authorhood #GoalChatLive
Goals
April: Start building your list now - of who to invite to your book launch, what shows to pitch yourself as a guest on - for your future book launch
Rob: Create clarity in how you describe your book - verbally and in text; start developing relationships with media people
Brenda: Start polishing your speaking chops now - find a topic, come up with a tight talk, and get yourself out there
Bonus from Deb: Get on podcasts
Final Thoughts
April: Keep writing and find your community
Rob: Just do it; there are more resources - and support - than ever before
Brenda: Outreach to one person a day; that one little action can make a huge difference
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Learn more about April Davila and get her mindset hacks, Brenda Knight and Books That Save Lives, and Rob Lange The Expert Expert
Learn more about Women’s National Book Association - San Francisco Chapter, Virtual Pitch-O-Rama, and my January 15th Lunch N Learn on Book Proposals
Join the Write On Online Facebook Group
Get all links at TheDEBMethod.com/blog
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For more on advice and inspiration for writing a winning book proposal, listen to the Book Proposal Podcast, read the rest of my articles on WritersDigest.com, and check out TheBookProposalExpert.com.
Have a question about book proposals? Submit it here. You can also email Deb@TheBookProposalExpert.com, connect with me on LinkedIn, and follow @TheDEBMethod for more resources and tips.