I read your article with great interest and am impressed by what you have achieved. Inspired by this, I have decided to start a book launch club for my new novel, "The Man Who Stopped Aging: The Legacy of Eternity".
The aim is to get a minimum of twenty members who want to read the novel and write a book review. Everyone will get free access to the full text version of the novel, including the audio version of the book. That way, everyone can see the text at the same time as they hear the text read aloud, or they can choose to just read the novel, or just listen to the reading as an audiobook. The novel "The Man Who Stopped Aging: The Legacy of Eternity" is a book of approx. 400 pages, 85 chapters and 80,000+ words. I am excited to see how different readers experience the story, and how they experience the integration of philosophical reflection and elements of existentialist thinking in the love story.
As support for the participants in the book launch club for my new novel, I will give the participants access to a novel writing blog where I talk about my methods and how I work on authoring the novel. This material will be available and free for those who participate in the book launch club but paid for others.
I am happy for all feedback and tips about improvements in the book launch club project. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Hi, I would announce your book launch club to your followers... especially the ones here on Substack. If they've been following your journey, they're probably likely candidates for joining your club. Keep track of everyone who asks to join because it's easy to lose track of them. Send them a pdf or link to where they can download your book, and ask if they can read it and be ready to write a review when it comes out. I find a big part of the author's job is to follow up with club members, check in and ask how it is going, and then remind them to write the review once your book is live.
I recommend that you start setting it up now. No need to be too ambitious either. Start by making a list of 10 people and email them or message them and ask if they will be in your book launch club. Make note of them in a list or a spreadsheet. Once you have your first 10, you can always add more. Something I would have done differently for my own: start sooner and over-time build my list up to a group of 50.
You sort of have to be unabashed about asking for reviews. I have found that no one minds when you ask and tell them you would like an honest review, you value honest feedback, etc. I still have a few people who I know want to write me a review and I just need to follow up with them ever so often.
I also put a QR code in my book with a note from me, mentioning how much I value honest feedback and that the QR code will take them to the Amazon US website where they can leave a review. I'm doing this so people who buy my book get a reminder within the book to leave a review! ;)
I do hope you both are doing well today. Thank you so much for sharing this helpful piece. As a fiction writer as well working on my first novel I definitely think this is the route I will go. I do recall a few weeks back when I was reading about the many features on Substack and how writers can use this platform to promote their work and get beta readers. I am so excited about this. i definitely will save this article for future reference. Blessings to you and your family.
Means a lot. My channel is niche and small and last week I didn't manage to share a video but it's growing and I'm thankful for this wonderful feedback which gets me going
Aug 19·edited Aug 19Liked by Kristina God, Matt Tomporowski
Very interesting idea. I'm just now launching the second, expanded, and professionally published edition of my book based on my Substack posts from this past year, Land of Health: Israel's War for Wellness. Getting reviews is so important and challenging, and I wonder if I can perhaps find a more informal way of doing what you described. Thank you!
Hi Shmuel, one of the things I have learned is to more actively ask for reviews. Many authors don't think of straight out asking for reviews or may feel self-conscious about asking. I'm working on an article about my strategy for getting reviews which I will have ready to publish soon.
Oh hi Shmuel, so nice reading form you. It's been a few months I think. Did I tell you your publication is part of my Substack School course? I mention you there as perfect example for a hero story.
I've been so swamped with the publishing process, and now networking for PR, that I don't think I can take the initiative on making a formal group. But I'm going to be proactive in asking the many friend and family that I send copies to post reviews.
I hired a professional to craft a great pitch for publications and have been reaching out to pretty much every Jewish website, blog, newspaper and podcast for interviews or other collaborations.
I'm also networking with lots of local institutions to offer book talks where I can sell the book afterwards.
Finally, the trickiest part is paid advertising which generally isn't worth it (at least in my target audience community), but if done smart in a focused way can be helpful to raise awareness.
Because my book deals with current events (it's a non-politically-controversial perspective on the current crisis in Israel, based on traditional Jewish sources), I'm hopeful it can find significant reach.
I'm also always keeping in mind to loop back to my Substack - on the back cover, and on every blurb I publish, there's a suggestion to sign up to my weekly newsletter, The Healthy Jew.
I knew you wanted to make a book out of your stories. Super 👏👏👏
What does professionally published mean?
I'd love to feature a guest post in my publication with 7600 subs about you taking your stories and creating a book from it. Would this be something for you? ❤️
For the last edition I didn't hire an editor or proofreader, and the typesetting and graphics were done by a Fiverr freelancer (who did a great job, and I've referred him to friends, but it's still not the same...).
For this edition I hired a very talented project manager who hired professionals in the Jewish book publishing field for all of these roles, and was the liaison with Menucha Publishers (a mid-size Jewish publishing house) for them to distribute in bookstores all over the world.
I also added many chapters (~40% more) based on the Substack posts I'd written since the first edition.
The final product is now a beautiful, full-color book. Even though the publishing process took a ton of time and effort (and some money), the fact that I'd already created the content (including the pictures!) for an engaged audience of readers was a total game changer. The work was adapting and enhancing what I already had - not imagining a new book into existence.
And yes, I'd be honored to work with you on a guest post about that. I'll PM you now about the details.
Thanks! Yes, we put a lot of effort into the design. The dozen's of full-color pictures throughout the book also help the subject come alive - which is kinda the point for a book presenting Israel as the living body of the Jewish nation!
Your dedication to writing is truly inspiring! The book launch club idea is brilliant and clearly made a huge difference. Thanks for sharing these valuable insights. Congratulations on your success!
Hi Somy 👋 I think it's the first time we meet, am I right?
Wonderful to hear it sparks some inspiration. For me Matt is the book launch club guy! There are so many other wonderful marketing tools you can capitalize on. Well feature them in an upcoming post.
Are you writing a book or have you written one already?
Yes, Kristina, it’s our first time connecting! I’m glad to hear my comment resonated with you. Matt’s idea is indeed a game-changer, and I’m excited to see what other marketing tools you’ll feature.
I’m currently focused on content creation and marketing strategies, but I’ve been considering writing a book in the future. I’d love to hear more about your experiences and any tips you have for aspiring authors. Looking forward to your upcoming post!😊🤞
Many writers are great at writing and struggle when it comes to marketing. (Personally, I most enjoy sitting in cafes and writing and to me, marketing feels like work.) So if you're focused on marketing, this could be a great topic for you to write a book on.
Aug 20·edited Aug 20Liked by Kristina God, Matt Tomporowski
That’s a great point, Matt! Marketing can definitely feel like a different beast compared to writing. It’s intriguing to think about combining my marketing expertise with a book on the subject.
I’d love to explore how to make marketing strategies more approachable for writers. I appreciate the suggestion and will definitely keep it in mind as I plan for the future. Thanks for the inspiration!😊
I love seeing this collaboration between the 2 of you and well done Matt for taking risks and putting yourself out there. It's fantastic to follow his journey and see how he's walking the talk with full transparency.
I also updated my book cover after the launch. One of the advantages of self-publishing is that you are the captain of your ship and you decide when to course-correct.
When I started writing, I had a mindset that of "write your book, publish it, done!" I have learned that our books are products that we can evolve and improve over time and with reader feedback.
Talked with Evelyn Skye about exactly this yesterday. Some write iterate learn and then get a book deal. Others self publish, practice in public and then can show their portfolio to a potential agent.
Remember when we talked about the 3 months time frame. It's not a thing in fiction which I love. In Germany it's different. Here you have about a year to write your (next) fiction 📚
I bet you're already writing your next book, am I right?
My dad has to go to hospital so I also have to postpone my collab with David.
For ours I'm thinking now more about a workshop for authors where we tell them more about branding, marketing, prelaunch phase ,book clubs etc.
I'd love to do this. September will be pretty busy so maybe we could offer it in October and promote it in September.
Remember that we also wanted to do another video on self publishing with Amazon KDP?
Would love that.
Wanted to ask you whether you have a local bookstore where I could buy signed copies and they'd send them to the winners and members of my tribe?
This would be great and help me as I haven't figured out yet how to give away your books...
Hi, sorry about your dad. Health and family come first.
Happy to do our collab in October and the topic of book authoring and promotion is great. I hosted a webinar on self-publishing for my paid subs in June so this could be more in depth, like a bootcamp.
Re the books, I can send some signed copies to Germany from HK. I would have to see the price of the delivery but luckily the book is quite thin. We can talk about it, it would be a really nice thing to do!
Super! This has been on my list for weeks now. Let me know about the delivery costs and then you can send me a couple of books which I'll give to my annual members plus offer my club subscribers
Great idea. I wonder if making it a closed “club” is inherent to its success.
I have been thinking that as I launch my books this year, I’d like to release them as free ebooks for my subscribers for a limited time and ask for reviews before launch as an exchange. Some of the projects are interactive workbooks though so I wonder about how useful the PDFs will be. Still thinking on it, but great idea.
Don’t underestimate the power you can have as a positive reviewer for someone’s work or your impact on supporting a new project. It is such a generous thing to do!
I think it's better if it's a closed club for a couple of reasons.
1. It creates some FOMO when you annonce your club. It'll be a stronger motivation for people to sign-up if it's a closed group with a limited number of spots.
2. Part of the success from my book launch club came from me messaging and following-up with my members individually. By having a limited group I was able to send everyone direct messages.
3. Of the people who join, you'll only get a certain percentatge to actually write reviews. In my research, I read online to expect no more than 33%. I got much higher than that (11/15 or 73%) but I was actively messaging and following up with each of my members. Much better to have a smaller group of members that you can build a strong connection with and message with regularly.
As far as I know Matt did exactly what you describe. However, maybe it would be wise to connect with him(he'll be soon in the comments too) and ask him what to keep in mind.
He got feedback then and included it in his book.
Also love that he changed the cover. This shows it's not done with the book launch.
For the prelaunch I would also think about a webinars freebies bonuses. Maybe a mini online course for people who preorder. A live session to generate excitement. So many ideas!
We'll cover this inside the membership and I'll also show how to creat your own course.
Finger crossed for your launch. Keep us in the loop
Love your story, Matt! I‘m one of those who enjoy meeting people in real life for a coffee and then share about that in my #42coffees series on LinkedIn (my 2025 book is called „Celebrate Your Network“). And I review books like yours in my LinkedIn newsletter „Learn From Books“. Looks like I should include your book, too!
Dear Kristina,
I read your article with great interest and am impressed by what you have achieved. Inspired by this, I have decided to start a book launch club for my new novel, "The Man Who Stopped Aging: The Legacy of Eternity".
The aim is to get a minimum of twenty members who want to read the novel and write a book review. Everyone will get free access to the full text version of the novel, including the audio version of the book. That way, everyone can see the text at the same time as they hear the text read aloud, or they can choose to just read the novel, or just listen to the reading as an audiobook. The novel "The Man Who Stopped Aging: The Legacy of Eternity" is a book of approx. 400 pages, 85 chapters and 80,000+ words. I am excited to see how different readers experience the story, and how they experience the integration of philosophical reflection and elements of existentialist thinking in the love story.
The book tells a lifelong story about the main character William's love for four different women, in four different phases of his life (https://oivind.substack.com/p/the-man-who-stopped-aging-a-journey).
As support for the participants in the book launch club for my new novel, I will give the participants access to a novel writing blog where I talk about my methods and how I work on authoring the novel. This material will be available and free for those who participate in the book launch club but paid for others.
I am happy for all feedback and tips about improvements in the book launch club project. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Øivind
<<< I hope this interview inspires you to open your own book launch club.>>>
Yesss, I'm inspired and ready to shoot ahead.
<<< What are you waiting for? >>> I'm waiting for 1 minute of free time to open my book file, take the final glimpse, and SMASH the "publish" button!
<<<. Go get your positive reviews, >>> OK, I'm ready!
So, tell me, I have a finished manuscript of a book titled, "Write Like a Lover! --- what should I do first to open my own book launch club???
Hi Tad, oh I like the title of your book!
I think Matt showed the steps you can take.
My idea would be to write a post where you announce to start the club and then see where this goes.
You can also join our community and we'll help you set everything up for success.
Send me a DM or email if you need more support.
I bet Matt will check the comments again soon and reply too
Hi, I would announce your book launch club to your followers... especially the ones here on Substack. If they've been following your journey, they're probably likely candidates for joining your club. Keep track of everyone who asks to join because it's easy to lose track of them. Send them a pdf or link to where they can download your book, and ask if they can read it and be ready to write a review when it comes out. I find a big part of the author's job is to follow up with club members, check in and ask how it is going, and then remind them to write the review once your book is live.
Thank you and I shall follow your advice
Hi Gaya, is your book ready yet?
Working on the last few pages
Congratuations!
Valuable as always.
Hi Benjamin, my toddler's name is Ben too.
Thanks ❤️
Do you have a book?
Yes, "Short Practical Guide to Menatl Health"
Very useful and informative
I want to take up your offer to help. I am writing my final pages of my first fantasy book
Can you help me set up my book launch club
Should I do it now or after I finish writing the book?
Thank you for your feedback
Gayatrinath
I recommend that you start setting it up now. No need to be too ambitious either. Start by making a list of 10 people and email them or message them and ask if they will be in your book launch club. Make note of them in a list or a spreadsheet. Once you have your first 10, you can always add more. Something I would have done differently for my own: start sooner and over-time build my list up to a group of 50.
Matt, your advice is to start a book launch club early. I love it. You also advise to not be shy asking for reviews. What's your approach like?
Interesting that you now would add even more as you also shared in the post.
Also good to know you'd start way earlier.
That's the so called prelaunch runway.
You sort of have to be unabashed about asking for reviews. I have found that no one minds when you ask and tell them you would like an honest review, you value honest feedback, etc. I still have a few people who I know want to write me a review and I just need to follow up with them ever so often.
I also put a QR code in my book with a note from me, mentioning how much I value honest feedback and that the QR code will take them to the Amazon US website where they can leave a review. I'm doing this so people who buy my book get a reminder within the book to leave a review! ;)
Greetings Kristina and Matt,
I do hope you both are doing well today. Thank you so much for sharing this helpful piece. As a fiction writer as well working on my first novel I definitely think this is the route I will go. I do recall a few weeks back when I was reading about the many features on Substack and how writers can use this platform to promote their work and get beta readers. I am so excited about this. i definitely will save this article for future reference. Blessings to you and your family.
Oh best of luck with your lovely. Keep us in the loop. Once it's ready we can help you with launching it and starting your book club
As Matt shared: the earlier the better.
So even if you start today and the book isn't ready this could be an idea
Thanks much. I sure appreciate it. Ms. Kristina and Mr. Matt. :) :)
Hi Bill, thank you for reading and for sharing your comments. Best of luck with your first novel!
Thank you Matt. I appreciate it. Blessings. :) :)
I’ve see your YouTube videos and they’ve helped tremendously! Thanks!🙏🏽
Thanks sooooo much ❤️
Means a lot. My channel is niche and small and last week I didn't manage to share a video but it's growing and I'm thankful for this wonderful feedback which gets me going
Very interesting idea. I'm just now launching the second, expanded, and professionally published edition of my book based on my Substack posts from this past year, Land of Health: Israel's War for Wellness. Getting reviews is so important and challenging, and I wonder if I can perhaps find a more informal way of doing what you described. Thank you!
Here's the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Land-Health-Israels-War-Wellness/dp/B0DC4BGPKC
Hi Shmuel, one of the things I have learned is to more actively ask for reviews. Many authors don't think of straight out asking for reviews or may feel self-conscious about asking. I'm working on an article about my strategy for getting reviews which I will have ready to publish soon.
Oh hi Shmuel, so nice reading form you. It's been a few months I think. Did I tell you your publication is part of my Substack School course? I mention you there as perfect example for a hero story.
Wow, thanks so much! So happy to hear that. These types of partnerships that happen on Substack are so precious.
Why do you want a more informal way?
I've been so swamped with the publishing process, and now networking for PR, that I don't think I can take the initiative on making a formal group. But I'm going to be proactive in asking the many friend and family that I send copies to post reviews.
And you can call this "Book Launch Club" haha.
What are you doing re PR? I used to be a PR manager so I know a thing or two
Yeah, guess that's not exactly a club...
Oh wow, good to hear that.
I hired a professional to craft a great pitch for publications and have been reaching out to pretty much every Jewish website, blog, newspaper and podcast for interviews or other collaborations.
I'm also networking with lots of local institutions to offer book talks where I can sell the book afterwards.
Finally, the trickiest part is paid advertising which generally isn't worth it (at least in my target audience community), but if done smart in a focused way can be helpful to raise awareness.
Because my book deals with current events (it's a non-politically-controversial perspective on the current crisis in Israel, based on traditional Jewish sources), I'm hopeful it can find significant reach.
I'm also always keeping in mind to loop back to my Substack - on the back cover, and on every blurb I publish, there's a suggestion to sign up to my weekly newsletter, The Healthy Jew.
As shared in the DM super interesting case and I'd love to learn more
I knew you wanted to make a book out of your stories. Super 👏👏👏
What does professionally published mean?
I'd love to feature a guest post in my publication with 7600 subs about you taking your stories and creating a book from it. Would this be something for you? ❤️
First of all, my apologies, I forgot to post the new Amazon link. I'll edit my first comments, and here it is again: https://www.amazon.com/Land-Health-Israels-War-Wellness/dp/B0DC4BGPKC
For the last edition I didn't hire an editor or proofreader, and the typesetting and graphics were done by a Fiverr freelancer (who did a great job, and I've referred him to friends, but it's still not the same...).
For this edition I hired a very talented project manager who hired professionals in the Jewish book publishing field for all of these roles, and was the liaison with Menucha Publishers (a mid-size Jewish publishing house) for them to distribute in bookstores all over the world.
I also added many chapters (~40% more) based on the Substack posts I'd written since the first edition.
The final product is now a beautiful, full-color book. Even though the publishing process took a ton of time and effort (and some money), the fact that I'd already created the content (including the pictures!) for an engaged audience of readers was a total game changer. The work was adapting and enhancing what I already had - not imagining a new book into existence.
And yes, I'd be honored to work with you on a guest post about that. I'll PM you now about the details.
Thank you!
I checked the link, you really have a beautiful looking book!
Thanks! Yes, we put a lot of effort into the design. The dozen's of full-color pictures throughout the book also help the subject come alive - which is kinda the point for a book presenting Israel as the living body of the Jewish nation!
I think it's smart to reach out to the media as you have a timely news hook
Your dedication to writing is truly inspiring! The book launch club idea is brilliant and clearly made a huge difference. Thanks for sharing these valuable insights. Congratulations on your success!
Hi Somy 👋 I think it's the first time we meet, am I right?
Wonderful to hear it sparks some inspiration. For me Matt is the book launch club guy! There are so many other wonderful marketing tools you can capitalize on. Well feature them in an upcoming post.
Are you writing a book or have you written one already?
Yes, Kristina, it’s our first time connecting! I’m glad to hear my comment resonated with you. Matt’s idea is indeed a game-changer, and I’m excited to see what other marketing tools you’ll feature.
I’m currently focused on content creation and marketing strategies, but I’ve been considering writing a book in the future. I’d love to hear more about your experiences and any tips you have for aspiring authors. Looking forward to your upcoming post!😊🤞
Many writers are great at writing and struggle when it comes to marketing. (Personally, I most enjoy sitting in cafes and writing and to me, marketing feels like work.) So if you're focused on marketing, this could be a great topic for you to write a book on.
That’s a great point, Matt! Marketing can definitely feel like a different beast compared to writing. It’s intriguing to think about combining my marketing expertise with a book on the subject.
I’d love to explore how to make marketing strategies more approachable for writers. I appreciate the suggestion and will definitely keep it in mind as I plan for the future. Thanks for the inspiration!😊
If you want to, start with. A guest post in my publication with 7800 subscribers.
This summer is my guest post summer. Just send me a DM.
Need a Google doc with the post plus screenshots/images to bring your writing to life
I love seeing this collaboration between the 2 of you and well done Matt for taking risks and putting yourself out there. It's fantastic to follow his journey and see how he's walking the talk with full transparency.
I also updated my book cover after the launch. One of the advantages of self-publishing is that you are the captain of your ship and you decide when to course-correct.
Well done!
When I started writing, I had a mindset that of "write your book, publish it, done!" I have learned that our books are products that we can evolve and improve over time and with reader feedback.
Talked with Evelyn Skye about exactly this yesterday. Some write iterate learn and then get a book deal. Others self publish, practice in public and then can show their portfolio to a potential agent.
Remember when we talked about the 3 months time frame. It's not a thing in fiction which I love. In Germany it's different. Here you have about a year to write your (next) fiction 📚
I bet you're already writing your next book, am I right?
My dad has to go to hospital so I also have to postpone my collab with David.
For ours I'm thinking now more about a workshop for authors where we tell them more about branding, marketing, prelaunch phase ,book clubs etc.
I'd love to do this. September will be pretty busy so maybe we could offer it in October and promote it in September.
Remember that we also wanted to do another video on self publishing with Amazon KDP?
Would love that.
Wanted to ask you whether you have a local bookstore where I could buy signed copies and they'd send them to the winners and members of my tribe?
This would be great and help me as I haven't figured out yet how to give away your books...
Hi, sorry about your dad. Health and family come first.
Happy to do our collab in October and the topic of book authoring and promotion is great. I hosted a webinar on self-publishing for my paid subs in June so this could be more in depth, like a bootcamp.
Re the books, I can send some signed copies to Germany from HK. I would have to see the price of the delivery but luckily the book is quite thin. We can talk about it, it would be a really nice thing to do!
Super! This has been on my list for weeks now. Let me know about the delivery costs and then you can send me a couple of books which I'll give to my annual members plus offer my club subscribers
Great idea. I wonder if making it a closed “club” is inherent to its success.
I have been thinking that as I launch my books this year, I’d like to release them as free ebooks for my subscribers for a limited time and ask for reviews before launch as an exchange. Some of the projects are interactive workbooks though so I wonder about how useful the PDFs will be. Still thinking on it, but great idea.
Don’t underestimate the power you can have as a positive reviewer for someone’s work or your impact on supporting a new project. It is such a generous thing to do!
I think it's better if it's a closed club for a couple of reasons.
1. It creates some FOMO when you annonce your club. It'll be a stronger motivation for people to sign-up if it's a closed group with a limited number of spots.
2. Part of the success from my book launch club came from me messaging and following-up with my members individually. By having a limited group I was able to send everyone direct messages.
3. Of the people who join, you'll only get a certain percentatge to actually write reviews. In my research, I read online to expect no more than 33%. I got much higher than that (11/15 or 73%) but I was actively messaging and following up with each of my members. Much better to have a smaller group of members that you can build a strong connection with and message with regularly.
Hi Kate, wonderful to hear about your upcoming book launches.
It sounds like a book club to me, you only haven't given it a title yet.
I'd label exactly this as book club. Similar to blogging clubs.
Will you self publish via Amazon KDP? If so keep their restrictions (terms and conditions) in mind.
As far as I know Matt did exactly what you describe. However, maybe it would be wise to connect with him(he'll be soon in the comments too) and ask him what to keep in mind.
He got feedback then and included it in his book.
Also love that he changed the cover. This shows it's not done with the book launch.
For the prelaunch I would also think about a webinars freebies bonuses. Maybe a mini online course for people who preorder. A live session to generate excitement. So many ideas!
We'll cover this inside the membership and I'll also show how to creat your own course.
Finger crossed for your launch. Keep us in the loop
Well said
❤️
Thanks God bless you and your family
🙏
Amen to that
Love your story, Matt! I‘m one of those who enjoy meeting people in real life for a coffee and then share about that in my #42coffees series on LinkedIn (my 2025 book is called „Celebrate Your Network“). And I review books like yours in my LinkedIn newsletter „Learn From Books“. Looks like I should include your book, too!
Hi Gunnar, thank you, I would appreciate any mention you can give. Having a pre-built network that you can leverage is a huge advantage for an author!
You should! How nice is that. We need to add this to the collaboration section inside the school and tap more into the awesomeness of our members.
Looking forward to your guest post, Gunnar.
Goodnight, it's again past midnight but had to chat with EVELYN SKYE (!) so it was worthwhile.
Hi Gunnar my dad has to go to hospital so I'm happy about you sending me your guest post