Your book is your brand.
So you want to write a book…
Your book is your brand.
a publishing partner
that amplifies your
Your book is your brand.
So you want to write a book…
I did too. For a long time. This year, I wrote three books and have another three in the works. The process of writing my first (second and third) books was an illuminating journey, one that inspired me to reflect deeply on the purpose of writing a book, and how to do it in a way that aligned with my own values and ideas.
As a entrepreneur who ran a successful advertising technology business as CEO for fifteen years, working with over three hundred media publishers (including every major global news publisher, such as WSJ, Bloomberg, Globe & Mail, Huffington Post, Conde Nast, News Corp, The Guardian and more, who are all current clients) and over six thousand advertisers (including 80% of the Fortune 100 brands), I have developed strong views for how digital media is created and consumed.
In short, I believe we are in a fight for attention, which is increasingly divided and fragmented across different platforms, devices and channels. While people occasionally will binge on a Netflix series, or listen to a 4 hr long form podcast, they are rarely giving that content their undivided attention. In fact it's rare to see anyone spend more than twenty minutes of undivided attention on one medium. Be it in a business meeting or Zoom call, with the quick glance at a phone to see the latest notifications, or while watching Netflix and checking the latest scores or stock prices, or the dangerous texting while driving. In any context, consumer attention is divided and continually being pulled away from whatever the original medium they chose to engage with.
Despite overall consumption of media growing (hours per day are spent across different platforms), the share of attention on books is actually in decline. In an Instagram and TikTok era, these mediums are winning consumer attention at the expense of other mediums, namely long-form content such as books.
Now let’s look at long-form content. I’ve kept an active blog for nearly ten years now (distributed via a weekly email newsletter that reaches 50k+ subscribers with a 30%+ open rate). My average post is 800 words and feedback from my audience is that my posts are too long. The average book is 50,000 words. It’s a big ask for someone to actually sit down and give all of their attention to reading an entire book.
When I ask friends “how many books have you read in the past year?”, most reply with 4-5. There were 1 million new book ISBNs issued last year in the US alone, so I estimate nearly 2 million new books published globally. 60% of book sales are existing works (i.e. previously published titles), whereas only 40% are for titles published in the current year. So more and more new books are being published, but fewer and fewer are actually getting read.
I believe that books are quite boring, in comparison to the other digital mediums available today. The format of a book has not been innovated with in nearly 300 years since the printing press was first used for book production.
This is the first problem I’ve set out to solve. The objective is to reinvent the long-form book format to make it more interesting, relevant and engaging, by creating a new format.
I call the format a Spark.
This is the first problem I’ve set out to solve. The objective is to reinvent the long-form book format to make it more interesting, relevant and engaging, by creating a new format.
I call the format a Spark.
This is the first problem I’ve set out to solve. The objective is to reinvent the long-form book format to make it more interesting, relevant and engaging, by creating a new format.
I call the format a Spark.
Thin book:
A Spark is by design thinner than most books on the market. How to Live is 27,000 words. The next few Sparks being published (for myself and other Spark authors) are all between 20,000 and 30,000 words. The #1 feedback we received from the over 7,000 copies of my Sparks distributed in the past month has been that people like the size, as it’s not intimidating, it is approachable and they feel they have the time to read it. People have gone on to complain about how books seem to be getting bigger and bigger, making it a bigger commitment to even start the book.
Bonus content:
Through QR codes embedded throughout the Spark, the reader is encouraged to engage with the Spark, the content and author to go deeper. Right now, most of the QR codes go to short vertical videos that are easy to watch on a mobile device. This is bringing some of the TikTok/Instagram Reels type experience that is so familiar to most consumers into a Spark.
Thin book:
A Spark is by design thinner than most books on the market. How to Live is 27,000 words. The next few Sparks being published (for myself and other Spark authors) are all between 20,000 and 30,000 words. The #1 feedback we received from the over 7,000 copies of my Sparks distributed in the past month has been that people like the size, as it’s not intimidating, it is approachable and they feel they have the time to read it. People have gone on to complain about how books seem to be getting bigger and bigger, making it a bigger commitment to even start the book.
Bonus content:
Through QR codes embedded throughout the Spark, the reader is encouraged to engage with the Spark, the content and author to go deeper. Right now, most of the QR codes go to short vertical videos that are easy to watch on a mobile device. This is bringing some of the TikTok/Instagram Reels type experience that is so familiar to most consumers into a Spark.
Thin book:
A Spark is by design thinner than most books on the market. How to Live is 27,000 words. The next few Sparks being published (for myself and other Spark authors) are all between 20,000 and 30,000 words. The #1 feedback we received from the over 7,000 copies of my Sparks distributed in the past month has been that people like the size, as it’s not intimidating, it is approachable and they feel they have the time to read it. People have gone on to complain about how books seem to be getting bigger and bigger, making it a bigger commitment to even start the book.
Bonus content:
Through QR codes embedded throughout the Spark, the reader is encouraged to engage with the Spark, the content and author to go deeper. Right now, most of the QR codes go to short vertical videos that are easy to watch on a mobile device. This is bringing some of the TikTok/Instagram Reels type experience that is so familiar to most consumers into a Spark.
Sparkbot:
A Spark comes with the ability for the user to chat with the author, through a Chatbot (test it out at kunalgpt.com). This v1 chatbot is built on top of OpenAI’s GPT4 APIs and trained on all of my writing, including my several Sparks, drafts of the not-yet-released Sparks, ten years of blog content and so on. Initial feedback is encouraging, it is actually really good and has surpassed our expectations.
Artwork:
The inclusion of artwork (AI generated) at the start of each chapter is the first step, that’s receiving praise, however where we want to go with this is creating stunning images that people would want to use as their phone wallpaper, or even order paper prints to use as artwork in their home. A Spark can be beautiful and artwork can be used to evoke emotion. This is a work in progress.
Sparkbot:
A Spark comes with the ability for the user to chat with the author, through a Chatbot (test it out at kunalgpt.com). This v1 chatbot is built on top of OpenAI’s GPT4 APIs and trained on all of my writing, including my several Sparks, drafts of the not-yet-released Sparks, ten years of blog content and so on. Initial feedback is encouraging, it is actually really good and has surpassed our expectations.
Artwork:
The inclusion of artwork (AI generated) at the start of each chapter is the first step, that’s receiving praise, however where we want to go with this is creating stunning images that people would want to use as their phone wallpaper, or even order paper prints to use as artwork in their home. A Spark can be beautiful and artwork can be used to evoke emotion. This is a work in progress.
Sparkbot:
A Spark comes with the ability for the user to chat with the author, through a Chatbot (test it out at kunalgpt.com). This v1 chatbot is built on top of OpenAI’s GPT4 APIs and trained on all of my writing, including my several Sparks, drafts of the not-yet-released Sparks, ten years of blog content and so on. Initial feedback is encouraging, it is actually really good and has surpassed our expectations.
Artwork:
The inclusion of artwork (AI generated) at the start of each chapter is the first step, that’s receiving praise, however where we want to go with this is creating stunning images that people would want to use as their phone wallpaper, or even order paper prints to use as artwork in their home. A Spark can be beautiful and artwork can be used to evoke emotion. This is a work in progress.
Audio:
We seem to be at a tipping point with a growing segment of the population choosing to consume content via audio, especially long-form content. People spend more hours each week listening to podcasts than they do reading books. So we are experimenting with offering the Spark in a podcast format, in the author’s voice (synthesized with AI). Look for How to Live on Spotify. We are getting hundreds of listens, which is far more than expected.
Audio:
We seem to be at a tipping point with a growing segment of the population choosing to consume content via audio, especially long-form content. People spend more hours each week listening to podcasts than they do reading books. So we are experimenting with offering the Spark in a podcast format, in the author’s voice (synthesized with AI). Look for How to Live on Spotify. We are getting hundreds of listens, which is far more than expected.
Audio:
We seem to be at a tipping point with a growing segment of the population choosing to consume content via audio, especially long-form content. People spend more hours each week listening to podcasts than they do reading books. So we are experimenting with offering the Spark in a podcast format, in the author’s voice (synthesized with AI). Look for How to Live on Spotify. We are getting hundreds of listens, which is far more than expected.
There is a pipeline of further experiments we are planning to incorporate into a Spark, this is just the beginning. The vision is that a Spark is more than a book, a Spark is an experience. An experience that engages a consumer through multiple senses, be it visual, audio, touch, etc.
Marshall McLuhan famously said that “the medium is the message” and in this new era of media, the medium of the traditional book needs to be updated to fit this new landscape.
We want to make Spark that medium: one that reflects creativity, experimentation and the boldness to try something new and that publishes authors who move with the times and are aligned with these values.
How to distribute and promote Sparks
While there is a niche of people who identify as professional authors, who depend on writing to (try and) make a living, there is a bigger majority of people who already make a living (usually in business) and are interested in using a Spark to amplify what they are already doing.
I believe a Spark can be used as the new business card.
In a globally competitive market, in any industry, business people need to differentiate and stand out from the crowd. A Spark signals credibility and intellectual status in a way that other forms of marketing and advertising do not. When someone says they are an author, there is (for now) an acknowledgement that this person is an expert, authority or leader on the topic at hand.
With this in mind, the purpose of Spark distribution is to establish credibility within the author’s existing circle of influence. That means increasing the perceived status of the author with their first degree and second degree connections.
People who are not related or connected to the author’s industry, geography or network creates are often far less valuable. Like all other forms of advertising, targeting is important. Digital marketing campaigns run on Facebook and Google work because they are hyper targeted, and the creative is hyper personalized. The same philosophy of digital media (which I have 15+ years of experience with) is how we are designing the marketing strategy for Spark distribution.
One of the Spark authors, Naseem, is an executive recruiter in the supply chain industry. In my first conversation with him, he asked “Kunal, I want to see my books in airports”. I asked him “Is that to help your business or to help your ego?”. He laughed. Naseem makes so much money from a single client, we realized that his book needs to help him secure a small handful of new clients and re-engage a small handful of his past clients. That would be a home run. So his Spark distribution strategy is to mail a signed copy of his book to his entire client base, pipeline of clients, past candidates and companies he’d like to do business with. That strategy is very different from trying to get into airports...but it will be far more lucrative.
Thinking of a Spark as a business card completely changes how the book is distributed.
How to Live, which is a personal memoir, has been gifted to thousands of people in the past month alone. I’m receiving 2-3 messages per day (primarily via LinkedIn and some via IG) about my book, people sharing and connecting with me. My network is growing quickly thanks to this first book launch, and it’s been less than a few months.
People do not buy books. My digital audience is 50k+ and during the first week of launch, we got 14 sales. Despite the content being aligned with my blog from the past ten years, and having a well-maintained network of family, friends and professionals that I do a decent job of staying in touch with, only 14 sales. I have over 65 first-cousins, over 100 people came to my recent birthday party and tens of thousands of people open my email newsletter every week. 14 sales.
This reinforced my belief that people no longer buy books. However the perceived value of a book remains high and when gifted a book, people are very appreciative. I’ve gifted 7,000 copies of my first two Sparks in the past month, and have first-hand experience of this.
My third Spark, called Chief Everything Officer, is a business memoir focused on tech entrepreneurs. I’m planning to experiment by making it “the book you can’t buy”. We are still working out the details, however the intention is to make it a gift-only book, meaning you have to know me or connect with me first. Again, a Spark is a business card, i.e. a leadgen tool.
Another Spark author, Dr. E., runs a longevity clinic in London. He gets asked to speak often at medical conferences and longevity events. His book will be gifted for free and used to get him onto more stages. The target distribution is going to be exclusively in the UK, as the services his clinic provides are only available to people in the UK. Although longevity is a worldwide trend right now, he is not able to capture or monetize any demand he generates outside the UK, so everything is going to focus on the UK market.
Another Spark author, Grant, is a veteran in the advertising industry in New York. He is finishing up his manuscript currently and by simply mentioning to people in the industry in passing conversation he’s working on his book, he already received two paid speaking engagements at industry conferences. He works closely with private equity firms helping them diligence AI companies and part of his Spark distribution strategy is to mail a copy of his book to all of the private equity firms across North America and Europe that have a tech bias.
The purpose of a Spark is not to become a best seller or to make profits from book sales (Amazon takes about 70% after printing, shipping and royalties anyways). It is to generate leads that authors can monetize using their existing platforms and businesses.
Now that it is clear as to the purpose of a Spark, the next question becomes how to write a Spark.
I wrote three Sparks this year and have the outlines drafted for my next three. And this is not my full-time job by any means.
I’ve learned through decades of leadership that the first thing to do is to learn to ask for help. And that’s what I did. I hired an editor (who had published 30 books, with all of the big 5 traditional publishers) and we spent the summer together on weekly Zoom calls working on my first Spark, going back-and-forth. I did the writing, she gave me coaching and (often critical) feedback. Through this, we developed the Spark process which is to write a book, from idea to print-ready, in under 100 days.
There are two streams that happen simultaneously…
How to distribute and promote Sparks
While there is a niche of people who identify as professional authors, who depend on writing to (try and) make a living, there is a bigger majority of people who already make a living (usually in business) and are interested in using a Spark to amplify what they are already doing.
I believe a Spark can be used as the new business card.
In a globally competitive market, in any industry, business people need to differentiate and stand out from the crowd. A Spark signals credibility and intellectual status in a way that other forms of marketing and advertising do not. When someone says they are an author, there is (for now) an acknowledgement that this person is an expert, authority or leader on the topic at hand.
With this in mind, the purpose of Spark distribution is to establish credibility within the author’s existing circle of influence. That means increasing the perceived status of the author with their first degree and second degree connections.
People who are not related or connected to the author’s industry, geography or network creates are often far less valuable. Like all other forms of advertising, targeting is important. Digital marketing campaigns run on Facebook and Google work because they are hyper targeted, and the creative is hyper personalized. The same philosophy of digital media (which I have 15+ years of experience with) is how we are designing the marketing strategy for Spark distribution.
One of the Spark authors, Naseem, is an executive recruiter in the supply chain industry. In my first conversation with him, he asked “Kunal, I want to see my books in airports”. I asked him “Is that to help your business or to help your ego?”. He laughed. Naseem makes so much money from a single client, we realized that his book needs to help him secure a small handful of new clients and re-engage a small handful of his past clients. That would be a home run. So his Spark distribution strategy is to mail a signed copy of his book to his entire client base, pipeline of clients, past candidates and companies he’d like to do business with. That strategy is very different from trying to get into airports...but it will be far more lucrative.
Thinking of a Spark as a business card completely changes how the book is distributed.
How to Live, which is a personal memoir, has been gifted to thousands of people in the past month alone. I’m receiving 2-3 messages per day (primarily via LinkedIn and some via IG) about my book, people sharing and connecting with me. My network is growing quickly thanks to this first book launch, and it’s been less than a few months.
People do not buy books. My digital audience is 50k+ and during the first week of launch, we got 14 sales. Despite the content being aligned with my blog from the past ten years, and having a well-maintained network of family, friends and professionals that I do a decent job of staying in touch with, only 14 sales. I have over 65 first-cousins, over 100 people came to my recent birthday party and tens of thousands of people open my email newsletter every week. 14 sales.
This reinforced my belief that people no longer buy books. However the perceived value of a book remains high and when gifted a book, people are very appreciative. I’ve gifted 7,000 copies of my first two Sparks in the past month, and have first-hand experience of this.
My third Spark, called Chief Everything Officer, is a business memoir focused on tech entrepreneurs. I’m planning to experiment by making it “the book you can’t buy”. We are still working out the details, however the intention is to make it a gift-only book, meaning you have to know me or connect with me first. Again, a Spark is a business card, i.e. a leadgen tool.
Another Spark author, Dr. E., runs a longevity clinic in London. He gets asked to speak often at medical conferences and longevity events. His book will be gifted for free and used to get him onto more stages. The target distribution is going to be exclusively in the UK, as the services his clinic provides are only available to people in the UK. Although longevity is a worldwide trend right now, he is not able to capture or monetize any demand he generates outside the UK, so everything is going to focus on the UK market.
Another Spark author, Grant, is a veteran in the advertising industry in New York. He is finishing up his manuscript currently and by simply mentioning to people in the industry in passing conversation he’s working on his book, he already received two paid speaking engagements at industry conferences. He works closely with private equity firms helping them diligence AI companies and part of his Spark distribution strategy is to mail a copy of his book to all of the private equity firms across North America and Europe that have a tech bias.
The purpose of a Spark is not to become a best seller or to make profits from book sales (Amazon takes about 70% after printing, shipping and royalties anyways). It is to generate leads that authors can monetize using their existing platforms and businesses.
Now that it is clear as to the purpose of a Spark, the next question becomes how to write a Spark.
I wrote three Sparks this year and have the outlines drafted for my next three. And this is not my full-time job by any means.
I’ve learned through decades of leadership that the first thing to do is to learn to ask for help. And that’s what I did. I hired an editor (who had published 30 books, with all of the big 5 traditional publishers) and we spent the summer together on weekly Zoom calls working on my first Spark, going back-and-forth. I did the writing, she gave me coaching and (often critical) feedback. Through this, we developed the Spark process which is to write a book, from idea to print-ready, in under 100 days.
There are two streams that happen simultaneously…
How to distribute and promote Sparks
While there is a niche of people who identify as professional authors, who depend on writing to (try and) make a living, there is a bigger majority of people who already make a living (usually in business) and are interested in using a Spark to amplify what they are already doing.
I believe a Spark can be used as the new business card.
In a globally competitive market, in any industry, business people need to differentiate and stand out from the crowd. A Spark signals credibility and intellectual status in a way that other forms of marketing and advertising do not. When someone says they are an author, there is (for now) an acknowledgement that this person is an expert, authority or leader on the topic at hand.
With this in mind, the purpose of Spark distribution is to establish credibility within the author’s existing circle of influence. That means increasing the perceived status of the author with their first degree and second degree connections.
People who are not related or connected to the author’s industry, geography or network creates are often far less valuable. Like all other forms of advertising, targeting is important. Digital marketing campaigns run on Facebook and Google work because they are hyper targeted, and the creative is hyper personalized. The same philosophy of digital media (which I have 15+ years of experience with) is how we are designing the marketing strategy for Spark distribution.
One of the Spark authors, Naseem, is an executive recruiter in the supply chain industry. In my first conversation with him, he asked “Kunal, I want to see my books in airports”. I asked him “Is that to help your business or to help your ego?”. He laughed. Naseem makes so much money from a single client, we realized that his book needs to help him secure a small handful of new clients and re-engage a small handful of his past clients. That would be a home run. So his Spark distribution strategy is to mail a signed copy of his book to his entire client base, pipeline of clients, past candidates and companies he’d like to do business with. That strategy is very different from trying to get into airports...but it will be far more lucrative.
Thinking of a Spark as a business card completely changes how the book is distributed.
How to Live, which is a personal memoir, has been gifted to thousands of people in the past month alone. I’m receiving 2-3 messages per day (primarily via LinkedIn and some via IG) about my book, people sharing and connecting with me. My network is growing quickly thanks to this first book launch, and it’s been less than a few months.
People do not buy books. My digital audience is 50k+ and during the first week of launch, we got 14 sales. Despite the content being aligned with my blog from the past ten years, and having a well-maintained network of family, friends and professionals that I do a decent job of staying in touch with, only 14 sales. I have over 65 first-cousins, over 100 people came to my recent birthday party and tens of thousands of people open my email newsletter every week. 14 sales.
This reinforced my belief that people no longer buy books. However the perceived value of a book remains high and when gifted a book, people are very appreciative. I’ve gifted 7,000 copies of my first two Sparks in the past month, and have first-hand experience of this.
My third Spark, called Chief Everything Officer, is a business memoir focused on tech entrepreneurs. I’m planning to experiment by making it “the book you can’t buy”. We are still working out the details, however the intention is to make it a gift-only book, meaning you have to know me or connect with me first. Again, a Spark is a business card, i.e. a leadgen tool.
Another Spark author, Dr. E., runs a longevity clinic in London. He gets asked to speak often at medical conferences and longevity events. His book will be gifted for free and used to get him onto more stages. The target distribution is going to be exclusively in the UK, as the services his clinic provides are only available to people in the UK. Although longevity is a worldwide trend right now, he is not able to capture or monetize any demand he generates outside the UK, so everything is going to focus on the UK market.
Another Spark author, Grant, is a veteran in the advertising industry in New York. He is finishing up his manuscript currently and by simply mentioning to people in the industry in passing conversation he’s working on his book, he already received two paid speaking engagements at industry conferences. He works closely with private equity firms helping them diligence AI companies and part of his Spark distribution strategy is to mail a copy of his book to all of the private equity firms across North America and Europe that have a tech bias.
The purpose of a Spark is not to become a best seller or to make profits from book sales (Amazon takes about 70% after printing, shipping and royalties anyways). It is to generate leads that authors can monetize using their existing platforms and businesses.
Now that it is clear as to the purpose of a Spark, the next question becomes how to write a Spark.
I wrote three Sparks this year and have the outlines drafted for my next three. And this is not my full-time job by any means.
I’ve learned through decades of leadership that the first thing to do is to learn to ask for help. And that’s what I did. I hired an editor (who had published 30 books, with all of the big 5 traditional publishers) and we spent the summer together on weekly Zoom calls working on my first Spark, going back-and-forth. I did the writing, she gave me coaching and (often critical) feedback. Through this, we developed the Spark process which is to write a book, from idea to print-ready, in under 100 days.
There are two streams that happen simultaneously…
Editorial steps:
Spark outline: define the goals of the Spark, including target audience, key messages, lead generation outcomes, etc. Then there is a high-level definition of the chapters and the key 2-3 points to be made in each chapter.
Content development: through recorded live interviews with the author, the Spark team in a condensed period of two days will use the outline to capture everything in the author’s mind on the topic.
Manuscript development: the Spark team of ghostwriters draft the first few chapters, share with the author for feedback, and then draft the entire book. The author then redlines the draft (like a legal agreement), and the back-and-forth weekly iterations with the ghostwriters continue. There are usually three versions to get to a good draft.
Beta feedback: the draft is shared with 3-5 people knowledgeable about the topic and within the target audience, to get their high-level feedback of what they liked and didn’t like. This informs the next draft.
Final draft: the author and Spark editor work on the final draft, which is then sent to an external copy editor who is responsible for spelling, grammar, sentence structure, readability and more. The final version is then again reviewed by the author for final signoff.
Production steps:
Artwork brainstorm: with the Spark team, the author provides input and feedback to develop concepts for cover designs and chapter artwork. There are usually three to four iterations involved.
Digital content: Spark QR codes take readers to additional bonus content hosted by Spark, which has to be created with the author. These are usually vertical videos, but can be photos, additional text or other formats.
Layout: the production team will begin to generate print-ready PDFs of the book, using a draft manuscript and the artwork, for the author to react to and give feedback on. There are usually three iterations of layout and design.
Formats: the audio format, ebook format (Kindle), author chatbot and podcast format are generated, with the author creating their AI voice with Spark as part of the process.
Submission: submission to the various distribution channels (Amazon, Audible, Spotify, etc.), including the development of marketing copy, deciding categories, and launch assets.
Editorial steps:
Spark outline: define the goals of the Spark, including target audience, key messages, lead generation outcomes, etc. Then there is a high-level definition of the chapters and the key 2-3 points to be made in each chapter.
Content development: through recorded live interviews with the author, the Spark team in a condensed period of two days will use the outline to capture everything in the author’s mind on the topic.
Manuscript development: the Spark team of ghostwriters draft the first few chapters, share with the author for feedback, and then draft the entire book. The author then redlines the draft (like a legal agreement), and the back-and-forth weekly iterations with the ghostwriters continue. There are usually three versions to get to a good draft.
Beta feedback: the draft is shared with 3-5 people knowledgeable about the topic and within the target audience, to get their high-level feedback of what they liked and didn’t like. This informs the next draft.
Final draft: the author and Spark editor work on the final draft, which is then sent to an external copy editor who is responsible for spelling, grammar, sentence structure, readability and more. The final version is then again reviewed by the author for final signoff.
Production steps:
Artwork brainstorm: with the Spark team, the author provides input and feedback to develop concepts for cover designs and chapter artwork. There are usually three to four iterations involved.
Digital content: Spark QR codes take readers to additional bonus content hosted by Spark, which has to be created with the author. These are usually vertical videos, but can be photos, additional text or other formats.
Layout: the production team will begin to generate print-ready PDFs of the book, using a draft manuscript and the artwork, for the author to react to and give feedback on. There are usually three iterations of layout and design.
Formats: the audio format, ebook format (Kindle), author chatbot and podcast format are generated, with the author creating their AI voice with Spark as part of the process.
Submission: submission to the various distribution channels (Amazon, Audible, Spotify, etc.), including the development of marketing copy, deciding categories, and launch assets.
Editorial steps:
Spark outline: define the goals of the Spark, including target audience, key messages, lead generation outcomes, etc. Then there is a high-level definition of the chapters and the key 2-3 points to be made in each chapter.
Content development: through recorded live interviews with the author, the Spark team in a condensed period of two days will use the outline to capture everything in the author’s mind on the topic.
Manuscript development: the Spark team of ghostwriters draft the first few chapters, share with the author for feedback, and then draft the entire book. The author then redlines the draft (like a legal agreement), and the back-and-forth weekly iterations with the ghostwriters continue. There are usually three versions to get to a good draft.
Beta feedback: the draft is shared with 3-5 people knowledgeable about the topic and within the target audience, to get their high-level feedback of what they liked and didn’t like. This informs the next draft.
Final draft: the author and Spark editor work on the final draft, which is then sent to an external copy editor who is responsible for spelling, grammar, sentence structure, readability and more. The final version is then again reviewed by the author for final signoff.
Production steps:
Artwork brainstorm: with the Spark team, the author provides input and feedback to develop concepts for cover designs and chapter artwork. There are usually three to four iterations involved.
Digital content: Spark QR codes take readers to additional bonus content hosted by Spark, which has to be created with the author. These are usually vertical videos, but can be photos, additional text or other formats.
Layout: the production team will begin to generate print-ready PDFs of the book, using a draft manuscript and the artwork, for the author to react to and give feedback on. There are usually three iterations of layout and design.
Formats: the audio format, ebook format (Kindle), author chatbot and podcast format are generated, with the author creating their AI voice with Spark as part of the process.
Submission: submission to the various distribution channels (Amazon, Audible, Spotify, etc.), including the development of marketing copy, deciding categories, and launch assets.
The above ten deliverables happen within one hundred days.
The above ten deliverables happen within one hundred days.
The above ten deliverables happen within one hundred days.
Launch phases
Launch phases
Soft launch (approx. 30 days):
The book is made available (in some or all formats) however not yet promoted. This is a period to test the formats, see how it appears in each distribution channel, and make changes if necessary to the marketing assets (and in some cases, the actual design or manuscript). It is an extra quality check.
Hard launch:
The soft launch period is complete and everyone is happy with the current version of the Spark. The hard launch involves a series of marketing campaigns, including events, PR, reviews, gifting, podcasts, and more. An extensive marketing plan is developed in parallel with the marketing team.
Soft launch (approx. 30 days):
The book is made available (in some or all formats) however not yet promoted. This is a period to test the formats, see how it appears in each distribution channel, and make changes if necessary to the marketing assets (and in some cases, the actual design or manuscript). It is an extra quality check.
Hard launch:
The soft launch period is complete and everyone is happy with the current version of the Spark. The hard launch involves a series of marketing campaigns, including events, PR, reviews, gifting, podcasts, and more. An extensive marketing plan is developed in parallel with the marketing team.
Soft launch (approx. 30 days):
The book is made available (in some or all formats) however not yet promoted. This is a period to test the formats, see how it appears in each distribution channel, and make changes if necessary to the marketing assets (and in some cases, the actual design or manuscript). It is an extra quality check.
Hard launch:
The soft launch period is complete and everyone is happy with the current version of the Spark. The hard launch involves a series of marketing campaigns, including events, PR, reviews, gifting, podcasts, and more. An extensive marketing plan is developed in parallel with the marketing team.
After the hard launch, the job is not yet done.
We treat a Spark more like software than hardware. Software is relatively inexpensive to develop, fast to launch and can continually be updated. Hardware on the other hand is crazy expensive to develop, takes forever and once released, is static.
A Spark continues to be updated.
For example, How to Live will be on its third version by January 2024, in less than two months since launch. There will be opportunities for a Spark author to update the manuscript, make changes to the artwork, change the digital content that’s not being engaged with, add new Spark features that are developed and more along the way. The possibilities are endless really and I am excited to innovate here. We are early in the development of our “Spark upgrade” process, however I imagine it will involve a quarterly or semi-annual upgrade (not too dissimilar to iOS).
Yes, everyone who has the print book will not get the upgrade however the print-on-demand (Amazon), Kindle ebook, audiobook, podcast and chatbot will all continue to be updated and improved. Just like us.
Thank you for your attention and interest in my vision for Spark.
To recap, here is what I believe:
Books are boring. More than a book, a Spark is an experience.
A Spark is the new business card, whose purpose is to generate leads.
The primary distribution for a Spark is by gifting it to the author’s existing network.
A Spark is created in 100 days and continually updated.
There is more to come, we are just getting started.
