Guest post by someone who has a very unique perspective on publishing, my husband–Mike Ward. After a decade in this industry and sleeping with the marketing wizard (tee hee!) he watched me sell over 20 million books along with some other cool stuff and has a very unique perspective on the current pub industry situation.

Hey everybody! Some of you may already know me from the times I’ve helped out on Holly’s author page… I’m her hubby, business partner, and best friend. With the way things are growing around here right now, and with the craziness of our own lives, I’ve offered to help out with more of the public facing elements of the H.M. Ward phenomena. I’m normally lurking behind the scenes but I love the chance to interact with everyone on facebook, so you’ll probably be noticing me around a little more.

Holly and I have been side by side for decades. We attended seminary together, opened businesses together, closed businesses together, and more. But, between us, Holly has always been the visionary! I can’t begin to count (and totally take for granted) how much I’ve learned from her over the years. And now, I’m loving that I get to see her passing on so much of that experience and wisdom.

Sometimes, she has these insanely profound insights. Other times, she’ll point something out and it’s the biggest, “duh!” moment – because it seems so obvious in hindsight. As a total package though, she’s built an empire that has given our family a life I never even dreamed of. I’m going to share one of those key ideas with you right now.

Intentionality. In seminary, it was practically a buzz word. It’s the idea that whenever you say or do something you first consider all the ramifications, intended and unintended messages, and claim responsibility. Nothing “just happens.” Nothing is chance or luck or fate. It is so hard for up and coming authors to accept that! The idea that they will just do everything they can and then hope the stars align is tempting. What will be, will be… No! That’s not how this works! That’s not how any of this works!

Authors aren’t just passive cogs in the book market. They don’t just do their thing and fate unfolds. Everything they say, do, and write influences how the future unfolds.

Which is scary! Success, failure, mediocrity or rock stardom, hinge on what you do! You are responsible. Which is also crazy empowering! And, the reason that there’s such a need for intentionality in everything that you do. What cover will you use? What day of the week will you release on? How will you respond to reader posts? What synonym are you using in your blurb? Holly approaches every aspect of business with intentionality. And it is daunting – nothing is inconsequential, and everything is interconnected. It can be paralyzing… but it can also allow you to make your career, your future, into what you want it to be. Hearing Holly walk people through the process of developing a new perspective on how they approach publishing is awesome to watch. Almost as awesome as watching how it changes the way the people making the changes.

Holly saw this post, and gushed. She created a cheat sheet for you to download and add to your marketing playbook.

CLICK HERE TO GET H.M. WARD’S CHEAT SHEET

I’m looking forward to being around more! See you next time.