Iterate And Optimize: Optimize Your Creative Business for Profit
By Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant & David Wright
- Release Date: 2016-03-08
- Genre: Small Business & Entrepreneurship
Description
Build a publishing business that compounds — without the luck, the hype, or the gold rush.
You've read Write. Publish. Repeat. You know the foundation: write the next one, publish the next one, do it again.
Iterate and Optimize is what comes next.
Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, and David Wright didn't grow Sterling & Stone into eight imprints, ten podcasts, and millions of words published by swinging for the fences. They got there by iterating — making small, deliberate improvements over the years that compounded into a business that mostly runs itself.
This is the playbook for doing the same with yours.
Inside, you'll learn how to optimize:
•Distribution strategy — exclusive vs. wide, and when to switch
•Advertising and marketing — the spend that pays for itself and the spend that burns money
•Conversion levers — covers, descriptions, and metadata that actually move sales
•Outsourcing and team-building — how to hire slowly without losing the thing that made you successful
•Product funnels — including the changed role of free books for indie authors today
•Workflow and systems — what to automate, what to keep hands-on, what to delegate
•The writing process itself — pre-writing, drafting, and revising faster without sacrificing quality
If you've already read every "self-publishing 101" guide on the market and you're ready for the level above it, written by people who've actually built the business at scale, this is your guide.
No silver bullets. No magic buttons. Just the small, sustainable improvements that compound into something real.
Includes a free companion workbook with exercises and worksheets to apply each chapter to your own publishing business.
Ready to get serious about the business behind the books? Iterate and Optimize.
Reviews
Assimilate and Scrutinize!
5By ImAdamBaileyTalk about over delivering! Sheesh, the boys have been busy with this one. I'll admit, I was hungry for I and O. I preordered it and was counting down the days till its release and, as soon as it was available (12:01 am this morning), I download it and started tearing through the pages. Not sure what I was expecting, well, that's not true, I was expecting A LOT! And what I got was pretty f'n amazing! I think it's fair to say you should read "Write. Publish. Repeat." before this one, but I won't tell what to do. There's 4 sections to I and O: Part 1 is about you and what you've got to offer. There are some great exercises here that I skipped right over because I was in a reading frenzy, but I'm heading back and will do the work, honest! Part 2 is all about Sterling and Stone, what they I and O'd, why they did it, and what they learned. I absolutely LOVED this section! Lots of behind the scene stuff. You get to meet the entire team, even the man with no title, Garrett... Lol. Anyway, there's some great stuff on their writing process as well as a deep dive into everything from product funnels, social media, dealing with criticism, and so much more. This section was the most fun for me as a fan. Part 3 is pure awesome! It's all about how you, and I, can start to I and O right now! The cool part is that they go into detail on how to I and O your entire creative process, I'll be reading this section over and over again. Part 4 is a collection of success stories and I'll be honest, I haven't read this section yet as I've already listened to the I and O podcast with the live interviews of the same folks. Still, great group of writers. Anyway, that's all from me. I absolutely LOVED Iterate and Optimize!!! My only complaint is that I only got a couple of hours of sleep. A must read for SPP fans, and for any writer on the path.
