Have you ever thought about writing a faith-based book? How about a book about the two things we aren’t supposed to bring up during polite dinner conversation? Well, Aaron Schafer has done both. His book is The Politically Homeless Christian: How to Conquer Political Idolatry, Reject Polarization, and Recommit to God’s Greatest Two Commandments, and it’s about religion and politics. Aaron is also the Director of Sales here at Self Publishing School. He’s talked with over 500 people on their journey toward becoming an author. Aaron is also a blogger, podcaster, and motivational speaker.
Aaron shares insights on choosing the right topic. He couldn’t help noticing how divisive our political and religious climate was. He wanted his book to focus on a Christian audience and be faith-based. We detail how he used research and mind-mapping to organize all his information to make the writing easier. He could get up early and write a chapter a day once he had his organization and research dialed in.
We also go into how he came up with his creative title and his marketing efforts, including having a launch team and giving them specific opt-in choices to get reviews without overwhelming the team. We also talk about author appearances and how you can book a call with Aaron and explore your options for writing a faith-based or any book. He also shares some of the biggest challenges that aspiring authors face and why you should decide whether you’re going to write your book or not. He also shares common traits that he’s noticed in successful authors and more.
Show Highlights
- [01:53] Aaron wrote a book about religion and politics. He writes about how from a Christian perspective, we’ve allowed politics to become an idol in our society.
- [05:27] Should we include aspects of our faith in our book? Choose faith based or not faith based. Aaron wanted to write to a Christian based audience. He wanted his book to be biblically based.
- [08:03] If you are a minister or pastor, you probably have a book within you.
- [09:09] Aaron started with a robust mind map and bible verses. He also looked up more on specific topics. He then read the surrounding chapters.
- [11:45] He spent a week getting each chapter organized before writing. Then he woke up at 5:00 or 6:00 am and wrote a chapter a day. Because of the organization, everything went quickly.
- [12:56] The better your outline, the faster the book.
- [14:42] Aaron explains how he was inspired to create his book title.
- [17:47] Early sales and reviews really helped with initial sales and marketing. Giving people the option to do less, and you won’t have to chase them so much. His initial pop was his launch team and then social media and then the promotion helped things go viral. Then he used podcasts and interviews and ads.
- [21:00] Chapter 15 of Published talks about launch teams and letting people opt in for specific involvement.
- [21:34] Research author appearances ahead of time before your launch. Create a strategy for appearances during your launch. Have your emails ready. It’s a numbers game.
- [23:58] Ask people who they know that have a podcast that you should be on. Who do you know? Include those names in your email. Keep it short!
- [27:33] The biggest challenge most people face at the start of their journey is the illusion that there’s always going to be a better time to write the book. The stars aren’t going to align someday. Write the book? Is it important enough to write? Yes!
- [29:23] Common traits of successful authors include really knowing who their audience is and being coachable.
- [31:34] Advice for aspiring authors. Make a decision about whether you want to write the book or not. Don’t make it a someday thing.
- [34:08] If you’re at a point where you want to take the next step in your journey, book a call with Aaron.
Links and Resources
- Get a Free Copy of Published
- Get the Audio Copy of Published
- Book a Call with Aaron
- Visit Self Publishing School Online
- Book a Call with Our Team
- SPS Free Training Course
- Aaron Schafer LinkedIn
- Aaron Schafer Facebook
- The Politically Homeless Christian: How to Conquer Political Idolatry, Reject Polarization, and Recommit to God’s Greatest Two Commandments
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