A few months ago, I wrote about three ways to leverage your presence on Amazon, one of which was utilizing A+ Content. Much to my delight, I recently heard from an author who took my advice and did just that. After doing a little happy dance that my newsletter is hitting home at least for some of you, I contacted the author, Misha Bleymaier-Farrish, for details. What I thought would be a quick overview of her process to create the A+ Content turned into a wide-ranging conversation about her publishing journey. And what a ride it’s been!
In 2023, we joined forces for Misha’s first book, The GSD Factor, which is an in-depth look at what it takes to get sh*t done—her life motto—and achieve personal and professional goals. To create her book, she curated a team of experts (including yours truly) in book coaching, editing, publishing strategy, design, distribution, audiobook production and promotion. But Misha was interested in more than our expertise.
She chose partners who would collaborate with her, challenge her and remain aligned with her mission.
Her decision to self-publish was not made lightly. In fact, her journey began with an invitation to be an author with Forbes Books, an opportunity she dug into deeply. Who wouldn’t?! But as the details of the program were clarified, she realized that her desire for control of the finished product far exceeded the value of adding “Forbes Books author” to her list of credentials. I helped her understand the ins and outs of self-publishing and her journey began.
After successfully launching The GSD Factor, Misha developed companion workbooks for both adult and student audiences. I’m a big fan of workbooks as an ideal way to expand content and further engage readers. We had great fun collaborating on their design and layout.
She simultaneously built a platform for The GSD Factor Life, which includes a website, workshops, podcast and consulting services. And because GSD extends into all aspects of Misha’s life, she and her daughter, R.C. Farrish, co-authored a picture book and coloring book so “tiny humans” can learn what it takes to Get Stuff Done.
Misha’s experience has made her a fan of self-publishing, especially the ability to change content over time, noting that “the flexibility to evolve as needed is a huge benefit of self-publishing.” She adds that having control over the finished product “provides the freedom to realize your vision,” a major advantage that self-publishers have over their traditional counterparts.
Lest the foregoing description suggests Misha’s journey has been all green lights, she acknowledges hiccups along the way: “There were pivots with every book. For example, novice authors often think the first draft is the final draft. Not so. For me, the first developmental edit was devastating but after some tears, I got back to it, rewriting, revising and making it better,” adding that
“Each book reinforced that having a team you trust is so important to creating a quality product.”
At the top of her list of surprises is “how much longer everything took to produce a book with excellence.” While self-publishing involves significantly less time than the traditional route, rushing the process and cutting corners is a surefire way to limit a book’s impact. When you commit to excellence at every step (standard operating procedure at Clarity Designworks), you end up with bookstore-quality books as Misha did.
For Misha, the decision to embrace excellence from start to finish was inherent to having a book with her name on it. To that end, she suggests asking yourself, “If no one bought it, would you be okay with that?”
Like many authors, some of Misha’s publishing highlights include when she received the first books in the mail, seeing it available online and in the bookstore. Seeing her vision come to life in ink and paper was truly a “glow and grow” moment that capped her journey to published author.
As for sales, the five titles have had varying degrees of success. After a strong launch of the flagship book and workbook for adults, Misha said many readers asked for a version for their kids. So she created the workbook for students, followed by the juniors picture and coloring books. But despite substantial pre-launch interest in the kids’ books, sales have been slow. While increasing sales certainly remains a goal, the value of her “tiny human” co-authoring a book is priceless, with impacts well beyond monetary ones. Case in point: R.C.’s book has been accepted into her elementary school library and is the most requested and checked out book in their catalog. R.C. visits other classrooms and reads her book to students of all ages.
Misha also created audiobooks for both The GSD Factor and GSD Factor Juniors to reach those who prefer to listen to books instead of read them. She drew upon the top-notch “music city” resources in Nashville, where she is based, to produce quality audiobooks in keeping with her commitment to excellence. For R.C.’s children’s book, they took it one step further by creating a fun visual storybook for younger audiences to enjoy the positive storyline in an engaging way.
And what about the A+ Content that prompted our conversation? After my newsletter nudge about it as a no-cost way to claim more Amazon real estate, Misha got down to business. She started with the picture book, GSD Factor Juniors, to boost its visibility by sharing more content and a behind-the-scenes peek at the book’s development. All done with excellence, of course, as shown by these examples (view the book’s full Amazon sales page here).
Whether the A+ Content contributes to more sales remains to be seen. But Misha knows that publishing is a marathon, and she is in it for the long haul. So she’s always on the lookout for new ways to leverage the books and expand her mission to help more people GSD.
As for me, I’m ready and waiting to help you GBP—Get Books Published—with excellence, of course. Contact me to chat about your book.
