New paradigm publishing | Lindsay's thoughts on why influencers are walking away from book deals

Jenni Gritters: Hello and welcome back to another episode of the World Builders Podcast. I am one of your hosts, Lindsay, and Jenny is the other host. She is also the CEO of World Builders, and this is just such an amazing ecosystem and community of creatives, of intuitives, of entrepreneurs, of multidimensional misfits who are building a better world through our vocation, through what we're doing for work and business and just how we are. Living our lives and thinking about the existentialism of everything around us. And it's a place that we do this in community. So Jenny and I have podcasts that come out every Tuesday that are the two of us talking. And then on Thursdays we like to drop in with solo episodes. So I am here for a little solo episode all about publishing and particularly what I will be calling New Paradigm Publishing. So We're really moving into this new paradigm, this new era, whether you're following human design closely or not, it's pretty clear that the old structures and the old systems are just not working the way that they were. And the old model and template for success is pretty much gone. And while that can feel a little frustrating, sometimes if we're like we thought we knew the more linear or follow the rules way for success. It's actually very exciting, especially for all of us listening who do tend to think out of the box and who do have these big you know, creative, innovative ways of bringing our ideas into the world. So I am an author, really first and foremost, I feel like. ⁓ I have shared my publishing journey a little bit on the podcast and through my through my social media. But if you're new, I Have published five books. My latest hit the USA Today bestseller list this summer, which was a big dream of mine. ⁓ four of them are traditionally published, meaning that I have had an agent and a book deal from big five publishers. And then I also self-published a poetry book, which was so fun and so healing. And I've talked a lot about how I put publishing on a pedestal and I really gave my power away waiting to be chosen. Right. So that's what we mean when we say old paradigm, old rule book was muscle my way through, just keep working and plugging away. And I am so grateful for my journey and for the decade that it took for me to persevere and succeed in that world. But honestly, a lot of it was disempowering too. I hate giving away my creative control. I hate that publishers technically own my work and my IP and my Heart and my soul. I write fiction. I build worlds in my mind and I write poems. And I don't want to give that away. It's just increasingly felt energetically sticky too. so as with most things, I try to find the sacred third path. And Jenny and I talk a lot about this of the nuance of the conversation, and it's not all in or all out. But with this conversation today, I want to focus on four trends that I'm seeing being very, very close. To the publishing world ⁓ that will hopefully help you. I know so many of you feel like you have books that you're being called to write and to bring into the world. But more than that, you have bodies of work, right? And that's the main thing I want you to keep in mind through this conversation. Yes, a book is one beautiful medium to share. And if you're feeling the call to write a book, there is a divine reason for that. But also there are other creative formats that you can use. And it's really in service of. The body of work that you came here to share with the world. So the first trend that I want to talk through about these four trends. So the first one, I think it's so interesting that big influencers are walking away from traditional publishing and from big book deals. So I've been following this. Jordan Younger shared an amazing Substack about this. She got a multi six figure advance from a big publisher, and ultimately. Paid the money back and walked away and is self-publishing. ⁓ Sahara Rose, who has the highest self-podcast, she is also self-publishing her book after traditionally publishing several other books. And the trend here, right, is it used to be that, if you have a big enough following, then you get a really great book deal. And of course, you're gonna take that big advance. And we're seeing the tides turn. I felt really interested by this because I also made the decision to self-publish. My poetry book. Then I did traditionally publish my latest novel, right? So I'm kind of in this ⁓ both and world. But I think it's so interesting that both economically and energetically, these big influencers, these big thought leaders who would have no trouble getting big book deals are saying no thanks. They're saying no economically because it's actually not that advantageous even if you get a $200,000 book deal, like you actually don't take home very much of that. ⁓ and it's just quite a disempowering structure. But they're also saying no energetically. And this is the part that I'm really, really tuned in on. And I think all of us here are tuned in on because we increasingly are getting allergic. Our body, my body is getting allergic to giving away my power in every part of life. And I have felt that with the stickiness of traditional publishing. Of having people over my shoulder telling me what to do, what not to do, trying to edit my voice, change my writing, trying to or just contractually owning my work. I thought Jordan Younger just put it so beautifully in her Substack where she was saying the new paradigm is just really all about creative ownership and there's no other way than actually being in our full power. So they are choosing to self-publish for the creative freedom. ⁓ It seems like first and foremost. So that's one big trend that I'm watching as it used to be that if you could get a book a big book deal, you would go traditionally published. I've been talking for years about how I actually think the gap between a great self-published book and a traditionally published book is getting less and less. And that was really my own experiment that I ran as well, ⁓ with a very successful self-published poetry book. So as I think about my next books and just where I'm being called forward as an author. I think the takeaway is like I feel empowered that there are options. And I'm also seeing expanders and people in the universe also waking up, you kind of in this author universe, waking up to it. And then some are not, and some are just clenching on for dear life. And those are the ones that I think are struggling. Okay, trend number two. Nonfiction sales are way, way down. So this is not to be alarmist. This is just literally, I think it's helpful to talk practically about things because we want to get to the heart and the soul of why you're being called to build to bring this book or this body of work into the world. A lot of people are writing nonfiction books because they think it will bring them a consulting project or a five-figure speaking ⁓ keynote fee or the most aligned clients or it will fulfill some kind of wound inside of them or it'll give them the reputational ⁓ boost within their industry. Those reasons are not good enough. Okay, I'm just gonna put it bluntly. You should only be writing the book if it's actually spilling out of your soul. And we're seeing so many ⁓ nonfiction books just totally oversaturated on the traditionally published and the self-published side. The market's just totally oversaturated. People are not wanting to sit down and read a 300-page book that's basically just been stretched out for ego when it could have been, you know, a 10-page essay or an hour-long podcast. Okay, so. AI here. AI is a big conversation in the publishing world. Actually, surprisingly, it's not as big of a conversation as it should be. Publishers really, from what I've seen, the big publishers are just not really touching it, not really talking about it. They do have something now in their contracts where, you know, I I say I'm I'm not using AI ⁓ in my contract, but I don't really know how they're monitoring that, especially on the nonfiction side. And also nonfiction has just made it In addition to people using AI to write their books, so there are just so many more AI AI written or AI contributed books out there, right? People would be like, ⁓ I only used it for a thought my ⁓ thought partner. I only used it for an outline. No, like it's it's still an AI book and it's was probably took you maybe a hundred hours to write the book instead of a thousand hours like it should have if you actually did the work. And therefore those books have no soul and no resonance and they are flopping and they are selling so poorly. And also with AI just as a tool of people going to their Claude, their Chat GPT to ask them questions about business, about leadership, about self-development or whatever these nonfiction topics are, they are also just books as a as a category and books as a medium are also struggling. So fiction and poetry is ac are actually a little bit insulated because it is pure escapism and it is really that entertainment. The only nonfiction books that I'm seeing do well. Like actually do well, not just the author buying their way onto the New York Times bestseller list by buying ten, twenty thousand dollars twenty thousand copies, which definitely happens. But the books that I actually see really having that kind of bubbling up grassroots effect, they're funny, right? The personality is there, the voice is there. And I just think if you're gonna write a a nonfiction book that doesn't have humor or personality and isn't just absolutely unique to you, then Think about another format. Audio is probably better than a written medium for that right now. So that's trend number two is that nonfiction book sales are way down, and the nonfiction category in general, with the influence of AI, is on the decline. So trend number three is that book deals are happening in reverse. The author platform is number one. So if you're growing your author platform, and again, this doesn't just mean that you're having a ton of followers. ⁓ but there's some kind of excitement around what you're doing. You're showing that there's traction and that there's a community or that there are people that are interested in what you're talking about. So if you're putting yourself out there, you are being visible, then agents are actually reaching out to you. Publishers are reaching out to you. It used to be in the way I came up, right? I write the whole book behind the scenes, I write my pitch for the book, I pitch agents, I get rejected and rejected and rejected, and finally I muscle my way in. But nowadays, because the market is so saturated, it's basically just happening in reverse. So a lot of authors are getting approached after they have already been boldly talking about their topic and their body of work, and they are bringing people together and they're showing that wow, there's resonance in this, whether that's an article that went mini viral or just really took off, whether that's a video, whether that's an in-person gathering or a conference or something. But You're gathering people around a topic that's related to your book, or maybe I mean increasingly seeing people who didn't even think that they were gonna write books, but then they're approached, then they think, ⁓ okay, you know, how do I bring this to life as a book? Now, oftentimes this can be frustrating because for those of us who really, really want to be authors, it can be frustrating to feel like other people are getting picked and they're not even the ones who wanna be authors and they're not even good writers, and then they're gonna have a ghostwriter or a co-writer and they're don't even have the the talent to do it, right? I mean, that's kind of the negative spin cycle that that I can get myself in, especially before I broke in, that I would be frustrated by. But what I will say is for me it was the invitation to kind of just get over my fears. And I I don't even like the phrase get over, but move through my fears, actually be visible. I built my poetry Instagram account. ⁓ you know, I actually focused on my own platform. I went to events, I was showing that there was traction for my writing, that there was a proof of concept, if you will, to bring in some of my my Wall Street lingo too. ⁓ and this is something that authors really, really fight me with because it's such a different muscle, right? Than than writing in that sacred stillness and that deep flow state and then showing up and having an online platform. But this is why we're doing the visibility challenge within the World Builders Collective over the next thirty days, starting I think that it'll start the day after this podcast comes out. So if you feel like you're just wanting to show up more, this is the place for you. but you need to have a platform, right? The way I say it is you're just making your life a hundred times harder. If you're a great writer, if you're so talented, that's amazing, but it just is not enough. Okay. So you need to have a platform. Book deals are happening in reverse, or if you still go the traditional chronological way where you're reaching out to agents, you need to show them that there's a proof of concept. You really do. Otherwise you're just, you're rolling the dice and you really risk not breaking in. And then also if you're self-publishing, you still need your audience. So I'll talk a little bit about that after, ⁓ just at the end with the takeaways from the episode. But trend number three is just really that book deals are happening in reverse. So I want you to be aware of that so that you don't necessarily even have to do it in that linear follow the rules way that you know I did 10 years ago. Number four, this is the last trend, and then we're gonna move into just three tactical takeaways. But trend number four is that a lot of followers no longer gets you a big book deal. So if you have 200,000 followers on Instagram, those vanity metrics are really not that useful. Okay. So publishers, behind the scenes what's happened is that publishers have really gotten burned. So I know a lot of authors who have huge platforms who've gotten those $200, $300,000, $400,000, $500,000 advances, meaning the publisher has paid them a lot up front for them to then write the book and publish the book. ⁓ and then they've gotten burned. The publishers have gotten burned. They've lost so much money. A lot of those books did not become bestsellers, did not have any kind of longevity. If they did become a first week bestseller, then they totally kind of tapered off because It was artificially inflated. so what they're seeing basically is that a lot of Instagram, a lot of TikTok followers does not correlate with buyer, with buying books. So we're really overwhelmed right now, right, with books on the market, just again that saturation. And also it's just a very different type of ⁓ content medium. If you're absorbing a 30 second video. a carousel, you know, a two-minute video, whatever it is, it doesn't necessarily mean that people really want to read a book from you. So what's happened is that even if you have a lot of followers, you're not guaranteed a big book deal. So this almost relates back to number one of the big influencers walking away from traditional publishing. And part of that is because even for the influencers with big followers, the book deals might not be as big as they used to be because publishers Have gotten burned. So while you do need to have a platform, it's not necessarily like just the vanity ones of just, especially if you're buying followers or you're buying engagement, like that type of thing is just very hollow and vacuous. Okay, so all of these trends together just point to the way that we are moving from the old paradigm of publishing, the old paradigm of creating into the new paradigm it used to be. There was this more linear linear, orderly playbook. You could kind of follow the rules, know what to expect, muscle your way in, finally break in. The publisher would kind of know what to do as far as how to market your book and sell it and make it a success. Publishers are just totally flailing around. They're really, really struggling. AI is also completely complicating things. ⁓ but also just publishers haven't figured out actually how to market in this in this new era. And so the onus is going to be on. the author and the creative, either way. So whether you're choosing to traditionally publish or self-publish, the the downside or kind of the frustrating part can be like, ⁓ my gosh, it's all on me. However, if we turn it on its head and we say this is teaching us an op this is teaching us a beautiful lesson and this is actually in service of higher consciousness as a collective and as an individual, it's that, ⁓ my gosh, I no longer have to wait to be chosen. I can choose myself. I have self-sovereignty even within the traditional publishing system. How am I maintaining my sovereignty? Or in self-publishing, knowing, hey, you know, rather than looking at it as, ⁓ I'm all on my own, flip it on its head and see it as, ⁓ my gosh, I actually have creative control and ownership and freedom in play. And I can bring in my experimental entrepreneurial energy. So I think on the whole, this shift is really, really. good and helpful, but there are of are of course some growing pains. And you know, just as an author who's right in the thick of it, I definitely vacillate between those two. But I do think that keeping the big picture perspective of how this is leading us to a world where creatives have more of liter literal self-authorship in the truest sense of that term is very empowering. Okay, so just a few three little tactical takeaways for you to walk with and probably your intuition has already been speaking to you. Throughout this episode, so listen to that. If there are messages when you're like feeling a little triggered by, okay, whenever I feel that, right? That's an invitation to grow. I often feel that way when it's like, I'm resisting something and I know it's actually in service of me and my growth, but I really resist it. So, you know, you can walk with that. Or if there's something that you just feel really excited by. or if you're listening to this and you're like, yeah, like I know the the landscape's a little messy right now. I know it's changing, but like I absolutely know I'm being called. To write that book, then that is the call, right? And it's your kind of duty now to answer that call. So takeaway number one: write a book only if it is literally spilling out of you. Okay. So people ask me a lot, Lindsay, should I write the book? Like if you're having to ask me, then probably don't do it. Only do it if you literally can't not write the book. Okay. So Writing a book is not for everybody. Writing a book will not get you some kind of amazing result on the other side if you are not so deeply in love and in flow in the process. Not to say every part of the process is fun or easy. Takes a lot of devotion and a lot of working through it's just a mirror, right? It's a mirror for us. ⁓ so it brings up a lot. But if you know that there's a call in your heart to write your book, then of course you're gonna write it and you're gonna bring it to life. through traditional publishing or self-publishing, and you're gonna do it in a way that's truly, truly true to you. What I will say, related to number one, right? Only write the book if it's spilling out to out of you, but also don't feel like not writing a book is the end of the road. So say you have, you realize like actually it's more of this topic that I really want to bring to life than the book itself. So for me, writing is healing, it's breathing, it is What I have to do to be well in the world. I think I might, you know, be in a mental hospital if I didn't make a practice of my devotion to my to my writing and to my craft. Like it's just embedded into me and it has been from the time I was a tiny little girl. But that's not for everybody. I think it's actually not for most people. ⁓ and if you're in any way gonna be using AI even to generate your ideas or your outline, like genuinely, and I don't say this out of being a purist, but I just don't think that writing Or that books are the best medium for you. I think you should get really creative. Or maybe it is writing, but it's short form. So maybe you roll out books on Substack. ⁓ maybe you create the podcast or the YouTube channel. There is a lot more of this creativity of format in the new paradigm and that we are going to be asked at asked to really push push the box bounds of the boxes as creatives. Okay, so get creative with the format. Don't think that books are the only medium for you to bring your body of work into the world, stay focused on the body of work unless you truly feel the soul calling, then probably try a different medium first. Takeaway number two, you do need a platform, okay? So you do need to be showing up in the world. You do need to be visible. You do need to have your own audience. Whether you are self-publishing, traditionally publishing, whether you're not even gonna do the book after all, but you're gonna do a different medium like the Substack, like the podcast, you need to have your own audience. Okay. Otherwise you are truly just rolling the dice. You're hoping that you'll get noticed either by agents and book deals or by and by publishers to get a book deal, or you're just hoping to get noticed by the person buying your book. If you're self-publishing or the person listening to your podcast, you're just hoping that you'll just, you know, win the lottery and blow up and that if you, you know, manifest hard enough, it'll happen for you. Now, of course, I'm all about holding the higher vision and believing in miracles and inviting that in. But there also really is that aligned action of working out our visibility muscle. Okay. We talk about this over and over again because so many of us artists and creatives have such a resistance to it, and understandably so. But it's actually the most powerful and healing thing that we can do because we get comfortable not just creating in sacred Privacy, which is a beautiful part of the process that I will always honor. But then it's also sharing our gifts and our voice with the world and allowing our unique perspective to touch someone else and to shift their perspective. So you need to start building a platform. You don't need to be everywhere. You need to be one place. Again, join the visibility challenge in the World Builders Collective if that if that speaks to you. And number three takeaway with all of this is to just stay in your body. Trust your body, trust your intuition. There's going to be so much noise about what's working, what's not. you know, this really worked for Lindsay. ⁓ this really flopped for someone else. ⁓ they said this, you know, my AI told me this, like whatever. You really and we really just need to use our human discernment. If and out, come back to nature, turn off our phone, even for an hour, put it on airplane mode. root back into the earth. I've been playing soccer, just working out in like more playful ways to bring myself back as I'm getting clarity on what my next book is. And I've told my agent, you know, I actually don't want to just immediately rush into pitching for the next one. Like I really want to walk with this and honor, hey, do I feel like the nonfiction book is truly coming through? Am I being called into my next fiction? Is it the poetry? And also do I want to do it inside or outside? Of the traditional publishing structure because I know I have options and I know that my body will always lead me in the right direction. And there's a reason when I've been feeling constricted physically that that also translates into one of the reasons that I'm here is not just to create, but to also make creativity more expansive for you and for other people. So Me walking the walk on that and modeling that and saying, hey, this feels a little edgy, this feels a little risky, but I'm actually publishing my next book this way. Or hey, maybe I will sign another book deal, but this is how I'm holding my power. And also over here, I'm innovating here. so trust your body with this and it's good to get the information, but always just make sure that you're coming back to what feels right for you because everyone's path is so different. And I think that's the note that I'll lead. I'll leave you with is that the new paradigm publishing is not a one size fits all. The old template truly is just gone. The old rule rule book is dead. It's all about creative freedom and ownership and innovation. I think that we're truly just getting started from the creativity of the formats to how books will look and be consumed to even the writing process. So allow yourself just to have the gift maybe of experimentation this fall. And sit with the medium that you really feel called to. Okay. So if by the end of this episode you're like, I absolutely know that I'm gonna write the book, then that's it for you. And if not, then it's in no way back to the drawing board. It's actually just an invitation that your body of work might first be bubbling up in another format and then hey, maybe it becomes a book in a few years, right? But how are you showing up and being visible and using your voice in the world right now without waiting for permission, without waiting for someone to choose you? Only for choosing yourself. So that's why I am on the whole excited about New Paradigm Publishing. I think that we're gonna see just so much innovation that has been stifled. the traditional publishing world really operates as a corporation, right? Because they have their business metrics and all of that. But they are very, very risk averse. They are very formulaic and follow the rules. I'm personally glad to see that era ending as someone who Even with intraditional publishing, like they get no annoyed at me, like I never cleanly fit into a genre. I'm always trying to do innovate over here. And like it's so frustrating to them. But their way is so makes me feel so caged. So again, just knowing that about yourself, knowing that those things that other people might say are a weakness are actually pointing you to your superpower. So if you want to join us inside the visibility challenge in the World Builders Collective, you get two weeks free. We'll drop the links here, but basically the the World Builders Collective is just where we all gather. Jenny teaches just so much amazing stuff. I'm teaching and leading this 30-day challenge. So we'll have a kickoff call, we'll have a closing call, I'll drop in with voice notes every week. You'll be paired in a pod. So if you're choosing to go all in on LinkedIn or Substack in your newsletter or Instagram, you're paired in a little pod. It's cozy. It's a low-stakes way of working out your muscle for visibility so that it doesn't feel so icky and so. scary to be seen and like you're not gonna vomit every single time because we just need to work out the muscle. ⁓ it's not something we can w white knuckle our way through. So it's gonna be cozy and creative and truly we call it like the visibility vortex because it says vortex energy. And I think you'll be astounded by even at the end of 30 days, just if you show up boldly for your body of work. Also it will give you clarity of okay, it does this body of work want to be a book right now or Is it asking for something else? Our books and our creative ideas all have their own consciousness. That is my big belief. And you will really get a sense because you're co-creating. You're co-creating this body of work and what you're here to share. All right, everybody, thank you so much for listening. We will see you again next time. And I hope to see a lot of you inside the Visibility Challenge and just cheering you on, sending you all the love. and magic as you walk with your books and allow your book babies. People talk about spirit babies, but allow your book babies to come through, commune with them and really honor, allow them to guide you. You're not doing this on your own, okay? Your book baby is there with you. The higher power is there and we are there cheering you on every step of the way. Bye. Thank you so, so much for joining us for today's episode. If you love what you're hearing, the best thing you can do is leave us a review and share this podcast episode with someone else in your circle. Seriously, please, please do that. A huge shout out to Jenny's husband, Sean Gritters, who produces this podcast. And a big, big thank you to the World Builders team for supporting the growth of this podcast and creating an environment that sparks creative aliveness for hundreds of people every day. Check out the show notes for links to find more information about working with Jenny and me or joining the World Builders Collective. And on that note, here's to our rise. We'll see you back here soon for the next adventure.