Sean Platt is one of them. You may know him from WriterDad.com, GhostWriterDad.com, CollectiveInkwell.com and his contributions all over the web.

But it’s a pretty radical new approach to “episodic” or serialized digital fiction with his Yesterday’s Gone series that’s turning a lot of heads these days.

In this in depth interview we look at how a new generation of authors is trying to leverage the exploding “kindle economy,” most with little success, and how Sean’s radically different approach may create a whole new model for e-fiction and beyond.

Links mentioned in the interview:

• Yesterday’s Gone (Season 1) on amazon
• SerializedFiction.com

If you’re the slightest bit interested in what Sean’s doing and how he’s doing it, I’d run and grab the entire first “season” (c’mon it’s like $4.99), read the short 100-page books and, more importantly, deconstruct how he’s writing each one differently than the typical novel and how it might apply to your own quest to bring great fiction to life, have a blast doing it and get paid well for your efforts.

+++Timely Tidbits+++

• TribalAuthorCamp – Authors and aspiring authors who are willing to do the work needed to succes – the next semester begins Monday, October 17th – grab one of the remaining seats today. Click here to learn more
• Entrepreneurs - Andrew Warner of Mixergy just posted an incredibly in-depth, 1-hour video interview we did on how entrepreneurs, founders and start-up teams can better manage and even embrace uncertainty to build better companies faster and with less suffering. Check it out here.

While most authors hate the process, I love it. To me it’s one massive puzzle, and I treat it very much like launching a business. I shared a bunch of what I learned in a recent mammoth post over on Copyblogger. But that’s just the tip of the ice-burg.

I think the one thing I may enjoy more than launching my own books and businesses is sharing what I’ve learned, what to do and, maybe more importantly, what never to do. I spend a lot of time, energy and, yes, money trying all kinds of things, knowing full-well that some will be home-runs and others will bomb. I’m okay with that, I love testing new ideas and I’m willing to put my time and money on the line to do so. But, I also know, I’m very unusual in the world of authors. Most authors would rather just be told where to focus for the greatest likelihood of success.

That’s why I started Tribal Author Camps two years ago as live trainings in NYC and it’s also why I converted them to online/call-in trainings earlier this year.

Well, the next camp runs October 17-December 15th. Many of the seats were taken by people on the advance notice list, and the next training isn’t until 2012. But we’ve still got seats left in the October training if you’d like to claim yours. Here’s what I just said about it in the official announcement over on TribalAuthor.com:

If you’ve got a book in you and you’d love to learn how to:

• Craft a killer digital author platform, then
• Leverage it to create a tactical book launch campaign capable of generating a ton of buzz and selling a lot of books,

…this 9-week intensive online experience may be perfect for you.

Using many of the strategies we outline in the training, I was just able to pre-sell thousands of copies of my last book (both digital and print), have a very strong launch week and land a mountain of features, reviews, interviews, contributions and mentions on more than 100 top-ranked websites and blogs (including places like (FastCompany, Amex OPENForum, Forbes, CopyBlogger, The99Percent, etc.). And that’s before the second wave even kicks in (which will include major news websites like CNBC, CNN, major market radio and who knows what else).

I also did a lot of experimenting with the use of video for the last launch, including a trailer that’s already generated more than 4,000 shares on Facebook, more than 2,000 tweets on twitter, more than 20,000 views and, to my surprise, it’s even been emailed more than 700 times. I’ll take you behind the making of the trailer and some super cool subliminal ninja stuff we did on the landing page and reveal a bunch of inside information about what made it so effective that I haven’t yet (and likely never will) share publicly.

I’ll also show you how I built a simple tool that is currently growing my email list at more than 100 people a day, which will be a huge asset for future launches.

So, if this sounds interesting and you’d love to spend the next 9-weeks learning how to make 2012 your breakout year as an author, click here to learn more about the program.

But, this post isn’t about the book, it’s about what happened during the 3 1/2 hour live-streaming book launch party that brought me back to what matters.

People were hanging out, bantering and connecting from all over the world. At points, close to 200 were at the party. That alone is amazing. That I could throw a launch party for a book, sitting in my friend, Lewis Howes’ apartment in New York City, yet be partying, goofing around and talking to people from all over the world.

But, that’s still not what this post is about…

At some point during the live-streaming launch party, we started to give away prizes. They started small, things like $25 or $50 gift cards for Starbucks or iTunes or Barnes & Noble. Then, at some point, someone in the chat room asked if they could buy books for us to give away to others at the party. Then someone else joined in. Then another.

By the end, Julia Roy, Rudy Nelson, Erik Proulx, Lisa Johnson and Baker had donated enough money to buy copies of Uncertainty for dozens of people.

Not because there was something in it for them, but because they thought it’d be a cool, nice thing to do. Both for me, and for the other folks at the party who would love a copy of the book, but maybe didn’t have the money right then.

That. Is. Amazing.

Then, we decided to do something really cool as the final giveaway. We had a Color Nook and an Amazon Kindle Fire (the one just announced on Weds) to give away to two people who created a video about a time they embraced uncertainty and posted them online.

Here’s the winning video from Wendy Thomas. It made this dad melt…

How powerful is that? The second place, btw, is this one from James Hagarty

Then, you add to this the fact that during the 3 1/2 hour live-streaming bonanza, my friends Lewis Howes, Clay Hebert (pronounced A-bear, in case you were wondering), Derek Halpern and Marie Forleo not only jumped in and out as guests, but were monitoring the lightning fast chat and twitter streams, interacting with guests, feeding me questions.

All the while, tons of other friends stopped by our virtual gathering, my wife even jumped in and out of the chat. And rumor has it, my daughter and mother-in-law tuned in at the local Apple store for a few minutes, even.

That, alone, is amazing. I love these people. But, then, in the final 30 minutes, Lewis, Derek, Marie and Clay all offered an hour of their consulting time in exchange for purchases of books. When these guys consult, and they rarely do, it’s usually for around $1,000 an hour and they were offering it up at a massive discount in exchange for people at the party helping their friend. There was no other benefit.

This day was amazing on so many levels.

Yes, my book came to life. But, in the moment, that seemed so dwarfed by the realization that I was surrounded by people I cannot get enough of. Who are kind, who treat me well and often ask nothing in return.

The people in your life. The ones you choose to surround yourself with.

They matter. Heck, they’re everything.

What an incredible day it was.

What an incredible tribe.

You. All. Amaze. Me.

And I thank you.

The book is out, the book is out, the book is out! Can you tell I’m excited?

And, I’m celebrating with an online live-streaming launch party today with special guests stopping by, super-cool giveaways, ridiculous readings, maybe even costumes, 3-straight hours of fun, questions, chats.

And you can join in from anywhere in the world. But, to win any of the prizes, you’ve got to be at the party.

Want to know what some of the prizes we’ll be handing out for all sorts of oddball reasons will be? Let’s see, among the goodies, we’ve got a Kindle, a Kindle Fire (we’ll send it as soon as it’s out on 11/15), iTunes Gift Cards and all sorts of other stuff.

Oh, and special guests just might include some people like, oh, Lewis Howes, Marie Forleo, Clay Hebert, the dude in the hallway, Elvis (rumor has it, he bought the 3-book bundle) and who knows who else?

So, how do you get there? Here are the details:

• Location – TheUncertaintyBook.com
• Time: 1 – 4pm ET.
• Attire – Optional
• How to join in – Just go, then hit the join button and conversationalize with us.
• BYO – Bad self!

Oh, one other thing…if you haven’t bought the book yet, this is the one time I’m going to just straight up tell you directly…BUY IT TODAY! After that, I won’t bug you, promise (hey, d’you get it yet?).

And, if you have bought it or received an advance review copy (like my Creation Tribe crew did), I’d LOVE, LOVE, LOVE if you’d jump over to amazon right this second and leave your honest thoughts about it in the review section. The early reviews are massively important. Here’s a link to make it easy-peasy.

Okay, see you at the Live-Stream Launch Party at 1pm.

Straight up, total goofball, do not do this at home fun. Because life’s too serious to be, well, serious all the time!

Buy 10,000 books (yes, that’s not a typo, my dignity will cost you, lol) and I will shave your company’s logo on my head and dye my hair to match your brand.

Then, I’ll film the whole thing, have it professionally produced by my crack team of editors—which happens to include a gaggle of improv comedians, a Chihuahua named Doug, a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Justin Bieber and a disembodied unicorn head—and have it posted online for maximum fun and exposure.

And, of course, an offer like this deserves its very own, super-cheesy, over-the-top, whiz-bang-animated, movie-trailer-voice-over video. So, here it is…

If you want to be the one to lock up my head, do NOT wait. This is grade-A noggin real-estate people!

Do like the video says and email head@theuncertaintybook.com for the details.

Huggies & butterflies.

And, there’s also something deeply-gratifying about giving someone I care about a book that I’ve hand-chosen for them to explore. I buy books for myself all the time, but it’s just not the same as when someone says, “I chose this for you,” then gives it to me.

So I decided, with my new book – Uncertainty – I wanted to reclaim that experience for you. But not just the giving part. In the book, I spend a solid slice of time on the concept of “creation hives” – small groups of people who strive together to achieve great things – and how to build them. And it’s my hope that sharing this book with those in your hive will help get you all humming and acting on a radically different creative and execution level.

So I spent a lot of time brainstorming ways to inspire people to pre-order not just one, but three copies of the physical book. One to keep, two to share.

Here’s the thing, though. I’m so leery of all the pre-order bonus bonanzas I’ve seen with a bazillion downloadable PDFs and “trials” that we all know are largely worthless. And, on the rare occasion that I have an “ask,” it’s really important for me to feel like I’m still giving way more than I’m getting.

I wanted to do something different for you…

Something with extraordinary “real” value. Something that was a substantial multiple of the cost of the book and delivered mile-wide smiles (hint: think amazing limited-edition art), a deeper window into the minds, experiences and insights from a collection of some of the world’s greatest creators and direct access to me.

Click here to check it all out in detail

And, feel free to share this with anyone you feel would enjoy not only the book, but the experiences included in the bundle.

I wasn’t going to do a trailer for my next book, Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt Into Fuel for Brilliance.

Because, with the exception of Tim Ferriss’ trailer for the Four Hour Body and Gretchen Rubin’s trailer for The Happiness Project, I’d never seen one that engaged, entertained and, at the same time, made their precise target demographic really want to learn more about the book.

Still, there was a nugget of an idea that kept tugging at me until finally, it simply had to come to life.

So, I chose my team, led by Michelle Vargas, largely because I’d seen her camera and editing style and really liked it. And this was such a simple idea – there wasn’t even a script – the editing would really matter.

The entire shoot only took about 30-minutes, followed by 2 weeks of editing and scoring.

Sharing this with the world makes me nervous. It’s different. Very different. Very real. Truth is, I almost lost it for a minute during the shoot. And watching the final trailer, you can tell exactly where and why.

Well, today’s the day…

The campaign for Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt Into Fuel for Brilliance officially launches right now with the release of the new book trailer.

Go check it out at TheUncertaintyBook.com.

And, if it resonates, I’d love if you’d share it with friends and maybe leave a comment under the trailer.

Oh, one other thing…

YAYYYYYYYY!!!

But the first few sentences of two of the pitches I got over the last few months were too good not to share with you and turn them into a mini-lesson of what never to do.

Both were unsolicited. Pitch one started.

Hi Jonathan,

It’s small business week and I sure you and everyone else at Awake At The Wheel are sick of getting pointless pitches but I think you might like this one.

Small businesses and entrepreneurs tend to suck at planning and forecasting the success (or not) of their business.

So, let’s see what we can learn from this…

• “It’s small business week and I sure” – now you guys know I iz a disaster when it comes to typos, but when you’re mass emailing a bazillion pitches to people who don’t want them, be sure to double-check. Bloggers are like resume screeners, dying for a reason to say no as fast as humanly possible so they can get on to the stuff they want to say yes to.
• “…you and everyone else at Awake At The Wheel” – First, I dropped the Awake @ The Wheel moniker from my blog more than a year ago. But I know that my contact information still has it in certain massive PR databases. Which is yet another sign that I’m only one of a bazillion people being gifted with this admittedly “pointless pitch.” Second, if you read me regularly, would you really say “everyone else?” Who exactly would be on that massive team?
• “sick of getting pointless pitches but I think you might like this one” – Really? REALLY? If you think I’m sick of getting pointless pitches, why would you own that and in the same sentence introduce me to one? Really?!
• “tend to suck” – I write in a very casual way with you guys. My tribe. My regulars. And I’m guessing, on occasion, I’ve even written the word “suck.” But I’m still old-school when it comes to being professional in a pitch. Maybe I’m just cranky, a lot of all-growned-up bloggers I know are the same. Once we’re friends, say whatever you want. But until you know me, and know how I prefer to be communicated with, keep it respectful and professional. Or else you end up sounding like a 12-year old gamer in a 22 year old PR intern’s ill-fitting suit.

Okay, email #2 – first few sentences:

I am currently following you on twitter @[redacted/witness protection]

I would like your assistance with something; I would like you to write a blog introducing me to your ‘’Tribe’’ and maybe a couple of tweets endorsing me.

I know that that is a strong paragraph to open this email with but here me out.

First line, okay, this person introduces relevance, it’s a person who follows me on twitter. I do a quick scan and am pretty sure said person has never interacted with me in any way on twitter. But, like I said, I’m old and I forget stuff, so who knows?

Second line – you know that bloggy thing you’ve worked for years to cultivate? That tribe you’ve shared so much value with and to whom your word is really important? Well, you need to feature my “I-don’t-care-about-your-tribe-beyond-my-ability-to-take-money-from-them-and-I-can-prove-it-cuz-I’ve-never-so-much-as-said-boo-in-a-comment-or-read-a-single-post-I-can-reference-in-my-email-to-let-you-know-I-have-any-real-clue-who-you-are” self on your blog, then tweet about me…like pronto, like. Do I really need to say more?

Third line – “here me out.” Typo. Plus, no. Do ya think I did?

Now, let’s contrast these first two with a third one that came in shortly after.

Here are the first few sentences:

Hi Jonathan,

I was reading your blog today and saw your offer from Blogworld East. I was just speaking with a girlfriend today about how we both wished we could go. (We’re both in [city name] and our bosses have been unsympathetic to our pleas!)

I thought it was great that you offer things like that to your readers. The thought crossed my mind, perhaps you and your readers would find value in a membership to [Company Name]? Our business model is based off a $129 per year fee. However, if you think it would benefit your readers,  we could create a custom landing page with your logo and a custom promo code that would let your readers in free to all of the [Company Name] events for one year. (I bolded this just in case you scanned the email and thought I was trying to sell you when you saw $129)

Relevant. Shows knowledge and involvement in my content and my tribe. Expresses gratitude for my interest in sharing special perks with my readers. Offers to create an opportunity where they do all the work to give my readers relevant value for no cost.

Did I do it? No. But, at least I was far more open to the conversation and the offer. And if it was more on-point, I very well may have.

Five rules for pitching bloggers on, well, anything…

1. Know the hell out of the pitchee. Understand what they like, don’t like and what they cover and stay relevant to that and only that.

2. Engage first. Interact with the pitchee in a way that adds value to their ecosystem first, frequently and long before you ever ask something of them. They should already know who you are and believe that you care before an ask is made. And don’t do it just because you want something from them, do it because you both care about the same things and you want more people in your life like that.

3. Make every ask a give. Create an experience that gives more than it takes.

4. Make it easy. Offer to do the work for them, make it as easy as saying yes.

5. Un-pitch. If you do rules 1 – 4 exceptionally well, you won’t have to pitch. You can just ask a colleague or friend who very often will have already made a standing offer to help you out if you ever need it.

Bonus rule – speelhceekx

These rules may be a bit different outside of social media. But, social media has now matured to a point where the potential to do it right has evolved into the expectation that you will do it right.

P.S. – Please understand, my intention is in no way to denigrate or flame the people who sent me these pitches. That’s why I don’t publish names/identities with posts like this. Not my style. My sole purpose is to use occasions like this as teaching moments, to help those trying to build a brand and strong relationships understand how to better approach the people whose help you’d like.

That’s it.

Huggies & butterflies…

Power, freedom, control, respect and, yes, even moolah (I know, you’re not supposed to mention money in the same sentence as art, right?), are there for the taking…if you get what’s really happening and are willing to act on it.

Doesn’t matter if you’ve never published or you’re an established author. Nor does it matter if you’re a writer’s writer or a business person wanting a book to use as a business card. You don’t need to censor, cannibalize or sell-out to benefit from the revolution. In fact, it’s more important than ever to write a phenomenal book.

But if you want to benefit from the extraordinary change in the publishing world, rather than get pummeled by it (which many authors are), you need to do one giant thing…

Become an enterprise.

What exactly does that mean and how do you do it without feeling like a slime-bag sell-out or having the “enterprise” side of things kill your ability to actually write great books?

That’s what I’m talking about over at the just-launched Tribal Author Camp book marketing page.

If you’re an author or aspiring author who’s not happy with:

• The direction your career is going,
• The number of books you’re selling,
• The interest you’re getting from publishers, readers and press,
• The advances your getting from publishers or income your earning self-publishing,
• The level of control, freedom and respect your getting as a “writer” in a world where everyone “has a book”

Or, if you:

• Don’t understand what the basic author business models are,
• Need to figure out whether to go with traditional or self-publishing,
• Want to amass enough power to do either and earn a nice living, and
• Need to learn how to create a highly-tactical book launch campaign without the marketing and platform-building side of things taking over your life…

Go check out the information and see if it resonates.

But more importanty, it gave a name to what so many writers and creators of all ilk feel—Resistance—when striving to birth something worthy of a pulse. That nagging, at times snarling internal push back against the work. And he shared an approach to harnessing Resistance that resonated with me and so many others.

In fact, it was part of the inspiration for my next book. And it led me to reach out to Steve last year as I dove deeper into my own process. Over organic pancakes in a little cafe on the north side of Santa Monica, Steve and I talked about all things Resistance, about his life, where he came from, where he’s going and what his more recent thoughts are on the topic.

Which is why I was so excited to see his new collaboration with Seth Godin’s crew over at The Domino Project–Do The Work.

What is it? As Seth shares:

“It’s a prequel, sequel and manifesto-companion to one of the best books I have ever read, The War of Art. This new one is the one you can hand out to your co-workers and your students and even your boss.”

It’s short, it’s punchy, it’s raw, it’s real and it brings new ideas and discoveries into the conversation. Things like a deeper exploration of the opposite of Resistance (you’ll have to read it to learn the name). And how to frame an entire endeavor on a single sheet of foolscap. New examples and a broader perspective that expand and speak not just to writers, but to creators of any and everything also help frame the conversation.

Do The Work is a wider open window into one of the truest, and most giving creative minds of our time. It’s a book that wraps around The War of Art.

Interesting, too, while Steve and I are very likeminded about what we experience as creators, we come at understanding, sourcing and treating the challenge from very different places. Which I love.

I look for the science behind the internal creative push back, on a quest to reveal, befriend, embrace and harness the wizard behind the curtain. To me, I’m striving for a more a methodical deconstruction and reconstruction. Steve works straight from the heart and the gut. He gives a name to the monster in your head and shares a set of tools to bring into battle.

Sometimes I agree, sometimes not. And other times I agree on the tool, but have a different perspective on why it works or how to use it differently. Doesn’t matter in the end. Steve’s perspective inspires me go deeper into my own exploration, and there’s immense value in re-opening that conversation.

Grab a copy of Do The Work. Follow Steve on twitter. And go read his blog, where and his team take you behind their creative process and reveal the nitty-gritty fueling his next big fiction launch—The Profession. If you happen to be a fiction author wondering how to leverage a blog or twitter to help build your tribe, pay close attention to how Steve does it. Pure genius.

And if you ever have a chance to do organic blueberry pancakes with him…run, don’t walk (though never with scissors).

[FTC Disclosure - Steve is a friend. My recollection is that when we had breakfast, he paid. Breakfast was yummy. Really yummy. You all know I can be bought with good food and great company, so you should weight that heavily in anything I say. You should also always assume that pretty much every link on this blog is an affiliate link and that if you click it, find something you like and buy it, I'm gonna make some serious money. Now, understand this, I'm not talking chump change, I'm talking huge windfall in commissions, bling up the wazoo and all sorts of other free stuff. I may even be given a mansion and a yacht, though honestly I'd settle most of the time for some organic dark chocolate and clean socks. Oh, and if I mention a book or some other product, just assume I got a review copy of it gratis and that me getting it has completely biased everything I say. Because, books are like a drug to me, put one in my hand and you own me. Ethics be damned! K, you've been warned. Huggies and butterflies. ]