What Your Book Is Supposed to Open

An author wrote to me eleven days before her launch. Smart woman, real expertise, a book worth reading. Her question was simple: "Who should I be pitching?"

I couldn't answer it. Not because I didn't know the podcasts and conferences in her field. Because she hadn't decided what she wanted the book to open, and every pitch I could have written would have been a guess in a confident voice.

That conversation happens more often than you'd expect.

A book is a door, not a finish line

The manuscript is finished, the cover is approved, and the question becomes "how do I sell copies." Understandable. Also the smallest version of the question.

Royalties on a nonfiction book are rarely the point. The point is the room the book gets you into: the stage, the client conversation, the partnership, the invitation that would not have come otherwise. Copies sold is a number. Doors opened is a business.

The question that comes before the pitch list

Before you name a single podcast, answer this one: what do I want to be doing more of twelve months from now?

Speaking to associations. Working with a specific client. Consulting inside organizations. Teaching. The answer isn't obvious, and it isn't the same for everyone, which is exactly why skipping it costs so much.

Once you've named it, the rest stops being guesswork:

• 🐝 B — Brand: What you're known for narrows to the thing that gets you invited into that room.

• 🐝 E — Expand: Your pitch list becomes obvious, because you know which doors you're knocking on and why.

• 🐝 S — Scale: Your book becomes the credential that makes the ask reasonable instead of presumptuous.

My eleven-days-out author had a good book and no answer to that question. So she had no pitch list either. We built one, and it took a conversation, not a campaign.

The part most authors get backwards

They treat the book as the thing to be marketed. It's more useful to treat the book as the thing that does the marketing, and to decide in advance what you want it doing on your behalf.

That reframe is worth more than any tactic I could hand you. It also changes what you do on a Tuesday morning.

Your next step

I teach exactly this in my free monthly masterclass, and the September session is coming up.

One Book. A Lifetime of Clients. Monday, September 28, 1:00 p.m. Pacific, on Zoom

We'll cover how one nonfiction book becomes a steady source of speaking invitations, client conversations, and partnerships, and what to put in place so it keeps working long after launch week.

It's free, and there's no pitch waiting at the end.

Save your seat — One Book. A Lifetime of Clients.

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

I wish I had known the symptoms before my diagnosis of stage 3-C peritoneal cancer. Watching this video will take you under 8 minutes, and I hope you'll watch and share it.

This video intends to inform women and those who care about them about what to watch for, because the symptoms are not as rare as you may believe.

Where to Find Me

I am a member of the Free Spirits Gospel Choir. We rehearse and perform at venues around Sonoma. I love to sing and enjoy the camaraderie.

Fitness is my almost daily ritual. I enjoy both the social and physical challenges of TRX, Zumba, Pilates, dance, and the occasional water aerobics session. And exercise raises my mental clarity and capacity.

If you haven't guessed yet, I am also an author. I write in several genres: memoir, prescriptive nonfiction, and magical realism. Here is a link to my author page on Amazon.

On Saturdays, I typically spend my time with writing and publishing groups, including:

BAIPA (Bay Area Independent Publishers Association)

Napa Valley Writers

Redwood Writers

On the air as one host of the Indie Authors Tell All podcast for BAIPA

I am editing a book for one of my clients. There is something juicy about making a manuscript come to life with typography and design. It's almost a meditation when I lay out the pages and check that all the words and parts are in the right place. And it's fun to take on a project of this magnitude and importance.

I'm proud of all the books I've designed, which, by the way, started with my book of poetry and illustrations. I was in high school, and my book project involved learning to set type digitally and run an offset press. When I say I love books, I mean it. I've been working with them for most of my life.

I hang out with the bees in my backyard when the weather permits, and I need a moment to recharge after working on ways to help my clients improve their book marketing results.

September 28, 2026, is going to be productive. One Book, A Lifetime of Clients goes live on Zoom at 1:00 p.m. Later that same day, I am a returning guest on the GoalChatLive podcast at 4 p.m. PT. Look for me at # GoalChatLive; join us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.

October 17 is the date for the Sonoma County Writers Conference. It's held at the Finley Center in Santa Rosa. I am part of the volunteer team. A full day of craft, publishing, and marketing sessions, plus a keynote from award-winning indie poet, historical novelist, and forensic historian Gini Grossenbacher. https://redwoodwriters.org/sonoma-county-writers-conference/

November is approaching. I'll be in Las Vegas for Author Nation 2026. If you are attending the conference, let me know so we can meet up there.

I do a lot of work over Zoom. You can schedule time with me right from your computer or phone: https://meet-with-judy.buzzworthybooks.com/

About Judy M. Baker

Judy M. Baker is the creator of the Buzzworthy Book Experience and the BEES Book Marketing Method. She's a publishing strategist who helps nonfiction authors build brands that buzz — turning their books into platforms, businesses, and legacies. Learn more at buzzworthybooks.com.

"A book isn't a finish line. It's a seed bank." — Judy M. Baker