Reopening an Old Claim
About a decade ago, I built a class called Publishing Gold. It walked writers from finished manuscript to published book, one chatty lesson at a time, usually over tea. Writers took it and published real books. I was proud of the class and my students.
Then life did what life does, and the class sat.
This spring I went back to reopen it. I expected a tidy afternoon of dusting: update a few screenshots, swap a few links, put the kettle on.
You already know where this is going.
Whole lessons had died in place. Tools I’d recommended were gone. Wordpress? No longer at the top of my list. Klout? Totally gone. The formatting lesson taught a process that modern tools now do in one click. And back then, nobody was asking me about AI. Now it comes up in nearly every conversation I have with an author.
Here’s a gut check for you: how old is the newest piece of publishing advice you’re following?
So the tidy afternoon became a full rebuild. Every lesson, top to bottom. And somewhere in the middle of it, I noticed the more interesting thing.
The surface had churned completely. The bedrock hadn’t moved.
You still own exactly three things in this business: your name, your website, and your email list. Everything else you rent, and the landlords keep proving it.
The average indie book still sells in the range of 50 - 200 copies. That number has survived every revolution the industry has thrown at it, and writers who start there still build careers that last, while writers promised shortcuts still spend their grocery money on the maze.
And publishing your own book is still within reach of any writer who can email a file to a friend. That part gets easier every year. Nobody’s permission required.
A decade of churn, and the things I’d have fought for back then are the same things I’d fight for today. That’s how you know they’re bedrock. Dig down that far and you can build.
My point is: the class is rebuilt, and it’s open again.
Publishing Gold is self-publishing with training wheels. Twelve lessons, a capstone, and a resource list I keep current as the tools keep changing. Bring your finished manuscript and we’ll publish it together, step by step: your brand, your claim (that name, website, and email list you own), editing and covers, uploading without tears, and the steady marketing rhythm that sells books after launch week. It’s self-paced. Ask questions in the lesson comments or by email, and I answer.
It’s $225, and if you’re looking for someone to promise you six figures by summer, I’m the wrong teacher. I’d rather hand you a realistic map and teach you to dig.
And if your manuscript isn’t finished yet, that’s not a closed door. Keep writing. We’ll polish it up and get you ready to publish.
The claim's reopened. The kettle's on. Bring your nugget.
Sounds exciting!