Eleven years ago, I published How to Eat the Elephant: Build Your Book in Bite-Sized Steps. It was solid advice that helped hundreds of writers complete their manuscripts. But here’s the thing about the writing and publishing world: it doesn’t stand still while you’re busy congratulating yourself on your previous work.
Everything changed. And I mean everything.
The landscape I navigated in 2014 now looks like a quaint little village compared to today’s publishing thunderdome. Back then, you competed primarily against other books. (Adorable, right?) Now, you’re competing against TikTok videos, YouTube tutorials, podcasts, newsletters, and an endless tsunami of free content promising instant answers to every question. Your book isn’t just competing with other books—it’s fighting for attention against cat videos and productivity hacks that can be consumed in thirty seconds. (Raccoon videos take up way too much of my day!)
But here’s the flip side that most authors are too busy whining to notice: The tools available to writers today would have seemed like actual magic in 2014. You can test your content with real audiences before writing a single chapter. You can build your platform while developing your book. You can validate your ideas through social media engagement and newsletter responses. Most importantly, you can integrate your book writing with your broader business strategy in ways that simply weren’t possible a decade ago.
Yet most writers are still following advice from the publishing stone age, wondering why their brilliant manuscripts disappear into the void.
This realization hit me like a cold slap when I started working with a new breed of client—professionals writing complex prescriptive nonfiction. These weren’t the dreamy memoir writers or aspiring novelists I’d once taught in craft workshops. These were sharp consultants, battle-tested executives, and subject matter experts creating comprehensive business methodologies, research-heavy frameworks, and sophisticated how-to guides. They didn’t have time for romantic notions about the writing process.
The old advice of “just write your first draft, then worry about everything else” wasn’t cutting it. Hell, it was actively sabotaging them. These authors needed to think strategically about revision from day one. They couldn’t afford to spend months polishing prose that didn’t connect with their target audience or developing concepts that sounded brilliant in theory but fell flat when real people tried to use them.
That’s when I developed what I call the “platform integration strategy” for revision—an approach that treats your book development as inseparable from your audience building and content testing. Revolutionary? Hardly. It’s just common sense that most of the writing world has been too stubborn to embrace. (Still, if you want to think of me as a genius, go right ahead.)
Now, to drive some important concepts home I’m going to bold the shit out of them. (Plus, it helps with search engines.)
Test Your Core Concepts First (Before You Waste Everyone’s Time)
Before you spend weeks polishing prose, make sure your main ideas actually work. Post your key concepts on LinkedIn. Share them in your newsletter. Present them in a workshop or webinar. Pay ruthless attention to what resonates and what falls like a lead balloon.
If people consistently misunderstand a concept, or if certain ideas generate the engagement level of a corporate compliance training video, you know you need to revise those sections before you worry about comma placement. This wasn’t possible for previous generations of authors, who had to guess what readers wanted and hope for the best. You have access to real-time market research. Use this advantage, or watch your competitors eat your lunch.
Use Your Audience as Beta Readers (They’re Better Than Your English Teacher)
Your newsletter subscribers, social media followers, and professional network are your built-in focus group. They’re also infinitely more valuable than that writing group where everyone spends more time being polite than being honest. Share excerpts from chapters and ask specific questions: “Does this example make the concept clear?” “What questions do you still have after reading this?” “Which part was most valuable to you?”
This real-time feedback loop transforms revision from guesswork into strategic refinement based on actual reader needs. It’s the difference between throwing darts blindfolded and hitting a target you can actually see.
Map Your Content to Reader Journey (Or Watch Them Wander Off)
For each chapter, ask yourself the hard questions: What’s the one main point? (If you can’t answer this in one sentence, you have a problem bigger than your ego.) What story supports that point? (If you don’t have one, you need one—yesterday.) What action do I want readers to take? (If you don’t know, neither will they, and they’ll close your book forever.) How does this connect to the next chapter? (If it doesn’t, you need a bridge, not a literary cliff.)
This systematic approach ensures your book doesn’t just contain good information—it guides readers through a logical progression that serves their actual needs instead of your need to sound impressive.
The Integration Advantage (Why Most Authors Are Doing This Backwards)
Here’s what most revision advice misses completely: Your book revision should work hand-in-hand with your platform building. Every revised chapter is potential content for your newsletter, LinkedIn posts, or presentations. As you revise, ask which sections could become standalone articles, what examples would work well in presentations, and which concepts need more development through ongoing content.
This approach serves two purposes: You’re testing your content with real audiences, and you’re building the platform that will help sell your book when it’s published. Most authors do this backwards—they write in isolation, then scramble to build an audience for something nobody asked for.
Here’s the bottom line: The writers who succeed in today’s market understand that strong craft and strategic thinking aren’t mutually exclusive—they’re essential partners. Whether you’re crafting literary fiction or complex business frameworks, your content needs to connect with real readers who have real needs and limited attention spans.
That’s why I’m not just updating the old book, which would be so much easier, believe me—I’m completely reimagining it for writers who understand that their book is one component of a larger platform strategy, not a precious artifact to be created in splendid isolation. The revision process itself has become a masterclass in strategic content development.
The elephant metaphor still works: you tackle any overwhelming project one manageable piece at a time. But now we’re building with tested, validated bricks that we know will connect with our intended audience. And that makes all the difference between a book that gathers dust and one that transforms both its readers and its author’s professional trajectory.
The game has changed. The writers who adapt will thrive. The ones who don’t will keep wondering why their beautiful manuscripts sit unread in an increasingly crowded marketplace while complaining that “nobody reads anymore.”
Spoiler alert: People are reading. They’re just not reading books that don’t serve their needs.
