Ben Guttmann
Well, the past week has sure been busy. If you’re here, you know that on October 10, my first book, Simply Put: Why Clear Messages Win – and How to Design Them, was released.
Since then, it’s been a ride. Dozens of friends and colleagues have shared photos with their new copies. I hosted my first launch event last Thursday at P&T Knitwear, an awesome new bookshop downtown. Even my own pre-ordered copy came! Here’s what else has been going on.
Over the last couple of months, I’ve been recording dozens of podcast interviews (and have dozens more on the schedule for the coming months). It’s been an honor to be invited on to so many great shows, and there are too many to list here. Eventually, I’ll make these all available on a separate page, but for now, I’ll share a small selection of conversations if you’d like to tune in:
Beyond podcasts, I’ve had a blast joining a number of organizations, from the New York Public Library to SERHANT, for webinars and other virtual events. In real life, there’s the great gathering I mentioned before at P&T (shout out to my friend and fellow author Michael F. Schein for his gracious introduction that evening) and a forthcoming event at Baruch College on October 26 – I hope you can make it there! Some folks have asked if there will be more launch events, and the answer is maybe. I don’t have any other local appearances planned at the moment, but if you’d like me to join you for something, just shoot me a note.
Now that the book has been out for a few days, reviews are starting to trickle in. And I’m flattered. Here’s one of my early favorites from Amazon:
I ordered the book to be delivered upon release and took it with me for a 17 hour flight. I couldn’t put it down. As an early adopter of AI to help me with my writing, the tools out there are great for a first draft, but it is human ingenuity and creativity that is required to get content to final draft – and this book is your guide, your teacher, your mentor.
To humor myself, I’ll share another:
It is easy to say that your marketing messaging should be clear and simple -- we’ve all heard that enough times. So many books, articles, and other areas of advice in this area completely underdeliver. They tell you that it matters, but don’t give clear tips to actually do it yourself. Simply Put fulfills on that promise.
These early reviews mean a HUGE amount. If you’ve enjoyed the book as much as these two reviewers, I’d be honored if you could spare 30 seconds to drop a review on Amazon as well.
Lastly, I’ll leave you with a thought about the writing process. In one of those podcast interviews, I was asked what was the hardest part of writing a book. It wasn’t the research, the first draft, or even the editing. It was the Acknowledgments.
I had just too many people to thank. There was the team that directly worked with me on the production of the book. There was my network of mentors and advisors that helped with the writing process. There was my team from Digital Natives and the clients that trusted us. Friends. Family. Teachers. Everybody. Nothing is done alone, and I’m grateful to everybody who has helped me on this journey.
Including you! Thank you for reading. Thank you for being here.
