Announcements:  Shared Lodging ticket [AND a private ticket] just opened up for the retreat for a woman-identified person wanting to share a tipi with two twin beds. $650 for all food and lodging, coaching, instruction, and retreat time. Group Coaching Sept 12- Dec 12 $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping Books: Just finished:  Rich as Fuck by Amanda Frances, A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales, and  Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane Rosen   I'M READING: Wildwood Magic by Willa Reece, I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi, and At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Webber. Erick's Reading:  Roni Stinger's Fuzzy (Rewind or Die series) The Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton On Fire Island by Jane Rosen Duma Key by Stephen King The Ophelia Killer by Valerie Geary Rick Rubin The Creative Act: A Way of Being Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket Show Notes: Content: books, posts, podcast, blog, videos (inspiration, tutorials), website copy, ad copy This is where marketing is going.  Personal videos. We buy from people we know. Anything you can do is a viable option to connection with authors, everything requires time, effort, promoting. Be authentic. The time to start is now. Get past the awkwardness. Your audience doesn't know that you are learning in public. Honesty is disarming. Use empathy and understanding in business.  People want to help. That connects you to your audience. Holding out the hand of perfection. Dear World, Here's Me. Write to Someone. (Everyone is not your core audience.) It's not dead unless it's dead to you.