There has never been an easier time to publish a book, so why are more people than ever afraid to write theirs? Are the two things related?
Two fears keep a good book unpublished: that it’s hard, and that you’ll put it out there and no one will come. Chad takes both apart, with a reality check on what the traditional path actually costs in years, what’s changed, why promotion is the part everyone fears and how it builds on itself (one relationship, one event, one printing of 500 at a time), the honest case for the “calling card” book, and James Hollis’s three-word cure.
And announcing the Soundings Reading Period, October 13 to December 15, 2026. Nonfiction of the inner life, any tradition. $25, and a one-page letter from the publisher within 21 days: Ready, Nearly, or Not Yet. Late, and the $25 comes back. crossroadspublishing.group/submit
Mentioned: James Nestor, Breath; David Whyte; James Hollis; IF/THEN Books. Next episode: Justin Jones-Fosu on Stop Chasing, Start Creating.
Timestamps: 0:00 Why publishing feels scary · 3:30 The traditional path, honestly · 7:30 It’s all available now · 10:30 The real fear is the marketing · 12:30 What I learned doing it myself · 16:30 Promotion builds its own momentum · 20:30 The calling-card book · 27:30 The new challenge is visibility · 31:30 The Soundings Reading Period · 35:30 Next time
Follow The Difficulty: Subscribe at chadprevost.substack.com, or listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
The Difficulty is produced by Crossroads Publishing Group, a message-and-meaning press. More at chadprevost.com.
Everything’s on one page: crossroadspublishing.group/submit. If you know someone with a book they’ve resigned themselves to never putting out there, send them that.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chadprevost.substack.com
