Aloha friends,
This has been an incredible month for sports, don’t you think?
The FIFA Club World Cup brought teams and fans from around the world to the U.S., making the world feel a little smaller. Wimbledon delivered the longest quarterfinal match in history as Novak Djokovic battled for five hours and 15 minutes. And in France, 184 cyclists rolled away from the starting line to begin more than 2,000 miles of racing across 21 stages.
As someone who follows professional cycling year-round, you might be able to guess which one I was most excited about. ;)
Every July, my mornings begin with the Tour de France.
People are often surprised by that, but if you know me, it makes perfect sense. I love stories, and I love watching people pursue something difficult. The Tour is 21 days of stories unfolding in real time, and is EXTRAORDINARILY difficult.
New heroes emerge overnight. Favorites have bad days. Unknown riders seize once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to cross the line ahead of everyone else. There are heartbreaking crashes, miraculous recoveries, acts of unbelievable teamwork, and moments where someone simply refuses to give up (even when they could…even when they SHOULD).
By the time the riders reach the iconic Champs-Élysées in Paris, they've lived through enough triumph and adversity to fill a dozen books. I get chills just thinking about it.
Every morning as I turn off Peacock coverage, I can’t help but think of our authors and the finish lines we’re working toward every day at Aloha. The Tour reminds me of a few lessons that are equally true about publishing a book, and if you’ll indulge me, I’d love to share them:
Progress comes from consistency.
The coveted yellow jersey is earned by having the lowest cumulative time after each stage, not by one flashy victory at the end of the race. That's why watching Tadej Pogačar this year has been so incredible. He continues to collect small advantages wherever he can: a minute here, a few seconds there. Yesterday, when he could have ridden conservatively and still kept yellow, he chose to win the stage and extend his lead instead. He knows that you don’t win if you don’t show up whenever you have the legs.
Books are built the same way. A great book is earned through the cumulative work of showing up day after day. It's built through hundreds of small decisions: one interview, one revision, one chapter, one conversation at a time. The authors who finish are the ones who create a practice they can return to consistently, even on the days they don't feel like writing.
Strategy is more important than speed.
Professional cycling is often described as a game of chess played at 30 miles an hour. But much of the strategy begins long before the riders ever clip into their pedals. Teams spend months studying the route, analyzing competitors, assigning team roles, planning nutrition, identifying where they expect attacks, and deciding where they'll try to gain time.
The same is true for book projects. Publishing quickly isn't nearly as valuable as publishing intentionally. Before a manuscript is written, it's worth asking: Who is this book for? What opportunities should it create? How does it fit into the larger vision for my business or career? When you lay that groundwork first, a book becomes a tool that opens doors to speaking engagements, attracts ideal clients, builds credibility, and creates opportunities long after launch day.
Small gains compound over time.
Cycling fans obsess over seconds: a few seconds gained on one climb, a handful more during a time trial, and another few at the finish line. Individually they seem insignificant, but by Paris, they determine the winner of the entire race!
Authority works the same way. A book can open doors you never expected. Perhaps your book lands you a podcast interview with a host who happened to read it. That interview becomes the idea for a keynote. You deliver the keynote, it gets you in front of the right person, who becomes a client. The client introduces you to another organization that hires you on a monthly retainer. The one podcast your book landed you may not have felt like a huge win in the moment, but look where it led!
Teams matter!
The rider wearing the yellow jersey doesn't get there alone. Behind every Tour de France champion are SEVEN OTHER RIDERS (!) on the same team who will never wear yellow. They protect their leader from the wind, fetch water bottles, set the pace, make sacrifices, and help them recover when things don't go according to plan. These riders are called domestiques, French for “servant.” They are literally riding in service of another team member.
In the same way, behind every successful author is a supportive team: an editor asking important questions, a designer shaping the reader’s experience, marketers creating opportunities, and family and friends cheering them on when the process gets hard. As someone who has had the privilege of being on so many authors’ teams over the years, this is my favorite lesson. Nothing brings me more joy than seeing a book I worked on out in the world and an author I’ve grown to adore cross their personal finish line.
Just as no one reaches Paris alone, no one reaches publication alone!
As I gear up to watch the second half of the Tour unfold, I already know there will be surprises none of us can predict. That's part of what makes it so compelling.
And if you’re reading this in the midst of a book project, the same is true for you. You may know the book you want to produce. You may even have a draft written. But some of the coolest stuff happens when we least expect it. What we do with the unexpected is when the magic happens.
That's one of the many reasons I love both sports and publishing.
At their best, they're really about the same thing: Ordinary people doing extraordinary things, one day at a time.
Cheering You On,
Beth Berger
CTO, Editor & Acquisitions Manager
Aloha Publishing
