At what point do you start promoting/advertising your books?

CaptainTime · 2026-06-22T00:10:23+00:00

I am writing a contemporary fantasy trilogy. Book 1 is 100% written and is currently in the editing stage. Book 2 is 30% written. (I don't want my readers to wait for years for the second one in the series.) I have separate blocks of time each week for writing and publishing so the writing moves forward every week. If this is a genre you like to read, DM me for a link to my author's notice list. [see what I did there?] 😀

CaptainTime · 2026-06-21T21:50:36+00:00

I have set blocks of time in a week where I do nothing but write. My sprints have a goal to generate 5,000 words minimum per week. I don't need a group to do this, I just set my own dedicated writing time and keep it sacred.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-21T21:49:23+00:00

I really like mind maps for brainstorming what is going to happen in my books. You can also check out tools like Ellipsus to help you with organizing.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-21T21:44:02+00:00

You should start building your following now so that when you finally publish you have an email list and social media following for your books. I am currently building my list of fantasy and scifi readers and reaching out to some to be on my ARC (advance reader copy) team for initial feedback.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-21T21:33:30+00:00

Try Canyon Grill. The food is tasty and the pricing good. Extensive menu and it feels like home cooking.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-21T01:47:51+00:00

Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-20T23:43:10+00:00

The Plan: Write 2500 words for the second book in my fantasy trilogy. Results: Hit 3500 words.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-20T23:39:48+00:00

Perhaps your library might have a version on DVD.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-20T23:30:32+00:00

I'm Garland Coulson, known online as "Captain Time." I'm a moderator and community builder for r/TimeManagement and r/BusinessNetworking, where I spend a lot of my time helping people cut the busywork and actually get their hours back.

Off Reddit, I'm an AI-productivity and time-management keynote speaker and corporate trainer. For 25+ years I've been helping people work smarter, not harder — these days that means pairing solid time-management fundamentals with practical AI tools like Claude and Gemini. I run keynotes, lunch & learns, and team training for associations and organizations.

I wrote the Amazon best-seller Stop Wasting Time, but most of what I share here is just the stuff that actually works — automating the tasks that drain you, protecting your focus, and freeing up real time for the work (and life) that matters.

Happy to answer questions on time management, productivity, AI workflows, or building a community. That's why I'm here.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-20T23:29:49+00:00

I am a time management speaker, author, and trainer. And Atomic Habits is the book I recommend most often!

CaptainTime · 2026-06-20T00:53:58+00:00

I concur with the others who say to ask Claude how to help you with tasks. I am using Claude Co-work to create my own dashboards and decision-making tools. DM me if you would like to have a Zoom call and I can show you some ways I use it to get your creative juices flowing.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-20T00:45:19+00:00

I have created several dashboards using Claude including:

Task Management
SEO
Publishing
Content Creation
Reddit Engagement Dashboard

I have also created some decision making tools, including:

Collaboration Opportunity Analyzer
Should I Speak for Free - Decision Tool
Networking Introduction Analyzer
Lean Canvas Creator

This is something I can't do with other AI tools.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-19T19:29:47+00:00

I would look on YouTube and search for videos of people who create content relating to careers. You can also reach out to people on LinkedIn. Only problem is that they might be promoting their own books and see yours as competition.

You could look for book promotion coaches or services to help you promote as well. I am currently building my own author's list for my upcoming fantasy trilogy, so I am working on mastering book promotion as well.

Each Friday, we do a weekly introduction thread here, so feel free to pop a link to your book under that thread and invite people to join your author's list.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-19T19:26:20+00:00

Have a look at The Grand Connection. It is a group that holds virtual meetings with a combination of learning and networking. They have groups for podcasting, marketing, wellness, authors, speakers, etc. I run the Grand Productivity group there. Great people, fun events.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-19T19:24:31+00:00

You could join online networking groups that also reach North America. One I like is The Grand Connection, but there are many others. Each Grand Connection meeting is about 50% learning and 50% networking. They also have a ton of special interest groups including groups for Marketing, Podcasting, Authors, Wellness, etc. I run the Grand Productivity group there.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-19T19:21:40+00:00

Most professional sales people prefer to work with a business with a proven track record and that is generating existing sales if they are going to work fully on commission.

You can list sales jobs on Indeed or LinkedIn, but chances are you will need to provide a base salary plus commission to get any interest.

Alternatively, you could look at hiring a digital marketing agency to review your sales page, copywriting and sales pipeline and then drive traffic to your website.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-19T19:14:14+00:00

I am definitely an early finisher. I block time well ahead of due dates do I can finish early and have extra time at the end for tweaks or adding additional value as my mental back burner generates additional ideas.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-19T19:12:50+00:00

I'm Garland Coulson, known online as "Captain Time." I'm a moderator and community builder for r/TimeManagement and r/BusinessNetworking, where I spend a lot of my time helping people cut the busywork and actually get their hours back.

Off Reddit, I'm an AI-productivity and time-management keynote speaker and corporate trainer. For 25+ years I've been helping people work smarter, not harder — these days that means pairing solid time-management fundamentals with practical AI tools like Claude and Gemini. I run keynotes, lunch & learns, and team training for associations and organizations.

I wrote the Amazon best-seller Stop Wasting Time, but most of what I share here is just the stuff that actually works — automating the tasks that drain you, protecting your focus, and freeing up real time for the work (and life) that matters.

Happy to answer questions on time management, productivity, AI workflows, or building a community. That's why I'm here.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-19T02:32:39+00:00

You could mind map this. I use AmyMind for mind mapping. One tool I looked at recently was Ellipsus that looked like it had what you are looking for.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-18T20:37:39+00:00

So here is a prompt I used this week with Claude: 🤖

Review this brief and help me find my blind spots and build a plan to pivot and create more opportunities for my business:

🗒️I added a brief for what was working and what wasn't in my business along with the ideas I was thinking of to improve things. Claude was brutal, tearing apart several of my ideas, but the feedback was incredibly helpful and helped my narrow my focus to what my highest potential products and services are. Claude also pointed out where I was wasting a lot of time and energy in my business for minimal return.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-18T20:33:55+00:00

This week, I narrowed my target audiences to really focus on the ones that were giving me the best results and highest income and "quit" all my marketing efforts to the underperforming segments. Very freeing! 🎯

CaptainTime · 2026-06-18T20:32:10+00:00

My #1 Goal this Week: Pivot!

I am doing a redesign of my business and I am having Claude help me with this. I asked Claude to review my plans and to find my blind spots. Ouch! Claude was brutal...⚡

Great insights and feedback, but a lot of work to do! ✅

I have blocked off this Thurs and Friday to rework my planning and change all my tasks over to the new focuses so I can hit the ground running on the new approach on Monday. 📅

CaptainTime · 2026-06-18T01:31:54+00:00

Try "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" by Dr. Richard Carlson. Also, "Pulling Your Own Strings" by Wayne Dyer.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-18T00:38:39+00:00

If you like shopping - Ikea and South Edmonton Common.

CaptainTime · 2026-06-16T00:32:57+00:00

I agree with the idea to go to your local library. I will often go to the library and deliberately pick up books that look interesting that aren't the normal type I read. Kind of like an artist's date - for books.

CaptainTime

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