Babe Cave

What if the reason your author platform isn't growing has nothing to do with the quality of your content—and everything to do with your willingness to show up imperfectly? Book marketing strategist Stephanie Moon (15 years at Chronicle Books, Harper Collins, Scholastic) joins Amanda to unpack the uncomfortable truths about building author communities. From spending hours on Canva graphics that got zero engagement to understanding why "B-level work" is actually the secret to consistency, this conversation flips traditional platform advice on its head. In this episode, you'll discover: → Why perfectionism is killing your author platform (and the "straight-A student" reframe that changes everything) → The cold email strategy that got one creator invited to Fashion Week—and how authors can adapt it without feeling spammy → What "everyone wants a village but no one wants to be a villager" really means for your book marketing → Why agents and editors ARE watching your content (even when they never engage) →