Promote Your Purpose: Unscripted with Ally & Jenn, The Promotion Season

Your Book Is the Gateway to Future Opportunities

Jenn T. Grace — Thu, 14 May 2026 16:44:04 GMT

After four months of building the foundation - purpose, goals, mindset, accountability - this is the episode where the season shifts into active strategy. Ally and Jenn introduce the concept of the author ecosystem: the idea that your book isn’t a standalone object but the center of an interconnected world of speaking, programs, offers, thought leadership, and community.

Ally introduces the Ferris wheel (and full carnival) metaphor that reframes how you see everything your book can connect to. Jenn maps out the four core buckets every author’s ecosystem can grow from. And together they walk through real examples from their own businesses - the card deck, the bravery box, the coaching containers, the show itself - of what an ecosystem actually looks like in practice.

In this episode:

Why “funnel” is the wrong word for what you’re actually building as an author
The four buckets every author ecosystem grows from: book, thought leadership, business, speaking
Ally’s Ferris wheel metaphor and why it’s a better map than any marketing diagram
How programs, talks, and new offers naturally emerge from a book when you’re paying attention
Real ecosystem examples from both Ally and Jenn’s own businesses

Join us to imagine what your book can grow into once you see its full potential.

Ally Berthiaume is an award-winning author, international memoir coach, and developmental editor. She helps writers transform pain into purpose and build books that matter. Learn more at thewriteplacerighttime.com.

Jenn T. Grace is the founder of Publish Your Purpose and the author of Promote Your Purpose. She helps nonfiction authors turn their ideas into books that create real impact and long-term visibility. Learn more at publishyourpurpose.com.

(Ally) Get Do Not Write a Book Until You Read This One Your no-BS guide for writing a strong, smart nonfiction book. Keep it on your desk and use it every time you sit down to write.

https://donotwriteabook.com/

(Jenn) Build your ecosystem with the Institute for Author Growth & Impact If you want to grow your book into a larger body of work, the Institute will help you design an ecosystem that supports your business and your message.

https://authorgrowthandimpact.org/

Prior episodes worth revisiting:

Getting More Bang for Your Book: Revenue Generating Opportunities

Want the season schedule and companion workbook pages? Grab them at

https://unscriptedforauthors.com

Motivation Is Overrated. Accountability Builds Books.

Jenn T. Grace — Thu, 14 May 2026 16:37:54 GMT

Every author loses momentum. The question isn’t whether it will happen; it’s what you have in place when it does. In this episode, Ally shares the rituals and support systems that kept her moving forward through the hard stretches of writing and publishing - including the specific tools she uses with her own coaching clients. Jenn makes the case that accountability isn’t just for manuscript development; it’s the invisible engine behind consistent, sustainable book promotion too.

This is the last of the foundational episodes before the season shifts into active marketing strategy. Get this piece right and everything that follows becomes dramatically easier.

In this episode:

Why motivation is the wrong thing to rely on - and what to build instead
How to create an editorial and promotional schedule that actually fits your life
The single accountability structure that makes the biggest difference for most authors
Why showing up intentionally beats showing up constantly - and what that looks like in practice
What’s coming in May and why the ecosystem conversation changes everything

Listen in to discover how real support can help you sustain your writing and your message.

(Ally) Book a free 30-minute Story Stroll Let’s talk about your book - what it is, what it could be, and where you’re getting stuck. Clarity, momentum, and a sense of fit in one conversation. https://bit.ly/3HPIQkK

(Jenn) Get Promote Your Purpose Explore the visibility and accountability frameworks inside and learn how to show up for your book with clarity and ease.

https://promoteyourpurposebook.com/

Prior episodes worth revisiting:

Want the season schedule and companion workbook pages? Grab them at

https://unscriptedforauthors.com

Your Mindset Might Be Your Biggest Marketing Block

Jenn T. Grace — Thu, 14 May 2026 16:24:52 GMT

Visibility feels vulnerable for almost every author - even the ones who look confident on the outside. In this episode, Ally pulls back the curtain on the mindset patterns she sees repeatedly while coaching writers: the fear of being seen as pushy, the imposter syndrome that creeps in right before a launch, the quiet dread of what people will think. She maps these to specific stages of the writing and publishing journey so you can recognize them before they derail you.

Jenn reframes the whole conversation with one of the most useful shifts in the season: promoting your book isn’t pitching. It’s inviting. That single distinction changes how you feel about showing up - and how your audience receives you when you do.

In this episode:

Why authors who hate self-promotion are actually protecting something important - and how to channel it instead
The mindset traps that show up at each stage: drafting, editing, post-publication
The shift from “pitching” to “inviting” and why it changes everything about how you show up
How to stop comparing your marketing to other authors and start working from your own baseline
Why this episode pairs directly with the sales episode in July - and what to keep in mind until then

Join us for a grounded conversation that will help you step forward with confidence.

(Ally) Schedule a 60-minute Story Starter session Focused, one-on-one time to get clarity on your structure, message, outline, or publishing questions. Direction fast. https://bit.ly/3BjJx5r

(Jenn) Enroll in the Institute for Author Growth & Impact If mindset is getting in your way, the Institute gives you the tools, community, and structure to stay visible with confidence.

https://authorgrowthandimpact.org/

Prior episodes worth revisiting:

Where’d That Voice Come From? Confronting Imposter Syndrome on the Author Journey

Want the season schedule and companion workbook pages? Grab them at

https://unscriptedforauthors.com

Author Goals That Actually Create Growth

Jenn T. Grace — Thu, 14 May 2026 16:13:55 GMT

Most authors set goals that feel ambitious but have no measurable teeth. In this episode, Ally and Jenn get specific. Ally walks through how her own book goals have evolved over time and what she now helps authors identify when they’re building a writing or revision plan. Jenn unpacks the strategic framework she uses with authors to set goals that are tied to real capacity, real seasons of life, and real outcomes - not just optimism.

You’ll also watch Ally work through her 2026 goals for both her memoir and her nonfiction book live on air, which means you get to see the messy, iterative process - not just the polished result.

In this episode:

Why “I want to sell a lot of books” is actively working against you
The SMART goal framework applied specifically to book promotion - with a live example
How to align your writing goals and marketing goals so they’re pulling in the same direction
What tracking actually looks like in practice (and why it doesn’t have to be complicated)
How to recalibrate when your goals stop fitting your season without scrapping everything

Tune in to learn how aligned goals can transform your writing and your reach.

(Jenn) Grab the Promote Your Purpose Action Card Deck One clear action per card to keep your goals moving forward on the days when you need a nudge. https://promoteyourpurposebook.com/card-deck

Prior episodes worth revisiting:

What Metrics Should I Use to Define My Success as an Author?

Want the season schedule and companion workbook pages? Grab them at

https://unscriptedforauthors.com

Find Your Purpose. Build Your Book. Start Your Impact.

Jenn T. Grace — Thu, 14 May 2026 16:06:17 GMT

In this season opener, Ally and Jenn kick off The Promotion Season by making the case that every marketing decision - what to post, where to show up, how to talk about your book - gets easier when you’re anchored in why you wrote it. Ally shares how her own sense of purpose shifted across two very different books and what that taught her about promoting with integrity. Jenn connects purpose directly to long-term visibility and breaks down how skipping this step creates the confusion, stalled momentum, and scattered marketing that so many authors experience.

This is the foundation. Everything else this year builds on it.

In this episode:

The one question that makes every promotional decision easier to answer
Why your book and your business need to live in the same ecosystem - not parallel universes
How Ally’s memoir and nonfiction book serve completely different purposes, and how that changes everything about how she promotes them
What to do if your book isn’t attached to a business yet (and why that might be an advantage)
How to use this show all year even if you never buy a single thing

Join us to uncover the intention behind your work and start your year with clarity.

(Ally) Get Do Not Write a Book Until You Read This One Your no-BS guide for writing a strong, smart nonfiction book. Keep it on your desk and use it every time you sit down to write.

https://donotwriteabook.com/

(Jenn) Get Promote Your Purpose Follow along all year and discover practical, purpose-centered strategies to market your book with confidence.

https://promoteyourpurposebook.com/

Get the complete Book Marketing Survey Report:

https://bookmarketingsurvey.com

Prior episodes worth revisiting:

Alignment and Intentional Action is the Secret to Your Success

Want the season schedule and companion workbook pages? Grab them at

https://unscriptedforauthors.com