Classes

Winning the Promo Game is a 1-3 hour practical class focused on helping authors develop a personalized promotional strategy that reflects their work and personal style. In this hour, participants will:

  • establish a customized measure of success.
  • identify their approach to the challenges of genre fiction promo.
  • map out a fun, effective plan to promote their work more effectively.

Each attendee will leave with a clearer sense of their goals and approach so that they can focus on what matters and what gives them joy... with a list of action items tailored to the kind of career they’re pursuing at the moment.

Design Your Brand Plan is a 1-3 hour workshop where participants will learn the fundamentals of branding and use individual and group exercises to formulate the fundamental building blocks of their unique brand plans. In this class, participants will:

  • identify the brand assets they've already cultivated through accident and instinct.
  • develop language which tells their story and serves as a personal promise to lay bait for their readers.
  • craft a brand toolkit full of resources and personalized assets designed to make marketing easier.

Brand is the cornerstone of any promo and marketing plans. An author brand and platform does the bookselling for you, wielding your brand effectively to build a career and prepare for long range goals. We'll get you started with a plan that will send you out the door ready to start selling and with the tools you need to cultivate your brand now and into the future.

Find Your Game Face is a 1-3 hour workshop to help you cultivate your unique public appeal to communicate your value and values to the publishing marketplace. Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, we’ll show you:

  • how utilizing archetypes can protect and project your professional interactions.
  • how to harness the power of personal goals and public presence on and offline.
  • how to tailor your message to open new doors and attract the right kind of attention.
  • how to bait your media hook to access a wider market and fresh audiences.

It's one thing to have a barnstorming brand; it's another matter entirely to embody that brand for your public with panache. We'll show you how a carefully constructed author presence can be a game changer in the promo arena.

Map Your Success is a 1-3 hour practical class focused on positive career planning for genre authors based on a writer's voice, vibe, and personal objectives. In this session, participants will:

  • establish a detailed measure of success.
  • identify strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats in their career.
  • verbalize a personal course of action to help navigate professional challenges.
  • Upgrade individual goals to transform their genre niche within the industry.

Each attendee will leave with career strategies, short-term and long-range plans, and clear guidelines to help them navigate the industry adroitly... with a list of action items and tactics tailored to their skillset and the kind of success they want.

Unlock Your A Game is a full-day workshop that starts at square one and lays out a personalized plan for genre fiction careers of every stripe.

Give us a few hours and we’ll revamp your promo mojo.

Genre publishing gets more competitive every day, and no two authors are alike. Bringing your A game is essential whether you’re a baffled newbie or a seasoned pro. Playing to win should be fun, but knowing the tricks and traps lets you bend the rules and stand out in a crowded field.

Play harder and smarter. Using simple game theory and practical exercises, we’ll help you plan your best next move. We’ll tackle every component of a winning romance platform: Brand, Presence, Market, and Project strategy. You’ll leave our class with the tools you need to tailor your career and unleash your own unique A game.

This class will tackle the foundations of an A game in its first three sections and then pull the components together in the fourth:

  • BRAND: Your piece in the game.
  • PRESENCE: The rules of engagement.
  • MARKET: The board on which you play.
  • PROJECT: A coherent A game played with the class (for individual participants, depending on workshop format).

Attendees will leave with all the components of a basic promo plan as well as four section handouts (with take-home worksheets) and several handy-dandy checklists so they can apply what we covered to their own work.

Feedback

Heidi and Damon's Your A Game workshop should not be missed, but there's so much insight, it can't be squeezed into an hour. For full benefit, play around on the website and get the book. Not only are they fun and comprehensive, leading to great conversations and brain storming, but you'll get tangible results. After half an hour, I could verbalize the hook for my series and I had the perfect color scheme for my brand and website.

Heather McGovern
Heather McGovern Author of swoony southern romance

Heidi and Damon's approach makes book promo feel more natural and fun, while showing you how to play to your strengths. YOU are your brand, and with a few key choices, you can make your brand stand out even more.

Alexis Daria
Alexis Daria Author & Illustrator

You can't walk away from one of Damon Suede's classes without something profound to apply to your own writing. His format is on-point and accessible for a writer in any stage of the game. And of course, the delivery is an entertainment treat but still helped me dramatically improve my own promo skills.

Amy Lane
Amy Lane RITA nominee & bestselling author of the Johnnies series and the Green's Hill series.

Your A Game is relevant for everyone - whether you're just starting out or have been doing your own marketing thing forever. It isn't just the same five tips repackaged - this one is literally a game changer.

Tere Michaels
Tere Michaels Bestselling Author of the Faith, Love, Devotion series

Damon Suede gave his A-Game workshop to my RWA chapter. We were all blown away. We’re desperate to have him come back and give us more. The basics were mind-blowing. The more advanced stuff will take us all to the next level.

Kathy Lyons
Kathy Lyons USA Today bestselling author

I’ve had the pleasure of attending Heidi and Damon's "Bringing Your A Game" class and it was priceless! I left with excitement, focus, and a fantastic to-do list to promote and market both me as an author and my books. I revamped my website and added a tagline that captures my voice. Thank you Damon and Heidi.

Lyla Bellatas
Lyla Bellatas Author of the Real Fling series