The Roast of Tilt Publishing

What Makes Tortured Authors Tick? (Insight Foraging)

This stage is about whether you have systematically uncovered what makes your customers tick. Let me tell you a story first that perfectly illustrates the depth of insight foraging that's possible… and how I think you completely missed it.

Books have magical power. I realised most marketers and business owners I looked up to had published one. If you scan the 200+ guests on my podcast, I discovered the majority because of their books. Despite all the rise of AI, writing a good book remains perhaps the strongest signal of authority.

So naturally, I always wanted to write one.

A few years back, I considered compiling insights from my podcast interviews to turn them into my own little guide, but something felt off. I just couldn't find the hook that would make it coherent… so I never started it.

Later, while developing my IP (intellectual property) working with marketing agencies and consultants, something clicked. People connected with Stand The F*ck Out as a concept intuitively… They didn't need to know every step of the methodology to understand what it meant for them. This is when I knew I had something worth writing about.

But writing a book felt like mounting the Puy de Dôme on my hands. Me, a book author, in my second language? With no family or friends in publishing? Even though I'd been thinking about it for years, it remained just a dream.

Puy de Dôme is an extinct volcano a few kilometers from Clermont-Ferrand, where I was born.

The final trigger came when I was about to become a dad. I'd take three months completely off (no work, no email check, etc.), and after it, with a fresh mind, I’d work on a first draft over six months or so (that was my estimate).

My daughter was born December 21, 2021. Those first three months were magical but brutal. My wife had a tough birth, Robyn wasn’t sleeping very well, and my anxious thoughts became more present. Every morning I'd think: "At the end of these three months, I have to jump off that proverbial cliff and figure out what an actual book looks like."

From 8 AM to 2 PM in my garden office, I researched obsessively. Using my own methodology to ask myself questions, finding gaps in how brands can stand out. The answers came from books and podcast interviews. I mapped everything out in my second brain, thinking I'd be done in six months with research, writing, and publishing.

When I felt ready, I contacted a hybrid publisher called Scribe Media based on recommendations. I needed accountability during such an emotional time when I was doubting myself… someone to make me do what needed to be done, otherwise I'd never finish.

Scribe didn't need a completed manuscript… they'd interview me and essentially provide a ghostwriter. This process helped get ideas out, but they couldn't match my unique style and voice. And then, in the middle of this process, they went bust. I’ll spare you the details here, but let's just say that relationship with me and all the other authors ended badly. Very badly. $36,000 badly. Then, a LinkedIn convo with Joe Pulizzi saved my arse, as he introduced me to his new project, Tilt Publishing.

Okay, back to you, Tilt…

Now, why am I sharing this deeply personal journey during a roast? Because this story… my story… is the kind of customer insights we’re going to use to check whether you are standing the f*ck out or if they’re gaps we need to fill. Looking at the data you gave me for this roast, those are the insights you provided:

This is a very good start and my feeling is that those insights come from pure intuition and experience from working with authors directly (you’re on track to publish 50 books this years!), as well as the experience of your OG founder, Joe Pulizzi, who published… check notes… half-a-dozen books.

You told me: "We target content entrepreneurs for sure, so they are also diversifying their revenue streams with other offerings like email, online courses, in-person events and speaking, podcasting, etc."

Verdict: 2/5. Your understanding of customers seems to be okay, but I think there are opportunities you’ve overlooked, especially if we look deeper into my book story. This is where you may find new market space and this is how you can win as an underdog.

Why Should Draft Purgatory Sufferers Choose you? (Unique Positioning)

Throughout this stage, I'm comparing your intake form with my own publishing hell (and stories from other non-fiction authors) to show you that by digging deeper, we can unearth positioning gold that your competitors are ignoring.

Job: What are wannabe authors really trying to accomplish?

Before publishing Stand The F*ck Out, I was obsessed with escaping a label that was suffocating me. I was "the podcast host with the weird accent who interviews expert marketers." That's not what I wanted for my career… I'd never seen myself as a podcaster, more like a marketer who happened to run a podcast.

I'd hit the proverbial ceiling. Podcast? Check. Email list? Check. Agency experience? Check. Product marketing experience? Check. But that podcaster label was the only thing sticking. I needed to transform from practitioner to undeniable authority.

Your current understanding:

• "Become thought leaders"

• "Build long-term revenue while keeping their audience"

• "Reach new audiences"

From my story and analysis: move from practitioner to authority.

This is specific, emotional, and uses their language. Your submissions circle the issue without touching the core. At the heart of it all, this is what I think those content entrepreneurs are trying to achieve.

Alternatives: What have they tried to escape practitioner prison?

Understanding alternatives helps us identify what others don't do (the gaps we can fill better or differently). For this, we need to open our chakras beyond the self-publishing industry.

Looking back at my journey, I've thrown time and money (and also my sanity) at trying to become an authority: paying €6,000 to speak at conferences, spending thousands of hours building my LinkedIn presence, building an audience from scratch.

Your current understanding:

• Self-publishing with contractors

• Traditional publishing deals

From my story and analysis, this is what folks consider/try to become an authority:

• Building a personal brand

• Paying to speak at events

• Hiring PR agencies

• Guest contributing

• Writing and publishing via traditional/self-publishing

There are way more, but my point remains: you’re not just competing against traditional publishers or going at it alone.

Struggles: The psychological torture you're ignoring?

This is where your biggest opportunity lies. When I asked about customer problems, you said: "Understanding the difference between publishing options." Looking at your website copy, I see the same thinking: "Today's publishing landscape can be confusing for creators..." "Simplifying the publishing process for nonfiction authors..."

You're obsessing over confusion and complexity, I get it. But if I look back at MY experience, this was at most un caillou dans la chaussure. A little pebble that annoyed me briefly before I removed it. It took me a total of two seconds to decide on the hybrid publishing route. Those weren't the obstacles preventing me from becoming an authority. 

But then you said something that made me sit up: "Many authors don't understand the hybrid process... they see the costs and think they can do it themselves, but are scared, so the manuscript ends up sitting in a drawer or going unfinished."

This.

Right f*cking here.

When Scribe Media imploded and left me $36,000 poorer, I had my manuscript sitting in digital purgatory… a Google Drive folder I couldn't bear to open. I hated every single word on that manuscript. For months, I was paralysed. Not because I didn't understand publishing options, but because I was trapped in what I would call Draft Purgatory.

Draft Purgatory: The psychological prison where your unfinished manuscript haunts you daily, taunting you with questions like "Is this good enough? Will anyone care? When will I f*cking finish this?" It's like having homework due tomorrow, but that feeling lasts for A YEAR OR TWO.

So, no, your best clients aren't confused about publishing… they're terrified of their own expectations. This particular struggle is ignored by most alternatives, and I think you, of all people, can solve it in a way others can’t.

Your ignored struggles:

• Stop the self-inflicted psychological torture of a manuscript rotting in digital drawers

• Stop wondering if their book will be good enough while writing it

• Stop feeling abandoned when the publishing process inevitably gets brutal

Segment: Who suffers most in Draft Purgatory?

This is an important question, because answering it will help us find a group of people you can serve in a way that gives you a distinct advantage against alternatives. So, who suffers most?

Maybe people going from 0 to 1 (first-time book authors). If I write a second book, I'll hate the process, but it'll be easier because I've survived it once. But also maybe seasoned authors, who are eager to produce something that’s better than the last. Using my book's framework to dig deeper:

Putting it all together, this would be my refined segment:

Subject matter experts with higher education and established expertise, who are at a life-transition moment where they need to escape practitioner prison and become the authority their expertise deserves.

Category: Which route are authors taking to escape?

There are three paths available to your segment once they’ve decided to write a book: traditional publishing, self-publishing, or hybrid publishing. Of course, that last path is yours, Tilt. But is this category of services in demand? Yep.

First of all, books are still sexy. For example, print books account for 84% of the global revenue share (source).

However, traditional publishing is in deep sh*t after riding the gravy train until 2007 or so. Recession, pandemic, and AI have weakened its business model.

Self-publishing is the Wild West since Amazon democratised it twenty years ago through KDP (editor's note: Lulu, the print-on-demand company that owns Tilt Publishing, was offering self-publishing services before Jeff Bezos). Hybrid publishing is the sweet spot as long as it helps non-fiction authors position their book to stand the f*ck out in the sea of new releases, by focusing on premium content requiring human insight, creativity, and authority.

Tilt's Unique Positioning Statement

Before (yours, based on your answer):

Unlike other hybrid/traditional/self-publishing services [alternatives], Tilt Publishing is the only self-publishing service [category] that helps you retain 100% of your profit, data, and control [struggles/job] as a content creator with a large audience who embraces direct sales [segment].

After (mine):

"Unlike other solutions for escaping practitioner prison [alternatives], Tilt Publishing is the only hybrid publisher [category] that rescues non-fiction experts from Draft Purgatory [segment/struggles] with emotional support and professional guidance, while keeping 100% of profits, control, and creative freedom.

Which slaps harder?

The rational aspects (keeping profits, control) close deals. But your core segment's real struggle? Draft Purgatory. Address the psychology, stand the f*ck out.

Verdict: 2.5/5. You've identified a real market opportunity, but you're marketing to symptoms (confusion) instead of the disease (psychological torture). Time to become the Draft Purgatory therapists, not just another hybrid publisher.

Are You Invisible? (Distinctive Brand)

Time for some brand therapy, Tilt. A distinctive brand helps you get noticed for all the right reasons without alienating your audience. In this stage, we'll uncover four key ingredients: your monster, point of view, spices, and assets.

Monster: Who’s your common enemy?

A monster is a semi-fictional enemy that represents the struggles your audience faces. It gives people something clear to blame instead of feeling guilty about their own failures. In other words, without a monster, your publishing services have no unifying purpose… just a random collection of features.

When dissecting your unique positioning, we established that your real enemy isn't Amazon or traditional publishing: it's Draft Purgatory, that psychological prison where manuscripts rot while authors torture themselves with perfectionistus paralysus (I made that up). 

Your opportunity is right here, in front of us. Your brand completely ignores this monster exists. You're talking about "confusing publishing landscapes" while your real customers are having mental breakdowns over unfinished manuscripts.

Point of View (POV): What’s your Bat-Signal?

A point of view is how you consistently signal to your audience that you're on their side against the monster. It's your version of the Bat-Signal… messages mixed into everything you do that show you understand their pain and you're here to fight it.

Your current POV (from intake form and website):

"People need to be educated that they can publish a book and be successful using a hybrid publisher. It takes money to publish a polished and professional business book. They need to stop thinking they can do it themselves via Amazon and make tons of money doing it."

The problem with this POV: You're lecturing your audience about publishing options while they're having psychological breakdowns over unfinished manuscripts. It's like offering navigation lessons to someone who's drowning.

Your new POV (using my CHIPS Framework):

Common Belief: Deep down, subject matter experts think their manuscript must be absolutely perfect before anyone can see it. They believe everything's been said already, so why bother finishing?

Happen: They doubt themselves, second-guessing every sentence, paralysed by perfectionist thinking.

Impact: Manuscripts sit in digital purgatory forever. Frustration builds, affecting their business, relationships, and mental health.

Proof: Real author stories plus your own admission that manuscripts "end up sitting in a drawer or going unfinished."

Solution: Break free from Draft Purgatory through professional validation that your manuscript is ready and emotional support to finally publish that f*cking book.

Your current POV treats symptoms (confusion about options) while ignoring the disease (psychological torture). The new POV positions you as the therapist who understands their real pain, not just another publisher explaining logistics.

Spices: How are you bringing your POV to life?

Spices are tangible actions that bring your POV to life in ways your segment notices. They align what you say with what you actually do. Without spices, you're just another book publisher making promises you may not keep.

One thing struck me when we were working on my book together: everyone genuinely cares. Joe Pulizzi, Matt Briel, Marc Maxhimer, Kristen Moxley… all humans who actually give a sh*t about their authors. I can think of a few specific examples:

• Plenty of personal (i.e., non-templated) communication via email. I’ve counted 59 email threads between my team and yours.

• No-questions-asked refunds. When a book delivery is late, even if it’s the courier’s fault, not theirs, a full refund is issued. No endless back-and-forth.

• Great overall “vibe.” This one’s difficult to put into words, but I could sense that your people were my people. 

In other words, I think your spice is too relentlessly reassuring.

So, what’s the problem? Your brand's current behavior and communication fail to reflect this overall vibe.

Assets: How can you showcase your brand’s best side?

Brand assets are distinctive visual and sensory elements that make your brand uniquely yours, such as colors, shapes, sounds, words, and characters. They tickle different parts of the brain to build stronger memory structures. And they’re very useful to bring a brand to life. So, your current brand doesn’t show how relentlessly reassuring you are.

Asset Types	The Tilt Assets
A color (or a color combination)	“Black out” black “Mad for Mango” orange
A logo or shape
Something with a face (a character or spokesperson)	Joe Pulizzi is the founder of the brand Authors featured
A sound	None
A short phrase	None

Most brands take good ideas and develop them at maybe 20% intensity instead of going ALL IN at 100%. They hold back because Annie from Accounting doesn't like it, or they've never seen anyone execute it that way.

But the world is getting noisy and overwhelming. To stand the f*ck out, you cannot afford to execute anything below 100% intensity. What would happen if you were to turn the "reassuring" intensity all the way to 100% and share the result through your branding?

I don’t know why my mind goes there, but what if you were the Hells Angels of non-fiction publishing (minus the organised crime)? Like the Publishing Outlaws? What would that look and feel like?

What if your team’s photos are styled like motorcycle gang portraits, but everyone's holding manuscripts? What if your tagline became, “We don't publish books… we SET THEM FREE"? What if you ran "Church" meetings (read, author support groups) instead of boring webinars?

Too far? Maybe. But that’s not the point. I’m just trying to show you the power of dialing up the intensity to 11 to become un-copyable.

Verdict: 1/5. You have a great, caring culture but it's entirely invisible for prospective authors. Come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!

Are You Showing up in Front of Those Tortured Authors? (Continuous Reach)

This final stage is about showing the right message to the right people at the right time, as much as you can afford. The goal? Keep you top-of-mind so when practitioners hit their "move to authority" trigger moment, you're the obvious choice.

Triggers: What are the “now or never” moments?

People don't take action unless something causes them to. For example, learning I was going to be a dad was the final trigger that made me commit to writing a book in 2021. The idea had been lurking for years, but becoming a parent created "now or never" urgency, you know?

Talking to other non-fiction authors like April Dunford and Jay Acunzo, plus reading about James Clear's journey after his cranial injury, I've identified three core triggers:

• Trigger 1 - Big life change: Becoming a parent, kids moving out, health scares, milestone birthdays

• Trigger 2 - Expertise recognition: Clients repeatedly asking the same questions, noticing patterns in problems you uniquely solve

• Trigger 3 - Content momentum: Great feedback after a talk, viral social post, and external validation of your ideas

Let’s put them to good use.

Channels: Are you waiting for referrals to fill your pipeline?

Channels are how you meet potential customers where they experience triggers, compare alternatives, and can easily buy your category. Right now, you're sitting around waiting for referrals while tortured authors are crying into their keyboards at 2 AM.

Tilt, your current channel strategy seems to be:

• Step 1: Hope Joe Pulizzi mentions you on LinkedIn.

• Step 2: ???

• Step 3: Book deal.

And sure, referrals from Joe and friends are nice. But relying on one man’s network is not really sustainable.

Okay, I’m exaggerating a tad to make a point. But still, wouldn’t it be nice to get away from referrals? Let’s map your customer triggers to the channels where they hang out, feel pain, and are most ready to say: “F*ck it, I need help.”

For example…

Trigger 2 - Expertise recognition

(“Clients keep asking me the same questions over and over again…”)

• LinkedIn: You know this already, but subject matter experts selling services hang out over there.

• Podcasts: Could sponsor creator podcasts where “turning knowledge into income” is the theme?

• Collaboration with online course platforms: Could you offer workshops like “Turn your signature framework into a book?”

Tilt, your job is to stop waiting for referrals and start intercepting tortured geniuses at their most vulnerable moment… when the Google Doc is open, the cursor is blinking, and their soul is begging for help.

Time to go where the pain lives.

Offers: How to make wannabe authors take the first step?

Your biggest opportunity isn't just helping people publish… I think it's helping them START. You need offers that tackle Draft Purgatory head-on while giving people confidence to take the first step.

I took your segment's main job (move from practitioner to authority) and broke it down using the 8-stage job map (it’s a chronological way to see how customers get the job done, from start to finish and from their perspective):

The gap is visible: you only help with stages 5-8 (Execute through Conclude). But people get stuck in Draft Purgatory at stages 1-4, possibly never reaching you.

To fill this gap a few offers come to mind:

Offer 1: "Is Your Manuscript Ready?" Assessment

• Basis: Free online diagnostic tool

• Outcome: Instant confidence boost or clear roadmap to readiness

• X-factor: AI-powered analysis gives percentage readiness score ("You're 76% ready to publish")

Offer 2: Published Author Benchmark Study

• Basis: Research report based on your author database

• Outcome: Realistic expectations about timeline, revenue, and challenges

• X-factor: Real data from real authors (not industry myths)

Offer 3: Beta Reader Concierge Service

• Basis: Done-with-you beta reader management

• Outcome: Professional validation that manuscript resonates with target audience

• X-factor: Systematic process for finding right readers and asking right questions

Okay… Time to wrap things up.

Tilt Publishing: Distinctive Brand Kit

Message: What to say

"We rescue tortured authors from Draft Purgatory and help them finish the damn book."

You're a hybrid publisher, sure, but your message should focus on emotional rescue, not logistical support. Speak directly to it, because nobody should have to finish their manuscript alone.

Behavior: How to act

Spice: Too relentlessly reassuring

It's almost like the emotionally intelligent therapist disguised as a publishing team.

Do:

• Offer tools to diagnose problems, not just fix them.

• Host workshops for stuck authors.

• Share real-time author struggles in public (with permission) to normalise the process.

Don’t:

• Focus too much on logistics like editing/copyediting definitions.

• Rely solely on Joe Pulizzi’s network to bring in leads.

Verdict: 2/5. Tilt, you’re showing up too late. You help authors finish their book, but most never make it that far. To stand the f*ck out, you need to stop waiting for referrals and start intercepting them at the trigger moment.