I attended my first AWP conference and book fair this year, where I feasted on literary and writing business delicacies, along with over 12,000 other attendees. After reviewing over 550 offerings, I selected fourteen panels, which I attended over three days. It was a treat to see SWP Publisher Brooke Warner speak on the panel: “A New Girl’s Network: Lessons From The Movement of Equal Voice,” and SWP editor and Grammergency blogger Annie Tucker, who spoke on the panel, “What to Expect When You’re Expecting A Redline.”

There were many other inspiring and instructive panels, but the very first one I attended—“Book Launch Confidential: Marketing Made Smarter, Not Harder”—covered important topics I’d like to share here. What follows was gleaned from my notes on this session and represent the ideas of panelists Lynne Griffin, Michelle Toth, Eve Bridburg, and Michael Blanding, members of GrubStreet’s Book Launch Lab, a team of writing professionals in Boston, dedicated to bringing community and joy (yep, joy!) to the business of writing.

This process begins with what the Launch Lab refers to as the “Logic Model.” They encourage writers with books coming out to create a marketing plan unique to themselves and their goals, both personally and professionally. In order to do this, they suggest writers get clear about why they write by drafting a focused, intentional mission statement. Questions to help you with this process are: What do you want to accomplish with your writing? Why are you producing books? What do you want to offer, and to whom?

After you’ve clarified why you write, the Launch Lab team asks you to define success for yourself and your writing career. Success doesn’t come in one-size-fits-all. What might success look like if you dispensed with somebody else’s vision of it, which you may have bought into without realizing? Define success on your own terms; honor your authentic self. To do this, explore these questions: How do I want to spend my time? What activities enrich my life? Take an energy inventory. Ask yourself which activities give you energy and which ones deplete you. Also, ask yourself how you will know if you are successful. Define specific goals for your book. Success can be measured in qualitative terms, which are emotional, and may show up as enjoyment, connections, recognition, and learning. It can also be measured in quantitative terms, which bring tangible results, such as books sales, columns, future book deals, job opportunities, reviews, and distribution.

After you’ve explored your mission and defined success, you’re ready to begin your book launch campaign. To start this process, make an honest self-assessment of your strengths and weaknesses. What activities align with your mission statement? Which ones are congruent with your definition of success? Which tasks do you enjoy? If you hate blogging, don’t do it. If you love Twitter, tweet away. If public speaking tickles your fancy, book as many gigs as possible. If teaching brings you alive, do that. Don’t try to do it all—because you can’t. It’s impossible. Pick and choose what’s consistent with your values, dreams, and goals. Know yourself. Just as we can’t be all things to all people in our lives, we can’t follow every expert’s advice about how to promote our books. This is what it means to work smarter, not harder.

In a world where many of us function at a frantic pace, it makes sense to slow down and proceed with self-awareness and intention. It’s easy, as writers forced to wear many hats, to lose sight of what’s important. We are writers first. According to the GrubStreet gang, creative writing matters because it “explores and documents the human condition and creates meaning in the lives of those who practice it. The act of writing can change both ourselves and the world.” This is the promise. Maybe this is why over 12,000 people showed up at AWP’s 2016 conference. The fact that over 550 offerings were presented to attendees speaks to the busyness of our world. Clarity and simplicity, in the midst of all this, is ours for the taking. It’s up to us to back away, turn within, know what’s true, and plan our book launch campaign from a place of self-knowledge, confidence, and connection.

How do you work smarter not harder? Or have you been trekking the tedious path? I’d love to hear book launch stories of all kinds. Was your launch joyful? Gut-wrenching? Are you planning a launch? What are you anticipating or dreading? Please share your wisdom.