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- They Laughed at My Pitch... Until It Made Billions
They Laughed at My Pitch... Until It Made Billions
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The experts don’t always know - if your idea feels right, trust it.
The real money isn’t in selling books. It’s in using your book to open doors and position yourself as the go-to expert.
Speaking gigs, client leads, partnerships, media appearances—that’s where the six-figure game lives.
Hi! I’m Travis Cody, a bestselling author and book-publishing strategist dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and experts turn their knowledge into powerful marketing tools. Through my Million Dollar Author system, I guide clients to create, publish, and promote bestselling books in just 90 days—unlocking new revenue streams, attracting high-ticket clients, and boosting their credibility.
Read on to discover how I help make it happen!
The One Mindset Shift That Can Turn Your Book into a 6-Figure Machine
Hollywood prides itself on being the pinnacle of creativity, but what happens when the decision-makers don’t have a clue? Time and time again, the industry’s gatekeepers have proven that they don’t always know what audiences actually want.
Take Sleeping Beauty, for example. Years ago, I pitched a live-action version to Disney. The response? “There’s no way audiences want to see a cartoon turned into live-action.” Fast forward a decade, and Disney is raking in billions from Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and yes, Sleeping Beauty (Maleficent). Oops.
Then there was Marvel. Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe dominated the box office, Hollywood execs laughed when Marvel announced its 10-year plan, thinking it was ridiculous to plan that far ahead. But instead of flopping, Marvel completely rewrote the rules of Hollywood franchise-building, leaving executives scrambling to copy their formula.
And let’s not forget Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling pitched her book to numerous studios before Warner Bros. finally took a chance. Some executives thought kids wouldn’t sit through such long films, and others believed magic was too niche to be a mainstream hit. Today, the Harry Potter franchise is worth over $25 billion.
Hollywood’s history is riddled with these blunders. Studios turned down Star Wars, underestimated The Matrix, and declared superhero movies a dead genre before Iron Man launched a multi-billion-dollar empire.
The takeaway?
Just because someone with a title says “no,” doesn’t mean your idea won’t work.
Every hit today was once a rejected pitch. So if you’ve got a vision, don’t let the so-called “experts” talk you out of it.
That lesson applies to your book, too.
If you want your book to actually generate results, you need to stop thinking of it as the product.
Your book is not the product. You are.
Many authors focus solely on book sales, but the real opportunity lies in what your book enables you to do. Your book is a door opener. It builds credibility, attracts clients, and positions you for speaking engagements, partnerships, and new business opportunities. If you treat your book as a marketing tool rather than just a commodity, you’ll unlock its full potential.
Once you start viewing your book as a strategic business tool rather than just something to sell, everything changes. You’ll start focusing on the relationships your book can create, the conversations it can spark, and the doors it can open. Instead of looking at sales numbers, measure success by how many clients, partnerships, and media opportunities your book brings into your world.
This mindset shift allows you to take bolder actions—reaching out to influencers, pitching yourself for media appearances, and using your book as leverage to grow your career or business. The most successful authors are not the ones who obsess over sales figures but the ones who understand how to use their book to position themselves as thought leaders in their industry.
Instead of worrying about how many copies you’ve sold, ask yourself: How many lives are being impacted because of my book? Are you positioning yourself in front of the right audiences? Are you leveraging your book for speaking engagements, consulting gigs, or business collaborations? When you start thinking about your book in terms of long-term impact rather than short-term revenue, you’ll unlock a whole new level of success.
Your book is a tool for transformation. Are you using it that way?
Want to discuss how to maximize the impact of your book? Hit reply and let’s talk.
Stay tuned for more insights and tips from my “All Things Hollywood”, "Bestseller by Design" and the “Million Dollar Author” platform. Your journey to becoming a successful author continues here!
Until next time...
Travis Cody,
Million Dollar Author
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