My 100 Day Report 0f Being Published

On January 28th, I released my first book "Lesson from the Admiral, Naval Wisdom and Sea Stories for Leaders." It's been a whirlwind since then, so I wanted t to provide a short 100 day update of being a published author.

I did my book launch at the historic Charleston Library Society on King Street in downtown Charleston. It was phenomenal and well attended.

Here's a recap of the past 100 days:

• My first edition print was for 1534 books. They sold out in 60 days, and I'm now selling my second edition print.

• My book was an instant Amazon bestseller in several categories.

• The book has received over 125 Five Star Amazon reviews in less than 90 days. You can see those here.

• Over 2,125 hardback books are out there now.

• There have been over 110 purchases of my audiobook which I narrated myself.

• There are over 58 purchases of the Kindle version.

• I have been a guest on over 30 podcasts and have several more forthcoming.

• I have made four TV appearances, three of them live. Here's the latest on WIS TV.

• I have given away about 175 books.

• I have signed, personalized, boxed, and mailed over 200 books.

• My book is now available in about 12 Barnes & Nobles stores nationwide (Charleston, SC; Mount Pleasant, SC; Seattle, DC; Pensacola, FL; Durham, NC; Jacksonville, FL: Jacksonville, NC, Annapolis, MD; Georgetown, DC Issaquah, WA; Norfolk, VA, and St. Augustine, FL) and Indie bookstores (Charleston, Columbia, SC; Jacksonville, FL; Charlotte, NC; Norfolk, VA; and Southern Pines, NC).

• You can order signed copies of my books from Buxton Books here in Charleston and All Good Books in Columbia, SC here.

• I have done 4 in person book signing, author events at bookstores in Beaufort, SC; Columbia, SC; Charlotte, NC; and Pensacola, Florida.

• I have been the guest author at 4 book club events.

• I have been a keynote speaker at 4 national conferences discussing the legacy leadership concept in the book. You can see my entire speech to the American Red Cross Donor Leadership team in Dallas here.

• I was also the keynote speaker at an American Bar Association Conference in Charlotte, NC before 400 lawyers, and they were all provided a copy of my book.

• My book is for sale in The Citadel Bookstore.

• Six copies are available for check out at the Charleston County Libraries.

• Foreward Reviews called my book "an exciting military memoir with self-help elements."

• I launched a separate book website markcfava.com.

• Two newspaper reviews were published discussing my book in the Moultrie News and in the Charleston City Paper.

• My book was reviewed in the Navy League's Seapower magazine.

• I have been a guest lecturer at Gwinnet Community College in Atlanta and have in invitation to do the same at Georgia State this fall semester.

• I have spoken to Boeing managers in leadership learning sessions in Seattle, WA and Jacksonville, FL.

• I gave a presentation to over 50 senior naval officers from around the world attending the Naval War College's Naval Command College. I donated 60 books to the Naval War College for the class attendees.

A new nonfiction book by a new author does not sell itself.

Marketing the book has been extremely time consuming. While I had the professional help of a publicist for 60 days before and 30 days after its release, make no mistake about it, it has become an all-consuming hobby on weekends and after work while I still work full time.

I am doing all my own social media including two Facebook pages, LinkedIn, Instagram, and X. I draft those mostly at nights and proofread and edit them before I post them in the morning before work. They are not written by AI.

So, thank you to my family and friends and shipmates and all who have supported me so far.

Still plenty of books to sell on this journey as I deliver my message!

Here's how you can help me:

• Tell your friends and family about my book.

• Ask your favorite bookstore to carry my book.

• Ask your local library to carry my book.

• Post on social media with a photo and tag me using the hashtag #lessonsfromtheadmiral.

• Invite me to speak at your professional conference about legacy leadership and my book.

• Select my book for your book club.

• Leave me a 5-star review on Goodreads, Amazon, or wherever you buy my book.

• Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram and share and comment on my posts.

• And please buy more books and give them as gifts to clients, family, neighbors, servicemembers, veterans, pilots, lawyers, current and aspiring leaders, your children, and friends.

  
  

Thank you very much!