How My Reddit Post Became A New York Times Best-Seller

I made this GIF with my small wooden mannequin and posted it to Reddit's NYC subreddit. The response was so big (about 100,000 views) that I thought "Hmmmm...maybe there's something more here."

Pretty simple strategy really -

• Make it animated (original GIF artwork was somewhat rare still)

• Target a built-in audience (people who love New York)

• Make it entirely original (no parody of other brands/characters)

• Combine humor and practical advice (a combination that does well)

• Draw it in black and white (cheaper to print)

• Plaster the name of the series on every single page so potential buyers can contact me (It has to be on every single image because they WILL get separated on the internet)

NOTE: I've truncated the story of course - there were several emails that we exchanged in the days leading up to the phone call. This is my first chance to say: Cassie Jones is amazing.

There are so many talented people out there. I could sit there and wish I was the incredible Allie Brosh or the amazing Matthew Inman or I could just get going.

Cassie knew we could appeal to both tourists and native New Yorkers simultaneously if we approach the subject with tenderness and empathy rather than snark or elitism.

New York City needs no embellishment. It's beautiful and quirky and magnificent and difficult all at once.

This is what Cassie taught me about hooking readers. We made a flow to the sequence of pages in the book that was intuitive enough to notice but loose enough that it allowed room for surprises.

HarperCollins has an amazing team and they paired me with an incredible publicity and marketing duo - namely Dianna Garcia and Alaina Waagner. That said, when you're a first time author you should expect to hoof it around town and introduce yourself and talk up your book as much as you can. Because nobody knows who you are.

You might be uncomfortable. The competition is fierce. You have to get in there.

I had no idea what to expect once the book hit the shelves. Cassie assured me that, well, it's impossible for anyone to predict. Competition is fierce. As it turns out several other books were debuting around the time mine was. Imagine!

Be assertive. Then relax. Be assertive. Then relax. This how to sell a book.

In any creative endeavor, you'll see your spirits rise and fall an unnerving number of times. Expect it.

You need some time and distance before you get any perspective on your first book. When you're in the midst of it, it's going to be a whirlwind of emotions. Just wait. In time, you'll understand what a privilege it is to live in a world where another person actually reads your work.