Assessment:
Plot/Idea: So Good They Call You a Fake is a step-by-step guide to marketing books so that they stand out from the crowd. Lisec shares his journey to success, detailing his thoughts and processes in a very direct and candid manner, with useful key takeaways at the end of each chapter.
Prose: Lisec's style of writing is confident and confrontational, and while his bravado is perhaps an acquired taste, the text maintains a conversational and articulate tone. His writing packs a punch, and he has a knack for keeping the reader enthralled, even if he does often seem to talk around a subject rather than deal with it head on.
Originality: So Good They Call You a Fake is dynamically written and contains useful advice on ghost-publishing and how to market your work. However, much of the book suffers from a sense of superiority that some might find overbearing.
Character/Execution: Lisec, an experienced ghostwriter, is in turns both endearing and egocentric, and his premise that there's no higher praise than being deemed a fraud may strike a chord with readers. There are a few interesting anecdotes and insightful case studies, such as that of internet entrepreneur Ramesh Dontha.
Blurb: A vibrant guide to the world of book marketing.
Date Submitted: January 11, 2024
For all its bad-boy swagger, Lisec’s “step-by-step with no steps skipped” offers much pragmatic guidance, from narrative structure to chapter headings to cover design. The system extends beyond the boundaries of the page and includes tips on creating courses and coaching methods to leverage the book’s content for multiple revenue streams. Lisec also encourages readers to self-publish both for their financial freedom and so that they may avoid “woke traditional publishing house.” He never fully defines “woke,” employing the term as a vague pejorative, but complaints about publishers as “cosmopolitan gatekeepers” with an interest in “diversity, equity, and inclusion over jobs to be done” will either appeal to or repel readers.
According to Lisec, “all negativity towards you is confirmation.” To demonstrate this, Lisec shares the PR strategy he borrowed from his client Noah Revoy, life coach and creator of Twitter hashtag #RestorePatriarchy, when they both got “canceled.” Instead of “kneel[ing] before the mob [...] for saying something the hive mind doesn’t want said,” they doubled down and gained clients as a result of their Twitter infamy. While Lisec offers sound, actionable advice about crafting a book and building an audience, he also intentionally limits his reach to authors and entrepreneurs who see alienating people as a step toward success.
Takeaway: Acerbic advice for entrepreneurs and authors eager to command attention at any price.
Comparable Titles: Scott Adams’s How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Evan Nierman and Mark Sachs’s The Cancel Culture Curse.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: B
Joshua Lisec is such a prolific and successful writer that the Twitter trolls can't help themselves. The co-author of 78 books has now released So Good They Call You a Fake, which teaches step-by-step with no steps skipped how to get the visibility you've already earned and then monetize that attention to its fullest potential.
On Saturday, July 8, fans of Columbus-based Joshua Lisec, an internationally acclaimed ghostwriter and persuasive writing coach, attended a book signing at the Beavercreek location of Barnes & Noble. The author’s new book, So Good They Call You A Fake, was featured during the event.
Fans were from across the area, but some came as far as Canada to the signing.
Joshua Lisec, an internationally acclaimed ghostwriter and persuasive writing coach, was at the Beavercreek Barnes & Noble to celebrate the release of his new book, So Good They Call You a Fake.
