From Heartbreak to Hope with Pamela Jessup Runner
What do you do when your story needs to be told, but you've been carrying it for over 40 years?
For Pamela Jessup Runner, the answer was to finally sit down, learn the craft of memoir, and trust that God's timing was perfect.
Pamela's debut book is a vulnerable memoir, Grief, Grit, Glory: A Mother’s Extraordinary Journey from Heartbreak to Hope.
Today she's sharing about the long journey from having a story to actually writing it, what it felt like to share something so deeply personal with her family before the book ever went public, and how she made the shift from writer to marketer just weeks before her launch.
She also shares how she's using her existing connections and community to reach readers, why she sees book marketing as connection rather than promotion, and what she's just getting started with to expand her reach even further.
🎧 LISTEN AND LEARN 📝
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What You'll Learn
- Why vulnerability in memoir writing isn't a weakness but what makes your story connect with readers who have never walked your exact path
- How Pamela reframed book marketing as connection, the same skill she used for decades in advocacy and business, which made the whole process feel less like a foreign language
- Why building a team of safe, encouraging people around you matters just as much during a book launch as it does during any other hard season of life
- How timing your launch around an awareness month or relevant calendar moment can give you a natural way to reach new audiences and partner with organizations already doing that work
- Why sharing advance reader copies early and gathering feedback before launch day is one of the most practical things you can do to build momentum and prepare your heart for what's coming
📚 RESOURCES MENTIONED 📚
🎙 RELATED EPISODES 🎙
More encouragement from special needs moms:
Keep Persevering Towards Publishing and Marketing with Julie Sunne
Pace Yourself When Marketing Your Book with Kristin Faith Evans
Kim Stewart is a book marketing strategist for nonfiction authors and host of the Book Marketing Mania podcast. She helps you reach more readers as a podcast host and guest. When she’s not strategizing with clients or binge listening to podcasts, you’ll find her enjoying family time and indulging in coffee, caramel and Friends reruns.
