This book changed me
When I first heard about Be the Gateway I was immediately interested. I have always believed that promoting your books or artistic work should be more organic than I had seen others doing. And many of the ‘best practices’ in book promotion turned me off. It seemed too cold and distant to me. And counter intuitive to what we’re all trying to do, which is share our art with the world.
And yet this book is so hard to describe. It’s part philosophy, part advice, part brain-stormer. The basic concept is that when you make connections with individuals, one on one, and one by one (rather than some nebulous generality known as audience) that you will bring people through the gateway of your artistic work. And that generosity, empathy, and real connections trump all.
Frankly, I agree.
Dan has many steps that he suggests you take in achieving this and frankly there were times in reading them, I was completely overwhelmed just wondering how I would do these things. But I kept reading feeling that if I got one or two things that I could do to get my work into the hands of those it was meant for, that it would be worth it. I’m glad I did.
Something wonderfully strange happened as I kept reading the book. New opportunities just magically appeared. New peers, colleagues, friendships – so many things. Very subtle in some ways and very big in others. It was almost like magic. Then it dawned on me that those opportunities were actually always there – but until I read Dan’s book I didn’t see them. And I realized that I had slowly shifted my view from what it was before to Dan’s gateway view, without even realizing it.
I honestly don’t know if I could possibly do everything that he suggests in the book but I do know that I understand more about myself, my artistic work, and those I want to share it with so much more than I did before the book.
I know there are bagillions of books telling us the best way to promote (and I think I’ve read about a million of them) our work – but I think you would be changed in a good way if you read this book. I highly recommend it, if only to find a deeper connection with yourself and your work.
Annie
Anita Rodgers Mystery Writer 
Hi Annie: Nice review. Do you think this book would have applications beyond the artist? Sounds like it would.
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Hey Jody,
That’s a good question – I wouldn’t have thought of that, but yes, I think there is a universality about the book. There are certain things – suggestions he makes in seeking out one’s public, etc that is specific to authors but even those I think could translate pretty easily to other fields or endeavors.
It’s hard to explain exactly why but I experienced a very emotional response to this book. Though I couldn’t give you a specific chapter or section where that happened. So it really spoke to me and I think on a deeper level than most books, especially non-fiction books.
I highly recommend it.
Annie
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I finished reading Be The Gateway recently and loved it. I am hoping to keep his philosophy fresh in my mind as I develop my unique “gateway.” I really appreciated finding your review and linking to it in my post today! Great review! Following!
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Hi Bonnie, thanks for the linkage and shout out. I’m glad you found the review helpful. It’s so rare to find a book you really connect with that it’s a joy to write a big love review for it. Thanks for the follow. Hope you’ll enjoy reading. Cheers.
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