The Challenge
Kyle Thiermann had never written anything longer than ~3,000 words—despite years of experience as a journalist, copywriter, and podcaster (400+ episodes). The seed of the book came in early 2019, when he finally interviewed his dad on his podcast—an optimistic, charismatic documentary filmmaker—and the episode performed like he’d interviewed “someone very famous.” Listeners flooded him with the same question: “How do I interview my parents?”
Kyle wrote an article for Patagonia—“How to Interview Your Dad and Why You Should Do It Now”—and again saw a strong signal. But the idea simmered for years until he had more time and decided to turn it into a book.
As he wrote, the project deepened. What began as a straightforward how-to evolved into a hybrid: a practical guide and a memoir thread about losing his mom to conspiracy theories—and using the interview process to rebuild a more mature, humane relationship.
That raised two big constraints:
- The book needed to hold emotional weight without becoming saccharine.
- It needed to be structurally unusual (memoir + how-to) without losing clarity or readability.
The Scribe Solution
Kyle wrote a full draft first before choosing a publishing path. He explored traditional publishing with an agent and pitched the “Big Five,” but the consistent feedback was that the book was hard to place because it blended genres.
Kyle chose Scribe so he could publish the book the way he believed it had to exist—without “Frankensteining” it into something more conventional—and still get a highly professional editorial and production process.
A key creative decision helped the book deliver “unexpected value”: Kyle wrote the chapter titles as questions, so readers could use the book as a living prompt list—not just a narrative to consume.
The finished book—One Last Question Before You Go—became:
- A memoir about repairing a strained parent relationship
- A practical system for interviewing parents
- A set of ready-to-use questions that work even if readers never “formally” interview anyone
The Launch Strategy: “Givers Are Getters”
Kyle treated the launch like a dedicated season: writing first, marketing second. Once the manuscript was locked, he shifted fully into outreach and distribution.
His core tactic was radical generosity:
- He reached out to roughly 300 podcasts, influencers, book communities, and media contacts
- He mailed about 150 signed, personalized copies—often without expecting a reply
- He coordinated multiple appearances to land in the same week, creating the feeling of “I’m seeing this everywhere”
He also leaned into local media, where response rates were higher and relevance was strongest—especially as someone tied to Santa Cruz.
And he invested in live events—not as a primary sales channel, but as a psychological and cultural amplifier:
- Events created photos, posts, and social proof
- They also made the launch feel like a win—crucial for a first-time author building momentum for the long game
(Several of his events were hosted through brand/community venues like Patagonia stores, including a large turnout in Santa Cruz.)
The Results
One month after release, the launch had created the compounding asset Kyle wanted: durable awareness and unpredictable upside.
Reach + coordination
- A launch week anchored by a cluster of podcast interviews and local newspaper coverage—designed to maximize repeated exposure
High-leverage “luck” unlocked by volume
- One outreach chain led to an appearance on “Wife of the Party” (Leanne Kreischer’s podcast) and an invitation to Burt Kreischer’s holiday party—a reminder of Kyle’s philosophy: each book sent is a “prayer lantern,” and it only takes one to change the trajectory.
Readers used the book in unexpected ways
- Many readers didn’t use it to conduct formal interviews at first. Instead, they used it as permission—a physical “shield” to ask questions that would otherwise feel too awkward.
- An additional surprise: parents began buying the book to interview their kids, expanding the use case beyond Kyle’s original expectation.
Why It Worked
Kyle’s approach combined three things that rarely show up together in debut launches:
- A concept with universal relevance (everyone has parents; everyone has time running out somewhere)
- A distinct package and title designed for immediate emotional shift (One Last Question Before You Go, with a clarifying subtitle about interviewing parents)
- A launch engine powered by generosity + coordination, built to win over months and years—not just week one
The result is a book positioned to compound: evergreen topic, repeatable marketing system, and a format that travels easily from page to dinner table.