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No one in life gets a free pass on stress. It’s like our shadow, following us around, sometimes huge, sometimes small, and thankfully sometimes not there at all. We writers face stress all the time in the form of looming deadlines, writer’s block, research, misbehaving characters, editing and revising, finding time to write, not enough money flowing to the author, and so on. We get so caught up in life (which is truly the messy bits), that we forget to take a breath, and let go.
Stress is our body’s alarm system telling us that there are new changes and demands in our environment. Stress is also a natural response when there are big changes in our lives. Unfortunately, stress can drain our body and mind, making it difficult to focus on other things – like finishing writing that freaking book! In the long run, all we can do is our best.
So how might you do your best?
Increase your activity – especially in pleasurable activities and tackling your list of tasks and responsibilities. Sometimes it’s just a matter of getting out of your seat to stretch, or taking a walk that will release the cork.
Goalsetting – Break long-term goals down into short-term and attainable goals. I know life can get (and does get) in the way of your writing goals. Moving. Publisher closes. Death in family. Parent in hospital. It’s taken me almost two years to complete the next installment of my time travel series. Go with the flow or you’ll be swept away. You need goals to keep you from going under. Plus, they will keep you sane while the hurricane is blowing you around in different directions. Remember: This too shall pass.
Mental Imagery – Imagine yourself successfully coping with a situation, and do a mental rehearsal by envisioning yourself doing the task successfully. This works great for athletes, so give it a try!
Being assertive – Stick up for yourself while being respectful of others. Block off time for you to write or your goals will never be reached. Use “I” statements rather than “you” statements. This sets up your boundaries for others to respect.
Deep breathing 101 – Relaxed breathing is slower and deeper than normal breathing, so when things get crazy, take a mental step back and try this:
· Close your eyes, sit comfortably, scan your body for tension
· Breathe from your belly, not chest
· Your stomach should move out as you breath in, and out as you breath out
· Breath out any anxiety, tension, or pain
· Count from 1 to 8 slowly as you breath:
· One – breathe in
· Two – breathe out
· Three – breathe in
· Four – breathe out
· Five – breathe in
· Six – breathe out
· Seven – breath in
· Eight – breath out
Feel better? Works for me always! I even do this breathing exercise in the car. So in the future, if life gets too messy and those words aren’t making it to the page, then remember to take a deep breath and relax, and know you’re going to do your best to get you through this stressful time in your life.
How do you cope with stress as a writer? What are some of the strategies you use to defuse stress? Would love to read your comments! Cheers and thank you for reading my blog!
By: Sharon Ledwith,
on 1/4/2016
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Sharon Ledwith: I came. I saw. I wrote.
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In the Tarot Cards, the Seven of Pentacles is all about taking stock. Reevaluating what you’ve been working on for some time, and reflecting on what you’ve accomplished so far. The beginning of a new year is a perfect time this. It’s a time for assessment and future planning, as well as a time for a change.
I’m lucky to be with a publishing company who sets business goals for the year and shares these plans with their authors. Some of these plans include to publish a certain amount of books while keeping slots open for authors who are writing an ongoing series, featuring a new book each month with blog posts, videos, and discounts, attending many events and festivals, and producing audiobooks. They want to continue improving and growing, and so do I. Part of that growth includes building their brand. And that’s my goal too.
So how am I going to continue building my author brand? By blogging weekly, sharing interesting and helpful information on the social media, helping other authors achieve their goals, connecting with readers through events and visits, offering sales and giveaways, and of course writing more books. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I’ve not been able to get more of my books into the hands of my readers these last two years. This will change in the upcoming year with the publication of the second installment of The Last Timekeepers series, The Last Timekeepers and the Dark Secretlater in 2016. I also plan to work on researching and outlining the third book in the series next year too!
My literary agent also has big plans as Walden House (Books & Stuff) has set up a satellite office in the UK, and will begin re-submitting the first book in my Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls series throughout North America and Europe. Patience is the name of the game when you’re working with an agent, and since I’m busy producing my time travel series, it’s a win-win for me. This is the beauty of developing an author brand. When potential publishers check you out, you’ve got a platform and a body of work already on the go. And that’s when all your hard work and persistent effort will pay off!
Finally, I can’t stress this enough, but having a positive mental attitude helps tremendously. It will not only carry you through the tough writing times where you’re lucky to get a paragraph written in a day or make enough sales in a month to buy a coffee and donut, but will see to it that you stay true to your dreams. Trust me, you’ll have good days and bad days, but if you take stock on where you’ve been and how far you’ve come as a writer, things will become brighter, better, and lighter.
How do you take stock? Are you in a happy place now with your writing career? Wishing you all a very Happy New Year, and thank you for taking the time to read my blog! Cheers!
Honestly, if I knew that it would take over fifteen years to become a published author I would have thought long and hard about whether I should go down that road less traveled. But I did. And the truth is that you can’t buy this experience. You digest it. You absorb it. You bleed it.
What I’ve learned in those fifteen plus years is worth more to me than any university degree I could ever earn. The skill of actually writing and crafting a book is such a process that it takes years to glean, and once completed no one can take that feeling of accomplishment away from you. NO. ONE. I’ve also learned that a writer must wear three different hats if he or she wants to succeed in this crazy writing business.
Hat #1: Asks what I am skilled at doing? I imagine this hat like a hard hat you’d wear at a construction site. This is information that you and you alone must discern. Use your natural abilities or skills that will serve you in your writing business. Good at blogging? Do it! Great at sharing information to help others achieve their dreams as well as your own dreams? Go for it! We can’t be good at everything. We just can’t! Understanding where your skills lie will help you tremendously when you seek publication or if you decide to go it alone.
Hat #2: Asks what do I enjoy doing? Yay! This is a fun hat! I imagine this hat looks like a jester’s cap with bells. Do what you love, love what you do. These are the tasks that you find rewarding. Plan a novel. Plan a whole book series. Write that first draft. Only you know what makes your heart beat faster and brings you joy, and once you figure that out then as cliché as this sounds, the world is your oyster.
Hat #3: Asks what can I uniquely contribute? This is a more serious hat for me—a fedora perhaps—business-like and serious. Do you want to write something of value to share with the world? Or just with family and friends? Will your books be useful (read: sell) in the marketplace? Do you have a business plan mapped out and ready to go to take your readers on fantastic journeys? In the end, it’s all up to you to determine what you can give, and how you want to go about doing it.
In dreams, hats represent the attitudes you show others most, your mental outlook, your various jobs, talents, personalities, and aspects of yourself. Hats reveal how you cover up or display what you really think or how you protect your ideas. So what kind of hats do you think you’d wear to succeed in the publishing business? Love to read your comments! Cheers!
Now, where did I put my jester’s cap…
Remember that kid who decided to take apart a toy just to see how it worked? And then, surprise…that same kid couldn’t figure out how to put it back together again. We authors can sure learn something from that one kid. We can learn how to use reverse engineering to figure out why readers buy our books. Think about it. Kids take something (computer, radio controlled car, Barbie dolls) apart to see how it works, get to the guts of what makes that thing go, run, fly, burp. So why shouldn’t authors be able to take apart the sale that lured readers to buy the book in the first place?
The first question you should ask yourself is: Why did you purchase insert name of book? Was it because it was your friend’s book? Perhaps a suggestion? Or a book you learned about through a review? Was it an emotional purchase? A New York Times Bestseller? Or was the book part of Oprah’s book club? I want you to chase down the sale and figure out what made you buy that certain book. Got it? Good.
Now once you do this kind of reverse engineering you can build a profile for the sale. You get to see how a sale is built. You get to know how the book market works. That’s when you can develop a marketing strategy for your own books. Get it? Great.
A lot of times you’ll find the answer is word of mouth via the social media, or a friend suggested the book (or wrote it), or they passed by a bookstore window and the cover caught their eye. Even Oprah has the golden touch. Dig deep, and find the reason for that sale.
While doing my own reverse engineering, I suddenly saw this quote from Bill Gates in my Twitter feed: “You’re most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” That’s when it hit me. Book reviews. Not the one-star reviews you get from trolls, but those reviews that seem sincere, yet only give you a 3 star. Those are gold. Use these kinds of reviews to fine tune your writing. Listen, really listen to what the reader/reviewer is conveying to you, and apply their advice in your next book if it rings true with you. I know you can’t please everyone, but you can certainly make changes in your writing that will help boost your book sales and reach new readers.
Thanks a heap for reading my blog. Authors, if you have time, please leave a comment and share what you do to track down your book sales. If you’re a reader, please share what leads you to buy a certain book? I’d appreciate your input. Cheers!
Happy Spring everyone! Since this season is all about new growth, renewal, and fertility it’s only fitting that I share a post that reflects the promise of better (and brighter) days ahead. The following is taken from a Hallmark® birthday card I received from my mom this year. Trust me it’s worth the read, and guaranteed to put a smile on your face…
Trust your instincts. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t…fun, tempting…maybe, but not right.
Remember your manners. It doesn’t cost you anything, but speaks volumes about who you are. Having CLASS starts with this.
Never let possessions “own” you. It’s just STUFF! The most valuable things in life—friends, respect, love, knowledge—don’t cost money… Hokey, but true.
Nurture your friendships. The investment you make in true friends will pay huge dividends all your life—remember, you can’t make an old friend.
Keep your hands clean. This is meant both literally and figuratively… It will save you a lot of regrets later…
Believe in yourself. Another hokey one, but you DO happen to be the only YOU in existence, and you’re also the only person in the world who can TRULY hold you back in life…
Be grateful. Don’t waste all your todays in anticipation of some grand tomorrow. NOW is all we’ve got. Live in it!
Treat others the way you want to be treated. Just because you’re smarter or richer or prettier than someone else doesn’t mean you’re BETTER. It just means you’ve been more blessed.
Always keep playing. Who says adults have to give up toys? Keep the little kid inside you alive… it keeps your imagination primed. Silly is good.
I’m kind of partial to the last one! Thanks a heap for reading my blog. If you have time, please leave a comment and share some of the things that have made your life a little better. Cheers and have a great week!
Recently, my son-in-law (SIL) told me about this documentary he watched in his university course about the penal system in the 1950s. He’s studying law enforcement and this documentary was a case study where they took students to live in a prison-like setting. Half the students were told that they were the prisoners and the other half were the guards. The take home message from this case study was that ALL the students fell into their roles and didn’t veer from them. If they were prisoners, then they were stuck in character. If guards, that’s who they became. This got me thinking. Our thoughts are so powerful. If we BELIEVE we’re writers, and practice this ROLE, then by God, we begin to FEEL like writers.
Sometimes it’s a matter of unplugging from the hard-wiring we’ve had growing up. As children, we fall into roles quite easily and sometimes are stuck in these roles for the rest of our lives. An ‘A’ student will always be the smart one. The ‘C’ student won’t. When I began the journey to be a published author, at first I thought only teachers or people with masters in English or in creative writing were good enough to be authors. It was a huge obstacle to overcome for me mentally, but overcome I did. I broke the mold that I was stuck in for years.
Once I retrained my mind, I developed a positive mental attitude, and I found that I started to feel free from the limitations I grew up with. It really didn’t matter if I didn’t possess an English degree or MFA, I knew I could learn to become a published author by sheer determination, perseverance, patience, and practice. I had the time to invest in following my heart, and I did.
I made a commitment. I scheduled my time. And I asked for support from my family or friends when I needed it. Remember the only thing holding you back from your writing aspirations is YOU. Break out of the role that’s keeping you from your dreams. You’ll be happier and healthier in the long run.
Thanks a heap for reading my blog. If you have time, please leave a comment and share what YOU do to create the role of writer for yourself. Cheers!
NOTE: This post was originally featured on Susan Gourley’s blog. You can find out about this wonderful fantasy, romance, and science fiction author who also writes as Susan Kelley HERE.
During November 2014, I decided to go gung-ho and promote my two time travel books. So I prepared a plan and outlined it HERE. This is gist of my book promo strategy:
1. I created a Goodreads Giveaway for The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, and the prequel to the series, Legend of the Timekeepers. I offered only one signed paperback book, and included signed trading cards. I made these giveaways international, hoping to reach a lot of readers worldwide, and ran it for the first three weeks in November.
2. I signed up for a month-long Holiday Giveaway with Mother Daughter Book Reviews. The prize was a Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition Tablet, perfect for the upcoming holiday season. I was hoping to reach my target audience with this giveaway, since Mother Daughter focuses on reviewing children and middle grade books. The price of being part of the giveaway was $10, so it seemed a no-brainer to me.
3. Along with doing the Holiday Giveaway with Mother Daughter Book Reviews, an offer was given to authors to support Daughter by purchasing a $30 coupon book for her school’s fundraising campaign. And the offer? A promotion package which included advertising my book cover on the site’s sidebar for 30 days (which gets about 50,000 views monthly), plus a book review, and a two week Mini Social Media Blitz. Normally this promotion would have cost me over $70, so it seemed like a win-win to me! Plus the coupon book has already paid for itself! LOL!
4. As I mentioned in the outline, I’m part of this fantastic tween author group called Emblazon. We planned a HUGE Rafflecopter giveaway for a new Kindle preloaded with over 50 of the Emblazoners middle grade books which ran for the first 2 weeks of November. In addition, a Facebook party was set up for three days where readers could interact with authors and win great prizes. This was all to advertise the release our 2014-2015 Winter catalogue in time for the holiday season.
5. I participated at the Windsor-Essex Book Expo on Sunday, November 23rd to build my brand, connect with local authors, and meet readers. Along with my paperbacks, I brought a huge jar of Twizzlers® to hand out to the kids and adults, signed trading cards, and postcards.
And the results…drum roll please:
Goodreads Giveaways: What a surprise here folks! I couldn’t believe the entries I received. For The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, I had 2100 entries—a new record! And for Legend of the Timekeepers, I garnered 1502 readers wanting to win—another record! One book ended up going to Turkey for a cost of $11.65, and the second book surprisingly went to Quebec, Canada for $4.10. Not bad if you include the price of the books ($10 each). I was more after exposure here, which I got big-time. Plus I connected with one of the winners, who said he’d write a review for me.
Mother Daughter Book Reviews Holiday Giveaway: There were 34,002 entries for the Kindle Fire Kid’s Edition. Not bad in my books! Congrats to winner Joelle D. Again, exposure was the name of the game here. I wanted to get my book out in front of my target audience, and generate interest in my author brand.
Promotion Package with Mother Daughter Book Reviews: This finished December 8th, and I have to say I got some pretty good buzz with this promo plus a wonderful book review. I reached new Twitter followers, and received some more likes on Facebook. The shocker came on December 8th when my Amazon Bestseller Rank skyrocketed from 700,000 to 97,000. Um…huh? I didn’t see that coming, especially since my rank in November kept going down. Must have done something right!
Emblazon Preloaded Kindle Giveaway: I was mildly disappointed with the Facebook party, but we held strong and got a few readers stopping by to comment during my allotted time. In fact, I believe the winner of my ebook was a book reviewer, so you never know! We did manage to get more likes on our Emblazon Facebook page, so I feel we did okay. As for generating interest in our 2014-2015 Winter Catalog, the stats are in: 222 new subscribers for a total of 338 subscribers for our catalog! We’ve only been doing this for 2 years, and we’re all very HAPPY with these results! The Emblazoners even purchased another Kindle during the Black Friday sales for the next promotion. So stay tuned…
Windsor-Essex Book Expo:This event has all to do with location, location, location. And it wasn’t the best location for walk-in traffic. That said, I did sell seven books, so after factoring in the cost of renting a table ($35) and buying the candy ($10), I come away with about $25 in my pocket. Um…considering this event ran from 10 am to 5 pm, I made about $3.57 an hour. Again, this was about networking with other authors and meeting perspective readers—which I did. Plus the licorice was a BIG hit, and was a great ice breaker! I also made a few author connections too. Would I do this event again? Sure, and hopefully next year’s venue will be in a high traffic area.
Bottom line:With all the promotion and marketing I did during November 2014, my Amazon author rank and sales dropped drastically until AFTER December 8th, when my rank took a surprising turn for the better. Not sure why it took so long, but so happy it did! This whole author/promoter/marketer business is one crazy roller coaster ride to begin with. What did happen during the month that surprised me was that a 19-year-old reader from the Netherlands connected with me through Goodreads, and we struck up a relationship. She loves my books, and even reread the prequel and sent me a detailed email asking questions about the book. She even asked if she could review my writing in the future, so I think I’ve found my dream beta reader. Now that’s a super fan! And truthfully, this is what authors are after in the long run—cultivating relationships with readers that will last a lifetime.
Only time will tell whether these promotion strategies will translate into long term sales, but since I’m in for the long haul, I feel most were good investments.
Plans for 2015:I want to finish up the second book in my time travel series by spring to submit to my publisher this year, plus I'm going to have anniversary book blasts in May and August for my existing MG/YA books. There will also be at least four Goodreads Giveaways during 2015, so stay tuned for those contests. I’m within chapters of finishing revising and editing my first book—a paranormal romance with a Beauty and the Beast twist—my agent has requested, and hope to have the MS in her hands in February. I wanted to get The Last Timekeepers and Arch of Atlantis and Legend of the Timekeepers out on audio books, but have found that this Amazon service is only available to residents of the US and UK. Bummer. I'm hoping that Amazon's audio book service (ACX) will open up to the Canadian authors in the near future.
Authors—what promotional strategies have worked for you? What haven’t? Readers—what book promotions seem to hook your attention? Love to hear from you! Cheers and thank you for reading my post!
I began writing my master business plan for publishing my novel series on March 9th, 2011. This was about 1½ years before I had a signed publishing contract under my belt. Since then, there have been many revisions to this plan. I decided to write down a business plan when I took the plunge to learn all I could about starting a blog to help me develop an author platform. After a few months of intense research, my blog launched May 4th, 2011. Publishing my first post was the beginning of putting my plan into action, and it was truly a lift off for me and my writing career.
My business plan and strategy spans five pages. I’ve broken down the plan into headings, and what I’d like to see happen. I’ve set short term goals (next 1-5 years) and long term goals (10 plus years). I also have an objective, which helps me keep my feet on the ground and fingers on the keyboard. I review my plan quarterly, and revise it once a year. This helps me keep on track and weed out the things I’m doing that aren’t working for me.
So how do you even go about preparing a business plan for your writing career? Every writer is different of course, and I can only give you the benefit of my experience writing MG/YA novel series. But we all have to start somewhere.
First:Begin with your objective. Why are you writing in the first place, and what do you hope to accomplish. I want to give readers an experience they’ll never forget, and organize my life around what makes me happy. Figure out your objective, and get it down!
Second:List your short term goals. What do you hope to accomplish in 1, 3, 5 years? Don’t go overboard you can only handle so much. Once you figure out what these goals are break them down into headings like ‘Online Presence’, ‘Website’, ‘Novels’, ‘Work in Progress’, ‘Time Management and Commitments’, ‘Sales Plan’, ‘Promotion and Marketing Strategy’, and ‘Financial Goals’.
Third: Now for the fun part! Under your headings list the steps you need to take to accomplish your goals. For example, under my ‘Online Presence’ heading I’ve listed in point form all the tasks I need to do to keep my author name out there in cyberspace. Here are some examples:
- I’ve joined HootSuite to help schedule my shares and tweets.
- Guest Blog on other author blogs within the same genre, and make sure to share this info on my social media groups.
- Continue to do interviews with other authors, especially when there’s a new release.
- Approach book blog reviewers, especially a month before a new release. Offer a free copy for honest review.
- Offer my blog as a platform for other YA authors—either interviews or guest posts.
Fourth:Depending on the amount of headings and steps you have, make sure you don’t pile on too much as to make this plan unmanageable. Get real with what you can handle, delegate what you can’t. I had to hire a web designer. No shame in that.
Fifth: Now onto the long term goals. Remember to dream big too! Would you like your books translated into movies? How many books do you plan on writing? What about a book series? Or graphic novels? How many books are you planning on writing in your series? Create a master plan for each series too. It will be easier on you in the long run. Intellectual property like video games or apps is also important to think about and write down. After all, you never know what the future holds if you don’t help it along.
Sixth:Finally, SIGN the bottom of your master business plan. This makes it real. Commit to it. Revise it when things aren’t working out, or your situation has changed. Be flexible, and ask for help if necessary. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is your writing career.
Here’s a formula that will keep things in perspective and keep you on track of your writing goals: TIME + BACKLIST (4 or more books) = SUSTAINABLE AUTHOR CAREER.
Thank you for reading my blog. Have you created a master business plan for your writing or anything else you’d love to pursue? If so, please comment and share your experiences. Love to hear from you! Cheers!
Achievement in any field requires effort and sacrifice. You need to act in a manner that will allow your goal to become reality. If you want to be an Olympic medalist, a bestselling author, or a great actor it requires hard work and dedication. Every achievement in life comes with its own price tag. Here are nine guidelines for those on the journey toward achieving their dreams:
Write down what you want to achieve: Be clear and concise on what it is that you want in life. You can’t commit to memory what you don’t remember. Put pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard, but get your dreams and goals out of your head.
Make preparations: Know where you’re going, make a plan and work your plan.
Act deliberately: Do it NOW! Taking decisive actions instill a sense of purpose and confidence.
Get others involved: No one is a self-made person. Life is teamwork. Find your team. All achievement requires the help of other people.
Expect failure: Bummer, but true. Failure is a necessary ingredient of success. There can be no success without some failure.
Keep your focus: Don’t allow yourself to be distracted. Stay focused on your written goals.
Examine your journey: What’s working, you keep, and what’s not working, you toss out. Make sure you insert some new directions. Review your goals often, this way you’ll see how far you’ve come!
Take a reward: Give yourself an occasional ‘high five’ for a job well done. Treat yourself to something special. Be refreshed and encouraged by your progress.
Be true to yourself: Never compromise your integrity and moral character. It’s not worth it! Achievement is gained when we are seen as a person who can be trusted and relied upon. Be that person!
Thank you for reading my blog. If you have time, please comment and share what you are doing in your life that will help you to achieve your goals and dreams. Love to hear your comments! Cheers!
How do you want to be remembered at the end of your journey? If you’re like me, most of us hope for a successful life and to have made an impact on those around us. To have no regrets, to make a difference, and wipe our karma slate clean. Some manage to do this, while others fall terribly short. To achieve the success you’re looking for, here are some simple—dare I say UPSTANDING— guidelines you can put into practice every day:
Wake UP to the OPPORTUNITIES and pleasures that life offers you. Always seek out the silver lining that forms around the clouds of your life. Every situation has the potential to add something to your life if you’re brave enough to seek it out.
Dress UP your face with a SMILE. It’s the best exchange of positive energy around! A smile will allow others to be welcomed into your life. So go on and get cracking!
Button UP your mouth. There is a reason why you’ve been given two ears and one mouth. We’re meant to LISTEN more than we speak.
Stand UP for what you BELIEVE in. Be a person of principles and live them. Don’t let others control how you act or what you believe. Be true to yourself. A person of principle will always have more long term impact and a positive influence.
Look UP and set your sights HIGHER. Never be content to wallow in mediocrity. People who set a higher standard of excellence also experience a heightened sense of being alive.
Reach UP and strive for higher goals and bigger DREAMS. Your dreams and goals will provide you with a passion and the motivation to excel.
Lift UP and ENCOURAGE others by helping them feel CONFIDENT in themselves. A positive word or kind act to someone down in the dumps could uplift them immediately. Remember that real success comes with the help of others.
Give it UP and leave the past behind. The past is not the FUTURE unless you make it so. Stop being afraid of failure, or making a mistake, or of what others may, or may not think. Life is way too short for that. We cannot live in the past, we must always be moving ahead.
Gear UP and get excited! Be ENTHUSIASTIC! People love to be around those who show excitement for life. Besides, I believe it was Ralph Waldo Emerson who once said, “Nothing great is ever achieved without enthusiasm.” True that, Ralph!
I hope these guidelines will SERVE you well. Thank you for reading my blog. If you have time, please leave a comment and share what you do to keep UP. Cheers!
Leaders focus on their strengths. Take at least two or three areas you do well, and do them. Delegate the rest. You’ll not only find that things will run more smoothly, but you’ll also get a lot more done. For me, if I pump out 1000 words a day, I’m doing handstands. I usually focus on the time element and write about 3-4 hours. The rest of the day is networking, sharing what I’ve learned, and being a team player with other authors. I learn more from watching what successful writers are doing, and then I choose what I feel will work best for me.
Leaders are role models. Leaders are adept at that without even realizing it, so be aware and sensitive, choosing your words and behavior carefully. Remembering the Golden Rule—do unto others as you wish them to do unto you—is crucial, and will attract like-minded individuals into your life. Think about who your role model is and what it is about him or her that makes you want to walk in their shoes. The answer may surprise you!
Leaders possess integrity. Be a class act. Strive to become the kind of leader who acts with class, who becomes known as a class act, and who attracts other people with class to his or her sphere of influence. Integrity is all about the state of being complete in everything you think, say or do. The bottom line is to simply choose to live by a higher set of standards, and watch people respond enthusiastically toward you. Always remember that you’re special, and you count!
Spying is a catchy way of saying “do your research and stay tuned in.” Regardless of what you call it, it’s a mandatory part of being successful. It’s also a great way to build connections. There’s an old saying that to be successful you have to stop obsessing about the competition. I agree with that to a certain degree, but to not be aware of what other authors in your genre are doing is never a smart idea.
Regardless of what you write you need to be dialed into the competitive landscape. Knowing what others in your target market are doing, writing about and promoting can be key to your success as well. Not that I would ever encourage copying, but being in tune with your genre and market can be a fantastic idea generator, not to mention it gives you the ability to stay ahead of certain trends that haven’t even surfaced at the consumer level yet.
First rule of spying: study your target market, the books as well as other authors in the industry. It helps you to also differentiate yourself from them in products, services, and pricing. Again, you don’t want to copy, you just want to be aware. Another lesser known reason for doing this is that if you’re struggling with your social media (like me)—both from the aspect of what platform to be on to what to say to drive more engagement—keeping these authors on your radar will greatly increase your marketing ideas. Living in a vacuum never made anyone successful.
Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, you want to know who else is writing on your topic or in your genre. Google search is a great place to start. The results will not just turn up names and book titles but also show you the best ways to interact with your reader.
Google is packed with names of authors who write about your topic or genre. As you begin to compile your list I want you to do one thing: ignore big brands because it’s likely that they can do anything they want and still be successful. If you’re a middle grade writer, names like Rick Riordan and Brandon Mull come to mind. These authors are big, powerful brands. You want the smaller names, the people you may not immediately recognize. Why? Because they have to try harder. If tomorrow Riordan or Mull decided to put out a book on poetry, while their fans might be surprised they would likely still buy it. But if a lesser-known author did that they’d look like they have writer-ADD. Not good.
So start putting your list together, as you do sign up for their mailing lists, and follow them on Twitter and any other social media site they use. That’s what I do. Aside from the obvious reasons why you want to do this, I’m a big fan of supporting other authors in my market. Share their Facebook updates, retweet their great Twitter posts, etc.
One of the hidden gems of this research is it will also show you what social media sites to be on. If you've been struggling to figure out where your market resides, this strategy should really clear that up for you. Why? Because if you’re plucking names off of the first page of Google you know one thing: whatever they are doing to show up in search, they’re doing it right. Google has made so many changes to their search algorithms that you simply can’t “trick” the system anymore to get onto page one. Look at their updates. What are they sharing and why? How often do they blog? Are they on LinkedIn instead of Facebook? Is there much going on for them on Pinterest? Really spend some time with this. Not only will it help you tune into your market but it will cut your learning curve by half, if not more.
Successful authors leave clues. Are you following their bread crumbs?
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| RF Stock Photo 19797845 |
In a nutshell, here’s the rule to the Great Law: If you do what other successful authors do, over and over again, nothing can stop you from eventually enjoying the same rewards that they do. But if you don’t do what successful authors do, nothing can help you.
So, success is not an accident. Sadly, failure is not an accident either. You succeed, over and over, until these behaviors become a habit. Likewise, you fail if you don’t do what successful authors do. In either case, nature is neutral. Nature does not take sides. Nature doesn’t care. What happens to you is simply a matter of law—the law of cause and effect.
In Buddhism it is simply stated: Good deeds bring good results. Bad deeds bring bad results. Your own deeds bring your own results. Easy-peasy, right? Well, not so easy for many of us wanna-be bestsellers. But, if you want to be the kind of writer you desire to be, then start by following what your ‘role model’ author does, and over time and effort, you’ll reach the same heights as he or she or they have. It’s not a quick rich scheme. It’s not even a plan for being an overnight success. It’s a hard and messy and nerve wracking journey. And it’s WORTH it, if that’s where you’re heading. I hope to see you on the road less traveled in the near future!
Who are some of your ‘role model’ authors? What are you doing that they’re doing? Cheers!
