Wednesday, June 3, 2015

11 Secrets Of The Breakthrough Author


How does an author make a name for himself and get his book out there?  This is a question that literally millions of writers wake up to.  Is there an answer?

There’s no singular formula for author success, just as there is no one exact way anyone succeeds in any industry.  But, there are things that tend to work, at least some of the time, under certain conditions for specific people.

Here’s what I know works:

1.      Ride a single strength.  For some, it means doing what you do best and forgetting the rest.  If social media is your thing, then do even more of it.  If speaking to groups is what you do best, do that. If advertising is carrying you, bet more on it.

2.      Go big or go home.  Approach your book with near desperation.  Take risks – you have nothing to lose.  Go all out and try whatever is feasible or affordable and give it your all.

3.      Diversify and experiment.   Sometimes you need to explore what works well for you, so go ahead and look into traditional media, social media, speaking appearances, telemarketing, direct mail, advertising, networking events, etc.

4.      Have a past that people respect.  You can’t change your past but you can shape your biography to highlight the events, stories, and experiences that make you sound relevant, unique, and interesting.

5.      Looks count.  Don’t go for plastic surgery but do your best to look your best.  Men and women are naturally drawn to people they are physically attracted to. Otherwise, why would guys buy crap from pretty women?

6.      Choose between being seen as odd or the every person.  Odd is good if you play it up and let that be your selling point.  Coming off as a “regular Joe” could work when you are dispensing advice and want to be seen as normal and not elitist.

7.      Put your time and resources into it. No book sells itself.  You need to spend money and time to give your book and brand a boost.

8.      Have a really good book.  Your book needs to be excellent but that alone guarantees little.  However, once you get some people to notice and read your book you’ll get their endorsements and word-of-mouth praise if your book is truly superior.

9.      Find someone or something to champion you.  Just as a mall has an anchor tenant, you need a great endorsement from a respected, popular, leading authority.  It adds instant legitimacy to what you do.

10.  Present yourself as if.  That means you act like you have arrived where you hoped to be.  Act as if you are already a best-selling author.  Speak with confidence and command.  People believe in those who believe in themselves.

11.  Make your own luck.  By being open-minded and always putting yourself out there to seek out opportunities, you’ll eventually get lucky.  You’ll come across a situation and recognize it to be a great chance to grow, and if all goes well, you’ll take off.

Now, keep in mind, these 11 strategies are not the only ones that work.  Nor can you depend on just one of them to really make it big.  You are only as good as what you do to make yourself better –and you do so in the context of your competition.  But I’m confident that if you truly have a great book and you believe in yourself and seek out ways to succeed that any of you will rise high.  

Good luck!

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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2015

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