Catholics
make sacrifices during Lent. Muslims
learn to do without certain things during Ramadan. Jews fast and withhold their
daily routine on Yom Kippur. Can authors
learn from these religions about the meaning of will, sacrifice, identity, and
self-discipline?
Having
recently fasted for the Jewish holiday, I realized that though certain physical
elements almost drove me to eat, it was really a psychological thing at
play. I didn’t have to eat. I wasn’t going to die or pass out or get sick
if I didn’t eat or drink. But I felt
uncomfortable and out of my routine. That turned out to be a good thing.
Sometimes
we have to stop what we’re doing and go through a cleansing period, a time to
review and analyze how we live our lives.
So should authors stop writing and cease from book marketing activities,
at least for a few days, to take stock of where they’ve been, what they do, and
what they could or should be doing?
We
all need a reset button from time to time.
It’s
hard to think and do at the same time.
You need to take a break to plan properly and to go into a mode of
strategy instead of constant execution.
Think a bit, then do. Reflect on
what’s working what’s not. See what you
can do more of that works, less of what doesn’t. Be open to change.
Religion
forces us to probe deep into our souls. For
authors, I’m merely suggesting you probe your craft. Evaluate how you spend your time and what you
prioritize. Perhaps consider a renewed
emphasis on neglected areas – or maybe affirm you are on the right path and to
stay the course.
Whereas
religion has planned days of self-sacrifice and reflection, tied to a calendar
of annual rituals and moments of insight, authors need to choose the day or
week that they will go deep within to analyze their writing career, to see if
they are productive writers and successful book marketers.
Writers,
as a group, tend to be introspective and probably think more of life and
themselves than most people do. Often
their thinking caps are geared towards creating and writing. For now, they must apply their mental
faculties to look at how they can improve as writers and promoters of
books. They just need to channel their
energies in that direction and they will start to see answers from.
Maybe
as writers cleanse their minds and renew their approach to writing and
marketing, they will find they want to make other changes in their life or
schedule. Sometimes making a big
sweeping change is exactly what’s needed.
But even a slight adjustment can go a long way to improving your writing
career.
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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 2017©. Born and
raised in Brooklyn, now resides in Westchester. Named one of the best book
marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs
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