Publishers,
authors, editors, and other experts in the book industry make major decisions
daily. Literary agents determine whom
they will represent. Publishers decide
which books to publish. Book marketers
strategize on the best way to promote a book.
Authors determine the best book to write and how to pen it. But what informs these decisions and how do
we know if their logic is flawed or not?
There’s
no clearinghouse or government agency that can track such things. Really, there’s no database kept to record
how often a good choice was made. Yet,
decisions are made by professionals every day that could mean
the difference between profit and loss, success and failure.
Often
the key influencers on such decisions are based on:
1.
Desire
to do something.
2.
Fear
of failure.
3.
Potential
pay-off vs. loss.
4.
Research
and data.
5.
Analyzing
the wrong or incorrect information.
6.
One’s
track record.
7.
Seeing
a model for what you plan to do.
8.
Ego
and envy.
9.
Poor
judgment.
10.
Something
other than facts – intuition, passion, desperation.
Probably
the number one driver of most decisions in life is whether one, by nature, is
an optimistic or confident person or a negative-insecure individual. Their level of education, street savvy and
wealth will also play a key role in how choices get made. Another factor is age and maturity – and
overall experience in the area under discussion.
Do
we test things out before greenlighting them?
Do we consult other experts or people we trust for advice? Do we look to validate information that we
come across or seek a new perspective on something we’ve done before?
History
is littered with stories of underdogs who rose to the top -- and of leaders who
seemed invincible but got toppled. Who is to say what works or what
doesn’t? Sometimes we need to take a
chance and experiment – while other times we should stick to the odds and be
realistic about how things typically play out.
It’s
a delicate dance we each must undertake – to fit the facts and emotions into a
soup to determine what is relevant or applicable to any specific circumstance
and to then make the best decision at that moment.
Too
often we make decisions based on relationships. Sometimes, we work with someone
who was recommended to us, or to whom we have a connection, which is fine, but do
we cloud our judgment based on these relationships instead of the merits?
Authors
and publishers will make better decisions when they:
·
Really
collect the right data and analyze it fear- or greed-free.
·
Take
a chance and then support that decision.
·
Look
to help each other and work together towards a common goal.
·
Stop
demanding better results from poor choices.
Writing,
publishing and promoting books can be fun, rewarding, and fulfilling. It can also be subjected to tough
decisions. You can make better choices –
all that you need to do is step back and look at things a little differently from
how you had been.
There’s
probably a book you can read about making better decisions. Or maybe you can write or publish such a
book.
DON'T MISS!
Big
Marketing Lessons From My All-Time Top 10 Blog Posts
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http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2017/11/2017s-best-authorpublisher-book-expert.html9 things all authors must get right in every media interview
Why
is what you know about book marketing all wrong!
Should authors go big – or for a sure thing?
16 ways to increase book sales
http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2017/10/how-to-increase-book-sales-16-ways.htmlStudy this exclusive author media training video from T J Walker
What does it really take to land on a best-seller list?
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you sell 10 copies of your book every day?
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authors get on TV?
Here’s
the 2017 Author Book PR & Marketing Toolkit
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