Monday, May 28, 2018

How Do Authors Make Their Dreams Come True?



Do you have a product that people want that’s priced right, that delivers as advertised?  Can you spend many hours promoting and marketing it to a targeted group, assuming you have the knowledge, skills, and resources to do so?

If you answer yes to all of the above, you should be a successful writer.  But many authors produce a book that doesn’t sell and fails to change the world – or even the life of the writer.  What can you do to avoid failure and position yourself to reach reasonable goals or modest dreams?

Authors need to operate out of a frame of mind that, on the one hand, is filled with confidence, enthusiasm, and optimism.  He/she needs to feel opportunistic and ready to experience success.  He has to put himself out there to be in a position to come across opportunities – and he has to look to carve out his own chances to excel.

On the other hand, the ego needs to be controlled so that wild dreams are put in check and delusions of grandeur don’t lead the way. It takes hard work, strategy, luck, connections, timing, and courage to really get a book into the hands of the media, influencers, and book buyers.

So I would approach authorhood with multiple strategies.  First, plan out and organize what you are going to do and when such action is scheduled to occur.  Fully factor in details and don’t underestimate the time, costs, or effort involved.

Second, identify what won’t get done – whether because you lack the skills, time, energy or desire to execute them – and determine who you can hire to help out.

Third, remain edgy and proud of your work but go at this with sleeves rolled up and a farmer’s work ethic.  Get up early, do the heavy lifting, and realize sometimes you don’t get the crops you seeded for.

Fourth, really look at the competition closely.  What can you model and what should you avoid?  Where is there an opportunity to exploit and where is the playing field too crowded to bother?  Find your niche.

Fifth, don’t act as if you are entitled to success. Nothing will be handed to you and your assumptions may be nothing more than wrong guesses.  You have to push from all sides and corners everyday in order to get some traction and momentum to build on.

Sixth, set a goal that’s both achievable but scalable, one that’s not easy to reach but not impossible either.  Always look to do one more thing and try something new.  You never know what it will take to breakthrough, other than to keep chipping away at things.

Seven, act with a hunger and desire like a person driven because he knows people will live better, feel better, or act kinder once they read your book.  Help others live to their potential.

In everything you do, look at the ideal, the reality, and the bare minimum – which goal are you serving? Sometimes you need to pursue the ideal, sometimes you just deal with the reality of things and other times you merely look to do the least required even if it means a low return on your action.

Being an author is not easy.  You want to write, maybe even read, but unlikely desire marketing.  But it’s the marketing that gives an audience to your thoughts.  You need paying customers to sustain your writings.  You need adulation and rewards, to let you know your writing really is good and worthy.  You need to secure media to give voice to your words.  And all that marketing takes time and mindshare away from your writing and daydreaming, researching, and creating.  But it’s necessary – if you want to be a successful author.

How do you make your dream come true?

Hard work and dedication.

Or change the dream.

DON”T MISS THESE!!!

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Enjoy New 2018 Author Book Marketing & PR Toolkit -- 7th annual edition just released


Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2018. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”

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