The
other day I saw a woman on the train, sitting directly opposite me, a replica
of a beautiful friend of mine. I
couldn’t stop marveling at how much she looked like a woman I’ve known for over
a decade. I guess everyone has a twin. But it made me think: Do authors have twins?
Why
not?
If
people could look or sound like one another; isn’t it likely that another
writer could pen books with your style, voice, and attitude?
Do
you have a writing twin, and if so, what does that mean?
It
means that competition for readers is fierce.
Sometimes very little separates two books or two authors. The difference comes down to marketing and
how potential readers come to see and perceive who you are and what you offer.
In
fact, there probably are twin book marketers out there, calling upon similar
tactics, employing the same timing, and peddling well-crafted messages that
seemingly could frame two different books in the same light.
Just
as I stared at this woman’s face that seemed to be chiseled from a tool kit
that followed a factory pattern that seemingly produced my friend as well, I
have no doubt that there are very similar authors and very similar book
marketers out there. All of this just
means you have to work even harder to find what makes you unique and to exploit what truly differentiates you from others.
I
don’t know how my friend would have felt, staring at someone with the same
impeccable taste in clothes and accessories, a woman who even used the same
shade of lipstick to moisten and color her lips, a body seemingly carved out of
the same seductive mold. Would she recognize the stunning resemblance or would
she immediately find an imperfection or fault with this body double?
Writers
can’t spend time dismissing their competition or finding imperfections in their
books. They, instead, have to figure out
a way to play up their own assets that could give them a unique advantage in a
crowded field. Writers won’t gain by
denying nor criticizing other authors’ books.
They can only win by promoting themselves.
So
think hard about how you’ll separate yourself from the masses, knowing
somewhere out there is your writing twin.
How will you be better than yourself and overcome those who seemingly
rival and resemble all that you are and have to offer?
When
the young woman rose up from her seat to exit the train. I followed behind her, heading out of Grand
Central Station. I finally detected a subtle difference. Whereas my friend
walks very confidently, almost giving off a body language that suggests her
sexual prowess, I found this woman to be a little more reserved or cautious in
her strides. She didn’t quite have the
confidence in her bodytude that my friend has.
Perhaps
every author, even with a twin out there, can find that one thing that they do
better, differently, and invitingly, than his or her competition. Authors need every, edge they can get when
the world seeks to clone what works.
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