Sunday, July 12, 2020

Are These The Only 6 Reasons Writers Do Anything?


 The Case For (And Against) Motivational Quotes - Business 2 Community

Life can mean many things to many people. Each of us goes through different phases of life, sometimes altering the values that guide us, the knowledge that informs us, and the ways we choose to live. It seems like the equation comes down to five factors:

·         Pay
·         Play/Pleasure
·         Passion
·         Purpose
·         Pride

Let me explain.

We rarely do something without a reason, inspiration, or goal. Even choosing to do nothing touches upon some need or desire that we are acting. In a broad sense, I think few, if any, things exist beyond the five reasons identified above.

We often to things for compensation. Money is a powerful motivator. We can then use that money for things we need, want, or value.

We also do things because they entertain us, bring us pleasure, and make us feel good. Whether we are playing a game, having sex, watching a movie, imbibing on a food or drug, or running with our dog, humans are motivated to act if it means fun time.

Many times we do what we are passionate about. You may have a hobby, enjoy traveling, or appreciate a good conversation. Or you like to write. There is a burning passion that fuels you.

Another motivator for what we do comes down to purpose, from acting on our political views, our sense of charity, our pursuit of legacy, or some other view of the world, we seek to live out our purpose and contribute to society. We have a sense of why we are here -- and we look to act out of those beliefs.

If I had to add a sixth “p”, it would be pain – and its avoidance. We seek to avert or treat pain with much of what we do.

So let’s apply this to book marketing.

We do book marketing for a pay-off, meaning, to sell books, and build up a brand that we can monetize. (Pay)

We do book marketing because we enjoy it (though many do not), and because we enjoy writing and understand that in order to succeed as a writer, we have to master the book marketing aspect. (Pleasure)

Certainly, we can be passionate about writing, and thus we market our books to further our love for the art of writing. (Passion)

We most certainly write with a purpose, and our purpose in life is to write. We hold our words to be sacred and the art of writing a beautiful miracle that we relive with every written word. (Purpose)

We also write out of ego, pride, and self-love. We value, maybe in an overstated way, the value of our writing, and so we closely self-identify with how people see our works. (Pride)

Indeed, many of us write because of pain. Our writing makes us feel better. It is a relief from sadness,
anger, frustration, or loss. It is our healthy outlet to avoid pain. It’s a cathartic process to write away one’s internal conflicts and troubles. Writing can be therapeutic, a form or aspirin and psychiatry mixed into one.

Match anything up to these six “p’s” – pay, pleasure, pride, passion, purpose – and pain. Can you think of something that you do that does not serve at least one of these critical areas? Sometimes it may not seem so obvious. You do a bunch of small things, perhaps repeatedly, not thinking much of them. They may even be chores, but they all are done because of a 6p motivator.

Certainly many things fall under the six p’s – emotion-drive behaviors, living conditions, and external societal factors.

Once we do not care about any of these six things, we are on a dangerous path. We’re apt to be prone to suicide, crime, violence, or risky behavior. Conventional institutions, people, or psychology is absent, and this person’s state-of-mind is one that does not feel bound to anything or anyone. He or she can be reckless or zoned out. They are unlikely to participate in life and contribute to society. and contribute to society.

We may feel this way, momentarily, when we lose someone or fail a huge test. We feel lost and lack foundation. Our hearts are not into anything and we don’t know how to stop the pain. We drift aimlessly, or worse, we become focused on hurting others or ourselves.

Listen to me. I sound like some type of therapist. I have a degree in English, not psychology, but doesn’t everything we do come down to psychology and the six p’s?

i believe life does – and I know book marketing does. Pursue your dreams and remain in touch with what really motivates you. It may just inspire you to break through and truly succeed.


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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 ©2020. 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.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo 


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