By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin
From time to
time, I’ve had author envy. I look at
someone’s twitter following with thousands of people or the thousands of
subscribers to their blog or newsletter and I wish it could happen to me. Or I
read about a bestselling book and wonder why my books haven’t achieved such a
level of success. Envy sprouts into my mind and heart and I begin to grow
jealous of another author’s success. Then I pull myself up short. I’ve
interviewed more than 150 bestselling authors. Repeatedly I’ve learned there
are few overnight success stories. Most authors who spring to the top of the
bestseller list have been in the trenches for years growing their presence in
the marketplace.
Every author
has to take action and begin building their presence in the market. I do not
believe there is a magic formula, but there are tried and true methods when
used consistently will help you.
Recently I was listening to the audio version of Jack Canfield’s
bestselling book, The Success Principles,
How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. The book is full of
insight. Success Principle #13 is Take Action. He writes, “Most people are
familiar with the phrase, ‘Ready, aim, fire!’ The problem is that too many
people spend their whole life aiming and never firing. They are always getting
ready, getting it perfect. The quickest way to hit a target is to fire, see
where the bullet landed, and then adjust your aim accordingly. If the hit was 2
inches above the target, lower your aim a little. Fire again. See where it is
now. Keep firing and readjusting. Soon you are hitting the bull’s-eye.” (Page
103)
Recently I was meeting with an
unpublished author who had written about a 400-page Christian fantasy. He gave
me a copy of his novel to read and recognized that he is an unknown writer.
Like many people they wonder what steps to take to enter the publishing
business and change from being unknown to being known. These steps are not a
quick fix and will take on-going time and effort. The good news is with the
Internet and regular effort it can be done with a minimal financial investment.
Here are ten simple steps.
1. Pick
a good domain name—a dot com. How do you want to be known? Pick that for your
domain name. What is your area of expertise? If you write Christian fantasy,
select something you can brand and promote.
2. Get
a Hostgator account.
Most writers can get along for with a small monthly fee. This system is powerful
and inexpensive.
3. On
your Hostgator account, start a Word Press blog (not a free one but one you set
up). The tools are free and because you are hosting it, you don’t have the
restrictions of the free Word Press account. Then post several times a week on
your topic that you want to brand.
4. Start
a Twitter account with your brand name and post only on that topic—link to
articles about it and other things to draw readers.
5. Also
post to your Facebook about this topic—automatically repeat your tweets.
6. Join
forums on this topic. At first, watch, and then participate with solid content
about the topic at hand—and emphasizing your topic. You will become known as a
thoughtful expert.
7. Eventually
begin a newsletter with your blog posts—repurpose them into a newsletter and
encourage people to subscribe to it.
8. Repurpose
your blog posts to Internet articles and post to the free articles sites (there
are many of them). As you repurpose your material in this way, you will become
known as an expert in your particular area of the market..
9. Get
a free copy of my 43-page Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author.
Read this book and take action.
10.
Take
action over and over—consistently and regularly to build your brand. It will
pay off and you will build your presence and become known.
As
you work this simple plan, you will be surprised with the results just like the
bestselling author who took 20 years to
become an overnight success. A seemingly innocent event set off the
unplanned chain of events propelled the author to recognition. You are the best
person to promote yourself but you have to take action. Work your simple plan
and it can happen. I’ve seen it over and over.
How are you working your simple plan? Let me know in the comments below.
----------
W.
Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine
editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan
James Publishing.
He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart
Your Publishing Dreams
and Billy Graham.
Check out his free Ebook, Straight
Talk From the Editor.
His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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