Learn the Business of Writing
How do you learn the
business details of the writing world and which tools to use? From my years of
attending writers' conferences, this information is important to your
success as a writer—yet rarely taught.
Later this month, I will
be in Orlando, Florida teaching Business Tools for Every Writer. Much of what I've learned
has been in the school of hard knocks—trial and error. Some of what I will be
teaching is attitude and daily approach. Without a plan or a haphazard plan, you
are certain to hit nothing. If you can’t make this session, I encourage you to
look over my
speaking schedule and try to connect in person at another event.
Part of the challenge of
the writing life is there is no single path to success or a bestselling book. If
an exact formula existed, then publishers and authors would use it every time
with a guaranteed result. It does not exist. Instead there are principles and
actions each of us can attempt for our own books and our own writing life. Then
we can see which ones are relevant and useful and which ones are not appropriate
for you.
Whether you are aware of
it or not, you are constantly making business decisions related to your writing.
For example, when someone wants to buy your book, do you send the customer to
Amazon (or some other online bookstore) or do it yourself? While I've written
more than 60 books for traditional publishers, I've selected several books which
I sell myself. If you look at my book page for
In the last few weeks, I
purchased all of the remaining copies of my bestselling book, Book
Proposals That Sell, 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success. The book has over 130
Five Star reviews on Amazon but don't buy the book there. Why? I've purchased
every remaining copy from my publisher, built my own website, slashed the price
from $15 to $8, created new bonuses if you buy the book from me, written my website (at
http://BookProposalsThatSell.com) and much more.
http://BookProposalsThatSell.com) and much more.
Yesterday, someone
purchased the book. I took a few minutes, printed a label, printed a packing
slip, packed up the book. Tomorrow I'm headed to my post office to send this
book via media mail. In this process, I made a number of business decisions. I'm
making more money on the book sale. The money is coming directly to me and not
to my former publisher (who paid royalties once a year—which is typical).
Finally I'm putting out more effort to send the book myself instead of sending
it to a bookseller or a third party. Also the person who purchased the book is
on my email list, gets my follow-up bonuses and makes a personal connection with
me—which never happens if they buy the book from someone else.
These small business
decisions are rarely taught—but critical to your own success. First, I encourage
you to be aware of these decisions, then stop occasionally and evaluate these
choices. Is it time to go in a different direction or add a new tool or let go
of a tool which is not working? It is important to learn the craft of
writing and storytelling. Yet it is also important to handle the business
aspects of the writing life.
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Labels: author, bestseller, business, publishing, success, writing
1 Comment:
In terms of business and acquaintances, being a freelance writer allows you to get to know a number of well-known bloggers or website owners. By knowing him, of course you can learn a lot from them. For example, the right way of business management, time management, managing business resources, or even getting capital from them.
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