April 2011 – Page 2

Doubt And Fear And Taking Action

When I start a new venture,
I always feel both doubt and fear.

Doubt and fear, when justified,
is healthy.
It tells me when something isn’t working,
and
when my proposed actions could backfire,
harming me.

Doubt and fear, however,
can also freeze me,
causing me not to take action,
or to take an action I know
has worked in the past
but isn’t right for the situation.

It is damn hard
to distinguish healthy doubt and fear
from unhealthy doubt and fear.

This is one of the reasons
I have a group of informal advisors.
I ask them
if I’m making sense.

Doubt and fear should assist you,
not hold you back.

Sales Secrecy

Although I’m with numerous publishers,
only one of my publishers is upfront
about what genres and plots sell well.
The others don’t share this information,
because knowledge of what sells
is viewed as a strategic advantage.

Sure, if no one else
has access to this knowledge.

The major book reselling sites, however,
all have bestseller listings.
With one click of a button,
I can see what sells.

So their competitors have
their rough sales information.
By keeping what sells and doesn’t sell
a secret from their authors,
the publishers force their bestselling authors
to spend time redoing research they already have,
time these authors can use
to write more stories with the plots
and in the genres that earn these publishers cash.

When I worked for a beverage manufacturer,
a newbie to the organization was aghast
because everyone from the cleaning lady to the CEO
knew what our top selling juices were.
When he commented upon
this sharing of ‘strategic’ information,
the VP of sales pointed out
that market research companies gave competitors
that information in a neat, convenient list.
Why should the competitor know more
about the company
than employees did?

Are you keeping information
your competitors know from your employees?

Why?

Working Hard Is Contagious

Since unrolling my aggressive writing plan
a month and a half ago,
I’ve been working like a demon,
writting, subbing, selling, editing.

I am surrounded by doers.
All of my buddies work hard.

What I’ve noticed though
is that my buddies
are kicking it into top gear also.

They’re doubling their word counts.
They’re subbing more.
They’re making sales.

Working hard is contagious.
If you want your buddy
to get off her ass,
then work harder
on your own projects.

If you’re feeling lazy,
talk to your busiest friend.
You’ll be inspired
and yes, perhaps a bit shamed.

Lead by example
and get ‘er done.

Ship

I’m tempted to end the post there.
Ship.
Get your freakin’ product out the door.

One of my good buddies,
a talented, talented writer,
has been working on the same manuscript
for three years now.

Her agent asks her
every couple of months
to send something for her to sell
and
many of us have told her
the manuscript is ready to be ‘shipped.’

My buddy continues to tweak.

Ship.
It is scary,
and you risk rejection,
but it is a necessary step
for success.

Stretching Goals

One of the big benefits
of the mostly online writing group
I belong to
is that these writers challenge my goals.

I’ll write that
my goal is to write 1,000 words.
They’ll push back and say
“I believe in you.
Can’t you do 1,200 words?”

I didn’t think I could do 1,200 words
but damn it, I try
and yes, I usually succeed.

They don’t question my goal.
They question how aggressive
my goal should be.

If you don’t have a group
like this,
you can ask a trusted friend
to fill the same role.

Ask her to bump up your goal
by 5 or 10 percent,
and then ask you the next day
if you achieved it.

Stretch your daily goals.

LL Cool J And Switching Industries

Every industry thinks their’s is the ‘toughest.’

I’m currently working in the communications industry.
First day on the job,
I was told that everything I knew was shit
and that I’d have a bitch of a time
coming up to speed quickly.

Hmmm…
So I studied my ass off
and proved that I could talk the talk
and add value in the new industry,
while gently introducing them
to ideas from other industries.
(Pro tip – don’t tell them it worked in
another industry
until you’ve proved it works in their’s)

In March’s Men’s Fitness,
rapper and actor
LL Cool J shares his challenges
switching from music to acting.

“There was a time 10 years ago
when there was big backlash
against rappers turning into actors.
My response to that
was to study really hard,
go to acting school,
focus my energy into acting.
And now I”m doing what I’m doing.”

You know that your experience
in another industry will add value
but your new coworkers don’t share that belief.
Be prepared to work your ass off
to prove yourself.

Thank You’s Are Free

They aren’t really though,
are they?
Thank you’s are better than free.
They are revenue generators
and expense reducers.

Some people are stingy
with their thank you’s.
They believe
thank you’s
mean less
if they’re given to everyone.

That’s bullshit
because thank you’s are surprisingly rare.
Folks don’t care
if you thanked 100 people that day.
They care if you thanked them once.

I thank everyone.

I thank the bus driver
and he now waits for me
if I’m a little late in the morning.

I thank my boss’s assistant
and she covers for me
if I take a longer lunch.

I thank the promo goddess
at a major bookselling site
and she snags me promo spots
I can’t even buy.

These might be coincidences.
It might be people simply doing their job well.
My thank you’s may have had no impact.

But hey, all it costs me are two words.

Thank people.
What do you have to lose?

Change And Opportunity

One of my new coworkers
is a rising star.
With the right mentoring,
she could have the top job
she greatly desires.

One thing that is holding her back
is her fear and lack of faith in herself.
The organization is undergoing changes.
Some employees will be let go.
Many employees will be shuffled around.

THIS is an opportunity.
Without changes like these,
an employee often has to wait
for retirement or death
to snag a better position.

THIS is when she should stand up
and stand out,
shouting her superstar status,
declaring her suitability for a promotion.
Folks that do this
seldom get let go
and often get promoted.

Instead, she’s scared.
She’s afraid of losing her present position.
She’s hiding.
Ironically, folks that hide
are the often the employees that get let go.

When changes come,
be brave.
Reach out and grab those opportunities.

Failing At Goals

I saw a buddy recently.
I haven’t seen him for a while.
One of the first questions
he asked was
“So are you retired?”

I had told him
decades ago
that I was going to retire
at the age of 35.

I’ll be 40 in a couple of months
and I continue to work the business gigs.

So I failed at my goal.
I hadn’t retired at 35.

However, I know
I’m closer to my goal
than I would have been
if I hadn’t set that aggressive time frame.

Goals are guidelines.
It isn’t the end of the world
that I don’t make the goal
as I originally set it.

What matters most is that
I’m working toward it
and WILL reach it
in some time frame, way, or fashion.

If you’re moving in the right direction,
don’t get discouraged
if you fail to meet your aggressive goals.
Revise them
and re-issue the challenge to yourself.

Saturating The Market

Next year,
I plan to release at minimum
two stories a month
under one of my pen names.

Two decades ago,
that would have been frowned upon.
I would have been seen
as saturating the market.

Today, there’s no such thing,
at least not in writing.
The consumption is there.
Readers will buy a book a week
from a favorite author.
They are constantly looking for the new
and a book that has been
on the market for a month
is… well… old.

Some authors are playing
by the old rules.
They publish stories
in the same genre
under different names,
and all these names get email
asking why they’re not writing faster.

Look at your market.
Are you putting a ceiling on
the supply you’re offering?
Is this ceiling real
or a figment of the past?