Month: October 2011

In writing,
there is developing/producing product,
marketing/selling that product,
and
then there’s noise.
There is a LOT of noise.
Discussions about
whether or not books are dying,
whether or not the Romance Writers Of America
values eBook writers,
whether or not folks can make a living writing.

Focus on the noise
and the writing suffers.

The same is true with entrepreneurs
and discussions about the Fed,
the economy,
the future of the country.
Focus on that noise
and the business suffers.

As David Faye
CEO of Faye Business Systems Group, Inc.
states
“If you’re a leader,
things are going to happen
that are going be out of your control,
and you have to control
what you can control.
People get caught up in conversations
about the economy,
and what the Fed’s doing,
and what the president’s doing…
but at the end of the day,
when you’re running a business,
you have to keep your eye on the ball,
on the business.”

Keep an eye on your business.
Leave the resource wasting drama behind.

I have three publishers
for one of my pen names.

One is a big name publisher.
I send them all of my mainstream, “normal” stories.
They need to turn a profit
and their definition of profit is a lot of money.

One is a smaller, indie publisher.
I send them all of my edgier, could-be-breakout stories.
They also need to turn a profit
but their definition of profit isn’t much money.

Francis Ford Coppola
in an interview with Harvard Business Review
said
“I think the smaller the budget,
the bigger the ideas can be;
the bigger the budget,
the smaller the ideas,
and the exploration,
and the adventure,
and the challenge.
If there’s less money at stake,
you can slip in between the cracks
and look at the material
with a more honest, direct view.
You don’t have to worry about
what would preserve the investment better.”

“Everyone has this conservative streak in them,
especially when money and success
are at stake,
and everyone tends not to
want to be experimental.”

The same thinking is true with start ups.
The less money
(especially other people’s money)
on the line,
the more innovative and breakout
you can be.
You can take risks.

Think about how creative you want to be
when considering financing options.

One of my pen names is
pretty much dead.
I used it for my romance novels
targeting business women.
That tactic didn’t work.

I had a choice.
I could use that brand
for a tactic that might work,
or I could launch a new brand.

Since I needed a new website url,
I decided to launch a new brand.

I keep the first brand alive.
Why?
Because I’d rather business associates
not know about my non-business writing,
and the first brand acts as a shield.
(so when I’m asked if I have stories published,
I point business associates to that website)

Brands die.
It is part of a brand’s life cycle.
When they die,
you have choices.
You can revive the brand,
you can use the brand for other products,
or you can let it die.

fastcodesign has a good post
on how to tell if a brand
is worth saving.

Yes, I post about taking action
quite often.
Why?
Because that is the most important part
of every plan.
Without taking action,
the best plan in the world
is useless.

I have an author buddy
who always submits manuscripts
before they’re finalized.
This drives her critique partners crazy
because it increases her chances of a rejection.

The interesting thing is…
she has more stories releasing this year
than all of her critique partners combined.
Sure, she has to revise each manuscript heavily
but so do they,
though they revise BEFORE submission.

What is the key to her success?
She takes action.
She takes more action.
She receives more rejections
but she publishes more also.

Rajesh Setty has a great post
on what might be stopping you
from taking action.