But first, the stories worth reading this week:
- TED-Ed Lessons for Writers to Kick Off 2016 (Maryann Yinn on GalleyCat): “Would you like to take in some writing wisdom? We’ve compiled a list of five TED-Ed videos on how to create captivating fiction, the definition of ‘orwellian,’ pronouns, misused modifiers, and the origins of the English language.”
- Ten Things I Learned As A First-Time Published Author (Kristin Meekhof on HuffPo Books): “There were missteps on my part. I was green and it showed. Even a well-established person in the book industry told me so. She went to far as to say, ‘I knew you were on the learning curve, but I didn’t know you were at the bottom of it.'”
- Details Help Writers Overcome Fear (Benjamin Vogt on JaneFriedman.com): “Writers are scaredy-cats. We go in fear of lots of stuff, like sharing our true thoughts or wondering how others will think of us.”
- 7 Book Marketing Trends Authors Can’t Afford to Ignore (Kimberly Grabas on The Book Designer): “In today’s world of rapidly evolving digital media, an author’s book marketing strategy requires clear career objectives and goals, an understanding of what’s working right now (and what’s on track to pay dividends in the future), and some smart planning to tie it all together.”
- At the Codex Hackathon, a Two-Day Marathon of Tech for Books (Jon Christian, The Boston Globe): “’There are a lot of really talented developers who love books, and who would love to participate if they knew the problems that needed to be solved.’”
The One Limiting Belief That Holds Authors Back From Success (And a 3-Step Process to Work Your Way Past It!)
When I was in college, I used to make fun of marketing majors. I didn’t think marketing was really a thing—it sounded more like a vague corporate job where you were paid good money to sit in meetings and say jargon-y things about customers and profits.
(This is especially hilarious, because I was an English major, of all things. Which is the epitome of a vague major, and one where you would most certainly not be paid good money. I guess I was just bitter.)
When I graduated and actually got a job in publishing (!!), I was still a little snot about marketing. Secretly (and I probably shouldn’t admit this because it is just so snotty)…but secretly, I thought the marketing assistants were just there because they hadn’t been able to get the editorial assistant jobs. (I know. I was new to publishing and too proud about working in editorial. Also, just dumb.)
Over the years, as I started acquiring books, building my own list, and working at different publishers with different systems, I got curious about why some books weren’t selling and others were. I really, really wanted to crack the code. I still do.
