Publishing
tip
The Real Job of an Author
by Diane
Eble
People who want to
publish a book usually start by thinking about what they
want to write
about.
I submit, that's not the best place to
start.
Yes, you do need to have some idea of what
to write about. But more importantly, I think, is to start
with Who, rather than what.
Whom do you want to
lead?
Because really, you don't just want to
sell books, do you? Don't you want, ultimately, to influence
people somehow? Don’t you really want to lead?
An author is an authority about something. That implies being
a leader.
So, the question is, whom do you want to
lead? Then you move to the how.
And I submit, a book may be only one kind
of "how."
Because what you really want to do, is
find and create an audience. People who want to hear your
unique message.
Before—say, 10-15 years ago—the best way
to create an audience was to write a book and get media
attention for it. Or become a speaker.
Now, those are only two ways (and growing
less and less cost-effective, compared to other options).
Two of the many other, and better, ways to find and create
an audience.
Now we can gain an audience through
writing articles—and we don't have to wait months for a
magazine editor to decide whether to run the article. We are
in total control. Submit your article to ezinearticles.com,
and in a few days it will be online, available to thousands
of people who are specifically looking for that topic.
And—you get to put in a link to your web site so interested
people can immediately access what you have to
offer.
Now, you can start a blog for free. You can get your ideas automatically
delivered to people who have decided what you want to say is
worth reading. Or hearing.
Because now your message is no longer
limited to the printed (screened?) word. You can deliver it
with your voice, through audio podcasts and teleseminars, or
even through video.
We're in a whole new era now. Publishing
doesn't mean just books anymore. "Publishing," to me, now
means "making your message available in as many
formats as
possible, to as many people as possible, through as many
channels as possible."
It's what I call New Era
Publishing.
Here are the key underpinnings to New
Era Publishing:
-
YOU are the
message. Your job is to lead, to be head of a "tribe" (as
Seth Godin says) of people who connect with your idea and
with others who connect with your idea.
-
Your real
focus is to find your audience, and to reach them in as
many different ways as you can … as many ways as THEY
want.
-
A further
element is to get your tribe talking to each
other. This is a
whole radical element of New Era Publishing that is just
beginning to develop. You have the potential to be a leader
of a tribe that not only follows you, but that interacts
with each other.
If you haven't written your book yet,
don't think about what to write. Decide first whom you want
to lead, and then start looking for where they already
are!
If you have written your book: How many
ways can you reach people about your message? How many other
ways can you package your message so that more people can
receive it?
Next
Steps:
1.
If you don't yet have a book written, brainstorm a little about
whom you want to influence. Imagine your ideal reader/follower.
Why do they follow you? What are they looking for that you can
give them?
2. If you do have a
book written, find one online activity that you're not yet
doing that will connect you with readers. Start a blog. Comment
on other people's blogs. Create an offer—something related to
your book—that you can give away in exchange for email
addresses. Find ways to connect and build
relationships!
3. Join Twitter (then
follow
me!)—it's free and fun!
4. Listen to the
Virtual Book Tour with Nancy Ortberg on
Unleashing the Power of Rubber
Bands: Lessons in Non-Linear
Leadership--it's free and will
inspire
you.
Recommended Resources So You Can Take
Action:
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