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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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? (For more on the right questions to ask, check out "Write Your Book Right: 12 Questions Successful Authors Always Answer.")

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. Get the Jimmy D. Brown course on list-building (www.bestlistbuildingstrategies.com). This inexpensive course is a great primer on how to build your audience quickly.

Recommended Resources So You Can Take Action:

•  Author Success Plan ecourse. These 5 meaty lessons will get you started on "The ABC's of Becoming a Successful Author."
• To make the most of articles: ezinearticles.com website, where you get free training about article writing and marekting, AND a great place to publish your articles.
• Excellent book on leading a Tribe: Seth Godin's Tribes
• Excellent book on leadership, with many memorable stories: Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands: Lessons in Non-Linear Leadership. Listen to my Virtual Book Tour with Nancy Ortberg (you may ask a question, or just say "none" in the question box to get to the replay).