How to Prevent Your Book from Dying an Early Death?

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief, Southern Writers Magazine

Have you ever wondered how many books die before they ever get to the publishing circuit? Unfortunately, I don’t have a count, but I would imagine a great many. 

You see, many people start to write a book. Some can even get to 28,000 words, then life takes over, interest wanes, and it is put on the back burner, where it dries up.

Then there’s the writer who is so excited, has the perfect story line, sits down and puts a few paragraphs on paper; gets interrupted, loses train of thought. They think they will continue tomorrow but alas; other things get in the way. Another book dies where it is.

So, what happened? The writer didn’t set a goal to write nor did they make a true commitment.  Like most things we do in life, there must be a goal, so we will be committed and work towards the goal to achieve our desire.

A goal can be based on how many words to write or how much time each day.  Choose one that is comfortable. But set a goal.

I personally like to write several words per day. Example: if I set a goal to write 750 words today, and my thought process runs out of words to write I keep putting words on the paper to reach my goal. The important thing is that I reach that goal today, regardless of the last few words I am writing. Why?  I am trying to establish a habit with my writing time. (And yes. The next day I come in, read what I wrote and remove any gibberish and then continue to reach today’s goal.)

One important piece of advice, remove any distractions.  I turn my phone, TV, and anything that can make a noise off. I know some people like to play music while they write. If it helps them write, sets the mood, that’s great. For me, I must have everything turned off.

Goals are important. Les Brown said, “Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life.”

Another quote I like is from Brian Tracy, “Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor.”

Without goals, how do you know where you are going and when you have reached what you were striving for?

By setting your goals your book won’t die of an early death!

Does Writing Make You Happy?

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief, Southern Writers Magazine

Brian Tracy, motivational speaker and self-development author with over seventy books translated into dozens of languages said, “Your ability to achieve your own happiness is the key measure of your success, of how well you are doing as a person.”

Most believe we have the ability to achieve our own happiness.

Tracy went on to say, “The key to happiness is this: dedicate yourself to the development of your natural talents and abilities by doing what you love to do and doing it better and better in the service of a cause that is greater than yourself.”

Look at his statement through a writer’s eyes. The words that jump out at me are––“dedicate yourself”. Ask a writer if they want to be a successful published author and they will say yes. Ask them how much time they spend honing their writing craft. You will find many responses.

Every successful author spends time honing their craft––regardless of how many books they have published and sold. Why? Because honing their craft makes them a better writer. They love writing. They read, study, attend conferences, writers groups––whatever it takes to make them better. This is the dedication to doing what you love.

Hint: If you do not enjoy what you are doing change what you are doing.

Everyone has natural talents and abilities. The secret is to find what your ‘natural’ talents and abilities are. This takes effort to discover and worth the time and effort spent.

Many times a writer is not pleased with something they have written. Most will continue to rewrite the piece until they are pleased.

Bryan also said, “Your happiness likewise depends upon your ability to please at least yourself in all things. You can be happy only when you are living your life in the very best way possible. No one can define happiness for you. Only you know what makes you happy. Happiness is an inside job.”

From a writers perspective this makes sense to me. If what we write pleases us, then we can be happy.

Remember, not everyone likes what we write. That is okay. If we like what we wrote it gives us the push, we need to continue to study and hone our craft and become better writers.

We need to be happy with our writing. Not because our writing is perfect but because what we wrote pleased us. This is the ‘spark’ we need to continue our writing journey.

Let us not forget the more we practice the better we become.

The Wrong Mindset Blocks Books Sales

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief, Southern Writers Magazine

Bryan Tracy said, “From the time you get up in the morning until the time you go to bed at night, you are continually negotiating, communicating, persuading, influencing and trying to get people to cooperate with you to do the things that you want them to do.”

When I read this, I realized he is 100% right. Think about it.  If we have children at home we are constantly communicating to them what they need to do, what we want them to do. We wind up either negotiating with them to cooperate with us or persuading them to do what we want them to do. 

It continues throughout the day.

Same with our spouses, only most of the time we are a little more direct with them, but we still use those skills.

At our places of employment, we are doing the same things…using these skills.

So why is it, that as writers, we are uncomfortable in using these skills to market and sell our books?

Perhaps it is our mindset of sales. We don’t like being sold to. You know the stereo types: the car salesperson following you around as you look at cars pushing information. You tell him you are just looking but he’s like a dog with a bone. Or the person standing at your door trying to convince you to buy while you are trying to get rid of them and close the door. And then my favorite, the salesperson at the furniture store following you around while trying to look at furniture.

This is the definition stuck in our brains as the “salesperson”. Thus, we aren’t crazy about trying to sell our books. This is bad selling.

Fortunately, authors have websites and draw people to the websites where they read about the author, see the books. Once they get to our website, it should be enticing enough to solicit sales. (Be sure and check your website, if you came to your website, would you like what you see and want to sign up for a newsletter if offered? Would you want to buy a book?)

What can we put on our websites to help our sales? Offer something free. Think about when you go to Costco or Sam’s; they offer free samples. This entices us to buy what we are sampling. Maybe you could let them sample a chapter…then put a button to buy the book.

Or perhaps you might think about a gift with their purchase. Maybe your fourth book in your series just released. You could gift a copy of your first book in the series if they buy your new release. You could do this for a set time like the first week of the month, or the first three days of a month or even run it for the first ten people who sign up.

The point is, being able to give something helps you sell. You can go in large department stores, you will see the perfume/makeup counters, they always are giving away something if you buy what they want you to buy. (This is one of the best ways to get people to buy.)

Another thing you can do is combine your efforts with another author and help each other sell their book using the methods above.

Think about some things you can do to entice along these lines. It gives the right mindset for selling.

Sell Your Books–– Use Speaking Engagements

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief for Southern Writers Magazine 

First, let me tell you, speakers are needed. Organizations, conferences, associations, corporations, events, ladies’ groups, church groups, these are just some of the places speakers are needed.

Back in the eighties, I had the privilege to attend a conference in San Diego, CA. and hear well known successful speaker Brain Tracy. He held my attention to the point I did not want him to stop talking and from the looks of the audience, they didn’t either.

When he did finish, people were standing in line to buy a complete set of his tapes. Yes, me too.

Listening to him, there was no doubt in our minds we could all be successful. His tapes were offering us that opportunity to learn from a pro. I wish I still had those tapes, but somewhere along the line they disappeared.

Not long ago I read this quote from him, “The reason why successful people are successful in speaking is because they have a burning message that they want to share, that people can really benefit from.” Aren’t you burning to tell people about your book? Aren’t you passionate about your book?

Before you tell yourself you are too shy to speak in front of groups, let me ask you a question. When your family gets together for special holidays, events, etc., do you have a problem talking in that group? No? Then you can learn to speak in front of other groups, providing you have a passion for the subject.

So now I ask you, are there some things you feel passionate about and want to share information with others? Can you tie those things into your book?

Sit down with your book. Make a list of the things that make your book interesting. Think about the current things going on in the world today, can you relate your book to one or more of those?

Make a list of what people ask you about being a writer. How do you come up with ideas? How do you determine where you will set your story? Are the characters people you know? Family members? Are you one of the characters? Where did the idea come from for this book? What is the world of a writer? There are many more questions, so think of some more and write them down.

Now out of those, come up with at least five you could build a 20 minute talk, a 30 minute talk, or an hour. Write the key points down.

The next part is research, looking for places to give a speech. In your town, there are groups looking for someone to give a twenty-thirty minute speech. Look at the ladies organizations. They love having authors. Book stores, libraries, the list goes on.

Always remember to read an excerpt from your book, hold up your book, and give them an opportunity after your speech to buy one.