Focus on the positive!
By Guest | March 20, 2011 |
Kath here. Please welcome guest poster Joanna Penn from The Creative Penn: Adventures in Writing, Publishing and Book Marketing. We love her postitive outlook on the challenges and changes rocking the publishing industry. Enjoy!
In the last few weeks, independent (indie) authors have hit the mainstream press with Amanda Hocking’s Kindle millionaire success. JA Konrath’s blog also continues to provide articles from other indie authors making a living selling their own books online. This has provoked a mixed response across the web. For some, there is a celebration of empowerment and a delight in new ways for creative people to become entrepreneurs. There’s also more fuel on the fire for the “death of publishing” crowd. In addition, the anti-self publishing movement has stepped up a notch with how awful it is to flood the market with books that haven’t been vetted by publishers and the lack of quality indie books out there.
Enough already!
There’s no doubt that publishing is changing and authors of all kinds are experimenting with new methods or combining several of them. Readers don’t actually care, they just want more stories. So let’s consider new behaviors as authors and publishers that will enable us to embrace the changes and benefit from them.
Celebrate diversity.
We all write in a diverse ecosystem. Check out the dichotomies of this industry that are often used as a form of snobbery. Literary fiction vs. genre fiction. Prize winning fiction vs. bestsellers. Big six publishing house vs. small independent press. Print books vs. ebooks. Traditionally published author vs. self-published author. Author selling 1000 books per day vs. author selling 1 book per day. It doesn’t stop. There is always some kind of comparison and weighing up of who is better in someone’s opinion.
Instead of focusing on differences, I’m suggesting that we celebrate success in all areas of the business. Instead of bemoaning how hard it is to write a book, or get published or sell books, we could look at the accomplishments of others and be inspired.
Many of us in the indie author world are cheering Amanda, Joe and others who are blazing a trail on the Kindle store. It’s fantastic to see authors writing books that people want to buy. These authors are not overnight successes, they’ve been writing for years and you don’t have to like the genres they write in to appreciate how hard they’ve worked.
So, instead of negativity about genre or route to publishing, try congratulating authors on their success. Leave a comment on their blog, or review a book you did enjoy. Share with others these inspiring stories and look to the opportunities for your own writing. Celebrate your own place in the creative ecosystem.
Collaborate and support.
We have to stop seeing other authors as competition. We are actually all sharing this passionate market of readers.
The marvelous thing about books and publishing is that it’s not a finite market. As book lovers we will never stop buying books, whether that is print or ebooks, it doesn’t matter. We will continue to consume them. A single avid reader can race through a prolific author’s back-list in a matter of weeks and then they will need the next fix. Since I bought a Kindle I read 3-4 books per week and I’m always looking for what’s next in the queue. We’re reading junkies!
Not everyone will like your book so recommend other authors and you’ll be surprised at how fast your own market grows as other people recommend you in turn. Try networking with other writers on Twitter or Facebook. Link to them or interview them on your blog. I have found the twitter network of writers to be a wonderfully giving group of people, mutually supportive and celebratory. This sharing attitude and abundance mentality is the basis of social media. Creating a net of like-minded people can benefit all as together we are stronger and can generate new opportunities.
Model success.
Looking at successful authors, the most constructive thing we can do is model their success. What do they do that we can emulate? For example, writing a series is an excellent idea for Kindle book sales as people get hooked and want to read the whole backlist as well as waiting to buy the next one. Bestselling traditional authors like Lee Child, James Patterson and JK Rowling also know this. Do you have a character and a story you could expand into a series? Finding a genre and sticking to it also works well so people know what to expect, so which genre do you love to read?
Persistence and time in the market is also key. I keep coming back to this one as the number of books you have out there makes a difference to most authors success. Each book has to be a great story and fantastic value for readers and it takes time to build a quality backlist. But we are lucky to be writers as this is something we can do for the rest of our lives, and in fact, the authors making the most money are generally older and have put in the years of hard work. How can you model the success of authors you admire?
There’s enough room for all kinds of writing and publishing in this world. Live and let live. Let’s collaborate, celebrate and be successful together.
Joanna Penn is the author of Pentecost, an action-adventure thriller novel available now on Amazon and other online bookstores. Joanna’s blog The Creative Penn is another of the Top 10 Blogs for Writers and features articles, audios and videos on writing, publishing and book marketing. Connect with Joanna on Twitter @thecreativepenn
Image: Flickr CC Bitmask multi-colored roses
Many thanks to today’s guest.
You can read more WU guest posts by visiting this link.
Nice to see some positive ideas. Thanks!
This is one of the most eloquent and true posts I have ever read! When any group makes a concerted effort to lift up the individuals within itself, the entire group prospers. Nothing has ever been gained by criticizing and/or minimizing the efforts of others. Since writing can be such a solitary endeavor, I would think writers would be eager to reach out to one another in a supportive way. It surprises me to read such negativity from authors and publishers, and it makes me sad that literary innovators must face the ridicule of their peers, just because they want to try something new. We teach children to share, cooperate, and communicate, so this behavior should be reflexive for adults. Support and positivity are such easy things to bestow on others, and they’re almost always returned tenfold. I hope this will be the attitude of the future in the writing world.
Thank you for such a thoughtful post!
Hi Rachel, I’m glad you liked the post and I really do believe in the rising tide takes us all higher, if we act together!
But then I’ve always been an optimist :)
Geat post, Joanna! Although I love the idea that we should celebrate the opportunities for diversity in publishing, I particularly appreciate the reminder that “persistence and time in the market is also key.” That’s something rarely said, but so important!
Martina
Thanks Martina – that time in the market aspect is critical, and I try to remind myself of it every time I freak out at needing to get the next book written! I am 36 and the most successful writers have been writing 30 years – I can make it that far in my lifetime!
so can we all.
Bravo! Living in South Africa (the Rainbow Nation!) I love anything and anyone who celebrates diversity, so it was wonderful to read this post.
In our fear of difference, we tend to forget that there is space in this world for all of us to live and work together despite those differences. It’s all about respect for each other’s choices. I’ve chosen the indie route, because it suits me and my writing, despite the hard work. Other friends have worked equally hard to make it in the traditional route.
How lovely that Joanna encourages us to Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative…(I can’t sing quite as well as Bing Cosby, but you get the idea??) :)
Judy (South Africa)
Hi Judy,
I work in a multicultural office with many South Africans and Indians – so I love the rainbow nation idea. Diversity is critical as it would be crazy if we all wanted the same thing. The key is understanding what we each really want to achieve with our writing. Thanks.
“Live and let live. Let’s collaborate, celebrate and be successful together.”
Thank you for this post! And truthfully, this is probably a point that could be made about most everything :)
Terrific post, and it goes along with one I shared on my blog yesterday on How to Support our Fellow Writers – https://sassy3421.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-support-our-fellow-writers.html
In fact, I even used similar phrasing – that we need to stop viewing as each other as competition, but realize we’re a brotherhood of sorts, joined together by a common interest.
Love seeing other authors post about the same thing. Yes, to positivity and working together! Let’s continue to spread the word :)
Wow!!
Thanks for the advice!! It would be helpful if WB posts a little about self publishing and all such!! All of us are writers and are improving day by day!!
Everything is fine with it!! But that would be better if we can know the basics about publishing and all such stuff!!!
with warm regards
Hi Abhishek,
The marvelous thing about the author blogs is that we all focus on different things – I am an indie author so I focus on that while this blog has a different focus. We’re all about writing, but as above, it would be boring if everyone focused on the same thing :)
All the best with your writing.
I think the changes are exciting for all involved and there’s room for everyone.
I’m curious whether folks think short stories will make a comeback as well now with the availability of e-readers?
Hi Brenda,
Kindle has launched Kindle Singles which are short form writing selling at a low price. Jodi Picoult was one of the first in so yes, short stories are definitely finding a market with ebooks.
Plus a number of big name authors are putting a toe in the self-publishing market with shorter works to see if the business model is viable.
Interesting times indeed!
Thanks for these refreshing and positive perspectives. It seems more and more people are getting caught up in singing the praises of whatever publishing approach they’ve taken, but doing so in a very defensive manner, touting their own path as being superior to any other approach. And the growing “death to big publishing” warcry is both tiresome and troubling – after all, I suspect “big publishing” is what got all these authors *reading* earlier in their lives.
It’s an interesting, messy time, and I do think the industry was due for a shakeup. But it’s my hope that this shakeup just results in writers having even more avenues to success, rather than causing any businesses – and the people who work within them – to fail.
Absolutely Keith. I certainly don’t want big publishing to fail, but it would be great if certain avenues opened up to all of us. I really do think the market decides what books are worthy of reading, whether indie or mainstream. Either can sell successfully or sink like a stone.
Thanks.
Love this post, Joanna. Thanks so much for blogging with us today!
Abhishek, I hope you’ll consider joining the Writer Unboxed Facebook group (LINK) for regular e-publishing news. We’re very active there. Not to mention positive. :-)
Love the message of positivity and persistence. Totally on board. Thanks for sharing it here!
Thanks so much for having me today. It’s great to be in such great company!
Great to read such an open and positive post – thanks!
Love it! And it’s true; supporting others actually helps us move forward. I’ve seen proof of it in my own life. Even if it did nothing to advance my career, though, it’s so much more pleasant to be positive than negative.
As always, Joanna, wonderful information shared with your always upbeat and highly contagious and positive attitude! I have been a follower of yours for quite sometime and so appreciate the abundance of information and ideas I’ve come to expect and count on. You really are quite fabulous :-)
Thanks for sharing your perspective on this onrush of Kindle/ebooks. Voracious readers are pleased with the accessibility and convenience of these editions…keeping them happy is key.
Joanna,
Thank you! I loved your post. We should celebrate the diversity! We all have a common love for well told stories.
Thanks for this post, Joanna — and thanks to Kath for inviting her to share here. :)
I just finished reading a Joe Konrath/Barry Eisler post on Konrath’s blog, and I’m definitely feeling empowered as an indie-/self-pub author! But Joanna, I love your thought about celebrating our own place in the creative ecosystem. It’s easy to want to point fingers at the Big 6 and their ilk, and say, “You’re doing it wrong!”
I appreciate the optimism and encouragement of spreading my hands toward my fellow self-publishing writers and saying, “We’re doing something amazing! Let’s keep doing it!”
Joanna ~
In what can be at times the loneliest of professions – no matter your age, stage or publishing affiliation – words like yours and posts like this bring us together. And that’s what we need.
I, too, am amazed at the open, supportive and all-embracing community I’ve found on Twitter and Facebook. I hope that acceptance and support makes its way throughout the industry. As book lovers and writers, we really are all in this together.
We can’t measure ourselves against each other, as each of our stories and life paths are unique. What we can do, as you so eloquently pointed out, is lift each other up. Celebrate accomplishments. Spread our praise and encouragement liberally; our criticism and snarks minimally.
Thank you so much for this post. It made me smile.
… And I think one of the great examples of this–supporting other writers with their books, too–is Writer Unboxed. It’s fabulous to get to read many novelists posts and words here on this site. Kudos to Kathleen and Therese on their foresight, and for following through with an excellent vision. A fantastic, supportive, and positive writing community going here. Thank you!
So true. We can no longer rest on our laurels or assume that what worked last year will work today. Not that we ever truly could. But that’s much more true now. It’s nerve-wracking at times but also stimulating. I’m enjoying the challenge.
As always, your posts are so inspiring! I completely agree that it’s important to look at writers we admire, and see if there are techniques they used to become successful that we can incorporate into our way of doing things. While we all start out in the same place, our individual goals, personalities and lifestyles take us in so many different directions, that it can be hard to meter whether we are going in right “write” direction. It’s a great way to give ourselves a little guidance.
This is a great post. It’s about time we found a happy medium between “Traditional Publishing is Dead” and “Self-Published Books are Sub-Standard.”
Both can be great, both can be bad and both are going to stick around. As long as we have writers who write them and readers who read them, that’s all that matters!
I love the notion of finding your own space and continuing to give back to writers of all stripes.