Posts by Dan Blank
Image by Chris Devers
A writer named Yvonne Kohano reached out to me recently and told me this was her biggest challenge:
“I’m feeling scattered. Too many ideas for novels and nonfiction writing, all screaming for attention. I get distracted by marketing and outreach to develop an audience. Focus, which has never been a problem for me before, is suddenly a huge issue.”
Does that sound familiar? So many writers I speak to feel an overwhelming drive to create, but feel stuck in the mud. They have a difficult time choosing a project, finding time to create, and developing anything that could resemble an audience for their creative work.
Last week, Jennie Nash told the story of a writer who told her this, “I finally received Dan’s book, “Be The Gateway,” as you recommended. I was so excited to read it. Instead, I threw it across my family room, in tears, because there is no way I can do what Dan suggests.”
At first, I bristled at the story. I poured so much love into the book, it’s difficult not just to consider that it was thrown across the room in disgust, but that it made someone cry.
Then again, I’d rather have tears than apathy. Tears we can work with. Tears express a deep caring and a clear problem. We can use that to better understand the problem and work towards possible solutions.
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Photo by Eliya
A writer shared this with me via email this week:
“I was about to give up. I said my new book would be the last. However, I love writing, and trying to improve. My friends say I’m too passionate. They don’t want to hear it.”
After working with thousands of writers and creative professionals, this resonated deeply with me. The idea that too often, a writer or artist is surrounded by people who are mildly annoyed that they are trying to create.
Today, I want to talk about who you need to surround yourself with in order to find success in your creative endeavors.
Step 1: Make an Appointment With Yourself
For someone who has a creative vision, craft comes first. Very often, this means devoting time to showing up for yourself. That’s difficult because most of us find it far easier to live up to other people’s expectations than to tell the world, “Sorry, I’ve got to write.”
On April 9th my wife and I welcomed our second child into the world. On May 1st, there was an appointment in my calendar at 5:30am that I had set months ago; it said: “Begin working on the next book.”
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This week I presented a webinar with (the amazing) Jane Friedman, and in the Q&A, someone asked about how to get the attention of readers and influential people who reach them. Today I want to answer that question, and share practical ways you can do this for yourself.
The topic I have been enamored with this month as I shared my book with the world is this:
Generosity is a magic wand.
The most important aspect of this that each of us has that magic wand. The only questions are:
So let’s take this apart piece by piece, and dig into specific ways you can truly stand out in the marketplace via generosity.
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Today I want to talk about how having clear boundaries can HELP you gain momentum in three key areas:
Boundaries are a gift to your creative work. Embrace your boundaries. Let’s dig in…
Why Boundaries Help
I’m sure you have very real boundaries. You may care for kids, have responsibilities to loved ones, work a day job, support an ailing family member, work through bouts of anxiety, and struggle to make ends meet. These challenges are real.
It’s easy to look at others and assume that they have the following things that you don’t have at the moment: money, resources, time, physical energy, mental space, confidence, and skills.
They don’t. These other people struggle with their own unique set of boundaries. It is helpful to remember that nearly all creative work is crafted this way: amidst limitations, lack of resources, and incredible amounts of pressure.
This photo is a good reminder:
The image was taken and shared by Amanda Palmer of her husband Neil Gaiman, and the caption reads: “Neil Gaiman writing down ideas for his new novel as 9,000 people exit the Nick Cave show in Sydney.”
Some may look at this photo and only see someone who is “privileged”: two famous people attending a concert in a beautiful city.
Let’s put this in context. Some of what Neil is dealing with right now:
There is likely much more going on with him, such as public things around his creative work that I haven’t captured here. But there are also likely private things he is dealing with that we couldn’t possibly know about. Difficult situations, someone close to him dealing with a health crisis, navigating his own relationship, perhaps a business situation that isn’t going as expected, managing his own physical and mental health, and so much else.
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I just received an email from someone who started getting my newsletter about a decade ago, and still reads it every week. In the email, she mentioned her favorite posts, one of which I had completely forgotten about.
I was overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude to her for reaching out, and for allowing me to be a part of her life for so long. It had me reflecting on what we create, and how over the years, it helps us learn more about who we are, and how we shape the lives of others.
I want to share three things today. The first is a reposting of one of the emails she referenced — the one I had forgotten writing. Then I want to share a story she shared that blew me away, and then end on something very special to me.
“We Take The Songs Of Old, And We Sing Them Into The Future.”
What is the song you will leave behind?
A song that others will sing long after you are gone?
I don’t mean this from just your entire life, but even a single interaction you have with another. What do you leave behind that inspires them, grows in them, affects them in a positive way, and helps shape their actions?
Perhaps it is a story, or an attitude, an experience, or knowledge. Something about you that lives on in others, that they embrace, come to embody, and in doing so, a small part of you lives on far into the future. Not as merely a memory, but an action. That the actions and attitudes of others are shaped by you, long after your time here and now is gone.
This has been a theme that I have been obsessed with this year.
I work with writers and creative professionals, focusing on how they can craft their work, engage an audience, and have their ideas shape the lives of others.
This is something that is sometimes hard for a writer, an artist, a musician to fully understand or embrace. Their work will essentially be remixed, and evolve without them. You can write a song from your heart, but you can’t control what others hear in it; what it means to them. Same with a book and most forms of creative work. You write it from the context of your life, but it is read in the context of someone else’s life.
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I have written a lot about the value of collaborators in your creative work. How there is a difference between creating art for the sake of your own personal experience, and in wanting to share it with the world.
In working with hundreds and hundreds of writers, I often hear things like:
“An agent said they wanted to see me have at least 10,000 Twitter followers.”
Today, I would like to share my impression of what agents, publishers, and any collaborators want to see from you and why. If you do other types of creative work, this advice applies. Perhaps you are an artist who seeks a gallery show or a licensing deal; a musician who seeks a producer or label; an entrepreneur who seeks investors or a co-founder. All of the advice below is about how to help collaborators help you.
Now, I am not an agent. I’m not a publisher. I’m someone who works with authors & creative professionals to help them connect their work with an audience. So this is my interpretation after working with so many wonderful authors, agents, and publishers. But an agent or publisher may be reading this, and will want to clarify with their own feedback. I do not pretend to speak for them. My goal is only to try to give writers more clarity to understand how to be great collaborators.
Okay, let’s dig in…
Write an amazing book that resonates
This is always number one on the list.
Of course, the first thing that an agent or publisher values is an amazing book.
The only thing I would add here is this: they want to see something that resonates. How often have you read a super popular book, and said to yourself, “The writing here is crap.” Or “this is a rip off of 1,000 other stories.” Even if you are correct, the bottom line is: something about it resonated with a massive audience.
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Are you in a slump? Can you simply not find the time or motivation to push your creative work forward? Today I want to talk about how to reframe things when you are in a slump, and clear actions to help pull yourself out of it.
Oftentimes, a slump is an indication that you have a big vision, but don’t feel you have reached the goal yet.
What I tend to find in talking with successful authors is this: their slump is real. The reasons are real. But instead of telling themselves “the world just won’t let my creative work happen,” they instead turn it inward.
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More than 10 years ago, I began sending out an email newsletter every Friday. Each week, one by one, I sent out a message. Over time, I made these public via a blog. Then social media came along, so I Tweeted the links to the blog and shared other updates.
In that time, I shared:
I even began sharing photos on Instagram, with more than 1,500 shared to date. No, I am not “promoting” any of these things here to get more followers, which is why I’m not linking them.
In total, there have been tens of thousands of times that I have clicked “publish” on something. In each of those times, there was a momentary pause where I tensed up. Where I wondered if what I was sharing was meaningful. Was authentic. Was worthy. And in many of those instances, I worried about what could go wrong. What I risked in sharing.
Today I want to talk about why, as an author, you want to increase your ability to share your voice. Because, in each of those times I clicked “publish,” I was not only using my voice, hoping it was heard, I was also attending to the practice of developing my voice.
A Conversation is happening, whether you know it or not
Plenty of authors tell me they have zero interest in social media. In having to share 20,000 pithy updates that don’t feel meaningful. Nor do they want to develop an email list, or start a blog, or podcast.
Do you need to do any of this to be a successful author?
Nope.
You don’t need social media.
You don’t need an email newsletter.
You don’t even need a website.
But what you do need is a voice. Now, you may be thinking, “Dan, that voice is in the book. The story that is crafted. It is not my voice.”
Do you remember that scene from the Wizard of Oz. (Oh, spoiler alert.) When the projected voice of Oz — this big bold earth shattering confident voice — turned out to be a little nervous man, whose authenticity, while flawed, deeply resonated with others, and helped them in ways that his projection never could?
That’s you.
What I asked today is that you pull back that curtain.
Do you know how many authors I have spoken to, who have written wonderful books, that are published by awesome publishing houses, which FAIL to find an audience? Lots. Too many.
This is why an agent asks you about social media. Why a publisher asks you about what influential people or organizations you know, which they can then reach out to for marketing. Not because they are trying to hollow out the most meaningful thing you have ever created, your book; but because they want to ensure the book turns into conversations.
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Photo by Victor
As you pursue success with your writing and creative work, there are three key moments that threaten to derail you.
It is in these three moments where most people stop. They give up. Now they rarely utter the words, “I give up.” Instead, they keenly look around, do an analysis, and conclude it is silly to keep going. They reason that it is logical to stop, or put their energies elsewhere.
Today I’d like to share advice that comes from having worked with hundreds of authors. This is the stuff I would tell anyone who has reached one — or all of these three — of these critical moments in pursuit of their creative work.
Moment 1: Yes, you have permission to begin.
The first moment that will potentially stall your creative work is the starting point. So many people succumb to the enormous resistance that’s always present when starting something new.
They won’t begin, or won’t move beyond the most foundational steps. Sure they may say “I’m writing a novel,” but the reality is, they aren’t. They wrote an outline, then stalled months ago.
I’ve found that many people struggle with permission to pursue their creative goals. They simply don’t feel justified or validated enough to accept permission to embrace the work they long to do.
For some it is deeply personal, wrapped up in their identity. Perhaps they sit down to write, and are reminded of an incident from their youth when they were shamed for trying to be creative. Or perhaps they were raised in an environment where financial security was emphasized, therefore pursuit of the arts was discouraged.
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A great book launch relies on word of mouth marketing. Today, I want to share advice I tend to give authors for setting the foundations for word of mouth marketing. This work tends to begin well ahead of the actual launch of the book, oftentimes a full year or more before publication date. I’ll explain why throughout the post.
To have some fun with it, I am going to frame this into the universe of The Lord of the Rings. Why? Because… um… it’s Friday!
Let’s dig in:
Step 1: Find Your First 8 Supporters
Consider this your own personal fellowship of the ring. You have been compelled to write this book, and these people will help support you in sharing it with the world. Yes, you are Frodo.
Why focus on a small group before you think about how to “go viral,” reaching millions of people. Think about it this way: if you can’t engage 8 fans, how will you engage 100? Or 1,000. Or a million.
Before you think big, you have to think small.
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A few weeks ago, I was part of a team who launched a brand new festival in the town I live in. If you are a writer or supporter of the arts, too often we feel that we work in isolation. That those around us won’t understand the drive to create. That you have no outlets to connect your work in a meaningful way to others.
When we think of “engaging an audience” around creative work, we default to social media. We think that to share one’s work, or to organize people around an idea, it has to “go viral online.”
Today’s post is about tapping into the incredible potential that surrounds you, exactly where you are right now. I want to encourage you to — for a moment — forget about the web, and consider what you can do to share your work, and support other artists wherever you live. On tap for this post:
Okay, the context for this post is The Madison Storytellers Festival, which we ran in Madison, NJ on June 11. More info here, and pictures here. I have previously written about this event:
In this context, I am not thinking of story as a product you can buy, but rather, a human experience that you create. The way that we — as individuals — connect to a larger narrative; to broaden our understanding; to connect more meaningfully with others.
I was watching an interview with Quentin Tarantino this week, and he described what he feels is missing from most films: STORY. He said that too often, a movie is about a situation. But a story is different. A story UNFOLDS. Not a quick left turn or right turn, but rather, an unfolding that leaves you unable to look away.
If you are a writer or creative professional wondering how your life can be infused with the arts wherever you are, I encourage you to embrace this as a story that unfolds around you — and that you are the one who can craft that experience for others.
Okay, let’s dig in…
Read MoreWould you ever not show up for work without a reason? And do this day after day? Would you drop work at the slightest excuse? Would you assign blame at the drop of the hat?
Of course not.
Yet this is how many people treat their creative ambitions. Their writing, their art, their craft.
Instead of showing up every day to work, they go for the blockbuster mentality — counting on that one big bet that will pay off. Much like people who gamble or play the lottery as a strategy for securing their retirement. It’s a false belief that they can bypass hard work and investment and find their “big break.”
They tell themselves, “When I get an agent, things will begin to happen.” Or, “When I sign with a publisher, I won’t have to worry about marketing.”
But in the meantime, they struggle, alone. There may be bouts of creative momentum, but often followed by periods of outright abandonment.
Do you view your day-to-day creative work as an investment in your success? If not, you should.
If you want to have a nice nest egg by the time you retire (or earlier), you can take the chance you’ll win the lottery or pick the right number at the horse races. But the smarter approach — and the safer bet — is to make regular deposits into an investment account over a long period of time.
Those small investments you make each month, each week, or each day add up over time. And we won’t even get into compound interest here.
This investment habit doesn’t just apply to your bank account. It’s just as relevant to your health, your relationships, and yes, your creative work.
Let’s talk about investing in your creative work.
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What is the thing that you can add to the world that no one else can?
This question was driven home to me when reading a story about the founder of YouTube. You see, Steve Chen was an early employee at Facebook, one of the first 15 people there.
Then, he turned in his resignation to start YouTube. One of his colleagues at Facebook heard the news and said this to him:
“[Facebook] is going to be as important as any company in the history of Silicon Valley and you are making a huge mistake.”
In some ways, this answer is ironic to read, just as it is to think about all the people who rejected The Beatles, or those who passed on Harry Potter when J.K. Rowling was first shopping it around.
The story about Steve leaving Facebook to start YouTube was posted on Quora, and what really hit home to me was this comment:
“The world is a better place because he quit. [Facebook] would have always done well even without Steve.”
That blew me away.
How, so many of us feel essential at jobs we work for others, but they are not jobs that we enjoy or even believe in.
Sure, we know we are making a contribution, and love the validation of being an essential part of a team.
But often — too often — we get stuck there. Stuck in jobs that we don’t love.
Stuck at companies that would get along just fine without us, as our other dreams lie dormant.
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Can you imagine getting more than 18,500 preorders for something you create? Today I want to talk about what it took for one author to do just that — attract 18,500 preorders prior to the release of a new book.
Imagine that…
… for your book.
… for your art.
… for your craft.
… for your business.
… for anything creative you are launching.
That you receive so many preorders it guarantees you success.
Okay, the context of this is one author — Michael Hyatt — but I’m actually going to spend very little time talking specifically about him. Why? Because he had a team of people working on his launch, plus a co-author.
Michael’s latest book, co-authored with Daniel Harkavy and titled Living Forward, was just released. Yes, it’s nonfiction, but the points below apply to all types of books, and many other forms of launches, whether it is a business, art or something else.
Earlier this week, Michael’s head marketer, Chad Cannon, shared a post about their book launch. I want to share highlights below, and really dig into several key elements that are critical for you and your work.
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