Letting Go of Scarcity Thinking

I have noticed that our culture is permeated with scarcity thinking, and the world of books and publishing is no exception. Do any of these thoughts sound familiar? ♦ Another author just got a 2-book deal. That’s two less spots for me. ♦ An agent just announced a new client. There goes my shot. ♦ Look how many self-pub authors are making six figures. There’s not enough room for me. ♦ I’m supposed to write my books PLUS do all this social media and marketing? There’s not enough time! ♦ There are too many books out there. How will readers find mine? This kind of thinking has saturated the writing community to such an extent that we hardly recognize it anymore. Author Lynne Twist writes: The first prevailing myth of scarcity is that there’s not...

Blurb Etiquette

Guest Blogger: Mike Duran (@CerebralGrump ) One of the most uncomfortable realities of being a writer is asking for blurbs (a.k.a. endorsements). On the enjoyability meter, it ranks somewhere between Irritable Bowel Syndrome and having bamboo spikes driven under your toenails. Before my last novel The Telling released, I determined to aim high for endorsers. Nothing but “big names.” I contacted a dozen high-profile authors, most of whom I’d had personal contact with, about blurbing the book. When the publication deadline was reached, I had approximately… ZERO ENDORSEMENTS. Needless to say, the process was quite a let-down. For whatever reason, I am now in the weird position of having authors ask me for blurbs. Which kind of sucks. Don’t get me wrong, it is...

What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?

Lately I’ve been hearing this question over and over again: What would you do if you weren’t afraid? It’s a good question, meant to inspire us to dream beyond our boundaries, to “think big,” to pursue our goals. But I think we tend to hear it and then brush it off, not really spending time with it. Maybe we think we’re not afraid of much. Or the opposite — thinking about our fears overwhelms us. Maybe we don’t have time for such silly exercises. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the point of the question. And I found myself getting defensive, if only in my mind. I’m doing the best I can. Why must I feel bad for not doing MORE? But then I decided to honestly consider the question. What would I do if I weren’t afraid? Maybe...

Taxes and Writers

It’s April 15th, woohoo! One of my favorite days of the year. NOT. Awhile back I blogged about making a living as a writer (Part 1 and Part 2), so today we’re going to talk about the unfortunate side effect of getting paid for your writing. Yup, it’s…. Taxes. Disclaimer: I’m not going to thoroughly cover the topic of taxes for writers. I’m not a CPA and I’ve never worked for the IRS so I’m not even going to try to tell you “all about taxes.” I am, however, going to give you a few tips regarding MONEY in general as it relates to your career as a writer. So here are a few hints for you: 1. Treat your writing like a business. This is the most important thing I want to impress upon you about handling the financial aspect of your...

Make a Living as a Writer – Part 1

http://www.rachellegardner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/will-write-for-food-150x150.jpg I’m going to make this very simple: The secret to making a living wage as a writer lies in two words: volume and variety. Today let’s talk about the first one. Volume The biggest mistake writers make with respect to their “publishing dreams” is hoping for one big break that’s going to change their lives, allow them to quit their job, and propel them into the life of the full-time writer. Making money in this business, for the vast majority of writers, isn’t about having one huge hit. Or even two huge hits. Instead, it’s about building a career, book by book, and building an audience that wants more of your books. Writers begin to see a “living wage” when they have a stack of books out there in the marketplace. Each book needs to be bringing in royalties regularly....