Key Business Partners, LLC

Last week, Seth Godin sent out a blog post titled, Moving On.

He talked about how when he started out, he was a book packager, and how he developed many good (and not so good) products.

Then he decided he would become an author himself. And 12 books later, he has come to the conclusion he would like to break away from the traditional publishing world.

When I first read about this blog post, I thought, “WOW! Now if Seth Godin, one of the best selling authors is deciding to leave traditional publishing, then the publishing industry as we know it is again changing.”

Then my thoughts continued, “I bet authors are going to think they don’t need a traditional publisher too. If Seth Godin can do it, I can too!”

Ok, this is where you may or may not be correct.

There are two distinct reasons why Seth Godin can leave traditional publishing.

1) He has established a highly committed following (his Linchpin) over the last decade or so. Tons and tons of people know who Seth Godin is…he has spent time and effort to know the people in his following. He has built up solid lasting relationships with his following in a consistent manner. He has proven himself to be a go to resource for marketing, business and social media information time and time again so you and I know we can rely on him to deliver.

2) He KNOWS his audience and his audience knows him. It wouldn’t matter how he writes, sells or distributes his books in the future…his audience will buy it. Well, I believe the last statement is a bit over dramatized. He will matter how he writes…because as his core audience there are expectations to the quality of Seth’s writing so he won’t wish to deter from that (and I am sure he won’t). But if he wishes to do an e-book (which he actually has already done), or self publish his next book(s), you and I will be there to purchase it because…well, he is Seth Godin.

So before you go out and decide to self publish or go with a traditional publisher, remember you may or may not be ready to walk in Seth Godin’s shoes.

You need to establish your core reading audience and connect with them BEFORE you publish your book. Get known by those who will go to the local book store, Amazon or your blog to purchase your book. Your reader want to connect with you, the author.

So, I would like to hear your reaction to Seth Godin’s decision to leave traditional publishing? Please share and let’s discuss.

I am not sure as I write this which commercial or TV show I was watching last week. (It could have been Next Food Network Star or Chopped), however, the power of the message remains.

Don’t Give Up – Keep Going!

If everyone gave up every time she or he got knocked down, no one would ever accomplish anything. So true!

I know as a writer, business owner, parent, daughter, there are times things don’t go as you may have planned. There is no reason to just give up and throw in the towel.

Use the time to refocus, regroup and align yourself with what you main purpose is for what you are doing and where you wish to go in your endeavor. But don’t give up!

Create inspiration and motivation for others and you will find joy.

I recently had one of my clients say, “I just have so much to do, I feel overwhelmed. Maybe I shouldn’t do my book”.

Now, she and I both know that was not the answer. She just needed to step back for a second and organize what she needed to accomplish. Take things one step at a time.

I told her, “You know, you don’t have to eat the whole elephant at one time. You are thinking about ALL that you have going on instead of taking it task at a time. And you aren’t realizing you have help too!.”

“Oh, yes, that is right. I have my virtual assistant who can do x, y and z. I have my website designer who can help with a and b. Wow, I don’t feel so overwhelmed anymore.”

After a couple of deep breathes, she came back with excitement in her voice again, “I feel so much better. I never wanted to give up writing my book. It is what I love to do. I just felt like I couldn’t get it all done”.

I replied, “I know. That is why you have have people who can help relieve the pressure of all these things, so you can do what you love—writing.”

Most of the time, it is not that you want to give up on something that you love to do, you just need to figure out how to move other things around (and ask for help) to achieve those goals you set for yourself.

Keep moving and don’t give up!

P.S. Do you have something that you do when you feel stressed or overwhelmed so you don’t give up? Please share with me.

Have you thought about your book title or book cover design yet? It doesn’t matter if you have just begun writing, in the middle of writing or even finished writing your book. Taking the time to carefully craft your book title and cover design are two of the most important elements of your book.

And if you have already finished writing your book, don’t make the mistake to rush over these two things in a hurry to get out your book to your readers.

Take a moment and think about this for a minute–

Picture yourself when you walk into a bookstore and start browsing for a book. What do you see? What catches your eye to make you wish to put out your hand and pick out a book—-the title and/or the book cover, right?

So skimping over these elements and not taking the time to thoughtfully craft the title and cover would be a mistake, yes!

As some of you may not know, I am in the process of writing my first book and I still don’t have either of these figured out. I have worked on the title and have come up with about a dozen possible titles but none of them have struck me as “the one”.

But I know that not figuring it out yet is okay, however, I am not discounting at all the importance of the book title and the cover design.

As it is, as of yesterday (during my writing coaching call with @juliesalisbury – Thanks Julie!), my book has taken on a new message so the title and book cover would be different then it would have been before. And again, that is okay.

So because you have written your book or are in the process of writing your book, do not discount the importance of your book title and book cover design as two of the most important elements of your book.

To all my fellow writers—keep writing!