The Truth About Book Writing, Being an Author (2 page)

Chapter 1

Prepare Yourself

Y
our head is likely spinning from the confusion of it all: “Write your own book.” “Don’t write your book by yourself.”

“Self-publish.” “You need to take the traditional publishing route.” “Don’t do that! Publish an e-book for free!”

“You’ve got to get an agent!” “You don’t need an agent.”

“Hire a person from the Philippines to write your book really fast and really cheap.” “Hire a professional ghostwriter.”

It’s enough to drive a person batty! Frustrating, to say the least.

We often hear about how great it is to be a successful author. Though this is very true, it
only
becomes a reality for those who approach such an involved venture the right way. Sadly, all the rest, which is the majority, fail miserably.

Understand that the only real reason why things get confusing or we do things that stop us from achieving a goal is because we are being given “half truths.”

One-sided information makes it very difficult to be able to make a sound decision for the best choices.
It can cause you to do something that is not ideal for you and your goals!

This is in no way to discourage you from getting your book written and becoming an author. It should, though, for one thing, be a blatant wake-up call that ...

IF YOU DO WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING, YOU ARE GOING TO FAIL RIGHT ALONG WITH THEM.

But this is not grim news, and here’s why ...

Everyone Is Failing! Good News?

It should excite you ... not that most authors and entrepreneurs are failing at their dreams, but that you can clearly know what they are doing that is causing them to fail! They show us exactly
how you fail at being a successful author
.

It’s never about luck or economies or anything other than what we do or don’t do that causes us to either move towards or away from a goal, eventually reaching our success or failure of something.

And if anyone says “there’s no such thing as failure,” just ask anyone who has gotten their car repossessed, evicted from where they lived or forced to file bankruptcy, if they feel like a success or a failure.

Speaking from personal experience with all of these matters and more many moons ago, it sure felt like failure to me when I found—as the provider of my family—I had no place for them to live. I felt failure right down to the marrow of my bones and the core of my soul.

This book shows you what failing authors are doing to sabotage their dreams. And from that, you will learn and be able to recognize the magnetic influence that draws aspiring authors and entrepreneurs into the trap of the modus operandi of failing authors.

Let’s face it, it’s difficult to hold your ground when a vast majority is insisting that you do something their way.

You will also, very importantly, learn the
right
actions with which to be a successful author.

This is esoteric information, meaning it is little known and barely understood by most people. It’s like this with so many things.

People workout 3, 4, 5 times a week and yet cannot get those six-pack abs they want so much. They almost starve themselves and yet keep putting on the fat pounds around their waists and thighs.

All the while, ‘Joe & Sally Six-Pack’ working out next to you, get to enjoy those chiseled abs and lean muscular-looking bodies.

They’ll be the first to tell you that they’re no different, nor better than anyone else. They just know how to create six pack abs and have a lean, muscular body.

This brings up two laws of success ...

Success Law #1

THE INFORMATION FOR SUCCESS IS NOT ON THE MAIN STREAM OF AVAILABLE INFORMATION THAT A SOCIETY HAS INTERACTION WITH.

Success Law #2

PEOPLE SUCCEED AT THINGS WHEN THEY KNOW THE ESOTERIC INFORMATION ON HOW TO ACHIEVE WHAT THEY WANT TO ACHIEVE.

It only makes sense that a route to success would be little-known. For some reason, it always is that way. But knowing these laws of success is the way out from struggle because it gets us to start looking in the right direction.

If someone has succeeded at something before, then there is a known way to achieve a desirable result. And when such a person is willing to share their rare knowledge and experience, it becomes possible to learn to apply what they did for obtaining similar results.

Your other options are to stumble upon success, which is less likely than winning the lottery. Or figuring things out over years of trial and error, which is what most people do.

Remember, most people do not achieve their bigger goals. They work their entire lives and never reach their dreams. They settle for an outcome they get stuck in and couldn’t get out of.

You may have read the interesting article (
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bronnie-ware/top-5-regrets-of-the-dyin_b_1220965.html
) about a nurse who became an author, sharing in her book the top five regrets of the dying.

Bronnie Ware is her name, and the name of her
¹
book is,
The Top Five Regrets of the Dying -A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing
.

Ms. Ware states in her book that the number one regret of a dying person is this:

“
I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
”

Wares writes this: "When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honored even half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made."

The number two top regret, is:

“
I wish I didn't work so hard.
”

Quoting her further, "This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence."

So I ask, do we put ourselves on the treadmill of work like everybody else, try to figure out our success and then have regrets? Or do we take a different, less traveled route?

I believe such regrets, and failure, exist mainly because most people simply do not take the
necessary
time and effort to find out how to succeed.

Another reason we can fail is because we “know better” in our grand ignorance, and proceed in a gung-ho, “I can do this,” attitude. All the while, we completely ignore the map and road signs right in front of our faces because we’re too busy digging in the trenches. Either way, failure most certainly ensues.

I don’t know about you, but I do
not
want to end up with regrets like Ware’s book reveals. We can assume all day about things, but the cold, hard fact about the attainment of success is ...

Success Law #3

IN ANY WALK OF LIFE, IN ANY FIELD OF ACTIVITY, THE MAJORITY FAILS AND A FEW SUCCEED IN A BIG WAY.

Another fact about an environment where the majority is failing is that when you actually do the right actions, there is an immense amount of room for your success, and at a higher level. In other words, the potential for your own success is much greater due to their lack of savvy to actually learn how to do things properly and understand what really works.

As authors, we are in a contest with other authors, seeking for the attention, interest and loyalty of enough book lovers to make a significant impact for ourselves and our readership.

No worries, there’s plenty for everybody. But imagine having a significant piece of the book-buyer pie because others are doing things the wrong way.

Those authors who get noticed, make a desirable impact and build rapport with their followers, get rewarded handsomely with the prize of a strong sense of accomplishment, great success, confidence and personal happiness.

It’s as definite as this analogy:

If book buyers are saying that they want red lollypops, but 75 percent of authors offer broken, half melted green lollypops. And then you, and the rest of the twenty-five percent, show up with nice, freshly made, bright red lollypops....

You stand out like a bright, shiny, mirror-like diamond on a sunny day, among dull, black coal.

It actually becomes easier to succeed in an environment where most people involved are clueless and doing things as wrong as wrong can be.

With regard to “the majority,” understand that popular things are mostly that way because of large marketing dollars.

The Dreaded “Norm”

“The norm” is what the majority does. And the majority does what marketers and neighbors and other non-experts say to do.

“The norm” is average, it’s mediocrity.

Once you escape from the crowd and take a look at it, it’s an amazing thing to observe. You will see how to stay clear of this terrible trap of uniformity shortly. For the moment, be clear about these facts.

Take a look around, when you have an opportunity to, and you will see that:

1. THE RIGHT WAYS
   TO DO THINGS ARE
   NEVER
   POPULAR.
   
2. THE BEST
   , MOST VALUABLE THINGS ARE
   ALWAYS
   RARE.
   
3. SUCCESS
   IS ALMOST A
   STRANGE THING
   BECAUSE IT IS SO LITTLE KNOWN AND UNDERSTOOD.
   

This is just the way it is.

At first glance, this sort of seems a bit saddening; the thought of most people never making it, never reaching their goals, achieving their dreams. But then it all makes total sense once you understand these things the way we’re supposed to.

In short, success will always exceed “the norm.” Why? Because success is part of the exciting game of achieving more than what comes easy. It’s about obtaining ideals!

“The norm” will tell you that taking the bus is the way to travel. There’s nothing wrong with busses, but it’s not an ideal by any means.

Without question, a tome could be written on the subject of success, but we only need to know how to end up with a book written the way it must be for
your
success. You need to have the bright red lollypop that others want.

And because successful actions are unpopular, rare and strange, as mentioned in the three observable facts above, the following points need to be brought to the forefront ...

Success Law #4

YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DO WHAT’S NOT POPULAR TO OTHERS AROUND YOU.

Corollary (as a result) ...

Success Law #5

OTHERS ARE GOING TO BERATE YOU FOR
NOT
DOING THINGS THE WRONG WAY.

This might sound like it’s coming right out of science fiction or fantasy, but things are the way they are.

Like in most every field and industry in the world, we run into what’s popular in the book publishing industry. It’s impossible not to, because it’s so prevalent.

We get pummeled with false information. We get led down dead ends and paths to nowhere. And if we don’t get properly informed, soon enough we get swept away in the catastrophic tide of failure along with the majority.

The Key To Staying Clear of The Trap

I promised earlier that I would tell you how to stay clear from, the trap of failure that hundreds of thousands of aspiring authors fall into every year. Here it is ...

Being properly informed is the key.

And the way to do that is to look elsewhere than at what “everybody else is doing.” This is wildly powerful and effective for your success in this or any field of endeavor.

Don’t you find it odd and impractical how everybody excitedly races to “the next best thing” but it always seems we were just a little bit too late to make any success of it?

The fact was,
no one (or an insignificant number) made a success of it, except the marketers and those who paid marketing dollars to exploit an unworkable idea or a fluke
.

Enough is enough! No more rat race! No more blind leading the blind. No more being part of the majority!

A New Approach with Confidence

This book sets out to enable you to make a clear, educated decision about the best way for you to get your book written,
based on the greatest outcome for
you
in what you want to achieve
.

The purpose of the upcoming information in this book is to clear things up by giving you “the whole truth” about getting a book written.

You will be enlightened about the realistic options that are at your disposal once you know they exist.

You will be given proper and adequate data on what you need to know about each option.

What you will be shown are not popular. Be very excited about that, because as mentioned, successful actions never are.

Cocktails To Nowhere Or An Exciting Adventure To Your Goals & Dreams?

This might almost be a “strange” experience for you. In some weird and illogical way, leaving “the crowd” can be a bit uncomfortable.

It does not matter that, though the water is unusually warm and it’s very overcrowded in the wading pool, this majority “seems” to be having a good time.

Actuality is, their cars are leased and their bankers are posting foreclosure signs on their lawns. Still, they stand there with umbrella-garnished cocktails in hand like everyone else, because someone got confused about strength in numbers. Somehow, it all seems to still be “comforting.”

But us ... we need to be bold. We have to be different, because we really do want to succeed. And now we know that we have to be different.

There is nothing comforting about having regret at the end of one’s life. And with motivated conversation with oneself, we must head down that less traveled path to success that the majority overlooks as they take another sip of their cocktails to nowhere.

BE DIFFERENT! YOU’LL BE GLAD YOU ARE.

* * *

______________________

¹
Paperback: 256 pages; Publisher: Hay House; Reprint edition (March 20,2012); ISBN-13: 978-1401940652

Chapter 2

Overcome The Odds

I
t sounds more like we’re referring to gambling when we talk about the “odds” of success. But it is actually about potential and probability.

The fact is, we create our own odds of whether we succeed or fail. It has nothing to do with chance, luck or a hot tip on how to beat a system.

This is an exciting thing because it allows us to determine our own destinies and predict our own outcomes. I prefer success, and I am certain you do too.

It is important to understand that your success lies heavily on knowing what to do and what NOT to do. It takes knowing the whole truth about what you want to conquer.

The better you can manage the things that will get you to where you want to go with regard to success, goals and so forth, the more realistic it becomes to not only be successful, but to be
extremely
successful.

The first time someone refers to you with great admiration and respect makes you realize just how revered authors are in our society.

I still have to check my pulse when someone comes up to me out-of-the-blue and says, “Hello, sir!”

I think,
Sir? Who ... me?

I have to refrain from looking behind me, thinking it must be for someone else. I can’t help but wonder,
Why would a complete stranger be treating me with such respect and admiration?
It’s my first reaction every time.

Such unrepressed admiration, albeit absolutely wonderful, certainly takes getting used to. It is really quite amazing just how much impact we can have upon others from a well-written book. Truly amazing!

A Very Important Secret

The secret is in the quality of your book. That’s all there is to it. Your number-one priority has to be: DO ALL THAT YOU CAN TO PRODUCE THE BEST WRITTEN BOOK EVER POSSIBLE. This is the foundation from which all other great successes can unfold!

Understanding And Success

I was recently quoted as saying, “The true sign of understanding is success.” This suggests that knowing enough about something is necessary for being successful.

There are millions of people who jump head first into something they know little to nothing about! This is certainly prevalent with authors.

Literally, hundreds of thousands of aspiring authors go at writing their books with little or absolutely no valid information to work with!

The best case scenario of the “information” they do have is often nothing more than hearsay from other authors who have done dismally, or biased information from sales people with more interest in selling something than helping authors succeed.

It may shock you to know that nearly 90 percent of authors fail each and every year! That’s not a typo. It’s actually a little higher than 90 percent (92 percent).

Be Unconventional

Before you grab your laptop and head for the hills, realize that with any downside, there is great opportunity for the unconventional individual— enormous opportunity!

Yes, you are becoming an “unconventional” entrepreneur by learning that the status quo is a scene you want no part of!

The “odds of success and failure” has to do with differences and standing out. When you have the majority
doing it all wrong
, it makes the things that are done
differently
stand out like a flare in the darkness.

And of course, those
different
things need to be the correct actions. But understand that they will be very different than what everyone else is doing.

Here is a concise and powerful thing to know that sums things up for you in a nice and tightly bundled package:

Three Essential Aspects For Author Success

It takes
three essential aspects
to succeed with a book as an author or entrepreneur:

1. Having a high-quality book
   
2. Publishing properly, based on
   your
   specific goals
   
3. Effective book marketing and author platform-building.
   

Miss the boat with any one of these and you will have a hard time selling books on a steady, long-term basis. Selling enough books to affect your income and survival will be almost impossible. Building a
loyal
following of eager readers and book buyers will be extremely difficult.

Consider these three things each a leg of a tripod. With any one of them missing, your odds for success are close to zero.

Sure, you might sell books for awhile with a massive marketing budget, but as soon as those marketing dollars stop feeding your campaign, book sales will go right into non-existence; faster than you can type ...

“G-A-M-E O-V-E-R.”

Much worse, with number 1 inadequately achieved, you will harm your reputation and everything that you work so hard for with regard to your book. It will also directly and strongly affect all other business endeavors that you might partake in from there on out.

I beat a loud drum about these three essential aspects because of their importance, and the fact that for the vast majority of authors who fail, it is due to falling short of one or more of those points.

Also know that with a well-written book that is impactful, interesting to its audience and in high-quality, the sky is the limit in what doors of opportunity can open for you!

Opposites In Everything

I have learned that there is a dichotomy with everything. If there’s hot, then there is cold. If there is darkness, brightness can exist too. If there can be sadness, then there can be happiness as well. As there can be failure, so too can there be success.

Also, the degree of one side of such proverbial coins will be an equal intensity of its opposite. Let me briefly explain because this is a very important thing to know ...

If great loss and destruction can come to having a poorly written book, then it is valuable to recognize that immense success and expansion can come from a well-written book that has been tailored correctly to create big, impacting effects.

As another example, if there is great risk in doing something, then there is a great chance for reward from that as well. The greater the risk, the greater the reward.

You see, the magnitude of something can be matched by its opposite. This enables us to prioritize and pick and choose what we should work on. It also makes the risks, that have to be there, more logical and worth taking!

With information and understanding comes power, without a doubt! This is where we separate the men form the boys, the women from the girls, the brave souls from the wimps!

From great risk comes great success. Potential is possibility for both sides of something. That is simply a fact of life that we have to embrace with excitement and adventure!

This information about “potential” explains how safe, conservative baby steps get us nowhere fast. The gains are so small and insignificant, because the opposite risks are just as minuscule.

There are things we call “long shots” in life because they are rare. But what if we could turn high-yielding, risky long shots into great odds for a very big, desirable outcome? Oh, wouldn’t that be nice!

Well, we need not wish or dream about such things. We simply need to find out how to make them happen, and then get done those actions that need to be accomplished.

You’re covered in how to get a book written is included with this book. And I will be coming out with
²
two more books, one on publishing and another on marketing.

But if you don’t want to wait, give me a holler and I’ll see what I can do to keep you moving in the right direction with your book’s success. Just e-mail me at:
[email protected]
or call our main headquarters in Clearwater, FL at: 727-448-0751.

* * *

______________________

²
You can get on our launch notification list if you’d like by going here:
https://writerservices.net/KindleForms/PreLaunchList_shouldiwritemybook.php