The Truth About Book Writing, Being an Author (5 page)

I explained to her the facts about vanity presses, but she ignored me. As a last ditch effort, I begged her simply apply what I was willing to show her how to do in book marketing, building a following, etc., but to no avail. She would not listen to me

Truly, I almost cried out of frustration because not only did I want to see her reach her goals and dreams, but I had poured my heart and soul into her book and made it a potential bestseller. I had written it to inspire others, and it was doing that too.

As people bought her book, they would write reviews or contact this author and tell her how she had changed their lives. The book even saved some lives!

I could do nothing to overcome the persistence and savvy sales talk that she was getting from this relentless, persistent sales team at this vanity press.

She went with them and guess what happened?

Nothing!

Month one ... nothing!

Month three ... nothing!!

Month six ... nothing!!!

Month twelve ... nothing!!!!

Ahhhhggg! The frustration of it all! It’s more difficult to talk someone off the ledge than it seems.

I guess sometimes our dreams can blur our true vision. Sadly, to this day, that book, which was destined to be a block-busting bestseller, does very, very dismal sales.

This aspiring author failed, just like the many thousands of others over the years.

This statistic has to change! It
can
improve. Well-rounded information will improve the scene. I’m not giving up until I see this happen. This is my passion.

How YOU Can Remain Unaffected By These Types of Destructive Elements

A common aspect that must be present in order to become the effect of these things is ...
not being properly informed
. When we have nothing to think with, we become willing to accept
any
information to fill that void. This is the appetite that feeds on the recipe for disaster.

The solution, of course, is to obtain the right information that will then enable you to remain unaffected by such detrimental influences.

Another point worth mentioning here briefly is something we all know to be very true:
you get what you pay for
. But when we don’t have information on what you should expect to pay, any price—usually a very low price—might sound logical.

More is explained on how to know whether you’re being given false information and what you should expect to pay. But first ...

A Quality Book or Bust!

Let’s make a very important differentiation here:

Do you want a book? Or do you want a book to succeed with something?

ANYONE can have a book! But who wants a book that creates such an impact that it changes their lives forever? These are two very different things.

Here is something you need to know about having a book of your own:

YOUR BOOK WILL EITHER MAKE OR BREAK YOUR CHANCES FOR SUCCESS.

We often hear about the positive side of having a book and being an author. But no one seems to be talking about the other, more prevalent side. How easy it is to fail at it. Also, there is very little information about the
right
way to get a book written.

There are options available to you, but it is likely you do not know all of them, or you have not been shown how to properly execute the ideal option for you.

Bottom line, there are many booby traps along the way of writing, publishing and marketing a book.

Phase 1 is to get your book written. That’s a given.
But what’s missing ... what you are not being told is that ...

YOUR BOOK MUST BE WRITTEN PROFESSIONALLY, IN THE HIGHEST QUALITY POSSIBLY, AND IT MUST BE IMPACTFUL!

All we seem to hear is how “easy” it is and how “fast” you can write a book! But who is boasting such things? They are non-writers who have something, other than your book’s success, to sell you. And they want you to think “it’s all as easy as pie” so perhaps you’ll buy their system.

As mentioned, not all of these people are bad. There are many wonderful programs out there. But, whether with good intentions or bad, to mislead anyone by skewing the truth is what’s part of this enormous problem of failing authors.

It is not okay that you are being told that it’s simple, fast and easy to write a book!

It is as absurd as saying that a fine wine can be made in 24 hours.

Half truths and little white lies set us up for certain failure because they are easily acceptable. They possess enough truth to appear logical. It’s always what we don’t see, and thus can’t think with, that gets us in trouble.

Write a book in a weekend? Write your book in a month? This is nonsense for about 99.9% of the populous. It is reckless and unethical, because it is misleading and it poorly guides people down a path of certain failure. This is all because certain individuals want to tell you what they think you want to hear.

They want to press your “buy buttons.” Simple, fast, easy ... are all buzz sales words that are effective in getting people to buy something.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with selling or buying things. But as with anything else in life, there are ethics and there are no ethics. There is honesty and there is otherwise.

Snake oil salesmen have been around for a very long time. I wonder who was suckered into buying the first club made of mud in the cave-dwelling days. LOL!

“Simplify”, “more quickly”, “easier” ... are more honest and true words. But as marketeers want to remove all possibility of doubt and reservation from buying, they exaggerate—all to
their
gain, and our ultimate and painful failure in the end.

It’s time to begin getting the real truth about how to succeed as an author. So let’s shed some more truth on the matter.

I don’t know if the truth will set you free (it probably will) but it surely will help you to succeed.

The Right Actions Make All The Difference!

Knowing that there are two sides to every coin and there is a positive side to all of this ...

IF YOU DO THE RIGHT ACTIONS, YOU WILL SUCCEED.

With the observation we just made on failure, we can realize that success lies at the other side of the coin. So now you can begin to see that there is a means for being a successful author. Here, we have “success by design,” which is another very, very beautiful thing!

* * *

Chapter 6

Big Success: One Chance To Get It Right!

H
aving a book written is one of the most rewarding endeavors one can ever achieve in a lifetime. Not only does it create a very strong sense of accomplishment, it also opens doors of opportunity that might only seem possible in fairytales and grander than life made for TV movies.

The origin of the word “author” comes from the Latin word “
augere
”, which means
to increase
. This is fitting because,
being an author is one of the most empowering things you can do for making just about anything happen in your life or career that you want to
.

The respect, the willingness that comes your way from others, being taken seriously for the first time in your life, being recognized for your greatness ...
the power of opportunity that comes from having an impactful book is limitless!

But there is a very big caveat to realizing such a life-changing outcome. As you well know by now, you first and foremost, must have a stellar book.

Far, far too many aspiring authors and entrepreneurs seeking success unwittingly do just about every possible thing they can to completely destroy the chances that are availed to them.

Everyone has the equal opportunity to change their life and make an impact, leave a significant imprint while they’re in this world. We have every opportunity to build our own empires of success ... as long as we realize that we ourselves create those opportunities. They are not to be found, but created!

Let me say that again ...

Opportunities are not found. They are created!

Often, I see people “looking” for success, as if it were a buried treasure waiting to be discovered.

We’ve heard far too many times about someone waiting for Lady Luck to grace their life or “waiting for their ship to come in.”

Well, these folks are going to be waiting a very, very long time ... for a ship that does not exist. Their oversight is that they are supposed to build their own ships with which to sail off!

You obviously are not one of the lost, waiting souls just described. You are taking things into your own hands. But there are new things to realize that are just as detrimental if you follow them. And they are less obvious, which makes them more dangerous and destructive.

There’s no reason for you to be alarmed, because you are reading a book which will keep you on the straight and narrow path towards success as an author.

First step, create a masterful book!

Here’s another truth to respect:

WITHOUT AN IMPACTING BOOK, ALL OTHER EFFORTS AS AN ENTREPRENEUR WILL PROCEED TOO SLOWLY AND WITH STRUGGLE.

The written word in book form has been the storyteller of mankind’s events, achievements and downfalls throughout history.

The timeless nature of the written word can immortalize an author, as well as his/her information, by allowing their book to continue on for countless years to come— perhaps forever.

But this doesn’t happen by chance, and certainly not with average-written books.

One’s dreams can be shattered by making just one improper, incorrect or overlooked decision in the book creation process.

Inadequate grammar, poor flow of information, poorly described concepts, missing vital data ... are just the tip of the iceberg as to why books never get accepted by traditional publishers.

Even worse than repelling publishers is when book buyers lose interest in continuing to read a book, disappointed by not getting what they’d expected or not understanding what is being stated or why it’s being stated.

Such books, which are the mainstay and status quo of most hopeful authors, never get to take off in a raving viral process, though their information could have helped thousands or even millions of people if created properly and professionally. That’s no exaggeration. It truly is the power books can have on people and even entire societies.

So you have just one chance to get it right.

JUST ONE MISSING STEP IN THE BOOK CREATION PROCESS, ONLY A SINGLE WRONG DECISION AS TO EXACTLY WHO THE BEST PEOPLE ARE TO WRITE, PROOFREAD AND EDIT YOUR BOOK ... CAN SABOTAGE YOUR PROJECT BEFORE IT EVEN GETS OFF THE GROUND.

The best person to write your book may be you. It may very well not be.

It’s important to know that the majority of most successful book author endeavors have been very effectively completed through a collaborative effort where a professional book writer and the author work together. Just the same, many great books have been completely written by a professional ghostwriter.

In these scenarios, the author is the source of the information and the writer is the wordsmith in crafting the author’s concepts, thoughts and ideas. It truly is a magical, winning combination.

By the time you get to the end of this book, you will be adequately informed to be able to make a sound decision of the best way for your book to be written. Things like budget, ability and personal desire will be taken into consideration.

This leads to a point that needs to be brought to the surface. It is important that you never allow self-serving influence to sway the best decisions for your book. In other words, your decisions need to be based on the greatest potential for a positive outcome for your book, not to fulfill an ego or any other personal matters.

Any personal need of satisfaction, when it will lessen the quality of your book, such as, “I want to be able to say that I wrote my book” though it could be written more professionally by someone else, needs to be kept out of the process.

The only exception to this is if the purpose of your book is to fulfill your ego and has nothing to do with being a successful book. For all other reasons, nothing, and no one, should get in the way of you producing a high-quality book.

There is too much to loose because there is so much to gain by having a high-quality book.

I may seem to be beating at this matter quite a bit. “What’s the big deal if I write my own book?”, you might ask.

Response to this question comes accompanied with great frustration, what with the percentage of failed authors annually exceeding ninety percent.

And having isolated this self-serving issue as a contributor to that failure rate, my efforts of reiteration come with valid repetitiveness.

Simply knowing that YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PHYSICALLY WRITE YOUR BOOK IN ORDER TO BE A LEGITIMATE AUTHOR grants you a significant freedom and wonderful opportunity that you may not have known was available to you as a very desirable option.

By definition, an author is the visionary of their book and the main source of the information that goes into the book. Whether they do the writing or not is irrelevant. Through good interplay of communication and questioning process, all necessary information can be conveyed from author to writer.

The recommendation that someone else should completely write someone’s book for fast and easy results can be seen to be greatly flawed with this one of many points.

The whole reason why there can be twenty or more books on the very same topic is because each book is like a snowflake. In other words,
each book shares the unique perspective and personality of its author
. So it is vitally important that the author be involved with their book, at least to some degree.

The more the better, really. To a certain point, that is. There needs to be a proper balance of delegated power. The author with his/her vision and information, and the writer with their knowledge and expertise. Too much control or lack of in either direction can prove to be less than ideal. And we, of course, always want to shoot for the ideal scene.

Who Shall Write My Book, Me Or Thee? ... That Is The Question.

In life, we often make a choice of whether to do things ourselves or hire an expert. Often, the potential risks are what tip the scale in favor of going with someone who has experience.

It seems we all have that gung-ho aspect when it comes to trying something new. It’s that inner child pressing on, saying, “I can do that. It sounds like a fun adventure!” These two statements have been very infamous last words for many a lost soul.

Laughingly, we’ve all done this at one time or another. We got part way through the project and thought,
What the heck was I thinking?

Simply put, the greater the risk, the more reason to call in a pro. Toying with electrical work, for instance, is never a good idea when you’re not a fully trained and certified electrician. The same goes of writing a book. With the difference of outcome being immense success or failure, the risks are great.

The sky truly is the limit when you have a well-written book and hold under your belt the title of “author.” Determining the best route for achieving the benchmark of a great book is therefore very important.

This book will help you with reaching your dream of getting your book written—a book that is desirable, professional, impacting and a salable product; a book that will stand the test of time by being something people will want to read for decades to come.

You can make such a book as well as one that impinges and influences others to take action, believe in you and your product or service, and to never dream of coming to anyone else but you for your area of expertise.

By achieving your book goals, your rewards will be priceless!

It takes power and momentum to achieve vast, expansive goals; the ones that change your life and the lives of others enough to allow for personal freedom. Freedom to BE, DO and HAVE what you want for yourself and for others!

Everyone has dreams, but sadly, hardly anyone ever reaches theirs. This is ONLY because they did not do the right actions that would have caused their dreams to become reality.

History empirically shows that the most outstanding people in society have had at least one book and been published authors. Donald Trump, Sam Walton, Barack Obama, the list goes one and on and on. And this isn’t about whether you agree with the philosophies of these people. The point is that
their books CAUSED them to propel themselves far beyond where they would have ever gone if they had not taken this vital step towards the highest heights of one’s goals
.

It’s Your Message. Make It Count!

Whether you want to make a difference in the world with your information, wish to inform others of something important or valuable, tell your life story, become
THE
expert authority in your field, or perhaps you have something that can help millions of people live better lives ... whatever your reason, offering your information in a book and positioning yourself as an author is the most effective and lasting means.

You can get your information out to the most people ever possible in a way that they will understand you best. And the opportunity that presents itself thereafter is almost mind-boggling, not to mention, really exciting!

Whether you already know how to write a quality book and wish to write it yourself, want to be coached/ mentored through the book writing process, or would like to have someone else write it for you, this book will help you stay clear of the many key pitfalls of the writing process and ensure that your book ends up being a professional piece that others will loyally embrace and tell others about.

Over the years, I have spoken to hundreds of people, all of whom have aspired to have a book written for one reason or another. The common characteristic between all of them has been the uncertainty of just HOW to get the job done—and done well.

These are some of the typical questions I hear on a regular basis:

1. Where do I even begin?
   
2. How does the writing process work?
   
3. What’s involved in creating a book?
   
4. How do I get my information across to the writer?
   
5. Can I write it myself? Should I write it myself?
   
6. What should I expect as the project moves along?
   
7. With writing fees being so extreme (high and low), what’s a good price, how much should it really cost me if I’m to expect a quality book?
   
8. How do I know when I’ve found a bona-fide, professional writer who is qualified to write or mentor me on my book?
   
9. How do I know if I have the right writer for MY type of book?
   

Questions like these and other important matters will be answered in this book as we proceed.

As there are so many people out there who want badly to become book authors, it should first be realized that there are complexities to getting a book professionally written to an acceptable standard.

The next thing to do is learn about each complexity to the point where they no longer are complex. Simplicity, it could be said, comes from understanding.

What’s Next?

The chapters that follow will reveal the options that you have as an author in getting your book written. Your options start with you. You may find that you are the best person to write your book.

If you decide not to do the writing yourself, the most important hurdle to overcome is, by far, finding the right writer. That will be covered as well.

There are still other options that are very exciting, especially when finances are an issue. Got you covered here too! So read on and enjoy being empowered with knowledge and the freedom of choice!

* * *