From Edie: Ready to move beyond ‘average’ as a writer? This post from DiAnn Mills will help you discover 4 practical steps to elevate your career, boost book sales, and aim for bestseller status.
Beyond Average: Proven Strategies to Elevate Your Writing Career
by DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills
While working my first job, a supervisor made a comment that has haunted me over the years. He said, “Average is the best of the worst, and the worst of the best.”
Ouch. Not where I want to be. But friends, we must start somewhere and learn how to work our way up.
Publishers have a few top-selling writers; however, they have far more who sell consistently fewer books. Average writers pay the bills, and bestsellers are the perk. Although it’s nice to be needed, many writers don’t want to be shoved into a category as . . . the best of the worst and the worst of the best.
Average book sales are not glamorous. Neither do average writers have top placement on retailer’s bookshelves. How many average writers are subjects of interviews and first picks as speakers for writer’s conferences?
So how do we move beyond average status to bestselling status in the publishing world? The easy response is to write a phenomenal book and sell a bunch of them. The challenge lies in how to rise to the bestselling level.
Here are four simple words and tips to move beyond average as a writer:
1. Acknowledge—We are the ones responsible for elevating our writer status. I believe in prayer for wisdom and direction. A plan is needed, and it will take time, effort, and lots of research to discover what works for each writer’s personality, brand, type of manuscript, and relationship with readers.
2. Accept—We all have strengths and challenges. For many writers, promotion is overwhelming. A professional writer lists the areas in marketing and promotion that require help and adjustment. Sometimes, this means paying for instruction.
3. Apply—Word of mouth remains the most powerful way to sell books. Explore meaningful ways to grow your platform. Writers who discover and connect their passion for increased book sales with the goal of enhancing readers’ lives to create work with true purpose.
4. Accomplish—Do the work and don’t be afraid of trying new things and abandoning those areas that are not productive. Measuring success isn’t always easy. Online tools like analytics help track metrics such as click-through rates and book sales, offering insights into what’s working. But it’s a mix of efforts that bring exposure, some more than others.
“Too often marketers dive right into the building and executing of plans without taking the needed time to properly strategize and think about how they are going to measure the results of their campaigns.” C.C. Chapman
Do you dream of better-than-average book sales? Look at current marketing and promotion. Are any of the methods archaic? Are poor results defeating your enthusiasm?
Sign up for regular updates from sources such as The Creative Penn, Jane Friedman, Social Media Examiner, The Write Conversation, Neil Patel, and other bloggers who provide valuable information for the serious writer.
Take an analytical view of your book sales. Choose to acknowledge, accept, apply, and accomplish results. See you at the top!
TWEETABLE
She is the former director of the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, Mountainside Marketing Retreat, and Mountainside Novelist Retreat with social media specialist Edie Melson. Connect here: DIANNMILLS.COM
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