How To Make A Living As A Writer. Part #2 Don't Compare, Compete & Create.

Part #2: Don't Compare, Compete & Create. 

Here we go again. You are over there, I am over here…we should so hang out. But there is a problem, you have a cool car and nice hair, I on the other hand… well don't. 

Sounds silly yes. But that is what a lot of Indie authors do. They look at what some other author is doing and their personal expectations go through the roof. H.M. Ward sells over 4 million in one year, CJ Lyons kills it and Bella Andre is unstoppable. So instead of writing because we love to write, instead of putting our heads down and working the plan we get caught up in the compare game. 

#1. COMPARE:

Avoid this trap if you really want to make money as a writer. Remember when you worked a regular job? Yeah, 12 $ an hour. Now you want to make millions and work 20 hours a week? Wait…you are telling me that you want to make more than a doctor, more than most any job out there and do it from your recliner? Seriously? I bet before you began writing if I told you that you could make ANY money writing you would have been blown away. So stop comparing. You are you, they are they. 

"Be content but never satisfied." 

#2. COMPETE:

If you had to choose an author that you feel is competing with you on a head to head level. Meaning that someone could buy their book instead of yours. If you name anyone besides a big name author like Tom Clancy you are missing the mark. I know this sounds like I didn't read the first part of this post but comparing and competing are different. 

I am competing with James Patterson. My covers have to be better than his, my eBook layout and print files must blow his away. Why are you trying to out sell some other Indie? I know that this sounds bad but most of the Indie published authors don't sell and they are panicked and fighting for the scraps. Don't even play in the playground. One thing people like Hugh Howie do is they are trend setters, they make new rules. 

Here are some questions you can answer to find out if you are competing against the big boys or not. If you answer YES to any of these you could be falling short. 

1. Did you make your own book cover?

2. Do you publish with Smashwords?

3. Did you do your own eBook conversion?

And if you answer NO to the following:

4. Do you have a Newsletter?

5. Do you have live book links in the back of all your books?

6. Do you change your keywords every month?

7. Do you have your book in Audio, Print?

8. Is your book in libraries? 

9. Do you spend money promoting your book? 

"You are only limited my your own fears, and or a lack of skill."

#3. CREATE:

We are all writers and creatives but sometimes this hurts us. We feel like we have to come up with the next best idea and write a book that is so out there that people stare and wonder at how smart and creative we are. NO! Look, it has all been done and take it from me, as a publisher one of the hardest books to sell is one that is different. Amazon and other stores have keywords and categories and if your book if so different that there is no place for it you can run into a wall. 

Tell a story. That is all you have to do. Most all chick flicks are the same and have been for years. Boy meets girl, they hate each other and something happens, they fall in love but one of them lied…oh no! The other finds out, they break up and there is music and flashbacks to when things were good. Now they get back together in the end and kiss in the rain or in the street. Guess what? They still sell! Sometimes being the same but different is a good thing.

"You are not special--if more parents told the truth, we wouldn't have American Idol." 

Making a living as a writer is easy as long as you can take off the writer hat and put on the business hat.  
Hope this helps and as always… nah I'll tell you next time.


Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

Update of IBPA and chillin with Amazon!

Amazon and the future of books and authors!

A few weeks ago I was asked by amazon to come and speak at the IBPA show in SanFran or as my friend calls it,(The City). I was not sure what to expect and by the time I got home I found out that this trip will change my life and my business forever.

First, the Amazon peeps were super cool, we had dinners, conversation and joked and laughed so hard that tummy's hurt and tears were shown. I was glad to find out that just like you or I, they are people too and just trying to do the best job they can.

Second, I met three amazing authors that are killing it in eBook land! Bella Andre is a rock-star, I mean not only is she way cool, but she makes some crazy cash! She knows her stuff and we have some exciting plans in the future. Stay tuned...

How will this all filter into your world? Well, the first thing is next month, StoneHouse University will be hosting Amazon for a one-of-a-kind webinar. Yeah, you heard it right. Real people from Amazon are going to join us, and you can ask them questions and learn from THEM, (Not some rumor-mill) what they are up too and what they have planned looking forward. This is...(Sorry Ashley) EPIC! Yes, I hate the word Epic, yet in this case there is just no other word.

I am so honored to have Amazon come and hang with us at the University. At what other time can you have a chat and hear from them direct? Unless you fly to a Con and pay hotel and flight etc... I am way stoked about this class, and if you want to get in on it keep a look out for the dates and times.

Here are some things I learned.
Amazon wants B&N to do well. Why you might ask? Because the government will step in if they get to far out front. It can be looked at as a monopoly. So a lot of things that Amazon wants to do, try and gain ground in are on hold because they are waiting for B&N to catch up. This is crazy to me, I mean, Amazon is holding back, keeping from growing to fast because their competition is #lame! They are going to win the race, in fact, they already have but they just need it to LOOK close.

The other thing is that Amazon wants authors like me and Bella and you to do well. The more I make and the better I do the more they will bend over backward to help. It is good for them and for their image to have authors and small publishers do well.

As to some of my questions. The advertizing they tried in the past but because they did not feel like it was bringing in the return compared to the money it cost for the authors they pulled it. Again, they were looking at how much the author was getting out of it and did not want to cheat them. They are open to more options but only if the cost of the advertizing and the return is worth it for both parties.

The reviews are being tightened up, in fact a lot more quality control is going on all fronts. Some of it is annoying but that is better than a free for all!

The legal contracts are not going to change, they have so many bases to cover it just has to be like it is. But what is a law if not enforced?

As to more human interaction...well this webinar is step one. They do want to reach out to their authors and this is part of that.

It is a big company so things just move slow but they are moving. I look forward to more good things from Amazon in the future.



Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

IBPA Publishing University (Amazon, Bella, and Me!)

Next week I will be going to SanFran as a guest of Amazon.com. Just saying this sounds a little weird as a year ago just being able to have a email contact with the book giant was super cool! Now I get to go speak with them as well as an amazing author like Bella Andre!

I will be talking about eBooks, marketing, and social media. I am amazed to see the relevance of this conference. From speakers like Mark Coker of Smashwords to the publisher of Publishers Weekly, and Google.

What does all this mean?

It means that the new publishing world is starting with the small presses like StoneHouse Ink and working up. In time the big boyz will be hooked in and time will tell what will come out the other side. But going to other conferences where there was not a single class on eBooks to this is a breath of fresh air.

Oh, I almost forgot, the CEO of Goodreads is even going to be there! how cool is that!

Some things I would like to see or at least talk about with Amazon are as follows:

1. Will we Indies ever get the same benefits as the Big 6? Such as Free sales, not just in Select, pre-order listings for eBooks, cool author pages and book listings with video and all the same things the Big 6 now have.

2. More human interaction. A 24 hour notice on problems without the "I will delete your account" threats. I know, your legal team is the one who writes all that junk, but come on!

3. Better wording on legal contracts and less control in the Select program. i.e. Make it okay to give away free eBooks on a blog or site, be open to blog tours and giveaways so we can market and push them to you etc...

4. Better control on Createspace. Link books faster, better cover color, or use the Kindle image, maybe even a upload front cover area for the product page. More options for covers and things like that.

5. Can we have better reports? A per day option?

6. Better review control. Must read the book, some reviews the person even says that they did not finish. Take off reviews from people that are just there to make trouble, maybe a higher level reviewer has more power so their review makes your stars jump more...not sure, just not so lax.

7. More advertizing options.

This is just a few things that have been on my mind, but I am sure more will come up. If you have anything you might want to say, leave a comment and I will see what I can do.

If you are in the area, come on out to the conference, it would be great to meet you!

Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.