The sheer daily-ness of consistent platform development is the key to success. The other key is focus.
Just because someone is blogging or social networking, doesn’t mean that they are focused or creating community. They might just be killing time. I think anyone who has ever participated in athletics understands the concept of getting into “game shape.”
Do the guys playing in the Superbowl start working out a week before the playoffs? And yet, writers sometimes make the mistake of thinking that they are going to get discovered eventually rather than simply working slowly and steadily over time. I think a writer’s expectations, attitude, and willingness have everything to do with his or her success.
Fantasies are nice, but they are not business strategies. Unfortunately the media (and now the Internet) perpetuate myths about overnight success that cloud the truth, which is basically the old adage: no pain, no gain.
Once writers recover from hoping to be discovered, there is really only one thing to do: get to work on a viable platform that you can commit to for a period of years. That’s the kind of platform that’s going to support a book. That’s why I wrote Get Known as a progression of steps that any writer at any level can use as a guidebook.
Show me a writer who is willing to do a little bit of work steadily over time and I’ll show you a writer who is going to get known and eventually get a book deal.
Comments