Platform

Don’t Just Do It

By Dan Balowon March 25, 2014

Dont Just Do it

I don’t like the word “just”.

Don’t get me wrong, “just” is a fine word, especially when used in a triple-word space in Scrabble. It has all sorts of good uses and meanings…even used to fill time when we are thinking, along with the other great words and phrases of our culture, such as “like”, ”um”, “I mean” and ”you know.”

I simply do not like the word “just” when it is used to place limits on or minimize something we are doing. It might be unintentional, but many of us use the word to lower the bar:

“I just want to go to church and sit quietly and enjoy the service.”

“I just want to go to work and have no one bother me.”

“I just want to attend that meeting without someone asking me to speak up.”

“I just want to retire.”

Can you imagine someone stating, ”I just want to be a missionary”? Devoting your entire life, both present and future to God’s will and work, giving up everything you planned in your life for the service of God’s kingdom seems a bit larger than “just” another path in life.

Now imagine someone who “just wants to be a writer.” It sounds like a person who aspires to write ad copy for Craigslist.

Purpose, passion, energy and total commitment are what it takes to be good at anything.

Many years ago, I decided to never “just” do anything (except for mundane things like getting dressed, washing dishes, taking out the garbage and mowing the lawn of course). My wife will often precede something she is about to say that contains the dreaded word with an apologetic disclaimer. I might have gone too far with this entire thing, but it is too late to turn back now. (Dedicated to the Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose)

Many years ago, as a way to remember to not “just” do anything, I wrote myself a note and pinned it up next to my desk. Here it is:

I Love Mondays

They are the beginning of an opportunity to do something significant. It might the start of the best week of my life.
Do important stuff.
When confusion reigns, remember what is important.
Harness creativity, intuition and wisdom to beat back ambiguity and randomness.
Have fun.
Do it all for the glory of God.

Who in their right mind would actually look forward to Mondays? (and not “just” because Steve Laube’s blog post is on Monday)

Zig Ziglar said, “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”

So, don’t “just” write…write with everything in you, but first, maybe write yourself a note.

What drives you?

How to Be A Reader’s Favorite Author

By Dan Balowon March 18, 2014

Last week in this space, I wrote about how you could become a publisher’s favorite author (other than selling millions of books). Today, we’ll go a little different direction and talk about what you would need to do to become a favorite author to your readers. A key difference between how you relate to a publisher and how you relate to a reader is that one is business and one is personal. An …

Category: Branding, Career, Communication, Craft, Creativity, Dan, Marketing, PlatformTag: Authors, Career, readers

Two Important Ingredients for Success

By Karen Ballon March 12, 2014

I’ll never forget the day, just after church, when a friend pulled me aside and said, “My son can’t find a job and he needs to make some money fast. So he’s going to write a book. Any advice for him?” Yeah, well, the advice I had wasn’t for him, it was for her: “Don’t ever say anything like that to me again.” Whatever gave people the impression that writing was a get-rich quick …

Category: Book Business, Career, Creativity, Karen, PlatformTag: Career, perseverance, Success

How to Be A Publisher’s Favorite Author

By Dan Balowon March 11, 2014

Three years ago, Seth Godin published his book Linchpin. Since I follow Seth’s books and blog as a personal and professional challenge, I read it and was inspired by it’s concepts. In it, Godin speaks about some of the new realities in business relationships. There used to be management and those who were managed. But now, he says, there is a third group…linchpins. These are people who make …

Category: Book Business, Branding, Career, Dan, PlatformTag: Authors, Career, publishing

Why Not Take a Chance?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon November 7, 2013

Often I receive queries and proposals in which the author will say his submission is out of the box. I'm not opposed to groundbreaking work, but I have to decide what will and what won't work for me. I am the first to admit, this process is subjective. Our own Steve Laube is routinely teased by a couple of his successful author friends he turned down. If an agent as wise as Steve Laube misses a …

Category: Agents, Book Business, Book Proposals, Get Published, Platform, TamelaTag: Agents, book proposals, Editors, Get Published

Build it Before They Come

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 30, 2011

If you want to be a published writer, realize that someone will look for you on the web. Agents will Google your name. I guarantee that editors and marketing folks will visit your web site to find out more about you.

Thus your web site needs to be both professional and effective. It is a bit like putting on your “Sunday Best” before going to an interview. That first impression is …

Category: Communication, Get Published, Marketing, Platform, TamelaTag: Author Websites, Book Business, Marketing, Platform, Tamela

Book Trailers: Vital or Wasteful?

By Steve Laubeon February 17, 2011

Book trailers, if done well, can be a cool component to the marketing of your project. If done poorly or if done cheaply they do very little to impress a potential reader.

Most authors love to see their work done this way. In some ways if feels like the story has made it to the "big screen."

But does it sell books? When was the last time you clicked and then bought because of the trailer?

Category: Branding, Marketing, Platform, TrendsTag: book trailer, Trends