Writers Have Two Jobs

 

2-Jobs

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What other important things should authors do besides writing? Answer: Get folks to read what they have written! Marketing is the other author’s job.  Are you doing it?

An often-visited topic is how to create balance in our lives.  Much has been written on this and it isn’t easy to achieve.  Most of us face challenges that overshadow what we would like to be doing versus what we do.  We get lost. Within the confines of being an author, balance is critically important; it’s a must achieve imperative to be successful.  You cannot afford to get lost.
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Imagine you are as talented as Mark Twain was, but no one finds your work; what then?  You might achieve self-satisfaction, but not much else.  So, is it better to write a mediocre novel and be well read, or a great novel that no one knows about?
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Of course, that’s a false premise although examples of both scenarios are certainly available.  What you need to do is find a balance between writing and marketing. To be good at one and not the other is to limit your horizons.  The publishing industry today expects authors to pull their weight when it comes to promotion and marketing.  However, you won’t get their attention or your audience’s attention if your novel, short story, poem, or other writing isn’t compelling.
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It’s Tough Out There…
Where does that leave you? It’s tough out there as anyone who has been in the industry for more than a week can tell you. There are no silver bullets. However, pursuing an approach based on achieving balance will make a difference. Let me explain exactly what I mean when referring to balance.
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Balance is largely the proportioning of your time and talents between creating products and marketing those products.  As a writer, I know it’s generally more fun and rewarding to write than it is to market.  However, you must do both.  In fact, I will go a step further and say you must focus on marketing first!
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Building an audience before you need one is the key.  Of course, the task of building an audience never truly ends.  However, it does become easier over time. It’s like building a snowman.  The small snowball you start out with takes a lot of effort to build into a larger snowball, but as it gains mass it becomes much larger for about the same effort.

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If you have created an audience before you publish your first novel, the work to launch your literary masterpiece successfully will yield a better outcome than if you publish a book and then begin developing an audience.  It’s simple mathematics.
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Here are More Suggestions:
Create a matrix with three columns: Daily – Weekly – Monthly. The rows are tasks. The first three rows are must-do tasks, the next three rows are if time allows tasks. Then assign a time of day for each task.
If you’re like me you are more creative in the morning so do tasks like writing during those hours reserve the more repetitive or mundane tasks for later in the day. Maximize your time with this approach and don’t be afraid to adjust the matrix as you gain experience using it.
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This won’t solve all your balancing issues, but it is a useful tool and I highly recommend it – or something akin to it.
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Author Bio
Carey Azzara has accomplished a number of goals including two graduate degrees, a career in public health, VP of market research, President of a marketing company AtHeath, LLC, raising a family, and rescuing a few dogs. He has published numerous articles, reports, and books. Along the way, he has had experiences that have inspired him to author the short stories collection. They say writers write. Azzara writes for the joy of sharing his ideas and stories with you.
https://www.amazon.com/Carey-V.-Azzara/e/B00JCUO50A/