author publishing requires marketing skills

Napoleon Hill’s 13 Steps for Authors

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Napoleon-Hill

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During the 1930’s Napoleon Hill, a journalist, studied over several years 500 rich men and boiled down their success into 13 steps.  You might have read his book Think and Grow Rich – or let’s change it in the following paragraphs for these author success tips into:

Think and Become a Bestseller Author.
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1. Desire: You have to want it – Success,Happiness, Money, Health …
Hill explains: Wishing will not bring riches. But desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then PLANING definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plans with PERSISTENCE which does not recognize failure, will bring riches. This is not so different from the modern-day concept of visualizing your writing and publishing goal.

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2. Faith: Believe that you can achieve your goal.
Growing rich starts with your MINDSET — with the belief that you can accumulate wealth. Hill writes: Riches begin in the form of thought! The amount is limited only by the person in whose mind the thought is put into motion. Faith in yourself removes limitations!
Authors who create massive value for others, you have the right to be as rich as they want. Becoming a bestselling author or a wealth one (not only money-wise) starts with your mindset.

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3. Auto-suggestion: Use affirmations to reach your goal.
Turning desire for money or success into reality requires sending your subconscious mind phrases and mantras that support your goal. You have to repeat out loud what it is that you want, and how you plan to get it, so you become obsessed with your purpose.  Hill explains:  Your ability to use the principle of AUTO-SUGGESTION will depend, very largely, upon your capacity to concentrate upon a given desire until that desire becomes a burning obsession.  For example, if you want to get over a hundred book reviews, use affirmation to reach your goal, work on inviting reviewers every day.

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4. Specialized knowledge: Gain experiences and continue learning.
Knowledge is potential power.  An education only becomes powerful and leads to great wealth when it is organized and applied to life.  It also must be continually sought after.  You’re never done LEARNING. Successful authors never stop acquiring specialized knowledge related to their major purpose, becoming a bestseller author and to self-publish their books.  Many modern-day successful and wealthy people are voracious readers; they never stop learning and challenging their minds.  Those who are not successful usually make the mistake of believing that the knowledge-acquiring period ends when one finishes their book and don’t make an effort to learn about publishing and book marketing as well.

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5. Imagination: Come up with ideas and visualize your success.
If you can imagine it, you can create it, says Hill: Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes. Jack Canfield said: People who don’t have goals work for people who have goals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jS8knNjsgQBook writing and marketing ideas are products of the imagination …

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6. Organized planning: Take action.
Once you’ve visualized your success, you need to TAKE ACTION with persistence and enthusiasm.  Hill explains: Opportunity has spread its wares before you.  Step up to the front, select what you want, create your plan, put the plan into action, and follow through with persistence…  Most of us are good “starters” but poor “finishers” of everything we begin.  Moreover, people are prone to give up at the first signs of defeat.  There is no substitute for PERSISTENCE.
Some authors wrote dozens of books, and they are true role models to follow for anyone who complaints that their first book is not a bestseller…  The authors mentioned in the blog article are writing every day, almost always at the same time, seven days a week.

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7. Decision: Defeat procrastination with decisiveness.
Those who settle on decisions quickly know what they want, and they tend to get what they want.  He writes: People who fail to accumulate success and wealth, without exception, have the habit of reaching decisions, if at all, very slowly, and of changing these decisions quickly and often.  DECISIVENESS is not just a trait of the wealthy, but one of the most important qualities a leader needs to possess.  At the end of the day, making a bad decision is better than making no decision at all.  As a writer you need to take things in your own hands, don’t procrastinate…if you really love writing and want to have publishing success.

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8. Persistence: Don’t stop until you get what you want.
Persistence is crucial when trying to accumulate success and wealth, yet few people possess the willpower required to turn their desire for money into actual money.
Hill writes: Riches do not respond to wishes.  They respond only to definite plans, backed by definite desires, through constant PERSISTENCE.  The most successful people tend to have dealt with, and overcome, failure.  Remember JK Rowling who says she received ‘loads’ of rejections before her Harry Potter success.

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9. Power of the Master Mind: Surround yourself with the best.
The wealthiest people create a “Master Mind,” meaning they surround themselves with talented friends and colleagues who share their vision. The alignment of several smart and creative minds is exponentially more powerful than just one, Hill explains: No individual may have great power without availing himself of the “Master Mind” …
Rich people tend to make friends with other rich people. Robert Kiyosaki – Rich Dad – Poor Dad said: “Successful people are constantly networking, while others look for work.” Authors who don’t enjoy meeting present and future readers in person or on social media are maybe not too successful…

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10. Choose a compatible partner.
It can enhance our creativity, passion, enthusiasm, and persistence, all which are crucial in accumulating wealth, Hill says: Love, romance, and sex are all emotions capable of driving men to heights of super achievement.  When combined, these three emotions may lift one to an altitude of genius.  Having a supportive partner is important to career success.
Writers all should have a very supportive partner!

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11. The Subconscious Mind: Master positivity and dismiss negative emotions.
If you truly want to be successful, you have to plant that desire, and then your plan, into your subconscious mind.  Hill writes: The subconscious mind will not remain idle!  If you fail to plant desires in your subconscious mind, it will feed upon the thoughts which reach it as the result of your neglect. Positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind at the same time.  One or the other must dominate.  It is your responsibility to make sure that positive emotions constitute the dominating influence of your mind.  Research shows that positive, happier people are more likely to perform better in their careers.  So, authors should maybe only read positive reviews : ) and write daily lists of all the positive things in their lives.

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12. The Brain: Associate with other smart people and learn from them.
Our brain is a “transmitter and receiver of thought vibrations” — it absorbs thoughts from other individuals surrounding us, making it even more important to ASSOCIATE with intelligent, creative, and positive individuals.  Hill writes: Every human brain is capable of picking up vibrations of thought which are being released by other brains … The Creative Imagination is the “receiving set” of the brain, which receives thoughts released by the brains of others.
Find solutions to problems or brainstorm ideas.  Hill calls this “blending of several minds into one,” and suggests sitting down with a small group of people and diving deep into the problem at hand.  Writers can do this by meeting with their peers, writing feedback and beta reading groups, librarians, editors etc.

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13. The Sixth Sense: Trust your gut.
Hill says: “Through the aid of the sixth sense, you will be warned of impending dangers in time to avoid them, and notified of opportunities in time to embrace them.”
While this principle isn’t the most straightforward — Hill admits it is generally not attained until age 40 — his basic claim is that your intuition will change.  You’ll have achieved a level of wisdom that will allow you to start making smart financial and life decisions naturally.  The SIXTH SENSE might be especially important for writers to avoid pitfalls, such as vanity publishers, and other predators in publishing, and also when reading offered publishing contracts, to secure the help of a lawyer before signing anything.

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Read the original book as PDF for FREE:
http://eventualmillionaire.com/Resources/ThinkandGrowRich.pdf
or get the audio book:
http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_pd_Busine_c2_1_auth?searchAuthor=Napoleon+Hill

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Who are Your Readers – and Your Competition?

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study-your-competition

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Authors often do very little research to really understand who their potential audience is – or could be.  Asking them: “Who is your audience and who is your competition?” one might receive only vague answers …  However, these are essential questions that are not only very important for self-publishers, but also for authors who want to go with a traditional publisher!  They need to proof to the agent or the publisher that they have done their homework.
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How Can You Research Your Competition?
First of all make a long list with possible keywords that readers might use to find a similar book.
Check out the complete categories / genres at Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Kobo, Apple, Sony, Google Books, Waterstones etc. and study all the books, that could be akin to your future work. Visit several public libraries to learn about your competition. Borrow the most interesting ones, not only to read them, but also to study the book layout and design. Read the online reviews of their books carefully!

  • How many books of this topic / with the same keywords have been published already?
  • Where are these books sold and for which price?
  • In which format are they offered: e-book, print, audio-book?
  • Who are the customers of these competing books?
  • How are these books received and which ones are bestselling?
  • Which categories did they choose, and which keywords?
  • In which categories / genres are these competitive books listed?
  • What cover designs have been chosen for these books?
  • Which author represent him/herself and their book the best – via their Amazon and Goodreads author page, and on their website or blog?.
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Don’t Give Up!
Bestseller authors often need years and years to build up their audience, so it is surprising, that authors dream of their first book as a potential bestseller, and don’t realize that it takes a long time and hard work to get an audience, one reader at a time – especially if they did not do the ground work to build a huge following at Social Media, in reader forums or in real-life before they start publishing.

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Author-Publishing is Like a Completely New Profession
And professions need to be learned! It takes years to become an excellent writer and it also takes years to become an excellent publisher. It involves lots of skills and knowledge business-wise, marketing skills, not to mention, learning constantly new internet techniques and get to know the latest changes in publishing. Many authors have unrealistic expectations when it comes to the time required for effective book promotion and to make meaningful connections with readers. They expect wonders from a single sales campaign.
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Take Advantage of their Knowledge
A book marketing professional has to learn years and years. Why, as an author, not take advantage of their knowledge to keep your head free for writing and interacting with your readers? No one would start an accounting business without learning the ropes, and knowing how to create a revenue / expenses sheet or fill out income tax forms. Writing a book does not make for a publisher, no matter how clever businesses want you to imagine. Take the time to build your author platform and establish a brand, it will eventually give you an advantage in the market.

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

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Tagged: author competition, author publishing requires marketing skills, research for your novel, research your competition, self-publishing, show publishers that you know your competition