Are you planning to attend a book festival this summer with your book(s)? Scott Lorenz has an article in Fran Silverman’s most recent Book Promotion Newsletter in which he features the best book festivals to attend this year. I’m already scheduled to attend two of them. Subscribe to Book Promotion Newsletter (an enewsletter) at: http://www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com There is a small fee to offset costs.
How many newsletters and enewsletters do you subscribe to each month? You are probably receiving newsletters and other material related to the topic/genre of your book or, if you are a freelance writer—related to this field. And if you are writing, publishing or promoting a book, you should be subscribing to newsletters and enewsletters on these subjects. And you should be reading them.
If I were to ask for a show of hands out there indicating how many of you actually read those newsletters and enewsletters you subscribe to each month, there would be only a few hands waving at me. The faces belonging to the hands that are in your laps, have a sheepish look on them. But you know what? It is okay with me if you don’t read the newsletters that come to you regularly in good faith, unless you’re one of those who say about the organization producing those newsletters, “That organization has done nothing for me. I don’t think I’ll renew my membership.”
No newsletter, book, blog or article is useful to those who ignore it—who decide not to read it.
We’re all busy and, if your life is like mine, you get busier by the year. It’s hard to find the time to study everything that comes across our desks. But this is no reason to give up altogether on newsletters. At least look at the headlines. Note articles that sound like they might have information you can use and, either read it on the spot or set it in a priority box of items that you will read that evening or first thing in the morning before turning your computer on, for example.
There are a lot of knowledgeable people creating valid and valuable text designed to help you keep up with your industry (and the writing/publishing industry). By not perusing this information, you could be sabotaging the very thing you’re working so hard to attain—your success.
Sure, there’s a lot of insignificant material coming at you all the time. There’s stuff you don’t need to know, but also stuff you only think you don’t need to know. There are those of us who think we know it all. And then there are folks who read everything and end up confused. How do we create a happy medium?
Be open, but discerning. Be ever willing to learn. And give yourself the best opportunity to succeed by exposing yourself to the information you need and actually taking it in.
Of course, you will outgrow newsletters. Some of them will change into something that doesn’t relate to your project. It’s okay to unsubscribe. But give newsletters and other material a good opportunity to work for you—to bring you the information and options you need in order to make the best decisions on behalf of your project or business.
When I get a chance to talk to former SPAWN members, I always learn that the reason they didn’t renew was one of two things. They either lost interest in their book project—decided not to pursue it—or they admit that they just didn’t participate in the way that they should have. They often regret that they didn’t take part in SPAWNDiscuss so they would meet other authors and publishers and learn more about the day-to-day world of publishing and book promotion. They confess that they didn’t read the SPAWN Market Update every month—in fact, they rarely got around to it. These former members joined with high hopes, but just couldn’t get it together enough to even use the benefits available to them. Others joined expecting SPAWN to “do it for them.” They somehow misunderstood the premise we so openly promote. They didn’t understand that SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) is a networking organization designed to provide members with resources, information and opportunities to help them make the best choices for their projects.
Don’t be a drop out. In order to succeed as a published author, freelance writer or in any other field or business, you must take the reins. Study the map. Know your options. Be clear as to the opportunities available because it is up to you to chart your own course.
Check out both of my websites: http://www.matilijapress.com and http://www.patriciafry.com
Check out SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network): http://www.spawn.org