Your enthusiasm for your ideas and your books, and your ability to communicate your passion, is essential to your success.
It’s been said that no man is a hero to his biographer. So regardless of how enthusiastic you are when you start to write a book, remaining passionate for as long as you want your book and the talks based on it to keep generating income may become a challenge.
The one and a half or two years from now that it will take your book idea to reach the bookstores is a long time, yet it’s only the beginning of the life of your book. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of publication and promotion. As difficult as it may be to guess how long your enthusiasm for a book will last, make a careful judgment before committing yourself to living with the book.
This is another reason to test-market your ideas by giving talks and writing articles. This will help you decide how much you enjoy writing and talking about your book, gauge the response your books will get, and establish your credentials with agents, editors, and book buyers.
If you are doing all you can to achieve your goals, you have a right to be optimistic. Assume that your career, like that of most writers, will continue to flourish over time. Assume every book you write will be better than the last, bringing you closer to reaching the critical mass of readers you need to break out and become as successful as you want to be.
To keep your publisher happy, you have to keep doing the following:
- Giving presentations around the country based on your books
- Using your speaking schedule to increase your national visibility in the media
- Building your stature in your field
- Making sure there is an uptick in the sales of every book you write
- Ensuring your past books continue to sell
To keep yourself happy, you need optimism to help sustain your enthusiasm and determination to bounce back from setbacks. You can’t allow the problems you will confront throughout your career to affect your positive outlook.
Optimism is contagious, and you want to infect everyone you meet with it. It’s been said that when we talk, only 7 percent of what we communicate is words. The other 93 percent is everything else about us, including tone of voice, facial expression, gestures, and clothing.
You want to exude optimism, so that when people think of you, they think of someone who loves life and lives it with hope and gusto. People would rather be around an optimist than a pessimist. That’s one of the reasons talk-show hosts will invite you back, and why the people in your networks will always be glad to hear from you. A bonus: Optimism is better for your health.
David L. Hancock, Founder
Morgan James Publishing
David Hancock is the founder of Morgan James Publishing and has co-authored sixteen books, including Guerrilla Marketing for Writers and The Entrepreneurial Author. NASDAQ cites David as one of the world’s most prestigious business leaders, and he is reported to be the future of publishing. David was selected for Fast Company Magazine’s Fast 50 for his leadership, creative thinking, significant accomplishments, and his significant impact on the industry over the next ten years.