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And why it’s different from writer’s block
When you get asked the same thing three times in the same month, you know it’s time to blog about it.
Last month, three different authors came to me with the same tale of woe. Either a publisher had not delivered what they said they would or had let them down on a previous promise.
Over the last few years, I’ve learned the publishing industry is no different from any other – it has its stars, its stalwarts, its pretenders and wannabes and even its cowboys.
All three authors had completed manuscripts which were all well worthy of being published. So writer’s block wasn’t the problem, they were suffering from something equally insidious – Author’s Block.
The only reason I spotted this was I’ve had it too and only just cured it a few months ago. Since then, my world [and that of my clients] has opened up to a load of new possibilities.
The issue isn’t with the publisher. All they are doing is unconsciously picking up self-doubt in the author. This could be either an unconscious fear of success, a fear of the unknown or a fear of failure or ridicule.
Fortunately, the cure is simple and it’s to take action and actions which lead to new levels of self-belief and motivation. When you take such action, you move a step closer to success and signal your intent that you are ready to become a successful published author.
Here’s the seven things I told each author to do:
1. I told them to buy a copy of my new book Blocks and listen to the Becoming Fear-less MP3 visualisation – it’s transformational – you can do that here – and for good measure, to get a copy of The Wealthy Author
The last chapter of Blocks tells all you need to know about Author’s Block and the others will be jolly useful too.
2. Ask yourself where else in your life this pattern of being let down by third parties you have no control over occurs. Ask yourself what is the common theme and learning to be had from tackling this pattern? Think about how your life would change beyond all recognition.
3. Upload your book to one of the many free ebook aggregator sites like Smashwords
- let people read the first 3 chapters for free. Contact me if you need help technically.
4. Get a Twitter account and read this blog – Useful links for authors on Twitter
5. Buy a new and relevant domain name and start a blog – this is the central pillar of your Author Platform.
6. Get an email account using this new domain name so as to look more serious and professional about your author brand (i.e. no @gmail or @aol)
7. As they were all fiction authors, I told them to submit their work to Harper Collin’s Authonomy or MacMillan New Writing & then to tell all their friends to read it, review it and Tweet from the high hills about it.
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