Is There an Excuse in Your Author Midst?

We are well into fall—winter is at the door. Your writing and your book, or about-to-be-book, should be planning its next step. Your book marketing, or the steps you need to be taking should also have their own steps. Within those steps should be the inclusion of getting off and away from any of the excuse ruts you may have fallen into.

Don’t we all get stuck at some time? The list is endless with the number or reasons, and gulp, yes, excuses as to why we can’t … or won’t do things. It’s the excuse rut. The perfect scapegoat as to why we don’t move on and out.

How many times have you heard someone say …

#1  I don’t have time … to write my book …

#2  I don’t have time … to market my book …

#3  I don’t know where to start … on my book …

#4  I don’t know how to … or don’t want to … do social media …

#5  I don’t … have time to learn about the publishing business …

#6  I don’t … ?

How many times have you said any fraction of the above? And what is your excuse for not going forth, for not getting something done that is important to you and/or your book?
It’s easy to fall into the overwhelm factor … and it’s far easier to crash through it when you step into the reality that this journey you are on is a business.

As we are in the midst of this final, oh, another gulp, quarter of the year, it’s reality-check time. Start with time—yours. There are only so many hours in the day. You need some sleep. You may have a fulltime job. Most likely, you take a little time to eat. The hours slip away. If there aren’t enough hours in the day—you need to do an assessment … just how many of them do you kiss off? And how much time do you put into doing something that is part of your Vision Factor for your book after you have your book?

For our non-fiction members—how many of you really, really, really follow your own advice? Or are you so OD’d with other obligations that you end up putting yourself on the bottom of the list—any list? I have a new book birthing, Author YOU: Creating and Building the Author and Book Platforms. After finally getting the layout tweaked and sending it to print last month, I looked closely at the process that I do for the creation for my own books—and the reason why I’ve pumped out 30 to date.

The fun part was the “aha” moment, the breaking through and out-of the Excuse Abuse scenario that is so easy to slip into—even with me and some of the things I do within my office space. It brought me back to my own basics. As a result, we’ve implemented some changes in my office—and oh boy, we are slicing and dicing—from files to set-ups to personnel. It’s all very cool—kind of like spring cleaning in the fall.

What I love about what I do as The Book Shepherd is that I am an author—I relate to the writers I mentor. I know the OD that comes with the publication of a book; I understand the overwhelm that comes and the tsunami of things that marketing creates. I know that money and time are huge issues. And I get … but enough about me. You’ve got a book. It needs your attention if success is the goal in your Game Plan. What is holding you back? What do you need to slice and dice and get back on track? Start the list … do a reality check … get myopic … and as client Lynn Hellerstein says, “Ta-dah!” It will come your way.


 

Dr. Judith Briles 
The Book Shepherd - The Author and Publishing Expert
Create. Strategize. Develop. Publish. Achieve.

Chief Visionary Officer: AuthorU.org