At a writers’ conference recently, I was listening to a group of writers lamenting the current state of the publishing industry. One constant theme seemed to be the idea that they had no control over their careers. They were dependent on editors who they didn’t know and rarely got to talk to for the acquisition of their books. They were dependent on a nameless, faceless sales person (or, if they were really lucky, sales team) to sell their books to the retailers who will carry them on the shelves. They were dependent on the publicity department to…well, you get the idea.
The bottom line seemed to be that everyone else has a bigger impact on the success of the writer than the writer themselves.
I didn’t say anything to that disgruntled group of writers, but if I had, it would have been one word. Bullsh*t.
Yes, there are outside forces that impact our careers, certain things that we can’t control when it comes to the publishing industry. We can’t make an editor acquire a particular book. We can’t control the size of the offer they will make or the number of copies they will eventually print. We can’t control the size of the buy the major chains will make for that title or how it will be displayed in the stores once it is available.
They are right – we can’t control those things. But there are plenty of things that we can control.
- We can control the quality of the writing we produce. If it isn’t good enough, get back to work and fix it. If you don’t know how to fix it, go learn how.
- We can control the creation and development of our personal brands. How we are perceived online is an important aspect to our growth and development as a brand. I don’t believe that it is enough now to just sit back and let the publisher put out your book – people want to interact.
- We can control the agent we select to represent us in the marketplace. Agents work for you, not the other way around. If your agent isn’t accomplishing things on your behalf, fire them and get another agent. It’s that simple.
- We can control just how active or aggressively we promote our subsidiary rights To start with – keep them under your control when you sign a publishing contract. No one else will have as much invested in the process and therefore be as excited and as aggressive in selling them as you will be. And while I’m on the topic, get over the idea that you aren’t a sales person. Every single time you put a book out there, you are selling something.
- We can control the people we surround ourselves with and who influence our daily thinking. Surround yourself with other authors who see nothing but dire problems in the publishing industry, and that’s likely how you’ll see things too. Surround yourself with forward-thinkers who are constantly trying to come up with ways to do things better and you are likely to be caught up in their enthusiasm.
- We can treat our careers as businesses and come at them with an entrepreneurial mindset, actively engaging in their development and growth rather than whining about them.
These are just a few of the ways we can avoid that “woe is me” feeling and the mindset that everything is outside of our control. When people want to get ahead in the corporate world, they work harder, work smarter, and cultivate the right relationships. Why should the creative world be any different?
Get out there and take control of your writing career. Don’t let it control you.
