“‘Google’ is not a synonym for ‘research’,” says novelist Dan Brown.

If you want to be a serious writer (and don’t we all?), sooner or later you’re guaranteed to hit a brick wall.

To get beyond the brick wall, you are forced to do some … (sound of ominous music) research.

 

I think novelist Allan Leverone (Parallax View) spoke for most writers when he said:

“I hate research. … When I’m writing, I would much rather be writing than researching. I want to learn enough about a subject to ensure that you, as a reader, are not forced out of the story by a lack of realism in the writing.”

One of my best friends, a prolific writer who churns out new chapters every week, doesn’t shy away from brick walls. She’s found a great way to tackle research painlessly. In fact, she hardly ever asks Google for help.

Instead, she uses a smart technique that works like magic — and has an exciting extra benefit. More on that in a minute.

 

How do you get answers?

 

If you’re anything like me, you probably run straight to Uncle Google if you need research help when you’re writing. You know the drill …

Save Document. Open Google Search window. Type in question or keywords. Begin clicking links, reading, and taking notes.

 

What’s wrong with that method?

 

Most of the time, nothing at all.

A quick Google Search works perfectly about 80% of the time. You know how that 80/20 rule works, don’t you? It’s the 20% that will drag you down.

Part of the 20% is that Google searches come with their own baggage, including:

• “Sponsored Results” (gee, thanks!)
• Thousands of possible sources
• Threaded discussions on private forums (“You must be a Member…”)
• Distracting side trips to read ‘related’ information

 

Google’s Achilles Heel

One more thing. Search engines like Google, amazing as they are, still have an important shortcoming:

They aren’t good at answering complicated questions.

We writers love to paint ourselves into tricky corners.

For instance, when Leverone was working on Parallax View, he wanted to describe the dark depths of The Kremlin. How the heck do you research that? Not many writers can afford to travel to Moscow for a personal tour. If you try an Image Search, almost every photo is from the outside. Now what?

Closer to home, author Teresa Burrell recently needed to learn all about the mysteries of strip bars for a scene in her upcoming novel. That’s a dicey keyword search, and could easily lead to a host of sites that would not give her the information she wanted.

So, if you can’t — or don’t want to — go there in person, what should you do? (Hint: My friend and Ms. Burrell both used a similar approach.)

 

Wait, why not just wing it?

 

What if you just make stuff up? There are times you can get away with that, and even times when you should. For instance, respected writers create fictional locations near real places all the time.

If you use real places you’ve never visited, one of the most common errors you can make is with the climate.  Does it rain much in Tucson in June? How cold should Seattle be in January? If you simply make educated guesses about these details, real residents of those areas will catch you on it.

Or maybe you figure you’ve seen enough murder mysteries on TV to bluff your way through settings and procedures. Keep in mind, however, that real cops read books too — and those folks are trained to spot mistakes.

You have to be careful about skimping on the research. Your readers will come from all kinds of places and backgrounds. Make an important misstep, and it can put a gaping dent in your credibility.

 

Help… I’m stuck in the bathroom!

 

Last month, I came across a surprising goof by an established author. It happened in the middle of an otherwise wonderful novel, in a pivotal scene involving the main character. In a nutshell, the male protagonist helps his new girlfriend fix the broken bathroom door, in the process meets her young son, and eventually becomes intimate with the girl.

Doesn’t sound terribly tricky, does it?

Unfortunately, the writer had only a vague idea of what could go wrong with a door and how to fix it. Equally unfortunate (for him) was the fact that I am an experienced carpenter.

Anyone who’s ever tried to fix a door knows that drilling quarter-inch holes isn’t part of the plan, but that’s what this writer had his character do.

For me, the novel’s bubble had burst. The author’s unexpected mistakes zapped me right out of the story and made me question everything else he had earlier described. This small error made me doubt what I’d thought were brilliant details about forensics and police procedures. Maybe another reader with a background in lab work found some ‘broken door’ errors of her own in that story!

 

How to avoid this happening in your writing?

 

Back to my prolific writer friend who doesn’t depend on Google alone for the answers. How do you think she might have handled that bathroom door-fixing scene?

Easy– she would have asked me (her ‘fix-it friend’) for help. I’d have handed her some practical ideas in about five minutes. I’ve seen her pose problems like these to her network of buddies dozens of times, with amazing results.

When you need answers to tricky questions, ask your network for help.

Tap into the power of your friendships, using social networks like Facebook and Twitter.  You will be amazed at the breadth of knowledge your online contacts have at hand, and how quickly they can deliver that information to you.

Last month, I was writing a short flashback scene. I wanted my heroine to reminisce about a time thirty years earlier.

 

Cue up That ’70s Show

To make it clear that her memories were set in the 1970s, I needed specific details of the era. Try Googling “What do you remember about the ’70s?” Now let me know when you’re done sifting some of the 21 million search results.

Instead, I followed my friend’s advice. I reached out to my network. Just one short post on Facebook to see what my contacts there could recall from the 1970s. One hour — and over 180 replies — later, I had enough information for an entire novel set in that decade!

 

You can work it too!

Your question doesn’t have to be as broad as mine for this method to work well.

When Teresa Burrell was investigating strip clubs for her book, she specifically wanted to know more about lap dances (seriously!). She picked up the phone and started asking her male friends for the inside scoop. Not only did Teresa find out more than she ever wanted to know, but she had fun learning the details. Wouldn’t you love to have transcripts of those phone conversations?

 

Why does this work so well?

 

It turns out that people enjoy helping writers get it right.

We all love to feel like experts at something. For instance, isn’t it fun when you can tell a lost driver exactly how to find Aunt Millie’s Bed & Breakfast?

Maybe you know how to shoot skeet, or how to prune a rosebush, or how to find a cheap used Corvette. Each of us knows something interesting, or knows someone who knows.

 

Never underestimate the power of networking.

For example, you now know that I’m a knowledgeable carpenter; but did you know that one of my best friends is a deputy sheriff? Just imagine all the cool insider knowledge he could offer for your next thriller!

All you have to do is ASK.

The best part is, it’s fast and fun — for both you, and the people who help you!

You can do it by email to a group, on Facebook like I did, on Twitter (might need a hashtag), or Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn — wherever your friends gather in force.

 

Did I mention the exciting extra benefit?

 

When you reach out for help and answers, your circle of friends will become more invested in your writing. They will want to read it! This curiosity and interest extends outward to include anyone who participates in your conversation, even people who are only watching the discussion.

People you’ve never met, friends of your friends, can be drawn in simply because they have the expertise you seek. When you ask for help, you can end up making new friends, creating larger networks of people interested in what you’re doing. They will be far more likely to read and share your articles, to buy and promote your novels, and to trust your recommendations.

New friends, more readers, improved sales and more – grab this non-Google research tool as soon as you can!

 

Have you uncovered any surprising mistakes in your recent reading? Or ever made a mistake yourself?  Or have you used your network for research? Share your experiences in the comments below!

About the Author:

When he’s not fixing real-life bathroom doors, Jim Bessey offers practical advice and monthly writing contests at So Write Us. Sign up there to ensure you are notified when the next contest begins.

Image: Making research easier courtesy of Bigstockphoto.com

 

What makes the work of a novelist sell well?

Genius, good connections in the publishing world – or just old-fashioned, hard editing?

Some clues come from Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel. Ian Fleming’s original draft was put on show earlier this year to mark the 60th anniversary of the novel’s publication.

It did not spring immaculate from his typewriter. Nor did Fleming have any publishing connections or prior experience in novel writing.

He succeeded – the novel went into three print runs in its first year alone – because Casino Royale was immensely readable. Why? As the manuscript shows, Fleming edited his first draft massively.

We can all learn from his copy-editing process as we strive for best-seller stardom. Here are just a few examples taken from one  passage.

 

1. He replaced ‘flat’ or literary constructions with simple words, short sentences and active verbs.

 

The first draft read:

Bond had had a feeling that this might be the CIA man and his impression was confirmed as they strolled off together towards the bar.

That became:

Bond had had a feeling that this might be the CIA man. He knew he was right as they strolled off together toward the bar.

The changes are small but one long sentence is now broken in half and the second one has acquired a terse verb: ‘He knew he was right.’

 

In this passage, we also read:

Bond was pernickety in all he ate and drank.

Fleming struck out that very British term ‘pernickety’ and wrote:

Bond was always meticulous about what he ate and drank.

 

Even then, Fleming had his eye on a wide readership. The novel had to work on both sides of the Atlantic.

 

2. He split up passages of dialogue to add vitality.

 

In the first draft, Fleming wrote:

“A Dry Martini,” he said. “One in a champagne goblet. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka.”

In his second draft, Fleming inserted an extra line of dialogue.

“A Dry Martini,” he said. “One in a champagne goblet.”

“Oui, monsieur.”

“Just a moment, now listen. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka.”

 

Just seven extra words but the passage has gained vitality. And is there a hint of conflict with the barman? (“Just a moment, now listen.”)

 

3. He simplified the characterization.

 

In the original draft, Fleming had the CIA man introduce himself to Bond with the words:

“My name’s Felix Leiter. Glad to meet you.”

Bond replies: “Mine’s Secretan.”

Fleming had intended to give Bond an assumed name ‘Secretan’ when on covert operations. But he realized this might confuse the reader. So he deleted ‘Secretan’ and inserted ‘Bond’. The rest is history.

 

He ruthlessly cut everything that might distract or confuse the reader – at least, everything that did not have a plot purpose.

 

4. He wrote in the ‘voice’ of his character.

 

Fleming also changed his style to reflect that of his character.

The first draft was written in Fleming’s own ‘voice’ – that of a cerebral university man, educated at Eton and Sandhurst. That wouldn’t do for Bond, a man of action, not words. So the draft was rewritten in plain words, short phrases and loose constructions that made sense quickly.

For example, the sentence (quoted below) in Casino Royale is ungrammatical. As a senior civil servant, Fleming would not have allowed himself to write so badly; but we forgive Bond. Grammar was not among his strengths.

 

He was quite honest to himself about the hypocrisy of his attitude towards her. As a woman, he wanted to sleep with her but only when the job had been done. 

‘As a woman’ is a dangling modifier. Taken literally, it implies that Bond is a woman. Would the average Bond reader notice? Probably not. So Fleming was unconcerned about it.

 

That’s a very simple 4-step process – copy editors know it well – but it offers us all a quick way to improve our work, whatever genre we write in. It’s also a lesson we can study when we’re tempted to play with words and strut our stuff. Fleming hid his cleverness behind a clear plot structure. The language is invisible. Its focus is on telling the story – or rather, letting the story tell itself.

 

It’s interesting to note that Fleming had “meager financial expectations” of the income he might gain from his first novel. He protested when his publisher Jonathan Cape wanted to sell Casino Royale too cheaply. “I am not in favor of reducing the price of the book to 10/6d [less than a dollar]. I think it would be a mistake for your first thriller to seem to be given away.”

But the publisher cut the price. And the Bond phenomenon was born.

That’s another message worth remembering today, when self-publishing authors debate the wisdom of selling an ebook at 99 cents versus, say, $9.99. If a debut novel is good enough to stoke a vast demand, it probably doesn’t matter how low it’s priced. The profit is in the after-market, the follow-on sales.

James Bond went on to feature in 30 subsequent novels, 14 of them written by Fleming himself. The total Bond franchise revenue – from novels, films and merchandise – is now listed as $7,979 million.

 

Did a simple copy-editing process achieve all that? Of course not. But it made a very good start…

Do you find that writing the first draft is hard work but revision is fun? Or the other way round? Is it difficult for you to change your own style to write in the ‘voice’ of your characters? Or do such role switches come naturally to you? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

 

About the author:

Dr John Yeoman, a successful commercial author for 42 years, is a tutor in creative writing at a UK university. A wealth of further ideas for writing fiction that sells can be found in his free 14-part story course here. 

Image: Secret Agent courtesy of Bigstockphoto.com

 

Every time you sit down to write an article, it’s the same story.

You sit there and you can’t really think of what to put in your newsletter.

You really want to say something, but nothing comes out.

 

The longer you sit there, the longer the minutes will tick away.

And before you know it, the phone will be ringing, the distractions will be piling up and you’ll find yourself mindlessly wandering through Facebook or emails.

 

That’s why you need to leave your office.

 

Go down to your local bookstore instead. Get yourself a coffee or a drink first, and now that you’re in a different state of mind, go to the section where you can find books on your topic.

 

Which means that if you write about gardening – well, head to the gardening section.

If your business is graphic design, the graphic design section it is. No matter what your area of expertise, you’ll find a few dozen books on the topic.

 

What do you do next?

 

Open the book to the Contents Page. Here’s what you’ll find. You’ll find a dozen topics, just sitting there for you. And you? You’re already the expert.

So let’s say your newsletter is about ‘gardening’ and you are in the gardening section of the book store.

 

Your eye falls on a book called “Raised Bed Gardening”.

You open the book, swing right to the contents page, and voilà, this is what you find:

Chapter 1: Advantages And Benefits To Using Raised Bed Gardens

Chapter 2: The Proper Placement Of Raised Bed Gardens

Chapter 3: Standard Designs and Preparation For Your Raised Bed Garden

Chapter 4: Plants Suitable For Raised Bed Gardens

Chapter 5: Potential Problems That Are Avoided With Raised Bed Gardens

Chapter 6: Making Your Own Compost

Chapter 7: Best Soil Recommendations For Your Raised Bed Garden

Chapter 8: Strategies for Planting Seeds In Your Raised Bed Garden

Chapter 9: Natural Methods To Resolve Crop Infestation

Chapter 10: Crop Rotation In Gardening

 

Suddenly you have at least ten topics that you know quite a lot about.

Well, get out that pen and paper, or take a picture of the Contents page with your smartphone. And then close the book. Yes, close it, because you have everything you need. Within that Contents page were about ten ideas that you could easily write about—after all, you do know a fair bit about raised bed gardening, don’t you?

 

But you can’t write ten articles just today, so start with one.

Let’s look at the topic that we spotted in Chapter 9, for instance: Natural methods to resolve crop infestation. Now the author of the book would have methods, but hey, you have your own methods as well.

 

And this is the important part…

 

The subscribers on the mailing list — your mailing list — care a hoot about what that author thinks.

But they do care what you think. They care about the way you present your ideas. Remember, they signed up to your list for a reason. So even if you were to write exactly the same ideas as mentioned in the book, they would still want to hear your take on it.

 

Now that you have your topic, make several points about how you’d deal with ‘infestation’.

Talk about the what: What is infestation?

Talk about the why: Why is it such a problem?

Talk about the when: When does it mostly occur?

Talk about the steps: Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, Step 4.

Talk about the mistakes: What mistakes does a home gardener make?

 

And there you have it. Your visit to the book store is super-fruitful.

You got ten topics and just one topic has gotten you all fired up. There are still nine more to go. And you’ve opened just one book.

There are dozens more books, but you can leave those for another day. Finish your coffee and let’s head back to someplace where you can jot down your ideas. Once you’ve done the jotting, only then do you go back to your office to complete your article.

 

But isn’t this plagiarism? Aren’t you just copying and ain’t that nasty?

No, you’re not just copying. That is why you closed the book immediately after you wrote down the topics on the Contents page.

The goal was not to get ‘inspiration’ from what the author wrote. Instead it’s just a way to get you jumpstarted on some topics. Because you sure as heck can write a ton of stuff on any of the topics in the Contents pages of the books on your topic.

The place you were stuck was coming up with the idea itself. If you chose to keep the book open, you might have inadvertently copied the author’s ideas, and that would be bad. Mucho bad!

Instead, all you’re doing is firing up the ideas in your brain and ideas are free. There’s no copyright on ideas.

 

Surely I can do this while sitting in my office—why go to the book store?

 

A big part of writing is getting your brain in the right frame of mind. With all those distractions in your office, it’s hard to think, let alone write. In the book store, your mind is a lot more relaxed.

 

Everyone gets stuck when writing.

Almost everyone continues to sit in their office.

Almost everyone avoids the trip to the local bookstore.

Make the trip. And make it soon.

It sure beats going nuts about writing your next newsletter.

 

Have you used your local book store to find content? Or do you find content ideas in other nooks and crannies? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

 

About the author:

Sean D’Souza is a writer, marketing guru and expert on sales psychology. To read more articles by Sean, and get a very useful free report on “Why Headlines Fail”, go to PsychoTactics.com

Image: Bookstore courtesy of Bigstockphoto.com

Being a writer means living in terror.

I don’t mean the terror of a zombie apocalypse or of circus clowns.

I mean the incessant nagging of self-doubt.

Do you ever ask yourself any of the following:

• Do I really have what it takes?
• What if they reject my proposal?
• What if no one takes my ideas seriously?
• What if I’m just not meant to be a writer?
• When will they discover I’m a fraud?
• Who am I kidding anyway?

Self-doubt can be completely debilitating.

But if you listen to it closely, this type of fear can become a potent tool for revealing your deepest desires and showing you how to attain them.

 

Fear Tells Us What We Need

 

We tend to think of fear as something to avoid, but it often turns out that behind self-doubt hides something we desperately need.

For example, I have numerous fears about writing a novel:  the fear of criticism, not finding enough time to write, finding out I’m not as talented as I like to think I am, etc.  However, beyond all the things that make me hesitate, there is a powerful desire to hold the finished work in my hands, to have my ideas perfectly articulated, and to receive praise from friends and family.

This tension of being drawn toward something and simultaneously repulsed is what creates the visceral discomfort of self-doubt that makes us want to run.

The fact that self-doubt is ultimately rooted in desire is precisely why it’s so hard to ignore – we don’t want to lose sight of something precious! If there is no strong need or desire, there’s no self-doubt either.  For example, I have no fear of getting a pilot’s license – though objectively, flying is more dangerous than novel writing – because I have no desire to learn to fly.

 

Fear Tells Us What It Will Take

 

While self-doubt reminds us of our goals and desires, it also tells us – as nothing and no one else will – the price we must pay to achieve those goals.

When I think about writing a novel, I immediately start imagining the frustration of writer’s block, the sting of rejection slips, and the fight-or-flight terror of one-star reviews on Amazon.

Now, I have a choice.

I can accept these fears as challenges I need to overcome to reach my goal, or I can let them become excuses to put off doing the work that will get me closer to my desires.

If I push on, then my fears have given me the chance to prepare myself mentally before facing the challenges the real world will throw at me.

If I let myself be discouraged instead, then my fear has still served me well – by testing my resolve and keeping me from diving into something I wasn’t sufficiently committed to.

Either way, my fear shows me clearly what I need, how to get it, and makes me choose deliberately, instead of blindly chasing my desires.

 

Fear Helps Us to Grow and Makes Our Achievements Matter

 

I’ve often bemoaned how much more I could accomplish if only I was more courageous.

However, I’ve found, like so many before me, that courage isn’t the absence of fear; it is the decision to proceed in spite of it. As we face our self-doubts and overcome obstacles, our courage begins to grow, allowing us to face bigger challenges. Little by little, we become the kind of person worthy of the goals we’ve set.

Overcoming fear is also part of what makes achieving a goal meaningful.

For example, when I was a child I consistently brought home straight-A report cards.  My parents and teachers always made a fuss, but at the time school was easy for me, so it never felt significant.  No major obstacles meant no self-doubt, but no sense of accomplishment either.

Several years ago I entered a talent show to play the guitar and sing in front of an audience of fifty friends and coworkers.  I was nearly frozen with terror, certain of imminent death by humiliation, but I have never felt as victorious as when I finished my set – not even when I found out at night’s end that I had taken second place.

 

How to Use Fear to Write Better

 

Self-doubt presents us with a choice:  ”Here is something you need, and here’ what’s keeping you from it.  Ignore it and avoid the struggle, or go for it and maybe gain something priceless.  Your call.”

This challenge can liberate us from a life of complacency, and can also help us know ourselves better, but only if we learn to make use our fear, to friends with our fear.

How?

 

Step One:  Acknowledge and name your self-doubts.

Go ahead and write down one of those big fears.

Then break it down into all the smaller fears that it consists of.  For example, if writing and publishing a novel is my big fear, the small fears might be the fear of criticism, being accused of self-promotion, or learning that my ‘profound ideas’ are just clichés distilled from watching too much television.

If you have trouble coming up with your big fears, just try to think of something you’ve always talked about doing, but have never gotten around to.  That’s doubt’s calling card.

 

Step Two: Think about what you really want that’s on the other side of this fear.

Think about the reward you will get when you face and overcome this fear. Write this down in as much detail as possible. Imagine what it will be like to sign copies of your book for fans, to receive your first five-figure royalty check, or to give a reading in front of a thousand people.  Have fun with this step!

 

Step Three: Take the fears you listed in Step One and rewrite them as steps to be taken to reach your goal.

This is how your fear and self-doubt can literally provide you with a roadmap to your goal.  For example, I might reformulate my worry about having my writing criticized as “Find an online critique site where I can practice receiving anonymous criticism.”

This process allows me to change my mindset from “I don’t have what it takes to write a novel!” to “If I follow these steps, someday I’ll hold my story in the palm of my hands”.

 

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

 

It’s almost impossible to make friends with the gut-twisting, visceral experience of fear, but if we wait for fear to go away before acting, we might end up never doing much of anything!

So practice pushing through the physical sensation by first overcoming small fears and then building up.  Visualizing the rewards of going beyond the fear is another way to motivate yourself.

The good news is that even if you try and fail, facing up to your fears is a meaningful accomplishment in and of itself.  If your goal is to get a raise and you make your best appeal to your boss but still get a “no”, you can at least feel better knowing that you tried, and you’ll be that much more confident – and better prepared – the next time around.

When you make friends with fear, you win either way.

 

What are your big fears, and what might they be calling you to do?  Share your answers in the comments below to help others start thinking about how to make the most of their self-doubt!

 

About the author:

Ryan Urie is a freelance writer living in Moscow, Idaho.  Check out his freelancing advice and samples of his creative work at moscowfreelancer.wordpress.com.

Image: Fear courtesy of Bigstockphoto.com

To the uninitiated, writing can seem like a pretty easy gig.

You just spend the day watching television and surfing the web, and when inspiration strikes you saunter over to your computer to dash off a few brilliant paragraphs, send them off to an editor, and you’re done for the day.

This is the life, you sigh as your fix yourself a mojito and sit back to wait for your fan mail and royalty checks.

Living the dream.

Obviously, we know it doesn’t work exactly like that. We know the stress of looming deadlines, the agony of rejection, and the uphill trudge that writing can be on those days when doing what you love just doesn’t feel like that much fun.

And there always those niggling questions in the back of your mind: “Is this good enough? Will any one read it? If they do, will they care? Even if they care, will they pay me for it?”

It can be enough to make you nostalgic about that summer landscaping job you had in high school.

Almost.  ;-)

Now here’s the good news: quite a lot of that anxiety can be lifted by thinking just a little bit like a marketer. You can *know* that the people who read your work will respond to it, get excited about it, and share it with their friends.

Here’s how…

 

Even When You Work for Yourself, You Aren’t Really Working for Yourself

 

Every smart marketer knows that they may be the creative mind behind an operation – but they aren’t working for themselves, they’re working for their client.

The client must be thrilled, entertained and satisfied – but even the client isn’t really the boss. The real boss is the end-user. The person who will see the material and decide to take action.

That client = your editors.

That end-user = your reader.

It can be difficult, after years of training and studying, trying to find your true, most genuine voice, to start having to give more weight to what they want to read instead of what you want to write.

Fortunately you don’t have to deal with this difficulty – if you spend just a little time figuring out who out there is most likely to love what you have to say.

In marketing, we call this finding your ideal customer. In writing, it’s finding your ideal reader. Who is going to be most likely to respond enthusiastically to your voice, and where are they?

If you can get in front of them and build a relationship with them, both you and they will benefit.

 

First Impressions are Formed in Seconds – Don’t Waste Yours

 

Once you’ve identified your ideal reader, and positioned yourself where they can find you – you still have to grab their attention, and you’ve only got a tiny fraction of time to do that.

People tend to skim headlines until they find something that piques their interest, so you’ve got to make sure that your titles, covers, headlines and any advertising you do is riveting.

This can feel like groping in the dark, but remember, you’ve just discovered who your ideal reader is. You know them, what they like and what interests them.

You can leverage your understanding of your ideal reader by putting yourself in their shoes and imagining “what will attract me the most?”

You can also research what they are interested in by checking out the blogs and news sites they read, and looking at which kinds of posts (and which headlines!) are most popular with them.

You’ll have to experiment with different styles, but eventually you’ll find the formula that works for you and reels the readers in.

 

Doing a great job? You’ll probably annoy someone along the way…

 

The best writing is informed by passion, and when you’re passionate about something, the odds are that other people are as well.

However, they aren’t always passionate in the same way you are.

For every person who loves The Walking Dead, there’s another person who despises it. The same is true of pretty much any topic. You see this all the time in marketing – the best advertisements are the ones that cause controversy.

This wasn’t as much of an issue twenty, fifteen, or even ten years ago, when popular response to writing was somewhat more nebulous and hard to pin down. With the advent of the internet and blogs, however, every opinion gets aired, sometimes vociferously.

Someone is going to hate every word you write.

And that’s a good thing.

If you can stir someone up enough that they go out of their way and tell you how awful you are, you can rest assured that you’ve stirred up many more to respond positively. And they will look out for more of your work in the future.

 

Whatever Your Medium, You Can ALWAYS Use More Fans

 

It doesn’t matter if you’re a fiction writer, a movie critic, a current events reporter or anything else – having more fans of your work is a good thing.

The more people you have relationships with, the more people will be eager to read and buy your work.

The more fans you acquire, the more credibility you have with larger organizations like news media, academic institutions and publishers.

Imagine you have just completed a manuscript and want to either have it traditionally published or do it yourself.

If you have a small, lukewarm audience, publishers might not be willing to take a chance on you, and there simply won’t be enough people to make self-publishing worthwhile.

But if you have a massive, raving audience hanging on to your every word, publishers will scramble for you, and you’ll have the freedom to go our own way if you want to.

So whatever your preferred genre or style is, it’s worth stepping outside your box to find more people who will respond to you.

 

But You Can’t Spend All Your Time Searching…

 

It’s easy to say that you need more fans, and another thing entirely to go out and get them.

Which is why you need a plan. A system that will point you in the right direction, and give you the steps you need to do it quickly and efficiently so you can spend more time writing (for more people!).

That’s why I developed the Write Like Freddy training program which is especially geared towards writers who want to leverage their strengths to find and get in front of new audiences – the fast and easy way. ;-)

Which of these lessons do you apply? Or have you successfully applied any other lesson? Share your thoughts in the comments!

 

About the author:

Danny Iny (@DannyIny) is the co-founder of Firepole Marketing, the “Freddy Krueger of Blogging”, and the co-author (with Guy Kawasaki, Brian Clark, and many others) of Engagement from Scratch! (available on Amazon, or as a free download). If you want to learn to “Write Like Freddy”, click here.

Image: Writers learn from marketers courtesy of Bigstockphoto.com