Encore presentation: WRITERLY WISDOM

 

***I have a number of writing deadlines coming up over the next couple of months so I have decided instead of stepping away from my blog completely to concentrate solely on my writing, I will bring back an encore performance of my WRITERLY WISDOM series from three years ago. WW is 52 glorious posts by authors, agents, and editors from around the country providing writerly wisdom in categories from why even become a writer all the way to how to publish and market your books.
 

There will be two posts loaded per week...Mondays & Wednesdays...so be sure to stop by and check out all the encouraging information given by my lovely writerly friends! I hope you enjoy the encore presentation of my WRITERLY WISDOM series and I will return with shiny, new posts in the fall!***

Warrior Writer: Business Plans & Stretchy Pants—One Size DOES NOT Fit All 

by Kristen Lamb

Too often a writer is left to sink or swim on her own, relying on tenacity, trial and error, or plain damn luck in order to enjoy the fruits of her hard work and sacrifice. There has to be a better way, right?

There is, but before we get to that, let us take a tour of other common writer business models…

How many of you out there think that buying lottery tickets is a good investment portfolio for your retirement? Maybe diversify with some scratch-offs? Bingo anyone? And I know you laugh, but too many of us approach the publishing industry with roughly the same mentality…which brings us to our first writer business model.

The Instant Blind Luck Fame Plan

We just KNOW our idea has never been done before, so why write other books when THIS ONE is going to be the key to our success? And our book is really meant to be part of a series anyway. Oh, and we don’t want to give away the ending, because, well, the real ending is in Book Fourteen of this long and lucrative series we have mapped out in our mind. We can’t tell you who the antagonist is until Book Three, because this villain is the villain behind the villain behind the villain—and there is the merchandising to consider.

Most of us made excellent grades in English, so we don’t bother going to the craft workshops at conferences. We are there to pitch to an agent. We just need an agent. Why? Because with this one manuscript, we just know we will be instantly catapulted into a life of fame and fortune. We have endless enthusiasm, and are known for our daring. Speaking of which…did you hear about that guy who sent his query letter in a pizza box? Genius!

The Spaghetti Noodle Plan

Some of us are more realistic in our approach to publishing. We aren’t fools. We know there are instant successes, but they are few and far between. We know it will take years of hard work and sacrifice to get to the top…but we still don’t have a real business plan. Why spoil all the creativity? We became writers so we could delete Excel and free up some space on our hard drive, right?

We have a nice Social Media Network. We are on Facebook and Myspace and Twitter…oh, but our sites are either 1) a collage of family photos or 2) are locked down tighter than Fort Knox as Private. You have to know the secret handshake to see our pages. Self-promotion is so gauche. Twitter is about happy inspirational quotes. Facebook is a good way to keep up with high school pals, and MySpace a neat place to post cute pictures of our kids and dogs.

And we are a gentle, polite sort who would never dream of sliding our query letter under the stall to an agent trying to pee. We go to all the craft workshops, attend writers’ groups religiously, and write and write and write. We don’t like business plans, because they cramp our free spirits. We know, deep inside, that “Persistence prevails when all else fails.” We don’t know who said that. We saw it on a Successories poster at the office of our real job, so we posted it for all our writer friends on Twitter. We are hard workers and know if we toss enough noodles (manuscripts) against the wall, eventually one will stick.

And, lastly there is the…

Bug the Crap out of People Long Enough and They Will Buy It Plan.

This plan is frequently a course taken by the overzealous non-fiction writer. Often we were salespeople or marketers in a former life. Most of us figure, “Heck, if I can sell a million dollars worth of software, rubber dog poo, whatever, books will be EASY!” We are charming and confident, great at advertising and promoting…but learning how to actually write? We’ll get to it later once we hit the NY Times Best-Seller List.

Adherents of this plan are easy to spot. The back of our cars tend to ride a little low due to the added weight of boxes of books in the trunk. Many of us are very tech-savvy and can tell you all about how to print CD labels for your e-books while simultaneously giving you the skinny on the latest PayPal applications for your iPhone. And while most people are content to fritter their lives away, we eager beavers Twitter ours away with endless self-promotion.

Some people call it a family reunion, a wedding or a funeral. Not us. We call those chances to market and sell lots of books. We figure that if we hit enough Lions Club meetings, Bar-Mitzvahs, and flea markets that Random House will come knocking with that million dollar book deal.

If only Oprah would return our call.

Okay, so this is a bit of a parody, but you have to admit one of those made you laugh because it hit home with some of your own thinking. I think I saw a little of myself in all three  .

What makes the Warrior Writer approach so radically different is that, when it comes to a business plan? To be good, it must be as unique as the individual. Personality has to be the primary consideration.

Warrior Writer focuses on the author. Why? Because everything stems from us—the product (book), the marketing, the business savvy, etc. That is why Bob’s first question is WHO? We have to understand who we are before anything else.

Each of us are going to gravitate to a different genre, topic, style of writing because of who we are. The same goes for how we will approach (or not approach) the business side of publishing.

While we all had a good laugh at the poor souls above, all three of those types of writers had notable strengths. The first group? Enthusiasm and confidence. These authors laugh in the face of adversity. They aren’t afraid of anything, and that is a tremendous asset. The second group? Persistence and hard work. Talent will only take one so far. We have to be willing to do the work and never give up. The third group? They understand writing is a business, and they are passionate and willing to work harder and longer than their competition.

This is the key to being a Warrior Writer. We all have weaknesses and blind spots. But the good news is we also have talents and strengths. Face it. We aren’t going to win a marathon wearing One Size Fits All shoes. Why would we expect to achieve our greatest writing goals with a One Size Fits All business model? Until now, many of us have been relegated to piecing together a patchwork business plan from on-line articles and inspirational stories mixed with snippets from “Marketing for Dummies”—that is, if we bothered to make a plan at all.

Editors and agents, being overworked and spread far too thinly just aren’t going to sit down and help us formulate our strategy for success. Meanwhile, the publishing industry remains content to play the odds. The question is, are we content to remain playing the numbers as well? Warrior Writer is a holistic understanding that incorporates all of who we are for maximum advantage that is tailored to fit. Bob teaches us not only about the industry (no sending queries in a pizza box), but more importantly, he helps us learn about ourselves. This translates into better writing, a better writer, and better business. So while we are waiting on Leno’s people to get back with us, we can learn how to tackle the publishing industry in true warrior fashion.

(At the time Kristen wrote this wonderful post back in 2009, NY Bestselling author Bob Mayer offered writer workshops like the Warrior Writer one.  Now you can go to www.bobmayer.org for more on his often sold out  Write On The River Retreats. Who knew such a wonderful writing resource lived in my own town? )

Kristen Lamb is the author of the #1 best-selling books "We Are Not Alone--The Writer's Guide to Social Media" & "Are You There, Blog? It's Me, Writer." She is the CEO of WANA International, a company dedicated to empowering artist of the Digital Age. She's also the creator of WANATribe, the social networking site for creative professionals. 

You can find Kristen at her website (http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com)

AUTHOR KRISTEN LAMB: Seven Tips For True Grit

I decided this week to turn my blog over to an author I have a lot of respect and admiration for. I am honored to be able to call her my friend and she has given me permission to share one of her blog posts. Here is writerly wisdom from Kristen Lamb. Enjoy!

Do You Have TRUE GRIT? If Not, 7 Ways To Get It

Posted by Author Kristen Lamb in Success on December 9, 2015

In my tenure in this profession it is sad how many truly talented writers I’ve seen who never made it. The reason? Talent is useless without mental toughness. It takes true grit to make it in this business.

Too many writers are simply not going to make it because they don’t have the sticking power. And while this is an easy observation to make, I am here to do more than point out the obvious. I’m here to give some practical ways to improve psychological toughness, get better at being disciplined, and eat goals and deadlines for breakfast (they have ZERO calories, btw).

Relax and enjoy the holidays. Refueling is vital. Bookmark this. Let it soak in and then be ready to act come January 1st. These tips work for anything you want to accomplish, btw.

So…

Seven Tips for True Grit

One…Set Goals

No really and don’t roll your eyes at me :P . Set them. I know you hear this all the time but it’s true. Write them down and make them real. How can you map a course if you don’t know were you are going?

When I was in sales we had a saying, Fail to plan. Plan to fail.

If you have a goal to eventually replace that day job with being a full-time writer? Write it down and then plan your escape. Studies have shown that we’re far more likely to reach goals once we have written them down and that isn’t shocking.

To write them down we have to name them, claim them and define them. We take them out of the “nebulous gray.” It is far easier to reach for concrete benchmarks than existentialism.

Two…Forget Realistic—Realistic is For Wimps

Most of us underestimate what we can accomplish. When you write your goal, rewrite it just a little bigger. What’s the worse that can happen? You accomplish more than you thought you could?

Years ago I did this. I wrote down, In 2011 I am going to get an agent. Then I crossed it out and wrote In 2011 I am going to sign with one of the best agents in NYC.

See, we never know what is going to happen or what chain of events might open what door. In early 2011, I wrote a little book called Are You There, Blog? It’s Me Writer. I was still an unknown and this was also during the days that most people were unconvinced social media was fundamental shift in global civilization we all NOW know it to be.

When I wrote the book, I needed blurbs, so I made up a Hail Mary List. These were authors who I loved, who were SO BIG I doubted my e-mail would ever even get through.

On that Hail Mary List was NYTBSA James Rollins. Not only did I get through, he’d actually read  my first book We Are Not Alone—The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and was MY FAN *falls over dead*. He asked if it would be okay of he sent my book to HIS agent…who later that year signed me (who happened to be one of THE biggest agents in NYC). I not only got a blurb and a friend, I got an agent.

What if I’d limited my goal?

Three…Visualize Process NOT Fantasy

A critical mistake I made when I first decided to become a writer was I spent far too much time “visualizing” the success. In my head I dreamed of sales, wealth, book tours and being able to travel the world to research and people lined out the door to meet me and seeing stacks of displays of my books.

Nothing per se wrong with that but just that is fantasy and can be unhealthy.

To reach any big dream, we must fall in love with the process. 

I am up almost every morning at 4:15 a.m. That seriously sucked in the beginning. I had to learn to fall in love with it. Blogging? SUCKED for the first 2 years. It was so hard week after week, month after month writing thousands of words to entertain CheapXanaxANDYoungCoeds.com.

But I knew I was honing my skills. I was learning to write leaner, meaner, faster and cleaner. I was training myself to eat deadlines for breakfast. I was training out my perfectionism that held onto things instead of shipping. I was opening myself to public criticism, gaining fans, feedback and thicker skin.

Through a lot of really humbling lessons, I had to fall in love with all of it, not just the fantasy of what “one day” might be. Writers’ groups are all filled with people who never have pages to read, who never finish what they start. They don’t blog, don’t build a platform, but all have dreams that HBO will be replacing Game of Thrones with their series.

Nothing wrong with that goal, btw. Just don’t leave it at that. Do the WORK.

Four…To the Pain—Set Accountability 

In the New Year we all have goals. Maybe you want to finish the novel by a certain day or query by a certain day or publish by a certain day. I love pleasure but pain is good for the soul. Put some stakes on it. Go purchase something you really want. Preferably something a close friend (ideally a mean friend) also wants.

Maybe it is a $50 gift card. Maybe a new gaming system, spa package, or 90 minute massage. Whatever.

Put it in the pot and then, if you make your goal by the date it’s yours, if not? It goes to your accountability partner. Yes, rewards and treats are all fabulous but they are a tad too easy.

Often we are far more motivated when it will cost us something. The more it costs us, the more motivated we are to accomplish said goal.

So if a loved one gives you a fat gift card for Christmas, maybe throw that in the Goal Pot and take a gamble for a greater ROI. Use that $100 Amazon card for cool stuff you want to reward yourself with, but also as fuel to finish all revisions by February 15th ;) .

Five…Ditch Negative People, Whiners & Complainers

Seriously. You wouldn’t let someone bring their dog in your house and let it crap on your floor, would you? Yes, if someone brings a pet over and once in a while there is an oops? OKAY. But that is very different than someone bringing over their dog and using your living room as a kennel floor.

So why let people crap non-stop in your head? Sorry for the gross image but that’s what that is. Whining and complaining do nothing but increase stress levels which shrinks the size of the hippocampus leading to us being progressively more stupid.

Yes, science has proven that hanging out with whiners makes us stupid.

Everyone has a bad day and that isn’t what I’m talking about. Give them 60 seconds and then enough. Start talking about solutions. People who are chronically negative or addicted to whining? Bye.

I’ve learned to determine the ASKHOLES in my life and get rid of them. You know what an askhole is? That is a person who is always in a crisis, who always needs advice and after they have derailed your life and gotten your advice? Does whatever the hell stupid thing they are going to do anyway…often leading to the next crisis that you WARNED them would happen.

Turn them loose.

Six…Surround Yourself With Accountability & Excellence

We are who we hang around. Character is contagious. When I was new as a writer I didn’t understand how important this was. I thought I could fight the inertia of mediocrity with sheer willpower. I also thought that if I was part of a group of people who said they wanted to be writers, well then they wanted to be writers. Right?

No.

Actions speak louder than words.

Writers write. Not all critique groups and writing groups are good for you. If you want to join a writing group, look to how many people in the group are published, multi-published, awarded, writing full-time, blogging, etc. If it’s just a bunch of people who meet and have coffee and talk about writing? Your time is better spent at home writing. Hanging out with that garbage is like hanging around radioactive material and thinking you are fine.

NO.

Negativity and mediocrity are invisible particles that punch your will and your dreams full of tiny holes until they collapse and die. Yes, you can try to ward it off and buffer from it but the best course of action? Stop growing strawberries writing dreams at Chernobyl crappy writing groups.

One of the things I’ve worked hard to do is to make myself available on W.A.N.A.Tribe. Back in November during Nanowrimo I introduced writing sprints in the Main Room IM field.

I rallied everyone at 8:45 a.m. CST and we did as many as 5 sprints. 30 minutes per sprint. Write as much as you could. Report back the numbers. Then we took a break and came back at 3:30 p.m. CST and did more sprints.

Everyone who participated finished Nano. I finished in 16 days WITH the flu while blogging.

Once Nano ended, I changed the plan. We now still meet every morning at 8:45 a.m. CST and we do what I call Blackouts. 40 minutes to do as much work as you can then report back to the group what you accomplished.

Writers now get to see MY operational tempo, since I’m almost always leading the team. We do as many as five Blackouts before lunchtime. Then, we rally back at 3:30 after I get Spawn for more Blackouts. I generally do about 3 more.

Writers get to see what I accomplish in that 40 minute block. What is my word count? How much did I get edited? How many Blackout sessions did it take to get my blog written and posted?

This doesn’t mean people need to copy me, but I tell you, it helped me TREMENDOUSLY when social media peeled back the curtain and I started seeing how authors I admired worked and got so much accomplished.

Also, this current system offers accountability and makes all of us push harder. There is a level of healthy competition and since we are a TEAM, it is far harder for me to say, “Eh, I think I will take today off.”

Seven…Up Your Operational Tempo

Believe it or not, I am not the strongest member of my team, merely the best looking #ITSACURSE. There are writers on our Blackout Team who blow ME away. Always look to surround yourself with people stronger than yourself and don’t buy your own excuses.

Get comfortable being uncomfortable.

You may not be able to do this on your own. You may lack the discipline so come over to W.A.N.A.Tribe and join out Blackouts. Sometimes, you need guidance from a pro. Take one of the classes listed below. Or, feel free to e-mail me at kristen at wana intl dot com. I do consulting for social media, blogging and branding, but I also can help with your books. Instead of wasting another year revising or rewriting, a small investment in time with me might save you months or years of work.

This job is never easy, but it is always AWESOME.

What are your thoughts? Do you see some suggestions here that might improve your odds of reaching your goals? Do you try to go it alone too much? Do you give negative people too much permission to crap in your life? Do you think you might go a tad too easy on yourself? I hope to see y’all over at W.A.N.A. Tribe! No excuses this year that you have no system of support :P .

 

About Kristen Lamb:

Kristen Lamb is the #1best selling author of "Rise of the Machines--Human Authors in a Digital World", "We Are Not Alone--The Writer's Guide to Social Media" & "Are You There, Blog? It's Me, Writer." She's the founder of W.A.N.A. International, a company dedicated to training authors of the Digital Age. She's a contributing blogger for Huffington Post and was named among Writer's Digest's Top 100 Best Websites for Writers.

Homepage: http://en.gravatar.com/warriorwriters

WRITERLY WISDOM: Kristen Lamb

It's time once again for  WRITERLY WISDOM where every Wednesday we will sneak a peek into the world of writing and publication.  I might not live close to writer conferences but there IS someone in my neighborhood I never realized was here until I read the following post from author and super-charged blogger Kristen Lamb...

Warrior Writer: Business Plans & Stretchy Pants—One Size DOES NOT Fit All 

by Kristen Lamb

Too often a writer is left to sink or swim on her own, relying on tenacity, trial and error, or plain damn luck in order to enjoy the fruits of her hard work and sacrifice. There has to be a better way, right?

There is, but before we get to that, let us take a tour of other common writer business models…

How many of you out there think that buying lottery tickets is a good investment portfolio for your retirement? Maybe diversify with some scratch-offs? Bingo anyone? And I know you laugh, but too many of us approach the publishing industry with roughly the same mentality…which brings us to our first writer business model.

The Instant Blind Luck Fame Plan

We just KNOW our idea has never been done before, so why write other books when THIS ONE is going to be the key to our success? And our book is really meant to be part of a series anyway. Oh, and we don’t want to give away the ending, because, well, the real ending is in Book Fourteen of this long and lucrative series we have mapped out in our mind. We can’t tell you who the antagonist is until Book Three, because this villain is the villain behind the villain behind the villain—and there is the merchandising to consider.

Most of us made excellent grades in English, so we don’t bother going to the craft workshops at conferences. We are there to pitch to an agent. We just need an agent. Why? Because with this one manuscript, we just know we will be instantly catapulted into a life of fame and fortune. We have endless enthusiasm, and are known for our daring. Speaking of which…did you hear about that guy who sent his query letter in a pizza box? Genius!

The Spaghetti Noodle Plan

Some of us are more realistic in our approach to publishing. We aren’t fools. We know there are instant successes, but they are few and far between. We know it will take years of hard work and sacrifice to get to the top…but we still don’t have a real business plan. Why spoil all the creativity? We became writers so we could delete Excel and free up some space on our hard drive, right?

We have a nice Social Media Network. We are on Facebook and Myspace and Twitter…oh, but our sites are either 1) a collage of family photos or 2) are locked down tighter than Fort Knox as Private. You have to know the secret handshake to see our pages. Self-promotion is so gauche. Twitter is about happy inspirational quotes. Facebook is a good way to keep up with high school pals, and MySpace a neat place to post cute pictures of our kids and dogs.

And we are a gentle, polite sort who would never dream of sliding our query letter under the stall to an agent trying to pee. We go to all the craft workshops, attend writers’ groups religiously, and write and write and write. We don’t like business plans, because they cramp our free spirits. We know, deep inside, that “Persistence prevails when all else fails.” We don’t know who said that. We saw it on a Successories poster at the office of our real job, so we posted it for all our writer friends on Twitter. We are hard workers and know if we toss enough noodles (manuscripts) against the wall, eventually one will stick.

And, lastly there is the…

Bug the Crap out of People Long Enough and They Will Buy It Plan.

This plan is frequently a course taken by the overzealous non-fiction writer. Often we were salespeople or marketers in a former life. Most of us figure, “Heck, if I can sell a million dollars worth of software, rubber dog poo, whatever, books will be EASY!” We are charming and confident, great at advertising and promoting…but learning how to actually write? We’ll get to it later once we hit the NY Times Best-Seller List.

Adherents of this plan are easy to spot. The back of our cars tend to ride a little low due to the added weight of boxes of books in the trunk. Many of us are very tech-savvy and can tell you all about how to print CD labels for your e-books while simultaneously giving you the skinny on the latest PayPal applications for your iPhone. And while most people are content to fritter their lives away, we eager beavers Twitter ours away with endless self-promotion.

Some people call it a family reunion, a wedding or a funeral. Not us. We call those chances to market and sell lots of books. We figure that if we hit enough Lions Club meetings, Bar-Mitzvahs, and flea markets that Random House will come knocking with that million dollar book deal.

If only Oprah would return our call.

Okay, so this is a bit of a parody, but you have to admit one of those made you laugh because it hit home with some of your own thinking. I think I saw a little of myself in all three  .

What makes the Warrior Writer approach so radically different is that, when it comes to a business plan? To be good, it must be as unique as the individual. Personality has to be the primary consideration.

Warrior Writer focuses on the author. Why? Because everything stems from us—the product (book), the marketing, the business savvy, etc. That is why Bob’s first question is WHO? We have to understand who we are before anything else.

Each of us are going to gravitate to a different genre, topic, style of writing because of who we are. The same goes for how we will approach (or not approach) the business side of publishing.

While we all had a good laugh at the poor souls above, all three of those types of writers had notable strengths. The first group? Enthusiasm and confidence. These authors laugh in the face of adversity. They aren’t afraid of anything, and that is a tremendous asset. The second group? Persistence and hard work. Talent will only take one so far. We have to be willing to do the work and never give up. The third group? They understand writing is a business, and they are passionate and willing to work harder and longer than their competition.

This is the key to being a Warrior Writer. We all have weaknesses and blind spots. But the good news is we also have talents and strengths. Face it. We aren’t going to win a marathon wearing One Size Fits All shoes. Why would we expect to achieve our greatest writing goals with a One Size Fits All business model? Until now, many of us have been relegated to piecing together a patchwork business plan from on-line articles and inspirational stories mixed with snippets from “Marketing for Dummies”—that is, if we bothered to make a plan at all.

Editors and agents, being overworked and spread far too thinly just aren’t going to sit down and help us formulate our strategy for success. Meanwhile, the publishing industry remains content to play the odds. The question is, are we content to remain playing the numbers as well? Warrior Writer is a holistic understanding that incorporates all of who we are for maximum advantage that is tailored to fit. Bob teaches us not only about the industry (no sending queries in a pizza box), but more importantly, he helps us learn about ourselves. This translates into better writing, a better writer, and better business. So while we are waiting on Leno’s people to get back with us, we can learn how to tackle the publishing industry in true warrior fashion.

(At the time Kristen wrote this wonderful post back in 2009, NY Bestselling author Bob Mayer offered writer workshops like the Warrior Writer one.  Now you can go to www.bobmayer.org for more on his often sold out  Write On The River Retreats. Who knew such a wonderful writing resource lived in my own town? )

Kristen Lamb is the author of the #1 best-selling books "We Are Not Alone--The Writer's Guide to Social Media" & "Are You There, Blog? It's Me, Writer." She is the CEO of WANA International, a company dedicated to empowering artist of the Digital Age. She's also the creator of WANATribe, the social networking site for creative professionals. 

You can find Kristen at her website (http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com)

WRITERLY WISDOM: Kristen Lamb

(Dreamstime Free Stock Photos)

It's time once again for WRITERLY WISDOM where every Wednesday we sneak a peek into the world of writing and publication.  I have followed a lot of blogs over the past three years and enjoyed many a post.  But there are some blogs that command attention and the post so compelling that I can almost say I live for the daily connection with certain blog authors.  Kristen Lamb is that type of writer for me.  She seems like the girl next door but with the wisdom of the ages flowing from her fingertips onto the computer screen in daily posts for her HUGE fan following (22,000 and counting).  You can connect with Kristen via her blog (http://www.warriorwriters.wordpress.com), or through her MyWANA group (http://www.warriorswriters.wordpress.com/join-the-love-revolution-mywana).  Take it away Kristen...

Non-Fiction: The Road To Becoming An Expert

by Kristen Lamb

The lion’s share of beginning writers definitely lean to wanting to write novels, but there are other kinds of writers out there, and they need some attention too.

Today we are going to talk a bit about the realm of non-fiction. What are the advantages of writing non-fiction? How do you become an expert?

If you want to have a career as a writer and make money writing, I gotta say that non-fiction is an easier path. Note I wrote “easier” not “easy.” Nothing about being a writer is easy, which is why you will never make it if you don’t LOVE writing with every fiber of your being.

After almost ten years in this business, I believe I have earned enough experience points to say that writing non-fiction has a number of advantages. For those of you who follow this blog regularly, but happen to be born-fiction people, read on. Non-fiction holds some advantages for all writers.

1. It’s easier to get an agent/published in non-fiction.

I can hear the groans and boos, but it is true. Non-fiction isn’t subjective like fiction is. It is easier to fill tangible needs, target an audience, gain a following and build a platform. Face it. If you have a blog about how eating nothing but Spam and mangos helped you lose 50 pounds in three months–the Spamango Diet–and you can add a list of testimonials and show how ten thousand people a week click on your Spamango Blog…it’s going to be a pretty easy sell (and generate contraversy to boot).

Tosca Reno was a 200 pound, depressed, unhealthy housewife who became a competitive fitness athlete after the age of 40. Tosca busted all the misconceptions of women and age. She took her experience and wrote a weekly column in Oxygen Magazine and then later wrote a book. Her Eat Clean Diet is a popular phenomenon.

Your Inner NF Author

Are you a whiz at balancing your checkbook and saving every penny? Possess superior organizational skills? Are you a Toddler Whisperer who can calm even the most hot-tempered three-year-old? Then you may have the makings of a non-fiction platform.

2. NF does well being self-published.

Say you have a knack for matchmaking. You are the go-to gal for those who want to be set up on a great date. All your single friends rely on you for the best love advice. In fact, a number of the friends you’ve set up on dates have even gotten married, all because of you.

You have a popular blog and do regular community TV interviews, radio interviews and talks at local Rotary clubs teaching others your unique insight into romance. You decide to write a book with all the best tools and tactics for successful dating. Do you have to land an agent or get a publishing deal? In my opinion, no. Not right away.

If you have built a platform, then you can likely move a decent amount of copies on your own. Sell your own books for six months or a year and then add it to your agent pitch. Now you are able to show that your self-published NF has a market.

Nontraditional publishing works really well for areas that are a tad gray. For instance, back in the day when I was pitching agents about a social media book, I consistently got the same answer. “Kristen, this is the book everyone wants and needs, but no one wants to be first.” Every agent knew that a social media book was needed, but none of them could wrap their minds around how to write one that would have any kind of longevity. Social media simply changed too quickly and traditional publishing is…slooooow.

They recommended that I self-publish the book first. I didn’t self-publish. I happened to go with a new non-traditional publisher Who Dares Wins Publishing, and that has been an excellent decision. My book has been tremendously successful and has a growing worldwide fan base.

What advantages did I gain?

Now it is far easier for me to show a larger publisher that I am worth their time and money for future books. Also, because I had already finished a book, it was very easy to get an agent. I had a product and a platform. Gina knew I had the stick-to-it to finish, and not only finish, but have an excellent product. Also, the first book has given me scores of testimonials from people who applied my methods. That gives statistical proof that my methods do work. I am no longer a theoretical success, I am a proven commodity.

3. NF naturally lends itself to other endeavors that generate income.

Being a NF author can open doors of additional revenue aside from the book. Can fiction authors do this? Sure, but NF lends itself better to paid workshops, speaking engagements, television, conferences, etc. NF authors are much more likely to be interviewed on big shows like Ellen, The View, or The O’Reilly Factor. These appearances sell a lot of books. Yes, sometimes fiction authors will make appearances, but they are small in proportion to the NF experts.

Fiction can eventually pay money, but think of that as your long-term investment. It takes years to write the book, get the agent, get the book on the shelves, and then almost an additional year to receive a check. It’s gonna be a loooong time before you get paid.

What do you do in the meantime? How can you be viewed as a legitimate writer? Heck, how can you pay some bills? Non-fiction is a great option. Whether you are writing articles, paid blogs, reviews or even web content, that practical side of your brain can help you make ends meet.

Great, Kristen. But who would listen to me?

As you can see, there are a number of advantages to writing non-fiction. The pickle with non-fiction, however, is getting people to care about what we have to say. Hey, everyone has an opinion. Why should we pay attention to yours?

How do we become an expert?

Get a Piece of Paper

This is probably a “no duh,” but those individuals who grace the halls of academia long enough to get extra letters added to their names already have an advantage. If a pediatric neurologist decides to write a book about autism, it is likely readers will trust what she has to say.

Do we have to have to have an advanced degree for people to take us seriously? No.

Experience

Do you have something in your background that makes you uniquely qualified to talk on a certain subject? Above we talked about the neurologist who writes about autism, but what about the mother of an autistic child? Isn’t she also an expert? Yes! She is just an expert of a different sort.

This is mainly how I became a social media expert. First, it was because I spent far too much time on social media  . I also happened to be one of the early people who saw what social media could do for authors. I find it funny that four years ago I was asking agents what they thought of social media for writers, and they looked at me like I had sprouted another head. Now many of these agents won’t take on a new author unless she can demonstrate a viable social media platform.

So how did I become an expert? I tried and tested every method the other “experts” of the time happened to be touting. What worked? What went BOOM!? I am infinitely grateful for the DFW Writers Conference and Bob Mayer for being my early guinea pigs. I didn’t get paid, but they gave me free reign to try different stuff, and that freedom was invaluable.

We Are Not Alone–The Writer’s Guide to Social Media was birthed out of those years of trying different things, failing, then trying again. I always joke that the title of the book should have been I Made All the Dumb Mistakes So You Don’t Have To. In short? I became an expert based on my experience.

About Kristen Lamb

Kristen Lamb is the author of the best-selling books We Are Not Alone—The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me, Writer and is represented by Russel Galen of Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary, Inc. in NYC.

Kristen worked in international sales before transitioning into a career as an author, freelance editor and speaker. She takes her years of experience in sales & promotion and merges it with almost a decade as a writer to create a program designed to help authors construct a platform in the new paradigm of publishing. Kristen has guided writers of all levels, from unpublished green peas to NY Times best-selling big fish, how to use social media to create a solid platform and brand. Most importantly, Kristen helps authors of all levels connect to their READERS and then maintain a relationship that grows into a long-term fan base.