Staying Out of Our Own Way

A simple cold can be a teacher. A reminder of how dumb one can be even though, overall, a smart person. Yes, okay, I'm talking about me. Even when I knew my mind had been hijacked by endless 12-hour cold capsules and dulled by too many gulps of cough syrup, I proceeded to tackle a proposal that had just had multiple revisions. Gee, how did that go? Not well.

The second lesson: own up to your failings and apologize. Make course correction.

The third lesson: get and stay out of the way of Flow and progress, if you aren't contributing to it.

The more glitches that occurred, the harder I worked, chasing my own tail. My medicated mind thought determination and stick-to-it-iveness would get the job done and I would Overcome. But no, it overcame me, and I couldn't think clearly enough to know I had just done a bunch of useless (and bad) work...for days.

Staying out of the way would have been much more helpful.

I have been reminded. I pass it on for what it's worth to each of you authors. If something isn't working, get out of its way. If you have hired other experts to help you, let them do what you hired them to do. And if you're sick, don't try any serious work--just get a coloring book and crayons for a few days.

Laurie
http://www.authorbiz.com/

Photo credit: Clipart 2009

WHEN LEADERS RETREAT

I am currently observing a particular fallout of the economic crisis and publishing tailspin: the dreaded "Keep Your Job" mentality. When this fear takes over, decision makers find it easiest to step back, say no to everything except a guaranteed success. I see it most clearly with editors, since they are the first line soldiers, but it's playing out in Sales, Marketing, and Publicity as well.
This has happened before, of course, whenever there are financial crunches that force layoffs and downsizing. It's a crazy musical chairs for months on end, creating havoc for authors at all stages of publishing.

So who will fight for the author and this book that the author has put heart and soul into, not to mention all the time and sheer effort? The agent will, but the agent can't make the editor take up the challenge to fight for the author if that editor is in "stay under the radar" mode.

In life and in business, it's always easiest to say No. Of course we would never have the breakout book, the underdog win, the brilliant creation or invention, without the visionaries who say Yes and who then put their talent and skill behind it.

If you believe in what you're doing, if you believe the world needs to read this particular book, then whether you are the author, the agent, or the editor, consider what you can accomplish if you say YES; if you take risks that you believe in. If all editors and publishers are going to do is stay with what they know, stay safe, not think, not step up to make something happen for a book that should be published, then traditional book publishers are already dead and authors may as well form their own new models. Authors won't stop writing, they'll just stop talking to publishers.

If we all want to be in this business, then we have to get off the bench to keep the business viable. It's up to every one of us, every day.

Laurie
www.authorbiz.com
Photo credit: (c)2009 L Harper