"" Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog: September 2017

Thursday, September 21, 2017

5 New Realities Authors Don’t Want to Hear



Recently there have been articles in the media about the plight of the publishing industry and the state of play for authors in particular.

Here's a roundup of what these reports are saying. 
I believe you should take note, even if you don't want to be reminded of the new realities of writing books for a living!


1. Traditional Publishers Finally Reveal the Facts

The truth is that when you're signed to a traditional publisher, there's no guarantee you'll make enough money to live on.

Less than one in a thousand authors with traditional publishing deals make over $100K per annum. In fact, 99% of published authors make less than $2000 a year.

Writers have long believed the myth that 'getting published' is the answer to their goals. The reality is different.

Even with all the “advantages” of distribution to retailers worldwide, third-party promotion, and the “kudos” of being signed to a publishing house, the vast majority of traditionally published writers will NEVER make enough in royalties to quit their day jobs.

Plus, The Big Five only publish a fraction of the books pitched to them by their in-house authors. So it's more than possible to get a publishing deal and then STILL not be able to release your books to the public!


2. The Net Has Come of Age

According to a recent survey of over 9000 writers, you're more likely to be making a living writing if you self-publish your work online.

The figures don't lie. Online authors who self-publish make, on average five to ten times the royalties per book than your average 'published' author.

Selling books online may be hard - but actually, no harder than it is for a publisher to sell books in shops. But, when you self-publish, you reap the rewards and don't have to give away up to 90% of your hard-earned royalties.


3. It's All in the Definition

Many people call themselves writers - but are probably not.

By government and welfare agency definitions, you can't be a writer unless you have a qualification of some sort, which is absurd.

But for the purposes of statistical analysis, the following is a useful definition: 
"An author is a person engaged in writing commercial fiction or nonfiction AND who is actively working on a manuscript intended for publication soon."

Is this you? Or is this just what you aspire to do? Chances are, if the above definition does not describe exactly what you're doing RIGHT NOW, you shouldn't class yourself as a writer.


4. Amazon Rocks

The average successful author on Amazon Kindle makes up to ten times more money than the average author with a publishing deal.

Now that's a real eye-opener which completely flies in the face of those authors who consider self-publishing to be a cop-out - or not a definitive sign of success.
The truth is different. Having a traditional publishing deal now means you probably don’t write books worthy of self-publication.


5. Keep Dreaming

What's clear is that becoming a traditionally published author and then expecting this archaic route to somehow facilitate writing success is a dream. It just doesn't square with reality.

These days, having a book on the shelf of a bookstore doesn't carry weight in your pursuit of success - or even help you get by as a writer.

Simply put, the odds are completely stacked against you UNLESS you self-publish.

This is what most new authors don't want to hear!

But why?

You would think that authors would love to sell books - and the way to do that, clearly, is to sell them yourself online.

Think about it.

If you can't sell your own books, then you're not going to appeal to a traditional publisher.
And even if you do all the right things to impress a publisher and one signs you, you're still most likely going to end up with the 99% of published authors who make less than $2000 a year!

If you’ve been paying attention, you'll have noticed a trend.

Publishers have been clamoring to sign bestselling Kindle authors.
The reason is obvious. Successful Kindle authors write books that sell - which is the ONLY thing publishers want.

Clearly, the best way to get a publishing deal is to write commercial books and PROVE they're commercial by selling them YOURSELF through Amazon and Kindle.

But you need to change your thinking about this because, the fact is, if you believe you're not ready to self-publish, then you're definitely not ready to send a manuscript to an agent or publisher!

You should be absolutely convinced you've written a huge bestseller before you consider offering it to a publisher.

But, if you think you have written a bestseller, what better way to prove it than by self-publishing?

Too many writers send their MSS to publishers because they're really not good enough to self-publish.

There, I've said it.

That's the new reality most writers don't want to accept.

Anyone can send in manuscripts to publishers and agents with some vague hope they may get signed and then get famous.

But publishers only want authors who sell lots of books!

Listen up.

In this digital age, self-publishing is key to a writer's success.

Independent authors are far more likely to kick their day jobs than their snobby friends with traditional publishing deals will ever be!

Are you hearing me now?

Keep Writing!

Thursday, September 14, 2017

The 4 Phases of Wisdom



Achieving what you want is made possible - or impossible - depending on what you know, what you think you know - and where you are on your path toward success.

What follows is a guide to identifying where you are on the 'wisdom cycle' that defines your relationship with your current goal.

Knowing exactly where you stand will often help you!

1. Genesis & Generation

This is where you first get the idea. It's fresh. It's inspired. It's all perfectly possible.

Hold fast to this moment. Enjoy the feeling because this sensation rarely comes back with such intensity.

It's the time when a novel – or any big project - seems more than doable. So easy, in fact, your outcome feels like it already exists! It's the time when, despite all outward appearances or reality, absolutely anything is possible.

Use this first phase to dream - and dream big. See yourself in the position of power and success that your inspiration has brought you.

Generate the dream - live the reality for a while. Visualize your dream as real. Make it vivid, colorful and solid before the feeling fades. The stronger the image at this point the more forceful the motivation that follows.

2. Objectify & Organize


Now that you know what you want, you must gather all the facts on how you're going to achieve your goal.

Don't overwhelm yourself. Don't be too selective, or get too specific and detail obsessed. You need to understand how everything works before you drill down.

Read up on the subject in a non-critical way. Study the environment, liaise with its members and proponents. You don't want to know all the pros and cons yet - that's for later.

At this stage, you want the broad strokes. You want the overview.

After all, when you're sure that anything's possible, you don't want to be put off. Use this study period to place your goal into the context of reality. Your reality.

At this stage, you should still be enthused by your dream - beginning to see your vision coming into existence.

It's the fun part - where inspiration meets intention.

3. Assimilate & Activate

Now it's time to go deeper.

Here at this point, it's okay to dwell on what's not going to work - and why your idea is terrible. It's important this is the third phase - and doesn't take place too early in the process.

People who never get anything done dwell on the negatives too soon - before the dream has had time to blossom.

This can be a tough time - when you realize just how high you will have to climb, how far you will have to travel from your current position, just how much work this will involve.

It's the time when you work out the personal cost this task will take to achieve. But it's important you take all this information in. It's the reality check - the final stamp of approval from your logical, rational side.

You may find out that some things are not doable. But that's okay. Focus on what you can achieve - the baby steps, the structure of your plan, the first push into physical construction.

At the end of this phase, you're finally ready to progress.

4. Leverage and Liberate


Now is the time to take action.

You have your dream. You now know how some things won't work - or will never bow to your preconceptions.

But that's okay. Armed with all the wisdom you need to start, you can now change the way things work. You can assert your dream upon the world. You can free your goal, let it loose, and make it happen.

The fourth phase may occupy the majority of your time but if you've done all the preparations - gone through the first three phases, nothing can stop you.

Setbacks and obstacles may alter your vision but not your course, your certainty.

Use the feedback you acquire to adjust your path toward your goal but never lose sight of the end result - the one you conjured during phase one, believed in phase two, and activated in phase three.

Finally, when your goal is achieved, the cycle is complete and you can return to the first stage - where dreams and inspiration can again foment into goals.

This time to aspire to larger goals, and bigger dreams.

Success is not really about getting stuff. It's about participating in the quest - being a creature of intention and creation, living out and through the four phases of wisdom.

Keep writing!

Thursday, September 7, 2017

The Six Secrets of Author Success


It's one thing to be able to write - but it's quite another to gain the mindset of a professional author.

Here are six tips that will make the difference between wishing for success and actually achieving your dreams - and being able to hold on to them when they come true!

1. Plan Everything

Being a full-time writer is not like having a normal job. You have no boss telling you what to do and you have no targets your department has to reach. You need to be entirely self-motivated.

When I meet people who are unemployed, I usually ask them what they do all day. When they say 'nothing much' I'm stunned. I'd rather they said 'get stoned a lot, party and play video games' - at least that's doing something!

But I understand that self-motivation is a hard discipline to master. It takes dedication and practice. Perhaps we should teach it in school. After all, gainful employment is no longer guaranteed in these days of economic uncertainty. 

When you have no-one to answer to except yourself, you need to make lists of things to do, set goals and targets and deliberately create projects that need developing and completing.

You must think like a small business: have plans, great and small, short and long-term. It's the only way.

2. Commit to Finishing

The difference between being an amateur and a professional is not quitting.

Too many wannabe artists keep stopping in the middle of projects, never to return. Or they start lots of things and finish none.

You often don't have this luxury when you're a professional.

Whether you're inspired or not, driven or not, happy or not, you have to finish the work anyway. Or else you won't get paid.

The way around this is to plan everything, make lots of notes on upcoming projects, use templates for outlines and know what you're going to say (write) ahead of time. You also need to know your endings, whether in fiction, nonfiction or articles.

Don't rely on inspiration.

Set yourself tasks, start small, finish everything you start and, as far as is possible, only work on one major project at a time.

3. Believe In the Impossible

The odds are stacked against you. Ask anyone, the likelihood of an artist achieving financial independence are slim to zero. You need a good workable strategy to compensate.

The trick is to totally believe in the impossible.

In Alice in Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts tells Alice: "Try to believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

There's an element of the profound in this advice. Wannabe Hollywood actors, Olympian athletes in training, even many corporate CEOs and aspiring writers, of course, all have to believe they can do the impossible on a regular basis.

It is not self-deluding or impractical, it's simply using your value system to serve you. Why shouldn't you believe in impossible things if it helps you realize a goal that other people think is unrealistic?

Because, let's face it, without extraordinary belief your task will most likely be impossible anyway.

4. Keep Changing Tack

A yacht doesn't proceed in a straight line. You inevitably need to adjust the sails to catch the wind. So it is with an artistic career.

Don't limit yourself to just one direction, or just one project. Diversify, look for new ideas, develop them, promote different aspects of your chosen field.

It's all about becoming successful - and you might not know where your true success lies.

There's nothing wrong with trying your hand at all types of writing. You may stumble upon a niche or discipline that will make you rich!

Don't get stuck in a rut. Winners change tack often. Experiment, try new things and keep looking for the Holy Grail: that thing that will set you free.

5. Strive To Improve

Study your craft. Stay informed. Be open to new thinking and new ideas.

Even after all these years writing, I study grammar, spelling and common word use on a DAILY basis. I love investigating the origins of words. I use dictionaries and thesauri all the time.

Fact is, you can never learn too much about writing. Indeed, the more I write, the more fascinated I become about words and using them.

Read up on other writers too, examine their style, subject matter, and their lives. When you're feeling down or blocked, there's nothing more inspiring than discovering an author who's been there before you - and made it through.

6. Act on Criticism

As painful as criticism gets sometimes, you should always act upon good advice and/or try to remove any reasons for criticism.

Never be afraid or loathe to edit, rework, rewrite or re-imagine any of your writing. Especially if you're asked to. More especially if you know that you need to do more work on your manuscripts.

You can't shirk on striving for perfection.

It's okay to change a book's direction based on someone else's input. It's good to be flexible and open to change based on criticism.

Your writing is a gift to others. It should be well-presented and as perfect as you can get it.

Finally, you should think of yourself as a servant to your fans. Your job is to serve, to be inspiring, and entertaining.

Remember the three Ps: Persist, Persevere, Promote.

Did I leave out patience? Yes, deliberately. Patience is not a virtue anymore. You don't need to wait for longer than you want. You don't need publishers or agents anymore. This is the best time in history to go it alone - and do it yourself.

Nobody is going to save you or make you rich and famous.

If you want to be independent and successful, dream, then dream bigger. Then go out and take what you want.

Be the person you want to be.

Keep Writing!

The Writing Academy

Welcome to the official blog of Rob Parnell's Writing Academy, updated weekly - sometimes more often!