[TfTi] Timeless Advice for Authors: Ancient Wisdom Inspired by Seth Godin

This set of Tips from Tom’s inbox came in a while ago. Like, many years ago.

I just hope Seth Godin doesn’t get upset about me applying the “ancient wisdom” label to his Advice for authors post. But hey, doesn’t 2006 feel like ancient times?

Indeed, Godin himself recently wrote that “Book publishing has changed more in the last ten years than in the previous 500.” So going back more than 17 years puts us somewhere around the time of Gutenberg.

I came across the post I wrote in those ancient days to highlight a handful of his 19 nuggets and found it a bit too terse, so I decided to update it for you. But what struck me most was how, despite all the changes in the publishing industry, his advice for authors — especially Indie Authors — still rings true.

Once again, I’m going to focus on six of his points, with a bit more explanation to show why we still advocate them with our clients today.

No. 2 – “The best time to start promoting your book is three years before it comes out.”

I think we’ve slipped to saying two years, but that’s probably a symptom of the pace of everything seeming to be speeding up. For nonfiction authors with their own business, you’re likely already engaging in a variety of marketing efforts, so as soon as your book idea crosses your mind, start finding ways to mention the topic, write or speak about it, connect with thought leaders.

Get known as someone who knows and studies what you’ll be writing about. The idea is to alert your existing audience that you’re the expert on your topic and then add new folks who are interested in it.

When you start writing the book, you’ll be amazed at how much of the material from these writings and conversations will become part of the book. And some of those you’ve connected with will become part of your launch team.

Under this point, Godin included “build a blog.” That one we still say all the time and offer our clients help to create their author website with a blog built in.

No. 3 – “Pay for an eidtor editor.”

He explains that he doesn’t just mean someone “to fix the typos” (copyediting and proofreading), but someone who can “actually make your ramblings into something that people will choose to read” (developmental editing).

Godin also notes that in even more ancient times, what “traditional publishers used to do is provide really insightful, even brilliant editors.”

But by 2006, he says, “Alas, that doesn’t happen very often.”

This observation is, if anything, more true today, with the corporate publishing industry cutting budgets and staff to the bone in search of next quarter’s profit.

Our own brilliant, insightful developmental editor at Master Book Builders is Yvonne. She prides herself on putting that extra effort in to understand the author, the story, and the reader.

No. 7 – “Think really hard before you spend a year trying to please one person in New York to get your book published by a ‘real’ publisher.”

We’ve covered this one in The Indie Advantage and other posts in that category, but it’s worth listing the disadvantages that Godin notes from chasing or actually working with a traditional publisher:

• You give up a lot of time.
• You give up a lot of the upside.
• You give up control over what your book reads like and feels like and how it’s promoted.

He compares the odds of getting a contract with a traditional publisher as akin to “being the Queen of England” and states you’re “far more likely” to learn how to publish your book yourself.

Here, his advice is a little bit dated, mentioning “electronically or using POD or a small run press.” In those days, that still meant handling the fulfillment for print books yourself. Now, with Amazon KDP or similar services, you can get your book set up for global distribution for free, or hire a team to handle that part for you, without worrying about shipping or delivery.

No. 8 – “Your cover matters.”

On this one, I’ll quote the rest of Godin’s point:

“Way more than you think. If it didn’t, you wouldn’t need a book … you could just email people the text.”

This is another place the advice is even more important now.

In 2006, Amazon was well on its way, but other websites and major bookstore chains (e.g., Barnes & Noble, Borders, Waldenbooks, B. Dalton) were still selling more books, according to a report on Foner Books (note: you have to add the sales of B&N and Borders in 2006 to get the correct comparison, and this chart leaves out the other retailers who were still in business then).

That was all about to change.

Both Kindle and KDP launched the following year. Now, according to a recent report by the American Booksellers Association, The Stepping Stone to Monopoly, Amazon’s share has grown to 60% of the print book market, 90% for ebooks, and somewhere between 65% and 90% of the audiobook market.

The reason these stats matter to the question of your cover design is simple: thumbnail images of your cover on Amazon must attract and inform buyers as well as the full-size cover held in their hands.

Your cover needs to be both beautiful and effective. That’s part of my role around here.

No. 12 – “Blog mentions … matter a lot.”

Godin did not elaborate on this one. But to clarify, he’s not talking about you mentioning your book on your blog. He’s talking about getting your book mentioned on other people’s blogs.

What became known as “influencer marketing.”

And back then, podcasts were in their infancy, along with Facebook. Instagram and TickTok didn’t exist.

That’s why we’ve begun helping our clients run “blogger book tours” that can branch out onto some of those other platforms.

No. 19 – “Writing a book is a tremendous experience.”

Godin closed with his explanation of some of the wonderful benefits of writing and publishing a book. As I noted in my post:

“Hint: it’s not cash in the form of advances or roylaties.”

As I did back then, I’ll extract each of his statements from the paragraph form he used and display them as a list to emphasize each one. I hope this will slow down your reading and let each one sink in:

 

• “[Writing a book] pays off intellectually.”

 

• “[Writing a book] clarifies your thinking.”

 

• “[Publishing a book] builds credibility.”

 

• “[Your book] is a living engine of marketing and idea spreading, working every day to deliver your message with authority.”

 

• “You should write one.”

 

We couldn’t agree more.