Impress your customers

“You do NOT work for any publisher. You are not their employee, you are their subcontractor.”
Wow, that sounds cold and harsh, doesn’t it? Really it is not. Let me explain.

Everyone knows that publishing is a business. In fact, some people speak about that with disdain as if there is something dirty about being a business. So let’s change our thinking just a bit. A business is simply an entity that provides goods or services in exchange for capital. That capital is used to pay employees, pay share holders and reinvest in the business. The product that a publisher is providing is a book. Therefore, a publisher is interested in finding a book that will provide a decent return on their investment [ROI].

As writers we are also business owners. We provide the stories. In order for us to keep our business open we need to have investors in our business. We are therefore not looking for a publishing house to hire us, we’re looking for an investor who sees potential in the product we have [our book] and will put up the capital we need to bring that product to the general public.
Why do I want you to shift you thinking to such a cold and calculated approach to our writing?

Am I driven solely by money?

NO!

I work hundreds of hours on my stories and I want them to reach people. I have invested thousands of dollars in my education as a writer. What I’ve learned is that understanding that I’m looking for capital to build MY writing business helps me maintain the emphasis on my responsibility to making a marketable product.

Consider the difference in one of your characters. If one is a person looking for investors and the other is looking for a job-how will they approach things differently? They would look for a good match with a proven company who has experience working in a particular field.

By contrast, an employee will focus on “What will you pay me? What will you do for me? Will you please hire me?” This is an attitude of someone looking for a hand out and it comes from a position of weakness.

So by changing the way you look at your writing business you can actually make yourself more attractive to potential investors-and establish long term career rather than a one-time ‘job’ writing.


So on this Monday when you are thinking about how much you'd like to be writing why don't you take that hour they allow you to eat lunch and think about whether it is this job, or your attitude, that is holding you back.

That is some food for thought.

Your Coach for the Journey, Tiffany Colter

If you'd like to know more about Tiffany's writing Coaching visit her website at www.WritingCareerCoach.com