Under promise, over deliver

This weekend I took some time to listen to the teachings of a man [Dan Stratton] who formerly held a seat on the New York Mercantile exchange and grew from humble Midwest roots to going to Yale and earning a seven figure income. While that may be impressive, what impresses me most about him is his ability to not allow the cut-throat nature of the pits on Wall Street to make him cut corners or cheat.

In the discussion I was listening to he was focusing on integrity in our business dealings. He said at one point, and I’m paraphrasing, under promise and over deliver.

This struck me because a writer’s group I’m a part of had recently spent some time commenting on the lackluster performance of some books. This led to a rousing conversation on the strengths and weaknesses of certain books. It makes you cringe as an author. You wonder, “Is that what someone will say about my writing?”

I think these disappointments are even more prominent when expectations are raised beyond an author’s ability to deliver. There is a tendency to try to make our writing stand out, but it is done using compelling language that whets the appetite [good] and raises the expectations of a work artificially high [not good].

While I always encourage you to write the best possible hook, [see def. below] I don’t want you to become so obsessed that your hook over promises your craft. The hook should be the same flavor of the book and set the tone for the story.

Likewise, in your business, make sure that you can do what it is that you promise. Don’t get in over your head. All of us have unforeseen circumstances [the fact that my 6 year old daughter was up at 5:15am today with a very high temperature is the one in my life], but we should always plan them in to our work schedule. I set every Thursday as a “catch-up” day. I schedule little or nothing on that day in terms of work. If I am behind in projects, I can catch up. If I am caught up I can do Friday’s work [and get a 3 day weekend…unlikely] or spend time on my own projects [more likely].

By only promising what you can reasonably accomplish you will build a reputation of integrity and a happy clientele/ readership.

Hook=a short sentence or couple of sentences meant to grab the attention of a reader, editor or agent. You will also sometimes see this in reference to the opening of a book to. Ex. “The book opened with a strong hook.”

Tiffany Colter is a writer, speaker and writing career coach who works with beginner to published writers. She can be reached through her website at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Tiffany is a speaker and teacher. Find out about available topics for your group's next event.
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Learn more about Tiffany's Marketing techniques on her main blog.
Common-sense money management is free at The Balanced Life website. [www.TheBalancedLife.com]
Read Tiffany's award winning manuscript "A Face in the Shadow" on her fiction blog.
She writes a blog for the Christian writer Tuesdays at Writer's Rest.[http://writersrest.blogspot.com]

New Feature for all of you

Hello

I told you that we have a number of exciting new features coming from the Writing Career Coach this year. The first is something I hope will be a real time saver for all of you.

As I do more public speaking and webinars I am asked my opinions on resources that will help individuals grow their business. I have a suggested reading list full of foundational books that I urge every person to read [if you haven't seen that list go here].

There are a large number of books, however, that are being released right now that could be great as well. Everyone is looking for ways to save money right now so you want to know if any of these books are worth your time OR money.

I'm going to begin to read and review books and post these reviews monthly [or so]. For the most part I will stick to non-fiction. Here are some answers to some FAQ:

1. Is this blog going to turn in to just another book review site?

No. I know there are a large number of sites that do reviews on countless books. The focus of this blog will be writing, business and research. You saw an example of this when I reviewed the Kingdom of the Occult. Thanks to that review a number of people who are writing books from CBA can find out about a topic they may not feel comfortable researching in other places. Furthermore, people writing for the ABA can see how a christian would describe these groups. This helps with character development so we don't have a preacher screaming hell and damnation on people in someone's novel. The focus will continue to be helping you with plot, marketing, platform development and building your writing business.

2. But don't reviewers always say something nice?

People who know me know that I love to be encouraging. That having been said, it undermines my credibility if everything I review is "the best book I ever read". I will write a review summary where I will outline Likes/Dislikes/Benefits so that you can quickly scan the book to see if it is something you'd like to read. This will not be a 600 word plot summary. It will highlight specific features.

So, no, this won't be a fan letter-it will be an assessment of what I feel this book can do to help you with your business.

3. I heard about a book that is really good. Will you review it for me?

If you hear about a book that you'd like to have reviewed you may email me through the contact page on my website. I cannot promise to review all the books suggested, but I will read each email and see what I can do.

4. I am an author, will you review my book?

This answer is similar to the answer to question 3 with one exception. If I agree to review your book I request you or your publisher send me an influencer copy. I will do the same Like/Dislike/Benefits on your book. If you are a fiction author it is highly unlikely that I will review the book-sorry. [You can still ask though.]

I will have a book posting in just a few weeks that I really hope you'll enjoy. I also hope this will be one more time/money saver that will allow you to maximize your time and build your successful writing business.

Tiffany Colter is a writer, speaker and writing career coach who works with beginner to published writers. She can be reached through her website at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Learn more about Tiffany's Marketing techniques on her main blog.
Read Tiffany's award winning manuscript "A Face in the Shadow" on her fiction blog.
She writes a blog for the Christian writer Tuesdays at Writer's Rest.