Jessica Russell's Blog - Posts Tagged "success"
Never Let Them See You Sweat
Sorry so long to get my next post up here! It’s been a busy busy busy week! As most of you know, I write web content for travel sites and recently, assignments have been coming in with a vengeance. But I am making time today since I’m not working because it’s my birthday! LOL. Here’s today’s quick tip: There is an old saying, “familiarity breeds contempt,” and we never want to think that that applies to OUR friends and OUR relatives, but sadly it does. Thankfully, not to ALL of them! I have a lot of friends and relatives who are stalwart supporters of everything I do. Unfortunately, I also have some that allow the green eyed monster to take over every time I get a few hundred more sales.
Why we can’t just all support each other in ALL of our successes, I don’t know. But the warning here is this: DON’T let people like that affect your emotions in a negative way. Unfortunately, that kind of person will ALWAYS be there. Sadly, they are the one constant thing in your life… People who sit there with that sarcastic little smile or make a snarky little remark because you are celebrating your success. Ghost it away! I’m not saying cut a friend or relative out of your life over things like that, but ghost away their negative vibe. Do whatever you have to do, pretend it doesn’t exist, pretend you didn’t hear it, pretend it was a stranger who said it, create whatever alternate reality you have to to get that stuff out of your head because otherwise you are letting naysayers live rent free in your mind. Stop it in its tracks, and every time you hear something negative, remind yourself of how far you’ve come and how successful you truly are. If you do that, you will realize how little their words mean!
Why we can’t just all support each other in ALL of our successes, I don’t know. But the warning here is this: DON’T let people like that affect your emotions in a negative way. Unfortunately, that kind of person will ALWAYS be there. Sadly, they are the one constant thing in your life… People who sit there with that sarcastic little smile or make a snarky little remark because you are celebrating your success. Ghost it away! I’m not saying cut a friend or relative out of your life over things like that, but ghost away their negative vibe. Do whatever you have to do, pretend it doesn’t exist, pretend you didn’t hear it, pretend it was a stranger who said it, create whatever alternate reality you have to to get that stuff out of your head because otherwise you are letting naysayers live rent free in your mind. Stop it in its tracks, and every time you hear something negative, remind yourself of how far you’ve come and how successful you truly are. If you do that, you will realize how little their words mean!
Ask and Ye Shall Receive
There’s an interesting thing that happens when a writer achieves success. Instead of watching what that person did and trying to emulate it, as fellow other authors, we have a tendency to sit there and critique. Well, if a person was successful, then evidently what he or she did was a good idea, provided it wasn’t immoral or unethical. Therefore, rather than get defensive or make remarks that sound eerily like sour grapes, it’s a good idea for us to ask questions, get tips, and see if that author would provide any insight. I bet that person would be happy to do so! Just food for thought. Write on!
Drop the Snake Oil and Step Away
I think almost everyone has purchased some type of snake oil at some point in their life. Well, they’ve invented snake oil for authors, and sadly, they buy it by the gallon. One of the worst things a newly published author can fall for is what I refer to as the “Secrets Scam.”
Your book is out, you want it to do well, you figure there’s a whole lot of information out there concerning how to get sales and reviews, and you set out to find it. After a quick Google search, you discover hundreds of links offering to “let you in on secrets” for a certain amount of money. These “secrets” may concern marketing, they may be about getting reviews, or how to get your book to rank Amazon etc. etc. There are OH SO MANY “secrets” out there for sale. Here’s the reality check:
In the real world, also known as Unknown Author Planet, this is how it actually works...You have to get a good advertising and marketing plan and pay to promote your book. There’s no shortcut. There’s no way around it, there’s no way under it, there’s no way over it. You have to make an investment of time and money. Naturally, you do all the "free" things that make sense, such as sharing it on social media, and posting it wherever you can, but that alone will not propel you to stardom.
What you should NOT do is spend your hard earned money on “secrets to success.” They don’t exist. Whatever information these people and organizations are selling is information you can find on your own. There is no secret shortcut to becoming a best-selling author and IF THERE WAS, someone you never heard of would NOT be on Facebook selling it for $79.
People who have had smashing success with a book are busy managing their life and their success, they’re not telling everyone how they did it for a great bargain price because they “like to help people.” It would be nice…but it's just not the way life works. There’s nothing that you’re going to buy and read and then implement that will propel you to success with your novel. You have to go the long road and market and advertise. I wish I could say it’s easy, but it’s not. It is worth it, though. Just do yourself a favor, leave the snake oil where you found it.
Your book is out, you want it to do well, you figure there’s a whole lot of information out there concerning how to get sales and reviews, and you set out to find it. After a quick Google search, you discover hundreds of links offering to “let you in on secrets” for a certain amount of money. These “secrets” may concern marketing, they may be about getting reviews, or how to get your book to rank Amazon etc. etc. There are OH SO MANY “secrets” out there for sale. Here’s the reality check:
In the real world, also known as Unknown Author Planet, this is how it actually works...You have to get a good advertising and marketing plan and pay to promote your book. There’s no shortcut. There’s no way around it, there’s no way under it, there’s no way over it. You have to make an investment of time and money. Naturally, you do all the "free" things that make sense, such as sharing it on social media, and posting it wherever you can, but that alone will not propel you to stardom.
What you should NOT do is spend your hard earned money on “secrets to success.” They don’t exist. Whatever information these people and organizations are selling is information you can find on your own. There is no secret shortcut to becoming a best-selling author and IF THERE WAS, someone you never heard of would NOT be on Facebook selling it for $79.
People who have had smashing success with a book are busy managing their life and their success, they’re not telling everyone how they did it for a great bargain price because they “like to help people.” It would be nice…but it's just not the way life works. There’s nothing that you’re going to buy and read and then implement that will propel you to success with your novel. You have to go the long road and market and advertise. I wish I could say it’s easy, but it’s not. It is worth it, though. Just do yourself a favor, leave the snake oil where you found it.
They Don't Always Laugh
We all like to assume that the old saying “laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone,” is a pearl of wisdom that should never be questioned. Well, the “cry and you cry alone” part is definitely true. As far as the rest of it, however, here’s a newsflash: the world DOESN’T always laugh with you. In fact, sometimes the more you laugh, the more the world scowls. If you achieve a little bit of success after publishing a book, you’ll soon learn that no truer words were ever spoken. Sure, you’ll get a lot of positive attention at first, but at a certain point, as sure as the sun comes up every day, a percentage of that positive attention will turn into cynicism and envy. And it won’t be easy to deal with. The bottom line is, the only person who can stop it from negatively affecting you is ( drumroll) YOU! If someone is gritting their teeth through a smile, asking questions designed to be friendly but are merely well disguised digs, or otherwise trying to bring you down, WALK AWAY. It’s the only solution. If you let their negativity and jealousy cook in your brain, YOU will eventually become a bitter person and you’ll end up devoting far too much time to wondering why we all can’t just celebrate each other’s successes and cheer each other on. Well, because life doesn’t work that way, unfortunately. So laugh whether or not the world laughs with you, cry alone like you always have, but never ever EVER let anyone put a damper on your success.
