I’ve been thinking for some time now that the power dynamic between author and publisher has shifted, in favour of the author. Which is great news. This has happened, largely because the options to self-publish and distribute have grown up and become respectable, rather than being a disadvantaged teenager. This respectability has given authors an opportunity to generate more income for themselves, rather than giving the lion’s share to the publisher, and therefore also build their brand, and touch their tribe.
The author Nick Kettles is doing this with his book, ‘The All-Seeing Boy and the Blue Sky of Happiness’, which recently garnered an endorsement from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Impressed with this achievement, and curious about how he had done this, I have interviewed him for my blog. His insights into his creative process are worth reading, if you are struggling to find an audience and publisher for your book. His secret is so simple, and yet easy to overlook in a marketplace that thrives on noise …
Online you have an opportunity to speak directly to your audience, so don’t screw it up by faking it, because people can tell if you aren’t being real and authentic. In this video I explain why authentic artist marketing is one of the keys to your success online.
When you have completed your writing, feel free to leave me a comment about what insights this gave you.
Yesterday I discovered the wonderful world of Hugh MacLeod, the author of the million dollar download book, How To Be Creative.
This is such a cool book, I wish I had written it myself … but hats off to Hugh for listening to his doodles. Seriously. He discovered his cartoon on the back of a biz card idea while doodling on a bar napkin. Which just proves one thing. When we stop pushing to be creative and allow ourselves to BE creative, guess what? We are creative! Yes, it works.
The coolest thing about Hugh is that he made his book available for free, and in giving this, he received not only a whole ton of traffic to his blog, but a community, an audience, a people to write to, and he’s inspired so many others through using his voice in this unique way.
In the words of Carly Simon: nobody does it better.
You are free also to share this link How To Be Creative with as many folks as you like. Enjoy.
What are you doodling today, and what are you giving?
This was originally intended to be my painting blog, but now it's also about writing, what we ache for, and everything else important.
"Your paintings are like auragraphs. You pick up the information from the person and express it through art. However, they are on an altogether deeper level - not dealing with the outer projection of ourselves, not even with the spirit, but on a soul level. They are soul reflections".
Mary Clair Kelly, Cruse Counsellor
