Towards the start of the new year, my thoughts turn to how writers can motivate themselves to write and finish a book. It pains me to think of all those amazing books going unpublished or not promoted, just because of a lack of confidence, so let’s find out some motivation tips.
When I’m trying to finish my own books and in need of motivation, I think about other people’s problems. I believe the power of writing is not in the medium – as readers enjoy books, ebooks or courses – it’s in the targeted solution to very real problems today.
Young people growing up now need to see and hear your message, if that message is of a life-guiding nature, because very few have yet to recognise the most important priorities in life, e.g.:
- Health
- Family and friends
- The doing of meaningful work
Rather than:
- Looks (makeup, hair, body beauty)
- Technology’s latest craze
- Fame and fast cars
Already there are painful injuries from increased texting and neck issues with smartphone usage, along with vision and attention problems. Distraction is one of the most overlooked problems of today, with the resulting effects of accidents or the more long-term effect of an inability to reach our goals and intentions.
“We mustn’t let our dreams die in the daylight because we lose focus while responding to the world’s lame interests or false emergencies.”
– Brendon Burchard, The Motivation Manifesto.
Another focus of new books is nutrition and mindful eating. A client of mine wrote about eating with joy (Joyful Eating) and overcoming the yo-yo dieting effect – important for overall health. Similarly, a doctor client put together a simple healthy living and car maintenance tips book, and proceeded to give it away as an ebook. This act reflected his passion to give people a fair chance at being healthy and well-rounded.
Better Book Distribution
What about motivating yourself to promote or sell your book? Too easy. I mean, you can’t just launch a self-pubbed book into the mass book marketplace (Amazon, Kobo, et al) and compete on price. That is pushing uphill. Motivate yourself by having certainty of distribution.
The power of a niche book is in finding the right partnerships and avenues to get the book message to the exact right people.
-Jennifer
A history book writer could co-ordinate with history groups and do free talks on that era. Using some vintage props, the talk would take the audience back to that time in their imagination. He could even plan to offer a talk on a historic cruise for the passengers.
Motivation Tips for Writing a Book for Business
The ideal for business-minded authors is to offer something of value as a bonus to the book or lead into a VIP program. That way, writing a book tends to contribute to their overall client or student attraction. A mildly successful book might earn out its production costs.
However, an attached online program or real-life guiding – will earn a potential far greater, and pay back all the sweat and tears expended in writing the book. The royalties of a book may be $2 – $6 each, while the income from a course can be $50 – $2,000 each. Marketing advertising costs may be enabled by the greater profit margin.
Other Ideas to Create Book Interest
Another way to interest people in your book is to launch a giant competition. If the value of the prize is worth $30+ and legitimate-looking, then people will sign up and enter your email list as part of it. You could set up to send them a free chapter as well.
The prize could be a colour consultation, a motivational planner and book, a hotel voucher, or something fun and tied into the theme of your book. Of course, the winner will be given your book too and you’ll take a photo of the winner with the prizes (or they could take it, if away) for social media posts and advertising.
As a fellow writer and a writing coach, I want to hear from you. So please add your comment about what makes you stuck or why you’re going to pursue your writing goals for 2021.
Check out our Book Creation Success offer over at Business Author Academy.
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