Tough Times

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the lapse in blogging. I haven't had a lot of spare time lately. With the suffering economy, my work hours are spent scurrying to put together marketing pieces in hopes of generating revenue for my company.

I'm sure many of you can relate in your own respective jobs. As the belt tightens the demand for more results rolls down the chain of command. In thinking about how that affects writers, my advice is this:

When you are pitching an article or a book idea, or even a way to help promote your book consider your customer (customer? yep... your customer... and by customer I mean the magazine or publisher that you're working with). Ask youself how does your idea benefit them. How will it help them sell more copies of their magazine or boost their book sales? Consider what the unique selling proposition will be for them and use that to pitch your idea.

Businesses are less and less interested in abstract/fun ideas and are asking for more and more numbers associated with whatever it is you're trying to do. By considering how your article/book/promotional idea will affect your publishing partner's bottom line, then you can make a better case for them taking a chance on your idea.

You can apply this concept to anything from your book proposal, to requesting some support for a publicity idea, such as a blog or radio tour.

Hang in there, and good luck.