{"id":848,"date":"2010-06-16T07:54:09","date_gmt":"2010-06-16T15:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/publishingblog\/?p=848"},"modified":"2010-06-16T07:54:09","modified_gmt":"2010-06-16T15:54:09","slug":"succeed-by-participating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/publishingblog\/?p=848","title":{"rendered":"Succeed by Participating"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you planning to attend a book festival this summer with your book(s)? Scott Lorenz has an article in Fran Silverman\u2019s most recent Book Promotion Newsletter <\/em>in which he features the best book festivals to attend this year. I\u2019m already scheduled to attend two of them. Subscribe to Book Promotion Newsletter <\/em>(an enewsletter) at: http:\/\/www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com<\/a> There is a small fee to offset costs. <\/p>\n

How many newsletters and enewsletters do you subscribe to each month? You are probably receiving newsletters and other material related to the topic\/genre of your book or, if you are a freelance writer\u2014related to this field. And if you are writing, publishing or promoting a book, you should be subscribing to newsletters and enewsletters on these subjects. And you should be reading them.<\/p>\n

If I were to ask for a show of hands out there indicating how many of you actually read those newsletters and enewsletters you subscribe to each month, there would be only a few hands waving at me. The faces belonging to the hands that are in your laps, have a sheepish look on them. But you know what? It is okay with me if you don\u2019t read the newsletters that come to you regularly in good faith, unless you\u2019re one of those who say about the organization producing those newsletters, \u201cThat organization has done nothing for me. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll renew my membership.\u201d <\/p>\n

No newsletter, book, blog or article is useful to those who ignore it\u2014who decide not to read it. <\/p>\n

We\u2019re all busy and, if your life is like mine, you get busier by the year. It\u2019s hard to find the time to study everything that comes across our desks. But this is no reason to give up altogether on newsletters. At least look at the headlines. Note articles that sound like they might have information you can use and, either read it on the spot or set it in a priority box of items that you will read that evening or first thing in the morning before turning your computer on, for example.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of knowledgeable people creating valid and valuable text designed to help you keep up with your industry (and the writing\/publishing industry). By not perusing this information, you could be sabotaging the very thing you\u2019re working so hard to attain\u2014your success. <\/p>\n

Sure, there\u2019s a lot of insignificant material coming at you all the time. There\u2019s stuff you don\u2019t need to know, but also stuff you only think you don\u2019t need to know. There are those of us who think we know it all. And then there are folks who read everything and end up confused. How do we create a happy medium?<\/p>\n

Be open, but discerning. Be ever willing to learn. And give yourself the best opportunity to succeed by exposing yourself to the information you need and actually taking it in. <\/p>\n

Of course, you will outgrow newsletters. Some of them will change into something that doesn\u2019t relate to your project. It\u2019s okay to unsubscribe. But give newsletters and other material a good opportunity to work for you\u2014to bring you the information and options you need in order to make the best decisions on behalf of your project or business.<\/p>\n

When I get a chance to talk to former SPAWN members, I always learn that the reason they didn\u2019t renew was one of two things. They either lost interest in their book project\u2014decided not to pursue it\u2014or they admit that they just didn\u2019t participate in the way that they should have. They often regret that they didn\u2019t take part in SPAWNDiscuss so they would meet other authors and publishers and learn more about the day-to-day world of publishing and book promotion. They confess that they didn\u2019t read the SPAWN Market Update <\/em>every month\u2014in fact, they rarely got around to it. These former members joined with high hopes, but just couldn\u2019t get it together enough to even use the benefits available to them. Others joined expecting SPAWN to \u201cdo it for them.\u201d They somehow misunderstood the premise we so openly promote. They didn\u2019t understand that SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) is a networking organization designed to provide members with resources, information and opportunities to help them make the best choices for their projects. <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be a drop out. In order to succeed as a published author, freelance writer or in any other field or business, you must take the reins. Study the map. Know your options. Be clear as to the opportunities available because it is up to you to chart your own course.<\/p>\n

Check out both of my websites: http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com<\/a> and http:\/\/www.patriciafry.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Check out SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network): http:\/\/www.spawn.org<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you planning to attend a book festival this summer with your book(s)? Scott Lorenz has an article in Fran Silverman\u2019s most recent Book Promotion Newsletter in which he features the best book festivals to attend this year. I\u2019m already scheduled to attend two of them. Subscribe to Book Promotion Newsletter (an enewsletter) at: http:\/\/www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t