Goals to Go: How to Succeed as a Nonfiction Writer With Nina Amir The following articles will support your understanding of the material presented in this workshop.
The Advice You Need to Succeed as a Nonfiction Author Many writing or publishing experts can advise you on how to write a book and become a published nonfiction author. Fewer authorities can tell you how to succeed as a nonfiction author, but that’s the advice you need most—and it has little to do with writing or publishing. I’m not talking about receiving tips on promoting your book or building a raving fan base. I’m talking about developing the ability or skill set that helps you succeed at whatever you decide to do—including writing and publishing a book. How Do You Define Success? What’s the use of writing a book—or even an article—if it doesn’t sell or get read? After all, selling your work and knowing it impacts people’s lives equates to success, right? As a nonfiction author, success also could mean your words and work:
Transform lives Start movements Create positive change in organizations or communities Educate Produce income (for you) Develop a business (for you)
For you, any one, or a combination, of these might define success. Or it might mean something entirely different. For instance, you might only want to write a memoir as a legacy for your children. Completing the project and handing each member of your family a copy would equate to personal success. How to Succeed That begs the question: How do you achieve success as a nonfiction author? As I said, any number of people (including me) can tell you how to write a book or get it published. (And I have written about this extensively!) This might include advice on:
Choosing a topic Structure Titles Marketing Book proposals ©2016 Nina Amir
www.ninaamir.com
Query letters Finding an agent Working with an editor Self-publishing
These are all important subjects, and ones you need to understand and master to succeed as a nonfiction author. However, if you don’t have the ability to take action toward your goal of becoming a successful nonfiction author, none of this information matters. You have to be able to take each necessary step or complete each necessary task, including all those related to the list above. Learn How to Get Results That’s why first, you must learn how to get the results you seek. Successful people in all industries get results. The publishing industry is no different. Successful authors know how to accomplish their goals and achieve their dreams. If your goal or dream is to become an author, you must learn to do the same. In the publishing industry, writing a book is the result of many hours spent composing a manuscript. If you say you want to write a book but never sit down and type a word, you’ll find it difficult to achieve your goal. Becoming a successful nonfiction author comes as the result of:
Creating a marketable book idea Knowing your market and competition Promoting well Building platform Developing a business plan or book proposal
To achieve results in these areas—or in any area—you must first manage three things: 1. Your beliefs. 2. Your decisions. 3. Your Actions. To become a nonfiction author and publish a book, decide to achieve this goal, take the necessary action. Then, and only then, will you see the results you desire. A Harvard University study proved that 85 percent of your success depends on your attitude and only 15 percent on your technical aptitude. As I wrote in The Author Training Manual, “To a huge degree, your attitude is based upon your beliefs. Beliefs affect your decisions. Decisions then affect your actions, which affect your results.” If you don’t know what you believe about any aspect of becoming a successful nonfiction author, you won’t be able to:
Decide if it is something you want to achieve, and then… Take concrete actions so you can… Achieve the results that move you closer to your goal. ©2016 Nina Amir
www.ninaamir.com
The formula you need to learn if you want to succeed as a nonfiction author is: Decision + Action = Result You have to decide to write the book and then perform the action of writing. Doing so results in a manuscript. You have to decide to become a published nonfiction author and then perform the actions necessary to achieve this result, such as building platform and producing a book proposal. Those actions results in a business plan that convinces a publisher you have a viable product and are a good publishing partner. What Do You Believe? You won’t make a decision, though, if your belief system doesn’t support that decision. Without the decision, you take no action and achieve few, if any, results. The key to achieving the results you want lies in knowing what you believe. Do you believe one or more of these statements?
Writing a book is hard. I don’t write well enough to succeed as a nonfiction author. I am not an expert. I am not good enough. No one will want to read what I write. I don’t have the time to write a book. I’d have to sacrifice too much to succeed as a nonfiction author. I’m afraid I’ll fail. I don’t know enough about writing and publishing to write a book.
Such negative beliefs will keep you from deciding to move forward and take action toward your goal. That’s why, if you think you want to become a nonfiction writer or author, the best advice I can give you—or anyone can give you—is not how to structure your book, or write a fabulous book proposal or get your book published on CreateSpace. The best advice I can provide is this: Uncover your beliefs, and, in particular, your negative beliefs, about becoming an author. Next, determine if those beliefs are fact based and supportive. Then, change those that don’t serve you to new, positive and supportive beliefs. To do so, try this exercise. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Write down all the beliefs you have about becoming a nonfiction writer or author. For each one, answer this question, “Is this true?” Cross off the beliefs that are not true. For each one, answer this question, “Does this belief serve me?” Cross of the beliefs that don’t serve you. Rewrite new, positive, and supportive beliefs.
For example, you might believe, “I don’t have time to write a book.” Is this true? If you spend three hours every evening watching television or reading novels, it seems you have time. Mark this off the list as untrue. ©2016 Nina Amir
www.ninaamir.com
Does the belief serve you or help you become an author? Definitely not. A new, supportive belief to adopt might be, “I create the time to write a book,” or “I create time for the things that are important to me, such as writing a book.” Maybe you believe this: “I don’t like being in the public eye, so I don’t want to use social networks.” Is that true? Becoming an author puts you in the public eye. You want to become an author. Therefore, the belief is untrue. Does it serve you? Not if you want your books to sell. Assuming you do, better to wrap your mind around the idea of being active on social networks by adopting a new belief like, “I enjoy finding potential readers for my work by increasing my visibility in every way possible.” Anchor Your New Beliefs With positive and supportive beliefs, it will be easier for you to decide to watch just one hour of television and write for the other two hours per night or to prepare to approach a publisher or self-publish your book. And you will follow through with action, and see the results of your efforts. It took time to adopt your old beliefs. Somewhere along the line, you made a decision to believe what someone told you or what you heard or learned. Now you are making a choice to believe something different. Similarly, it will take time to adopt your new beliefs. Work with them like affirmations. Write them on Post-It Notes and stick these on your computer screen and bathroom mirror. Add your belief statements as reminders or alarms on your SMART phone. Repeat them aloud or in your mind several times per day. In this way you anchor them in your mind. Every time you find yourself unable to take action toward your goal of writing a book and becoming an author, explore your beliefs around that action. Discover how you beliefs stop you from making a decision, and how that indecision prevents you from taking action and achieving the results you desire. Once you’ve cleared out the old, unsupportive beliefs and replaced them with new ones, use that other information about how to write a book and become a nonfiction author you’ve received from me or another nonfiction writing and publishing expert. Remember! To succeed, you must believe you can become a nonfiction author and publish a book. Then decide to write your book, take the necessary actions, and become a successful nonfiction author. As Jimmy Buffet wrote in Off to See the Lizard, “Believe it, and it will come true.”
©2016 Nina Amir
www.ninaamir.com
The 9 Traits You Need to Succeed as a Nonfiction Writer Your ability to generate ideas or produce compelling manuscripts represents a small determining factor in whether you will succeed as a nonfiction writer or author. Your success depends in larger part on the possession of the essential personality characteristics necessary for success. Every year it becomes more difficult to succeed as a nonfiction writer. The book publishing industry becomes more competitive, and publishers require you to do in the way of building author platform and promoting your books. If you want to write for publications, fewer places exist to pitch, but they have more requirements to fill before you land an assignment. With so much to do, you likely feel overwhelmed and in need of a lot more time to accomplish the necessary tasks. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: It’s not enough to have a good idea or great writing skill if you want to succeed as a nonfiction writer. You need more…much more. But today, I want to go beyond the need for business savvy, a base of raving fans who will buy your books, or the expertise to produce marketable work— all of which I’ve written about in previous posts. I want to talk about your ability to succeed. I want to discuss you. Yes, you. Do you have what it takes to succeed as a nonfiction writer this coming year and beyond? Do You Have Author Attitude? First and foremost, you must be able to produce the work. If you can’t produce the work, you won’t succeed. Many wannabe writers and authors have ideas, and some of them can write, but they aren’t productive. Does that describe you? To become a productive writer, you must first have an Author Attitude. In The Author Training Manual, I discuss at length what I call an Author Attitude. I’ve written about the four characteristics of Author Attitude here as well. In general, to succeed as a nonfiction writer an author you need to possess or generate: Willingness: You must be willing to do whatever is necessary, including sacrificing to make time to produce work. Producing your articles, essays, blog posts, and books must be your priority. And you must send your work out regularly. Optimism: You must have an optimistic attitude, or the ability to see the positive side even when presented with the negative side. Optimism prevents you from getting stuck in self-doubt, fear, inner and outer judgment, selfcriticism, or any other negative emotions, thoughts or beliefs. Optimists see setbacks as opportunities to improve and move forward. They feel challenged by difficulties rather than stopped by them.
©2016 Nina Amir
www.ninaamir.com
Objectivity: You must be able to get distance from your writing project and see it—and yourself—from someone else’s perspective. Objectivity allows you to see yourself and your work through the lens of an editor, agent, or reader. Your opinion matters much less than theirs, so you have to be able to stand in their shoes and see through their eyes. Tenacity: You have to have a “refuse-to-fail” approach to your work and career. Tenacity supports you in moving forward no matter what and never giving up…ever…until you reach your goal of becoming a successful nonfiction author or writer. Are You a High-Performer? Additionally, you must possess the same qualities that the highest performers around the globe use to achieve success in every industry. They produce an enormous amount of work daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. And they don’t achieve peak performance—occasional moments, days or weeks when they reach heightened levels of performance. No. High performers have the ability to reach heightened and sustained levels of performance not just in the professional areas of their lives but in every area of their lives. If you want to succeed as a nonfiction writer or author, you need to possess—or cultivate—these same qualities. You need to have: Clarity: It’s impossible to achieve goals or accomplish work if you feel unclear about what you should be doing or need to do next. The more clarity you have, the more easily and quickly move toward achieving your goals. You must be clear about the following:
Why you want to write what you want to write. * Your target market (readers). Your goals—for your current projects and for your career. How you need to change, or what habits or character traits you need to develop, to succeed. The benefit your work provides to readers and editors. How to make your work unique and necessary in a bookstore category or for publications.
Energy: Becoming a successful author can be likened to running a marathon—or many marathons. Each time you write a book or article, you need to get off the starting line and cross the finish line. You must be in shape to do so. You need energy and stamina physically and mentally. That means you must:
Exercise Meditate Eat well. Sleep enough. Take high-quality supplements. (Check out Usana for both supplements and nutritional products. I use these every day! If you need a consult with my health team, email me.) ©2016 Nina Amir
www.ninaamir.com
Both your body and your mind must be in shape to produce work consistently and effectively. Take time to relax, breath deeply, and rest. And give your body what it needs to perform. Courage: Putting your work into the world can be scary. You are afraid that someone might judge or criticize your or your work. You might get rejected, or you might fail…publicly. If you let these fears stop you from producing your work or sending it out, you’ll never reach your goal. You won’t become a successful nonfiction writer or author. Remember, the things you fear won’t cause you bodily harm. And they are only possibilities that might happen in the future. You create those fears—in you mind. Stop focusing on the negative or scary things you think might happen and, instead, focus on the positive, exciting possibilities instead. When you place your attention on the future you could and want to have, you will courageously move forward step by step. Productivity: Most aspiring writers and authors complain about one thing: lack of time. They tell me they just can’t get the work done. Does that sound like you? It’s time to develop high-performance habits that help you achieve and sustained heightened level of productivity. Try:
Blocking writing time on your calendar. Setting daily work priorities—and sticking to them. Tackling the hard stuff first. Taking frequent breaks so your brain stays clear, focused, and energized. Staying out of your email box and off of social networks until you accomplish your daily goals.
Choose the habits you find most helpful. Find ways to stop struggling with distractions. Focus your attention on the work at hand—and nothing else—for the amount of time you allot to the project each day. That’s what matters most if you want to become a productive writer and achieve your goals. Influence: No matter how you look at it, as a nonfiction writer, you need the ability to influence those in your target market—your readers. To do that, you not only need to build an author platform, but you must also learn how to influence your fans and followers. To do that, you must be authentic and inspiring, and you must showcase your expertise and provide value consistently. Yes, this takes effort and time. (Block time for blogging, curating great content—yours and that of other experts—daily on social networks, producing YouTube videos, etc.) But every book publisher requires it of a nonfiction writer. And you’ll have an easier time landing assignments from publications with a platform and authority. Beyond building your platform so you develop influence in this manner, practice your influence daily; inspire everyone you meet. Ask them about their dreams and goals, and encourage them to make them a reality. Write inspiring blog posts, social media status updates and email. Provide benefit every chance you can. Practice swaying people’s thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors in a positive manner. Cultivate the Characteristics You Need Combine all nine of these qualities, and become unstoppable! Become a high-performance writer.
©2016 Nina Amir
www.ninaamir.com
But what if you don’t feel you possess one or more of these high-performance or successful-author traits? Choose to develop them. That’s right, decide to be willing, optimistic, objective, tenacious, clear, energetic, courageous, productive, or influential. As bestselling author Brendon Burchard likes to point out, “A power plant doesn’t have energy. It generates it.” See yourself as a power plant. Generate the qualities you need or desire. To do so, first, decide or choose to become a successful nonfiction writer or author. Next, determine which characteristics you need to develop. Then set out to generate or cultivate those qualities by:
Getting training. Educating yourself Affirming daily that you already possess that quality. Behaving “as if” you already are a successfully author—and possess the characteristic. Reminding yourself regularly to display that characteristic. -Finding good role models and inspiring peer groups.
Every day, focus on becoming a successful nonfiction writer or author. Give yourself tasks that allow you to cultivate the characteristics necessary to succeed as a nonfiction author. Before you know it, you’ll possess all nine traits, and you will have become a successful nonfiction author or writer. Truly, success depends upon you. To create all the other things you need to succeed, you need to cultivate the habits, attitudes, and traits that help you succeed as a nonfiction writer and author–and in every area of your life.
©2016 Nina Amir
www.ninaamir.com
Five Keys to Becoming a Successful Author in 2016 Every year we say the same thing: This is the best year ever to be a writer and author. Indeed, there are more ways to publish than ever, and you don’t have to choose one publishing path over another. However, no matter how or what you publish, you need to have mastered a variety tools, strategies, and habits—not all of which have much to do with writing. Doing so provides the key to becoming a successful author in 2016. What are those keys? Let’s look at four of them. 1. An Author Website or Blog For many years, the term “author platform” has been the thorn in every nonfiction (and fiction) writer’s side. You can’t just write; you must build a base of potential readers in your target market—a platform—before you even have a book to sell to them. While you can utilize any number of platform elements, such as speaking and social networking, one platform remains the most reliable: your author website or blog. It will continue to provide the sturdiest foundation for your platform in the future. Social networks come and go—and change. You have no control over them, but you do control your blog and make the rules for your website. You can brand the site, promote what you like on it and in any way you like, and use it to become an expert or to share your expertise. Additionally, you own and control the list of subscribers you obtain via your website, but you don’t do either on your social networks. Plus, you can grow your list with a website and blog. An author website allows you to readers, publishers, and the media to find you. Every blog post you publish helps your site, your books, and you become more discoverable to your ideal readers and customers. It’s your information hub and the place where you carry out a content marketing strategy to help you succeed. 2. Success Characteristics To succeed as a writer or author, you need the same six characteristics or skills possessed by high performers in every industry around the world. They include: Clarity Without clarity, you don't know why you want to write your book or become an author. You don't know who you are writing for or the benefit your provide to those readers. You move through your days and your projects with a fuzzy sense of where you are going, and you may not even have a clear picture of your destination. That makes it difficult to stay motivated or to know what you need to do to achieve your goals. With clarity comes the ability to know how to succeed and an emotional connection to the end result. Get clear first. Then take action toward becoming a successful author.
©2016 Nina Amir
www.ninaamir.com
Energy Without a strong mind and body, you can’t fulfill your purpose or create a successful career as an author. You’ll lack stamina, clarity, and focus. Do you wake up tired, get sleepy every afternoon, or feel lethargic and have a difficult time concentrating? Then you need to increase your energy. Commit to heightened and sustained energy levels this year, and you’ll find it easier to take significant strides toward success this year. Courage Fear serves as your jailer. If you want to break out and move toward your goals, you have to realize you create fear with your thoughts. More often than not, you make yourself afraid. But you have the choice to think daring thoughts and to take courageous action. Don’t let fears stop you from succeeding. Instead, develop the courage to move forward. Productivity We are a distracted society. We all act as if we have ADHD, but if you want to produce more work, you must learn to focus. To become more productive, you don't need to manage your time; you need to manage your attention. When you help yourself focus on the task at hand, you’ll find yourself more productive than you thought possible. The sheer volume of work you turn out will help you succeed. Influence An author platform help you become influential in a target market. When you have influence, people listen to you and do what you ask, such as “Buy my books.” That’s why publishers want authors with a platform. However, to create personal and professional success, you also need influence with yourself. Only then can you make the necessary, but sometimes difficult, changes that help you succeed. Whether you work on building platform or self-discipline, the efforts you make in the area of influence will pay off in ways you can’t yet imagine. Purpose The best way to achieve your goals is to tie them to a strong sense of purpose. However, for you to do that, you must know why you do what you do. If your “why” or reason isn’t strong enough, if it doesn’t resonate with you emotionally, you won’t accomplish your goal of becoming a successful author. When you know your passion and purpose, you can write a mission statement. Then align all your projects and tasks with this purpose to keep you taking inspired action toward your goals and ensure your success.
©2016 Nina Amir
www.ninaamir.com
3. A Varied Publishing Path This year—and for years to come, a varied publishing path will help you succeed. While there has never been one “right” path, now you can combine traditional and self-publishing and have a career as a hybrid author. When you opt for the middle publishing road, you get:
The best of both worlds Control The chance to earn more from book sales The ability to promote your traditional books with indie books (and vice versa) The opportunity to sell more copies of both types of books
The more books you write, the more books you sell. Not every book is right for traditional publishing, but some books deserve that type of treatment, exposure, and distribution. Learn everything you can about all the different ways to publish (and write) books. The utilize your knowledge to become a hybrid author. You won’t rely on one publishing path, and you’ll take advantage of what both have to offer to help you succeed. 4. Business Savvy Publishing is a business, and if you want to become an author who succeeds, approach your writing projects from a business perspective. No matter how you publish, you need to have business savvy. Know how to create a marketable book idea and you know how to sell it. To do so, learn to produce a business plan for your book and evaluate if you book idea has a chance of selling. If you self-publish, just like a traditional publisher, you produce, distribute and sell books. You manage a team, and you decide which books in which to invest your time, energy, and money. If you seek a traditional publisher, realize you want a venture capital partner. The company that backs your project needs to see proof or a sound argument that your book is a viable business proposition. For creatives, like writers, business savvy doesn’t always come naturally. To succeed as an author this year and in all the years to come, commit to becoming just as good at business as you are at writing. 5. Clear Goals Successful people in all industries set goals. They do this yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily. This helps them stay focused on the end results they desire, take action regularly, achieve milestones in a timely manner, and accomplish their priorities. If you haven’t yet set goals for the New Year, it’s time to do so. And then chunk them down into smaller pieces you can take action on daily. To receive a free ebook, How to Create—and Achieve—Your Goals: A Quick Guide to Making this Your Most Productive Year Ever, click here. If you set the intention this year to put each of these keys to use, you’ll find yourself moving quickly toward your goal of successful authorship. Not only that, you’ll be prepared. ©2016 Nina Amir
www.ninaamir.com
