X-Factor

The X Factor (U.S.) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

           Attorney Darcie Chan self-publishes her novel The Mill River Recluse as an e-book after being  rejected by several publishers and agents and the book lands on best-seller lists.    

          Amanda Hocking begins self-publishing her novels as e-books in 2010 and within a year sells over a million copies.

            

             What's the secret?  What did these authors do to gain success where so many others fail?  If there were a fool proof formula that always worked we'd all be hugely successful authors.  There is no precise formula.  There is something missing in most cases and that missing something is the X Factor that we each need to find for ourselves.  

           Talent shows have been a mainstay of radio and television for many years.  In the past decade shows like Pop Idol and American Idol have swept television ratings.  Simon Cowell went on to create a show in the same vain called The X Factor.  The premise behind the show name is that star quality is an unknown factor in the success equation.  It is a variable.  What works for one person does not guarantee success for the next.

              You may have the most wonderful product in the world, but until you discover that unknown variable that will create marketing magic you may not be successful in getting your product in the hands of the consumer.  And you can't just sit there and wait for someone to come along and make success for you.  

              Study the success stories and gain market awareness.   Draw up marketing plans and analyze them thoroughly.   What was successful for someone else may not work for you.  In fact, things that worked two years ago may never work again.  These are the kinds of things you must learn about.   Don't be afraid to try old ideas if they seem viable.  Don't be afraid to try new ideas if they seem practical and possible.  Somewhere there is the missing magic factor that will complete your equation and it's up to you to find it.

             You don't have to be a mathematician to find the X Factor of success.  It will help to be astute, assured, and unafraid.   Monumental success may never happen even when you seem to be doing all the right things.   Not becoming successful will be a pretty sure bet if you don't do anything.

              Are you ready to find the X Factor that will fit your equation?  Do you have the stamina to pull out all the marketing stops in order to find your X Factor?

Here are a few x-ceptional blogs:

Suze from Analog Breakfast writes some deep stuff although when I last looked it appeared she'd fallen into a deep sleep.  Can somebody shake her and wake her?

Jarm del Boccio at Making the Write Connections reflects her eclectic background of travel and history in her writing.

At Geoff's Blogs Geoff Maritz has been teaching us about his home continent of Africa.  Some cool stuff from a very cool guy.

Luck

Luck (Photo credit: beancounter)

     
         Today is Friday the thirteenth--not a day we associate with good luck.  In our marketing endeavors as in our everyday lives, luck can be good or bad.  Most of the time luck just seems to happen--something over which we have no control.  But is luck always serendipitous?

        Recently a lottery mania swept the United States with the largest jackpot ever as the Mega Millions prize.  One of the news reports told how the odds of winning were about one in 176 million.  The report stated that one could win the over 600 million dollar jackpot by buying one ticket for each of the possible combinations of number, but pointed out the impracticality of being able to buy that many different tickets.  The bottom line was that the odds of  winning the lottery are not in your favor.

        Marketing success has far better odds than winning the lottery, but still there is sometimes a bit of luck involved in hitting the jackpot.  The more tickets you play, the more likely it is that you will come up with a winning combination.  This is an extreme example for sure, but the point is that the more marketing ploys you try, the more likely it is you will hit upon a winner.

        Don't be afraid to put yourself out there or to try unusual ideas to get your product noticed.  You don't have to spend a fortune to do it.  Often it's a matter of being in the right place at the right time or catching the attention of the right people.  Happenstance may seem random but there is a reason for everything.

       Why wait for your stars to line up?  Good strategizing will do a better job of lining up the odds in your favor.   Be prepared for any possibilities that may come your way and  be ready to jump when opportunity knocks.

         The winner of a show like American Idol is not always the most talented, most attractive, or most likable contestant.  The finalists are chosen from thousands who are willing to try out.  Those who make the cuts may manage to get by because of chance just as much as singing ability.  If it's your day to get noticed then you need to be there ready to step on stage.

          A quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson says, "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it."  You can sit back and wait for luck to just fall into your lap and you may wait for a long, long time before anything ever happens, if it ever does.  Or you can get smart and get busy and make your own luck.

          I'm betting on the latter to be the winning ticket.

L as in:

A blog name filled with L's is Living, Learning, and Loving.  Stephanie writes about homeschooling and writing or whatever else she has something to say about.

Another blog about life is Life, the University, and Everything .  This blog is a diverse site by Elizabeth McCarthy, another blogger who takes the eclectic approach.

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Is Product Placement Selling Out?

 
Image via Wikipedia
       It has not been unknown for authors to write products or corporate concepts into their works in return for something else.  Movies and TV do this all the time.  It's not a coincidence that the judges on American Idol are all drinking out of Coca-Cola cups.

        What about writing?  Is it okay to sell promotional considerations--or advertising if you will--to make extra money from your written product?   If when you were ready to write your next book, some business entity offered you a thousand dollars to place product into your story would you do it?  What about ten thousand dollars?  Fifty?  What is your breaking point?  Some authors have made some good money doing this.  Would you do it?

        What if the placement included something in the cover art work?   Let's say that a top notch artist would be doing the cover of your book and it would look really good.  And you were going to be paid a nice sum to allow product to appear on your cover.   Would it belittle the writing to accept?

       What if your publisher's terms required you to accept product placement that they were paid for and not you?  But--they guaranteed you huge sales?  Or they at least offered you distribution?   Does this seem kind of tacky to you or just business?

         I don't know if this is still a practice, but I can recall seeing books with advertising in the center of the book--kind of a commercial break between parts.  Would it bother you if your book was manufactured like that?

         This is part of my interest in marketing versus art.   Is the integrity of art sullied by commercial connections?   Why or why not?

          What is better having a wealthy patron fund you?  Or getting funded by government grants?   If you had the opportunity, would you quit your job to receive the same pay and benefits in order to write full time?  Dream job or scary offer?

           Just tossing it out to you.   Now play along and toss it back.

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