Category Archives: Publishing

How to Get Your Audience to Tell You What to Write

Blogging, Creativity, First Blog Post, Goals, Interviews, Platform, Publishing, Uncategorized, Work Habits, Writing, ,

I often hear from writers who have a vague idea of their message and who they want to serve, but they struggle to nail it all down. They don’t have clarity about how to position themselves, what to write about, and who exactly is their audience.

“I seem to be good at [fill in the blank],” they say, “but I don’t know where to go from here.”

If you find yourself in this situation, it can be frustrating and even scary. You end up asking yourself questions like:

  • What should I write about?
  • Who are my readers?
  • How should I go about this?
  • Will this ever get off the ground!?

These questions can cut you off at the knees. In today’s blog post I share four steps that will help take the load off and get your audience to tell you what to write.

Bernard Osei

Step 1: Write and publish a lot

If you’re a little fuzzy about what to write or who to write it for, the best thing you can do is start writing. Clarity comes with action.

In the beginning resist the temptation to measure traffic, shares, subscribers, and so on. Measure your own hustle. Are you getting your writing in? Are you producing content? Are you hitting “publish” regularly and letting the world know that you have something new to share?

Hang out in “write and publish” land for a while. Make it your goal to get thirty blog posts published before you do much at all in the way of assessment.

One more thing: Work hard to serve somebody with what you write. Do your best work.

Step 2: Notice how people are responding.

After you’ve written thirty blog posts, go back now and pay attention:

  • Which blog posts did people notice?
  • Which ones were shared?
  • Which ones received comments?

Jot down some observations. If you are not getting much interest at all, go back to step 1 and write another thirty blog posts.

Step 3: Identify what’s reproducible and what isn’t.

When you have a sense of what’s working for your audience, think through questions such as:

  • What patterns do I see?
  • What sort of content do people seem to enjoy and find helpful?
  • What seems to resonate that I can do over and over again?
  • What is not reproducible?

It’s true that some things cannot be repeated. If you share a story about winning the lottery and you get a bunch of traffic, chances are you won’t be able to tell another story about winning another lottery.

But be careful here. Often we assume something is not reproducible when really it is. It might be hard work, it might take some additional creativity, but try not to sell you or your audience short. Once you have clarity about what your audience wants, hold onto it.

For example, one of my best-performing posts was an interview I did with literary agent Christopher Ferebee. I might be tempted to think, “Oh, I can’t reproduce that! There’s only one Christopher Ferebee!” But that would be giving up too easy. The natural question is, Who else do I have access to that my audience would find helpful? And of course the possibilities are endless, which is why I have done a number of interviews since then.

[Tweet “”How to Get Your Audience to Tell You What to Write” via @ChadRAllen”]

Step 4: Keep writing, keep noticing, tweak as necessary.

Frederick Buechner said, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

That’s what we’re after. We want to write out of a sense of calling, of deep gladness, and then notice where our audience is hungry. That’s our sweet spot. That’s clarity.

One of the great joys of writing in our day and age is it takes very little time to find out how the world will respond to something we’ve written. I think of it like a dance. We take a step and then it’s our audience’s turn.

We go back and forth like that until we get a feel for each other, and then we keep innovating. It is a process that is at times maddening and at other times absolutely euphoric. And the whole project is an almost unimaginable privilege.

[reminder]What about you? What are you interested in writing about? Who’s your audience? What are you noticing in how your audience responds to your work?[/reminder]

5 Reasons I’m Beyond Excited to Be a Full-time Writing Coach

Blogging, Book Proposal, Creativity, First Blog Post, Goals, Inspirations, Life, Platform, Publishing, Work Habits, Writing

I published my first blog post back in August 2012, nearly six years ago. I have warm memories of waking up at 5am to go down to Common Ground Coffee House to do my art. Eventually I wrote a manifesto, Do Your Art, daring and equipping others to do the same. Click here to check it out.

My blog’s original tagline was “Reflections on Writing, Publishing, Life, and Creativity,” which eventually morphed into “Find Your Voice. Do Your Art.” Now it’s “Helping Writers Get Their Books into the World.”

The tagline’s evolution is reflective of my developing understanding of my calling. I’m here to help writers build platforms and write books and navigate the publishing world—to help them “make a ruckus,” as Seth Godin recently encouraged me to do.

rawpixel

My last post gave five reasons I loved working at Baker Publishing Group. Now I’d like to take stock of what’s ahead. So, without further ado, following are five reasons I’m beyond excited to begin my journey as a full-time writing coach.

1. Books!

I’m passionate about helping more people get their books into the world. One of the drawbacks of working in the traditional publishing world is I had to say no even when I thought some coaching could reverse that no into a yes. Often I just didn’t have the bandwidth to do the coaching.

Now I get to say a gigantic YES to just about anyone who wants to make progress toward their goal of getting a book in the world. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not interested in crappy books, and neither is the marketplace. But you’re not interested in that either, so let’s do this thing! Through resources like BookCamp (stay tuned!), Book Proposal Academy, and coaching I get to help more and more people make this dream come true.

2. More Writing!

Some of my happiest moments are when I’m doing what I’m doing right now, sitting at a keyboard tapping out my musings, doing my best to serve readers. I love it, and I’m excited to do more of it.

3. Live Events!

Imagine getting away to a beautiful location to make hay on that project you’ve been struggling to finish.

Imagine being in the company of fellow writers who can help you expand your influence and improve your writing.

Imagine meeting at a B&B with a small group of people to mastermind book proposals together.

Imagine yoga in the morning, powerful talks during the day, and friendly conversation at night.

These are the dreams I’m having, and I hope some of you are as excited as I am to make them happen!

[Tweet “”Imagine meeting at a B&B with a small group of people to mastermind book proposals together.” Editor @ChadRAllen imagines the future…”]

4. Partnerships!

Just in this first couple weeks of full-time self-employment I’ve had some amazing conversations with people I deeply admire. I’ve begun partnering with some of them already, and it’s just an enormous blessing to me. These are my heroes, and now I get to collaborate with them!

5. Greater Joy!

Recently I was talking with Jeff Goins about the importance of gratitude. We both acknowledged that sometimes we get so caught up in the next thing we have to accomplish, we forget to enjoy the journey. But these days I’m constantly pinching myself. Is this really my life? To be living out my purpose and helping writers do the same—wow!

Bonus: Casual Wardrobe!

I was getting pretty tired of button-down shirts and khakis. I’ll dress professionally when the occasion calls for it, but otherwise, picture me in shorts or jeans and a T-shirt or hoodie. Now we’re talking!

One Last Thing . . .

Earlier this week I sent emails to ten people who have made a huge impact on me and helped me make this transition. If I could, I’d send a personalized email to each of you who read this blog or have purchased one of my products or sent me an encouraging note. This whole thing is only possible because of this community. All I can do is say thank you. That seems too small in light of what you’ve given me, but it’s what I have. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’ll do my best to honor your attention, to serve you as well as I possibly can.

OK. Enough musing about what I’m going to do. It’s time to do it.

[reminder]I’m curious, what do you feel called to do? It might be related to a book or blog or podcast or a particular audience you want to serve. I’d love to hear about it.[/reminder]

5 Reasons I Have Loved Working at Baker Publishing Group

Creativity, Inspirations, Publishing, Work Habits, Writing, , ,

After sixteen and a half wonderful years at Baker Publishing Group, I have decided to make a move. This blog, now six years old, has enabled me to start a small business, and I feel called to dedicate my energies to it full time. I plan to serve writers via BookCamp, Book Proposal Academy, coaching, speaking, and so on. More on that later.

In this post I want to focus on Baker and the things I’ve loved about working there.

Generally I’m not very good at saying goodbye. I rush on to the next thing without honoring the experience or the people with whom I’ve been. Saying goodbye is painful. But to lean into that pain rather than shirk it is to acknowledge all the good of the experience, all the incredible things about the people. That’s what I want to do here.

My first day at Baker was October 1, 2001. I was hired as a project editor. Project editors at BPG oversee copyediting and proofreading. By year three I was an acquisitions editor, whose primary role is to bring books under contract and prepare them for publication. In 2010 I was named editorial director for the Baker Books division, which focuses on publishing trade books for the church. The editorial director’s role is to cultivate an editorial vision and lead the acquisition team. I’m in this role now and will be until my last day on April 27, 2018.

Without further ado, following are 5 reasons I have loved working at Baker Publishing Group.

1. Books!

It’s been sheer joy to participate in the art of book making. The Internet proliferates short-form content, and I’m a huge fan. This blog post is an example! But it also underscores the importance and value of long-form content, namely, books. The immersive experience of a book has the power to change lives.

You’ve seen authors post pictures or videos on the day their book arrives from the printer. One of the great joys of working in the publishing trade is this glorious day occurs every month, sometimes twice a month. And to hear stories of transformation because of a book we published…who could possibly deserve that!

2. Authors!

So many of the authors I’ve worked with have become friends. (You know who you are.) The intense process of working on a book has a way of bringing two people together. The author-editor relationship is a sacred trust, and I’m honored every time an author sends me a manuscript for editing and feedback.

3. Colleagues!

The people who work at Baker are some of the smartest, most genuine, kindest people you could ever meet. Baker has a way of attracting humble people who are in this business for all the right reasons. They view their work as a way to contribute profoundly to the betterment of humanity. I’ve had the joy and honor of leading a group of them, and it’s not hyperbole to say I love these people.

4. The Mission!

The mission of Baker Publishing Group, which our president and CEO, Dwight Baker, recites boldly and often, is “to publish high-quality writings that represent historic Christianity and serve the diverse interests and concerns of evangelical readers.” That has been Baker’s guiding light for decades, and it’s proved both durable and challenging. This mission demands the best of Baker’s team, and day after day they rise to the task.

5. The Leadership!

Dwight Baker is deeply committed to running a company that serves the church. He is determined in his willingness to invest in opportunities to do exactly that. Add to this a profound sense of responsibility for his employees and his company’s work, an irrepressible playfulness, a consistent concern for the environment, and what you have is an amazing leader.

I also want to say a word about my three most recent bosses at Baker, Don Stephenson, Jack Kuhatschek, and Jennifer Leep, all of whom served (Jennifer currently serves) in the role of publisher. Don was the guy who picked me up from the airport for my first interview at Baker. Later he took me on acquisitions trips and generally showed me the ropes. He gave me my first shot at acquisitions, and for this I’m forever grateful.

Jack took over after Don retired, and we regularly went out to lunch. Invariably we’d start talking about publishing and end up talking about life. He gave me some great advice, but what I really value is his example. I saw Jack make unpopular decisions because of his convictions, and whether I share those convictions or not, I hope I have the guts to go against the grain when it costs me. Jack does.

Jennifer Leep, my supervisor as I write this and Baker’s trade books publisher in Grand Rapids, is one of my heroes. She knows the business as well as anyone, and she’s also a brilliant leader. She and I have often remarked on how different we are from each other but always with a sense of respect and even awe for each other. I’m going to miss our conversations.

I Could Go On…

These are just five reasons I have loved working at BPG. I could go on to talk about Baker’s commitment to resourcing the church, the creativity of the work, participating in the dynamic growth of the Baker Books division, all the lessons I’ve learned about business and life, and on and on.

Hopefully, though, the above list gives you a sense of my gratitude for all Baker has given me, my grief in having to depart, and my great hope for the company’s future.

One last thing. If you’re interested in learning more about the Baker story, to commemorate its 75th anniversary the company commissioned Ann Byle to write a brief history. It’s a fun and informative little read. Click here to learn more.

[reminder]

How Writers Can Crush Absolutely Any Obstacle in Their Path

Blogging, Book Proposal, Creativity, Goals, Life, Platform, Publishing, Uncategorized, Work Habits, Writing, , ,

When my son was in preschool, he came downstairs with a concerned look on his face.

“I don’t think I can go to school today,” he told his mom and me. He generally liked school, so this was a little strange.

“Why’s that, Sweetie?” we asked.

“Something’s wrong with my throat,” he said. Now my wife and I were starting to get concerned.

“What’s wrong with it, Buddy? Is it sore?”

“No,” he said, “just listen.”

We leaned in close until we heard the telltale catch and release of a hiccup. “See?” he said.

My wife and I did our best not to laugh. Then we explained what hiccups were and why he was perfectly fine to go to school.

Courtesy of Unsplash

The Reality of Obstacles

Sometimes what we think is an obstacle is actually just a hiccup. Other times obstacles are very real barriers to the things we most want to accomplish.

As a writer you inevitably will face many obstacles. Writer’s block. Platform stagnation. Lack of traffic. The comparison game. No motivation. The list goes on.

I’ve worked with many writers over the past twenty years, and I’ve noticed a handful of strategies that really help them, regardless of the obstacle. In this post I’m going to share seven main strategies you can use right now to move through and beyond whatever difficulty you’re facing.

1. Check your perspective.

Like my son’s hiccups, sometimes what we think is a problem isn’t really a problem. I remember working with a client who was obsessed with his blog’s traffic and lack of subscribers. He had been blogging for just a few months, and already he was consumed with the extent to which people interacted with his content.

My advice was to stop measuring traffic and start measuring how often he published. “Get obsessed with that,” I told him, “because at this point that’s the only metric that matters.”

[Tweet “How #Writers Can Crush Absolutely Any Obstacle in Their Path #amwriting #askeditor via @chadrallen”]

Stephen Covey said, “If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.” So check your perspective and make sure that your obstacle really is an obstacle. It may not be.

2. Reach out to a friend.

Sometimes it’s pride. Sometimes we’re so consumed with our own inner struggle it’s simply not on our radar. Whatever our reasons for not reaching out to a friend (and I’m as guilty as anyone here), generally speaking we all need to get quicker at this.

If you have a friend with some experience in whatever your struggle is, that’s terrific, but don’t get hung up on this. Often the simple act of explaining your problem out loud to someone who cares will help you move forward.

3. Ask, “What’s one simple thing I can do right now?”

I love the serenity prayer: “God, grant me the wisdom to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” I love it because it limits our responsibility.

Writer, you are not responsible for things you cannot do. You are only responsible for things you can do. So ask yourself, “What’s one simple thing I can do right now?”

Don’t get overwhelmed with the gigantic size of whatever obstacle you’re facing. That’s not your concern. Your concern is the small thing you can do right now to move forward.

4. Look for the easier path.

Sometimes we need to question our assumption that this thing we’re attempting is really difficult. Ask yourself a series of questions like this:

  • What if this were easy? How would that look?
  • How could I make this easier for myself?
  • If this were to be done by tomorrow (or next week, etc.), how would I go about that?

Presenting these questions to your consciousness has a way of shifting the way you see your problem. Your brain will automatically get creative and often will serve up a solution you didn’t notice before.

5. Seek wisdom from those who are further along.

Sometimes we do need expertise from someone who’s “been there, done that.” Often you can find this advice via a Google search. Sometimes you’ll want to pay for such advice.

Just remember that your problem is almost never entirely unique. Someone has been where you are. If you can find them, you can save yourself a lot of time, pain, and energy.

6. Get started early.

Have you ever had a big project, like writing a manuscript or getting a book proposal ready for a writer’s conference, and it scared you so much you procrastinated getting started? Then you end up frustrated and even more scared because now you have even less time, and . . . nah, that’s never happened to you. Don’t know what I’m talking about, right?

The strategy I’ve seen work really well in these cases is getting started early, earlier than you think you should. Even if it’s just thirty minutes, there’s something about going from anticipating a project to actually doing it that is magic. You get some momentum going. You get some perspective on how much work this project is going to take. And you adjust accordingly.

7. Cultivate gratitude.

This whole thing is a gift. That you and I get to sit at our keyboards today or tomorrow and make stuff—it’s an incalculable privilege only a few people in history get to do. Don’t forget that. You are one lucky lady or dude. You were born at the right time, the right place, with the right skills, and here you are.

[Tweet “Writers: “This whole thing is a gift…a privilege only a few people in history get to do.” @chadrallen”]

Yes, it’s up to you to get better, but the opportunity underneath it all? It is not our doing; we can’t take credit for it. What we can do is cultivate a sense of awe and gratitude. When we do, our obstacles become less daunting.

[reminder preface=”Your Turn:”]What’s an obstacle you’re facing right now, and which of these above methods do you find most useful?[/reminder]

A Powerful Insight for Nonfiction Writers That Makes All the Difference

Creativity, Publishing, Uncategorized, Work Habits, Writing, ,

I’ve been re-reading Stephen King’s On Writing, and as I come to the end of it one thing stands out to me above the rest. That’s significant because it’s a very good book, and many things stand out to me as helpful and wise. If you haven’t read it, you should. But this one things stands out to me as not just helpful and wise but also really important.

So here it is: Your book is a piece of art.

Courtesy of Unsplash

The Problem with Missing This

I think too often nonfiction writers think of themselves as merely transmitting information or conveying a message or teaching how to do something. The problem with this is that we end up writing stuff nobody reads.

Remember this, nonfiction writer: how you say something is just as important as what you say. You are creating art. You’re crafting an experience for the reader, and you owe it to that reader to make the experience as compelling as possible.

[Tweet “Remember this, nonfiction writer: how you say something is just as important as what you say. You are creating art. #amwriting #askeditor”]

The one exception might be if you really are writing an instruction manual for, say, building a piece of furniture. Then you can be boring just so long as you’re clear.

But my hunch is, if you’re reading this, you’re not writing an instruction manual. That’s the sort of thing companies pay technical writers to do. No, you’re here because you have a story or message to get into the world, and I’m here to tell you: the best way to do that is with artful prose.

What Is Nonfiction Art?

So what is it? What is nonfiction art?

For one thing it’s delightful. Artful nonfiction is a joy to read. You may tell yourself you only have fifteen minutes to read this, but if the author’s done her job you want to keep going. You may end up being late to wherever you’re supposed to be because the book enticed you to stick around.

That’s what a good book will do, fiction or nonfiction.

Artful nonfiction is also authentic. It’s true. You’re not just pulling this stuff out of thin air. You have experience or research to back it up, and you can prove it. Another piece of authenticity is vulnerability. We’ve had enough of experts who know it all. Show some warts, please. Become human so that we can relate to you.

It’s also imaginative. I recently heard political consultant Frank Luntz say “imagine” is the most powerful word in the English language. He may be right. When we imagine something, we are conjuring up a whole other world that is different from where we are right now. That’s what artful nonfiction does too. A good nonfiction book will take you places.

Delightful. Authentic. Imaginative. The more our nonfiction becomes defined by these adjectives, the more artful it will be.

[callout]Need some help doing your art? Check out my ebook, Do Your Art: A Manifesto on Rejecting Apathy to Bring Your Best to the World. Creativity expert Todd Henry calls it “a wonderful (and welcome) kick in the pants.” Click here to download your free copy.[/callout]

[reminder]What has been most useful to you in this article?[/reminder]

7 Ways to Make It Easy for Publishers to Offer You a Book Contract

Book Proposal, Goals, Life, Platform, Publishing, Uncategorized, Work Habits, Writing, ,

Recently my wife texted me while I was at work just after a snow storm. “We started to shovel,” she said, “but it’s too much. Can you blow it?”

“I’d love to!” I replied.

I wasn’t being sarcastic. I love operating my snowblower, not least because it makes an otherwise grueling job a relatively simple one. What used to take hours now takes 10 minutes.  That’s awesome!

We all enjoy finding the easy way to do something, and publishers are no different. They love to find book projects that are an easy yes.

Courtesy of Unsplash

Did you know it’s possible to make it easy for publishers to offer you a book contract? Following are seven ways ways to do just that.

1. Get 10,000 or more email subscribers.

If you can grow your email list to 10,000 subscribers, in most cases you’ll have an audience to which publishers will be eager to help you publish. Publishers like to be sure of the market before they publish. Bringing the market with you knocks down a huge hurdle to getting a book contract.

2. Sell 5,000 or more copies of a reasonably priced self-published book.

If you can demonstrate you don’t need a publisher’s help to sell a significant quantity of your book at a reasonable price, they’ll be eager to help you leverage and expand on that already existing influence. (To find out how much money you can expect make from your first book deal, click here.)

3. Come up with an amazingly compelling book concept.

A great concept is one that is so timely or so tuned in to an audience’s need, and so well captured in a title, that as long as a publisher can get it on shelves, the book will virtually sell itself.

Hindsight’s 20/20, of course, so I’m cheating here, but examples of books with particularly compelling concepts include:

  • 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
  • How to Win Friends and Influence People
  • Start with Why
  • Secrets of Closing the Sale
  • 90 Minutes in Heaven
  • Laugh Out Loud Jokes for Kids
  • How to Talk So People Will Listen
  • 50 People Every Christian Should Know
  • I Became a Christian, and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt
  • The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
  • His Needs, Her Needs
  • The 5 Love Languages
  • The Circle Maker
  • The Purpose-Driven Life
  • Have a New Kid by Friday
  • Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts

 4. Develop a powerful and detailed marketing plan.

Want to make it hard for publisher to ignore you? Demonstrate your ability to hustle with a robust and detailed marketing plan. The one section of a book proposal it’s virtually impossible to make too long is your marketing plan. Consider starting with a line such as “My personal goal is to sell [number] copies of this book in the first twelve months.” Then back that promise up with a solid plan.

[Tweet “7 Ways to Make It Easy for Publishers to Offer You a Book Contract #askeditor #getpublished #amwriting”]

5. Coauthor your book with someone who already has a significant platform.

Do you know someone with a significant audience who may or may not have thought about writing a book?  Why not approach them about coauthoring a book, letting them know you’re happy to do all the heavy-lifting? All they can do is say no, right? They just might say yes.

6. See to it that your most recent traditionally published book sells well.

If you land a book deal and want to publish again, it’s really important for your first book to sell well. Make it your mission to move as many copies as you can. If you succeed, you may get a book contract without even having to write a book proposal!

7. Combine two or more of the above ideas.

Why stick to just one of the above methods? If you can bring a compelling concept to a potential coauthor with a platform, go for it! Why not get 10,000 email subscribers and provide a detailed marketing? Combining the methods above will only increase your chances, not to mention the financial value of the offer a publisher sends to you.

[callout]Do you have an idea (or several!) for a book but don’t know where to begin? A great place to start is writing a book proposal, and I would be happy to send you the same book proposal guidelines that have helped hundreds of authors win book contracts. To download your copy of the guidelines for free, click here.[/callout]

[reminder]Which of these seven methods is the best fit for you?[/reminder]

The One Crippling Fear Every Writer Faces

Blogging, Book Proposal, Creativity, Goals, Life, Publishing, Uncategorized, Work Habits, Writing, , , ,

What’s your deepest fear?” That’s the question I asked in a recent survey of writers and other creatives, and following were some of the responses:

  • “That people will see the real me and discover it’s not all that great.”
  • “That my voice (in writing) will not be valued or desired. “
  • “The fear of rejection and in particular, being irrelevant”
  • “That I don’t have anything worth saying.”
  • “That I’ll make a fool of myself”

What strikes me about these and other responses is the object of their focus. These comments are not about the work as much as the commenters.

When you say you’re afraid people will see the real you and discover “it” is not that great, you are not really talking about your work. When you say you’re afraid of making a fool of yourself, again that’s not a statement about the value of your work. It’s about your value as a person.

And I’m here to tell you: that’s a problem.

Courtesy of Unsplash

Our creative work is vitally important, but it does not establish our value as people. I would say our value as people comes from our Creator. Others might say it comes from the cosmos or some other place. But I think we all can agree, as soon as we place our own value in the hands of others’ perceptions of our work, we’ve gone terribly wrong.

And of course we do it all the time, so how do we get out of this mess?

[Tweet “The One Crippling Fear Every Writer Faces . . . And How to Overcome It #amwriting #askeditor #creativity via @ChadRAllen”]

Practices That Affirm Our Value

As soon as I refer to affirming our value, I immediately think of Stuart Smalley’s Daily Affirmation on Saturday Night Live. Stuart, an effeminate television show host, encourages his viewers to look in the mirror and repeat after him:

“I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!”

Why is that sketch so funny?

It’s funny because Stuart embodies our insecurities and helps us experience the relief of laughing at them. If we didn’t have insecurities, Stuart Smalley wouldn’t be as hilarious as he is. The way humor often works is it points to something real and then exaggerates it. In other words, as painful as it is to admit, Stuart Smalley touches close to home.

I don’t find it very helpful to look in a mirror and say affirming things. I find that as funny as you do, no doubt.

What I do find helpful is asking, “What sorts of things would I do regularly if I believed in my value and in the value I have to offer others?”

The answer: I’d take care of myself, and I would do my best to take care of others. Sometimes we have to “fake it till we make it,” to choose actions that bring the feelings we want to have.

Taking Care of Self and Others

I would exercise, eat well, drink plenty of water, meditate and pray, and get a good night’s rest. I would travel to fascinating places “just because” and take a lot of vacations and read good books and hang out with friends and get a massage every now and again. In short, I’d live well.

And I would do my best to serve others as often and as well as I could. I would do my art. I’d show up for the people who look to me for help and advice. I’d listen well. I would lead them to do good work, to bring out the best in themselves. I would encourage them. I would be bummed when they’re bummed, but I would try to help them take one brave step forward.

Two Challenges

How about you? Do you ever struggle with the temptation to doubt your worth? If so, I want to give you two challenges:

  1. What’s one thing you can do today to take especially good care of yourself? Take 20 seconds to think of something right now.
  2. What’s one thing you can do today to take especially good care of the people you wish to serve and lead? Again, twenty seconds . . .

Press on! We need you to take care of yourself, and we need you to do your art!

I’d love to send you my manifesto, DO YOUR ART: A Manifesto on Rejecting Apathy to Bring Your Best to the World. To download a copy, click here.

[reminder]What did you find most helpful in this article?[/reminder]

Why Every Artist Needs a Confession Booth

Blogging, Book Proposal, Creativity, Goals, Life, Platform, Publishing, Uncategorized, Work Habits, Writing, , , ,

You’ve just stepped into a confession booth, but don’t worry: I’m not a priest, and you don’t have to share your sins with me.

This is a different kind of confession.

Courtesy of Unsplash

I want to know your deepest fears and greatest hopes as a writer, artist, musician, leader, designer, or other creative role.

What’s your deep fear?

What’s your great hope?

At this point you might be thinking, Why do you care, Chad?

I care because we creative people don’t often get to the heart of what scares us and what motivates us.

I don’t think we’re consciously avoiding it. We’re just busy doing our thing, and that’s okay. But every once in a while it’s healthy to stop—to name our truth. The survey I link to below is an opportunity to do that.

Your responses will be completely anonymous. I have no way of tracking who you are or what you said, so you can be as raw and honest as you want.

I will wait for a good number of responses and then share quotes from what I heard.

Will you do this with me? (Yes, I’ll be taking the survey too.)

Click here to take the survey.

How the Right Mindset Leads Writers to Success

Blogging, Book Proposal, Creativity, Goals, Life, Platform, Publishing, Work Habits, Writing, , , , ,

Recently we had to send out the dreaded “OP” letter again. It goes something like this:

Dear Author and Agent:

We are writing to inform you that due to low marketplace demand for your book, we have decided to discontinue keeping it in stock.

Sincerely,

The Publisher

“OP,” in other words, stands for “out of print,” and publishers send it to authors and their agents when demand for a book falls so low, the publisher can no longer justify keeping the book in their warehouse.

The ideal, of course, is for a book to stay in print forever. The first book Baker Publishing Group (the company I serve as an editorial director) ever published over seventy-five years ago, More Than Conquerors by William Hendriksen, is still in print. And if a book stays in print for twenty or thirty or fifty years, that’s nothing to sneeze at.

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The cases that grieve me are when physical books go OP after just twelve months. These days publishers often keep the ebook version in print because it costs very little to do so, but in an OP situation the physical copies become unavailable. And it’s a sad day in the life of a book.

Here’s the thing I don’t want you to miss about authors whose books go OP that quickly: About two years prior they received what so many writers pine for—the Holy Grail of ambitious writers the world over, the great and mighty, the glorious book contract!

Unfortunately, if an author’s book goes OP in twelve months or less, it will be really hard for that author to get another book deal. So it’s just bad for everybody, particularly the author. In fact, one could argue that in a case like this a book contract is more of a curse than a blessing.

The Right Mindset

How can we writers stay out of this predicament? Great question, and the answer has everything to do with how you define success.

If you define success by whether or not you win a book contract, you are headed in the wrong direction. Now don’t get me wrong. Book contracts can be an important means to an end, but they are not the goal. They are functional; they are a tool, nothing more.

[Tweet “”Book contracts can be an important means to an end, but they are not the goal…””]

The right definition for success is to write a compelling book that goes out to thousands of readers. I know one author who defines success by selling 100,000 copies of a book in the first twelve months. That’s too high a bar for most authors, but my point is this author is aiming in the right direction.

So how do you make sure you write a great book that sells thousands of copies? You write a great book that sells thousands of copies by doing the day-in, day-out work of craft and generosity.

You write a lot, and you share a lot. You keep writing until you become a good writer, which just about everyone can become. And you share what you’ve written—over and over again. You love on your tribe. You serve readers. You help them with the real needs they really have, which might mean addressing a felt need first so that eventually you can address a deeper one.

Finally, you decide that you’re in this for the long haul. If you make up your mind to stick with it no matter how long it takes, you’re all but guaranteed to succeed.

The Really Good News

So that’s it. No magic formula. No silver bullet. The recipe for success is deciding to show up day after day to become a better writer and to serve people.

The really good news here is you have a lot of agency in whether or not you succeed. You don’t get to decide whether a publisher picks up your book; that’s not up to you. You do get to decide whether you show up and do the work. And as long as you keep taking up that challenge, you really can’t lose.

And consider this: How would you rather spend your time? Fact is, if you’d be happier doing something else, cut your losses and go for it. Most writers I know wouldn’t be happy doing anything else. The human heart was made to do the work of its calling, and if you’re a writer, your calling is to write and serve people with your writing.

It is a sacred vocation, worthy of your best efforts. Do your best to enjoy the journey.

[callout]Would you like to design a writing process that aligns with who you are and your season of life? I created a PDF worksheet called ‘My Writing Process’ that will help you do just that.

Click here to download the *My Writing Process* worksheet.

[/callout]

[reminder]What did you find most helpful in this blog post?[/reminder]

Everything You Need to Know about Listening to Music While Writing

Blogging, Creativity, Life, Platform, Publishing, Work Habits, Writing, ,

First of all, thanks so much for your willingness to fill out my “Writers and Music” survey. (If you haven’t yet and you’re willing to help writers everywhere with two minutes of your time, click here.)

This survey and blog post were born of my own curiosity. I regularly listen to music while I’m writing, and I wanted to know how other writers listen to music. I wanted to see how this analysis might inform my own music-listening habits and hope it will help other writers too.

So let’s dive in to the results.

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Survey Participation

I sent this survey to my email list and via my social media channels. I asked respondents to consider sharing the survey via their channels too.

As I write this I’ve received 107 responses with a completion rate of 74 percent. Average time to complete the survey: 1 minute, 51 seconds.

I’m just geeky enough to find that interesting. I’m also geeky enough to find this interesting:

  • 57 percent of respondents took the survey on a PC or laptop,
  • 39 percent used smartphones, and
  • 4 percent used tablets.

Interesting, right?

Now to the meat of it.

Fiction vs. Nonfiction Writers

I’m a nonfiction guy myself, so it’s no surprise that most of the respondents, 65 percent, were nonfiction writers. Of the remaining, 14 percent identified as fiction writers, and 21 percent said they were equally both.

How Often Do Writers Listen to Music While Writing?

I asked “Do you listen to music while you write?” and asked respondents to select a number between 1 and 10, 1 being “No, never” and 10 being “Yes, always.”

Sixty percent of respondents landed in the 7 to 10 range. I think of this as the “often to always” range. The top pick, at 18 percent of respondents, was 8.

The survey revealed 17 percent were in the 4 to 6 range, what I think of as “sometimes” territory.

And 20 percent of writers rarely or never (0 to 3) listen to music while writing. Seven percent indicated they never listen to music while writing.

It’s possible these results are skewed because you might be more likely to fill out a survey about your use of music as a writer if you’re a writer who listens to music.

Having said that, writers who listen to music while writing are safely in the majority here. Those in the “sometimes” and “rarely” camps have plenty of company too.

What Services Do Writers Use for Listening to Music?

Respondents were allowed to pick more than one service for this question, and the options were iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, old-school CD player, and “Other.”

The top service at 31 percent of respondents was iTunes, though Pandora and Spotify were solidly tied at second with 29 percent of the responses.

As for the “Other” responses, following is a breakdown of services that were entered more than once plus the number of entries in parentheses:

  • YouTube (7)
  • Amazon Music (2)
  • Focus @ Will (2)
  • Google Play (2)
  • iHeart Radio (2)

Honorary mention goes to the respondent who wrote in “Record player”!

What Type of Music Do Writers Listen To?

The results to this question were particularly interesting to me. Here’s a pie chart that summarizes the findings by percentage of responses.

Let’s break down that “Other” option. Below, again, are the music types that received more than one write-in with the number of people who did so in parentheses:

  • Instrumental (8)
  • Worship (6)
  • Christian (5)
  • Indie/Singer-songwriter (2)
  • Soundtracks (2)

Some of those “Christian” entries might belong in the “Worship” category, but I kept them separate because I do think there’s a difference between the worship genre and contemporary Christian music.

The big winner here is classical, which I find fascinating. But another noteworthy selection, I think, is that broad category of instrumental music, which, in addition to those who wrote that exact word in under “Other,” likely also includes New Age, jazz, electronic, and soundtracks. These nonverbal options comprise well over half of respondents.

But a still significant minority (my estimate is about 20 percent) listens to music with words, including those who selected country, rock, folk, perhaps some of the jazz contingent, and many of those who wrote in worship or Christian.

Honorary mention goes to the person who wrote, “I develop a play list for the project with music that fits.” I love that intentionality!

[Tweet “Everything You Need to Know about Listening to Music While Writing #amwriting @ChadRAllen”]

What Are Writers’ Favorite Pandora Stations?

As a Pandora listener myself, I was eager to learn some new Pandora stations to check out, and the responses to this question did not disappoint!

I was also interested to see if writers gravitate toward any particular stations. The only outlier here was “Classical,” not surprisingly given the responses to the question about type of music. Both Leonard Cohen and the Piano Guys received two entries.

About a third of survey takers responded to this question, which makes sense because about the same percentage selected Pandora under the services question mentioned above. Below I’ll alphabetically list the stations respondents wrote in as their favorite:

  • 1920s
  • Baroque
  • Beats for Studying
  • Brooklyn Duo
  • Christian
  • Civil Wars
  • Classical (3)
  • Classical for Studying (2)
  • Colin Haye
  • Country rock
  • David Nevue
  • David Francey
  • Epic Soundtracks (2)
  • George Gershwin
  • George Winston
  • Hammock
  • Helen Jane Long
  • Hymns4Worship
  • Jazz Standards
  • Jim Brickman
  • The Oh Hellos
  • Leonard Cohen (2)
  • Lumineers
  • Michael Buble
  • Nickelcreek
  • Piano guys (2)
  • Sleeping at Last
  • Smooth jazz
  • Worship

What Are Writers’ Second Favorite Pandora Stations?

Following is a list of what writers wrote in for their second favorite Pandora station:

  • 70s
  • 80’s
  • 80s alternative
  • Beach boys
  • Carly Simon
  • Christian
  • Civil Wars
  • Classic rock
  • Classical
  • Classical Guitar Radio
  • Classical instrumental
  • Downton Abbey soundtrack
  • French folk music
  • Frou Frou
  • George Winston
  • Instrumental (2)
  • Jazz
  • Jazz Standards
  • Lord Huron
  • Christian
  • Movie scores
  • Peaceful Seclusion
  • Piano Guys
  • Rock
  • Seasonal
  • Smooth Jazz
  • Soundtracks
  • Thomas Newman
  • Traditional Country Hymns

One person wrote, “I haven’t tried any others yet but would be interested to see what other people use.” I’m interested in that as well! In fact, I’m currently listening to the George Winston station due to these results!

[Tweet “Are you a #writer looking for a new @Pandora station? This blog post will help! @chadrallen #amwriting”]

Conclusion and Takeaways

Clearly a lot of writers, perhaps most, listen to music while they write. Generally they prefer nonverbal music, and classical music is the top pick. Most writers use either iTunes, Pandora, or Spotify to listen while they write.

Personally I’ll definitely be trying some of these Pandora stations out. I’m most intrigued by Classical for Studying, Epic Soundtracks, Piano Guys, Peaceful Seclusion, Instrumental, Leonard Cohen, Beats for Studying, and Smooth Jazz.

[reminder]What’s most helpful to you about these findings? What Pandora stations will you be trying?[/reminder]