Hi, I have good news actually. Number one: my book is actually, the print version of the sequel to this book is actually in, in process.
An Announcement and a Life Update
Three Things Indie Authors Should Know
Do you think having a publisher or making a bestseller list guarantees that Hollywood producers will be interested in your work?
Think again. They know that publishing is a whole new game now, with a lot of amateurs playing it.
Even More Thoughts About Seth Godin
Here’s yet another in a series of thoughts I had while reading Seth Godin’s blog:
About “Effort”
Focus on things that matter when doing your work. Specifically, the quality of your work. Don’t waste time on shortcuts that lead to problems down the road, thus creating greater expense.
You can have it good, you can have it fast, or you can have it cheap. But you can’t have all three.
PS: I assume he meant “unusually high call volume”.
Here’s a link to the source.
About “An illusion of scale”
Bigger isn’t always better. More isn’t always enough.
To go really big, you need time, resources, and effort. Before you can do that, you need to know why you’re doing it. And quit wasting time doing stuff that does nothing for you. You or anyone else, for that matter.
Here’s a link to the source.
About “‘They were all bored to tears waiting to hear something they knew’”
New ideas are often misinterpreted as bad ones, I guess.
PS: But “Stairway to Heaven”? Have you not seen Wayne’s World?
Here’s a link to the source.
About “The test kitchen mindsets”
Quit agonizing over your click rates, your likes, your followers—the analytics. All of it.
Just do it and see if it works. If it fails, learn from that and keep going.
That’s the definition of an innovator.
PS: Reading this will not do the work for you. Writing it certainly hasn’t done it for me.
Here’s a link to the source.
About “What will you leave behind?”
Your desire and incentive to do a particular type of work will change over time. As you change and grow, you need to let go of old ways. However, even this new beginning will lead to another end.
PS: In twenty years, I might be dead.
Here’s a link to the source.
About “Afraid of afraid”
Don’t be afraid of being afraid. And don’t worry so much. If you aren’t afraid, you’re really not the brightest bulb paying attention to current events, are you?
Here’s a link to the source.
Further Thoughts About Seth Godin’s Blog
Here are few more thoughts I had while reading Seth Godin’s blog.
About “Life by anecdote”
The truth is pretty much what you’re willing to believe.
Now, what else can I sell you today?
PS: Believe whatever you want.
Here’s a link to the source.
About “Shift your tech time horizon”
Learn to use technology to your advantage. And try not hoarding your insights.
And don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.
Here’s a link to the source.
About “Swap the line”
Here’s a utopian/dystopian idea for a possible/improbable way to transact business.
You get to execute it.
Have fun!
PS: Far as I can tell, the rich still get the most benefit from this arrangement. Along with the uber-powerful geek squad entrusted with creating/maintaining it.
Press “1” if you disagree. Press “9” if you’d like to disagree in Spanish.
Press “5” for an endless series of tutorials on how to do the above without buttons.
Note to Seth: Life isn’t always fair. You know that.
Here’s a link to the source.
About “A future of retail”
You won’t succeed in business until you realize your product isn’t about you. And yelling about your product’s greatness won’t build trust with potential customers. Neither will spamming people with “great deals”.
Note to Seth: Interesting, isn’t it, that a certain great big online bookseller decided to open its own chain of bookstores, eh? Then, shut them down! Ahem …
Here’s a link to the source.
About “Contagious commerce”
Early adopters do change the world. Now, if only someone had taken me seriously in 2011, when I said Amazon was creating a bad situation for indie authors in the long run, when they offered us chump change in exchange for being exclusively published (three months at a time) with them.
Funny how being one early adopter can have so very little effect on anything.
And the lesson learned: If you want to change minds, you have to change hearts. You have to be both empathetic and rational. It requires authenticity and resilience. The ability to observe, listen, and plan.
I’m trying. That’s all I can do.
Here’s a link to the source.
About “Zero percent market share”
Being everything to everyone online is a losing strategy.
But, if you want to spend your energies on it, feel free. No one’s forcing you to do anything.
PS: (And these are my notes and my opinion.) Amazon’s the exception. They want to be everything for everyone, while not sacrificing quality or worker health and safety. And look what a great job they’re (not) doing.
Think it helps that they own a whole swath of the Internet?
Here’s a link to the source.
About “The hedonic buffet”
We get to choose what to do and what not to do. The problem often comes in having too many choices. So often we fall back on habit or desperately follow some random person’s advice.
Figure out your “why” (why do you get up in the morning, for instance) and focus on that. Because you are the sum total of your choices.
Here’s a link to the source.