Everyone Needs An Editor!

Building a good reputation sets expectations among your customers. But what if you fail to deliver?

For instance, I loved Clark Gable in Gone With The Wind, and foolishly anticipated similar excellence in one of his lesser-known films.

Receiving disappointing results reminded me that everyone has the occasional clunker. Do it once and people may forgive you. Do it more frequently and you may lose them for good.

Consider these columns I write. If I discussed anything I wanted, without consideration to topic, spelling, grammar, or tone, you might justifiably rebel and delete me from your reading list.

Instead, I’m obliged to consistently provide valuable marketing advice, reinforcing reasons for your return.

Which prompts the question: does writing a book help your career? Probably 98% of a given crowd believes their story is worthy of a book. Most don’t follow through.

The problem: today’s technology allows anyone to blast every unfiltered thought to the universe. So many authors stroke their ego, but don’t write well.

So…are random scribblings the next Harry Potter? Will a poorly written book cast shadows on a shining reputation?

If you’re considering writing your own book, I offer these friendly suggestions as a public service:

  • Take your time

  • Brain dumps are a first draft…NOT the final product

  • Before publishing, ask six people fitting your target reader profile to honestly critique the entire thing. Listen carefully to their feedback.

  • Rewrite. Rewrite. Rewrite.

  • Ask a college English professor to review it for grammar, spelling, and flow, or hire an editor.

Regardless of your writing skills, these recommendations should make your final product more readable and increase chances of an agent wanting to speak with you.

Finally, don’t forget to get book reviews from respected audience members prior to publication. If none are available, hire Kirkus Reviews or another independent book review service. Then use these reviews to complement your biography on the back cover.

I’ve been an author for decades, and have learned writing is a great hobby and useful as therapy. Bragging about writing a book helps improve others’ perspectives of you.

But never forget that publishing is a business. Satisfying customers, being aware of the competition, and making the sale must always be foremost in your mind.

And even if you just write a book to give out to people as a gift or a premium for signing a contract with you, you will still want to make sure it’s as readable as possible.

With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.

---
My latest, 5 Minutes to Better Branding, is available on Amazon.