I have great news: You can stop waiting to get your break as a writer. Seriously. You don’t need approval anymore.
As best-selling author James Altucher put it, you can now “choose yourself”.
Things have changed dramatically in the two decades since I began freelancing. At the time, social media barely existed, self-publishing was called vanity press and print publications were the last word in storytelling. Now, you can follow your favorite New Yorker editor online, get your book out through tons of channels and write an essay directly to the public.
I experienced this change firsthand with my new book, The Bite-Sized Entrepreneur: 21 Ways to Ignite Your Passion & Pursue Your Hustle. It was inspired by me co-founding and selling a startup within a year while being the primary caretaker of my baby. I knew others would want to hear my story and my strategies for successfully balancing life and career.
First, I put the book on Kindle, hiring long-time ASJAer Jeanette Hurt to edit and artist Bec Loss to do the cover. I did the paperback uploading the manuscript to CreateSpace (my first time doing that). I did the audiobook through ACX after chatting with ASJA podcaster Meagan Francis and others about how to record audio well (also my first time doing that!). I connected with Geniecast to do virtual book tour talks through my computer – perfect for the parent of two young children. Finally, I joined Teachable and turned the book into a multimedia course. I paid my writing collaborators, but all the professional platforms were free to use and helped garner press from Inc., Business Rockstars TV and other outlets.
The reception was strong enough for me to turn it into a series. The Productive Bite-Sized Entrepreneur: 24 Smart Secrets to Do More in Less Time arrives on September 26th.
The original Bite-Sized Entrepreneur just came out on August 2nd. If I worked with a traditional publisher, the first book wouldn’t have been out until sometime in 2018. The world moves too quickly for that strategy now. If you have a great idea, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to move quickly, too.
I’m not extraordinarily skilled, nor am I the only writer taking control of my destiny and profits. The aforementioned Meagan Francis created her own podcast network – because she could. Trailblazers Linda Formichelli and Diane Burrell established Renegade Writer Press. And long-time writing business expert Kelly James-Enger has been self-publishing her popular book Six-Figure Freelancing for years.
Now we all have the free-to-low-cost tools to make our product and, through organizations like ASJA, the opportunity to build a network to help us sell it. The traditional publishing industry is great for certain books, but it is no longer the only game in town.
Are you waiting for someone to tell you your next book idea is worth pursuing? Consider greenlighting yourself to follow your next passion project. When you are waiting, you could be creating, and your big idea could already be impacting the world.