I’ve spent my life ‘choosing my lane’. That is, I know what I’m good at and what I’m not.
But now, I’m an author and a really motivated one at that. That means, barring winning the lottery and having money to spend on consultants of all kinds, just about every lane is suddenly my lane. I need to get good at everything and completely get out of my comfort zone.
Which means, by default I’m now a:
1) mailing house operator–the people at the post office and I are now on a first name basis.
2) delivery boy–every chance I have to deliver a book by hand is a great moment
3) website editor–I had no idea what to do just a few weeks ago. Now, I have a little less of no having idea what to do and have successfully moved up to slightly confused. But we’re getting there.
4) social media dude–I’m feeling more comfortable every day, but staring into the vast nothingness of my phone and just start talking is still a weird feeling.
5) photographer–I am now taking pictures every day and everything I see is an opportunity to highlight something fun and interesting happening with the book.
6) ad maker–With lots of great coaching and help, I’m starting to figure out how to make some basic graphics. Award-winning, no. Pretty solid work, I think so.
7) media pitcher–It’s all about relationships. Some great friends either have their own radio and TV shows or blogs or know people that do. Those are turning into some incredible opportunities, like the one shown above with Kerby Anderson of the nationwide radio talk show Point of View .
8) talk show guest–Last week, I was on Kerby’s show and this week I’ll be featured on shows in Louisiana and Colorado
9) speaker–2 speeches in the last two weeks to trade associations with several events coming up with chambers of commerce and other events I’m in the process of locking down.
10) blogger–I’m sharing content and perspectives every week and learning every day.
11) trend tracker–I’m more than slightly obsessed with watching Amazon’s Author Central page, which tells me where The Arsonist in the Office ranks compared to the other 8 million books they sell. Just a tidbit–last Thursday and Friday, my book ranked in the top 1/3 of 1 percent of all books sold that day on Amazon. That’s amazing and is the result of so many people reading this blog.
I’ve stumbled a few times and learned a lot about what to do…and what not to.
Then, along with all of this are the opportunities.
In the last few weeks, I have given two speeches, been on a national talk show and a podcast.
This week alone, I’ll be on three radio shows in 3 different states, doing a book signing out of state (looking forward to seeing you, Colorado!) and speaking at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon and life will only get busier from there.
I can’t thank all of you enough who are spreading the word, buying the books and following me on this journey to extinguish the arsonists and make our world a little kindler, gentler and a lot less toxic!
If you have questions about how this ‘author thing’ works, let me know!
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