Make Your Own Applications

If you read these entries very often, you know that I read a number of magazines.  People love to follow various trends. I appreciated this article in the August issue of Entrepreneur Magazine by Gwen Moran called Hot New Marketing Trends.

I found these trends interesting but here’s the real rub when it comes to reading these trends: they are only as good as the person reading them. The key is not just knowing about them and understanding them—the rubber meets the road in the application to your own writing life. For example, it’s all fine that the marketplace advertising is moving toward greater use of text messaging and mult-media where people will make purchases over their cell phones. Great information but how are you going to translate that information into your own marketing plans?

From teaching at writer’s conferences and participating in different online groups, I realize millions of people are eager to get their books published—yet many of them are stumbling around in darkness and unsure how to begin the process. Many of them have checked out publishing a tiny bit—enough to know there are scams and crooks and ways to lose their money. Few people seem to understand the necessity of consistently increasing their visibility in the market—through magazine articles and nurturing their relationships with editors and others in the writing community. Others don’t seem to understand the necessity of crafting an excellent book proposal.

As for me, I’m looking for applications to trends which yield results. I’m more interested in working smarter than working harder. I was fascinated some time ago with Mike Hyatt’s answer to the secret of his success: responsiveness. How can you incorporate this element into your own marketing efforts? Is there something from these hot trends that you can take into your writing?