How to Eliminate Your Competition

It is easy to have competitive feelings in the publishing world. Admittedly there are thousands of books and websites all trying to get your attention and eyeballs. Whether you have a manuscript and are trying to get the attention of a literary agent or publisher or your book is published and in the marketplace and you are attempting to get readers and buyers of your book. It can feel crowded and hard to break through the noise.

I've been at conferences and new writers are trying to get my attention for their project or book.It can be a challenge to have your few minutes with an editor or agent in that environment. In this article, I want to give you a couple of tools to eliminate your competition (or at least reduce this tension).

1. Your Attitude 

Some writers view themselves surrounded with competitors. Others see the competition as someone to partner with and help. It is old visual of the half-filled glass. It is half empty or half full? Your attitude will be a huge part in this process. I view my “competitors” as someone that I can learn from and help. If I help them, then they are prone to help me.

There is always something new to learn from anyone who crosses your path—whether they are brand new in the business or they are experienced.  If you take this open attitude, then it will draw others to you instead of propel them away.

2. Your Actions

With the attitude adjustment, take a careful look at others who are in your field or niche. Now ask yourself the question, “How can you help that person or business?” Take several minutes to brainstorm some answers on paper. Can you post a tweet or Facebook post about that author or business? Can you write for a review copy of their book, then read the book and write an honest review? Can you approach them about guest blogging for them or contributing an article for their website or newsletter? Do they have an affiliate program? Can you join their program (usually free) and market their book or product to your audience and make money? These types of efforts create a win-win philosophy for each party. You are helping them to reach a new audience and you are also earning money from the effort.

When you begin to be open to these possibilities, you will see there are many different ways you can help others. The key is to take action and move forward with these ideas. It does not happen in isolation but in partnership, great things transpire.

Several months ago, Patricia Fry approached me to possibly endorse her new book. Propose Your Book is a targeted to people who want to learn how to successfully sell a book proposal. If this topic sounds familiar, it should because almost ten years ago I wrote and launched Book Proposals That Sell, 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success. The book has over 130 Five Star Amazon reviews and continues to help many people. I've not updated this printed book in years but I hold the exclusive Ebook rights and have continually updated the Ebook version. I even created a free book proposal checklist (follow the link).

On the surface, I could have balked at Patricia's request because this new book is one of my competitors. To be honest the thought did not cross my mind and instantly I wrote back saying, I'd be honored to help and requested a printed copy of the book. If I'm going to endorse a book, I read the book cover to cover to make sure I have something unique and honest to say about the book.  Patricia sent the book and gave her publisher's deadline for the endorsement.

Last week, I received an autographed copy of Propose Your Book. Prominently on the back cover are these words:

“To learn a skill like book proposal creation, I want to turn to someone like Patricia Fry who is aware of the current market needs, authoritative, detailed, and honest. Read this book and follow the instructions, then an editor or literary agent will want to champion and sell your submission.”

--W Terry Whalin, bestselling author of more than sixty books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams

My endorsement helps Patricia but also promotes my latest writing book. Because Propose Your Book is brand new, I noticed there are no reviews on Amazon—at this writing. Often the publisher will include the endorsements on the Amazon page (something which has not happened yet for this book). Even though I write a number of reviews, it would look odd to endorse and also review this book. Part of my effort in helping Patricia is writing this article and promoting it—which tells people about the availability of this excellent book.

The next move is yours to apply this information to your own writing life. What actions are you taking today to eliminate your competition?

Tweetable:
Learn how to eliminate your competition. (Click to Tweet)

Make It Easy To Get Something FREE

About a month ago, I noticed several prominent Internet Marketers were promoting PopUp Domination. These marketers are people who are successful with their online efforts and I often learn something new from them. It was the case with this new program.

Several of my websites are on a WordPress platform, which is where this program works best. Within a few days after getting the program, I figured out how to use a plugin (a new experience for me) and got the program working on a site which I haven't been promoting much: www.bookproposalcoach.com. When you go to this site, a popup makes it easy for you to get my free 90-page Ebook offer. While I'll admit that I'm not a huge fan of these popups, I do know they are effective because often I will sign up when I am visiting a new site--and that would not have been the case without that popup.

In the last few days, I began to think about how I could increase people who received my free Ebooks such as Straight Talk from the Editor or Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. These two Ebooks are my most popular or frequently requested Ebooks. But I had a problem. For each of these Ebooks, I built the landing pages over on Right-Writing.com. PopUp Domination works on these free standing websites but I haven't figured out how to use that part of the program--yet. It is coming soon but will take a bit more experimentation on my part.

In the meantime, I decided to move Straight Talk from the Editor to WordPress and get PopUp Domination working for it. I got the site moved and working. Now it is easy for anyone to receive my free Ebook.

Where else could I use this new tool? I decided to add it to two other WordPress sites: www.terrywhalin.com and the site to sign up for my free affiliate program, www.terryinfo.com. At my personal site with my name, I decided to give away Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. If you check out terrywhalin.com, you can see the result.

My challenge was what to give someone thinking about joining my affiliate program. The Ebook that I give away has to be relevant to the website. I found this excellent 152-page Ebook, The Affiliate Masters Course, Become a high-earning affiliate champion by Ken Evoy. I set it up at: terryinfo.com. In the last week, I wrote my affiliates and encouraged them to use some new products and tools in my program plus I gave them several tips that can be used in any affiliate program to earn passive income. I'm committed to training and helping these affiliates to use my tools and increase their earnings from my products.

If you are giving away a free Ebook or Special Report, what steps are you taking to make it easy for the reader to get your offer?

Use What's In Front of You

It is easy to pick up on the negative news and the dismal information blitz about the state of the national economy. Here's my big insight for you: don't let it. Guard your heart and mind or it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead each day focus on the positives and make a conscious effort to see the opportunities around you. They are present if you look for them.

While you don't need any validation for these sentences, take a quick look at the cover of last week's New Yorker magazine:

Where are the opportunities around you? If you have been writing for children and that isn't providing enough income or publishing opportunities, can you move to a different age group or different type of writing (from books to magazines or online markets)? There is a vast array of possibilities in the publishing area--if you are open to them. I give some of those possibilities in the sample from Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams because it includes the first chapter of my book.

Whether you have your own products or no products, you can open the possibility of earning passive income through affiliate programs. I have a free program which includes training about how to use the tools. If you have a blog or a website, with very little effort on your part, you can add my product ads to the side bar of your blog and forget about it. When someone uses that ad to purchase the product, you will receive a notification and I receive notification, then in a few weeks you will receive a check. Why do I give away 50% of my income from these products? It's simple. Different people will go by your websites or blogs than will go to my different websites. I'm expanding my reach and you are earning some extra income. If you have a newsletter or are involved in an online group, you can add your affiliate link to your signature line. If someone purchases the product, you earn money from that simple action.

In the last few days, I've worked with a designer to create two different banner ads. One of them is for a horizontal position:

While the other ad is smaller and vertical:

Each of these ads are "clickable" and take you to my site for Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. It's a way that I'm using the tools which are in my possession and I can actively do something about.

Many elements of the publishing world are outside of our control. Take responsibility for what you can and move ahead with it. Action will pay off much more than doing nothing.

Pass On Value

Through the years, it's been my privilege and opportunity to interview hundreds of best-selling authors. After the interview, I've written their stories for different magazines but I've learned much more than I could ever build into a 1,500 word personality profile. As I've gained new insight and information, part of my make-up is to pass these lessons on to others. It's one of the best ways to cement the information in my own life but also to help others in the process.

I've set up an affiliate program which continues to grow in members. It's free and simple to join. If you work the program, it gives you some passive income potential. Each month I am sending payments to my affiliates who are participating and selling from their participation. It's been exciting to see the growth in this aspect of my work and the benefits for others and myself.

Several months ago I held my first affiliate training session as a teleseminar. I recorded that call and saved the study guide from it. It's given me another resource to give to new affiliates and encourage them. Yes, the examples in the training relate to my site and my products. Here's the beauty of it: the information is universal. If you learn how to use my affiliate links, then you can use other people's affiliate links and increase your own earning potential.

I'm continually looking for new products to bring to my audience--whether I make them or they are from someone else. I know I'm passing along material which has value and earning potential for each person who uses it. This tactic will not be right for everyone and some people will leave your newsletter list. I see this leaving process as a part of the purification process. The only people you want to stay are the people who trust your recommendations and read your material. It is not "fun" when people chide you for sending out too much advertisements when before you were giving out totally free content. (Yes, it's happened many times to me.) I understand that people have different seasons and it's not appropriate for everyone.

At the same time, my newsletter list continues to grow and have strength in the process. I'm still committed to bringing excellent content articles to my Right Writing News list. I've produced 29 issues at this point and only subscribers have access to those free back issues. It is over 400-pages of excellent how-to-write material and part of my commitment to passing on value to writers--whether experienced or brand new.

I'm holding a second affiliate training later today. It’s my second teleseminar for affiliates. I will record the call so if you are reading this entry after the fact, you can still catch the training. I'm picking up where I left off with the first training session and giving additional tips and insight to increase the effectiveness of each affiliate. It's like any writing skill—it only works if you use it. The tips are universal and can be applied to any aspect of your Internet marketing efforts.

Almost daily I see writers who are pitching a novel or a nonfiction book. Yet they have no network or platform and no idea how to build that platform or audience. I've got ideas how to do it and some of those ideas will be taught this afternoon through my teleseminar.

During October and beyond, I've got several exciting teleseminars scheduled so stay tuned. If you look at my speaking schedule you will see, I'm still committed to traditional writers conferences and working on my material that I will be teaching on cutting-edge techniques at the Glorieta Christian Writers Conference. Hope to see you there where I can pass on more valuable lessons and insight.

Catch My Training Session

Last week I held a telewebcast for my affiliate program. I created a study guide for the session which I used throughout the session. While I didn’t have a large crowd for this session, I did have some participation and it helps to record the material in front of a live audience. A number of people submitted questions in advance of the telewebcast which I used to shape the content of my material.

The training was recorded. I took the MP3 file and briefly edited it using Sound Forge. If you don't know, Sound Forge is a simple software program that allows you to edit sound using identical keystroke commands to Microsoft Word. It requires no programming skills. Besides doing a bit of editing, I added "needle music" to the beginning and the end of the session. The few seconds of music gives the overall recording a professional output. Then I took my edited audio file and created an audio postcard using audio generator.com.

The creation of my audio postcard gave me a tool that I could send to each affiliate. Then the individual can listen to the seminar on their own schedule. Also the audio postcard provides a tool that I can send to new affiliates and provide on-going training. In the days ahead, I will be adding more training for my affiliates. The affiliate program is free and anyone can join and catch my training session. The information that I provided about affiliate programs are applicable to many other affiliate programs on the Internet. I know my training session worked because several affiliates who had not been using the program got started last week after listening to the program.

Why do I invest in such training for others? It's part of my on-going promotional effort to spread the word about the products that I'm creating--and share the commissions with affiliates. You will touch people that I will never reach and I want you to profit financially from your efforts. It's a way for you to gain passive income simply for leading someone toward the product.

Through the more than 70 five star reviews for Book Proposals That Sell plus the endorsements on the book from editorial directors, acquisitions editors, literary agents and bestselling authors, I know this product is helping writers who want to get into the traditional book market. I'm continuing to promote and sell the paperback version and the electronic version of the book. When I was in Southern California on Saturday, I brought my book and sold it. Yesterday I mailed another review copy of my book to an author who may join my affiliate program after looking at it. Many authors believe their publisher should be the on-going promoter of their book. That sort of thinking is out dated in my view. Instead, every author needs to play an active and on-going role in telling people about their book.

If you have a product such as an ebook or an audio product where you can pay a portion of the profits to affiliates, you can get your own affiliate program through the same program that I'm using. My shopping cart includes the affiliate program. The software is web-based and simple for anyone to learn.

If you have authors or would-be authors who go by your website or if you have an e-zine or newsletter of any size or just want to work on developing a newsletter or audience, then I encourage you to join my affiliate program for free, then use my study guide and training session. It's another way to keep growing and learning.

Looking For A Few More Affiliates

Do you have associates or affiliates? According to the Merriam–Webster dictionary, an affiliate is someone that you have a close relationship. Several months ago, I started an affiliate program which is a part of my shopping cart. Some people have signed up for this free program. My sign-up page is simple and can be completed in a few minutes. After you sign up, then you receive an email with your own affiliate number and link to my products. Also you will have access to my banners and promotional emails for different products. Several of my affiliates are actively using their links and earning the benefits of such activity. They are receiving checks for their efforts.

Yet the majority of my affiliates have signed up and aren't making any sales. I'm unsure of the reasons. Maybe they don't understand how to use the links or haven't taken the time to put them into emails or on their websites. I don't have any idea what their particular barrier is to using their links—but I'm working to get this information.

Some of the most successful affiliate programs provide training and sales ideas for their partners. In about nine days, I'm going to provide an affiliate training TeleWebcast. I've sent an email to all of my affiliates telling them of the specific date and time for this free training. The TeleWebcast allows them to ask their questions. I will organize the training around these questions plus give them some innovative ideas about how they can improve their affiliate marketing. I hope a number of these people will be able to attend the live training. If they can't get to the training session, then I will take the replay and store it in the affiliate area so they can listen to it on their own schedule.

If you have not signed up to become one of my affiliates, I hope you will in the next few weeks. And if you have questions about how to use an affiliate program, then ask them during my forthcoming TeleWebcast. As an affiliate, you touch people that I will never cross their path. You can tell them about my products and lead them to the landing page. If the individual buys the book or product, then you receive an email and I receive an email notifying us of this purchase. Then following the unconditional guarantee period, I pay 50% commissions from this referral. It's a good way to boost your passive income and help other writers in the process.

Each Day Do A Little Bit

About ten years ago, I ghost wrote a daily radio program for a bestselling author. They were short pithy daily reminders for the listener which were one-minute in length. This author recorded the programs and sent them to radio stations around the country who played them for free since they fell into the Public Service Announcement category (PSA). I wrote over 300 of these programs and provided a steady stream of material going out to the radio community and reminding the listening audience about this author. It was a simple and effective strategy. I don’t know if the program continues today or not. This daily challenge is a powerful tool. My question today is: Are you incorporating some daily action into your life to build your writing career or boost your latest book?

The June 11th issue of Publishers Weekly used Christopher Lee Nutter's article in the Soapbox Column called Author, Media Savant. While his book is a year old (ancient in terms of most publicity), he is "still on book tour" and a smart author who understands the necessity of continual publicity about his book.

This section was particularly insightful about how magazines and newspapers handle galley copies of new books, "It is true that my 13 years working as a writer and editor at magazines and newspapers has made me savvy. I've been on the other end of the pitch, so I know how to craft one. I also know that most book PR departments simply hurl galleys blindly at the media, using generic lists of publications and dated lists of editors, letting the galleys fall where they may--which is usually on the giveaway table. Countless times I surveyed the cemetery of galleys headed to their early graves, and determined to avoid this destiny at all costs. So way before I ever even met my publicist, I decided to take responsibility for my book's publicity." (I added the emphasis on this last sentence.)

Later in the article, Nutter gives this great attitude, "It's a lot of work and uncertainty, no doubt about it. But it's worth it. I love my book, and I didn't write it for no one to hear about. While it's true that I can't make people buy the book, I can make sure they've heard of it."

With the sheer volume of new books entering the market daily, it's entirely possible that many people have never heard of you or your book. Nor have these people heard of me or my books. For example, my Book Proposals That Sell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success has been in print for over two years. And new people continue to discover it and use it to accomplish their own publishing dreams. I'm grateful whenever they find it.

Each day, I continue to do little things which spread the word about my book. Here's a couple of ideas for you readers of these entries on the Writing Life:

1. Join my affiliate program which is free and takes minutes to fill out the form. But don't just join the program. You need to take the next step and begin using your own affiliate link in emails and banner ads on your websites. Why? Because as people click those banners or emails, if they come to my landing page and purchase the book, then you receive an email of notification (and I do as well). Here's the great news: after the 60 day guarantee period, I send you 50% of the commissions--for any of my products. For example, with Book Proposals That Sell in the ebook format, that means $19.50 each time someone buys it that you have led to the site. There are even greater payments with other products such as Editor Reveals Book Proposal Secrets.

2. Use my free articles in your own newsletter or website. I've got these articles for anyone to use them so feel free--and I do have plans to add to them.

Take your long-range goal and put it into smaller pieces and attack it every day. Some of your efforts will begin to reap rewards.

What Triggers Someone To Buy A Book

Publishers and authors have been trying to solve this question for ages: What triggers someone to buy a book? It's a combination of factors that involve timing, positioning and touching the reader's needs. I confess I don’t have the ultimate answer but I do have a experience that I believe is worth recounting in this entry on the Writing Life.

I hold the electronic rights to Book Proposals That Sell and surveys have shown more than 81% of Americans would like to write a book and millions have actually written a manuscript. Get Published! (click this link to see how you can get a free copy of this how-to book) includes this statistic on page 60, "Finished manuscripts for an estimated 8 million novels and 17 million how-to books are lying in desk drawers all over the country, waiting to be published." Now that is the kind of statement that strikes fear into the heart of every editor and agent (the folks who have to review this material!). So…there is a huge number of people who want to get published and don't now how to do it.

From the reviews and other factors, I know Book Proposals That Sell is helping people achieve their dreams in this area. While the paperback still continues to sell, I'm also selling the electronic version. I’ve started an affiliate program with this book (and other products are coming). Every reader of these entries should be a part of this affiliate program. It takes two minutes or less to fill out the form and get your own link. Then you can recommend to others the book and potentially earn 50% commission from the link. I hope every agent and publisher and bestselling author will join this program and my goal is to improve the quality of submissions throughout publishing. Mark Victor Hanson calls this a BHAG or a Big Hairy Audacious Goal. At Mega Book Marketing University, Mark told us that a BHAG 1) inspires people to want to play. 2) it forces you to grow to achieve it.

A number of people have joined my affiliate program--including one highly visible book marketing expert. In the last week or two, several people have purchased Book Proposals That Sell using his affiliate link. After we get through my unconditional guarantee period of 60 days, I'm going to be sending this expert a check for these referrals.

Yesterday I took a few minutes to see what he was doing with my banners. He has a strong web presence and many different pages on his website. I discovered he was using my blinking banner on five different pages. I have no idea if it is the location of the banner, the words on the banner, the fact that it blinks or the terrific design. I just know it's working and I hope other affiliates will use it as well on their own pages. And whether you use this blinking banner or not, do join the affiliate program and use your affiliate link to guide people to the page. (I know my banner here doesn't blink--maybe it's a blogger restriction. Go to this link and scroll to the bottom to see the changing banner).

Your link might be the trigger to get someone the publishing help that they need to take the next step in their own journey.

Persist With Your Passion

What are you doing each day to persist with your passion? Are you passionate about fiction? If so, what are you doing to continue growing in your craft? What are you doing to continue writing the stories in your heart and get those stories on paper? Or maybe your passion is to be published in magazines? Are you faithfully pitching new ideas and writing the assignments which come your way? Or possibly you have a nonfiction idea that needs to get published? Or maybe you have a friend with a nonfiction book idea that "should" be published? What proactive steps are you taking today to get those ideas moving?

Your breakthrough opportunity might be around the corner. It certainly can't happen if you don't keep knocking on the doors and trying to open the way. If you read these entries, you will know one of my passions is to help writers produce better book proposals and pitches to editors and literary agents. Why? Because as an editor (and now an agent), I see many proposals which have a gem of an idea--but it's buried or not pitched in the most compelling fashion. I can't fix every one of these proposals. It's impossible. What I can do is encourage writers to read Book Proposals That Sell and study the contents and grow in their abilities.

When I go to a conference, I bring several copies of my book and make a pointed case to give these books to key individuals. After the conference, I follow up and see if I can provide any additional information or open another opportunity from the gift. While my book has been out for almost two years, I continue to mail review copies to people. In fact, yesterday I mailed two more review copies. I've seen firsthand how persistence will pay off.

My book continues to be reviewed. This week Shane Werlinger posted a review about Book Proposals That Sell on Suite 101. I hope you will check it out.

Almost daily I received notices about selling electronic versions of Book Proposals That Sell. Some of these sales come from affiliates, who are leading people to my book and earning 50% of the commission from this web link. If you haven't taken two minutes, join my affiliate program and begin using your own link to lead people to Book Proposals That Sell. As people read the book, they will improve their own book submissions so you will serve others in that process. In addition to helping your audience, you will be adding some passive income from the experience. The process is simple. First, join my affiliate program, then add your link to your website, your newsletter or your emails.

Everyone needs to follow the persistence of Andy Andrews who wrote the bestseller, The Traveler's Gift. I told this story almost two years ago but I'm going to repeat it here. A popular speaker, Andy wrote a manuscript which he tried to get published. It was rejected 54 times. How many of us send out our material to this degree? He continued in his popular speaking work but did not have a book for his audience. One day Gayle Hyatt was in Andy Andrews' audience. She came up to him afterwards and suggested that he write a book.

Looking a bit sheepish, Andy told Gayle, "Your husband's company (Thomas Nelson) has already rejected my book." Gayle asked to receive a copy of the manuscript and promised to read it. Andy sent her the book. She showed it to her husband (Mike Hyatt, president of Thomas Nelson) and the book was published.

Note the perseverance in what happened next. When Andy got his new book, he gave away 12,000 copies of the book. Most of those review copies didn't make much of a difference. But one of those copies got in the hands of Robin Roberts, a producer of ABC's Good Morning America. Roberts selected The Traveler's Gift as their Book of the Month. The Traveler's Gift sold 850,000 copies and the rest is history.

The writing life isn't easy for any of us. You have to persist with your passion. It is a key characteristic of the writers who ultimately find success.