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Find the Path to Your Own Author Business by Copying Others
Mimic to learn, succeed, and discover your originality
Annie Murphy Paul in The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain looks at three different areas we can (and do) draw on to supplement our brain power and our cognitive bandwidth: 1) the rest of our bodies, as in movement, gesture, and somatic feedback; 2) our environment and all that comprises our spaces; and 3) other people (as in their brains, conversations and collaborations with them, and learning from their examples).
This last point is what we’re looking at. We may already know — or at least surmise—just how much and how fast babies learn by observing and copying trusted and interesting bigger people around them. We’re at least vaguely aware too that copying is the bedrock of apprenticeships.
Well, guess what? Researchers are discovering that copying is a peak tool for learning, period. For adults. For all situations. For you, author, and your author business and book marketing activities.
Let’s look at six types of copying that I see as useful for authors starting or building sustainable business enterprises around their books, their author status, their experiences, skills, and expertise.
