Reframes for Keeping On When Your Author Life Feels Hard

Quick mindset shifts can go a long way for playing the long games of book publishing and book marketing

Photo by Derick McKinney on Unsplash.

I probably relish working in the book business for the same reason you flit around or immerse yourself in it. We’re readers. We’re writers. We’re thinkers. We’re creators. We love books. Some people I know wonder if it’s also because I like banging my head against brick-tough walls.

My first career choice was foreign relations, international peacekeeping. Ooh, problems that don’t go away, because history, geography, politics, personalities. This one’s too hard.

Then it was philosophy. Ooh, vexing questions that don’t go away. This one’s too unsatisfying.

Then I landed on publishing. Ooh, just stupidly hard for authors and publishers and booksellers. This one’s just right!?#%#*!

But guess what? I’m still here and I’ve been making a living running small publishing and publishing-related business for 30 years come this September. It’s possible. And I’m devoting my current efforts to letting authors know that an income-generating author business of whatever size they decide to pursue is very possible and supporting their efforts in that direction.