The mind virus is created. Spread the infection. Each of five episodes is only 99 cents each. Get the whole Season for the discount at $3.99. (And if you already have read it, please review it.) Thanks! ~ Chazz
I’m teaching my son hand-to-hand combat. He’s such a friendly, funny, sweet little guy, I’m sure his character will keep him out of lots of fights. However, there are things to learn that are applicable to the forces you and I combat. For instance, it’s often easy to predict who will win a street fight. Similarly, I can tell you why some authors will win the fight to have their work discovered.
The bigger person usually wins the fight.
The fighting analogy is obvious, but it applies to our book ventures, too. If you have published many books, you’re in more Also boughts. More shelf space means easier discoverability. The longer your book is available, the more sales it will eventually accrue. (My bestseller is still my first book.)
If you aren’t big yet, write more good books.
The person who strikes first usually wins the fight.
I’d rather my son run from any fight, but if threatened with no escape route, hit fast and hit hard and hit first. End it before the drunk gets a head of steam on the courage he got from a bottle.
If you got into self-publishing early (i.e. before the Amazon algorithms changed) or if you were a popular traditionally published author, you have the advantage of experience and legacy. You had a profile. You still have an advantage now. You hit early, hard and first. You’re still feeling the benefits of throwing the first punch.
The person who is better prepared wins the fight.
A trained fighter has an obvious advantage over a novice. The trained fighter will be less likely to panic when things go wrong and will know how to compensate for a temporary reversal of fortune. After losing sparring matches in training, the experienced fighter has knowledge that will allow victory.
Similarly, if a writer has written a long time, he or she will not lose confidence at a temporary setback. Sometimes you have no idea what happens next in your story and you’ve written yourself into a corner. Once you’ve written yourself into a corner many times, you don’t give up so quickly when you meet the problem again. You recognize opportunities or make new ones.
The person who is willing to do what it takes to win, will.
Most people are unwilling to do the nasty things you do to end a fight decisively. Most fights start when an idiot tries to intimidate someone, but the bully often doesn’t really want to fight. There’s a good reason no one really wants to fight. It hurts. Even if you win, you’ll very likely have tooth marks on your knuckles.
You guessed it. Many people who say they want to write, don’t. Experienced writers get bored when someone complains they don’t have enough time to write or they have writer’s block. In most cases, that’s the sound of someone unwilling to put in the time to write, edit, revise, polish and publish.
Serious writers grapple with issues of craft, marketing and business. Serious writers have much more challenging time management problems than merely beginning to write. We do what we have to do. That always means sacrifice.
The fighter with more muscle usually wins.
Even a trained, experienced fighter can be taken out by a shot with heft behind it.
For the writer, skills are our muscle. We know what a gerund is and how it relates to passive voice. We can avoid a lot of problems because we have an ear for dialogue or paid attention to basic grammar rules in school. These skills keep you in the fight for readers’ attention longer.
The first rule of Fight Club is: Do not talk about Fight Club!
Fighters don’t build up to the fight. That’s macho posturing and a sign of a silly bully, not a fighter. Talking is not where our energies are best employed (unless we’re being kind to each other.)
Fighters fight.
Writers write.
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Filed under: author platform, book marketing, publishing, self-publishing, Writers, writing tips, Arts, book marketing, Book Writing, books, Combat, fight club, Hand-to-hand combat, Robert Chazz Chute, This Plague of Days, writer, Writers Resources, writing
C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m 
Which is better for you traditional or self published?
The cost/benefit analysis says independent publishing is probably better in the long run, though hybrid publishing comes out on top now.
The old adage ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket’ definitely applies to publishing. A nice mix of self-publishing and working with small press publishers builds a career, and establishing yourself on both sides can only help. In my humble opinion.
Armand Rosamilia
Im a self published author and it isn’t working at all!! I’m thinking about getting an agent and going the traditional way.
Armand is a great example of a hybrid author who is making it work. (Note to Armand: Humble opinion? When did this start?!)
I’m trying to present a positive front… shut up and let me be humble!
Armand
@ Armand Haha! Shutting up. You’re fooling everyone.
@ krystoldiggs I feel frustrated, too and we should all keep our options open. You have to make the best business choice for you now. Variables change and the situation is fluid. Though this blog is primarily about independent publishing, I don’t have an ideology that says indie or nothing. There are many paths up the mountain.
Robert Chazz Chute’s postings are too good to come from anyone but a first-rate writer. I am grateful every time I read what he has to say. That’s not playing nice, it’s playing true.
Barry, you just made my day! Thanks for reading. 🙂