First Word

For the first time in almost two years we are finally on the up side of business growth. Persistence + pressure = Yippee! What people believe is "overnight success" is really that formula come to fruition. I don't know anyone who can announce from the rooftops they are an overnight success. People see it that way. The media lauds it like lightning in a bottle, but the reality is that's all "bunk" (as Chris says). So how did I manage to avoid driving Uber as my income supplement LOL? Remember that one? I pondered driving Uber for about a day and a half. Do you know why I put that random thought away? I am about to share the greatest lesson any businessperson or author could ever hear: If you have a fall-back option you will undoubtedly fall back! Don't give yourself a safety net! Don't do it. Don't think it. Don't consider it. Don't create it. Once you've launched a business or a book never, ever go backward....

Creating a best-selling book is contingent upon three things: Great promotion + great story + market interest at the time + plain old luck Every author that comes for a consult with my company 3L Publishing (www.3LPublishing.com) generally hopes for a successful book. No one comes to me and says they want to fail. When I counsel people I always tell them that their mindset determines failure. If the one outcome is a national best seller and the dream of joining that 1% of elite authors who dominant the market then that's loftier than I can promise. Of course, as an author who doesn't aspire to be in that 1% dream slice of the pie? For the sake of not setting up false expectations, I always tell them that if the idea is for the very fact that they authored a book to create new opportunities then with all assurance I feel confident the book will absolutely reach that goal. In the meantime, authors can either hire a publicist to help them promote their books (and you can c...