Negative vs. Positive
Reading should be a positive experience, right?
You want to create a positive shopping experience and a positive reading experience.
And writing is a positive experience, right?
(If not, why on earth are you doing it?)
So should publishing and marketing be positive.
But not everything and everyone you come across will seem positive.
And you will definitely encounter people and issues that will challenge you to stay positive.
- Don’t let ’em bring you down.
- Don’t let it make you negative.
You want to appear positive when you interact with potential readers. Even with fans.
The best way to appear positive is to be positive.
- It’s easy to fall into a negative mindset.
- It’s often not easy to stay positive.
But it’s so worth consciously working toward this. You can do it. 🙂
Author Branding
You’re striving to build a positive image as an author.
A critical review will challenge you to remain positive.
Cynics will challenge you.
Failed authors will challenge you.
Many people and occasions will challenge you to stay positive.
Don’t appear negative on your blog, in person, on social media, or anywhere.
- What will readers think if they read about you complaining about a review on your blog?
- What will readers think if they see you behaving negatively on a discussion forum?
You’re in the public eye now. Your image is at stake.
- What will readers think if they meet you and you appear very positive about your book?
- What will people think if you always come across as positive, even when you’re dealing with adversity?
Win your battles to stay positive. Build a positive reputation.
Each challenge is an opportunity to shine.
It’s not just your book and image that matter.
- If authors complain about Kindles and readers hear this, why would they want to buy one?
- If authors complain about Amazon and readers hear this, does it make them want to shop for books?
Positive Marketing
Staying positive has its rewards:
- Visualize a positive outcome. It helps motivate you to work toward your goals.
- When your positive mindset is challenged, think of it as an important battle toward long-term success. Win this battle by staying positive and making positive decisions. Don’t let this battle turn you negative and impede your chances for a bright future.
- You’re more likely to show confidence when you stay positive.
- You’re more likely to put your best effort into something when you feel positive about the outcome.
- When readers see your positivity, it impacts their buying decisions.
But challenged your positive mindset will be.
And in some cases, it won’t be easy. You’re likely to feel, “Come on! Not again! That’s more than enough,” but you just have to be that much more determined.
Think to yourself, “Bring it on. Is that the best you’ve got?” When you get through this battle, things will start going your way.
Negativity definitely has its disadvantages.
Interact with positive people. Add positive authors to your circles. Avoid negativity.
Chris McMullen
Copyright © 2014 Chris McMullen, Author of A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon and Other Online Booksellers
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Comments
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chrismcmullen 
Excellent rules for writing, but also for life in general.
Living and writing have a lot in common. 🙂
Most especially if that’s where the paycheck comes from:)
Great post and it does get really hard to remain positive in this business. A lot of people seem to work on dragging a new author down and the slightest bit of bad news can be damaging.
By the way, you made a post a while back about books showing up on sales pages where all the numbers are 0. What was that about again? It just happened to me and my sun-baked brain can’t remember what it meant. Can’t find the post either for some reason.
It means you sold a book that hadn’t yet sold this month, and once payment is processed (assuming), one of those zeroes will change. The sales dashboard shows orders, while the reports show completed purchases, so there is often a delay and a discrepancy.
Got it. It was the poetry book, which always seems to nab at least one sale every month. So I was confused. Thanks.
What you sow becomes your harvest, so I see your argument at staying positive.
Yes, plant positive seeds. 🙂
It’s especially helpful to surround yourself with positive people.
So true. Some people are also very good at making those around them more positive. 🙂
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog….. An Author Promotions Enterprise! and commented:
Great Marketing Tips to follow 😀
Thank you. 🙂
A near impossible challenge for a writer to be positive all the time, but good advice. I’ve only ‘lost’ it once over a review, but I did it in a positive way, ha!
It is easy to become negative and virtually impossible to stay positive (inherently impossible for fiction writers who have to think from the perspective of antagonists and devise catastrophes and suffering for protagonists). I think the important thing is to strive to be positive more and negative less than our natural tendencies. The negativity can really fester otherwise.
Totally agree! Great article!
Thank you. 🙂
Great post, Chris! Thanks. Shared on FB, LI, Twitter.
Thank you very much. 🙂