Have you been aspiring to write your book for a very long time?
Do you want to turn on your “Author Switch” that will move you from an aspiring author to a serial author?
In my academy, there is this one principle I teach which I call “Turning On your Author Switch”, and it has produced fantastic results for my students.
Today I will share this concept with you so that you can also turn on your Author Switch and get into Action Mode.
At my work, I deal with two types of authors – authors who, year after year, come back to us with their next book and authors who are still struggling to finish their first book.
One thing I noticed that clearly differentiates these aspiring authors from serial authors is Action.
You must have heard this before, but indeed, your action is determined by your feelings, your feelings are determined by your thoughts, and your thoughts stem from your belief system.
Fundamentally, there is an obvious difference in the belief system of an aspiring author as compared to a serial author.
Let me break this down for you to better understand how you can shift your belief system. The process should not take you years. Once you understand the code, your change from an aspiring author to a serial author will happen in an instant.
If I would gather all the limiting beliefs and fears that an aspiring author has, I can easily divide them into four buckets.
1st Self-limiting belief: I am not an expert!
If this limiting belief or fear has been stopping you from writing your book, ask yourself what makes you think that way. Maybe you still don’t have a Ph.D. on your subject and maybe you’re comparing yourself with all the influencers and experts in your field. These are just some of the thoughts that will truly make you feel really small and will make you think that you don’t have enough expertise to write your book.
2nd Self-limiting belief: My writing skills are not good enough.
This is very common to most of us as not everyone is used to writing long-form texts. And knowing that writing is not your unique skill may demotivate you and make you feel that you don’t have the right to write a book.
3rd Self-limiting belief: I don’t have the time. OR My priorities take up my time.
Needless to say, this is a concern that every single one of us can genuinely relate to.
4th Self-limiting belief: Publishing is difficult!
You’ve spent all your time and effort to write the book BUT what if not one publisher selects your manuscript?! What if everybody rejects your work? Should you just abandon all hope and wishful thinking, just leave your manuscript buried deep within your computer forever?
This is the typical thought pattern of an aspiring author.
A serial author, on the other hand, writes one book after another. A good example of a successful serial author is Brian Tracy who has written more than 80 books so far.
So how is that even done? What with all the daily happenings in our lives, what truly sets these serial authors apart from aspiring authors?
Let’s look into the counter-beliefs that these serial authors use to battle self-limiting beliefs most aspiring authors would usually deal with.
1st Counter-belief: I don’t need to be the “No. 1 Expert”!
Serial authors know that despite their years of experience there will always be people in their industry or niche who are better than them and smarter than them. For them, it is of no use to compare themselves to others who are ahead of them. Instead, serial authors will compare themselves to people who are a few steps behind them.
When you look back at the people who are a few steps behind you, who would really need your help, you will find the confidence that you need to continue or start writing your book. Because you know that to these people, you are the expert!
So don’t worry about being the “No 1. Expert!”, frankly speaking, THAT will never happen.
2nd Counter-belief: I don’t need to have great writing skills.
Let me put it this way, an author need not be a great writer!
Writing is a whole different skill. Some people are gifted with good writing skills while others learn the skill and that’s not your goal as an author. Your job as an author is to bring great ideas, share an inspiring message, and create a memorable reading experience to and for the book. Thus, it is not an author’s job to fine-tune their writing skills, that’s a job for an editor or an Angel Writer who has brilliant writing skills and can help enhance any manuscript.
Serial authors know this fact which is why they don’t find it extremely important if their English is just average or below average. Their main focus is to make sure that they are doing their job of sharing their insights for the book while someone who’s an expert in writing and editing improves the manuscript.
3rd Counter-belief: I will make time to write my book.
Everyone gets the same 24 Hours in a day but how does a serial author manage to find the right time to write their book despite the busyness of the day? Simple! Serial authors believe that writing their book is their priority at this point in time of their life. That’s all there is to it!
If writing your book is not your number one priority, your book will never happen. Find a strong enough reason to make your book your priority, and once you do, you’ll figure out the right time when you must write your book.
Here’s some good news for you!
Gone are the days where you have to endure grueling hours to write a book.
In this time and age where people seem to be more active and are always on the run, only a few have the luxury of time to sit and read for long hours.
Ideally, the sweet spot for a Self-Help or Business book is 30,000 words. This would translate roughly to about 180 to 200 pages after format. Writing a book that is about 30,000 words long will not require more than an hour every day for the next 30 to a maximum of 60 days. Let this be your guide and once you decide that writing your book is your priority, you will somehow carve out that extra hour every single day.
4th Counter-belief: If my book is valuable, I don’t need to go after a publishing house to publish my book.
Serial authors believe they have all the resources they need and understand that they can hire professionals to get their book self-published.
Know that you don’t need to wait for a publishing house to give their stamp of approval to prove that your manuscript is good. If you believe that your manuscript is good, go ahead and self-publish it!
The mindset of a serial author allows them to take action while aspiring authors are usually stuck at just thinking about writing a book.
Now, there’s just one fundamental belief that underlines everything else, and if you get that right now and at this moment, your Author Switch may just get turned on! And that is this – serial authors believe that is it their duty to serve their readers!
Serial authors don’t think about themselves. All their questions are directed towards the reader, unlike an aspiring author whose questions are directed towards themselves.
Aspiring authors are usually worried if they are experts enough at their own niche and if they are able to write excellently enough for people to buy their book.
Serial authors, on the other hand, write for their readers. Serial authors want to know who their readers are, what sort of problems would these readers usually encounter, what’s their area of expertise that they can use to help solve their readers’ problems, and how they can reach out to more readers.
When all your questions are directed towards your readers, you stop thinking about your fears, your inabilities, and you start figuring out ways to make things happen so that your readers get the benefit.
It’s your choice to make that switch in wanting to become a serial author. Once you decide to take that step, automatically, your author switch is turned on and suddenly you become unstoppable. You get on the action mode and you’re on fire to finish your book. Eventually, as you go on, you will start to attract the right people, the right resources, and the right tools to make your book happen.
I hope this is useful in helping you understand the fundamental difference between a serial author and an aspiring author.
Remember, for you to turn on that Author Switch, think about your readers more than yourself!
Lastly, I have created a Free Facebook group for purpose-driven authors like you!
In this group, I will share all the tools, habits, and strategies that I have learned from helping more than 500 Authors publish several bestselling books, grow their business, and improve the quality of their life, which will absolutely help you too!
JOIN by clicking this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/happyauthorstribe
See you there and Happy Authoring!