I have always demanded excellence from myself and created unrealistic expectations. Like many entrepreneurs, I am a former perfectionist. As an MBA and Finance graduate, my original plans were not in the world of writing. Pressing fast forward, I am putting the final touches on my fifth and sixth books to complete my first book bundle and final books in my mental health series.
I would like to share three lessons learned from my career as an Author to help fellow and aspiring writers continue to grow and succeed.
My first book, Left for Dead: A Story of Redemption, is by far my longest publication with 60,000+ words before the first edit. With a book that long, I was in my own head a lot.
Each time I read over the book to check for grammatical and spelling errors, I found myself also making changes that may have been unnecessary. Some of these changes include changing words to different synonyms and rearranging sentences that were great as is.
Completing this book taught me the first lesson I would like to share. Focus on progress, not perfection. Perfection will never be possible. I learned it is important not to place too much pressure on yourself. If you are reading this, I would like to remind you that you are doing a great job and your target audience will appreciate the value you created.
I mentioned the words “target audience” because it leads to my second lesson learned. This lesson learned was finding a niche. My story could resonate with almost everyone, whether directly or indirectly through someone in their lives, but I needed to take it a step further.
To quickly share my story with those unfamiliar with who I am, I was the victim of a near-death hit-and-run accident while walking a few days before what should have been my last undergraduate semester. From recovering a near-month at Tampa General Hospital to relearning to walk, talk, and use the bathroom on my own again, my journey was forever changed.
How can I niche down my story and experiences? This is something I began asking myself. This led me to two areas: Mental Health and Entrepreneurship. No matter which areas you are passionate about and choose to write a book on, my advice would be to dig deep into who your target audience would be to maximize the value of your publication and its reach.
My second book, How to Transform Your Mindset When the Norm is Changed: A Guide to Working Remote, helps everyone from those new to working remotely to seasoned entrepreneurs maximize their days and lead fulfilling lives.
The next area I began writing on is mental health with the goal of completing a mental health series of books for all ages. It is my passion to share my story and experiences with students nationwide. It is very exciting to be putting the finishing touches on the last age group in my
series, the Mommy and Me group. I am taking this book a step further by also writing an extended version for the Early Reader age to continue from the first book.
Before signing off, I would like to share my third lesson learned. It is one accomplishment to write a book, but a whole other to make something of the book. In the words of Tony Alexander, your network is your net worth. Networking has been a major factor in creating awareness for my books. After great initial sales within my sphere of influence, I noticed sales decreasing.
I soon had to ask myself another question. How can I create more awareness? Three ways I found success in this area include creating podcasts around the topics in my books, leveraging LinkedIn, and learning from people who have done it before me. All of these have something in common, which is they are all forms of networking.
I challenge you to focus on progress, not perfection, find your niche, and network relentlessly to make the most out of your journey as a writer.
Thank you for reading this write-up and also to BooksShelf for the opportunity to collaborate together.
You can learn more about my books at www.VincentALanci.com.
