On Publishing: It's Never Too Early To Build Your Brand

(An Excerpt from my bestselling book 10 YEARS AND 24 HOURS TO INDIE EPUBLISHING SUCCESS)

IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO BUILD YOUR PLATFORM AND BRAND

I’ll begin divulging my Publishing Secrets to Success by taking you back to where I was when my writing-for-publication journey began almost two decades ago.

It’s really simple to grasp...

In the writing-for-publication world, at that time, I was a big ol’ nothing. A nobody.

BUT, that said...

That’s also when I made the first HUGE MISTAKE of many I would make.

What was that mistake?

I told people I was submitting my work to all kinds of New York Publishers and should be published soon.

Why would I do something so damn dumb?

Because, at that time, I hadn’t a clue what the hell I was doing and how the publishing world worked (around 1998).

I just believed in myself and my abilities and knew I had what it took to make it.

I had no idea of the hurry and wait...and wait...and wait...then never hear anything...so repeat the cycle...ramifications of the publishing industry.

That’s the good and the bad all wrapped in one big ass package.

The good: I had tons of people on my back asking me every damn day “when is your book coming out”.

The bad: I had tons of people on my back asking me every damn day “when is your book coming out”.

Now then...fast forward a few years and countless rejections, countless promises and opportunities made and then lost, too-many-to-count writing conferences attended and an RWA PRO Membership status, meaning in the latter case, I was considered a PRO because I’d been submitting to “approved” agents and “approved” publishers and been rejected.

How sick is that?!

Now that I think about it...why the hell should people be celebrating that kind of heartache and piss poor business practices?!

Okay...jumping off my soapbox, but yeah, I’ll be back on it quite a bit as I take you through my journey.

Anyhoo...

Around 2005 or so, I’d learned from all this drama that I had to find a way to make myself stand-out in this huge pack of very-hungry-to-be-published writers or else all the peeps who were still on my back about “when will your book be out” would end up taking me straight to our local mental hospital.

But how was I going to make myself stand-out in a TradiPub-dominated world, pre-Indie Epublishing?

And why is this even important for you who are just now beginning your writing-for-publication journey?

The method I used can be applied to our new publishing paradigm, and I’ll show you how to do that, too.

Here’s the story...

Once upon a time my muses weren’t ticking. They were ticked off. Why? Because they were too damn tired and stressed out trying to find their way on the Yellow Brick Road to Publishing Oz. Screw the Happily Ever After. My creative divas couldn’t produce past page one.

It was January of 2009, and I was comfy on the couch in a Smoky Mountain chalet in Tennessee, with a spirited fire crackling and warming my fluffy-socked feet. That's when I discovered Publishing Oz.

On that frigid, snow-frosted mountain night, I was looking for a way to make my writing-for-publication career plan break out and stand out from the slush pile pack. I’d always been a big fan of NOT running with the wolves. Instead, I like to stay out of the pack and ahead of the leader dog just a smidgeon. So how could I get myself to be a Seth Godin Purple Cow on my Yellow Brick Road to bestsellerdom?

Godin, a Tufts and Stanford educated marketing guru, said in his New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller PURPLE COW that to transform your company (or yourself), you’ve got to be “remarkable”...as remarkable as a Purple Cow in a barnyard full of brown Hiefers.

Here’s what I knew for sure...Writers didn’t need to be reminded how tough writing-for-publication is. We all “get” that! There's nothing “remarkable” about that. At times, it just plain sucks. And on those rare occasions that we forget that, there are plenty of books out there emphasizing the realities of Publishing Hell and thus crashing creative spirits around the globe.

What writers need are fun and productive techniques to keep their muses cranking out pages ‘til some editor somewhere likes what they put on the page and offers them the “big bucks”...or these days, just bucks period OR they find the courage to go it alone and self-publish.

To keep my muses cranking out manuscripts I rely in part on multiple award-winning poet, playwright, filmmaker and iconic creativity teacher Julia Cameron’s THE ARTIST’S WAY.

Cameron taught me (and reminds me each time I return to her book - which is a bunch) that writers, like all artists, fly in the face of failure on just their “wings and a prayer”.

We continue traveling writing-for-publication paths because those fascinating but at times treacherous roads feed our souls, awaken our spirits and boost our zest for life.

Beyond Julia Cameron’s guidance, I rely on my own unique brand of psychobabble bullshit cultivated by my studies at Purdue University. I graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Political Science and Psychology. So basically, I’m qualified to lie then make reasonable excuses for and an analysis of the world’s beyond crazy antics.

Seriously though, I love analyzing what makes leaders and the groups they lead tick. In addition, I have a knack for public speaking and teaching. I simply love to share and debate ideas.

So back to my Smoky Mountain chalet but add a gin and tonic with lime to the fire-warmed, toasty scene I previously set.

I was taking a class that night – add perpetual student to my resume – by award-winning writer and instructor extraordinaire Randy Ingermanson, aka The Snowflake Guy, on how to write what he calls a “SuperArticle” or “Pillar Article” to capture people’s attention on a world-wide stage.

Randy pushed me to think about what it was I knew and could teach writers in a unique way that would also introduce D. D. Scott to the world in a big, splashy, one-of-a-kind blitz.

What could I write to make the buzz (at the water-coolers) about me and my writing?

Finally...I had it!

Thanks to Seth Godin, Julia Cameron, The Snowflake Guy, a fabulous fireplace in a mountain chalet and my share of gin, I discovered a way to be a purple cow on my way to Publishing Oz. And boy would my parents be thrilled I was actually going to use my college degree!

I reached for my legal pad and pen – how I start most all of my writing projects – and MUSE THERAPY FOR WRITERS: UNLEASHING YOUR INNER SYBIL was born.

MUSE THERAPY utilizes fun and fabulous tools to inject life into writers’ tired and/or stressed out muses. By showing you how to analyze your muses’ funks, rein in your creative divas and ultimately up your page counts, I’ve created a writer’s go-to-manual for “muse disorders”. I’ll help you dig deep then deeper still into your writer psyche.

Once I show you how to recognize, acknowledge and accept your muses’ afflictions, I’ll teach you tricks, tips and “trips” to treat the word witches of our writing world.

My techniques are built upon poking good-natured fun at just how closely our life as writers parallels that of the best mental health maladies.

By showing you how to keep your BITCHOK groove (Butt In The Chair Hands On Keyboard) on, I’ll keep you laughing out loud and producing a plethora of pages. Using creative exercises such as Muse Therapy “trips”, collaging as a WIP of your WIP, “Rorschach-inspired” Feng Shui, Bi-Polar and Neurotic Writing, and stimulants like bitchy signs when coffee, chocolate and martinis aren’t enough, I’ll empower you to regain sovereignty over your creative dynasties.

You may know you need MUSE THERAPY. You may not. Depends on whether or not you’re in denial. Although you DID pick-up this book which could be a significant clue, let me convince you beyond reasonable sanity that you damn well need to continue reading.

When any of the below sound even remotely familiar, you need MUSE THERAPY:

1. Your muses aren’t ticking. They’re ticked off.

2. Your muses are in a funk saying “up yours” instead of upping your page counts.

3. Even great sex or a new pair of shoes can’t rein in your creative divas.

4. The following sessions sound appealing:

** Unleashing Your Inner Sybil

** Writing Bi-Polar: I Suck vs. I’m a Genius

** What Do You Mean I’m Neurotic? No, I’m Not. Well, Not Exactly. But Okay...There Are Times When. Like You Need To Know That. Anyway, I Was Thinking, My Jeep Is Red

** Rorschach For Writers: I See Dead Lines

** Stimulants: When Coffee, Chocolate, and Martinis Aren’t Enough

** Goin’ Jungian

** Muses and Misplaced Aggression – Kick Your Own Ass Not Somebody Else’s

** Word Witch Paranoia

** Rockin’ It With Anal Retention

5. Your word witches are on their way to publishing Oz but the Yellow Brick Road you’re bootscootin’ on...well...the damn thing never ends!

6. Everyone says your writing is a waste of time, a “hobby” that will never “pay-off”.

7. You feel the urge to tell everyone in reason six to (I’m thinking of a phrase that starts with a 4-letter-word and ends with a ‘you’, ‘off’ or ‘me’).

Here’s the secret MUSE THERAPY reveals...upping page counts isn’t done by hurling nasty insults at your muses. When writing-for-publication, you must wine and dine those divas. Whether it’s with coffee, chocolate, fabulous finds in some chic boutique, or with what I call Muse Therapy Trips, it’s all about pampering those chicks and chucks ‘til you get out of them exactly what you want...and then some.

To do this, you must discover why, when, where and how your muses produce fabulous bursts of ideas on your screen and manuscript pages. With MUSE THERAPY, you’ll have a terrific time conquering your creative divas and taking back the crown of your personal Muse-ville kingdoms.

And you’re not alone in your journey. My MUSE THERAPY tips and tricks continue to be apropos no matter where a writer is in his/her career. By sharing fantastic and at times roll on the floor, laugh out loud anecdotes I gathered - either interviewing or attending workshops given by the romance genre’s hottest stars - I’ll prove this assertion. You’ll hear from:

Allison Brennan

Jennifer Crusie

Cynthia Eden

Janet Evanovich

Jennifer Greene

Nancy Haddock

Gemma Halliday

Linda Howard

Eloisa James

Marcia James

Jayne Ann Krentz

Debbie Macomber

Nora Roberts

Karen Rose

Tawny Weber

You’ll appreciate and relate to the at times hilarious at times appalling and embarrassing flops and miss-steps they endured on their way to bestseller superstardom.

Believe you me, I was shocked to garner attention from such writing greats! I conceived MUSE THERAPY: UNLEASHING YOUR INNER SYBIL as an online class that I’d be lucky to attract interest in since, at that time, I was still unpublished. But I debuted the idea at RWA’s National Conference in Washington D.C. in July 2009 to gigantic kudos then booked seventeen online classes and live workshops within the next sixty days (including being asked to provide “therapy” for the 2010 RT Convention in Columbus Ohio).

Muses were evidently hurting all over the globe, and I’d realized the awesome reach of my approach. I’d created a huge hit for writers to heal their partners on the page!

And wow was I completely humbled when class participants asked me to write a companion book. Even though I had no clue what the Hell I was doing (just ask my agent), I soon set out on that non-fiction Yellow Brick Road with gusto. Like I’ll show you to do, I reined in my creative divas, and you’re reading the results.

So let’s get started...the next book you read could be yours!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There you have it! That’s how I launched myself into the Publishing World – first the TradiPub universe then the Indie Epublishing/Self-Publishing galaxy, too.

Muse Therapy became my first platform and helped to brand me right off the bat as a writer who had something to give back to other writers. (Note: Yes, at that point, because I was sooo entrenched in the TradiPub World, I didn’t realize that it was READERS I needed to be attracting and courting as well as fellow writers. But, that said, Muse Therapy did get me a lot of attention from within the Publishing Industry itself. In fact, it was because I had this strong platform that my agent signed me, even though, she too believed that the genre I was writing at the time - Chick Lit - was dead.)

This is STEP ONE then in building your Publishing Empire...Create Your Own Platforms and Brand.

It’s never too early.

I can actually remember my agent telling me right before I decided to Indie Epublish/Self-Publish in August 2010:

“D. D., you’ve got this great platform, and you’re branding yourself really well, but you’ve got to have something to sell to people first.”

Aha! She was right!

I’d waited long enough, and if I continued to wait for TradiPub hand-outs, I’d lose the very hungry fan-base I’d been building.

Yep, all those peeps were still on my back. And by this time, they were saying “yeah right...she has a book coming out...whatever...she’s f-ing nuts.”

I needed “something to sell”...as in a book those fans could buy.

If I wanted to continue to build my reader base, I needed a published book!!!

And I mean really...does a reader ever go into a store or library and ask for the “next St. Martin’s book” or the “latest Macmillan read”? NO! They ask for a book by Author Name and or Title or genre.

And speaking of genres...

Guess what?

Contrary to what the TradiPub Peeps and their established agents and editors were saying, Chick Lit was NOT dead! In fact, I’d attended a workshop given by one of RWA’s Librarians of The Year who told us that Chick Lit never died and was actually their number one most requested genre, number two being a genre I enjoyed writing too – humorous mysteries.

Hmmm...

Looks like I had a choice to make.

Stay the TradiPub Route and keep waiting till I ended up committed in a local mental institution.

Or

Make my move on my own and try Indie Epublishing/Self-Publishing.

Did I have the balls to go against the establishment?

U betchya!!!

And I was damn tired of listening to all those peeps on my back.

So, in August of 2010, I Indie Epublished/Self-Published my Debut Release – BOOTSCOOTIN’ BLAHNIKS.

I’ve never looked back since except to ask “why the hell didn’t I do this sooner”?!

The results?

I'm now an International Bestselling Author with over 600,000+ books sold.

Not bad...

Happy Writing and Publishing --- DD