Elana M Johnson - Writing and Marketing Systems (Indie Inspiration for Self-Publishers Book 3)

H ello author friends! Im Elana Johnson, and Ive been called a lot of things. Some are nice, and some not. LOL.

The ones I like the most are things like, USA Today bestselling author, or Top 20 Kindle All-Star author, or #1 bestselling author of Christmas romance, or even a pitbull. Ill take any of those.

Ill even take crazy, robotic, or must have a dozen clones.

I know I do crazy things sometimes. I know I work long hours sometimes. I know I do a lot in a short amount of time.

Its that last one we all want to be able to do, I think.

The best part is, this type of crazy can be learned. Yes, that is the best part!

I know, because I came to writing in my adult years, with a full-time job, two kids under the age of ten (Im not superwoman), and a husband in school most evenings after his full-time day job too.

I entered publishing about four years after that, and its been a crazy ride since then. It was required that I learn how to do tasks in a short amount of time, or only work on something until the bell rang. The throng of second graders waiting in the hall (and their teacher) didnt care that I didnt quite have my chapter done, or that I just needed ten more minutes to finish setting up my newsletter for the week.

I learned very early on how to compartmentalize and how to work with a timer as my constant companion. I learned how to work with chaos surrounding me and how to get a task done from anywhere. If I was there, I could do something.

Eventually, I learned what worked for me and what didnt. It didnt take long for me to keep doing the things that worked and stop doing the things that didnt. From there, I created systems that played to my strengths and the things that worked, and that only allowed me to get even more done.

This is not a productivity book, though I do think itll help you increase your productivity, simply because the main goal of the book is to set up a personalized writing system for yourself, and then a personalized marketing system that will play to your strengths and emphasize the things youre good at and like doing.

If you can find what works for you, you can develop your own brand of crazy. Lets get started, okay?

Okay, then.

F irst up, you need to know what a system is if youre going to develop one. And were going to develop two, so we better know what they are.

System: a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized scheme or method.

A system is a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network.

My favorite way to think about it is organized chaos. But it really is a lot of things working together to get the job done.

So if the job is writing and publishing a book, you have a set of procedures for getting that task accomplished, day by day and day after day.

If the job is marketing the books, you have a set of procedures, principles, or tasks that work together to learn the various components of marketing, set up the marketing, and monitor the marketing.

Really, those are your only two jobs as an author. I think sometimes we get bogged down in the different components that go into writing a book. Theres prewriting. Outlining. Drafting. Editing. Proofreading. Maybe more editing. More proofreading.

Then theres all the steps for taking that manuscript and turning it into a product you can sell. Some of those things straddle the line between writing and marketing, so where you choose to put them in your systems is up to you.

For example, making a book cover or hiring it out could be considered a marketing task, as the right book cover can go a long way toward selling your book for months and years to come. Its a huge marketing tool.

I happen to have covers and all aspects of product creation in my writing system. So formatting my manuscript for an ebook and a paperback is part of the writing system. When and if I decide to make that book into an audiobook is a marketing tactic. Its what works for me in the halves of my brain. If that doesnt work for you, or even make sense, thats fine.

Thats exactly what this book is about. How you can decide where to put the tasks in your own system so that it works for you and makes sense.

The fact is, there are endless tasks that you could choose from. One of the major advantages of establishing a system for yourself is then you can choose and complete the tasks that youve deemed important. You can make a plan that works for you and keep your eyes on your own plan. You can get behind the wheel of your publishing business and stay in your own lane.

These are all things Ive struggled with mightily over the last thirteen years of my author career. I wish Id known about systems and how to set them up for myselfand that Id been brave enough to do ita decade ago. Or maybe from Day 1.

See, I spent a lot of timeyearsworried that what I was doing wasnt good enough. That I didnt qualify for real author status with the time and schedule I had available to me. I jumped from lane to lane, trying to do what other authors in other publishing cars were doing.

I didnt have a system. I kept trying to get everything done, when I wasnt even sure why I was doing the everything.

You dont have to do everything. In case any of you needed permission to not do everything, there it is.

You do not have to do everything. Not everything I do. Not everything someone in some video says. Not everything other authors in Facebook groups are doing. You really dont.

Your first step is to figure out what works for you and do more of that. Define what doesnt work for you and stop doing that.

Once youve done that defining, youll be able to accomplish more in less time. Not only that, youll be able to accomplish the right things in less time. The things that advance you toward your own business goals. The things that bring you joy and allow you to be a real person, as well as a writer.

Its time for some questions. Im going to be asking you a lot of questions in this book. Its best if you have a notebook nearby, or maybe you take notes on your phone. Whatever works for you.

Theres no one to hide from here. Im not going to see your answers. No one is, unless you choose to share them with someone.

So be brutally honest with yourselfthats the only person you might be hiding from. Things you know deep down but dont want to admit.

Its time to admit them. Its your only way forward, and if you feel stuck, never able to get ahead, or discouraged, its time to look within and find the next step.

These are yes or no questions. Just say them out loud as soon as you finish reading them.

1. Do you ever feel like youre behind?
2. Do you ever feel overwhelmed?
3. Do you ever feel like youre not doing enough?
4. Do you ever feel confused, distracted, or burnt out?
5. Have you ever stared at a screen or a book or just a wall and lost an undetermined amount of time?