Persistence: Sound Bites from Authors Panel

I'm catching up on reading the past issues of my Authors Guild Bulletins. I found the panel discussion at last year's BEA simply riveting.

Barbara Freethy, Joe Konrath, and Scott Turow were on the panel. I love what they had to say and want to share some of it with you.

By the way, if you are not a member of Authors Guild, you ought to consider joining. They are the watchdog that tries to make sure writers can continue supporting themselves by their words.

Scott Turow, former President of Authors Guild

“I am a product of what was regarded as the traditional system. I published Presumed Innocent in 1987 and was hailed as an overnight success, which ignored the fact that I had been writing for 20 years.”

Barbara Freethy, Amazon KDP Bestselling Author of All Time

“It's a fantastic time to be a writer, whatever path you choose… There is so much choice now for authors. But what I really like is that I can be in touch with my readers now. The more middlemen you put between you and your readers, the less control you have and generally the less money you make.”

“You have to find your brand as you go.”

Joe Konrath, Ebook Trailblazer (at least that's how I always think of him)

“You have to get lucky. You have to keep at it. A lot of luck is being prepared for it.”

“Don't confuse goals with dreams. I can have a dream to be Scott Turow (but) I never will be… Self-publishing is a goal… You finish your book. You get a good editor. You get a good cover. You make sure the book kicks ass. And you can do it.”

Takeaway Truth

What themes do you see in these sound bites? Persistence, opportunity, goals, being professional in your work ethic and in the product you bring to the marketplace, and just putting your butt in the chair and doing the work. That's what it takes.