I’m here to tell you: I don’t own those hens.
Nor does Nicholas Sparks or Kathryn Stockett or any other bestselling author you may feel compelled to chase.
Here’s the thing: avid readers suffer a delightful addiction. They can’t get enough. They’re continually on the lookout for the next breakout author, the next Great Read.
Top-selling authors understand this. Stephen King doesn’t own a voodoo doll of Suzanne Collins. Nicholas doesn’t don boxing gloves when meeting with Kathryn or Nora or J.K.
A successful writer concentrates on making the next release better than the last. We’re all foxes in the henhouse doing our best to capture that next reader, but this isn’t your average-sized chicken coop. Some nights I ponder the vast number of eReaders flooding the world marketplace and the sheer reach of literature in the Digital Age. Millions of readers—no, billions—and eLit is still in its infancy. By 2014 the surge in demand for quality content will outpace our ability to supply it. Yes, some of the Big Names will capture a massive audience but you might too, with creativity and perseverance, because your singular voice appears right when a worldwide audience is ready to hear it.
Which brings me to the real point of this essay. I want you to rid yourself of jealousy over the sales numbers your pal posted on FaceBook. I urge you to step back, take a deep breath, and fully grasp the connectivity at your fingertips, the limitless resources at your disposal to build visibility and a readership fast.
Be the fox.
Do you dream of becoming the next Harlan Coben? Head over to his Twitter feed and check out his followers. His avid readers may follow if you follow first. GoodReads? Pick an author in your genre and poach her fans a few at a time. Salivating over the comments for The Help from fans on Facebook? Follow one reader and she may follow back. Then she may tell her friends about you.
It happens to me.
The same women who read Sue Monk Kidd or Anne Patchett’s books will put The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge http://tinyurl.com/cyp9kof on their GoodReads TBR list. My debut, Treasure Me http://tinyurl.com/7kchmfd has pulled readers who enjoy comedy, romance and mystery—a blend that allows me to poach from a whole host of established authors.
No, this isn’t a suggestion to waste your working hours building a following of potential readers. Simply keep it in mind as you log on social media sites to chat with reviewers and your established readers. A few clicks, a few times a week, and you’re done. And you’ll enjoy the sudden mail by a reader you made your friend, who then downloads and loves your book.
This post originally appeared April, 2012
