Have you noticed how most people have an incorrect view of their social status? They either consider themselves more important or less important than what is reality. I find authors are often skewed to not thinking highly enough of themselves.
In most cases, this isn’t a bad trait. Nobody likes someone that is too full of themself. However this will also hold you back from successfully marketing yourself as an author. I’ll get to that in a minute but first let me offer some reasoning behind the bold title of this post.
Let’s take Brad Pitt for example. On one hand, he’s just a normal guy. Gets up the morning, feeds his cat, brushes his teeth, etc. On the other hand he’s freaking Brad Pitt. Movie star, millionaire, activist, etc. He probably won’t answer the phone if you call.
You, as a published author, are better than everyone else in a similar fashion.
Sure you’re just a normal person, but you’ve also convinced a publisher to spend money on your words. This automatically establishes you as an expert and puts you on a different playing field than most people. Even with a million books being published every year, you’re still a part of an extremely small community. A community most people dream of being in.
That said, until you get over selling yourself short, you’ll never be able to lead, grow your tribe or market yourself.
What are people looking for in a leader?
- Authority in their ideas and beliefs
- Guts to go first and put themselves on the line
- Willingness to put their own skin in the game
- Confidence to give direction on where people should go and how they should act
- Create a culture around their movement. Establish who is “in” and “out”
- Effectively communicate their vision
- Challenge the status quo
All of this is much easier to do sitting behind a computer screen and turning in a manuscript to the editor. To truly lead your tribe you have to step out into mediums that are much more risky and takes the confidence of knowing you and your ideas are superior enough to call other people to join you.
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What is that feeling you get when you get a book autographed or get an email from an industry icon you have huge respect for?
To lead your tribe, you must embrace the fact that this is how people will feel when they connect with you.
Photo by internets_dairy
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