All the self-help gurus of the self-publishing world have made clear the basic fundamentals for self-publishing. They boil down to a few tricks. One of those tricks is relationships.
We all want the multiplied five star reviews. We all need the beta readers who will give us feedback. We hope there are people who will share our masterpiece. But, what does it mean when we hit little or none of the above? Poor relationships.
I've got too many friends who do a lot of begging and not enough building. If you asking me for something, I'm usually willing to help out. If you beg me for something, I'm a little less likely. However, if you have taken the time to build a relationship, you have me hooked. True friends root for one another. True friends go the extra mile for the other. So what happens when you need twenty, five star reviews? Most of us end up begging.
A good book requires a 30-60 day window of pre-launch promotion. This is where relationships kick in. I'm learning that I've got to build a team of dedicated, pre-launch people, who are willing to take on a few tasks that serve my agenda. These people are giving precious time to help me. They know if they are being used and abused.
This is the difference between my seven hundred friends on Facebook and those who I will actually show up to their door offering soup when they are sick. Those friends are few and far between. Those are the people who will be on our side.
Relationships are hard! Successful relationships require hard conversations, laughs, and a lot of encouragement. Friends give of ourselves regardless of how its received or reciprocated. We do this because of our own generosity, not what we expect of others.
When the "sixty days away" alert dings on your calendar, we need to take a look how we have treated others.
1) Share more than take
2) Balance truth and encouragement
3) Give more than you get
4) Be grateful
5) Build friends more than followers
How about you? How do you build relationships with those who will help launch your masterpiece?
