3 Solutions For Painful Author Problems

When we start out seeking to create and market books, the road ahead can seem long and confusing. 

That’s an understandable perspective. While some people are fortunate enough to have the right role models, we’re not born with the knowledge and experience we need. We have to acquire it.

This acquisition process can seem daunting. Especially with the cacophony of opinions and options out there. Learning to cut through the noise and find what works can seem so difficult that many of us give up.

Learning to create and market better books isn’t instantaneous. It’s a process that takes time. But there are tools to help us along the way and make things much easier. 

If you’re looking to feel inspired, market your book in a better way, or work with others more smoothly, there are useful tools just for you. Here are some of the best. 

Are You In Need Of Inspiration?

Sometimes, the hardest thing about being a writer is feeling inspired and moved to write. 

Even on the best of days, finding the right words in the proper order can be a challenge. On the worst, it can be a near impossibility. 

If you’re feeling low on writing inspiration, here are a few tools to give your drive a valuable boost.

• Meditation and Focus. For many writers, feeling stuck in our own mind is the main challenge to overcome when writing. Meditation and focus are two states that can help us regain our center and get our writing done. Different people find different things help them get into the zone. You could try a free meditation app, listening to your favorite music, or putting white noise on repeat. See what works for you.
• Inspiring Examples. Sometimes, we feel isolated and alone when facing our writing challenges. The information we consume can worsen this. Advertising is designed to make us feel inadequate, and the media wants to keep us scared. Make a conscious choice to consume only inspiring information, such as useful podcasts, positive examples to follow, and other helpful input. 
• Prompts and Exercises. Sometimes, an external trigger can kickstart our writing desire and energy again. If you need to get your writing juices flowing, an exercise, prompt, or even a book title generator tool might be the nudge you need. Once you’re back in the zone, your other projects will probably feel easier as well. 

During times of low motivation, simply knowing there are steps we can take and tools we can use is immensely valuable. Next time you feel like your tank is on empty, give the above ideas a try.

Is Marketing Your Book A Pain Point?

If you’re anything like a lot of authors, book marketing is one of the most intimidating things around.

Depending on your writing style, book marketing may well be the polar opposite skillset to what you’re familiar with. 

While it’s never easy, marketing your book is almost always manageable. You don’t need to be Don Draper to do it either. You can use tools to ease the process and make everything smoother and less stressful.

• Learning Marketing. Sometimes, a lack of knowledge can be a major pain point when it comes to book marketing. If you feel you lack the information you need, there are plenty of resources out there that offer a helping hand. Podcasts, marketing books, interactive learning apps – there are many options for you to utilize. 
• Discussing Marketing. Deepening our knowledge and understanding of a topic is often best achieved by sharing it with others. Participating in forum discussions or leaving comments on useful marketing articles is a great way to go about this. 
• Practicing Marketing. Of course, knowledge and discussion are invaluable, but not enough on their own. We also need to carry out marketing action. You can consider tools to help with your social media marketing automation, email marketing, and visual marketing.

Although book marketing is second nature to few of us, getting better at it is attainable for all of us. There are great tools out there to learn marketing, discuss marketing, and practice marketing. Finding them can help book marketing be a lot less painful. 

Do You Need Smoother Collaboration?

The nature of writing can make it easy and even tempting to be isolated.

Depending on the type of writer you are, other people can be distracting or detrimental to making progress with your work. 

As easy as it is to fall into, we all must avoid the trap of being isolated. Working well with others is invaluable in countless ways. Mutual support and synergistic collaboration are just a couple of examples. 

If you’re finding it challenging to work well with others as a writer, there are a few types of tool that help with common problems.

• Seeing The Big Picture. Sometimes, frustrations working with others come down to not being on the same page. If collaborators envision a project differently, it can be easy to feel friction and annoyance with one other. Using a project management system such as Asana or Trello can be a great way to get a writing team on the same page and begin collaborating clearly. 
• Communicating Effectively. After establishing a clear project plan using a management tool, it’s essential to put in place a good system of communication. Don’t assume everyone will want to communicate in the same way or with the same frequency. Some tools to help with collaborative communication include Slack for text-based discussion and Zoom for video calling. 
• Celebrating Wins. While it’s important not to rest on our laurels, it’s also crucial to take the time for congratulations and celebrations. Take the time to congratulate everyone on their achievements, and you’ll be able to keep motivation running high and morale at proper levels. 

Every writer will want or need to collaborate to a different extent. No matter your particular situation and set of needs, there’s a tool out there to help you carry out your collaboration more effectively.

What’s Your Top Solution For Your Fellow Writers?

Thank you for taking the time to check out these writing problems and solutions. They’ve helped countless writers with their pain points over the years, and hopefully they will ease your writing woes as well.

Which other tools have you found helpful? Are there any other writing situations you’ve found to be better with the assistance of technology?

Please take the time to leave a comment with your thoughts and suggestions, so other writers can benefit from your experience!