You have to start somewhere

Corine La Font, Contributor

When you hear the name Jack Canfield, what comes to mind? Yes, Chicken Soup for the Soul right? What about Jordan Gray? Hmmmm ... thinking, yes, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. These are two well-known New York Times (NYT) bestselling authors who were once unknown, had a different life prior to becoming NYT Best Selling authors but when they hit the jackpot, life was way different and quite rewarding after that!

I was listening to a teleseminar recently with a number of NYT bestselling authors who shared their road to success including the ones I mentioned above. I, however, want to focus on just these two because many persons would recognise their names and their books, and maybe what I am about say may resonate with many of you as it did me.

Everyone knows Jack Canfield for Chicken Soup for the Soul series, but did you know Jack's first book was 100 Ways to Enhance Self Concept in the Classroom when he was a school teacher at an inner-city school in Chicago? While it didn't become a bestseller, it changed his life, the lives of others he worked with and supplemented his income.

Determination

Did you know that Jordan Gray was a Buddhist monk before being known as a relationship expert? Yes, surprising isn't it? Being an author was far away from their minds, even further was being a NYT bestseller! However, when the seed was planted and they saw what could be possible, they never lost sight of the goal to become one and you can too! One piece of advice they give to many authors - if you walk into a book store looking for a book that you can't find, then it only means that you need to write that book!

What's the lesson to be learned here? You don't have to be an expert to write a book. You write from your heart and soul, share your stories or the stories of others for everyone has stories to tell. And just set a timeline and get started writing that book. The point is that Jack and Jordan started somewhere. They did not start at the Bestseller list. Far from it; they started with one book, then another, then another. They learned along the way, tested, tweaked, took notes, asked and interviewed the best in the industry on what they did to become bestsellers, added their own experiences to it and here they are today; known worldwide, well respected in the field, being paid to the tune of US$70,000 for one talk as a speaker and even US$25,000/hr for delivering a speech. How many of you would like that? I know I would!

The gist is that your first book may not reach anywhere, but it gets your name out there. Keep going, it may take your second, third or even fourth book to really get the attention of the masses to get that award you always wanted, or to be on the Amazon bestseller list or even the NYT bestseller List!

"Jack and Jordan did not know how deeply their book appealed to and affected others until they started receiving calls, cards, letters and even bottles of wine each and every day about how their book literally saved lives! Some were on the brink of committing suicide, and the words in their books have had such a positive impact that they are alive today!

Come on, many of us have stories within us that need to be shared. Get it out. Don't be selfish or doubtful. Your story may just save someone else's life or even your own, for writing can be very therapeutic. So what if you don't make a lot of sales initially? Write for the bigger purpose, stop being self-centred, and maybe a change in your mindset and values may just bring that craved success you need by starting somewhere - that place we call the beginning.

Pitch Slam!

A major conference will be held in Los Angles in September that I will be attending, which features an all-pounding event called the Pitch Slam! In essence, what that means is that I will be pitching the work of my clients to literary agents, screenwriters, television producers and the like over a full two days. It's like speed dating, if you understand the concept. I want to extend that invitation to you to represent your work on the global market so if you are seriously interested, go to this link to get started http://bit.ly/19Fvwaw

Corine La Font is an author, certified author assistant and online book marketing specialist. She is also an award-winning publishing resource in the 2013 Small Business Book Awards. Get a copy of her book at http://amzn.to/TFHQkaTune in to her radio programme at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/helpdeskja. She can be reached at corine@helpdeskja.com or visit her website at www.helpdeskja.com.