Competitor or Competition Focused

Competitor or Competition Focused If you’re competitor-focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing something. Being customer-focused allows you to be more pioneering. ~Jeff Bezos All too often we watch what all the other writers are doing in both writing and marketing, then try to snare which gimmick we can copy to work for us. Writing and self-promoting based upon our competition. I dare say the majority of early writers dont start off that way. Most want nothing more than for readers to flock to their story and gobble it up. Its probably why they started writing in the first place . . . to share a tale. However, reality sets in quick and harsh. Readers already have an abundance of reading material. So how can struggling writers be seen, heard, or better yet, read with so much competition? As a result, writers then gravitate to those more successful in the field, emulating the ads, the touring, the whatever-else they are doing. It becomes all about the numbers . . . yet the numbers arent that easy to come Then we commiserate with other writers. We join organizations, newsletters, Facebook groups comprised of writers, to learn how to be a more successful writer. But we have limited hours in the day. What goes lacking is the communication with potential readers. We forget were supposed to be customer-focused instead of competitor-focused. The goal is to reach out to where readers are:Â  libraries, schools, book fairs, radio, podcasts, niche organizations, maybe even your local paper. If you write romance, where do these souls tend to collect both in person and online? Ditto any other genre or subgenre. Do not stray from your reader being right up front in your writing world. Do not forget you are feeding them, educating them, entertaining them, using your talents to be the best you can be for them. Slowly and steadily, keep reaching out, respecting and adoring them. Readers are your market, not your competitors.