Why They Don't Sell Write-by-Number Kits

When I want to do something I've never done before, I love it when I can find a step-by-step list of instructions, written by someone with more experience, telling me exactly how to complete the project or reach the goal. This saves a lot of time otherwise wasted on trial and error. Sometimes it makes the difference between actually doing something and throwing up my hands and giving up because I don't know where to even start.

But it also occurs to me that blindly following instructions is a bit like doing paint-by-numbers. And as anybody knows who has ever completed one of those kits, no matter how carefully you fill in each tiny numbered space with the correct pre-mixed color -- the result ain't ever gonna qualify as fine art. You'll get a nice picture that looks like what it's supposed to be (especially if you stand far enough away), but nobody will ever mistake it for the work of Rembrandt.

If you want to create a work of art, you have to become an artist. You have to not only learn but understand the principles behind what you're trying to do. You have to make a thousand small choices, and you have to be able to make many of them by feel, not by rote.

It's the same with writing a novel. You can't just cobble together a bunch of elements and expect the whole to flow in a way that will engage the reader and have them cursing your name when they show up for work the next morning with bloodshot eyes, because your story kept them up half the night because they couldn't put it down.

And it's the same with marketing your work. From the query letter to the marketing campaign, the greater your understanding of what you're doing and why, the more skillful and effective you'll be.

So, even though what I hope to create eventually is a coherent how-to manual for anyone (including me) who wants to sell more books, I hope you won't follow it blindly. Put your heart into it. Just like you did when you were writing the novel in the first place.

To be really successful at something, you need to understand it. Otherwise you're relying on other people to do all your thinking for you. Or on dumb luck. Neither of which is very empowering.

I don't know about you, but I want as much control over my own destiny as I can get. When something goes wrong, I want to know not only what, but why -- and how I'm going to change things so I get the outcome I'm looking for.

Think about it...