Monday, May 14, 2012

How Do I Become an Outlier After a Late Start in the Game?

Hey y'all,

I'm reading the book "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladstone and I find it both brilliant and informative as well as disheartening.  He did a brilliant job of making me see success differently and the advantages I have in this project I'm undertaking that intimidates the hell out of me.  His book also has shown me the huge disadvantages I have - the most serious mistake was not running with my inclination to really pursue my writing career through forming an Indie-publishing community that I had almost 7 years ago.  At the time, everybody around me pooh-poohed the idea, saying it already been done, there's a stigma to self-publishing - which I'd already noticed being on the road for a few months, etc.  If I had gone with that, I might have hit the wave of ebook self-publishing through Amazon as it was climbing instead of trying to catch the wave that's at its peak. Definitely my bad that I didn't listen to my own inner voice.  Because now I have a long way to go to build up my 10,000 hours of expertise, not in writing but in the business of self-promotion.

So yeah, how do I make an impact now that I'm following the herd instead of blazing the trail? Some ideas are to combine internet presence, which I flounder at with in-person events - open mikes, storytelling, and I guess the public market.  On top of that, I'm frozen right now and not moving as fast as I should - worrying about other issues that are beyond my control, and generally putting my frame of mind in a less than empowered state.  So I guess, I'm coming to bellyache to any stranger willing to stop by and read what I have to say.  Is being this honest really "building" an internet presence?  Or is it free therapy?    

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