Jennifer Lyon


Wednesday, January 13th, 2021
Is There an Easy Button to Success?

**Edited to change title and add graphic

These days, I have a lot of advertisements popping up on my social media that are variations of online classes promising The Secret.

The secret to writing faster.

The secret to a bigger email list.

The secret to cracking the code to becoming a bestseller.

I’ve fallen for these. It’s always when I’m feeling desperate for a faster, easier process than the one I have. And you know what?

It’s B.S. because THERE IS NO EASY BUTTON TO SUCCESS.

I’m sorry, there just isn’t.

So instead of believing the promise of an easy button, we can:

Writer faster by sitting our butts in the chair and writing. Over and over, every day that we can, until all those words build into a book. And then we edit, rewrite, and do it all again until we have the best book we can create.

To get a bigger email list, we must write gripping books over and over, create content that subscribers like to get in their newsletters and have patience. Lasting success is rarely instant. Give it time and learn from trial and error.

To crack the code to becoming a bestseller…come on guys, if there was a code or magic elixir, I wouldn’t tell you for free. I’d make you buy my online class, and we’d all be bestsellers :-) Just like if there was a get-rich-quick scheme that truly worked, we’d all be rich. The things you can do; write compelling books consistently, release as often as you can, create a solid marketing strategy to get the word out, and say a prayer that readers will love your books enough to spread the word. Because readers are the ultimate and treasured key to the bestseller lists.

To be clear, I’m all for classes that help. Like workshops to build, develop, or sharpen craft. Or taking an online class with an experienced author or publicist to understand the different between marketing and publicity, and how to use them to promote your titles. FYI, the stripped down, overly simple explanation of the different between marketing and publicity is:

Marketing is paid promotion (like buying ads, paying for a blog tour, etc.)

Publicity is free (like people posting, tweeting, or talking about your book)

There are great classes out there to take, but if we’re looking for the easy button to success, then let’s all say this together. “THERE IS NO EASY BUTTON.”

Accept that it’s hard, shake off the fears and insecurities, and do the work!

6 comments to “Is There an Easy Button to Success?”

  1. Silver James
    January 13th, 2021 at 9:32 am · Link

    Yeah, no easy button. And yeah, you are totally right. And write. ;) BICHOK is the formula to putting out books. Still…

    I get discouraged when I look at writers putting out multiple books in short periods, having huge sale numbers, and hitting the lists as a result and I read those books and can barely get past the first 50 pages. I’m not sure if that’s a reflection on me, or on readers in general. Still, it’s discouraging because I’ve always believed in quality. So many of those writers (I hesitate to call them authors) write formulas and write them in haste with no regards to reality. If they wrote paranormal or fantasy, reality is subjective. But these are contemporary and are centered on fields I know quite a bit about and work hard to get the facts right, facts they ignore.

    Sorry. Climbing off my soap box. As mentioned, I’m not sure who to “blame”–writer or readers. Obviously, I’m not going to hit that market so I’ll keep slogging along hoping to find my own niche. I have a loyal core of readers, as you do, and I can only hope that others discover my work and enjoy it.

    Good thoughts today, Jen! Thanks. Now it’s time to get to work. Dang book won’t write itself, despite what those “gurus” say in their ads. ;)



  2. B.E. Sanderson
    January 13th, 2021 at 2:26 pm · Link

    Nope, no easy button. Like Silver said, it’s all butt in chair, hands on keyboard, plugging away. Whether it brings me success remains to be seen. The trouble is, people want success without having to do the work. My advice to them: buy a lottery ticket, the chances and the workload are about the same. I have no luck, so I guess I’ll have to do the work. ;o)

    Another great post, Jenn. Thanks!



  3. Viki S.
    January 13th, 2021 at 3:38 pm · Link

    Excellent post!

    I can’t even imagine an easy button. Can you just picture how much MORE screwed up this place would be if we didn’t have to work to achieve goals? Plus we have to fail to succeed. Sorry folks, that’s the way it is.

    I hope you’re having a wonderful day!



  4. Jenn
    January 13th, 2021 at 6:21 pm · Link

    Silver, you’re absolutely right it’s the formula.

    No reason to climb off your soap box, I really do like hearing your thoughts. I don’t have the same knowledge in certain fields like you do, but I can imagine your frustration. Especially if the information isn’t hard to get. I appreciate that you work hard to get facts right. There are a lot of things I don’t know about police procedure etc., that you do, so I accept them as fact when I read your books.

    There are hacks out there, and I think what gets some of us authors is they don’t “care” about readers, while we feel like we do. I don’t know the answer.

    But I do know you love to write, and you should keep doing it as long as you have the passion. And don’t be so sure you won’t hit that magic spot in the market–it happens and surprises us. I’ve seen it happen at all different points in different author’s careers.

    I hope you wrote more words than I did today, but in my defense…life keeps happening and I keep looking away from the work to see it :-)



  5. Jenn
    January 13th, 2021 at 6:26 pm · Link

    B.E., LOL on the lottery ticket. Sad but true. It sucks so much to fail, but when we do get any little bits of success–even finishing a book or hitting publish–that success is a lot sweeter for the struggle.

    Thanks, I hope these posts will help some people even if it’s just so we don’t feel alone in our efforts.



  6. Jenn
    January 13th, 2021 at 6:28 pm · Link

    Viki, I always wished I had an easy button :-) But you’re right, there isn’t one.

    You’re absolutely right that we have to fail to succeed. And failure makes us appreciate success more too.

    I really hope your day is going well and you enjoy your evening.



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