According to a 2002 article in the New York Times by Joseph Epstein, author of over a dozen books, 81 percent of the adult population of America dreams of writing a book. “Beyond the obvious motivation for wanting to write a book – hoping to win fame or fortune – my guess is that many people who feel they have a book ”in them” doubtless see writing it as a way of establishing their own significance,” comments Epstein.
Sadly, most will never get their book completed. The great majority won’t even begin writing, and for those who start, the process is sporadic at best. And there are those who spend years and years just getting their first draft done. I have met some “authors” who have been working on their books for ten years.  Ouch!
The following five points will help you to achieve your dream of becoming a successful author.
1. Develop the right mindset
What this means is you have to deal with your own personal demons. The demons can show up in any number of ways; negative self talk, lack of confidence in your writing, surrounding yourself with nay-sayers, and habits that do not serve you.
Rather, you need to surround yourself with possibility thinkers as well as other authors who are succeeding. In addition, read and listen to information that keeps you in the right state of mind.
2. Write a book readers want to read
It’s great to want to write but is what you write of interest to the reader? A great way to see what is popular is notice what books are making it to the top of the Amazon.com and B&N.com charts. This will indicate trends and popular themes.
3. Create a buzz before the book is done
Marketing your book needs to start BEFORE the book is done. You can do this through blogging, article writing, interviews, guest blogging and posting in your social networks. There are countless ways to market and create a buzz. All you need is your imagination and a willingness to do it.
4. Build an opt in subscriber list
You would be amazed at how many books can be sold by way of an opt in subscriber list. The key is to constantly build your list. You do this by having something of value people are willing to give their name and email address in exchange for; a report, an MP3, a video, a lesson from a course you teach, or any number of items that would be of interest to your market.
5. Guest blog about your book
Many blog owners are in desperate need of great content. Search out bloggers whose readers would be likely candidates to buy your book. The easiest way to secure guest blogging opportunities is to have great content on your blog. This takes the “unknown” factor out of the equation for those who may be interested in having you blog for them.
Here’s a bonus tip; realize it all takes time. The greatest challenge we face in our world of instant gratification is people want what they want right now.  The fact is, success takes time, commitment, vision and persistence.
Writing a book is one of the most powerful ways you can establish your expert status, attract more clients, and garner media attention.
Another fact is, you’re going to need to learn a few new skills. Authors need to know how to build a platform, ace a media interview, sell books, and avoid a bunch of pitfalls that can costs time and money.
The challenge can be to know where to gain the right insights and information. One person who is committed to helping authors grow and succeed is my friend and colleague, Lynne Klippel.
Lynne has brought together an amazing group of teaches for a very special and unique teaching experience.  Lynne has worked with authors from around the globe who have gone from unknowns to bestsellers faster than they dreamed possible.
Click here to learn more and register.
If you are serious about becoming a successful author, Lynne’s event
is your golden ticket! Check it out.