Hi Reader,

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Excerpts from Becca Syme on the BookFunnel Podcast

Recently Becca Syme was on the BookFunnel Podcast talking about how authors can ride the wave of disruption happening in the publishing industry. She calls it playing the rules of the game.

I thought what she had to say was insightful and helpful, so I have excerpted some of the podcast here. What she says also applies to screenwriters and the entertainment industry. Disruption is never fun. I know some of you are struggling and I hope you find her perspective empowering.

Understanding the Rules of the Game

“You put the quarter in, you turn the crank, you get the gumball out, right? There are rules that govern the way that the mechanics of that machine work. In the same way, there are rules that govern the way the industry works.
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If you can understand what it is that's really going on in like the industry itself, understanding why things are happening is the key to understanding the outcome that you are getting from the gumball machine. And I think so many of us right now are struggling with sales. Like, we're watching our sales go down because of the economy in the United States. We're watching reader attention disappear because of the way that everyone is attending to other things in the world right now."

Staying Calm in a System Out of Our Control

“So then what happens is I see my sales go down, I see my YouTube views go down, I see my Facebook likes go down, and I'm all hands on deck freaking out because I need to do something about this.

Fear, Bills, and Perception of Failure

"If we don't understand why we can't do that, like if I'm not conscious, why am I not able to disconnect from watching my sales go down? Well, it's because I'm paying my bills. Writing is paying my bills right now? So I'm hyper-stressed out because I'm I'm looking at my mortgage payment in a month not being able to make it.

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So the question is, is there a likelihood this is going to change? And this is understanding the rules you're playing by. The likelihood is it's so unpredictable right now. It's probably a decent time to go looking for other ways to support yourself if you're in that space.

But what happens when we start having those conversations with ourselves is we start to feel like we're failing. So we feel like, 'I had one shot at this being an author thing, and it is not working out. And so now that I have to go get a part-time job, it means something about me. It says something about me or the career that I've had.'"

New Rules for a New Reality

"If you can understand what's really happening in the publishing industry, if you understand what disruption looks like, you know there's always change.
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And then if you can understand the rules of independent publishing, you know you are always in charge of whether you publish or not. So, the only person who can tell you you can't publish anymore is you.

Like, we're trying to play the New York game where your debut matters, and if you publish one book and it doesn't take off, then you're over. 'Your career has an expiration date, you might as well be rotting on, you know, a carcass on the street.' It's like, no, no, no. You're you're playing by the wrong rules there. Like, you're making assumptions that are not correct about what's going on, because you want to interpret this and find security, but you don't understand the bigger game."

The Collective Freakout and the Power to Continue

"We have to talk about this, because everybody is experiencing a collective freakout about what's happening. And a lot of us don't understand that there's that there is no reason to be freaked out about it, because our being scared is not going to help the situation. We need to get regulated better and then deal with whatever the reality is that we're facing, because the reality doesn't end the game. Like, there is nothing that can take away my ability to decide to publish myself. All I have to do is make it sustainable for me."

Your Fear Is Not an Industry Report

"You have to understand what's really going on in the industry around us. In terms of like, most of us are not qualified to be making assumptions about what's happening in the industry because we're too ruled by the fear that we have. So we're always going to be telling a story that is in favor of whatever that fear is coming out, right?

Like that's the goal, whatever you have to do to find joy again, if that's the thing. You need to make money as a side hustle if that's what you need to keep yourself afloat.

Invisible Motivators and False Control

"So many of us just don't realize that we're being ruled by things that we're not even conscious about. Question the premise is why is this happening? Let's figure this out.
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And there's just so much fear right now about everything. And I think a lot of us don't take the time to sort of be like, well, but if I'm more secure and more regulated, and then I can deal with whatever happens. So rather than focusing on controlling the events and the outcomes as being the place that makes me feel secure, I become convinced that I'm a person who can deal with everything no matter what happens. And then I take the good, and it's excellent. And I take the bad, and I'll deal with it. But it doesn't push me into those stress responses as often."

In Case You Missed It

​Watch my book trailer!

​How to make a book or movie trailer​

​The Positive Part of No​

​Build Buzz on Your Project​

​Download My Favorite Writing Resources​

Listen to me on the Native Tongues podcast

Cheers,

Lindsey

Thanks for reading!

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