Written by Dawn Bates, Writer, Author Coach and Publisher
Dawn Bates is a true international bestselling author multiple times over on five continents. She specializes in developing global leaders into real authorities who wish to give a voice to the voiceless whilst working with them to create brand expansion strategies through activism and authorship.
In almost every sector of business these days, someone is either an author or about to become one. But what does this really mean for the author, the readers, and society as a whole? And has the career as an author had a loss of respect over recent years with the growth of self-publishing?
With the ability to self-publish literally anyone can become an author without actually being a writer. It seems quite absurd really when we think about an author not being a writer, but with the amount of books being written by AI and ghostwriters, this adds to a large number of published authors not being writers.
For centuries there have always been writers who never publish due to fear of being published, criticised, shamed, or as is the case, the fear of their own success.
A number of my client's manuscripts will never see the light of day until they die, as is their wish. Their book is not for public viewing, simply a gift for them to pass on to their family members so they can all enjoy the memories of life together and with the growing number of people losing their minds to dementia and Alzheimer’s, this is something I get more inquiries about.
This wasn’t the kind of work I expected to do, but as an author coach who works with a number of clients who wish to share their journey of life with others so others can grow, be inspired and heal from a wide range of challenges faced, this type of legacy memoir is a bittersweet joy to work on.
To be a writer and published author used to mean something. Few people had the opportunity or the resources to publish, so the career choice had a distinct value to it. Authoring books takes time, and even though I have written a number of my books in less than a week, the amount of work that went into the preparation of those books took years.
The effort required to research, collate ideas, and then layer those ideas and concepts through the piece being written to reach a wide range of readers of all ages, cultures, and socioeconomic groups, as well as to code into the work the deeper meaning of transformation is a skill that not many even think about, let alone have the ability to do. It is one of the reasons my 7WeekAuthorCourse kicks off with Module 1, Mastering The Art of Book Writing.
Available as a self-study course with each module designed to fit into already busy lives this is also a tool I gift my 1:1 clients, so when they are collaborating with me, they also have a resource to check back in with should they need my expertise whilst I am unavailable.
All of my 1:1 clients write a book because they have to. Not for the latest bucket list item or task on the business owner’s ‘to-do’ list to check off, but because they have this story within them that just needs to get out. I’ve worked on everything from historical fiction, adult fantasy, memoirs, self-help, and social impact books. Working with groups of men and women for the multitude of anthologies I’ve co-authored and published, not forgetting my own books of a social justice and cultural awareness nature, has gifted me a repertoire of expertise that very few if any, other author coaches have.
Becoming an author is so much more than just publishing a book. It is a lifelong commitment to the book, to our readers, and to our legacy, which is often overlooked by many in the world of business today. Look at the results of these books and the lack of financial security many authors speak about across the various social media platforms, and it is noticeably clear that these authors have had little to no coaching on the art of being an author.
Just because a Big 4 publisher has agreed to publish the manuscript and pay a 4-figure sun up front for your book, and as little as 7-10% in royalties when the time comes for them to deem it possible, doesn’t mean the author will become successful. In fact, many authors are so clueless about business and how to create financial freedom and the author life they used to dream about, that many are living on the poverty line, and to use a line from the world of business, ‘leaving money on the table.’
Having seen this trend of starving artists and business owners being unaware and unable to make money from their book, led me to create the business and finance modules in my 7 Week Author Course dealing with personal and cultural money stories and additional revenue streams associated with their contents of the book.
Some would argue that there are far too many books being written these days, and I would have to agree with them. A strange thing for an author and publisher to say, but true none the less.
Why would I say this?
Because the amount of books being written just for the sake of being written, and far too few books of difference, not to mention the absolute poor quality of writing, design and production of the books, has created a mass of books that just do not get read and treasured.
People’s book collections are now coloured coded for aesthetics, not organised by author or genre, which may seem like a trivial point to make, but the colour coding plays into the need to be seen to be looking good rather than reading for real deep pleasure.
Reading mediocre books rather than an epic, life affirming or changing book is the dopamine hit of the modern world of literature. Is it nice to simply lose ourselves in a fiction novel, absolutely! I love a great fiction novel, but it has to be great, and sadly there are far too few books available today that are great.
Fiction readers are ten-a-plenty on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, but how many of these readers are truly living life to the full?
How many of them are reading to avoid the pain and depression of their own life?
How many of them are seeing all the layering of the characters, the storyline and the deeper meaning of the story, simply reading the words and not reading between and beyond the words?
How many are simply reading for the fame and the followers, rather than the love of true literature?
And how many know the difference between Literature and literature?
True writers are avid readers. They love Literature. They understand how to read, pace, decipher, reflect and meander through the lives and storylines within the words and the gaps between the words. They can see the hidden metaphors, the anthromorphism, they understand the meter of the tension building, and they comprehend the need for the slow burn of the story line, regardless of whether that storyline is one of fiction or non-fiction.
Many authors, especially those in business very rarely read more than three-five books a year because they ‘do not have time to read’ and yet they want people to buy, read and review their book(s). They may have an array of business books, but even those business books are still on their tbr pile, or only a chapter or two has been read – and implemented.
Very few authors in today’s modern world of ghostwriters and AI understand comprehension, the plethora of devices available to us as writers, the need to understand citations, copyright law and plagiarism. I had to fire a client a few years ago because his manuscript was rammed with quotes, paragraphs and facts which were not cited, granted permission or properly fact-checked. Upon telling him that I could not publish it in the state it was in, his response was simply, “Well, my colleagues in the US do this, so why can’t I?”
The answer was simple: I was not prepared to pay lip service to his ego and risk losing my business, integrity, or my highly regarded name just because he was lazy and want to cut corners.
Culturally aware and diverse perspectives are also more essential today than ever before, which is why when hiring an author coach, you need someone who not only has visited different countries and learnt the languages of those countries, but you need someone who has immersed themselves into the culture. Why? Because when you do, and they are your developmental editor, they make sure your book is ready to translate into multiple languages without the need for huge parts of the book being re-written at translation stages incurring extra costs.
Vanity and ego play a big part in today’s world of authorship and yet true writers, even the ones who are published tend to shy away from the limelight, preferring to be in the company of mountains of books, with a pot of coffee or tea, and their preferred company of choice being a dog or a cat. And cookies. We mustn’t forget the cookies.
Stereotypical, but true.
When we write, our thoughts are clarified, amplified and our moral coding upgraded. It has to be, because we are not just thinking in a few hundred characters for a social media post, or a thousand-word articles and essays; we are thinking and detailing our thoughts into a seventy thousand to one hundred thousand plus words manuscript.
With the major social media companies spreading the myth that our attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, simply to draw more people to the quick tweet, two-minute Tik-Tok video or Meta reel, non-thinkers are falling for the fake narrative.
Our attention spans are not getting shorter, it is our ability to think critically which is declining because we are not reading and analysing content on a deeper level.
We may skip from one task to another, resulting in multiple jobs being done at once, and slower than if we focused on an individual task, but this has nothing to do with our attention span. It can stem from ideas being sparked, aspects of PTSD or the need to step away from the current task to process, reflect or be able to complete the bigger picture and intention.
Recently I did a review of the best, and most successful, writers and authors, including myself and my author clients, to establish what the key characteristics were held amongst us all. I recorded a short series of five-eight minute videos on Author Characteristics which you can discover on my Vimeo and YouTube channels.
I hope you find them useful, and if you are serious about becoming a successful writer and published author, to find out more send me a message so we can organise a time to chat and discuss the options available to you.
Dawn Bates, Writer, Author Coach and Publisher
Dawn Bates is a true international bestselling author multiple times over on five continents. She specialises in developing global leaders into real authorities who wish to give a voice to the voiceless whilst working with them to create brand expansion strategies through activism and authorship.
Profound truths, social justice and human rights underpin everything she does, and at the core of her soul is a passion for being of service to humanity, giving hope, courage and confidence for others to stand in their truth and live a life of conviction.
She writes for various magazines, sails around the world on yachts as a digital nomad and is currently working towards her PhD in Human Rights and Social Justice with the University of Oxford, whilst also hosting her own podcasts The Sacral Series and The Truth Serum.
Her books are powerful and comprise of solo compilations and multiple collaborations of the highest caliber. Dawn brings together the multi-faceted aspects of the world we live in and takes you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, whilst delivering mic dropping inspiration, motivation and awakening. Her work captures life around the world in all its rawness.
Dawn’s expertise and insights will make you rethink your life, whilst harnessing the deepest freedom of all: your own truth. She’s an authority on leading others to create exceptional results by igniting the passions and fires deep within to speak and live powerfully.
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