Seth Godin on the high cost of butt-covering

Gotta love what goes on in the shiny little head of Seth Godin. Writers are (make no mistake about this) entrepreneurs, and the "fear tax" Godin talks about in his blog today seriously burdens the publishing industry right now. Saith Seth:

A lot of entrepreneurs get an MBA because they are afraid to go out into world without one. They are seeking the reassurance a credential will bring them, even though the cost is huge and there's no data to indicate that they'll be more successful as an entrepreneur as a result.

We pay the fear tax every time we spend time or money seeking reassurance. We pay it twice when the act of seeking that reassurance actually makes us more anxious, not less.

We pay the tax when we cover our butt instead of doing the right thing, and we pay the tax when we take away someone's dignity because we're afraid.

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Seth Godin on the seductive peanut butter 'n' arsenic cookie of self-sabotage

Do you follow Seth Godin's terrific blog over on our FeedMe bar? Go. Read. Print. Post on your office wall. Saith Seth:

We know more than enough about marketing now. We know how to craft a story that will spread, we know how to find and lead tribes. The thing we have trouble with is making the commitment to do it even when it's frightening and difficult.

Here's a link to the rest of the item.

Is Bestseller Status Being Bought?

Here's my new plan for literary world domination: Strip the tape off of my change jar, which now reads "Starbucks $" and replace it with one that says "New York Times bestseller $." And set up a Paypal account for contributions, while I'm at it.

While I'm not so sure this would do the trick (not on my budget, anyway) Seth Godin's blog post, Payola, indicates that highly-esteemed -- and often financially rewarding -- New York Times bestseller status can easily be bought.

I've heard of this happening, and I've also heard that many books (romances in particular) which sell more copies than the listmakers are routinely ignored by the New York Times. As a member of the reading public, how do you feel about this? And how much are you influenced as you select your books by the bestseller status of the author?

Seth Godin: "Write nothing instead. It's shorter."

I love what Seth Godin's take on writing really good words without saying anything:

Most people work hard to find artful ways to say very little. Instead of polishing that turd, why not work harder to think of something remarkable or important to say in the first place?

This is so key to editing. Instead of asking "Can I cut this?", come at it from the question "Do I need this?"

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