Hey there! Welcome to Nothing but the Words.

I’m your Author Coach, Candice L Davis.

In this episode I want to talk about why authors should be writing and selling books during a crisis. This applies to any time of crisis, and it’s no different now, in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic.

In episode #8, I talked about how you can keep writing in times of stress, uncertainty, and fear. So if you need some help with that, I highly recommend you go back and listen to that episode.

My greatest challenge right now is remembering to take time off. There are so many ways to serve my clients and my community right now, and it’s easy to work late nights seven days a week. But I also recognize how that leads to burn out, so my family has agreed that we’ll end work at a specific hour on Friday and Saturday and choose not to work on Sundays.

So let’s talk about why you should be writing during this time. I’m assuming, of course, that you actually want to write a book.

Writing

If you haven’t written a book yet, you don’t have to write about the crisis of the day. If you write your book now and publish it 3, 6, or 9 months from now.

This isn’t a call to write books about how to survive a pandemic. If that’s your thing, go ahead.

But people read books for a lot of reasons, and those reasons aren’t going away. We read to escape, to be entertained, to be educated about a topic, or to become enlightened about a topic. We’ll still need all of that after the crisis resolves. 

People will still want to read something that will help them feel better, do better, or be better.

Writing your book is an act of leadership. At the end of this crisis our world will be changed ways we can’t yet predict. Whatever those changes are people will need leadership in every area of life.

Writing your book will position you to create more income and open the door to opportunities. Book sales are just one source of income that can come from your book. You can use your book to land contracts, lead readers to your products and services, including more books, get paid speaking engagements, and more. 

Writing your book now guarantees that you come out of this situation knowing you’ve used your time as well as you could. 

I’ve seen posts on social media from people who say they just can’t be creative when there’s a crisis going on. But I don’t believe we’re victims of our circumstances. I believe we can manage our minds and choose how we want to think about any given crisis. We can choose how we feel. We can choose the actions we take.

Those of us blessed enough to not be directly affected in terms of health at this moment, those of us whose family and loved ones are safe and sound, have an opportunity, and if that’s you, I encourage you to take advantage of it.

Get as much rest as you need. Grieve as much as you need to, but don’t give in to overwhelm. If you need help, book a free consult at CandiceLDavis.com/call. Bring me your biggest obstacle, and I’ll help you get past it.

For those of you who have written and published your books already, please don’t believe you have to stop selling because we’re in a crisis.

You do not have to “use” Coronavirus as a tactic to sell books.
If it’s relevant, then don’t be afraid to mention it.

I received an email from a health professional I trust about his book on how to naturally boost the immune system. I was not offended when he mentioned the virus because it is DIRECTLY connected.

But people want to hear about other things. The crisis is NOT the only thing people want to talk about. It’s not the only problem they want to solve.

Right now, in this moment, people still want to know:

how to start a business

how to grow their business

how to land their dream job

how to organize their home

how to cook healthy meals

how to reach and maintain their ideal weigh

how to be a better parent, wife, husband, or human being

how to connect with God

how to deal with a loss

how to get over their shyness or social anxiety

And right now, in the middle of a crisis, those people are shopping online.

Readers still want to escape into other people’s stories. They want to learn about new subjects and expand their knowledge.

Even if they can’t get an Amazon delivery right now, they can download ebooks or audibooks. If you don’t have an ebook version available, you can easily upload one on Amazon. Just create an account at kdp.amazon.com and follow the steps. If you have an audiobook for sale, you’re ahead of the game.
Promote your digital version of your book. Promote the audio version. Consider selling a pdf version directly from your website. Give people the option to buy your book.

People are looking for solutions.

I know this because in the last couple of weeks, I’ve bought novels to escape in, a book on time management, a book about managing your mind to achieve your goals, and a brief history humankind. I’m reading. So are my clients. So are my friends, and my husband, and my daughters. We’re all still reading.

I’m your author coach, Candice L Davis. Thanks for listening to Nothing but the Words. If you enjoy this episode, please share it with a friend or on social media, and as always, I’d really appreciate a great review.

Stay safe and well, go write something, and I’ll see you next time.