CHOOSING A GURU, WHY AND HOW.

TCA #18. FOR FREE SUBSCRIBERS.

WHY…

Isn’t one’s writing superb enough to Wow, Attract & Retain Readers, in today’s most competitive and expanding market ? What’s Your assumption here ?….. and what’s the reality ?

Let’s look at the bigger picture -

With the creation of the Internet, just 42 years ago, we multitude of writers find ourselves embroiled in the struggle to make our voices heard. The choice offered to this modern readership of Seven Billion Souls has risen from Just a Bible to over ONE HUNDRED and SIXTY MILLION BOOK TITLES., Plus every other form of Visual Feast.

The latest hurdle is the dishonesty and speed of Non-Human writing…..

I ask you again, “Why isn’t one’s writing superb enough to”……… and I conclude that to be competitive, one Must have Allies…..

YOU ARE NOT ALONE, Nor should you be…

Here at Substack there are numerous valuable coalitions of Authors rising to each Challenge. Writing communities, each with their own ways of building support, fall into three basic types, serving :-

A). Those who simply want to write, just for the joys and experience.
B). Those who also wish :- to reach & influence the creation of a better world, leave a legacy, maybe even raise funding for this purpose.
C). Those who's prime objective is to earn a good income.
  

It comes down to this….. How much work you put in. Hobby ? Part-time Job ? Full time Career + learn to work smart ?

 Apparently writers who offer paid instruction, are far more likely to stay with the platform, whilst an estimated 73% of Newbies drop out within a year, including those who write fiction for free. 

Within Your first year on this Platform you will have decided that you need, a community, and to pay a Guru.*** Think carefully about your Motivation (Why you are here), decide which of these three types suits you best. BTW:- My own Motivation (Green Planet Projects) fits well with B).

TIP -

Reach out on Notes, be precise about what you seek in a community.

First let me give a real example on the companionship of Creativity & Marketing :- Colin Ruffel, an exceptionally successful Artist, who was also the “Master” of the Fine Arts Trade Guild 2008-2010, taught us that he Painted on Sunday, and Marketed the other six days…. Ouch ! but Profound…. Artists and Writers have a major commonality - We are not traders with daily public visitors, Ergo:- invisible, reliant on agents, publishers, galleries, and the mysteries and whims of internet platforms….. However….. We are capable of being as creative in our marketing as we are in our writing. Which takes us back to A), B) and C). Time to think about all those Admen’s effective catchphrases, such as “It’s the Real Thing !” or “Yes we Can !”

*** = This is the position I was in Last October. Although I have been a Solopreneur - Writing, Performing, Creating and Marketing for 70 years, The last twelve of those years I regularly spent time in the company of some quite remarkable Gurus, yet - I had hardly ever published. That was left until semi-retirement (April 2023). How then to tailor my life experience to Substack ?…. Well, it’s ongoing, made a lot of mistakes, figured out a lot of stuff, before deciding to pass on what I have learned here…. I set up This Creative Adventure.

I asked myself “Which Gurus am I willing to Pay to enhance my existing skills in relation to Grokking Substack ?” Thus I considered my criteria for….

HOW to Choose a Guru.

I came up with the eight most important criteria I’d look for, which you can 
find in the paid version of this post, which goes live in a few hours. Here's one of them, which for many News is a major consideration - Budget, there being as much value for money to be found from three Gurus at, say $65 a year each, as from one at $432.... I name three who I heartily recommend.

On the subject of Budget…. Let me offer you a Twelve Month Subscription, not for Substacks standard rate of $50, but at a one off, buy now price of just $7.50…. You Know it Makes Sense……

I trust that my Criteria list will provide a Template for your own. No Single Guru is capable of teaching the huge range of skills any Serious Author will need on their own adventure. Tread with care around those that charge hefty fees, they understand the principle of “Perceived Value”, which is not always the same as “Value for Money”. Possibly they may be better at marketing than at teaching. N.B. it’s not for me to be judgemental on what constitutes “Too High A Price”. An old marketing ploy is “Valued at…..” I do wonder “Who set the value ?” {It reminds me of the national supermarket chain that won the “best supermarket award” three years out of four. ….. The same supermarket that Ran the Award !!)

TIP.

There are some Authors who offer no lessons or courses, yet teach by example. Some can be found via my “Hallo Goldie” Interviews & Crossposts, which are published in our FREE Version.

BEFORE You start parting with your cash, seek out the numerous Teachers & Educators who frequently offer useful free tips. Sub for free to as many of such writers as you can find. Note which ones best meet your criteria. Reward them (and yourself) by taking a Paid Subscription, watch out for advantageous special offers…… Bear in mind that whilst spending 18 months picking up freebies, you will slide 12 months behind those who acted sooner……… Remember - Henry Ford was an industry first, most of the small companies that came later, Failed. Educational writing is predicted to Boom Soon.

ARE YOU A TYPE “C” ? WANT SOME HELP ?

There’s plenty of useful Tips, and General Mentoring in our Free Version, and you are welcome to comment on anything here. Paying Subscribers get In-Depth Full Articles on a range of topics that have confronted my own Adventure here - I guess many of them confront you too ? Should you decide to Upgrade, then You too will be Entitled to Vote on what you would prefer to read soon (Mar 21). Here’s the list :-

Why Articles need storytelling.
Why Frontload. 
Colour Choices,  What they mean to your Success.
Why Niche is not Always Important.
Using Special Pages.
Why Build a Library.
Random vs Targeted Promos.
Why Recommend. How Best to do it.
Networking is King, beware the Varlets.
Why Small Enterprises can beat the Giants.
Partnerships in promotions.
Why Substack supports Your Game-Upping.
Is your C.V. Clumsy ?
Engagement & Community.
Why Multistack.
s'Funny you put it That way.
Grokking the Data.

NeXt Paid Versions -

TCA #19, Feb 21. Why Autism is not, per se, a Writers Barrier.

TCA #20, Feb 28. Why it’s so hard to get Paid.

TCA #21, Mar 7. Why a Hero Post.

TCA #22, Mar 14. Why Interviews are so Valuable.

Take advantage of the Special Offer, just $

7.50 for an entire year !!

NeXt Free Version -

TCA #19, Feb 21st. “Hallo Newbie, an Interview with Monique El Faizy, a trail blazing American Journalist living in France !” + a brief excerpt from our Autism Article.