Standing Out Among the Clones
As I sit here typing, I’m reflecting on the unique challenges we, as self-published authors and content creators, face regarding standing out and getting noticed. For instance, the Kindle marketplace is teeming with traditional and self-published books. The influx of AI-generated books, often of subpar quality, further saturates the market. How can we make our work stand out in such a competitive environment?
That’s the question that a litany of self-publishing “gurus” would love to answer if you buy their course. Yes, many people give out free and paid advice, all claiming that this is what you should do to be a successful author. An entire industry is designed to take advantage of FOMO, or Fear Of Missing Out, and sell you on the one idea that will take you to the promised land. If you’re like me, you may wonder if these guys are such successful authors; how do they have so much time to create these courses, etc? That is a topic for another time.
What I want to contemplate for now is how we can we stand out if we’re all doing the same thing. Full disclosure: I’ve been as guilty of this as anyone. I had initially intended for my first book, “Tears of the Dragon,” to be a one-off. Perhaps I would have gone back and written more later, but at the time, I meant to write it and move on to the next idea. But I read that to be successful as an author, you need to write a series. Four books later, I wonder how different things would have been had I moved on to the next idea. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy writing the Xavier Greene series, but lately, I’ve been itching to write something new. I’m sure we’ve all seen the same advice about what to do about blurbs, what we should post on social media, and how we should do our covers. But more and more, I’ve been thinking that if we all take the same advice and all stick to the same guidelines, all we’re going to end up being is generic.
The tipping point in my thinking came when I encountered Joan Westenberg’s article “The Resonance Myth.” In the article, Joan talks about how we’re all being told the same things regarding online content creation and how, if we all do the same thing, it’s impossible to stand out. If we all do things the same way, we blend into an ocean of mediocrity.
So what are we supposed to do? For starters, we should do things in whatever way feels right to us. As I’m fond of saying, we aren’t robots. Humanity isn’t one size fits all; neither is success. So who’s to say what is the right way for you? I understand the adage that you have to know the rules before you break the rules, and I agree with it. But don’t forget that these “rules” are more like guidelines, and all are subjective. What worked for someone else may not work for you. I can’t tell you how to stand out except to say you are unique. No one else has the same viewpoint, quirks, or opinions as you. Your path to success may look very different than others. In other words, someone else may have said something similar, but they will never say it exactly like you do, from your point of view. So, create the book you want to read and make the art you want to see. No one has the same experiences or viewpoints, making you unique. Be authentic, even if it goes against the advice you see online. Because if you want to stand out, there is no better way to start than being yourself.
– Ryan
