Some years ago, Strategy + Business analyzed the business practices that enabled the special effects company Industrial Light + Magic to thrive. Here are three factors they identified and how a free-lance writer or other creative person could apply them:
* With their proposals they bid to deliver rather than bid to win. In other words, rather than proposals that say, "Look how good we are," theirs say "Look how we will solve your problems."
An author could follow this path in creating a book proposal. Yes, the proposal has to demonstrate that the book will be good, but the publisher's problem is how to make sure the book sells. This means including in your proposal an innovative approach to marketing the book, which increasingly is the responsibility of the author rather than the publisher.
* For each project, they put together a dedicated team.
Following on from the last point, a book proposal could include indications of who else will be involved. For example, for a book I am pitching at the moment, I am proposing to include a link to a piece of downloadable software that will be made available for readers. I will be commissioning but not creating the software program--that will be done by someone I will hire just for this project.
* It selects suppliers and collaborators based on the needs of each job
The days when an author was with one publisher for a lifetime have gone, so writers need to stay alert to who is doing what in the publishing (or filmmaking) world and to be flexible. Similarly, the same agent may not be right for you throughout your career. This is not to say there should be no loyalty, just that the marketplace is shifting so quickly that win-win situations may require moving around (agents and publishers feel the same way, so don't expect them to hold to the old paradigm, either).
(One thing you need to be able to do is set and achieve goals with focus. You can get support for that in my Writing Breakthrough Strategy Program. You can get my free report, "Seven Things that Stop You From Writing and How to Overcome Them" and full information about the Program HERE.)
