The four-letter word that will transform your writing career

What if I could give you one word that would transform your writing career?

Impossible?

Not at all. It's not only possible, but when you understand this word and its power, it will forever change how you look at writing. In fact, if you don't learn this word, you are treating your writing career like a trip to a Vegas casino. Sure, you might win big, but the odds are that you'll go home disappointed ... and broke.

I'm talking about a four letter word that most writers, including most Christian writers completely ignore.

No, it's not a profanity. Nor is it an obscenity. In fact, it's not colorful language at all. It's a plain, ordinary word, a word that you've probably spoken in the last ten days without comprehending its significance.

It starts with an “L.”

Can you guess what it is?

Give up?

The word is list.

The right kind of list, in your hands, can transform you from a writer wannabe to a successful author with enough muscle to walk into a major publisher's office and negotiate a six- or seven-figure advance with smiles all around the table.

But without a list, you're dead in the water. You can be the best writer since Ernest Hemingway and nobody will give you the time of day.

What do I mean?

I'm talking about a list – a database – of people who know you, respect you, trust you and get value from the message you have to share. I'm talking about a list of people who are ready, willing and able to buy the next book you publish. This means a database of names, email address and whatever other information you can glean so that turning your book into a best seller is like marketing clockwork.

The vast majority of writers are spending way too much time ruminating over their prose and zero time building their list.

If you don't have a list, start building one now. How do you build a list? That's the subject of a different article, but, for starters, you need to begin asking yourself some basic marketing questions: What groups of people benefit most from my message? How and why exactly do they benefit? Where do I find these people? How can I engage them in dialogue? What would cause them to want to share their name and contact information with me? How can I responsibly care for that trust and that information?

Give it some thought, because this four letter word is the cornerstone of your writing career.