"If only. Those must be the two most saddest words on the earth"
- Mercedes Lackney
We win some. We lose some. But have you ever wondered,
- did you win because of an amazing move you made?
or
- did you lose because of a stupid mistake!
To err is human, yes we know…mistakes are to be treated as lessons in life etcetc. But the fact is, only humans are capable of intense self-reflection, and thus most mistakes are followed by an aching sense of regret.
If only,
you’d asked her
checked the tweet
waited till morning
studied psychology
corrected typos
hadn’t drunk so much
hadn’t talked so little
and so on..
Just putting this list together makes me feel better. There are too many instances in life that bring the palm to the face.
So here is my stupid stupid mistake.
As some of you know, I just released my book ‘Box of Lies’. Like many other foolish writers, I hope people will buy it, so I can pay the bills. But I have never really been comfortable with the in your face marketing efforts, the please, please like, subscribe, share kind of messages. So, I thought I was being very clever, when I sent out the last newsletter (A Loaded Question) on books.
It started with – Do you read? And then went on to talk about why we read, what we read, and how we read, to slowly go all the way back to the loaded question -
The whole shebang led up to the cover of my book, with a bright red button flashing ‘click to buy’ right next to it. It was to be my marketing tool. (Don’t judge me, this is confession time.)
I revised and checked the writing and the artwork, and then went back and revised and checked it all over again. I did this about seventeen times. And it looked okay.
It was only after I hit send, that I realised I completely forgot to activate the 'Buy' button!
And right there, in front of my eyes, all the subtle, trying to be clever kind of marketing, went down the drain. The whole article was leading up to a ‘call for action’ (in MBA speak), and .... boom, nothing. It didn't work.
Clearly I need a crash course on money matters. But the only good news he said to me, is that “it is never too late”.
So, at the risk of spamming and annoying my precious group of subscribers, here it goes one more time.
That was my stupid mistake. What was the last thing that brought the palm to your face?
There is also this other thing, let me slip it in – Box of Lies hit #1 Bestseller on the Amazon list. I am so grateful for those who read. What is the point of a book if no one opens it :)
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