Goodbye to Season 2: ‘Game of Cults’
There’s the old quote, “Don’t be sad that it’s over. Smile that it happened.”
What did we do this season?
In a nutshell, we explored ways to build a system to create the most important asset you can have—one more important than even your intellectual property.
That’s right. You read that correctly—even more valuable than your IP.
What is that?
Your audience. Their attention.
You see, that’s still the game we’re playing, the game of earning and commanding the attention of those who trust us.
Without that audience, you can’t sell them your stories. It would help if you had both.
We live in a world where the supply side of content is infinite, and the demand side of attention is finite.
This further tilts the market towards those that have and hold attention and away from those that don’t.
The reality is it’s all about attention. In our consumer economy, that is the sole commodity we all seek.
Facebook is just a method of capturing and monetizing attention through advertising.
Amazon is the same. They are a marketplace for people with the attention they are willing to trade for a good story experience.
Luckily, as a content creator, you don’t have to be one to sell the attention you collect. Instead, you can get them to pay for the experiences you offer.
The longevity and health of your business are tied to your capacity to attract and hold attention.
If you’re going to be a lifetime career author, start today by building a game system that attracts people to your brand and gets them to associate their identity with it.
Don’t worry about what perfect is or what right is. Just get something better than you have now done by next quarter. Then, incrementally improve it.
If you choose to hang out with me, I’m sure we will discover some exciting additions to that system as we learn and mature together.
So what’s next…
Hello to Season 3: ‘Academy for Wayward Authors’
Starting in January, I’m revisiting the author’s business system.
I’m calling it Solari’s Academy for Wayward Authors, and you’re invited to come and get your Masters in Publishing Business Administration.
Think of it as a part-magic academy, part-psych ward, mixed with a business school, research lab, and start-up incubator.
Most of what I teach on business practices is just general business practices for small businesses.
It’s all good stuff and helpful for you in achieving your goals in serving your customer or investor.
Most authors suck at it, so even a rudimentary grasp gives you an advantage.
That being said, my journey has led me to discoveries—ways of thinking about business systems that complement each other and work specifically for content creators.
I’ll be conjuring the ghosts of past geniuses like Richard Feynman and Russell Ackoff to help with your learning.
Feynman has said the best way to learn is to take a subject and break it down so that you can explain it to a sixth grader.
The idea is to impart real learning, not memorizing facts or a recipe, but understanding a subject so deeply, it’s applicable throughout your life.
Then there’s systems thinking and Dr. Ackoff.
After Richard Feynman helps us tear down the subject matter, the godfather of systems thinking will give us ways to apply this learning.
What if we were to design a publishing business system from the ground up with the idea of accumulating funds and fans while meeting the needs of the investors?
What would that look like?
What would be different?
All that will start for you in January.
For me, I’m already working on it. I came up with the idea for season three in August while on the Pacific Coast.
I was getting a bit stressed that I still hadn’t formed a complete picture of what would be following when it came to me.
Why not revisit how to build a publishing business?
Sure, some tax and corporate structures are a given, but I’m not talking about the general stuff. I’m talking about building business processes that align with my shared ideas.
If that sounds interesting to you, we will be hosting our inaugural cohort of students at the Academy for Wayward Authors starting in January.