Who to trust? An important question. The times we live in provide us with an astounding array of information, available to us anytime, anywhere and discovering which is the best can be confusing.
I think this can apply to any subject; here, it applies to those of us who write and publish…
| When I was 17, I became obsessed with fitness.
Then I quickly ran into a big problem. One expert swore low carb was the only way. Another said low carb would ruin you. One person who say train each muscle once a week. Another would say three times a week minimum. I had no idea who to trust. It’s similar with book marketing. There are tons of experts claiming to have the best way to sell books, and yet they may recommend totally contradictory things. Fortunately, I’ve found a pretty solid sign of who to trust and who to be careful of. If you ask general questions like, “Do Amazon ads work?” or, “Should you make a book trailer?” or, “How often should you email your audience?”… Notice what kind of answer they give. If they immediately give you a confident answer like “Yes” or “No” or have an exact recommendation without knowing much about you… That’s often NOT the sign of true expert. Funny (or sadly) enough though, confident certainty is what many people falsely assumes equals expertise. Real experts are sometimes a bit ‘annoying’ in their answers and explanations. A lot of times their answer to a general question is, “It depends.” They often have caveats. Or they might not even give an answer without getting to know more about you, your goals, and your situation overall. Because they recognize everything has context. For instance, if you add chocolate chips AFTER you bake cookies, it won’t work the same. Sequencing matters. Doing the right thing in the wrong order might totally flop. And sequencing is just one factor among the When, What, and How you do things. Another good sign of a true expert is how willing they are to say, “I don’t know.” Because they know enough to know what they DON’T know. Of course, these could also be signs of someone who’s a beginner. Yet an expert doesn’t usually stop at “I don’t know” or “It depends.” They can often elaborate on their thinking. And a truly effective expert/coach doesn’t just give you their solutions, they also help you draw out your OWN best solutions. So ultimately, while there’s not just a single trait to look for… A good starting point to look for in identifying a “true expert” is this… Nuance Now, for the sake of being nuanced here, this doesn’t mean a true expert won’t ever have some hard and fast absolutes they believe in. You can find very opinionated people who are genuine experts. Yet when you look at their overall messaging… The more nuanced they are in their understanding and advice, the more likely they deeply know what they’re talking about. Acknowledgements to Derek Doepker
NUANCE A nuance is a subtle or very slight difference in meaning, expression, sound, colour or feeling. It involves small, delicate variations(eg. a slight shade of red or a minor distinction between two similar words) It implies complexity and a refusal to see things in black and white. Enjoy whatever you are creating this week! Pauline
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