Monday, January 28, 2008

Who are you?

People keep buying my Radical Elements of Radical Success book - and I have no idea why or who! I haven't done my Radical Elements presentation anytime recently. I haven't done any marketing at all. I hardly even mention it here on this blog. How do people hear about it? What makes them buy it? Why don't they buy the other stuff?

It's not selling in large quantities, mind you. Just a trickle, actually... but a regular, steady trickle. Often, it's the eBook version - I continue to be surprised at how popular that format is. Other times, it's the print version. But just about every month, two or three are purchased (sometimes more).

The thing is, I have sort of mixed feeling about the book itself, and therefore about these sales.

It was my first book, and I'm (mostly) proud of it... but it was never the book I wanted to write. It's the book I felt I had to write. It's certainly not the genre I wanted to write in. Personally, I can't stand success-lit books. That's largely why I wrote it - to counter the nonsense in that genre. But at the same time, I'm not sure it completely escaped the genre's inherent pitfalls...

I still think it's a good book. I still think it offers some useful ideas, principles and stories. I still believe the stuff I wrote in it (although some of the examples are starting to get dated). But I wouldn't write it the same way today. In fact, I don't think I'd presume to write it at all. But I still get excited to see that people are buying it.

Excited... and confused.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Dan, Don't be confused. The accomplishments we created in the past are the stepping stones to what we create in the future.

I sometimes look back to design work I did some years ago (mind you I don't do this often because it hurts!) and think "Wow that was just awful"... but I had to go through that process to create what I create today.

I'm sure in 5 years I'll look at the work I'm doing today and think "Wow...that was just awful." It doesn't mean today's design work is bad... it's just going to evolve.

Anonymous said...

Hi Dan: I think your first book was (and still is) a 'radical success' book and story and a very good one that I thoroughly enjoyed..... but that was your 'first book' and your 'first stage'and now you are in another advanced stage...so let's hear it for 'Simplicity' and keeping life 'simple...I don't have the writing skills or books that you do, but I suspect there is a human temptation for all of us to look over our shoulders (from time to time) at some of the 'work' that we've done in the past, and think: "OOh, I could have done some of that differently or better etc" even if your past work was good to begin with.... just a thought.... good job Dan....keep writing your books.... Dad

Gabe said...

.....who ho, who ho!

Oh sorry..your title got The Who "Who are you stuck in my head. I've rediscovered them recently.

Oh, anyway, I think its a great book. It really does change peoples perspectives...if their cycnical and stuff and they haven't ever met anyone like you.