Practical Problem, Essay Example

Background and Nature of the Problem

Bob Smith is an aspiring writer. Taking time away from his career in counseling, he devoted himself to researching the realms of dating and relationships and in compiling his thoughts about it. The writing of this book took several years, as Bob initially had no pressing impulse to do anything with it once completed.

In that time, however, the explosion of online dating sites made him realize that a vast market existed for his work. As a non-professional at this stage, he was unsure of how to proceed, so he took the typical course of sending out his manuscript to any publishing house that dealt in such socially-oriented materials. He was uniformly rejected, but not surprised; he had done some research here as well. “Many unsolicited manuscripts are returned unread, providing return postage is enclosed. When they are read, it is normally by an overworked and inexperienced editorial assistant” (Holt 75).

Finally, Bob decided to avail himself of the self-publishing options currently affordable and increasingly turned to by many authors. He reasoned that the book’s quality would serve to attract attention, and he had learned as well that many authors with publishing houses behind them were expected to carry the weight of promotion, just as he would have to. Bob then had his book self-published as an attractive paperback with a catchy title. He contacted local media in his town and arranged for signings at local bookstores. He received attention through these means but he soon realized he was selling very few books.

In a last-ditch effort to seek attention for his work, Bob set up a profile as a writer on a website devoted to bringing writers, agents, and publishers together. A reputable agent with impressive credentials contacted him, asked to see the book, and eventually offered to work with Bob on fine-tuning the book and then presenting it, professionally undertaken now, to publishers. Another year was devoted to rewriting, and to composing the essential and lengthy formal book proposal the agent would require.

All this accomplished, the agent informed Bob of a major problem, professionally; he had no credentials to support his authorship of the relationship book. The agent knew that, without this vital selling component, no publisher would invest in taking on his book. The problem Bob faced was a complete absence of legitimate “platform”: “Platform…is the position from which an author speaks, a combination of their credentials, visibility, and promotability (sic), especially through the media” (Thompson 203). He did have, as his agent acknowledged, valid credentials and his career as a counselor was set forth in such a way as to indicate more relationship-oriented work. Nonetheless, the problem remained that Bob had no known expertise to trigger an impulse to buy in the average reader.

Defining and Implementing a Strategy

This reality accepted, Bob set to work to determine how best to remedy this problem standing between himself and a publishing contract. He needed to be associated with media channels of some kind which were respected, or at least widely known and recognized, as sources of relationship and dating material and advice. Then, rather than make random attempts to secure this for himself, he realized that he needed a distinct strategy to follow, and this he researched as well. Moreover, he had experience already in doors closing to him, so he sought to be fully prepared for these eventualities: “When brainstorming in problem-solving, write down every idea you generate on alternative solutions so that you can systematically accept or reject each one later” (Sarafino 155).

Encouraged by the enormous amount of relationship and dating material online, Bob drew up a list in descending order of the most desirable associations for him and contacted each in turn. He sent out professional cover letters with email attachments of samples from his book, and he referred to his life experience as a counselor. Stressed by him in all these contacts was his willingness to contribute advice, columns, commentary, or anything else the site required for no compensation.

Unfortunately, that very preponderance of dating and relationship media online which had so encouraged him proved to work against him as well, for the sites he most wanted to be affiliated with, and thereby gain standing in the field, were evidently in no need of assistance. Writers and experts had been competing long and hard for the same thing Bob was after, and for some time before he entered the field. He had surmised that his willingness to contribute for free would render him attractive; he had not counted upon how many others were more than happy to make the same concession.

This approach proving unproductive, Bob changed his tactics. He decided that, as competition for exposure with nationally-known dating services was virtually insurmountable, his best course would be to establish himself first as a local expert in the relationship field. He determined, as he examined the problem, that he was not facing any urgent time line, and that his local town was large enough to accommodate this element without being so large that he would, as in the online attempts, be lost in the crowd, this was his most sensible means of gaining a name for himself which would translate into the required platform.

Further Measures

Bob began by contacting again the bookstores and venues in which he had promoted his self-published book. They were mostly agreeable to his proposal that he host small seminars on dating and relationships on evenings most convenient for these outlets, as he would as well undertake to provide and distribute posters and other modes of announcement. Neither Bob nor the bookstores anticipated much in the way of a public response but, as neither was investing anything substantial by way of funds or energies, the seminars were scheduled.

Surprisingly, Bob received a better response than when he had initially promoted his book. People already browsing in the stores were drawn to the easy-going, comfortable atmosphere of the intimate discussions, and Bob found he truly enjoyed this means of generating credibility for himself as well. Word spread and, while the numbers remained relatively modest, Bob eventually achieved a “local celebrity” status. He appeared on a local television program and was invited to join in on several radio shows. He was confident that his problem, the block to being published through his lack of notoriety, was slowly being eradicated.

After some months of this, however, his agent informed Bob that his efforts, while commendable, were not likely to solve his problem. For one thing, Bob made the strategical error of not letting his agent know of this plan. Had he done so, the agent would have pointed out to him what had to be revealed after the fact; namely, that the city in which Bob lived did not have a commanding enough status to render localized celebrity there a marketing appeal for a major publisher.

Problem Solution

After further consideration, Bob felt that he had exhausted his most promising possibilities for establishing himself as a relationship expert. Discouraged, he did not yet give up the struggle. With a new and less expectant attitude in place, as well as the mass appeal factor stressed by his agent, Bob went back to the Internet, but in a different direction.

First, he created a relationship-oriented blog and devoted a great deal of time and energy into making it both sophisticated and inviting. He concurrently hired a professional designer to build a web site around his book and himself. Lastly, he wrote new articles on dating and relationship advice and, along with selected chapters from his book, placed them in sites which permit various writers to post their work for free.

His energies centered upon his blog and site, Bob attempted to increase traffic to each through the means of linking to as many similar sites as possible. His audience began to grow, but only marginally. As before, the competition was simply too overwhelming and he could not establish a distinct and popular presence. “It is estimated that blogs now exceed sixty million” (Basset, Stickley 5).

Fortunately for Bob, however, the free work he had posted with little expectation of success paid off. He was contacted by an editor for a nationally-renowned dating site who had come across his writing and liked the tone of it. A few exchanges later, and Bob had a running monthly column on a relationship-geared website that drew millions of visitors and was a household name. This was the platform he needed, and it was all that was required to solve, and remove, the problem impeding his getting published.

Works Cited

Basset, T., and Stickley, T. Voices of Experience: Narratives of Mental Health Survivors. Malden, MA: John Wiley and Sons, 2010. Print.

Holt, R.L. How to Publish, Promote, and Sell Your Own Book. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press, Print.

Sarafino, E.P. Self-Management: Using Behavioral and Cognitive Principles to Manage Your Life. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2010. Print.

Thompson, J.B. Merchants of Culture. Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2010. Print.