- Barry Finlay

One of the things I plan to do with Keyboard Reflections is to share reviews of books that I have thoroughly enjoyed or found to be enlightening. One of those books is The War Of Art by Steven Pressfield.

I was given this book as a Christmas gift by one of our sons who is a singer/songwriter in Nashville. The book focuses on overcoming the blockages that get in the way of people starting a project or finishing what they started. While we often hear of authors with writer’s block, it applies equally to anyone who is creative, entrepreneurs, people starting to diet or exercise… The list goes on.

Pressfield introduces the subject by pointing out that each of us has two lives. There is the one we live and the one unlived within us. Between the two stands resistance. The first third of the book examines how resistance prevents us from fulfilling our dreams or living our lives to the fullest.

The next third deals with the difference between professionals and amateurs. He uses the term “professionalism” as an ideal and explains what it means to be professional in chasing our dreams and overcoming resistance.

In the last part of the book, Pressfield encourages the reader to embrace the magic allies surrounding us to make a start and to continue on the path towards living the unlived life within us.

I have to admit to being a bit lost in the final section when the concepts become more abstract. Nevertheless, the first two sections offer enough valuable insight into the resistance that might be holding us back and how to address it to make The War of Art a worthwhile read. The author cleverly uses interesting anecdotes from his life that are relatable. The blurb refers to the book as a “kick in the pants” and it is that, but it’s also a handy list of the many barriers that could be preventing us from reaching our full potential and how to overcome them. In my opinion, the first two sections alone are well worth keeping nearby and picking up when we find ourselves blocked from the goals we want to achieve.

Every author will tell you the most difficult thing about writing is, well, not the writing part. It’s promotion. It’s telling everyone you have written a new book and it’s really good. Of course, telling someone it’s really good is not going to do it unless they buy the book just so you’ll stop bugging them.

I have to be honest. I don’t have the answer. My books have won literary awards and I always have difficulty telling anyone about them. Quite often, posting becomes boasting in my humble opinion. But wait! By divulging I have trouble telling people about the awards, you are now aware that I’ve won some and you might go away thinking about looking into my books. It’s a subtle way of getting the message across without appearing boastful.

I was sharing a table at a book signing with another thriller author recently who was using aggressive sales tactics. Someone would go by looking in the opposite direction and she would yell at them to come over and look at her books. Two things happened. The first was that I benefited from her aggressive behavior and by taking a more passive approach, I had more sales at the end of the day than she did. The second is that I just told you I write thrillers, that I do book signings and my books sell.

I have done many book signings in book stores now and I find the best approach is to just let people know you’re there with your books and what the genre is. If they are history buffs with no interest in thrillers, there is no sense in dragging them over to try to convert them. It’s probably going to be a waste of everyone’s time. But if they show some interest in thrillers, then it’s time to proudly tell them about your books.

We all have to promote on social media, but a nice graphic with the cover, a line or two from reviewers and a call to action such as “Buy Now” is all that’s needed.

There are subtle ways of letting people know about your work. Confidence, honesty and passion (without being aggressive) will shine through. The internet is full of people willing to promote books at no cost up to thousands of dollars. Let them boast on your behalf.