We all know what the placebo effect is. It’s the impact of belief on outcomes. If you believe a drug is going to work, it does, for a significant percentage of those who take it, even if it’s actually just sugar they are taking. For more on the real science behind this visit this post at the American cancer society.
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What they call it is the Expectation Effect, the effect of expectations on outcomes. Effectively it means that if you believe something will work, that belief impacts the outcome in a high percentage of cases.
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So how can writers use this effect? One of the little discussed effects of herd behaviour in humans, is the impact of cultural arbiters in the definition of what is great art, great theater, and great writing.
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If people keep saying that Fifty Shades or The Goldfinch are worth reading, the herd follows. In the case of The Goldfinch it achieved best seller status while also being the book most readers didn’t finish. For Fifty Shades it was the book most left behind in a hotel.
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We are in an age where cultural arbiters are shifting. A lengthy review on Amazon from a top reviewer can have more impact than a newspaper review. Winning a literary prize can have an even bigger effect. Isn’t that why most of the book awards events are run? To lift sales, by telling the masses what they should read?
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Here are some suggestions for using the powerful Expectation Effect to impact book sales and careers:
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1. Project a sense of total self belief, which will eventually take root inside you, so that you are driven forward each day to act as if you will be successful, and take positive actions that will contribute to that success, daily. And do keep your chin up!
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2. Use positive language, such as Breakthrough, Mind Blowing, Extraordinary, Essential Book of The Year/Decade! You should, of course, have found some unique element to the work, which you can attach to the above positive phrases, and given that you have achieved a professional standard in the production and packaging, it’s now up to you to express the uniqueness of the work in an unforgettably positive way.
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3. Get supporters. If you have a team of like minded people who will tell you, (publishers used to do this a lot) that your work is “fantastic, darling”, and who are willing to back you publicly with big bucks, the impact of any negative comments will be lessened, both on you and on your readers.
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I am not suggesting that writers or publishers ever try to sell mutton as lamb, God forbid, but where you have something that could possibly be described as mutton, please do take that self-belief pill and travel down the rabbit hole to a place where belief, positive language and group think can tip the balance in your favour, no matter what offal you are selling.
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If you want to know more about harnessing the placebo effect for medical purposes, this is a good place to start.
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Good luck with your experiments with expectation! Next year’s mega-seller could be sitting in front of you right now! All it needs is the application of a few well chosen placebo techniques.
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Laurence O’Bryan has been training authors in digital marketing for over 4 years, God bless him, and is also a published author with Harper Collins in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and in 10 other languages, blah, blah, hype, hype, expectation! (reminder to self: insert overblown review praise here.)
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Laurence started BooksGoSocial.com site to help authors get discovered and beat the Placebo effect. His background of twenty five years in marketing and training contributes to all this. For Laurence’s book promotion services see TheBookPromoter.com.
Wonderful inspiration! I needed that and I plan on instituting the Magic!
Astonishing and sage advice! This precisely what Dr. Tim Hall describes with tools to make it happen in every day life in his upcoming book.
Very well said Mr. O’Bryan!