My Treasured Bookshelf

 

       

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

In my office above my desk, I have two shelves of autographed books. The majority of my days are spent working at my desktop with my fingers on the keyboard. My treasured bookshelf is a simple glance upward. With only one or two exceptions,  I’ve personally met each of these authors. At my request, they have signed these books. During my decades in publishing, I’ve had the opportunity to interview and meet some remarkable authors. Many of these authors I interviewed them for a magazine article. Through the years I’ve interviewed over 150 bestselling authors about their books and how they practice their writing craft. During many of these interviews, I asked the author to sign their book and brought them home to my bookcase. Each one of these signed books stir my memories of those circumstances and provide inspiration to my continued work.

For this article, I’ve selected three of these authors to tell about their books. Then I will give you some ideas of how you can create your own treasured bookshelf.

The first is a colorful hardcover My First Bible by Ken Taylor. I interviewed Dr. Taylor who at that time was the chairman of Tyndale House Publishers. He had a much celebrated career including being the translator of the Living Bible. My First Bible was a new release and we were surrounded with new books on the floor of the Christian Bookseller Convention. I asked him, “Dr. Taylor, don’t you feel the competition for your book with all these other books targeted to the exact same audience?”

With a knowing smile, he said, “No, Terry, I’m not concerned about the competition. If it’s a book based on the Bible and parents are reading it to their child, that’s all that matters.”  Dr. Taylor gave me a wise perspective about bookselling.

Another treasured book on my shelf is The Professor and the Madman. It’s an unusual story about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary which is the largest dictionary in the English language. I met the author Simon Winchester during a meeting of the American Society of Journalists and Authors in New York City. I’m always fascinated about how Winchester found this story in a footnote of a book he was reading. The Professor and The Madman became a New York Times bestseller. I encourage you to follow this link to see the details I wrote about this book a couple of years ago. Winchester’s story gives me hope that any of us could hear such a story and write a bestseller. 

I want to highlight The Success Principles from Jack Canfield as my third book from my treasured bookshelf. During several different conferences, I’ve had the opportunity to hear Jack speak. In 2007, Mark Victor Hansen invited me to come to Mega Book Marketing University. I was a literary agent and took pitches throughout the event. At that point in my life, I had written about 50 books for traditional publishers but they were not selling. In fact, I was getting negative royalty statements which means the books received an advance but were not earning beyond that advance. It was during that workhop I understood how little I was doing to tell people about my books. I heard the first success principle which I continue to follow to this day: I will take 100% responsibility for my own success. It changed my actions and turned around my bookselling results. In fact, several years ago I blogged about that effort in this article.  

These stories are only a few examples of the treasured books on my shelf. Here's a current photo:

Each book on these shelves holds importance and memories for me. Do you have a collection of signed books? Because these signed books are special to me, I understand when I sign a book for someone else, I’m creating a keepsake for that person. Each time, I make a point to write the date, the person’s name and a few words just for them along with my signature. It makes that book personal for that person.

From time to time, when I meet a new doctor or someone, I will bring a copy of my Billy Graham, A Biography of America's Greatest Evangelist. I will offer it to the person and if they want it, I will quickly sign it to them. A couple of weeks ago, I gave one to a new doctor and he told me, “This is my first signed book.” It was fun for me to hear that information about the special nature of a signed book.

Do you have a special place on your bookshelves for signed books? How do you sign books as an author? I look forward to your comments.

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What Can A Writer Do?

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

As a trained journalist, I continue to follow the news around me. I limit my consumption but I still follow the major events around the world. In many ways it is frustrating because as a writer, there is little I can do about it. Yet I can tap into one of the most powerful resource for every Christian: prayer. I continue to pray.

Through my work as an editor, I’ve learned that I can’t make people sign their contract. All I can do is faithfully work with my colleagues to get them a contract, then follow-up and answer any questions and encourage them to move forward. Last week an author told me his decision was between Morgan James Publishing and another publisher. He selected the other publisher (which I know is mostly smoke instead of actual publishing). My response to his decision: I wished him all the best and hope we can work together in the future. I’ve had authors who have published with that entity return to me with their next book for a different result. 

As an editor, I can’t make authors market their book and tell others about their work. Last week I worked with another author on his second book with Morgan James Publishing. When I checked on the sales of his first book, I learned over the last couple of years, he had sold about 50 books in the bookstore. The bookstore sales number is key to the publisher--not what the author sells on their own. This news was dismal for his possibility of getting a second contract from my colleagues unless he has a different marketing plan. 

The best publishing from my experience is working with a team. Sometimes like last week, my colleagues don’t like the writing--even if it is an unedited manuscript and I’ve referred this writer to some excellent editors. Not every pitch that I make to my colleagues gets a book contract. Yet I continue pitching different authors. 

As people, God made us each with free will to make our own choices and sometimes learn our own hard lessons. Each day I try and use the hard earned lessons from my own publishing journey to help and encourage others even if they don’t take my advice. 

I’ve given several examples here but bottom-line, there is much I can’t do in the publishing world. You may feel discouraged about the response or lack of response from editors and readers. My encouragement in this article is to keep going.

As a writer or editor, I can’t take on the responsibility of others--but I can take on my own responsibility. As Jack Canfield told us in The Success Principles, each of us have to take 100% responsibility for our own success. I can keep growing in my craft of writing and learn to be a better communicator and writer. If my books and book proposals aren't selling, then I can write something different like a short magazine article and get it into the market.  I can create my own products and market them to my email list--even if I don’t like my open rate for my emails. I can keep expanding my personal connections to editors and other writers. I can continue pitching and looking for new opportunities. 

As writers, the only way for our opportunities to dry up and stop is if we quit. Don’t quit and continue pressing forward. As I’ve written in these articles, we live in one of the greatest times in human history--but we have to take our own responsibility for our own actions and find the right place for our work to get published. It will not be easy and simple but is possible. If I can help you, don’t hesitate to reach out. 

What can a writer do? Our writing can change our world but only if we continue the journey. What steps are you going to take this coming week? Let me know in the comments below. 

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The Only Path to Success

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

It sounds counterintuitive. The only path to success is through regular failure. To consider this topic, let’s begin with a couple of stories. 

Thomas Edison invented numerous inventions which we continue to use today--like the light bulb. “But despite his outstanding success, Edison failed frequently. In fact, it sometimes took thousands of attempts – literally – to perfect his experimentation. That was exactly the case when Edison was working to devise a novel storage battery. According to his close friend Walter S. Mallory, Edison had already tried 9,000 experiments and hadn’t yet found a solution. When Mallory commented about the lack of results, Edison promptly responded, “Results! Why, man, I have gotten lots of results! I know several thousand things that won’t work!”

Or consider James Dyson and his 5,126 failures to invent a vacuum cleaner. acuum cleaner. “That’s how many failures James Dyson went through before finding the winning prototype for his first vacuum cleaner. Five thousand — one hundred — twenty-six! That meant four years of developing the product, going deep into debt and putting up his house as collateral to the bank loan. He pinned everything on this invention without any guarantees that it would ever work. That level of determination and patience is absolutely mind-blowing to me. James is now the fourth richest person in the UK with an estimated net worth of £16.3 billion. Well deserved, I say!”

As writers, we face a great deal of rejection. Many people have forgotten those early days of finding a publisher for Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, the co-authors of Chicken Soup for the Soul (one of the bestselling series in the English language). Their submission was rejected 140 times which is a lot of rejection. Yet they continued looking for a publisher. Mark wrote this story in the foreword of my book Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. Follow this link to dowload a free section of this book including the foreword.  

If your work is getting rejected from editors and literary agents, keep submitting and writing. Your persistent effort will pay off if you continue looking for the right fit for your work. I admit the path is not an easy one. I’ve been rejected many times in my own journey. I’ve come to understand that rejection is not person but saying my writing was not the right fit for that particular editor or agent. I have to keep submitting and keep connecting with new people to find the right fit for my work.

The process or journey is not easy but possible. I encourage you to: 

--keep making new connections. Who you know is almost as important as what you know.

--keep learning your craft and reading how-to books, articles and online courses. I’ve been studying publishing for decades and continue to learn new aspects all the time. 

--keep trying new types of writing. In the free excerpt from Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams, I have a detailed list of the variety of writing. You may not be a book author but you may be excellent at magazine articles. It’s a conversation I had recently with a contributing editor at Guideposts (one of the top circulation publications). She hasn’t published a book but loves writing short magazine articles and reaching millions with her writing.  

The only way to fail in your publishing efforts is to quit the journey. I encourage you to continue to move forward on the only path to success. Let me know what you think in the comments below. 

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The Best Marketing Plan

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Authors are on a continual search for the best marketing plan. After being in publishing for many years, I will tell you that you plan will be different than mine. A cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all plan does not exist. There is no formula and if a formula existed then every book would be a bestseller and successful. There are some great books which are not marketed and never get discovered. I've purchased other books which aren't that well-written yet because of excellent marketing, they become bestsellers.

 

To discover the best marketing plan is a process and takes continued effort to try a new tool, use it, then evaluate if the process helped you sell books and if not, try something else until it works. From my experience while there is no formula, there are continued practices such as having your own website, blog and email list. Some people sell many books on the radio and others through podcasts. Others sell books through live events or zooming into book clubs. There are many different ways to market your book. I have a shelf full of these books and each of them have valuable insights.

 

In these articles, I've written about how Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen followed the rule of five when they launched the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. You can read this old post to learn more about this practice. I encourage your perserverance in this area of marketing your books. It will pay off. Once a month I blog for Writers on the Move and several years ago I wrote the story of bestselling author Andy Andrews. Follow this link to learn the story and see the persistence and perserverance that Andy endured before he hit the bestseller list. 

I encourage you to read how-to write books and apply the material to your writing life. Each book will have insights for you. The updated edition of Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams is available in bookstores across the country. Several years ago I got this image from a reader along with his appreciation. Notice all of the post-its stuck in this book and how he found insights in my book.

 

In 10 Publishing Myths, the conclusion of each chapter includes an MBA (Myth Buster Action). Many things in the publishing process are outside of our control as authors. This book emphasizes the aspects you can control and encourages you to take action in this area. If you haven't read my book, I encourage you to take advantage of this special offer (follow the link).

 

From my experience in publishing, the Best Marketing Plan is a plan that you as the author will execute—and not just once for over and over for the long haul. My biography of Billy Graham was published years ago but I continue to promote it every day. As the author, you have the greatest passion for your book and need to focus that passion into your regular marketing efforts to continually sell books.

 

Where have you found the best marketing plan? Let me know in the comments below.

 

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Where Is the Easy Button for Publishing?

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Writing is easy. You sit at your keyboard, open a vein and bleed. This statement has been attributed to Ernest Hemingway. On the surface, publishing looks easy. You write a book and publish it. People are looking for something easy—an easy button. One of my friends, Joel Comm, was selling easy buttons that you could have on your desk and push when you needed it. Yet the button only went up and down—and didn't do anything. From my decades in publishing, there is no easy button and instead the days are full of many “minor” decisions which will make a huge difference in the success or failure of your book.

 

In the pages of these entries, I've told the story about Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield, co-authors Chicken Soup for the Soul (one of the most successful series of books in the English language). People often forget these books were rejected 140 times before they finally found a small publisher. That is a lot of rejection. Mark tells the story in the foreword to my book Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. Just follow this link to download and read the foreword and first chapter.

 

Last year, on The Write Conversation blog, I told the story of Andy Andrews and his struggle to get published and then how he became a New York Times bestselling author. Follow this link to read this article but the key fact is to notice the persistence and perserverance Andy did to finally succeed with his books and writing. There was nothing easy about it.

 

A great deal of publishing is being in the right place at the right time with the right stuff. Those qualities of persistence and perserverance are key elements for every writer. Here's some ideas of action steps you can take—no matter where you are on your publishing journey:

 

1. Write shorter pieces or magazine articles and be pitching them to editors. It takes skill to write a book and it also takes skill to write a shorter article. I would rather be learning on the shorter article than the longer book. Plus you will reach many more people with an article than most books. I continue to write for magazines and have been doing it for many years.

 

2. Be making connections consistently through LinkedIn. Millions of people are on this business network and I ignored it for years but today I have over 19,000 connections. Last week I called a long-time friend's cell number and someone else answered. I checked the number with a colleague—and they had the same wrong number. I went to LinkedIN and found a different number in this friend's contact area—so I called it and left a message. I was reaching him with an old number which was forwarded to him—and apparently dropped during the last month.  Repeatedly LinkedIN has been a great source of information because generally when people move or change positions, they take their LinkedIN account with them. Each of us need the right connection and you can be expanding your network through LinkedIN. If we aren't connected, then send me a connection invitation (use the link) You might not need it today but maybe you will need to connect at a later point.

 

3. Get to an event and make new connections.  After two years of a pandemic, live events are returning. I will be at two of them this month and another in June. In May I will be teaching and meeting authors at a vircual event. Follow this link to see my schedule and possibly meet. This week an author who attended one of my workshops in 2018 reached out to me with some questions. She was going to attend the Write His Answer conference in May (which will be virtual and a combination of the Philadelphia and Colorado Christian Writer Conferences). This author was surprised that I answered her email and questions. Even four years after an event, I continue to be in touch with people that I met.

 

Your persistence and consistency is important—even in the face of rejection like Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Andy Andrews. Keep moving forward is my encouragement—whether you find the easy button or not. 

 

If I'm missing the easy button for publishing, let me know in the comments below.

 

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Don't Play the Blame Game

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

When things go wrong (and they often do in the publishing world), it is easy to blame someone else. 

As an editor, I hear writers who are disappointed with their book sales. They blame the publisher for not doing enough marketing and pushing on their book. Yet when we look to see if we've heard anything from this author in the last few months, often we find nothing but silence. We can't be promoting the author if we don't hear about their marketing activity. Are they marketing (hopefully so) but then they also have the responsibility of telling their publisher about their marketing efforts. In my detailed calls with authors, one statement that I always make sure and include is: “80% of the marketing is up to the author.” 

This statement is true no matter who publishes your book—whether they pay you a large advance or a small advance. 80% of the marketing is up to the author and the author's activity. Your publisher may be able to sell the book into a brick and mortar bookstore but it is the author's activity (marketing) which drives people into that bookstore to buy the book.

 

When you point your finger, think about the way your different fingers are pointing. One is extended but the other four are directed back to you. A pointed finger is a good illustration of what authors need to think about when it comes to blaming others for something not happening. My key message in this post is rather than blame others, take your own actions and responsibility.

 

If you aren't getting enough sales, what are you doing to tell people about your book? Are you booking yourself on podcasts? Are you collecting the recording and continuing to use the recording to market your book? There are many different ways to market your book? You can be on talk radio. You can write print magazine articles on a related subject to your book. You can write blog posts on your blog. You can write blog posts on other people's blogs as a guest blogger. You can advertise on Facebook or some other platform. You can market your book to your email list.  You can write a newsletter and send it to your list. You can market your book on social media (various platforms and methods). You can market your book in person to others and also when you speak. The list of possibilities and opportunities are endless and only limited by your own imagination and energy.

 

Have you hired a publicist to promote your book? You still have to market and can't give the entire responsibility to the publicity firm. Many of these places charge $3,000 to $5,000 a month. One of my authors told me that last year she spent $50,000 with a firm and wasn't going to do that again. When I heard that information, I thought to myself, “Wow, that is a huge investment and would have to sell many books to get a return on that investment.” It was not a wise move in my view. During my conversation, I affirmed that she needed to do something different in the future.

 

Bestselling author Jack Canfield has studied what it takes to be successful and wrote his book, The Success Principles. The first principle is I will take 100% responsibility for my own success. I suspect no one wants to take 100% responsibility for their own success (I don't) but it is the best course of action for every author. If you take this responsibility, then you don't play the blame game and point the finger at others. Instead, get busy and take action yourself to make things happen. 

 

Have you played the blame game in your conversations, writing or thoughts? What steps are you going to take to move in a different direction? Let me know in the comments below.

 

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When Your Book Isn't Selling

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

I used to cringe when I saw the mail or email from one of my publishers. It probably contained a royalty statement and experience told me many of those numbers would begin with a minus (negative balance).  I’ve written for many different traditional publishers and have had this experience from a broad spectrum of types of books including how-to, self-help, biographies, gift books and children’s books.

When your book sales are off, it’s a natural tendency to want to blame someone. Maybe my editor has left and my book was orphaned inside the publisher with no champion or advocate. Maybe my publisher didn’t market the book to bookstores. Maybe they changed the title between what was printed in the catalog and what was published. Or _______(fill in the blank). I’ve had all of these things happen to my published books. 

Good publishing involves a cooperative process and working with many different people. Much of this process is outside of the author’s control. I’ve also learned there are many pro-active steps authors can take to change their situation.

1.      Take 100% responsibility for your own success. In The Success Principles, Jack Canfield makes this the first principle. Over ten years ago, I heard this principle and adopted it in my publishing efforts.

2.      Be active in the promotion and marketing of your book.  As the author, you have the greatest passion for your book—way beyond anyone else including your publisher. The great promoter, PT Barnum said, “Without promotion, something terrible happens—nothing.” Consistent promotion of your book is important.

3.      Be Generous with your book. Reviews sell books but many authors have few reviews for their book on Amazon or Goodreads or Barnes & Noble. Give books to people who are willing to write a review. If they’ve never written a review, give them a tool to help them like with this form.

4.      Ask for others for help. In the New Testament, James 4:2-3 says, “You do not have because you do not ask.” If you need endorsements, ask but make it easy for them to say yes (offer to draft it). If you need social media promotion, ask but create possible posts. Here’s an example of a page, I created to help others help me spread the word on my latest book. Use this page as an example of something you can create for your own book.

5.      Take the long view of publishing. Publishing and promoting a book is more like a marathon than a sprint. With the huge volume of published books, someone has to hear about your book seven to twelve times before they purchase it. What actions can you take every day to give your book this exposure? My Billy Graham book trailer has been seen over 11,500 times in the last five years.

6.      No matter what happens in your life, keep going. In Perennial Seller, New York Times bestselling author Ryan Holiday writes, “The hard part is not the dream or the idea, it’s the doing.” If there were a simple formula to create a bestseller, every book would be a bestseller. There are practical actions every author can take. Each part of the publishing process has challenges and as writers your persistence and consistency is critical. As #1 New York Times bestselling author Jerry B. Jenkins wrote in the foreword of my book, 10 Publishing Myths, “Only one of a hundred writers literally make their deadlines.” If you meet deadlines with quality writing, it’s an easy way to stand out from the crowd. I wrote 10 Publishing Myths (released December 17th) to give writers realistic expectations and practical steps every author can take to succeed. Today, you can get the 11th Publishing Myth as a free ebook (which is not in the book).

When you point a finger at others because your book is not selling, just remember: when you extend your pointer finger, four more fingers are bent back toward you. Take action today.

Am I missing an action idea you can take? Or maybe you have other feedback. Let me know in the comments below.

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Use the Power of One Word

Are You Looking for The Next Big Thing?

In the publishing world, words fill our lives:

• a number of times each week, new books arrive in my mailbox
• new submissions from authors come into my email box
• new relationships happen on the phone or email or in person
• new opportunities to speak and help other authors

If you are in stall and spinning your wheels, I encourage you to use the power of one word to propel you forward. It does seem amazing but you can tap into the power of one word if you consistently use it. Are you ready for this word? The word is next. Speak it aloud: next. This one word is hopeful and expecting something to happen in the future.

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, co-authors for Chicken Soup for the Soul, have a story that many people have forgotten because of their success. The Chicken Soup for the Soul series is one of the most successful in the English language. Yet these books were rejected 144 times—which is more rejection than most people will take. In this rejection process, Jack and Mark learned to look at each other and say the word: next. Yes they mourned the rejection but they did not stop and kept moving ahead to the next opportunity. If you want to read Mark Victor Hansen talking about this issue, follow this link to the free sample of Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. Mark writes about it in the foreword to my book.

As writers, we hear the word no a great deal in the publishing world. We write a book proposal and try to get a literary agent or a publishing contract. Yet we get rejected and sometimes that rejection is over and over. We get little feedback and form rejections saying things like “not a good fit” or “not right for us.”

For others, we get a book contract from a publisher, yet you decide the timing isn't right so you don't sign that particular contract. I understand the timing and publisher and details have to be right. I have it happen often with my work at Morgan James. We go through our internal process to evaluate a book and decide it will be right right book for the publisher (a team process). Then we issue a contract but the author doesn't sign it. I've had authors sigdn their contract years (yes years) after I've initially presented it to them. It is all about timing, passion of the author, resources,vision and other such intangibles. As someone who has been in publishing many years, I understand these intangibles but they are still frustrating. When I feel the frustration, I say to myself the single word: next. Then I move forward on something else.

For other authors, their book is not selling and they wonder what to do next. I spoke with an author last week who published his book a year ago, then was plunged into a personal medical situation which prevented him from marketing and promoting his book. Now his health situation is resolved and I encouraged him to begin again. Yes he had missed the launch window for his book since it is already in the marketplace, but it is never too late to work on the promotion of your book. Next.

I wrote this article to give you hope and encourage you to keep moving—in spite of the rejection and the no thank yous. If you can't write or publish in this place, look for the next opportunity. I know nothing will happen if you don't move forward, take responsibility and take action. You can do many things in the publishing world but your action will be the difference maker in this process. If I can help you in this process, my work contact information is on the bottom of the second page of this link.

What steps do you take to get it done? Let me know in the comments below.

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Keep Going With Your Writing

From my years in publishing, I've learned there are many different routes to success. As a writer, my task is to keep going and continue pursuing my dreams. Your persistence and continued effort will pay off. It's a message that I've given in my workshops—but one I've been hearing from others as well.

The road to success is littered with people who do not persist. These writers try a few things, get rejected then put their writing away and figure it no one wanted it. In contrast, the writers who get published continue to look for the right place for their material to be published. They are persistent. 

One of the best stories about persistence is Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen when they were trying to get the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book published. Their book idea was rejected over 140 times. Now that is a lot of rejection and persistence! In the process of their search for a publisher, they lost their literary agent and even considered self-publishing until a little publisher in Florida offered to publish the first of numerous books. Many writers would have given up on their book but Canfield and Hansen persisted. Today Chicken Soup for the Soul is one of the best-selling series of books but it certainly didn't begin that way.

If you are struggling to get published with one idea or manuscript, I encourage you to write a second book proposal or manuscript and try that one. Maybe the second one will be where you will find success. I've known many novelists who never published their first novel—and their manuscript remains in their desk drawer. Instead they needed to persist and write and market several novels before they found their writing voice and path to publication.

Or maybe you need to try a different type of writing such as publishing in print magazines. It is necessary to experiment in many different directions to find your path to publication. For the last year, each month, I've been writing an article about different aspects of magazine publication. Check this link and you will see that I've written many different articles about this key writing skill. From my experience there are many different writing possibilities.  I have a wide-ranging list of some of these possibilities in the free sample chapter of my Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams (just follow this link to download it).

Several months ago, I told about listening to a story in Lauren Graham's memoir, Talking As Fast As I Can. She was at a cast dinner and seated next to mega-bestselling author James Patterson. She asked him, “How do you do it?” He responded, “Keep going, keep going, keep going.”

Numerous obstacles will come into your life and prevent your writing. Persistence and continuing to write despite the barriers will be one of the keys to your success. As writers, we need to continually be reading and open to new ideas and trying new options. Last week, Smashwords Founder Mark Coker had an article in the current Publishers Weekly: Ten Tips for Autopilot E-book Marketing. Whether you have E-books or not, I encourage you to look at these ten ideas. These are perennial ideas that you can use with your books.

One of the hardest things to discover is something which is not there. This principle applies to proofreading, writing, marketing and many other aspects of publishing. When I read Coker's article, I began to think about #2 Add a Discussion Guide. Years ago when I was an acquisitions editor at David C. Cook, we decided to add a discussion guide into every new book—nonfiction or fiction. Why?

Because it was a simple addition which added value to every book. There are thousands of book clubs selecting books to read and discuss every month. If your book includes a study guide, then you have opened this possibility for your book. If your book is already in print, then you can write the study guide then give it away on your website as an added value for your readers. You can use the study guide as a list builder and have people give you an email and first name to get the free download—or you can simply give it away.

It is key to explore new ideas and to take action. 

What new ideas are you exploring and trying for your writing—so that you keep going? Tell us in the comments below. 

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How do you keep going with your writing—even when rejected? Here's some encouraging ideas.  (ClickToTweet)
 

Take Action in the Midst of Your Writing Fears

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” 
― Eleanor Roosevelt

I've read this quotation in a number of places and many different contexts.  It is a solid action step for every writer. 

Why? Because from my experience, fear can prevent us from taking action and moving forward with our writing. Will anyone want to read what I'm writing?  Will it sell? Can I find a publisher or literary agent? Is my writing good enough to publish in   a magazine or book? The questions in our minds can appear endless.

While I've published a great volume of material over the years, if I'm honest, I have a number of fears that I face each day. The key from my perspective is are you taking action with your writing in spite of those fears.  I have my ideas and pitches rejected and don't hit the mark—yet I continue pitching my ideas and looking for opportunities.

Years ago as a new writer, I was at a conference sitting around with several more experienced and published authors. It was late at night and I was learning a great deal from these new friends. One author who had published a number of books mentioned how every time he begins a new project he had huge doubts and fears in his mind. He wondered if he could do it and if the book would succeed. In the same breath where he mentioned these fears, he explained that he pushed ahead and beyond the fear to write the book. It's the key distinction between those who want to write and those who actually write: they push ahead and take action in spite of the negative thoughts and fears.

Possibly today your manuscript or book proposal is getting rejection letters from agents or editors. From my experience, you have not found the right place for your book when you get rejected. It means you have to keep looking for that right connection or champion. When the rejection arrives (even if that rejection is through no response), you face a critical choice.  You can either take action and seek another opportunity or you can quit and not respond.  Many authors will send out their material one or two times, get rejected and figure no one wants to work with them and publish their submission. Their writing fears have stalled them into no action.  

When you have writing fears, there are several things:

1. Everyone has these fears. Whether they admit them or not, you should understand it is part of the process.

2. The writers who get published, understand timing and the right connection are a critical part of the process. You have to be proactive to find the right connection with your material.

3. Rejection is a part of publishing. Everyone gets rejected—beginners and long-term professionals. The key is what do you do with the rejection. Do you quit or do you look for the next opportunity?

I believe the world is full of opportunity—yet as a writer you have to make the right connection and have to be facing your fears and continuing to move forward with your writing. One of the most published series of books in English is Chicken Soup for the Soul. What many people forget is Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were rejected on their proposed series 144 times. Now that is a lot of rejection. I'm sure they had fears to face, yet they continued moving forward. You can get some of their story in the foreword for Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. Just follow this link to download the foreword and free sample chapter (no opt-in and you can download immediately).

For your encouragement and inspiration, remember this saying. If you need to do so, I would write it out and put it over your computer and read it often:

It will not fly, if you don't try.

Tweetable:

How do you take action in the midst of your writing fears? Get some ideas here. (ClickToTweet)