The Real Test of A Writer

For my writing life, I've created some routines and habits. These habits are important because I do them without thinking and they keep my writing and my publishing details on track and moving forward. For example, I've written about using Refollow to follow 800 new people every day on Twitter. Using these tools consistently allows my numbers to keep increasing and my platform to grow.

I am a long-term coffee lover. In fact, I have a coffee pot in my office area. I fill this pot with water and coffee ahead of time. When I get up in the morning, one of my first daily actions is to turn on my coffee pot. Then as I begin my day, I enjoy my coffee. Yet today my coffee was filled with grounds. The paper filter went wrong and the entire pot of coffee was wasted and filled with grounds. It was a giant mess. Instead of enjoying my coffee, I had to clean the pot and begin again. I finally got my coffee pot working today but it took more than simply pressing the button to turn it on. Instead of a calm start to my day, I had an immediate mess to clean.

From my recent back to back trips to events (with only two days in between), I picked up a cold virus. While I try and wash my hands on the road and be careful, despite my best intentions, I get sick. I've been increased my water consumption and trying to get more rest (even sleeping during the day a few times). I'm on the mend yet several days last week when I called authors, I'm certain I sounded different. Yet I continued making calls, writing emails, answering questions and pushing forward with the work.

Throughout my travels and illness because of using scheduling tools, my social media feeds continued without interruption. The consistency and persistence is important and a quality that I've mentioned many times in these articles. These interruptions is one of the real tests for a writer.

Everyone has unexpected things happen such as illness or a technical difficulty or countless other things. When you are at this point of decision, you have two choices. First, the unexpected can throw off your schedule and sour your attitude and prevent you from writing or meeting any other task you have as a writer. Or there is another choice: you can move forward with your writing, find a work around, switch gears to a different task and keep going. For me as a writer, I've tried to make the second choice my default action. It doesn't always work and some days I get thrown off track. Normally I determine to keep going and accomplish the task at hand. Sometimes it is consistency for writing. Other times it is working with my Morgan James authors and answering their questions and making phone calls. Your tasks will be different than mine. My encouragement is for you to find the way to make the choice to keep going.

Many others will make the first choice and get derailed from the process. Their writing will not get done and they will miss their deadlines and the books will not be published. Or maybe it is in the marketing area and their book will not get pushed and promoted so people hear about it and purchase it. If you have gotten derailed, every day is a new day. I encourage you to start fresh and keep going.

Recently in Nashville, I was talking with one of my Morgan James authors. This author has gone through some personal issues about the time his book was released two years ago. Now he has weathered that situation and is refocused on his book and the promotion. In my view, it is never too late to for a book. Yes you missed the launch of your book but are you still passionate about the topic and message in your book? As the author, your passion will drive the on-going marketing and promotion of your book. Your publisher will press on to other books. Your choice is to begin each day new and dig into the expansion of your topic and promotion. You are the only person who can determine it is too late.

What has derailed you and how are you making a fresh start on your writing life? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

What happens when your writing gets derailed. Get ideas here for the real test of a writer. (ClickToTweet)

 

The Thought-Provoking Title

It instantly grabbed my attention. As a long-term freelance writer, how could a freelancer be wealthy? The two words did not seem to go with my reality. I've known and met hundreds of freelance writers and the majority of them fit the expected profile of a starving artist. Yet here's a book called The Wealthy Freelancer, 12 Secrets to a Great Income and an Enviable Lifestyle. Can you see why this book caught my attention?

Each of these 12 secrets are valuable but I wanted to write today about Chapter 8: Bring Focus To Your Freelance Business. Pete Savage writes, "In my early years as a freelancer, there was nothing focused about my business..." (page 147) On the next page, he makes a profound statement, "Focus is what helped me go from barely paying the bills to busting through the six-figure income barrier. Focus is what allows Pam Magnuson to easily identify the companies and trade shows that are likely to be lucrative sources of business for her. And focus can take you from good to great."

Next Savage gives three key criteria to bring focus to his freelance business: Discover, Identify, and Position. He gives a great deal of detail about these three words but he explains it allows you to:

1. Discover what you have to offer.

2. Identify the market you'll serve.

3. Position yourself in the market.

From my experience of working with various freelancers, many of them have never done the hard work of looking inside and experimenting to see what they have to offer to the marketplace. Are you a novelist or a nonfiction writer? If you decide that you are a novelist then what type of novelist? If you decide that you are a nonfiction writer, then what type of nonfiction writer? Are you a copywriter or a magazine writer or someone who writes radio scripts? Each of us have to invest the time and energy to experiment and find the place where our writing can be used. A part of this experimentation is the willingness to apprentice and learn the skill and craft of writing instead of assuming that our work will instantly skyrocket to the top (a very common assumption for example is that an author has written a bestseller--however you define the word bestseller--which is an entirely different discussion).

Second you have to identify the market that you will serve. Please don't say your writing is for "everyone." I've seen many an editor roll their eyes (at least feel like rolling their eyes) when they hear that statement. Let's think about the book market for the moment. Books (fiction or nonfiction) are written with a primary market in focus and often a secondary market. As you identify this market, Pete Savage encourages freelancers to ask, "Is the market viable?" He asks a series of pointed questions to help the reader identify the market that they will serve.

Finally he encourages the freelancer to think about their unique selling proposition (USP) in the market. I found the contents of this chapter to mesh with the hour-long video that I watched today from bestselling author Brian Tracy speaking on 10 secrets of lifetime success.

The Wealthy Freelancer has much more than a thought-provoking title. It is loaded with valuable insight for every writer.

Countdown Timer Resource

What does it take for you to focus on your writing and move ahead with a book proposal or a query letter or a magazine article or a book project? The answer will be different for each of us.

People are constantly amazed that I've written the volume of material over the years--especially when you consider my first book was released in 1992. My response is that writing a book is just like eating an elephant. You do it one bite at a time. You write one page at a time.

Yesterday a friend wrote and asked if I'd like to clone myself. My instant reaction was "of course, then I would accomplish even more things." With a bit more reflection, I'm not really interested in cloning myself—even if it were possible. Instead, I'd like to increase the amount of things that get done through greater effective work habits. Believe me over the years, I've heard almost all of the excuses that people give for not getting it done--kids at home, traveling too much, ADHD, poor equipment, no writing space or something else. Also I know accomplished writers who have overcome each of these challenges and continue to publish valuable prose.

I continue to apply lessons from the recent Mega Book Marketing University in Los Angeles. As I drive around in my car, I'm listening to some of the material from this conference. I'm also returning to my large notebook from the session and recalling ideas from the various speakers. Alex Mandossian gave some terrific tools in one of the final sessions of the conference. I'm going to pass along one of them in this entry about the Writing Life in hopes it will help you as well.

The resource is a free countdown timer. Set it to whatever amount of time works for you. Alex suggested 45 minutes since almost anyone (even someone who is ADHD) should be able to concentrate on a single task for this amount of time. Make a plan and stick with it. You will be surprised at what can be accomplished.

A Matter of Focus

Are you stuck some place with your writing life? Maybe you've started several novels but not managed to finish them. Or maybe you have a half-baked query letter and haven't completed it and sent it out to various magazine editors. Possibly you've started a book proposal yet not submitted it. Years ago, one of the people in my writing critique groups had a whole desk drawer full of manuscripts. He had not submitted any of them. Or maybe the array of writing choices overwhelm you and you wonder which thing to tackle first.

In some ways it's a matter of focus and getting out of stall then forming a plan to move ahead. This past week, John Kremer included a short article about Keith Ferrazzi, the author of Never Eat Alone. [If you don't subscribe to John's free newsletter, take a second to do so because it's packed with great information]. The current issue of Reader's Digest includes an article from Ferrazzi about how to achieve your dreams.

Then Ferrazzi created a simple online quiz so readers could follow through. Check out this tool and it may help you get out of stall and on to the next level in your writing life.