The Writing Life Rollercoaster

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Our life as writers is filled with highs and lows. When our work gets published, it's a high. Maybe it is a magazine article or a chapter in an anthology or your first book or ____ book. When each of these pieces get into the world, it makes you feel good.

 

Then there are the lows when you get a negative royalty statement. If you've never heard this term, it's where you received an advance from your publisher but the book hasn't earned back or sold enough books to make any more money. You still get statements from the publisher but they are in the minus or negative category. Or you look at your reviews and see a one star review where someone threw your book into the subway trash can. I didn't make up that line but someone actually wrote that statement on an Amazon review about one of my successful books.

 

These highs and lows of the writing life can be compared to riding a rollercoaster. As you ride, the rollercoaster slowly climbs to the top but when you reach it, you know you are headed down on the other side. Every writer experiences these highs and lows as a part of our writing life—including me. 

 

How do you ride through these highs and lows of the writing life? It's what I want to give you in this article. There are several key practices for every successful writer to practice. I'm not talking about practicing something once but building it into the fiber of your life and doing it over and over.

 

Persistence and Perserverance. As writers, we are told “no” a great deal—at least it happens in my life. Phone calls aren't returned. Contracts are not taken when offered. Projects get cancelled and many other things happen in the process of working with others. Yes, it hurts and is “not personal but business” along with other phrases people use to soften the blow. When you have this experience you can certainly quit and move away from the project. Or you can do what Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen did as they were rejected 140 times for the Chicken Soup for the Soul proposal. They looked at each other and said, “Next.” See the hope built into that word? The current project wasn't a fit for you but you are turning and looking for the next one. Your persistence and perserverance is what will count to eventually make it happen.

 

Consistency.  Since July, 2008, I've posted on Twitter over 68,000 times. Yes, that is a lot of posts. If you look at my Twitter Feed, I post about 12–15 times a day in a consistent pattern.  At times, I wonder if anyone is reading these posts or cares. In April, I met a high-profile author and the first thing he told me is that he reads my Twitter posts. He applauded my consistency and how I stay on message with these posts.  I blog consistently and write these new entries every week. These are just two examples of my consistent actions. What steps are you taking consistently. Are you meeting new people through LinkedIN or Facebook, then helping those people? Are you pitching new editors or podcast hosts or radio programs or something else you want to do? Your consistency will pay off in the long haul. Nothing is immediate in this business. As Jerry B. Jenkins wrote in the Foreword of my 10 Publishing Myths: Left Behind was his 125^th  published book. He was not an overnight success but has consistently worked at his craft and presence in the publishing world. Left Behind was originally published over 20 years ago and continues to sell at least 10,000 copies each month and the series has sold over 60 million books. Consistency is an important quality.

 

Continued Improvement and Growth. I've never claimed to be the best writer in the room but I am one of the more persistent and consistent writers. Another key to this writing life rollercoaster is continuing to grow and improve as a writer. I love what Darren Hardy encourages in his Darren Daily. He has created the hashtag #BetterEveryDay. It's why I continue to read books on the craft of writing, take online courses and learn from others. It's a key part of my writing life—and hopefully your life as well.

 

Knocking on New Doors. I've gotten wound up on this article so I'm going to bring it to a conclusion. Be meeting new people and pitching new projects in new places. The opportunities are there but you have to be knocking on the doors.

 

I've given you some important characteristics for the writing life rollercoaster. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

 

Tweetable:

The writing life can be like a rollercoaster according to this prolific editor and author. What are the keys for the writing life rollercoaster? Get the details here. (ClickToTweet)

Get 10 Publishing Myths for only $10 +FREE shipping + over $200 of free bonuses.

My Plans for The New Year

As we begin a New Year, many people are making resolutions, setting goals and plans for the year ahead. I'm right there with you and in this article, I'm going to layout some of my personal plans. I hope you will find some insights and inspiration for your own writing life. Instead of resolutions or goals, I have six areas with actions in each area to highlight.

1. Take Responsibility for My Own Success.

I've mentioned this aspect a number of times in these articles. Over the holidays a long-time publishing friend sent me a letter addressed to marketers. This author has written a number of books with traditional publishers. His concern is one I've heard many times from writers (and I've voiced myself in the past). The publisher has marketing departments and why aren't they marketing. He's a writer and he does not want to be turned into a marketer. He doesn't want to blog or tweet or Facebook or _____ to market his book. He wants to be left to his writing craft. The letter is laced with frustration. I hear it—yet it is not reality of today's book market.

Here's a dose of reality according to my friend Penny Sansevieri, currently there are at least 4,500 books published every day. As an author, how are you going to break through that noise and actually sell books (succeed)? It will not happen trying to pass the responsibility to someone else (like a marketing department). It happens by taking responsbility for your own success (the first principle of the bestselling The Success Principles from Jack Canfield). I've mentioned Canfield and Victor Hansen's Rule of Five. You may not commit to five actions but what can you do and do it consistently? I'm committed to consistently working at my own success.

2. Re-commit to being a good communicator and writer.

As an editor and writer, I work in the communication business. Even on the holiday with my publisher “closed,” I've been answering a few emails and writing my authors and others. It's a chronic problem throughout the industry: silence. I'm again committed to solid customer service. Yes it takes effort but is well worth it in my view and helps me stand out in a crowded market.

3. Continue my own spiritual development.

While I've rarely written about it in this blog, you can tell from my list of published books and the type of books that I write, I'm a Christian. (Read here for the story of my life change). For many years, I've been reading through the Bible (cover to cover). I select different versions and tools for this reading but I've made another commitment to read through the Bible again during the coming year. These few moments each day feed into my spiritual development and life.

4. Continue my own personal growth.

I often write about different books or online courses or audios or other ways that I'm developing as a writer and communicator. This week I purchased a simple cord to connect my iPhone to the audio system in my car. I download the free audio book through Overdrive and can play the book over my car speakers. I'm constantly learning something new and applying it to my daily life. I hope you will do the same.

5. Continue working on my own health.

Each of us have a finite number of days on the earth and as a writer and editor, I spent a great deal of time sitting (not moving). For over a year, I ignored exercise and my weight showed it. In the last few months, I've recommitted to working on my health (good eating but also consistent exercise). It's not easy and consumes time from other things but is a priority for me (and hopefully for you).

6. Continued commitment to helping others (including you).

As we close out 2015 and begin 2016, I have the continued commitment to teach others what I'm learning about the publishing world. It's been the focus of The Writing Life for years and also my free teleseminars, my personal teaching at conferences, my books and other ways I'm helping like through my tweets. This commitment will continue. In the last couple of days, I reworked and updated my Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. Now this resource is ready to help you and others in the days ahead.

I hope these plans have encouraged you to take action in your writing life. The days ahead will be bright and full of hope. Here's to an exciting New Year.