Tune Out the Noise & Learn to Adapt

Published or unpublished, there are a lot of industry bits of information to understand and be aware of as writers. I know I have to stay abreast of these current changes, but I can't let it overwhelm my creativity. Otherwise, I won't have any books to market.

And that's what I need to be able to do. Write books so I have a product to market. In addition to having a product to market, I have to develop a marketing strategy regardless of who decides to take a change on my writing and offer me a contract. See, this is me believing it will happen one day. And it will.

I actually have a marketing strategy. I have kept my ear to the ground and learned a lot from those who have gone forth into the great land of publishing before me. However, I liken getting published to having a baby. Before the baby is born, there's a lot of preparation. Baby showers, nurseries decorated, diapers brought in, special birthing classes, and learning how to be a good parent of a newborn.

But I've learned that no amount of preparation can really prepare one for the baby when the baby arrives. The baby has a personality and a constitution of its own that the parent must learn to adjust to and adapt to in order to have a successful parenting experience. The baby grows, becomes a toddler, an elementary school student, a teenager, a young adult. And still the parent must grow and adapt and change as this individual becomes a fully realized person.

There will be bumps along the way. Mistakes will occur. Great moments will happen. Joy and distress. Happiness and pain. Elation and exasperation. They are all part of the great parenthood ride. And guess what, I think that's what becoming a published author will be like.

So in the meantime, while I prepare for my publication career to be born, I am fully aware that I will never be fully ready for it in the sense that afterward my career will grow and change and evolve. All that I can do is adapt and be ready and work on what I can control. My response. And in the world of writing, my best response is to continue to tune out the noise and write my stories and market them and learn and grow and adapt and do it all over again.

And with that being said, here is a great quote to live by as you evolve as a writer on your journey toward publication and after you traverse to the land of the published author:

Every moment spent whining about your writing career is a moment of creative energy lost... turn grousing into energy by WRITING! James Scott Bell

How do you plan to turn grousing into energy today? Me? I'm wrangling a pesky first chapter into shape.

I'm Not an Expert, but I Play One in Real Life

A very important part of accomplishing our goals and achieving our dreams is realizing that our way may work for us, but might not work for everyone else. This realization will stop us from believing that our way is the only way that will work. And this realization will keep us humble and open to new ways of doing the things we think we know how to do.

Think about this for a moment. Absorb it. Then walk into a bookstore or go online and you'll see a lot of people have made money selling their way of doing things as "the way." Sure, it worked for them. And maybe it will work for you. But don't believe that every "expert opinion" is the answer and final solution to how you need to accomplish your goals.

In my writing life I have been to many conferences, workshops and chapter meetings that cover the craft of writing. I've also read a lot of books about how to approach my writing and how to craft "the book." As a new writer, I eagerly followed the first bits of advice to the letter. I figured if I could master the other person's way of writing a book then I could be successful, too. But the truth is, I had to develop my own approach. And I've learned that every book and every idea requires a different approach.

That's my way. I have to dig into the writing in my own way while utilizing the bits and pieces of information that I've gathered throughout the years as tools to building my stories.

The same is true for any person pursuing any goal. It's true for parents, too. Oh, as a parent I could go on and on about the expert advice I have received from other parents who had it all figured out for themselves. Oh, they were all too eager to make sure I understood their methods were "the methods" for raising my darling daughter.

I'm sure their judgement... oops, did I mean to say that? To some extent, I did. Because there is a fine line between giving information if asked versus someone coming in and saying "you should do it this way because I know it works the best." There is a veiled judgment implied in that the person is actually looking at what you're doing and they disagree with your methods so they feel compelled to tell you how to do it "right."

There is no one "right way" to raise a child, process a move, clean a house, workout, diet, or write a book. Trust me. If there was just one "right way" to do anything, life would be pretty boring. We'd all be the same. And I don't think we want to be cookie cutter people. I know I don't want to be a cookie cutter person. Do you?

So the next time someone offers you unsolicited advice, even me, ask yourself what you can realistically use and toss the rest. And the next time you get ready to tell someone how well you know how to do something, ask yourself if you are actually judging that person's methods.

Question your motives. This will take you a long way. And remember to be compassionate in your views of how others approach life. This will take you even further than you can possibly imagine. Be receptive, be understanding, and act like an apprentice instead of an expert. You'll be amazed at how much you learn as a result.