The Writer Behind the Words (2 page)

Define success for yourself. Try to make it something that does not depend on others. For example, success could be:

Completing a marketable short story

Developing a synopsis

Writing articles that inform

Editing an anthology

People put a lot of weight on what a “writer” truly is or is supposed to be and in the process they lose themselves trying to achieve a perceived ideal. A writer writes. That’s all. Base your success on that foundation. I’m certain it will go beyond just “Getting published.”

Many people confuse goal and mission. Why do you think Mother Teresa said “
More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones”
? Because many people set and achieve goals only to discover that they are still unhappy. The reason is that goals are fleeting and changeable. They are future events that a person can long for and work towards, but once achieved will become something else. A mission is a lasting motto that carries one through life.

For example, getting published is a goal, being a writer is a mission. Becoming a lead author is a goal, being a diligent, reliable, prolific author is a mission; getting an award is a goal, being an award-winning author is a mission. It’s the present moments that give joy. You need to have both goals and a mission as your foundation to carry you through.

Examples of Goals:

Make $100,000 a year

Get my English degree

Become a lead author

Sell 50,000 copies of my book

Example of Missions:

Have a long lasting career

Educate others

Be a good writer

Be healthy

Take the time to create your list of goals and your mission. Remember that a goal has an ending; a mission does not.

The secret every full-time writer knows is that
action
is the key to getting what you want. It is the writer’s greatest weapon against failure. To achieve this mindset first you have to redefine failure. Failure is not a rejection, a low royalty statement, a book that hits the market and dies or an idea that doesn’t work. Failure is stopping your dreams due to circumstance. Failure is receiving one rejection and never writing again.

Many new writers tell me how discouraged they are. I understand. I also get discouraged. I tell them to keep going, don’t stop, you’re great etc. They thank me and go back into the writing world safe in their armor of praise. A few weeks or months later, they write again. They receive a rejection or fail to become a finalist in a contest and they are upset. They bemoan their fate and wail about how unfair the world is and then wait for the expected words of encouragement. But this time I don’t provide the same “rah, rah” cheer.

Why? Because in the writing world you have to become your own cheerleader. Most writers fall by the wayside, not due to lack of talent, but due to lack of persistence. Writing is an art and Art (with a capital “A”) is bigger than criticism, acceptance, acknowledgement or dismissal.

Art must be created
in spite of,
not because of. Writing because of something (a trend, a contest, an editor etc.) can be a prison to a writer. Your words have only one master — your spirit, which has an unquenchable curiosity and desire to communicate. Well-meaning people will tell you how to write, what to write, when to write or why you should write, but in the end your spirit is your master.

Notice I didn’t say
you
, because your conscious self will be too cautious and too clever to write with complete truth. But your spirit is a wild child who sees what you don’t and knows what you may not readily admit. It is your free spirit that the world needs. We have enough cautious mask-wearers, we don’t need one more in print sounding like everyone else. You must take action.

Action is sending out queries, asking for assignments, writing one more story, jotting down ideas. Action is movement, movement creates energy, energy draws success. Most successful writers have more rejections, setbacks and heartbreaks than writers who have stopped writing. Now that you know the secret, try it for yourself. This can be accomplished by taking small or mini steps.

Mini Steps Towards Action

• Buy a pen and paper.
  
 

• Open a file called Writing.
  
 

• Develop a ritual. One writer I know has to repeat “I’m brilliant” five times before he starts writing.
  
 

• Lower your expectations. Just because a best-selling author writes twenty pages a day doesn’t mean you have to. Write a paragraph then congratulate yourself.
  
 

• Summarize your idea in a sentence or two.
  
 

• Do micro-movements. Read SARK’s book (listed in resources section) to find out how.
  
 

• Identify writing markets.
  
 

Today I looked out the kitchen window of my parents’ house and noticed a brown wren. It sat on a railing in their backyard and blended in with the bare trees and dry leaves on the ground. I noticed it, not because it was beautiful, but because it was singing. It sang so loudly that its song echoed through the trees. I stood amazed that something so small could have such a strong voice.

Many of you are just like this wren. You may never be the “bluejay bestseller” or the “eye-catching award-winning cardinal” but your voice will have an impact on those who hear it. So sing — loud and strong.

Always remember that you’re good enough as you are to reach your dreams. I know it’s hard to believe, especially in a culture that promotes “self-improvement” for everything from physical shape to career choice, but you don’t need to change. In spite of all your imperfections, fears, doubts, and worries, you have everything you need to succeed. How do I know this? Because you’re here. You’re alive and you’re no different from others who have traveled this path before you.

Your job is to speak your intentions and to do them. If you truly want to quit, do it now. Why would a book about resilience talk about quitting? Because if you’re discouraged by the rain, then the storm is going to kill you.

Some people scoff and think, “Once I’m published everything will be okay. It’s worse being unpublished, ignored, having friends laugh at my dreams, having editors dismiss me, and I’m unhappy. A book contract or feature article will at least be an umbrella and then I will be able to deal with the rain.”

Yes, publication can be a protection against the rain. I know how hard it is to be unpublished. I was unpublished for years. I know the sting of rejections, the “You’re crazy” speech, the dreaded “You’ve still not published anything?” question, and the “Try something sensible” lecture. Being published allows me to respond to snide comments with a certain wicked delight and conceit that I didn’t have before I was published. However, I had confidence
before
I was published. Although publication is an umbrella, it is not a panacea. Can an umbrella keep you safe in a storm? No. What kinds of storms are out there? Consider these:

• After years you finally sell a book to an editor who loves your work. A few months later, the editor leaves and your new editor hates your voice, your main character and you.
  
 

• Your agent decides to become a magician.
  
 

• An editor kills your article.
  
 

• Reviewers sharpen their swords and publicly slice up your work.
  
 

• “Readers” post nasty reviews online.
  
 

• The front cover of your book is lousy.
  
 

• The back cover blurb of your book is great; unfortunately it’s not what your book is about.
  
 

• Sales are low so your publisher drops you.
  
 

• You’ve visited six local bookstores, but can’t find your book anywhere.
  
 

• You change your name due to low sales and write a different book, which also gets buried in the publishing cemetery.
  
 

Still think publication is safe? If you do, I also suspect you’d try holding onto a twig during a tornado.

Publication is nice, but it won’t keep you safe. Life happens. How you respond to the obstacles is the key. Many writers have experienced the above impediments and their careers are doing fine. You can do the same, if you’re willing to be honest with yourself about what you can handle. How do you deal with setbacks? If you’re like most people, you become desperate and either blame life, work harder and grow frustrated, or throw up your hands and give, up saying “I knew I couldn’t do it.”

Setbacks are not a reflection of you. Later I’ll show you how to handle them, but right now you need to face your temperament and see if it matches your goals.

• Do you want to be a writer or to have written?
  
 

• Do you want to play it safe or do you mind taking risks?
  
 

• Do you live by ultimatums? “
  If I don’t make it by such and such time, then…”
  
 

• Do you expect to succeed?
  
 

There are no right answers. You know yourself better than anyone else can know you, but it is critical that you know what you’re working toward. One thing I have discovered is that people who succeed think in a way that is different from those who don’t succeed. People who succeed usually reflect on the future, while those who fail reflect on the past.

If you miss a deadline, do you tell yourself ______?

• I’ll never succeed because I’m always disorganized OR
  
 

• I missed this deadline because I overbooked. Next time I won’t do that.
  
 

If you get a rejection do you ______?

• Shrug your shoulders and submit again OR
  
 

• Decide that you’re a loser because you always get rejections?
  
 

If you submit a manuscript then later learn it was improperly formatted do you ______?

• Berate yourself and think of all the other mistakes you’ve made OR
  
 

• Swear, then promise to do better next time?
  
 

Do you see the pattern? Winners
always
look forward; they learn from their mistakes, but they do not let past behaviors stop them. There is another trait that separates successful writers from unsuccessful writers — Attitude. I’ll give you an example of two writers: Felicity and Malcolm. They have the same world experience, same talent and drive, but different attitudes.

When Felicity gets a rejection, she sees it as a failure. She thinks of all the other authors who haven’t received as many rejections as she has. She knows she’s not as good as they are, and hates the fact that she’s shy. She knows she could never promote and network the way her critique group says she should. She wonders if she has what it takes to make it.

When Malcolm gets a rejection he sighs, is disappointed, and crosses the name of the editor off his list. He knows that marketing is about trial and error and that others have struggled and have ultimately succeeded. He knows that a good product will sell and he doesn’t worry that he isn’t as outgoing as his friend Randy, who is selling lots of freelance articles. Malcolm knows that there are other writers who are shy, like he is, but who have succeeded. So he keeps on trying.

Felicity and Malcolm are two people with the same problem, but with different attitudes. Work on your attitude or outlook, but don’t be mean to yourself. We all make mistakes on occasion. Virginia Woolf sent out her work without her address and a self-addressed stamped envelope for the editor to reply. Remember that all noted writers were once beginners or unknown mid-list writers. Learn to lighten your load and relax. It’s hard to run with shackles.

I
was going to call this section the six secrets of publishing, because most professional writers don’t like to tell new writers about certain realities, but I think it’s aptly titled. If you plan to succeed as a writer, you will need to face these six hard truths.

Writing is an art. As is true with singers or actors, writers are only as good as their last hit. Every book (article, poem) must be created with skill. No book will be a cinch if you strive to grow as a writer. It’s a hard thing to face, but your readers will appreciate it.

In this field, someone will always be faster, more prolific, more popular, more creative, or more intelligent. You can’t let this distract you. Write anyway. It’s okay if you can only write one book a year, or if your imagery isn’t stellar or like that of another author. Write.

I’m sorry to shatter your illusions, but talent in publishing (not to be confused with talented writing) isn’t beautiful prose, excellent characterization or any of those other skills you’ve been working to master. It is about being a wizard with words. Casting spells on people so that they listen to your stories or ideas and pay to read more. In publishing, a writer’s talent is measured by one thing: the ability to convince people to
pay
to read her work. So even if someone has the vocabulary of a third grader and ideas as extraordinary as mud… if people buy her work she is seen as talented.