How Are You Setting Up Your Writing Success?
Take a moment, right now, and ask yourself:
How am I setting myself up for writing success?
If you’re like most of the authors I work with, that answer is going to surprise you. Authors fall into two camps:
I’m so organized my PAPERCLIPS are alphabetized. (And I don’t write because I’m afraid of messing it up!)
OR
My piles make sense… to me. And if you need something, I just need to shift four piles to get it. (And I don’t write because the clutter is actually out of control BUT I neither want to admit that NOR deal with it!)
By the way, I fall FIRMLY in category two. I have been cleaning my office lately but to anyone else’s eyes, it’s still a disaster.
Now, no matter which extreme end of the organizing continuum you fall on, one thing remains:
How are you setting yourself up for writing success?
Because it’s so EASY to just focus on the STUFF. The neat office. The pretty mug full of perfectly sharpened pencils. The exact right journal. The software. The comfy chair. The perfect temperature cup of coffee.
But are these outside things REALLY helping you write?
Probably not. Because writing is so much more than the writing space. It’s more than the computer or journal or perfect pen.
So where do you fall in these categories?
Writing mentorship
Are you STUDYING writing? Or are you just sticking words on the page and HOPING it gets your message across?
Feedback
Who is reading your stuff? Is it someone who KNOWS how to write a book or just someone who knows how to hunt down commas? Or worse – is it someone who blows smoke and tells you how wonderful your writing is? (Positive encouragement is SUPER important – but it won’t point out your weaknesses!)
Community
Who do you know who is also writing a book? Who is serious about it?
Investment
Where are you investing your money in your writing? While writing may be the cheapest of all the arts (you don’t need expensive paints or a pricy instrument) that doesn’t mean that it is actually FREE. What events are you attending? (And yes, a paid event IS going to offer better content than a free event!)
Writing time
Are you ACTUALLY writing? Or is it just lip service?
Guess what? You get all this AND MORE when you join me for the live-but-virtual three-day event, “Brew Your Book: Stop ‘Percolating’ on Your Message and FINALLY Write Your Book” happening September 21-23.