Hi Mary Alice
Firstly, thank you for your kind words ~ I’m pleased you like the book and, more importantly, you are benefiting from it as a writer.
Now, let me try to cover each of the three main issues you raise …
1. Feed that ‘Starving Writer’
You said that you have some guilt about earning a living from your craft. No doubt this ‘starving writer’ mentality is the product of months, maybe years of writing and never seeing a reward, or maybe it’s some romantic notion about writers living in garrets. Ugh.
As I wrote in the introduction to
The Wealthy Writer, in the beginning it’s reward enough to see your words in print. But sooner or later, every writer wants more ~ and deserves more. You deserve to earn a living from your art, especially if you are making a difference in the lives of others.
I think it’s time to take a breath, Mary Alice, and remind yourself that you ~ like all of us ~ are a wonderful and worthwhile human being; that you have something to say and, I am sure, there are many people out there who would love to hear (or read) it. And, if that’s the case, why shouldn’t you be rewarded for it?
This is not about gaining obscene sums of money, as you see in some industries, such as film and TV. No, this is about earning a sustainable living, so that you can continue to enjoy your craft and to grow and continue to share your words with others.
So, maybe the best place to start ~ depending on how bad you or your friends have this ‘starving writer’ mentality ~ is with some simple affirmations … some positive words of encouragement which you could say to yourself each and every day. You could follow this with some simple meditation or visualization exercise, picturing yourself succeeding as a writer. As you know, these are covered in the book.
2. Achieve Life Goals by Prioritizing Your Life
You made mention of Sarah’s query and my response on this forum, found here:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/72583/message/1129608378/Writers+block~time~motivation+~+help%21
The point I was trying to make to Sarah is that she seems to have a lot going on in her life and that, put simply, if writing is her main goal, she needs to take stock of her life and put things into priority. As I said in my reply to her, I faced a similar situation a number of years ago and, hard as it was at the time, I prioritized my life ~ meaning, I let go of lesser goals and activities in order to achieve the most important thing in my life, which was to be a fully~fledged author.
What I was saying to her and what I am saying to you is that we all have the same amount of time. The difference between success and failure is what you do with that time. Do you spend it scattering your energies across numerous activities, or do you focus on a select few?
I was not suggesting to her or to anyone that you must abandon all of your dreams and goals, simply put them into context ~ what is the most important thing for you right now ~ and go to it.
One of my motivational heroes, Dr Wayne Dyer, made a poignant point in a lecture which I heard when I was starting out as a writer in my teenage years. He asked the audience: What would you do if you only had six months to live? Where would you live? Would you be in the relationships you are in? Would you be working in that job? And so on.
When you take the time to think this through, it can ~ and should ~ be life changing.
In the end, none of us knows how much time we have, and yet most of us squander that time ~ we put off things that are important, thinking that we will get around to it tomorrow, next week or next month. And, before you know it, years have flown by. That’s why it’s a great question to ask yourself and a great principle to apply to your dream of being a published author
Think about that …
If you only had six months to go, and making it as an author was the ultimate career goal for you, what would you do to make this a reality?
That was the point I was trying to make to Sarah and to you. There’s nothing wrong with exploring and enjoying life, of course, but if you want to succeed in anything you need to apply yourself, you need to invest in yourself ~ and that means making some sacrifices.
3. Writing ‘that’ Book
OK, now let’s get to the meat of your query ~ ‘that’ book.
Firstly, congratulations on making a start on your book. I have no idea how far you are along but the fact that you have started it and that you are so committed to it (that’s clear by all of the things you have and are doing) means that you’re half-way to success.
Here’s the good news.
In my opinion, you
are on the right path. In fact, you are barrelling along at great speed, so just watch out for any bystanders!
To put it simply, Mary Alice, in my opinion, you are doing everything you should be doing (and then some) to achieve your goal of not only becoming a published author but establishing an ongoing literary career. You have developed the skills as a writer and as a public speaker which, as you know, you’ll need once the book is launched. You also have established a platform, through your studies in women’s issues and extra~curricular activities. That’s the first step towards branding yourself which is vital for writers these days.
So, a big pat on the back to you. You have worked hard and invested wisely ~ and it will all pay off.
Here’s the ‘bad news’.
Sorry, there really isn’t any.
Except to say that now it’s time to put all of that education, all of that hard work, into practice.
Get on with writing your book.
The only ‘threat’ you face now is stalling. By that, I mean, not completing the book ~ but simply continuing your education for the sake of it. We all know ‘professional students’ ~ people who are well educated in a variety of areas but just haven’t got around to applying it in life.
I am not saying you are one of these people ~ I don’t believe you are at all ~ but you just need to watch that you don’t fall into that category.
You could say that you’re not ready, that’s there’s still so much to know, so much to do before you write. It’s easy to continue developing your skills, to continue researching the market ~ but it’s far better for you now if you just pare back some of your workload and make time for writing the book.
Again, I can relate.
Like you, I invested heavily in myself before I wrote
The Enterprising Writer and then
The Wealthy Writer. I did many of the things you did but, in the end, the final step is to sit down and put those fingers on the keyboard and just write that book.
You have laid the foundation through all of the activities you have listed, now finish that book. And, when you have, get to work on finding an agent who will find you a publisher. Alternatively, you can self-publish, as you said you would like to do. I suggest you take both. Self publish in print or online as an ebook (as I did in 2001 with The Enterprising Writer) and then seek a print publisher. Again, I cover my journey and my recommendations in my book. I think you’ll find this is the most rewarding approach.
And, just to finish, here’s a small observation about your writing. I haven’t got much to go on ~ just your Forum query, but I can tell you that your personality flies right off the page ~ or pixels in this case ~ and that's a great thing. Whatever you choose to write ~ whether it's fiction or non~fiction ~ it's important to not only convey your thoughts clearly but to do it with flair ~ to inject some personality ~ and you certainly do that. And, considering the subject matter of your book, your personality is a perfect match!
Good luck with your book, Mary Alice, and with your journey as a writer.
Warm regards
Michael
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Michael Meanwell
michael@michaelmeanwell.com
Author of:
~ The Wealthy Writer
~ The Enterprising Writer
~ Writers on Writing
~ Quote Unquote
Author's Official Website:
http://www.michaelmeanwell.com
Writers' Resources:
http://www.enterprisingwriter.com
http://www.thewealthywriter.com
Writers' Forum:
http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/72583