Monday, April 27, 2015

Secret to Author Success = Hard Work

Nobody is perfect, but sometimes we use too many excuses for delaying/not finishing a project. My goal of getting Missionary Stories submitted to my publisher by now has come and gone. Again. My other WIP (work in progress) took priority because it has critique group deadlines and is more fun to work on. That's because the stage I'm at is one of organizing, copying permissions, and filling out submission forms instead of creating. So close.  

Are you achieving your goals? What is preventing your success? Here's a little "tough love" list from Jim F. Kukral of the Author Marketing Institute. He gives 13 reasons we aren't as successful an author as we should be, which I have summarized or you can view the webinar. Rather than beat yourself up and suffer writer's guilt, pick one thing to improve/correct over the next month. You won't regret it!

1. Laziness. Examine how you think and act.
2. Entitlement. Nobody owes you anything; get to work!
3. Fear. Authors take many risks. Imagine what you can do when you stop the fear excuses.
4. Negativity. Surround yourself with successful, positive people.
5. Stop Thinking. Don't analyze, do instead of think.
6. No Goals. Plan, rather than play it by ear. Write them down and keep them with you.
7. "They". Forget everyone else. You alone control your success.
8. No "X" factor. It doesn't matter how outgoing or beautiful you are. Just work hard.
9. Time Wasters. Unproductive work that doesn't achieve your goals. Are you busy doing the right things?
10. Social BS. Too much time spent on social media.
11. Thinking Too Small. Think long-term. Lead rather than follow.
12. Don't Want It. Fight negative internal messages. Believe instead of dream.
13. Don't Believe. Ignore messages that say only a few succeed. It's hard work that wins, not luck.

As for me, I have a plan now to quit analyzing things and do the actual work. In one month's time, I expect to have this submission behind me. It's public now; got to do it. Just saying.

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