“All in, all the time.”
“Get comfortable being uncomfortable.”
“The only easy day was yesterday.”
–Navy SEAL slogans that apply to writing and publishing
We want to hedge. We want to be “smart” by playing it safe. We want to minimize the chance of failure.
I’m here to tell you that if you’re not MAXIMIZING your chance of failure, you haven’t committed to this writing and publishing thing. Sound crazy? SEALs are pretty much certifiable… but they get stuff done. They accomplish things others can’t, won’t or don’t.
In the artistic realm, this means fully committing to whatever you’re doing, both creatively and in a business sense.
If you’re Writing For Love, then write that thing like no one will ever read it – write the secret, dark, terrifying thing that only YOU can speak to with authenticity. BLEED ON THAT PAGE.
If you’re Writing For Money, go full Mercenary Girl and take no prisoners. Keep your honor intact and “don’t run to your death” (another Navy SEAL slogan), but don’t shy away from figuring out EXACTLY what readers want and giving it to them in spades. Bring everything you’ve got to not only the story but the marketing. BE A STEELY-EYED CAPITALIST.
One of the best things I did when launching my indie career was COMMIT – to publishing my best book, to publishing a trilogy within a year, to Going Pro with it like this was the beginning of my career as a writer (which it was). I “lucked” into doing this because it’s just my personality to do things that way. But since then, SKQ’s had to make several conscious choices to continue that “all in, all the time” approach.
It’s not easy. But success never is.
/yourMondayMorningHooRah
