Getting in the game!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Robert Longley on September 3, 2016 at 3:58am

Depending on what you are writing, two common fears are - will people like this and can I actually say this out loud because it might be too personal. I started writing about 10 years before I published my writings and at that point it was more a matter of what to do with it all. It was another 10 years before I did my first real book. I should be finishing my 8th book this weekend.

The key is to not worry about what a publisher will say or who might not like it. And for most of us this is long ball. The chances of you getting a home run with your first book is pretty slim. And even those we think of that were hits out of the gate were rejected countless times before they found a publisher - Scholastic Publishing was a little book publisher that specialized in kids books for school book fairs until Harry Potter found them after being rejected everywhere else. In the self publishing world, it often takes 6-8 books before you actually start getting traction.

Write for one person. Maybe it is yourself or maybe your child. Don't write for a publisher or the whole world.

Don't get hung up around "submitting" your work. This implies getting someone's approval, which in the traditional publishing world is true. Just publish it - there is nothing stopping you from publishing a blog or even an entire book all by yourself. I've never gone the traditional route because in my case it's not practical for poetry which is most of what I write. http://www.sacredpoems.com

Contribute every chance you get. I look for opportunities to contribute poems, stories or advice any place I can. You never know where you might end up. Most people know "The Four Hour Work Week". For the second edition Tim Ferris invited people to edit and contribute different things. Most of what I did was simple changes, but page 172 of the red cover edition is my story. Dan has graciously mentioned me a couple times on the podcast based on things I have sent him. You just have to practice getting yourself out there.

Break your writing into chunks in a blog. I have several blogs that I write and when I get to a certain point - reorganize and turn into a book. It allows you to practice writing and build a platform at the same time.

Hope that helps. Rob

Permalink Reply by The Chris Puckett on September 3, 2016 at 4:35am

Thanks Rob, yes that is quite helpful. What I write is quite personal, and even though I'm most likely self publishing, I still have that reservation of whether or not it will be accepted. I'm not worried if it will become a best seller or not, I just want it to be received positively as intended. You make some great points I hadn't thought about. I really like your turning your blog into a book after it gains enough blog posts.

Permalink Reply by Robert Longley on September 3, 2016 at 5:12am

feel free to share publicly or privately and I can give you some feedback. A large portion of my writing is for families that have lost either a soldier, fireman or police officer in the line of duty. And my one book of non-poetry so far has been for parents of sexual assault victims so I'm no stranger to difficult topics.

Permalink Reply by Heather Bonham on September 3, 2016 at 4:49pm

David, your reply is really applicable to me as well, as someone who loves to write but struggles with putting my work out there. I like that you put all of the fears and worries out there, and let us know that it's ok. I think it's a spot-on answer! Thank you.

Permalink Reply by Kathryn Lehan on September 3, 2016 at 4:36pm

I agree with Robert and David. Both gave great answers. For me personally, I was more afraid of success than failure. That's because I worried that I only had one book in me and there might be an expectation of more books. It turned out that I have so much content in me that most of the time I'm overwhelmed with what to work on. If you write for the right reason (i.e., you love to do it and without writing your life feels incomplete) than success will eventually come. You have to work hard to earn a living as a writer so you better love it!

And for anyone who hasn't read David Soto's books, you are missing some great stuff on health and fitness.

Permalink Reply by Adam Suter on September 3, 2016 at 4:53pm

I'm writing my first book now. About to put it up on Kindle shortly. The biggest fear for me has been pulling the final trigger. I keep asking myself, "Do I really want to be this vulnerable? Once I get it out, there is no going back!"

What has helped me is to invest in coaching. Both the coaching and the financial investment in the coaching (being all in) is keeping me moving forward.

Permalink Reply by The Chris Puckett on September 5, 2016 at 9:40am

So my writing is targeted at men that are suffering from some form of addiction or compulsion that are in the early stages of realizing that they have a problem and are searching for help or advice. I'm very open with why past among people I know in person, but putting it out there for the world to read has me back peddling a bit. My writing is inspired by the dark parts of my past that I manged to emerge from and take my live back from. Many things I'm not proud of, I write about, to show other men that they are alone and there are several paths to recovery. It is very open and puts me in a very vulnerable position.

Thanks for all the input and advice.

Group LeaderPermalink Reply by Kent Julian on September 5, 2016 at 2:36pm

LOVE seeing all the interaction here! Way to go Write It Forward team.

Group LeaderPermalink Reply by Kent Julian on September 5, 2016 at 2:42pm

I had several fears.

1) I had never read a book until after I graduate high school. In the area of "language arts, reading, English," my SAT scores were so low, I had to take Developmental Studies and pass before I was accepted into college on probation. All that to say, just the grammatical challenge of putting together sentences that made sense was frightening to me.

2) Learning how to write something that was interesting and informative scared me to death.

There were more, but these were the two biggies!

I overcome these fears because I had a 12th grade English teacher who convinced me that I was a good communicator...and that I could learn how to spell and do grammar; but knowing how to instinctively communicate was a gift.

I also ended up pursing two degrees in Theology, which forced me to write A TON of position papers. This really honed my craft...so much so, that once I started writing for magazines and publishing books, it felt easy compared to the papers I wrote for my BA and MA degrees :)

Permalink Reply by Brian W. Foster on September 6, 2016 at 6:41am

I've always wanted to write and read the occasional book on craft for a decade before getting serious about 5 years ago (my wife told me, "Either start writing or stop talking about it!").

I self published my first novel about a year ago. To be honest, I didn't have a lot of fears because:

1. I accept that writing fiction well is difficult. Despite putting a lot of time and effort into learning craft, I knew my first book would not be as good as my tenth. Therefore, I take each critique of my novel as a chance to improve.

2. I found the kboards Writers' Cafe, which is frequented by many, many successful indie authors who share their methods. I learned that the way to sell a novel is to:

- Write a book that readers want to read, meaning select a genre that sells and make your book fit inside the genre.

- Pay for a professional cover that places your book inside the genre, understanding that a cover is about marketing instead of art.

- Spend a lot of time getting the pitch (also called a blurb or description) right.

Hope this helps!

Brian

Group LeaderPermalink Reply by Jen McDonough "The Iron Jen" on September 6, 2016 at 10:33am

What a great discussion Chris!!

My fear was in being vulnerable to sharing my work. My grammar and spelling had been made fun of as a child and an adult, so getting over that fear was a huge hurdle. Honestly, I still struggle with this however have learned to breathe through that fear and realize that in doing so, I am not only helping myself grow, but others as well.

Thanks ago for the discussion.

Permalink Reply by The Chris Puckett on September 12, 2016 at 4:40pm

Thanks for all the responses here, you guys are awesome.

Dan, thanks for the mention on the podcast. I usually listen to the podcast on my one hour Monday morning commute. You can imagine my shock and surprise to hear my name as I'm listening.

Thanks again to everyone, this has really been helpful.