Writing Changes

For two years, I have been working on a first novel. In April, I took time off from life and hid out far from home and distractions and finished the first draft. Since then I have been editing and getting some professional input. There is, at last, light at the end of the tunnel.

In revising the work, I noticed that my writing/ storytelling abilities improved from the first chapters through what followed. It’s subtle, but there. And it makes me smile.

Smile? Yes.

It means this old dog is learning new tricks after all. It means there’s hope for any writer to make his work better by investing the time and energy to make it so. It means that maybe, just maybe, I will produce a story that entertains, engages, intrigues the reader. It means, maybe, I can sell a book or two.

Smile? Yes.

It means I can writer another book. In my head I am already three-quarters of the way done with the next plot. And the third is percolating there, awaiting its time. And the fourth.

Smile? Yes.

I didn’t know I had it in me to write more than one novel. I’ve learned I do. And I want to.

Will Smith’s Secret to Success

“I don’t see myself as talented. What I excel at is a ridiculous work ethic.”

–attributed to Will Smith

Advice I’d Give My Child

Marty Nemko is a career consultant and radio personality. Marty offers the following business advice based on conversations with thousands of persons wanting to succeed in business and life. I think the advice works for authors, too, unless your writing goal is winning the Nobel Peace Prize in literature or penning the next great classical tome. If, however, you’d like to earn enough cash to pay for your printer paper and internet fees, then listen up.

Advice I’d Give My Child

If you’re entrepreneurial, I recommend starting your own business. Yes, I know, only 20 percent of new businesses are still in business after five years, but you can beat the odds. Just remember this one rule: Don’t innovate. Replicate. Copy a successful simple business.

Writing is a business. Like it or not, it is.  So use the rules that work in the marketplace. Study writers who earn money. What are they doing? Do it. How do they market their books? Mimic their techniques in your own domain.

Look for niches that are taking off. Write for those niches. Okay, you weren’t the first to break ground.  So what? Follow the momentum and ride it. That’s what successful investors do. They don’t worry about being the first to discover the next new thing: they spot the trend, then ride it as long and high as they can.

Look. Listen. Learn. And maybe you can pay for the next ink cartridge with a royalty check.