Moving Forward with a Writing Career

Building a successful writing career requires a few things – but the most important thing you can do is write. I shared this idea at a See Jane Write panel event earlier in May. I know it enough to share it, but I seem to forget it just as much because I have a way of not doing it.

I get caught up in the social media of it all. I get lost in the multitude of marketing paths. I get tangled up in the season finales of all my favorite shows (so conveniently available for my viewing pleasures online).

My success rests solely on my shoulders. The choices that I make and the actions that I take will determine the progress of my writing career. I can spend my time whining about yesterday. I can spend my time dreaming about tomorrow. Or I can invest my time in actions right now.

Create a Belief for a Successful Writing Career

Do I have a target for my actions? There will always be a new “fix” going around. There will always be great ideas for how to make it work. Until I understand what I am trying to accomplish, I will just be throwing blindly at a moving target. Yes, I might get lucky and get some results. Yes, I might manage to make something happen now and then. But how much better would it be if I knew what I was trying to accomplish before I started taking actions to make it happen?

Am I too busy making excuses to make my success a reality? Things happen. Troubles seep in. Life comes at you from all directions. It is the same for everyone, but not everyone settles into the troubles, trips and traps. Those that step up and step over begin to find that each step brings them a little closer to the success they desire. My writing career will never be reached by making excuses, but I can get there by making a way above, around or through the fog that excuses would try to create.

Can I measure my actions? Doing is great – it means that I am taking actions to get to where I want to be. But doing for the sake of doing will not get me much farther than not doing at all. The actions need to produce measurable results. There has to be a way I can look at what I am doing and see where it is taking me in my journey. Of course that requires that I know what my target is for the actions that I take.

It all works together. I know what I am trying to accomplish. I push past the excuses and the hindrances that try to get in the way. I measure my actions to see if they are moving me towards my target. I can reach the place that I desire if I have the right plan and take the right actions to make it happen. I have to write first, build relationships as I write and the squeeze in marketing along the way to build a successful writing career.