In 2019, I reflected on lessons learned after 10 years of writing. Most still resonate for me – with a few caveats noted below in my favourite blue. Whether you’re a writer or a reader, let me know what life lessons you’ve learned.
Roughly ten years ago [now 16 years], I gave up the day job – had a virtual bonfire for the scads of files I wouldn’t need anymore, purchased a bulletin board for writerly reminders, and set myself up with a brand new notebook and several books on writing. I made a few commitments to myself – to take writing seriously, to find an agent, and to complete the novel that had been brewing for a few years. And here I am ten years later: three published novels; two completed manuscripts with a new agent; a blog with readers from around the world; and five chapters of a new novel.
Now 6 published novels plus two middle-grade chapter books; but who’s counting?
While working on this new novel — by the way, it’s a contemporary story that ultimately became The Admiral’s Wife — I came across Dan Rockwell’s blog on leadership (long story about why). Each of his posts has a catchy title “3 Reasons Leaders Sink”, “7 Boring Things Successful Leaders Do that Failing Leaders Neglect”, “7 Things to Do When Progress is Slow”. Browsing around, I found this quote: The biggest failure is ignoring the lessons of failure. That notion prompted today’s post. So what are the lessons I’ve learned from the things I’ve failed at?
Novels don’t write themselves … you can’t be a writer unless you write in a dedicated and disciplined manner.
Bingo! So that’s the problem with my current state of indecision and uncertainty.
Failure is part of the process … all writers have been rejected, some many times; learn from those rejections. Learn from the stories that didn’t work. Learn from the critical things readers say about your novels.
This may be my greatest problem. I’m accustomed to being successful. Maybe I need to redefine success?
One successful novel doesn’t guarantee the next … most of us will have had the experience of anticipating a new novel from a favourite author only to be disappointed when it arrives. A publisher won’t publish your next novel unless they think it will be a success, even if your last one did well.
A corollary from my now-self-published author POV: readers won’t read and/or recommend your next novel if it’s not up to the standards you set with your last ones.
You need to be part of the community … this could be a genre community, a workshop community, a group of writer friends. Give to your community more than you receive.
The historical fiction community, the writing community, and the author friends I’ve made are wonderful. They encourage, support new releases, provide advice, and offer friendship. A true blessing in what is primarily a solo activity. I hope that I’ve returned more to that community – through this blog, volunteer work with the Historical Novel Society, and helping other authors.
Finding the right agent is critical … agents are individuals and each one has her/his personal preferences. Find one who loves the kind of stories you write and who will really work with you to improve your stories and make sure you pick the best stories to write. This is not an easy process.
I’ve had three agents. To my great disappointment, none of them was able to sell my work to a publisher. But I have confidence that my novels are well written and have been well received. That’s success in and of itself.
Learn to say no … I’ve spent hundreds of hours responding to other writers, reading their novels, working with them on guest posts. But you only have so much time to go around and sometimes saying yes is just another way of procrastinating.
I’m laughing at this one as I count the ways I’ve found to procrastinate during the last few months or even today.
Time management is critical … as a corollary to ‘learn to say no’, learn to allocate your time to the right tasks. Social media can be a huge time suck, use it sparingly. A weekly schedule is helpful – I’m still trying to implement this one successfully.
Guess what? I’m not a weekly schedule kind of writer! And yet, the sentiment behind this lesson remains critical to being a successful author.
Distraction is the enemy … phone calls, the ping of arriving emails or texts, the lure of a good book, the tangle of research, my children, my husband, an untidy home, a bright sunny day – all of these are distractions for me. Set them aside and work your schedule.
Distraction remains the enemy. However, I’m beginning to think or realize that I don’t have the right story concept at the moment which may be why I’ve allowed myself to be so distracted.
Marketing is your friend … for a few years I embraced marketing and promotion activities. Last year I did almost nothing and as I mentioned before, sales have suffered as a result. Remember, every new reader is a new source for word of mouth recommendations.
Since 2019, I’ve also tried hiring marketing expertise! There is still no ‘magic bullet’ for successfully reaching and persuading a large group of readers to buy your novels. If you’re not prepared to put in the work, your novels will only reach a small audience. Sigh!
You can’t write all the time … take time for your family, your partner, your friends. Take time to be active and enjoy the sports and other interests you have. Writing is tough work. You need to revitalize regularly.
It’s important to add that the act of story telling can be part of this revitalization.
I’m startled to realize that ten sixteen years have passed since I began. So much hard work. So much joy!
Maybe I’ll get back to that chapter outline after I’ve made myself another coffee!
What are your lessons learned? I’d love to hear!
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M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel THAT WAS THEN is a contemporary thriller. Mary’s other novels, THE ADMIRAL’S WIFE, PARIS IN RUINS, TIME AND REGRET, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook or on her website www.mktod.com.
