I seem to have referred to living well a lot lately, here on the blog and in the newsletter. I know I’m doing it to compensate for the constant barrage of “be productive!” messaging that is the theme of this site.
But I’m also aware that I’m an anal productivity obsessionist, and I’m compensating for that, too.
Lest you have noticed the counter-messaging lately and thought to yourself “but how am I supposed to become a successful indie writer if I’m taking it easy some of the time?”, then I direct you toward a post by Derek Halpern, How To Be Successful: The Uncomfortable Truth. It’s a different take on what constitutes productive work and may help you actually, properly relax when you’re supposed to, as well as do the right type of work, when you need to.
The vast majority of wanna-be indie writers are great at getting their butts in the chair…sometimes.
They’re all over what a writer should do to get ahead. They read the blogs, they read the books, listen to the podcasts. They know the second Amazon has an algorithm twitch. They have networked with the most influential souls in the business.
But they still don’t succeed, mostly because they’re spending all their productive time doing the wrong things. Often, the easy things, the low-hanging fruit that everyone else is grabbing, too.
Acknowledge what your hard work is. For many of us, it’s getting books written. Socializing, marketing, promotion and networking are up there, too.
For some of us, writing better, or writing to market is our pain point. Often, you know damn well what it is you should be doing, because that’s the thing you duck the most.
Embrace the hard work. You’ll instantly be ahead of the crowd.
Happy Sunday.