mira!!

(because not only rich people can be dark academics)

-thrifting with friends for old sweaters that someone’s grandfather must have worn

-getting second (or third or fourth) hand books and reading the notes that other people left in them

-making sure everything is tidy and clean, no matter what

-adopting a minimalist aesthetic

-or making your own decorations (which then makes you better at lettering and art)

-sitting in a local cafe and buying the cheapest thing so that you can study there (and making sure that you tip as much as you can)

-reading poetry online, printing your favorites, and posting them on your walls

-taking as much of your family’s clothing that they’ll let you have

-rotating the same few shirts, pants, and shoes without anyone noticing

-a lack of jewelry (because there are more important things)

-sitting outside at a park to read or write

This week’s post was supposed to be about Writing Analytics, but I had to delay the launch by a week. Stay tuned for next week!

One of the hardest questions that writers face, particularly in the early days is: ‘Will this thing work?’

Will the hours that I pour into this endeavour pay off? Would I be better off doing something else?

What if you spend the next ten years writing books and short stories and trying to get them published. No major publishers pick them up so you decide to self-publish and only sell a handful of copies. What then?

Luck does play a part in success – from being incredibly lucky or awfully unlucky. You may do everything right, and it may still not happen.

It sucks thinking about things like that, but that’s what’s been on my mind lately. The uncertainty is real. It will get to you eventually, so why not deal with it early?

Writing your first book is a particularly uncertain business. For a long time, you’re toiling away on your own. You have never done it before, and you have no idea whether what you’re doing will be good.

When you’re in the book-writing trenches, it’s easy to fixate on the end goal. You’re doing whatever it takes to get the book over the finish line – working nights and weekends, skipping pub with mates, abandoning hobbies.

I’ll finish the book, and then it’ll be all good, you think. But what if it isn’t?

Tim Ferriss – a best-selling author and famous podcast host – has an exercise called fear setting. Years ago, he did a TED talk about it which blew up. The idea is to spend time with your fears. Imagine that what you fear the most does happen. What then?

Let’s say you’re 35. You look about 45 because, over the past 10 years, you’ve spent every free moment outside your job pursuing writing. You’re always twitchy, particularly when around other people.

You can no longer log in to Instagram because all your friends have kids, big houses, flashy cars. You’re nowhere near repaying your student loans.

You signed with an agent for the fourth full manuscript that you’ve completed, but no publisher would buy it. Now she’s writing to you to terminate your contract in 30 days. Ouch.

So what can you do to prevent this from happening?

1. The Journey, Not the Destination

As cliché as that sounds, you should do whatever you can to enjoy the time when you’re working on your book. The journey might be all that you get, what can you do to enjoy the ride?

Are you learning skills that you could apply elsewhere? Maybe you can connect with like-minded writers and start a writing group? Could switching genre make writing more enjoyable?

Write for fun, first and foremost.

2. Practice Healthy Detachment

Notice what happens when you go to an interview for a job that would be nice versus a job that you desperately need. The anxieties that we have shape our behaviours and performance. Worrying about being successful might just be what makes you miss the mark.

If you make wanting to be an author a part of your identity, it will be hard to deal with all the rejections that come along the way.

3. Don’t Abandon Everything Else

Every once in a while, someone talks about how not having a plan B was what gave them the motivation to hustle. I don’t buy it. It might have worked for them, but there are dozens, hundreds and thousands of others who also didn’t have a plan B and failed, and exceptionally shitty times ensued.

Keep your friends. Keep your hobbies. Keep your job. You can always abandon them when you’re rich later.

So do I think it’s worth pursuing a career as a writer? Absolutely yes.

In an alternate universe, you’re 35, married with kids, living in a modest house that you own. You’ve been writing for 10 years, and while no publisher ever bought your book, you’ve had a blast writing them.

Every Thursday night, you meet your writing group downtown. They’re like your second family. Your jaw hurts from laughing every time when you come home.

Juggling your work, family and writing isn’t easy, but you’re not in a rush. You’re working on a novella in a series that you’ve been publishing on your blog. The deal is that if it makes more than $100 in profit, you’re buying drinks for everyone.

And in another universe, in a galaxy far, far away, you’re on your way back home from a successful book tour that coincides with the release of a brand-new Netflix film which is an adaptation of your most famous novel. You’re looking at the lights outside as the plane takes off. The PR round was exhausting. It’s about time to start thinking about what will you write next…

Thanks for reading ❤️.

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Past Editions

#152: Working with Creative Constraints, July 2020

#151: My Favourite Writing Podcasts, July 2020

#150: The Business of Making Art, July 2020

#149: All That Matters Is What You Leave on the Page, July 2020