5 Traits That Foster Publishing Success

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

There are 101 different ways to define success among the writing community. Some of us might put high priority on making friendships, others in completing a difficult manuscript, and still others in seeing their book in print regardless of how many people buy it.

However, in the writing industry, whether we like it or not, professional success is usually determined by our numbers—our sales figures, how many times we make a best seller list, how many prizes our book wins, etc.

In traditional publication numbers are critically important for published authors. Without stable or growing sales figures, a publisher will often have to let an author go. In indie publishing, an author who consistently spends more on covers, editing, etc, than she makes would have to seriously consider whether to keep putting herself in the red.

Regardless of how we define success personally, I think at some level most of us want to reach a level of professional success as well. Of course, it goes without saying that we need to have compelling books. But there are plenty of great writers with well-told stories who stall in their careers.

What can help us forge ahead? What qualities are important in reaching for success?

As I brainstormed the character traits that have helped me achieve a modicum of success in the publishing industry, here are five qualities that have helped me enormously:

1. Maintain a vision.

I believe in myself and my abilities. Throughout the ups and downs of the writing journey, I’ve clung to the dream of being published. Sure, occasionally I hit depressing dips that have made me feel like giving up. But I always crawl through them and make it to the other side. I brush off the gravel, ignore the bruises, and plod steadily onward toward my goals.

I’ve also realized how important it is to have people beside me who support and believe in me. They’re there to cheer me on, remind me why I’m doing this, and inspire me to stay on the course.

2. Work extraordinarily hard.

From a young age, my parents taught me how to work. And I’m not talking about just making my bed. I mean real, sweat-inducing work. First, they modeled hard work. Then they expected it without exception. Because of their training, I’m not afraid to demand much of myself, put in long hours, and stick to a job until completion.

Sometimes I don’t think people realize how hard I’ve worked to reach this point in my writing career. I’ve sacrificed a lot, dedicated endless hours, and labored with both diligence and determination.

I haven’t had magical fairy dust sprinkled over me. My relatives aren’t in high places pulling strings for me. And my luck hasn’t been above average. Instead, I’m just an ordinary person who’s worked extraordinarily hard.

3. Facilitate humility.

Yes, we have to believe in our abilities and that we have what it takes. But we also need an attitude of “I always have room for improvement.” It’s that ever-present feeling of needing to do better that motivates us to try harder, to accept difficult feedback, to push ourselves to rise to the next level.

Without humility we risk becoming complacent and stagnant. Our books will follow suit.

4. Cultivate professional savvy.

If we hope to achieve professional success, then at some point we’ll need to emerse ourselves in the publishing industry and learn how everything works. I see far too many writers jump into publication without doing their homework. Ignorance can be the kiss of death in this competitive and enormous industry.

As I moved closer to publication, I studied everything I could get my hands on to learn about the current state of publishing and all that it entailed. Then I began to act on all that I was learning, taking risks but being wise about it.

5. Embrace inner passion.

When we’re passionate about something, that usually comes through in our actions and words. We live in such a way as to let our passion pour out into our stories, into our relationships, and yes even into social medai.

When we live genuinely, openly, and passionately, people are drawn to us, our posts, and our books. They crave a piece of that passion for themselves. Hopefully we can inspire them to reach for their own success.

There’s my short list! Now I’d love to hear yours!

What qualities have helped you? What trait do you think is THE most important in helping writers reach a level of professional success?

How Important is Talent in Reaching Writing Success?

 By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

How important is talent to a writer? Is talent required in order to become successful? Is talent necessary to rise above the competition?

I'd be remiss to throw out talent altogether and say that it doesn't matter in the least. The truth is a bit of natural talent can probably help to a degree. Some people are born with wild imaginations. Some have the ability to embellish a story. Others have a smooth way of stringing words together. And all of that can certainly give a writer an advantage.

Sometimes when people ask me where I get my story ideas or how I come up with a great plot twist, I stumble to find an answer. There are just some writing nuances that I can't explain, that just flow, that seem to be hard-wired into my makeup. Dare I say that I have some giftedness without sounding conceited?

However, even when writers are born with certain proclivities, usually talent alone isn't enough to propel a writer to the NYT best-seller list. And yet, there's a widely-held misconception that those who make it big or land multiple book deals simply have more talent than the average writer.

In fact, I think it's all too common for many beginners to have an elevated perception of their writing skill. When I was just beginning, I know I did. I thought my first couple of manuscripts were pretty spectacular. I figured publishers would be knocking down my door to buy my books.

Like many newbies, I thought my talent was enough to make my books special and different from the masses of others out there, that perhaps my books had an almost magical quality that could propel them forward ahead of others.

Fortunately, rejection was the humbling reality check. Rejection from publishers and agents helped me realize I wasn't God's gift to the literary world and that I still had a lot to learn before my material was ready for readers. It wasn't until my fifth book that I finally reached a point where my writing was good enough to catch the attention of an editor. Even then that particular book was rejected. But the interest helped me see that my writing skill was improving.

Unfortunately today, with the ease of self-publishing, many newer writers have lost the humbling reality check that was once a part of the process. Too many beginners with an elevated perception of writing talent (like I had!) toss aside the cautions about rushing to publish the first book or two they've ever written. They overlook advice about getting professional editing. Sometimes they ignore writing advice altogether.

It's all too easy nowadays with social media to see what everyone else is doing, to hear the success stories and to think that "easy" is the norm and that talent alone is enough.

But what we don't see is just how hard each of those successful writers had to work to reach the point where their writing was finally ready for readers to enjoy. We don't see the years and years of writing with no return. We don't see the hours of learning basic writing mechanics. We don't see the multiple rejections. We don't see the money spent on editing or critiques.

Yes, having some talent can give a writer a slight edge. But talent alone is not enough to become a good writer. Each step forward I've taken in my writing career has been hard-earned. I've had to scrape, claw, and fight for every inch of success. Nothing has come easy. Even after six published books and eight more coming down the publication pipeline, I continue to sweat and fight hard for every small victory.

My advice for beginners? Don't assume your talent is enough. Talk to successful authors and get a behind-the-scenes look at the amount of work they've put in. Look for ways to get "reality checks" to find out how you're really doing. Be patient with yourself. And most of all keep learning and writing because eventually with enough hard work, your stories will be ready for readers.

So what about you? How important do you think talent is in reaching writing success?

Sometimes WHO You Know Can Help You Advance

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

If you're like me, you'd like to believe that we have the ability to forge our own way and make our own success on talent and hard work alone. We hate when we hear stories about people who make it to the top on the coattails of someone else, because of WHO they know, rather than WHAT they do.

Such instances seem completely unfair. Why should others get to bypass honing their talent and forgo hard work? Why should they get to fly to the summit rather than having to make the steep uphill climb like the rest of us?

I'm the first to say that talent and hard work are the building blocks of success. If you don't have a least a modicum of natural ability and aren't willing to work hard, then it isn't going to matter who you know and the doors they open for you. If you don't have a well-written book or a excellently told story, no one will care.

Let me say it again. Working hard, learning all you can, writing prolifically, and honing your talents are the KEYS to success for any writer.

But . . . sometimes WHO you know can help you advance, at least advance a little faster.

Over the years, I've developed many friendships with a wide variety of people in the publishing industry. And I've benefited from those relationships in MANY ways.

Obviously, it goes without saying (but I'm saying it anyway), that it's completely selfish and unprofessional to develop a friendship for the sole purpose of what you can get out of the relationship. Whether in a marriage, business partnership, or casual friendship, it never works (or at least for very long), when one person is doing all the giving and the other all the taking.

We can't seek out others to suck them dry. Any healthy relationship has to have mutual respect with clear boundaries.

All that to say, if we're seeking out relationships in the industry solely for the purpose of building our career, eventually that will backfire, people will sense our motivation, and we'll find ourselves alone and disillusioned.

However, if we're working at building mutually beneficial relationships, we will indeed find that those relationships can help us in many ways.

Here are just a few of those ways:

1. Relationships can open the door for critique partnerships.

All of my critiquing relationships have come out of friendships that I've developed. After a time of getting to know people, it's much easier to evaluate potential critique partners–their skill level, work ethic, genre knowledge, and reliability. A partnership that evolves naturally will probably be more trustworthy than one that comes out of a cold call.

2. Friends can offer important advice.

This is one of the areas I most appreciate about friendships. I've recently had to turn to veteran writers for advice on changing agents. And I've been so grateful to already have connections in place with wise authors I respect. They were able to counsel and encourage me through the tough decision. I'm grateful to have friends I can turn to in times of need. And I hope that I can be there for other writers too.

3. Sometimes friends can give us referrals.

I would NEVER encourage anyone to befriend someone for the purpose of asking for a referral either to an agent or publisher. I think most authors take the same position as me–I won't refer anyone unless I have the opportunity to evaluate their book. The sad fact is, I rarely have the time to read and evaluate for friends.

And the other issue with agreeing to read and possibly refer, is that it puts me in an awkward position of having to judge someone else's work. If a writer is clearly not ready for publication, then I have to bear the bad news. So most of the time, I avoid putting myself and others in that kind of predicament by simply steering clear of reading for referral purposes.

But on occasion, referrals can happen. I do make them. And friends have made them for me (in fact a friend recently referred me to her agent). But it's not something anyone does lightly.

4. Friends are more likely to offer endorsements.

I'm regularly asked to read books for endorsement purposes. While I consider it a great honor with each request, I also can't read every book of every person who asks for an endorsement. I'm MUCH more likely to agree to read the book of a friend rather than an acquaintance or stranger.

5. Relationships can provide new and important social media opportunities.

I've found that my friendships and acquaintances have led to many social media opportunities that I wouldn't have had if I'd stayed a hermit and holed away in my writing cave. I've been asked to guest blog, have been interviewed, had important book reviews, and have linked with fantastic promotional opportunities–all because of various connections I've made with people. I haven't necessarily sought those opportunities out. But they usually came as a result of being active and developing relationships with others.

My Summary: We can never skimp on working hard, learning, and always writing, writing, writing. But . . . in the process, we can't forget that we need each other too.

How about you? In what ways have you benefited from friendships with other writers? Do you think there's a right or wrong way of going about developing relationships?

Top Two Pieces of Writing Advice

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

At speaking events or during interviews, I'm often asked to share my top writing advice to aspiring authors.

Obviously, there are LOTS and LOTS of writing techniques I could share (and have shared on my blog). See my For Writers Page where I have writing tips listed by categories.

But rather than doling out advice like "Make your characters come alive" or "Avoid clichés" or "Add tension to every page" I'd much rather share what has helped me the most. After all, every writer will learn to apply writing techniques in their own unique way. What worked in my story to make it riveting may not work in someone else's.

However, I think there are some general principles that can help ALL writers, no matter their genre, no matter their age, and no matter their publication goals. I've seen this advice work for me, and I've also seen the advice work for other successful authors.

So here are my top 2 pieces of writing:

1. Always keep learning.

Early in my writing career, I read just about every book about how to write fiction that I could get my hands on. No, I didn't agree with everything I read. But I soaked it all in, took lots of notes, and sorted through the advice. The information was invaluable in helping me learn to become a good writer. It was like earning a "college degree" in writing.

Now that I'm more seasoned, I still read writing craft books. I'm a bit more particular in what I pick up, but my favorites include anything by James Scott Bell, Donald Maass, and Noah Lukeman.

My methods of learning have expanded now to include the writing information I find online. See my blog sidebar "Help for Writers" for some of the blogs I follow.

I also learn a great deal now from critique partners and my in-house editors. In fact, I was recently emailing back and forth with one of my editors about some of the techniques he was encouraging me to work on in a book we're editing. He said this: "Keep pushing yourself . . . We’re all of us always in training."

Even the best editors know that writers will always need to keep learning and training in order to stay fresh, relevant, and riveting.

2. Write prolifically.

"Prolific" is a subjective word. What might be an abundant amount of writing for one author might be sparse for another.

When I wrote my first published book, The Preacher's Bride, I could only write about 500 words a day. At the time, I had a baby and a toddler, along with three elementary aged children. Getting in those 500 words a day was a huge challenge for me. I was usually chasing after kids, and by the end of the day, I was exhausted. But I forced myself to eke out those 500 words a day, rain or shine. And the effort produced a full length novel in a year.

Now that my kids are getting older, 500 words a day would not be challenging enough. Instead I give myself much more demanding goals. Rather than one book a year, I've already completed three, along with an assortment of other writing projects.

My point is that in order to become better, we have to write, not dabble at it. We need to push ourselves to accomplish a little more than we think we can. And while we're challenging ourselves to write more, we also need to make a conscious effort to put into practice the things we're learning (in point 1 above).

I can honestly trace my success to the above two pieces of writing advice. And it's advice I'll keep following if I hope to continue to be successful.

How about you? What is YOUR number ONE piece of writing advice?

3 Ways Writers Can Compete Well in Today's Crowded Market

*The Triathlete!*

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

One of my twin daughters did a triathlon this summer. It was called Tri-City Kids' Triathlon, and it was for kids ages 6 to 15. There were a LOT of kids who participated in the event, close to 350. But I was surprised that even with such a large turnout the whole morning went quickly and smoothly.

The kids were broken into age-groups. And the older kids had the advantage of starting out on the course first, including my daughter. Each group began with swimming a certain number of laps. Then they hopped on their bikes and rode as fast as they could on the bike course. And finally they ended by running around a track.

Since it was my daughter's first year competing, we didn't really know what to expect or how she would compare with the other athletes her age. So we were pleasantly surprised when she finished 8th in her age group.

As I thought about her triathlon, I realized that writers nowadays have to be a lot like a triathlete in order to make it in today's industry. Whether self-publishing or going the traditional route, if we hope to prepare well and succeed with our books then we'd be wise to take some lessons from the triathlete:

1. We need LOTS and LOTS of training.

My daughter and I started running in April. By July we'd worked our way up to 5K approximately 5-6 days a week. My daughter also does competitive swimming on a swim team every weekday morning of the summer (rather than sleeping in!). She demonstrated a dedication and tenacity to training that impressed me.

Writers, if we hope to compete and be anywhere near the top of the crowd, then we MUST train. We can't make it optional. We can't write only when we feel like it. Or read a writing craft book once in a while.

Instead we need to be dedicated to a daily writing workout and have a tenacity to learning all we possibly can.

2. We need to be familiar with the ins and outs of what we're doing.

The night before the triathlon, my daughter went to the course, got the layout of the race, learned where the transition area was, and figured out the quickest way to move from swimming to biking to running. She gleaned advice for even the little things, like how to put your shoes on quickly while your feet are wet.

As writers we need to be completely familiar with the industry, especially as we near readiness for publication. I talk to many writers who jump into publication without doing their homework on the ins and outs of the publishing industry. But then when those writers have dismal results, they can't understand why.

Having a working knowledge about publication, marketing, book reviewers, etc., doesn't guarantee success, but it can certainly help keep our expectations realistic and the experience less embarrassing and painful.

3. We need to juggle multiple roles.

As I mentioned, my daughter trained really well for the running and swimming parts of the triathlon. Those were her strong events and she actually ended up finishing 5th overall in both. Her weakness was her biking. She'd practiced biking but not enough, and it showed.

Modern writers have to juggle multiple roles too: writer, marketer, and administrator.

• Writer: Obviously writing our stories must take precedence over any other role, unlike the triathlon where it doesn't really matter which event is our strongest. Writers write. Period. Readers care about our stories the most, so we have to make our stories and our writing techniques our strongest asset.

• Marketer: There's no getting around the fact that if we want our books to stand out among the millions out there, we have to make concerted and strategic efforts to get our books onto our readers' radars. I won't go into detail about all the various ways to market, but here are a couple posts that I've done previously: Are Your Efforts Unique or Do You Blend in? or The Birds and the Bees of Marketing

• Administrator: I've realized that there are a hundred and one "little" tasks that need attending on weekly basis: writing up a proposal for future books, responding to emails, setting up signings and speaking events, mailing out books to contest winners, etc.

If we hope to compete with a measure of success, then we would be wise to train well, learn about the industry, and juggle our roles well. If we languish or skimp on something, it's going to be harder for us to stay competitive with all the other writers out there, especially those who are doing everything possible to have a winning edge.

So what about you? What's your training regime look like? Do you feel like you're learning everything you can about the industry? And how well are you juggling the roles writers have to play?

Why Did Rowling Make it Big With Harry Potter But Not With Her Pen Name?

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

By now most people have heard that JK Rowling (author of the international bestselling Harry Potter series) wrote a crime novel The Cuckoo's Calling earlier this year and published it under a pseudonym Robert Galbraith. An article in the Guardian "JK Rowling publishes crime novel under false name" explains more and is worth a read.

When The Cuckoo's Calling first hit shelves (in April) nobody knew it was written by Rowling. Instead it came out under the guise of an unknown, supposedly debut author. The book got some positive reviews and sold a fairly small amount (1500 copies in Britain). Reviewers weren't buzzing about the book, nobody was talking about it on social media, and it didn't hit any best seller lists or move up too far on Amazon rankings.

It joined the millions of other books that wallow in the slough of obscurity. Under her pseudonym, Rowling became like all the other debut and even many seasoned writers out there, who are a piece of plankton in the ocean of books that are now available.

When word came out last weekend that Rowling was the real author of The Cuckoo's Calling, it shot to best-seller status almost immediately. It's now ranked number one on Amazon for both hardcover and ebook.

Many of us can speculate that with such early low sales on the book, that it was a no-brainer for the publisher or someone else with vested interest to leak the news that Rowling wrote The Cuckoo's Calling. Why make pocket change on a book that could potentially draw in millions?

Many writers and readers, myself included, have found the whole situation a fascinating study of the state of the book industry.

Think about it for a minute. Due to the popularity of the Harry Potter series, Rowling is hailed as Britain's bestselling author of all times. She's a brand name in almost every household in the world. And she's gained untold wealth and fame.

Yet take that same famous writer with her incredible story-telling ability and skillful writing techniques, dress her in another name, and suddenly she's just an average Joe (or Robert!).

What does that tell you about the industry?

Well, it could say that success has a lot less to do with your stories and writing skill and more to do with WHO you are. If you're already famous, if you're already a brand name, then it doesn't really matter what you put out there, people will buy your books.

But how does one reach mega-bestselling status? Is it based mostly on luck? 

It's obviously not based on talent and hard work alone, because there are plenty of other authors out there who have as much talent and have worked equally hard as Rowling but who haven't come anywhere near her stardom status.

What I've noticed is that many of the mega-bestsellers are the forerunners of a new genre (i.e. Rowling with YA fantasy, Meyers with vampire, Collins with dystopian, etc). Sure, there were others already writing in those genres, but the uniqueness and story-telling abilities of the breakout books sparked a widespread interest and made the genre popular.

Those forerunners then opened the door for others. New authors sprang up overnight. But . . . most of those other new authors simply had to be content with riding the coattails of moderate success, none being able to compare with the breakout books.

Obviously Rowling under her Galbraith pseudonym with 1500 in sales wasn't making too much progress down the road toward bestseller status. Who knows, maybe after several books, maybe after establishing herself in the crime genre, and maybe after lots of marketing efforts, Galbraith might have begun to climb a little higher.

The reality, however, is that in today's over-crowded market it's tough for any author, no matter how good they are, to stand out. It takes a TON of work and often multiple books before an unknown author starts to earn a steady income as well as steady recognition. But even with TONS of work, plenty of great authors still languish in the bottom of the Amazon rankings.

The Rowling-Galbraith incident just goes to show the significance of having a brand name. Brand names sell.

Not many authors will achieve mega-bestselling status. But for those who hope to make even a small name for themselves and to rise above the masses, perhaps the key is to stop trying to copy what's already being written. And instead take a voyage of discovery into the unknown. Chart new waters. Be the one to set the trends instead of chasing them.

What are your thoughts regarding Rowling's bestselling status with the Harry Potter series but her paltry sales as Robert Galbraith? Writers, does it encourage you or discourage you?

Readers, why do you think we're so apt to buy brand name authors time and time again while equally well-written books by little-known authors languish?

The Importance of Output: Could You Be Doing More?

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

If there's one thing I've learned about the writing journey over the years, it's that there's never just one way to success. Multiple roads lead to publication.

Some paths have long detours, frustrating road blocks, deep valleys, and winding paths that seem to lead to nowhere. The author has years of wandering before finally getting published.

Others have a straight shot. The author seems to arrive at success overnight.

Whether our journey takes forever, happens quickly, or falls somewhere in between, there comes a point where we may grow stagnant. Our footsteps slow down or even come to a standstill. Perhaps we lose our enthusiasm for publication, our energy level drops after the initial excitement for writing fades, or we may even grow weary from all the new stresses.

Sometimes, the journey may be taking so long that we start to think, "What's the use?" or "Why bother working so hard for nothing?

Unfortunately, I've seen many good writers fall by the wayside. Their footsteps grow slower and slower until they're practically crawling along. Some have even stopped writing altogether. I no longer see the #amwriting enthusiasm from them on twitter. Or when I check in to see what they're working on, I discover they're on the same project as before.

If you've been reading my blog long enough, you know I'm NOT opposed to writing breaks. I took a seven year hiatus from my writing career when my children were younger. So, I completely understand the need to back off and refresh ourselves.

But, for those who are still plodding along the publication pathway, I want to encourage you not to let discouragement, disillusionment, or disappointment fill your journey with quicksand.

Nowadays, output is becoming more important than ever before.

For those pursuing traditional publication, it's never wise to get stuck on one book or two. First, agents and publishers like to know that you're capable of writing more than one book. Second, if one book doesn't sell, then you have a whole stack of books to keep querying. The fact is, every book you write increases your chance of breaking in. And the good news is, if a publisher doesn't end up wanting the plethora of books you've written, they don't have to languish in a drawer. You still have options.

For those pursuing self-publishing, James Scott Bell (author of Plot & Structure) says this in a recent article titled We Are All Long Tail Marketers Now: "[For] self-publishing writers, the ones who are making some good money at it . . . volume is the key. That's what wags the long tail."

He goes on to say that no matter what type of publication we're pursuing, "We're entering the age of long-tail marketing . . . which holds that the profitability of a business is directly proportional to the number of products it has for sale over time. The more products—factoring in quality, of course—the longer the tail."

In other words, the more books we write, the better chance we have at finding success. Essentially, we all need to keep persevering, push ourselves through the slumps, and put out quality stories time after time.

So for those who have found themselves slogging in quicksand lately, I encourage you to keep writing. Give yourself daily or weekly writing goals (or a combination of both which is what I do). Set a time limit for when you'd like to complete your book or editing (i.e. 12 weeks or 16 or 20).

Then once you're done with the book, give yourself a limited amount of time "off." Don't let it drag on indefinitely. Put a plan into place for when you'll start the next book.

Always keep moving forward. Keep your writing output high. The more you write, the stronger your writing muscles grow. Yes, take a break if you need it. But then get back to work and don't let excuses slow you down.

What about you? What does your writing output look like these days?

The Modern Author's MAIN Job

*Image Source*

By Jody Hedlund,@JodyHedlund

Long ago, in the dinosaur ages before the internet existed, writers could just write. If they wanted, they could hide away in a mountaintop cabin overlooking a lake and could focus on writing books for days and weeks. Except for the occasional book signing or speech at a local library, the old-fashioned writer didn't have to worry about much except writing great books.

But those were the good old days . . .

As you know (and have likely heard ad nauseam), the modern writer has to handle an incredible myriad of responsibilities including: editing for critique partners, judging contests, interacting with book groups, answering emails, staying abreast of industry news, interacting with fans via social media, enhancing professional relationships with other authors, keeping up with personal and group blogs, updating websites, providing endorsements, etc.

And the biggest time cruncher? Marketing our books. Authors can literally spend hours upon hours organizing blog tours, writing up interview questions or guest posts, planning Pinterest campaigns, giving away and mailing books, participating in Facebook chats, doing Q & A on Goodreads, etc., etc., etc.

With all the responsibilities that fall upon the modern author's shoulders, it's a wonder writers have any time left for actually writing their books!

In the past, the pendulum of a writer's job tipped in the direction of mostly all writing. And now in the present it has swung the opposite way, and many writers struggle to squeeze in any writing. As I've analyzed this pendulum shift, I've realized that perhaps the modern writer has gone TOO far the opposite direction.

Of course I've heard plenty of people say that self-published authors have no other choice but to spend just as much time marketing their books (if not more) than they do writing. And even traditionally published authors must scramble to find ways to get their books to stand out in an exceptionally crowded market.

But as great as social media is for marketing and for interacting, I've realized that the modern writer is really much better off shifting back to the middle of the pendulum (if not inching back the other way). Maybe we can't ever return to the all-writing world of the bygone days. But neither do we have to let our writing take a back seat to all the other responsibilities.

Whether we self-publish or go the traditional route, a fiction writer's MAIN job is WRITING BOOKS.

We often get caught up in all the online hype and begin to think that everything else will help us have success. But our BOOKS are what make us successful.

The more we write and the more we publish, the more chances readers will have to discover us. And when they love one book, they're more likely to go out and buy more of our books as well as tell others about us.

But that phenomenon can only happen when we're writing multiple books AND the stories are consistently good quality.

So my advice is for modern writers to stop piddling away time on all of those other responsibilities. Sure, we need to give them some time. But it can't be our best or greatest time.

For example, when I have a concentrated block of free time, I make myself use that time for working on my books and my books alone. I make it a priority to meet my daily word count goal before I do any of the other writing work. Blogging, emailing, responding to interviews ALL take the leftover miscellaneous time that I have here and there. I give my best time to my books.

The modern author's main job still is and always will be THE WRITING. Our stories will be the stepping stones to our future success. As we write and publish them one by one, we'll keep climbing higher and gaining new readers.

So what do you think? Do you think many modern writers have let the pendulum swing too far and are getting themselves too busy with all of the other writing responsibilities? What are some ways you strive to make your writing THE priority amidst all the other writing work that clamors for our attention?

The Most Important Quality In Best Selling Authors

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

There are a lot of important qualities that writers must have to succeed including patience, perseverance, and diligence.

But recently I was reading a fantastic post over on the Kill Zone blog titled "I Want to Succeed Now" that made me realize there was one quality that rises above all others.

The article was filled with examples of famous authors and how long it took them to reach success. It contained statistics like:

"Before Dean Koonz published Whispers, his big breakout hit, he wrote thirty-eight novels in twelve years."

"Tess Gerritsen wrote nine novels over nine years before she released her first NY Times bestseller, Harvest."

"Janet Evanovich wrote at least twelve novels before hitting it big in One for the Money."

First of all, I loved reading the article and getting the backstory on these bestselling authors. So often when we read bestseller lists, we don't realize just how many years and books most of those authors had to write before reaching that point. It gives us hope that our own struggles are not in vain.

And second, I loved reading the article because it helped me to see a common thread in most of those authors.

No, not all of them were on the cusp of a new genre that sky-rocketed them—although being on the cutting edge can help.

No, not all of them have fantastic, spell-binding stories that knock our socks off—although that doesn't diminish the critical aspect of having riveting stories.

No, not all of them were literary masterpieces—although that doesn't take away the need for learning and honing writing techniques.

And no, not all of them had hordes of marketing dollars poured into their book campaigns—although strategic marketing can be beneficial.

I think we can all agree that genre, stories, technique, and marketing can help books become bestsellers. But they're NOT a necessity. We've seen books hit bestseller lists without one or another of those traits.

So what is THE most important ingredient in helping authors and their books reach success? 

If you look at all the authors listed above (and even more in the Kill Zone article), perhaps you'll be struck as I was at the TENACITY of each author. They kept going, kept working hard, and kept writing books even when they weren't hitting it big.

What if they'd given up when their first couple of books didn't do as well as they'd wanted? What if they'd stopped after five books because they weren't yet on the best seller list? What if they'd thrown in the towel on the eleventh book (not knowing that it was the twelfth book that would bring them success)?

Without TENACITY many authors crash and burn before they have the chance to see where their careers might really take them.

So what does TENACITY really look like?

I like the definition of tenacity from vocabulary.com: The quality displayed by someone who just won't quit — who keeps trying until they reach their goal.

Miriam Webster defines it this way: Someone who is persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired.

In other words, tenacious people STICK to their goals like superglue. They're bonded to the dream, they don't let go of what they're seeking.

Tenacious writers keep going, keep striving to write the best books they possibly can, year after year, and book after book.

That's not to say that simply putting out twenty books in twenty years will automatically qualify a writer for the best seller list. Because obviously tenacity involves more than just putting in the time. Yes, success requires a tenacity to time and effort.

But it also requires a tenacity to become the best that you can be. A tenacity to push yourself beyond mediocrity. A tenacity to weather the storms of the market and publishing industry. And a tenacity to stick it out even when you hit rock bottom.

Of course, there may come a point in our careers where we need to make a decision to change the course. But there's a difference between giving up in frustration and despair and consciously choosing to stop something.

So, dear writer friends, I encourage all of us (myself included) to stop expecting overnight success. And to stop complaining when it doesn't happen. Instead, we need to gear ourselves up for the long haul. And in order to do that we need an infusion of TENACITY!

What about you? How tenacious are you with your writing? Will there ever come a point in your writing career when you finally decide you've had enough? 

Some Things Are Out of Our Control

As I look ahead to the coming months, I’m excited at the numbers of writing friends who will be publishing their books for the first time. In fact, in the next six months or so, I have four writer friends debuting with books I’ve endorsed (or am in the process of reading for endorsement purposes).

As I watch many of these friends embark on the debut publication experience, I’m glimpsing a wide spectrum of emotions from heavenly elation to paralyzing fear and everything in between. Watching my friends is bringing back all those similar feelings I experienced at my debut.

We try to get everything just right so we can have the best possible success. We want to have the perfect launch party, an effective blog tour, the most interviews, and the right amount of giveaways. We increase our web presence, and we do all we can possibly think of.

And that’s only natural.

But in the midst of all the busyness, our emotions ping-pong back and forth. One day we’re sure we’re doing everything we can. And the next day we worry that we aren’t doing enough.

Anytime we embark on something new whether we’re querying for the first time or entering a contest or going to a writer’s conference, we go through the gamut of emotions: excitement to fear, confidence to doubt, enthusiasm to weariness. And worry. We end up worrying a lot.

When I look in hindsight on my debut and everything else I’ve done, I’m not sure that I’d do anything differently . . . except for perhaps worry less.

We should be as diligent as possible in marketing and promoting our books or getting them ready for contests or for querying. Do all we can. Put forth one hundred percent effort to help our books stand out.

But . . . even though I work really, really hard to do everything “right,” there are still authors who don’t tweet or blog or have a lot of online connections, and for whatever reason they rise faster and shine brighter.

When striving for success in the publishing industry, I’m learning there’s only so much we can humanly do, that ultimately the rest is out of our hands. Whether we’re seeking an agent, book contract, or aiming for a best seller, there are some factors we can’t control. All the worrying in the world won’t change those factors.

I was reminded of this recently when I read an article that described step-by-step how The Hunger Games became a blockbuster hit. I was fascinated how strategic Scholastic was with their marketing.

The marketing department did numerous things to start the buzz about the book many months in advance of release. So much went on behind the scenes to get the early copies of the books into the right hands at the right times.

Sales reps were particularly strategic with their attempts to get the ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) into the hands of prominent reviewers also called “Big Mouths,” which is children’s publishing lingo for booksellers who have exceptional influence with co-workers and peers. And then the Big Mouths had to get excited and spread the chatter to their circles.

What struck me was how many factors were involved in making the book successful. Many, many, many. Too many factors for most of us to ever dream about. Too many factors that are completely out of our control.

The article reiterated to me that I personally can only do so much.

I need to be faithful with the little that I’m given. I need to work diligently with my talents. I need to continue learning and doing whatever is within my scope of possibility.

But then . . .

I need to remember not to worry about the rest, that it will happen in its time . . . if it’s meant too. No amount of fretting will make anything happen faster. Checking Amazon rankings or reviews won’t make them improve. And obsessing over what more I can do to turn my books into blockbusters won’t help.

All we can do is put our heart into writing the best stories possible and do everything we can to help market them. Then we have to step back, stop worrying, and remember to enjoy the journey.

Are you doing all that you can and being faithful to use your talents wisely? But do you also find yourself worrying about things that are out of your control or wishing for more than you have? Do you need to stop worrying so much and relax a little more?

How Can Modern Writers Become & Stay Visible?

Otis Chandler, the CEO of Goodreads, recently had an excellent article: Winning the Battle of Book Discovery. (I highly recommend reading it.) He said this: “In an increasingly crowded and noisy marketplace . . . abundance has irrevocably changed the publishing industry, and it has made discovery the central problem facing the book business.” (Emphasis mine.)


Since “discovery” seems to be the central problem, then it stands to reason that becoming and staying “visible” is the solution.

And yet, those of us who’ve put our books out there know that becoming and staying visible is much harder than it sounds in today’s abundant book market.

Otis Chandler goes on in the article to list several book discovery trends. As a fairly visible author, I’d like to not only publicly thank Otis Chandler for his spot-on advice, but also to reiterate his points from my perspective.

Three primary ways for authors to stand out (as mentioned in Chandler’s article):

1. Generate Word of Mouth.

Chandler says: “The most valuable commodity for the sustained promotion of a book is word-of-mouth buzz . . . According to a recent survey of Goodreads members, 79% of them report discovering books from friends offline, and 64% find books from their Goodreads friends.”

When friends get excited enough about a book to start talking about it, that’s the highest praise and offers a huge boost to an author’s discoverability. Of course friends can’t genuinely get excited about a book that’s ho-hum or doesn’t grip them.

So obviously, we won’t start word of mouth promotion without a compelling book.

But when we do have a praiseworthy story, then we need to help facilitate chatter both in real life and online. I wrote a recent post about the importance of online reviews here, so I won’t go into great detail now, except to say, that word of mouth has played a pivotal role in getting my books noticed.

I started to keep a running list of blog reviews readers were posting about The Doctor’s Lady, but eventually I couldn’t keep up and stopped after about forty. Amazon has over 100 reviews. My Goodreads widget in my sidebar shows that readers are posting reviews about my book there too.

Every time a reader chats about a book whether in real life or online, that spreads the scope of the book to his or her circle of influence, giving a ripple effect to our discoverability.

2. Start Pre-Launch Buzz.

Chandler’s article mentions the increasing importance of starting the buzz about a book early in the book’s life cycle. And I can attest to that importance.

Getting our readers excited about our books starts many months before the release. Promoting the cover can often be the first thing we use to generate interest. My publisher got my readers involved in picking the cover of my next book, Unending Devotion (even though it doesn’t release until Sept.). Already 6 months ahead of release, Unending Devotion has been “marked-to-be-read” by numerous readers on Goodreads.

In the coming months, I have plans to help increase the buzz well before the release, just as I did with The Doctor’s Lady. In fact, my brainstorm list is already close to a page long.

3. Build a Tribe.

Chandler’s article says: “96% of [of Goodreads members] say they read books by authors they already know. This is why building a loyal following of readers will pay major dividends for authors when they publish their next book.” (Emphasis mine.)

We have to prepare ourselves for a slow uphill climb in building a loyal base of readers who love our books. Usually we won’t have millions of fans with our first book. But with each consecutive book we publish (by generating word of mouth and pre-launch buzz), hopefully we can continue to pull in new loyal readers to join our ever-widening fan base.

For unpublished or debut authors, the loyal tribe starts with those friends and connections we’ve established through building our web presence. I’ve found that the genuine friends I’ve made along the way to publication have been some of my biggest fans and supporters.

Summary: Even if we do all of the above and then some, we may still have a difficult time getting discovered by readers. As Chandler says, “There’s no one silver bullet when it comes to getting your book discovered.”

I learned early in my writing journey that I can’t hole away in my writer’s cave. I had to step out and get visible long before I published my first book. And I’ve continued to stay visible and to connect with readers after publication.

So my final advice for discoverability is to get out and connect with people. Be real. Be genuine. And be available.

Lots of questions today! Do you mostly stick with authors you already know and trust? Or are you willing to try new authors? What are some things your favorite authors do that help them stay visible? Or if you like their books well enough, do they even need to stay visible? Will you buy their books regardless of what they do?

P.S. The Doctor's Lady is currently ON SALE on Kindle for only $2.99 as part of Amazon's "The Big Deal" through March 25. Snag a copy while you can!

Publication: Perfection Not Required

Sometimes I think we writers would like to find the magic formula for having our books reach success. We’re constantly drawn to posts that say things like: “How to Write a Best Seller in Three Easy Steps” or “Increase Your Amazon Rankings Overnight” or Ten Ways to Triple Your Book Sales.”

I admit. Those kinds of titles pull me in.

But sadly, there are no secrets or magic formulas that any one writer can use to get an agent, or book deal, or higher sales figures. In fact, sometimes our quest to find that magic formula may actually work against us. We latch onto one thing (or perhaps several) and think “If I do THIS, then I’ll finally get an agent (or get another book deal, or higher sales, or whatever).”

One of the most common crutches I see writers latching onto is PERFECTION. They think, if only I can get the perfect opening, the perfect characters, the perfect plot, etc., then I’ll be successful. I’ll finally attract the attention of agents, publishers, or readers.

In our quest for perfection, we ruthlessly eliminate unnecessary adverbs and excessive adjectives. We trim our prose. We use strong verbs and nouns. And we avoid passive words, clichés, and everything else the fiction how-to books tell us not to use.

Then once we’re done with our books, we have our critique partners or groups scour our manuscripts, rip them apart page by page and paragraph by paragraph. We tell them to sock us hard, not to hold back any punches. On Twitter we croon sadistically about how much we love making our manuscripts better even though the editing process is killing us.

Through it all, we strive hard to have a PERFECT manuscript to turn in. But, ultimately we’ve duped ourselves into thinking perfection is what it’s going to take to make our book successful (or to get an agent or publisher).

In that quest for perfection, writers spend inordinate amounts of time on the same book, perhaps even years trying to “get it right.” Sometimes I hear from writers who can’t move past the first book or two because they’re in love with them and want to make them “the best they can be.”

But the truth is—perfection isn’t required for publication. If it were, then we wouldn’t have to point our fingers at the “mistakes” in books on the bestseller lists. Bitterly we analyze those bestsellers and say things like, “I can’t believe she got away with using all those adverbs” or “His dialog was so stilted” and finally, “My book is written much better.”

Our books can be executed perfectly. We can have flawless sentence structure. We can follow all of the rules of manual and style down to the very last comma. But . . . nobody cares about a perfect book.

Why?

Because they care more about the STORY.

Now, if you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you’ll know I’m a HUGE advocate of reading fiction how-to books. In fact, I just recently bought James Scott Bell’s newest book, Conflict and Suspense, and I love it.

So, yes, I believe every writer needs to study the craft and learn all they can about how to write fiction. But not so we can have perfect books. Instead so we can have page-turning, riveting, unbelievably awesome stories.

Agents, publishers, and readers can overlook our extra adverbs and missing commas IF our STORY draws them in and makes them loose themselves among the pages.

I recently started the first draft of another book (scheduled for release in 2013). Every time I get caught up in a minor detail or word choice or grammar issue, I slap myself and tell myself to focus on finding and telling a good story. Because ultimately, the books that end up being successful are the ones that tell a really compelling story.

A novelist is first and foremost a storyteller. Sure, we can and should edit. There’s no excuse for sloppiness or laziness. But we can’t let our striving to get the words “just right” stop us from what matters most: working on improving our storytelling abilities.

In fact, if we’re not achieving the measure of success we desire, then we’d be wise to evaluate whether our story is gripping enough. Instead of nit picking at the “little things” and trying to make details more perfect, perhaps our story needs a major overhaul.

There are even times when we’ll need to just say “enough” to a book, knowing we gave it our best effort, and then move on to the next story. We can’t stall on one book. Instead we need to keep writing and striving to tell riveting stories. The next one could be THE break-in or best-selling book we’ve been waiting for. But we won’t know until we write it.

What about you? Have you fallen into the trap of thinking perfection equates success? Do you agree or disagree with my opinion that having a compelling story is more important than a perfectly executed book?

5 Mistakes I’ve Made in My Journey to Publication

I often share writing tips and how I manage my writing career while juggling all my other responsibilities. But lest I come across as perfect and having my act together all the time, I decided to share some of the mistakes I’ve made too. Because I’m definitely NOT perfect. I've made plenty of mistakes. And I continue to struggle and grow every day.

Here are five mistakes that I’ve made over the past several years:

1. I’ve written too realistically.

I’ve had to do major rewrites on my first two published books, in part because I didn’t make my characters likable enough. For example, in my latest release, The Doctor’s Lady, my heroine travels to Oregon over a span of seven months using a sleigh, steamboat, and eventually a covered wagon. Had I been in her position, I would have whined and complained and been miserable about two days into the trip.

In my first draft, I shaped my heroine to react the way I would if I were in her shoes. But readers don’t want a whiny, complaining character. Yes, they want a slightly imperfect character who has room to grow. But the heroine (or hero) has to react to the problems the way we ideally would. In other words, we have to portray them the way we WISH we could handle problems, not the way we actually do (thanks to Jill Kemerer for that revelation!).

2. I’ve allowed myself to get too close to my story.

Invariably I fall in love with every first draft I write. With each book, I tell myself it’s the best I’ve written to date. And I falsely hope and believe that everyone else will read it and fall in love with it too.

But I’m realizing I’ve set my expectations too high. On each of the three books I’ve turned in to my publisher, my editors have not fallen immediately in love. In fact, they’ve given me tough critiques on each.

I have to accept that I can’t write a perfect first draft—and probably never will. I can keep growing and learning all I can and trying to improve. But ultimately, I’ll never reach the place where I’ll be able to go without constructive feedback on how to make the book better.

3. I wasn't prepared for the increase in my workload.

Early on, I naively believed that being a published author consisted primarily of writing books. And while it does, I’ve come to realize that the writing is only one aspect of a writing career. The job description of a modern writer is much bigger than I ever imagined and hence the workload is much bigger than I anticipated.

4. I had too high of expectations for the sales of my first book.

Every author dreams of having people ooh and aah over his or her book, of getting glowing reviews, and subsequently having tremendous sales that surprise and delight everyone at the publishing house.

Yes, I’m having an excellent response to both of my books (currently The Preacher’s Bride has 90 five star reviews on Amazon.) And yes, my sales are successful for a debut author, but they aren’t close to what the big bestselling authors are bringing in.

Most debut authors can’t bypass the climb to success. We have to take it one rung at a time just like most of those bestselling authors did. We build our readerships slowly but surely with time and a lot of hard work.

5. I’d hoped that my marketing efforts could eventually decrease with subsequent books.

I was hoping as my readership grew that I’d eventually have to do less marketing and my books would sell without me having to go to so much work.

But as I’ve watched other authors and conversed with my agent, I’m realizing I can’t ever take my sales for granted. If I want to continue to expand my readership, I will need to keep an active role in marketing my books. Yes, even though my publisher does a top-notch job in promoting their authors, I still need to do my part—with each book.

So those are a few of my mistakes. Since I’ve fessed up, now it’s your turn! What mistakes have you made in your writing journey?

*Photo credit: flickr 

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Here's where I'm at in my blog tour! Stop by!

Monday 10/10: I'm guest posting at Roni Loren's blog and talking about whether sweet (sexless) romances are boring or not. (Plus a book giveaway!)

Monday 10/10: Sarah Forgrave is sharing how The Doctor's Lady is a page-turner in her post, "Top 5 Signs You're Reading a Page Turner."

Tuesday 10/11: I'm visiting with Julie Musil on her blog and sharing more about my writing process. (Plus a book giveaway!)

Tuesday 10/11: Sherri Stone asked me if I can ever read through a manuscript and NOT find something to change. Find out my answer on her blog. (Plus a book giveaway!).

One Thing We Can Do To Help Us Write Every Day

Lately I’ve been swamped with a to-do list that’s a mile long. I’m learning that the time surrounding the release of a book is always an extra busy time. While I’m really enjoying my blog tour for The Doctor’s Lady, it’s been a lot more work than I anticipated. There are also a hundred and one other marketing details that need attention every day.

In addition to my writing career moving into full speed, my personal life is hectic too. School has started. I’m busy running my kids to all of their activities. And I’m also helping one of my family members through a difficult time.

On more than one occasion during this stressful time, I’ve been tempted to put aside my WIP (work in progress). I’m about a quarter of the way into the book (25K) and have wondered if I need to quit for a few weeks until things settle down and life becomes more manageable.

I fully realize there are times in our lives when we need to lay down our writing. I’ve been there. In fact, as most of you know, I completely stopped writing for quite a number of years when I was busy having babies.

But now that I’m in middle of a full-fledged commitment to a writing career, I’ve had to evaluate more carefully my writing schedule.

The bottom line is that I’ll always be busy. If I’m not marketing one book, I’ll likely be doing rewrites on another. Or researching one. Or writing up a synopsis. Or filling out a publicity questionnaire. Or preparing for a speaking engagement. Or writing up blog posts. Or whatever.

When is busyness a valid excuse for setting aside our writing and our WIPs? And when is it just that—an excuse?

During this stressful past month, I haven’t always managed to meet my weekly goal of 6000 words. But I’ve kept very close. I’ve tried to write most days. And here’s the one thing that’s helped me most, the one thing I do every day that helps me to keep writing:

I sit down and make myself do it.

Not too profound, is it?

But that’s my secret. Every day, even though there are a thousand other things that demand my attention, or things I could be doing, emails to answer, tweets to respond to, blog tour stops to visit, etc., etc., etc., I ignore them. For just a little while.

And I simply write.

I turn off my email notification bell. I close up twitter. I put on my headphones and turn on Pandora. And I open my manuscript and make myself write . . . Even though I’m stressed about everything else I need to do. Even though I really want to finish my mile-long to-do list before I write.

I let everything else fall by the wayside. Sure my mind is still cluttered. My life isn’t neat and tidy. It’s not ideal. But I take what I’ve got and I make the most of it.

Because, really, what good will come of all that other writerly stuff I’m doing, all that social media, all the promoting, IF I don’t keep writing my books? Writing has to stay THE priority amidst all of the other writing career demands.

So each day I stick to my commitment as best I can.

Because that’s how we write one page. One page becomes two. Then the next day three. Then four. Until eventually we have a completed book in front of us, and we’re amazed at how far we’ve come.

And no, writing through the mundane busyness of life doesn’t stifle my creativity. In fact, once I actually sit down and force myself to pound away at the keyboard, I find that the writing and the story brings me fresh energy and excitement and passion. (Not every day!) But overall, the creative process is something that rejuvenates me.

What about you? Have you been making too many excuses lately for why you’re not writing? Do you just need to sit down and do it?

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Here are a few more stops in my blog tour you won't want to miss! (And of course, WIN my book!)

Friday 9/16: Come find out on Carol Garvin's blog what meal I would take with me if I knew I was going to be stranded on a deserted island for a month!

Friday 9/16: On Rel Mollet's blog I share 5 things I can't live without and the most interesting place I've been!

Saturday 9/17:  Holly Smith on her blog asks me to reveal how I find ideas for my blog posts!

Don't forget to enter my BE A TRAILBLAZER CONTEST!