Why I’ll Never Become a Successful Author

June 26, 2015 4 Comments

Many think that the life of an author is oh so easy.  Sitting for countless hours typing away on a computer, sipping lukewarm tea, but what I’ve discovered as a full time writer is that it’s a pretty tough gig.  The aching thorn in my side is passivity.  Passivity is so inviting, so alluring. It beckons me to relax even though I have only written 100 words for the day. Passivity encourages me to ‘go and play’ and deceives me into thinking I’m missing out on all the fun to be had with family and friends.

While I’m happily (or lazily) playing the day away, I’m missing valuable time to:

  • Network
  • Create Content
  • Update Blogs
  • Engage on Social Media (I’m not talking Candy Crush)
  • Research
  • Marketing

What I’ve come to realise is that by falling under the spell of passivity, slowly, but surely I’m killing my writing career.  When passivity reigns supreme, I can kiss those dreams of soaring to the top of the bestseller’s list good-bye.

The key, I think, is to find a healthy balance between work and play.  When I work, really work, I can then play, really, really hard.  Being a successful author takes much more than just creatively writing a book. It takes the fortitude and the drive to stop passivity in its tracks.

I’ll use the following as an example of the choices I can make:

I can wake up when the mood takes me, go out on my boat  (it’s a very small one – think rowing boat, not a yacht :)) – and while away the hours with a bottle of wine.

OR

I can wake up much earlier to start writing and deal with the business side of things. Finish by 1pm THEN head off down to the marina for a spot of lunch and that much needed glass of wine.

Lately, I prefer the latter of the two, but if you’re battling with the same thing you have a choice:  Let passivity into your life today and watch the demise of your writing career tomorrow.

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Comments

  1. Angela I can see the difficulty and I think passivity is really quite attractive at times :-) I'm "lucky" to have to get up in morning and into work at a certain time and work the full day or my bosses would notice I think! Not sure I'd managed to be self employed and get the work done :-)
    28th June 2015 at 6:37 am · Reply
    • Jade Winters
      Jade I know what you mean Angela. Although I was just as bad when I actually had to go to work LOL :)
      3rd July 2015 at 5:46 pm · Reply
  2. Hesch I work fulltime a job I hate, while my writing can only be done on the days off. That's usually two a week. I try to be social with the people in my life on the other five days. That's also when I usually do the laundry, the shopping, the cleaning, etc., so that those two important days off can be used for writing only. And for marketing. And for research. And for brainstorming new ideas. And for making decisions regarding my writing career. So these two days are already planned out before I got a chance to actually enjoy to have time off for the real me. But once Saturday morning has arrived, I have already put myself under so much pressure to properly use the weekend for the real passion in my life, that I feel unable to get anything done at all. That's the moment when I realise how exhausted I actually am from the previous five days and that I'd need a bit of time out as well. But I found a similar solution like you, Jade: Start early with work! So if I get up very early on a day off, I find myself most productive and the day usually turns out most satisfying as well. Because the brain is not yet loaded in the morning, by midday I've already achieved something, the most deserved nap early afternoon will keep me active for the next hour or two as well, and then it even feels good to "play" and I won't be annoyed with myself. I'll have done something and I will be happy about it. So, like you said: First work, then play! I, too, find this the best solution. A boat wouldn't be bad either, actually ...
    30th October 2015 at 5:31 am · Reply
    • Jade Winters
      Jade LOL, the boat hasn't had much use recently because of the awful weather, so I've turned to meditation instead. It's great first thing in the morning. It relaxes me and takes the pressure off. I find I'm a lot more focused and productive afterwards.
      6th November 2015 at 10:50 am · Reply

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