This is another freelance contribution by Sally Keys. You may remember her from her recent freelance contribution, How Creative Writing Can Boost Your Intelligence. Sally is a professional freelance writer with many years of experience in diverse areas. She made the move to freelancing from a stressful corporate job and loves the work-life balance it offers her. When not at work, she enjoys reading, hiking, spending time with her family, and traveling as much as possible.
Common Obstacles To Becoming An Author And How To Overcome Them
Fully 80 percent of Americans say they have the ambition to write a book, yet only a fraction of those will go ahead and even fewer will actually succeed. Writing for a living can be a dream job for those with a true passion for a perfectly arranged sentence, but the reality of being an author is that it’s hard, sometimes lonely work. Procrastination or other psychological roadblocks (hello, nagging self-doubt) thwart the ambitions of most would-be writers.
Thankfully, there’s a number of tricks you can use to increase your chances of becoming an author. From psychological motivation to quash negative thoughts, to practical advice on marketing and self-publishing, follow the advice below to get your writing goals back on track!
Beat writer’s block
A blank page and an empty mind are the age-old adversaries of the creative writer, regularly striking even the most accomplished novelist. There are techniques to vanquish this mind-voiding foe. Anxiety serves to exacerbate the problem so anything that calms the mind should get those creative juices flowing again. Some find that a change of scenery or light exercise can stimulate creativity. Meanwhile, for those who prefer a more scientific approach to problem-solving – the answer to constructing a best-seller may lie in a computer algorithm.
Silence self-doubt
Doubts over ability, age or other perceived limiting factors, can become a self-fulfilling prophecy if you allow them room to grow. Take age, for example: there are lots of authors who have bucked the trend, launching a writing career when well past their fortieth year. There are several confidence-boosting techniques that can help you overcome issues related to low self-esteem. Visualisation, hypnotherapy and positive affirmations can all alter your state of mind to a more positive outlook, thus helping you reach your goals.
Prepare for rejection
JK Rowling famously posted her novel rejection letters on Twitter to encourage budding writers not to give up when faced with negative feedback. CS Lewis was rejected over 800 times and Steven King’s Carrie was knocked back more than 30 times. Tenacity and a thick skin are perhaps the most important skills a writer can develop. And where the ability to self-publish may help you circumnavigate the guardians of literary distribution, it will never mean that everybody is going to love your work. The only way to silence critics is with success!
Get some exposure
If you’re serious about earning money from writing, you need to let people know you’re doing it and encourage them to read your work. Luckily in a digital age, there are many avenues to gain good exposure as well as experts willing to help you exploit them. Websites, blogs, and social media can all be successful routes to market for new writers building a fan base.
Working as a writer can be both a financially and spiritually rewarding job. With skill, determination, and the right strategy to overcome obstacles, your dream job as an author could become reality!
kimwrtr said:
Reblogged this on Kim's Author Support Blog.
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M.L. Davis said:
Great post 🙂 Thank you x
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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Charles Yallowitz said:
That age issue reminds me of Eragon. The big thing that was promoted was him being a teenager. You ended up getting more young artists, but it just didn’t seem to work. It makes me wonder if many people are more interested in the artist than the art. Almost like we’re supposed to be the main event.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I know what you mean. I’ve met an amazing author, a young girl age 14, who’s about to self-publish 2 books. I have no doubt she’s going places, if only because of her young age (let alone the fact she’s a pretty good writer, too).
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Charles Yallowitz said:
Cool. I hope she can transition to adult author too. That’s one thing I worried about with the ‘young prodigy’ story. How many of those continue on after their teens?
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
No idea, but it’s a good point. I know Shannon has done it, but that’s about it.
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gibsonauthor said:
Reblogged this on s a gibson.
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Joan Hall said:
Great advice! Self-doubt was a huge obstacle for me.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
All of us 🙂
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Don Massenzio said:
Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio and commented:
Check out this helpful post from Nicholas Rossis’ blog on the topic of overcoming common obstacles to become an author.
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Anna Dobritt said:
Reblogged this on Anna Dobritt — Author.
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patriciaruthsusan said:
I enjoyed this post, Nicholas. Thanks to Sally. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Yay! Thank you, Suzanne 🙂
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harmonykentonline said:
Thanks for a great article, Sally and Nicholas. Self-doubt was an issue for me for many years. I will share this on my week in review post this week! 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you so much, Harmony! Yes, self-doubt can have a crippling effect on people, especially sensitive ones like artists 😦
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wadadlipen said:
Reblogged this on Wadadli Pen.
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