Lots of authors talk about getting into a right mindset and unless you go to that place you might not succeed in this business. My personal belief is that the crucial step that you need to make if you want to become an author is to become a professional. Writing is a job and you must perceive it as such.
What does it mean?
Let’s see how most people treat their work if they have a regular job:
- you need to show up at the exact time every day
- there is a threshold of tasks that you need to deliver in given time-frame ( can be days, weeks, months, years)
- if you do your job well you get rewards (raises, promotions, bonuses…)
- if you fail to do some of the tasks, you are probably going to get punished (downsize in your salary, the promotion you were promised to get is going to someone else, or you might get fired and someone else takes your job
Do you want to copy this model into your writing?
You don’t. Mainly because it is very stressful to live in the fear of being fired or not getting that promotion or raise.
However, there are some principals that you can copy and some you can tweak a little bit:
- show up every day and work even if you don’t feel like it;
- plan your tasks and dedicate a certain amount of time to your work;
- do only what’s important for your job:
- writing
- reading
- marketing;
- Reward yourself after every small task you’ve accomplished (it can be a chocolate bar, spending 5 minutes on your favorite YouTube channel, whatever makes you happy)
- remove all distractions when you work;
- don’t get overemotional and don’t take your failures personally; after all, it’s just a job and there will be good days and there will be bad days.
- Repeat