Nothing makes you think about your writing career path like being interviewed. Where have you been, what have you accomplished as a writer and where are you going? If this is something you haven\u2019t thought about for a year or more, you really ought to.<\/p>\n
Consider why you write. What measure of success have you had since you started writing for publication? What steps did you take to get where you are? Are you enjoying the process? What aspects do you enjoy most? Can you rearrange your work schedule to spend more time doing that? What tasks or obligations bring you the most results (sales, attention)? What is stopping you from moving forward\u2014making more sales, for example? What can you do to remove these obstacles?<\/p>\n
Perhaps you want to sell more copies of your book. The obstacle to that seems to be that you\u2019re not spending enough time promoting it. Maybe you\u2019ve come to some dead ends with it\u2014your promotional tactics are proving stagnant. You\u2019d rather be writing than marketing. You\u2019re tired of promoting your book. But if you decide that you really want to sell more copies\u2014reach more people\u2014an evaluation might reveal that some changes are in order. <\/p>\n
Maybe you want to create a living writing articles. Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve been at it for a couple of years and you\u2019re still not earning enough to quit your part-time job. Once you examine your way of working your freelance business\u2014your approach\u2014you might discover that you are not coming up with as many ideas as you were a year ago and are not submitting as many queries. Perhaps you\u2019ve become lazy about finding new article ideas.<\/p>\n
What more could you do? Research what\u2019s news\u2014what\u2019s hot\u2014in your area of interest. Or branch out into other topics. Also research publications. Magazines and ezines open, close and change their focus regularly. <\/p>\n
I know some writers who are stuck on one topic written one way and are determined to get published in only certain major magazines. When they reevaluate their writing work, if they are astute, they will surely realize that they have two basic choices. Branch out and start writing about things other than your pet project or find ways to spoon-feed your message to your audience through, perhaps, a different approach and through smaller, easier-to- approach publications. There\u2019s always a third choice, of course\u2014give up.<\/p>\n
You know the \u201cif-it-ain\u2019t broke\u2026\u201d concept. But what about when it isn\u2019t working? Are you willing to take an honest look at your approach to your writing work and the results of your efforts as they are? Can you make necessary changes? For some of you, this means giving up the pen. You never wanted to be a writer. You don\u2019t like writing. You definitely don\u2019t like the constant need to promote. All you wanted was to be noticed or to make a statement or make a difference.<\/p>\n
Sorry, but with all of the competition for books and articles today, it takes more than most people want to put in to realize even a minimally successful outcome.<\/p>\n
Why don\u2019t you respond to the questions posed at the beginning of this post and see if you can determine if you need to make some u-turns along your pathway toward writing or publishing success? <\/p>\n
Drop in on tomorrow\u2019s blog post. Sandra Beckwith will be guest blogger. She\u2019s talking about the most important book promotion tools you need in your author\u2019s toolkit. <\/p>\n
For editing services and publishing consultations contact Patricia Fry at http:\/\/www.patriciafry.com<\/a> <\/p>\n