Have you published a book yet? You may have heard over and over again that you need to treat your fiction writing like a business or you’ll never be a successful author, but what you don’t often hear is that doing that could be the very thing holding you back. Say what? If you haven’t had your first book published yet, then I believe focusing on the business of writing is wasting writing time, and we all know what a precious resource time is. Building a platform, blogging and posting on social media regularly, getting your branding right, having professional headshots taken and more. Not to mention your day job, family commitments, etc. It’s exhausting just thinking about it all! And when are you supposed to find time to write? Don’t get me wrong, it is important to take any business seriously, but a creative pursuit isn’t the same as a regular business venture. Writing a novel is a labour of love and there isn’t a totally right or wrong way to do it. There isn’t a checklist of what to include that will automatically result in a best-seller. The whole process is more complicated than that. I feel that the assumption you can build a creative business the same way you would for other products or services, leads to a lot of heartache. Sure, in the end you hope to have a book that sells and make money from it, but a regular business venture isn’t founded in the hopes and dreams of the creative arts. It is grounded in measurable goals, trackable data and profitable results right from the start. The truth about an author business“But people make money out of writing books”, I hear you cry. They sure do, but by that stage you will usually find one of two things has happened. 1. They are prolific enough to produce books regularly, so as to keep up with algorithms and reader appetites; and/or 2. They have diversified and book sales are only a portion of their income. Now, I’m not suggesting you don’t need to think about the business of writing, but at the optimum time. There isn’t any point wasting precious writing time doing stuff you don’t enjoy or that takes you away from the whole point this journey, BEFORE YOU ARE EVEN PUBLISHED. The very best thing you can do for your author career when you first start out is WRITE BOOKS. Indulge your creativity, spend time fantacising about plot scenarios and chatting to imaginary characters. Read articles, do courses, attend webinars and talk to likeminded souls. Learn the craft by writing your way into it … all the way to the end of your first novel. By all means, if you enjoy blogging, do it. If you love interacting on Instagram, go for it. But if you have limited time and/or aren’t totally confident in your writing technique yet, take a step back and focus on what’s really important right now: storytelling. Get published … THEN spend time developing an author platform, a readship, marketing and business plans. If you haven’t written a publishable novel, then you are better off focusing your efforts on mastering the craft and creating an unputdownable story. After all, it’s the very foundation of your author career. You need to complete this first step so you have something solid to build a business on. Where to next? If you’re ready to stop feeling overwhelmed by the publishing industry and figure out what the next best steps for you are, book a complimentary Storytelling Clarity session with Sandy Vaile.  This article was originally published on the Romance Writers of Australia blog on 18/09/21.
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By Sandy Vaile There’s a time and place for creative-comparison and I’m going to show you how to recognise when to stop comparing and when to start taking action. After all, who wants to waste precious time and energy focusing on what we don’t have and can’t do, when we could get busy working on the things we really care about? It’s human nature to compare ourselves to others, but when those comparisons go from positive motivation that enables self-improvement, to self-disapproval that prevents us from reaching our goals, it is not serving our emotional health. This article will explain why we compare ourselves to others, highlight when it becomes toxic, and explore how to harness only the useful elements in a constructive way. Why We Compare Humans have an innate desire to evaluate themselves as a way of determining their place in the world. We do this by comparing our level of success to people we know or aspire to. We do it from the moment we’re self-aware, so we can learn how to flourish in the community we live in. We’ve all done it.
Comparison is the thief of joy."  The Benefits of Creative-Comparison Comparing ourselves, our business or our creative works to other people’s can be a useful tool to motivate us. By analysing what someone else is doing to achieve what we want, we can better understand the skills we need to develop or actions we need to take in order to achieve it ourselves. Successful people often share the struggles they faced along their journey to elicit sympathy. It gives us hope that, despite set-backs, we can persist and reach our goals too. When we take practical steps to improve our skills, work towards goals or better our lives, we are using those comparisons constructively. It’s okay to admire what someone else has achieved and analyse how they got there, but once you start comparing what they have now to what you have now, you’re on a slippery slope to feeling worthless and you need to STOP." The Dangers of Self-comparison Self-comparison is destructive when it doesn’t enhance your life. Your life is going to be different to everyone else’s because YOU ARE DIFFERENT. The things that are lacking in your life are different, but you can be certain there are things lacking in other people’s lives too. We know comparison isn’t serving our best interests when:
Remember that our self-worth isn’t based on what we have (or don’t have). It’s about how our behaviour and actions contribute to what where we’re headed. Anything else is a waste of energy."  You Are Unique It’s your own unique past and hopes for the future that make you special and therefore incomparable. No-one else has lived your past, they haven’t had the same experiences or made the same choices, they aren’t living your current life, and they don’t have the same hopes for their future. It’s not fair to demean the journey you’ve taken in life or which for a different past. There is no-one quite like you. It doesn’t matter if you write 10,000 words a day or one, if you’re a plotter or a pantser, if writing as a hobby makes you happy or you crave a career. There is never just one way to do something, only the right way for you. Evolve Using Constructive Comparison The most valuable creative-comparison is of where we were a year ago, where we are now and where we want to be next year. That way, you can appreciate how far you’ve come and make a feasible plan to reach the next stage. In order to know where you’re going, you need to figure out three things. 1. What You Want Imagine what writing success looks like to you: the end result. There is no right or wrong answer, only what’s right for you. Is it producing a book every quarter and being on a best-sellers list, or doing whatever it takes to turn fiction writing into a business, or producing one book a year and loving the process? Considering the sacrifices and education it will take to get what someone else has, do you still want it? 2. Why You Want It Now, be brutally honest with yourself here. What is driving you deep down inside to achieve this difficult goal? If you don’t want it bad enough, maybe because you think you should want it, then you’re just going to give up when the going gets tough. All of these things will determine what you’re prepared to do to get what you want, and therefore the journey that best suits you. 3. How You Will Get It Plan for success. Now, you probably want to mull this over for a while, so take your time. What skills will you need to achieve your goal? Which of those do you already have and which will you need to learn? What personal strengths can you draw on to help you achieve your goal? Positive goal setting is a blog for another time, but you do need to break your goal into as many small pieces as you can and tackle one at a time. That way it won’t seem so distant or unattainable. Baby steps! Be Kind To Yourself Finally, remember there will always be circumstances outside of your control. Unexpected events and nasty surprises that are lurking in the shadows, waiting to derail you. Focus on the things you can control, like your reactions, actions and behaviour. I find that connecting with like-minded people, e.g. in online communities or face-to-face groups, is a great way to stay motivated and weather those unexpected storms, but make sure you don’t fall into the trap of negative comparisons. Conclusion I hope this article has reminded you to actively avoid toxic comparisons and given you constructive tips to harness creative comparison and reach for your dreams. Constructive creative comparisons should always lead to self-evaluation and action plans that empower us to move towards our goals. You are your own creative genius, so keep going! What's Next? The publishing industry can be tough and changeable and writing a book is more than just a personal challenge, it’s a journey of self-discovery. Believe me, I understand the challenges you’re facing, because I’ve faced them too. I’d like to share what I’ve learnt so you can stop feeling overwhelmed and enjoy the creative process. Don't miss out on future blogs and writing resources ... Other blogs in the Survive the Publishing Industry series: 1. Practise Resilience (first published at WriterWriter on 04/02/19) 2. Avoid Author Burn-out 3. [This blog] Reject Creative Comparison 4. [Coming soon] Boost Your Assertiveness 5. [Coming soon] Face Fear Head-on About Sandy Vaile Sandy Vaile is a motorbike-riding daredevil with a dream to empower fiction writers across the globe to enjoy producing commercial-quality fiction and achieve creative fulfilment. By Sandy Vaile You want to be a published author, right? Well, beware what you wish for because many career authors suffer burn-out at some stage. To enable longevity, authors need to find a healthy work/life balance. Here’s how you can avoid author burn-out and enjoy a long and fruitful career. There is nothing like the little flip of anticipation in the pit of my stomach as I sit down to write or the thrill when I see plot points come together. Creative writing is a challenging and rewarding task but, like anything worthwhile, there comes a time when it becomes a chore. Being able to push through these difficult times is part of having a resilience mindset (see Part 1 in this blog series, called Practice Resilience and Surviving the Publishing Industry)  What is author burn-out? When we experience prolonged or high levels of stress, it can cause mental and emotional exhaustion, which stops us from functioning effectively. The longer the symptoms are ignored, the more pronounced the effects, which may include the inability to make decisions, poor sleep quality and reduced productivity. It’s more than not being able to figure out a solution to a plot problem or staring at a blank page unable to decide what to write next. Author burn-out means being too fatigued to come up with ideas at all or lacking the enthusiasm to write anything. Signs that you are heading for burn-out It’s better to take action early to prevent stress spiralling out of control. Look out for these signs:
Causes of burn-out Burn-out may be caused by being over committed, isolated, having unrealistic expectations or unexpected situations arise. Everything in our lives either depletes or restores our emotional balance. " A useful exercise is to list which activities and thoughts restore or deplete you. I personally find that it’s the activities I have to do (work, clean the house, visit an unpleasant relative) that deplete my equilibrium, and the things I want to do (writing, dining out with friends, spending quality time with my family) restore my equilibrium. Of course, we can’t stop doing the thing we have to, but we can manage them so our life doesn’t feel like one long to do list. It’s a continual, conscious process working to reduce activities that deplete us and pursue those that restore us. The good news is that even short periods of restorative activities can quickly re-energise you."        Continual maintenance All the best intentions and planning in the world can’t prevent unexpected situations, but if you continually monitor your stress levels and take actions to prevent burn-out, then when overwhelm takes you by surprise you’ll be robust enough to work through it. The degree of action you take should be in direct correlation with how overwhelmed you feel. There are various ways to balance depleting and restorative activities, like:
We are the sum of all the parts of our lives and finding a balance between what we need and what we want to get done, will help prevent author burn-out. Nurture your creativity like the precious gift it is, and it will produce wealth for countless years. You are your own creative genius, so keep going!  About Sandy Vaile Sandy Vaile is a motorbike-riding daredevil with a dream to empower fiction writers across the globe to reach their full potential, by providing the tools and communities to produce commercial quality fiction. More information about resilience The publishing industry can be tough and changeable, and writing a book is more than just a personal challenge, it’s a journey of self-discovery. Believe me, I understand the challenges you’re facing, because I’ve faced them too. I’d like to share what I’ve learnt so you can stop feeling overwhelmed and map the most efficient route to your publication dreams. ‘A Shortcut To Your Author Career’ online workshop. Other blogs in the Survive the Publishing Industry series
Don't miss out on future blogs and writing resources, subscribe here. Connect with Sandy Vaile on social media. By Sandy Vaile We naturally shy away from anything that will hurt us (emotionally and physically). It’s a part of self-preservation that kicks in automatically when we feel threatened, afraid or stressed. But the truth is, challenging situations happen to all of us all the time and are often outside of our control and resilience will help us endure them. Resilience is a valuable skill to practise in all parts of life, but it occurred to me recently that we often bandy the term about without actually understanding why it’s so important, especially to authors. You see, resilience isn’t only valuable during times of stress, it’s something that will benefit us on a daily basis. Why authors need resilience Authors have to deal with situations outside of their control from the moment they start dreaming of publishing a story. It starts with trying to tame the plethora of ideas and characters in your head and translate them into an entertaining tale. As you talk to other writers and investigate what makes a story enjoyable, you find an overwhelming amount of information telling you what you should and shouldn’t do. Then you get mixed feedback from critique partners, friends or competitions and start to doubt your ability to succeed. When you finally submit your work to agents or publishers the rejections start rolling in. Even achieving your dream of publication isn’t the end of situations outside of your control. Being a part of the publishing industry is a continual cycle of determination, rejection, disappointment, celebration and self-doubt.  What exactly is resilience? Resilience is having the capacity to recover quickly from difficult situations. It’s being passionate about what you do, persevering through thick and thin, and being flexible when life throws you a curve ball. Why is this important for writers? Now, I’m not saying all of this to depress you, but to convey how vital resilience for authors. With it, you can manage situations outside of your control to minimise their lasting impact, and cultivate a positive outlook that will enable your long-term success. So much is outside of your control in the publishing industry, and the parameters are constantly changing, so you need to be able to adapt. Applying the principles of resilience to life’s little challenges, builds our emotional elasticity and ability to cope with intense situations. It can take practise to get to a point where you automatically apply resilience to all situations, but the benefits are worth it, because they’re far reaching.
How can it help authors deal with writing set-backs? No matter how much we love writing, it can be challenging for so many reasons, like:
Without resilience, feelings of anger, depression, guilt, fear, anxiety or embarrassment can seem insurmountable, but if we continually practise it then, even though we can’t avoid these emotions, we can reduce their severity and our perception of the situation. In the long run, being able to take control of our reactions is what will enable us to persist with writing.” Sandy Vaile There are plenty of opportunities to practise resilience with our writing, because we are faced with decisions and challenges frequently. How to practise resilience Here are some examples of how to practise resilience as part of your writing life, by taking action and maintaining a positive outlook. 1. You have a brilliant story idea and amazing characters, but no idea how to turn them into a book other people will want to read. Remember that writing is a learned skill and you have the most important part, the desire to do it. So, all you have to do is brainstorm ways to acquire the knowledge you need. You could do a plotting course, read blogs and articles about it or join a writing group. 2. You have a brilliant story idea, amazing characters and have written 40,000 words, but are stuck with where the plot should go next. Be proud, because 40,000 words is a huge effort and proves that you can get words down. All you need now is to figure out how to keep going to the end. Think critically about what is causing the problem. Do you need help with generating ideas, developing the plot or figuring out realistic actions for your characters? Search for an appropriate course so you can study this topic more closely and receive personalised support, or a book about the subject. 3. You boldly joined a writing group and shared a chapter of your story, but three people liked the main character and three didn’t. Don’t take it personally that not everyone likes your character, because it is their personal opinion and not a slight against you. Remember that feedback is limited by each person’s own writing skills, life experiences and personal tastes. Analyse the comments to determine what each person liked or disliked, then try to dig down to the root cause of why that is the case. Perhaps you chose the wrong descriptive words or didn’t provide enough insight into the motivation for the character’s actions. Now figure out what the real issue is and find a way to overcome it, e.g. gain knowledge and rewrite, and then see if it worked, e.g. test the rewrite on the people who disliked the character or a new group. 4. You have managed to write and self-publish a book, but you can’t manage to produce a book every three months and keep up with social media like everyone says you’re supposed to, because you have a full-time job and children too. Remind yourself that you are not those other people. Your circumstances and desires are different, so there’s no way you’ll get the same outcome. They might not work full-time, or have children, or a partner, or a sick mother, or do volunteer work, or write slowly, or still be figuring out their process, or be a new writer. Assess what it is you want to achieve and what you can realistically do while maintaining your lifestyle. Then make a plan to do those things: one step at a time. Moving forwards is the key. 5. Someone posts a negative book review that will affect your overall Amazon rating and hurts your feelings. Allow yourself a moment to feel disappointed, even angry, but remember that this is only one person’s opinion, which you have no control over. Make a mental list of why this person wrote the review, e.g. they were having a bad day, they aren’t familiar with the genre, they enjoy eliciting a reaction, the subject matter triggered a personal pain for them, or the writing style just didn’t suit them. None of these are because they don’t like you personally, and you are the only one being hurt by worrying about something you can’t control. So, what can you do? Do not respond to the review in any way. If there isn’t any valuable learning to be gained from the content of the review, then never read it again. Read other positive reviews/feedback about this story. Talk to other writers who have experienced a bad review (without identifying the reviewer). 6. A rejection email comes from the publisher you desperately wanted to get a contract with. Celebrate, because you would never have received a rejection if you hadn’t been brave enough to send a submission. You’re one step closer to being published. If the publisher provided feedback, then assess it to see if you can improve your next submission or if it was due to circumstances outside of your control. Make a plan to move forwards, e.g. continue submitting.  These examples illustrate how important it is for authors to practise resilience in order to manage set-backs and move forwards, even when it might be scary to do so. We can’t control many parts of our author careers, so we need to focus on the things we can to recover from challenges and keep a positive outlook.
You are your own creative genius, so keep going! More information about resilience The publishing industry can be tough and changeable, and writing a book is more than just a personal challenge, it’s a journey of self-discovery. Believe me, I understand the challenges you’re facing, because I’ve faced them too. I’d like to share what I’ve learnt so you can stop feeling overwhelmed and map the most efficient route to your publication dreams. ‘A Shortcut To Your Author Career’ online workshop. Other blogs in the Survive the Publishing Industry series:
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