Embracing Failure

I love collecting quotes, and one of my favorites comes from an excerpt in a Writers’ Digest Magazine article years ago. I’ve kept the quote pinned to my bulletin board for so long that the paper’s yellowed. Here’s what it says:

Rejection is a writer’s best friend. “If you are not failing regularly,” Gregg Levoy observes in ‘This Business of Writing’,” you are living so far below your potential that you’re failing anyway”.

This statement still hits me in the gut.

Over the years, I’ve tried to analyze and define what success and failure means to me in terms of my writing life. I’m still working on it. So far, my only definition of failure is to quit before my most important goals are achieved. Believe me, there are days when I’ve been tempted.

Last week, I read an interesting blog called “The 7 Differences Between Pros and Amateurs”. The one that jumped out at me is point #5, "Amateurs Fear Failure. Pros Crave It." The piece goes on to say that failure can teach you more than success ever will. When it comes to writing, publishing, and promoting, this is completely true.

I learned a long time ago that rejection or lousy reviews or poor sales is a part of many writers’ lives. But embracing those disappointments and learning from them is crucial. So this year, I’m planning to take more risks by asking for more reviews and guest blogging opportunities. I’m going to take more chances on new marketing and selling opportunities. Because if I don’t try, I’m failing anyway, and that’s not going to happen.

Here are more great quotes about failure:

“Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have. – Dale Carnegie.

“Success represents the 1% of your work which results from the 99% that is called failure.” – Soichiro Honda

“Success is not built on success. It’s built on failure. It’s built on frustration. Sometimes it’s built on catastrophe.” – Sumner Redstone

Debra

Fear of Failure, Fear of Success

Ever tried to get over your fears? It’s pretty daunting, isn’t it? For writers, I think there’s plenty of things to worry about, and possibly fear, but I sometimes wonder if we project too much fear into our careers. Although we do invest a lot of time, money, and hopes into becoming published and/or making a bestsellers list, the fact is we’re not surgeons or cops or firefighters dealing with life or death situations. Sure, penning ideas to paper can have high stakes, but not on a daily basis.

Yet, many of us so passionately care about writing, being read, and earning money from our words, that the deep caring can be crippling. For me, I experience both fear of failure and fear of success to varying degrees. Most of the time, they’re well under control, but occasionally the feeling threatens to send me running. I start thinking about packing it in. But I then I remember why I’m really doing this—the love of writing—and then the boiling point relaxes to a simmer.

Doing a little bit of editing and/or writing each day works for me. Stamina and discipline are two things I have going for me. But a blog from John Athanasiou (HarperCollins UK), in which he lists the things that everyone in publishing needs to succeed, gave me pause to think. Although the article might be directed at employees of the publishing biz, I think a great deal of it applies to indie writers.

Some of the things on his list I’m already doing, such as creative problem-solving. Another great tip is called learning with agility. What he means by this is to not be afraid to fail frequently and fast, provided that you learn from your mistakes and move on.

Moving on quickly has been problematic for me. I stuck with the wrong agents for far too long, sought the wrong types of publishers, and attended the wrong types of conferences. I’m still learning to figure out how much time and energy to spend on social media, and to drop strategies that don’t work for me.

In case you were wondering the other three tips Athanasiou offers are:

. Power Communication and High Emotional Intelligence

. Openess, Integrity, and Honesty (openness is sometimes difficult for me)

. Results-Driven Work

He offers clear, concise explanations of each, so I strongly encourage you to visit his blog HERE. Meanwhile, time to get back to the results-driven work J

Debra

Climbing Mount Momentum

Becoming a successful, money-making author is like being a mountain climber. You can't fulfil your big dream or goals without a lot of hard work, sweat, and a plan of attack, but once the momentum starts rolling, the climb becomes easier as long as you take it one step at a time. The successful, money-making author and the mountain climber must first prepare themselves, and they have similar checklists.

Mount Momentum Checklist:

1. You have to assess your goals. What do you want to achieve? You want to make it to the top, of course. How will you get there? How long will it take?
2. Scope out the landscape. What are others like you doing? How are they making it to the top? Can you duplicate this? How hard will it be? What are you prepared to sacrifice to get there?
3. Practice on smaller mountains. Don't just rush up the biggest mountain you can find. Practice on some smaller hills first. Practice makes perfect--or at least it'll help keep you alive. Practice with a safety net or harness. Don't quit your day job to go running off to that mountain. Use others for support too.
4. Accumulate the right gear and tools. You wouldn't try climbing Mount Momentum with stilettos and a pair of driving gloves, would you? If you answered 'yes', please go to the next post in this blog. If you answered 'I'm not that stupid', keep reading. Make sure you have the right tools, the stuff that'll make your goal much easier to reach. Be prepared. Sometimes this step can take a while. But that's better than slipping and falling off the mountain, isn't it?
5. Invest a huge amount of physical energy. Once you've taken that first step up that mountain, be prepared to become exhausted. This is draining work. You're trying to haul your butt up to the top of a peak you can only imagine, unless you've been there before. Your body is going to hurt. Your mind is going to hurt. Take frequent pauses along the way, but don't stop too long. Keep your eye on the prize.
6. Maintain a bulldog-like persistence. Keep your eye on the prize. Yes, I know I just said that, but it bears repeating. Go after what you want with all you've got. Don't stop until you get to the top. If you lose your grip and slide down a bit, take a breath, reconsider where you're at and where you want to be, then start climbing again.
7. Climb with a friend. Use the buddy system for safety and encouragement. Pair up with someone who has the same goals. Arrange joint climbing ventures. Learn from each other. Support each other and cheer each other on. And if one of you falls, make sure the other is there to catch. Or at least make sure he falls first so you can land on him (ok, joking).
8. Re-evaluate your goals. If you fall off Mount Momentum completely, it'll suck. You have to start all over again. First, make sure you really want to get to the top. Maybe you could do some other kind of extreme sport--like kayaking or ping-pong. Maybe that damned mountain just isn't all that important. But if it's still your deepest desire to get to the top, pack on your climbing gear and get moving. The longer you sit on your butt, the faster the momentum disappears. Until one day it's just a dream again.
9. Pray to the Universe for a streak of luck. All it takes is one misplaced foot, one wrong slip, one faulty piece of equipment, or one giant thunderstorm to set you back. Luck plays an important role in your success as a successful, money-making, author mountain climber. Without luck, you're dead in the water--even though this is a mountain analogy. Without luck, you wouldn't even be in the position to consider climbing that freakin' mountain.

Now go out and conquer Mount Momentum, before you lose your courage--or your place in line.

Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
author of Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Writers: Become a 'whatever it takes' kind of person

Do you allow negativity to rule your life, or are you empowered by the desire to succeed no matter what? It's your choice. Really. Pick one or the other. It's that simple.

Even when faced with immeasurable odds, those who succeed do so because of an inner voice that tells them to continue pursuing their goals no matter what it takes, no matter what challenges they meet. And believe me, we all have challenges.

Those who see a challenge and mentally give up or allow fear to control them will never see true success. They think, "I can't do it. This challenge is in my way. I'm afraid to face it." They hand over all the power to that challenge.

Those who see it and push through or find a way around a challenge will reach their goals because they are persistent and creative. They think, "What can I do to push through or go around? How can I make this challenge help me or disappear? I'll do whatever it takes!" These people are empowered by faith, hope and most of all, a dream.

Don't let anything or anyone stand in your way. If your dream is big enough, you can find the 'whatever it takes' person inside you.

"Become a 'whatever it takes' kind of person and success won't just knock on the door, it'll step right inside." --Cheryl Kaye Tardif

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif
http://www.cherylktardif.com/

US film producer says he "was blown away by Whale Song"

The suspense really IS killing me, and I have to say it's been hard not shouting my news to the rooftops and beyond. But here it is...

A respected US film producer/director picked up a copy of Whale Song over the Christmas holidays, read it, then emailed be to say he was "blown away" by it. His words. He then read the screenplay and said he had to call me right away "while I still had this knot in my stomach."

We have just started the lengthy process of negotiating film rights, and I must warn you, dear fans, it is a very, very slow process normally, and this is NOT a done deal yet. But I feel it is very close. In fact, this is the closest I've ever been to seeing my dream of Whale Song on the big screen.

While I can't drop any names until a deal is done, I will tell you that this producer has worked for a major recognizable film company and is well-connected. If I mentioned the company every single one of you would know it.

So why say something now? Well, I debated on this, and finally came to the realization that I really need to acknowledge every little success I achieve. Acknowledge and celebrate that my dream is being visualized by someone else, someone who sees it as clearly as I do.

I'm mentioning this too because I BELIEVE in the law of attraction. This has been my life for the past 6 years. And I hope that all of you send out a happy thought and a wish for this to happen.

And I also mentioned it because I just couldn't keep it inside any longer. The suspense was killing me! :)

Don't forget to order your collector's copy of Whale Song now, before it goes out of print. Your best bet is to order it via Amazon or Chapters at this time.

Would you go see Whale Song--the movie? Take my poll now. :)

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling author of Whale Song