Don’t Look Down
Would you drink from an expired milk carton? Go online to get a date? Travel alone to a foreign country without knowing how to speak the language? What about ski down the Valle Blanche in France (13.7 mi./9,209 ft. vertical drop) on only one ski for $10,000,000? Are you sure: $10,000,000 could buy some pretty decent medical care? Fine, have it your way, but really, where is your sense of adventure?
Okay Risk-Taking, Comfort Zone, get up here: you’re on the hot seat today. There are a bunch of shy, self-effacing writers out there who need your help and you’re darn well going to give it to them, aren’t you? What? You say you don’t know anything about hand holding, Risk-Taking? Well good, because that’s the last thing these writers need. Comfort Zone, quit trying to coddle Risk-Taking; she’ll be fine. Go sit over there until I’m ready for you. Okay everyone, let’s get started.
A risk is a sacrifice, usually in the form of comfort or security, made in the hopes of a greater reward. Yeah, yeah, like we all didn’t know that already, but it needed to be said.
Should you take risks in life? Yes, absolutely, as long as they’re calculated. What do I mean by calculated? Well, let’s say you’re in Las Vegas with a Jack high straight in front of you and you’re wondering if it would be a good idea to bet this week’s paycheck. Some of you might be thinking, “No idiot, be smart and buy some groceries, don’t just give it away.” Others, however, might have been watching their opponents at the table, looking for tells, paying attention to the cards already thrown and knowing that the best the guy on your left can get with the double twos on the table is no better than 3-of-a-kind and the woman across from you is so drunk she’ll bet the ranch even if all she’s got is a small pair. This is what I mean by calculated. Making impetuous decisions based on little more than a gut instinct or whim is gambling and not in your best interest. Assessing your options however, taking into account the necessary variables, is calculated because once you know what it is you’re actually up against and what you have in your favor to improve your chances of success it’s only a risk. Taking a risk doesn’t automatically guarantee success of course, but it greatly increases your chances.
Gee, that’s great advice for poker night with the girls, but how is that supposed to help me, the writer?
If you’re already a brilliant decision-maker, brimming with confidence, I suppose what I’m saying won’t help you at all. For those of you who may have trouble asking for what you want from an agent or fighting for something you know must stay in your story when your editor insists it’s time to trim the fat, perhaps you’ll benefit. Everyone has the potential for greatness, but actually acting on that potential is where many writers run into problems. It’s that whole “instant gratification” thing that is the dream killer. Dreaming of bigger and better things for ourselves is fine as long as we can sit on our couches and have these things fall into our laps, but take action towards making something happen ourselves? No, no, that’s not how we roll.
What is so hard about taking a risk? Anyone? Anyone? Yes, fear, you are correct. Ah sweet fear, will you and your homies, failure, discouragement and rejection, never give us a break? It’s hard enough for us to get motivated to make that effort to advance, but when obstacles and setbacks get thrown into the mix, it seems impossible. Hmm� maybe it’s not so bad that only our grandmothers will ever read our work…
All right. Stop that this instant!
You know exactly where this line of thinking will take you and you are undermining yourself every time you allow it to happen. Complacency is not your friend; it’s that skeezy guy who’s comes around every so often asking to borrow money you know you’ll never see again, but because he’s so convincing you pay up anyway. Only you can break this pattern. Break it!
Here’s the bottom line: if you want to succeed as a writer, you take risks. If you want to take more risks, you need confidence. If you need confidence… oh dear. Yes, I see the problem. Guidelines are in order, so here they are.
Think in Specifics
What are your goals as a writer? Are you trying to get an agent? Do you want a six-figure advance on your debut novel? Do you want Oprah to follow you around on your book tour? You can’t just say, “I want to be a successful author,” because there’s no meaning in a statement like that. If you don’t define what success means to you in your own head, how are you going to know when you’ve achieved it? Specific steps help you break colossal goals down into manageable tasks that can be accomplished without killing yourself (this will help keep you motivated). Taking the Oprah example, what would you need to do to make that happen? A start would be to figure out the marketing angle that would best impress her producers to give you the time of day. Then you would need to figure out how to pitch it (after doing extensive research on the show’s guidelines and what makes for great television). The steps could go on and on depending on how creative/persuasive you are until finally you make the show. Then you would have to talk to Oprah, her people, your publishing people, and so on. The point is that anything is possible, forget likely- dreaming big is good, if approached one step at a time. The confidence comes in at the end of each success. You’ve figured out what Oprah likes- congratulations. Now take that knowledge and new found confidence and climb to the next step. Keep moving on from there and don’t look down.
Preparation is Key
You’re about to be published, so a few weeks before the scheduled launch you ask your in-house publicist about the marketing plan for your book. You are shocked to hear that it consists of little more than magazines and trade reviewers being requested for blurbs for the book jacket, “Budget cuts, sorry.”
“Sorry my a, ah, excuse me.” After recovering from your minor heart attack, what do you do? Unfortunately you’re too close to launch to do much of anything. If only you’d kept on top of things… if only you’d asked more questions…
Knowledge is power, people: make it your personal crusade to be kept in the loop. This is not to say you should be calling your editor on a daily basis for updates or second-guessing your agent’s every move (a certain amount of trust is necessary, after all), but you should have a time line of your book’s progress in the back of your mind at least so you have plenty of time to fix snafus or make changes. Aim for perfection. Only when you’re prepared can you best take advantage of opportunities to come. Do all that you can to give yourself that edge and the confidence will come.
Free Yourself from the Nasty (Habits)
Let’s say you’re chosen to be the keynote speaker at BEA (BookExpo America) with tens of thousands of people in attendance, an international presence, media coverage, the works. You don’t normally care for public speaking, so you’re already taking a risk which is good. However, you’ve been asked to discuss a topic about which you aren’t very familiar, and you’ve never been big on research, so you figure you’ll read a couple of industry newsletters and something will come to you. Hey, you’re a writer, why not? On the day you’re supposed to deliver your speech you can’t find the pavilion they’ve assigned you. Yes, a map was included in your confirmation package, but who knows where that went? So you run around like a kid in a restaurant until someone takes pity and drops you off at the right place, twenty minutes late. The faces you see are not happy ones. You get up to the podium, phone in your speech because those newsletters really weren’t very helpful at all (those editors should be ashamed), wait for the scant applause to die down and wander off to find some free alcohol.
Obviously this person wasn’t prepared and paid the price, but let’s go deeper: why wasn’t this person prepared? Barring the profound psychological issues of fear of success and so forth, I’m saying it’s because she wasn’t organized, was lazy and is generally irresponsible. Believe it or not, such characteristics are not mere personality quirks that have to be accepted; they are actually habits that can be changed. The determining factor of a person’s success or failure lies in his/her habits, the things done every day. Habits, good or bad, are a choice, as are the rewards/consequences that come with them. Choose wisely.
Bounce Like a SuperBall
Failure is around every corner! Okay, not really, but it feels that way sometimes. When those ball bearings and open manholes come at us from out of nowhere, just as we were grooving our way towards the promised land of personal fulfillment, it is discouraging and it sucks. This will happen. Call it a testing of your resolve, but that’s how life works. Though you can’t plan for everything, the more prepared you are, the better able you’ll be to handle these little setbacks and get back on that horse. The faster you bounce back, the easier it will be to keep moving forward. Self-pity and excuses may seem comforting in the moment, but they will not help move you ahead. Negative thoughts will only ensure that you stay where you are, which puts you back in the realm of complacency. If people are encouraging you to think negatively about yourself or your goals, get away from them. Don’t let anyone diminish your desire to maximize your potential. If you’re having trouble staying motivated, read success stories of professional authors. Sometimes we forget, but authors are people like everyone else. Human. Mortal. They aren’t any more special than you or I. The only difference is that more people know their names than the average person and that’s because they worked hard to make it so. They didn’t start a manuscript, quit halfway through and brag about how they’re going to be famous one day- they did the work and so can you. Bounce, baby, bounce.
Risk-taking and stepping out of your comfort zone are kind of a package deal, which is why I spent so much time discussing confidence. Taking risks can result in big, blotchy bruises (ego) and scarring (emotional), maybe some minor embarrassment or humiliation, but it’s all part of the learning curve. Cold comfort as you hide yourself away in self-imposed exile, yes, but still very necessary. Again, knowledge is power. The more you know about the publishing industry, yourself, your audience, etc. the better. You will heal and bounce back better than ever with even more to offer. If you have to start small, maybe make a phone call you wouldn’t normally pursue on your own, do it. Regardless of the results, congratulate yourself on taking that step and prepare yourself for the next one. The important thing is to start on your way and not be afraid to try new things. You cannot be in control of your career or your life if you’re afraid to take a calculated risk once in awhile. Keep that nose of yours pointed to the stars and don’t look down.