Success requires discipline, focus, and knowing your “why.” Without them, distractions can lead to downfall. Stay vigilant and keep your goals aligned with your values.
Success Points Highlights
Embracing the Rollercoaster: Navigating the Ups and Downs
It's comforting to delude ourselves that our lives and careers should follow a steady upward trajectory, like a climbing line on a graph. But in reality, they resemble the unpredictable zigzag of the stock market, with its ups and downs. This fluctuation is not a sign...
Mastering the Morning: A Time for Productivity and Focus
When it finally hits us, we wonder why we didn’t realize it all along. You’ll laugh when I say it. But after you think about it, you’ll realize that this might be your reality. It is this: Great things don’t happen to you. You make great things happen. It sounds...
5 Common Misconceptions About the Writing Business
Professional writing, like anything professional, is a business. For those who want a career as a writer, business requires daily attention, just like writing. Remember: if you are not growing daily, you are getting worse. There is no stasis, stagnation, or limbo in...
Embrace Marketing Joyfully
Some writers write purely for the joy of it, for the sheer pleasure of expressing themselves. Their interest doesn't extend to publishing, and that's perfectly fine. Their satisfaction lies in writing itself, which makes all the difference. Others write because they...
17 Qualities of a Leader
As a speaker on leadership, I often address diverse groups, not exclusively writers. However, it's crucial to recognize that writers are indeed leaders. They are the driving force behind their teams, the origin of all creative endeavors. Today, I want to delve into...
Brainstorm
Embrace the joy of brainstorming. It's a process I love, filled with cool ideas that may not all work out, but some are definitely keepers. And even the ones that don't stick around forever can lead to even more fantastic ideas. It's a constant process, and I...
Plotters or Pantsers: You Are a Multitude
Plotter or pantser? I am not fond of those terms. I am not fond of those discussions. I was on a panel discussion at Bouchercon last week, and my answer is that we are both. If you ask a professional writer if they are a plotter or a pantser, you’ll probably see them...
Regardless of Results, Don’t Lose Your Focus
At Bouchercon this weekend, I had the opportunity to connect with several writers who, like many of us, have encountered some bumps in the road. These setbacks, whether it's a timing issue with the release, distribution hiccups, or a lack of expected coverage, are all...
Build Your Personal Brand
The big question I received today as Guest of Honor at Bouchercon is: How do I sell more books? I especially got this question as I spoke with all the authors participating in the Discovery Zone individually. It is a great question, but I will dart a little around...