Choices Have Consequences
Everything has consequences, from ethical considerations to long-term goals. Every choice we make, from what we eat to how much activity we get in the day or how much we write each day, is a short-term choice that affects long-term goals. Life is not a tidal wave; it is a ripple effect. It’s estimated that the brain makes twenty-four conscious decisions each minute, approximately 35,000 conscious decisions per day. Each one of these leads to a different path. In game theory, that’s a lot of different, and often irreversible, plotlines for our lives. So, let’s look at a few choices and consequences I’ve observed with writers I know that have immediately and irreparably impacted those writers and their place in publishing.
Short-term gratification is always tapping us on the shoulder. It’s tempting to choose short-term rewards. Maybe you want to hop on a trending topic of today, or maybe you hate editing or the time involved in it and want to shortchange that, but these temptations are counterproductive. You’ve got to edit many drafts. Stephen King says at least three. Jeffery Deaver once told me he edited a manuscript twenty times. When he attended Killer Nashville, Michael Connelly emphasized heavily that it’s important for writers to put in the time to get it right. And tons of writers have told me, please, please, don’t jump on the day's flavor as a topic for a book. There are no shortcuts that pay positive dividends. They hurt. Make your manuscript the best it can be. Write from the heart, not the headlines. Don’t rush, take the time, and you’ll produce a work of value.
Shortcuts to legitimize book sales also tempt many writers and publishers. Capitalizing on a sensational subject that harms someone else, misleading buyers by your marketing, outright plagiarism or using an AI program to write stories for you, or misrepresenting yourself to increase sales are all things I’ve seen writers do that might give short-term rewards, but they always get caught or called out, and it always hurts reputations. There are no shortcuts to writing something good. You’ve got to put in the work, and that takes time. A copy-and-paste or a quick book to make cash at someone else’s expense is anything but integrity, and, as writers, integrity is our greatest currency. The consequences aren’t worth it.
Quick, short-term, spontaneous decisions such as refusing to deliver a manuscript on time or not at all, failing to provide the book that a publisher expected because you took shortcuts and didn’t put your heart and soul into it, or writing insensitively about a subject because something struck you as “stupid” (we see it all the time on social media), all of these spontaneous, short-term, quick decisions can kill a writer’s career. Spontaneity is not the spice of life but the killer of careers and business plans. Look at the long-term always. These short-term reactions (and I think that’s what most of them are) are not part of your long-term plan (and I do hope you have a long-term strategy).
What you choose to write makes a difference, too, in the decision/consequence equation. If you spend time on a project you love rather than a commercial project, you may have a personal reward that money can’t buy. If you do the opposite, you might have money but hate what you write. I know several successful writers who even hate the genres they write in, but they’ve become successful in those genres, so they can’t justify financially giving that up. But they started writing in that genre because they thought they could make a quick buck. Now, it comes back to haunt them. So, what you choose to focus your time on (because if you focus on one thing, you can’t concentrate on another) has consequences. Choose long-term what you want those consequences to be. Think about what you want to be doing ten years from now, not what you think might be a quick buck now.
Long-term goals are not emotional goals. Sure, we want them to be fulfilling and in line with our core values, but they need to be logical, and each step or project should build on the next like a mason would do when constructing a brick wall. Careers should be built, not thrown like spaghetti, to see what sticks. Don’t go off on a tangent for a day, week, month, or year. So, what are some emotional mistakes I’ve seen? Choosing to self-publish because four agents refused your work if traditional publishing is the route you want to go. If 200 refuse your work, then maybe we need to talk. Reacting to negative reviews or comments on social media can damn careers. Follow the adage of thinking before you act. It may save you from losing years of hard work and integrity because of a momentary tantrum or a slick get-rich-quick scheme. And writers do throw tantrums. Don’t be one of them.
Many writers talk to me about their regrets about their publishing choices. Whether traditional, self-, independent, hybrid, it doesn’t matter. If rushed into, it can cause headaches, and the consequences can determine the rest of your career future to the point that the only thing you can do is change your name and start from scratch. Whatever publishing choice you make, realize that that choice has consequences, and you should have investigated that enough to know what those downsides (and upsides) are to make intelligent decisions based upon your long-term business plan. Writers’ choices should be made by calculation, not by knee-jerks. Take time to think it through.
I love writers, and if I were stranded on a deserted island, I’d take one with me, but writers can be emotional and impulsive. When they’re like that, they drive the people around them crazy, and one year down the road, they drive their selves crazy. I encourage you to explore your feelings twenty-four conscious times per minute when writing and thinking about your future, but don’t let your feelings lead you impulsively. Take time. Give things time. Make things align with your ultimate goals based on your inner core values. Tread carefully. Do this, and you’ll have a long and successful career, making the right choices and reaping enviable consequences. Every decision you make carries a reward or a price. Choose wisely.
Clay Stafford is a writer, filmmaker, and the founder of Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference and The Balanced Writer. Subscribe to his weekly newsletter here: https://claystafford.com/newsletter
