Chris Dietzel's Blog - Posts Tagged "karma"
Things I've Learned
Although I’ve been working toward my dream of being a writer for almost ten years now, it’s only recently that I have been trying to get my writing out to an audience. In these past few months, I’ve learned a lot of lessons. Some of those are captured here:
Be patient –Every part of the writing process takes a hundred times longer than it should. Do not try to hurry things that are outside your control. I finished my debut novel, THE MAN WHO WATCHED THE WORLD END, about four years ago. It took all the time since then to find an agent, have publishers review it, have final edits made, decide on a self-publication approach, and finally make it available to everyone. Four years is a very long time—long enough for me to complete two other novels and be half way done another. The time was invaluable, though, because along the way I received helpful feedback from friends who had gone through the same thing I was going through. By the time I did finally publish my novel, I had a better book to put out to everyone and I knew the mistakes other people had made so I wouldn’t make them myself. If I hadn’t been patient, I would have put out a weaker product four years ago and I would be stumbling over myself now. Patience pays off.
Be willing to leave your comfort zone – I have always had a difficult time asking favors of other people. In any other part of my life, I wouldn’t dare ask someone to mention something I did. But with my writing, it’s a necessity. Indie Authors depend on word-of-mouth. Because of this, I always ask people to mention my novel to anyone else they think might enjoy it. And as a very private person, I have a difficult time putting myself out there on social media. But I do it because it helps people learn about me and my novel. I could still publish my book without doing these things, but it would mean that I was half-hearted in making it successful. To achieve their dream, people should be willing to not only step away from their comfort zone, but go running from it.
Don’t make everything about you – There are millions of other people trying to get their Indie books out to the masses. It’s very difficult to distinguish yourself. That’s why you constantly see Indie authors promoting themselves on every possible platform. But what I’ve noticed is that people respond more when you aren’t constantly promoting yourself and take time to ask them about their own books. Some of the best interactions I’ve had, which in turn have led to some of the most unintended readers of my novel, have come from me discussing their Indie projects, not my own. Whether it’s karma or human nature, people respond more openly when you don’t make everything about you. If you offer support, people are more willing to support you.
Be patient –Every part of the writing process takes a hundred times longer than it should. Do not try to hurry things that are outside your control. I finished my debut novel, THE MAN WHO WATCHED THE WORLD END, about four years ago. It took all the time since then to find an agent, have publishers review it, have final edits made, decide on a self-publication approach, and finally make it available to everyone. Four years is a very long time—long enough for me to complete two other novels and be half way done another. The time was invaluable, though, because along the way I received helpful feedback from friends who had gone through the same thing I was going through. By the time I did finally publish my novel, I had a better book to put out to everyone and I knew the mistakes other people had made so I wouldn’t make them myself. If I hadn’t been patient, I would have put out a weaker product four years ago and I would be stumbling over myself now. Patience pays off.
Be willing to leave your comfort zone – I have always had a difficult time asking favors of other people. In any other part of my life, I wouldn’t dare ask someone to mention something I did. But with my writing, it’s a necessity. Indie Authors depend on word-of-mouth. Because of this, I always ask people to mention my novel to anyone else they think might enjoy it. And as a very private person, I have a difficult time putting myself out there on social media. But I do it because it helps people learn about me and my novel. I could still publish my book without doing these things, but it would mean that I was half-hearted in making it successful. To achieve their dream, people should be willing to not only step away from their comfort zone, but go running from it.
Don’t make everything about you – There are millions of other people trying to get their Indie books out to the masses. It’s very difficult to distinguish yourself. That’s why you constantly see Indie authors promoting themselves on every possible platform. But what I’ve noticed is that people respond more when you aren’t constantly promoting yourself and take time to ask them about their own books. Some of the best interactions I’ve had, which in turn have led to some of the most unintended readers of my novel, have come from me discussing their Indie projects, not my own. Whether it’s karma or human nature, people respond more openly when you don’t make everything about you. If you offer support, people are more willing to support you.
