Steven Pressfield's Blog, page 117

Why I Don't Speak

Each day I get one or two invitations to speak at events or conferences. People have read The War of Art, and the concepts of Resistance and "turning pro" have struck a chord. They'd like to hear more; they'd like to see who I am in-person.
Maybe they're seeking "inspiration" or "motivation" for their group or
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What Have You Done For Yourself Lately?

Dear Author,
What have you done for yourself lately?
You've written a book?
Not enough.
You've had it accepted and printed by a publisher?
Not enough.
You met with your publisher and came up with a marketing plan.
Not enough.
What have you done to ensure your book reaches all the people you know will love it?
What have you done for yourself lately?
You
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The Fruits of our Labors

[The following is a slightly-tweaked-and-updated version of one of Writing Wednesdays' most popular posts.]
I have a recurring dream. In the dream I'm invited to climb into the back seat of a limo that's about to drive off to someplace fabulous. The dream always ends badly. It's trying to tell me something.
Publication day—or any date when
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The Blockbuster SuperLibrary 2.0

Last week Shawn talked about publishers selling their own books, via his post "Last Year's Model." I want to see publishers doing more of their own selling—and I want digital libraries, too.
Part I: Pay Attention
1998 was the year of You've Got Mail. Meg Ryan played the owner of the independent being forced out of business
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Thinking in Metaphors

One of the things you learn writing fiction is to think in metaphors.
The first draft of any novel or screenplay usually spills forth in blissful cluelessness. You tell yourself, I'm writing a detective story, or a Western, or some crazy genre that I don't even know the name of. Then comes Draft #2 and you
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Last Year's Model

A friend of mine is a business consultant.  A damn good one too.
About ten years ago we went out for a couple of beers so that he could ask me my opinions about the state of the book publishing business.  He wanted to know where I thought it was heading.  What global strategic initiatives would
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Alexandra in the Trenches (Sort of)

Here, thanks to Alexandra Choi, is a day we can all relate to.  (Viewing time: 1:52.)
I will say no more.
Except for more of Ms. Choi, click here.

Keep Your Feet Dry

It was time to air out.
The men sat down to remove their boots and socks.
Their feet were wet.
Their socks were wet.
Their boots were wet.
The three combined provide the perfect conditions for jungle rot (if you imagine the men in Vietnam) or Trench rot (if you imagine them in WWI).
* * *
I asked Dad what he
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Tighten Your Boots

"You need to tighten your boots
"They hurt."
"They'll loosen once you get going."
"No they won't."
My son and I hate putting on our ski boots. We want to hit the slopes, but there's still that boot hassle.
He screams and complains.
"These boots are soooo stooopid. This is the worst day of my entire life!" (He errs on the
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Paul's All Is Lost Moment

My friend Paul is writing a pilot. He's never done a piece of writing this serious before. The work is totally on spec.
Paul has a full-time business and has to do his writing at odd hours. A couple of weeks ago he had a crisis that made him almost suicidal. When I describe it to
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