Dear Writer, You Need to Quit (QuitBooks for Writers, #1)

by Becca Syme

If you are wired to be a great plan-ahead plotter, then stop trying to be a discovery writer. If you are wired to be a great discovery writer, then quit assuming that plot-ahead planning will fix all your problems.

Most of you reading this are not going to make a lot of money in publishing. That’s just the hard truth. Like any industry, and really any business in a free market economy, the majority of the money is made by the top earners.

Are you expecting yourself to sell well because you think you’re a good writer? Then, do you falsely believe the converse is true (i.e. if you don’t sell well, that means you’re a bad writer, or a bad marketer or a bad person)? Because it isn’t true.

That's exactly what I believe!

I’ve coached some amazingly talented people who work very hard and don’t make money. No matter what they try, they don’t, because most books sell like crap. The market is volatile. Where Indies have the upper hand is in agility. Because the New

But, Becca. I have to finish the series I started. Cue QTP Voice: But… do you? Why?

And if you need to quit your current trajectory, and quit assuming that you should be making a living at this by now, and quit assuming that because your friends are making a living, you should be, too…

get screwed or not, but they are out to make money, period; there is no conspiracy), then maybe it’s not a good place for you. It’s definitely not a Step Two place.

You know what the fear is about. Let’s just say, fear of the blank page. The questions swim through your head. What if it’s awful? What if I fail? What if everyone hates me? What if people see that I really can’t write? What if this book doesn’t sell?

All of this right here.

What happens if you fail? Well, it depends on the scale of the failure. But no

one is coming to take away your author card.

“One-star reviews legitimize books.” They are a signal to readers that enough people read the books, they’re worth checking out. If no one hates your book, you’ve failed at writing it.

Fear can be very useful. I don’t want to kick fear out of your trip completely. Fear is what keeps us from doing stupid crap. Fear is what reminds us to take things seriously. It keeps us tied to the mast when there’s danger out there that would otherwise overcome us. But instead of letting fear navigate, we want to move it to the side car. Because it can’t steer from the side car.

Knowledge. Support. Plan. Execute.

So, the final thing I want you to quit doing is waiting.

“My last book didn’t sell because X-famous-writer is paying ghost writers to write in my genre.” First Conscious Instinct: I need to worry about this, or raise hell, or change the genre I write in because we are all finished. Subconscious Assumption: Being frustrated about someone else’s choices (or, frankly, even being aware of someone else’s choices) is a wise and necessary use of my time.

Huge!