36: Five Things Authors Should Quit Doing
Time is our most precious commodity, but we spend too much effort and thought–too much time–on stuff that actually holds us back. We also avoid a couple of things that make all the difference.
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Time is our most precious commodity. But we spend
Unknown:too much effort and thought too much time on stuff that actually
Unknown:holds us back. We also avoid a couple of things that make all
Unknown:the difference. Today I'm going to name five things authors
Unknown:should quit doing in writing pursuits, Episode 36. Let's get
Unknown:to it. Welcome to the writing pursuits podcast where authors
Unknown:like you discuss writing craft, author, life and book marketing
Unknown:strategies. I'm your host Kathrese. McKee. I own writing
Unknown:pursuits and write and produce the weekly newsletter writing
Unknown:pursuits, tips for authors. In addition, I am a speculative
Unknown:fiction author, writing procedures for authors who drink
Unknown:too much coffee, endure judgemental looks from their
Unknown:furry writing, convenience and struggle for words. If you are a
Unknown:writer seeking encouragement, information and inspiration,
Unknown:this podcast is for you. Let's get to it. Hey, writing precedes
Unknown:authors. Welcome back to the podcast. To those of you who are
Unknown:new, I want to extend a special welcome. My name is Kathrese.
Unknown:McKee and I help authors write great stories. Please leave a
Unknown:comment a star rating and follow the show to help others find
Unknown:writing pursuits. This year. 2022 is racing by as I record
Unknown:this Flag Day is coming up as well as Father's Day in the US.
Unknown:This Sunday with a special shout out to Juneteenth, which for
Unknown:those of you outside the US is June the 19th. Y'all, time is
Unknown:our most precious commodity. We can't slow it down or get it
Unknown:back. The only thing we can do is be mindful of how we use it.
Unknown:So do I mean you need to be busy and working and hustling?
Unknown:24/7 365? No, not not at all. rest and rejuvenation are
Unknown:essential ways to use our time. However, there are ways authors
Unknown:can safeguard writing time and make the most of it. Some of
Unknown:these might surprise you. I'm especially concerned for new
Unknown:authors. Because I have personally made every one of
Unknown:these mistakes much to my regret. Here are five things
Unknown:authors should quit doing.
Unknown:Number one, quit comparing yourself to experienced best
Unknown:selling authors I mean it stop comparing your beginning to
Unknown:someone else's middle or ending. Does that make sense?
Unknown:Experienced best selling authors have been at this business for a
Unknown:while their sales tactics and writing strategies won't
Unknown:necessarily work for newer authors, and author with a
Unknown:backlist of seven to 10 books is going to have a different, more
Unknown:refined set of skills than an author with 02 or even four
Unknown:books. New writers need to be focused on spinning the hours
Unknown:and writing the words to achieve mastery on getting to the end on
Unknown:seeking critique on revising their work and on publishing,
Unknown:rinse and repeat. Also, tactics change over time, and the things
Unknown:your idols did when they were getting started. Don't
Unknown:necessarily work anymore. For example, a few weeks ago, I
Unknown:talked about whether or not authors should spend time
Unknown:blogging. That was episode 33. The answer isn't black and
Unknown:white, of course, but don't blindly follow in someone's
Unknown:footsteps trying to imitate everything they did back then,
Unknown:including blogging. We all start at page zero. We all begin with
Unknown:no published work. Learn from more experienced authors. But
Unknown:stop comparing your results to theirs and blindly copying what
Unknown:they do or did. That's a terrible waste of time. Number
Unknown:two quit abandoning projects. Oh, yeah, this one kind of
Unknown:bites. If we had $100. For every project we abandoned after the
Unknown:first five chapters, we could go on a really nice vacation,
Unknown:right? This is your coach speaking it's okay to stop
Unknown:writing a project you just can't figure out I know, it seems so
Unknown:promising you loved the main character. The world building
Unknown:was thrilling, but something just wasn't right. You lost
Unknown:confidence in the idea and you decided to put it away. Here's
Unknown:the problem you need to practice finishing manuscripts. So I'm
Unknown:going to give you a strategy to use from now on, you're going to
Unknown:say I'm crazy. But hear me out. This will make the time you
Unknown:quote unquote wasted on a project. count for something
Unknown:ready, skip the middle and write an ending. Maybe it won't be the
Unknown:ending. Maybe it won't be a great ending. It doesn't have to
Unknown:be super long. Just kind of brainstorm a conclusion to the
Unknown:story based on what you've written so far. Write a pie in
Unknown:the sky happily ever after.
Unknown:Adding or destroy the universe, write an ending to the story. As
Unknown:you know it, the content of the ending doesn't matter as much as
Unknown:getting to the end. And who says you can't write two or more
Unknown:endings. Now put the project aside. If you want carefully
Unknown:store it in an archive of potential ideas you never know,
Unknown:when something will click about an old story idea, getting to
Unknown:the end.
Unknown:No matter how frustrating that is, is a valuable use of time.
Unknown:It's a valuable experience. So stop abandoning projects and
Unknown:tossing them in file 13. Practice getting to the end and
Unknown:kind of hoard those ideas in a certain spot store them away.
Unknown:Number three, quit creating your own covers. If you are a trained
Unknown:designer, then knock yourself out. Obviously this tip doesn't
Unknown:apply to you. Yes, I have created a book cover on my own.
Unknown:And it even turned out okay, but I spent days learning Photoshop
Unknown:to turn out an okay cover when I should have hired a cover
Unknown:designer to create a fantastic cover. Do I remember what I
Unknown:learned in Photoshop? Not a bit, I can hear you saying Canva is
Unknown:easier. But Canva is not Illustrator or Photoshop. Just
Unknown:stop it stop. Your book cover is the first thing a buyer sees and
Unknown:its importance cannot be exaggerated. readers see
Unknown:hundreds of covers in a single buying session. And you don't
Unknown:want your cover to stand out for the wrong reasons. Your cover
Unknown:has a fraction of a second on Amazon, or on a bookshelf to be
Unknown:evaluated. Save your nickels, dimes and dollars, stop going to
Unknown:Starbucks, do whatever you have to do to hire a good cover
Unknown:designer, and save your time for writing the next book. If you
Unknown:just really really cannot afford to hire a cover designer, get a
Unknown:premade cover, it's probably going to be better than you can
Unknown:produce yourself. And it's certainly a better use of time.
Unknown:Number four, quit avoiding critique. Um, that's another one
Unknown:that applies to me. But every time every time I sought
Unknown:critique my work improved by miles, and swiftly to So how's
Unknown:that going to save me time you ask? It takes time to garner
Unknown:critiques. Often you need to take the time to critique
Unknown:someone else's work while you wait for them to critique.
Unknown:Here's how does that save time two ways you learn from someone
Unknown:else's mistakes, and you get help spotting your weaknesses.
Unknown:So you become a better writer sooner. The trick is to be
Unknown:choosy about your critique partners to find that person you
Unknown:can trust to tell you the truth in a way you can respect. Most
Unknown:often this is not your mother or your sister or brother. But a
Unknown:good critique partner will save you time. Buckets of time in the
Unknown:long run. Your writing can improve much sooner if you seek
Unknown:out critique. Your work will be ready for primetime much sooner.
Unknown:If you stop avoiding thoughtful criticism. Get out there and
Unknown:beat the bushes to find a partner or small group of
Unknown:authors willing to swap critiques. grow a thick skin and
Unknown:bite the bullet. This is a good way to use your time to save
Unknown:time. In the end. What is the fifth thing to quit doing? The
Unknown:answer in a moment? First, a word from our sponsor. Writing
Unknown:pursuits is run by Kathrese. McKee who has been trusted by
Unknown:fiction authors since 2014. To take their writing to a new
Unknown:level of excellence. Guthrie's is a three story methods
Unknown:certified editor who specializes in story diagnostics, coaching,
Unknown:and line editing to help you prepare your story for the
Unknown:journey ahead. For more information, go to writing
Unknown:pursuits.com. The link is in the show notes. And now back to the
Unknown:podcast. So far, we have covered four things you should quit
Unknown:doing. Comparing yourself to experienced best selling
Unknown:authors. Your beginning is not the same as their middle or end.
Unknown:Abandoning projects before you write an ending, creating your
Unknown:own covers and avoiding critique. Number five, quit
Unknown:waiting to create an email list. You knew I was going to say that
Unknown:I've been telling my authors to create an email list since long
Unknown:before writing pursuit started. Neglecting to build an email
Unknown:list is the biggest mistake I made as a new author and it
Unknown:continues to be something I regret make building a list your
Unknown:priority and it's easy write a short story in format it on
Unknown:drafted digital, put it on book funnel and create a landing
Unknown:page. Share your landing page link and continue to share it
Unknown:when you have one subscriber
Unknown:To start sending out a newsletter every month, if you
Unknown:don't know how to communicate with your subscribers, or even
Unknown:if you think you do retangular bricks newsletter NINJA book,
Unknown:building a reader community is supposed to be fun. Don't
Unknown:overcomplicate having an email list, sign up for free mailer
Unknown:light or ConvertKit account and get started building your list.
Unknown:Spending time on your list is never time wasted. And when your
Unknown:book launches, at least someone who has downloaded your short
Unknown:story and stayed on your email list will know who you are and
Unknown:buy your book. Every mailing lists starts at zero, you must
Unknown:earn your readers. That's the truth. So stop waiting to create
Unknown:your mailing list. As I said before, I have made all of these
Unknown:mistakes, all of them, and I want to help you avoid making
Unknown:the same mistakes. What are some things you need to quit doing to
Unknown:succeed as an author? I'd be interested to know your thoughts
Unknown:on this this topic. That's the question of the week. What are
Unknown:some things you need to quit doing to succeed as an author?
Unknown:Leave your answer at writing pursuits.com forward slash
Unknown:podcast forward slash 36. That's all I have for today. Until next
Unknown:time, keep writing. Thank you for joining us today. If you
Unknown:enjoyed this episode, please leave a comment and follow the
Unknown:podcast. If you're new around here. I hope you will sign up
Unknown:for the weekly newsletter writing pursuits. Tips for
Unknown:authors that link and all the links mentioned in today's
Unknown:episode are in the shownotes at writing pursuits.com Please join
Unknown:us on Wednesdays for new episodes and keep writing my