You’re building your support network. Now what?
You’ve started to reach out for a support network (if not, re-read last week’s newsletter.)
You’re presumably writing. But you’ve done that before, and it didn’t turn out the way you wanted, or you wouldn’t be reading this newsletter.
So what’s next? What can you do, to change your outcome?
Funnily enough, that’s the topic of today’s article. You’re going to deep dive into the following:
1. What’s your desired outcome.
2. What are your expectations about this outcome, and why do you want said outcome.
3. What do you believe will be necessary to achieve this outcome.
(If you’ve done a personal GMC before, revisit that. Otherwise, read on.)
“I don’t like my job. I think I’ll be an Olympic swimmer instead.”
Tell me this doesn’t sound a little unhinged.
Someone doesn’t like their day job. It’s repetitive, and soul-crushingly boring. There are long hours and irritating people. The money’s not even that good. They hate the thought of staying there as long as they need to, to afford to retire. Assuming they don’t get downsized first.
It turns out in their off time, they like swimming. Nothing better than splashing around in the pool on a hot day. Playing in the waves in the summer. Even slicing through the heated water of a big indoor pool when they’re lucky enough, in the winter.
So they decide instead of doing their job, they’re going to side-hustle their way into becoming a competitive Olympic swimmer.
But how do you become a competitive Olympian?
They will need to be swimming more, definitely, right? They’re pretty sure about that, at least.
They might spend more time after work, or on weekends. Some might get a gym membership with a pool they can use if they don’t own one themselves. Some might join a swim club or just make some swim friends to practice with.
They don’t necessarily ever make it to the Olympics, though.
Some will spend a lot of money on swim coaches. Some will look at the requirements for Olympic qualifications. Some will participate in local competitions, or state ones, or whatever. Some will make some significant wins.
That doesn’t mean they’ll get to the Olympics, though..
Some, a very few, will become passionate to the point of obsession. They’ll quit their jobs. They’ll do whatever it takes. And they’ll make it to the Olympics. They may not medal, but by God, they’re going to be in the game.
A quick, sobering look at how Olympians get paid.
Today I learned: in 2022, there were three ways that Olympians made money. Corporate sponsorships, endorsement deals, and medal bonuses.
Corporate sponsorships mean that an Olympian is associated with the brand: wearing their gear, displaying their logo. Endorsements mean that the Olympian talks up the brand, actively promoting them, not just wearing their stuff, but allowing the use of their face and the tacit approval that they support the brand.
As to the medals: a gold medal gets you $37,500 in the US. A silver, $22,500, and a bronze, $15,000. Keep in mind, that’s all you get, after years of training expenses, all the sheer physical labor and time, that an athlete put in after years of effort to qualify, much less compete. And it’s not even paid out in regular increments.
What that has to do with writing.
Does that mean that being a career writer is about as likely as becoming an Olympian?
No. Absolutely not. Personally, I would much rather spend my day writing than, say, eating boiled chicken breasts and steamed broccoli before running twenty miles and doing a bunch of weight training (or whatever it is that Olympic athletes do.)
But it does mean that you need to be realistic about what you want, what you expect, why you want it, and finally, what you think you’ll need to do to achieve it.
Expectations and assumptions are usually the stumbling block here, and I hate to say it, but we need to be unflinching when we look at both the realities out there, and our own circumstances.
Other coaches and writing workshops may make it sound like anyone can make six or seven figures if they just publish regularly, or come up with the killer high concept, or follow a prescribed promotion plan. (Usually in conjunction with a course or coaching program they’re selling, unfortunately. That doesn’t mean they’re all charlatans. I have found plenty of useful, even force-multiplying, information from various sources. But you still need to be wary of the big promise.)
The above can be a bitter pill when the expenses outweigh the income, year after year. What we’re going to do is get you grounded first — then help you come up with a realistic plan that works for you.
So first things first. What do you want, and what do you expect?
If you want to replace your day job:
According to the Authors Guild 2023 Author Income Survey:
“Full-time authors of romance and romantic suspense had the highest median gross income from their books, out-earning mystery, thriller, and suspense writers by over three times and literary fiction authors by a staggering nine times. They reported a median book income of $31,725, and their combined median income reached $37,000 when factoring in both book and other author-related income…
Mystery, thriller, and suspense authors had a book income median of $10,000, with their combined median book and author-related income totaling $15,010. Literary fiction authors earned a median book income of $5,000 and a combined median book and author-related income of $13,500. Biography authors reported a book income median of $3,500 and a combined median book and author-related income of $9,200. Lastly, authors focusing on literary works had a median gross book income of $2,800, and their overall income, inclusive of other author-related sources, was $10,100.”
Realistically, can you live on that? If not, what is your income goal, and what do you expect to have to do to reach that number?
I don’t want you to come up with the whole plan now. But think about things like life balance, your energy levels. Your current circumstances. Don’t think “I need to make six figures!” Think: I want to make x because of y, and I believe it will require z.
(We’ll be discussing requirement assumptions in a subsequent newsletter, by the way.)
If you want to get recognition (awards, bestseller lists, reaching readers):
There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. We have stories trapped inside us, and we’re usually dying to share them — to touch audiences who appreciate them, who are inspired and entertained by what we’ve created..
There is also the desire for recognition. You don’t have to explain or justify why you want to be on a bestseller list, or why you might want to win an award.
But again: it’s a difficult pursuit. Many books languish in obscurity because authors either expect their publishers to recognize their diamond in the rough, and then promote the hell out of the work: big ad spends, end cap and table displays (which publishers need to purchase, by the way), and lavish book tours. When in fact, traditional book publishers are looking at you to see what promotion you’ll be bringing to the table. You’re going to have to prime the pump: they’re not going to put any money or effort in until they see the success brewing.
And if you’re self-publishing? It’s right there in the name. You are the publisher. The promotion buck stops with you.
Again: Why do you want what you want? What’s the proof that you’ve achieved what you want? Finally, what are you willing to do? (Again: I want x because of y and I think it will require z.“)
If you just want to finish the stories you’ve started, for you:
That is also perfectly all right. Lots of people don’t care about the money, or the recognition. They’ve just got stories trapped in their head, bouncing around like bingo balls, slowly driving them to distraction. They may have made a stab at some of them, only to let them fizzle out after unsuccessful attempts. They then let themselves get seduced by the next shiny idea.
Write. Rinse. Repeat.
If this is you, and you want to stop the cycle and actually finish some of these stories, then you’ll do the same thing as the others. Write it out: I want to complete stories because of y, and I think it will require z.
Stay calm. Don’t panic.
Some of you may be breathing into a paper bag right now, thinking of the chasm between where you are and where you want to be.
Some of you may feel overwhelmed, because you think that you’ll need to write fifty books in twelve months to barely scrape together a living.
Some of you may feel like tossing it all away, because it’s obviously impossible. You don’t even know where you got the audacity to entertain such a dream.
Some of you may be pissed. You spent a couple thousand last year, and all you have to show for it are receipts and a few flopped titles.
Feel what you’re feeling, by all means. But being realistic doesn’t just mean the bad stuff. It also means looking at what’s working. You’ve got more assets than you think, and we’ll be discussing them later.
But there’s something more important that you need to look at here.
How badly do you want it?
This is an infamous parable, and a teeny bit cheesy, but bear with me.
A violinist was trying to decide whether or not he should pursue music as a career, and he sees a great maestro. He begs for the chance to play for the legend, to get his opinion. The maestro agrees. The violinist plays his heart out. Then the maestro shrugs and says that the violinist “lacks the fire.”
Despondent, the violinist abandons music, instead pursuing a business career. He becomes a success in that field. He happens to run into the maestro some years later, and thanks him for sparing him the pain of pursuing a field he was ill suited for. Still, he asks: how could you tell so quickly? How did you know I lacked the fire?
The maestro then shrugs. “I wasn’t really listening. I say that to everyone.”
Incensed, the man berates him: how could you! What if I was meant to be the next greatest violinist the world had ever known? The next maestro?
The maestro then looks at him sadly and says, “If you really were meant to be, you wouldn’t have listened to me.”
Next week: MINDSET.
If you’ve stuck with me this far, then I’m going to assume you’re in this to win it. Which means next week, we cross the Rubicon, loves. And the main game changer there is going to be MINDSET.
Be ready!