The Writer's Journey Blueprint for Your Writing Success - Tip # 5
Tip #5: Be prepared to step out of your comfort zone when it comes to pitching and promoting your book ...
The Writer’s Journey combines passion for writing about your subject or story with the desire to communicate that message or share that story with as wide an audience as possible. The efforts involved in successfully writing a book for publication are usually surpassed by the rewards gained at the many different levels that writers experience the joys of published authorship.
Everyone Has to Start Somewhere
When you see experienced authors being interviewed or listen to polished readings being delivered, it is easy to forget that everyone has to start somewhere. There will almost certainly have been a time when that author had to overcome the anxiety of stepping into the spotlight with their work. For many people, the actual writing is the easy bit. The challenges come with all of the other factors involved on the path to successful publication!
Knowing that there will be moments when you will almost certainly need to ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ is very much a part of the Writer’s Journey. So how can you ensure that you meet these challenges in the best possible frame of mind? One attitude that I would encourage you to develop is to be prepared to step out of your comfort zone.
Habitual Patterns of Thought & Behaviour
What does that really mean? And what is a comfort zone anyway?! In the Webster’s New Millennium Dictionary of English, ‘comfort zone’ is defined as ‘an environment or situation in which a person feels secure or at ease; also figuratively, an established lifestyle in which a person feels comfortable as long as there is no drastic change.’
This is the comfort you feel at home or in your own space where you can relax and be totally yourself – a wonderful and important experience for us all. Yet there is a ‘down side’ to that comfortable feeling. It is possible to become so used to your habitual patterns of thought and behaviour, that consciously or unconsciously you create restrictions around developing your full potential - as a writer and as a person.
Crossing the Threshold
To achieve real success on the writing journey, you will almost certainly have to cross the threshold of your comfort zone at one stage or another. There will be times when you don’t feel ‘secure or at ease’ and there may well be ‘drastic change’ that has to be dealt with along the way.
Yet instead of resisting these feelings and allowing yourself to remain stuck within the boundaries of your current comfort zone, I recommend that you meet any fears or anxieties head on with inner strength and a sense of purpose. If you do so, you will find that those boundaries are a great deal more elastic than you might at first have thought.
Here are a few examples of moments on the writing journey when you may need to cross your comfort threshold:
- Getting started with your writing …
- Showing your writing to a professional for the first time …
- Remaining focused and writing regularly – even if you don’t feel like it …
- Making a commitment to learning what you need to know about the world of publishing to achieve success …
- Considering what you can do to support your book in terms of sales, marketing, publicity and generally building your platform …
- Connecting with people who can guide and support your writing journey …
- Keeping the momentum going once your book is published …
INVITATION TO TAKE ACTION
All of the understanding in the world will only take you so far. Beyond that point, you have to apply that understanding to your situation and your book ideas – and take action!
So How Do You Do That?
This month I recommend that you bring your awareness to the fact that your thoughts and feelings create your reality. If you change your thoughts and feelings about something that is holding you back, you can change your reality and/or your experience of that reality.
Your internal dialogue is often so good at telling you what you can’t do that it is easy to forget that you have the power to re-write the script entirely.
You can replace a limiting dialogue with the belief that you can do whatever you decide to do if you are focused and passionate about it. Remember that the internal adjustment has to include both thoughts and feelings, but with regular practice it is remarkable how quickly your reality can change!
Here’s an Example:
When I was still working as a Publishing Consultant for Random House, I was invited to contribute to a seminar on how to get your book published. Up until that point, my only professional experience of ‘public speaking’ was in the context of short presentations about new books that I had commissioned at the publisher’s annual sales conference.
So my delight at being asked to contribute to this seminar was tinged with fear that I had never done anything like it before. Would I have the courage to face a room full of people without going completely blank and not knowing what to say?!
Alongside these anxieties, there was a different part of me that sensed a fantastic opportunity to share my knowledge and experience of the publishing world with writers eager to understand the process. So I was very much encouraged by that. Also, the invitation came at a time when I was considering setting up in business for myself and finding new ways of working with writers generally.
Feel the Fear & Do It Anyway
As a result, I decided to ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ because intuitively I knew that the outcome of stepping out of my comfort zone by forging ahead with this opportunity could open up a whole new world for me.
So I changed my thinking from ‘I can’t’ to ‘I can’, nurtured my belief in the ‘I can’, and just got on with it!
And yes, I was really nervous at first and it was a real challenge … But simultaneously, it felt like I was taking an important step towards changing my reality from working at Random House to working for myself. I discovered that once I got started, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be and in fact the whole evening turned out to be a resounding success.
Since that time, I have continued to develop my skills and confidence relating to leading workshops, and now my reality is that I totally love presenting live events. They are an important part of my contribution to writers generally and I know that they often represent real turning points for writers on their journey towards publication.
Positive Results
All of this is to say that changing your thoughts and feelings about something can indeed change your reality alongside helping you to expand the boundaries around your comfort zone.
As always, you don’t have to take my word for it as you can try this out for yourself and experience the truth personally.
Ultimately, stepping out of your comfort zone in a relevant way to further your dreams of writing a book for publication - or indeed in any area of your life – will always brings positive results of one kind or another.
So, this month I encourage you to choose one aspect of your writing journey that you know needs to have the boundaries stretched a little and decide to change how you think and feel about it. Then take action to support and follow up on your new approach – and see what happens.
Enjoy!
PS If you have enjoyed this article and would like to know more about the coaching, mentoring and masterclasses I offer, send me an email summarising your current situation and let me see how I can help you to move forwards on your Writer's Journey.
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Julia McCutchen
Author, Writers' Coach, Publishing Consultant
www.JuliaMcCutchen.com (0) 1380 871331
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© Julia McCutchen 2007. All Rights Reserved. If you want to use this article in your ezine or on your website I’d be happy for you to do so as long as you use the complete article, including the copyright line, and include the following paragraph in its entirety: Julia McCutchen is the author of The Writer’s Journey: From Inspiration to Publication and works as a writers’ coach and a professional publishing consultant. She has over 20 years' experience of publishing and a track record which includes UK # 1 and international bestsellers. Julia has worked with literally hundreds of authors, many of whom were writing a book for the first time, and is passionate about sharing her wealth of knowledge and experience to open the way for people who want to write a book for publication. To learn more and to accesss free resources for writers, visit www.JuliaMcCutchen.com
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