Five Mindset Shifts You Need to Be a Successful Writer
If you want to be successful as an aspiring writer – success starts with your mindset. You should start with setting much more realistic expectations about what you are getting yourself into. The writing process can be painful, which is why there are several toxic mindsets that you should drop if you want to be a successful writer.
Read on to learn more.
You Are Not an Exception
It is known as the exception to the rule because there is a rule. On that note, you might feel it in your veins that you are the next J.K. Rowling – but J.K. Rowling has been Rowling for decades. This aspect indicates that no one has dethroned her yet.
Now, it is incredibly important to trust your skills and your guts – but – it is also incredibly important to be able to differentiate between your gut and your ego. Your gut tells you that you can perform the incredible task of writing a novel.
Now, your ego might tell you that you are the single writer out of the millions of other aspiring writers who will become a best-seller on the first attempt. Your ego might also tell you to release a novel dictionary, and everyone will buy it.
The point is that you need to get over this toxic mindset that makes you believe that you will be an exception. The best thing to do is to take a few steps back so you can think things over logically and humble yourself in the process.
No One Owes You Anything
You should know that your readers are not going to buy your book just because you are new to the writing game. You might think that you deserve support – but you must gauge what you are bringing to the table.
Think from the perspective of readers – why should people who don’t know you spend their hard-earned cash on a writer who they know absolutely nothing about? We all want our ideal readers to buy our books – but – when that doesn’t happen – you should know that it is not the reader’s fault.
By all means – it is your fault. You might not have availed yourself of freelance book editing before sending your book for publication. Now, if you did hire a professional editor and your book still didn’t sell – there is a chance that you messed up the marketing or you didn’t market your book at all.
You should pay attention to all aspects of your book. Perhaps your book cover looks like a page from a coloring book that is meant for kids. Also, perhaps your book isn’t good at all. The point is that there can be a million reasons why your book may not sell – but – you should know that your ideal readers don’t owe you anything.
Leave the toxic mindset behind that might tell you that your readers don’t appreciate your genius.
You Must Do the Work
Another mindset shift that you should make at the very start of your writing process is that you are the one who must do the work because no one else will do it for you. That said, even if you are traditionally published – the odds are that you are going to do a lot of work by yourself.
You might love the idea of shipping the load to someone else and having other people handle all the tedious and boring things for you. The truth is that the only way to succeed in the writing industry is based on the actions that you – the writer – take and the strategies that you implement.
On that note, if you want someone to do the hard work for you, it will cost you money. For instance, if you believe that you have an amazing story idea that your ideal readers will love – but – you don’t have the writing skills, you can pay a ghostwriter to do the job for you.
Don’t Expect Overnight Success
Another toxic mindset that you should drop if you are serious about your writing career is the belief that you will reach the heights of success overnight. Now, you might have heard about overnight success stories where writers that you have never heard about before turn suddenly into New York bestsellers.
Of course, you might aspire toward this growth because it seems so easy.
Hold your breath and embrace yourself for the one truth that you should know today. The truth is that there is nothing that happens overnight, especially when we talk about success in the writing world.
You might be reading or hearing about writers for the first time – but – you aren’t seeing the years they put into this book – possibly multiple other books before one became a New York bestseller. You have no idea about the struggles, rejection, and exhaustion they have endured before they earned their success.
By knowing this, you can drop the toxic mindset and stop dreaming of overnight success – instead – you can set realistic expectations for your own writer’s journey.
The simple truth is that if you want to be an overnight success – you cannot become one in a single night.
Your Style Must Abide the Rules
All writers have a particular style – and sometimes, it allows you to break some grammar rules. However, it doesn’t allow you to throw punctuation, grammar, and syntax out of the window and ruin your manuscript.
A lot of writers who share this toxic mindset get defensive when their editor points out the blunders that they make while hiding behind the excuse of their unique writing style. Now, if you have a style that breaks all important rules, you should sit down, take a few deep breaths, and rethink your style.
If your style is a nightmare to read to your editor, how will it affect your readers? You shouldn’t exhaust your readers and claim that you have a unique writing style, which is different and edgy. If you do so, you cannot expect good reviews or for your book to sell well in the markets.
As a rule of thumb, make sure that your style and readability exist.
