Investing In Your Writing

Learning to be a great author is not only going to take time, it will take a HUGE (and I mean HUGE) investment on your part. There are a few people out there who are inherently amazing when it comes to writing and telling stories. For others, this is a craft you will have to learn. I want you to think of your writing as any other career you want to take on. To be successful, you have to "go to school." Think of it this way... you go to school for 12 years in primary and secondary school. After that, you go to college (or a tech school) to learn your craft. This may be anywhere between 2-7+ years). That is an investment.

I bring this up today because there are a lot of authors out there who seem to think this type of investment is just too much. "Why can't I just write my damn story?" Well the answer is pretty simple. Unless you are one of those inherently amazing authors out there, you will simply not succeed.

So, what is that investment going to look like? In simple terms, you are going to have to invest time, and yes money, to be that great writer. This is not going to happen overnight.

Let's start with those conferences. I know you look at those and think "I would so love to do that but the cost is going to kill me!" Yep! You are right. Look at the expenses:

• Conference fee
• Transportation to and from the conference
• Hotel
• Food
• And maybe time off of work

I know that list is expensive, but it will be worth it. Yes, those hotels are expensive but they have to be to accommodate those great speakers and events. The hotel food is ridiculous when it comes to cost. And don't get us caught up in the discussion of airfare and gas prices.

But how else are you going to get that experience learning from the best and networking with people who can potentially advance your career?

I know some of you are thinking that there are cheaper conferences so why not go to those? Well, the answer is simple. You get what you pay for.

Now that we have the money factor out of the way, let's talk about time. I know some of you are eager to get that first book published immediately. Heck, you are planning on retiring from the income of that first book, right? Probably not. these successful writers you see out there are investing a lot of time. Not only that, they invested a lot of time before that first book was even written. This was not an overnight success story for most. They did not take short cuts. They took their time.

Let me explain it this way. When I was at last year's RWA conference up in Canada, I was sitting with the librarian of the RWA in the lobby. As we looked around the room, we were noting who the successful writers were. They were the writers who did not rush the process. They are consistent and are continually working. The ones we knew would not likely make it were the ones who were sitting by themselves or talking about how they were going to skip out on sessions to visit the local sites. Hmmm? Do you see what I mean?

I am just going to sum it up with a single statement I make over and over again. 

THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS.

If you want to be good, invest in your writing, craft and career!