I'm a trial by fire guy. I haven't always been that way, but I've learned to love it, especially with writing. As an entrepreneur, I subscribe to the READY, FIRE, AIM methodology, as opposed to the traditional READY, AIM, FIRE.

I know authors who subscribe to the READY, READY, AIM, AIM, AIM system. “Work In” never translates to “Work Out.” Are you one of them?

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photo credit: Leshaines123 via photopin cc

It's easy to get stuck in the brainstorming and preparation phases. “What should my book be about?” “How many times should I edit?” “Will anyone read my novel?”

There Is A Better Way

While asking these questions is important, the best way to test your writing is to get it into the hands of the reading public. Readers will tell you what you need to fix through reviews, comments, etc… It may not always be comfortable, but it is necessary.

The best way is to get published.

Publish a blog.

Publish a novel.

Publish a book of poems.

Just publish.

Get Out Of The Bubble

I remember the day I got my first 1-star review. My gut clenched as my heart sank. Someone was criticizing my work!

Guess what? Unless you write solely for yourself (there's nothing wrong with that), at some point you'll have to introduce your craft to the world. You can't do that in a bubble, hiding behind your computer screen.

There will be critics. The more you follow your heart the less naysayers matter.

Reach For Greatness

I've learned that in order to succeed I must deal with failure. It's inevitable. There's been a lot of it in my life. Starts and stops. Flaws and flops.

There is nothing wrong with submitting your manuscript to agent after agent, publisher after publisher. That's just not the path for me. I'm an independent. I want to control my own destiny. If I flop, the blame rests squarely on my shoulders. I publish constantly.

If you want to be a successful writer, find out what greatness looks like for you. I want to publish and sell lots of books. I know what my greatness looks like.

What's stopping you from getting published?

PRACTICE

Come up with a story about a child overcoming her fear of failure and write about it for fifteen minutes.

Post your practice in the comments section below and please provide feedback for your peers 🙂

Carlos is author of the Corps Justice novels. Get the box set of Books 1-3 for FREE HERE.

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