GENREALITY

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(excerpted from Warrior Writer: From Writer To Published Author)

It’s the difference between ordinary and elite. Elite is a word that has a bad rap. It simply means a group of people considered to be the best. To get published, you’ve got to be the best in that slush pile. Ordinary doesn’t cut it in publishing.

Success is a struggle. I recently read a book by Barbara Ehrenreich titled: Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. Yes, I am not a fan of ‘The Secret’. You have to do more than just think your way into success. You must take action. However, the first step of change is thinking differently. But by itself, that is not change.

The ‘enemy’ is closer than we think. It is I. I have always been my own worst enemy. No one else writes my books. I do. I can complain as much as I want about agents, publishers, editors, the reading public, but I own my writing, my book and my career. The only one who can stop me, is me.

Do things the ‘right’ way or the brave way? To be successful you are going to have to break rules. We used to say in Special Forces: If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying. I’ll discuss the paradoxical three rules of rule breaking in a later post.

Going from being a craftsman to an artist. You have to master the craft in order to become the artist. You have to learn the rules before you start breaking them.

It causes you to focus, to ask why. When I critique, I always ask “Why did you do that?” Because there are no strict rules of writing. You can do anything. But you should consciously know WHY you are doing it and have a good reason.

It takes you out of crisis management into management. Successful people act, not react. One thing I learned in my writing career was that I was reacting too much: once you have a multiple book contract, you’re reacting to that contract. That’s okay, but don’t stay in that mode forever. To break out, you have to act.

I’ve used, taught, and lived this. From West Point, through the Infantry, Special Forces A-Team leader, teacher at the JFK Center at Ft. Bragg, my writing and teaching career, my consulting business, my publishing company —this is pulling it all together.

IT WORKS. Special Forces are the most elite soldiers in the world. A lot of what I’m presenting is what they learned from centuries of ‘blood’ lessons. Also, I’m presenting things I’ve learned from successful authors such as Susan Wiggs, Elizabeth George, Terry Brooks, Jenny Crusie, and many others.

“I am always doing that which I cannot do in order to learn how to do it.” Pablo Picasso.

A successful writer is a confident writer. Look at the differences between a confident person and one with low confidence:

LOW CONFIDENCE                         HIGH CONFIDENCE   _______

Hiding/Ignoring mistakes                                Admitting mistakes & learning from them

Doing what others think you should                            Doing what you know is right

Letting fear dictate you actions                                     Using courage to overcome fear

Staying in status quo (misery)                              Taking risks & changing, despite difficulty

Letting others take charge                                                       Taking charge

Letting each day happen                                      Having goals, plan, and on a path every day

(excerpted from Warrior Writer: From Writer To Published Author)

Early in the movie Walk The Line, Johnny Cash and his two band-mates go for an audition. I recommend watching the movie and focusing on that scene. Here is the dialogue, with my comments in parentheses:

Johnny Cash singing a cover of an old gospel song—within 15 seconds he is halted:

Producer (read agent): Hold on. Hold on. I hate to interrupt… but do you guys got something else? I ‘m sorry. I can’t market gospel (read generic vampire novel, clichéd thriller, whatever). No more.

Johnny Cash: So that’s it?

Producer: I don’t record material (rep a book) that doesn’t sell, Mr. Cash… and gospel (a book like that) like that doesn’t sell.

Johnny Cash: Was it the gospel or the way I sing it? (was it the book or the writing?)

Producer: Both.

Johnny Cash: Well, what’s wrong with the way I sing it?

Producer: I don’t believe you.

Johnny Cash: You saying I don’t believe in God?

Bandmate: J.R., come on, let’s go.

Johnny Cash: No. I want to understand. I mean, we come down here, we play for a minute… and he tells me I don’t believe in God.

Producer: We’ve already heard that song a hundred times… just like that, just like how you sang it.

Johnny Cash: Well, you didn’t let us bring it home. (you didn’t get to my hook, climactic scene, whatever)

Producer: Bring… bring it home? All right, let’s bring it home. If you was hit by a truck and you were lying out in that gutter dying… and you had time to sing one song (write one book), huh, one song… people would remember before you’re dirt… one song that would let God know what you felt about your time here on earth… one song that would sum you up… you telling me that’s the song you’d sing? That same Jimmie Davis tune we hear on the radio all day? About your peace within and how it’s real and how you’re gonna shout it? Or would you sing something different? Something real, something you felt? Because I’m telling you right now… that’s the kind of song people want to hear. That’s the kind of song that truly saves people. It ain’t got nothing to do with believing in God, Mr. Cash. It has to do with believing in yourself.

Johnny Cash: Well, I’ve got a couple songs I wrote in the Air Force. You got anything against the Air Force?

Producer: No.

Johnny Cash: I do.

Bandmate: J.R., whatever you’re about to play… we ain’t never heard it.

Within fifteen seconds of singing the song he wrote, the producer knows he is looking at a star.

What did Johnny Cash Do?

He tried even though the odds of rejection were high. We hear the scary statistics all the time about the slush pile. You can’t let that stop you. There are people who won’t query because they’re afraid of rejection. In essence, they’ve just rejected themselves. I heard a very weird statistic: 90% of people who have a one-on-one with an agent at a conference and are requested to send in their material, never do. There are many reasons for this, but the #1 barrier is fear. Why even do the one-on-one if you are never going to follow through?

Johnny Cash walked in the door even though he was afraid. We’re going to discuss fear a lot in this book. We’re also going to discuss ways you can overcome fears.

He went even though his wife didn’t think he had it. There is a scene earlier where he and his band-mates are on the porch playing and Cash’s wife storms off and locks herself in the bathroom. She tells him he’s wasting his time and he needs to get a ‘real job’. Some of us have heard the same thing, haven’t we?

He stayed after being rejected. Most people think rejection is the end. It’s actually a beginning. Use rejection as motivation. Rejection is an inevitable part of a writer’s life. I just got a rejection last week from a publisher with whom I’ve sold over a million books.

He stayed. He got hit with a double rejection: not only was the song not good, his singing wasn’t good. How would you feel if someone told you not only was the book not good, your writing wasn’t either?

Even though he was angry, he was respectful. I just sent the editor who rejected me a polite thank you email for taking her time to look at the material.

He asked questions. I watch people pitch agents at conferences and many rarely ask questions. They’re so focused on pitching, they aren’t using the time as a valuable learning experience. When Cash asked what was wrong, he got a response that allowed him to focus. In that email, I not only thanked the editor for her time, I asked a couple of questions that might give me a way to try a different approach.

He listened. Earlier this year I got some other rejections on a different manuscript. Looking back, I remember my agent making a comment when I was first talking about the idea. I didn’t listen carefully enough to what she was really saying, because in retrospect, what every editor said in the rejection letter was what she had said two years ago. We’re going to cover communication in Force Seven. Listening for the real message is a key skill successful people have.

He used his PLATFORM and tried again. We’re always hearing the buzzword Platform. A lot of people feel they don’t have one. You do. If you watch the movie, note the look on Cash’s face when he’s singing the gospel song about his “Peace Within”. He’s not peaceful. He’s angry. That’s his character arc in the movie: finding peace within. So when he finally sings the song he wrote, he’s singing an angry song. Because his platform right then is anger: over the death of his brother; the fact his father blamed him for it; and he hated his time in the Air Force, being away from his girlfriend (and losing her). Basically, he used his real self and mined his emotions. That’s your platform.

He conquered his FEAR. He not only walked in, he stayed, he succeeded.

He CHANGED. He walked in with one plan, but when it didn’t work, he quickly changed that plan.

Writers aren’t the only creative people who experience these feelings of being a fraud or concerned the world will found out they are an imposter.

“I still think people will find out that I’m really not very talented.  I’m not very good.  It’s all been a big sham.”  Michelle Pfeiffer

“Sometimes I wake up before going off to a shoot, and I think, I can’t do this; I’m a fraud.  They’re going to fire me.  I’m fat.  I’m ugly . . .”  Kate Winslet.

First, it’s important to realize everyone has doubts.  What’s debilitating is if you feel like you are the only one.  You’re not.  Studies of people who  are identified as feeling like frauds range in percentage, but the overall number is high.  In fact, studies show that many of the most successful people feel it the most.  The higher up the ladder one goes, the greater the fear is of ‘being found out’.

Doubts can be good:  they can inspire you to become better.  If you combine your doubt with your passion, it can motivate you to great success.  Studies have shown that women who score high in the area of feeling like a fraud tend to compete harder to compensate for their doubts.  Interestingly, men who scored high on feeling like a fraud, tend to avoid areas where they feel vulnerable to avoid looking bad.

There is a thing called The Imposter Syndrome.  Many people have great difficulty internalizing their accomplishments.  All those things they’ve achieved:  degrees, promotions, publication, best-seller lists, etc. are thrown out.  Instead, people look to external things like luck and contacts that had little to do with their own efforts as the reason for the successes they have achieved.  Inside themselves, many people feel like they are ‘fooling’ everyone.  What’s particularly hard about that is the more success a person achieves, the greater the fear of being found a fraud becomes.

Some ways to gauge how much of The Imposter Syndrome you have:  The more you agree with the following statements, the higher your IS:

1. I can give the impression I am more competent than I really am.
2. I often compare myself to those around me and consider them more intelligent than I am.
3. I get discouraged if I’m not the ‘best’ in an endeavor.
4. I hate being evaluated by others.
5. If someone gives me praise for something I’ve accomplished, it makes me fear that I won’t live up to his or her expectations in the future.
6. I’ve achieved my current position via luck and/or being in the right place at the right time.
7. When I think back to the past, incidents where I made mistakes or failed come more readily to mind than times when I was successful.
8. When I finish a manuscript, I usually feel like I could have done so much better.
9. When someone complements me, I feel uncomfortable.
10. I’m afraid others will find out my lack of knowledge/expertise.
11. When I start a new manuscript, I’m afraid I won’t be able to finish it, even though I’ve already finished X number of manuscripts.
12. If I’ve been successful at something, I often doubt I can do it again successfully.
13. If my agent tells me I’m going to get an offer on a book, I don’t tell anyone until the contract is actually in hand.

Overall, people who feel like imposters are constantly judging their success against the achievements of others rather than viewing what they do as an end in itself.  For writers, this can be very dangerous, because there will always be someone who is doing ‘it better’ or ‘is more successful’.

A technique to fight feeling like a fraud is to use a version of my HALO concept on yourself.  HALO stands for High Altitude Low Opening parachuting.  Basically, the HALO approach starts from way outside yourself, diving in until you can see things clearly.  Step outside and view things as if you are a stranger to yourself.  Look at your resume.  Look at what you’ve accomplished in life.  Ask yourself what kind of person would have achieved these things?  Could a fraud have done this?  When I query a conference to teach or apply to lead workshops or do keynotes, I have to send my bio.  Sometimes I stop and read it and ask myself:  what would I think of this person, if I didn’t know them, but just read this?

Focus on positive feedback.  However, don’t ignore negative feedback. The key is not to let the negative  overwhelm you.  In the same vein, avoid ALL hateful feedback.  99 out of 100 emails I receive from readers are usually positive.  The bad one though used to really bother me.  Nowadays, when I open an email and I can tell it’s going to be nasty (aka:  I burned your book it sucked so much) I stop reading, hit delete and smile.  I figure they must have really been engaged by my writing to have such strong emotions.

I don’t look at Amazon reviews or rankings any more.  First, you have to realize that only a certain segment of the population posts reviews on Amazons.  It’s not a true sample of the population.  Also, the motives for posting reviews often have nothing to do with your book.

On the flip side of feeling like a fraud, some people tend to over-rate their abilities.  A self-serving delusion is almost necessary in this world to just get out of bed in the morning at times.  But take it too far and it can destroy you.

I have all my published books in my office on the top of two bookcases, all lined up.  The row is over three feet wide.  I look at it sometimes to fight the feeling that I can’t write another book, that I can’t get published again.

You have to believe in yourself.  If you’re unpublished, walk into the bookstores and don’t let all those published authors overwhelm you.  Use them to motivate you.  Tell yourself you belong there.  I always look and say:  “Hey, these people got published, why can’t I?”

List and post your accomplishments.  They can range from a picture of your family, degrees achieved, awards won, whatever.  Put them where you write.  Use them to remind yourself that you are not a fraud.  YOU ARE REAL.

Your thoughts?

(from Warrior Writer: From Writer To Published Author)

The uproar over Harlequin’s new vanity press line (similar to Thomas Nelson’s) and the reaction of RWA, SFWA, MWA and others to it has caused a lot of authors to wake up.  I’ve been in this business for 20 years and the one thing I have always seen is a subtle lack of respect for authors on the part of many publishers, agents and editors.  I read Michael Hyatt’s blog where he mentions ‘authors ripping off publishers’ because their books don’t earn out.  I constantly see agents tweet or blog about how hard it is to wade through the un-professional queries they receive.  I guess that’s called work.  Like writing on spec is work.

I’m not saying they are bad people or are consciously doing this, but there is a pervasive attitude that authors are replaceable cogs in the publishing machine.  And since most writers are so desperate to get published, there are many cogs standing in line.

I would submit the following to you:  Editors and agents usually start off as interns in the publishing business.  Or at the very least, at an entry level job.  They learn about the business and work their way up.  They are not thrust suddenly into selling or buying a book the first day on the job.

Authors are thrust into the business the first day on the job.  And no one teaches them a thing.  I’d like to ask this:  Is there any agent or editor who has a formal training program in place for new authors?  Where they educate the author on how the business works?

“We don’t have time” every agent and editor I mention this to, replies.  But you do have time to have a 90% failure rate on first novels?  I suggest considering making the time or outsourcing the training.  Because the current economy is not going to allow such a business paradigm to survive.

As it is now we have the “osmosis” training model for authors.  Go to conferences.  Join writers groups.  Talk to other authors.  All a hit-miss proposition.  The biggest problem is a new author doesn’t even know the right questions to ask.

I started my Warrior Writer program by using the business template that the elite Special Forces uses to train the best soldiers in the world and applying it to being an author.  I use 20 years and 40 books published and 20 years as a Special Forces A-Team leader, operations officer and instructor at the JFK Special Warfare Center & School, to develop a nine-step program that focuses on writers developing a career plan; examine their personality and how it affects their writing and their interaction with the publishing world; conquering fear; effective marketing; taking command of their own fate; and so on.

I think self-publishing (NOT vanity like HQ and Thomas Nelson are offering) is a viable option for some non-fiction authors who have a platform and a unique hook.  Bottom line for fiction authors:  forget about it.  Yes, you can cite one or two examples of unique success, but 99.9% of self-published fiction is a waste of time and money.

A lot of people are going to waste a lot of money at HQ and Thomas Nelson using their vanity press arm.  And HQ and Thomas Nelson are going to make a lot of money off these wanna-be writers—not readers.  Makes you wonder what kind of business template that is.

To all you wanna-be authors.  Caveat Emptor.

And yes, I have a traditionally published title coming out next week from St. Martins:  Wild Ride, co-written with Jennifer Crusie.  But I also have my first, original title, coming out from Who Dares Wins Publishing:  Chasing The Ghost that I’m very proud of.  Along with, at long last, the Warrior Writer book.

Now don’t start sending me queries.  I’m starting my own publishing company for my backlist and for my pending non-fiction.  I have 20 titles I own the rights to.  To try to get a ‘traditional’ publisher to re-release them is fruitless.  The feeling is ‘they had their chance’.  When, in reality, they didn’t have ‘their chance’ because the publishers threw them, along with thousands of other titles against the wall hoping one would stick.  With over one million books sold at Random House, I can’t get an editor to respond to an email.  The total marketing budget at Random House for those books was ‘round up the usual suspects’ which means tossing some galleys out there and that’s it.  Editors are overwhelmed and publishers are slow to adjust to new technologies.

Which makes this article by Jonathan Galassi kind of ludicrous in a way.

It goes to the attitude that publishers are the key players in the game and writers should be damn glad they deign to even publish you.  Kind of like that scene in The Player where they say, let’s get rid of the writers.

I will still seek to get traditionally published with my WIP.  The printed book is not dead.  But if you look at the facts, it’s time things start to change.  Here are new ereaders from the latest trade show:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/08/ces.ereader/index.html?iref=allsearch

Amazon sold more ebooks than printed books over the holidays.

People who use ereaders, buy three times as many books as those who buy printed.

So, my publishing company, Who Dares Wins, is proud to release Black Ops: The Gate on Kindle, via pdf from my web site, and in trade paperback from my web site.  It will soon be available from Lightning and as trade paperback on Amazon and other venues.

I think this is an exciting time to be an author with more opportunities than ever before.