Write It Forward: From Writer to Successful Author

WRITE IT FORWARD:
FROM WRITER
TO SUCCESSFUL
AUTHOR

Why Use Write It Forward?
Many sucessful people use elements of it.
Nora Roberts sells 27 books a minute.
She has 182 books in print.
“You’re going to be unemployed if you really think you just have to
sit around and wait for the muse to land on your shoulder.”

I’ll do anything to achieve my
writing goal, except don’t ask
me to do . . . . .?
This is a thing you know you ought
to do, but simply can’t muster the
courage/energy to accomplish.

•Clearly understanding your goals keeps you on target
to succeed
•Both your goals and your book’s goals
Goals-- What

•A dream with an external visible outcome that is
written down with an end date becomes a goal.
•A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan.
•A plan backed by action becomes reality.
Goals-- What

•Most writers are desperate to get published
•Once published, they’re desperate to sell the next
book. Then the next.
•Or they’re under contract to deliver the next book,
then the next, and . . .
•Most writers don’t have a long-term strategic goal
Strategic Goals.

“If you don’t
know where
you’re going,
you’re liable
to end up
somewhere
else.”
~Casey
Stengel

•Overall career goal (Strategic)
•Book goal (Tactical)
•Business goal (Tactical)
•Shorter range/daily goals (Tactical)
The Hierarchy of Goals

• I want to be a NY Times best-selling author in 5 years.
• I want to write my memoir for my grandchildren.
• I want to write part-time simply because it is a hobby.
• I want to get published within 2 years.
• I want to have my book in print within 6 months.
• I want to write a book that will help people with -----.
Strategic Goals Can Be Anything.

•Have a positive verb that indicates the action you want
to use to achieve your goal.
•The verb indicates an action you control.
•Concise, understandable wording.
•An external, visible outcome.
•A time lock for achieving the goal.
•KEEP IT POSITIVE- A NEGATIVE GOAL INVITES
DEFEAT
State your goals in one sentence.

•Do you want mainstream publishing?
•Do you want to self-publish?
•Do you want a major, NY publisher?
•Do you want a regional, prestige publisher?
•Do you want e-publishing?
Key Tactical Goal: How do you
approach publishing?

•Is talent or perseverance
more important?
•Science has too long focused
on intelligence & talent as
determiners of success.
•It’s not.
Strategic Goals: GRIT

Grit is:
Combination of passion and long-
term perseverance.
Professor Duckworth studied West Point
Beast Barracks and the Special Forces
Qualification Course for determiners of
ucces: She found grit was the determining
factor.
I’ve successfully complete both course
(and helped design the new version of the
Q-Course).
I agree.

Setting a specific
long-term goal
and doing
whatever it takes
until the goal has
been achieved.
Thus the Key To Success is:

“He who has a why to
live can bear with almost
any how.”
~Nietzsche

• Look for their goals (WHAT).
• See what worked. See what didn’t.
• Study the career paths of writers and artists in all fields.
• Their creative paths. Their break-out.
• But understand you are unique & so are they.
Study Artists

WHERE-- The Problem
• You are working in conflict with yourself.
• You are working in conflict with your personal
environment.
• You are working in conflict with the publishing world
(Yes, it makes no sense, but it is what it is— use it; don’t
fight it).

•The Three Hardest Words are “I am wrong.” Followed
by “I need to change.”
•Willingness to Surrender
•Growth Mindset
•Buridan’s Ass: Either eat or drink, but stop
procrastinating or else you’ll collapse of hunger and
thirst!
•When we have too many options, we don’t focus on
the ones we should
Open-Mindedness

•When we have too many options, we don’t focus on
the ones we should
•Close doors— we always have the power to say
“NO!”
•You can’t do everything.
•You have to pick which ones you’re going to do and let
go of the others.
•Make a decision!
Open-Mindedness

•How do you think?
•How do your create?
•What is your pathological need?
•How do you sabotage yourself?
Your Creative Process

• Male linear thinking.
• Female circular thinking.
• Big picture thinking.
• Detail thinking.
• Aka pantser vs a planner.
Archetypes & Creativity.

“Because writing is such a solitary,
inwardly-directed job, a woman writer
really has to carve out a space for herself
to work. Which means she has to take it
seriously. As John Gardner once said: ‘If
you believe that what you’re doing isn’t
important, you’re right’.”
~Dennis Palumbo

INTP= Architect
ENTP= Inventor
INTJ= Scientist
ENTJ= Field Marshall
INFP= Questor
ENFP= Journalist
INFJ= Author
ENJF= Pedagogue
ESJF= Seller
ISFJ= Conservator
ESFP= Entertainer
ISFP= Artist
ESTJ= Administrator
ISTJ= Trustee
ESTP= Promoter
ISTP= Artisan
Myers-Briggs Types

• Don’t focus on what you are.
• Focus on what you aren’t! This shows you what you have
to change.
• What is the opposite of your type?
• If you are an INFJ (author), the opposite is ESTP
(promoter).
Myers-Briggs Types

•If you aren’t where you want to be, YOU must change.
•Change isn’t just thinking differently, but the 1st step of
change is to think differently.
•Make is externally imposed.
•Become is internally motivated.
•The successful become.
Change.

•Can people change? Of course.
•You want to show change through action, not just talk
about it.
•Change requires three things to happen . . .
Change.

•Moment of Enlightenment
•Make a decision
•Implement Sustained Action
Three Steps of Change:

• Experience something never experienced before.
• Experience something you’ve experienced before, but it affects
you differently than ever before.
• This is the classic ‘light bulb going on’.
• By itself, it is not change, just a momentary awareness.
• Denial often blocks MOEs.
• Anger stops MOEs when it is actually an indicator of an MOE,
especially for men.
Moment of Enlightenment

• Because of the Moment of Enlightenment, a decision is made.
• It is not necessarily a good decision.
• You then are either:
• Stuck with the decision (externally imposed change) or
• Stick with the decision (internally motivated change)
• By itself, a decision is not change, just a fleeting commitment.
• Bargaining can dilute a decision.
• Depression can cause you to give up on decision.
Decision

• Because of the decision, behavior is changed.
• The changed behavior is sustained long enough to become habit.
• In the military, this is called training.
• Sustained action leads to change.
• We develop a new habit.
Sustained Action.

•Denial
•Anger
•Bargaining
•Depression
•Acceptance
Emotional Stages of Change

• Sliding back on the five emotional stages stops change.
• Acceptance is not easy-- your reality has changed.
Sustained Action.

What step of change do you
believe you have the most trouble
with?
• Moment of Enlightenment?
• Decision?
• Sustained Action?

What step of change do you believe
you have the most trouble with?
• Most people believe it is sustained action.
• The reality, though, is that you have to get to sustained action first.
• Think back on times in your life when you’ve changed and examine
them. What was the hardest part?
• For some it was realizing the need to change. For others it was making
the decision.
• Sometimes, making the decision isn’t the problem: it’s being afraid of
making a mistake that keeps us from making the hard decision.

•5% of people are capable of self-motivated change:
GRIT!
•Statistically born out by: weight loss, AA, Black Belts,
getting published, Death & Dying, etc..
•Many people are wanna-be’s.
The 5% Rule

“Talent is less important in film-
making than patience. If you really
want your films to say something
that you hope is unique, then
patience and stamina, thick skin
and a kind of stupidity, a mule-like
stupidity, is what you really need.”
~Terry Gilliam

•Fear of failure
•Fear of success
•Fear of rejection
•Fear of starting
Fears of Writers

•Fear of finishing
•Fear of revealing too much about ourselves
•Fear of criticism
Fears of Writers

•Fear of making the wrong decision
•Fear of having hit one’s peak
•Fear of making a mistake
•Fear of not being good enough
•Fear of the business
•Fear of having regrets
Fears of Writers

• The first step is to rip away the denial.
• Look at what you think is your greatest strength and turn it
around. Your fear hides there in your blind spot.
• Most fear is subconscious-- you will likely need help finding the
true root. Yep. Therapy.
• We bend our lives around our fears.
• Your fear won’t change things-- it has no power--it won’t keep
the plane flying
• Fear can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Dealing with Fears

•Many people have difficulty internalizing their
accomplishments
•We look to external things like luck and contacts as
the reason for our successes
•We feel like we are ‘fooling’ everyone
•The more success someone has, the greater this
feeling
The Impostor Syndrome

•Many writers/artists feel like a fraud
“I was convinced that there would be a knock on the door, and
a man with a clipboard (I don't know why he carried a
clipboard, in my head, but he did) would be there, to tell me it
was all over, and they had caught up with me, and now I would
have to go and get a real job, one that didn't consist of making
things up and writing them down, and reading books I wanted
to read.” Neil Gaiman

•Many writers/artists feel like a fraud
“I have written 11 books, but each time I think ‘Uh-oh’, they’re
going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re
going to find out.” Maya Angelou
“I am not a writer. I’ve been fooling myself and other people.”
John Steinbeck.
•Everyone has doubts

• I can give the impression I am more competent than I
really am.
• I often compare myself to those around me and consider
them more intelligent than I am.
• I get discouraged if I’m not the ‘best’ in an endeavor.
The more you agree with the following
statements, the greater your Impostor
Syndrome

• I hate being evaluated by others.
• 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.
• I’ve achieved my current position via luck and/or being in
the right place at the right time.
Syndrome

• 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
• When I finish a manuscript, I usually feel like I could
have done so much better.
• When someone compliments me, I feel uncomfortable
Syndrome

• I’m afraid others will find out my lack of
knowledge/expertise.
• 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.
Syndrome

• If I’ve been successful at something, I
often doubt I can do it again successfully.
Impostor Syndrome

Women tend to agree more with IS statements
than men.
Women tend to believe that intelligence is a fixed
trait that cannot be improved over time.
Women who feel like impostors tend to seek
favorable comparisons with their peers.
Men who feel like impostors tend to avoid
comparisons with their peers. Often, they work
harder so other people won’t think them incapable
or dumb, but the work is a smoke screen.
Impostor Syndrome

•HALO effect. Step out of yourself. Look at your own
resume.
•Focus on positive feedback
•Weed out your parent’s voice in your head if negative
•Be aware of using self-deprecation as a social strategy
•Internalize your accomplishments

Have mule-like stupidity.

• Acknowledge it is exists.
• Define what you really fear, often the blind spot.
• Factor it in, both positively and negatively.
• Open and honest communication reduces anxiety and fear.
• Trust reduces anxiety and fear.
• Recognize which of the three steps of change is your flaw
Overcoming Fear

• The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face
danger with self-possession, confidence, and resolution,
• The ability to do something that frightens one.
• Strength in the face of pain or grief.
What is Courage?

• Expand your comfort zone into
your courage zone.
• Courage is acting in the face of
fear.
• Your strongest emotional defenses
are around your greatest
weaknesses.
• Often what we think is our
strongest character strength hides
our weakest.
• As writers, most of us must fight
being an introvert.
Courage

“Have no fear of perfection-- you’ll
never reach it.”
~Dali.

• You can’t separate your writing from you, the writer
• Living with fear is ultimately worse than confronting it
• Attack the ambush. Face your fear head on.
• Put long-term goals ahead of short-term goals
• Write what you know- maybe write what you are afraid to know.
• Lean into fear-- if you can’t face it head on, face it incrementally.
• Be curious about your fear-- it’s a cave- but treasure could be inside
• Bottom line: Take action.
Overcoming Fear

• Every day try to do something that you dislike doing, but need to
do.
• Action is the only way to grow courage.
• If you’re introverted, talk to a stranger every day.
• If you’re a practical person, do something intuitive every day.
• Do the opposite of your Myers-Briggs character.
Overcoming Fear

• You must first master the craft.
• Learn the “rules” of writing and publishing.
• Study, practice.
• Consider your first manuscript an investment in the future.
• The vast majority of wanna-be writers never go beyond that first
learning manuscript, especially with the lure of self-publishing.
• Then, to become an artist, you must break rules. Or else you’re
just like everyone else.
Rule Breaking

The paradoxical rules of rule breaking:
1. Know the rule.
2. Have a good reason for breaking the rule.
3. Accept the consequences of breaking the rule.

For more free slideshows on
writing, survival, history and other topics,
go to:
www.bobmayer.com/workshops

How to
write the book
How to
be an author
www.bobmayer.com/nonfiction
“A book to inspire, instruct and challenge the writer in everyone.”
#1 NY Times Best-Selling Author Susan Wiggs
"An invaluable resource for beginning and seasoned writers alike.
Don't miss out."
#1 NY Times Best-Selling Author Terry Brooks

“In Who Dares Wins, Bob Mayer gives us a unique and valuable window into the
shadowy world of our country’s elite fighting forces and how you can apply many of
the concepts and tactics they use for success in your own life and organization.”
Jack Canfield: Co-creator Chicken Soup for the Soul and The Success Principles
“Success in life—as in combat—has always demanded depth of character. Who Dares
Wins reveals what it takes for you to move into the world of elite warriors and how their
training developed that Can Do spirit and Special Forces ethos of excellence.”
Lewis C. Merletti: Director United States Secret Service (retired), Former Sgt 5th
Special Forces Group (Vietnam); Cleveland Browns Executive Vice President & COO

New York Times bestselling author, graduate of West
Point and former Green Beret. He’s had over 80 books
published across an array of genres, including the #1
bestselling series Green Berets, Shadow Warriors, Time
Patrol, Area 51, and Atlantis.
He’s presented for over 1,000 organizations during three
decades of writing full time.
If you’re interested in his weekend intensive workshop or
having him present for your group, email him at:
bob@bobmayer.com
www.bobmayer.com

Write It Forward: From Writer to Successful Author

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Write It Forward: From Writer to Successful Author