The Journey Is Everything: Writing Tip #10

I know--that's such a cliche, right? A slogan you'd find in an office building along with an image like the one I randomly found on the internet. But too often, I encounter writers who set the bar way too low.

Now understand--there is a difference between being ambitious and being foolish. I probably confuse the two of those things myself at times. Also, I'm not saying that you should believe your own press (if it's particularly good). What I'm talking about is dreaming big.

I often think that authors don't dream big because it's such a miracle to simply be published (meaning to sign a contract and get paid for your work). Once they get their first book published, they're confined to fit into the box the publisher has put them in. Sure, they might want to do ten other types of books, but that's not how you BUILD A BRAND and that's not how you make the BESTSELLER LIST. So they try to make their box as big as it can possibly be. But often times, the box gets smaller and smaller. Yet the author wants to stay in the publishing game, so they do what they're told to do, do what everybody else does, and on and on.

Each book you write (whether it gets published or not, whether you get paid for it or not) should be your attempt to do something unique and special. Will it join the ranks of the classics? Will it become a bestseller? You never know, and you should never plan on it to, but at the same time, you should never set your sights low.

I feel very fortunate to be in this publishing pool, because there are many authors out there who are surely more talented at the craft of writing than I am. I'm not being falsely modest. I think there are worse authors out there, too. But when it comes to ambition and dreams for what might come, I think I'm way up there at the top. My reasons for these ambitions and dreams are varied--many are selfish, but there are a few good ones. The point is that I've held them since third grade, and slowly I've been able to see some of them fulfilled.

I set my sights very, very high, hoping that my lack of talent or my selfish ambitions or my deep-rooted insecurities don't get in the way of producing something excellent. Then again, I think all those things are what made me the writer that I am.