As I dive into the world of writing and indie authorship, I find myself in need of some rules to live by. There are so many ways to get sidetracked or sucked into something that just doesn’t fit. So these are my rules.
RULE #1
If you find yourself wanting a new house, start by cleaning your current one.
This is so obviously related to writing that it does not even warrant any further explanation.
(disclaimer: I’m poking fun at how my brain works, not yours).
For those readers who don’t jump from Point A to Point D, let me explain.
When I get sucked down the vortex of looking for writing and marketing advice, it inevitably leads to ‘how to make money through your writing.’
I’m suggest-able enough that I temporarily fall for the, ‘six figure author income dream.’ That leads to dreaming of moving my family into a larger house (1200 square feet would be nice).
Then I become a cranky monster who hates my house. And I hate hating things.
So I clean my house.
And what do you know! I remember that I love my house. I can’t imagine why I would ever leave, even if I did make a six-figure income. It’s a sort of magic.
Someone should write a book about that – it would be a horror story about the sinister magic of messy houses and the wholesome magic of clean houses.
Perhaps the rule should be “Don’t obsess over writing and marketing advice,” but come on, who are we kidding? My search engine algorithm is currently littered with that stuff. I’m not escaping those clutches anytime soon.
On a more serious note, what it comes down to is this: know what you want before someone else (ie, the internet) decides for you. Find ways to remind yourself of what you want your life to look like, what you value, why you do what you do. Because it’s scarily easy to get caught up in someone else’s dream.
