Celebrate Small and Big Achievements

Life is a string of celebrations. You can only get better if you learn to reward your small successes before you get the bigger ones. After completing your first chapter, your first major scene or the manuscript that is ready for publishing, do something for yourself. You do not have to break the bank in your quest to make yourself happy. The little gifts sometimes are the ones that go the furthest. Appreciating the good helps you withstand the difficult and challenging situations along your path and keeps you motivated to keep on writing.

Obtain Feedback From Various Audiences

There are people around us who would likely help us with our writing. It could be our family, our friends, a local book club, professional writers or potential readers. These must be people you trust and whose main interest is to help you grow. Gaining feedback helps you assess your work before publishing your book. It is always advisable to widen your audience so as to gain constructive feedback. Also, as you begin writing your book, you should consider floating your ideas with some of these people and consider their opinions. When you get positive feedback regarding your book, it will help you write more confidently and enthusiastically.

Keep Improving

It always helps to read other writers’ books, especially those that belong to the genre of your interest. We all start somewhere and it is through practice and consistent learning that we improve our skill. Talent itself is not always enough, even though it places you at an advantage. There are abilities that we are born with and there are others we have to work for. The continual curiosity that leads to learning from others will take you even further. On writing, as you work on your book, consider taking time and reviewing your work as you move along. Edit and re-edit any areas that you find dull or unnecessary. Do not rush through your book just to get it done. Take your time; remember your first book is the easiest and more obvious way to introduce readers to your style and your work. Do not be too concerned about the number of revisions you end up doing, because many great books are the result of a series of drafting, deleting and improving.

Keep Writing

Do not get discouraged if your first book does not do as well as you had anticipated. Any accomplished author will tell you that it often takes time. Learn from your mistakes and work even harder. At some point, all the effort will pay off. Appreciate also what you did well and maximize on this the next time you write a book. Further, assess readers’ feedback on what they loved most about your book and what they did not like, especially where different readers share the same opinion. Next time as you write, consider their feedback. If your first book did well, then congratulations! But do not stop there. That is a clear indication that the world wants more of your work. Keep discovering new ways of expressing yourself even as you remain authentic. The sky is the limit.