This week I changed what I have on in the background while I’m creating new clay miniatures, and it sounds like entrepreneur week in my home. The interviews of entrepreneurs from all over the world by Ali Abdaal has filled my ears for a change of pace.
I’ve been taking notes to see if there are things that I change to grown my businesses and maybe come up with some ideas I never thought about. I said this in past posts but one question an old friend asked really woke me up. She said, “Do you want to make money or sell art?”
Today, you see creatives all over the world learning to do both but no matter which path you choose there’s a lot of effort and hours to put in before you hit an up moment. The difference is that once you decide to pursue a passion it may not feel like as much work, like that 9 to 5 that almost couldn’t get you out of bed in the morning. You’re more willing to put in the hours because it’s something that you really want to do.
Trying to find a way to do what your really passionate about and making money doing it requires gaining knowledge you don’t have. The most pieces of advice that I’ve gain by listening this week is find a mentor who can teach you those skills and take action immediately so that you can better at doing what you want to do.
How can we as writing monetize while we’re working on that novel? I look to other writers on social media to see how they built of up their channels. I’ve also talked about creating useful filler books while you writing a book to reinforce the feeling of being able to publish and get your name out there. You can practice making and marketing those filler books to get better before you put out the big one. Not to mention that showing you can finish something helps acquire agents and publishers.
Create those media channels early because agents and publishers will also love you already have a following. Back to the word “filler book”. I mean creating things like journals, your own edited poetry books, or shorts. I’ve shared exercised to get out writer’s block. If you publish your writing tips, favorite quotes, or even that coffee table book to make people smile, then can earn some side cash to help you later. You might not make millions at first but the point is to open yourself up and give yourself the opportunity. You can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket. So, each up your chances.
The kind of luck that I like is made. Entrepreneurs are a different breed we can learn from because they didn’t wait for things to happen, then got started because they wanted to create opportunities.
Remember that exercise from yesterday about planning an outing? Well, maybe it includes going to a bookstore, a small shop, or favorite place for inspiration. What kinds of things do you like? What kinds of journals do you use? Write down ideas for a side hustle related to writing for 5-10 minutes. Write down different journals or books that you would pick up in a store that aren’t a novel.
After trying this prompt for real, you can create one of these filler books in a weekend. Yes, there are additional days spent on editing, proofing, and uploading but it’s much shorter than the traditional time it takes to publish the traditional way. Like I’ve always said, keep an open mind when it comes to the word “publishing”. You never know, you could become the next journal guru on Amazon.
My posts are Monday to Friday!
Imagine Inspire Create: 52 Weeks of action and gratitude is available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S6XCLFY/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_Q7MHM9CFBSASDG56YMJQ
Get closer to your writing goals with my Writer’s Journal filled with writing prompts and exercises. You can find a copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0931QRL7C/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_VTHN0QSHXRYK6RJ1XSWQ.
Writer's Block Inc 