B is for Balls!

Day two of the AtoZChallenge has dawned and I already had this post planned out yesterday. I am not sure how often I will know what I am going to write about before I actually sit down to pen the post, but fingers crossed it is more times than usual.

The letter B is the theme for the post today, and there was only one word that sprang into my mind when I thought about the challenge.

BALLS

If you want to make it as a writer, especially in the modern day, you need to strap on an extra-large pair and get right down to it. The bigger the better, because without having a big sack hanging there (metaphorically speaking for all of those out there who will claim I am ignoring female writers), you will not get anywhere.

Time and tide wait for no man, and neither does the writing industry.

You need to stand up, put on your big girl pants and grab the opportunity by the BALLS if you want to get ahead.

Being a writer is about so much more than just putting words on paper. You need to stand up and promote yourself, you need to promote your work. Selling is a key component to your success. Whether you are with a mid-level publisher, a small press or one of the big names, the pressure being placed on authors to be responsible for their own sales initiatives is high and growing. You need to be able to accept this, adapt and overcome.

It takes balls to put your work out there. People will judge it, and they will judge you. What comes next is of the utmost importance. This judgement will not always be fair. It may not always be positive, and no, these two are not necessarily related.

Be prepared for the fact that sometimes what you write might inspire reactions that are unwarranted. It is rare, but it does happen. You need to be able to stand up, look that adversity in the eye and say, I got the stones to take it, and carry on.

Honesty hurts, and sometimes, people will not like your writing. It does not mean your writing is bad, it does not mean that your writing is awesome and they are wrong. Perception, tastes, prejudices set by exterior factors, all of this could play a role. The trick is to not rise above it. Stand tall and believe in yourself.

The writing community is, largely, a friendly and supportive one, but does not mean that you can sit back and expect things to happen for you. Nobody will make your book a success but you. Get out there, get your book and yourself circulated, be the name on peoples lips (for the right reasons). Go out there and show the world the size of your balls… just not in the literal sense of the phrase!

Check back again tomorrow where C will be the letter of choice.