Should I quit?
The thought crosses your mind a thousand times. Particularly on the days when nothing you write seems to make sense.
Some of us do need to quit for several reasons.
If you are at a fork in the road, if you think quitting is the best option for you, then you should quit.
Too many people will try to persuade you to keep going despite your own gut feeling, despite potential burnout, despite a crowded market, despite the thousands of dollars you are throwing into courses, publishing, and marketing, and not making any income from at all.
Then yes, you need to quit writing.
At least for the time being.
There is no shame in quitting. No one will prosecute you, no one will ridicule you, and no one will think less of you.
But if deep down you know that you don’t want to quit and my suggestion to quit has pissed you off, then I might get the opposite reaction from you. You might get even more determined.
That was my reaction when I read Becca Syme’s book “Dear Writer, You Need to Quit.”
Syme presented an interesting take on a writer’s struggles.
She wrote (and I paraphrase), think of yourself as a character in a book. You know pretty well a protagonist has to do a lot of work to go through the transformation. In the beginning, the protagonist starts at one place and goes through many trials, tribulations, and conflicts to get to a better place. By the time the book ends she emerges as the best version of herself.
We write the stories of these transformations all the time. We throw all kinds of clamities at our characters and watch them come out of them transformed. Yet, we want it to be easy for our own transformation (to be a better writer).
The struggle is essential for growth. The truth is nothing will ever truly transform you if it is not crucible. So, stop expecting things to be easy.
If you still want to quit, there are a few things you can quit.
Quit complaining.
Quit expecting it to be easy.
Quit expecting shortcuts.
Keep in mind the transformational character arc full of black moments.
See yourself as a protagonist in your own story. Watch her overcome hurdles.
Will she quit?
The question will always be looming in Act 1. But as soon as she is in Act II, she has crossed the point-of-no-return. Now she will come transformed on the other end.
Transformed and victorious.
I am writing book number 4 this week - Eight Steps To Authorpreneurship.
I have discovered and adopted a model to write and publish a book a month which I have explained in Write A Book A Month To Earn 100K. Although my publishing routine is big behind due to editing constraints, I am on schedule to write a book a month.
If things go well, I will be able to cross quite a few hurdles in the second half of 2021.
That’s it from me this week.
I would love to hear from you. Please drop me a line in the comments section.
Take care.
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Crosses my mind all the time. But when you have your why intact quitting is never an option. I just finished and submitted an article about quitting too.