The 7 habits you need to become a successful writer

by Maria

A literary agent reveals the 7 habits you need to become a successful writer: these are the everyday things anyone can do to become a successful writer and author.

Here’s one of the toughest questions in the world: how do I become a successful ___________? As a literary agent, I’m constantly asked by aspiring writers how they can not only get published, but also become a successful writer.

And we all know who the successful authors are: they get all the sales, all the reviews, all the fame and fortune. But how did they become a successful writer, and how do they stay successful? Is their success the perfect confluence of writing skill, platform savvy, and maybe some pure, dumb luck?

Yes and no.

Yes, there are an extraordinary amount of whacky, weird breakout hits in the publishing world. (Um, adult coloring books?) But there are also some underlying principles — an operating system, really — that runs on autopilot to help some people become successful writers. They know how to do the right things, because they’ve done them over and over and over again.

How I learned what it takes to become a successful writer

become a successful writer

When I started out as an editorial assistant at a big NYC publisher, I didn’t know a foreword from a preface. I had a full tank of enthusiasm and an empty skull, waiting to be filled with publishing knowledge. At the time, I was pretty sure I knew nothing about publishing.

And I was pretty right. But what I didn’t realize was that I did have a few things going for me. (Other than a knack for pestering the hell out of people until they would give me interesting work.)

I had four things:

  1. An obsession with following up and deadlines. (This from a brief stint as a paralegal at a law firm.)
  2. A stubborn desire to be over-the-top nice so every single person would like me. (This is not always a good thing, let me tell ya.)
  3. An annoying amount of curiosity about how publishing worked. (I think I abused the “any questions?” prompt more than anyone can reasonably forgive me for.)
  4. No other options.

Publishing was IT for me, and I was going to have to make it work or go back to that law firm. And I was not going back to that law firm. People shouting makes me want to puke.

Quickly I realized that there were about a thousand other skills and habits I needed to develop if I was going to do a little better by my authors each year.

I also began noticing the habits that were holding certain authors back, as well as the habits that were most helping others become a successful writer. It turns out, these were many of the same habits I was trying to develop (and still am, because these are BIG and IMPORTANT).

These habits won’t guarantee you’ll become a successful writer. But they will push your chances of success as high as humanly possible. And that? That gives you the sweet blissful knowledge that you did everything in your power to make your dream happen.

The 7 habits you need to become a successful writer

become a successful writer

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Sticky Blogging class registration now open!

by Maria

This week I’m working on a mega post about the 7 habits writers need to become bestselling authors, and as you can see, Pepper is very excited for MOAR CONTENT:

sticky blogging class

But I also wanted to pop in and say that registration for Kelly’s Sticky Blogging class is finally open!

Kelly only opens her class to new students a few times a year, so I always get excited when Sticky Blogging season comes around. As I wrote about here, I learned a TON in her class (and that’s after nearly a decade of paid copywriting jobs), and her method for making more income from fewer posts is so refreshing and destressing in our content-drowned world.

So instead of drowning you in my own blabber (that comes next week in my 2,000+ word post!), I’m just going to encourage you to take a peek at Kelly’s class and see if it feels like the next self-education adventure you want to go on.

And of course, if you have questions about the class, just leave a comment, and I’ll tell ya every last thing I know!

 

Click here to learn more!

 

5 quick reads for the week

  1. This question really touched me, and it also made me immediately go out and buy a hammock.
  2. What to post on social media when you have nothing to say. (This is me, all the time).
  3. This is one thing I did post about on social media this week, because I loved it so much.
  4. A super fun short film that will hit you in your reader-bone.
  5. And just in case you’re in a reading rut…

What we’re eating this week

Okay. Here’s what happened. I planned a nice meal plan for the week. Two new recipes from Bon Appetit; two easy go-to dinners; one night out. Then KABOOM. (That’s the life bomb going off.) There’s too much going on, and the meal plan was stressing me to pieces. So I deleted it from my phone.

So here, shamefully, is my honest and tragic accounting of how things go down when you go off script:

Sunday: So much Sunday motivation! We made pulled venison tacos and margaritas and had some friends over for Cinco de Mayo. (“It’s going to be a great week,” she thought to herself.)

Monday: Omg, zero motivation. Out to eat.

Tuesday: Off to my neighborhood book club, where mercifully, others cook for me.

Wednesday: Leftovers. (“This is a real crap week,” she muttered.)

Thursday: Getting my life together and making this to bring to my best friend who just had a baby. Apparently I can only get it together to cook if it’s for someone else?

Friday: Out to eat because I am EXHAUSTED. (“Thank God the week is over,” she shouted a little too loudly.)

Cheers!

Get one free tip for reading more + living better each week!

Blogging for writers: How to get more traffic with fewer posts

by Maria

Blogging for writers: how to get more blog traffic with fewer posts, so you still have time to work on your book manuscript!

Yesterday morning I sat down at my computer and wondered why I didn’t pick a job that could be—I don’t know—easier? I had to draft comp copy for a proposal, and I could not get the words to flow. It was painful.

This happens to me Every. Time. I get it bad when I’m sitting down to write sections of a proposal. Or drafting a pitch letter. Or writing a blog post.

And that? That is sad. Sad like my inability to keep plants alive.

blogging for writers

It doesn’t matter if we know, intellectually, that it’s just resistance staring back at us, trickling fear into our veins drip by drip. I’ve read every book in the genre—The War of Art, Big Magic, Bird by Bird—and I still get a turn in my stomach at the thought of sitting down to write.

Only two things have helped me woman up and write what needs to be written each day:

  1. Terrible first drafts. (The first drafts of my book projects are a horror show.)
  2. The Sticky Blogging Brainstorming worksheet.

I’ve talked about my trusty Sticky Blogging worksheet before, but that’s because it’s so good I just can’t shut up about it. It’s taken me from stressball to calm + collected about writing.

That brainstorming worksheet lives in a folder on my computer called “Start Here Before Writing,” and it’s the PDF equivalent of brushing my teeth and getting dressed in the morning. If I don’t start there, I get disoriented, scattered, and very grumpy about what happens next.

Now, when I’m thinking about the 10,000 reasons I should check email again instead of drafting that pitch letter, I turn off my wifi, open my brainstorming worksheet, open a Word document, and start doing some terrible drafting.

blog writing workshop

Because terrible drafts turn into better drafts which turn into good drafts which turn into Done.

And Done is a beautiful feeling.

But I will admit that the brainstorming worksheet wouldn’t be the game-changer it is without all the other methods I learned in my friend Kelly’s Sticky Blogging workshop. That class really helped me understand the science behind hooking a reader and not letting them go—something I wish I could teach all writers as well as Kelly does. It’s especially perfect for teaching blogging for writers, which, let’s admit, has its own set of advantages and challenges.

The real payoff of her class? With her Sticky Blogging method, Kelly only needs to post about once a month to get strong traffic and make a living from her blog.

And less time blogging = more time for your manuscript. THAT’s what makes it the best class on blogging for writers–it’s all about building your platform without bankrupting your book writing time.

The best class on blogging for writers

That’s why I’m excited she’s finally opening up to new students for the first time this year. Honestly, I’m tempted to sign Jarrett up this year, but he’d kill me.

But if you won’t kill me for being a bit bossy: you should sign up for Kelly’s free workshop! It’s called How to Get More Traffic with Fewer Posts. 

You can learn a ton from her in just 1 hour, and you don’t have to spend a single penny. You also don’t need to sign up for her bigger Sticky Blogging class if it’s not your thing–you can just tune in to the free workshop and still learn a lot.

Kelly’s running her free sessions this Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Maybe it’s time to treat yourself to a little free education this week? 

 

Click here to learn more and register for the free workshop!

 

5 quick reads for the week

  1. Pitching is an art, and a pitch is possibly the most difficult paragraph you’ll ever write. Luckily, tips abound!
  2. I am a little obsessed with writing by hand. This story takes the cake, though.
  3. Shhh.
  4. I had such a fun time chatting with Maggie of the Cookbook Love podcast! We talked cooking as chore vs. self-care, my very favorite cookbook of all time, and why I don’t actually own very many cookbooks.
  5. Who gets to decide who is an authority on food?

What we’re eating this week

I had a crazy weekend–I zipped off to catch a 3 am Amtrak train after the James Beard Awards so I could be back in time to host my sister and her boyfriend, and I’m still trying to catch my breath. I was only home ONE day last week, so I am also very ready for some cooking in my kitchen. Here are the middling results:

Monday: I did not want to use my brain, so grilling it was. We’ve recently gotten into the chorizo chicken sausages from Whole Foods, and we grilled some spring onions from our farm basket and made an unremarkable salad. Can I write a think piece in praise of unremarkable dinners? (Wait, JJ beat me to it.)

Tuesday: Jarrett is in DC for the night, so Pepper and I are partying with some Pepperoni Pizza Pasta, which is exactly as basic as it sounds.

blogging for writers

Wednesday: J and I joined a kickball team that plays on Wednesdays, so I’ve been turning to one of my favorite books, Eat at Home Tonight, to tell me what to cook when I have to go run around like a lunatic in, like, 20 minutes. This week’s answer: balsamic beef lettuce wraps with slaw.

Thursday: Okay, I ran out of steam. I have no idea what to cook and no desire to figure it out. Thanks for tuning in to my cooking show!

Friday: Beer and BBQ at Hardywood!! Happiness is a warm bun weighted down with pork.

Cheers!

Get one free tip for reading more + living better each week!

The best way to make time to read

by Maria

It can be hard to make time to read in our busy lives, but this is the best, most enjoyable way to make time to read that I’ve found yet!

I woke up one morning last week and did. not. want. to. write. Not one email; not one proposal; not one sentence. I wanted to roll over, reach for a book on my nightstand, and burrow into the covers for a day of reading with Pepper.

make time to read

But here’s the thing: spring is such a busy season in the publishing world, so I can’t make time to read during the day. And after a long day of work, I’m usually too drained by bedtime to reach for the stack of books on my nightstand. So sometimes, it feels impossible to make time to read.

The solution? Reading Night.

(Doesn’t that just sound fun?!)

Reading Night is a pact between you and whoever you live with—husbands, roommates, toddlers, unemployed dogs named Pepper—to throw your cares to the wind for a night and do nothing but read. It’s by far the best, most reckless, and enjoyable way to make time to read.

Anyone can declare a Reading Night whenever they need it, and everyone joins in on reading something. It’s kind of like a pause button on life–it slows and hushes the house for just a few hours in an otherwise insane-o week. It reminds us that very little is more important than slowing down to make time to read.

make time to read

Here’s how you make time to read with a Reading Night:

  1. Cancel or reschedule all your plans or appointments (it’s okay to be this person every once in awhile).
  2. Pop something stupid-easy in the slow cooker or oven (might I recommend this or this?) or order in pizza.
  3. Collect blankets, pillows, and other nesting apparatus. Leave cellphones, iPads, and laptops in another room.
  4. Help kids pick their own book or other quiet activity.
  5. Park yourself on the couch with a book and a glass of wine.
  6. Repeat for the rest of the night, until you feel better about the day and basically all of life.

But I get it–pressing pause to make time to read is not always easy.

I know how hard it is to extract ourselves from our everyday pressures for even one night. Some nights, I try to relax, but all I can think about is the 1,000 things I should be doing and how I just can’t make time to read that night.

But a Reading Night is something families, marriages, kids, you need. That’s because it’s not only about books. It’s about a few precious hours of quiet, without screens, without to-dos, where we can “read to know we are not alone,” as C.S. Lewis put it.

So to celebrate how good it feels to come home to a book and to a Reading Night, I created this free book art print to inspire you to make time to read. It has my favorite Kathleen Norris quote: “Just the knowledge that a good book is awaiting one at the end of a long day makes that day happier.”

make time to read

 

Click here to download this free book quote art print!

 

 

5 quick reads for the week

  1. I am so thrilled to see my wonderful client, Nik, be nominated for a James Beard award in the Photography category for his book, Season! And by thrilled I mean jumping-for-joy, hugging-everyone-in-sight way too excited!
  2. This Native American artist is bringing representation to comic books and bashing stereotypes, one frame at a time.
  3. How to simplify your submissions to literary journals, because simpler is always better.
  4. I know I always cringe when I throw away mountains of plastic after putting together dinner, so I love that The Salt has some recommendations for reducing plastic waste in your kitchen.
  5. And here’s your publishing meets politics intrigue of the week.

What we’re eating this week

I cooked ONCE this week. Bitter laugh. But it wasn’t my fault, I swear! I was only home one day between a very fun weekend at The Greenbrier and a trip to NYC for work.

So this week let’s cheat—I mean, curate—our reporting.

A Highly Curated and Extremely Accurate Account of This Week’s Eating

Monday: Delicious cheddar brats made by a family friend, and sad boiled broccoli made by me.

Tuesday: Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi Linguine! See? I made a thing.

And that’s it. The End.

Cheers!

Get one free tip for reading more + living better each week!