Let’s get one thing out of the way first. I have a problem with the word mistake. In my opinion, mistakes are when you spell something wrong or mistaking someone for someone else.
With my author career so far, I personally don’t see them as mistakes, I see them as learning opportunities. Reframing them doesn’t make me feel as stupid, and it gives me something to focus on.
So, in the spirit of full transparency, here are some of the biggest learning opportunities I’ve learnt in my author career so far.
Mistake # 1 – I listened to all the advice
This doesn’t just apply to the author’s life; it applies to everything we do. It’s been said before, but I’m going to say it again. Just because something works for one person doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you.
They’re giving you their experience and framing the words in a way that answers your question.
When I first started out, I read all the books, watched all the videos, and listened to all the podcasts (that one still applies, but it’s targeted). I didn’t have a frame of reference, and I saw these amazing authors living their best lives and achieving success.
That’s what I wanted.
But, after a few months of trying to implement EVERYTHING, I realised it wasn’t workable. I’d start one thing, get distracted by another piece of advice that actively worked against what I wanted, and I took the dreaded two-steps-back.
So, what did I learn from this?
Listen, absorb, and dissect. Understand what the author/podcaster/speaker are saying and adapt the advice to what I want to achieve.
For example, the common advice for authors is you should be on social media. Whilst I’m not disputing this, my stance is that I really don’t like it. It fills me with a black, sickening dread. It makes my palms sweat and I immediately go NO, NO, NO.
Instead, I’m adapting the “be on social media” advice and turning that towards my newsletter. It’s still social, but it’s speaking to my readers in a way I’m comfortable with.
Some people are comfortable with video, hence YouTube. Some love taking pictures, leading them to Instagram. Me? Words all the way. I write how I speak, but I don’t have the crushing embarrassment of being face to face with someone.
Hence, my amazing newsletter peeps.
Mistake #2 – I tried to do “All the Things”
Again, this is something that newbie entrepreneurs and authors might struggle with. I know I did. All the things, all the time. But we only have so much time in the day.
Which is why I’ve changed my approach to each month, quarter, and year. I might even write a blog about this in the future.
In episode 6 of the Black Herron podcast (with Sacha Black and Rachel Herron), they bought up creating a learning schedule for the year. They openly say they can’t claim credit for it, and neither can I.
Instead of doing “All the Things”, I’m using each quarter to take my business to the next level. Just to give you a few examples:
- Quarter 1 of 2023 – Input and Rejuvenation
- Quarter 2 of 2023 – Production
- Quarter 3 of 2023 – Promotion and Marketing
- Quarter 4 of 2023 – Planning and Reviewing
This high-level structure gives me a chance to really drill down into the aspects of my business I need to improve on. The end of last year in the day job was vile, and subsequently, I got into the dreaded realms of Burn Out, and I had Covid over Christmas.
Boo.
I’d been doing too much and not focusing enough on my mental and physical health.
I learnt (part of that learning schedule) that I need to split out the year into specific areas. Focus on those, and the rest naturally follow.
I made that change.
Why?
I couldn’t keep going at the rate I had been. So, I cut out “All the Things”, and introduced a quarterly plan to increase my input, and rejuvenate my creative well. The result? I’ve read 17 books (at the time of writing), lost a bit of weight, and my eczema hasn’t flared up recently.
Winning!
Mistake #3 – I listened to the voice of Impostor Syndrome
This is really hard. Not to admit. No. To ignore. We’re creatives. Our minds work in wonderful, sometimes scary ways. But with that, comes the constant challenge of Impostor Syndrome.
We’re not good enough
We have nothing interesting to say
What we’re saying has been said before
No-one wants to hear from us
Sound familiar? Yeah, thoughts like swirl around my mind all the time. But like Sarah Painter’s fear monster, I acknowledge the voices, thank them for trying to protect me from things like negative comments and critical reviews, but kindly tell them to get back in their corner until I do something idiotic.
That’s when they can come out, but not before.
Impostor syndrome, I think, is something that we’ll always have. Some of the influential authors I read and listen to admit they still get it, but they have the knowledge and experience behind them to move on.
Instead of letting the voice stop me from doing what brings me joy, which I know it does, I’ll write the thought on a piece of paper and shred it. Or burn it. Either way.
Mistake #4 – I ignored my strengths
I’ll go into this in more detail in future blog posts, but the mistake #4 in my author career was ignoring my strengths.
As a summary, I took the Gallup CliftonStrengths test in 2022, and the results weren’t a surprise.
Bear with.
Before acting, I make lists. I love looking at the future, planning, and detailing what I want to do and where I want to be. I enjoy learning, and I get energy pennies (thanks to Becca Syme) when I’m reading, watching, and inputting. I see the goal, and find the shortest, most effective path to get there.
Those were inherent things I “just did”, but until the test, I didn’t realise what they were.
The lists and the planning? That’s my number one strength. It’s called Strategic.
Looking to the future is my number two strength. It’s called Futuristic.
Learning is my number three. Shocker, it’s called Learner.
Finding the most effective path to a goal is number four. It’s Strategic.
The mistake I made, however, is that I tried to change, based on Mistake #1. The advice of others. I didn’t listen to my subconscious, which was screaming at me to do what I knew was right.
Now, though, I lean into those strengths. They are used to drive my business forward. I combine Strategic and Futuristic to create quarterly and yearly goals. I use Learner to create a learning schedule for the year. My Strategic lets me see what I want to Learn and figures out the most effective path to that outcome.
Listen to your subconscious. Sometimes, it knows better than you understand.
Mistake #5 – Thinking I could do it alone
I’m just going to say this now. By nature, I am an introvert. I love my own company, always have, always will.
However, and this is serious now, my business nearly died after the first year, because I was doing everything alone. Sat in my office, tapping away, muttering to myself about arcane rituals, plot points and where the hell my protagonist was going to find an enchanted knife in a supernatural realm.
Yeah, fantasy at its best.
But that novel never came to anything. Why? Because I didn’t know what to do next. I stared at it, listening to that bloody Imposter Syndrome voice, and let it take control.
Last year, that changed. I found the Activated Authors community, and since then, I’ve never been happier with my writing and my business. I found my tribe. My people. They’re incredible.
Not just because they’re in various stages of where I want to be. No. Because I have someone to talk to. I’m on a writing sprint with someone (right now) who’s on the other side of the world. We’re both working, we’ve never met IRL, but we’re together.
I didn’t know I needed this group… until I found them. It was almost too late.
But I told Imposter Syndrome to shut the hell up, signed up, and never looked back.
Best, decision, ever.
In summary
We all make mistakes, we’re human. We’re not ChatGPT or a Terminator-style machine.
But it’s how you review and adapt to those past mistakes that shape our future.
I know I’m going to make more, but remember, you’ll always learn something from them. I have, and it’s something I can’t wait to do again in the future.
It’s how we grow.
Right. Now it’s over to you. What’s a learning opportunity (not mistake) you’ve discovered recently? What did it change for you? How did it make you feel?
I’d love to hear from you, so let me know in the comment below. Or, if it’s easier, just sign up to my newsletter and drop me an email.
Look forward to speaking to you soon.
Robyn
