“We can secure other people’s approval if we do right and try hard; but our own is worth a hundred of it, and no way has been found out of securing that. – Mark Twain
When you finish the story, please leave a comment and tell me the title of your book and how we can find it. If you’ve got a friend you believe in, share the love and let them see your support.
Is your book good enough?
Have you ever spent hours, days, even months writing a book that you thought was incredible? Did you pour your heart into the story-line, the characters, and a twist or two that you thought were amazing? You did think it was amazing at one point did you not? Do you remember the times you got emotional writing it and the hair on your neck stood on end? The point where you said to yourself, “this is good” and you could no longer type fast enough to keep up with your thoughts.
Nothing has changed. The initial value that you knew was in your book hasn’t gone anywhere. If you’ve started to doubt any of that you’re just asking the wrong questions.
So who in this world is allowed to give value to something? The answer is simple, you are.
Iconic Friendship
The day I turned 21 years old I was living in a tent in the middle of the desert in Afghanistan. The group of guys that shared that tent with me were my very best friends. There was one man on my team that clearly lived in his own world. I admired it. During the course of our friendship I learned something very important – Each person has their own ability, their own right to give something value.
“All day I go to the gym.”
“All day I eat the cookies.”
“All day I read this book.”
“All day I ……”
Insert whatever you want into the sentence but my man made up this line with the words “all day” right in the front and used it everywhere he went. It’s been over a decade now since he started this and guess what? I still remember it. It caught on then and circulated among our crew. It became a part of us. I remember almost everyone on the team using it at one point or another.
You know what made this simple statement spread? It was the unapologetic way that its creator delivered the line. He wasn’t saying it for everyone else. To him, it meant something. It was his creation. It was his and he breathed value into it everyday.
Here’s the tent we called home.
When you decide something in your life is valuable, you don’t change your opinion because someone else doesn’t agree. No one gets to decide what you breathe value into except you. So your book was awesome and nothing has changed. It is valuable to you and if that’s the case, there are likely enough other people in the world that would agree. But, you have to find them. You can’t give up on it. You have to KNOW that what you have created maintains its value and walk through the world like a boss letting others know until you find an outlet for it; until you find the people in your tribe that are looking for just that book.
So, don’t be persuaded by people who didn’t love your book. Books are like songs, pizza, and flip flops- everyone has their own style, their own flavor, their own rhythm. You just need to find the people that value your style and they’re out there.
It’s your journey. It’s your thing. Pick it up, get back out there and talk about it, sell it, live it.
If you have a book you’re proud of, then please leave a comment and tell us how to find it. What are your struggles with your book? How did you find your audience? What advice do you have for other aspiring writers?
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H2W,
Bradley
Thank you for this. I poured my heart and soul into my book, which was just published. It’s a humorous & insightful look at my innermost thoughts as I went through various life struggles. It’s getting great reviews so far, and many people have sent me emails or comments via social media that it’s been helpful to them. Their comments make my whole life suddenly make sense and have great purpose. I hope you’ll check it out.
It’s called “Confessions of a Rambunctious Kid: A Quest for Self-Discovery and the Meaning of Life” by Jennifer Leigh Allison. Here is a link to Amazon for the paperback or Kindle version, but you can also find it for Nook and iBook e-Readers.
http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Rambunctious-Kid-Self-Discovery-Meaning/dp/0990771202/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416184918&sr=8-1&keywords=confessions+of+a+rambunctious+kid#
Thanks Jennifer!
“Adventures of a Modern Barnstormer.” Wrote it a decade ago, unpublished thus far. The real struggles had only started to break the horizon when I sat it down and quit working on it. Time to go back and add the twists and turns into it.
Man, you gotta get busy on it. Of all the people I know, your perspective is important to me. Thanks for the comment Jeremy.
What a great post! Thank you, Bradley. All day I love that I wrote a book. If I’m not careful that may be too easy to forget. The direct emails and harsh critiques, the denial of the value of the book from one close to me, and other obstacles try to take me down. However, I know I was supposed to write this book, and the next one, (and the next one after that one, too). It’s certainly not my job to apologize for doing exactly what I should just because of the opinions of others. As I work on relaunching the book this reminder has proven quite timely. Thank you, again!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IXPH5NO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00IXPH5NO&linkCode=as2&tag=natepruittcom-20&linkId=SZFFYMEGRTGKT7QK
Thanks for the comment Nate. Good luck with you relaunch!
Great Post, Bradley! I especially love “When you decide something in your life is valuable, you don’t change your opinion because someone else doesn’t agree.”
I wrote my book as a test, an experiment. Response has exceeded my expectations. http://www.mikeloomis.co/book
To aspiring writers, I recommend lots of planning – be strategic about the development of your book. Then you’ll have more clarity and creative freedom based on that focus.
Thanks for your encouragement!
I really appreciate the feedback Mike. Congrats on your book!!! Keep up the hustle!
Great post! This is great advice not only for writers, but life. I love the “all day I…” I may use it
Haha! Of course, Jessica. just keep up with how many times you use it per month and that will help me with billing properly.(-:
My books are a series, completely fictional yet I find my characters to be friends of mine. I relate to these characters. I have self-published my three books through createspace.com, but they haven’t been picked up by any publishers or anything. To me, it was never about fame or fortune. I wrote these books to say I could and I did. I love them and maybe others will too. 🙂
http://www.createspace.com/3664310
http://www.createspace.com/3836400
http://www.createspace.com/4174609
Thanks for sharing Amber! I know you’ve put a lot of raw creativity in these. You’re great at that!
Love this! And what a great idea to showcase books. I just released mine called “How To Get Out Of Debt Living Paycheck to Paycheck: 9 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom” on Amazon and it’s also available on Gumroad. For Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q220TNS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00Q220TNS&linkCode=as2&tag=nomorhamwhe-20&linkId=MBVK3CXTGXXPOBMX and for Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/l/GetOutOfDebtBook
Thanks for sharing Camilla! I think that’s a topic that’s important to a lot of people. Student loans have been a tough spot in my life. Knowing that others have had the same feelings and problems helps a ton. Take care.
Dishonor, to be released #soon.
http://www.dilemmamike.com/the-fort-Leavenworth-story
I blogged the rough draft and That is how I gained an audience. My advice is don’t give up and ask for help. People are very generous with their time, resources and knowledge.