Charting Your Path to Success—One Step at a Time

by Guest McCall Hoyle

If you’ve been writing long enough, you’ve heard more than your fair share of advice. If you haven’t been writing long or don’t believe me, open your Pinterest or Twitter app, and search writing. You’ll be inundated with advice and pearls of wisdom on how to outline a book, finish a book, and sell a book. One of my favorite motivational nuggets is: writing isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. The truth is, sometimes the race to publication feels way longer than a 26.2-mile endurance run. Sometimes it feels like a barefooted-uphill-battle in the jungle. 

But there’s light at the end of the tunnel, the end of the race, and at the top of the hill. The good news is that each of us can finish what we start, whether it’s a physical challenge or a writing challenge, if we just keep putting one word, one goal, one foot in front of the other. And there are a few things we can do to make life a little easier no matter where we start. 

First, we can set goals. We can choose whatever we like, but we must set them, write them down, and tell someone else about them so that we’re accountable to someone. Several years ago, my goals included entering contests that required longer and longer entries until I had a substantial chunk of a manuscript. Then my goal was to finish a manuscript and enter the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Contest, which leads me to the second thing that helped me accomplish my ultimate goal—publication. 

Finding a tribe of like-minded writers is invaluable. I found my people at Georgia Romance Writers. I found my critique partner at my first GRW Moonlight and Magnolia Conference, and I started learning about the business of writing which is almost as important as the craft of writing. 

Remember how I wanted to enter the Golden Heart Contest? Well, I did enter, partially because it was a goal that I had written down and worked toward in increments and partially because I’m really stubborn and determined. I finaled and won the young adult category in 2014 with the manuscript that would become my first published novel, The Thing with Feathers. I finaled again in 2016 with a manuscript that hasn’t sold yet—The Other Cheek. The greatest prize that came out of those contests was the lasting relationships I’ve built with my Dreamweaver and Mermaid sisters. 

Finally, we have to challenge ourselves to take risks. We have to take classes that push us out of our comfort zone, and we have to open ourselves up to rejection from all over the place—contest judges, potential agents and editors, readers, even our own well-meaning critique partners. 

Some of us may start strong out of the gate, writing thousands of words in one sitting. Some of us might experience a runner’s high when we hit the 13.1-mile midpoint of our current manuscript and fall in love with our heroine or sell our first manuscript. A few of us will even sprint to the finish, arms up, smiling for the cameras and writing the closing-scene-to-end-all-closing-scenes. A few of us might even support ourselves as full-time writers. 

But when our calves scream, the words don’t come, and the rejection letters pile up, we must remember to run our own races and more importantly to support each other along the way. We can’t be sucked into the muddy quagmire of competition. There is no competition in the creative or the spiritual realm. In fact, it’s been my personal experience that when I help other writers, the universe repays me forty-fold, and this is usually when I learn the most about myself as well as my writing. 

In fact, instead of falling into the competition trap. We should focus on the gift of community and seek out other writers who enjoy the collaborating and cheering for one another—much like the Seekerville bloggers have done here and much like I do with my Golden Heart sisters. The marathon that is writing and publishing doesn’t have to be solitary. Pretty much everything I have learned about the craft and business of writing I’ve learned from communities of writers who welcomed me with open arms.

So here’s my advice, run your own race, my friend. Forget competition. Set goals that work for you. Work toward them in increments, and fearlessly force yourself to take risks. 

Celebrate every mile marker along the way, no matter how quickly or slowly you reach it. If you’re lucky, you might learn to catch your breath and enjoy the water breaks at the end of each chapter. If you’re really good, you’ll learn to savor the bananas and bagels at the finish and to celebrate your peers too. 

So fire up that laptop and let me hear those words hitting the page, like a fresh pair of running shoes on the road to success.  

On your mark. 

Get set. 

Go. 

 *********

Missy again: I have loved McCall's books, so be sure to check out her newest release! Let's chat today about charting your path to success and moving along one step at a time.

Meet the Sky

Seventeen-year-old Sophie wants to keep her fractured family together. She's all about sticking to a plan--keeping the family business running, saving money for college, and making sure her mom and sister don't endure another tragedy. Then a hurricane forms off the coast of the Outer Banks, and Sophie realizes nature is the one thing she can't control. To make matters worse, she's stranded in the middle of the storm with Finn, the boy who broke her heart freshman year. 

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McCall Hoyle writes young adult novels about friendship, first love, and girls finding the strength to overcome great challenges. Her second novel, Meet the Sky, released September 4, 2018 from HarperCollins/Blink. When she’s not reading or writing, she’s spending time with her family and their odd assortment of pets. She has an English degree from Columbia College and a master’s degree from Georgia State University. She lives in a cottage in the woods in North Georgia where she reads and writes every day.

Find her:

Instagram: @mccallhoylebooks

Twitter: @MccallHoyle

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Website: http://mccallhoyle.com