Crossing the Bridges: Of Best Laid Plans
We’re all familiar, I think, with the phrase, “I love it when a plan comes together!”
Conversely, though, nobody is fond of when the plan falls apart.
What do you do when your best laid plans go pfffffffft around you?
As with anything else in life, you have a choice. You can lament your failed plan, moan about it, whine about it, get upset and angry and kick at the stones along the way…or you can accept the lesson learned (even if you are not quite sure what the lesson is), take a deep breath, and keep moving forward.
One of several plans I had been working on collapsed yesterday. I wanted to do something large, something a bit out of my comfort zone…but it proved to be too far removed from reality. I was going to replace my six-year-old car with a new car…but it proved to be too costly for me to do at this time. I’m a bit bummed, but…it happens. Deep breath – move forward.
However, because this has been preoccupying my mind a lot lately, other projects have fallen a bit to the wayside. The time is neigh to reclaim my own existence, and get some things in order.
One of the bigger projects I am working on with my coach is getting myself out there to promote my writing. Beyond social media, which has its many uses, I want to physically put myself out there to promote my work.
Doing what? Readings, signings, and overall presentations.
I am a writer. One of the bigger takeaways from my most recent coaching session was the following:
I need to stop overcomplicating this thing.
I AM A WRITER.
Here and now, I am working with simplifying things.
Do or do not, there is no try.
So my new mantra this week has been:
HERE AND NOW I AM DOING THIS.
One of the bigger problems (entirely in my head) has been that I see myself as more than one writer. Primarily, I write fiction and inspirational/philosophical/self-help work. I have wondered for some time if I should have published myself under more than one name as such.
But it’s more than that. These are the two primary genres I work in, but the truth is that my writing goes far beyond this. I also write press releases and business-related articles, I have done search-engine optimization writing, web content work, and even journalism.
And yet I keep creating this more complicated, more involved matter entirely in my own head, rather than just do my thing. Which is why the above was written.
I am a writer. It is time to go out there and promote myself in whatever way I can.
I started to list various libraries, schools, coffeeshops and bookstores where I could possibly go and present my work. I can do a bit of a talk about being a writer in general, about the self-help/philosophical stuff I compose, and do a reading from my fantasy or Steampunk work. I can then do signings and hopefully sell some copies of my various works.
I can, if needs be, take a more specialized approach. If the place where I am presenting wants me to stick to one topic, I can either work with the self-help angled stuff, or the fiction. Either way, if I can get a foot in the door and get this ball rolling, I can build up more of what I want from my life.
I started with a familiar library. I made an inquiry while I was there, and have the name of a person I need to reach out to in order to set this up.
This is the next step for me to take. I want to be not just an author, but a best-selling author, and in order to have any chance of making that happen, I need to take new avenues to get out there, and promote myself to the world.
I believe that my work, be it fiction or non-fiction, is good. I believe that this is something I can and should make more of for my life. So I will take the necessary steps in order to get there.
Fine, something I tried to do fell through. Ok, onwards and forwards. There are other matters for me to work on, other things I want and need to do to build up my life. I will take the actions necessary to manifest my dreams. That is my intent. That is my plan.
I know this week is a bit rambling and touching on a couple disparate point. Welcome to my world. And again, thank you for joining me on this crazy voyage.
Thank you for crossing the bridges between my worlds with me!
This is the fifth entry of my personal journey, the Crossing the Bridges series. My collectively published writing can be found here.
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